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Tha following diagrama INuatrata tha taMaaux, ate., pauvam Atra fNmte i daa taux da rMuction diff Grants. Loraqua la dooumant aat trap giand pour Atra rapruiduit an un saul oliehA. il aat film* i partir da rangia s u p 4ria u r gaueha. da gaucha k droito, at da haut m* baa. mn pranant la nombro dlmagaa nicaaaalK. Laa diagrammaa sulvants INuatrant la mAthoda. (a lira. >' ] 1 2 S 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■■i^ RELIGIOUS EXCfTEMENTS TRIED BY SGRimiRE, AND THEIR FBUITB TB8TIFIBD BT BXPBBIKMGB. A SERMON, FBEAGHBD IN THE PARISH CHUBCH, ON SUNDAY, THE 13TII FEBRUARY, i«4a. BY THE REV. T. B. FULLER, HKCrOR OF THOROLD, IN THE DISTRICT OF NIAGARA. TORONTO: CHURCH HERALD PRINT, MELINDA STREET. 187a. ^»t j^ne>v-^'^tv^ ' -r A ■ f 1 " HEUGIOUS EXCITEMENTS TRIED BYSGRIPTURE, AND THBIB FBUIT8 TBSTIFIBD BT BXPBBIENCA ^sr i:i *^ i^': ^:' ■/■l' JIt' A SERMON, ■C-.V' .'U'C/'-i U-'i ' » ' * -I * # ..r,if:rv^n* fi-m .4 P'Kib*:'' .. Cft^^s-Sl ■^(t* t»>i-;;/"r!0": THE REV. T. B. FULLER, '? 'if. !!f> t :(:t RECTOR OF THOROLD, IN THE DISTBICT OF NIAGARA. i')/ ■ y'. ^i'» c^i." ;■ .'I ^: TORONTO: CHURCH HERALD PRINT, MELINDA STREKT. 1872. ' *« " . V- lY ':A%U pt/^QH^''' I'A-ti ON SUNDAY, THE 13TH FEBRUARY, It43. ■ .S'i '.'.'> :.?;nti;( f-Aq •'.1 ! f J ; ' ; . -:, :•?• "" ■ . jtj ^ ^ * ; i .Ui .J I... '■■'SI 'jili Jc 'ii T-' iMV'^ , .^, t ' • '* //; f- ■• r«{. t • ft \ ':. •;o'n ' •i.^ .^,1- ■id •if ; ,"' .-..u-' ■^i;i^» •|! L" : ,M':^V/ :•.;•• . '. / hi;-': iw>m- .-\f f- , : ' ■' r -'('(t .- : r:; .,;-(»? \{i} ' ' * i ^ ' ./!'-''■. *"•-. • ' ■■ ■ ' ■.' ' • j^ ■ ■' • . t; 4 •■ .**'- , 1. \ nv ■' .■■ » . M ■ ■,"_-."■. :!•. - '.' ' ' om^ ' 1 ;||pi^Tr»^ ? ■••? i '•\\ 1 TEt -1 ?tl U,:'f 51T XtSX>£.T TO HEADS OF FIFTY FAMILIES REQUESTING COPY OF SERMON FOR PUBLICATION. In reply to your letter of the isth instant, just received by me on my return from Missionary duty, requesting me to allow you to publish my sermon, delivered by me last Sunday in Thorold Church, I beg to say that though it was not prepared with the most distant idea that it would be of any service beyond our mote ^nimed|ia^e nei^hhourl^ood, and althougth I can c|a|tn for it little Origrbality ; yet, sihce the heads of almost every family have united in the request so kindly transmitted by you, and have ex- pressed their opinion that its publication will be serviceable to the cause of truth» I hesitate not to comply with your request — with v^hat judgment, time will shew. It has been with no reluctance. My object in allowing its publication, as in its preparation, has not been fame \ but utility. I believe that the cause of truth re- quires error to be honestly and fearlessly exposed. I believe that we are surrounded with error. Believing thus, I should be the veriest coward in the world, and utterly unworthy of my calling, were I afraid to preach and to publish what I solemnly believe to be true, lest, by combatting the errors, I should be exposed to the censures of those who differ so widely from us. ' '; •. That the Giver of ^very good and perfect gift may guide you into all truth — may enable you, through His grace, to live godly righteous and sober lives here, and, for the merits of Jesus Christ, bestow upon you eternal life hereafter, — is the earnest prayer of, ' My Friends and Parishioners, Your affectionate Pastor, T. B. FULLER. Niagara Falls, February 21st, 1843. This Sermon being out of print, and its republication having been urged upon me by several of my brethren in the Ministry, I have consented to republish it. T. B. FULLER. Thorold, 4M yune, 1856. This sermon being again out of print, I have deemed it my duty to publish a fourth edition of it T.B. FULLER. TorontOi 37M NnmbeTy 187a. > > :j .Jr' A SERMON, &c.-?-f ';■' j^Beloved, believe not ev«y spirit; but try the spirits, whether 0(1- they be of God."— I yo^, iv. I. ii)a t^^ot■•<^ i-^'^ns^, Yiif;.-Jv( !»^.JjUly)<<^.^i^^ . .. -^^1*4^ Cv These are the words of the beloved disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, the disciple, who wa» privileged to lean on the bosom of the Son of God, whilst he was clothed with humanity. He appears to have been singled out by the Saviour on account of his sweet and amiable disposition. All his writings breathe that spirit. " Beloved," says he, " let us love one another : for love is of God : and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God : for God is love. In til is was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." — (I John iv. 7-1 1). Yet, my brethren, his love did not cause him to leave those committed to his care, or those within the reach of his influence, exposed to the various errors that were rife in his day, without lifting up his voice against them. Even the sweet and amiable John could say, "Beloved, believe not every spirit : but try the spirits, whether they be of God ; for many false prophets have gone out into the world." In the same manner spaSe a greater than John, — one, who so loved us, as to Jpare not his own precious life, but to offer it up a ransom n for our sins. " There shall arise," — said He, "who spake as never man spake,"— "There shall arise false Christs and false piropn^ts^ arid shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch, that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. — Behold, I have told you before." — (Matt. xxiv. 24, 25). From these words of the blessed Saviour and his beloved disci- ple, we learn three important facts. Firgt, that we must expect errors and propagators of errors : Se- cond, That, these propagators of errors may be ena- bkd " to shew great signs and wonders : and Third, That, nevertheless, it is the duty of the ministers of Christ to raise their voices against any thing which may appear to them to partake of that nature. At the time of St. John the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were still vouchsafed to men. Yet, even, then, in these high favored times, when " they spake with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance," "many false prophets had gone out into the world." Even then, when an Elymas was struck "blind for a season," dr'an Ananias and a Sapphira were struck dead, prx^fiagators of error went about, almost " de- ceiving the veiy elect." Whilst St. Paul lived, the Judaizing teachers endeavored to obscure the free salvation^oi the Gospel by teaching the disciples that they ou^^^ to conform to the law of Moses. To meet this error, St. Paul wrote his epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians. The doctrine of jus- tHicatton by faith only, as set forth in those epistles, was perverted after his time, so that men were led to suppose that a lifeless faith, a mere belief that such a person as the Saviour did come down from heaven, lived, died, and rose from the dead, was quite suffi- cient ; though that faith produced no effect whatever upon their lives and conduct. To meet this error, St James wrote his epistle. In like manner the very epistle, whence our text is taken, was written to meet „ 65 , / the false teachings of those who denied the real deity of Christ, who explained away his propef humanity and the reality of his sufferings and death, as an atoning sacrifice. "At this time," as an eminent commentator remarks, "heretics came forward mu^h more openly than at an earlier period." --^' • From that time to this error has prevailed. Even in St. John's time there were the Ebionites, the Cer- inthians, Gnostics^ the Nicolaitans, and many others. Since his death, amongst a thousand minor heresies we have recorded in ecclesiastical history those of the Manicheans, of the Arians, and of the Pelagians. In the present day we have sects without number, hold- ing doctrines diametrically opposite to each other : some denying the Divinity of the Saviour, others the existence of a place of punishment hereafter ; some loying aside both the Sacraments of the Gospel, others " forbidding little children to be brought to Christ." Can all be right ?^— Is truth so multifarious ? St* Paul says, "There is one body." — (Eph. iv. 4.) And again, " One Lord, one faith, one baptism." — (Eph. iv. 5.) He says, in his epistle to the Corinth- ians, " I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you." — (1 Cor. i. 10). According, in our incomparable Litany, we pray, " From all error, heresy and schism, good Lord deliver us." This may appear illiberal in this age of false liberality. But we need not dread being con- sidered illiberal, if we have for our companion in re- proach the great Apostle of the Gentiles. f ' But it may appear to some, that where error prevails, may safely be left to God, to show mankind that itis er- ror ; that we may wisely adopt the language of Ga- maliel, '••If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought." — (Acts v. 38), This, how- ever, was not the opinion of St. Paul, nor that of St. f.» Jonn. Mankind, unhappily, are more mdined to errdT than to truth. They, therefore, require to be warned of the former, and to be directed to the lat- ter. This was the opinion of the great Reformers of %he sixteenth century. They saw the whole of Christendom sunk, not in Pagan, but in Popish dark- ness.-— They feared not " to cry aloud ;" but buckled on their armour, and manfully exposed the errors whorewith the Church of Christ had become so en- veloped in the course of ?ges, that had St. Paul or St John risen from the dead, they could scarcely have recognised that Church, which was "built upon the foundations of the Prophets and Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer-stone." They were enabled, through the grace of God, to expose errors and to remove those corruptioYis ; and have transmitted the precious bequest to us» the Church as she was in the first, the purest ages of Christianity. She presents to us the "one Lord, the one faith, the one baptism." — (Eph. iv. 5). They had much to contend with, Their war was against principalities and powers. The Church of Rome had her won- ders, her false miracles, and her astonishing prodi- gies. The powers with which she swayed men's minds was truly surprising. She hurled mighty sovereigns from their thrones, and placed creatures of her own in the stead. She absolved subjects from their allegiance, or rather, she professed to do it. She rendered the murdti of those whom she styled " heretics " meritorious in the sight of God, or rather, she asserted her power of doing so, and acted on that assertion, and all Western Christ- endom bowed to her will. But the Reformers arose in the spirit of St. John, and cried, "Beloved, believe not every spirit ; but try the spirits, whether they be of God." They preached salvation throngh the sole merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. J " They brougbt every thing to the te$t of God's qwa word ; and all the additio(i$ of men they threw aw»y. and retained only what had been known in the early ages of Christianity. They acknowledged no pen- ances, no pilgrimages, no purgatory necessary to the salvation of the immortal soul. They declared, as the Saviour had done before them, " He that believ- eth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that be- lieyeth not shall be damned."— (Mark xvi. i6). They acknowledged no intercession of Saints ne- cessary to the admission of a soul to bliss. But, whilst they reduced the blessed Virgin Mary, St. Peter, and all the other Roman Saints to their pro- per station, they exalted the Saviour, as the only " name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved."— (Acts iv. 12). And, my brethren, we naust do the same. If we conceive tfiat we see others in error, it is no want of charity, but the exer- •cisepf the truest charity, to declare it Such was the charity of the blessed Saviour and his .chosen- Apostles. "^ w ; The Saviour, on every occasion, shewed the greatest regard for the truth, both by revealing what was right, and by reproving what was wrong; and yet he so loved the world that hd laid down his life for all, enemies as well as friends. All the Apostles evinced their love for mankind, by spend- ing their days and willingly la3dng down their lives, that the truth of the Gospel might be made known to all nations ; yet they sharply rebuked error, wheresoever they found it, and unequivocally con- demned divisions in the Church, wheresoever they perceived them> On these holy examples, it be- comes us to build our practice ; and hence we ought to conclude, that the strongest proof of Christian love we can exhibit is to warn men of their errors, and ibo point out to thenw «'S far as we % are able, the narrow path which our Lord trod, and in which his disciples ought to walk, even to the end of time. " Charity rejoiceth in the truth," and therefore would not lead us to believe that error or indifference, in regard to things sacred, is harmless or safe. Consequently the prayer of our Church is, "that all who profess and call themselves Chris-^ tians, may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and Lj righteousness of life." — (Prayer for all con- ditions of men). I frankly admit that, in pay opin- ion. Christian love or charity does not go to the length of deceiving any one, by speaking " peace, where there is no peace," or of alluring the unwary into danger, by calling evil good, or evil good ; or of making any indifferent to things sacred, by the groundless and unscriptural asse^ tion, that it will make no difference at the day of judgment, Whether a man has endeavored, in all respects, to keep the unity of the spirit iv the bond of peace ; or has, on account of convenience, or prejudice, or some such motive, separated himself, and thus lent himself to promote dissension, and all sorts of bitterness amongst those who bear the Christian name. It becomes us, to give heed to the injunction of the text, " Beloved, believe not every spirit; but tiy the spirits, whether they be of God." But, you may enquire, "How are we to try them ?" I an- swer, ** /^J/ tke word of God." It is the only rule. (See Article sixth,) For all true religion must be conveyed to us by revelation from heaven in the first place, dictated to by us infinite wisdom, per- fect goodness, and eternal love. What is recom- mended to us by a being of such transcendent per- fections, cannot be improved upon by poor, weak, short-sighted, ignorant man. It must remain fixed, acoOTding to the will of Him who first gave it 3f I J i ! i .i i ll any thing deserves to be called folly and madness, it is the preferring human inventions to the wisdom which comes from above. ^^ — This was the error into which the Church of Kome fell. — This was the se- cret spring whence flowed all her corruptions. She was unwilling to abide by the directions of the Word of God ; but chose to herself, one after ano- ther, the inventions of man. (See last page of No. 21, Vol. V. of T/ie Churcfi), — What was the adora- tion and invocation of Saints ? What the adoration of relics ? Man's inventions. What else was her purgatory, her auricular confession, her transub- stantiation ? — These were some of the things with which she had corrupted the purity of the doctrine of C'^rist The Reformers tried her by the Word of GoJ ; retained w!\at was in accordance there- with, and rejected the rest. And so must we do with those, in our days, who would bring in among as newly invented plans and unscriptural practices. We must try them by the word of God. Had the Church of Rome done this, she never would have departed from the faith. Had the Protestants of Geneva and Germany done this, they would not have fallen into the mire of Neology. Man's inven- tions may appear beautiful to the eye, and admira- bly adapted to the end he has in view, but "there is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord." — (Prov. xxi. 30). If, thei'ofore, you hear any practice of your fel- low-Christians spoken of, however excellent it may young, we used to wirmuw grain with a fan; ami it was slow work. After- wards a machine was invented that would work mucli faster. The more work it turned off the better. .So with religion, I "sed to work as hard as I could to gel 8, 9, 10 or 1 1 converted. I expect to live to see 3,000 convcrtctl in a day. , . , ,. j .-,., ._:■, ;. appear, and however great may be the success which attends it at the first, bring it '* to the law , and to the testimony," and if yon find that it accords not with that test, beware of it. No doubt many inventions adopted by the Romish Church appeared" excellent at the time of their adoption, and admir- ably adapted to the end she had in view , but we know to what they led. No doubt the practice of some of our fellow-Christians of the present day, of begging, and persuaK3bo.v But some will aver, that there is great zeal amongst those whose proceedings are condemned. That too may be. There are few more zealous than the fol- lowers of Rome. And St. Paul did not deny that the Jews had " zeal," but he affirmed, that with it they wanted " knowledge."— (Romans x. 2). Our Saviour, too, addressing the Scribes and Pharisees, said, *' Woe unto you^ Scribes and Pharisees, hypo- crites ! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte." — (Matt, xxiii. 15). . But still some one will aver, that the favourers of these strange prac- tices are very devout, very temperate, and very self- denying. But, my brethren, who is more devout than the Romanist ? who is more temperate than the follower of Mahomet, who drinks not even wine ? and as to self-denial, none of the present day are to be compared to the pillar-saints of the fifth century, who " stood motionless upon the tops of pillars, expressly raisad for the exercise of their patience, and remained there for several years, amidst the admira- tion and applause of the stupid populace." — Mosheim^ 1st vol., ^ih century). I make not these statements, brethren, to insinuate that those who are zealous, devout, temperate, or self-denying, are no better than the persons to whom I have called your attention : I am unwilling to judge any man. What I am bound to judge are the measures, the contrivaricics, the new, and, as I deem them, luiscriptural plans of some around us. — I adduce these several facts to shew ^ : ,5 .'/ ■ r " that zeal, devotion, temperance and self-denial may exist, where true religion is entirely wanting. But I am told of the vast success which attends these practices. Yet even that does not convince me. I hear of the astonishing success which has at- tended the Mormons. I read of the thousands that have enrolled themselves in the ranks of Socialism. Ecclesiastical history tells me that for several centu- ries the ChuBch of Rome succeeded in enslaving the whole of Western Christendom. And all this ex- actly accords with the Word of God. It tells us that " many are called, but few chosen." — (Matt. xx. 1 6). The success which attends these meetings is more apparent than real. The organ of the sect indeed publishes abroad the number of those who are pronounced ** happy," but takes no account of the injury done to religion by this exciting manner of proceeding, — It tells its readers nothing about the triumphs of the infidel, nothing about the hearts hardened, nothing about the timid driven to despair, nothing about the minds shocked under the pressure of the excitement. Again, we hold, and the majority of the sects of Protestantism still hold, that the con- version of the soul is the work of God,' is dependent on Divine influence : but does not the practice of asserting that they will hold a meeting for a given number of weeks, whilst they assert that they hold it no longer than souls continue to be converted at it, sanction the belief that the conversion of sinners is dependent on man, ajid that it may be had at any time, at the will of Christians, in any given community, depending of course on a specific set of measures, invented and applied for this purpose under the direction and controul of those who are skilled in these matters ? The uniformity of the course pursu- ed, and of the measures applied, proves this to be a system well understood by them. The Saviour ' ^■. says, " The wind bloweth \vhere it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit." — (John iii. 8). The simple preaching of divine truth to awaken attention, in the old way, is a legitimate and scriptural mode, and if souls are awakened thereby, we are thankful. But in the case under considc 'ration the theory involves a new and specific moral machinery, or system of measures, to be employed and applied in connexion with the most startling and terrific appeals to the feelings and the passions. The principle of the contrivance is to shock the mind and drive it from the position and basis on which education and habit had fixed and established it, and to bring it under the influence of this new moral machinery. To shew you that I am not singular in the view I take of these pro'^eedings, I will quote freely from a work by an Americen writer, who at an early period of his ministry had taken part in similar ones. " Every stage of progress," he says, *' is studied and arrayed philosophically, what man is individually and socially; how he is likely to be affected by a given treatment applied to his mind and feelings as an unaccountable being. All the preachings, addresses, warnings, entreaties, exhortations, prayers, — the time, the place, the number and continuous succession of meetings, — ^are studiously contrived and applied to the great end — excitement. The greater the excitement, the better. And where the object of excitement is gained, — where public sympathy is sufficiently roused, — the most violent measures are used to press persons forward to the state which they are pleased to call 'conversion.' No matter how good and thorough the Christian education of the subject of this influ- ence may have been, yet they must be startled — shocked ; they must be invaded by some new and he a, all u- • 1 t . ' \i7 ■•■,;- *^ unexpected access, to their imaginations, fears, hopes, ' passions ; in short, their mind must be entirely dis- ^' lodged from accustomed positionsand former ground, ^ however good and proper it may have been, and f. they must be eompelled, in a moment of the greatest possible excitement, to yield themselves entirely, — their intellect, their reason, their imagination, their belief, their feelings, their passions, their whole souls, —to a single and new position that is prescribed to them. Now I am not anxious to deny," continues he, " that in many of these instances the individuals thus subdued, as it is commonly called, have really been subdued to God. But after granting this, (which is all that can be claimed by anybody), I must be permitted to express my distinct and deep con- viction that the mode of accomplishing this object is ever after injurious to these very minds ; injurious to society, religiously considered ; and an obstacle in the way of the conversion and salvation of the great- est number of souls." After treating of the injury done to the minds of the converts themselves, the writer proceeds to say, '* These violent excitements, and the violence that is carried into them, are in- jurious to society, religiously considered. It is impossible that the mind of a community should long remain in such a state of excitement. Aware of- this, it is a uniform device of those who get them up and who manage them, to make the most of them — to push them to the greatest extremes. They re- gard it as a harvest-time. And just in proportion as the public mind has been over-strained, will be the reaction. It will not simply fall back to a sober po- sition, where it was before being excited, but it will retire into the opposite extremes ; and withal there will be left on it the pall of a morbid, painful indif- ference to religion : and, consequently, it will prove an obstacle in the way of the salvation of the greater ts number of souls. * The harvest truly will be past and the sujnmer ended.' The pale and sickly mantle of autumn will throw its folds over the community ; and the chills, and frosts, and bands, and desolation of winter will succeed. Follow the train of these violent excitements, and see if it is not so. It is impossible it should be otherwise. The number of converts made by such violence, — the general char- acter of whom is far from being most desirable, — though that number may seem to be great for the time, is no compensation for the sad effects left be- hind." And his conclusion is this, " That a uni- form career of faithful preaching and pastoral labour, on a scale that can be steadily maintained and applied. — without coldness on the one hand, or in- temperate or violent zeal on the other, — would in the long run be the means of saving more souls than by these fitful and violent convulsions, so marked with extravagant and blind zeal." — (Thoughts on the Religious State of the Country, with reasons for preferring Episcopacy, by the Rev. Calvin Cotton, pages lyy, lyS, lyg). Speaking of another effect of these proceedings, the same writer says, "In visit- ing an insane hospital a short time since I was forc- ibly struck by the predominance of religious mania. Since which time, I have embraced all convenient opportunities of inquiring into the different species of mania which prevail in our land, and have been in- formed that it is greatly the prevalent species. And I am much inclined to give much credence to this statement, from the recent religious history of our country, and from the known susceptibilities of our nature under those startling and astounding shocks which are constantly invented, artfully and habitually applied, under all the power of sympathy and of studied enthusiastic 'elocution, by a large class of preachers among us. To startle, to shock, is their , i n n d e r t f 619. great secret, their power. To frighten, to shock, and paralyse the mind with alternations and scenes of horror, carefully concealing the ground of encourage- ment and hope, till reason is shaken and hurled from its throne, for the sake of gaining a convert, and, in making a cqnvert, to make a maniac, — as doubtless sometimes occurs under this mode of proceeding, for," says he. " we have full proof of it, — involves a fearful responsibility. I have just heard," continues the same able writer, "of an interesting girl thus driven to destruction in the city of New York, at the tender age of fourteen, by being approached by the preacher after a sermon" of this kind, with a secretary by his side, with a book and pen in his hand to take down the names of thos<; who, by invitation, remain- ed to be conversed with. — Having taken her name, the preacher asked, ' Are you for God, or the Devil ?' being overcome, her head depressed, and in tears, she made no reply. ' Put her down in the Devil's book !' said the preacher to his secretary. From that time the poor girl became insane ; and in her simplicity and innocence she has been accustomed to tell the story of her misfortune." — [Ibid pages ^i^ ^j, ^^). These astounding statements and their judi- cious accompanying remarks are to be found in a work published in New York, entitled, Thoughts on the Religious State of tnc Country, with reasons for preferritig Episcopacy, hy the Rev. Calvin Cotton^ a name well known both in England and America. Although I have detained you so long, my brethren, — much longer than usual, — yet I consider the complete treatment of this subject so important, that I must detain you, whilst I lay before you some extracts from an admirable Charge to his Clergy, delivered by Bishop Mcllvaine, of Ohio, in 1836. — Bishop Mcllvaine is a man beloved by all who know him, re- spected by Christians of all names throughout the United States, of unquestioned piety, sound judgment, comprehensive views, and acknowledged talents. If any fault can be alleged against •tf /•^ : M 1l i- him, it is, that he looks with too lenient an eye on the sin of schism. His charge opens in the following beautiful manner : — *' Brethren in the Ministry, — In dischai'ging the duty incumbent on me, as occupying the responsible office of a Pastor to Pastors, — a Preacher to a company of Preachers, — I desire to speak under the most solemn impression of dependence upon oui* Lord and Chief Shepherd for grace to address you in the spirit of wisdom, love and faithfulness, which alone becomes the pre- sent occasion. By the peculiar nature of my duties, during a considerable portion of every year, I am conducted through so many spiritual atmospheres and climates, and into contact with so many distinct classes and conditions of mind, as connected with religion, that in some place or other I am obliged to meet every wind of doctrine, to observe the trial of every experiment, and the consequence of every novelty, with all those currents and changes of cun-ents, that indicate the prevailing rehgious character of the times." After adverting to the delightful con- dition of the Church, he gives v/hat he cousiders the two chief causes of that improved condition,, "First — That instead of adopting any novelties of doctrine or expediency in our ministry, there has been a decided going back to ' old paths ' trodden by the Martyred Reformers of oui" present Church, as they followed the steps of Martyrs and Apostles of the primitive Church." The second cause that he mentious is, " Improved views of the Sacraments and of Confirmation." You will readily perceive that these causes are du-ectly opposed to those practices of which I felt bound to take notice in this discoui'se. Adverting to the state of the various denominations around him, — a state caused in a great measure by the sanction given by them to " pro- tracted meetings," — Bishop Mellvaine remarks, " I refer a very large proportion of the great evils which have come upon the Protestant communities of this age, and their alarming increase, to the putting asunder, in a great measure, of these two things, which God has joined, to be carried on together, not only in the Sacraments, but in all the worship and doings of the Church, the outward and visih/e — the inward and spiritual. In seeking the latter, its necessary connexion with the former has been too much overlooked. Some have laid aside all pre- scribed externahsm, as among the ' beggarly elements,' the * childish things,' which a spiritupl 'Church has ro need to retain. They have reaped what they sowed. Others, in va- rious degrees, have approximated to this extreme ; some retain- ing outward institutions in a measure, while with an over- jealousy of too much ceremony, they have gone into too much nakedness, and, though free of superfluous form, have grievous- ly suffered by an over-done abstraction ; and, lest they should i V .. 21 be too much restricted to sameness, have opened the door to a spirit of licentious change and rash innovdition, and in aiming at primitive simplicity, have arrived at a most un-primitive leanness ; and to avoid a seeming condemnation of all forms bnt their own, as destitute of good, have spread the scarcely less injurious idea, that if one has only the spiritual grace, it matters little to what outward form of association, under the name of a Church, he may belong. Such is the seeding with which the field has been gradually < laid down,' in the process of things, in the Christian community, during the last few years more especially. It has sprung up and brought forth fruit * after its kind, some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred fold.' They that sow the wind must reap the whirlwind. The harvest has not yet passed, but the first fruits have been sufficiently exhibited. The heresies that have grown up amidst the frag- ments of the broken walls and neglected gate-ways of the vinblt Church, in some parts of our Christendom, mocking aU efforts to eradicate them ; the growing neglect of pubUc worship, so much complained of ; the wandering of the rising generation from the paths of their pious ancestry ; the daily decreasing hold of a settled p.nd permanent pastoral ministry upon the af- fections of the flock ; the appetite for change of ministry, and the facility with which it is effected ; the thirst for new and ex- citing modes of preaching and promoting rehgion ; the miser- able dryness that produces this outcry for stimulating measures of rehef ; the hasty adoption of whatever has obtained the re- pute of a successful contrivance for creating excitement, leading to the contemptuous laying aside of grave and venerable usages, as if in all the past the Church had been only in childhood, and all that adhere to her examples were stUl in infancy ; the strifes and divisions that have sprung up over this field, and are now ripe with the seeds of manifold more ; the addition of new and arbitrary terms of communion, as if the Lord's Table were at the mercy of the caprice of every sect ; the unauthorised min- istries that have taken advantage of the many breaches in the wall of the vineyard, to enter in and spread the infection of deadly errors ; the Uberty afforded to the cold-hearted but heated fanatic, to stalk at large, torch in hand, and lay wasto the work of years of patient, faithful labour, raising the flock against the shepherd, subdividing congregatioms till each frag- ment becomes too small to live, dropping his drag-net into every stream, attracting attention by every stratagem, and, lender the name of converts to Christ, hurrying all that are caught, how- ever dissimilar in every thing but a pubUc adoption of the Uvery of their leader, into a public profession of religion ; while lovers of truth are ashamed, the impenitent are hardened, and iufr- 22 \ dels scoff : these bitter things are some of the fruits already reaped, for which multitudes of sober-minded Christians of all names are in great liiourniug, lamenting after times that with many have passed away, — times of order and peace, of govern- ment and soberness, — anxiously casting about for some remedy, or, at least, fjome refuge, till this btorm be overpast. But the harvest is not yet 'ended. Desolations are still determined. The whirlwind is yet to be reaped. , . •• " The beginning of all this is' to be found a long distance back, when, for the promoting of a more spiritual state of re- ligion, ChriBtians began to undervalue external institutions, putting them at the mercy of individual or local caprice and fancy. The beginning, apparently inconsideralde and unob- served except by a few that w. re v.'ise, was as ' the letting out of water.' 13y making all kindred streams its tributaries, it hath swollen to a desolating Hood. Its tirst object was a more vital faith ; its last result will bo a more hardened infidelity. Its exciting cause was, in part, the fea:* of a supposed remnant of Popery in the prescril)ed form?^ and dignilit'd ritual of a por- tion of Pr(»teHtaut Christendom, it will not Jiave run its course, before, under an abhorrence of what are comparatively only the accidents of Popery, it will have adoi)ted all that is evil in its essential luiture, — tlio/onitfuifif if godliness without 7'A< })o\rcr, — a formality \vi\\i fiiiininriHiii (iml kU. Uh ponrr, that compasseth sea and land for proselytes, establisiiing its inquisition and pro- claiming its anatliemaa. — Huch Popery, witli its miracle-working machinery, and its optm ojicntinlioii of ' anxious seats ' and ' confessior.s,' its dt^peudeuco upon saints, though living, for ' marvellous things,' mvell suppose that tliQ best way of proving his re- gard for virtue was to venture into the haunts of vice ; bo no Christian should tliink of trying tlu- steadiness of his principles by frot[uenti]ig places of worship jwnona: those whose principles or practices ho condemns. His principles must be lax indeed before lie c^uld make so fo(disli a trial. — But there is still an- otlier very 'm| )rtant light in wliich we shoidd view this juatter. We shoiilil cori.ainly consider ourselves involved in the guilt of others, if tluit .juilt were in any way owing to our example. All may not he equally well informed as wo are on these subjects, nor may the p incipJes of all be equally well estublislied. If those wiu) ()bs( rvo our couduct, or are in any way itiHueuced by our example, 1 avc I'oapoii Ij suppose,, from our practice, that it is a matter of lo great im[)t/rtunce't() wand(U' occasioiuilly from \\w Church of (lod, and oct'asionally to enctourage schism, w« may bo totally unconscions of the guilt wliich they contract ou nccount of suci lax notions, hut I iim far from sure that we uhould not ha\ i to answer for it. Wherefore, beloved, 1 must again cxhorl y iu, ir* the words of St. John. " Believe not every spirit; but t _> the 8]>irlts. wlietluM- tlujy he of God: because many falwo ] rrphets have gone out into the world."