m uisville, KiJ. | Jooo300ooooooooo6oooooooi'°-i 72^ i^ a o^ i:^. «^^ i:a. ^2^ .\T PRINCETON, N. J. l> o IV -A. m o >r t»ii- SAMUEL AGNE\V, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA. pTiy^L^oy^y&y^^^cS^ e on his fellow labourer in the ministry ;" thus endeavour- ing to place Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke before the world, in the most ludicrous light. To support these assertions, Dr. Chapman produces the following extract of a letter written by Mr. Wesley to Mr. Asbury some years after the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this country. ** In one point, my dear brother, I am a little afraid both the Dr. and you dif- fer from me. I study to be little; you study to be great. I creep; you strut along. I found a school; you, a College. Nay, and call it after your own name ! beware ! Do not seek to be something! Let me be nothing, and Christ be all in all. One instance of this your greatness has giv- en me great concern. How can you, how dare you, suffer yourself to be called a Bishop ? I shudder, I start at the very thought. Men may call me a knave or a fool, a ras- cal, a scoundrel, and I am content ; but they never shall, by my consent, call me a Bishop. For my sake, for God's sake, put a full end to this f Let the Presbyterians do what they please ; but let the Methodist know their calling better." This famous letter was first published by the Rev. Hen. ry Moore, the personal friend, and authentic biographer of Mr. Wesley. The explanatory remarks made by Mr. Moore, show in what sense the letter is to be understood ; and' will clearly reconcile Mr. Wesley's views on this subject. Mr. Moore says; " Mr. Wesley well knew the difference between the office and the title. He knew and felt the ar- duous duties, and the high responsibility which attached to one, and the comparative nothingness of the other. He gave to those **Episcopi,' (Bishops) whom he ordained, the modest, but highly expressive, title of Superinten- dents ; and desired that no other should be used. His ob- jection to the title of Bishop arose from his hatred of all display.'* (See Moore's life of Wesley, vol. 2, pp. 278, MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 51 289.) ''Mr. Asbury was of opinion that the unpleasant expressions were occasioned by the misrepresentations of others." JNothing more is necessary to show that Mr. Wesley's ob- jection to Mr. Asbury, was, that he wore the name of Bish- op ; and not that he exercised the Episcopal office. That Mr. Wesley did claim power to ordain Dr. Coke, Superin- tendent, or — which is the same thing — Bishop, for the Methodist Societies in America, when he, with othei Pres- byters of the Church of England, laid hands on him, is evi- dent; 1st From the letter already referred to ; in which, in con- nexion with the expression of his opinion, that Bishops and Presbyters are one in office, and have the same right to ordain ; he says, he had been ** importuned from time to time to exercise that right, by ordaining part" of the "trav- elling preachers," in connexion with him for England. That he had refused for "peace' sake;" he would not "vio- late the established order of the National Church. But the case was widely different between England and North America ;" and adds, " I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke." By this appointment he could mean nothing less than ordination, according to the connexion in which it stands. 2nd. Mr. Wesley unequivocally asserts that he believed himself to be "as scriptural (Episcopos, Bishopj as much as any man in England or Europe." (See Moore's Life of Wesley, vol, 2 p. 260.) And this he asserted in direct ref- erence to his acting as Bishop in ordaining Dr. Coke, in reply to the remarks of his brother Charles. 3. In addressing Dr,Coke,previous to his ordination, Mr, Wesley says, as he had invariably endeavoured in every step he had taken, to keep as close to the Bible as pos- sible; so, on the present occasion, he hoped he was not -about to deviate from it. That, keeping his eye upon the 62 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED (Conduct of the primitive Churches, in the ages of unadul- terated Christianity, he had much admired the mode of or- daining Bishops, which the church of Alexandria had prac^ tised. That to preserve its purity, that chuich would not suffer the interference of a. foreign Bishop, in any of their ordinations ; but that the Presbyters of that venerable Apostolic church, on the death of a Bishop, exercised the right of ordaining another from their own body, by the lay- ing on of their own hands ; and that this practice contin- ued among them for two hundred years, till the days of Pyonsious. And finally, that being himself a Presbyter, he wished Dr. Coke to accept ordination from his hands, and to proceed in that character to the continent of Amer- ica, to superintend the societies in the United States. (See Prew's Life of Dr. Coke, p. 63, 64,) 4th. Dr. Coke had become convinced of the propriety of Mr. Wesley's views and wishes ; and, accompanied by Mr. Creighton, a regularly ordained minister, who had long offiv ciated in Mr. Wesley's chapel in London, and assisted him in various branches of his ministerial duties, met him in Bristol ; when, with their assistance, Mr. Wesley ordained Mr, Richard VVhatcoat and Mr. Thomas Vasey, presbyters for America : and, being peculiarly attached to every rite of the Church of England, did afterwards ordain Dr. Coke su^ 'perintendent—OT, which is the same, bishop — giving him let- ters of ordination, under his hand and seal: [Coke and Moore's Life of Wesley, p. 459 ; Life of Coke by Diew, p. 65. 5th, The letter of ordination from Mr. Wesley, expressly states, he had set apart Dr. Coke as a " superintendent" for America. " to preside over the flock of Christ." ** To all to whom these presents shall come : John Wesley, late Fellow of Lincoln College in Oxford, presbyter of the Church of England, sendeth greeting : '' WhercaSf Many of the^people in the Southern Provin^ MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 53 ces of North America, who desire to continue under my -care, and still adhere to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, are greatly distressed for the want of ministers, to administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, according to the usages of the same Church ; and whereas, there does not appear to be any other way of supplying them with ministers : Know all men, that I, John Wesley, think myself to be providentially called, at this time, to set apart some persons for the work of the ministry in America. And therefore, under the protection of Almighty God, and with a single eye to his glory, I have, this day, set apart, as a superintendent, by the imposition of my hands and prayer, (being assisted by other ordained ministers,) Thomas Coke, Doctor of Civil Law, a presbyter of the Church of England, and a man whom I judge to be well qualified for that great work. And I do hereby recommend him to all whom it may concern, AS a fit person to preside over the flock of Christ. In tes- timony, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this second day of September, one thousand seven hundred and eighty- four. ''JOHN WESLEY." 6th. Having received this letter of ordination from Mr, Wesley, Dr. Coke proceeded to America. He presided in the first General Conference, which closed its session in Baltimore, 1st January, 1785. "The minutes of the con- ference were printed under the title of, The General Min- utes of the Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America." The same year, Dr. Coke returned to En^- giand, and met Mr. Wesley at the British Conference, which held its session in London, 26th July. It must be believed Mr. Wesley saw the minutes of tho American Conference, and learned from Dr. Coke all that had been done. It was Mr. Wesley's habit to speak his mind plainly on all sub- jects ; and, had he been dissatisfied, he would have made it known. And, when Dr. Coke was attacked by an anony- mous writer in England, supposed to be Mr. Charles Wesley, lor having organized the '.'Methodist Episcopal Church," in 54 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED his defence, he affirmed that, in his proceedings in America, he did nothing but by a delegated power, which he received from Mr. Wesley. This he did publicly, under Mr. Wes- ley's eye. On this ground, says Mr. Drew, it cannot be de- nied that his plea of delegated authority is valid, Mr. Wes- ley and himself being identified together." Life of Coke by Drew, p. 101. 7th. I have only to add, Mr. Wesley altered the English Prayer Book to suit the Methodist societies in this country. The preface is signed, *' John Wesley," and dated Bristol, Sept. 9, 1784, only seven days after the ordination of Di. Coke, and entitled " The Sunday service of the Methodists in the United States of America, with other occasional ser- vices." In it is prescribed a form for ordaining ministers, thus headed : " The form and manner of making and or- daining of Superintendents, Elders, and Deacons." The running titles at the head of the pages, are, 1, " The or- daining of Deacons;" 2, *• The ordaining of Elders ;" 3, *' The ordaining of Superintendents." And, in the edition of the Prayer Book, printed in London in 1786, we find the first general minutes of the " Methodist Episcopal Church in America," Mr. Wesley still living : [See Defence of our Fathers.] I think it has been clearly shown, that Mr. Wesley did consider himself authorized by the Scriptures, and called, in the providence of God, to invest Dr. Coke with " Epis- copal dignity ;" considering the office of bishop and pres- byter to be one ; and that he did intend Dr. Coke to exercise the oversight of the Methodist societies in America, and to organize an Episcopal Church. And Mr. Wesley's character for piety and intelligence, forbids the idea, that he would hastily enter upon so important a work, without being/ully ^convinced of its agreement with the Scriptures and the nsr eessity of the case. Yet Dr. Chapman intimates that Mr. MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 55 Wesley, in ordaining Dr. Coke, intended nothing more than "the blessing of a good old man on his fellow-laborer in the ministry." Mr. Wesley, in this transaction, may have had respect to the case of Barnabus and Saul, (Acts xiii.) who receiv- ed ordination or imposition of hands from Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen, Prophets and Teachers; and as such, not su- perior to them, and, in some sense, inferior. (Eph. 2, 20.) This imposition of hands was made by the command of the Holy Ghost. For what ? To constitute them Elders or Apostles ? No ; they were such already. But to separate them for the work, whereunto he had called them, namely; to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Will Dr. Chapmaa say, that nothing more was intended by this transaction, than the usual blessing of three ministers upon their fellow labourer ? We presume not. When Mr. Wesley, in con- junction with other Presbyters, imposed their hands on Dr. Coke, it was not to confer on him a higher grade of order in the ministry than he had before ; for; as a Presbyter, he was already in Mr. Wesley's opinion, a scriptural Bishop. But the object was, to give his sanction and authority to Dr. Coke, to execute the office and duties of superintendent over the Methodist societies in America. And this he had full authority to do ; because he was, under God, the father and head of the societies; and was so acknowledged. They looked to him as their director, and referred to him for ad- vice. They were without ministers to administer the ordi- nances of the gospel ; and, in most places, without access to them in other churches. It was thus a case of necessi-' ty and expediency, sustained by scriptural authority, the usage of the primitive church, and the relation which he sustained to the societies as their founder and father, under God. And hence he stood more than justified, in the eyes of scripture, as well as reason ; and has been gratefully re- 56 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED membered, and much beloved by thousands th^t have been? raised up thereby, in this widely extended country, to c&\i him blessed. Few men that ever lived, were ever in a condition simi- lar to that of Mr. Wesley, when he authorized and sent Dr. Coke, to organize the Methodist Episcopal Church. In early life he had set out with a single eye to the glory of God, to live a life of holiness, according to the scripture. And such was the blessing of God, on his efforts, that many were led to take knowledge of him, that he had been with Christ ; and desired to unite with him, in his method: of holy living. Thus matters went on, from time to time, until many societies were raised up in connexion with him,- both in Europe and America. He was a strict Churchman ; and consequently, had not adopted any rules, or laid any plans, contrary to the estab- lished order of the church to which he belonged. He nev- er thought, for a moment, of leaving that church, or by any means raising up a new sect or denomination of christians. For it is evident, his whole ambition was, to get good and do good, by carrying out, and enforcing, the doctrines of the established church, which had been long and shameful- ly neglected. In this God blessed him abundantly. The societies that had been raised in Europe by his in- strumentality, he would frequently visit, and by his godly conversation, encourage to press on in the work of faith and! labor of love. But, in reference to this country it was widely different. The war had long raged with violence, and finally ended, in the separation of the two countries. Then there was no Church of England here, as there had" formerly been ; no Protestant Church, no ministers, no ad- ministration of ordinances. So that nearly the whole length and breadth of the land was left, as a waste, howling, wilderness. What, then, was Mr. Wesley to do, when his MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 57 brethren in connection with him here, in their destitute and forlorn condition, applied to him for help ? Was he to turn a deaf ear to their cry, that had reached him across the broad waters ? Or was it his duty to do all he possibly could for them, in this state of destitution ? No man living had the same influence over them that he had, or, in the nature of things could expect to have. And, as it was in his power to form a plan that would harmonize the whole, bring them into a state of organization, and put them into action, by which they could serve God according to the dictates of their own conscience, and be useful to their fellow men around them, most certainly it was his duty so to do ; more especially, as, in doing so, he would not only do unspeakable good to his brethren who looked to him and desired his help, but would not, as he stated himself, invade any man's rights or break in upon any established order, civil or eccle^ siastical, by which injury might be done to any man or any set of men. Indeed, there appeared*to be no way for Mr. Wesley to escape. Scripture, reason, and Providence, all combined to lay him under a moral necessity to do as he did. And the sequel proved that God was in it, in a most wonderful man- ner. Thousands and tens of thousands have been brought, thereby, into the fold of Christ and made happy in the ex- perience of the peace and love of God, which passeth un- derstanding. And now, in taking the whole ground into view, we would ask, in the name of reason, what motive could Mr. Wesley have had in all this, seeing that after he had done all he could for his brethren here, he claimed no ju- risdiction over them whatever ? It certainly is strange, that any man or set of men can be found, to impugn his motives, or to say any thing by which they could be disparaged. Mr. Wesley must have acted under the most pure and dis- interested motives ; moved only by the fear and love of God 8 58 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED and — as we have already triumphantly proved — according to Scripture, reason, and the true necessity of the case. Hence, therefore, he must stand justified by all wise and good men ; and especially in the sight of that righteous God who searcheth the heart and trieth the reins. We are now prepared to notice Dr. Chapman's represen- tations of Dr. Coke. The Doctor has taken upon himself to charge this great and good man, with exercising an office, in '* his personal pretensions to which, he placed no confidence." A more, serious imputation on the Christian honesty of Dr. Coke, could hardly be made. Dr. Chapman says , the Methodist Episcopal Church '* has no such episcopacy as is consid- ered by us, and was considered hy its founder and first su- perintendent, to be authorized and genuine." p. 87. We grant that we have no such episcopacy as is consid- ered by the Protestant Episcopal Church to be " authorized and genuine :" and we are free to acknowledge, that we have no concern on account of it. But that we have no such episcopacy as was considered " authorized and genuine" by the founder and first superintendent of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, we positively deny, and have already showrs that it is not the case. It remains now, to attend to what Dr. Chapman has said in relation to Dr. Coke, and his own views of his ordina- tion. '* After having exercised the power of ordination for about six years, he appears to have become extremely dis- satisfied with himself, and to have been fully convinced of the invalidity of his supposed episcopacy." To confirm this statement. Dr. Chapman produces the fragment of a let- ter, said to be written by Dr. Coke to Bishop White, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, '• proposing a re-union of their respective churches :" — a union may have been proposed, but a rc-union could not, as they had never, as churches. MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 59 Wen united—" and expressing this opinion of the ministers already ordained by Mr. Asbury and himself:" "I do not think that the generality of them, perhaps, any of them, would refuse to submit to a re- ordination.'* There is no" thing in this to justify the charge made against Dr. Coke. He does not propose a re-ordination, or even suggest that he thought it necessary ; except on the ground of the propo- sed union ; and then, should it be deemed necessary by Bishop White, he (Dr. Coke) thought the preachers or- dained by Mr. Asbury and himself, would not refuse. But in this he was much mistaken. From the sequel, we learn, that, in all probability, not one would have submitted to re- ordination; even if it had been the only obstacle in the way of the union of the churches. Again, Mr. Chapman says : ** Dr. Coke remarks, *he (Mr. Wesley) did, indeed, solemnly invest me, as far as he had a right to do, with episcopal authority." And, instead of giving the whole connection, that the meaning might be fairly seen, he adds : " But mark the consequences ; he went farther, I am sure, than he would have done, if he had forseen some events which followed. And this, I am cer- tain of, that he is now sorry for the separation." And what is there, in all this, to justify the conclusion, that Dr. Coke ''placed no confidence whatever in his personal pretensions to the office he had exercised." Is it because he says, that Mr. Wesley "did solemnly invest,' him "with episcopal au- thority?" Surely not ; for this is an avowal of Mr. Wesley's authority to ordain, and of the validity of his own episco- pacy. But is it because he adds, " as far as he had a right to do"? Surely this is not intended to say, that iVIr. Wesley had no *' right," to invest him with episcopal authority ; for he fully believed Mr. Wesley to be a Scriptural bishop ; and consequently possessed of the very best authority to ordain to that office. But while Mr. Wesley had authority to ordain 60 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED Dr. Coke, superintendent, for the Methodist societies in America,** he had no authority to ordain him a bishop of the Church of England, or for the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country, with which he was — with an eye single to the glory of God — seeking a union. Neither has the Pro. testant Episcopal Church authority to ordain for us ; and this is, no doubt, the meaning of Dr. Coke, in saying *'as far as he had a right to do." Again : Does Dr. Coke authorize the conclusion that he had no confidence in his episcopacy when he says, *' He went farther, I am sure, than he would have gone, had he forseen some events which followed." Farther in what 1 What events that followed ? Who can possibly tell the precise meaning of this fragment of the letter? The most natural conclusion appears to be, that the Doctor intended to say, that, such was Mr. Wesley's love and veneration for the church to which he belonged, such his ardent desire for unity of faith and practice in the Church of God, that, not. withstanding he fully believed himself to be authorized, by the Word of God, to ordain, as he did, for America ; could he have forseen that Parliament would have passed an act, making it lawful in England to ordain bishops for foreign lands, and that consequently the Protestant Episcopal Church would have been organized in this country, in which all that had formerly belonged to the Church of England here might have been one, he would not have gone so far as he did, in organizing the Methodist Episcopal Church. Are we not fully justified in this conclusion, when it is immedi- ately added, *' this I am certain of, that he is now sorry for the separation.*' No doubt that Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke were both sorry that a 'separation should exist between the churches, for the same reason that every good man is sorry that any thing should exist to separate between any of the professed followers of the blessed Redeemer. But in no MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 61 wise were they so, because they did not think Methodist episcopacy " authorized and genuine." Again: Dr.- Chapman says, in a subsequent interview with bishop White, " there was also suggested by him (Dr. Coke) the propriety, but not a condition made, of admit- ting to the Episcopacy, himself and the gentlemen associa- ted with him in the superintendence of the Methodist So. cieties." Let it be noticed, first, that this was on a private inter- view, subsequent to the letter. How then, did Dr. Chap- man get it ? If bishop White afterwards stated it, how easily might he have misplaced the sentence, through for- getfulness or misapprehension ; and thus make Dr. Coke say what he never intended. But what was suggested? JNot to ordain Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury ; but the propriety of admitting them, in case of a union of the Churches, to a joint share of the Episcopate, just as they then stood. But it was not made a condition. I ask, does this look like discarding Methodist Episcopacy? Surely not. The very reverse is intended in this sentence. But Dr. Chapman supposes, that his opinion is correct, because Dr. Coke made, '' about eight years after, applica- tion to the bishop of London, to ordain a given number of travelling preachers in England, for the purpose of admin- istering the sacrament to the people of their connection." It would be sufficient, in answer to this, to remark, that the request was made for England, and not for America. Dr. Coke never considered himself authorized to ordain for England ; neither could he, for there, all things were trans- acted according to a legal jurisdiction. But let it be ob- served, this was done after Dr. Coke had given up his su- perintendence in this country ; and that, for the sole pur- pose of preventing the Methodists from separating from the Church of England. Mr, Drew, his faithful biographer ob- 62 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED serves ;" attached, like Mr. Wesley, to the establishment of his country, and unwilling to countenance innovations that might ultimately lead the Methodist to form themselves into a separate body, he devised a plan, which he thought, might wholly prevent the evil which he feared. The principles of this plan were to establish, if possible, an indissoluble union between the Methodist and the Church of England, without rendering them dependent upon the clergy of the establishment." He then gives Dr. Coke's letter to the bishop of London, which commences thus : •' May it please your Lordship ; I have felt a strong in- clination, for more than twelve months past, to take the liberty of writing to your Lordship, on a subject which ap- pears to me of vast importance. I mean the necessity of securing the great body of Methodist in connection with the late Rev. John Wesley, to the Church of England," &c. (Life of Coke, by Drew, p 288.) It is unnecessary to give more of this long letter, to show the noble and christian-like design of Dr. Coke. Many, in the Methodist Societies, had become dissatisfied at receiv- ing the sacrament at ths hands of unholy and wicked cler- gymen ; and fearing they would go entirely oif, he devised the plan of having some of the travelling preachers, or- dained by the bishop of London, to serve in England ; none of whom were to come to America. This was the secret and avowed motive of Dr. Coke in this transaction , and not that he had "no confidence in his personal pretensions to the office that he had exercised." But to show beyond successful contradiction, that in this transaction, as well as in the letter written to bishop White, Dr. Coke never intended so much as to intimate, that he did not "consider" Methodist Episcopacy "genuine," we give Dr. Coke's own statement of the case, contained in a letter written to bishop Asbury, dated near Leeds, Feb, MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 63 2nd, 1808 ; about seventeen years after he had written to bishop White, and about nine years after he had written to the bishop of London. In this letter, Dr. Coke ftates, he had heard that there had been a paper war, concerning a letter which he wrote in the year 1791, to bishop White. He acknowledges that when he wrote that letter, he did then believe, that the union which he proposed would have a good effect ; that it would very much enlarge our field of action, and that myriads would, in consequence of it, attend our ministry, who were then much prejudiced against us. He adds, however, that he had no idea of deciding on any- thing ! That such an idea,without the concurrerice of bish- op Asbury, and of the General Conference, would have been absurd ; and that what he did, was intended to ascer- tain the sense of the Protestant Episcopal Church, preparatory to the General Conference ; but at the same time he expressly declares, " I never applied to the Convention for reconsecration. I never intended that eith- er you or I should give up our Episcopal ordination. My proposals secured our Discipline in all points." And he afterwards adds, ** that I now see that the failure of my plan, which was laid down from the present motives, was for the best." (Dr.Emory's Defence of our Fathers, p. 29.) Again; The same author says; '' Bishop White states that one of the outlines of Dr. Coke's plan, as to the Meth- odist ministers, was their continuing under the superinten- cy then existing, and on the practices of their own peculiar institutions. This coincides with Dr. Coke's statement. What was his (Dr. Cokes') intended means of removal of this difficulty — i. e. of ordaining preachers who were not acquainted with the learned languages— says bishop White, does not appear in the letter. It may have been a promise on the part of the Bishops, that the ordination of the per- sons in question, should not be prevented from that cir- 64 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED cumstance ; or it may have been the consecration of him- self and the gentleman connected with him ; for this measmre was hinted at in a conversation that 'afterwards- took place between us." The very terms of this sentence show doubt on the face of it ; and. as we shall presently demonstrate, that bishop White mistook the import of Dr. Coke's letter, it must be admitted to be possible that he might, at least, equally have misapprehended a hint in conversation. The propen- sity of the human mind, to conjecture that which is most accordant with its own habits of thinking, or best calcula- ted to support its own views, is too well known to require discussion here. But even admitting that bishop White may have been correct in his impression, that Dr. Coke did hint, in conver- sation,the propriety of admitting to the Episcopacy, himself and the gentleman associated with him, in case of a union with the Protestant Episcopal Church ; it may be easily accounted for on bishop White's own principles, without supposing Dr. Coke by any means to have intended to ad- mit the nullity of his former Episcopal ordination. Dr. Coke might, at that time, have thought it expedient, if a union took place, in order to gain the more, and to enlarge our field of action, to accommodate himself to the prejudi- ces of those who deemed what they termed the succession, of importance. This is precisely what bishop White him- self had proposed but a few years before, in **The Case af the Episcopal Churches considered." "If, said he, such measures, as have been above recommended, should be adopted, viz, admitting to the Ministry, by a clergyman elected as permarfent president, in conjunction with other clergymen, and the Episcopal Succession afterwards ob- tained, any supposed imperfections of the intermediate or- dinations, might, if it were judged proper, be supplied MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED ^ Without acknowledging their nullity, by a conditional ordi^ nation, resembling that of conditional baptism." (p 17. " But we conjecture if Dr. Coke did hint or suggest the propriety of admitting to the Episcopate, in union with the Protestant Episcopal Church, himself and the gentleman connected with him, he either meant that they should be so udmilted without reconsecration ; or if with reconsecra- tion, then it was, that he would submit to this for the sake of being more extensively useful among those of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church, who might deem it of importance, in case of such an union ; and not at all because he deem' ed it of any sort of consequence ; much less of necessity, either for himself or for the Methodists. '* But we have said bishop White mistook the import of Dr. Coke's letter; and may possibly have equally mistaken the import of what he considered a hint in conversation. It remains to show this. In his letter of July, 1804, bishop' White says, - the general outlines of Dr. Coke's plan were a re-ordination of the Methodist Ministers," &c. In the letter of Sept., 1806, he expresses it thus— -His plan (Dr. Coke's) was, that all the ordained Ministers then in'the Methodist connection, should receive Episcopal ordina- lion." Now let us turn to Dr. Coke's own- language, a^ contained in his letter to bishop White, dated" April, 24 V9]— ''Our ordained Ministers (says Dr. Coke) will not, ought not to, give up their right of administering the Sa- craments," Here, then, their existing right to administer the sacra- ments is expressly asserted; and also their obligation not to give it up, being a right of character already vested. The validity of their ordination is, in this passage, une- quivocally avowed. Yet Dr. Coke adds, '' I do not think that the generality of them, perhaps none of them, would 9 66 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED refuse to submit to a re-ordination, if other hindrances werr removed o.ut of the way." Now we ask, in the name of candour, if there be no dif- ference between saying it was Dr. Coke's flan, as if it had been proposfdhy him. as a thing deemed necessary by him- self, that all the ordaine I Methodist Ministers should be re ordained — and his averring that they ought not to give up the right which they previously possessed of adminis- tering the sacraments , though he did not think that most of them, perhaps none of them, would refuse to submit to re-ardination, if their compliance in that respect should be the only remaining hindrance to a union? The difference to us is clear. And we believe it would be equally plain to every impartial and candid reader. *'But we will go further, and say,- had it ever been Dr. Coke's plan, that all the ordained Methodist Ministers, should be re-ordained, in case of a union with the Protestant Episcopal Church ; it could not have been because he ad- mitted the nullity of their existing ordination, unless he palpably contradicted himself in the same breath. The principle ofsuch a proposal, had it been made, could have been no other, from the evidence before us, than that above stated, viz, a willingness, for the sake of moie extensive usefulness, to accommodate himself to the prejudices of others, when he did not believe that his doing so would be sinful. The justiliableness, and even the expediency, of such a course, without admitting the nullity of former or- dinations, had been,previous to that time, amply vindicated by bishop White himself, in the case of the Episcopal Churches. That pamphlet Dr. Coke had no doubt seen; and it is highly' probable, that very work had a principal influence in inducing him to approach bishop White, par- ticularly on that subject. *' We have only to add here, that whatever Dr. Coke did MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 67 in this matter was his own individual act ; and was neither approved of, nor known by, his colleague, bishop Asbury ; nor, as far as we are acquainted, by a single other Metho- dist Minister in the United States. And that Dr. Coke himself lived long enough to see, and, with his characteris- tic candour, to acknowledge, that the failure of his scheme had been for the best." (lb. 30, 31, 32.) In addition to the foregoing testimony afforded us by Dr. Emory, in the Defence or our Fathers, we have to ob- serve, that Drew, the biographer of Dr. Coke, says, that he found a 'manuscript' among his 'papers,' from which he took "the liberty to transcribe, and apply in his own defence on the present occasion/' — (Coke's Ordination, by Wesley) — "ihe evidences adduced, in behalf of his depart- ed friends," Wesley and Whitfield. '* In these evidences, we may perceive his own views of the validity of his ordination, by the hands of Wesley after a lapse of more than twenty years." (p 69.) Without adding more, we hope the reader is satisfied, that we have fairly disproved the severe allegation brought against Dr, Coke, of his want of Christian honesty, in that he "exercised the Episcopal office," when, at the same time, "he placed no confidence whatever in his personal pretensions to it;" and have shown Dr. Chapman's view of the whole transaction to be incorrect. We have shown clearly, that Dr. Coice never intended in his letter to Bish- op White— in his letter to the Bishop of London — nor in any other way, of which we have any knowledge, even so much as to intimate, that he did not think Methodist Epis- copacy, "authorized and genuine." But on the contrary, from the letter itself written to Bishop White, his letter to the Bishop of London — his own letter to Bishop Asbury, and a manuscript found among his papers, written on the subject, more than seventy years after, that he uniformly ^8 MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED Avowed his most implicit confidence in the validity of Methodist Episcopacy, and the soundness of his personal pretensions to the Episcopal office. The cause of truth and fair investigation, is not promo- led by those, who, by partial and perverted views and rep- resentations, seek to promote their own pretensions, and to misrepresent the opinions and actions of others. But such a course, is altogether in keepingwilh Dr. Chapman's views of the doctrine of Apostolic succession; according to which Mr. Wesley had no right to ordain under any circumstan- ces whatever ; Dr. Coke was no Bishop; and the Methodist Episcopal Church, no Church ; and, as no faith is to be kept with heretics, it is no matter in what way they are de- denounced and put down, so, indeed, that it be not too glar- ing. We would not be understood to say, that the Rev'd Dr. apart from this principle, could be guilty of such things ; for we have a better opinion of him as a christian, and christian minister. But blinded and carried away, as he is by this doctrine, which has thus led him into error, and misrepresentation of some of the best men, and ablest ministers that ever belonged to the Church of Christ, he might unwillingly proceed if he had it in his power, not only to denounce, but to destroy from the face of the earth, all ministers and branches of the church, who could not in his estimation claim Apostolic succession — Not that he would destroy their lives, by instituting a bloody inquisi- tion as the Catholics have done — and still would do if they had it in their power — but, that he would destroy their ministerial character and influence, and blot out their names as Churches ; so that they should have no hope of salvation, unless they would come into his beloved Zion, or into the bosom of the holy Catholic Church, and receive from her pure hands, the unspeakable blessing of absolu- MISREPRESENTATIONS REFUTED 69 Hon. Oh, blind bigotry— doubly blinded by the false doc- trine of succession! — what hast thou done, and what would- est thou not do ! Dr. Coke was a true Christian, a wise, learned and able minister, of the new and everlasting covenant; and conse- quently, could not have acted unadvisedly in such grave and important matters for Mr. Wesley, or any other man. He was convinced, and fully persuaded, in his own mind, that Mr. Wesley was right in his views ; that he had scrip- tural authority to ordain him, for the purpose of meeting the special necessities of Ameiica; and that so or- dained and sent forth, by the great father and founder of Methodism under God, he acted under the very best au- thority in organizing the Methodist Episcopal Church. And who but must see, that, in approaching bishop White, as he did, he was actuated by the most pure, disinterested, and benevolent motives ? His enlarged soul, would em- brace in its affections the whole human family ; and hence, was not to be governed by little, low, selfish and contract- ed motives ; but where principle was not involved, was ready to make any, and every reasonable sacrifice, /or the good of the whole church, and the advancement of the Re- deemer's Kingdom. Upon the whole, we think we have established beyond successful contradiction, the confidence of Dr. Coke in his own Episcopal authority ; his sincerity and good faith, in acting as he did under it ; and the enlarged and benevo- lent views, that led him to seek a union of the Methodist, with the Protestant Episcopal, Church. And, for this, in- stead of meeting reproach, his name should be embalmed in every true christian heart. 70 WESLEY AND COKK CHAPTER VI. Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke had a Scriptural right to organize the Methodist Episcopal Church, according to the judgment of many of the best divines, both ancient and modern. It is the cause of truth alone, we desire to maintain ; and this must be dear to every sincere and honest heart. We proceed, therefore, to show that Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke had a scriptural right to establish the Methodist Episcopal Church in this country ; a right not only resulting from the customs and usages of the Church, but sanctioned by the judgment of many of the most pious and able divines. And first : It is said " the Lutheran churches, in Sweden and Denmark, are Episcopal ;" see Mosheim, p. 279 ; "yet all ecclesiastical historians agree, that, when the reforma- tion was introduced into Sweden, the first ministers who undertook to ordain were only presbyters." See Willer's Letters, p. 240. "It is equally certain, that, in the ordination of a bishop, if the other bishops happen to be absent, the more grave and aged of the ordinary pastors, supply their place, and are considered as fully invested with the ordaining power", ib. P.24L The learned Hookej also admits, that, " in the exigence of necessity, the necessity of the present episcopal ordination in the line of succession is not indispensible". Ecc'l. Pol. b. 7, sec. 14. If we may believe the great Antiquaries of the Church of Scotland, that church was governed by their ' Culdei', as they called their presbyters. Nor was there any bishops ^ver them for a long time. SCRIPTURAL RIGHT TO ORGANIZE 71 Johannes Fordonus, in his De Gestis Scot., lib. 2, ch. 2, is clear and full, as to their government from the time of Palladius, A. D. 430. "They were only presbyters and monks." ib. p. 375. ''It is no way sufficient," says Still- ingfleet, "to say that these presbyters did derive their au- thority from some bishop. If they had any, they were only chosen from their * Culdei,' much after the custom of the Church of Alexandria, as Hector Boetheus doth imply. And if we believe Philoslorgius, the Gothic churches were planted and governed by presbyters, for above seventy years • for so long it was, from thei first convention, to the time of Ulphilas, whom he makes their first bishop," ib. For another instance about the year 390, and others in the year 452, see Irenius, p. 379 ; after stating and argu= ing which. Doctor Stillingfleet thus concludes; "It ap- pears then, that this power of ordaining by presbyters, was restrained by the laws of the Church, for preserving unity in itself; but yet sp, that in case of necessity, what was done by presbyters, was not looked on as invalid." ib p. 381. The above quotations are found in Dr. Emory's Defence of our Fathers ; and, no doubt are all correct. Again: Dr, Drew, the great metaphysician, and (he biog- rapher of Dr. Coke, after arguing the propriety of Mr. Wes- ley's course, in ordainmg Dr, Coke, observes ; "There was a period, when the Protestants were pressed by the Papists with arguments precisely similar to those that were urged against Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke on the present occasion-. And these were triumphantly repelled, with weapons which the predecessors of their present antagonists, had instructed them to wield. The right, therefore, which Mr. Wesley ex- ercised, in the ordination of Dr. Coke, was ably defended by Dr. Calamy, in his reply to Bishop Hoadley ; and, with some trifling variations, the accumulated force, of all his arguments, may be brought to bear in favor of the delegated 72 WESLEY AND COKE power, which Dr. Coke exercised, on his arrival in Ame- rica." See Life of Coke, p. 71. That our ordination by presbyters, of which Mr. Hoadley takes the liberty to speak so contemptuously, is, to all in. tents and purposes — except that of gaining church prefer- ment — valid, I (Calamy) prove by fair argument/' ••' First : I argue from the identity of bishop and presby. ters. I will put it in the words of the learned Dr. Whitaker, who was the celebrated King's Professor of Divinity, in the University of Cambridge, challenging him to declare, how the ministers among the reformed, came by their call to' that sacred office; bids him tell him, if he could, who.called forth Luther and Calvin, and Beza, and the rest? Dr, Whitaker answers, that, "as for Luther, and Zuinglius, and Bucir, and many others of them, they were authorized pres- byters and teachers, in the Church of Rome, ordained and universally owned among them ; and that, therefore, they, being presbyters, and presbyters being, by divine right, the same as bishops, they might, warrantably, set other presbs- ters over the churches." See Calamy's Defence of Mode- rate Non-conformity, vol. 1, p. 70. ** To those," says Dr. Drew, " who ask, on what principle Mr. Wesley ordained Dr. Coke, to preside over the Metho- dist societies in America, we mighf urge this same reply. He was a regular presbyter, ordained in the Church of En- gland, and, therefore, * presbyters, being by divine right the same as bishops, he might, warrantably, ordain other pres- byters, and set them over the churches in the Western Con- tinent : especially as the Bishop of London refused to or- dain one, as stated in Mr. Wesley's Letter to Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury. Perhaps it may be said, that, admitting Mr. Wesley had a right to ordain presbyters, this could not justify him in ordaining a bishop. To this objection, the author SCRIPTURAL RIGHT TO ORGANIZE 73 just quoted, hath furnished a clear and explicit answer, which I will give nearly in his own words; ' That presbyters are, by divine right, the same as bish- ops, appears from hence, that such as were solemnly set apart for the sacred ministry and entrusted with the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and authoiized to administer all ordi- nances in the Church to the faithful, committed to their care, are, in Scripture, styled bishops and elders, or presby- ters, without any mark of distinction. To be convinced of this, a man need but turn to the several passages where they are mentioned." " St. Paul writing to the Phillippians, directs his epistle to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, with the Bishops, and Deacons, but no Presbyters. Had there been any Pres- byters, distinct from Bishops, it is hard to give a reason why they should be passed over in silence. It is more rational to apprehend these Bishops were no other than the Presby- ters of the church. And this sentiment is confirmed by the Syriac, one of the most ancient versions of the New Testa- ment, which reads it " Presbyters, and Deacons." There could not have been several Bishops at Philippi, in the sense the church of England gives to that word. There could not be several Pastors of many churches in one such little place. They must be therefore, proper Presbyters be- longing to the flock. We need not wonder to hear of ma- ny such in a church ; for we are told that Paul and Barna- bas, ordained Elders in every church." Acts 14, 13. " The same Apostle in his Epistle to Timothy lays down the duties of Bishops, and Deacons, and the qualifications necessary for both ; without saying a word of Presbyters ; of whom it is hard to suppose, he should, upon such an oc- casion, have been altogether silent, had they not been the same persons whom he meant by Bishops. Theodoret, in his notes on Acts 11. 30, says, that the Bishop, or Elder, 10 74 WESLEY iir COKE'S whom St. Paul characterizes, was a Presbyter, while at ih& same time those who were afterwards called Bishops, were then usually styled Aposlles." lb. p. 75. , "In ihis Epistle to Tilus, St. Paul again introduces the subject. And after appointing him to ordain Elders in every city, that the things which were ivanting might be set in order, he adds, 'For a Bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God.' Titus 1. 7. It is plain from hence, that in the view of the Apostles, Bishops, and Elders, or Presbyters, must have been considered as of the same order ; otherwise, instead of saying a Bishop must be blameless, he would undoubtedly have said, an Elder or Presbyter, must be blameless ; for in the preceding verse, he had been speaking of the oidaining of Elders and not of Bishops. "If therefore we suppose Bishops to have been an order of men, superior to Presbyters, it will not be easy to re- concile his language to the dictates of common sense. If Elders and Bishops are a distinct order of men, I should not admire the reasoning powers of that man, who would argue in the following manner, "Ordain Elders in every city, as I have appointed thee ; if any be blameless &c., for a Bishop, must be blameless." Here, all connection is broken off, between the premises and the conclusion. And yet in this way we must suppose the Apostle Paul to have argued, in the 1st. chapter of his Epistle to Titus. But if on the contrary, we allow Bishops, and Elders, to be the same order, then all the parts of his argument are har- monious and consistent." But above all, the following passage, given by St. Paul, in charge to Timothy, seems to place this point beyond all reasonable dispute. "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery." 1 Tim. 4, 14.—'* This place" says Mr. Whitaker against Bellermine, " serves SCRIPTURAL RIGHT TO ORGANIZE 75 'OUT purpose mightily , for from hence we understand, that Timothy had hands laid upon him by the Presbyters, who at that time governed the church by a common council" Whereupon he falls upon Bellermine, and the Romanists for denying the authority of ordaining to Presbyters, and confining it to Bishops. This much is plain ; that wheth- er they were Apostles, Evangelists or Bishops, who were concerned in the ordination of Timothy, they all assum- ed, the character of Piesbyters, and acted accordingly. And although some, who in modern days think themselves of a more exalted order, maybe unwilling to allow the propriety of any inference drawn from the ordination of Timothy, in favor of the authority of Presbyters, such re- luctance, instead of arguing the weakness of these infer- ences gives an additional brilliancy to the features of truth. And it can scarcely be deemed a breach of charity to as- sert, that if the Apostle had said, with the laying on of hands of "the Episcopate" instead of " the Presbyters," the authority of his office, and the weight of his argument, would have been combined in all their force, and a trium- phant conclusion would have been drawn from the pas- sage, for appropriating the right of ordination exclusively to the Bishops." But regardless of these arguments, of which only a small specimen is given," continues Drew, "to prove that the order, and authority of Presbyters and Bishops was prima- rily the same, a pious Prelate of this country assumed an opposite position. And in reference to the ordination of Dr. Coke by Mr. Wesley, he observes, that, "If a Presby- • ter can ordain a Bishop, then the greater is blessed of the less ;" thus evidently assuming as a fact the very point that requires proof, namely, that a Bishop is of an order superior to Presbyters. And no doubt if this fact could be substantiated, that the argument would be conclusive 76 WESLEY & COKE against the ordination in question. But until this be done the argument can amount to nothing. Mr. Wesley's bi- ographers therefore, justly remark, that the Prelate should have overturned Mr. Wesley's position, namely, 'that Bish- ops and Presbyters are of the same order,' to have estab- lished his own." See Life of Cojce bv Drew, pp. 71, 72. We would here remark, we have made long quotations from various authors, as well as from Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke, because the nature of the subject requires it, and is best sustained in that way. And, in so doing we think we have defended Mr. Wesley and Dr. Coke from the asper- sions cast upon them by Dr. Chapman ; in that we have made it appear, first; that Mr. Wesley did believe himself providentially called, and scripturally authorized, to pro- vide for the establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this country. And when he laid his hands on Dr. Coke it was not, as Dr. Chapman says, simply to im- part "the blessing of a good old man upon a fellow labor- er," but to ordain him for the special superintendence of the Methodist societies in North America; and to empow- er him to do every thing that was necessary to be done for their good. Secondly; that Mr. Wesley was sustained by scripture and the judgment of the greatest and best divines, belong- ing to the Church of England, as well as to other churches, in exercising his authority by ordaining Dr. Coke ; and in all that he did to provide for his brethren in this wilder- ness at their earnest request. Thirdly; that Dr. Coke in writing to Bishop White, did not express any dissatisfaction with his own Episcopal au- thority ; but was influenced by the most condescending and enlarged christian benevolence, leading him to seek the unionof the two chuiches, that they might thereby strength- en ea^ch other, and do the greater good among men : and SCRIPTURAL RIGHT TO ORGANIZE 77 Fourthly; that Dr. Coke had no cause to be ashamed of his Episcopal office, as it was truly scriptural, and Apostol- ic; as much so, in all probability, as that of any other in- dividual : and that he so regarded it to the day of his death. And will it be going too far to say, that the results of the transactions of these good men, go far to establish the fact that they were right; and that what they did in rela- tion to establishing the Methodist Episcopal Church, was well pleasing in the sight of God ? Who can tell the good that has been done, and the thousands that have been brought home to God, and safely lodged in the Paradise above ? while hundreds and thousands yet on earth, are ready to rise up and call them blessed. As a branch of the Church of Christ, we are perfectly satisfied with our organization, and establishment. We are fully persuaded that our ordination is Apostolic, our doctrines pure and scriptural, and our discipline and government, such as God approves. We are, therefore, content to mind the same things that we at first embraced; and to persevere in the same good old way, of loving God and all mankind, and endeavoring to spread scriptural ho- liness throughout the length and breadth of the land. We hope never to enter into that spirit,[that can slander the ministers of any branch of the Christian Church ; or that will labour in anywise to disparage their authority and hinder their usefulness. For this would be contrary to christian charity; open wide the mouth of infidelity to say, See how these christians hate one another; and especially, as it would be doing that, concerning which, Christ has said, "forbid them not." A spirit of bigotry, strife, and contention, that has so much prevailed in the different branches of the Church among professing christians, has not only put Christianity to the blush ; retarded the wheels 78 SCRIPTURAL RIGHT TO ORGANIZE of Zion, and grieved the holy spirit of God ; but has done more injury to the souls of men, and the cause of the Re- deemer, than all the open infidelity in the world. Noth- ing can be more hateful than this blind, jealous and bitter spirit; and nothing should be more carefully avoided by all christian people. Let it, therefore, be hated, rejected, rebuked, and laid aside forever ; and let true christian benevolence prevail. Let each branch of the Church look at home, where it will always find enough to do; and let all unite, as so many branches of the same great christian family, and determine, in the exercise of true brotherly love, not only to bear each other's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ, but to stand shoulder to shoulder, and side by side, in the great battle against the common enemy ; to push the battle to the gate, and beyond it ; and never to rest until victory and glory shall be declared on Israel's side. Then, indeed, shall we stand forth, " clear as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners." Then shall our light shine in obscurity, and the giddy, God-forgetting world, shall be constrained to say. See how these christians love one another. Christian brethren ! brethren of different denomina- tions of christians, yet of the same great family, having one God and Father, who is over all; one Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ ; one faith, and one hope of one calling; have we not light enough, and grace enough, to en- ter at once into this good work ? May God help us, and may the time speedily come when we shall see eye to eye, and keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Amen ! QUOTATIONS, iC. 79 CHAPTER VII. Quotations of Doctors Chapman and Cooke, from the Fathers Our Doctors appeal, in the first place, to the writings of the ancient Fathers, in support of their favorite doctrine, of Apostolic Succession. And here let it be premised, that, whatever appears to be genuine, in the writings of the Fa- thers, may be relied on as firmly as the writings of any other good, uninspired, men. And, inasmuch as some of them were co-temporary with the Apostles, and others im- mediately succeeded them, and, consequently, must have been conversant with all the doctrines and usages of the Church of Christ, in its original constitution, they must be considered the best authority that can be found, apart from the Holy Scriptures. And, moreover? we are compelled to believe, that, whatever the ancient Fathers said, accorded not only with reason, and the nature and fitness of things, but also with the word of God itself. But, inasmuch as the writings commonly attributed to the ancient Fathers, have been suspected of corruption, or of not being altogether genuine, and that too, by *' many of the wisest and best of men in different ages of the world" — (see Dr. Lardner on the Credibility of the Gospel Hist., vol. 2, p. 68) — we should be careful how we receive w^hat we find in them. And what we find not to accord with the Sacred Scriptures, we may feel ourselves justifiable in denouncing, as corruptions, from some more modern and unholy hand. With this understanding, we proceed to notice the quota- tions made from their writings, by Doctors Chapman and Cooke. And here we would remark, it is reasonable to suppose, that they have quoted what they believe to be the 80 QUOTATIONS most likely, of all that they could find, to support their favo- rite doctrines. Dr. Chapman, in p. 51, in the first place, quotes, what he says is from the writings of Ignatius, as follows: "To the Magnetians. I exhort you that you study to do all things in a divine concord ; your bishop presiding in the place of God ; your presbyters in the place of the Council of the Apostles ; and your deacons, most dear to me, being entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ." That this ancient servant of God should desire and ad- monish, that all things should be done in a divine concord, in the Church of Christ ; that the bishops, when present, should preside in their councils ; and that the deacons, as ministers of Christ, should be dear to his heart, we may readily believe. But who can believe that one of the ancient Fathers ever said, that bishops were to preside in the coun- cils of the Church, in the flace of God ! The thought is shocking to every piotis mind ; if not blasphemous in itself. Again : To the Trallians : " Continue inseparable from Jesus Christ our God, and from your bishop, and from the commands of the Apostles. He that is within the altar is pure ; but he that is without, that does anything without the bishop and presbyter and deacons, is not pure in his con- science. VVithout these, there is no Church. In like man- ner, let all reverence the deacons, as Jesus Christ; the bish- ops, as the Father, and the Presbyters, as the Sanhedrim of God, and College of the Apostles." By this quotation, it would appear, that Ignatius not only admonishes the professors of religion, to cleave to Christ, and obey constantly the commandments given them by the Apostles — which, indeed, every true Christian should, and must, do, in order to obtain eternal salvation ; and, conse- quently, might be expected to do, by one of the Fathers of the Church — but he is made to utter expressions, that FROM THE FATHERS 81 al-e, in themselves, at variance with every principle of piety set forth in the Scriptures of Tiuth. To place the deacons on a level with Christ, in receiving the reverence of the Church ; and the bishops on a level with the Holy and Eternal Father of all flesh, is more than can be believed to have proceeded from any man of sense and piety, much less from Ignatius, one of the ancient Fathers. Who could be- lieve, for a moment, that any one, not devoid of all rever- ence for the Holy Trinity, could dare to indulge such senti- ments ? much less to express them in such w^ords. And, in another quotation, by Dr. Cooke, Ignatius is made to say, in his address to the Ephesians ; '* It is there- fore evident, that we ought to look upon the bishop, even as we would do upon the Lord himself." The ofBce of a bishop is, truly, a highly responsible and dignified office ; and consequently a high degree of honor should be paid to one who holds it. But to say that a bishop should be reverenced or looked upon, as the Lord himself, is not only going farther than his sacred office requires, but much farther than we are warranted by the Holy Scriptures." Another quotation from Ignatius, by Dr. Cooke, p. 113, is in the following language: "Who can endure it, that a minister of tables and of widows, should proudly exalt him- self above those at whose prayers, the body and blood of Christ is made." Again': * Letpo man deceive himself j both the things which are in Heaven, and the glorious An- gels and Princes, whether visible or invisible, if they be- lieve not in the blood of Christ, it shall be to their condem- oation." And again: "They abstain from the Eucharist and from the public offices ; because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Let that Eucharist be looked upon as well established, which is either offered by the bishop, or by him to whom the bishop has given his consent." Appendix, pp. 21 and 22. 83 QUOTATIONS Here we have several very remarkable Ihin^g^s. First: By the prayers of a bishop, as v/e must understand it, the body and blood of Christ are made, Secondly ; That some, in that day, abstained from the Eucharist, because they did not confess it to be the flesh of our Saviour, Jesus Christ; although it was offered by a bishop ! How plain it is, that this was said by some one of much more recent date than the days of the Fathers ; for here we have set forth, without the least disguise, the Popish doctrine of transubstantiation : a doctrine that is as un- scriptural as it is absurd. The rest of the absurdities we may pass by, because they have no apparent connection with the subject in hand. We must, however, notice one of the Doctor's quotations^ although it seems to be as much out of place as any other. In appendix, p, 24, he quotes from the epistle of Polycarp, as follows : " If any man can remain in a virgin state, to the honor of the flesh of Christ, let him remain without boasting." What this has to do with, or how this is to prove, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, no one can see; unless the assertion of the unscriptural doctrine of the cel° ibacy of the clergy, as held by the Church of Rome, can do it ; for here this doctrine is as plainly taught, as it can pos- sibly be, in so many words. In the history of the martyrdom of Ignatius, which is also found in Dr. Cook's Essay, it is said : " Thus was he delivered to the cruel beasts, that so the desire of the holy martyr, Ignatius, might be accomplished, namely, that he might not be burdensome to any of the brethren, by the gathering of his relics, &c. For only the greater and harder of his holy bones remained'; which we carried to Antioch, and there put up in a napkin ! as an inestimable treasure left to the Church, by the grace which was in the martyr !'* ** And being, the night following, watching, with tears, in the house, praying to God, with our bended knees, that ht FROM THE FATHERS 83 would give us weak men, some assurance of what had been before done, it happened, that failing into a slumber, some of us on a sudden, saw the blessed Ignatius standing by us, and embracing us ; others beheld the blessed martyr praying for us : others, as it were dropping with sweat, as if he were just come from his great labor, and standing by the Lord: whics, when we saw, being filled with joy, and com- paring the visions of our dreams with one another, we glo- rified God ; and being assured of the blessedness of the saint, we have made known to you ,both the day and the time ! that being assembled together according to the time of his martyrdom, we may communicate with the combat- ant, and most valiant martyr of Christ." Here we have a long extract from the writings attributed to the ancient Fathers, for the purpose of proving the doc- trine of Apostolic Succession. But how it is, that the mar- tyrdom of Ignatius, the gathering up of his harder, and holy bones ; placing them in a napkin ; and taking them to An- tioch ; the poor, weak, men praying to him, after his death ; and he laboring and praying for them, &c., has any relation to the subject, we cannot possibly conceive. The truth of the whole matter is, as plain as any thing can be, that this doctrine of hard and holy bones, full of grace, preserved as a great treasure to the Church, or the doctrine of relics, the adoration of saints, &c. &c., was fabricated, in the darkest ages of Popery, for the purpose of promoting the dark su- perstition and abominable avarice of the Roman Catholic Church ; and never was so much as heard of, in the days of the ancient Fathers. And, as though Dr. Cooke intended to place this truth beyond any possible doubt or contradiction, in p. 67 he quotes the following language : " The epistle of Ignatius, which your son brought out of Italy, pure from all those things which the learned have hitherto suspected in the larger epistles." Hence we see, that the epistle of Ig- natius, that is relied upon so much, in support of the doc- 84 QUOTATIONS trine of Apostolic Succession, according to its own showing, 45ame from Italy, the very seat of Popish error and super- stition. We therefore conclude, that it is a spurious work, composed by some arch deceiver, and consequently has no claim whatever, to the authority that is claimed for it. Now it is reasonable to suppose, that these portions of the writings attributed to the ancient Fathers, which are most likely to favor, and support the designs of those who contend for the doctrine of Apostolic succession, have been brought into view by them ; and if so it must be very ap- parent, they give no countenance whatever, to any such thing. Indeed, we can but be astonished, that any man professing the holy religion of Christ, with the blessed Bible in his hand, and claiming to be a Protestant, could for any purpose whatever, give the least sanction to the above quotations ; which more abundantly favor the blind bigotry and corruption, of the iMother of Harlots, than any thing else. But granting, that the ancient Fathers did mention the existence of Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, in their day; which seems to be all that can be proven by the above quo- tations, — and this much could be proved from their genu- ine writings — What does that prove in relation to the sub- ject in hand? Most assuredly, nothing at all. For the ques- tion is not, Whether the church was oiiginally organized with officers bearing these peculiar titles ? but. Whether Bishops were distinct from Presbyters,and held from their pe- culiar order, the supreme rule in the church, and the sole power to ordain and set apart men for the holy ministry ? That they had not ; and that they were one in order, and authority, with the Presbyters; we think we can clearly prove by the most authentic testimony. And, first ; Dr. Bangs, in his work on Episcopacy pp, 33, 34, says ; *' Those who are acquainted with the history FROM THE FATHERS 85 of the church, well know that the Presbyters, of the church of Alexandria were in the habit of ordaining their Bishops; whenever a vacancy happened, by death or otherwise. For the truth of this we have the testimony of Archbishop Ush- er, of St. Jerome, and of Eutychicus, a Patriarch of Alex- andria. The reason, it is presumed, why this practice was kept in the church of Alexandria, is, that those Presbyters preferred the simple mode of primitive ordination, to that more pompous method which had obtained in some other branches of the church ; after the liberty of the Presbyters was restricted, by investing that authority in the hands of superior ministers." Again. Stillingfleet says ; " The same distinction may- be observed, under the gospel, in reference to the fixed offi- cers of the church ; for we may consider them in their first state, and period, as the Presbyters did rule"^ the church in common, as Jeiome tells us. Before the jurisdiction of Presbyters was restrained, by mutual consent, the Presby- ters enjoyed the same liberty, that the Presbyters among the Jews did, of ordaining other Presbyters, by that power they were invested in, or with, at their ordination. In the first primitive church, the Presbyters all acted in common. It being likewise fully acknowledged by the schoolmen, that Bishops, are not superior above Presbyters, as to the power of order. The clearest evidence of this is in the church of Alexandria, of which Jerome speaks. To which we may add what Eutychicus the Patriarch of Alexandria, saith in his Original Ecclesia Alexandrina, (or Annals of the Church of Alexandria,) published in Arabic,, by the most learned Seldon, who expressly affirms, that the twelve Presbyters, constituted by Mark, upon the vacancy of the See, did choose out of their number, one to be head over the rest ; and the other eleven, did lay their hands upon him, and bless him, and made him Patriarch." 86 QUOTATIONS Here we notice, that we have Archbishop Usher, and Stillingfleet, two eminent divines of the church of England; with Jerome and Eutychicus two of the ancient Fathers, all testifying, that Presbyters, by virtue of their ordination, were invested with power to ordain; and consequently were equal in authority with Bishops. And farther ; that they not only did possess that power, but it was their prac- tice to exercise it, on all proper occasions ; and finally, that they continued to do so, until they, by mutual consent, agreed to choose from among themselves, one, to have spe- cial rule over them; and even then, it was their habit to or- dain him themselves. All of which, shows most conclu- sively, the original state of things, in the church of Christ. In the life of Whitgift p. 292. we find the following tes- timony on the same subject: "It has been observed, that our first reformers admitted only two orders of Church offi- cers, to be of divine appointment, viz : Bishops, and Dea- cons; a Presbyter, and Bishop, according to them, being two names for the same office. But Dr. Bancroft the Arch- bishop's Chaplain, in a sermon at Paul's Cross, January 12th 1588, maintained, that the Bishops of England were a distinct order from Priests, and had superiority over them, "jure divino" and directly from God. This was new, and strange doctrine to the Churchmen of these times. It had always been said, that the superiority of the order of Bish- ops, above Presbyters, had been a politic human appoint- ment, for the more orderly government of the church : be- gun about the third, or fourth century ; but Brancroft was of the first, who by the Archbishop's directions, advanced it into ^divine right.'* Here we have in the first place, an assurance that the first reformers, up to the year 1588 uniformly held, that there were but two orders in the church of God, by divine appointment. And secondly. When in the third or fourth FROM THE FATHERS 87 century, it was agreed that Bishops should have the supreme rule, it was a politic human' invention ; consequently, leaving out of the question, the original divine authority. And thirdly, the doctrine of the divine right of the order of Bishops, was introduced for the first time, by the Archbish- op's direction, at a late period of the sixteenth century. To bring this kind of testimony to a close, we will make a few more quotations, which stand in close connection with the former, and are well calculated to confirm them. It is said, " Sir Frances Knolleys, who had this affair at heart, told the Archbishop, that Bancroft's assertions were contrary to the command of Christ, who condemned all superiority among the Apostles. The same gentleman, not relying upon his own judgment, wrote to the learned Dr. Reynolds of Oxford for his opinion of Bancroft's doc- trine, which he gave him, in a letter now before me. The letter is to this effect ; •' As for the general consent of the church, which the Dr. says, condemned Aerius' opinion for heresy, what proof does he bring for it? It appears, he says, in Epiphanius ; but I say it does not. And the con- trary appears by St. Jerome, and sundry others who lived about the same time. I grant that St. Austin, in his Book of Heresies, ascribes this to Aerius for one ; that he said there ought to be no difference between a Priest, and a Bishop; because this was to condemn the church's order,and to make a schism therein. But it is a quite different thing to say that, by the Word of God there is a difference be- tween them, and to say that it is by the order and custom of the church ; which is all St. Austin maintains. When Harding, the Papist, alleged there were witnesses to prove the opinion of Bishops, and Priests, beiiig of the same or- der, to be heresy; our learned Bishop Jewell cited to the contrary, Chrysostom, Jerome, Ambrose, and St. Austin kimself ; and concluded his answer with these words; *AJI m. # 88 QUOTATIONS these, and other more holy Fathers, together with the Apos- tle Paul, for thus saying, by Dr. Harding's advice, must be held for heretics. Michael Medina, a man of great ac- count in the Council of Trent, adds to the forementioned testimonies, Theodorus,Premacious, Sedulius,Theophilact, with whom agree Occumenius ; the Gieek Scholiast An- selem. Archbishop of Canterbury, Gregory and Grotian ; besides all that have laboured in reforming the Church for five hundred years, have taught that all pastors, be they entitled Bishop or Priest, have equal authority by God's Word, as first the Waldenses, next Marsilius Patavius, then Wicklief and his scholars, afterwards Hussee and the Hus- sites, and last Luther, Calvin, Brentius, BuUinger and Musculus. Among ourselves, we have Bishops, the Queen's Professors of Divinity in the Universities, and other learn- ed men consenting herein, as Bradford, Lambert, Jewell, Pilkerton, Humphries, Fulke, &c. But what do I speak of particular persons? It is the common judgment of the Reformed Churches of Helvetia, Savoy, France, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Low Countries, and our own.' I hope he (Bancroft) will acknowledge that he was overseen, when he avouched the superiority which Igishops have among us, over the clergy, to be God's own ordinance." " As for the Doctor's saying that St. Jerome, and Calvin from him, confessed that Bishops have had the same supe- riority ever since the time of St. Mark, the Evangelist, I think him mistaken; because neither Jerome says it, nor does Calvin seem to confess it on his report ; for Bishops, among us, may do sundry other things, besides ordaining and laying on of hands, which inferior ministers or Priests may not ; whereas St. Jerome says, what does a Bishop ex- cept ordination, which a Priest does not? meaning that in his time, Bishops had only that power above PriestS"; FROM THE FATHERS 89 which Chrysostom also witnesses in Homily xi.on 1st Tim- othy. IN or had they this privilege alone in all places; for in the council of Carthage it is said, that the Priests laid their hands, together with the Bishops, on those who were ordained. And at St. Jerome's having proved by scripture that in the Apostles' time, Bishops and Priests were all one ; yet granting, that afterwards. Bishops had that pecu- liar to themselves somewhere but nothing else ; so that St. Jerome does not say, concerning the superiority in ques- tion, that Bishops have had it ever since St. Mark's time." "Nor does Calvin confess it. He says, that in old time ministers chose one out of their own company in every city, to whom they gave the title of Bishop ; yet the Bishop was not above them in honor and dignity. But as Consuls in the Senate propose matters, ask their opinions, direct others by giving advice; by admonishing and so guide the whole action, and by their authority, see that performed, which was agreed on by common consent, the same charge had the Bishops in the assembly of ministers; and having showed from St. Jerome, that this was brought in by consent of men, he adds, that it was an ancient order of the church even from St. Mark ; from whence it is appar- ent, that the order of the church, he mentions, has relation to that above described, in which he affirms, that the Bish- op, was not so above the rest in honor as to have rule over them. It follows therefore, that Calvin does not so much as seem to confess of St. Jerome's report, that ever since St. Mark's time, Bishops have had a ruling superiority over the clergy." See Neal's Hist. &c. p p. 4S1. 2, 3. In addition to the foregoing letter of Dr. Reynolds, see the testimony given by Cranmer and others. — " Cranmer expressed his opinion formally in writing, that Bishops and Priests, were one and no two things, but both one office in the beginning of Christ's religion." "The Bishop of St, 12 90 QUOTATIONS Davids, my Lord elect of Westminster, Dr. Cox, and Dr. Redman say, that at the beginning they were all one." Burnett's Append, pp. 223, 4, 5. " Thirteen Bishops, with a great number of other Eccle- siastics, subscribed this proposition, that in the New Tes- tament there is no mention made of any degrees, or dis- tinctions, in Older; but only of Deacons, or ministers, and of Priests or Bishops." Burnett ut supra p. 324. *•' Cranmer says, in the New Testament he that is ap- pointed Bishop or Priest, needeth not the consecration by the scriptures, for election or appointment thereto is suffi- cient ; Latimer and Hooper maintain the identity of Bish- ops and Presbyters by divine institution." Voetie Polit. Eccles. Tom. ii. p. 837. '* The Fathers of the reformation were very far from en- tertaining such ridiculous and illiberal sentiments. Knox's call to the ministry was never questioned, but his services readily accepted when he afterwards went to England. Archbishop Cranmer in the reign of Edward vi., and all the Bishops in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign corres- ponded with, and cheerfully owned, the foreign divines as brethren and fellow laborers in the ministry of the gospel. In the year 1582,Archbishop Grindel, by a formal deed, de- clared the validity of the orders of Mr. John Morrison, who had been ordained by the Synod of Lothian, according to the laudable form and rite of the Reformed Church of Scotland." See Stipes' Life of Grindel, Append. Book ii. Numb. 17 p. lOL From the foregoing testimony, it is evident that the succession contended for, in modern times, is utterly void, and without so much as a shadow of foundation ; so for as it depends upon the opinions, and judgment of an- cient divines concerning the original, divine right of Bish- ops to rule the church of Christ, in preference to Presby- FROM THE FATHERS 91 ters. For when, in the sixteenth century, the doctrine of the superiority of Bishops to Presbyters, by divine appoint- ment, was first asserted, it was considered new, and strange, and consequently excited strong contention in that church, and caused a mighty host of witnesses to come forward and declare, that it was contrary, not only to the uniform views of the church, but especially to the plain declarations of Christ himself. It is conceded freely, that the Church mi^ht have, ac- cording to her own Ecclesiastial policy, for her own conve- nience and safety, if she thought it necessary, Bishops, possessing in themselves, in virtue of their office, superior powers over Presbyters and Deacons. All this might be well enough in itself; and cause but little controversy among divines. But when, in addition to this, divine right is claimed for the supremacy of Bishops, nothing less than an appeal to the sacred scriptures, can settle the question. It is not sufficient to say, that this, or that great man, or synod, or assembly of the most learned divines, has so decided. It must be found in the sacred volume, "thus saith the Lord." But, according to many of the wisest and best of divines — as well in, as out of, the Church of England, in the days of the reformation, and down to the present day — Stillingfleet, and Archbishop Cranmer among them — nothing of the kind can be found; and we venture to say, never will 'be found ; for the con- trary doctrine is taught therein as plainly as it possibly can be. This, then, in itself, settles the question as to any succession of Bishops, as a superior order in the Church, according to divine appointment. And what is more remarkable, no man ever did, or can, set forth any direct line of succession of Bishops, even accoiding to hu- man appointment. 92 CRANMER and LATIMEK CHAPTER VIII. Archbishop Cranmer and Bishop Latimer never were Catholic Bishops^ as asserted by Dr. Chapman. Destruction, by Queen Mary, of the Reformation. Her death. The object of Dr. Chapman, in striving to invalidate the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and to place her among the " spurious churches of recent invention," appears to be plainly this ; that he may the better exalt his own "beloved Zion ;" and, if possible, show, that she is the only true Protestant Church, and that her minis- try is the only truly authorized ministry, as they alone in this country, stand, in his estimation, in the regular line of Apostolic succession. Yet, after examining his Book of Sermons, I find no proof of the right of his church to Apostolic succession. It is true, he roundly asserts, that "Cranmer, Latimer, and others, were Bishops in the Roman Catholic Church ;" and in this way, and through this muddy channel, claims the succession, But he does not attempt, in any way, to prove his assertions ; which, of course, is essentially ne- cessary, in order to establish his claim. And, why did he not do this ? The answer is plain ; because he could not. For — as surprising as it may seem — the truth is, that Cranmer and Lalimer never were Catholic Bishops ; Dr. Chapman's round assertion to the contrary notwith- standing. Having taken for granted that Cranmer and Latimer were Catholic Bishops — the very thing that, above all oth- ers, should have been proved — he proceeds to argue, that their "change to the protestant faith, did not vacate NOT CATHOLIC BISHOPi 93 their Episcopal rank ;" as though the whole matter in dispute depended upon this, which, no one of common of common understanding, under the influence of sound gospel principles, would think, for a moment, of calling in question. The great question is, Were Cranmer, Lat- imer, and others, to whom he refers, Roman Catholic Bishops ? and did they, as such, transfer their episcopal authority to others, so that those men, who consecrated Matthew Parker, in Elizabeth's reign, were enabled to per- form that solemn act, in virtue of their Catholic consecra- tion ? If so, then the Protestant Episcopal Church, may have some shadow of claim to Apostolic succession ; pro- vided such succession can be derived, through the Catholic Church. But, if, on the contrary, it can be proved, that Cranmer and Latimer were only Priests — and that this is true, see New Biog. Magazine, by G. W. Johnson, L.L.D. vol. 6th, pp. 406-468— then the Doctor's claim falls to the ground; and he and his church, are left in the same condition with the rest of the churches, of which he has spoken so lightly. Dr. Cooke, who wrote immediately after Dr. Chapman, although he was not a divine, and had turned his attention to the subject, but for a few weeks, seems to have arrived at a better understanding of the true origin of the present Church of England, than Dr. Chapman. Instead of going back to Cranmer, in the reign of Henry viii : he goes no farther, than to Matthew Parker, in the days of Queen Eli- zabeth; knowing, that all that had been done by Cranmer and others, in his day, had been destroyed^in the reign of Mary ; and hence it was proper, to commence with Mat- thew Parker, and Queen Elizabeth. But, notwithstanding the Dr. is right in this, and with his strong logical powers, must have discovered, that, to make out the succession, it was essentially necessary to 94 CRANMER AND LATIMER • prove, that the consecrators of Parker, had themselves, re- ceived Catholic consecration ; he makes no such attempt. But, taking for granted this, which forms the very gist of the argument, he states ; "It has been doubted whether, the ordination of Archbishop Parker, through whom all the Bishops, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of England, derived their ordination, was perfectly canonical ; be- cause, the persons who ordained him, had been deprived of their Bishoprics, and expelled the country, by the Popish party, on the accession of Mary to the crown of England." See Cooke's Essay p. 20?. The Dr. as a good reasoner, must know, that, the first thing, he ought to have done, was to have stated the doubt of the validity of Parker's or- dination ; and then to have produced sufficient testimony to expel that doubt. But this he does not so much as at- tempt to do; but — as a well trained Jesuit would do, al- though he is not one — makes use of the most perfect soph- istry, to cover his retreat. Who, but one, who wished to cavil, w^ould think for a moment, of disputing the authority of Parker's consecra- tors, simply because they had been driven from their church, and country, into a state of exile ? Such a circumstance could never invalidate their Episcopal authority, in the es- timation of any honest, and sound divine ; and conse- quently, all the Doctor's grave argument on this subject, together with his illustration in the case of Pates, and oth- ers, goes for nothing. Again. He seems, unwillingly, to confess too much, for the good of his own cause, when he admits that Parker was consecrated by some of the men, who had been driven from their Sees, in Mary's reign ; and that it had been doubted, whether Parker's ordination, was strictly canon- ical. This is of vital importance, in this controversy. For here , NOT CATHOLIC BISHOPS 95 we hs-YQ first, the acknowledged consecrators of Matthew Parker; and secondly, that their authority had been doubted ; and that, too, no doubt, on very different grounds, from those given by Dr. Cooke. For we promise to show, that if ever they were ordained at all, it was neither by Catholic Bish- ops, nor by any one who had derived authority from them. To do this, we shall produce testimony from Protestants and Catholics, from Kings, Queens, and Parliaments ; sources of the first and highest respectability. For this purpose, and at the same time to ascertain the claim that the Protestant Episcopal Church has to Apostolic Succession, it will be necessary, in the first place, to exam- ine the source from which the first ministers received their consecration. Her first Bishop, received his Episcopal authority from the Church of England, in 1787. She was organized as a Church, in this country, by a convention held for that pur- pose, in 1789; two years after the consecration of her first Bishop, and five years after the organization of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. As, therefore, the Church of En- gland is the foundation on which she depends for uninter- rupted succession, to her we we will now direct our atten- tion. The Church of England took its name, but not its pres- ent establishment, in the leign of Henry VIII, King of En- gland, about the year 1533. See Mosheim's Church Hist.^ vol. 3, p. 78. The circumstances which led to this, are briefly as follows : The King, desiring to be divorced from his wife, Catharine, of Arragon — with whom be had lived 17 years, and who had 'borne him five children — that he might marry Anne Boleyn, applied to the Pope for a di- vorce. But, on his delaying or refusing to grant his request, the King, ofTended at his movement, renounced his autho- rity, and assumed to himself the title and authority of Su- 96 CRANMER AND LATIMER preme Head on Earth of the Church of England ; and he was soon after confirmed in his new dignity, by an Act of Parliament. Having thus concentrated in himself, all ec. clesiastical, as well as civil jurisdiction, he proceeded to nominate Thomas Cranmer, who was a Priest, and a favor- ite, to the See of Canterbury; who, in accordance with the King's nomination, was consecrated Archbishop, by the Bishop of Lincoln, Exeter, and St. Asaph, March lOth, 1533. See Chalmer's Gen. Bio. Die, pp. 463-4. But, al- though Cranmer's consecration was performed by Catholic Bishops, we shall show — as this is the channel through which the succession is claimed — that there were in it se- veral important defects, which rendered it not only illegal, but, to all intents and purposes, null and void. First. According to the established rule, and usage of the Catholic Church, he should have been nominated by Dean, and Chapter. But he was nominated, as we have seen, by the King. Second. It is said his nomination never received the confirmation of the Pope, which was necessary, to give hiin power of jurisdiction ; so that, while he possessed the power of order, he did not possess legal jurisdiction. " The objection of the Roman Catholics, to the legality of our Re- former's (viz., Cranmer's) vocation, was, that although he had received the power of order, he wanted that of jurisdic- tion , these two being distinct, according to the Common Law." See Nic. Burns' Dispu., &;c., p. 128. This testi- mony being true, he could not legally proceed to exercise the functions of his office. Third. It is well known that Cranmer did disclaim all authority from the See of Rome, soon after he commenced the Reformation ; and, in the exercise of his episcopal functions, claimed to act, solely under the authority, of his Prince. He constantly held and proclaimed the doctrine,. NOT CATHOLIC BISHOPS » 97 that the appointment of a Prince, was sufficient to consti- tute Bishops and Priests, without any consecration what- ever ; which, in all probability, would not have been the case, if he had considered his consecration, by the Catholic Bishops, valid, according to Catholic usages. Fourth. The conduct of Henry and Cranmer, in renoun- cing the ecclesiastical authority of the Church of Rome, and taking steps to form an independent Church, were so oifensive to the Pope, that, after some delay, and striving to bring them to repentance, without effect, he proceeded to excommunicate them, together with the whole nation to which they belonged. Matters stood in this posture until Queen Mary came to the throne, and restored the Papal au- thority. See INeal's Hist. P.; vol. 1. pp. 25, 71. This cir- cumstance alone, is sufficient to satisfy the honest inquirer after truth, that Cranmer could not have acted as Bishop, un- der Catholic authority. For, suppose every thing else had been right, in this ordination — which we do not grant — this would have destroyed the whole. Buck, in his Theological Dictionary, p. 148, says : ** Ex- communication is founded upon a natural right, which all societies have, of excluding out of their body, such as vio- late the laws thereof : audit was originally instituted, for preserving the purity of the Church. In the ancient Church the power of excommunication was lodged in the hands of the Clergy, who distinguished it into the greater and less." And it may be observed, that excommunication is not only founded on natural right, and usage of the primitive Church, but also in a Divine right ; for God, in his Word, has com- manded, that the unholy and incorrigible sinner, should be ci^t off from among his people. See John, 9 c. 22 v. ; 1st Cbrinthians, 5 c. 5 v., 26 c. 22 v. And this is the reason that the Church is justifiable in such an awful transaction. It must be kept in mind, that we are not pleading in favor 13 9d CRANMER AND LATIMER df the usages or conduct of the Catholic Church ; for we can but, in all honesty and candor, hold her, with all her blood and pollution, as the Mother of Harlots ; with whom we have no disposition to make any compromise. Neither do we intend to say any thing against the great and good re- former, Bishop Cranmer, or any thing that he did, which was calculated to reform the horrid abuses, and to correct the errors of the Church of Rome; for we believe he did many things worthy of all acceptation. But we intend to say, that the Roman Catholic Church, had her rules and regulations ; or, in other words, her legal, ecclesiastical, ju- risdiction, which she exercised over all her members ; and when any one of them transgressed against her authority, she had a right to excommunicate them. And when they were thus excluded from her communion, they could no longer -claim union with her, or benefit from her institu- tions ; according to the best understanding of natural and Divine right, and the uniform custom of every branch of the Church. This must be granted by all parties. And hence, it is evident, when she proceeded, on her acknowl- edged principles, to excommunicate Henry and Cranmer, with all the newly erected Church of England, they could not claim to act, in any wise, under or by virtue of, her authority. Suppose, for arguments sake, a bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church were tooifend against her, and she were to proceed according to her acknowledged and established ccclesiastiain , and Abraham, when he offered up Isaac, his beloved son, and thereby ob' tained the exalted name of the father of the faithful and friend of God. It was this, too, that Moses, the meek man of God, exercised, when he " refused to be called the son 182 THE TRUE CHURCH of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt; for he had respect to the recompense of the reward." Isaac and Jacob, Daniel, when in the lion's den, and the three Hebrew children, who, aft^r being cast into the burning fiery furnace, that was heated seven times hotter than it was wont, came out without so much as the smell of fire on their garments ; with many more of the Old and New Testament saints, "of whom the world was not worthy," and of whom it is not now necessary that we should ""particularly speak ; all exer- cised, lived, and died, in the triumphs of this living faith. That faith, that is of the operation of God, knows no diffi- culties or impossibilities with God ; that takes no denial, but humbly and perfectly relies upon him for the fulfilment of his every promise ; and, in all this, they did not, at any time, find themselves disappointed. For, while it sweetly works by love, it also purifies the heart, and thus prepares the soul for that world where faith shall be lost in sight, and "hope in full fruition die." This, indeed, is an essential feature in the true saint of God; as is evident from Divine Revelation, which has said the "just shall live by faith;'* and, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." ■ These are known, thirdly, by their love to God, his cause, his people, and all mankind. It was not so with them in former days, when, under the influence of the carnal mind, which is "enmity against God, not subject to his law, nei- ther indeed can be." Then they were carnal, and sold un- der sin, and consequently hated the ways of God. But now the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, by the Holy Ghost given unto them ; they are enabled to keep the first, great, commandment, which is, to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is not a feigned THE TRUE CHURCH 183 or an imaginary matter with them : for they feel and know, that they " love him, because he has first loved" them His cause is now dear to their hearts ; and nothing so much delights them, as to see the prosperity of the Redeemei's kingdom. Hence, their constant prayer is, " Loid levive thy work!" And while they keep the first, great, com- mandment, they are not unmindful of the new one, to "love one another;" and hence it is, they also sincerely love the people of God, because they are his people, no matter where they find them, or of what denomination they may be. With them they intend to live, and with therh they in- tend to die; and where they are buried, they intend to be buried also. Their gracious Saviour, immediately before his sufferings upon the cross, as they well know, said unto his disciples. " A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another ; as I have loved you, so love ye one another." This commandment, newly introduced, in this form, into the family of Christ, implies a peculiar family- feeling or affection ; and can only be felt and exercised, by the members of his mystical body. This holy command- ment is so extensive in its bearing, that it is to extend to the lowest service ; even, if necessary, to the washing of each other's feet, to every member and branch of the fam- ily ; and has no less boundary than his love to his people. Indeed, this is given as a distinguishing mark, by which the true Church is known; for Christ immediately added : "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." And while they joyfully keep these precious commandments, they find they not only have fellowship one with another, but also with the " Father, and the Son." The Holy Bible, private, family, and public^ prayer, all the means of grace, and ordinances of God's house, all, all, are their constant delight. Tfiey cheerfully deny themselves of all ungodliness and worldly lusts, take up 184 THE TRUE CHURCH their cross daily, and follow their Lord and Master through evil as well as good report. Hence, in keeping ihe new, as well as the old, connnandment, ihey not only let their light shine lo all around them, and thereby show to the' world that there is a reality in the religion of Jesus Christ;- and thus glorify God, in their bodies and spirits, which are his ; but they are enabled to add to their faith virtue, know- ledge, temperance, and every Christian grace essential ta their perfection in the divine life. As the humble and de- vout children of God, while they love God supremely, and^ in keeping the new commandment, indulge towaids the people of God a special brotherly love or family feeling, that they can entertain for no other; they are not unmindful of the great commandment towards all mankind. They know God hath said, *'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." In that charity, or love, thatthinketh no evil, thathopeth all things and endureth all things, they embrace .all mankind, even their bitterest enemies. And hence, they dare not say or do any thing by which (heir neighbor can be injured. They dare not indulge in whispering, back- biting, or slandering, any more than in taking vengeanecr by using violence against their neighbors. They remember God hath said, "vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." And, as they dare not injure their neighbor, in per- son, character, or property, neither can they neglect to feed ihe hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those that are in prison, or to do good to all men, with the ability God hath given them. Their charity prompts them to this, They know, moreover, that it is the best expression or proof they can give of their Christian faith and love ; and that the Divine Master will, in the day of eternity, when he shall congregate all worlds before him, and sit in judgment upon all men: make this the test of their true discipleship ; or of Ihe divinity and genuineness of their faith in, and love to, THE TRUE CHURCH 185 him. In the presence of angels and men he will then say : *' Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- pared for you, from the foundation of the world. I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink, I was a stranger and ye took me in ; naked and ye clothed me." And when the righteous, in their humil- ity, shall answer and say, " Lord, when saw we thee an hun- gered, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did minister unto thee ?" Then shall the King answer and say unto them: "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my breth- ren, ye have done it unto me;" "enter thou into the joys of thy Lord." And here it is to be observed, that the Saviour would thus set forth the striking and interesting truth, that he intends, in the day of God Almighty, when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, and each one receive ac- cording as his works have been, to make the expressions of our brotherly love, and christian charity, not only the princi- pal test of the sincerity, and genuineness of our faith in and love to him; but also, the ground on which he will award to the faithful, the kingdom of heaven. Let it not be supposed, that they will be esteemed by him, as meritorious, but as proof of improvement made, on the grace that was given them; and thus graciously and faithfully to fulfil his own promise, "Unto every one that hath" — that is by improvement — "shall be given,and he shall have abundance." How careful then should every christian be, to be found continually, in the work of faith and labour of love, and thus to lay up a good foundation against the time to come. The faithfulness of his Lord he cannot doubt ; for in so far as he has tried him, he has found him true to his word. And hence, he knows from the experience of divine grace and mercy, he has not fol- lowed a cunningly devised fable, but a true and gracious 24 186 THE TRUE CHURCH Redeemer. How encouraging then aie all his precious promises made to us, that we may not only be delivered from all the corruptions that are in the world through lust ; but that "we may be made the happy partakers of the di- vine nature;" here, and thus, qualified for the enjoyment of the inheritance that it is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for all the faithful. Indeed, the heart leaps for joy, while it knows assuredly that it is true, as it is written, "Faithful is he who hath called you ; who also will do it." Hence, fourthly, the true disciples of Christ are known, by their, " good hope through grace." We know there is a bad or false hope; such as the hope of the hypocrite which shall perish: and the hope of the woi Idling, that ma- keth ashamed, because of its false foundation. But the hope of the Christain has its foundation in the abundant mercy of God; that mercy and loving kindness exhibited, in the gift, life, sufferings and death, of his only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour. In his blood, and sweat, his agony, in the garden of Gethsemane, and on Calvary ; we have the greatest expression, of divine compassion and love, towards guilty man, that could have been possibly given. And as we have received, from the God of all grace and consolation, unmerited and unsought, in the midst of our difficulties and guilt, and consequently deserving noth- ing but banishment from God, and the glory of his power ; the greatest gift that heaven could bestow, in which we find included a provision, and offer of free and full pardon, present, full, and eternal salvation, to all mankind ; the chief of sinners not excepted. The true christian therefore . cannot doubt, for a moment, the fulfilment of all God's gra- cious promises ; and at once fixes his blessed hope on the solid foundation of the mercy and goodness of God, in Christ Jesus, — which is to him as a place of broad waters, or as an ocean without bottom or shore. THE TRUE CHURCH 187 This, the christian's hope, is distinguished secondly, by- its being a "lively" or a living "hope." It is properly so called, because it originated with, and may be said to be a part of, that spiritual life, received by faith in the soul, when first adopted into the family of Christ. Previous to this, it was dead in trespasses and sins ; but now, it has a new life unto righteousness. And the spirit of God bears witness to this gracious state, by imparting peace, joy, and lave, with a lively hope, which is as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast. And never can this glorious hope be entertained or enjoyed, by any but the living christian;' hence, it is properly called a lively hope. Again. This hope, is propeily called a lively hope, be- cause it makes the soul where it resides, joyful, lively and happy. — It is true, some men have supposed, that in order to be christians, we must be always gloomy, austere, and bowed down in our spirits, so as hardly to wear a cheerful smile ; or that it was necessary to retire from human socie- ty into some wilderness, or hermit's cell. But nothing can be more contrary to the genius of the holy religion of C hrist, that inspires a well grounded hope of immortality. True it is, that we dare not, as christians, indulge trifling, or lev- ity, or "jesting, which is not convenient." Yet, who can be so happy as the true christian ? whose heart is buoyant with the living hope. His joy is that of the Holy Ghost; and it is his privilege to rejoice ever moie, as well pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks." And this must have been the view of the Apostle, when he said to his fellow christians, ** Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say rejoice." Again. The christian's hope is properly called a lively hope, because it depends for its continuance and growth, on the continuance and growth of the spiritual life in the soul. Should this be lost, by neglect of duty, or by falling 188 THE TRUE CHURCH iato temptation, as indeed, according to the scriptures, has been, and may be done again ; we are no longer properly speaking christians; for, "if we have not the spirit of Christ, we are none of his." Then, as our spiritual life dies, hope dies also ; and doubt, if not despair, takes its place. But on the other hand, when we continue devoted and faithful to God, we continue to flourish in the divine life; and as we grow in years, we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Peace, joy and love, and this glorious hope, with every other chris- tian grace, and virtue, are perfected ; and we are thereby fitted for the full fruition of God, or the enjoyment of eter- nal life. The true Christians — who alone compose the true Church of Christ in every age — are distinguished fifthly, by their zeal for God; not that blind, fiery, or bigoted spirit, falsely called zeal, that has been cherished by too many (in every age of the world) calling themselves Christians, that can lie and slander, whisper and backbite — and all, pretendedly, for Christ's sake — or that can institute bloody inquisitions, the very ante-chamber of hell, and call them holy ; by which they can only mean, in truth, that they are wholly devoted to the prince of darkness, who was a liar and mur- derer from the beginning ; or that can send out crusades, to torment, rob and butcher, innocent and pious men and women with their unoffending children, by thousands, in cold blood and in the most horrid manner ; and all, pretendedly, for the promotion of Christianity ! or that fiery, bold, and bigoted, spirit, that, in these latter days, leads many professing godli- ness, to boast, and banter to unhallowed conflict, in the holy pulpit, their fellow Christians ; which is only calcula, ted to stir up strife, and produce every evil word and work. Neither is it that intolerant spirit of bigotry, that can de- nounce and anathematize — or, as far as possible, can un- THE TRUE CHURCH 189 church — all that do not believe, or bow down to, its partic. ular dogmas ! Happily for us, this spirit of intolerance is held in proper bounds, by the inimitable constitution, and good laws, of this happy republic. For, were it let loose, to exercise its own pretended supremacy, how soon would we see the bloody deeds of the more than horrid Inquisition acted over again. But we may thank God, that it is not so ; and that we are at liberty to worship Him according to our own conscience. And, as the children of our honored fathers, who fought and bled for religious as well as civil liberty, we intend, by the grace and help of the Christian's God, to keep it so. But, to hear the boasts of such digni- taries as are influenced by this spirit of bigotry, while Ihey would bring all men to pay them reverence and tithes, one, without a little examination, would be ready to conclude that these are the men, and wisdom must die with them. Would to God ! we could say in truth, that this unwhole- some spirit would die with them ; for every thing of this kind, is altogether apart from that true Christian zeal which characterizes the humble and true disciples of the holy Re- deemer. Their zeal is tempered with love ; and while it is true, that it leads them earnestly to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints ; they do so neither bitterly, nor re- vengefully. It prompts them to stand up for the truth, with christian meekness, and humble boldness, in the midst of the greatest trials to which they may be exposed, and to count not their lives dear, so they 'may win Christ.' This holy zeal, enables the children of God, to endure hard- ness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ ; and faithfully to do and sacrifice whatever may be necessary for the glory of God, the prosperity and speed of the Great Redeemer's Kingdom, and also the good and well-being of their fellow- men. It is true, they may have, through education or l90 THE TRUE CHURCH otherwise, a special attachment to some one branch of the' church, more than any of the rest. They may prefer her doctrines, discipline, and usages, to those of any other in their knowledge. But, at the same time, they feel not only a tolerant spirit towards all others, but a sincere christian love, and fellowship towards all men, who by their life and conversation, show that they are the true followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Christians are their brothers and sisters, no matter what their condition, or where they are found; and they are not ashamed to call them brethren^- no matter to what branch of the church they belong. Hence, under the influence of their well tempered zeal, they are anxiously engaged for the well being and prosper- ity, of the whole church. And, in reference to such as are out of the pale of the church, and consequently nrake no claim to Christianity, while they love some more than oth- ers, because of their kind, and amiable conduct, yet they hate none, but desire, and ardently pray for, the salvation of all ; their bitterest enemies not excepted. For, indeed and in truth, they love all men for Christ's sake ; and their worst wish for any man is, that God may make him parta- ker of like precious faith with themselves. Their zeal then, is not that contracted, bigoted, or fiery zeal, that would trample down the rights and privileges of other men ; — as we too frequently find it in the pale of the visible church so called — but it is an enlightened and enlarged, and loving principle, embracing in its efforts the good of all mankind, and the glory of God. And thus it is that the true children of God, in their humility, faith, love, and zeal, evidently stand forth, as the light of the world, and " salt of the earth." They are one body, actuated and enlivened by one spirit, (the spirit of Christ;) and they have but one head, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is the "high Priest over the house of God forever." These and these alone. THE TRUE CHURCH 191 truiy, and scripturally speaking, wherever found, in any and every age of the world, or in any and every branch of the church, compose the true church of the living and true God. And it is over and in the midst of this church, the good shepherd and Bishop of souls, resides; and he alone has the right to guide, govern, and judge it, as he has pur- chased it with his own blood. 192 FALSE MINISTRY, &« CHAPTER XIV. False Ministers. True call and qualification for the Ministry, The Church of Christ has its true ministry, as well as its true membership ; and this, in the next place, we intend to notice. There have ever been false teachers, who have thrust them- selves into the holy calling of the ministry, for a piece of bread : men-made, or self-made, ministers, who have always fleeced, but never fed, the flock of Christ ; as there were» formerly, false prophets and false Christs, deceiving and being deceived; and the Saviour has told us, "by their fruits they shall be known." These have ever been a dis- grace to religion, a clog and curse to the Church. These have done more to hinder the spread of the Redeemer's kingdom, and to destroy men's souls,than all the abandoned and profligate among men could possibly do. Their vile hypocrisy, their unhallowed lives, while they have borne the sacred name and mantle of the ministers of Christ, have caused many unwary souls to conclude there could be no reality in the religion taught in the blessed Bible ; that all was a cheat or a mere delusion ; and therefore they have neglected their soul's salvation until it was eternally too late. Who can tell the doom of such men, or the horror and depth of that curse that awaits them, and will assuredly be their portion, in that day when God shall call all men before Him in judgment? In vain may they then say, "Lord, have we not eaten, and drank, in*thy presence, and in thy name, done many wonderful works ? He will nev- ertheless say unto them, depart from me ye workers of in- iquity, I never knew you." In vain may such deceivers, FALSE MINISTRY, &c. 193 l)oast of their ministerial dignity, their mitred heads, and even their supposed Apostolic succession ; for their true character will be set forth, in the light of eternity, and shall be read plainly by angels and men. Their righteous judge who never can be bribed, will judge righteously ; and con- sequently, will drive them from his presence, with, " de- part ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." God hates iniquity, and cannot look up- on sin with the least degree of allowance; no matter where it may be found. And if it be so hateful in the profligate, and abandoned sinner, who never pretends even to a pro- fession of religion, how much more detestible must it be, when found in professors of Christianity ? and yet more es- pecially in such, as pretend to minister in holy things. These surely, must be eternally, the objects of his heaviest wrath and indignation. But while many false teachers have been found in every age of Christianity, and in almost every branch of the church, sent forth by the arch deceiver, to darken the coun- sel of God, and as far as possible, to prevent the salvation of men ; there have been, from the beginning, true and ho- ly men ; men called and sent of God, to labour in his vine- yard. These not only profess, but also truly possess the holy religion of the blessed Redeemer, in common with their fellow christians. They have sought, with broken and contrite hearts, the pardon of their sins ; and by faith, have been made happily acquainted with pardoning, bleed- ing mercy, in the salvation of their souls. The kingdom of God, which consists of righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost, is set up in their hearts; and Christ reigns within them the hope of glory. This happy experience of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the soul, is essentially necessary to the work of the ministry. No man can possibly, in truth, and with de- 25 194 FALSE MINISTRY, &« sired effect, teach the pure principles of the gospel of Christ without it. And hence, this pardoning mercy, this rich unmerited grace, that adopts us into the family of Christ, is a necessary pre-requisite to a divine call to the ministry; for Christ never calls to this holy vv^ork where it is not to be found. This may be found, hovirever, in many precious souls, who have not been designed by the great head of the church for his special work; and hence, while we have this grace, with the highest assurance of the divine favour as christians, we are not to conclude that nothing more is necessary to qualify us for the holy ministry. For, in addition to this, the Lord increases in the hearts of such as he would set apart for himself, or for his special work, his love which goes out after immortal souls, and becomes as a fire in their bones. He gives them to see the beauty of his gos- pel, and to taste and eat it themselves ; or he opens up their understanding, that they may understand the scrip- tures. And then it is impressed upon the mind, by the Holy Spirit; "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel!" It is true they hear, no voice with the outward ear ; but by such divine impressions made upon the mind, as they are not able in any wise to shake off, they become fully con- vinced of the will of their divine master; and thereby are made willing to forego all earthly good, and to undergo all labour, suifering, and reproach, for the gospel's sake ; or to count all things loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord. Their great ambition is, that they may make full proof of their ministry, and finish their course with joy. That this divine qualification is necessary, we may be fully persuaded, from the description given by St. Paul himself, of the essential characteristics of a true minister of Christ, He says : *'A Bishop, then, must be blameless, the FALSE MINISTRY, &c 195 husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach ; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient; not a brawler, not covetous ; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. * Moreover, he must have a good report of them that are without; lest he fall into, reproach and the snare of the devil."—! Timothy iii. 2—7. Although many portions of scripture might be brought into view, setting forth the same doctrine, and giving the same description of the necessary qualifications for the work of the ministry, or the peculiar traits of character that should be maintained by a minister of Christ ; it is not es- sential to our purpose that it should be done. — The above quotation is full, and of divine authority; and is intended for the whole ministry. In it we notice, first, that the minis- ter of the go'spel must be blameless ; and in following out the A-postle we find how very comprehensive is the mean- ing of this expression. It has reference to his whole life and conversation. Secondly, that he must not be a novice, or one who is unacquainted with the rudiments of religion; but one who has been well taught in the school of Christ, and conse-^ quently w^se and established in the things of God. For, without this, he is in danger of being lifted up with pride, and of falling into the condemnation of the devil. Litera- ture and science are good and necessary, to some extent, and especially in some cases ; but a man might have alt the learning in the world, and yet be a novice in divine 196 FALSE MINISTRY, &C. things, having never been taught in the school of Christ ; apd consequently unfit to teach the science of religion. Hence we may understand, it is not to any thing of this kind that the Apostle especially alludes ; if he alludes to it at alL Indeed, many of the apostles themselves, who were imme- diately called and sent of Christ, to preach the unsearcha- ble riches of his kingdom, were found by Him at their fish- ing nets, and had no pretensions to extensive learning. Nay, it was said of them that they were " unlearned men ;" yet, being taught the holy science of his ever blessed gos- pel, and called and sent to his holy work, they became wise master-builders in the house of God ; and pillars in His temple, to go out no more forever. The Apostle's meaning, therefore, is, that none should pretend to preach the gospel, who are novices in the school of Christ ; that it is necessary that all should be taught of God ; become wise, in the experience of his grace, and have their understanding opened up by Him who is the light of the world, so that they may understand the Scriptures ; and then tarry at Jerusalem until endowed with power from on high. We might, otherwise, go before we were sent ; and consequently never profit the people to whom we should preach. Literature, the arts, and sciences, are all good in themselves ; and, when properly used, are beneficial to mankind. And we could wish they were better studied and more generally and thoroughly understood, in our fair and heaven-favoured land. For it is true, the more we have of this kind of knowledge, if we do not let it puff us up, but use it as a hand-maid to the gospel ; the more abund- antly useful we may be in the work of the Lord. This is- evident, in the case of Wesley, and many others. What would they have done, had it not been for extensive learn- ing.? But, after all, a man may have all the wisdom that belongs to the world ; yet if he is destitute of that wisdom FALSE MINISTERS, &C. 197 that comes from above, that is " first pure, then gentle, easy to be entreated, fall of mercy and good fruits, without par- tiality, and without hypocrisy," he is but a novice, in the Apostle's estimation, and altogether unqualified to preach the gospel. Moreover, it is required of a minister of the gospel, that he should so conduct and govern his own family, that he may have his own children in subjection, with all giavity^ That this is an important item in this matter, may be seen from the fact, that the world looks for more from the chil- dren of religious parents, and especially of ministers, than from any others ; and, indeed, frequently look for more than they should, or have any reason to, expect. For, after all that parents can do, they cannot give their children reli- gion ; but they can, and it is their duty, to check their unruly passions, and so to teach them the fear of God as to have them in subjection. Indeed, unless we do this, we are— in the Apostle's estimation— not fit to govern the Church. Finally, by the grace of God, the minister of religion is expected so to conduct himself, at home and abroad, in the pulpit and out of the pulpit, in reference to the Church, his family, and the world, that he may avoid reproach, and have a good report, not only in the Church, but also amongst them that are without. And, whoever has considered this subject, has, no doubt seen how necessary all this is, in or- der that the gospel be not blamed; and that the ministers of the word of life not only be useful in turning many to righteousness, but that they show, indeed and in truth, that they belong to the true Apostolic Succession. But, after all, it may be inquired, When and where, could such ministers be found, as described by the apostle 1 see- ing so much corruption and sin has been found, not only among professors, but also among the ministers of religion. As humiliating as it may be, we are bound, in honesty, to 198 FALSE TEACHERS, &C, confess, that there have been, in every age, and in almost every branch of the Church — and especially in that one that would claim, to the exclusion of all the rest, to be the only true Church — men of corrupt minds, degraded by sensuality and worldly ambition, who have been found claiming the highest ministerial authority and dignity. These are truly wolves in sheeps' clothing, who scatter, tear, and slay, the flock of Christ ; but verily they have their reward. For although the wisest, and best of men, may be de- ceived, and thereby be induced to lay "holy hands on skulls that will not learn," and therefore connot teach; or on men who in their ignorance, and pride, make much ada about the pomp, and parade that they wish to throw around religion, in order to hide the licentiousness of their lives, and keep up their supposed dignity, thus disgracing them- selves, and their holy calling ; yet God is not deceived. He searcheth the heart, and seeth the end from the begin- ning ; and in that day, when he shall come in power and great glory, and call all his servants before him, to reckon with them, he will render to such their due. It is very remarkable, that in every age, and branch of the church, such as have had the least pretension to good- ness — which is an essential pre-requisite to the work of the holy ministry — have been the greatest advocates of the doc- trine of succession, and all the outward pomp and parade essential thereto. How notorious this has been, in the case of many of the Popes of Rome ! While they were living in open rebellion against God, and his holy laws ; pro- claiming their sins as Sodom, and their transgressions as Gomorrah; they were the most tenacious of their author- ity, and the most clamorous, about that outward show, that is so very peculiar to their own church. Instead of that in- ward and spiritual grace, that is the true ornament of the soul, they would have the world to believe, that the beauty FALSE MINISTRY &c 199 and glory of the church, consisted in holij water, splendid veshnents, a tripple crown, and holy hones ; with all the out- ward pomp, and splendor displayed by Papal Rome. And at the same time, to bring up the climax of their fearful folly, in the pride and vanity of their hearts, they claim to be no less than the vicegerents of C'hrist upon earth; and consequently that they possess the tremendous power, of opening and shutting the kingdom of heaven at their plea- sure. And why all this ? why this vast assumption of dig- nity and power, and pomp and show ? but for the base in- tention of lording it over God's heritage ; and thereby to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. And this pomp and show, and disgusting parade, has not only been conteaded for by the Pope of Rome; but has been recently brought up, and most earnestly, and vehemently claimed, by some of the would be succesors in the church of England. Some years ago a death blow, as it was thought, had been given by Luther and others, to the horrid abuses of Popery; and in the times of the Reformation, the fathers of the church did not so much as desire any authority from Pa, pacy, and would have thought themselves disgraced, by any connection with the Church of Rome ; as is very evident from the fact that they openly renounced her, with all her idolatry and superstition, and denounced her, as the most filthy, and abominable of all things. How strange is it then, that, after a lapse of a few years, some are found, in the English church leaning so much towards Popery, that they claim succession from it; and would, if possible, again establish, some of its most objectionable features. One would think that all the Protestant world would, in this enlightened day, be perfectly willing that Papal Rome should stand alone, in her own peculiar glory; that she should be welcome to all she could make out of her old and long-exploded doctrine of Succession; which she at 200 FALSE MINISTRY, &c first raised, as far as possible to prevent the spread of Pro- testantism. But alas ! this is not the case. In old Eng- land, there are men found, of late, who, by some means, have seen something so enchanting in the old mother church, that, if they cannot venture again to fall into her bosom, they appear to wish to get as near to her as possi- ble ; and, for this purpose, have raised the cry of Succes- sion ! Succession ! ! And why all this clamor about out- ward things? Would it be a breach of charity to say, it savours much of that spiritual darkness, that never can comprehend the true light of the gospel, or a deplorable want of that solid, inward, spiritual treasure, that none but Christ can give? But, had this dark spirit of error and superstition re- mained where it originated, we would have been much bet- ter satisfied, and would not have been at much pains about it. But it has followed us into this happy land, the asylum of our pilgrim fathers, who fled hither, hoping never again to be troubled with the evils they sought to shun, and of which the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, so surpri- singly contended for, forms such a conspicuous part. But, instead of this, to the amazement of many reflecting and en- lightened minds, the Protestant Episcopal Church, although her first Bishop, and many of her most enlightened and pious ministers, have denied, and still do deny, not only the ne- cessity, but also the truth, of any such doctrine, with all the corruptions of Popery which stands connected with it; has, through some of her ministers — and even through some of her Bishops — caught the spirit, on this side the broad waters; and has united with Popes, Pusey, and oth- ers, in the cry of Succession. They are, even now, trying to spread it throughout the length and breadth of the land, accompanied with the startling assertion, that, where there is no succession, there is no Church, no properly authorized TRUE MINISTRY, &C. 201 ministry, and no valid administration of the ordinances of God's house ! While, on the other hand, those ministers who are so happy as to be in her pale, and to minister at her holy altar, can, in their estimation, .by some strange and mysterious power, by the administration of baptism and the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper, forgive sins, cleanse and sanctify the soul, and thereby fully prepare it for Heaven. Indeed, how wonderful are the power and glory 0^ Succession, if we could only believe it ! And may we not soon, if it should prevail to any encouraging ex- tent, expect to hear of the need of auricular confession, holy water, and a little precious spittle from the priest's lips, to touch the ears and tongue, in the administration of baptism, in order to make it valid ? and that it is unnecessary, yea, al- together wrong, to give the wine to the common people, in the administration of the holy Sacrament ? But, in sober seriousness, may we not ask, Can these men be serious ? or can they possibly, with all the light of the Reformation, and increasing Rnowledge of this enlightened age, believe what they say? or, must we believe that men of as good op- portunities as they have enjoyed, are, nevertheless, so much under the influence of egotism, so blinded with bigotry, as to contend for doctrines and usages long since exploded by the fathers of the Reformation ? To say the least of it, does it not look like an attempt to be recognized, as the established church in these United States ? that they may the more certainly receive the fleece, and the more readily lord it over God's heritage. But we would in charity hope these things cannot be ; and that they are only mistaken, in their views of the whole matter. When we hear Popes and Cardinals, with the cunning Jesuits, claiming for themselves and Mother Church, this high authority and dignity, which is sought to be supported by preaching up the old ghost of Succession, and thereby to 26 202 TRUE MINISTRY, 4.C, stop, as far as possible, the progress of reformation, all ap pears to be right and consistent. For, by artifice and delu- sion, they are wont to attain their ends. But, when we see the ministers of the Church of England, wilh the records of the Reformation in their hands; and yet, more especially, the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country, in the nineteenth century, leaning so strongly to Popery as to claim the doctrine of Succession, with all its dogmas and concomitant evils ; or in other words, to claim — as Dr. Chapman and others would induce us to believe — that it is the only true Church of Christ, possessing the only prop- erly authorized ministry, who alone can, in a valid sense, administer the holy ordinances of the Gospel, is, to us, we must confess, strange, yea, passing strange ! Who but must know, that this branch of Protestants, has made such little progress — although nearly as old as the Methodist Episcopal Church in this country — that it is composed of a mere handful, scarcely known in many parts of our land ? In- deed, to remain of so exclusive a spirit, as to denounce all other branches of the Christian Church, and to stigmatize them as spurious, and only of the inventions of men, is at once to say, God has more abundantly favored falsehood than truth, or the Churches that are the mere inventions of man, than his own chosen and divinely established Church, For it is notorious that they have been, or at least many branches of them, abundantly more useful to the souls of men, and have much more increased in number, than the Protestant Episcopal Church. But we are free to confess after all, that the Protestant Episcopal Church, in her articles of faith, her homilies and many other things, is worthy of all acceptation ; and that she has many good and holy men who minister at her altar with many precious christians belonging to her commu- nion. And were she a little more industrious, and liberal TRUE MINISTRY, dec. 203 in sending out her labourers into the highways and hedges, and a little more zealous in the cause of truth; instead of expending all her energies in the support of her imaginary- exclusive claims; she would be abundantly more useful in the world than she is. But at the same time, we cannot in truth, award to her any supremacy, or ecclesiastical digni- ty, over the rest of her sister churches. Again. While Popes, and a few exalted spirits in Eng- land, and America, are thus contending in their self-form- ed dignity, for such exclusiveness, it is not so with the truly enlightened, and devout ministers of Christ, in any branch of the church; the Protestant Episcopal Church not except- ed. They have been truly taught of God, and consequent- ly, have become wise unto salvation ; and hence, they know too well to estimate the peace, and precious principles, that essentially belong to the religion of Christ, and are not easily carried away by every wind of doctrine. Their great aim has been and still is, not to preach themselves, but ♦' Christ and him crucified ;" to set forth, as essential to the existence of the church, and the salvation of men, the substance, and not. the shadow. They acknowledge Christ and Christ alone, as their head, and leader, their Lord and master ; and wherever he appoints, they go, not by con- straint, but of a willing mind, not for filthy lucre, but for Christ's sake; looking that they shall receive their reward, when the chief shepherd shall appear. Hence they are wil- ling to labour and suffer reproach, yea, they count not their lives dear, so they may win Christ, and finish with joy the work he has given them to do ; and finally, in common with the redeemed from the earih, receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away. And now, we hesitate not to say, let them be found where they may, they are the true, and proper successors in the gospel ministry ; for Christ has said "by their fruits ye shall know them." 204 TRUE Mlx^ISTRY, &c And how beautiful, and lovely, are the feet of them that bring upon their tongues, and publish glad tidings of great joy, and peace, amongst men ! How rich, and delicious, the fruit of their lips ! It is not the false and deceptions fruit of Sodom ; but the delightful fruit of the paradise of God. How many have sat under the shadow of the Al- mighty, through their means, while his fruit has been sweet to their taste. See, in the first place then, how this was exemplified in the true Apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When they were called by their divine mas-^ ter, they immediately left all to follow him, through evil as well as good report. It is true, there was among them a Peter, who denied his Lord and master, in the day of trial ; and a Judas who betrayed him. But Peter by hear-, ty repentance was restored ; and Judas in the agony of his guilty soul, hung himself, and went " to his own place." Yet the rest of them were faithful unto the death. This we. know, because after his death and resurrection, being enr dued with power from on high, by the descent of the Holy- Ghost on the day of Pentecost, they went forth in obedience to his command ; every where preaching the holy gospel, God bearing them witness, both with signs, and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the holy Ghost, according to his own will. How very different were Peter and his fellow Apostles in their circumstances, and outward appearance, to the Popes of Rome ! his, would be, but false successors. They had no large, and costly vestmxents, no mitre or tripple crow^n, no gold or silver; neither did they pretend to do any thing in their own name. All they did, was in the name of their great master ; and hence, it is plain, all they had and all they cared to have, was the virtue of the name, and authority of Jesus Christ. This indeed, was their chief or-r iiament and glory ; and by this, they were abundantly sup-e TRUE MINISTRY &c 205 cessful in establishing the truth of the gospel, throughout the whole of the then known world. By the holy and mys- terious power of his holy name, Emperors, and Kings trem- bled in their presence. Idolatry, and Judaism fell before them; and devils fled to their own native darkness, while the souls of men, by thousands and tens of thousands, were enlightened, disenthralled from sin; and brought home to God, and made the happy partakers of the riches of divine grace. Hence, it may be truly said, that these simple, plain and unadorned Apostles, had more glory than all to which. Popes or cardinals, with all their gold and silver, and pomp, and outward show, could ever attain. Indeed, could they have had all earth could give ; what would it have been, when compared with the glory that comes from God? The glory of being called by him, and counted worthy of having a place in his ministry, to have his spirit or presence continually with them ; and his promise to be with them unto the end of the world. Again. It is true, they were so poor in this world as to be compelled to say " silver, and gold, have we none ;" yet they not only had glory, but the riches that come from God. They had the yearl of great price, the riches of divine grace; that did not cost gold or silver, or any corruptible thing, but the precious heart's blood of the Son of God. The kingdom of God was within them, which consists of " right- eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," and conse- quently, Christ as King in his own kingdom, lived and reigned in them the hope of glory. And while they were thus rich in the knowledge and grace of God, they were heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Hence they were still richer, in prospect. They could look forward with pleasing anticipation, to the "inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadelh not away, reserved in heaven for them, and not for them only, but for all them also that love 206 TRl/E MINISTRY, &c his appearing." In view of this truUi, and in prospect of speedily entering into the possession and enjoyment of this inheritance, the Apostle to the gentiles wilh rapturous joy exclaimed ; *' I am now ready to be offered, the time of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight, I have fin- ished my course, I have kept the faith, henceforth theie is laid up for me, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but all them also that love his appearing." We have thus spoken of the apostles, because they, as wise master builders, stand at the head of the ministry of Christ, and are ensamples to the whole flock. And al- though none other could possess the peculiar order and authority of the apostles in the church ; yet we may emu- late their virtues, and as christians, and chiistian ministers, in a good degree be like them. We may be their true suc- cessors in that divine grace, that shall not only enable us to live happy here, in the service of God; but will qualify us like them, to preach his word with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven. And we rejoice to know, they have had, and still have, many successors in this respect. The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of his own church, or the '•High Piiest over the house of God forever;" and he has wisely and graciously, leserved in his own hand, the power to call and qualify ministers for his holy work. And hav- ing done this, he commandedhis Apostles, andthrough them his Church, generally, to pray the Lord of the Harvest, to send forth more labourers into his vineyard. This therefore, is our duty; and it is all in this respect that is required of us, and all that we can do. The ancient Fathers so called, gave ample proof, that the great head of the church, had not been unmindful of his people ; but in answer to prayer, had raised up men to suc- ceed the apostles in the holy ministry. By true piety, la- TRUE TEACHERS, &d. 207 bours, zeal and sufferings in the cause of Christ, they proved to the world, that they were not only the true dis- ciples of Christ, but that they were the truly called and sent of the Lord ; and consequently were in the true spirit- ual succession. And this is the kind of succession, that Christ, the Lord of the harvest, has kept up, and can alone keep up. And widely does it differ from that succession from hand to hand by fallible man, that has been lost al- most from the beginning, and never can be found. Nor if it could, would it be of any avail in the economy, and king- dom of Christ ; since he has never ordained any such thing, so as to make it necessary in the establishment, and per- petuation of his ministry and church. The following names may be mentioned, as they stand foremost among those who immediately followed the Apos- tles, in the ministry of the word, and government of the Church. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who served that Church thirty-seven years, and because of his faithfulness to the cause of Christ, suffered imprisonment, with many grievous torments, and finally was taken to Rome, by the order of the heathen Emperor, and there devoured by wild beasts. Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem ; who. after presi- ding over the Church for forty-five years, was crucified, for Christ's sake, when nearly one hundred and twenty years of age. Onesimus, Bishop of Ephesus, who was stoned to death at Rome. And Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna: who, after conducting the affairs of the Church, and serving her faithfully at least for seventy years, was dragged, by the fu- rious and infatuated populace, to the stake, and required to swear by the genius of Cassar. To this requisition, he is said to have returned the following spirited answer: " Four score and six years, have I served my Master, Christ, and he never did me any injury ; how, then, shall I now blaspheme , my King and Saviour ?" Thus, as a good soldier of Christ, 208 TRUE MINISTRY, &c he was faithful unto death, and received the crown of mar- tyrdom. But it is said, moreover, when he was cast into' the flames, they encircled his body like an arch, without touching him ; on -which the executioner was ordered to" pierce him with a sword : when so great a quantity of blood flowed out, that it quenched the flames; yet his body was ordered to be consumed on the pile. And thus, we might proceed to m'ention many more of the holy and devout men, Bishops, and other Ministers of the ever-blessed gospel, who lived in the second century, and gave the most une- quivocal proof, in life and in death, that they were the truly called and sent of the Lord ; and consequently the true suc- cessors, in the ministry of God's word. But it is not neces- saiy to our present purpose. However, in passing downjthe successive centuries, from the Apostles to this period of time, we shall find use, occasionally, for the names of a few more of the most prominent among the servants of the Church, for the purpose of showing that there is a true Suc- cession — easily to be pointed out — of men, who received this mysterious authority ; not, indeed, from the hands of Popes or Bishops, but immediately from the Great Head of the Church himself. Who but must believe this, of Origen. Cyprian and Methodious ? with many others who flourished in the third century. Of Eusebius, Pamphilus, Athana- sius, Basil the great, and Chiysostom? with many of their contemporaries, who lived and laboured in the fourth cen- tury. For, in looking over their history, we find they bore the true marks of the devoted disciples, and ministers of Christ, And although superstition, and the basest corruption soon commenced their dreadful reign, and continued to in. crease for successive centuries, so as to threaten the entire destruction of the pure and holy religion of Christ; yet, here and there, in each succeeding century, a bright star ap- TRUE MINISTRY &C 209 peared to illumine the horizon and direct the weary pilgrim to the fountain, opened in the house of David, for sin and uncleanness, and in which he might wash his soul fiom stains of deepest dye. These we might notice to some advantage; but as we are not writing a history of the church, we pass on to the twelfth century, when we find the Waldenses, and Albigenses , who, by their opposition to the superstitions, and corruptions of Popery; their pure doctrines drawn from the pure word of God, and their holy and devoted lives to the cause of theii great Redeemer, were brought to suffer the most horrid persecution from the hands of the old Mother of Hailots. These devoted people of God, had amongst them, not only the pious, self-denying and persevering Peter Waldens, but others, whose life, devo- tion and usefulness proved that they were sent of God to labour in his vineyard. And must not the same acknowledgment be made con- cerning Wickliffe, John Huss, and Jerome of Prague ? with many others in their day, whose godly sincerity, and holy zeal for the truth as it is in Christ, was apparent to all men; for they lived, laboured, suffered, and died as martyrs for gospel's sake. And what but the hand of the Almighty could have strengthened, and sustained Lulher in his tremendous con- flict, with the darkness and corruption that had spread far and wide as the mantle of death over the church in his day? He, although nothing more than an ordinary minister, as to human authority, by his enlightened zeal, and holy cour- age in the cause of truth, was enabled in a short time, to put down the influence of Popery and to establish the pure doctrines of the gospel in many of the German states and principalities. And what appears to be very remarkable in hiscase, is, although the wrath of Popes and their emissaries waxed hot against him, and caused their Bulls, and anathemas 27 210 TRUE MINISTRY, &C to burst forth with fiery persecution, he was graciously pre- served in the midst of all, and brought at last to a peace- ful and happy death. About the same time lived the gen- tle and pacific Malancthon, who greatly assisted Luther in his arduous work, by his sincere, firm, and persevering, de- votion to the cause of truth. Luther, the great reformer, in the hands of God, had not only Malancthon to stand by him, and cheer and encourage his heart ; but also Zuinglius in Switzerland; a man not in- ferior to himself in zeal and perseverance, and who ventur- ed to oppose, and rebuke, the errors of Popery, with all im- aginable boldness. This vigorous, and interpreted auxil- iary, who advanced with such daring and rapid steps to- wards the utter destruction of all the delusions of the church, of Rome, was the cause of great joy to Luther, and no doubt to every sincere lover of truth in that day. Moreover, Cal- vin of Nogen in Pickardy, who, by a diligent perusal of the holy scriptures, discovered the necessity of a thorough reformation ; commenced, and persevered in his holy la- bours, for the spread and victory of the gospel, amidst the most unrelenting and bloody persecution in which his own life was in danger. And he thus, not only greatly aided in carrying out and giving permanency to the reformation that had been so happily commenced, and gloriously advanced by Luther and his worthy coadjutors, but clearly evinced that God the blessed Redeemer and Great Head of the Church, had raised him up and sent him forth, also, to do battle in his name, against the abominations, and tyranny of Popery ; which had for their foundation the absurd notion of Apostolic Succession. And while the gospel of the grace of God was spreading and prevailing in Germany, Switzerland, and France, through the instrumentality of these men of God, the true successors of the Apostles, in spirit, word and doc- TRUE MINISTERS, &C. 211 trine ; Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, and John Knox with many others, of the same spirit, appeared 'in England and Scotland, against the abuses, and dark superstitions* of the church of Rome, and in favour of a thorough religious refor- mation. These holy rnen were never Catholic Bishops; Dr. Chapman's assertion concerning Cranmer and Latimer, to the contrary notwithstanding. But they despised and cast off, the old Mother odf Harlots with all her filth and abominations, and went so \i as to declare, that, in their estimation, no consecration was necessary to the office of a Bishop or Presbyter ; much less the ordination contended for by Papists. And shall any be found in this day, pos- sessing so much hardihood as to say that these bold and successful reformers were not the true ministers of Christ, because they were not in what they call Apostolic succes- sion ? although they laboured, and suffered reproach, and finally died as martyrs for the truth of the gospel. Surely nothing but that blind superstition and bigotry, that ever accompanies the false doctrine of the uninterrupted Apos- tolic succession could do so ! But this proud and hateful spirit, the root and foundation of all the abominations of Papal dominion, is capable of any thing but love and truth. It must be confessed that these holy men of God did much in their day, for the reformation and salvation of their fellow men ; that hundreds and thousands were brought, by their instrumentality, from the gross errors and blind superstitions of Popery, and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of the gospel of Christ. Yet the Church of God suffered a sad reverse, in the reign of bloody Queen Mary. She too well nigh succeeded in putting a s.top to the Reformation — by burning and butchering many of her most devout and faithful subjects, that were heartily enga- ged in the service of God, and the promotion of the Re- deemer's kingdom — and in establishing the Roman Catho- 212 TRUE MINISTRY. &C, lie Church, with all its abominations, in tile kingdom of Great Britain. And thus the true spirit of Succession was displaced, by the preparation of racks and gibbets, and chains, and faggots, for the destruction of God's most faithful children ! But a foundation had been laid, for the advancement of the pure truths of the Gospel, that could not be removed by the combined powers of earth and hell. Divine Provi- dence interfered, in speedily cutting down the bigoted and bloody Queen and her fierce and blood-thirsty abettors, and in raising up a friend to the Reformation, in placing Eliza- beth on the throne. In her day appeared many holy men ; men of God, raised up and sent out, and qualified, by the Great Head of the Church ; and who, although they had no claim to Succession, were successful in doing wonders in their Master's name. They were successful iA carrying out the Reformation, and in establishing the present Church of England. And, while her pure doctrines and discipline were strictly adhered to, she flourished as the corn, and grew as the vine. But, alas ! after all that God bad done for the Reformation, in raising up good and great men, and endowing them with wisdom and power from on high, to put down Popish tyranny, and to establish the pure princi- ples of the gospel of peace ; the clergy, because of the un. hallowed amalgamation of Church and State, were secured in their rich and over-grown salaries ; so that, like *' Jeshu. run," they " waxed fat, and kicked." Stiange as it may appear, they soon began to claim the doctrine of Succes- sion, which their fathers had despised and cast from them. And thus, they laid the foundation, in the pride and folly of their hearts, for all that darkness and corruption that pre- vailed in the Established Church of England; until God, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, raised up the Wesleys and their worthy friends and coadjutors, to commence a graciou? TRUE MINISTRY, &C 213 revival of religion, that is still spreading and prevailing to this day. When Mr. Wesley commenced his heaven-inspi- red career, such was the flood of iniquity that inundated all parts and classes of Great Britain, it appeared (hat few were left — especially in the Established Church — to stand up for Christ and His holy kingdom. It might be said truly, "the whole head was sick, and the whole heart was faint." For the clergy, who should have been ensamples to the flock, were among the most abandoned and profligate of the land ; and hence, gross darkness and sin spread, far and wide, through all classes of the community. And no wonder; for it is ever true, "like Priests, like People." But God, who is rich in mercy, and abundant in goodness and truth, sought to put a stop to such alarming iniquity, by saying, through the instruments he was pleased to raise up — of whom we shall more especially speak in the next chapter — " So far shalt thou go and no farther, and here shall thy pioud waves be staid." This is appaient from the fact, that such w^as the success attending the labors of Mr. Wesley and the preachers laboring with him, that it must be confessed the hand of God was in it; since none " could do such mighty works, except God be with him." 214 THE VVESLEYS, WHITFIELD. &C. CHAPTER XV. The Wesleys, Whitfield, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, &,c. It is said, in Moore's life of Mr. Wesley, that, " In No- vember, 1729, four young gentlemen of Oxfoid, Mr. John Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College; Mr. Charles Wesley, Student of Christ's Church ; Mr, Morgan, Commoner of Christ's Church ; and Mr. Kirkham, of Morton ('oUege, be-, gan to spend some evenings in a week, together, in reading, chiefly the Greek Testament. The next year, two or three of Mr. John \Vesley's pupils desired the liberty of meeting with them ; and afterwards one of Mr. Charles Wesley's pu- pils. It was in 1732, that Mr. Ingham, of Queen's Col- lege, and Mr. Broughton, of Exeter, were added to their number. To these, in April, were joined Mr. Clayton, of Brazen Nose, with two or three of his pupils. About the same time, Mr. James Harvey was permitted to meet with them, and afterwards Mr. Whitfield." " They kept stated times of fasting, received the Holy Sacrament every Sab- bath, visited the prisons and the sick ; they sought out and relieved the distressed, and instructed and admonished the ignorant. By these, and other peculiarities, attended by uncommon sobriety of deportment, they became very no- torious in the university, and acquired the name of Meth- odists. See Gregory's Church Hist., revised, &c. by M. Ruter, D. D., p. 566. We have made the above quotation, for the purpose of showing fiom what a small and apparently insignificant source, that branch of the Church called Methodist, took its rise. Four young men, with Mr J. Wesley at their head, seriously engaged in their religious duties — duties plainly THE WESLEYS, WHITFIELD. &.C. 215 taught in the word of God — designing nothing more than, as Christians, to get and do ail the good in iheir power; and were thereby enabled to kindle a flame of holy religion, that has spread far and wide through the different branches of the Church ; and continues to blaze brighter and brighter, and to rise higher and higher, to the present day. The fountain head of Methodism, although small in the number of men, was high in lileratqre and piety. In" deed, it evidently appears to have had none other for its principal fountain, than the Great Head of the Church, the Lord of Life and Glory. Hence, it is not to be wondered at, that its sweet, peaceful, and healing, waters soon began to spread, and continued to flow, until they have already, not only filled many of the vallies, but coveied the tops of the highest mountains. But this was not done without the strongest opposition that could be arrayed against it, from earth, and hell. For a considerable time the whole kingdom of Great Britain appeared to be in a rage against the devoted and industri- ous John VVesley, and his immediate followers ; simply be- cause, like their adorable master, they were going about doing good. The wicked, the abandoned and licentious clergy — not to say that all were such — could be w^ell toler. ated ; but these men that were turning the world right side up, were insulted, and frequently pelted with roiten eggs, dirt and stones, while surrounded by mobs of mad-men, clamoring for their tjood. But after all they out-lived their enemies. God, whose cause they were promoting by their suffering and labours, raised thern up hearty and strong friends ; and made even the wrath of men to praise him, and the remainder of their wiath He restrained; while iheir march has been onward and upward, and their motto " ho- liness unto the Lord." Mr. Wesley, attached as he was to the church of Eng- 216 TRUE MINISTRY, &C land, without the least design to raise up a separate body of christians, and intending only to do good in the bosom of the church to which he belonged, could not at fiiat brook the idea, of an unlettered man entering into the ministery. But the Lord who know belter what to do than he did, soon raised up such men; and so wonderfully qualified them to preach his holy religion, and so providentially thrust them out into his vineyard, and so clearly set his seal up- on them in owning and blessing their labours, to the salva- tion of precious souls, that he was convinced of his error, and was glad to hail them as fellow labourers, and helpers, in the vineyard of the Lord. Indeed it would appear, as though the Lord intended to bring about a state of things similar to that which existed in the days of the Apostles; to show that his ways, were not our ways and his thoughts not our thoughts. For, while he had in his field, by his own appointment the Wesleys, and Fletcher, with some more, highly gifted and learned men, answering to the few learn- ed Apostles, and ministers in that day, he had also many from the ordinary occupations of life, who had no preten- sions to learning; but being taught of God and having learn- ed religion in the- school of Christ, were well prepared to preach with success, the holy gospel of their great Redeem- er. And these answered to the fishermen, who had been called from their nets to ibllow Christ in his day; and fi- nally to sustain the high, and holy office of the Apostles. And thus, he has fulfilled his own w^ord, wherein it is said, that, " God halh chosen the foolish things of the earth to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despis- ed, hath God chose, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are. " And why did the Redeemer of men take this course ? why did he not confine himself in THE WESLEYS, WHITFIELD, &C. 217 carrying on his work, and establishing his church, to the wise and learned, to the rich and great of this world ? as he might have done. Because, he would not have our faith to stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God; that all might see, and acknowledge the hand of the Al- mighty in the salvation of men, and be constrained to give all the glory to God. Hundreds, and thousands, were soon raised up in Eng- land and Ireland, to bless, and praise God, for what, by way of derision, was called Methodism ; and while hun> dreds and thousands, have gone home to partake of their Master's joy, and are swelling the number of the happy re- deemed from the earth ; hundreds and thousands, are still left behind, who are pressing on with *' songs and everlast- ing joy upon their heads," while their numbers are daily in- creasing. It is truly amazing to see how they increased, as they pressed on to the mark, for the prize of their high calling, which is of God in Christ Jesus ! And while in this great and glorious revival of religion, under the name of Methodism, we find brought into the church many great and learned men, such as Fletcher, Coke, Benson, Clark and Watson, and many others, who stand as stars of the first magnitude in the spiritual Kingdom of Christ, and whose praise, as great and good, and useful men, is in all the churches; the great boast of Methodism is not this ; but, that it reaches the case of the poor outcast, the colliers in their subterranean retreats, and labours ; the Indians in their wigwams ; and even the poor Africans, wherever found and in whatever condition ; all, all the most mean, and degraded, even the chief of sinners, are taken out of their horrible pit, and dungeon of sin and iniquity, and made the happy partakers of the pardoning mercy of God, and thereby, made comfortable, respectable, and useful members of civil, as well as religious society. This, we 28 218 THE WESLEYS. WHITFIELD, &C say, is truly the glory of Methodism ; inasmuch as it proves to demonstration that it is what it should be ; that it sets forth religion according to the design of its original and true author; embracing in its arms of mercy, and godlike benevolence, the whole human family, in their fallen and degiaded condition, no matter where or how they may be found. And, nothing more is necessary, to establish this comfortable and heart cheering truth, than to recollect, that the'Lord Jesus Christ hath said, in the exercise of his infinite wisdom and divine goodness, ^*the poor have the gospel preached unto them." The glorious revival of religion, in which almost every branch of the Christian Church so happily participated and which spread so far and wide in the old world, could not be confined there. It soon took the wings of the morning, and like an angel of light and mercy, cross- ed the briny ocean, and found its w^ay to the wilds of America. Wesley,' Coke, Asbury and others, under the in- fluence of holy zeal, for the spread and victories of the Re. deemer's kingdom, took their lives in their hands, left their friends, homes, and native land; brooked the waves of the mighty deep, and came hither, to preach to their fellow men the unsearchable riches of Christ. At first they were few in number, and greatly hated, and persecuted. But God did not disdain the day of small things , for the cloud that first appeared as little as a man's hand, soon gave in- dications of abundance of rain. Truly the Lord was with them according to his promise, and gave them abundant success. Societies were raised up and established in dif erent parts of the country ; and such was the increase of the holy religion of the Saviour, that in a short time, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was organized with Dr. Coke and Mr. F. Asbury, as its first Bishops in America. And ifr I'HE WESLEYS, WHITFIELD, &C 2l9 ^inG6 that time, may it not be asked, "what has the Lord Wrought." A few thousands only, composed the body of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church in 1784. But this must be consid- ered a great number, considering the short time, that Meth- odism had been introduced upon the continent, and the per- secution it had to endure. Since that time it has increas- ed and spread, until it has filled the whole land, east, west, north, and south : so that w^e find it recorded that in 1832 there were more than a half a million ; and now in 1843 more than one million of precious souls belong to the fold of Christ denominated the Methodist Episcopal Church; one hundred and twenty thousand, one hundred and twenty three of whom, were added in the last year (1842.) And in addition to this, by the vast increase, in her various fields of missionary labours, among the Indians, bordering on the United States, in Oregon, in South America, in Africa, and the isles of the sea, thousands, and tens of thousands are raised up, to bless the God and Redeemer of men ; be- cause of the gracious efforts and influence of Methodism. And how many thousands that have lived happily, and died triumphantly, and are now swelling the sweet sound of salva- tion to God and the Lamb in the mansions of eternal bliss, who have been members of this branch of the Christian Church cannot be told, until the book shall be opened by him who shall sit upon the great white throne, wherein the names of the righteous shall be found, in letters lined with gold. And who have been the instruments, in the hands of God in doing this mighty work ? Surely not one proud spirit, that claimed for himself the doctrine of uninterrupted Apos- tolic succession; no not one. But here we find Coke, As- bury, Richard Whalcoat, M'Kendree, Roberts, George,Soul, Headings Emory, Andrew, Mofris, and Waugh, men of 220 THE WES LEYS, WHITFIELD, &,C God, who by the voice of the church, and providence of God have been called to fill the sacred office of Bishop ; which in the Methodist Episcopal church is not one of ease and emolument, but the most labourous, and self-denying of all others, And they have proved themselves worthy of the high trust reposed in them. And besides these, as min- isters, laboring and faithful ministers, we find Thomas Va- sey, Philip Embury, Strawbridge, William Waters, Nelson Reed, Phillip Bruce, Joseph Toy, Hamilton Jefferson, and a host of zealous. God-fearing men, whose names it would be too tedious to mention, who so lived and laboured, and suffer- ed in the propagation of the pure principles of the gospel of Christ, as to prove to the satisfaction of the most scru- pulous mind, that God the great head of the church, had sent them into his vineyard ; and that they were the true successors; not from hand to hand, by Papal Bishops, but, by the authority of him who is the great high priest, over the house of God forever. Mr. Wesley believed that upon the whole, the Episcopal form of Church Government was best ; and hence, when he was applied to by his children in this country, for direction, and assistance, he made choice of that form for them ; and sent Dr. Coke, duly authorized, by the imposition of his own hands — which was as good as the imposition of the hands of any Apostle — to establish in this happy land, the Methodist Episcopal church. And verily, subsequent events have proved that God was in it, and all was right. But the Methodists, in Europe or in America, as individ- uals or as a body, have no. fellowship whatever with the pretended notion of succession, as contended for by the Protestant Episcopal Church. They believe that Presbyters or Elders are the highest order of ministers in the Church of God ; and consequently have no superstitious notions or reverence for Bishops, as Bishops ; but are as ready to ac- PRESBYTERIANS, BAPTISTS, &C 221 knowledge other ministers, who claim a perfect equality in the ministers of God's word, as though the hands of the most holy and acceptable Bishops had been laid upon their heads. Hence, they view the Presbyterian Church — which makes no claim to succession, but rather despises it, and has not so much as the na7ne of Bishop---as one of the most excellent and useful branches of the Church of God. In Scotland, England, Ireland, and America, how many tens of thousands of humble and devout Christians, have been raised up in that branch of the Christian Church! In America alone, it was said, in 1832, they numbered, as communicants, more than two hundred thousand. And how many thousands, may we suppose, have been added to their number since ? And while they now number so many hundreds of thousands, that have, so far, witnessed a good confession, not only in their regular and established work in Europe, as well as in America ; many tnousands rise up to call them blessed, because of their efforts in their mission- ary fields of labor abroad, in distant countries. And shall all this be attributed to human invention? Shall this beloved branch of God's Zion be called spurious and schismatic, because it makes no claim to Apostolic Succession, and even sets aside the name of Bishop ; hav- ing nothing more than presbyterial ordination ? Surely not ; for she bears the marks of the true Church of Christ ; and must be acknowledged, by all unprejudiced minds, as worthy of all acceptation. Who but must admire her zeal, her indefatigable labours for the promotion and spread of gospel truth, and especially her able and efficient ministry ? without any Pope or Bishop at their head. These, indeed, are the men of God, and the true successors of the Apostles, in spirit and practice ; for the Great Head of the Church has owned them as such. Again : the Baptist Church, in all its varieties and shades 232 PRESBYTERIANS , BAPTISTS , &C of difference, is a large and highly respectable branch of the Christian Church ; numbering, in America alone, ac= cording to their own account, in 1832, more than three hundred and four thousand communicants. And, as God has been carrying on his work gloriously among them ever since, may we not suppose that tens of thousands have been added to them since that day ? She, too, has extended her arms of benevolence to the heathen world; and has many able and devoted ministers, laboring in distant lands, with great and glorious success. Besides these, how many dissenters, in England, and other places; with many smaller branches of the Christian Church, might be mentioned, in this country? They have been exceedingly useful in their day ; and are continually increasing in number and grace ; but, like the rest of their sister churches, they despise the blind doctrine of Apostolic ' Succession. And shall all these, with their numerous, able, and devoted ministers, be denounced as forming no part of the mystical body of Christ ? as forming no part of of the Church of God, having no truly authorized minis- ters, and none of the holy sacraments duly administered amongst them, after all ? because, forsooth, they are not in the pretended uninterrupted succession of the Apostles, as contended for by the Protestant Episcopal ( hurch ! And, moreover, while she claims for herself the benefit of this ideal succession, must all the rest bow down to her, and awajd to her, according to her claim, to be "the only true Church, or Bride of Christ," — as Dr. Chapman would ex- press it — having the only truly authorized ministry, who alone have the right to administer the holy ordinances of God's house ? If so, a strange, an unaccountable, fact, would appear, i. e., that human inventions had far tran- scended, in doing good among men, the design and inven- tion of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness. For, while all the PRESBYTERIANS. BAPTISTS, &C 223 rest of the different blanches of the Protestant Church, have so abundantly prospered in their efforts to do good ; while they abhor the lordly pretension of Apostolic Succession ; the Protestant Episcopal Church has done comparatively little, in this, or any other country. In 1832, she only num" bered, in these United States, about 700 congregations ; and she has not increased in proporiion to the rest of the churches, up to this day. However, by this we do not in- tend to say, that the Protestant Episcopal Church is not a respectable branch of the Church ; or that she has not been useful, to some extent. But we intend to say, that, if she is right in her claims for herself, and denunciations of oth- ers, it is strange, yea, passing strange, that God has conde- scended to bless and sanction, the plans and efforts of schismatics and fanatics, more abundantly than those of his own beloved Zion ; which truth must be read and known of all men. But, that the God of all grace has never dealt thus with his Church and people ; and that the lordly pretensions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, have been the cause of her want of equal prosperity with the rest of her sister- chiirches, is evident, when we look to the origin of, and effects that have ever been produced by, such pretensions. The Popes of Rome first set up the claim of being the Succes. sors of the Apostles, and especially of Peter. This claim, at first, was but little regarded ; but it was persisted in; and finally urged to the extent of asserting, that they were the vice-gerents of Christ upon earth ; because, as then pre- tended, they had received Divine authority through the Apos, ties ; who had been empowered, by the Lord Jesus Christ, to constitute ministers, by the imposition of their hands- and to transmit to them the keys of the kingdom of heaven; so that they could open and shut it at their own pleasure. la this false claim, they set themselves above the kings and 224 PRESBYTERIANS, BAPTISTS, &C. princes of the earth ; and succeeded to such an amazing extent, as to tread upon their necks, and make them kiss their toes ! It is on this ground, that the Church of Rome claims, in the pride and arrogance of her heart, infallibility ; to support which, she, as far as possible, prevents mankind from reading and becoming acquainted with the holy Scrip- tures ; well knowing that, wherever the human mind be- comes enlightened by the Divine Truth, the cheat is disco- vered, and her authority is immediately cast off. Hence, she dreads nothing so much as the effects of the blessed Bible society, in sending the scriptures, into every land. And this is the reason why but a little time since the Pope sent out his Bull, anathematizing and denouncing the Bi- ble society, and the spread of the holy scriptures. And here let me ask. Who, in his sober senses, can for a moment* sanction that dark spirit, or lordly pretension, that would strip us and our children forever, of the blessed word of God, which alone is sufficient to make us wise unto salva- tion? It is this high and false claim of succession, that has en- abled the Popes of Rome to grasp the civil as well as eccle- siastical ahthority, and with the rest of their clergy, to lord it over God's heritage, and turn the grace of God into las- civiousness ; while with all their pretended sanctity they were living, and revelling in licentiousness. Here indeed we find the foundation of all that tyranny that has been so long exercised over the church of God, to the destruction of millions of mankind, by sword and flame. Who can think of the blood and carnage, of which the church of Rome has been guilty — and especially the guilt that hangs upon her, for the destruction of the souls of men — and not feel his heart to sicken within him ? It is true, charity would fain throw her mantle over all this ; but it is writ- ten in lines of blood, on the broad pages of the world's CATHOLIC INFLUENCE, &C 225 history, and never can be hidden from our view, And who does not know, that, it is on this false ground^ that spiritual darkness has spread her wings over the whole of Papal Rome ? so that instead of the prevalence of the pure principles of the gospel, and the administration of the holy ordinances of God, she has her legends and rosaries* her saints and images. Hence, too, her absurd notions of Purgatory, that have enabled her to fill her coffers, by pray- ing for departed spirits ; and also her relics, and indulgen- cies, and the monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation, with many of the absurdities of heathenish worship; and all for the purpose of sustaining the lordly domination with which she has invested herself, on the false claim of Apostolic suc^ cession. But although these things have been, and still aie found to exist, in Papal Rome, one would suppose that they would be confined, v/ith all their deformity, to their na- tive soil. Yet this is not the case ; for we find that they have been transplanted into this country, where every ef- fort is made to subvert the truth, and to bring this great and prosperous republic under their own dark dominion. In the city of New York, they have had the hardihood to claim for their exclusive benefit a part of the common school funds ; in order to cut off, as far as possible, the children from the benefit of reading the holy sariptures. And re- cently in one of the states, not far from the borders of Can- ada, in the midst of this free republic, and protestant na* tion, they have dared publicly to burn the holy Bible ; thus offering the greatest insult that could have been offered to the religious public. And may we not receive it as a plain and open intimation, that if they can only get the power, they will burn us as well as our precious Bible ? Truly this is amazing; but it is a fair developement of that bold spir- it that claims succession. And now with all these glaring facts before our eyes, is it not truly surprising that Protes- 29 226 CATHOLIC INFLUENCE &C tants can be found so little on their guard ? Is it not strange that they look so little at things so plain in them- selves, that, he that runs may read. And stianger still, that they are so much disposed — under the influence of their Christian charity to make the best of every thing — as to send their children to Catholic schools, or seminaries of learning? v^here, notwithstanding all their fair pretensions, every se- cret insinuation in their power is used, to turn them in fa- vour of the Roman Catholic faith ; for the purpose of aug- menting iheir number and influence, and finally bringing the whole country under their baneful influence. Although they have not succeeded so far as they could have wished, yet they have done so to some extent ; and the parents of some children, have had to shed many tears over them, be- cause of their change to Catholic principles, and devotion to Catholic interest. Most certainly it is time for us to wake up to our real condition, and our inestimable privil- eges. The old enemy that has burned and butchered our fathers, and mothers, and destroyed our Bible, is here, and doing all in her power to ensnare and ruin our children. And unless we wish her to succeed, and accomplish ful- ly her designs, and thus turn God's fruitful heritage into a vast howling wilderness, we must be guarded at every point ; and especially in the education of our children. Rather than commit this to the Roman Catholics, it would be much better, and abundantly more safe for our children to be kept at home, under our own watchful care, even if they had not the opportunity of learning more than we could teach them ourselves; although at the Catholic insti- tutions of learning they might be taught free of all expense. The same insidious spirit that actuates the Papists in this country, is at work in Great Britain, and has already influ- enced the minds of some of the high dignitaries of the Church of England. Pusey, and others of the Oxford di- OXFORD DIVINES, &C 227 vines, have artfully laid hold on the doctrine of uninter- rupted Apostolic Succession, and are drawing as near as possible, to the Church of Rome. Indeed, it plainly ap- pears in the Oxford Tracts, that they have, in the onset, de- nounced the very name of Protestants, and rejected Cran- mer, Latimer, Ridley, Jewell, and others, as reformers, and placed them before the world as schismatics and heretics ; and consequently deny them the honor of the death of mar- tyrs ; while they would claim for themselves, and the Church of England, the name of Catholics ! They de- plore, and greatly lament over, the Reformation, that fi- nally separated England, in her ecclesiastical establish- ment, from the See of Rome. And, while they would preach up the doctrine of tran-substantiation, with other absurdities and errors of Papacy— to avoid and oppose which, in the days of the Reformation, many of the excel- lent of the earth suffered martyrdom — they urge, most vehemently and unblushingly, a speedy return and sub- mission to the old mother of abominations. These aie, no doubt, startling truths ; and need something more to support them than bare assertion. We, therefore, give the following testimony, found in the Methodist Quarterly Re- view, for April, 1842, p. 273 : "The Oxford divines now isolate themselves wholly, from the great Protestant family, and fearlessly class themselves with Papists, and other cor- rupt Christian communions. With them, the woid Pro- testant is synonomous with dissenters, and Catholic stands for the divinely authorized form of Christianity ; embracing the Roman communion, the Eastern Churches, and the En- glish Church ; (not as it is, exactly, but) as it ought to be." But this may not be deemed sufficient, to establish such grave matters, as we find it in a Methodist Quarterly Review — although it is as capable of truth as any other Review — and, therefore, we place before the reader, an ex- 228 OXFORD DIVINES, &C tract from th British Critic and Quarterly Theological Re- view, No. lix, July, 1841 ; and No. ix, October, 1841, Lon- don : " These three hundred years, we and Rome have been fighting about the question of precedence in the schism ; the while we, at least, have too much lost sight of the mel- ancholy and startling fact, that we are divided. An evil, however, surely, at any rate, it is ; a most grievous penalty upon sin somewhere ; upon the corruption which provoked, or the sacrilege v\rhich assailed, or both together. — We talk of the blessings of emancipation from the Papal yoke, and use other phrases of a like bold and undutiful tenor. Whe- ther this true freedom, this freedom consistent with the most unquestioning obedience, where obedience is due; has come to us with the reformation, we will not here discuss. Of course, we believe that it has not ; and that, free though we may still be in theory, vi^e have yet practically lost by the change, even in point of freedom.— But a yoke, especially a spiritual yoke, is, of itself, no necessary evil. We trust, of course, that active and visible union with the See of Rome, is not of the essence of a church : at the same time, we are deeply conscious that, in lacking it, far from asserting a right, we forego a privilege." British Critic, July No., pp. 2, 3. How deep the groans and lamentations of the Tractarians are, for the separation from the Church of Rome! And how earnestly do they express their desire to return to her bo- som; apparently forgetting, altogether, her anti-christian thirst for blood, and the fact, that all they possess of learn- ing and respectability, they owe to the reformation. For, if the old Mother had them in her embrace, they would have been rocked to sleep in ignorance and carnal security; and would, in all probability, have been nothing more, in OXFORD DIVINES, &C 229 the world or Church, than hewers of wood and drawers of water. Oh, ungrateful children ! But, to define their position still better and to show that we are right, in the statement we have made, we quote as follows: "The very ^?7Zes of Bishop Jewell's works, are enough to frighten the reader who is in search of edifica- tion. We have an Apology, and a Defence of an Apology , a Challenge, and a Vindication of a Challenge ; a Preface; in answer to a Detection of foul Errors ; a Protest against a Keturn of Untruth. And even works of a more prorai sing exterior, such as Sermons and Commentaries, are of a no less inflammatory substance. It was once observed, in the pages of this Review, concerning certain writers, that whatever they touch, turns, in their hands, to evidence. Certainly it may be said of Bishop Jewell, that, whatever he touches turns to controversy. His works are like nouns defective in all cases but the accusative." British Critic, July No., p. 3. The reader wil keep in mind that Bishop Jewell was one of our bold and able reformers ; who did much in his day, in the pulpit and by writing, to put down the abominations of Popery, and to establish the kingdom of Christ, in Great Britain. But, as though enough had not been said in op- position to him, and the holy work in which he had been engaged, we find it is said: "As to the reformers, I think worse and worse of them. Jewell was, what you would, in these days, call an irreverent disputer. His Defence of his Apology, disgusted me more than almost any work I have read." British Critic, July No., p. 33. This speaks plainly for itself, and needs no comment. But again, it is said : '• Well, what we say is, that, to call the earlier reformers^ martyrs, is to beg the question ; which, of course, Protes- tants do not consider a question ; but which no one, pre- tending to the name of Catholic, can for a moment think 230 OXFORD DIVINES, &C of conceding to them, viz: whether that for which these persons suffered, were the truth. "British Critic, July No., p. 14. And here we have, from these Catholics, full- blooded Catholics, in the bosom of the Church of England, a full denunciation of the reformers, and the glorious refor- mation ; that Cranmer and others did not suffer for the truth, but for a lie, and consequently were heretics and schismatics. This conclusion is inevitable. But once more we must give a quotation from Bishop Jewell on succession, and the answer thereto. He says, "This is M. Harding's holy succession. Though faith fall, yet succession must hold. But St. Paul saith, faith cometh (not by succession, but) by hearing ; and hearing cometh (not by legacy or inheritance from Bishop to Bishop, but) by the word of God." D. of A. p, 139. 2. Concerning the sacraments, he says in the Apology; We allow the sacraments, that is to say, certain holy signs and ceremonies, which Christ would have us use, that by them he might set before men's eyes, the mysteries of our salvation, and might more strongly confirm faith &c., and might seal his grace in our hearts. And these sacraments together withTertullian, Origen, Ambrose, (and a long cat alogue of Fathers) we do call figures, signs, marks, badges prints, copies, forms, seals, similitudes, patterns, represen tations, remembrances, and memories." D. of A. p. 205 British Critic, July, No. p. 39. Here we have the expressions and sentiments of a true and able reformer, concerning succession and all its con- comitant evils; all of which goes to confirm the truth that the reformers did not hold -to, but did despise, the false doctrine of succession. But now hear the answer of our modern Puseyite Cath- olics, while they pretend to be of the Church of England. V Not a word, in this fluent enumeration, of the direct con- OXFORD DIVINES, &C 231 veyance of divine grace by the sacrament. Not a hint at the mysterious virtue, the transforming, invigorating efficacy which the natural elements acquire through the act of con- secration, and of which they are the appointed media to the soul; no hindrance of unbelief or sin being interposed. Again, observe what Archbishop Whateley callsthe fallacy of reference, and what may be called also, the fallacy of suppression. Doubtless, all these fathers say that the sa- craments are significant and commemorative. But do they not also say, that they are operative, in every unresist- ing subject, of certain mysterious effects ? British Critic July, No. p. 39. Is it not remarkable that there is not one word in answer to Bishop Jewell's views of succession ? although he so positively denies the truth, or necessity of it. But con- cerning the holy sacrament, it is added; "This word, sacrament, signifies sometimes a holy thing, spmetimes the sign of a holy thing, instituted by God. As it is taken for a sign only, so it is found generally, not only in the new law, but also in the old law. But in the old law these signs, after a peculiar and special manner^be called sa- craments, which do not only signify, aholy thing,butalso do sanctify and make holy those to whom they are adhibited; being such as by institution of Christ containing grace in them, and power to sanctify." *'Yet we mean that they (sacramental signs) contain grace, and power to sanctify, after such manner of speaking as we say of potions and drinks prepared for sick persons that they contain health, to the working whereof they be ef- fectual. And as it is said of the sacraments , that they con- tain grace, so is it likewise said, that through their virtue, which they have by God's institution, they do not only sig- nify, (as by these defenders' doctrine that seemeth to be their special office) but also with signification work and cause, 232 OXFORD DIVINES, &C as an instrumental cause, the effect of that which they sig- nify/' '• What then ? will it follow, that because our sacraments do show that Christ is already come, therefore our sacra- ments give no grace ? He that eateth Christ's flesh, show* eth his death, saith St. Paul; and he that eateth my flesh, saith Christ, hath life everlasting. Mark, how our having life goeth together with our showing of Christ's death. You divide these matters, and make Christ's sacraments only to be shows." We next have Bishop Jewell's answer; ''You have mis- called St. Paul, M. Harding: these are not his words: look better to your books, and see your error. If I had some part of your eloquence, I could cry out, as you do, Falsifiers and Corrupters of God's Word. St. Paul saith not, he that eateth Christ's flesh, showeth his death. You deal untruly. Thus he saith ; '' As often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup, you shall show forth the Lord's death.'' The bread of the Sacrament is one thing. M. Harding, and the flesh of Christ is another. The bread en- tereth only into the bodily mouth ; Christ's flesh entereth into the soul. Without eating that bread of the Sacrament, we may be saved ; without eating Christ's flesh, we can never be saved. St. Augustin saith precisely : '* Qui non sumit carnem Cristi non habet vitam, et qui eam sumit habet vitam et eam utique eternam : he that receiveth not the flesh of Christ, hath not life : and he that receiveth the same hath life, and that forever. Again he saith the sacra- ment is received of some unto life, of some unto destruc- tion ; but the thing itself (that is the flesh of Christ) where- of the sacrament (or bread) is a sacrament, is received of all men unto life, and of no man unto destruction, whoso- ever shall be a partaker of it." pp. 205, 208, 209. Again he saith, " Let us see in what sense the holy OXFORD DIVINES, &C 233 Catholic fathers have expounded these words of Christ, This is my body. First Tertullian saith thus ; Christus, ac- ceptum panem, et distributum discipulis corpus suum, il- ium fecit dicendo ; hoc est corpus meum, hoc est figura cor- poris mei: Christ taking the bread and dividing it to his disciples made it his body, saying, this is my body, this is to say, this a figure of my body. St. Augustin saith, our Lord doubted not to say, this is my body, when he gave a token of his body. The thing that signifieth, is commonly called by the name of that thing that is signified. There- fore is it, that St. Paul saith : the Rock was Chist. For he saith not, the rock signified Christ (but the rock was Christ) as if the rock had been Christ indeed, whereas touching the substance it was not so; but so it was by sig- nification." Defence p. 428. Thus we find the Catholics, in the days of the reforma. tion, contended that, in the administration of the Lord's supper, the bread and wine were literally changed, by the mysterious power of consecration, into the natural body of Christ ; and thus, that any Bishop, or Priest, could make his body. The ministers of the reformation denied such absurd and unscriptural notions ; and contend according to' God's holy word, that after consecration, as well as before, the bread was bread, and wine was wine ; and that they were only intended to be used as signs or symbols, of his blessed body and blood. Again. The Catholics contended that in some mysterious way, the holy sacrament imparted grace, and had power in itself to sanctify the soul ; thus, placing the virtue in the sign, instead of the thing signified. And thus we find through the whole of their views of religion, runs the same destructive error: fixing on, and holding to, their form of religion, while in reality they denied the power. But this we find was also opposed by our worthy refoimers ; while 30 234 OXFORD DIVINES, &C they insisted we were to look to Christ by faith; to eat hiS' flesh aad,^ drink his blood by faith; and thus, partaking spiritually, of the merits of his death, we should live by him. And it will be kept in mind, that the Oxford divines have taken up, and hold to the -Catholic side , qjad, to their everlasting disgrace, denounced the reformers who suffered so much to''put down the new found, and destructive errors: of Popery, as founded on their presumed divine authority from the Apostles. We say "new found," because they were not so much as heard of, for hundreds of years, after the Apostles had entered into the rest of their Lord; as has been fully established by Bishop Jewel and others, in the* days of the reformation. But lest it might be supposed, that the reviewer with the rest of his tractarian brethren, did not wish after all, to go- back to Popery, but simply to reform, in their way, the church of England, to which they pretend to belong; we think it necessary to make the following quotation. ** There cannot, however, be a doubt, that, serious as all the impediments in the way of our speedy return, as a na- tion to the old paths, (that is to the abomination of Rome] these impediments would be multiplied a hundred fold, were the church of England to be considered as in any de- gree pledged, to the private opinions, or individual acts, of her so called reformers. One does not see how, in ibat case, persons, who feel with Mr. Frond's editors, that the lines respectively of Catholic antiquity, and of the English refor- mation [except so far as the genius of the latter has been overruled by influence extrinsic to the opinions and wish- es of its promoters) are not only diverging, but opposed.** British Critic July, No. p. 28. ^ Again the reviewer proceeds. " Quite lately a third party has sprung up, of persons who have the boldness to admit the substantial accuracy, OXFORD DIVINES, &C ' 235 of the view which we have just now supposed, of the Eng- lish reformation and reformers ; but who consider, never- theless, that such a view is perfectly compatable with the strenuous maintenance of chaiacteristically Catholic doc- trine, and even with a dutiful attachment to our own branch of the church. This paity may be repiesented in the preface to the second part of Mr. Frond's Remains. " One advantage, among others, of such a view, if it will hut hold, strikes us as being that of its tendency to remove points of disunion, as well as to clear the ground of discus- sion, with very opposite parties; the Catholics of another communion, on the one hand, and the dissenters and advo- cates of Protestantism, on the other. One, among many, subjects of contention between members of the Anglican Church, and those exterior to it on both sides, or those who, though within it, incline, in sentiment, to bodies without it, has undoubtedly been that of the opinions of the English reformers. The Anglicans have ever been jealous 8f the reputation of their divines; and have accordingly resented the accounts given of them, from two opposite sides, with all the keenness of persons attacked in their tenderest point. JNow, here is a view, (whether tenable or not, J which would enable us to allow all that Protestants can de- sire on the one hand, and Roman Catholics on the other, concerningthe peculiar character of the reformers' opinions; and he must, indeed, be a lover of controversy for its own sake, who does not turn with pleasure, in the midst of an arduous and unpromising struggle, to the prospect of a ref- uge at once so fleasant and so secure ; so conducive to peace, yet so consistent with dignity; so happy in its pres- ent effects, and so nromising in its bearing upon the future course of the engagement, as that of a safe concession. Here is a view, which has the rare, if not the singular, ad- vantage, of presenting a point of union to those parties, 236 OXFORD DIVINES, &C who are united in little, if in any thing, else ; the Protes- tant, the Anglican, and the Roman Catholic. In vain, from this time forth, shall the 'Record' serve up, week after week phoice morsels of Cranmer's erastianism; or the ' Tablet' twit us (if so be) with Jewel irreverence. Here is a view which promises us the power of upholding Pope Hil- debrand and the See of St. Peter, for all the reformers de- nied tbo supremacy of the church ; and of ministering in popes, for all they thought even surplices of the essence of anti-christ." British Critic, July No, pp. 30 31. In this we have the position of the Tractarians — or the Puseyites — of England, clearly defined. They hold the great reformer, (Arch-Bishop Cranmer) of whom the church of England has so long boasted, an Erastian, viz : as be- longing to a sect that had Thomas Erastus for its head or leader; and the worthy Bishop Jewel — whose writings, stand so much in their way — an irreverent dissenter. Both the reformation and the reformers, appear to be ex- ceedingly obnoxious to them ; while at the same time they now openly avow their wish, that the church of England, — yea, the whole nation — would return, with humble conces- sions, to the secret, pure, peaceful, holy and loving old mother, who long since, hath, through her great love where- with she hath loved old England, had her garments washed* and highly perfumed with the blood, and tears, of many of her worthiest sons and loveliest daughters. They think that he must love controversy for its own sake, who would op- pose this return; as it could be done with so much dignity on the ground of humble concession, and with a prospect of, so much security and pleasure. There truly we might, ac. cording to their view, be secure, from pains, and penalties, racks, and gibbets, faggots, and all the bloody inquisitions ; and might ,also, have the unspeakable pleasure of kis. jng the Pope's toe, and of letting him tread upon our necks ! OXFORD DIVINES, &C 237 Oh pleasure, pleasure ! why does not the whole world re- turn ? But, after all, is it not surprising, that in the nineteenth century, when the precious light of the gospel is shining in its meridian splendor ; and old England blessed as she is, with so many wise, zealous, and religious sons, such bold disorganizers of church and state, such daring pretenders to membership in the church of England, while they openly oppose her, in the reformation, the very foundation of all her liberty, and prosperity, civil and religious ; should be suffered to propagate their errors, or in any wise tolerated as members of her communion ? much less be permitted to minister at her altar. But the answer is ready. The reason for all this that threatens destruction to the whole kingdom of Great Britain, by bringing back Popery, with all its hateful anti-christian tyranny, and dark superstitions, and once more to make ignorance the mother of devotion; we say the reason is, that, the Church of England has taken up the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, and claimed it for herself, for the purpose, as we conceive, of sustaining her own superior dignity over dissenting christians ; who have in truth, as much claim to it as herself, or even the Church of Rome. And it is on this ground, and for this cause that many of her ministers and some of those high in office, have lent a patient ear, and have already, manifested their approbation, instead of their displeasure, to the disorganiz- ing doctrine of the tractarians. And should this principle, or doctrine 'prevail, then shall ichahod—'' the glory has departed"— be written upon the escutcheon of old England's once glorious reformation, and the scenes of the days of bloody Queen Mary be acted over again. But we will turn from this fearful picture, and not suffer ourselves to think for a moment, that, there is not a suffi mni number, oTwise and evangelical men, to rise up, and 238 OXFORD DIVINES, &C in the strength of the great captain of their salvation, hurl from the church, and the nation, the insidious, and treacherous serpent, that has been striving to crush them in its folds. And may we not hope that the church of Eng- land, will still cherish in her memory, with sentiments of gratitude and love, the names of the reformers ? the holy men of God who laboured, suffered, and died in the cause of truth, for her establishment. And may we not further expect, that she shall be so enabled, by the spirit of divine grace, not only to go on and prosper as she has done here- tofore, in all her laudable efforts to do good, at home, and abroad ; for which thousands have risen up to call her bles- sed ; but that she will hand down to the latest generation, the pure doctrines of the reformation unsullied? For, in so doing, she will confer blessings on thousands of the hu- man family yet unborn. In the Kingdom of Great Britain, and in some sense, in the bosom of the established church, there are thousands of Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and others, who are all interested in this grave matter ; and who no doubt, with the evangelical party in the establishment, will continue to besiege a blood-besprinkled throne of grace. And, in this we may have more confidence, than in any thing else that man can do ; for the fervent prayers of the righteous shall prevail with God, and he will make one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. It is not only in the church of England, that this infection from Papal Rome has broken out ; but, it has made its ap- pearance recently, in the Protestant Episcopal church in this country. It is true, that in all probability, she has pre- tended from the beginning, to claim the benefit of succes- sion, as she obtained her ordination from the church of England ; but she has been rather modest on the subject and has said but little, till emboldend by the English trac- OXFORD DIVINES, ScC 239 larians, to come out more fully, and as might be supposed with them, to hope for a speedy reunion with, and humble submission to, the church of Rome. But might it not be asked ; Can it be possible, that there- are any in the Protestant Episcopal Church and especially among her high dignataries, that have given any ground for even a surmise, that they were in any wise disposed to return to the bosom of Papacy? with all its abomination star- ing them in the face, and the blood of God's dearest children still dripping from its garments. As astonishing as this may be, it is true, if we can believe a Review of Palmer's Treatise on the church in New York ; Review for January 1842, See M. Q. R, April No. 1842. Here he says in his Review, as touching the Roman Church, and in relation to a re-union with her: "Under these contradictory feelings, nothing is harder, to the right- minded Christian, than to use language toward the Church of Rome, at once respectful enough for its orthodox truths, and yet condemnatory enough for its unscriptural false- hood. We can hardly speak in any terms of it, without either wounding charity or wounding truth. In its apostolic ministry, in its primitive orthodoxy, and sacraments of grace, we number it as among the pillars of that temple, which God, and, not man, hath builded ; but alas for the worm at its heart ! its bigotry, its corruption, and its spirit of worldly domination. Yet, even these, are not the im- passable gulf. Not for her corrupt doctrines or practices, does she stand at such an illimitable distance from the true Catholic Christian ; these might be reformed; or, even as they stand are not necessarily repugnant to the vital graces and growth of the Christian ; nor yet for her bigotry, as ari- sing from ignorance and false zeal. For this, Christian edu- cation, and the light of God's truth, and the exercise of a more reflecting reason, might suffice to alter: nor yet 240 OXFORD DIVINES, &.C again, evil andunehristian as that is, is the spirit of worldly domination the impassable obstacle ; for that, too, as it was the growth of ignorance and a dark age, so, too, under the spirit of a more enlightened one, might it stand rebuked and corrected. Not for these, therefore, do we feel con- strained to hold aloof from all contact with the Church of Rome; but because she has bound herself, by oath, never to cease to contemn all other claims to the Christian name, and trampling them under foot, id hold all who yield not continued submission to Rome, as anathematized, and be- yond the pale of salvation,' pp. 142, 143. Here it may be noticed, that the reviewer confesses there is a worm at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church, that she is under the influence of bigotry and corruption, and is governed by a spirit of worldly domination ; and all growing out of ignorance, contracted in a dark age. And no one can wonder at such an acknowledgement; inas- much as it is known to all men, that such has been the fiery bigotry of the Roman Church, that she has persecu- ted and destroyed with fire andswoid, in the most unrelent' ing manner, hundreds and thousands of the most excellent of the earth. That such was, and is, her corruption in doctrine and practice, that, to the present day, she is loath- some and detestible beyond all description; and that, such indeed, is her proud spirit, and worldly domination, that she would not only anathematize and curse, with bell, book, and candle-light, all who dare to oppose her abominations ; but had she power, even in these United States, she would put to the rack, and — as in former days, and in other coun- tries—would destroy, by fire and faggot, all who might dare to dissent from her. And all this, confessedly, because she has a worm at her heart; which, undoubtedly, is the abhorred doctrine of Succession, by which, in her ignorance, she claims divine right, through the apostles, to lord it o\ei OXFORD DIVINES, &C 241 « God's heritage. But, after all this, it is the opinion of the reviewer, that she is to be reverenced as the pillar of truth;' as possessing apostolic orthodoxy and sacraments of grace ; and consequently, would she give up her oath to persecute all others, to hold in utter detestation, all who do not bow to her ghostly domination, there would be no impassible gulf between her and the Protestant Episcopal Church, and a re-union might, after all, take place. That is to say, the Protestant Episcopal Church is seeking after, and is anxious, on her part, for an amalgamation with the Church of Rome ; and that it could easily take place, if she would give up her opposition. It is true, and we are free to confess it, that, notwith- standing all the superstition and absurdities of the Roman Catholic Church, she has had, and no doubt, still has, in her communion, many excellent christians ; and that it is grievous to the true Christian, to speak of her according to her'true condition. And it is to be wished, that, for their sake, it could be avoided ; but she has declared her sin as Sodom, and her transgression as Gomorrah, and it is im- possible to hide it. In speaking of her, therefore, we have to do it— in despite of the most perfect Christian charity — as she stands confessedly before the whole world, the mother of harlots and abominations. And why is it, after all, that the Protestant Episcopal Church is so very desirous of a re-union with Papacy ? Is it because she has, of late, discovered that she bears such a striking resemblance to her old mother ? Or is it not, more especially, that, like her, she claims the doctrine of succession ; and, therefore, is influenced by the proud spirit of worldly domination ? and that" she has found, by long experience, she cannot, without such a union, gain that as- cendency in this country, which appears to be so desirable, or that alone can gratify her high ambition to be looked 31 242 OXFORD DIVINES, &C. npon as the only true Church of Christ. It must be on thisP account, that she hails with such joy, the errors of Oxford, and is prepared already to say, through her accredited organs, that, " One fact, at least, must stand unquestioned, and that is, that in no portion of Christendom, are these principles of a true Catholic Church, making a more rapid progress, or a higher stand than here." New York Review,- January No., p. 139. Here it is to be noticed, that, by the principles of a true Catholic Church, are to be understood the errors of Popery long since discarded by the Protestant world ; but of late adopted and contended for, by the schismatical Oxford Di- vines , who are doing all in their power, to overturn the Established Church of England. It is this " abomination that maketh desolate," that is making such *' rapid pro- gress," and '' taking such a high stand" in this country. But it is a matter of great thankfulness to God, that it is only so in the Protestant Episcopal Church ; and it may be hoped, that the evangelical part of that Church, will be able successfully to resist all such disgraceful as- saults upon the pure principles of Protestantism. But that we may not be misunderstood, and that the proper position of high churchmen be clearly defined, we make the follow- ing quotations from the Churchman, and other kindred pe- riodicals, as found recorded in M. Q. R. April No., 1842, p. 296. " We hold tradition to be interpretative of Scripture; and that any tradition coming upon the same testimony as an Apostolic epistle, (for the canon of Scripture depends upon traditive testimony) is of equal divine sanction. We ad- mit that hades is a purgatory, i. e., a place of rest; where the faithful, in incipient bliss, are cleansed from passions, and adhering carnalities, and prepared for heaven, by being, perfected in holiness ; not denying that the Eucharistic sa- OXFORD DIVINES, &C 243 <^rifice, as also the prayers of the faithful here, profitAhemy they being part of the Catholic Church. We admit the effi- cacy of the sacraments fully, as anciently taught. We hold the high sacramental character of orders and matri- mony. In penance, there is outward sign of Apostolic institution. Unction we admit, upon a passage in St. James. Exorcism we confess is Catholic. The Reforma- tion did more injury, by far, to the Church Catholic, than did ever the persecutions of Paganism ; the " utterly unten- able Protestant ground" on " the authority of tradition; the pernicious Protestant Solofidian doctrine" of '' justifi- calion by faith. Far from being grieved or scandalized, to hear that attempts have been made, in the University of Oxford, to encourage auricular confession, (sit venia ver- bi !) [i. e., the word may be admitted,,' we rejoice at it, as the omen of a brighter day, in her history." After this, we need no more, to assure us of the native tendency of the doctrine of succession. For, here, the successionists in this country, as well as in the kingdom of Great Britain, hold to, and openly contend for, traditionary interpolation of Scripture, for the cleansing virtues of pur- gatory ; instead of relying wholly on the precious blood of Christ, which alone can cleanse and sanctify ; as well as the virtue aud efficacy of the prayers of the Church, for the dead who are in purgatory, by whose fires they are to be made holy. Transuhstantiation and unction they readily admit. Exorcism (or the enchantment by which evil spirits are driven away, ) peyz<2?ice, oxidi auricular confession, with many other destructive errors of Popery ; while they deny the pure and scriptural doctrine of justification by faith, with the name Protestant, and claim for themselves the name Catholic. In all honesty, we think these men should at once leave the Protestant Episcopal Church,, and go to the Roman Catholic Church, to which they evidently be- 244 OXFORD DIVINES, &C long. They are not Protestants ; they are not worthy of that much, and deservedly, venerated name ; but are truly Roman Catholics, and to them they should go. Who would have supposed, until it was openly confessed, that such false doctrines necessarily stand connected 'with, or grew out of, the notion of Apostolic Succession ? But now, the whole matter is made too plain to admit of a shadow of doubt ; and goes far to explain why it is, that the Protes- tant Episcopal Church can occupy the pulpits of other de- nominations, but will not admit her ministers, in anywise, to use their churches, or to minister at their altars. Here is the reason why she is so very exclusive as to claim to be the only true Church ; and, at the same time, to denounce and anathematize all other bodies of Christians. And no one can seriously doubt, that these false notions of sus- cession, that would adopt the hateful and ruinous absurdi- ties of Popery, and would be so gladly amalgamated with it, would also, if it possibly could, unite with the Church of Rome, to burn and butcher all who would not bow with humble submission to its exclusive claims. This we do not say of the Church generally ; as there is a worthy evan, gelical party in it, who are as far from a spirit of intolerance as any other Christian men. We speak only of the high church party, that contend for the Popish doctrine of sue* aessioji* EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINE, &C 245 CHAPTER XVI. Effects of the doctrine of Succession. Results of the Reformation. The Lord Jesus Christ has said, *'by their fruits ye shall know them ;" and the same truth extends also to doctrines. They are known to be either true, or false, by the conse- quences which naturally result from them. Hence the doc- trines taught by our great Redeemer, are manifestly of God; inasmuch as their native tendency is to purify the hearts, and consciences of men, and to fit them for the enjoyment cf the inheritance of the saints in light. While on the oth- er hand, the claim of divine authority on the supposition of the Apostolic Succession, naturally tends to feed the worst principles of fallen human nature, and fit it the more per- fectly, for every evil word and work ; as is evident from its effects, from its first introduction to the present day. What could exceed the arrogance of Gregory, whom the Cathol- ics have honored with the title of Great? although he had no pretensions to profound learning or piety. Indeed, many of the Popes and Bishops, as well as Monks, and Friars, ap- pear to have been so ignorant, as scarcely to know any thing concerning the duties of their office ; or even, of that holy religion which they pretended to profess. Hence, we find them— for the purpose of preparing themselves for a better world— repairing to a wilderness ; living in dens and caves of the earth ; standing upon pillars, and using flagel- lation, with many other absurdities ; all of which is as con- trary to the doctrine of Christ, as it is to reason and com- mon sense. And the pride and ignorance so abundantly manifest in the sixth centary, may be traced in the Popes, and inferior clergy through each succeeding century,down 246 EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINE to the present time. And while this has been the case, with such as pretend to have divine authority as pastors of the flock of Christ, whose business it should have been to feed and not to destroy ; what must have been the condi- tion of the common people, who were kept from, and strict- ly forbidden to read, the holy scriptures ! It is well known, wherever this is the case, gross daikness, superstition and ignorance must prevail ; all of which appear to be neces- sary to keep up and sustain the authority of an ignorant and profligate clergy, who thought of but little else than ag. grandizing themselves, by promoting the doctrine of purga- tory, relicks and indulgences ; which, notwithstanding their glaring absurdities, were, through the ignoianceof the peo- ple, readily received, and dearly paid for. These things not only filled their coffers, and enabled the priests to rev- el in their licentiousness ; but also completely enabled them to maintain their ghostly dominion over the hearts and consciences of their fellow men. Peihaps it is impos- sible for men, who have been all their lives blessed with the privilege of reading the holy scriptures, to understand fully the want of that privilege. But by looking into the heathen world, and beholding men, worshipping stocks, and stones, reptiles, and fountains of water ; and yet more especially beholding the Roman Catholic church in her ignorance and blind superstition, prostrating herself before the mass, images of pretended saints, and relics, consist- ing sometimes of the leg-bone of a monkey, or the jaw-bone of an ass ; with the many errors, and absurdities, in which her members are involved for a want of a knowledge of the word of God, we may understand enough to make us believe, that heavy indeed will be the curse that shall finally be poured forth upon those, who have been the cause of with- holding the fountain of light and knowledge, designed in infinite mercy for all mankind. More especially will this be the case, since they have made the doctrine of OF SUCCESSION 247 uninterrupted Apostolic succession— which they pretend is found in God's revealed word — the foundation, on which the prohibition rests, with all its dread consequences. Religion, which is from Christ the gracious Redeemer of men, has no ignorance, superstition, or sin, attached to it in any sense ; but is every way calculated to enlighten the minds of men. It meets their reason, their affections, and supplies their wants; and in every way proves, that it is suited to, and calculated to improve, their condition, in time and in eternity. And, were it always presented in its native beauty, it could but charm the mind and captivate the affections. But, the ignorance and mummery, set forth by the church of Rome, under the pretensions of Christian- ity, are only calculated to make such as have not lost all power of reasoning, the most perfect infidels concerniilg Christ. And this is the reason, no doubt, why many in Catholic countries, under the influence of Popery, have openly rejected religion in its Papal garb ; and proclaim- ed themselves atheists. Some of the Popes themselves, be- cause of their ignorance of the holy scriptures have not on- ly denied the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, but also of a future state of existence ; maintaining, that af- ter death, we are no more than the beasts that perish. And, one at least, it is said, went into a grave and sacrificed to the devil ! And who, that has the least pretensions to literature does not know, that it was the Catholic abomina- tions, that caused France at one time, to proclaim her in- fidelity, by tying the Bible to the tail of an ass, to be thus dragged through the streets ? while on the other hand, they worshipped a lewd woman, as the representation of the Goddess of Liberty, and dared to proclaim openly that there was no God. And, although France has been, after a long and dreary night, measurably redeemed ; yet Italy the very seat of Popery, is involved in heathenism and in- 248 EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINE fidelity down to the present day. It is true, there is a part of the community who call themselves Catholics ; while they despise Popery with all its absurdities, and are so far saved from either extreme, that they desire to be enlighten- ed with the pure word of God ; and might, no doubt, were they assisted as they should be by benevolent christians, become the means of redeeming Italy from her deep sla- very and degradation. But it is nevertheless true, that the common people who are ignorant of letters, and the pure doctrines of the Bible, worship relics, the host, processions and images, &c., Justin the same spirit, and with the same undeistanding, that the darkest heathens do their images and idol Gods. And this constitutes all they know con- cerning Christianity. "While the learned, who have observ- ed the mumery and false miracles, set forth by Popery for the purpose of deceiving the ignorant, and thereby securing their idolatrous devotion, have discovered the cheat, and have therefore concluded, that, there is no truth in religion; and for the want of a knowledge of the holy scriptures, have become confirmed Atheists. When this state of things was discovered, in vain (it is said) did the Pope increase the* splendour of his ceremouies, his miracles, and abominable persecutions, it made the matter worse ; as it only served to increase the darkness of the ignorant multitude, and to show the more perfectly, to such as were enlightened by science, the horid deformity of the Church of Rome. And instead of Papal Rome — with all the advantages- that she might have derived from her early reception of Christianity, through the immediate labours of the Apos- tles — exercising that of Christ as taught by himself and his Apostles, she has been guilty of the most cruel tyranny and oppression. She has not stopped to put to the rack, and to inflict the most dreadful torture and death, upon all who dared to deny the validity of her superstitious inven- OF SUCCESSION 249 tions. In this work we have already noticed the thousands who have suffered by the fangs of the bloody inquisition. And, as it was in former ages, so it is in this day, so far, at least, as she dares to exercise her authority. For, the reason is the same ; she is unchanged in her spirit and de- sign, to keep up her dignity and infallibility, which, has its foundation in the doctrine of succession. It is true, she has to put on a more pleasing face in this country, where all are protected by the constitution and laws, in all their civil and religious rights. But her effort to keep the Bible from the people, and their children, who are under their in- fluence, plainly shows, that she is the same in her spirit and intentions here, as in other countries, where she has the power to tyrannize over, and destroy the peace and lives of men. And no one of common sense and observation, can doubt for a moment, that, if she could secure the ascen- dency, she would display her murderous spirit in acts of the most cruel persecution. Her unwavering maxim or doctrine is, that there is no faith to be kept with baptized heretics, and schismatics ; that they are compelled to sub- mit to her mandates, in judgment and in practice; and if nothing else will secure the end, death offers to obstinacy its fitting reward ! The doctrine of uninterrupted Apostolic succession, has, with its pretended divine sanction, laid the foundation of efforts, to destroy both civil and religious liberty, wherever it can gain suitable authority. This may be seen from the fact, that it always strives to unite church and state ; and readily amalgamates, with the most tyrannical civil govern- ments. And wherever it has been able to do so, it has des- troyed every thing like the liberty of the press, of conscience and of speech, and kept society under the most tyrannical yoke. It has been but a few years, since a Bull was issued by the present Pope, in which we find the most terrible 32 250 EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINE roaring over the liberty of the press, the liberty to print, to send out and read the Bible ; the liberty of private opin- ion, and judgment in religious matters, with all the liberty civil and religious, for which our fathers bled ; and which constitutes the dearest franchise of every free American's heart. And could this spirit, or doctrine prevail heie, no matter whether in the Roman Church, the Protestant Epis- copal Church, or both together — as they would from what we have seen readily amalgamate on this ground — we might bid farewell to all our free institutions. Our civil govern- ment, the best in the known world, would be destroyed ; and instead of the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and sitting under our own vine and fig-tree, none daring to make us afraid, or ashamed ; instead of the gospel being free, and the liberty reserved to each to pay to whom he pleases, or as much as he pleases, we should be compelled to pay tithes and enor- mous taxes, to Priests and Bishops ; although they were as they frequently have been, amongst the most debauched and licentious, in the land. That this, and nothing less, is the aim by the Catholic church, may be understood by her sending the Jesuits — ■ the most dangerous of all the sects belong to the Roman faith — like swarms of Pharaoh's locusts, throughout the length and breadth of our happy republic. And the object of this is, that, they may insinuate themselves into high pla- ces, as they have done in other countries, to the destruction of every thing like freedom ; until the Pope himself, was forced to put them down. But of late they have been re- stored, and sent here, and the Leopold platform, and oth- ers, supply them with money, for the purpose of building churches, seminaries and cathedrals, with deep and dreary cells ; so that they may be prepared when they accomplish their dark designs, to imprison all who will not submit to OF SUCCESSION 251 their ghostly rule. Through their evil conduct on the one hand, and the light of science and religion on the other, with all the subtle efforts they were capable of making, they have lost their influence in a great degree, in France, in Spain and many other parts of the old world, where they formerly ruled with uncontrolled sway. And as, in this respect, their hopes are blasted, and the matter becomes worse and worse with them, as light and truth advance? they are looking to this happy country, and especially the great valley of the Mississippi, for a retreat, and the build- ing up again of their lost domination. And this too, with considerable hope of success; inasmuch, as in their esti- mation, even our heaven inspired constitution has in it the seeds of its own destruction; that is, the article of free tol- eration in matters of conscience. No doubt, every effort is made by them, so to pervert and abuse this, the most pre- cious part of our excellent institutions, as, if possible, to destroy our wholesome government ; and thus to turn our blessing to the bitterest curse. And will free Americans, whose fathers have purchased these liberties with the price of their own blood and treasure, tamely look on, and quietly submit to these things ? that they, their children, and childrens' children may be brought into the worst of bondage again ? or will they not wake up, and in time re- buke the foe that is already in our midst ; and so much em- boldened as to contend about our school funds, and to make a public bonfire of our precious Bible ! Will they not determine neither to assist them with their means, in building churches and seminaries; nor with their patron-, age, in sending their children to them for an education ? I know, some of us have said, there is no danger, no dan- ger. But the "signs of the times" are too plain to be mis- taken ; and if we love our country, our wholesome laws, our wives and children ; and wish to hand down to the la- 252 EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINE test generation the blessings of freedom thatw;e have enjoy- ed, it is high time for us to awake from our slumbers, arise, and shake ourselves from the dust, and say — as we now can say — to this proud and domineering spirit of succes- sion, wherever it may be found; "Thus far you shall come and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be staid." This must be done, though many appear to think slightly of it. It had therefore much better be done now, while we have the means of effecting it, in our power. If we neglect it now — if we wait until we see the Priests, who have the control of their congregations, leading them to the poles, controlling our elections, and we are on the very verge of destruction as a nation ; we shall find it necessary to re- sist even unto blood. And this is a result most deeply to be deprecated. It will be kept in mind, it is not the Cathol- ics, or high church-men, or Oxford divines, with whom we are now contending, as communities ; for among them may be found some good Christians. There is noth- ing which we despise more heartily than persecution for religion's sake. But it is with the false doctrine of succes- sion with all its errors and abuses; that would tyrannize over mankind, wherever found, either in Rome, England, or America ; it is this, we say, against which, we would wage an uncompromising war, now, henceforth and forev- ermore. From our heart, we pity the men — whether found in this, or any other country — who are so blinded by the God of this world, to their own better interest and that of their fellow-men, as to be induced to use their learning, talents, and influence in favor of doctrines so absurd and mon- strous, as many of those held by the Church of Rome. It is no better in itself, than forging chains, and preparing dungeons, racks and gibbets, wherewith to punish them- selves and their posterity after them. We must conclude, OF SUCCESSION - 253 that they are under some strange delusion ; brought about by the cruel enemy of their souls, and, therefore, would not say or do any thing intentionally, to injure them ; while we would sincerely and zealously oppose the errors into which they have fallen; errors, that would most certainly undermine, and finally overthrow, all civil and religious liberty, could they universally prevail. Again we say, it is the unscriptural and absurd doctrine of uninterrupted Apostolic succession, with all its dark errors that we would drive, if possible, from the face of the earth ; as it has been, and will be, one of the bitter- est enemies of the liberties of man. We wish all men to enjoy the liberty of thinking and acting for themselves, in matters of conscience and religion ; for it is to their own master they stand or fall. This happy privilege is now, in this glorious republic, guaranteed to every man ; and we would not have it altered by any means, although, it has been, and still is, greatly abused. But, while we readily grant free toleration to others, we wish to enjoy it our- selves, without molestation. And is not this the wish of all men, in reference to themselves ? And is it not right that it should be so ? since nothing can be more dear and precious to the hearts of freemen, than liberty of con- science. If then we would continue to enjoy this liberty, we must, in the most decided and religious manner, resist and rebuke all the insidious attacks, made by the various successionists, on our liberties and free institutions. Let it be known at once, in word and deed, while we have it in our power to do it peaceably, that we are not to be tram- pled upon, or driven from our high privileges: that our col- ors are nailed to the mast's head, and with us it is victory or death. This indeed is our duty, and it evidently be- hooves us thus to act, even were it only to honor our wor- thy fathers, who suffered so much, and paid so dear to •254 RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION, achieve our liberty. Up, up then and let every true prot- estant, unmindful of names, or party distinctions, be at his post, and manfully resist the common foe. First, by refu- sing to give him any longer our aid, or countenance ; and secondly, by heartily uniting, in besieging the throne of hea- venly grace, that to us, the promise may be fulfilled, "not by might, or by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord." That the God of Israel, of the christians, may be on our side ; that his holy arm may be made bare in our defence, and though the grace of his gospel, we may be kept free from civil tyranny, and religious oppression. Prayer is mighty and will prevail with God. Who, among the most sagacious of men, can possibly know what, or where, we would have been, but for the Re- formation ? When we look to the days of Luther, and see the condition of the Christian world — so cajled — our hearts sicken within us ; for there we behold ignorance, supersti- tion, and iniquity, in all their strength and deformity, abounding in the highest places of the Church ; science, letters, and true religion, nearly swept from the face of the earth ; while gross darkness, yea, a darkness that might be felt, universally prevailed. And had this state of things continued to this day, might we not conclude, that even the high successionists themselves — if they had existence at all — would, instead of enjoying the light of science and religion, as they now do, be found among the most ignorant and degraded, and nothing better than hewers of wood and drawers of water ? as they would never have been per- mitted to see the true fountain of light, science, and reli- gion — the Holy Bible. Have we been delivered from the gross darkness of Po- peiy, with all its tyranny and blood ? have we been saved from the necessity of giving all our substance to a tyran- nical civil government, and yet more rapacious clergy, that tlESULTS OF THE REFORMATION 255 they might revel, without restraint, in their abominable li= centiousness ; while we would have been doomed, with our children, to drag out a miserable existence, in the worst of slavery? All, all, has been brought about, and received, through the blessings of the reformation. For it is true, and cannot be successfully contradicted, that, through the Reformation commenced by Luther, Zuinglius, Calvin, and others, and so gloriously continued and carried out, by Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley ; and still, more recently, by Wesley and Whitfield, &c. that the light of science, as well as religion, has been received, and spread through the world ; and is still prevailing, to bless mankind. And, after all this, is it not strange, and almost unac- countable, that, in England and America, where the bles- sings of the Reformation have been felt and enjoyed more than in any other part of the world, men can be found in the Church, professing to be Protestants, and enjoying the high privileges and blessings, brought about by the tears, labors, and sufferings, of our worthy Reformers, so to abuse their liberty and seek to abuse mankind, as to speak disre- spectfully both of the Reformation and those engaged in it ? But it is no more strange than true. The Oxford divines in England, with the high churchmen in this country, la- ment over the Reformation, and say that it did more harm to the Church, than all the persecutions of heathenism' did ! that Cranmer, and Laiimer, and others, w^hose praise is in all the churches, did not die for the truth ; and, of course, must, therefore, have died for a lie. And thus, while they would vilify the honorable dead, and stop, if possible, our boast of the Reformation, they would speak in the most re- spectful terms of the Church of Rome, and openly give the world to know, that they not only wish themselves to return to her bosom, but, if possible, to take the whole world with them ! 256 RESULTS OF THE REFORM 4T10N The apology for this black ingratitude is, that the Church of Rome, with all her blood and mummery, is, after all* apostolic in her authority ; and has in her possession the sacraments of grace ; since she has — as they would have the woild to believe — the true Apostolic Succession. And this, if true, would not only make the Church of England, with every other branch of the Protestant Church, schis- raatical and heretical ; but make it essentially necessary, that all should immediately return, with deep repentance, and sue for absolution at the hands of the Pope, although it would lead us again into the darkness of the darkest ages of Popery. Surely these men must ''love darkness- rather than light, because their deeds are evil." But it is, we think, easy to be discerned, that, instead of this, the true reason is, the Tractarians are apprized — with others high in office in the Church of England, and who have readily fallen in with their views of the subject — that something more must be done, to stop, if possible, the light and liberty brought in by the Reformation. For they clearly see, that if it continues to spread, they will lose their ghostly dominion, and religion will be made entirely free and independent of the secular arm. And in this case, they well know, their fat salaries would no longer be received. If they could persuade the nation that they " are the men, and wisdom must die with them;" or that the doctrine of succession is true, and, by that means be restored to the fostering care of the Mother Church, they might be nour- ished and fed by her, no matter of v/hat kind of conduct they might be guilty. For she has nourished in her bosom — as, indeed, befitted her — and promoted to her highest honors, men of the most abandoned characters. When Christ, the great author of our holy religion, was about to set up his kingdom upon earth, he sent forth his Apostles, and seventy disciples, to preach repentance and RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION 25T fkitb — not the doctrine of penance, or the worship of ima- ges and saints — and, in order to confirm their doctrine, he gave them power to heal the sick and cast out devils ; in- tending thereby to show that it was true, as he had declared, that his kingdom was not of this world; and that he had no need of the secular arm to sustain either him, or the pure principles of his Gospel. Indeed; he was about to set up a kingdom different from all the kingdoms of earth, and in so many respects contrary to them, that it would be impos- sible to amalgamate them. This is evident, from the figure — intending to represent it — found in the Old Testament, of the little stone, cut out of the mountain without hands ; and which was to grow until it should fill the whole earth. His disciples did not seek after civil authority, because they had no need of it, to sustain them in their holy work. They well knew, that the pure religion of Christ, could, and would, stand and prosper abundantly better, because of its own intrinsic merits, than with any unholy and unnatural alliance with the governments of this world. And that this is true, may be seen from the fact, that, wherever religion has been left to itself, it has prospered gloriously ; although opposed by the world and the devil, in the most open and violent manner. And, while, on the other hand, it has been united with, and attempted to be sustained by, civil autho- rity — as has been too frequently the case — the most degra. ding and ruinous consequences have ensued. And of these, the fact of the clergy being made independent of the people they were bound to serve, has not been the least. How many of the most ignorant and licentious, have been kept as burdens upon the Church, on this account ; to the de- struction (it may be feared) of many precious souls ! where- as, if they had been left to their own piety and talents, or to stand upon their own proper merit, they would soon have heen cast out, and the Church thereby relieved of one of 258 RESULTS OF THE REFORM 4T10N the greatest hindrances to her wonted prosperity. Perhaps mankind has nothing moie to abhor or dread, than an unholy alliance of Church and State ; except the complete and final triumph of Puseyism in England, and high church- ism — which is the same — in this country. Let them suc- ceed, and we shall not only have that unnatural amalga- mation brought about, but all the horrors and darkness of Popery, will spread over England and America, not only to blast the fondest hopes of freemen, bat to degrade and en- slave their children, to the third and fourth generation. From even the prospect of this, does not every high born American exclaim. Good Lord deliver us ! But Pusey, and the rest of the Oxford divines, are, no doubt, well persuaded, that a sensual religion, or one of show and outward pomp — which, though nothing better than the form without the power, is all they appear to un- derstand about the matter — cannot be sustained, even by the secular arm, where there is free toleration, and men dare to think and act for themselves. Hence, they are ma- king a struggle, as one in the last agonies of death, to revive the authority and dominion of Popery ; at least grad- ually, in the Church of England. And they have so far succeeded, (if report be true,) as to have fires renewed and candles burning, in some places, at mid-day ; with many other superstitious notions, set up in the place of the pure principles and practices established by the Reforma- tion. And thus are they paving the way, as fast as possi- ble, for a return to, and amalgamation with, the Church of Home. The doctrine of succession, or divine authority from Christ, through the Apostles, by the imposition of hands, is the point from which they started. It is, with them, the essential foundation, on which all the authority ,of the Church rests; and, in all probability, finding that they have good reason to doubt the possession of it? through RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION 259 the Catholics, by the Church of England, to cover their retreat, and make sure the ground they have taken, they are striving to return to tha Church of Rome, vi^here they think they virould be secure. But great difficulties are yet to be overcome ; although the shame of traducing both the glo- rious Reformation, and reformers to whom they owe ^an unspeakable debt of gratitude, sits so lightly on their con- sciences. The evangelical party in the Established Church, the Methodists and dissenters, are greatly in their way; and their influence in the nation must be cut down, before they can attain to the consummation of their most ardent desire. Hence, the attack has been already made, and their high- est vengeance appears to be about to be poured out, especi- ally, upon the Wesleyan Methodists. Their great num- bers ; the purity of their Bible doctrines, especially of jus- tification by faith alone ; their great influence in the na- tion, with the high as well as the low, make them serious obstacles, and they must, therefore, be removed. But, here we trust, we may conclude that, in coming in contact with the evangelical party in the Established Church, the dis- senters in general, and with the Wesleyan Methodists, the Ox- ford divines have struck upon an immoveable rock ; for they are built upon the Rock of Ages, that never can be removed. The cause of the truly pious, in every branch of the Church/ is the cause of God ; and they that resist it, will find them- selves fighting against him. And their puny arm is too short, to contend successfully against his mighty power. But while the battle is going on in England, between Christ and Anti-Chiist, or Puseyism and the principles of the Reformation, What may we expect in this country? seeing that our high churchmen have already received so fully all the errors and absurdities of the Oxford divines, that they proclaim, openly, their wish to go with them into the bosom of the Roman Church, 260 RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION, And, if we can believe their standard, and most apprc^ ved periodicals, they are greatly encouraged at the prospect that lies before them. And no wonder ; when the doctrines they have received, have, so unexpectedly, taken "deep root," and become widely diffused, among all high church- men. More especially, too, because Catholics are con- stantly arriving in this country, for the purpose of aiding in the promotion of Papacy, But, while Pusey and his col- leagues, find great difficulties in England; still greater await them in this enlightened republic. For, in addition to the millions of Christians, that belong to the various denominations, who are true to the cause of Christ ; and, consequently, cherish, with gratitude and joy, the recollec- tions of the Reformation ; they have to contend with our civil government, that grants to every man liberty of con- science and protects him in worshiping God, in whatever way he believes to be best. And, further still, the light af divine truth is so generally diffused, as to leave but few in ignorance of their high privileges under the Gospel. The Holy Bible, too, is in almost every family, and can be read by almost every individual. But, notwithstanding all this, they may seem, for awhile, to succeed in their unhallowed work. They may turn a ^part of the Church of England, and a part of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church in America, into the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church ; and thus, to some extent, despoil the beauties of the Reformation. They may cause strife and contention to be rife in the land ; and go so far as to shed innocent blood — as has been done in for- mer days. Yet, may we not believe, that the God of Truth and Justice, will appear in the defence of his own cause, and say to these proud waves. Here shall ye be staid ? Will He not make use of the instruments, al- ready prepared, in the different branches of the Evangel- RESULTS, &C, 261 ical Churches, both in Europe and America, with the light of science and civilization ; so, that while the Man of Sin, the Beast, and the false Prophet, shall be finally defeated and overthrown, the Church, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, shall come up from the wilderness, cloth- ed with the beautiful garments of salvation, and finally become "the praise of the whole Earth?" And thus by his own Almighty arm, and in his own way, scatter to the four winds of heaven, all the vain pretensions, and ex- pectations of Popery, and the many in the church of Eng- land, and in the Protestant Episcopal church in this coun- try that have been deceived thereby. Most certain it is, that every lover of truth, every lover of the holy Bible and the pure religion of Christ so clearly set forth therein, should make it a matter of sincere and con- tinued prayer. And not only so, but should be glad to da all in his power to be instrumental in this good work. 262 ORDINATION OF CHAPTER XVII. Ordination of the Protestant Episcopal Church, A reference to what has been said. Leopold platform. Dr. Samuel Seabury, D. D., ordina- tion, &c. In the foregoing pages it has been, triumphantly set forth, that the doctrine of the high churchmen in this country, is, that a regular line of Bishops, who have derived their au- thority to ordain from the Apostles by a regular uninter- rupted succession, is essentially necessary to the exis- tence of the true church, a properly authorized ministry, and the due administration of the ordinances ; and where this is w^anting, there is (in their estimation) no church, no ministry, no ordinances. This, as we have already seen, proceeds on the supposition, that Christ did delegate his di- divine authority to his Apostles, to be — to the latest genera- tion — transmitted to others, by the imposition of their hands. And were this true, their doctrine would also be true ; and would consequently become of the greatest im- portance to the whole christian community. No one should rest contented, or pretend to enter into holy orders, until he had found, to his own satisfaction, the true line of succes- sion. And were the doctrine true, he might not only ex- pect, easily to find it; but also especially to find the ex- press words of Christ, wherein that authority was originally given. But strange as it may appear, it is nevertheless true, that no such line can be made out; neither is there to be found in holy writ, any thing like a chart, or founda- tion for any such doctrine. But on the contrary, it is evi. dent, the great head of the church never intended any such thing in the constitution of his ministry, or the organiza- tion of his spiritual kingdom. The order, and office of the PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 263 Apostles, constituted, personally, by Christ with peculiar at- tributes, as the foundation of the Church, himself being the chief corner stone, has long since passed away ; since it was never intended to be handed down, (as indeed, in the nature of things, it could not be,) to any other set of men. They have left behind, only two distinct orders, to serve the church, namely Presbyters, Elders or Bishops— which are one and the same, according lo scripture— and Deacons. This will readily be perceived by every attentive reader of the holy Bible, to be most certainly true. And that the Lord of life and glory, who is the High Priest over the house of God forever, instead of delegating to poor fallible men, his divine authority, in the sense contended for by the high churchmen, has kept in his own hands the supreme rule and authority, to call, qualify and send men, to minister for him in holy things. And woe be to such as would thrust themselves into his holy work without his bidding! Could the pretenders to succession, trace a line from the iirst Bishops, or Presbyters, by the imposition of hands, there might not be much harm in it. But scripturally speaking, it would be of no avail, as to divine authority; seeing that Christ has not ordained it so. But even this, they cannot do. Neither can they claim to have, any more authority, than that derived from the present church of Eng- land. And notwithstanding the church, has no claim, even to Catholic consecration, (although Dr. Chapman would have us to think otherwise,) she has ecclesiastical authority, good enough, for all religious purposes; and consequently, has transmitted to the Protestant Episcopal.Church, as good authority as she need to desire ; although it is not of that kind, which some of her ministers pretend to claim for her, i. e. an authority from a succession of Catholic Bishops. So far indeed from this, the first reformers did, as they should have done, despise, and cast from them, all such authority 264 ORDINATION OF as they could have derived from the Roman Catholic Charch : because, in their estimation, she was the most fil- thy of all things. Having done this, they formed for them- selves a much better, because, it was— all things considered . a much more scriptural, ecclesiastical establishment. Hence, the church of England, and consequently, the Prot- estant Episcopal Church, may, and should each, be satisfi- ed with her respective ordination. But if their claim to the dignity and glory of the true Church of Christ, must rest, as some of them think, or an uninterrupted line of succession, derived through the Church of Rome ; then in- deed all is lost. For, notwithstanding Dr. Chapman roundly asserts — in order to show the connection between the Church of England and Catholic Church— that Cramer and Latimer were Catholic Bishops ; they had not, neith- er did they make the least claim to, any such source of authority. By an act of Parliament, the King was endowed, according to his own claim, with all au- thority, as well ecclesiastical as civil. And hence, Cran- mer who vv^as at the head of the reformation, claimed no higher authority, than that derived from his Prince ; and maintained, and openly published the doctrine, that noth- ing more was necessary to constitute a Bishop, or a Priest. And from that time to the present, the supreme authority in the church of England, is held by the reigning sovereign whether male, or female ; and all ecclesiastical authority^ must necessarily emanate from them. Indeed, such was the account that Cranmer made of this doctrine, that on the death of Henry VHI, he refused to exercise his Episco- pal office, until his commission was renewed by Edward VI who succeeded his father. So far then, from their having at that time, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, from the Apostles, through the Roman church ; they had not so much as regu- lar Protestant ordination, as is evident from the fact that PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 265 they had to depend upon a mere layman— for the King was nothing more — for all ecclesiastical rule and authority. Whatever then can be derived from such a source as this, the 'church of England has ; and as it respects succession, it can have nothing more. Consequently, the Protestant Episcopal church, who derived her ordination from her, cannot have higher or better claims to succession than the church from which her authority is derived. Neither do we find it any better when we come down to Queen Elizabeth's day; whence we must date the com- mencement of the establishment, of the present church of England ; because bloody Queen Mary, as she was signifi- cantly called, succeeded in destroying all that had been pre- viously done, and once more established the Roman Cath- olic church in all her wonted rule and authority. All the Protestant clergy were compelled to fly into exile, or fall by the hand of persecution ; so that when Elizabeth came to the throne, her only ministers were a few of those of Ed- ward's day, who returned from exile. And, it is even as. sferted, that some of these had never received any kind of ordination; but had simply been made mir^sters by the appointment of their prince. Such was the state of things, when she made choice of Matthew Parker, as her first Bishop. This appears to have been a mat- ter of great perplexity to her ; for, after waiting a consid- erable time, she was under the necessity of issuing her letter of authority to Barlow and others, making provision therein for all the disabilities that might be found in them as the consecrators of her first Arch-Bishop, Matthew Par- ker. Indeed some have supposed that Parker was never ordained at all ; as no register of that fact could be found, as they assert, for more than fifty years ; although the Cath- olics constantly demanded it of them. But let this be as it may, it matters not ; for if he was ordained— and this' 34 266 ORDINATIOI^ OF we suppose will not be denied — it was only by men, who themselves made no claim whatever to Catholic orders ; but who like Cranmer before them, contended that the call and appointment of the ruling Prince was all the authority that was necessary to make Priests or Bishops ; so far as outward or visible authority was concerned. How far short then, does the Protestant Episcopal Church fall of Apostolic succession, when her highest ecclesiastical au- thority most evidently emanated from a King or Queen, or simply a layman, possessed of not even a shadow of author- ity to confer Episcopal orders or jurisdiction, exceptsofar, as an act of Parliament could give it. Neither would it make the matter any better, could they go back to Catholic consecration, as some of the high churchmen wish to do ; since many of the Popes were no better than laymen, pre- vious to their being thrust into the Papal chair. They had not received ordination to the Episcopal dignity, or any thing else in the church of God ; and consequently, the mere fact of being elected Pope did not give them authority to exercise Episcopal jurisdiction. Here then, where the highest claim Js made to divine authority, through succes- sion and to which the high churchmen desire to come; we, in truth, find nothing better than authority that might be exercised, and was exercised, by laymen, thrust into high places, in the piofessed church of God. The more we examine the subject of visible divine au- thority, claimed by the Protestant Episcopal Church, the more doubt and darkness are thrown around it, as to even a claim to a regular legal authority to exercise the Episcopal office. For we find, in the next place, when Matthew Par- ker was ordained — if he was ordained at all — the oidinal of Edward VI, conferring the ordaining power, had been made void in Mary's reign, and had not been legally restored by an act of Parliament, as it should have been. If history be true, it was more than seven years after the consecration PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 267 of Parker and the rest of the Bishops and clergy of the Es- tablished Church of England, before this wa§ done by a formal act of Parliament ; and, consequently, none of those who had been ordained, were, according to their own views, possessed of legal jurisdiction. It is true, their authority was conferred by the Queen, who was head of the Church ; but the form of ordination not being legalized, must have made all null and void. Here -then, we find the whole Church of England, the source of Protestant Episcopal ordi- nation, unsound at the very foundation, to the present day ; that is, according to their own views of ecclesiastical au- thority, or outward legal jurisdiction. But what seems to increase the difficulty is, that, after the manner of ordaining was restored to legal jurisdiction, and remained in full force for more than one hundred years — say up to 1662 — it was, in their estimation, so defective, as to lequiie alteration, or rather the appointing of anew one ; which was accordingly done. We have no faith in the power of any form of ordination, to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost ; inasmuch as no such intimation has ever been given, by Christ or his Apostles. All that is intended, or can be accomplished, by the best form of consecration used by any branch of the Church; is, to acknowledge, publicly, the person so ordained, as being qualified by the Great Head of the Church, in the estimation of such as have had the oversight of him, to minister in holy things ; and, more- over, to give him, in the most public way, the visible autho- rity of the Church to which he belongs. This, we say, is all that can be rationally or scripturally intended, by any set of wise and religious men. For no man, in his senses, and with the word of God before him, can believe that any one but God himself, can impart t.o men the gift of the Holy Ghost. Neither can he believe, that any thing short of the gifts and callings of God. can qualify any one to 268 ORDINATION OF preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. But, in view of this outward succession of the imposition of hands, claimed by our high churchmen as divine authority, it greatly alters the case. If the original ordinal was scriptural and suffi- cient, in their estimation, to convey the succession. Why alter it ? And, if it were not, is it not true, that, for one hundred years, at least, they had no properly authorized ministers ? and, consequently, no due administration of the holy sacraments. And, if this be admitted, will it not ine- vitably follow, that, so far as concerns the doctrine of suc- cession, all succeeding ordinations must, in the nature of things, be null and void ? If then, it must be acknowledged on all hands, that the supreme ecclesiastical authority was vested in the Prince or Princes of England, from the commencement of the Reformation — so that they could constitute Bishops and Priests, and forms of worship, &c., notwithstanding they, themselves, were destitute of all episcopal ordination, and, consequently, nothing but laymen — and that this was the highest, or principal, source of all ecclesiastical autho- rity in the Church of England ; that this was acknowledged and acted upon, not only by Cranmer, the principal re- former under Henry VIII, but also by Barlow, one of the principal consecrators of Dr. Matthew Parker, in the days of Elizabeth, when the present Established Church of En- gland took its rise ; if it be true, that even the ordination of Parker was not considered canonical, or even legal — not because his consecrators had been driven into exile, as some would have us think, but — because, as others^ be- lieved, and still do believe they, themselves, had not been ordained ; or, if they had, had been deposed and excommu- nicated, in Mary's reign, and had never been legally resto- red ; that even Edward's ordinal, by which Dr. Matthew Parker was consecrated, had been abrogated during PROTEST A.NT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 269 Mary's reign, and had not been legally restored, by an act of Parliament, or by an act of the Queen. And if, more- over, such, in the estimation of the high dignitaries of the Church, was the defect of that ordinal, even after it was legalized, that after using it one hundred years, a new one was passed in its stead ; if all this be true, how apparent must it be, to every unprejudiced mind, that the Church of England is not only destitute of Apos- tolic Succession, but even of Catholic consecration, or even so much as a regular Protestant Episcopal ordination. Consequently, the Protestant Episcopal Church, which de- rived her ordination from the Church of England, accord- ing to her own doctrine, (i. e., no succession, then no Church, no ministry, no ordinances,) must stand among the " recent spurious churches of human invention," as no Church ; having no properly authorized ministry, and no ordinances duly administered ! While our high Church divines, with Pusey, and other sue- cessionists and exclusives in the Church of England, appear to wish us to think, that the supreme authority in the Church of God is vested in Bishops, supposed to be in the regular succession from the Apostles ; others have thought, that Kings, or even Queens, were the proper depositories of such dignity and authority ; since, according to their esti. mation, they were divinely appointed to rule earthly king- doms and empires ; while, on the other hand, many have thought that the people composing the flock of Christ, con- stitute the source of all ecclesiastical rule and government. Now all this is wrong ; and hence arise so many mischiev- ous errors concerning the ministry and Church of God. If Episcopacy were intended to have been of so much importance to the Church, that all authority must emanate therefrom in regular succession, and there could be no Church of Christ without it ; we should, most certainly 270 ORDINATION OF not have found the scriptures silent, concerning it. We should have had, from Christ, or through some one of the Evangelists or Apostles, direct and plain instructions thereon ; so that there could not have remained a shadow of doubt, on any honest heart that believes the holy word of God. But, astonishing as it is, after all the noise made by our would-be successionists and exclusives, there is not one loord, from the Great Head of the Church, to justify any such conclusion. And hence, all such high pretensions must necessarily fall to the ground, and vanish like the baseless fabric of a vision. And what can be more absurd than to suppose that the Divine Being would lodge in the hands of a king or queen — who, when called to the throne might be but a little child, as was the case with Edward VII — all supreme ec- clesiastical authority, so that they must be considered the fountain head of all spiritual jurisdiction in the Church of God? We would ask, What can be more astonishing, and obviously erroneous, than such doctrine as this ? * It is only necessary to mention it, to make its absurdity ap- pear. And is it not equally obvious that it is also erroneous to conclude that the people composing the flock of Christ, must be the source whence all ecclesiastical authority must emanate ? because this would make it necessary that the sheep after they had been gathered, guarded, and fed, by the Shepherd, should turn about, and rule, and govern him. Nothing can be more preposterous than such a thought. Hence, without proceeding further, we would simply re- mark, here we have the foundation of much of the er- ror and pride of exclusiveness, that we find in the Protes- tant Episcopal Church, and with many in the Church of England. It is as plain as the shining of the noonday sun, that their premises are wrong; and consequently PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 271 their conclusions are erroneous. The Great Head of the church never intended to place any man or set of men, in his stead in his church ; and having done so, to leave it in their hands to live or die; according to their faithful- ness or unfaithfulness in the discharge of their duty. JNo ; he never left it thus, in the hands of fallible, sinful men, after he purchased it with his ov^rn precious blood. He loves the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and wash it with his blood. And instead of leaving it to the caprice of poor change- able men, he has kept the supreme authority in his own hands. He himself, the Lord of the harvest, the high Priest over the house of God forever, is the true source and foun- tain of all spiritual or ecclesiastical authority in his own church. And it is essential that it should be so. For who can search the heart, or know as it should be known, to call, qualify, and send out suitable men, to do his holy work ? All that we can possibly do in this impor- tant matter, is, to obey his heavenly mandate wherein he has said—" Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He may send forth labourers into his harvest." He the Lord of the harvest alone can send suitable men ; and he alone has the authority so to do. And he has done so. He alone can sustain them and make them successful in gathering in, and feeding, his flock. And for the encouragement and comfort of his servants, he has said he will do it. " Lo,'* said He "lam with you always, even unto the end of the world. It is true, many ravenous wolves in sheeps' cloth- ing, have crept into the fold, or climbed up some other way — as was foretold by the Apostle — have clothed them- selves with the fleece, and devoured the sheep, instead of feeding and leading them into green pastures. But as the Lord has said, "by their fruits, ye shall knovir them," many of them have been found out and sometimes driven from the 2 72 ORDINATION OF fold, before their ends have been fully accomplished. And just as suie as he hath said, "what hath the wicked to do to declare my counsel?" he will finally bring all such to judgment. And although they may say, " We have eat and drank in thy presence, and in thy name cast out deV ils ;" He will answer and say unto them, " depart ye curs, ed, I never knew you." For he never knew them as his properly called and duly authorised ministers of his word. How high, how just is the authority exercised by Christ in sending forth his ministers ; and how far does it tran- scend that authority contended for as divine, by those who contend for the succession. This is a mere human in- vention, founded on the supposition that Christ had delega- ted his authority to men ; so that by their using certain- words or ceremonies, they might call whom they think fit and thrust them into the Lord's vineyard. Although for the most part,their words and ceremonies are of human in- vention it seems to be their opinion that, the using of them, acts as a charm in the mouths and hands of the succession- ist, to convey ministerial authority ; no matter how wicked and abandoned the consecrator may be. How strange that rational men should fall into such error, and how absurd that they should persevere therein, while gospel light now shines with all its splendor and glory. Instead of Christ leaving us any set of words to use like an enchantment, by which grace and the Holy Ghost should he imparted to qual- ify men for the ministry ; he has not so much as left us any certain form or mode of church government, or of vis- ible appointment or ordination to the holy ministry. We are therefore left perfectly free to choose an Episcopal or a Presbyterial form, or to impart the authority of the church, by the imposition of hands or otherwise, as we might be- lieve best. And who does not thank God for this Christian liberty ? It is true, under the Jewish economy, and alsa PROTESTANT I]PlSCOPAL CHURCH 273 tinder the commencement of the christian dispensation, h was customary to use the imposition of hands, for various purposes ; such as healing the sick, imparting by the spe- cial command of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to set apart men who were already ministers or Apostles, for certain or special work, in the Lord's vineyard. Hence the church has, for the most part, adopted that mode in the consecration of men to the holy ministry ; and perhaps it may be upon the whole the best. But some have not done it, because they have found nothing in scripture to make it specially obligatory on them. And who could say, in truth, that, according to the word of God they could not be ministers without it? for they certainly had, so far as the imposition of hands is concerned, as much authority to preach God's holy woid as Paul had, for fourteen years after God called him to the ministry; and even to fill the high and dignified office of an Apostle. He conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went he up to Jerusalem to obtain regular consecration from the rest of the Apostles • but went immediately, and that too by the command of Christ, to the holy work, assigned him. We should have order; and that order that may have been adopted by the church, although it be but a prudential measure, should be, for the good of the whole, strictly complied with. But how' absurd it is to make so much of the imposition of hands as to say, that it is essential to the ministry ; and especial- ly that there must be a regular line in the imposition of the hands of Bishops, or there can be no properly authoriz- ed ministry, no due administration of ordinances, and con-- sequently no true Church of Christ. Truly, there would be as much common sense, leason or scriptural authority, in saying, we must all be Roman Catholics, and go and kiss the Pope's big toe ; or that we must all be Episcopaliansy or all Presbyterians, or damnation will inevitably ensue. 35 274 PUSEYISM, ETC Indeed such bigoted notions appear to be inseparably cot^- nected with the doctrine of succession. The Roman Cath- olics deny salvation to all that are not in the pales of their communion ; and think they are doing God service, when they can put to the rack, all that do not believe with them. While Pusey and his brother Tractarians would professed- ly ,cast off all that dissent from them, and deny them all participation in the covenanted mercies of God. We have already seen that Dr. Pusey of England, un- der the influence of the doctrine of succession, has been so much blinded that he has not only attached to it (as appears to be natural enough) all the hateful errors of the Church of Rome ; such as purgatory, the adoration of saints, &c., to get clear of which our noble reformers suffer- ed the loss of all things ; but has, to the astonishment of all good men, repudiated the sacred name of Protestant, and wishes to claim for himself and followers, that of Catho- lic ; which, although good enough, in itself^ has become odious to all the truly religious world because of the abuse that has been made of it. But in nothing has the blind bigotry of Pusey appeared more glaring than in what he calls a Sermon on the Holy Eucharist. In his preface or introduction, he denies the doctrine of transubstantia- tion ; but in the body of his discourse he appears most ear- nestly to contend for it. Truly, it is a strange mixture of contradiction, confusion and error. But it is the great and learned Dr. Pusey, Professor in Oxford college; and this goes so far with some in the world, that they are ready to swallow it, head, horns and all, without any hesitation what- ever. In reading the sermon, and discovering^ such a want of good English, good diction and good divinity, we could but be confirmed in the conclusion that the great mass of mankind is too much disposed to award to high sounding Bames, or to men reputed for education, abundantly more PUSEYISM, EFFECT OF 275 ihan truly belongs to them. For we too frequently see that men may obtain all the honours that a College can confer, and still be shamefully wanting in plain common sense. Dr. Pusey may be a learned man, for all we know to the contrary ; but it is very evident that he is very defic- ient in a knowledge of divine things, and therefore altogeth- er unfit to t-each, the holy mysteries of the gospel of Christ. If the baneful influence of his errors could have been confined in the bosom of the Established Church of England -where they have been suffered to operate, through his tracts, for so many years, wiih but little opposition from any quar- ter — it would not have been of so much moment. But they have taken a wider range. They have crossed the wide ex- panse of waters, and found their way into this country; where, it is to be feared, much harm has already been done to the common cause of Christianity. If one member suf- fer, the whole body, to some extent, must necessarily suffer with it. It is notorious, that a number of the clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church, have become so much infected with it, that they not only, with Pusey and others of Eng- land, contend for the deleterious errors and absurdities of the Church of Rome, and evidently manifest a desire to return to her communion; but recently, in the face of their long established doctrines and usages, one of their Bishops has ordained a man who was professedly Roman Catholic in his faith ; and that, too, while two of the ministers in his Church, stood forth manfully, and boldly protested against his ordination. Hence, we see, that not only the common clergy, but some of the Bishops, of that branch of the Church, have suflered themselves to be turned away from the true faith once delivered to the saints. It is but reasonable to suppose, that such a course of con- duct is well calculated, not only to distract, butultimately to divide, and, to some extent, destroy, this branch of the Pro- 276 POPERY, DESIGNS OF testant Church , while it will open wide, the mouth of infi- delity, and cause the Church of Rome greatly to rejoice. Infidelity, in its consequences, in relation to time, and especially to eternity, is dreadful indeed ; inasmuch as it gives a loose rein to all .manner of licentiousness, and dooms the immortal soul to everlasting infamy and woe. But Popery, in its fixed principles, in this and every other country, is abundantly worse ; as it binds, in ignorance and gupersiition, the souls of men here, making them believe all is well, while they count their beads and pay the Priest for absolution ; while, at the same time, they are living in all manner of sin, and are, every moment, in danger of eter- nal misery. What more dreadful curse can it entail upon men, than so to deceive them, that they never wake up to their dreadful condition, until it is eternally too late ? But this is not all. It is industriously engaged, in Europe and America, to carry out its dreadful end, to the greatest extent imaginable. No one can doubt this, when he understands what is meant by the Leopold Platform, as it now exists in Europe ; the very design of which is, to raise money, to send to this country, for the purpose of building churches and colleges, and the doing of every thing else effectual to the promotion of the Roman Catholic Church. And the object of this is, that she may take the ascendancy, not only in all ecclesiastical affairs, over all the Protestant Churches, but also to subvert all our civil institutions, in this free and happy country. And, that they might have the greater probability of success, it is well known that they have em- ployed the Jesuits ; the most hateful, because they are the most cunning, designing, and dangerous members of the Catholic Church. The Bishops and Priests that come to this country, have sworn allegiance to the Pope ; who has absolved them, from all obligation to observe any other oath of allegiance, to be taken to any other government. They POPERY, EFFECTS OF 277 may, therefore, forswear themselves, murder, or commit any other act, which may, in their estimation enable thern to accomplish their end ; and every one that knows any thing about them, knows that their motto is, " The end sanctifies the means." Yes ; these men, so hateful to other govern- ments, because of their insidious designs to overturn them, as to have been, not only banished from them, but to have required the interference of the Pope himself, to put them down ; these men, we say, are here. They are here for no other purpose, than to use all their craft and cunning, to destroy our civil as well as religious liberties. They put on, no doubt, a very fair face, and join in the popular cry for toleration. But let it be remembered that they are the sworn vassals of the Pope, and under his special juiisdic- tion. Their principles are the same now, as ever they were ; opposed to civil and religious liberty ; and if they are permitted to go on to accomplish their end, they will not rest, until every Protestant Bible is burnt, and every faithful Christian destroyed as a heretic. Who, then, but would lament, at seeing many, in a sister church — a branch of the Protestant family, whose foie- fathers bled to sustain the holy cause of our good institutions in this country — so far turning away from the faith once maintained by them ; and so acting, in the premises, whe- ther designedly or not; as to aid in this unhallowed work. The more it is calculated to rejoice the hearts of Papists, the more it must deject the holy Protestant Church of the living and true God. It is said in the blessed Bible, if the Jews had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Life and Glory. And surely we may say, that if our Pro- testant brethren did but consider, they would not assist in laying waste the heritage of the Holy One of Israel ; no, not even for the sake of claiming supremacy over their 278 SAMUEL SEABURY, D. D. ^ » sister churches, by the false and delusive notion of Apos- tolic Succession. But some of them, at last, appear to be trying to shift their ground ; which gives some hope that they are waking up to their true condition. Some appear to wish to aban- don Bishop White as their first and principal Bishop; and thus turn away from all they obtained in old England, to claim their apostolic authority from the Rev. Samuel Sea- bury D. D, who as they say was ordained in Scotland on the 14th of November 1784.* We are glad to see our friends moving; because when men begin to awake they are almost sure to turn over. But what can be gained by this in the way of succession? Will a different man, and a different country do any good, when the source of author- ity is no higher? If Seabury received Catholic orders, was it not from the most corrupt fountain, without any claim to succession ; and any thing under heaven but Apostolic ? Bid Bishop Seabury commence the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country ? or, did Bishop White, after wait- ing in England for his consecration, think so little of it, as to consent to be re-ordained by Bishop Seabury ? Surely not. Inasmuch, then, as the church was never organized till Bishop White came home to this country ; and as he has ever been considered the head of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, we must hold our friends to it. They must confess their true and legitimate origin ; which, as bad as it may be about succession, is as good as that obtained through Dr. Seabury. The truth is, our brethren if they are guided by the light of history, must confess that they have no claim to Apostolic succession ; and that their church, in its organization, is no better than other Protest- ant churches. And instead of being carried away with the See " The Episcopal Church defended, &c, By Jame? Bolles, A. M. ORDINATION OF 279^ fulsome idea of supremacy through a claim of Apostolic succession, they should honestly confess their true origin, and labour to cultivate christian charity with all God's peo- ple ; that religion, pure and undefiled, should be regarded by them as the one thing needful, and their own great ob- ject should be, to spread scriptural holiness throughout the length and breadth of the land. How much better, how much more christian-like, would this be, than to cherish that spirit of bigotry, that would exclude all their fellow- christians, who do not believe with them, about succession, from all the covenanted mercies of God ! How much more comely would it be for them, than to set up to be the Church, the only true Church ; when according to their own showing, the church of Christ is composed of ''faith- ful men," &c; in view of which, in all probability one half of their members, not only have no claim to that faith that justifies the soul, but deny, that justification, by which they could be faithful ; or which is the same, a knowledge of salvation by the remission of their sins, and consequent- ly are unprepared, in the nature of things, to be the faith- ful children of God. Here then according to their own- prayer book, one half, if not more, of their own members, are not members at all of the mystical body of Christ. The scriptures being true, it is by faith, and faith alone, that we are justified, through the redemption that is in Christ. When justified by faith, we are made partakers of the spirit of Christ; and by his holy spirit we are adopted into the fam- ily of Christ. And all this must be, if we are his children ; for it is said, " If ye have not the spirit of Christ ye are none' of his." How plain it is then, that if we deny justi- fication by faith alone, we have not the spirit of Christ, and are none of his. How unseemly is it for the high churchmen to say, toe are the Church, the Catholic Church, renouncing the sacred 280 TRUE SUCCESSION, ETC. > name, Protestant ; and, at the same time, calling all the' rest of the American churches dissenters; as though they thought the people of this country, were as ignorant as the people of the darkest ages of the world. They seem to have forgotten, that we can read our Bible ; and conse- quently, know that they are as much dissenters as any oth- er church can possibly be. In truth, there are no dissen- ters here, properly speaking; unless there be some little bands, that have broken off from some of the large branches of the christian church; but these do not call themselves so^ But what makes it the more ludicrous is, the Protestant Episcopal church is quite a young branch of the church, compared with some others. She came into existence long since the Baptists, Presbyterians, or even the much despised Methodists. But she is a continuance of thechureh of England! Ah, then so are we. And she is Apostolic! And so are we, fully as much, and we think, if any thing a little more so. For leaving out the peculiar name by which we are distinguished as a branch of the church, we' claim the true character of the Apostolic church : as we have the true Apostolic doctrines, the true Apostolic faith, and the true Apostolic spirit, read and known of all men. And, in all this, we claim to be in the true succes- sion. For the true succession, does not consist in a suc- cession of men, especially of bad men, who have wickedly usurped ecclesiastical authority; but in pure Bible doc- trine, faith, and discipline. These we have; and having them, we have Christ ; and must be apostolic, and conse- quently in the true succession. But another thing which places our exalted friends in a very awkward attitude is, they hold baptism for the remis- sion of sins — than which, a more fatal mistake could hardly be made — and that none can duly administer it, but one of those in the succession. Yet, many of their members, and, POPERY, EFFECTS OF, ETG 281 UQ d, I am now old, and cannot work much; but still, I want to stand by the cart. He was an excellent man ; and in his happy death, in all probability, was the means of the con- version of one of his sceptical neighbors. His widow, I suppose is still alive, and truly a mother in Israel, and her house a home, as it has been for many years, for the way- worn minister of the gospel of Christ. When in my station,! boarded with my worthy friend As- bury Broadwell, who by his own request received, and en- AUTHOR'S LIFE 347 tertained me, free of all expense to the church. His ami- able wife was a member of the church; and they seemed to try, by every possible means, to make me comfortable and happy, while under their hospitable roof. May the Lord reward them, for their kindness to his unworthy ser- vant. My good sister Broadwell has been ever since, among my few female correspondents ; and did she know how highly I prize her letters, she would, possibly, write of- t«ner than she does. The church was composed of many of the most respecta- ble citizens, in and around Cynthianna, and Methodism ap- peared to be in good repute, among the people generally. But, notwithstanding the church was crowded frequently, with attentive hearers, our success was not as great, as might have been expected. It is true the Lord was good to us, so that we had many happy seasons, and some in- crease in the church of God. In one thing, I had to re- joice, i. e. we appeared to live in peace with God and all mankind. Sometime in April, T had to leave my station for the General Conference that held its session in Philadelphia; and several times on my journey, 1 was greatly alarmed, by the carelessness and racing of drunken drivers ; but the Lord in mercy brought me safely through. At this Confer- ence, we elected, and ordained brothers Emory and An- drews, to fill the sacred office of Bishops ; one of whom long since met with a violent death, to the great loss and af- fliction of the Church. He was, truly, a great and good man ; and no doubt, has gone to participate in the joys at God's right hand. Inasmuch as the temporal, and spiritual concerns of the Church throughout the whole continent come up, in a con- siderable degree, before the General Conference, we may al- ways expect some hard cases. But, at this Conference, we 348 A SKETCH OF THE had upon the whole, a harmonious and peaceful season, and all things were done decently, and in order ; and after a session of about four weeks we parted, many of us to meet no more till the judgment of the Great Day. On my journey home, I was again several times, greatly alarmed in the stage. At one time, the hook in front of the tongue gave way, and the swingle-trees fell upon the horses' heels. This caused them immediately to turn in towards the stage, which greatly alarmed the driver, who lost his command of them. At another time, in coming up the mountain, by the side of the Juniata river, in the night, I thought the driver was asleep,as the stage appeared to stop; I looked out, and found we were on the brink of a tremen- dous precipice. I spoke to the driver, and asked him, if we were not in danger. He said no ; cracked his whip and went on, I looked forward and saw the ground had broken oif in several places, and presently in went the wheels. It was truly a frightful time, but through mercy we did not go over; and I was brought again in safety to my desired home and station; for which 1 have gieat reason to bless and praise God. At the close of this conference year, I was gieatly exer- cised once more, about locating. It appeared to me, that 1 had served as long as I could in my peculiar circumstan- ces ; and 1 thought, I had better stop, and take care of my own family. I tried to weigh the matter as well as I could; and thought my mind made up now to locate. 1 took my pen to write to the ensuing Conference, to bid a respectful farewell to my brethren, and to request theii acquiescence in my determination. But, when 1 came to a certain point my heart failed me, and 1 laid it by for the present. I thought I was calm, composed and righteously determined. But that night 1 began to weigh the matter again, and be- came so agitated, that I slept but little through the whole AUTHOR'S LIFE 349 night. In the morning I told my wife, and said I thought, I would go to Conference, and see if they had anything I could do; and if they had not I would then locate. She agreed with me, that in all probability, that would be best ; but pursuaded not to accept the office of Presiding Elder. I assured hei she need not fear, for if they had nothing else for me, I should be sure to locate." I went, and lo ! I came home the Presiding Elder of the Augusta District. 1 had ev- er felt an objection to taking that laborious, unthankful, and responsible office ; but 1 was overruled by my good and much beloved brother Corwine, who had just filled his four years on that District. My wife who with all her wish for me to keep on, wept, but it was no use ; I was then the Presiding Elder, and must, if possible, fulfill my course. This took place in the fall of 1832, and I continued on the district three years. It was large, embracing the coun- try from Augusta to the mouth of Big Sandy; up Big Sandy to Pike county, and thence across the country to OwergS' villa, Paris, and again to Augusta. Hence, I was fre- quently worn dowa with long and tedious journeys; but I often felt repaid, in meeting the preachers at their Quar- terly Meetings ; where we would be together for several days, in the mutual enjoyment of the privileges and immu- nities of God's house. At many places, especially in the mountains, we had gra- cious revivals of religion ; at which seasons, many precious souls were brought to the experience of a good hope,'through grace. The people where I stopped, were kind, and appeared to take pleasure in doing for me whatever they thought would make me comfortable. I found, in my travels, one peculiar case of affliction. It was that of an aged man, by the name of Prather, who had suffered so much with the inflammatory rheumatism, that he was so stiffened, from his head to his feet, as to be unable to bend a joint in his body, 350 A SKETCH OF THE except his fingers. He lay propped in his bed like a piece of marble, and entirely unable to move. And, in addition to this, he was stone blind. He appeared to be a man of good sense; and, in conversing with him, he told me he had been, for a long time, perfectly easy, but had been in the condition in which I found him, for about twelve or thirteen years. He lived not far from the Burning Spring, in the mountains, on the road from Owingsville to Pres- ternsburgh. How wonderful the ways of Providence are, with the children of men. At the close of my three years' labor on "this district, in 1835, I attended our Conference, held in ShelbyviUe ; and, after a considerable degree of difficulty and labor, in assist- ing the Bishop and Presiding Elders in stationing the pieacheis for the ensuing year, it was pronounced, on all hands, as well done. I had made several delicate hints to get clear of my old district ; but they appeared to be unno- ticed, and I was expected to go back again. The next morning, when w^e met to close our business and receive our appointments. Bishop Andrews sent me word to take his place, and preside in the Conference until he should be ready to come in. I did so ; little suspecting what was going on. After some time, he came in ; and all things being prepared, he began to read out our appointments. I soon found, to my astonishment, I was left off my old dis- trict ; and, for a long time, could not conceive what he had done with me ; till at length my name came out for Mount- Sterling station. It is true, I was much surprised at the change the Bishop had made that morning. But it was a good one for me ; and I said nothing about it, but went on to it, putting my trust in Him who does all things well. Although there had been considerable difficulty in suiting that station, and I had been with them, already, two years, I was gladly received ; and it turned out to be one of my AUTHOR'S LIFE 331 most happy years in that place. The people not only came out to hear me when I preached, but they appeared to do every thing in their power to encourage me in my labors. More respectful congregation, 1 think I never served ; for scarcely did a living soul stir from his seat, at any time du- ring divine service. And the best of all was, the blessing of the Lord, in a good degree, appeared to attend our labors. I think it was in the course of this conference year, that my old and much esteemed friends, Mr. and Mrs. Howard, were greatly afflicted in their family. Their eldest son, a very sprightly and fine young man — if I recollect right, be, tween twenty and thirty years of age— was, after a few days' illness, called away from time to eternity. I was sent for to preach his funeral sermon ; and truly I found an afflicted family. My kind friend, Mrs. Howard, told me, with much feeling, that she had raised a considerable family of chil. dren ; they had been greatly blessed with health and pros- perity, and this was the first break in their ranks ; and as it was their first-born son, it went very hard with her. But, some time after, they were called to suffer the loss of another beloved son. He was not yet twenty-one years of age ; but well grown and of fine promise. He fell into a pulmonary affection, and lingered long, before the closing scene ; which was truly one of the most trying I ever saw. On the day of his death, I was sent for, at his request; and when I went to him, to the great joy of all his friends pres- ent, he requested me to pray for him. I had to stay with him through the day, and frequently pray with him. He several times appeared to sink, as if his last moment had come, and then he would revive again, until he seemed, himself, to be disappointed, and said, Ah, I cannot die. On recovering from such spells, he would, almost always, send for his mother ; who would come, and show the tender mother's feeling heart to a dying son, in such a degree, 352 A SKETCti OF THE while his dying arms were thrown around her neck, that at last it became to me, almost insupportable, and I had to walk the yard, in the open air, to get my strength revived. At length, about night, he was moved, that his bed might be made more comfortable; and while this was going on, he called his father and mother, and all his dear sisters and brothers to him, and bade them an affectionate farewell; and then, while in the act of removing to his bed again, he sank off, as into a sweet sleep, without a sigh or groan, to wake no more, till the morning of the resurrection. Soon after our first prayer, he professed to receive comfort ; and I trust he Was taken from the evil to come, and lodged safely in the paradise of God. Never did I see a more af- flicted family, and never did I feel more for one, than I did for this. But, at the close of my third year in Mount- Sterling, I had the pleasure of leaving my kind friends in peace and harmony among themselves ; and, as far as I know, with all mankind. And- may the Lord keep their hearts and minds in peace, through Christ Jesus. In the fall of 1826, I was appointed to Lexington district; where I travelled but one year, on account of my health failing, to a considerable extent. My journeys were frequently long, on account of my living at some distance from my work. The winter weather was such as to render travelling very difficult ; and, as it was my custom to go wherever duty called, i was frequently much exposed, so that I often took cold, and became so much diseased, that it was thought dangerous to continue me on the district ano- ther year. Hence, I was released at the close of the year. Our Quarterly Meetings were frequently good, aad we had some increase in our number; but nothing very special, that 1 can now recollect. In 1827, our Conference was held in the city of Frankfort : where we were entertained in the kindest manner, by the AUTHOR'S LIFE 353 citizens in general, and had the use of the splendid State House, for the transaction of business ; and, as our venerable Bishop Roberts, was entertained by the Governor of the State, we had the use of his house to station the preachers in. I was so much indisposed, during the session of the Conference, that I could with difficulty attend to business ; but, through mercy, was preserved from any thing like a hard spell of sickness. When the appointments were read out, I found it was m^ lot to be stationed in the city of Louisville. And, in order to serve it, I found it necessary for me to make a conside- rable sacrifice. I had to break up my establishment in Sharpsburg, and move my family : but no sacrifice can be too great, in such a good cause. I found, on my arrival in that city, that my friends had made provision for me ; and they gave me a hearty reception. This year, I had brother John C. Harrison for my colleague ; but the next year, I was sent back alone. However, it was not long till Brother J. N. Maffit came to my assistance ; and he labored most in- cessantly, for the most of the year, and with great success. Although Louisville is, I think, one of the most healthy cities in the West, and my family lived in the most healthy part of it, we bad considerable affliction during our stay. While my wife, children, and servants shared in it, (not, however, from any thing peculiar to the place, but in the course of an ordinary providence,) I was strangely afflicted in my throat and breast: which originated, I suppose, in the exposure I had passed through, in serving other places. My breast and throat were not sore, and I could speak nearly as loud as ever ; but in speaking a few minutes, an unaccount- able obstruction would take place in my throat, and cause so much difficulty in speaking, that I could not possibly ]f)reach as I had formerly done. This lasted until the spring of my second year, when I was suddenly and unaccounta-' 45 354 A SKETCH OF THE })ly relieved; and thus enabled to labor with ease and plea-* sure, the remainder of my time. Indeed, such had been my affliction, that I know not how I should have done, had it not been for the good and efficient aid of my worthy brethren, Hariison and Maffit. We had, in the course of the two years, a great and glorious revival of religion ; which resulted in a large and valuable acquisition to the church. And this must be attributed mainly to their labors ; espe- cially to those of my good brother Maffit, under the blessing of Almighty God. One thing is certain, those who know brother Maffit best, and have^the opportunity of hearing him longest, love him most, and think best of his talents, labors, and the revivals that so generally attend them. Truly he was made a great blessing to Louisville; as many can tes- tify, even to this day. We found many precious friends in Louisville, during our stay — not only in, but out of the Church — whose acts of kindness laid us under great obligations ; and, as we can never hope to repay them here, we trust they will re- ceive their reward, when the Good Shepherd shall appear, to render unto every man according as his works have been^. May the Lord bless Louisville. In 1839, our Conference was held in Russleville, a very pleasant village in the Green River country ; where we found kind friends, and had a very peaceful session. My time being out at Louisville, according to our Discipline, I had to be removed ; which is always a matter of great anxi^ ety to us, who know not where we are to go, or how we may be received. But the Lord is always better to us than all our fears. I was sent to Shelbyville ; one of the most plea- sant and enlightened villages, and one of the most comfort- able stations, in the bounds of Kentucky Conference. I entered upon my work with fear and trembling, as I had understood that the Church at that place had petitioned AUTHOR'S LIFE 355 for some of their favoiite preachers; and as they could not be sent to them, I was afraid I might not give satisfaction. However, I soon found that all my fears were vain ; for a more kind reception I hardly ever met with, or enjoyed a more pleasant and profitable season in any other place I had ever served. Shelbyville is, in itself a pleasant village; not only because of its situation, but especially because of the peculiar character of its inhabitants. A more enlight- ened and religious people, can scarcely be found, in any town, small or' great. And this cannot be wondered at, when it is so justly celebrated for the best of female schools. It is true, it has other good schools, and a college, belong- ing to the Protestant Episcopal Church ; all of which are doing good, and adding greatly to the importance of the place. But there is nothing that gives Shelbyville so much moral and religious worth, as its most excellent female in- stitutions of learning ; except the holy gospel that is sta- tedly preached in her goodly number of houses of worship. These fine things we look for, in a splendid large city, like Louisville; and hence, we never think of mentioning them when found in such places. But, as it is rare to find a vil- lage so abundantly blessed as Shelbyville, we think it is a proper subject of remark. Through this year, my congregations were uniformly good ; and we had a good degree of peace and prosperity, through the efficient aid of my worthy Brother Tevis, who resides in the place, and has the special superintendence of the principal female academy ; while his highly talented companion attends, principally, to the literary and scientific departments. My family resided in the spacious dwelling of brother McHenry ; where w^e had every thing necessary to make us comfortable and happy. And truly the Lord was good to us in every way ; for which I desire to praise His holy name. 356 A SKETCH OF THE In 1840, I was sent back again ; with the full under- standing, that it was the wish of my kind friends of the station that I should return. Hence, I entered again upon my work, in a very diiferent state of mind to that with which I commenced it. My congregations remained as full, throughout this year, as they had been during the one previ- ous, and our prosperity, I think, was about the same. One thing, among many others, that greatly rejoiced my heart, was, that all the churches not only lived in peace together, during my sojourn there, but appeared to love, and be ready to help one another. This state of things must ever pre- vail, among every truly enlightened and religious commu- nity. "How good and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity." At the close of this year, I had to bid farewell to beloved Shelbyville ; and as my temporal circumstances had be- come somewhat deranged, for want of proper attention, and otherwise, I though it my duty, in relation to my large fam- ily, to retire measurably from the regular work, in which I had been engaged for thirty two years. I accordingly ask- ed the favour of my brethren at their Conference held in the city of Maysville, to leave me without an appointment for the ensuing year ; which was readily granted. I therefore, in September in 1841, removed my family to Millport, in Muhlenburg County, where we now reside. At our first arrival, we were much pleased with our farm, country, and neighbors ; and had good health in general, until some time in July 1842, when we became somewhat sickly and had the great misfortune, to lose our beloved daughter Ann Eliza Widney. At first we apprehended no danger ; but her disease progressed in such an insidious way, that she was past recovery before oui fears were much excited. Her loss was a great and irreparable one ; as she was a^wife, and mother of three dear little children, two daughters, and AUTHOR'S LIFE 357 one son, an infant about six months old. She was a dear child, who most sincerely loved her parents, as well as her own dear little family ; and in return, was much beloved herself. It was indeed a strange and afflictive providence ; but the Lord does all things well, and we would kiss the rod and adore him that sent it. We had been located on a low, and as far as we could learn, a sickly part of the farm ; but have now removed to a more elevated, and we hope a more healthy situation, and trust by the blessing of God to share with our neighbors, that general good health, that mostly belongs to this part of the country. I know it has been thought, that the Green River country has been generally sickly, and hence it has been greatly overlooked. But 1 am happy to find that it is a great mistake, and that it is, with a few exceptions, as healthy as almost any other part of the country, with which I have been acquainted. At our Conference in 1842, held in the city of Lexing- ton, as I was still unable through my pecuniary circum- stances to take regular work, I was appointed by my kind brethren, as supernumerary to Greenville circuit, in which I reside; having my good brother Turner in charge of the church. I make it my business to do all I can, but I feel^ as one confined in prison. When I go, and labour in the vineyard of the Lord, my soul still feels the old missionary flame : and I long, and pray for the time, when I shall be free again. I think I can truly say, I had rather be an itin- erant Methodist preacher, and be at full liberty to do my Master's work, than to have all that earth can give, and be bereft of this privilege. In this I feel at home, and happy as I cannot feel in any thing else. Oh, that the Lord in his kind providence may soon enable me to enter fully upon )iis good work again. I am now a few days more than sixty years of age ; 358 ASKETCHOFTHS have been thirty four years, and'upwards, in the travelling connection; thirty two of which, 1 have spent, through the kind providence of God, in the regular work, without any thing to hinder me from filling my appointments. And now I know but little, of the infirmities of old age, enjoy- ing good health and strength; so that were I at liberty, I I could do as much, I think or nearly, as ever I did, at any time of my past life. And this adds, greatly to my anxiety to be engaged fully, in my Master's cause. In looking back upon my past life, I regret not, that I have spent the prime, and most of my days, as an it- inerant Methodist preacher ; but rejoice to think, that an infinitely wise, and good God, counted me worthy of such an honour. Of many things in my life, I have to repent, and had 1 the power, they should quickly be undone. But if 1 were to live over my days, and had my choice again, I would take with gladness, the same course again. For not- withstanding it gives no promise of earthly wealth, or hon- our ; it does afford to the faithful servant, present peace, and consolation, that earth can never give, with a fair pros- pect of the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. It is in this good cause 1 hope yet to spend the remainder of my days, be they many or few. It may have been observed, that I have said but little about the preachers, or even such as have been my col- leagues; with whom 1 have laboured side by side. One reason for this is, I could not always recollect who my col- leagues were ; and secondly, it would have taken more time and space, than would comport with my present de, sign, to mention each one separately. And I think, that^ a few general remarks would be best. It gives me plea- sure to call to recollection my connection and intercourse with the servants of God, with whom I have laboured in word and doctrine. A more disinterested, God-fearing, an4 AUTHOR'S LIFE 359 tipright set of men, I think, cannot be found upon the face of the earth. I have lived, laboured, and suffered with them for many years, in the enjoyment, so far as I know, of their confidence, and approbation, without one solitary enemy or difficulty. And, as to my colleagues, we have al- ways laboured together in peace and harmony, and I be- lieve, loved one another as we should have done. Bless the Lord my soul, and all that is within me bless his ho- ly name, for all his benefits conferred upon me. I have travelled thousands of miles, over hills and mountains, as well as through pleasant valleys, on horse- back, and in almost every kind of conveyance, sometimes with, but mostly without, my family ; and yet, such has been the kind providence of God over me, I never had one solitary accident by which I, or any of mine, have been in- jured. I have preached many thousand sermons, and re- ceived, in connection with my worthy colleagues, many thousands of precious souls, into the bosom of the church; many of whom have proved faithful and have long since gone home to their rest in heaven ; while many others are still striving to make their calling and election sure. May the Lord help them to be faithful unto the end. In the course of my ministry I have also attended many prayer meetings, and class-meetings, which are among the most precious means of grace amongst us. And one thing I have always observed, that wherever, the members of the church were diligent in these, they were sure to prosper, no matter who was their preacher ; while, on the other hand, where these were neglected, there was a want of spir- itual enjoyment to agreater or less degree, no mat- ter how powerful the pulpit exercises might be. God will bless the diligent and faithful soul, while he will suffer the sluggard to pine in want. I have also attended many camp- meetings; and have found that God has made them a great 360 A SKETCH OF THE blessing in carrying on his holy work. I know that some persons are very much opposed to this kind of meetings ; and because many wicked persons attend them, and find a fair opportunity to engage in many of their wicked practi- ces, and thereby abuse the precious opportunities afforded them of getting good; they conclude that, they have suffi- cient reason for condemning them altogether. Is this more reasonable, than it would be, to condemn all relig- ious assemblies, because they have been, and still may be, abused ? The people who act so wickedly at camp-meet- ing, are equally as wicked in heart at home ; but in their own native darkness, and obscurity, they are not seen, as when they come into the light of the gospel as it is dis- played, in the midst of worshipping assemblies. And in- asmuch as such meetings are intended for the general good, and all possible pains are taken to preserve good order and benefit the community, they cannot in truth be blamed for the wickedness, of the shameless wicked that attend them, in common wtth others. I can but be in favour of camp- meetings, upon the whole, from what I have seen of them. They have many advantages over ordinary meetings ; one of which is their novelty, that calls together such vast as- semblies of people, many of whom seldom ever attend di- vine service any where else. But the great advantage is, the people leave their homes, and worldly concerns, and re- pair to such meetings, to stay for several days and nights together, with an opportunity of being constantly engaged in divine service. Their cares of earth, are gradually worn away ; and stroke after stroke, is given, by the gospel word, until lasting impression is made, that eventuates in sound conversion. Again at such meetings, God's children, come together from distant parts, and are not only permit- ted to see each other's faces here, but to become acquainted and hold sweet christian communion together ; thereb^^s AUTHOR'S LIFE 361 strengthening each other's hands, in the work of faith, and iabour of love. But the greatest reason of all is, God in in- finite mercy does, by the out-pouring of his holy spirit, sanction the efforts of his people at camp-meetings, to the salvation of hundreds and thousands of precious immortal souls. Although I have said little about my privations and suf- ferings, 1 have suffered, to some extent, in common with . my brethren; as may be readily expected. 1 have had to leave behind me frequently, my dearest earthly friends ; and thus suffer the privation of the greatest earthly good. I have also had to endure, the peltings of the winter's storm, and the scorchings of the summer's sun: with long and fa- tiguing journeys, and many other things incident to a trav- eling preacher's life. But after all, they are not worthy to be compared to the blessings and privileges, I have enjoy- ed in the service of God. 1 have had health and friends, and where to lay my weary head ; and above all, the bles* sing of God to attend, and make effectual, his gospel pro- claimed by me. So that I may fairly conclude, I have been more than repaid for all I have suffered. Hence, should 1 be so happy as to get home to heaven at last, it will not be on the ground of merit, for any thing I have suffered or done ; but through the mere mercy of God in Christ Jesus, who suffered and died that I might live ; so that the top- stone of my salvation will be brought up shouting Grace Grace unto it. In looking back upon my life, and in ta- king into view all that 1 have done and suffered for Christ's sake, I find I would not trust my salvation, to my bes tpray- er, my best sermon, or my best act of benevolence ; or all together, for ten thousand worlds. All my hope of future bliss is that, Jesus died for sinners ; Jesus died for me. His blood and righteousness. 1 make my only plea ; and my rejoicing is, that this is my all sufficient, and availing plea. 46 362 A SKETCH OF THE If any one should wish to know my creed, it will be found in the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal church. 1 fully, and heartily, believe her doctrines and discipline, to be truly scriptural ; and as she has done every thing for me under God, I should be an ungrateful son, not to ac- knowledge her as my mother. 1 do love her in my heart; and in her bosom I hope to live and die. : But after all, I never could find it necessary to live in contention with other branches of the church, or brethren of other denominations; because they could not see with my eyes, or hear with my ears. I have ever esteemed it my duty to love them as brethren, and sisters of the same great family; having one God and Saviour, and the same heaven and glory in view. Bigotry, I hate as one of the meanest imps of hell; having done, in my estimation, more harm to Christianity, than infidelity itself ; and I [am glad, that I have felt but little of its unhallowed influence at any period of my life. And I do hope and pray that it may, with all its pretended zeal for God, be speedily driven from the face of the earth. I think I can say tiuly, I have striven to live in peace with all men, and especially with all the chil- dren of God. And, when in the sacred pulpit, I have found enough to do to piea.ch Christ and him crucified: without going out of the way to find fault with others, so as to wound their feelings. Indeed, in so doing,such have ever been]my views, that I should have wounded my own heart more than theirs. 1 hope the time will speedily come, when all tha chiistian world will see and feel, as 1 have long since seen and felt, that it is our duty and glory, to promote the inter- est of the whole christian church, in all her branches. May God hasten the time for his great name's sake. Amen and Amen. But, one might ask, how will this comport with what has be,en said in this work, of Catholics and high-churchmen, AUTHOR'S LIFE 363 SO called ? To which it may be answered, exceedingly well ; as nothing has been said against them as christians, or because they have a different name ; or with any inten- tion to misrepresent their conduct or wound their feelings. Every thing of this kind, has been far from our design: which has always been to expose the errors into which they have fallen — for these, if persisted in, will not only be inju- rious to mankind in general, but to themselves in particular, — and, therefore, cannot be considered, in truth, in any other light than that of Christian kindness. Is it not writ- ten, •' Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be his kindness"? Who would be considered the best friend? he who w^ould use all possible means, although some mi^ht be rough ones, to pull his neighbor out of the fire ? or he who w^ould ne- glect him altogether, if a soft whisper would not suffice, and thus let him perish, through false delicacy ? Or which would be thought the best and kindest physician? one who would promptly and kindly amputate the incurable limb, and thereby save the life of the patient ? or he, who, for fear of givirig pain, would refuse to do so, and suffer him to die ? Or yet, once more we would ask, who would be considered the best Christian, or the one who patterned most after his Master? he who would suffer sin upon his neighbor, that might ruin his soul ? or he who would sharply yet kindly, rebuke and warn him, so that he might be saved? And here let it be recollected, that it has not been some small matter, or venial sin, that might have been passed by with impunity ; but the root, or foundation of all the fearful authority assumed by the Roman Pontiffs, by which they have done so much evil to mankind in gene- ral, and the Church in particular, that I have been striking at. In kindness, then, to the Catholic Church, as well as to all others, I have labored to put down this error. 1* 364 ' A. SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE/. * The name with me is nothing. Show me the Christian, and he is at once dear to my heart; no matter to what de- nomination he belongs. Indeed, I m>iy speak plainly ; for it is true, while 1 hate the doctrine of uninterrupted Apos, tolic Succession, with its necessary concomitants, I love, and cherish in my recollection, the names of some high- churchmen and catholics ; who have, notwithstanding their erroneous views about succession, &c., manifested to the world their sincerity as christians. I love God and all man- kind ; and my worst wish fof my bitterest enemy — if I have one— is, that God may make him a partUker of like precious faith with His saints. I embracedlhe religion of Christ, as it may have been noticed, in>€arly life. And, for this, I have never repented one morAent. It has preserved me from ten thousand snares, and afforded me safiety, joy, and comfort, not to be found any where else. I have ever found her ways to be ways of pleasantness, and all her paths to be peace. And now, after about forty years' experience, and close_observa- tion of the lives, conversation, and death of many of God's children, I am fully prepared to say, Jesus is the Christ ; religion is no cunningly devised fable ; but a blessed real- ity; that it is all the Bible sets it forth to be, pure, holy, just and good ; the very thing that will, and that alone can, sustain us in the trying hour of death. May God help me to be faithful ; that, after all, I may be able to shout, with my expiring breath, ** death where is thy sting, grave where is thy victory !" AmeUj Amen. f « t • i Theoiogical Seminary^Speer Library 012 0101 6740 ,;i r'i. \ vt: V''': :■ '^l^: