LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNI/ O] Received .September, ...i 88 5. Accessions No. ^-/-/^X Shelf No. THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM, AN APPEAL IENRY WILCfiGst^SE&BERFORCE, M.A. OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD, CURATE OF BRANSGORE, HANTS. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house ; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. HAGGAI, i. 7, 8. The God of Heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build. NEHEMIAH ii. 20. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. BIVINGTON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL. 1838. LONDON : GILBERT & RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S-SQUARE. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND CHARLES RICHARD, LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, ETC. ETC. THESE PAGES ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, IN THE CHEERFUL HOPE AND EARNEST PRAYER, THAT HE MAY SEE THE FRUIT OF HIS LABOURS, IN THE PROVISION OF A CHURCH AND A PASTOR FOR EVERY INHABITANT OF HIS DIOCESE. ADVERTISEMENT. THE following Essay is that to which the pre- mium of two hundred guineas, offered by the Committee of the " Christian Influence So- ciety," was adjudged by the Rev. Dr. Dealtry, and the Rev. Professor Scholfield. CONTENTS. SECTION I. PAGE The parochial system in theory and in practice 1 SECTION II. Measures suggested for the restoration of the parochial system 26 SECTION III. The measure of liberality and self-denial demanded by the principles of the Gospel 44 SECTION IV. The duty of employing our influence and political privi- leges on behalf of the Church 108 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM, & SECTION I. THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE. THE great and pressing evil which exists in the moral and spiritual destitution of a large portion of our countrymen, is too certain, and too gene- rally confessed, to require proof. Nor is it denied by any man who calls himself Christian, that some remedy on a large and effective scale must im- mediately be devised. What that remedy should be, is a question of greater difficulty ; on which it is the object of the following pages to suggest some considerations. And first, it becomes us to inquire what mea- sures will best harmonize with the ancient and tried principles of the Church. True reforma- tions are not effected by an hasty remodelling of existing institutions, on every call of expediency real or fancied, and without regard to the princi- ples on which they were framed, as the archi- B 2 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM tects of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries improved our great national edifices in the taste of their own times. Such a spirit, shallow and unphilosophical when applied to civil and political institutions, cannot without actual profaneness intrude into the sanctuary, where of late it has been but too busy. We must not introduce new principles, but recur to old ones; to those by which the ancient Church originally leavened the whole mass of national heathenism, and after- wards provided against the gradual increase of a neglected and demoralized population in the very heart of Christendom. These things were ef- fected by means of that system which apportioned every part of the Church to diocesan bishops 1 and parochial priests, and in its further development accordingly we must seek a remedy for the evils of our own day. 1 Shortly before the death of St. Gregory Thauraaturgus, bishop of Neo-Caesarea, " II fit," says Tillemont, (vol. iv.) "une exacte revue de toute la ville et de toute la campagne, pour voir s'il n'y restoit plus aucun payen comme il le souhaitoit extremement. II en trouva neanmoins dixsept, et levant les yeux au ciel, il temoigna a Dieu sa douleur de ce que son desir n'estoit pas entierement accompli. Mais il luy rendit graces en mesme temps, de ce que n'ayanttrouve que dixsept Chretiens a son entree dans cette Eglise il n'y laissoit en la quittant que dixsept payens. II demanda a Dieu la conversion de ces dix- sept payens et Paugmentation de ses graces sur les fideles ; et puis il mourut en defendant d'acheter aucune place pour 1'en- terrer, parcequ'il ne vouloit pas posseder un pouce de terre ni devant ni apres sa mort, mais mourir et estre enterre comme un etranger qui n'a rien a lui." IN THEORY. 3 In truth, when men have once grasped the idea that the destiny of the Christian faith is nothing short of universal dominion, some such system seems of necessity to be required ; other- wise the ambassadors of the Gospel would be precluded by the very laws of nature from that close and individual application of its principles to the heart and home of every man, which be- comes the servants of Him " who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." To attend, alike and at the same time, to things great and small, to regulate the fate of churches and nations without overlooking the minute and separate concerns of any individual, is an incomprehensible and probably an incom- municable attribute of the Almighty. We may without presumption infer from the hints con- tained in several passages of Holy Scripture, that He "who has appointed the services of angels and men in a wonderful order," has assigned even to the heavenly host, those angels of his who excel in power, their several places upon earth *, wherein to watch over its nations and churches, and over every member thereof: and whatever may be thought on this subject, it is at least manifest that if any number of mortal men were entrusted with the undivided spiritual care even of a single popu- lous city, many of their charge must of necessity escape unnoticed in the crowd; that the more docile, the more willing, the more zealous, the 1 Dan. x. 13. St. Matth. xviii. 10, &c. B2 4 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM more forward, would occupy the pastor's attention ; while the obdurate would be unwarned, the reluc- tant uninvited, the lukewarm would be left to grow cold, the modest and retiring would be overlooked. From the earliest periods, accordingly, the Gospel field has been locally divided among the labourers. Not to mention the divine mission of one apostle to the circumcision, and of another to the Gentiles ; we learn from Scripture, that from the very foundation of churches, apostolic men were charged with the episcopal care of separate and defined districts; and history in- forms us, that as the promise of Christ was more and more fulfilled, and the leaven worked in secrecy and silence through the whole lump, and the great cities began to number a multitude of converts too large to meet in one place and live under the same immediate inspection ; these pri- mitive episcopal parishes were subdivided, and their several portions entrusted to the charge of parochial priests. At Rome something of this nature existed within one hundred years after the ascension of our Lord, and the precedent seems to have been generally followed 1 . In 1 See Jer. Taylor, " Episcopacy asserted," ch. xliii. (vol. vii. Heber.) In inquiring into the origin of parishes, we must distinguish between territorial divisions for the pastoral cure, and distinct parochial endowments. Those authors (as Bing- ham) who have represented the institution of parishes as com- mencing in the reign of Theodosius, or even later, have referred to the latter; but it is certain that parish churches existed long before a separate maintenance was provided for their IN THEORY. 5 succeeding ages again, as all men thronged into the Church, and these earliest parishes became too populous for separate superintendence, they were farther subdivided by the same episcopal authority from which they had originated. The division of labour, and the concentration of responsibility, is therefore a principle entwined with the original constitution of the Church. Every one of Christ's flock has his appointed shepherd, who must give account for his soul. The bishop is bound 1 , either by himself or by those commissioned by him, to oversee every inhabitant of his diocese, the parish priest each of his parishioners. Nor are the services of the laity unappropriated : for, while all are bound to- gether as members of the same Lord, they are more especially united who are committed to the superintendence of the same bishop, and yet more of the same pastor ; and the efforts of Christian benevolence in the alleviation of bodily suffering, the education of youth, and the edification of all, are no longer dispersed over a desultory and uncertain range, but are united and concentrated, that with a wise and well-ordered alacrity we may " bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ 2 ." incumbents, who with the bishop shared a common stock. The establishment at Hippo, in the time of St. Austin, seems to have been of this nature. 1 See Wilson's Sacra Privata ; Andrews's Devotions, &c, 2 See Acts vi. It may be observed, that the state poor laws, a most inadequate substitute for the bounty of the Church, yet 6 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM And this principle of the Catholic Church is strongly maintained in the rules and canons of our own branch of it, and in those ancient laws of England of which we boast that " Christianity is part and parcel." Our land is divided into dioceses, and every diocese into parishes ; and while these divisions are recognised by law, and their limits annually defined and continually re- traced, so that every man may always be assigned to his own ; it is a recognised principle, that the bishop is put in charge of the whole population of his diocese, and that under him the priests have the care of all within their several parishes. Hence they are solemnly charged at their ordi- nation not only as men intrusted with the minis- try of Christ's Church, but also as those who are about to undertake the care of a certain defined portion thereof: " See that you never cease your labour, your care, and diligence, until you have done all that lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no place left among you either for error in religion, or for viciousness of life." The ceremonial of institution and collation again im- still recognise the connexion existing between fellow pa- rishioners ; and under all changes of the law, in proportion as the poor depend less on a legal provision, they ought to find a more plentiful supply in the alms of the Church. IN THEORY. _ 7 press the same lesson ; and the canons and ru- brics fill up the description of a parish priest as the pastor of the whole flock within its limits ; requiring that he shall know and report to his diocesan their peculiar sins and temptations, and the local evils to which they are exposed 1 . They imply that he is to be acquainted with all by name and face, for he is to distinguish those who avail themselves of the means of grace, and those who neglect them, those who are at peace or at variance with each other, those who are an example or a scandal to the flock. His pervading influence is to hallow every joy and sorrow of their lives ; he is to bless every wedded pair, to receive every infant into the communion of the Church, to superintend the religious education of every child within his bounds, to attend and minister at every sick bed, and finally to commit to rest in the church's shade the mortal remains of every member of her holy brotherhood. Such are the laws by which it is provided, that no dark corner of our land shall ever be found where Satan may muster his forces, and reign unmolested by the ministers and ambassadors of Christ; that there shall never be any one of our population, whether old or young, rich or poor, to whom life and light and liberty are not offered ; that every man among us shall be numbered either with Christ's faithful and obedient children and ' See especially the rubrics appended to the Visitation of the Sick, to the Catechism, and to the Holy Communion. 8 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM servants, or else with those who wilfully and per- versely neglect Him, and will not have Him to reign over them ; to whom His Gospel is a savour of life unto life, or a savour of death unto death. And now, how are these provisions of the Church realized in her practical working? It is not too much to say, that in our metropolis and other great cities they are wholly obsolete. These pages, perhaps, may meet the eyes of some 9 who scarcely know even the name of the parochial minister, to whom, as we have seen, the Church has solemnly entrusted the care of their souls, and of very many whose acquaint- ance with him extends little further. And such is not only the case of irreligious persons or of those who are ill-affected towards the Church; nor is it the result of their own choice ; but it is of necessity the condition of great numbers of sincere, devout, and conscientious churchmen. Our actual condition, therefore, presents this startling inconsistency ; that while we maintain the importance, and even the neces- sity, of the parochial system, and while in name we retain it, we have suffered the inhabitants of our cities, in many respects the most important part of our population, to be wholly deprived of its blessings. This effect has resulted from the combined action of several causes, but chiefly from the rapid and momentous change, which during the last century has passed upon the condition of IN PRACTICE. society in England. From an agricultural, we have become, in great measure, a commercial and manufacturing people. In many districts, villages have swelled into towns, and towns into mighty cities. The population of several coun- ties has increased with a rapidity unexampled probably in the history of the world, certainly without parallel in any long settled and civilized country. In Lancashire, which contained in the year 1700 one hundred and sixty-six thou- sand souls, there are now one million three hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. The population, therefore, has been multiplied more than eight times. In the West Riding of Yorkshire again, in parts of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and several other counties, the process has been and is proceeding with no less rapidity. The metropolis too, has wholly changed its character within the same period. The cities of London and Westminster it is well known, at no distant period, were sepa- rated by fields and gardens, and connected chiefly by the Thames. The population swarmed about the great marts of commerce, on the north bank of the river, in parishes astonishingly numerous and subdivided, now abandoned chiefly to ware- houses and offices. A little to the west of Tem- ple Bar were the pleasant gardens and houses of the nobility, extending along the Strand of the river, then no crowded street ; and in many respects answering to those which may now be 10 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM seen in the neighbourhood of Brentford and Twickenham. And this is the space which now teems with immortal beings, and which we have neglected to subdivide into new ecclesiastical districts as occasion arose, and as ancient ex- ample, and indeed the principle of the paro- chial system, required. And now the overgrown parishes, which on every side surround the city of London, witness by their rural names against the remissness of a generation, which in so many cases has left under the care of a single pastor a district, which, when sprinkled with villas and cottages, gave him full occupation, and in which every cellar and garret is now the abode of fa- milies, whose numbers, by precluding all attempt at due pastoral superintendence, do practically destroy all pastoral responsibility. The parish of " St. Giles in the Fields " contains 36,432 immortal souls ; that of " Bethnal Green," 62,018, and yet the former is still entrusted to the care of three, and the latter of four parochial clergymen. Nor are these solitary cases : in St. George's in the East there are 38,505, with two clergymen ; in St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, 33,000, with two; in Stepney, 51,000, with three ; in St. Luke's, 46,642, with two ; in St. Mary's, Whitechapel, 31,100, with one 1 . And 1 The facts stated above are drawn chiefly from the docu- ments which have appeared in different numbers of the British Magazine, and from the statements published by the Lord Bishop of London, and by the committee of the "Metro- polis Churches Fund.'' IN PRACTICE. 11 taking an average of thirty- four parishes, we find the proportion of pastors to their flocks to be one to 15,100. Such is the condition of our metropolis. Many of the manufacturing and commercial towns are not much less destitute. In two parishes in Liverpool there are but four clergymen to 34,000 souls ; in Macclesfield, three to 23,000 ; in Oldham, four to 32,000 ; in Leeds, nine to 71,000; in Sheffield, the same number to 73,000. In other instances we find large districts (not towns, and therefore called villages), where, from the discovery of coal, and other causes, a scattered population has rapidly accumulated ; and a flock of ten or fifteen thou- sand dispersed over a surface many miles in extent, are still entrusted to a single pastor. In all these cases our parochial system is little more than a delusion; we retain the name and the form, we call the incumbents the pastors of the whole flock, they are charged by the bishop with the spiritual care of the whole ; but in the sight of God and man they are not, and cannot be, responsible for the performance of impossibilities. They are the ministers of their own churches they are the heads too of a sort of mission, bound to labour according to their power for the spiritual good of the multitudes around them ; but to require that they should penetrate the mass, and become personally ac- quainted with the thousands who compose it, that they should distinguish the several charac- 12 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM ters of those committed to their care, should warn the careless, should reprove the gainsayers, should build up the weak, should direct the in- experienced, in short, that they should duly exercise the pastoral care, would be extravagant. The people accordingly do not, and cannot, regard them as their appointed pastors. They feel themselves to be as sheep without a shep- herd, and have generally no other notion of the very nature of a parish, than that it is a district relieving its own poor. This state of things is obviously inconsistent with the rules of the Church, and with our pro- fessions as her members. But it may be asked in default of the parochial system, what other provisions have been made for the spiritual wel- fare of the people ? These have been, until very recently, only the erection of proprietary chapels, and the labours of pious individuals and societies. That a considerable amount of good has resulted from these means is unquestionable ; without them our state would have been worse than it is ; but they are palliatives not remedies of a disease, which, if not radically cured, must in the end be fatal. If we suffer ourselves to account them an effectual cure, we do but de- ceive ourselves to our ruin, and change them from a good into an evil. They can but be palliatives, because, from the necessity of the case, they have been directed by an imperfect principle. Chapels have been erected, indeed, IN PRACTICE. and congregations gathered, but no been taken of those who remain behind, have seen only what is done, not what remains undone ; and the result has been, that one here and another there has been snatched from the surrounding mass of ignorance and profaneness, but the mass itself has remained unleavened. It could not be otherwise. And what has been the consequence? First, that there are thou- sands, nay, hundreds of thousands, who, although baptized with us into the same body, are not only, as we have seen, without any parochial ministry, and so are not invited to the house of God, and as the Lord commanded, " compelled to come in from the high ways and hedges;" but for whom, moreover, there is no room, should they desire to come : they cannot, if they would, assemble with their brethren, where Christ has promised that He will be in the midst and will grant their requests; they are aliens of necessity from His Church. What number of our fellow-subjects are thus excluded from the common blessings of English- men and churchmen, it is as yet impossible to calculate. That they are many hundreds of thousands is certain and notorious. In the ab- sence of accurate statistical information with regard to many parts of England, we may safely infer something from the facts which have been ascertained and made public by the most meri- torious labours of the Glasgow Church Building 14 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM Society, and especially of their secretary, Mr. Collins. Of the population of Glasgow, which amounts to about 240,000, there are (it appears) above 90,000 who from age and circumstances might attend church, but for whom no accom- modation could be found in any place of worship whatever, although all, both of the papists and of all Protestant sects, Socinians included, and even of the Jews, should be thronged to the utmost. In this city, therefore, ninety churches at least, for one thousand persons each, would be requisite, in order to offer access to all l . Such is the state of one district, where in- quiries have been made. Have we any reason to believe that the spiritual wants of our own manufacturers are more fully provided? We find that in and round Birmingham there are 101,292 immortal beings, who could not, if they would, attend the house of God. At Leeds, only 14,393 out of 123,393 can find room in the churches. At Manchester, about the same proportion ; at Sheffield, one-ninth ; at Wolver- hampton, one-fifth ; and this seems about the average of the great manufacturing towns. In London, meanwhile, there are 34 parishes, in which alone there are 756,754 beyond the capabilities of the existing churches ; and, if we 1 The author of course cites the case of Glasgow, merely as illustrating the actual defect of church room, by no means as adopting the liberal theory, which would represent the Scotch establishment as substantially the same with the Church of England. 8 IN PRACTICE. 15 calculate that one-half of a city population ought to attend church (an estimate very low in the opinion of those who have most accurately in- quired into the habits of a town population a ), we need church room for 378,477, or more than 378 new churches, for 1000 each, in order to supply the deficiency. We have as yet considered only the propor- tion of the whole population which is invited to the house of God and the means of grace. Another most important question remains be- hind. How are the existing privileges of the Church distributed ? Looking as before to the great towns, it is not too much to say, that they are almost exclusively confined to the higher and middle ranks of society, whom, by a most un- christian abuse of language, we have learned to call " the respectable classes." When the Son of God would give proof of His divine mission, He said, " to the poor the Gospel is preached;" but in our overgrown parishes the order is reversed. A church is erected among a population of many thousands ; and immediately those who have received the greatest advantages of education, and whose circumstances are the easiest, even if they do not attend it as a duty and a privilege, 1 Dr. Chalmers calculates, that accommodation should be provided in country parishes for one-half; in towns, for five- eighths of the population. Collins, in his Glasgow statistics, takes the proportion at three-fifths. Bishop of Winchester's Charge, 1837. 16 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM yet unless alienated by infidelity, and indifferent to shame, are attracted thither by a sense of decency and propriety, and by the influence of public opinion. To the more wealthy the Lord's day is one of leisure, which often hangs heavy on their hands ; they are naturally inclined to follow the general example of their equals, and they have children and servants whom they would gladly see governed by religious prin- ciples. A congregation is at once secured, which comprises almost every shade of moral and religious character. Its members differ widely in the motives and the regularity of their attendance, but in one thing they are alike. Nearly all belong to those classes of society which are above the pressure of want and the necessity of manual labour. And where are the remainder ? They are excluded. The poor are naturally reluctant to mingle themselves with the rich ; they are unwilling to exhibit poverty and rags in contrast with wealth and splendour. The very act, therefore, of attending the house of God, requires in them something of an effort ; and they are moreover continually and impor- tunately tempted to withdraw themselves : for their life is one of labour, and the Lord's day is inviting as a season of amusement; their fami- lies clamour for bread, and its sacred hours are invaded by the pursuit of gain. Such are the difficulties which they have to overcome ; and we have proof accordingly, that abject and in- IN PRACTICE. 17 creasing poverty, has of itself caused many fami- lies to forsake the public worship of God, who once regularly frequented it. In fact, we may without much doubt assume that, without some measure of a sense of duty, a very poor man (especially in a large town) will scarcely be a regular worshipper in the house of God. But whence is this sense of duty to arise ? How is it to be fostered among the neglected portion of our town population? The due discharge, in- deed, of the pastoral care, as prescribed by the rules of the church, would (under God's blessing) produce it; but this, as we have seen, is pre- cluded, and what have they to supply its place ? They have been born and bred amid an habitual neglect of the sacred day of rest, and its blessed offices. They are but following the example of their parents, and accompanying the mass of their friends and companions when they neglect it and they do neglect it ; and are from habit unconscious of the neglect. And yet after all that barrier has not yet been mentioned, by which the poor of our cities are most effectually excluded from the house of prayer. For if any considerable number of them should overcome all their natural and excusable reluctance, and should throng thither (as we may say, uninvited), how are they to be received ? The consecrated area is partitioned, and almost every inch appropriated. We have carried the rights of property into the very sanctuary of our 18 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM God. Some parts belong to houses, others are let to individuals, and were any considerable mass of the labouring poor to seek for admission, they would not even be offered the alternative reprobated by St. James, "stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool." They are excluded not only by their own circumstances, and by their natural feelings, but by law and by the rights of others. It is difficult to estimate the true magnitude of this evil. Were the rich excluded from our parish churches, it would be in comparison a slight thing ; they could and would provide others for themselves. But to the mass of the poorest class, exclusion from the existing churches is practically total exclusion from the house of God, from all the means of grace, and from all the privileges of Christianity. And to this con- dition it is (we cannot too often repeat it), that hundreds of thousands of our countrymen are now reduced. How their lives are spent, and what is the comfort of their dying beds, who shall say ? It can hardly be, but that numbers among them are altogether in a condition more wretched than that of their heathen ancestors, or of the unsophisticated savages of the American forests. Knowing nothing of civilization, but the heavy pressure of its laws and restrictions ; of property, nothing but the invidious fences which ward off their iutrusions on that of others; of religion, nothing but a dark and gloomy IN PRACTICE. 19 dread of something beyond the grave. Arid on what hope do they lean, among the sorrows and anxieties of " life, which to every one that breathes is full of care," and to none more than to them? or how do they appease that restless and eager craving after "some good 1 ", which the Creator has implanted in man to attract him to Himself? Man was not made to be like some machine, whose object is to produce the greatest amount of manufactures, to work through the day, and rest during the night, until, worn out at last, it is cast aside to make room for another. Something more his nature requires ; and where do these men find it? Let our gin- palaces, our prisons, and our court-houses reply. In drunkenness and excess, in crime and vio- lence, are expended those human energies which God has given for Himself, which by His bless- ing we may direct; but which, do what we may, we cannot extinguish. The condition of our manufacturing and metro- politan population is an evil so overwhelming, so enormous, that it naturally demands our first attention ; and yet there are others, for whom provision is urgently required in our national Church. Many of our country towns, even in the agricultural districts, have been 1 Psalm iv. 6. " There be many that say, Who will show us any good ? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us." St. Augustine explains men's restless wishes. "Quia lecisti nos ad Te et inquietum cor nostrum donee requiescat in Te." Conf. 1. J. C 2 20 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM very considerably augmented 1 , and are insuffi- ciently supplied with churches and ministers. Their wants, indeed, are less urgent than those which have been detailed, and yet, if custom had not reconciled us to these and worse things, we should surely feel them to be deeply impres- sive. We have become familiarized with awful facts, and we can speak of the spiritual destitu- tion, of hundreds, or thousands, or millions, with as little emotion as a conqueror who numbers his army, and regards them not as so many in- dividual responsible immortal beings, but as counters in the great game which he is playing. Let us divest ourselves of these habits of thought, and estimate, by the standard of God's word, the worth of a single soul. Let us consider how great it seems to us even now, in the chamber of death, or by the side of the grave, and then let us attempt to realize something of that value which it will assume in the great and dreadful day of judgment. These are the units of which our account is made tip. It is of such interests that we speak, when we estimate the number of our countrymen, who live and die in habitual forgetfulness of God, and neglect of His gospel. If they could be told by hundreds, by tens, or by units, it were no light evil when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. And what is the case in the larger towns of our - 1 Sussex has increased in population 80 per cent, in twenty years. See Address of the Lord Bishop, p. 6. IN PRACTICE. 21 agricultural districts. They seem in general to afford church-room for about one-third of the whole population ; very often for less. An excep- tion, however, must be made, in favour of the cathedral towns, which are commonly better sup- plied. Thus, Bath has church-room for 10,000 out of 38,033; Southampton, for 7,140 out of 20,900; Oxford, Reading, Maidstone, Shrews- bury, and a great number of other towns, present a proportion nearly the same. Here, however, as before, we are far from estimating the real amount of spiritual destitution, when we have ascertained the proportion of church-room to the whole population. For the rights of pews form an insuperable bar to the attendance of the poor, in many places where it might otherwise be possible. It is stated for example by the Lord Bishop of Chichester 1 9 that the unappropriated church-room in six towns of that wholly agricul- tural diocese, will accommodate less than three thousand out of a population of 26,697. And this is far from an extreme case. In one of these very towns the proportion is but twenty to 4000. In a parish of another agricultural diocese 2 , " containing 8,083 souls, there is no accommo- dation for the poor except in the aisles." When we reflect how reluctantly any man, whether rich or poor, will subject himself to the risk of 1 Address to the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Chi- chester, 1838. 2 Statement of the Lord Bishop of Winchester. Dec. 1836. 22 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM being ejected as an intruder; we may, in some measure, estimate the degree to which our churches are emptied, by this most unbrotherly and unchristian appropriation. In the country villages, these evils, although by no means unknown, are comparatively rare ; and here, accordingly, the parochial system still sheds its unnumbered benefits. Assailed and reviled as it is, and compassed by ten thousand foes, we may surely point to the villages of En- gland, as a sign that God of a truth is still with His Church among us. Who can estimate the numbers, who in the great day shall give Him thanks for the blessings she has here dispensed ? And yet, even here, much remains to be done. The agricultural population are very commonly deprived of their Church privileges; not indeed by the pressure of numbers, but by remoteness of situation. In the diocese of Winchester alone, no less than sixty hamlets have been reported to the bishop as needing new churches from this cause ; all of these contain a population of more than 200, while 25 of them range between 500 and 1200, and their distance from church varies from two to six miles. Such is the state of the counties of Hampshire and Surrey ; districts pro- bably more favourably situated, than the average of the country. On this hasty survey of the existing condition of the English Church, the question naturally arises ; how did such evils grow up among us, IN PRACTICE. 23 unsuspected apparently by any man ; and why was the ancient custom discontinued (a custom coeval with the parochial system, and almost a necessary part of it), so that our old parishes were not subdivided, and new churches erected, as occasion required? And surely we can but reply, while men slept, the enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat ; the evil grew up gradually and silently ; men's attention was en- grossed by other subjects; and the growing wants of our population were unobserved and unconsi- dered. Men knew that every parish had its church ; that the supply had once been amply sufficient ; and they did not even suspect that it was becoming defective. That our church-room was not generally deficient a century and a half ago, is indicated by the rareness of consecrations ; especially as the general attention which they excited, could hardly have failed to direct to the subject, the thoughts of pious and munificent men, if any considerable want had existed 1 . That no suspicion of its existence did actually prevail, seems certain from the language of the great divines, who flourished under the Stuart dynasty. The want or remoteness of churches seems never to have occurred to them as favour- ing the cause of dissent ; and in recommending 1 Especially the consecration of Jesus Chapel (in the parish of St. Mary, Southampton), by Bishop Andrews, on which occasion a full account of all the proceedings was published in a small volume. 24 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM deeds of Christian munificence, the erecting of them is not enumerated, even when they speak of strictly religious charities, as " erecting schools, maintaining lectures of divinity, erecting col- leges of religion, and retirement from the noise, and more frequent temptations of the world V In their eyes the parochial system of the Church appeared to be a victory already gained, a strong hold already set up. It remained to avail our- selves of it, not to complete it. And such pro- bably was the state of the case. Accordingly the laws no longer offered inducements to church building. There had been a time when the subdivision of parishes was easy, and the founder became the patron of his own endowment ; but the need was gone by, and the opportunity was no longer offered. Provision was already made for the continual repair of the existing houses of prayer, and nothing more was required. And this sense of security once produced, naturally continued undisturbed. During the first half of the eighteenth century, political faction glowed at the heart of the English nation, and twice burst forth into the flames of civil war. Mean- while, the dominant party, for many years after 1 Taylor's Holy Living, chap. iv. 8. It seems hardly pos- sible that so obvious a work as church building, if there had been any real need for it, should have been omitted here by one who had so large experience in different parts of the coun- try, and whose practical advices are so much founded on his own experience. The same remark applies to Law's " Serious Call." IN PRACTICE. 25 the accession of the house of Hanover, regarded with jealous and bitter animosity, the influence of the clergy, whom they suspected (not unrea- sonably) of being the secret adherents of the exiled family. Any measure 1 which tended to augment that influence, was for that very ten- dency unacceptable; and at one time serious designs appear to have been formed, even against the endowments of the universities. When a better feeling was at length restored, a period of war succeeded, first for our colonies abroad, then for our national existence ; wherein we stood, with God's help, singly against the world. During such times, it could hardly be expected that any state authority should propose the erec- tion of new churches, and the subdivision of parishes. From the clerical body such a pro- posal could hardly come ; for early in the period in question, they were deprived of their consti- tutional mode of expressing their desires and sentiments. One cause more, and that a painful one, cannot be suppressed. It was a day of reproach for the English Church. From causes into which it is needless to inquire, clergy and laity alike seem for a season to have slumbered and slept. The golden opportunity passed un- improved, and they have left to their children the more arduous task of repairing the evil, which seasonable exertions might have prevented. 1 E. g. the establishment of Episcopacy in the American colonies, even without the demand of any fund for its support. 1 26 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. SECTION II. MEASURES SUGGESTED FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. THE facts adduced in the last section, show plainly that a monstrous evil exists among us. It has grown up silently and unobserved, as in the darkness of the night, until men look one upon another with equal astonishment and awe, and find themselves surrounded with a popula- tion, which, except in name, can be regarded as little better than heathen. And it is surely a token for good, that the fact, as soon as it has been made known, has awakened so great in- terest and attention. In this view we may hail the attempts which have been made to apply reme- dies, which must we know be delusive, because devised on unsound principles. They show at least that men are awakening, and although their eye has been caught not by the sun itself, but by the painted clouds which herald his rising ; they are at least looking in the right direction, and are no longer content to lie still and slumber while thousands are perishing around them. Yet we must not shut our eyes to the fact, that some of these undertakings are of positively injurious MEASURES SUGGESTED. 27 tendency, and others, although highly useful, are only fitted to hold a subordinate place, and must never be esteemed the primary instruments for reducing our population to the obedience of Christ. For projects 1 wholly independent of our Diocesan and Parochial system, which re- gard our cities or counties as a heathen mass, out of which individuals are to be snatched by desultory and irregular labours; however well-in- tended, cannot but be hurtful in the end. They are so, because they substitute a faulty for a sound principle, and divert us from the only means from which we can hope for large and beneficial results. And again, when individuals or associations labour to supply the deficiency of pastoral superintendence in a parish of thirty, fifty, or sixty thousand souls, (as is the case with our District Visiting Societies and the like,) they do well indeed for the season ; they afford an aid which the pastor cannot but hail thank- fully ; yet after all it is but a temporary expe- dient. The remedy is inadequate ; not because the labours of the laity, and of every one of Christ's people are unacceptable to Him, or use- less to His Church ; but because their place is as fellow-labourers in aid of the appointed ministers of God's word and Sacraments, not (as they are practically in these cases) to be substitutes for 1 Such as the " City Mission," " Home Missionary Society," &c. 28 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. them. If God has promised His especial bless- ing on His own ordinance, the priesthood and ministry of His Word, our plans will prosper, as they are blended into, and subordinate to this. Our steps must be retraced ; and as the evil has arisen from the neglect of our ancient parochial system, the remedy must be its restoration. We must supply to the dwellers in every street and lane and cottage of our land, efficient pastoral superintendence, and the public ordinances of the Church; and having done this, we shall still find abundant scope for the labours of every lay- man. " He that gathereth most shall have nothing over." And the work by God's blessing is already begun. New churches have arisen in every part of our land, and are everywhere rising; so that a consecration is sure to meet our eyes in every periodical report of our ecclesiastical proceedings. The augmentation again of the number of the la- bourers in God's vineyard is at this moment the object of the most strenuous exertions. What we have already done is invaluable as a pledge of greater things, although in any other view it would no more deserve mention than a drop taken from the ocean. For instead of absorbing the multitudes which had outgrown the capabilities of our old cJturches, we have not yet succeeded in providing fully for the annual increase of our population. After all our exertions, our church room, and our parochial ministry are less adequate than they MEASURES SUGGESTED. 29 were twenty years ago 1 . Should we now aban- don the work, every church already built would witness against us, for we need them now more than ever. May it go on and prosper ! The first practical step towards the greater exertions which are still necessary, will be to measure the work before us. That it is great, very great, we well know ; but how great it is we still need to be informed. Men are not roused to a true sense of their responsibility by vague and general statements. We must be told what we have to do, and in particular, how many ad- ditional churches and pastors are required. This can be shown only by exact local information detailing the wants of our several towns and districts. Whatever pains have already been taken in collecting and publishing these details 1 This statement has frequently been repeated ; it may how- ever be illustrated by one example taken from each of thegrear divisions of our population. And first the town parish of St. Pancras. In the year 1815 its population was stated by Mr. Yates (Church in Danger, page 68,) at 46,333, with church room only for 400, leaving a deficiency of at least 22,766. In 1835, the church accommodation (according to the report of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners,) had been increased from 400 to 5000 ; but the population meanwhile had reached 103,548, leaving (on the same calculation as before,) at least 51,774 unprovided for. Again, it is stated by the Lord Bishop of Winchester, that to absorb the annual increase of population in the rural parts of that diocese would require the erection of ten churches for 500 each. Meanwhile in six years from 1830, church room has been provided for above 29,000 ; a little less than the required proportion. 30 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. have been abundantly rewarded. The recent plan of the Lord Bishop of London, which forms an sera in the history of the English Church, owes much of its value to the statement of facts on which it is founded. But the greater part even of this preparatory labour remains to be performed. Our Church statistics should be more uniform and systematic. Let it be established as a princi- ple that the population of no parish should exceed some definite amount ', perhaps three thousand ; and let us then ascertain how many churches must be erected in each diocese, before the towns shall be thus far provided. And again, whatever standard be applied to our villages ; if we deter- mine, for instance, that no hamlet of three hundred souls ought to be two miles from its parish church; let us be informed how far we are from realizing the principle so laid down. The more accurate our knowledge, the better will our work proceed. 1 The proposed maximum may perhaps be thought too great ; especially when it is remembered that the old parishes con- tained on an average less than 650. (See Yates's Church in Danger, page 44.) It is certainly more liable to this than to the opposite charge ; but it should be remarked that every such parish ought to have at least two resident ministers, and that in proportion to the diminution of pluralities, such a nur- sery for curates will be urgently needed. Although therefore 3,000 souls are unquestionably too many for one pastor, they may not, when concentrated in a town, be thought too many for one parish served by two or more. By the efforts of our new societies and other means, we may hope that the requisite aid may generally be obtained. MEASURES SUGGESTED. 31 Meanwhile, let us resolve that as God shall prosper us, no success shall satisfy us, or cause us to remit our exertions, until we have attained the standard proposed, and have provided a church and a pastor for every one of our popu- lation. Our crusade against the powers of dark- ness must be unwearied, unsparing, and invete- rate, like the sword of Joshua against the nations of Canaan. Let us look before, not behind us. Great undertakings have ever been accomplished not by pausing to rejoice in that which is effected, but by a resolution intently fixed on that which remains to be done. So must it be here. Let an annual report be published in every diocese, stating the number of churches l built in the year past, and of those which are still required ; and, under the latter head, specifying by name every 1 Our new churches must of course be parochial; i. e. they should be churches for the especial benefit of their own dis- tricts. In saying this, the author trusts that he may, without impropriety, express his earnest hope that this object may never be sought by the introduction of a new and vicious principle. It has been earnestly recommended, that the places in our churches instead of being free, should be let at so low a rate as to put them within the reach of the poorest, and that preference should be shown to parishioners in letting all of them. The advantages of this plan are, that men are disposed to value highly that for which they pay something ; that the poor will be more independent, and entertain a greater degree of self-respect, when they feel that they have their own seat in church to which no one has any right but themselves ; and, lastly, that by this arrangement we ensure that the parishioners shall never be excluded from their parish church by strangers 32 THE PAROCHIAL SVSTEM. existing parish which exceeds the due measure of population, and every hamlet in which a church is requisite. We should then stand pledged to supply the wants of our whole people. If men neglected them, they would do it with their eyes open, and every Christian (instead of feeling something of surprise at the number of churches erected, and the frequent calls for aid), being continually reminded of those which were who may sometimes occupy the free seats, especially if the church becomes peculiarly attractive by the popularity of a preacher or other causes. The last of these benefits is equally secured by the ancient rule, which provides that the church- wardens shall allot to all parishioners, without payment, their own proper places ; nor is there any good reason why the free space of our new churches should not be thus allotted ; the allotment, of course, being conditional, and liable to be re- versed for sufficient causes. The other supposed advantages are plainly alien to the principles of the Church and of the Gospel ; for what is the Gospel, but great gifts without money and without price, and what the first rule of the Church but this : " freely ye have received, freely give ?" And of all spirits, a haughty independence is surely that which least becomes a sinner in drawing near to the Majesty of Heaven and Earth. Lastly, if it be said that the poor are not willing to occupy free seats, we may ask whether their objection is not rather to certain obnoxious distinctions connected with them than to their being free. Meanwhile shall we, without proved necessity, introduce a new principle subversive of those on which the Church has acted from the beginning a prin- ciple which would rest the claim of men to be present at the prayers and mysteries of the Church, not upon their high pri- vilege as Christians, but upon their rights as pew-renters ; and would make the peculiar blessings of the faithful, the men in Christ [see them set forth in Bingham's Antiquities, book i. chap, v.] a matter of bargain and sale. *S O* im MEASURES SUGGESTED.II U A !5dF T? still required, would rather be ^ and regret that so few are annually Now he measures the work done ; then he could not withdraw his eye from that which remains. But besides adequate churches, the parochial system requires the residence of the clergy. In the country districts this can of course be secured only by providing a house as near as may be to each church ; but in our great towns it seems possible to adopt a plan at once less costly and more efficient. That every parish should have its appointed pastor is indeed essential, but not that in every instance he should reside within its bounds. In many parts of our great towns, where immortal beings are crowded with un- exampled density, the proposed parishes will be of very small extent. The existing evil is in their population, not their size ; and were 30,000 souls assigned to ten separate cures instead of one, the present house of residence would very often be not inconveniently situated with regard to each of them. In these situations, meanwhile, every inch of land is sought with so eager a com- petition, that the rental or erection of a house in each parish would be peculiarly onerous. Many advantages, then might be united, if something of a collegiate establishment were provided for the clerical body, open to as many of them as chose to avail themselves of it, and leaving to all others the liberty of a separate residence. That such a plan would be highly economical is ob- 34 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. vious ; for, besides the erection of one building instead of many, the daily cost of providing for a number of persons in a common hall is known to be far less than would be incurred by them in separate establishments. A considerable saving, again, would result from the great diminution of the number of necessary servants ; and each of tfye clergy would be freed from much expense in the purchase of books, too often a serious charge on a very slender income. But in such an ex- periment, the moral and religious results would surely far outweigh any merely economical. It is not good for man to be alone ; and who is so painfully alone, as he upon whom the care of thousands is ever pressing, who is contending day by day against vice and misery, instructing the ignorant and warning the obstinate; while for himself, as for our first parent in Paradise, no equal friend, companion, and counsellor is found ; none of like mind and pursuits, and fur- nished with a congenial education, with whom he may take sweet counsel, " and walk in the House of GOD as friends." The biographer mourns over the departure of the meek Hooker " from the tranquillity of his college, from that garden of piety, of pleasure, of peace, and of sweet conversation, into the thorny wilderness of a busy world, into those corroding cares that attend a married priest and a country parsonage;" but how much more corroding, how much more sickening to the heart, the cares of a priest in a MEASURES SUGGESTED. 35 poor town population. And how many are there who, worn down by them day by day, are with- out the solace and refreshment of domestic life. Their number, too, must of course be greatly increased, if we plant in a great town thirty, forty, fifty, or even an hundred new churches, each of which is to have its minister, and often two ; while the endowments, for a time at least, cannot be expected to be large. How dear to them would be such a society as has been suggested ; the bond between its members drawn closer by daily social prayers and all the blessed intercourse of religious fellowship ; and how beneficially would such colleges affect the Church at large; which, besides other functions too numerous to be here detailed, would afford to candidates for the ministry a school at once for theological study and for the practice of the pastoral care ; and that (as it might easily be arranged) at so low a cost, as to remove the only serious objection, which has hitherto pre- vented the English Church from providing for every candidate, something of a professional as well as a liberal education. Considerable practical improvements, again, might be adopted in the internal administration of our parishes. The pastor, in general, stands too much alone ; and, as a king who is without a senate and a body of nobility is more absolute, but less safe, so the priest, doing all himself, is often liable to exercise his unchecked authority D 2 36 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. over a body diminished by the alienation of many of his flock. In some places, indeed, the services of the more zealous laity have been thankfully accepted and wisely directed; but not being part of any general system, these in- stances have been little more than experiments, originating in the personal exertions and in- fluence of an individual pastor; modelled, more or less wisely, by his own judgment, depending for their existence on his life, and for their vigor and efficiency even on his health and energies. They have been but excrescences arising in one and another instance out of our parochial system, not incorporated with it. We may surely conclude that much strength would be added to the Church, if these important labours were directed on some more uniform system. Without any invasion of the pastoral office, the services of our laity in visiting the poor of specified districts and reporting their state to the clergy ; in superintending daily or Sunday schools ; or in instructing the more ig- norant of the adult population ; might be autho- rized by a license from the diocesan, to be obtained on certain fixed conditions. This measure might be immediately adopted in any parish where it obtained the approbation of the incumbent and his bishop. It would strictly harmonize with the principle of the existing rule, which directs that schoolmasters and parish clerks should act under a similar authority ; and MEASURES SUGGESTED. 37 its general adoption (besides the great advantage of introducing something of uniformity through- out our parishes, and regulating on system the exertions of zealous laymen,) would produce the most salutary effects both on themselves and on churchmen at large. With how much more of authority and boldness would men discharge their several functions, who were designated to them by the chief pastor of the diocese, as the parochial clergyman to the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. Meanwhile, acting on a dele- gated authority, and no longer tempted to rest their claims on their personal qualifications, their own dangers would be much diminished ; their functions would tend to unite and attach them more closely to the Church and her ordi- nances, of which they would feel themselves to be a part; and they could at no time assert an independent authority, and usurp the functions of the ministry, without destroying their past influence by annulling and disowning the com- mission on which they had hitherto acted. Meanwhile the authority of the bishop, as the chief pastor of the whole diocese, would become a matter of experience to every member of the Church; and the mass of the laity, who now too often regard her most sacred order as un- connected with them and belonging only to the clergy, would feel that the diocesan was their own spiritual ruler, and, under God, the source of every order of religious ministration. It 38 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. would be difficult in any other way to impress so widely the conviction, that to be a churchman is a real privilege; that it is not merely to attend a certain place of worship, but to belong to a definite and organized society; a society invested with the highest gifts in virtue of a charter from the King of kings. It was this feeling which induced men of old to prefer the blessing of Church-communion to all that this world can bestow ; and it is a craving for some- thing of this kind which our Church, as at present administered, does not offer, which drives mul- titudes into different dissenting establishments, and many into the communion of Rome. The sacred order of deacons, finally, might be employed for many important functions, if the principle of the Church, which assigns to them an office wholly subordinate to that of the priest, were carried into effect. It is a strange anomaly in our practice, that a minister, un- authorized to perform some essential functions, and expressly charged with a secondary duty *, 1 "The Bishop. It appertaineth to the office of a deacon, in the church where he shall be appointed to serve, to assist the priest in divine service, and specially when he ministereth the holy Communion, and to help him on the distribution thereof, and to read holy Scriptures and Homilies in the church, and to instruct the youth in the catechism ; in the absence of the priest to baptize infants, and to preach, if he be admitted thereto by the bishop. And furthermore, it is his office, where provision is so made, to search for the sick, poor, and impo- tent people of the parish, and to intimate their estates, names, MEASURES SUGGESTED. 39 should so often be intrusted with the sole care of a parish. It would be a most obvious and important reform to carry out the principle which forbids that any deacon should hold a benefice, by providing that he should never be charged with a cure where his superior is not resident. The deacons would then find their place as assistant ministers. The measures already suggested, be it ob- served, are all in our own power. The bishops of the English Church, with the co-operation of the clergy and laity, have full power to put them into immediate operation. We require no legislative authority; we need wait for no political change. We want only Christian liber- ality and self-denial, with a spirit of unity and order. And how might the moral condition of our land be changed. Our parochial system once restored to efficiency, the Church would arise like one raised up from a seizure of para- lysis, whose every limb is once more instinct with life and energy. Her blessings and privi- leges being offered to all, none would be alien- and places where they dwell, unto the curate, that by his exhortation they may be relieved with the alms of the parish- ioners or others. Will you do this gladly and willingly ? Answer. I will do so by the help of God." Service for the Order- ing of Deacons. It could hardly be intended that the majority of those who are taught to answer thus should be sent the next day to undertake the care of a parish without any priest over them, charged with the performance of the whole of the weekly duty, and required to preach twice every Sunday. 40 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. ated but by his own free and deliberate choice. The openly irreligious and profane, who " fear not God nor regard man," and who neither desire to serve Him nor even affect the desire ; these would stand aloof from her. But all others would seek and desire her communion, except such as were dissenters on principle. How few of the more orderly and peaceable of the existing dissenting body can be classed under this head ! How many have become dis- senters almost of necessity; have been allured to the meeting not from the Church, but from the streets and the alehouse, and remain there partly from habit, partly because the claims of Christ's Church, and the blessedness of her children, have never been set before them. Let our parochial system be made universally effi- cient, and we may hope that we shall soon find them among us. Who can estimate the dignity with which Religion might then raise her head ; or the blessings which might be called down on our Church and nation by the continual prayers of thousands who are now aliens from GOD, " sitting in darkness and the shadow of death." Surely we might expect that the very face of our land would wear a brightness hitherto unknown. Even the secular and worldly condition of our poor would be changed. From the beginning, the Church relieved her own poor, and in parishes of due dimensions she might do so again. We begin a wrong course when we MEASURES SUGGESTED. 41 leave the poor in Christ to the fortuitous exer- cise of benevolence, and to the dole of a legal pittance. The benevolence of Christians should be wise, well-ordered, discriminating, and boun- tiful. Such are the alms of the Church, ennobling the giver, but not debasing the receiver; because the love of Christ towards men becomes the effectual source and motive, the model and example, of the love of men toward their bre- thren. We are bound indeed to do good to all men, but there are those who have a special claim the poor members of our Lord's body. He who has promised that to those who seek first His kingdom and righteousness all other things shall be added, and who does not see fit to work by miracle, has appointed the richer members of His Church as His stewards, to fulfil His promise by clothing and feeding His poorer brethren. True it is, that if we refuse He will still work for them, but we meanwhile shall lose our high privilege the privilege of lending to the Lord, of spending our worldly substance for Him. For while worldly liberality gives to relieve the natural sensation of compassion, the beneficence of a Christian looks farther and higher. ^ c ln Christ's poor members faith sees her Lord, and love ministers to His necessities." He who died for us still suffers hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness. He pines with sick- ness and is oppressed with sorrow, that we may have the blessed portion of feeding and clothing, 42 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM. of visiting and ministering to Him ; and beyond a doubt, in proportion as our land becomes truly Christian, an antidote will be supplied to every ill even of this world. Meanwhile the Church being once more loved and valued, as she deserves, by the mass of our population, we should no longer be distracted with perpetual assaults ; with measures intro- duced and forwarded, not for any benefit (real or imagined), but only because by harassing and annoying the clergy, by undermining their in- fluence or invading their property, the interests of some political party may be advanced, and a certain measure of popular support obtained. With a few honourable exceptions, statesmen are too prone to care for none of these things ; they do not love the Church of Christ for the sake of her Lord, neither in general are they decidedly hostile to her, save when some holy rule inter- feres with their own selfish purposes. The as- saults made upon her have been for political and party ends ; and if her influence were so far re- stored, that they would serve these purposes no longer, we " should be left in peace to husband our strength for God, not to spend it in the wretched turmoil of secular strife;" we should be " left alone with our parishes, to follow our ministerial calling, without the agitation of per- petual change and rumours of change." For the same men, who now for political purposes assail the Church, would then be ready to honour her. MEASURES SUGGESTED. 43 and fulfil the promise " The sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee ; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet, and they shall call thee the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel 1 ." i Is.lx. 14. 44 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM SECTION III. THE MEASURE OF LIBERALITY AND SELF-DENIAL, DEMANDED BY THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL. So great are the blessings which may reasonably be expected from the complete restoration of our parochial system, that we must prepare ourselves to hear men stigmatize the project itself as vi- sionary and Utopian. It is thus that we often reconcile ourselves to leave a great and good work unattempted. We acknowledge its great- ness, not that we may gather to it all our force, but that we may discharge ourselves from the necessity of making an effort. And we must expect accordingly that men will reply to the proposals contained in the last section, that great blessings indeed might be expected if our whole land were divided into parishes of a mode- rate size, and if every such parish were provided with its church and its resident minister, and with the necessary institutions for the education of the young, the instruction of the ignorant, and the relief of the poor ; but that, as it is hopeless that such provision should ever be made, we must content ourselves with other expedients. NOT IMPOSSIBLE. 45 They will admit that some new churches ought to be built, that some enormous parishes ought to be divided, but they will denounce it as vi- sionary, to propose operations so vast as are re- quisite for the full developement of the parochial system ; and therefore they have recourse to other measures more or less beneficial and expe- dient, but which must ever be wholly insufficient to remedy the evil. And is this really the case ? Is it hopeless that we should carry out a series of measures which would secure a blessing, and must we content ourselves to abandon the mass of our city population to the powers of darkness, and seek only to snatch from them one here and another there ? God forbid ! It were indeed visionary to imagine that by any measures we could pro- vide that all men should with a true and sincere zeal discharge their several duties. No system will make every Christian or every Clergyman a man of faith and prayer, of self-denial and pa- tient obedience ; for the evil ever were and ever will be " mingled with the good," until the com- ing of the Lord to judgment. But although men will ever remain fallen and inconsistent, and in every branch of the Church there will be many unworthy members, it is possible that systems may be ever approximating towards per- fection; and the attempt to bring them continu- ally nearer to it, instead of being visionary or Utopian, results from a wise practical sense of 8 46 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM human frailty and imperfection. If men were such as they should be, we might take less pains in regulating things by the best systems. Were every man endued with those wonderful powers of calculation which have occasionally existed, systems of arithmetic would be almost superseded; and so too were every minister of the Gospel a Paul or an Apollos, rules and su- perintendence might perhaps be dispensed with ; or, were all supplied with prodigious animal strength and energy, we might leave our parishes much larger than has been proposed, and trust that they would receive all necessary care and attention. But it is because men are what they, are ; because the spirit itself is bowed down with infirmity, and liable to the temptations of huma- nity, to remissness and weariness and faintings ; and because even where the spirit is willing the flesh is weak ; that we are of necessity compelled so to order matters as no longer to impose upon them an amount of labour, which their moral and physical powers are alike unable to support. And why should we despair of effecting so ne- cessary a work? Is it that men will not labour for the good of their brethren? No; for in every quarter of our land energy is displayed in abundance, whenever a work of charity calls it forth. Is it that they are unwilling to conform their labours to the rules of the Church, and to carry out and realize the parochial system ? Ra- ther, when fairly appealed to, the laity have NOT IMPOSSIBLE. 47 been found eager to take their proper place, as assistants to the ministers of God's word, in their blessed work. What then is the hopeless ob- stacle ? It is the expense. And yet it is not that we want wealth amply sufficient ; for herein God has blessed us beyond the example of any former age. It is, that (in the opinion of the objectors) men will not give what is required, though they have it. It is admitted that thou- sands, yea hundreds of thousands of our coun- trymen are perishing around us men united to us by every tie, who speak the same language, are sprung from the same ancestors, many of whom have actually fought with us and for us against our common enemy who live under the same laws with ourselves, and are liable to pu- nishment if they invade our security or property, whose labour we are daily using for our necessi- ties, our comforts, our luxuries, " without whom our cities could not be inhabited." These men are perishing for ever on every side ; we acknow- ledge that the evil admits of a remedy, that the remedy is in our own power : and shall we in- deed think it visionary to hope that it will be applied? The question is (in a few words) whe- ther or not we will be a Christian land whether we will give up part of our money for the cause of Christ, or will give up Christ for our money. God and Mammon we cannot serve. Long ago we were warned of the impossibility ; and now the choice is offered to us whom we will serve ; 48 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM whether we will make our nation an excellency upon the earth, a joy of many generations ; by taking God at His word, receiving in faith what He has spoken, and giving liberally to Him of our worldly substance ; or whether we will cast His words behind us, and trust to our silver and gold for our private and national prosperity. And is it visionary to expect that men will awake to a sense of such responsibility, of interests so enormous ? Surely although man's corruption be strong, and although the world has mighty power, yet the commands, and the promise, and the grace of God, are mightier, and must prevail. When He gave the word, the barren rock opened and sent forth streams for the thirst of His people ; and the power of that word is not diminished, that it should not work marvels now as of old. For moral miracles the time is never past. Neither is it a new or unexampled work of grace for which we ask : we have but to pray with the prophet, " Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord ! awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old;" for our faith and hope have the encouragement of experience, the experience of ages, to the power of the grace of God. Let us look through our own favoured land, and where does the eye not meet the pa- rish church, and all the blessed associations which float around it? And once these were not. Even if it should be thought that we still need as many churches as already exist ; the de- NOT IMPOSSIBLE. 49 mand is only, that in an age of unexampled wealth and luxury, men should give to God as their fathers did out of their poverty. Let us then take courage by the past, and address our- selves to our own portion of the work ; thankful that God has accounted us, as well as them, wor- thy to be partakers of its blessedness. But when we find men hesitating, and doubt- ing what ought to be done, it can hardly be questioned that they have estimated their actual duties and responsibilities by a defective rule. We have not, indeed, laid aside the Christian name ; nay, we have hundreds and thousands among us to whom that name is dearer than " father or mother, brother or sister, wife or children, houses or lands;" (God forbid that it should be otherwise; or what would save our guilty land from the fate of Sodom ?) and yet can we believe that even they have sufficiently considered their actual position and its duties ; that they have devoted to this great work such a measure of their substance, their time, their ta- lents, and their influence : as the exigency of the case requires, and the commands of God, and the love of Christ, and the rewards of heaven, ought to have engrossed ? The amount of liberality which satisfies the conscience of the mass of worthy and respectable men, may easily be estimated. Out of the abun- dance of the heart the mouth speaketh. We need not inquire how great a man's private and E 50 MODERN LIBERALITY. secret alms may be, when he tells us the stand- ard at which he aims. Men too often fall short of their acknowledged principles, but seldom ha- bitually live above them. And we cannot min- gle extensively in the society even of religious men, without perceiving that it is their prin- ciple that men should give to God and the poor, as much as they can afford. It is held to be a sufficient reason for withholding our hand, that we have already given according to this measure. In one sense, of course, the rule is both rational and Christian. No man should give that which is not in equity his own that which belongs to his creditors, or is necessary for the due support of his dependants or family; and if the words were commonly used in this sense, all would be well; but the fact is in general far otherwise. Men mean not, they cannot give more without encroaching upon other duties, and disregarding the claims of justice and equity, but that if they did, they would themselves feel the want of that with which they parted. Their pleasures, their appearance and equipage, their amusements, must undergo some diminution ; if they devoted more to God. In other words, it is their avowed principle, that the measure of a man's charity ought to be, that which he can give without self- denial, without any sensible curtailment of his own personal ease and comfort and pleasure. The majority of men accordingly proportion their establishment and expenditure to their in- MODERN LIBERALITY. 51 come ; and when any urgent call is made for some contribution either to the bodily or spiritual wants of their brethren, they measure their bounty by the surplus which happens to remain. Or if, with greater forethought, they apportion beforehand a certain sum to meet these calls, yet the proportion is determined on the same principle it is that which remains when other things have been provided for. It is one of the contingencies which swell their yearly expendi- ture, rather than an integral and considerable part of the whole. That this is no unjust account of the standard of duty recognized by the majority of orderly, respectable, and even religious men, is (as has been observed) but too certainly proved by their ordinary conversation ; there are however other indications which confirm the judgment. How often, for instance, when some reduction of expen- diture appears to be necessary, does that reduc- tion begin in an abridgment of accustomed cha- rities. The saving is in general extremely small, but the principle betrayed is momentous. For in these cases a man's attention is first directed to his least necessary expenses, to those which have hitherto been continued, chiefly because there was no great reason against them, to the mere ornaments and superfluities in which wealth has naturally tempted him to indulge. If then his economy begins with a diminution of his E 2 52 MODERN LIBERALITY. offerings to God and to the poor, it is because he refers them to this head. It is another unhealthy symptom, that so few considerable works of piety or charity are under- taken among us, except by some numerous so- ciety. Innumerable small contributions unite to swell the income of these associations to a mighty tide which seems to carry all before it : and this is well; may their funds increase fourfold, how great soever they be. Yet even here is an indication of the same mistaken principle. It has become a common argument, in behalf of our religious societies, that they ask of each a sum so small that he will never miss it. And accord- ingly, men whose income is counted by thou- sands, content both themselves and those who solicit their aid, when they give one or two or five guineas yearly to an association, which con- templates objects no less affecting and important than the momentous interests of eternity. They give professedly that which costs them nothing; and then account themselves charitable. While then we rejoice in the prosperity of these insti- tutions, while we acknowledge with gratitude to God the blessing which has often attended their labours, and while we see their use in calling the poorest to take a part in great and glorious deeds; (for the poor would otherwise be excluded; and to them there is no danger, for their least contri- bution, if it be "two mites," must be the fruit of MODERN LIBERALITY. 53 sacrifice and self denial,) we must not shut our eyes to the fact, that the subscription lists of our societies both indicate and encourage the opinion, that a man does enough when he gives that of which he does not feel the want. Because a mighty river results from the union of innumer- able drops, therefore is it deemed enough that each should afford but a drop out of the abun- dance wherewith God has caused his cup to over- flow. Far nobler and more Christian was the temper of those ages, when these societies indeed, of which we boast so loudly, were unknown ; but when innumerable and most costly works arose, each as the spontaneous offspring of some high mind, the fruit of individual love, and gratitude, and self-denial. A more miserable developement of the same vicious principle, is presented by our charity sales, and charity amusements. These are de- vices to effect the great results which are the natural fruit of genuine self-denying Christian beneficence, by means of our meagre and niggard rule of giving that which we shall never miss. As if to ensure the absence of self-denial, and to poison more thoroughly the very fountains of charity, we must be bribed to give to God even that which we do not want. We have ceased to give for the love of Christ, that we may learn, even in devoting our substance to His Church and to the poor, to be influenced by the love of worldly pleasure. 54 MODERN LIBERALITY. And yet one step farther have we gone. Having established the principle that charity consists in giving without self-denial, without sparing anything which we want; and finding after all our expedients, that such a principle will not supply all that is wanted ; we have now set ourselves to devise methods of serving God without any expense on our part at all. No sooner are the urgent needs of their poor neigh- bours pleaded, than men meet them, not with liberal, large-hearted, self-denying donations of that which is their own ; but with sordid, grovel- ling, debasing calculations, how the evil may be remedied by new-modelling one fund, and cre- ating a surplus in another, and appropriating a third. Insomuch that now it is scarcely pro- posed or even treated as conceivable, that existing evils should be remedied at our cost; but when they have become intolerable, they are to be met by laying our hands on the gifts devoted by our ancestors to some other work of piety or charity. Such is the result of giving only what we can afford ; such is the fruit of our maxims ; they end in SACRILEGE l . We must overthrow the founda- 1 The writer is aware that this is a strong term ; but he does not know how to qualify it without suppressing the truth. It is often urged that there is no sacrilege in confiscating the gifts of our forefathers, if we apply them to other religious pur- poses. He is unable however to perceive the distinction be- tween confiscation to enrich ourselves, and confiscation that we may not be obliged to spend. There is a vulgar proverb which shows that English common sense has long ago decided, that a MODERN LIBERALITY. 55 tions made by our fathers at their own cost, for which they toiled and laboured and denied them- selves ; because there are other good works to be done now, and we do not choose to sacrifice anything for their accomplishment. We have suf- fered a half-heathen population to arise among us, for want of churches and parochial endowments, and we hope to remedy the evil, by violating the sanctity of those other endowments whereby men who had carefully provided churches and ministers for every portion of the existing population, went on to secure the perpetual daily interces- sions of the cathedrals, and the maintenance of a learned clergy, who, secluded from the cares of a parish might be, and have often been, the de- saving however small is the same as so much gain. The only reason for the confiscation of the cathedral property, for in- stance, is that we may gain about 120,0002. per annum, to ex- tend the parochial system, i. e. that we may save the necessity of spending so much. This measure therefore is wholly different in principle from the suppression of the monasteries and other similar acts ; the cathedrals are to be suppressed, not because they are deemed injurious or useless, but solely that we may seize their property. In discussing a principle, the author of course does not presume to censure those venerable prelates who form the minority of the ecclesiastical commission ; who are but instruments in the execution of a scheme, of which the most distinguished among them has publicly expressed his disapprobation ; (see the primary charge of the Lord Arch- bishop of Canterbury,) and for which another has declared that they do not consider themselves responsible; as they were appointed, not to consider whether it should take place, but only to put it in execution. (See Letter of the Lord Bishop of Lincoln to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.) 56 MODERN LIBERALITY. fenders of sound doctrine and the champions of the Church. And again because numbers of our parochial endowments are miserably small, there are not wanting men, honest and respectable in other parts of their conduct, men too of whom we cannot but hope that they fear God, and de- sire his favour ; who (having abundant wealth and opportunities of setting the example by aug- menting one or more of these endowments, and securing at their own cost an adequate hire to one labourer or more,) have deliberately proposed plans for rectifying the abuse, by seizing, without colour of justice or equity, the funds solemnly devoted of old, not to the general purposes of the Church, but to the benefit of the other speci- fied parishes, with which the donors were con- nected. They have thought it a sufficient de- fence of such schemes, that the funds on which they purpose to lay hands, are more liberal than appears necessary to the economists of our day. Nay, to crown the whole, such projects have often found favour with the very men who are actually holding and "nourishing their hearts 1 " day by day upon the spoils of those parishes which they propose to indemnify at the expense of others. Such have been the results of our measure of charity. By its fruits let it be known. Tried by this rule ; can we think that we have even been desiring to reach the mark proposed to us 1 St. James v. 5. THE DEMANDS OF THE by our Lord? What our aim oughf^p -have ^ been, must be determined by a more para^ig^ . appeal to Holy Scripture. And first : What is the true nature of pro- perty? Let us hear the words of our Lord. " A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return; and he called his ten servants, and delivered unto them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the king- dom, then he commanded these servants to be brought unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading V It need not be said, that although worldly property is not ex- clusively represented here, it is certainly one of those talents which we are thus to hold for a while, not as our own or given to us by God, as we are wont to say, but as His still, and only entrusted to our care and stewardship for a while, as part of our moral trial and discipline, to show whether we will be faithful to our trust or not. So that property ought not to be accounted a gift of God in the common sense of the word, but rather a species of office, with which some of His servants are put in charge, as others are entrusted with the ministry of the word, and others with political or sovereign 1 St. Luke xix. 12. 58 THE DEMANDS power. And yet so it is, that while we see how awful it is for a bishop or a priest to regard his sacred office as given him for his own sake, and to employ it wholly or chiefly for his own ad- vancement; and while we justly maintain that kings and rulers are but God's " ministers," and knowing that they are so, are bound "above all things to seek his honour and glory;" we have come to regard property as in some respect different, as something belonging of right to its owner, and with which he has a right to do what he will, without forfeiting his Christian character. And so long as a man gives some little portion to God, like a quit-rent in acknowledgment of an obsolete claim, we regard the remainder as fairly his own. Who would not be shocked to hear a bishop speak of his office, in the tone adopted, even by religious men, in speaking of their property, their money, their houses, and their lands ? One of the parables of our blessed Master has been cited ; a like lesson is taught even more directly in that of the unjust steward. For in this instance, our Lord Himself specifically makes the application, and marks that it is worldly property which forms the subject of our stewardship. " I say unto you, make to your- selves friends of the mammon of unrighteous- ness, that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much ; OF THE GOSPEL. 59 and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faith- ful in the unrighteous mammon, who will com- mit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's 1 , who shall give you that which is your own 2 ." Can words more plainly describe the nature of worldly property in the sight of God. " The trust committed" to our "stewardship;" in the management of which "fidelity" is required, (not merely prudence or gratitude to the donor, as if it had become our own now that it is given,) which is still " another's, not our own ;" and which we are to use " faithfully," in the hope of receiving hereafter " the true riches which shall be our own," even "an inheritance incorruptible arid undefiled, and that fadeth not away." Let us, then, carry with us this notion of a steward- ship, to assist us in our inquiry as to the true measure of Christian bounty. If property be a trust, then before we deter- mine how it can be used faithfully, we must inquire, what are the terms of the trust-deed for what purposes and objects we are trustees ? The first question of a scrupulous mind, when it grasps the full magnitude of this thought, is, whether we are justified in using any property for ourselves, in having greater comforts than the poor around us, better houses, better cloth- ing, better food, than the poor members of 2 St. Luke xvi. 9. 60 THE DEMANDS Christ's body who are the objects of our charity. For if we hold all that we have in trust, for our Lord, for them, and for ourselves, are we at liberty to spend more in providing for our own wants than for those of any other individual? Scripture enables us to answer the question. For if this were not allowable, there would no longer be any distinction of rich and poor among Christians, and property itself would be prac- tically at an end. But our Lord has declared, that the poor shall be always with us, and so allows of such distinctions : and the practice alike of apostolic and of primitive times forms a comment upon his words. St. Paul certainly considered it no part of the Christian duty of Philemon to abandon the superiority of worldly position which he enjoyed ; and when directing with the authority of inspiration, that every man should " abide in the same calling wherein he was called," he seems to sanction the gradations of society which have ever existed. The terms of our trust, then, as collected from God's word, (and the New Testament is no code of rules, but a law of liberty to be carefully studied, and sincerely loved and followed,) seems to be well summed up in the counsel of a great divine. 66 Whatsoever is superfluous in thy estate, is to be dispensed in alms. He that hath two coats must give to him that hath none ; that is, he that hath beyond his need, must give that which is beyond it. Only among needs, we are to OF THE GOSPEL. 61 reckon not only what will support our life, but also what will maintain the decency of our estate and person ; not only in present needs, but in all future necessities, and very probable contingencies, but no farther. We are not obliged beyond this 1 ." Thus then we must hold our property. But surely there is nothing in all this which authorizes us to spend it as we please ; and it is the plain duty and wisdom of every man to whom any measure of it is in- trusted, to sit down and count the cost ; to esti- mate deliberately, after much consideration and earnest prayer, the proportions into which it ought to be divided ; not to provide first for every thing else, and then to offer the remainder to his God and Saviour. And that the measure thus devoted to God should be very much greater than we are ready to suppose, is no less certain. Let us hear the words of our Master. We are the dis- ciples of the same Lord who said, to an innu- merable multitude that followed Him, " If any man will come after Me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and bre- thren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and count- eth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish 1 Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, ch. iv. sect. 8. 62 THE DEMANDS it ; lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. So like- wise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." And again, to the rich man who came unto Him, " If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven ; and come take up the cross and follow Me." Can we call Him Master and Lord, who spake thus, and yet live as we do? How do His words reprove us, " Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" For although He does not require of every dis- ciple the exact sacrifice which He demanded of the young ruler, yet beyond all question, as He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, He requires of all who will follow Him, now as then, some sacrifice of the world and worldly goods. We are too ready to limit to the days of our Lord's personal ministry, such parts of His teaching as bear hard on our self-indulgence, and luxury, and worldliness. We have dis- covered that in time of persecution, riches were a continual snare and temptation to apostasy, and that with the danger from Jews and hea- thens, the danger of riches too is gone by, and the need of forsaking them : as if riches were less likely to produce worldliness of heart in a time of peace, than open apostasy in days of OF THE GOSPEL. 63 danger ; as if at this very hour there were not thousands among us, who worship gold with an idolatry as gross as that of the most wretched apostate that ever bowed down to the gods of the nations; only the modern idolater is in danger far more imminent; because he knows it not, and calls himself Christian, and frequents the Church, and draws near to the Holy Commu- nion, and is respected by his neighbours, and accounts himself a religious man, until he sinks at once and for ever into the pit of destruc- tion. And then we proceed to show, that in the beginning of the Gospel there was need of greater sacrifices ; that the mass of the con- verts was poor, and that a greater burden was in consequence thrown upon the rich few ; as if there had ever been a time when sacrifice was so much demanded as it is now, if it be indeed true, as we have seeny that there are hundreds of thousands of our countrymen, perishing in sin and ignorance of Christ and His Gospel ; and that the cost alone forbids us to give to each his parish Church, and to ap- point for each a minister to watch for his soul. Men acknowledge that for every piece of gold expended we may hope, by God's blessing, to know hereafter of some soul snatched from the very jaws of death ; and they tell us that it is hopeless that we should obtain the necessary funds; and yet they go on to say, that self- denial and the abandonment of this world's goods 64 THE DEMANDS for Christ, is less necessary now than of old ! But, in truth, we are wrong in principle when we attempt to estimate thus the necessity of abandoning the world for Christ. It was not for the sake of his riches, but for his own that He bade the young ruler to go and sell that he had. He sought not his but him. He required of him to forsake his property, that He might be able to give him treasure in heaven. Surely it were impious to deem otherwise. For if He had so willed, all the treasures of the world might in a moment have been before Him, to whom they appertained as their Creator. But He would save the soul of His creature whom " He loved," and for whom He had come down from heaven, and for whom He was about to die ; and therefore He commanded him to sell all, because He knew " how hardly shall they that .have riches enter into the kingdom of GOD," and that " it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of GOD." And for the same cause He accepts and demands our worldly goods from us. We have too long accustomed ourselves to think of money, given for Christ's sake, as a benefit only to those on whom it is bestowed. When, indeed, men give only that which they do not want, such no doubt is the case ; but in giving freely, bountifully, largely, for Christ's sake, it is far otherwise. Then the blessing to the receiver is but a faint image and reflection of that which is 1 OF THE GOSPEL. 65 poured out an hundredfold upon the giver; se- cured to him by the promise of Him who cannot lie, and who said, " It is more blessed to give than to receive." He measures the gifts which we offer for His sake, not by their magnitude in man's sight, but by the cost to ourselves, and the self-denial which they require; for when He stood of old by His Father's home, and " saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury, and saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites, He said : Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abund- ance cast in unto the offering of GOD, but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." A small thing, given with much difficulty, is certainly more to the giver, and being more highly esteemed by Christ, it may probably do more in His cause, than large sums given care- lessly out of a great abundance. For He, with- out whose blessing our gold and silver is but dross, may (if He please) command the most abundant blessing upon that offering which He most highly approves, and which hereafter He will most abundantly repay. Such are the demands of our Lord. He warns us that if we will come after Him we must take up the cross, must hate all that we have ; and, as a proof that we do so, must give thereof liberally and cheerfully for His sake ; and as He demands all this for our sake not His own, He F 66 THE DANGER measures by the cost and sacrifice to ourselves the value and greatness of our offerings. And He tells us in mercy why He does so, because riches are so great a snare that it is only by a miracle of grace that any man who has them can be saved. Saved, indeed, he may be, because GOD can do all things, but otherwise it were im- possible. Solemn thought, to all who have any measure of good things in this present world. Surely we do not lay it to heart as we should. We know that He said : " it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven ;" but this does not alarm us, because He said again : " how hard it is for those that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of heaven." As if by the second declaration He intended to retract the first ; as if His words were yea and nay, who is Truth itself, " and who came into the world to bear witness to the truth." Rather He purposed to teach us wherein consists the hardness of a rich man's salvation; that if he trust in his riches he cannot be saved, and that nothing in the world is so hard as to have them without trusting in them. We may take comfort assuredly from His explanation of His own words if we do not trust in riches, but that very explanation should teach us most jealously to watch and sus- pect ourselves lest we should do so. For " he that trusteth to his own heart is a fool;" and who can trust it more implicitly, than the man OF RICHES. 67 who readily receives its testimony that he has attained a grace which our Blessed Master de- scribes as so difficult and so rare ? But surely, on the ordinary principles even of religious men, the danger of riches cannot be so great and imminent. From all grosser tempta- tions they rather exempt us. We can under- stand one part of the prayer of Agur, " give me not poverty, lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my GOD in vain ;" but where is the corresponding danger of abundance ? Do not the rich throng our churches and our public meetings ? Are they not amiable, kindhearted, and liberal ? Is not a profession of religion very widely spread among them ? and do we not generally find among them such a knowledge of the Gospel of Christ, that when we speak in common language of " the religious world," we mean almost exclusively certain portions of the middle and higher classes ? All this is unques- tionable, and yet our LORD'S words cannot be made void. " It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of GOD." And it is because a certain measure of religion is so easy to the rich, and yet it is so difficult for them to be Christians indeed ; it is, in other words, be- cause there is so much room for self-deceit, that whoever has any measure of this world's goods should be doubly jealous, lest by any means he should lose himself. And surely, if he is not r2 H8 THE DANGER conscious that liis riches have ever been any great temptation to him if he can remember no struggle and contest, in which Satan strove to beguile him by means of them if he does not distinctly know and feel what the danger of riches is ; as one who has recovered from some dreadful malady can realize the true nature and misery of sickness ; he has but too much reason to conclude, that " a deceived heart hath turned him aside," that "the deceitfulness of riches" has beguiled him, that he knows not the contest because he is an unresisting captive. For if the danger be so great, the temptation so overpower- ing, how shall a man flatter himself that he has encountered and overcome it without being aware that he has done so ? " When a strong man armed keepeth his house his goods are at peace ;" such is the peace of him who has never felt the power of this world's riches, because he never resisted it. If we examine the nature of that special temptation which accompanies wealth, we shall less wonder at its insinuating and treacherous power. Agur prays, " give me not riches, lest I be full and deny Thee, and say, Who is the LORD ?" This open impiety is but the full de- velopement of the mental habit of " trusting in riches ;" and it is a temptation under the power of which hundreds have fallen who continue to call Christ their Master and LORD. A man trusts in riches, when they are more or less the OF RICHES. 69 ground and foundation of his hope and security. We cannot but see that the majority of amiable domestic religious persons, in the middle and higher classes of society, are without fear and anxiety concerning their daily support. This is right ; a Christian should not be careful for such things. But now why are they secure ? Is it because Christ has promised, i6 seek ye first the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you;" and, " your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things ;" because they know, that " He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all," will " with Him also freely give us all things;" that to HIM who died for them, all power is given in heaven and earth, so that neither earth nor hell can hurt them but by His permission ? If so, happy are they, for they trust in GOD, not in riches. Or, on the other hand, is it because they have much goods laid up in store for many years ? because they have houses and lands, gold and silver ; and they know that although the value of these things may be diminished, yet, according to the course of nature and the order of society, they can hardly be so much reduced as to bring them within the reach of want? If so, they " trust in riches," their wealth is the real reason of their security and contentment : it does that for them which a filial confidence in GOD, and a prevailing love for Christ ought to do, and will do where they exist. 70 THE DANGER Here is a test which each may apply to his own heart: yet while we may not judge indivi- duals among our brethren, there are indications which give us much cause to fear that a worldly confidence in riches is too prevalent, even among those who believe that all their trust is in God. For if their substance is liable to be affected by the vicissitudes of commerce, and if some untoward position of affairs throws their all into sudden danger; if revolutions and wars, and distress of nations with perplexity should arise to shake the foundations of all property, however secured by houses and lands, and the stability of law and the sacredness of deeds ; then do we not see the same persons too often without confidence, almost without hope, and not knowing whither to betake themselves? And why? except because their former trust has been in the multitude of their riches. For if their hope had been founded upon the Rock of ages, it could not have been shaken by the storms and agitations of the world. It is difficult for any man to understand the reality and power of trust in God, and the great obstacle which the possession of worldly riches opposes to it; except he be in the habit of hold- ing intercourse and society with the pious poor. This is one part of the blessing which attends the " visiting of the fatherless and widows in their affliction ;" and finding out for ourselves, in lanes and alleys and cottages, yea in poorhouses OF RICHES. 71 and prisons, the sick and afflicted members of our Lord's body. " If we converse in hospitals and almshouses, and minister with our own hand what our heart hath first decreed, we shall find our hearts endeared and made familiar with the needs and with the persons of the poor, those excellent images of Christ." And assuredly there is no one who habitually practises this duty, without finding in it its own reward. He will find " the poor rich in faith," living from day to day, without store Vrf this world's goods, on what may seem the casual chance of obtain- ing employment, not knowing literally how the necessities of the next week are to be supplied, nay sometimes almost finishing their last loaf, and not able to tell whence the next is to come; and yet with all this, calm and contented, happy and cheerful, knowing that theirs is an inexhaustible store, even the store of His possessions whose are all things in heaven and in earth and under the earth ; living upon His promise, which they trust, because He has spoken it, and because they have long ago by experience proved its truth, and know that all needful things have ever been added unto them, and are confident that they ever will. Such is the faith of many a wi- dow and orphan among the poor. And where else is it to be found ? Even among those who trace all their worldly comforts to God's bounti- ful hand, and acknowledge them continually as His gift, is not the gift too often the object of 72 THE DANGER that trust which ought to rest upon the Giver ? and both in the confidence of their prosperity, and the anxiety of their adversity, do they not ful- fil the words of the Psalmist, " In my prosperity, I said I shall never be removed. Thou, Lord, of thy goodness hast made my hill so strong. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled ?" Their faith and hope are not ready to wait upon " a God that hideth Himself," because they have never understood and realized the full meaning of that prayer, Give us this day our daily bread. And be it observed, that this danger from the deceitfulness of riches is by no means confined to the case of those who are lords of sea and land, and whose yearly revenues are counted by thou- sands or tens of thousands. That it cannot be so is evident enough from the condition of those to whom our Lord addressed Himself : they were poor fishermen, who would naturally regard as rich any man who had a fixed and certain in- come, which placed him above the necessity of daily labour, and the uncertainty which attends poverty. It is plain again, from the very nature of the danger; for the man who has thousands yearly differs from him who has hundreds, rather in the magnitude of his establishments and the number of his dependants, than in the security with which he holds his possessions as his own. The temptation to trust in riches accordingly, and to lean on the world, not on God, applies, almost in equal measure, to each. OF RICHES. 73 Such being the snares and temptations of this world's wealth, and our insensibility with regard to them, it is of. His great mercy that our Hea- venly Father teaches us from time to time our dependance upon Him, by the heavy chastise- ment of His hand. Sometimes by loss of f pro- perty, and yet more frequently by bodily sick- ness and pain, or by anxiety and care for those whom we love, or by bitter sorrow over their graves, He teaches us that riches are a broken reed, on which if we lean we shall assuredly be pierced through with many sorrows. And here- by He shows the abundance of His long-suffering towards us, and His love, " which will not let the sinner lose his soul at ease." For this cause it may probably be, that when He permits that we should be tried by some great accession of this world's goods, He so often sends with them some deeply piercing sorrow, the messenger of His mercy, to humble us and to prove us, that He may do us good at the latter end. But if we would render such loving correction needless (and " He doth not willingly afflict"), or if we would secure that which is perhaps a still greater blessing, the full fruit and benefit of the wounds left by His pruning hands; then must we betake ourselves to that which is the appropriate re- medy, the appointed antidote against the deceit- fulness of riches ; and this is abundant, liberal, self-denying devotion of our worldly substance to Christ's service and the benefit of the poor. 74 THE DANGER This is the appointed antidote ; because it is the only act by which we can practise the blessed habit of dependance upon God, and such habits grow up and are strengthened and matured by acts, and not merely by feelings or by wishes. When by His grace we accustom ourselves to act as if His favour was our only sure and solid happiness, and all worldly things vain and trea- cherous, as indeed they are, then we cultivate the habit of trusting in Him, and not in them, for our happiness and our treasure. This it was that the young ruler lacked. He trusted in riches, and therefore could not follow Christ. In love then, not in severity, He bade him " Go sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." He de- sired to lighten him of a load which was pressing him to hell ; and knowing all hearts, He saw doubtless that no smaller sacrifice would suffice to wean him from the love of riches, to destroy his trust in them, and to teach him to trust in God in His providence and His bounty, " who giveth to the beast his food, and feedeth the young ravens that call upon Him." And who- ever there be who knows the effect of riches in hardening the heart, and how often they become our hope, and usurp the place of our God ; and who, knowing this, has a holy fear and jealousy for himself, lest he too come short of the glory of God, let him thank God that the remedy OF RICHES. 75 proposed by Christ to this man is in his own power. Now as then, a man may, if he will, give up his worldly substance for his Lord. Whoever then sees reason to fear that he has suffered, or is likely to suffer, by the deceitful- ness of riches, let him try the power of this re- medy, let him give largely, profusely, to the utmost limits of prudence, beyond those limits, to his own impoverishment if need be, rather than be contented to trust in riches, and so lose his portion in Christ. Yea, if he should even give all that he hath (although this would very frequently be attended with some neglect of duty, and therefore not being according to God's will, would not be salutary to our own souls), yet if he should have reason to think even this sacrifice necessary, how much more wisely and prudently would he act, than do those who take this young ruler for their example, who are ami- able, affectionate, kind-hearted, exemplary in social duties, and who come running and kneel- ing to Christ, but who fail in the one point of trial, who trust in their riches, who cannot bring themselves to give them up for Him, and so, alas ! are not worthy of Him. Herein, then, the rule of charity proposed by our Lord is opposed to that commonly adopted ; it regards the giver, and demands of him some- thing, whether great or small, which shall be to him a real sacrifice and self-denial; and this it demands for the love of Christ, and for the be- 76 THE MOTIVE TO nefit of our own souls, and that we may not de- ceive ourselves with idle professions, and trust in our worldly goods, while we say and think that we trust in God through Christ. But we, on the other hand, have learned to think, that if works of piety or charity be done, it is enough ; and therefore we would allure men to give, by contrivances which shall make it easy ; by divid- ing the work between so many, that it shall cost nothing to each ; by beguiling them of their money through charity sales and charity balls and concerts ; and above all we would lay our hands even on that which is not our own, and give to God that which we have sacrilegiously wrested from its sworn defenders. Surely when both are presented to our view, there is something in the charity of the world so poor and mean and contemptible, and something in the law of Christ so noble and pure and ex- alted, that our hearts cannot but burn within us, with an earnest longing to cast in our lot with Him, to be partakers with Him in His sorrow and His joy, in His poverty and in His glory. But here is the obstacle; the cross must be taken up, our own wishes denied, the world cast behind us. And shall we (like the young ruler) leave Him and go away sorrowful, to try whether our possessions can comfort us? Shall we be of those, who " seek excuses to withhold them- selves from the favour of GOD, and choose with pinching covetousness rather to lean unto the CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 77 devil, than by charitable mercifulness either to come unto Christ, or to suffer Christ to come unto them 1 ?" God forbid! Let us rather lift up our hearts and eyes to Him who has gone before us, and as " our forerunner is entered in for us within the veil;" and then surely we shall have neither thought nor sight for the paltry treasures of this fleeting world. For when He calls us to deny ourselves for our brethren, when He bids us take up the cross, and forsake the world, He but bids us follow in His own steps, and go where He has gone before us. " It is reported in the Bohemian story, that St. Winceslaus, their king, one winter night going to his devotions in a remote church, barefooted in the snow, and sharpness of unequal and pointed ice, his servant, who waited upon his master's piety, and endeavoured to imitate his affec- tions, began to faint through the violence of the snow and cold; till the king commanded him to follow him, and set his feet in the same foot- steps which his feet should mark for him. The servant did so, and either fancied a cure or found one, for he followed his prince; helped forward, with shame and zeal to his imitation, and by the forming footsteps for him in the snow. In the same manner does the blessed Jesus; for since our way is troublesome, ob- scure, full of objection and danger, apt to be 1 Homily of Alms-Deeds. Part III. 78 THE MOTIVE TO mistaken, and to affright our industry ; He com- mands us to mark His footsteps, to tread where His feet have stood; and not only invites us forward by the argument of His example, but He hath trodden down much of the difficulty, and made the way easier and fit for our feet. For He knows our infirmities, and Himself hath felt their experience in all things but in the neighbourhoods of sin. And therefore He hath proportioned a way and a path to our strengths and capacities V " He hath left us a pattern that we should tread in His steps," for " he that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." The path wherein we must walk has been pressed by His sacred feet ; we are called thither for our own sake ; " that we may be partakers of his holiness :" that we may hereafter reign with Him in glory : but He trod it not for Himself, but for us ; because He loved us, and had compassion on us in our low estate, and chose rather to leave His Father's throne, and live, and suffer, and die for us, than that we should perish in our sins. And now He bids us follow for the sake of His love who has thus loved us. He sends to us our poor brethren in His own name, and en- gages that whatever we lay out on them He will repay, " to whom we owe even our own- selves also:" that He will account it to be 1 J. Taylor. " Exhortation to the Imitation of the Life of Christ." Great Exemplar. Part I. sec. i. CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 79 given, not to them, but to Himself. Let the love of Christ then constrain us to deny our- selves for the benefit of our brethren. "If GOD so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Let us measure our charity by this rule, and then, by His grace, we shall never be weary in well doing. He who, for our salvation, came down from heaven to earth, from the throne of the universe to the cross and the sepulchre He it is who now demands that we should give up something, to be fellow workers with Him in the salvation of our brethren. And can we hesitate ; when we see in the ignorant and thoughtless ones around us; in those who have never even been told how they ought to walk and to please GOD, and so cannot so much as desire or endeavour " to walk worthy of the Lord," "worthy of their high calling in Him;" when we see in them the purchase of Christ's blood, and when He calls us as we love Him, and as we remember His bitter cross and passion, which are our only hope against the great and dreadful day, to give up something for their sake can we hesitate to obey the call? Such is the great and overwhelming motive to Christian beneficence. It is summed up in the words of the beloved Apostle, " We love Him because He first loved us." And because we love Him, therefore we would not, if we could, make an offering to Him of that which 80 THE MOTIVE TO cost us nothing. When He, whose are all things, condescends to demand an offering at our hands not that He needs anything, (for in a moment, by a word of His mouth, He could raise houses of prayer from the dust, as He called this world out of nothing to be the theatre of His glory) but because He loves us and desires for us the blessed opportunity of giving up something to Him : and when He makes our bounty to our brethren the measure of our love towards Himself: and when He says to us " freely ye have received, freely give" " For I have set you an example that ye should do as I have done unto you" what answer shall we make to Him ? Shall we say, we must first take care of ourselves arid our families, our comforts, and luxuries, and plea- sures, our appearance before the world, our settled tastes and passing fancies; provision must first be made for all these, and then from the remainder, if any thing is left, I will spare something to my Saviour? Is it thus that we deal with those whom we do really and earnestly love? A father, whose son requires a costly education how does he make his calculations ? Does he thus shift off the burden, and provide first for every thing else, and give to the educa- tion of his child only that which he does not want? Rather does he enquire in the first place how much is requisite for the object; and then sets himself, with an affectionate severity? 1 CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 81 to contrive what he can by any means retrench from his superfluities, his pleasures, his comforts, in order to effect it. And he judges well. These are the wholesome fruits of parental love. And now He who died for us, and who tells us, " He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me ; and he that doth not take up his cross and come after Me is not worthy of Me :" He requires like proofs of our love. Shall we do less for Him ? And if we are ready to say that we do these things for our children because they are our own, our immediate concern ; but that the ser- vice of our Lord belongs to all of us alike : let us consider how great joy it will be one day to have Him for our own Saviour, and that He should acknowledge us before His Father and the holy angels as His own people and His own friends; and then let us act as if we are His and He ours now. And whatever be our means and whatever our opportunities of giving, if we are filled with an holy desire of kindling in our hearts, and putting in action true love towards Him, we cannot be without the opportunity. For we have seen that He estimates offerings, not as they appear in man's sight, but according to the principle from which they spring, and the love towards Him, of which self denial that we may have to give is the fruit and sign. The small gifts 82 THE MOTIVE TO of the poor are great in His eyes, if they spring from love; the great gifts of the rich too are multiplied in like manner, when they flow from that fountain. "If thou doest what thou art able, be it little or great, corporeal or spiritual, the charity of alms or the charity of prayers, a cup of wine or a cup of water; if it be but love to the brethren, and a desire to help all or any of Christ's poor, it shall be accepted according to what a man hath, not according to what he hath not. For love is all this and all other commandments, and it will express itself where it can ; and where it cannot, yet it is love still, and is also sorry that it cannot 1 ." Lastly, whether we can give little or much, giving from the love of Christ our Lord, we shall give joyfully and with overflowing hearts. For love delights to offer something of her own ; knowing that for love's sake it will be accepted. A dutiful child will carefully and joyfully watch the opening of the earliest flower, for the plea- sure of offering it to a beloved parent ; not for the value of the gift, but because where love is it cannot but show itself. Such will be our delight in ministering to our Lord. And here again we see how unchristian are our schemes when we would provide for the service of GOD now by overthrowing that which our fathers have built up for His glory we deprive ourselves of the opportunity of showing love to Christ. One 1 Jeremy Taylor," Holy Living," chap. iv. sec. 8. CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 83 Church built or endowed at our own cost will rejoice our hearts far more than fifty provided by the plunder of our Cathedrals ; for the one is a monument of love, the other of niggard selfishness. When Solomon and all the people had dedicated the house of the Lord, "he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David His servant, and for Israel His people 1 :" and why did they thus rejoice? Let us hear the man after God's own heart 2 . " The work is great, for the palace is riot for man but for the Lord GOD. Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my GOD, the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and wood for things of wood ; onyx stones and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abund- ance. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, i HAVE OF MINE OWN PROPER GOOD, of gold and silver which I have given to the house of my GOD, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of silver, to overlay the walls of the house withal And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord ? Then the chief of the fathers and 1 1 Kings viii. 66. 2 1 Chron. xxix. 110, 17. 84 THE MOTIVE TO princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly ; and gave for the service of the house of GOD, of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drachms, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron ; and they with whom precious stones were found gave them. . . . Then the people rejoiced for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord) and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation, and David said, Blessed art thou Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever as for me, in the uprightness of my heart, I have willingly offered all these things, and now I have seen with joy thy people which are present here to offer wil- lingly unto Thee." Such were the fruits of love, and such the joy with which it filled the hearts of those who offered willingly of their own, both from the public and the private stores. But although they should have built the house of GOD of beaten gold, from the foundation to the roof, they could not have rejoiced thus, if, instead of giving liberally of their own out of the abundance wherewith GOD had blessed them, (for at that only period of their history the Jews were like us a mart of nations, flourishing by trade and commerce) they CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 85 had obtained the requisite means by appropri- ating the Levitical lands and taxing the tithes. Then surely their free and noble rejoicing before the " Lord God of Israel, their Father," would have been ill exchanged for the spirit of an Italian bandit sorrowfully disgorging the spoils of some outrage to purchase absolution. And do we owe less of gratitude and love than they did ? or do love and gratitude produce fruit only under the Law, and not under the Gospel ? But, that we may serve Him yet more joy- fully, our heavenly Father has not only given us the love of Christ for our motive ; but has promised moreover, of His abundant mercy, that whatever for love's sake we give up, He will return it to us an hundred fold, both in this world and in the next. The words of our Lord and Master on this subject are so strong, that it is difficult to imagine how a Christian can so much as hear them read, without earnestly long- ing for the opportunity of giving up something, that he may have his share in so wonderful a promise. " Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all and followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily, I say unto you ; there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake and the Gospel's; but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, 86 THE REWARD OF houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecution, and in the world to come, eternal life V The language of part of these verses is of course figurative; but thus much is clearly pro- mised, that what thing soever any Christian shall give up for Christ, he shall receive for the same a reward in this world, proportioned to the sacrifice, but exceeding it an hundredfold ; and having enjoyed this reward here, shall more- over inherit everlasting life. Let us not fear, lest the words of Christ, received in their plain and obvious sense, should excite in us a false and self-righteous estimate of the merit of our own works and obedience ; nor set ourselves with an unfaithful and irreverent caution to extenuate their force. For He knew best what it is well for us to be told ; and every Christian knows, that could he fulfil all the law he would still be an unprofitable servant, and that in- stead of fulfilling it, his best deeds are stained with sin, and require to be washed in the blood of Christ. But still He who has taught him this, has taught him moreover, that being washed in that blood, the service and offering of his love is acceptable unto God, through Jesus Christ 2 ; and that being thus accepted, every 1 St. Mark x. 2830. 2 See Philippians, ch. iv. 18. Scott remarks, " The lan- guage used concerning the conduct of the Philippians being in the most emphatical terms, the same which is used con- CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 87 act of cheerful self-denial for Christ's sake, every sacrifice of Christian liberality, every instance of love and pity towards his brethren, shall also be rewarded both here and hereafter ; rewarded not according to its own desert, but according to the love from which it springs, and to the faith which it shows in Christ's promise. How should this doctrine teach us to trust in ourselves, when we are but seeking for a re- ward of grace ; ours by promise, not by merit ? But moreover, we know, that neither these works of love, nor yet the principle of love whence they spring, are our own. We " are God's workmanship," we "are God's husbandry;" every good thing in us, He first gives, and then He rewards that which He has given l . Both grace and recomperice are His gift, but He will reward us in proportion as He hath first wrought cerning the atonement of Christ, (Eph. v. 2.) is wonderful. And it shows how pleasing real good works, the fruits of the Spirit, are to God through Jesus Christ." 1 The following is the prayer and answer, in the 21st chapter of the third Book, De Imitatione Christi : Prayer. Non reticebo donee gratia tuarevertatur, mihique Tu intus loquaris. Answer. Ecce adsum. Ecce Ego ad te quia invocasti Me. Lacrymae tuae et desiderium animae tuae, humiliatio tua et con- tritio cordis, inclinaverunt Me et adduxerunt ad te. Et dixi : Domine, vocavi Te et desideravi frui Te, paratus omnia respuere propter Te. Tu enim prior excitasti me ut quaererem Te. Sis ergo benedictus, Domine, qui fecisti hanc bonitatem servo tuo secundum multitudinem misericordise tuae. 88 THE REWARD OF in us. We are in no danger of being- lifted up so long as we remember, that whatever good we are enabled to do, is done not by us, but by " Him, who worketh in us to will and to do of His good pleasure." St. Paul might safely say, " I laboured more abundantly than they all," because he knew how to add "yet not I but the grace of God which was in me." Let us not fear then to dwell on the promises of our Lord, to excite by them our hopes, and kindle our desires, still less to risk on their truth our worldly substance and comfort. The traders of the earth, if they have news of a rich market opened to them, where they may reap an abundant profit, are not slow to send thither their goods, at much risk of loss should their information mislead them. Let us risk our earthly treasures on the credit of Christ's word, secure that whatever betide, and however the nations of the world may be shaken, and all property here may be lost in the general crash ; that portion of our wealth will be secure which we have grace to " lend unto the Lord." Certain that we shall receive for it " an hundredfold here in this present time, and hereafter eternal life." Every natural fear, which might deter us from trusting these gracious promises of our Lord, seems to be severally met by some rich and boun- tiful provision, made as it were expressly for our more abundant satisfaction. Thus the great dif- ficulty which men feel, when the thought burns CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 89 within them, how blessed a thing it is to risk something on Christ's word, and to trust Him with their worldly goods, is that they have chil- dren for whom they must provide. But God has condescended to answer this doubt also. His promises (reversing the short-sighted calcu- lations of men,) have pledged Him to restore to them as well as to ourselves whatever we give up for His sake, and from confidence in His truth. " I have been young and now am old," says the Psalmist, "and yet saw I never the righteous for- saken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful and lendeth, and his seed is blessed." The blessedness of a righteous man's family is here specially annexed to the liberality of the father; nor is this really wonderful, considering that a little with God's blessing, is better than great riches without it, and that the promises of God's care and providence over the children of holy and faithful men, abound throughout Scrip- ture. Accordingly, that which we lay up for our children on earth, they may lose; times may change; civil commotions and revolutions may overthrow our wisest precautions for the comfort and security of our offspring ; but there is one thing of which they cannot be deprived. That which we have given for Christ's sake they will have still, and one way or other, they shall abun- dantly enjoy it. And surely even the experience of the world will confirm the promise of God ; if our faith be too weak to receive it on His word. 90 THE REWARD OF When were the children of a bountiful man the worse for his bounty ? He may leave them less of this world's good ; but is it not seen that God's hand waits to prosper them, and watches over them for good ? They are advanced, no man can tell why. An invisible charm works for them, and men in their blindness wonder at their good fortune. ,But, of all this the secret reason is, that God will fulfil His promise : " them that honour Me, I will honour." Let us then take Him at His word ; without fear that it will ever be the worse for us or for ours. Let us honour Him, and He will provide for and honour us and them. And who is there that fears God, and knows the blessed- ness of His favour and the certainty of His truth, that would not rather choose that his father, by abundant bounty for Christ's sake, should leave him poor in this world, and rich in the promises and blessings of the Most High, than to inherit a mighty estate, won in the ways of this world, without the fear of God, and on which he could hardly hope for His blessing ? But it is not here, after all, that the Christian has his best hope or his richest reward. If the promise went no farther than this world, it would but offer us one hundredfold for what we give to God; but let us lift up our eyes and our hearts, and strive to take in something of the infinite and eternal reward in heaven, of which the earthly promise is but the type and shadow. And this is pledged to us in the word of God not trjf; CHRISTIAN LIBERAL1TY.\\ v\ 'TO ,7J once or twice, but repeatedly, and flowing variety of language and figure. one hundredfold, but as far beyond all earthly proportion, as the ages of eternity exceed the span of our mortal life. Therefore in the text which has already been cited, our blessed Lord after having enlarged on the temporal promise, makes no measure of this, but says only, " and in the world to come eternal life." Again let us hear more of His comfortable words. " Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms ; provide yourselves bags which wax not old ; a treasure in the heavens that faileth not." To the young ruler, lest His command might seem too stern, " Sell that thou hast," He added instantly "and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." And He bids us " Lay not up for your- selves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal ; but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth cor- rupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." It is observable in these blessed words of the Son of God how He repeats not only the same promise of a reward hereafter, but the same specific words TREASURE IN HEAVEN ; as if He delighted to dwell upon the words which repre- sent the glory which He had with His Father before the world was; and as if, knowing our frailty, He would engrave them upon our very 92 THE REWARD OF hearts ; that they may go with us into the world, as a talisman against its distractions and tempta- tions. And what earthly language, what mortal eloquence, can add anything to these words of the only begotten of the Father? YE SHALL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN. What imagination can picture their meaning? The heirs of an earthly inheritance love to look forward to the time when all shall be theirs. For a while indeed, they are under tutors and governors, but they cannot forget that they are lords of all. After their example let us too exalt our thoughts and hopes; let us labour and meditate and pray that we may have some glimpse beforehand, of the glory of that treasure which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart of man conceived. And then let us remember, that this treasure is in- creased by every act of self-denial which we wil- lingly choose that we may have more to give to Christ and to our brethren. Such is His un- speakable mercy who " waits to be gracious unto us," and desires and seeks occasions to reward and bless us. For so it is written ; " He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also boun- tifully ; and God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that ye having always all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work (as it is written he hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness remaineth for ever). Now He that ministereth seed to the 1 CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 93 sower, both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness V The seed sown is that which the faithful bounty of a Christian trusts liberally to God on the assurance of an abundant harvest ; the fruits of righteousness, the reward of grace here, and of glory hereafter, to be plentifully returned for it. Again, Timothy is directed, " Charge them that are rich in this world that they .... do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for them- selves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." And of all works of bounty, that to which we are now called has the greatest promises ; for it is not only a mercy to the poor for Christ's sake, but also a direct enlargement of His kingdom, and a furtherance of His glory ; so that when we are laid in our graves, and our spirits are at rest in Christ, we may not only still speak, but in a manner still labour and serve here upon earth, being partakers in the labours of every faithful minister in every church which has been planted at our cost for the glory of God's holy name. Thus may we be classed among those, who hav- ing " turned many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever." How great then is our privilege, who are called to take part in a work so blessed ; to be imitators of Christ, and 1 2 Cor. ix. 6. 94 THE REWARD OF conformed to His image, in giving of our own for our brethren ; actuated by His love as our motive, by His promises as our encouragement, by His glory as our reward. And shall we grudge anything that we can give or do ? surely one might rather expect, that the office of the Christian minister would be to restrain the eager- ness of those who would press in to claim a share in the work : that men would come as of old *, " every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, to bring the Lord's offering," that they would come both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and bring bracelets, and earrings, and jewels of gold, and " every thing which is needed for the service of the Lord," until more were offered than can be received, and until the bounty of the people were of necessity restrained. It might be expected that our nobles would be jealous even of the splendour which is one of the duties of their station, and would gladly abate something from their personal enjoyments, and part with their yachts and their racing studs, rather than miss this opportunity; that our women would choose to go unadorned here, that so they might shine the brighter in glory hereafter; that our merchants would diminish their capital and be content to leave less to their heirs; that our tradesmen would give up something of their gains 1 Exodus xxxv. 21, 22. CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 95 and their comforts ; our very labourers something " of their necessities ;" that so each and all might have treasure in heaven, and secure to them- selves a portion of that inheritance, which is stable and firm as the word of the Most High. So be it, by God's grace ! May we give up much for Him, may we venture much on His word ; and then assuredly we shall receive much, and shall reap an abundant return for every risk and every sacrifice. It may not be useless in closing the present section, to offer some suggestions on the mode in which those who desire to exceed the scanty measure of modern liberality, may most advan- tageously apply their bounty. And first, let every man, instead of giving one large sum merely, and then suffering himself to remain contented, deliberately dedicate to God a certain measure of each year's income, to be set apart as soon as he receives it, and no longer accounted as his own. The exact proportion to be thus consecrated, each must determine for him- self, after a solemn consideration of his own cir- cumstances and duties, in the sight of God Al- mighty. " Let every man do as he is disposed in his own heart." There are some kinds of property which entail on their owners many ex- pensive duties, and surround them with many dependants; from these less of course can be spared for any other object. Our Heavenly Father knoweth all these things ; arid if there be 96 THE OBJECTS OF first a willing mind. He will accept it, "according to that a man hath, not according to that he hath not." Again there are those whose income is almost unburdened with such calls. These things each man should weigh and consider for himself. Only let him resolve, that, whether he gives more or less, it shall be something which he will miss, which implies some self-denial ; otherwise he does but deceive himself, and lays up no treasure in heaven. If we diligently labour to do so, we shall probably find ourselves able to set apart more the second year, than seemed possible at the beginning of the first. We are told that Bishop Wilson in this manner, gradually augmented the consecrated part of his income ; until from one tenth it became five-tenths of his episcopal revenues This he gave " over and above a decent hospitality." And moreover we find an entry in his journal, in the following re- markable words. " To the glory of God, I dedi- cate the interest of all my moneys to pious uses, so long as I have wherewithal to live on besides. Blessed be God for giving me a heart and will to do so." Surely there are many among us who might do as much ; and almost every one may begin by a tenth part, a measure recommended to us by a divine precedent. Let us do what we are able : " And if we do extend beyond our mea- sures, and give more than we are able ; we have the Philippians and many holy persons for our precedent, we have St. Paul for our encourage- CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 97 ment, we have Christ for our counsellor, we have God for our rewarder, and a great treasure in heaven for our recompense and restitution V When we have set apart our offering to God, we should determine what measure of it is due to the temporal wants of those to whom circumstances give the first claim upon our bounty. And after them, we can hardly have any call on our charity more urgent than the spiritual destitution of so many thousands of our own countrymen, which, as we have seen, can be fully supplied only by the complete develope- ment of the parochial system. For this purpose, Jet us give largely and wisely. One most ob- vious method is that of supporting those societies which are already labouring in the work. This is the special duty of those who not having much to give, should be thankful to unite their own to the offerings of many of their brethren. Societies, as we have seen, are to the poor a great blessing: they afford to them the same opportunities of self-denial which are furnished to the rich by great and splendid works. They have moreover an important function of their own, in that they encourage great undertakings, by preventing that sense of hopelessness which often withholds men's hands. Thus, church- building societies occasion the erection of many churches, to which they often contribute no 1 Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, ch. iv. 3. H 98 THE OBJECTS OF large proportion. They amply deserve the sup- port of all : but those to whom God has given the means and the heart to give great sums, may commonly dispose of them to better advantage than by multiplying their contributions to these associations. It is their privilege to imitate holy persons of old, by undertaking at their own ex- pense some great and good work. That this is no unimportant suggestion will be plain to any one who compares the ecclesias- tical edifices of. our own day with those of our forefathers. Our modern churches are generally the work of societies and committees; and we need no inscription to tell us that they are so ; they bear it on their front. A society can as little cultivate architectural taste and magnifi- cence, as it can call forth gratitude in those who benefit by its bounty. Its operations are of ne- cessity conducted on cold dry rules of economy ; every thing is done by weight and measure ; and nothing is spent but that which can in no way be saved. And while those who execute the work are thus minded, the donors whose bounty they administer, only hear of course general state- ments of the number of sittings provided, and they cannot but want all that particular and per- sonal interest in the work to which they contri- bute, which would turn their duty into a plea- sure. Thus do we build churches by calculation, as a matter of necessity ; but of old church build- ing was a delight, a luxury, a passion. Then men CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 99 of wealth would build some glorious fane from foundation to turret, and those whose means were less abundant would furnish a pillar, a transept, or a choir: each man felt a paternal interest in his work ; while he lived he delighted to visit it, and watch its progress; when he died, his mortal remains were laid beneath the roof which he had raised, in hope of His coming, whose promise had called forth his bounty. Thus did church architecture arise, and thus was it per- fected. Men knew that they were building, not for man, but for the glory of His name, who had furnished for them this spacious earth in its beauty and abundance, and who was gone to prepare for them mansions in heaven ; and there- fore none could endure that their work should yield in magnificence to that of another. Na- tion vied with nation, city with city ; the news of an improvement was borne from one shore to another ; and if some new beauty was introduced in one country, it was so quickly imitated in others and spread over the whole of Christendom, that the place of its origin became doubtful ; and as the stars break out at once in every quarter of the sky, it seemed to have arisen everywhere by one simultaneous impulse. And let us not say that these were ages of su- perstition, and that our churches are for use, not for ornament. For we too may well desire, with holy David, to " worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ;" nor can we forget that He whom H 2 100 THE OBJECTS OF we worship, when of old He deigned to give the design of one house for the glory of His name, claimed for it gold and silver, and precious stones, and cedar, and whatever man could give of ma- jesty and beauty ; and that, in imitation thereof, God's saints have ever delighted to accumulate whatever of His gifts is most noble, for the sta- bility and ornament of His temples. So was it in the days of the Church's first love. Even while the sword of persecution hung over the heads of Christians, and when personal luxury was unknown, their churches were wide and spa- cious and rich; as we read of those which were cast down by the persecutor Diocletian, and as was more abundantly seen in the first peaceful breathing time afforded by Constantine. When shall modern England follow the glorious ex- ample ? When shall we wipe off the reproach too justly cast upon us by a distinguished mem- ber of the French Church? "The Catholic religion," says Chateaubriand, " has covered the world with its monuments. Protestantism has now lasted three centuries ; it is powerful in England, in Germany, in America. What has it raised ? It will show you the ruins which it has made; amidst which it has planted some gardens, and established some manufactories 1 ." What shall England answer to the taunt ? 1 Quoted by the Author of the " Mores Catholic!." Book iii. chap. 2. CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 101 Nor let any man fear that he may do amiss in spending large sums on the beauty of one church, while so many are wanted. Experience refutes the niggard argument, that we should build cheap churches because we have need of many. Our numberless parish churches were built in the same age with our cathedrals ; and if any man of great wealth would provide others for our new towns and villages, he will do more by spend- ing ten, twenty, even fifty thousand pounds or more, in building and endowing one church in a worthy manner, than he could by giving the same sum to be spent by a society in raising many such buildings as are now called churches, and providing thirty pounds for the yearly en- dowment of each of them. For his deed will not be lost or forgotten ; it will be imitated, ri- valled, surpassed ; and then, too, men who have only hundreds to spend instead of thousands, will find a pleasure in doing the like in their measure, and will furnish our villages with fabrics like those of old. These things may we hope to see once again, whenever men shall be made to feel, with holy David, that it is decorous to be more sumptuous in erecting a church than a mansion, that splendour and magnificence befit the house of God, rather than the dwellings of men. For at this moment the evil is not, that they do not build stately piles, and adorn them with much cost, but that they have learned to esteem a great expenditure useful when lavished on their 102 THE OBJECTS OF own habitations, and never wasted but on His whose " is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; from whom both riches and honour come, and who reigneth over all 1 ." And while it belongs to those whom God has made liberal on a large scale, to rival the glories of our ancient churches, even they whose means are more limited will commonly do better in building a humbler fabric either by themselves or with the aid of one or two of their brethren, than in giving to the most deserving society the means of erecting it. Their example will have greater effect on others ; and the claims of justice and equity will more certainly be remembered. There are few probably who are not more or less connected, by property, residence, or other cir- cumstances, with some mass of immortal beings, which is now in a great measure neglected ; and wherever this is the case, it seems the most obvious duty to provide for them. It is, as has been al- ready suggested, very desirable that a statement should be published in every diocese, enumerat- ing, on the authority of the Bishop, every pa- rish and hamlet which requires a new church. Were this done, every man could readily deter- mine for himself the work to which he is spe- cially invited by the providence of God. Mean- while, there are some general rules, which 1 1 Chron. xxix. 11. CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 103 approve themselves to our minds. A village of three or four hundred souls, for example, may accidentally have a greater claim on us, than a city of many thousands, if it be inhabited by those whose labour we daily employ, who mi- nister to our wealth and comforts, and who na- turally look to us for help. For the same reason, a town whence our comforts and luxuries are supplied, demands more of us than another, al- though of greater population, with which we are unconnected. We employ the shopkeepers and labourers of the place ; we induce them to aug- ment the scale of their business, to take appren- tices and journeymen, many of whom probably are gathered from villages where they had the means of grace in abundance : is it nothing to us, that for our service they should be deprived of them? Nor need we be very rich to do some- thing effectual. Whoever has an income of one thousand pounds, would be able, in many parts of the country, by saving only the tenth of it for seven or eight years, to build a church for five or six hundred worshippers, on a most re- spectable scale, and without any aid, beyond that which our societies are always ready to give wherever it is needed. Let him ask himself whether in those last gone by, he has enjoyed as much happiness (to leave the promised blessing for a moment out of our view) as the tenth thus expended would have procured for him ? 104 THE OBJECTS OF But there are many who have far greater cause to think seriously upon this subject. There are hundreds among us who have made fortunes as manufacturers. How does the case stand with them ? They have set up a factory, it may be, in some sequestered spot, where a village has immediately arisen. The population has in- creased from year to year; the capital of the manufacturer has increased with it ; his works been extended; new labourers have arrived; and in the evening of his days he retires with a hand- some property honourably gained, and it is his joy that he owes nothing to any man. But is this indeed the case ? He has paid his labourers for their time and their strength ; but how has he remunerated them for their souls ? He invited them from their country villages, from the homes and the church of their fathers; he allured their children from school to his factory; and what has he given them instead ? Has he not too often left them, in a situation of peculiar danger and temptation, without a church, with- out a pastor, without a school ? Can he acquit himself of having grown rich upon the ruin of immortal souls ? " Woe unto him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by ini- quity :" and is the destruction of men's souls a less evil and sin, in the sight of God, than the oppression of their bodies l ? 1 Wherever a railroad is opened, this process either has al- CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 105 In our metropolis, again, and every town which has been very rapidly extending, there are landholders whose property has been aug- menting in value fourfold, twentyfold, in some cases an hundredfold, by the influx of popula- tion, which has caused land to be measured, and let, and sold by the inch instead of the acre. They are making their profit by means of those whose spiritual care, as we have seen, is so frightfully neglected. They are eager to build new streets and lanes ; they have good houses for the rich in front, and behind them cellars and garrets for the poor : but the house of God is not seen among them ; or at best it is appropriated to the use of those who can pay for admission, and the mass of the poor are of course excluded. In all these cases justice and equity require that men should first of all set themselves seriously to provide for the souls of those whom they have collected around them, and who are the sources of their wealth. And where these duties have been forgotten, and men have passed out of the world having done nothing to discharge them, the obligation descends with undiminished weight to their chil- dren and heirs : they have inherited their father's ready commenced, or must be expected to follow. Let those who, for their own profit or that of their town, have promoted these works, look to it that they do not neglect the spiritual wants of the population they are thus calling together ; as they shall give account to Almighty God. 106 THE OBJECTS OF gains ; they would not refuse to pay his just and equitable debts, even when they are not legally responsible for them. Here is a debt of the most urgent nature, by paying which they may perhaps make happy for ever many of the instru- ments of their own prosperity. Surely it is their bounden duty, even if they have no longer any share in the business by which their fathers were enriched, to repair, so far as they are able, some of the evil which it has produced. In such works the large offerings of the rich will be even better spent than in swelling the funds of our societies. Happy that man, who shall set the example (so much needed) of pro- viding a church and a pastor wherever he erects a factory, a street, or a village : happy two or three or more, who shall combine to do so ! be- sides discharging themselves of a plain moral obligation, such men will be, by the influence of their example, among the greatest benefac- tors of their country. And blessed be God for His grace given unto us, we are not wholly without such examples already. Of our new churches, some have been the fruit of individual exertion and self-denial. How should it be otherwise ? God's word shall never return unto Him void ; and that word has of late been more and more spoken among us. Still we must not yet be content : we must look for greater things. Such examples, although now less rare, have never been wanting, and the CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 107 time shall come (we may not doubt it) when they shall yet be multiplied tenfold. The few big drops which are falling here and there are the harbingers surely of an abundant shower. Let us unite our prayers that it may be so ; and to our prayers let us add our endeavours to en- gage others in the work. Let us not be content to give our money alone, but in our several measures let us do what we can, with our influ- ence, our time, our talents; for all are God's, and all to be employed in His cause. 108 THE INFLUENCE OF SECTION IV. THE DUTY OF EMPLOYING OUR INFLUENCE AND POLITICAL POWER ON BEHALF OF THE CHURCH. AMONG those who are bound to exert their in- fluence for the benefit of their benighted coun- trymen, the clergy of course demand the first place. Their gifts, no doubt, if estimated by the rule of our Lord, already far exceed, as they should, those of all other orders : but the more irksome task of exciting others to a liberal and self-denying bounty, has been comparatively neglected. In pressing the claims of the Church, the clergy cannot but feel the embarrassment of appearing to speak for their own order, if not for their own interest ; and their difficulty is in some respects the greater, because in worldly rank and position they are the equals of those whose selfishness they are required to reprove. All these are impediments: but they must be disregarded, and God's word must be spoken without fear and without favour, by him who will discharge his trust. Indeed, when we con- sider the great and peculiar danger of the rich, and how seldom an unwelcome truth reaches THE CLERGY. 109 their ears anywhere but in church, it seems the special duty of every pastor, to whose care any of them are committed, to be strenuous in incul- cating the snare and deceitfulness of riches, and the great account to be rendered by those to whom much is given. How earnestly does St. Paul exhort his son Timothy, " Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy 1 ." He must not content himself with exhorting them to do good, as he adds in the next verse, " richly, readily, willingly," but must solemnly remind them of their peculiar danger that of trusting in riches. He must " warn, exhort, rebuke them with all authority." May there not be some pastors who have ful- filled their duty to the poor, but who have rea- son to fear lest, in the day of account, the rich of their flock should rise up against and condemn them, for having left them alone unwarned 2 ? As regards the laity, one most important ser- vice, which they can perform at the present mo- ment, is that of ascertaining and making known the actual state of things. Until lately, it was hardly known that any considerable want of 1 1 Timothy vi. 17. 2 It is instructive to observe how strongly and keenly the rich are warned of their peculiar danger in the authorized English homily " Of Alms-deeds," and yet more in those of St. Chrysostom. 110 THE INFLUENCE OF churches existed. This is no longer the case : but much still requires to be made known. We want (as has been suggested) accurate statistical reports of our existing churches, and of the needs of our population. A layman who has any leisure, would be most usefully employed in collecting and making public these facts. It is a debt of justice to acknowledge the great ser- vice which has been rendered, not to Scotland only but to England, by the labours of one Glas- gow layman, Mr. Collins. His pamphlet, called " Statistics of Glasgow Church Accommodation," has done more probably towards making known the dreadful state of irreligion in which the neglected thousands of our town population are actually lying, than any other work. He has refuted the confident assertions, that the dissen- ters do for the poor what the Church does for the rich ; and that the poor are excluded from the house of God only because they will not come : he has laid bare the monstrous features of the case, by a plain statement of facts. Such a book (modified of course in many particulars) is ne- cessary before we can rightly estimate the state of Birmingham or Liverpool, and even of large parts of London. We want to know how many families in each street or district regularly attend any church how many go sometimes how many never and then, how many are in con- scious separation from the church ? thus we could calculate the actual numbers who are deserted by THE LAITY. Ill all men and left to perish without pity and with- out aid. In conversation, again, more may often be done by the laity than by those who are natu- rally suspected of a professional bias. They may make known the actual state of things to those among whom they live ; they may assert the duty and blessedness of giving up something for its remedy ; in a word, they may confess Christ before men. We too little think how much evil we may do, by checking (perhaps by a thought- less word) the rising of some good desire, in those especially who respect our judgment. A man begins to observe the wretched state of his dependants ; he doubts whether he is not bound to do something for them ; he is just at a critical point; a word, a look may incline him to the good or to the evil of himself and of thousands. And in this state, if he hears one whom he justly respects express even a passing feeling, that " the expense of restoring the parochial system puts it out of the question," or that, " under the circumstances, it is useless to think of a new church in such and such a district," he may very likely begin to regard the thought which God has put into his mind as romantic and unreason- able perhaps to be ashamed of having enter- tained it : and thus God's Spirit is grieved, and the opportunity passes by, and the world en- grosses all that he has, and it becomes useless 112 THE INFLUENCE OF to press him to do any thing for his Lord, his brethren, and himself. It is a serious consideration, how much every one of us either raises or lowers the standard of morals and religion, in the society with which we mix; and in consequence how far we are re- sponsible for the errors and faults of our brethren as well as for our own. In some degree it is al- ways so, but in these times more than ever. The form of our government makes the judgment and opinion of every body of men, to a certain degree, influential upon the governing power upon the nation itself. The politicians of this world may speak of the power and influence thus conferred on every one of us as a political right. To the eye of a Christian, it bears a more high and solemn character as one of the talents com- mitted to his stewardship. Far better for him to be the subject of an absolute monarch, and have no political power at all, than to possess the pri- vileges of an Englishman, and regard them only as rights to be used as he will, forgetting the solemn account which he must render for them hereafter. The great Hammond was asked, as he lay upon his death-bed, what he considered to be the happiest condition of life ? He replied, " Uniform obedience :" by which he was under- stood to mean, not merely obedience to the di- rect commands of God (which is not a condition, but a duty), but moreover such a state as sub- THE LAITY. 113 jects us in all things to the will of others, and so lessens our responsibility. There was perhaps in this answer something of an excessive fear of power and responsibility, for which a Christian will not seek, if God has called him to another state, but to which, if he be called, he will there abide with God, and use them as good gifts in themselves, although, like all other good things, liable to abuse through the corruption of man's heart and will. And yet this, if an extreme, was the extreme of a more wise and prudent and Christian feeling, than that into which men fall who eagerly desire political power as a good in itself, not as a talent to be used for God. Let us see then how we may best employ, for His glory and for the benefit of our brethren, the political influence which He has given us. And first, there are some things which would strengthen and benefit the Church, for which nothing more than a legislative change is re- quired. The repeal, for instance, of the statute of mortmain, as far as it applies to the Church, would do something. At this moment, should the impropriator of any church lands leave them by will to the Church from which they were taken, the bequest would be void ; although the same property, if left to the London University, would, by virtue of its charter, be applied ac- cording to the intention of the testator. Provi- sion might be made (should it seem needful) for 114 THE EMPLOYMENT OF preventing parents from defrauding 1 their chil- dren to enrich the Church ; but there can be no reason to fear that any serious inconvenience would follow even from the total exemption of the Church from its operation. The time and the causes of danger are gone by. Again, an augmentation of the number of our bishopricks, is a measure earnestly to be desired, not only for the good of the Church in general, but specially for that of the most neglected dis- tricts. The chief impediment to it, has been a jealousy of Churchmen and of Church influence, which opposes any increase in the number of spiritual peers. That this jealousy is most un- founded is obvious from the fact, that our pre- lates are not now more numerous than in the reign of Henry the Eighth, while the temporal peers have been multiplied nearly eight times. A wholesome influence then exerted on our go- vernment might relieve the Church from that 1 St. Augustine being censured for refusing the inheritance of one Januarius, who had made the Church his heir, explained his motives in a sermon (No. 355), in which he says, " I am ready to receive good and holy offerings ; but if any one disin- herits his son in anger, would it not be my duty to appease him, and reconcile him to his son, if he were living ? And how can I wish him to be reconciled to his son, if I am desir- ing his inheritance ? What I have often advised is this : if a man has one son, let him put Christ in the place of a second ; if two, in the place of a third ; if ten, in the place of an eleventh ; and that I will receive." POLITICAL POWER. 115 external compulsion which has hitherto prevented her from augmenting the number of the highest order of her pastors, in proportion to the in- creased number of her clergy and people. Another benefit, of a similar class, which the legislature might at once effect, is the abolition of peculiars. These anomalies are in truth rem- nants of Popery. Exemptions from episcopal jurisdiction were granted to different orders by the Popes, who thus obtained for themselves an independent empire in the heart of every Church. They are of course inconsistent with Church principles ; especially when they assign to the accidental possessor of certain property some of the highest offices of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. They are mentioned here, however, because they are a very important violation of the paro- chial system 1 . But the case of our poor fellow-subjects re- quires from the legislature much more than this. The measures hitherto suggested amount but to the removal of certain civil obstacles which im- pede the exertions of the Church on their behalf. We demand the aid of the legislature ; the active, powerful, zealous co-operation of the highest powers of our land. To this point we are in duty bound to address ourselves, and never to 1 It would of course be easy to enumerate other legislative improvements, by which the Church might be benefited. Our attention, however, is confined to those regulations which are needful for the perfecting of our diocesan and parochial system. i 2 116 THE EMPLOYMENT OF remit our exertions until it is effected. Let us ask ourselves, Is the government of our land bound to do any thing to relieve those pressing spiritual necessities which have been shown to exist ? It is but to ask, in other words, whether the same men who are bound to do what they can in one place for Christ and their brethren, are bound also to do what they can in another. We may not be Christians in our churches, our closets, and in our studies, and heathens in our council chambers and our senates. If the government refuse to serve God as a govern- ment, then do they, as a government, plainly declare that they will not have Him to reign over them ; and if the nation suffer them to do so, the nation become partakers of their guilt. So far all is plain. It is important that every man who has any political power or influence should distinctly and explicitly avow this principle, and enforce it on the attention of our rulers ; for it has become a common practice with public men to express a disapprobation of what they are pleased to call " the voluntary system," without explaining what they mean by the words. If their actions are any sufficient comment upon their meaning, it must be marvellously poor and meagre ; for these same men are not found so much as to pro- pose any application of the public revenue in aid of those exertions which churchmen have been making, both in societies and as individuals, to POLITICAL POWER. 117 extend among our countrymen the blessings of the Gospel. Can they mean, then, any thing more than this, that they approve of the prin- ciple of Church endowments, and are opposed to any plan for taking from the English Church those which have not already been plundered? If this be their meaning, they are of course right ; but it seems a poor thing, that the chief gover- nors of a Christian land should make it a great matter, and a subject of a distinct and solemn and oft-repeated profession, that they disapprove of the principle of sacrilege. It is high time that statesmen of all parties should learn, that this vaunted disavowal does not satisfy the Chris- tian people of England. We want something more; we wish to be not only negatively but positively religious. We are not content to ab- stain from sacrilege; rather are we resolved to devote to the glory of our God a portion of our public as well as our private revenues. That we should do so is a national duty ; to delay it is a national sin ; to refuse it would be a national im- piety, such as by God's blessing we hope to prevent. As Christians, then, we demand the public recognition of this great principle that God is King of kings and Lord of lords ; that nations as well as individuals must serve and honour Him, and that our nation must serve and honour Him at this crisis, by raising houses of prayer to the glory of His name, and must fulfil the promise, that 118 THE NATIONAL DUTY the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into the Church, by offering to her, for her Lord's sake,our earthly treasures, to be employed as her instruments in the discharge of the blessed task imposed on her by Him, the task of bring- ing the means of grace, and the hope of glory, to the homes of all her children. We may not stoop to lower grounds; we will not assume a false principle, although we could prove, that even on that principle the nation would still be bound to undertake the work. There are many who love to assume that the secular prosperity of the nation is the sole object of government, and that it has accordingly no concern with the ques- tions of religious truth or falsehood, with virtue or vice as such, but only as they bear upon the public interests. They avow, in short, that ex- pediency, and not right, should be the rule of governments ; that the law of God is for indivi- duals, and the law of interest for kingdoms and empires. If we would, we might occupy this low ground with the certainty of victory. We might show from experience as well as from Scripture, that " righteousness exalteth a na- tion, but sin is a reproach to any people." We might plead, that men fearing God, and daily worshipping His name, will be better subjects, better neighbours, than those who know nothing of Him, or of their own highest interests and du- ties. But we may not abandon that higher po- sition on which we take our station; and in OF ENGLAND. 119 refusing to do so we act wisely as well as reli- giously; for by gaining an argumentative vic- tory, we should not convince the hearts of those who, because they love darkness rather than light, will not listen to the voice of duty, ex- cept she condescend to urge the arguments of expediency : while by addressing ourselves to unworthy motives and principles, we should com- promise our cause, and lose much of that moral power which secures our victory with every good man, when we challenge his co-operation, as the children and servants of Jehovah, resolutely purposed, that come what may, we will bear wit- ness to the truth, will speak for Him without shame, without fear, without compromise, and by His grace will never rest, until not we alone and our house, but our country and its rulers, shall serve the Lord. And if there ever was a nation bound by every tie of duty and gratitude to serve Him faithfully, it is the people of this land. For what is that nation or people in all the world whom God has honoured and blessed like us? He has given to us the knowledge of His glorious Gospel, and committed unto us His Holy Word. He has laden us with temporal blessings in such abun- dance, as to go beyond and prevent our desires. He has borne patiently with many provocations : and last of all, since the commencement of the present century, He has brought us, in safety and with victory, through a war more tremen- 120 THE NATIONAL GUILT dous than any which our forefathers have known. England is the only nation of Europe which, during the course of that war, escaped the ra- vages of invading armies ; London the only ca- pital which was occupied by no hostile force : and shall we, in return for these mercies, leave London any longer an half heathen city, and abandon without a struggle whole districts of England to the great enemy of God and man? then might we indeed fear that the term of our national prosperity, nay, of our very existence, was near, and that, having been long spared, often chastened, and often delivered, our coun- try was after all but a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction. And still more pressing is the obligation of the people and government of England to pro- vide, at their own cost, for the worship and ho- nour of their God; for there lies upon us the weight of a national sin, for which no restitution has been made, and it is only by restitution that we can cut off the curse entailed on us by the deeds of our fathers. The legislature of England has sacrilegiously deprived the Church of more than half her endowments. From the loss of those endowments alone proceed all our difficul- ties. We need not then to inquire whether a nation be bound to provide funds for the service of God, clear as the duty is. Individual church- men have already done all, and more than all that is needed, of their own spontaneous piety, OF ENGLAND. 121 and without any public charge. But the nation has profanely robbed God of their offerings, and has heaped upon a few pampered favourites, that which they gave to alleviate the spiritual famine of thousands. We but claim as a national duty the repair of ravages caused by a national sin. It is vain to reply to this claim, that the pro- perty which, on the pretence of reformation, but in spite of the earnest protests of all real reform- ers, was taken from the Church three centuries ago, had been given and was held only for su- perstitious purposes, to maintain perpetual masses for the souls of the donors. Were the pretext true, it would not have justified its alienation to secular purposes ; and that it was not true can hardly require to be proved. If indeed it could be shown that all the alien- ated Church property had been charged with the continual performance of masses, this of course would not prove that the maintenance of them was the donor's sole object: it would prove only that he believed them to be serviceable to de- parted souls, and therefore desired to reap that benefit from his foundation, in addition to the other objects which he proposed to himself. A pious man among ourselves, who should build and endow a church or a college, might very na- turally insert a clause in the deed of conveyance, earnestly requesting that all who might share his bounty would pray for a blessing on himself while he lived, and on his family after his death. 122 THE NATIONAL GUILT This he might do, although fully persuaded that prayers for departed souls were vain and sinful. But would this clause justify the confiscation of his endowment, if it should chance that his fa- mily became extinct a few years after his death ? We should see that the first and main object of the foundation was the glory of God and the sal- vation of men, and that this object might still be fulfilled, although another part of the founder's will had become obsolete. And why should we judge of more ancient foundations by a different rule ? Men gave their lands, as they declared in the deed of gift, " for the glory of God," and they charged what they so gave with the main- tenance of masses : if reformation had been de- sired, this condition would have been repealed ; but this would not have gorged that fatal covet- ousness which, by confiscating the endowments, ran headlong into the guilt of sacrilege. But again, was all the confiscated property of the nature above described ? Our daily ex- perience can answer. Were the tithes (nowirn- propriated) of much more than half the parishes of England given to superstitious uses ? Were the glebe lands and glebe houses of our poor vicarages (now in the hands of laymen) super- stitious and unholy things ? This part at least of the spoil was taken strictly from the parochial clergy. It is no answer to say, that these en- dowments were first impropriated to religious houses, and then went with the rest of their pro- OF ENGLAND. 123 perty to the Crown. The fact was not always so ; nor was the wrong of the Pope, in alienating the parochial endowments to the religious houses, any justification of the wrong of the King and nation, who diverted them thence to court favourites. Great as the first evil was, it was to the parishes plundered most trifling, when compared with the latter. When the impropriation was made, the pa- rishioners paid their tithes to a clerical body, fre- quently resident among them, and always obliged to provide for their spiritual care. On the sup- pression of the monastery they were delivered over to some great man, who glittered at court in gold and silver, the spoils of God's house, and left to the vicar, now burdened with a wife and family, a pittance of fifty, twenty, ten, in some cases four pounds yearly, out of thousands ex- acted from the parish. No one acquainted with the state and history of our country towns will think this is an exaggerated picture; and in many instances it is in these very parishes that some huge population has arisen, without the means of grace. Moreover much of the property which was taken from the Church had never belonged to the monasteries at all. The history of Hatton Garden is well known : it was the London resi- dence of the Bishops of Ely, and being wrested from them many years after the Reformation *, 1 In 1579, twenty-one years after the accession of Elizabeth. 124 THE NATIONAL GUILT by the gross and violent threats of Queen Eliza- beth, it was conferred on her favourite, whose name it perpetuates among us, although his fa- mily has long ago perished, like so many others which have arisen by the plunder of God's he- ritage. Similar acts of violence, committed either on the dignitaries or parochial clergy, sometimes with and sometimes without the pre- text of an exchange, were habitual; insomuch that Hume is guilty of no exaggeration when he says, that " it was usual with her, when she pro- moted a Bishop, to take the opportunity of pil- laging the see of some of its manors 1 ." 1 History of England, ch. xliv., Appendix. Some extracts from " Heylin's History of the Reformation" will show the manner in which sacred things were abused during the minority of King Edward VI. He mentions (p. 50) that an act had been passed giving to King Henry VIII. for his own life " the disposal of all chantries, colleges, free chapels, and hospitals," which grant of course expired at his death ; but " the great ones of the court not being willing to lose so rich a booty, it was set on foot again, and carried through this present parliament.'' This grant conveyed to the king ninety colleges (the hospitals and the colleges in the universities not being included), " and no fewer than 2374 free chapels and chantries, the lands whereof were thus conferred upon the king by name, but not intended to be kept together for his benefit only. In which respect it was very stoutly insisted on by Archbishop Cranmer, that the dissolving of these col- leges, free chapels, and chantries should be deferred, until the king should be of age," &c. The courtiers having thus enriched themselves we find, in page 61, that "our gentry, possessed of patronages, considering how much the lords and great men of the court had improved their fortunes by the suppression of those chantries and other foundations which OF ENGLAND. 125 Surely we do but mock God, and make our- selves partakers in the sin which we justify, if had been granted to the king, conceived themselves in a capacity to do the like, by taking into their hands the yearly profits of those benefices of which by law they were only intrusted with the presentations. Of which abuse complaint is made by Bishop Latimer in his printed sermons ; in which we find, that ' the gentry at that time invaded the profits of the Church, leaving the title only to the incumbent ; and that chantry priests were put by them into several cures to save their pensions' (page 38) ; that ' many benefices were laid out in fee farms (page 71 )> or given unto servants for keeping of hounds, hawks, and horses, and for making of gardens' (pages 91 114) ; and finally, that ' the poor clergy being kept to some sorry pittance, were forced to put themselves into gentlemen's houses, and there to serve as clerks of the kitchen, surveyors, receivers,' &c. (page 241). All which enormities, though tending so apparently to the dishonour of God, the disservice of the Church, and the disgrace of religion, were generally connived at by the lords and others, who only had the power to reform the same, because they could not question those who had so miserably invaded the Church's patrimony, without condemning of themselves." The result f the whole he describes in page 134 : " Insomuch that many private men's parlours were hung with altar cloths, their taWes and beds covered with copes instead of carpets and coverlids, and many carousing cups of the sacred chalices, as once Belshazzar celebrated his drunken feast in the sanctified vessels of the temple. It was a sorry house, and not worth the naming, which had not somewhat of this furniture in it ; though it were only a fair cushion made of a cope or altar- cloth to adorn their windows, or make their chairs appear to have somewhat in them of a chair of state. Yet how con- temptible were these trappings in comparison of those vast sums of money which were made of jewels, plate, and cloth of tissue, either conveyed beyond the seas or sold at home, and 126 THE NATIONAL GUILT we deny that these deeds brought on their per- petrators the guilt of the foulest sacrilege. And this guilt was aggravated, not diminished, by those great abuses, of which in God's righteous judgment their crime was in many cases the just punishment. The confiscation, although a de- served vengeance on those who were abusing the gifts of pious founders, was but an increase of guilt in the King and Parliament, who, by not preventing the abuse, had made themselves part- ners in the sin. Their duty was to correct, not to destroy ; to have restored to the parishes their endowments ; to have annexed some of the richer abbeys to the new bishopricks, to which, in the preamble of the act of parliament for their sup- pression, they were solemnly promised ; and, finally, to have introduced into all monasteries such wholesome regulations as would have made them schools of theology, nurseries of sound learning, a glory and blessing to our land. And this duty was not overlooked from inadvertence : they were solemnly reminded of it, by the same divines by the authority of whose names they de- fended the Reformation itself; they acknow- ledged it in public acts ; but covetousness was good lands purchased with the money, nothing the more blessed to the posterity of them that bought them, for being purchased with the consecrated treasures of so many temples." Surely it was nothing less than a national sin which thus tainted almost every house, whether rich or poor. OF ENGLAND. 127 too strong for them : they chose the wages of unrighteousness, and incurred the guilt of sa- crilege. But admitting the guilt of our forefathers, which can hardly be seriously questioned except through ignorance, let us consider the more practical question, whether we have reason to hope that that guilt is buried with them, or whether it stands recorded against our country, in the book of God's remembrance ? Surely the answer which Scripture enables us to make does not flatter us with the expectation of impunity. The destruction of Amalek by Saul was more than four hundred years later than the national sin which it avenged. The seventy years of the captivity of Judah was measured out to answer to the sabbaths which the people had profaned in their land 1 . They went on long in their sin, and thought that God had forgotten it; but while He kept silence, He remembered both His command and their breach of it. The length of time was no bar to His judgment. And the words of our Lord 2 imply, that the ac- cumulated vengeance of the Most High, against the murderers of all the martyred prophets, from righteous Abel downwards, was poured forth upon the guilty city and nation of the Jews, by the sword of Titus. Certain it is, therefore, 1 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. Compare also Levit. xxvi. 34, 35. 43. 2 St. Matt, xxiii. 35. 128 THE NATIONAL GUILT that the sins of a nation are no more effaced by the mere lapse of time, than those of an indivi- dual ; that as the sins of youth often find out the sinner, even here, in his age, and will find out every unrepenting sinner in the world to come ; so too whatever nation sins against God, their sin remains written against them, until wiped out by a national repentance. It is no idle speculation then, whether our national sin has been repented of: and surely, we cannot but answer that as restitution is in this instance possible, without restitution there can be no true repentance 1 . The very nature of 1 It would be easy to show that this is no new opinion ; perhaps indeed there are few of our great divines who have not expressed the same judgment. We are told that in a critical period of the great Rebellion King Charles the First, review- ing his own sins and those of his people, while he prayed " forgive I beseech thee my personal and my people's sins, which are so far mine as I have not improved the power Thou gavest me for Thy glory and my people's good ;" bound himself by a written promise to a solemn act of repentance, first, for the legal murder of Strafford ; which as restitution was impos- sible, could only be done by penance : next, for the sacrilege in question, for which, as restitution was possible, repentance could be shown no otherwise. The words of his vow with regard to the latter are remarkable. " I do here promise and solemnly vow, in the presence and for the service of Almighty God, that if it shall please the Divine majesty of His infinite goodness, to restore me to my just kingly rights, and to re-establish me in my throne ; I will wholly give back to His Church, all those impropriations which are now held by the crown ; and what lands soever I do now, or should enjoy, which have been taken away either from any episcopal see, or any cathedral or collegiate church, OF ENGLAND. 129 our present difficulties, moreover, strengthens the conclusion. For in the common order of from any abbey or other religious house. I likewise promise for hereafter to hold them from the Church, under such reason- able fines and rents as shall be set down by some conscientious persons whom I propose to choose with all uprightness of heart to direct me in this particular. And I humbly beseech God, to accept of this my vow, and to bless me in the design I have now in hand, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHARLES R. Oxford, April 13, 1646. This is a true copy of the King's vow, which was preserved thirteen years under ground by me, Gilbert Sheldon. August 21. 1660. (Biographia Britannica. Art. Sheldon.) Let it be observed that, by the civil list agreement, the nation are now in the enjoyment of all the lands and tithes, which were the subject of this vow ; for the restoration was a season when unhappily such matters were little regarded ; al- though Sheldon, by bringing forward the vow at the moment, seems to have hoped for better things. Let us remember the solemn words of God. (Malachi iii. 8, &c.) "Will a man rob God ? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough ; and all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." And can we think that we should be poorer as a nation, for fulfilling, al- though thus tardily, the vow ? It is worth while to observe, that while at this moment (Jan. 1838,) Parliament is depriving the Isle of Man, of a bishop- ric, which has lasted thirteen hundred years, to augment the K 130 THE NATIONAL GUILT God's providence the punishment is more or less connected with the sin, and bears some analogy to it. If Eli is guilty of honouring his sons above God ; both his sons must be cut off in the flower of their age, and his house accursed for ever. If David has slain Uriah with the sword, and taken his wife for himself; his wives too must be taken from him by another, and the sword must never depart from his house. And what is our national punishment, the great evil under which our nation labours ? It is that hundreds of thousands of Englishmen are grow- ing up without any instruction in their duties, without any one to sound in their ears the solemn words, " Righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come;" without any knowledge of Him who came to save His people from their sins; without hope, and without God in the world. And this evil we are told cannot be remedied, for want of funds. Our sin then has found us out. Where are the tithes dedicated to God for ever, for His glory and the salvation of men ? why not apply them to meet this evil ? They are impropriated : they are dissipated long ago. Already has our sin brought forth for us misery. " Unto us belong shame and confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, because we have sinned against the revenues of the poor vicars, the impropriations, the loss of which has impoverished them, are actually applied by the same parliament as part of the national revenue. OF ENGLAND. 131 Lord 1 ;" and He is righteous in all that He has . brought upon us. Yea, even of His long-suffer- ing and compassion, may we trace much in the nature of that punishment which has overtaken us. It cannot but remind us of our sin, and invite us to a national repentance. For how can we help remembering, that if the Church lands of our metropolis had been retained, we should not now have had to seek the means of providing churches for a half heathen population; and that if the tithes and Church lands of the country at large had been spared, we should not be wanting new parochial endowments. Thus does our punishment bring our sin to our remem- brance, and it invites us moreover to a sincere and hearty national repentance, (a repentance not in word, but in act,) for we cannot begin to show any sign of it, by restoring anything to God, without alleviating the evil, and any wor- thy and adequate act of national repentance and restitution would wholly remove it. God grant that His mercy may not be thrown away upon us. May we repent and make resti- tution to Him as a nation. Otherwise, if in spite of every warning and invitation, we will con- tinue to withhold from Him His own ; if we will not repent ; what can remain for us but ruin ? " Sin when it is perfected bringeth forth death." Are nations and churches exempt from this rule ? 1 Dan. ix. 8. K 2 132 NATIONAL Let experience decide. Where are those of Asia, and of Greece, once so illustrious ? where is the glory of Antioch where the disciples were first called Christians ? where is the church and city of Tyre, whither the ships of all the earth flocked with their burdens, and where the blessed Apos- tle found brethren to refresh his heart seven days on his martyr voyage ? where is the church of Alexandria, the seat of the great Athanasius? where is Hippo, and Carthage, and Nicsea once the centre of Christendom, whence shone a light that has reached even to us? Their candle- sticks are removed. " Their lamp is put out in obscure darkness." And shall we Christians think that such things as these have happened by chance, or some blind necessity? The world is governed by no inanimate system, by no dark inflexible destiny ; but by His power and love who " waiteth to be gracious unto us," but yet, who " will bend His bow, if we will not turn, and will whet His sword, and make it ready ;" and even far earlier He had given us another similar example in the history of the patriarchal Church, the church of Abimelech, and probably of Melchisedec ; and that history too written by inspiration : " because when they knew God they glorified Him not as God, nei- ther were thankful; therefore God gave them over to a reprobate mind V 1 Romans i. 28. 1 WARNINGS. 133 Such have been God's judgments upon others; and shall we escape ? we have sinned greatly as a nation : we have never repented of our sin: we are now tried with a great national evil, which we may as yet remedy, by God's blessing, if we retrace our steps; but if not, ruin lies before us, ruin self-sought and self- invited. What then shall be our choice ? Shall we leave to our children a Christian or a heathen land, God's blessing or His curse ? Here is a noble opportunity of exercising all our influence for the good of our country, for the salvation of our brethren, for the honour of our God. Blessed surely will that man be, above all other Englishmen, who shall be the honoured instru- ment of calling his country to repent of this her sin, and shall thus turn away from her the fierce anger of Almighty God. Neither let us think the task hopeless ; hopeless it appears at present, because no earnest effort has yet been made; but let the voice of the Christian people of Eng- land be raised, demanding that large grants be im- mediately voted from the public resources, to sup- ply churches, and ministers, and Christian edu- cation, to the poor of our land ; and that voice will quickly be obeyed. God has given us our political power and influence, for God and for our country let us employ it. It is not for the sake of economy, nor even from hatred to the Church, that nothing has yet been done by the parliament of England, for those of our poor who are destitute of all 134 NATIONAL things needful for their souls. That parliament has granted twenty millions for the emancipation of the West Indian slaves; at this hour it is voting an indefinite sum, without enquiring into its amount, to indemnify those who lost by a Danish war; and in like manner will it vote sums as large or larger, to rescue our land from becoming heathen, when the voice of the nation shall require them. Nothing has yet been done ; because such is our condition, that every important movement must begin among the middle classes, and move upward to legisla- ture ; in a word, because if done at all it must be done by ourselves. The specific form in which the national re- sources may most advantageously co-operate in the work, may perhaps be questionable. On the whole it would probably be most expedient that a certain sum (perhaps a million or more) should be annually voted, and dispensed like the funds of the church building societies, in aid of the erection and endowment of churches, rather than in erecting any. Thus the nation might pledge itself to undertake half, or two thirds, of the requisite expense, wherever it is proved that a new church is required. Surely if we zealously employ our influence among our neighbours, with our representatives, with all whom we can affect, we must in the end succeed. For God will grant His blessing to labours undertaken for the love of Christ, EXERTIONS. 135 and for His glory. Meanwhile, the path to ultimate success is plain ; if we would ever see the nation do her part, we must begin by personal self-denying liberality. We must begin thus, be- cause thus alone we cannot fail to draw down the promised blessing from God, on ourselves and our work. We must begin thus, because thus, much more than by our words, shall we convince others that we warn them in earnest of our national sin and danger. We must begin thus again, because every new church makes the remaining work easier ; for in proportion to our success in Christianizing our land, will be the power and prevalence of Christian principles and motives upon our legislature. We must begin thus lastly, because the more we do, the more others will be stirred up to do, when they see that the work is not, as they are inclined to think, hopeless from its magnitude. Meanwhile our influence can hardly be more usefully exerted than in opposing every scheme for supplying the spiritual wants of the nation by inequitable, unjust, or irreligious expedients; by diverting the bounty of our ancestors from the purposes to which they consecrated it. Such schemes, as we have already seen, spring from a principle directly opposite to those which our Lord has sanctioned and blessed. This alone might suffice to condemn them : for what good can we hope without His blessing ; or how ex- pect any blessing from Him, on measures unjus- 136 OPPOSITION TO tillable in themselves, and adopted to prevent the necessity of self-denial, and enable us to serve God without sacrifice or expense? But if men have not the faith to receive this saying ; if they must look only to immediate results ; still, even on their own most miserable principles, such plans should be eschewed ; for while they pull down that which is already set up, they tend, above all other things, to prevent new foundations. The project for applying the pro- perty of the cathedrals to parochial purposes, has already operated thus : it prevents personal sa- crifice and exertion on behalf of the Church, as the legal provision for the poor checks the stream of private bounty. It is easier to say to a poor man, " Depart in peace ; go to the parish ; be thou warmed and filled," than to give him the things needful for the body : and in like manner, when an urgent case of spiritual destitution is described, men satisfy themselves with saying 1 , " Apply to the Church Commissioners;" or, " That is a case to which the revenue of some of the suppressed stalls should be applied ;" and so are content to do nothing themselves. Like other evil measures, it springs from an evil prin- ciple, and in return encourages and fosters that principle, and extends it more widely than before. And again, such projects impress upon all 1 The writer is detailing the result of his own experience. EVIL PROJECTS. 137 ecclesiastical property a character of insecurity, which beyond all other causes checks the streams of Christian liberality. Men are not wiljjng to deny themselves for the furtherance of an object which they deem important, only that as soon as they are laid in their graves, their bounty may be voted public property, and applied to some other purpose, however good, which may require funds. How many good deeds have already been thus prevented, it is impossible to conjecture. Before the Reformation, endowments were yearly offered for foundations of every class, both charitable and religious. How few have adorned the three hundred years which have fol- lowed it ! And to what shall we attribute the change ? Let it be left to Papists to trace it to the Reformation. Let us not say, that, of old, men gave from motives of superstition, that they might purchase absolution and masses, and that the fountain of liberality was dried up by the Reformation ; for if we say this, we must maintain that the word of God is less powerful than the inventions of men, the love of Christ a less prevailing motive than the desire of pro- pitiating a priest that treasure in heaven, se- cured by the promise of Jehovah, is less likely to influence men's minds than the hope of masses after their death. Surely the true explanation is, not the Reformation, but the Church rob- bery which marred it. And accordingly the same cause has produced a like effect in unre- 138 OPPOSITION TO formed countries. Wherever Church property has been confiscated, there the people have ceased to give to the Church, let the doctrines of Rome maintain ever so firmly their credit and authority. Sacrilege not only absorbs the offer- ings of devout men of old, but prevents those of devout men in future. Let us not be deterred then, by any fear of obloquy, or by respect for any name however venerable, from opposing with our whole power and influence measures so hateful to the God of truth and equity, and so fatal to the very object which they are intended to promote. If we keep silence when they are proposed and main- tained, then do we no doubt bring upon our- selves a portion of that awful responsibility which belongs chiefly to their authors. And whoever manfully avows his deep and settled abhorrence of them, will commonly be surprised to find how many there are who feel with him, but who from hopelessness, the desire of peace, or the dread of odium, have withheld their sentiments till called forth by sympathy. To offer such an oc- casion, by which men are determined and encou- raged to act on their conscientious judgment, is no trifling mode of employing our influence for the Church. But should the event be other- wise ; should we be deemed narrow-minded and illiberal, and should our protest be unavailing, we shall have done what we could ; we shall at least have discharged our own consciences of the EVIL PROJECTS. 139 guilt of a national sin ; and surely " it is better to be called narrow-minded by men, than to be called presumptuous by God : it is happier to be thought over- scrupulous, so that we obtain His praise, than to have the world's praise for liber- ality without it." A work is set before us, sufficient to engross our time, our talents, our influence, our worldly substance; and that which is devoted to it we shall not lose, but receive it, invested with a new glory, returned to us an hundredfold by our God and Saviour. Meanwhile let us maintain a jealous guard over ourselves. It has been ob- served, that " those who, either by station or temper, feel themselves most deeply interested in the cause of the Church, cannot be too care- ful in reminding themselves, that one chief dan- ger, in times of change and excitement, arises from their tendency to engross the whole mind. Public concerns, ecclesiastical or civil, will in- deed prove ruinous to those who permit them to occupy all their care and thoughts, neglecting or undervaluing ordinary duties, more especially those of a devotional kind." And to this caution must be added another ; that even liberal offer- ings of our worldly substance will be baneful, if they beget in us self-complacency in the sight of God, or vanity and ostentation before men. But for both these dangers a sure remedy is at hand. The love of Christ, and the desire of 140 PEACE His promises, must be the motive both of our labours and our gifts. And this love we must of course maintain, by seeking continually His presence in every devotional exercise, in public ordinances, in private prayers, in heavenly me- ditations, in the study of Holy Scripture, and more especially in contemplating the perfect example of our Lord and Master, set before us in the Gospels. In these things is our hidden strength ; in them is the source and spring, though not the whole course of a Christian life. To action, indeed, they must continually lead, or they will degenerate into a morbid, dreaming religion, transplanting to holy ground the sickly plants of a romantic imagination. Our love to our Lord, if it be untried and unpractical, will be- come as unreal as our interest in some imaginary character of poetical fiction. Yet the active part of a Christian life is not less dangerous, if we neglect to feed the flame of devotion, by fre- quent retirement into the immediate presence of our God and Saviour. The society and the praise of men may tempt us to compare ourselves with others, and to regard with complacency our offerings to the service of God ; but vanity, which shoots up with a rapid growth in the glare and sunshine of the world, is checked and blighted by the still shade of retirement and solitude. We can hardly think much of our sacrifices for Christ's sake, when we are fresh from our closets, from meditating on His sufferings, and AMIDST EXCITEMENTS. 141 tracing His sacred steps from Galilee to Beth- any, from Bethany to the Temple, from thence to the Paschal chamber, to the garden, the judg- ment-hall, the cross, and the sepulchre. In the same exercises, too, we shall find our best secu- rity against that engrossing power which belongs to every great interest. A restless activity is to some men an easy task, the excitement affording the motive. To guard against this danger, " the primitive bishops had places of retirement near their cities, that they might separate them- selves from the world, lest teaching others, they should forget themselves ; lest they should lose the spirit of piety themselves, while they were endeavouring to fix it in others 1 ." And as- suredly, in our day as in theirs, the antidote to all the dangers which must ever attend a Christian, even in that intercourse with the world to which his duty calls him, will be found in communion with his own heart and with his Lord. Thus fortified, and pursuing the path of duty, he may brave the infected air, in confident reliance on that protection which of old gave to those who went forth from the immediate presence and so- ciety of Christ, " power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, so that nothing could by any means harm them 2 ." Tempering the eagerness of our active service with seasons of contemplation, of 1 Wilson, Sacra Privata. 2 St. Luke x. 19. 142 PEACE AMIDST EXCITEMENTS. " solitude, silence, and the strait keeping of the heart, those great springs of the spiritual life *," we shall return to the cares and turmoil of the world, and encounter the wilfulness and selfish- ness of men, with something of heaven within us; as the face of Moses still shone with the brightness of that glory whence he came, when he returned from the mount of God to the stiff- necked generation, among whom his lot was cast. For to these heights there is but one path the path of humiliation and self-denial ; the way of prayer and fasting and meditation in pri- vate; of labour arid service in public; and he who would attain to them must resolve " Lord, I will dwell in Thy temple and in Thy service ; religion shall be my employment, and alms shall be my recreation, and patience shall be my rest, and to do Thy will shall be my meat and drink, and to live shall be Christ, and then to die shall be gain 2 ." 1 Leighton. 2 Jer. Taylor, Holy Living. THE END. GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. gMay f 63CB J LD 21A-50m-ll,'62 (D3279slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley 040