w- A: ^^^m^ " { ^- '< BX 5930 .W7 1829 Wilmer, William H. 1782- 1827. The Episcopal manual ; THE EPISCOPAL. MAlVUAIi. BEING INTENDED AS A SUMMARY EXPLANATION OF THE DOCTRINE, DISCIPLINE, AND WORSHIP, OP THE AS TAUGHT IN HER PUBLIC FORMULARIES. AND THE -WRITIXraS OF her ikPPROVED DZVINSS. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, OBSERVATIONS ON FAMILY AND PUBLIC DEVOTION, AND Directions for a devout and decent attendance on Public Worship; WITH PRAYERS, SUITABLE TO SEVERAL OCCASIONS: The whole being designed to illustrate and enforce Evangelical Piefif, THIRD EDITION. B¥ THE REV. VJUmI^AIH H. IM^IIiIIER, D. D. Eector of St. Paul's Church, Alexandriaj D. C. '^Stand yc in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest to your souls," Jeremiah vi. 16. «They have well said all that they have spoken, O that there were such an Heart in them." Deut. v. 28, 29. f3altimnvt: PUBLISHED BY E. J. COALEi ■WILJdAH WOODDY, PBINTER. 1829. DISTRICT OF MARYLAND-To wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the fourth day of June, in the forty-sixth year «8'#<8'^*>'€> of the Inflependence of the United States of America, E. J. Coale *^ L S * ^"^ Louden L, Townsend, of the said districi, hath deposited .ia <^ ' ' <^ this office, the title of a Book, the right \vhereof they claim as -.- cration of Elements 5 ' before going to the altar - 142 at the time ofreceiving - 143 after receiving - 144 Address to Communicants - - - , - 146 14. On Confirmation 147 Address to Candidates for Confirmation - - - 150 Prayer to be used by them 153 15. History of the Liturgy 155 16. Festivals and Fasts 162 17. On Worship - - 165 Exhortation to the Members of the Church - - 179 Concerning Family Rehgion - - - - - 181 Conclusion - - 186 Prayers for Lord's day Morning - - . - 190 Evening - - « - ^ . 192 any morning in the week - . - 195 any evening in the week - - . 197 Prayer to be used in private 199 Directions for a devout and decent behaviour ^ c)n/? in the pubhc worsliip of God 3 AfiPEKDix No. I. On the origm and attributes of the Pope 219 No. 2. Containing a list of the succession of ^ oo-i American Bishops 5 No. 3. Statement of the doctrine of the Trinity"^ as held by the Church, with some C 228 scriptural proofs in support of it 3 Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2009 witii funding from Princeton Tineological Seminary Library littp://www.arcliive.org/details/episcopalmanualbOOwilm PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION. — »►»© © 9***" IF any apology be necessary for this undertaking, it may be found in the fact, that there is no work, on a similar plan, extant. It is not less matter of obvious truth, than of serious regret, that there exists, among the members of the Episcopal Church, a great want ol" information respecting their own peculiar principles. The following work, therefore, which aims to point out her excellencies, to illustrate her evangelical character, and to infuse into the hearts of her children, a portion of that healthful spirit which pervades all her services, it is hoped, will not prove altogether unacceptable or useless. The author is perfectly conscious of his ina- bility to do justice to subjects so various and momen- tous, and especially, in so short a summary as his limits have prescribed. All that he can hope to accomplish is that some who have not considered the subject, may be induced to bestow upon it an attention, in some degree proportioned to its importance, and that, in all, a desire of making farther research into those venerable docu- ments from which he has drawn, may be cherished and increased. — Wherever he could do so, he has adopted the language of the church and her approved writers. In so doing, though he has given to his work, only the merit of a compilation, and of an attempt to bring into Ji smaller focus, the irradiations of piety and genius VI fREFACE AJs-D with wiiich the subject is enriched, he hopes to gain a more solid advantage, in having, thereby, fortified his expositions of doctrine, behind the acknowledged bul- warks of the church. In the history of the church, as in that of nations^ there are epochas which are esteemed worthy of being cherished with fond remembrance, and to which we refer for the test of principles; times which tried men's souls, and called forth genius and virtue from their inmost re- cesses. "We look back, with enthusiasm, to the sages and heroes of our revolution, and consent to try, by theirstand- ard, maxims of policy and pretensions of patriotism. — And, aided by the same power of association, we contem- plate the period of the reformation, the grand jubilee of emancipation to mankind, with veneration for those, who nobly dared to attack the mighty colossus which had so long bestrid and enslaved the world. The heroes in this cause were illustrious men, "They counted not their lives dear unto them,'' but like Sampson, upheaved the massy pillars, content to fall, themselves, beneath the ruins, that the world might be free. It moved them not, though the torch, with which they were to illuminate mankind, was to light .up their own funeral pile: but having vindicated by their writings, and illustrated by their lives, the cause of evangelical truth, they joyfully sealed their last testimony for it at the stake. Then it was, that exalted talents and a fervid piety, refined in the crucible, exhibited their greatest strength and their purest lustre. Whether it be our object to estimate the real stand- ard of orthodoxy, as then believed and taught, or to strengthen our own faith, hope and love, by the contem- plation of the holy perseverance and fortitude with which these martyrs and confessors bore testimony to INTRO DUCTIO^^ VII the truth as it is in Jesus, we mav find a deep interest in those genuine records of their doctrines and actions. To the pious and humble inquirer after truth, this task will furnish its own recompense. **To the want of a more intimate acquaintance with the writers in question," says a great man, "is very principally to be attributed that diversity of sentiment on some most important points of theology, and even alarming departure from sound doctrine, which is too prominent a feature in modern divinity. An attentive peruser of our most eminent divines for the last two centuries, will perceive, that each generation seems gradually, and in some instances almost imperceptibly, to have deviated from the principles of their immediate predecessors, till at length, when we compare the now commonly prevailing conceptions of Christianity with those of older times, we startle at the contrast." The foregoing remark, though subject to many ex- ceptions, is certainly too generally applicable. — The sentim-ent has at least sufficient force to incline us to hear what those venerable records say for themselves. Exclusively of the intimate connexion which they have with our Episcopal system, and the consequent obliga- tion on us to honour them, it will be found that the more accurately we investigate the lives and writings of the reformers, the stronger ground for confidence in their interpretations of scripture we shall derive, from the discovery of their high attainments both in learning and in piety. In this school we may study with safety, and with eminent advantage both to the head and the heart- There are four works of the reformers which most clearly define the sense of the church in all matters necessarj' to salvation, viz. the catechism of King Vlir PREFACE AND Edward VI. the declaration of doctrines in Jewell's Apologj; the catechism commonly called Dr. No well's, and the Homilies. The Bishop of Oxford, Dr. Randolph, afterwards Bishop of London, republished the three first pieces, in a collection of tracts for the use of students. In his preface he speaks of them in the following terms; "The catechism published in the time of King Ed- ward VI. was the last work of the reformers of that reign ^ whence it may be fairly understood to contain, as far as it goes, their ultimate decision, and to represent the sense of the Church of England as then established. In this, according to Archbishop Vv^ake, the complete model ef our church catechism was at first laid.: and it was also in some measure a public work^ the examination of it having been committed as the injunction testifies, to certain Bishops and other learned men; after which it was published by the king's authority." "Jewell's Apology is an account of the grounds of our separation from the Church of Rome, as maintained after that separation had finally taken place." *'Nowell*s catechism is an account of the doctrines of the church at the same period, when it had been restored and established under Queen Elizabeth. — Both of these works also were publicly received and allowed. They have also a claim to the attention of the reader both for clearness of argument, and for eloquence of language." The book of Homilies which is recommended to be read in churches, and is declared by the XXXV. article "to be an explication of Christian doctrine, and instruc- tive in piety and morals," is well known to have been the work of the reformers. They appeared in the reign of King Edward and are supposed to have been compos- ed by Cranmer, assisted by Latimer. The second part iMhaofiucTJOiV. IX was published in tlie reign of Queen Elizabeth and is attributed chiefly to Bishop Jewell. A copy of these Homilies was given to every parish priest in the king- dom, who was commanded to read them diligently and distinctly, that they might be understood by the people. It is to be wished that the same practice were revived at the present day, and that every member of the church would possess, and search diligently these venerable re* cords of evangelical truth. They are it is true, antique in their garb, but on that account the more venerable, and it is hoped they never will be disrobed of those charms by which they recommend themselves so power- fully to our feelings. Like the prayer book they should be considered sacred in every integral part. They might perhaps be improved and elucidated by the alteration of a few expressions, but then they would be no longer the prayer book or the homilies of the reformers, and are thereby deprived of that power by which they unite all hearts. These documents with the liturgy and articles, form the acknowledged standards of our church, and exhibit a plain and affecting harmony with each other and with the scriptures. They are constructed with such singu- lar wisdom and moderation, that all who hold the truth that man's salvation is wholly of grace, and his perdi- tion of himself, may conscienciously subscribe to terms, however they may differ in their modes of speaking. They exclude none, and as it would seem, they intended to exclude none, who hold the essential points of truth* though they who approach nearest to the known senti- ments of the reformers, may find most congeniality in the language of the public writings of the church to their own modes of expression. X PREFACE AND There appear to be two prominent errors, to which we are liable to be carried in regard to the principles of the cliurch; on one hand, to prostrate or undervalue her order and institutions, and on the other, to exhaust all our zeal in behalf of these external concerns, and to permit the spirit and essence of religion to evaporate in this way. It is the object of this work to guard against both these dangerous extremes; and, while it endeavours to maintain the dignity of our institutions, and the ex- cellence of our doctrine and worship, it aims, also, to inculcate that power of godliness, without which all our doings are nothinj^ worth. Especially would the author entertain the hope, that the work may tend, by cherishing the unity of the faith, to cherish also the unity of the spirit, — that heavenly charity, without which there is nothing left us worth contending for. And he would fain hope also, that even those of other denomi- nations of Christians, who do not concur with him on some points, will see nothing in the following pages, that is inconsistent with this profession of charity which he makes, and which he sincerely feels towards all true Christians. The opinions entertained by him have been deliberately formed, and be they true or false, charity is bound to believe them sincerej and, being sincere, that they require him who holds them, to maintain them honestly, and without fear. Hanc veniam petimus, Dabimusque vicissim. He is ready to exercise freely the same candour to- wards others, which he claims for himself, in believing, that they also are sincere, and therefore justifiable in instructing their own members in their own peculiar principles. We shall all come to the unity of the faith^ INTRODUCTION. XI only when we come to Heaven. In the meantime, whilst we endeavour, unbiassed by party spirit or preju- dice, to learn, and if necessary, to contend for, the truth, let us never feel authorized to indulge unkind sentiments or feelings towards those who do not, and who, perhaps^ cannot think as we do. It is certain, that the field of controversy, among Christians, might be much narrowed; and happy would it be for the cause of charity and reli- gion, if they would consent to this compromise, merging their differences where they can, and agreeing to differ where they cannot; and if, also, when occasions occur, in which they feel it their duty to support their particular opinions, and in which they have to touch the chords of a powerful, and often a morbid, sympathy, they would use the tenderness that becomes so delicate a task. "For the time will come (says the excellent Hooker) when three words spoken with meekness and love, shall obtain a far more blessed reward, than three thousand volumes written with disdainful sharpness of wit." THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL* CHAPTER I. History of the Protestant* Episcopal Church, 1 HE tree of life, planted by our Lord and his Apos- tles, continued for a few a2;es to flnuiish in its primitive glory, and to bear fruit for the iiealins; of the nations. But soon that *'inan of sin" arose, *'who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called Go(l, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temole of God, shevvinij; hiioself that he is God " [a] The claims to supremacy which were at first but faintly ur;^ed by the Bishops of Mome so »n found an additional pretext in political and local causes. And then, the superiority * The name of Protestants originated In the year 1529, when a diet was held by the Empevor of liermany, in which the privileg-es formerly granted to those, vvho diifered from the church of Rome, were revoked. The Elector of Saxony, the Marquis of Braden- bargh, the landgrave of Hesse, the prince of Anhalt, together with the deputies of fovirteen imperial cities, entered a solemn protest against t'lis decree, as being unjust and impious. On that account they were distinguislied by the name of Protestants, an appellation which has since been applied indiscriminately to all the sects of every denomination whatever, which have revolted from the see of Rome. (a) 2 Thess. 2—2, 3, 4. See also Appenc^x No. 1. 2 14 rur. EPISCOPAL ua'&va.'l* which had grown out of these circumstances, came to be enforced by the plea of a divine right, as attached to that see bj the authority of St. Peter. — These pretensions were violently opposed by the other Bishops, who ap- pealed in vain, to the undeniable fact, that no such pre- eminence had ever been conceded, or known in the church. The title of pope, which, in fact, merely sig- nifies the name of father, was equally bestowed upon the Bishop of Rome, and those who possessed the other considerable sees. — About the seventh century, however, the prelates of Rome began to appropriate this title to themselves. And at length, the artful Boniface, who had resided at the imperial court, not disdaining to in- sinuate himself into the favour of the infamous Phocas, who had waded to the throne, through the blood of the emperor Mauritius, obtained from him, for the Romish patriarchs, the title of oecumenical or universal Bishop. This title was, at first, unaccompanied with any new powers. But the demands of ambition and power are insatiable, and the leaders of the Roman church were so little contented with the honours they had already ac- quired, that Agatho laid claim to a privilege never before set up by the most extravagant of his predecessors, and asserted that the church of Rome never had erred, nor could err, in any point, and that all its constitutions ought to be as implicitly received, as if they had been delivered by the divine voice of St. Peter. These lofty pretensions were resisted by the Bishops of tbe other sees, and by several princes, but the power of the Roman pontiffs was now too firmly lodged to be shaken by argu- ments and remonstrances. Henceforward, professing themselves to be the vicegerents of Heaven, they seemed resolved to invert, as far as possible, the declaration of the great head of the church, who had said that his king- dom *'was not of this world." Intent only on their o\yn aggrandizement, they moulded the church according to the principles of such a corrupt policy as might best secure and preserve this great object. It does not con- sist with the design and limits of this work, nor would it be useful, to pursue, with a minute attention, the Ya- THE BPISCOPit MAWAL. 13^ rious meanders of absurdity, into which the exuberance of human folly, superstition, and wickedness was branched out, and which finally rendered it necessary for him, who purchased the church with his own blood, to apply it to the great process of the reformation. Suffice it to say, that almost every trace of her original features was obliterated, and her primeval grandeur confounded and lost beneath a mass of unmeaning cere- monies. To correct these evils, the growth of that long and dark night, which shed so baneful an iniluence on the human mind, and to reduce the ecclesiastical system to its pristine form, was the task of the reformers. A work so vast and so delicate, required no common strength and skill. On the one hand, it was required to prune away all that spurious excrescence, which dis- figured her form, and unpaired her vigour, and on the other, to preserve unhurt the vital parts. It is common with mankind, in Jheir oscillations of opinion, to go from one extreme to another; and hence, some of the essential characteristics of the church have been rejected, because, having belonged to the Roman church, they have been identified with popery. Our re- formers were happily free from this weakness, and were desirous only of separating between those things which were truly erroneous and superstitious, and those that were truly scriptural and apostolical. Fhe result of their labours is that admirable system of ecclesiastical polity, which distinguishes the Protestant Episcopal Church. Should it be inquired, upon what principle the sepa- ration of the Protestant Church can be delivered from the guilt of schism; it is sufficient to remark, that the Church of Rome herself is guilty of the schism, by re- quiring from us such terms of communion, as consist, neither with our conscience, nor the word of God; by substituting for doctrines the commandments of men; and by driving from her bosom those who chose to hearken to God rather than man. By adhering to her errors, and consecrating anew the unscriptural dogmas 16 THE EPISCOPAL MAITUAL. of the middle ages, which had crept into her creed; she did, in fact, willingly renoutsce the true faith, and separate herself from that pure reformed branch, which God, by his marvellous power, raised up in the world. In the separation, the Protestant Episcopal Church carried with her^ and has retained, according to the admission of Roman Catholics themselves, all the ele- ments and essentials of a true church. The/ do, indeed, pretend to deny our juris diction^ as we have thrown off our allegiance to the Pope of Rome; but they are con- strained to admit the validity of our ministry and of all the functions thereto appertaining.* An objection may arise here in relation to the fact, that there is an apparent discrepancy between the sys- tem of polity which governs the Episcopal Church in this country, and the hierarchy of the Church of Eng- land, from which we boast our descent: that in the Church of America only three grades of officers. Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons are known, whereas in England there are Archbishops, Deans, and Archdeacons, &c. and the king is supreme head of the church. A slight consideration of this objection will serve to shew that t is founded on a misapprehension of the subject. '*I may securely conclude,^' says Hooker, that there are I'at this day, in the Church of England, no other than the same degrees of ecclesiastical orders, namely. Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons, which had their beginning from Christ and his blessed Apostles. As for Deans, Prebendaries, Archdeacons, Chancellors, Commissaries, and such like names, which being not found in holy scripture, we have thereby, through some men's error, been thought to allow of ecclesiastical degrees not known in the better ages of former times; all these are in truth but titles of otfice, whereunto partly ecclesiasti- * M. Courager, a Roman Catholic Divine, in a work on the subject, has vindicated the Protestant Episcopal ordination. Archbishop Carroll, of Baltimore, acknowledged that this point was beyond question, settled in our favour. There are few found now who would venture their reputation on tlie absurd story of tlie Naggs Head. See Burnet's History of the Reformation. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 17 eal persons, and partly others, are in sundry forms and conditions admitted, as the state of the church doth need, the decrees of order still continuing the same they were from the beginning."* These are matters of mere canonical reg;iilation and convenience. In the same way, were a Presbyter in the United States ap- pointed by the e^'clesiastical authority, superintendent of a particulrir dislri t; though he might possess ex- tensive powers of jv Isdiction, and be designated by a title peculiar to h*s local relation, yet would he be only a Presbyter in hi« oftit'.Hl and spiritual functions. The Episcopal Churcii of 'Jjigland and of this country agree in the great fundamental points of order and doctrine. They both rec gnlzt only three spiritual orders, and both concur in the i'>:portant principle of committing the power of udi'- tion to the Bishop alone. The king, though h( ^d ot the church, ha* no spiritual power. He may appoint, but camiat consecrate to the Episco- pal office. Tlv.^ ca.i be done only by Bishops. **To the prince or lo Hit law" (says Bishop Horsl.y) '*we are indebted lor all our secular possessions; for the rank and dign'*j annexed to the superior order of the clergy; for o^r s^^blar authority; for the jurisdiction of our courts; and f r- pvery civil etfect, which follows the exercise of 'ur spUitual authority. All these rights and honour^ v,i(h which the priesthood is adorned, by the piety ot the civil magistrate, are quite distinct from the spiritual comTnissioa which we beir for the adminis- tration of Christ s Kingdom. They have no necessary connexion ^ith it; they stand merely on the ground of human lav/."t The Church of England, then, and the Church of this country, though differing from each other in some or their civil moditications, and in the titles of their offi^f^rs, are spiritually, and essentially, the same. , Before the American revolution, the ministers in ihis country received ordination from the Bishop of Lon- *Eccle3. policy lib. v. Sect. 78. •[Ciiaijje to his Clergy by the Bishop of St. David. 18 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. don; but on the independence of the United States, provision was made for the translation of the Episco- pate, as will be seen in the following summary of the History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.' — ibridgedfrom the Churchman's Magazine. Althoug;h a proportion of those settled in the Amer- ican Colonies were of the profession established in Eng- land; yet the number was not so consiilerable as might be supposed, from the relation of the two countries; owing probably to the circumstance that several of the colonies arose, in a great measure, from the dissat- isfaction with the establishment at home, and partly to an influx of subsequent settlers, not only trom other countries, subject to the some crown, but also from countries on the continent of Europe, especially some of the states of Germany. Hence it was, that, when the revolutionary war began, there were not more than about eighty parochial clergymen of the Church of England to the northward and eastward of Maryland. These, with the exception of those resident in Boston, Newport, New-York, and Philadelphia, derived a great- er part of their subsistence from the society instituted in England, *'for propas;ating the gospel in foreign parts," there being no Episcopal congregations out of those towns and cities, considered able to support clergymen of themselves. In Maryland and Virginia,* the Epis- copal Church was much more numerous and had legal establishments for its support. In the more southern colonies, the Episcopalians were fewer in proportion than in the two last mentioned, but more in number than in the northern. The difficulty .of obtaining Episcopal ordination, wliich had existed during the acknowledged supre- macy of the British crown, continued to operate with *The Rev. !Mr. Boucher, formerly a cler£f}Tnan of Virginia, states in his discourses, that about the middle of tiie last centurj '*there was not in the whole colony, a single dissenting" congre- gation. " THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL* 19 greater force, during the stu^o^le wbich terminated in the independence of the United States. During; that term there was no resource for the supply of vacancies, which were continually multi plyins:, not only by death, but by the retreat of very many of "^he Episcopal clergy to the mother country, or other colonies still dependent on her. Many also cherishing the obligations of their allegiance, entertaining conscientious scruples against the use of the liturgy in which were now omitted the prayers for the Kins:, ceased to oflRriate. Thus the far greater numlier of the Episcopal ci.urches were closed for several years. In the state of Pennsylvania, there was a part of that time, in which there was but one of- ficiating minister of the church, throughout its whole extent. As soon however as the Independence of America was acknowledged by Great Britain, measures were be- gun for obtaining the Episcopate on this side of the At- lantic. Hitherto the different parts ot the church in America were detached from and independent of each other. The only bovid of uniovi was the Bishop of Lon- don, from whom all the ordinations for the colonies had emanated. This medium of connexion was now dis- solved, and it came desirable ihat some common asso- ciation should be formed to carry into effect the com- mon object, and to prevent the evil of each state being left to adopt distinct and varyiiif^ measures. The first sten towards forming a collective body of the Episcopal church in these United Strjtes was taken at a* meeting for another purpose,* of a few clergymen of New-York, New-Jersey and Pennsylvania, at Bruns- wick in New-Jersey, on the 13th and 14th of May, 1784. Here it was determined to pri-cure a larger meeting on the 5th of the ensuing October, m New-York, for the purpose of reviving the charitable institution which had *In consequence of a prior correspondence, they had assem- bled to renew a society, which had existed under charters of incopporution, for the support of widows and children of deceased clerg'ymen. 20 TH EPISCOPAL MANUAL. formed the object of the previous meeting, and to con- fer and agree on some general principles of an union of the Episcopal church throughout the states. Accordingly thej met at the time and place proposed. After laying dowr> a few general principles, to be recom- mended to the different states, as the ground on which a future Ecclesiastical government should be establish- ed, they concluded their proceedings, as they began them, in much harmony, and recommended to the church in the several states, to send clerical and lay deputies to a meeting to be held in Philadelphia, on the 27th of September, in the year following. On the 27th of September, 1785, there assembled, agreeably to appointment, in Philadelphia, a Convention of clerical and lay deputies from New-York, New-Jer- sey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Such alterations were then made, in the Book of Common Praver, as were necessary for accommodating it to the late changes in the state; and such other alterations were proposed, but n(>t established, as was thought to be an iniprovement of the service, and of the manner of stating the principal articles of faith. These were published in a book, ever since known by the name of i\\Q proposed book. Previously to this, Dr. Seabury of Connecticut, elected Bishop of that state, not meeting with the desired as- surance of success from the Bishops of England, had obtained consecration from the non-juring Bishops of Scotland, who had carefully maintained the succession in that country, notwithstanding their severance from the state, in the revolution of 1688. But it now appear- ing, that the difficulties, which had operated in the case of Dr. Seabury's application to the Bishops of England, might be easily removed, and it being desira- ble to obviate any possible objection to the validity of the Episcopal succession in America, it was thought most proper to direct their views, in the first instance, towards England, j«!though, with the exception of a few, none alledged any thing against the validity of Dw Seabury's consecration. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 21 Accordingly, a memorial settins; forth the object of their request, was adc! reused to the Archbishops and Bishops of Kngiancl; a committee- was appointed to act in recess of the Convention, with dele2:ated powers, to hold correspondence, &c. and the Convention adjourned to m.eet on the 20rh of June, in the following year. Their address to the English prelates was forwarded by the committee to his Excellency John Q. Adams, esq. the' American minister, who willingly performed the ser- vice requested. — There were also forwarded certificates from the Executives of those states, in which there was a probability of there beinj:^ Bishops chosen. To this application an answer was received by the committee, in the spring of the year 17o6, signed by the two Arch- bishops and eighteen Bishops, expressing their wishes in favour of the object prayed for, but the suggesting the necessity, on their part, of delaying measures until there should be laid before them the alterations, which had been made by the convention. Not long after the receipt of this letter, the committee received another from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, informing them, that they had received the edited book of common prayer, in regard to which, they were dissatisfied with the omission of the Nicene and Athanasian creeds, and of the clause relating to the descent into hell, in the apostles creed; and with some other inconsiderable alterations. — They informed the committee, that they were likely to obtain an act of parliament, enabling them to consecrate for America. They expected however, that, before they should pro- ceed under the act, satisfaction should be given in re- gard to the matters stated. After the receipt of the first letter, and before the receipt of the second, the general convention assembled agreebly to appointment in Philadelphia, on the 20th of June, 1786. The principal business transacted by them, was another address to the English prelates, conveying an acknowledgement of their friendly and affectionate letter, and their deiermination of making no further alterations, than such as either arose from a change of •22 THE EF:5Cv')1'AL Jf> -TVAL. circumstances, or appeared condunve to union. Before their arljournmeiit. they appointed a committee with power to re-assemble them, if thouii;ht expedient, at Wilmington, in the state of Delaware. On the commit- tee's receipt of the second letter, they summoned the convention to meet at the place appointed, on the 10th of October, 1786. The principal matter which occupi- ed them, when assembled, was, the question how far they should conform to the requisitions of the Archbi- shops. One of the difficulties had been done away, be- fore the arrival of their objections. The omission of the Nicene creed had been generally regretted, and ac- cordingly it was now, without debate, restored to the book of common prayer, to stand after the apostles creed, with permission of the use of either. The clause in the latter creed, of the descent into hell, was, after much debate, restored, but the Athanasian creed was negatived. Testimonials were then sij^ned by the ceii- ▼ention, in favour of the Rev. Hamuel Provoust, D.D. Rector of Trinity cnurch, in the -itate of New York; the Rer. William While, 0. D. Rector of Christ church and St. Peter's, Philadelphia; and the Rev. David Grif- fith, D. D. Rector of i^'airfax Parish, Virginia,* all of whom exhibited testimonials of their having been duly elected Bishops, by the conventions of their respective States. The two former, Dr. White and Dr. Provoost, pro- ceeded to England, and were ordained and consecrated bishops in the A.rchiepiscopdl Palace of LumbeUi, on the 4th February, 1787, by the most Rev. John Moore, Arch- bishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop of York pre- sented, and the bishop of Biith and v> ells, and the bishop of Peterborough joinued in the imposition of hands. • Dr. Griffith was prevented from prosecuting' his intended Toyage to Englainl, and had i^iven in his resig-nation to the Con- Tention of Vn j^ima. He attended tiie General Convention as a Deputy, in 17 y, :.nd was there seized with the disorder that terminated his exiitence, in the house of Bishop Wiiite. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL.* 23 On the 28ih Julj, 1789, assembled the triennial com* vention. At this session the constitution formed in 178S was reviewed and new modelled. On the 29th J^eptem*- ber, in the same year, they re-assembled according to adjournment. The principal features now given to it were a distribution of the legislative department into two houses, one consisting of the bishops, and the other of the clerical and lay deputies. The convention ad- journed to meet on the 29th September following. In the mean time, the Rev. James Madison, D. D. Presi- dent of William and Mary College Williamsburgh, wa» tlected Bishop by the convention of Virginia, and con* secrated in England. On the 29th September, 1789, the convention met, pursuant to adjournment. The two housei entered on a review of the liturgy, and the book of common prayer, as then established, and has been used ever since. Since that time no material alterations have been made. In 1792, the ordinal was reviewed and modified into its present form. In 1799, was established the form of consecrating churches and chapels. In 1801, the arti- cles were authoritively decided upon, in which the letter of the original thirty-nine articles was strictly preserved, with the exception of such matters as are local. In 1804, an oflBce was formed and ordered to be used at the induction of Ministers. A course of ecclesiastical studies for candidates for orders was prescribed by the house of bishops; and the constitution was altered, so as that the future triennial conventions should be held in the month of May, instead of September.* • See Appendix No. 2, for list of eucccBiiona of Americsm Siihops. CHAPTER 11. ' On Government, In proceeding now to speak of the church as thus or- ganized and established, it is necessary to distinguish between her government and her ministry. The govern- ment of the church includes in it not only the three orders of the ministry, and thus far being of divine origin, but extends also to all those other offices which the church may deem it expedient to organize; to the mode in which her ministers are elected and vested with jui isdiction; and to the particular ors^anizafion by which her legislative^ executive and judiciary powers are exercised. Con- sidered in reference to these latter objects, the govern- ment of the church is of human origin. And in this sense we must understand the concessions of some of our greatest divines, who admit very {-'roperly. that no form of church govertji.ient can be deduced from the scriptures, while thev at the same time maintain, strenu- ously, the divine prescription of the ministry.* With regard to the manner of admitting ministers, the church has enacted laws, which, if well observed, would be likely to secure a learned and pious ministry. That they should not be novices, t she requires them to have attained the age of tweaty-one years before they can be admitted to the order of Deacons, twenty-four before they can be made Priests, and thirty before they can be made Bishops.J That hands may be laid sud- denly on no man,§ she requires that every candidate for orders should give notice of his intention, at least one * See Bishop Hobarts' charge to his Clergy 1815, p. 20. flTim. iii. 6. • i VI. Canon Gen. Convent. §1 Tim. v. 22. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. £5 year previ^Mis +o his ordination.^ To aseertain whether he posseisses a competent share of learning, he is re- quired to undergo four distinct examinations, either by the Bishop, or some persons apptunted by him. and finally by the Bishop himself, in presence of, and assisted by his presbyters.t He must understand the Latin and Greek languages, &c. &c. unless all the members of the standing committee agree to dispense with this branch of science, m consicieiation of certain other qualifica- tions pecuiiai'^ fitting him for the gospel ministry.^ The candidate is also informed that *'the church expects of him, what can never be brought to the test of any out- ward standard, an inward fear and worship of Almighty God: a love of religion, and sensibility to its holy in- fluence; a habit of devout affection; and in short, a cul- tivation of all those graces, which are called in scripture, the fruits of the spirit, and by which alone his sacred influ- ences may be manifested.' § In order to guard against the instability which nn«;ht attach to a hasty profession of a religious faith and practice, she requires that every eanditate before ordination shall produce from the min- ister and vestry of the parish where he resides, or from, the vestry alone, if the parish be vacant, or ir there be no vestry, from at least tuelve respectable persons of the Protestanr Episcopal Church, testimonials of his piety, good morals, and orderly conduct for three years last past, and that he hath not written, taught or held any thing contrary to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the church. This testimonial is submitted to the stand- ing committee, whose office it is to inspect and inquire into the conduct of candidates, and whose recommenda- tion to the Bis lOp IS essential to their obtaining ordina- tion. || The Bishop then may proceed to ordain, being satisfied himself from personal knowledge, from exami- Hation, or from the testmiony of others, that the person is apt and meet to exercise the ministry to the glory ©f *VII. Canon. fX. Canon. ^ IX. Canon. § VII. Canon. 8 Xn. Caooiii 3 «& TfiB EPI90OPi.L IZIRITAZ.^ God and (he good of the church. He then propounds f« him this moiit solemn question, *'Do you trust that jou are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take upon you this ofl&ce and ministry?" The admission of men into the sacred order, and the maintaining of discipline among them after they are ad- mitted, are matters of vast importance, and ought to awaken in the clergy and hity the highest degree of at- tention. Every man in society is implicated in the guilt of an unhallowed profession in the ministry, and it be- comes the duty of every well wisher to the cause of religion to hold up his testimony without favour or fear, against every unworthy intruder. There is a false complaisance too common amongst us, which induces vestries and otheis, on very slight grounds, to grant testimonials of character. It has its origin sometimes indeed, in amiable feelings; but it can- not be reconciled with manly principle. Credentials, especially which are to .ntroduce a candidate to the ministerial office, should not be given without the utmost caution and deiibeiation. For of all the trusts which God hath put into our hands, that which assigns us the kt^ejjing of the interests and ho- nour of the church, is the most iuiporlunt, as it is the most extensive in its consequences to mankind. The laws of our church therefore, ou^lii to be observed with the most scru- pulous rigour. Neither friendship, nor compassion, nor in- terest, nor importunity should make us swerve from truth and honesty. Frieneir^hip to any man in this respect, is enmity to God; compaasiwn to an individual is cruelty, and tlie worst cruelty too, to the community. It is to become partaker of other men's sins, and to be in a great measure, answerable tor the harm which they do to souls, the disgrace which they bring on their office, the hurt which they do to religion, and the mischiefs which they bring upon the chuich of God. Ignorance in a minister who undertakes to expound the word of God, and to make men wise unto salvation, must always prove a disqualification for extensive usefulness. But a worse tailing still is ignorance in spiritual science^ and still THB BPISeOPAl MAmjAL, ^] werse a bad life. An irreligious, or unholy life ill be- comes any who name the name of Christ; but most of all doss it deform tlie character of one who clothes him- self in i;\e ministerial ^arb. A minister without piety is a monster in the church of God. His ugliness deters those who would approach the holy place so much, that all the exhortations which he gives them to enter thither, are to no purpose. — "He resembles those horrid shapes which the ooets feijin to have stood at the entrance of Elysium. U required uncommon resolution in any per- son to pass by them, and force his way into the abodes of the blessed."* The canonical g:overnment of the church in this coun- try, is constructed upon the simple republican principle which pervades all our civil institutions. — Each state or diocess is secured in its state sovereiunty, and has power to make such 'aws as are not incompatible v/ith the gen- eral constitution. An annual convention is usually held in each state or diocess, consisting of the regular clergy belonging to t^ie same, and a lay deputy from every pa- rish that chooses to send such a representative. Each state or diocesan convention has the right to elect four of the clerical, ijnd four of the laical order, to represent it in the general convention which holds its session triennially. 'I'iie general convention consists of two houses, and is constituted by these clerical and lay depu- ties thus elected, who form one branch, and by all the Bishops of the church who compose the other. A vote of both houses i» necessary to the enactment of a law, and the law, when thus passed, is bmdingon every state or diocess that has ;.ccetled to the constitution. Tne trame of government which distm;i;uishes the church has now attained to that stability and strength, and has settled into that happy oaiance of power and liberty which not even its friends uoped for, but which are substantiated by the evidei.-.e of many years of remarkable unity and expanding prosperity. From the reports handed in at *See Smith's Lectures on the nature and end of the sacred office, a book which oug-ht to be in the hands and heart of every clex^yman. ^ THE EPISCOPAL KASUAL. the general convention of 1820, it appears that she con- tinues to extend herself into the new states, as well as in those in which she has long b.en planted. May pea.ce long continue to dwell within thy walls, and prosperitj within thy palaces ! ^ CHAPTER III. On the Nature of the Church and of the Christian Min- istry, **The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the word .^ God is faithfully preached, and the sacramrrsts duly administered accord- ing to Christ's or'^inanre, in all those things that of ne- cessity are requisite to the same.'** It is a society, and every society is distinguished from the general nia>s of the community by its order and go- ernment. To l!)e estHb'.i^-hmer.t of order and govern- ment, a regular appointment of chosen men to the ad- ministration «»f particular oiFices is essential. This mode of re isoning as far as temporal affairs is concerned, we readily ae as itj the other, that personal qualifications furnish no dispensation for an outward appointment to an «)rnce of trust. **No man's gifts or qualities can make him a minister of holy things, unless Ordination do giv*» him the power. '"f Personal quali- fication in the minister is, indeed requisite to the pro- per discharge of the sacred Otfue: but a> tnis is a crite- rion which may sometimes deceive, and which in its nature is chana;oabie and -j^recarious, it is necessary for the effectual administration of the office, tnat a divine authority, and a blessing consequent upon that audiori- ty, independent of iiny personal qualification, should be * Article xix. jHooker's Eccles. Polity, Book v. Sect. 7^. 30 THE EPlSdOPAL MANCAL. inkerent in the office itself. Thus the divine eonfirrua- tion of the ministerial act is secured, and made t© depend not on the personal qualification, but on the ap- pointment of God: And thus th? eye of the faithful is di- rected to the proper object, am' troci. not man, receives the glory. But without an external commission, and the delegation to some specific authority to confer it, according to Christ's appointnient, how could we know whether we have a valid ministry or not? If any one may rise up in the church, and claim the power of exercising, or bestowing, this commission, merely by virtue of his being more holy than others, what limit can be assigned to the operation nf the principle, and to the confusion that must ensuc? Hundreds in the congregation, as well as one, mav claim this right, and thus our Jerusalem whose charact eristic it is, that she is as a city at unity with herself, would resemble a Babel, in which no one would Ui Jer'^lend his neigh- bour. "This is the crime, '^ as. th [*ious and eloquent Bishop Home remarks, *^for which the '-^nrosy once rose up in the forehead of a monarch, an-; Korah and his company, holy a& they thought themselves to be, went down alive into the pit.'' . * It is manifest from the sacred >; ripb^res, that of old, God had a visible church on ear^ i, administered by men set apart tor that office by peculiar ceremonies, and ac- cording to an established an(5 preFcribed order; and that the blessings t>f salvatii/ were promised only to those who had a c«)venant r* ation to, and connexion with, this visible church. 'I lie p culiar rite of initia- tion into its bosom, and the pfi-'^icular form of its minis- try, were matters of explicit t.^mm'^nd and direction from God. The mode of initiati -n into the christian church, and the indispensable nec^ «isity '^f its initiation are as clearly revealed in the New Testament, as the former are in the old; and as it r.^ard the great principle upon which the christian mi iis< ry s organized, the apostle declares, that "no man has ^ right to take this honour upon himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron*''* *Heb. V. 4. TH£ EPXSeOPAL tlklSVAL. SI It becomes, therefore, an important inquiry, what is that mode of administration which was established by our Lord and his apostles, and to which "pertain the adop- tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises." - The preface to the ordinal in our book of common prayer, has the following declaration: — "It is evident unto all men, diligently reading holy scripture and an- cient authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been three orders of ministers in Christ's church — Bish- ops, Priests, and Deacons. — Which offices were ever- more had in SHch reverend estimation, that no man might presume to execute any of them, except he were first called, tried and examined, and known to have such qualities as are requisite, for the same; and also by public prayer, with imposition of hands, were approved and admitted thereunto by lawful authority." This, being the sober and deliberate declaration of wise and good men who sealed their doctrines with their blood, cannot be supposed to have been made on slight grounds. The considerations which support the doctrine here laid down by our reformers could not be given at length in a work like the present. But it may not be unaccept- able to those who have had no opportunity ot examining the subject, to be put in possession of a few of the rea- sons which might be adduced in favour of this pecu- liarity in our ecclesiastical system. I. On analogies we depend only for illustration of argument and confirmation of proo's. We do not maintain, that, because there were three orders in the Jewish priesthood, there must, uf necessity, be three in the christian. It is certain, however, that there is an intimate connexion between the two dispensations, and a strong resemblance between the positive institu- tions of the former, which, in fact, were, for the most part, typical, and those of the latter. W'e find, for instance, the church founded on the twelve apostles, answering to the congregation of Israel — divided into twelve tribes under the twelve patriarchs, — ;he seventy disciples appointed by Christ, answering to the serejity 3f THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL, elders who assisted Moses; — the prayers, praises, bene- dictions, and federal rites of the Christian church, answering to all those in the Jewish. In this view, we cannot but think, that the Episcopal plan exhibits a fine analogy and noble consistency with the divine dispen- sations, by the preservation of three orders in the min- istry, which, as St. Jerome remarks, were established in the christian in correspo»^dence with the Jewish hierarchy of High Priest, Priest, and Levite. II. But we are ready, in all things, to refer our judgment to that only infallible standard of truth given ns in the Holy Scriptures. And here we find no dif- ficulty in admitting, that no express precept of our Saviour is recorded. Tf this be an objection, it is one which equally effects the form of government estab- lished by every other denomination; nay more, it 2:oes to destrov equally the baptism of infants, the obser- vance of the Christian Sabbutli, and the canon of scrip- ture itself. — Our Lord g;ive no recorded instruction upon any of these subjects, and yet they were, ih.Q lat- ter especially, innnitely imp'ortant. Much controversy has arisen upon the authenticity and genuineness of some of the Epistles, now held as canonical. Accord- ing to the argument used aiiaiost Episcopacy, they can- rot be mair tamed. *'U this were so impoituiii a mat- ter as is alleged, our Lord, knowiog it.s liabilit" to doubt and objectwin, would have put upon it some certain mark, bv which its divine character might be infallibly demonstrated." The d^^sign of ourL'»'>< '^ lile on earth, appears to ha\ e been, not so much to o'*" 'ze Ins church, as to puichay \t bv his blood; not so much ^ven to in- struct us in \he vvay ot salvation, as t<> procure it for ns: to raise u;> men, who, by his spirit, shmdd teach us more fuiy the w^y ot the Lod; bv 1. is illustrious ex- ample to shew us the pa^h nt reliu'*^". anc by his resur- rection, to teach us, thai immortality was the higli pre- rogative of our nature The naUue t*f the christian ministry, the areai dic rii-es v( vnan's 'epravity, of the atonement, ¥hen h« was an old man, wrote to the angel of the church of Ephesus, of Smyrna, of Pergamos, of Thjatjra, of Sardis, of Philadelphia, and of Laodicea. The word angel signifies a messenger, and is equivalent to that ©f Apostle. Now, to suppose that there was only one individual minister in each of these churches, is contra- ry to all tiie facts which attest the progress of the gos- pel irj that age. Crete alone, of which Titus was Bishop, had within itself a hundred cities.* The supposition that this Apostle possessed Episcopal jurisdiction over %,\\ Crete, and that there reside at those places addressed by St. Jolin, a person of like diocesan authority, alone gives consistency to the facts, and force and propriety to the address of the Apostle. It cannot be denied, that the title of Bishop or Over- seer, and Presbyter or Eider, is sometimes applied to the same person, in the New Testament — There is, therefore, no arguing from the name to the office. It is to the office and not to the name we must look for the distinctive chuiacter of the primitive ministry. Ih the first place, then, there were the Apostles and those associated with them, as Timothy, Titus, &c. who con- stituted the first order, and with whom the power of ordaining, exclusively, was lodged; secondly, the seven- ty, or Bishops, Presbyters, or Elders, as they were promiscuously called, being the seconJ order; and Dea- cons, who were allowed to preacii and baptize, but not to perform the higher ecclesiastical ofiicesj who form- ed the third order. Theodoret gives us the reason why it was ttiought expedieni to cliange the name of the first order, and to substitute for it the title of Bish- op which had oeen indiscriminately applied to the se- cond order. •'Formerly, the aaiue perSuUa were called both Presbyters and Bishops, and those now called Bishops, weiethen named Apostles. — But, in process of time, cue name of Apostle was left to those strictly so * KfYirriv iKo.T'^.fJiifQKkv. Homer II. il649. Ceatum nrbes ha- bitant magnas Hor. iii. ode. fActs yiii. 5. ss THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. €allef1, and the name of Bishop ascribed to ihe rest." But, ihou'jh the name of Apostle was laid aside out of Teneration to their character, jet their office was still pre- lerved. The extraordinary powers with which the Apos- tles were invested, of working miracles. &c. were, indeed, peculiar to themselves; and, not being so necessary to their successors, for the propagation of the gospel, as in the earlier history of the church, have not been trans- mitted; but the orioinal commission which they received from the Divine Head of the church, involving in it the great principle of perpetuity, by which he was to be > *'with them to the end of the world," was not peculiar to them, but was to be carefully transmitted by them to their successors, and by these to others to the end of time. Let u- proceed then, briefly to inquire into the form and strudure v/hich the ministr}' received under the hands of the iinmetiiate successors of the Apostles. 111. '*Vv ith regard to the order and government of the primitive church," says Dr. Joi nsin, *'we may doubtless follow the authority of the Fathers with per- fect security. They could "not possibly be ignorant of laws executed, and customs practised by thenjselves; nor would they, even supposing thvm corrupt, serve any interest of their ov\n, by handing then) down to poster- ity. We are, therefore, to inqrire ir- m tlie ditferent orders also establisi ed in the ministry from the Apos- tolic ages, the difieient employments of each, their several ranks, subordinations and degrees of authori- ty."* To the^e remarks may be added the farther con- sideration, that, ir, hardly any of their writin^iS, did the early fathers professedly treat of church polity, and of course the rema»Us upon that subject cannot be as- cribed to their desire of supporting a partial theory: and althougii it must be confessed that many of them were tincture*! with the errors of thesclu.ols from which they were converted; yet this does not nrnke them the less credible historians ot facts. Clemens Romanus who was contemporary with seve- ral of the Apostles, in his epistle to the Corinthians, *Sermone left fyr pttbU^ftUoa hj Dr. Taylor. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. BT mentions jthe High Priest, the Priests and Levites, in direct allusion to the standing orders of the church in that ao^e. I Ignatius who suffered martyrdom but four or five years after the death of St. John, and who of course must have been well acquainted with the Apost'es and the government of the church in those days, says, **do no- thing without the Bishop; be subject to the college of Presbyters; and let the Deacons by all means please all men; for they are not Deacons of meats and drinks, but ministers of the church of God." Ireneus, Bishop of Lyons, who was instructed by Polycarp the disciple ot St. John, and who lived within fifty years from the time of St. John's death, says, ♦•We can reckon those whom the Apostles appointed Bishops in the churches, and who they were that succeeded them down to our own times." Clemeat of Alexandria who liveyters and Deacons, but not without the Bishop's commission." ()rigen who lived about the year 200, and Cyprain Bishop of Carthage twenty years later, inform us, that "Valerian tlie Roman emperor wrote to the senate that the Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons should be prose- cuted." S8 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. St. Jerome who wrote about the year S86^nd whe did not pretend to be any thing more than a Presbyter, says that, "the Bishops are the successors of the Apos- tles, and they hold the Apostle's place ar cilice." Again, "we may know the Apostolical econ riy to be taken from the Old Testament; for the fame that Aaron, his sons, and the Levites were in the lempie, the Bishops, Priests, and Levites are in the church of God." Speak- ing further of the community of duties. Delont^^ing to the different offices, he says, "for what does a Bishop which a Presbyter cannot, excepting ordination.'** **The Bish- op is chief; though every Bishop is a Presbyter, every Presbyter is not a Bishop."t Travelling down the course of ecclesiastical history we come to three facts which we think confirm these im- plications. 1 wo of tneiii occurred in the fourth, the other in the beginning of the fifth century. The latter * Nam quid facit Episcopus, quod non Presbyter, excepta or- dinatione. Comment. 1 Tito. iii. f It is proper to state that Jerome has been cited on the other side, as jjioving, that *'bcfc e therf were, by the instigation of the devil, parties m reJig-ior; , and re was said among- the people, lam of Paul, I of Apollos, -^jiu. T of Cephas, the churchfs were governed by the common councik of Presbyters." Aaniivungthe force of this passage m the fullest sense inicuded by those who adduce it, it proves only that Episcopacy was the onl) cure that could be found by the Apostles foi the evil of schism, and this is certainly saying much' in iis praise. The passage cannot be relied on, to show that Bishops and Presbyters were the same of- ficers under different n? nsa, ;br, besides that ciiis could never be deduced irom any natural construction of it, it would make Je- rome contradict himself in tiiose other numerous passages where he asserts the existence of three orders, and their difterent grades of superiority. He tells us, indeed, that as early as the time of St. James, that Apostle was constituted Bishop of Jerusalem by the hands of the Aposiles. The testimony, then, of this writer as far as it goes, establishes a plain matter of fact, in which he could not be mustaker,, and which he had no motive for misrepre- Bentmg, that the church had for a long time been under Episco- pal government. His opinion as to the reasons which led to this form of government is mere opinion, and we may take it or leave it as we please. In either case, we have an eulogium on Episc«- pacj, since that alone could give peace to the church. TKB EPISCOPAL MASJXfAt. S9 ease was thus; Musaeus and Eutychianus, Presbyters, undertook to ordain. But the council of Sardis would admit none of them into the clergy.* One of the other two case*, was that of Ischiras, who was ordained a Presbyter by C olluthus, also a Presbyter. Ischiras was reduced to the lay communion by the synod of Alexan- dria. In the synodical epistles of the Bishops of Egypt, Thebais, I.vbia, and Pentapolis, there is a full account of it: '"How come Ischiras, say they, to be a Presbyter, and by wh- n was he ordained.^ Was it by Colluthus? But Coiiuti'.us died a Presbyter, so that all the imposi- tions of Ills hands are null and void.'* The third case was attendee^ witti the same circumstances. In the recent ■liF'^.overy of the Syrian Christians, inhab- iting the inferior of Trayancore and Malabar, there is corroborative proof of the antiquity of Episcopacy. This venerabiv church was planted by St. Thomas, in the early ages of C',risti?inity, and, for 1300 years, has enjoyed a sue - sion of Bis'iops from the patriarch of Antioch. During tiiis long lapse of time, this interest- ing people, have existed in the wilderness, like the bush of Moses, burning ar i unconsumed. Insulated by their idolatrous neig.bojrs they huve preserved pure, and uninterrupted, t^e orcier, doctrine, and worship of a re- gular church under Kpiscopal regi'.nen, with its three orders, and a scriptural liturgy, and in short, in all its essential feature-, rer^eiabling \he Proreatuat Episcopal Church in Engiatvd and x\merica. Differing; from the Church of Koaie, they have but two sacra-neuts, no image worship, no p'lrgatory, aid married clery;y. When their tranqui' reff^at was invaded by the Roman Church, who wished to rbrce upon them a conformity with her doctrines and c*^remonies, they retired to their mountains, and ther« c'ler.^hed and preserved the inte- grity and simplicity ot their faith and worship. How can we acc<»unt for all 'h -.^ but by supposing that they received Episopacy bj) succession irom tiie Apostles, and in their migration fioin the west carried it with * IK' Canon, 40 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. them into those retired regions, where they remain a monument of its antiquity, and of the truth that the Bible and a scriptural liturgy can preserve a church in the worst of tin es?* ••Upon all the testimonies of the ancients," says Bishop Beveridge, **it may be observed in the first place, that three distinct orders of ecclesiastical minis- ters. Bishops, Pries^^s and Deacons in the age immedi- ately succeeding that of t4ie Apostles, were constituted, not in one place or other, but in all the parts of the ha- bitable world then known, in Europe, Asia and Africa. If therefore there were no other this is satisfactory proof that the three orders in question were instituted by the Apostles themselves: for it appears improbable that churches established in every part of the world, and placed at so great a distance from each other, should conspire in adopting the same form of government, un- less it was delivered to them by the very Apostles who delivered to them their faith." It is universally admitted, that Episcopacy was esta- blished as the exclusive form of church government, in the third century. Gibbon, who was no friend to hier- archy of his own country, says, ''After we have passed the difficulties of the second century, Episcopacy seems to have been universally established, until it was inter- rupted by the republican genius of the Swiss reform- ers." It is remarkable, that they who have undertaken to deny its antiquity, have never been able to agree on the time when it commenced. But if it had been an innovation introduced after the times of the Apostles,, should we not have had some information of the fact, from cotemporary writers? We have abundant notice in the annr.ls of these times, of the strui^gles for power which were carried on between thp Bishops of Rome and their compeers. The disputes about the mere time of keeping Easter, which agitated, and almost rent asun- der the Eastern and Western chuich, are also amply detailed. Is it probable, or even possible then, that an * Sec Christian Researches in Asia by Dr. Buchanan. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 41 usurpation of so great a magnitude as that involved in Episcopacy; an usurpation which, on this supposition, must have raised itself on the degradation of the great ma- jority of the clergy, could have been superinduced, with- out any struggle or opposition, and without any notice of such an event in all the records of antiquity? The sup- position appears to us incredible. As such an usurpa- tion, then, cainot be traced, and no one has ever yet been able to rciint out the period of history subsequent to the Apostolic aq;e, in which Episcopacy was intro- duced, it is a Ffir liable presumption, that it was the or- der and form of government established by the Apostles themselves. In closing the remarks on this subject, it may not be uninteresting or unedifying, to hear the sentiments of one who, whether he be considered in relation to his talents, or his piety, or his form of religion, must be ac- knowledged as of great authority in this case. Calvin, in his Institutes (Book iv. Chap, iv.) shews not only that the government of the church in the primitive times, was conducted by three orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons, but he adds, that every province had among their Bishops an Archbishop, and this for the better pre- servation of discipline. And if the name (Hierarchia) given to this kind of government, (adds this reformer,) were omitted, there was nothing in this kind of govern- ment different from that which God had prescribed in his word.* Among the manuscripts of Archbishop Usher was found a paper, written by Archbishop Abbot, which explains the circumstances that had caused the failure of Calvin's project, for a general union of the Protes- tant churches, on the basis of uniformity of worship and government. Among other causes, the principal one as alleged is, that Calvin "had sent a letter in king Kd- ward the Sixth's reign, to have conferred with the cler- gy of England about some things to this eli'ect, whereas • "Verum si rem, omisso vocabulo, intuemer, reperiemus ve- leres Episcopos non aliam regende eccleside formam voluisse fingere ab ea quam Deus verbo sue pre scripsit." 42 THE EPISOOPAL MANUAL. two Bishops (Gardiner and Bonner) intercepted the same, whereby Mr. Calvin's overture ppnshed. And he received an answer as if it had been from the reformed Divines of those times, wherein they checked him and slighted his proposals. From which time John Calvin, and the Church of England, were at variance in several points, which otherwise, through God's mercy had been qualified, if those papers of his proposals unto the Queen's majesty had been received during John Calvin's life. But being not discovered until about the sixth year of her reign, her majesty much lamented they were not found sooner, which she expressed before her council at the same time, in the presence of her great friends, sir Henry Sydney, and sir William Cecil."* Had not the death of Calvin occurred so critically, there is every reason to believe that he would gladly have cherished an union with the Church of England upon the basis of Episcopacy. That he considered this as **the government of the church in the primitive times," appears from his own declaration, and that he re- commended also the establishment of "a set form and method of public service," is also equally certain. In fact, in his letter to king Edward the Sixth, the condi- tion of his proposed union with the church was that there should be Bishops in all the churches. This plainly ap- pears also from the following passage in his work enti- tled. The Necessity of Retorming the Church: "Let them give us an hierarchy in which Bishops, though above the rest, may not refuse to be under Christ, and to depend on him as tlieir only head." In concluding this chapter, the remark may again be repeate'i, that the evidence in favour of Episcopacy is the same as that by which we justify the chaoj;e of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, and the same as that by which we ascertain the authen- ticity of the scriptures themselves. We have no ex- press revelation in Scripture on these latter points; and admitting for a moment, that there is nothing dedu- * Strypes Parker, pp. 69, 70. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 45 cible therefrom in relation to the former, who can shew cause why the practise of the Apostles, si uuld not be our guide in the one case as well as the other? What they did, they did by divine direction, and is therefore, of sacred obligation. It is universally admitted that Episco- pacy was very early established by the Universal Church, and it is equally undeniable, that it continued unin- terrupted, and without any allowed exception, down to the time of the reformation. If it be objected here that the church was, for a great part of this time, under the Roman power, and that therefore, this is a muddy chan- nel through which to transmit so pure and sacred a things — it may be replied, that the scriptures themselves have come down to us through the same medium, and that, amidst a great mass of corruption, the great fun- damental doctrines of the Bible were always preserved by that church. The great commission of the ministry, as well as the great truths of the gospel, are incapable of being contaminated by the organ, through which they pass. Thus reasoned the Presbyterian assembly of divines against the fanatics of the 17th century, who scouted all ideas of a regular succession in the ministry. They strenuously maintain this great principle of minis- terial succession from the Apostles, and entreat their congregations '*not to be affrighed by the bugbear words of antichristian and popish." That "the effect of Christ's ordinance is not taken away by the wickedness of men,'' as our 26th article asserts, is a truth generallj admitted, and one essential indeed, to the security and comfort of every Christian. God has graciously guarded us against all such insecurity as must exist if the effect of the ordinance dtpends upon the purity of the minis- ter, by bestowing his blessing upon every lawful admin- istration in his church, so that **the grace of his gifts shall not be diminished from such as by faith, and rightly do receive."* *See Calvin Instit. lib. iv. eh. 15, p. 16, for his agreement with this sentiment. 44 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. Upon the whole, the proofs in frivonr of the Apostoli- cal authority of Episcopacy, appear to be as great as the nature of the subject arimits of. When we add to this the fitness and excellence of this system itself in pro- moting order, uniformity and harmony, and all the great objects of its institutior*, we cannot but be sensible of the advantages we enjoy in belonging to the Episcopal Churchj and, without intending any ill will or dis- respect to others, we cannot but wish that they could tiew the subject in the same light." CHAPTER IV. Of the Doctrines of the Church in General. The articles of the church were framed at a time when the reformed religion was strutrjiiio; for existence with the power of Rome. It was, therefore, important, and proper as far as was consistent with essential principles, to construct them upon a phm which would unite all Protestants. The principal points of ditference among these, at that time, related to the questions of Calvinism and Arminianism. It was necessary, then, to compro- mise these points, and to leave them, as, indeed, we must ever be content to leave them, on the ground of scrip- ture. Accordingly the articles are composed with such singular wisdom and moderation, that all who hold the essential truths of the Bible, may conscientiously sub- scribe to them, however they may differ in their modes of speaking. The 17th article d«»es, indeed, recognize the doctrine of predestination; and so do the scriptures. But the main question, in lohat sense it is to be received, the article does Hot undertake to decide. '^That in which the knot of the whole difficulty lies (says Bishop Burnet) is not defined in the article; that is, whether God's eternal purpose or decree was made, according to what he foresaw his creatures would do, or purely upon absolute will, in order to his own glory." The question, in fact, is too my^sterious for human apprehension, aud too awful to be onsitlered without the profoundest rev- erence. In order to apprehend, and to explain it aright, we must possess the spirit and language of angels. The latter we shall less need in proportion as we acquire the former, for the spii it of Angels is not a spirit of contro- versy, but a spirit of meekness, of love and obedience. That God is love; that he desireth not the death of a sin- 46 THE EPISeOPAL MANtJAt. Her; that he wills all men to be saved; that man's salva- tion is wholly of grace, and his perdition of himself, are propositions clearly laid down in scripture. If there be a doctrine which seems to contravence these first princi- ples of religion, we may conclude, either that we do not understand that doctrkie, or that it is false. But in carrying this rule into action, it should be kept in mind, that we have no right to deny what is plainly revealed in scripture, merely because our conceptions c^iiiiot recon- cile it with the known attributes of God; for his ways are not our ways, nor our thoughts his thouc;lats. We see and know only in part, and our faculties are not large enough in this imperfect state, to comprehend the great truths of the Bible in all their bearings. The pro- fundities of the divine foreknowledge, especially, in which "one deep calleth unto another," baffle our most eager researches. — They can be explored only by the light of Heaven, which, in due time, will explain all. He who will, notwithstanding, rashly adventure in this voyage of speculation, will only meet the billowy fate of that great personage whose success is so well de- scribed by Milton in the following passage. ■His sail broad vans He spreads for flight, and in the surg-ing- smoke. Uplifted spurns the ground; thence many a league, ▲s in a cloudy chair ascending- rides Audacious; but that seat soon failing", meets A vast vacuity; all unawares, Fluttering his pinnons vain, plump down he drops Ten thousand fathom deep. The wit and ingenuity, and painful labour, which, du- ring many centuries, have been exhausted on this arduous question, have shed no new light upon it, nor brought us any nearer to a proper understanding of it. This consideration, while it serves to lower that tone of dog- matism and confidence, with which we are prone to pro- nounce oft' hand upon a subject which has cost our ances- tors many a folio, should serve also, by reason of the inherent difficulties of the case, to cherish in us, liberal and charitable sentiments towards those who differ from THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 47 US, in the opinions that we have formed in relation to it. Tiie writer of this book professes to be. not a Calvinist. Some of the tenets of that reformer l^e cannot embrace. But, at the same time, he believes that there is too much reason to re^^iet, that Calvin and his followers have re- ceived a measure of severity not due them, especial- ly, from christian opponents; and, what is worse in its consequences, that some of the fundamental doctrines of our common chn-^^lanity are spurned by many merely because they were held by Calvin. I'he ^real Hooker, speaking of Calvin, says, I think him inco.nparabiy the wisest man tliat ever t\\e French Church did enjoy, since it enjo}'eu him." Again he speaks of \\\m as *'a worthy vessel of God's glory.'' Bishop Andrews says of him, that he was **an illustrious person, mul never to be men- tioned but with a preface of the highest honour." Cram- ner, hooper, Jewill, Nov, ell, Whitgilt, Whitaker, Hall, Carleton, Davenant, Ubiicr, Abbot, &c. bear testimony to his great r)\pty and learning. **The Caiviaists, indeed, (says Bishop Horsley) hold some opinions which the Church of Knglar.d has not gone the length of asserting in her articles. But neither has she SJ^i^ the lengrh ot explicitly contradicting those opinions." Speaking afterwards of supralapsarian Cal- vinists, he says? "such was the great Usher, such was Whitgift! such were many more burning and shining lights of our church in her early days, long since gone to the resting place of the spirits of the jusi." Again; "any one may hold all the theological opinions of Calvin, hard and extravagant as some of them may seem, and yet be a souiid member of the Church of England, certainly a much sounder meniber than one, who loudly declaiming against these opinions (which if they be erroneous are not errors that affect the essence of our common faith) runs into all the nonsense, the im- piety and the abominations of the Arian, the Unitarian and the Pelagian heresies, denying in effect the Lord that bought him. These are the things against which ^ou should whet your zeal, rather than against opinions, whieh if erroneous are not sinful. 48 THE XPISIIOPAL MANt7AL. Further; *'Tf ever you should be provoked to take a part in these disputes, of all things I entr-at you to avoid what is now become very common, acrimonious abuse of Calvinism and of Calvin. Remember, I be- seech you, that some tenderness is due to the errors and extravagances of a man, eminent as he was in his day, for his piety, his wisdom and his learning, and to whom the reformation in its beginning was so much indebted. At least take especial care before you aim your shafts at Calvinism, that you know what Calvinism is, and what it is not, that in the mass of doctrine which it is of late become the fashion to abuse under the name of Cal- vinism, you can distinguish with certainty between that part of it which is nothing better than Calvinism and that part which belongs to common Christianity, and the general faith of the reformed churches, least when you mean to fall foul of Calvinism, you should unwari- ly attack something more sacred and of a higher orrgin. I must say that 1 have found a great want of this dis- crimination in some late controversial writings on the side of the church, the authors of which have acquired much applause and reputation, bui with so little real knowledge ot the subject, that give me the principles upon which these writers argue and I will undertake to convict, 1 will not say Arminians on'y, and the Arch- bishop Laud, but upon these principles 1 will undertake to convict the fathers of the council of Trent of Cal- 'j vinism. ''So closely is a great part of that which is now igno- rantly called ('alvinism, interwoven with the very rudi- ments of christiacity. Better were it for Ti^e church if such apolojiists w^ould withhold their services, non tali auxilio, nee de tensoribus istis."* The above remarks are offered in the spirit of conci- liation, and with the hope that they may tend to peace. The articles do not appear to have been intended so much to set forth a precise scheme of doctrine, as to embody in a short compass the very language of the Bi- *Bisliop Horsley's last charge to th« diocess of St. Asaph. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 49 ble itself. It is, therefore, as hopeless a labour to ex- tract from them a regular system either of Arminianism or Calvinism, as from scripture. Let us cease, then, to perplex and harass ourselves with a question which only tends to draw the attention from those considera- tions that are absolutely essential to the rise and progress of religion in the soul. The doctrines of grace, the doctrines of salvation by Jesus Christ our Lord, do not depend on nice theoretical speculations. But they do depend, they essentially depend, on an humbled, docile, penitent and believing heart. There must be a sense of our depravity; there must be faithj there must be peni- tence; there must be a restoration of the lost image of God; and lastly, the sanctified effect of a righteous, god- ly, sober life, must follow this restoration.* These truths our church faithfully inculcates, and unceasingly enforces. Let us listen to her voice, and we shall be made wise unto salvation. *See Dean Milner's Sermons, vol. 1, p. p. 142 — 149, for some valuable reflections on this subject. CHAPTER V. On Original Sin, •'Original sin," sa3^s the ninth article of the church, *'is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring: of Aclam^ whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of is his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regeiierated; whereby the luht of the flesh, called in Greek, ^6)ir,^a, o-a^^o?, which some do expound the wisdom, sonie Sensuality, some the Aflectii-n, some the Desire of the Flesh, is not subject to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnati n for them that believe and are baptized; yet the \postle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin." The C atechism of king Edward, which was one of the^works of the Reformers, gives the f Mowing state- ment of this doctrine: *'And forthwith the image of God was defaced in them, and the most beautiful pro- portif»n of righteousness, holiness, truth and knowledge of God was in a manner confounded and entirely blotted out. There remained tht' earthly image joined with unrighteousness, guile, fleshly mind and deep ignorance of godly and heavenly things Hereof grew the weak- ness of the flesh, hereof c. me this corruption and disor- der of lusts and att'ections, hereof came that pestilence, and iiereof came that seed and nourishment of sins whereby man is infected, and it is called sin original. Moreover, thereby nature was so corrupted and over- thrown, that unless the goodness and mercy of God had THE BPISCOPAL MANUAT.. 51 helped us by the mediation of grace, even as in body we were thrust down into all wretchedness of death; so must it needs have been that all men of all sorts, should be thrown into everlasting punishment and fire un- quenchable." And thus also the Homilies. Treatinj^on the misery of man, th«'y say, '^Scripture shutteth up all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ should be given to them t'lat believe." St. Paul in many places painteth us out in our colours, calling us "the children, of the wrath of (i<»d, when we be born;"' saying also that we cannot thuik a good thouitht of ourselves, much less can we say well, or do well of ourselves. **For of ourselves we be crab trees, that can bring forth no apples. We be of ourselves of such earth, as can bring forth weeds, neftles, brambles, Uri-irs, darnel and cockel. Our fruits be declared in the 5th chapter of Galatians. We have neither faith, charitj?, hope, patience, chastity, nor any thing else that good is. but of God; and therefore these virtues be called there the fruits of the Holy Ghost, and not the fruits of man. Let us therefore acknowledge ourselves before God (as we be indeed) miserable and wretched sinners. And let us earnestly repent and humble ourselves and cry heartily to God for mercy. Let us all confess with mouth and heart that we be full of imperfections: let us know our own works of what imperfections they be, and then we shall not stand foolishly and arrogantly in our own conceits, nor challenge any part of justifica- tion by our merits or worKs." To these quotations it will be necessary to add only the sentiments of th^f learned Dr. Isaac Barrow, who is universally reckoned one of the brigiuest ornaments of the Church of CiOgland. In his sermon on the Koly Ghost, his words are "v/e naturally are void of those good dispositions in understanding, will and atfection, which are needful to render us acceptable to God, fit to serve and please him, capable of any favour from him, ♦f any true happiness m ourselves; our minds natural- ly are blind,|iguorant, stapid, giddy, aod prone to error, 52 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. especially in things supernatural, spiritual and abstract- ed from ordinary sense. Our wills are froward and stubborn, light and unstable, inclining to evil, and ad- verse from what is truly good 5 our affections are very irregular, disorderly and unsettled. To remove which bad disposition (inconsistent with God's friendship and favour) driving us into sin and misery, and to beget those contrary to them, the knowledge and belief of divine truth, a love of goodness, and delight therein, a well composed, orderly, and steady frame of spirits, God in mercy doth grant to us the virtue of his Holy Spirit; who first opening our heart, so as to let in and apprehend the light of divine truth, then by representa- tion of proper arguments persuading our reason to em- brace it, begetteth divine knowledge, wisdom and faith in our minds, which is the work of illumiijation and in- struction, the first part of his ofifice respecting our sal- vation.* To this view of the corruption of human nature some objections have been made. 1. It is said that many amiable, virtuous, and noble qualities are found to exist in man, and that therefore, he cannot be so depraved as is here represented. It is not denied that the human character, even with- out the aid, or the knowledge of Christianity, has exhi- bited some sublime traits of virtue and excellence. Man does it is true, exhibit some vestiges of that original grandeur in which he was at first created. On contem- plating his condition, we are like the traveller who lights upon the ruins of a city once renowned for its splendor and power. He may discover in it some traces of its former magnificence, the sculptured marble, the state- ly arch, the lofty column — yet it is a receptacle for the serpent, the habitation of beasts of prey. It is mag- nificence; but it is magnificence in ruins. And truly we may say the same of human nature. * Genesis vi. 5. Eccles. ix. 3. Job xiv. 1. 4. Romans iii. 10, xi. 32, li. Psalm. Fccles. vii. 10. Isaiah i. 6. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. Oo "How poor, how rich, how abject, how august, "How complicate, how wonderful is man." Generositr, gratitude, fidelity, and the exercise of many high and heroic virtues between man and man; the spontaneous applause of virtue and morality; the decided condemnation of immorality and vice, may be mingled with other principles of action in themselves sinful and depraved, and may dwell in a heart that is enmity against God. The depravity of man may be traced in the universal reluctance and opposition which are found in his heart against God and holiness. If the heart were not thus depraved, communion with God would be the natural and chief delight of our souls, and prayer and praise our constant language. But does this appear to be the case? Does it not, on the contrary, require force and violence to enable us to set our affec- tions on God, and to deli.9:ht in communion with him and in beeping his comman iments? Does not this show which is the inherent teiilency of our minds, and in what direction the current would naturally flosv, if it were not opposed? This love of God, this - illness which delights in him, far from maintaining a pi'^nonde- rating influence, is never found to exist at all in a heart that is unrenewed by grace. On the contrary, '\i\ every man in his natural state, there is a root of bitterness, the radical element of depravity — -from whiun every species of iniquity may spring, to the extinction of eve- ry innocent and virtuous propensity, if such have ex- isted. The exliibitions of virsue that are to ue found in the unrenewed man, are either the result . i a peculiar organization of his frame, and in that case, ao more de- serve the name oi virtue, than the possession of a hand- some limb or feature; or else they may bi accounted for on some of the principles and motives of policy or interest or self-gratification, which are the ordinary springs of huiuiin conduct, and in that case, no more deserve the reward of Heaven or tl>e meed of praise, than the conduct of a courtier, who is noble and gener- 5* 54 ' THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. ous and honourable tow ards his peers, in the hope of ob- taining their applause and their favour, at the same time that he is cherishing disloyalty and rebellion against his rightful and beneficent prince. Talk not of noble and generous virtues, in him who is ungrateful and rebel- lious towards God. **He that is ungrateful has but one fault, all other faults pass but for virtues in him." In the sight of God, neither amiable dispositions, nor bril- liant exploits avail any thing, but a new creature. It is the motive alone which stamps actions with value before him. **Works done before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, foras- much as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and com- manded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.* Until the heart is renewed, then, by the Holy Ghost, whatever may be the fair seeming in which the exterior man decks himself, he is but the whited sepulchre having all uncleanness within. His motives and principles, being earthly and corrupt, viti- ate his whole character, and make his very virtues sins. To man who sees not into these springs of action these virtues are all worthy of applause: but to that Being whose eye is on the heart, and who knows all its cor- rupt imaginations, they are but splendid sins gilded over with the mere resemblance of virtue.! 2. It is farther made matter of objection against this doctrine, that it involves man in a moral catastrophe^ over which he has no control, from which he has no power to deliver himself, and which, therefore, renders existence itself a curse. If man were under such a physical incapacity to ex- ercise his reason and aiFections, as that^ which attaches ^^XTII Article ■j- Whoever wishes to see this important subject farther dis- cussed, may be gratified by the display of masterly reasoning-, adorned with the richest charms of eloquence in Chalmer's Ser- mons to commercial men, and his subsequent series, in which the compatibility of whatever is lovely and of good report, with the native depravity of the human heart, is demonstrated. THB EriSCOPAL MANUAL. 55 to a lunatic or an idiot, then, indeed, his case were as deplorubl^ as the otyection makes it, and it might seem unjust to punish him for a violation or omisgion of his duties. But the fact is, man labours only under a mo- ral inability. He will not do good, because he loves evil. And this, surely, is not his excuse, but his fault. Though man is corrupt, an adequate remedy is provided for him, in the atonement of Christ, and the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost, which are offered to all. "As by one man's disobedience, many were made sin- ners, so by tl«e obedience of one shall many be made righteous." i'his combined view of our fall and depra- vity, and of our redemption by Jesus Christ, complete- ly dispels the p;loom with which the objection would in- vest it, and shows the dispensations of Heaven to be merciful as well as just. No man, in the day of judg- ment, will be able to plead incapacity to comply with the terms of salvation; but every impenitent sinner will be obliged to confess that his perdition has been volun- tary and self-r ocured, and in opposition to the most powerful, proffered aids, and the most affecting motives. It is ipinitelv important that we form right notions on this g cat doctrine, and that we understand and feel the deep interest we have in it. It lies at the founda- tion of all true religion. In proportion as we know God, we learr also to know ourselvesj and while his image in us is daily acquiring new lustre, our own portraiture becomes more f^ark and gloomy. They who have made the greatest progress in holiness can best tell the native malir ity of the human heart. Every day they gain deeptr conviction of their own failures, and mourn with increasing humiliation over the corrugations dwelling in them. "I do not only betray the inbred venom of my heart, (says the pious bishop Beveridge) by poisoning ni) c©mmon actions, but even my most religious per- formances also, with sin. I cannot pray, but I sinj 1 cannot hear, or preach a sermon, but I sin; I can- not give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin. Nay, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my very confessions are still aggravations to them. My re- 56 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. pentance needs to be repented of: my tears want wash- ing, and the very washing of my tears needs still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer." And what shall they say who are but novitiates in reli- gion? Will they dare to feel any complacency in their own merits and righteousness before him in whose sight the very Heavens are unclean? O no. If but a beam of mercy from the everlasting throne dawns upon our souls, are not our spirits ready to faint within us at the discovery ef that light which should refresh and comfort us. If our hearts but for a few moments ascend in faith to heaven, are we not melted into tears at our theughtless ingratitude, our coldness and wanderings, the fickleness of our hearts, the tyranny of our lusts, which alienate us so far from Him *'who loved us and gave himself for us?'' Happy are we, if we can thus lie low before the footstool of Omnipotence, and feel that we are miserable sinners. Then shall we learn to value the atonement made for us; then abandoning all hopes from ourselves, we fly for refuge to the Redeemer. Nor shall we fly in vain. ''He hath been made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." * 'There is therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Their sins are not imputed to those who believe, who mourn over their corruptions, who repent of their failures and imperfections, and are continually and ardently striving after holiness. As to the origin of evil, philosophy and reason not only fail to give us any information, but tend merely to be- wilder us by their speculations. Whatever hypothesis we may adopt, great difficulties will be found to attend the subject^ for it is one too deep and mysterious to be comprehended by our finite understanding. Every attempt of a priori reasoning only serves to illustrate the value of the simple account which we have of it in the Bible. Revelation does not indeed, wholly clear up the moral mysteries by which we are surrounded; but she gives us the only solution of them that is at all satisfactory; and what is still better, she tells us how this great evil may THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 57 be over-ruled to our ultimate and eternal happiness. She removes the mystery far enou2;h to pour in upon us her immortal lessons of patience, calmness and hope. We say, far enough; for the knowledtre of finite beings must stop somewhere. It is now received'was an incon- trovertible principle, that oravitation, is the great cause and rule of the various phenomena of the solar system. Yet what can be more incomprehensible than gravitation? In what manner the transgression of Adam disturbed and destroyed the adjustments and proportions of virtue and holiness in which he wis created; —how it was that an offence apparently so si i if lit, should have incurred such a penalty; or why it was that God permitted evil to enter into his creation ami niar his fairest work; — these questions we may be unable satisfactorily to solve: but this we know, that evil doth exist, that it must exist by the permission of God, and that its intnul action by the sin of eating an apple contrary to the command and authority of God, is just as consonant with justice and reason as the introduction of it in any other imaginable way whatever. Suffice it for us, that a state of disci- pline and probation has thereby supervened; and that a remedy has been provided by which we cati educe from our fall an infinite and eternal good. Though by nature we are that depraved being which has been described, we become, by grace, exalted even to a higher dignity and happiness than we lost in Adam. What the apos- tle intended for another subject will apply to this: — "Even that which was made glorious, had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth."— Thus may our fall and ruin, by augmenting our eternal happiness, and ciis|jlaying the brightest a^trioutesof God in the unsearchable riches of Christ, serve to vindicate the ways of God to man. CHAPTER VI. On the Atonement, By the atonement, we understand, that offering of Je- sus Christ, our Saviour, upon the cross, whereby he made a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world. "Him hath God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, his rio;hteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus."* We do not profess to explain, how the forgiveness of sins is connected with the sacrifice of Christ. It is enough for us to know, that it is declared by God, to be the only way by which man can be saved. "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. '- Is it said, that the mercy of God is sufficient, upon our repentance, to do away our sins, without resorting to the vicarious sacrifice of his Son? But, independently of revelation, which assures us of the necessity of this mode of salvation, who can demonstrate the mercy of God? It cannot be deduced from the works of creation. Volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and desolations which often dismay and overwhelm the inhabitants of the world, would rather induce a contrary belief. If we turn to the human condition, and contemplate the pains and calamities to which we are heirs, the same conclu- sion seems to follow. Go to the cradle, anU see the in- fant who never yet has sinned, writhing in agony and 8uff*ering. Go to the hospital, where thousands lie with mangled limbs, and racked with tierce pain?. * Romans iii. 25, 2«. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 59 Viewed by all the light which reason alone can shed upon them, these things would lead to the belief, that the af- fairs of this world were either left to the contingencies of a blind chance, or else were directed bj some cruel and relentless being. Can reason shew cause why these scenes of disorder and suffering will not be perpetuated beyond the grave! Upon the abstract principle of jus- tice, the degree of punishment cannot affect the argu- ment, since it is as just to inflict undeserved punishment for a year, or for eternity, as for a day or an hour. The same argument which would claim exemption from pun- ishment beyond the grave, on the ground of mercy, would render the same exemption necessary in the pre- sent state of things. The some considerations may be applied to the notion which represents repentance as available to our pardon and acceptance. Every day's experienct- convinces us that repentance cannot obviate the effects of intemperance, and other vices, on the human constitution. Can any one prove, that the effects of them o i the moral constitu- tion are different, or that our experience will be different in another world. '^ Either the events in tbia life have not been arranged by justice and goodness, or the justice and goodness of God are not necessarily obliged to remove ah evil consequent upon sin in the next life. In what way, in truth, can deliverance from punish- ment be supposed to be connected witb repentance? If our obedience were pure and perfect, it couid do no more than answer the present demands of justice. "We may as well affirm, that our former obedience atones for our present and future sins, as that our present obedience makes amends for our antecedent transgressions."* But our obedience itself is imperiect. There is none that may be called good, no not one. "If we could say, we were not guilty of any thing at all in our consciences," says Hooker, (''we know ourselves far from this inno- cency; we cannot say we know nothing by ourselves; *See Magee on the atonement, a book worthy of the perusal feoth of the scholar and the christian. 60 THt EPISCOPAL MANUAL. but if we could,) should we therefore plead not guilty before the presence of our Judge that sees further into our hearts than we ourselves can do? If our hands did never offer violence to our brethren, a bloody thought doth prove us murderers before him; if we had never opened our mouth to utter any scandalous, offensive, or hurtful word, the cry of our secret cogitations is heard in the ears of God. If we did not commit the sins, which daily and hourly, either in deed, word or thought we do commit; yet in the good things which we do, how many defects are there intermingled! God, in that which is done, respecteth the mind and intention of the doer. Cut off then all those things wherein we have regarded our own glory, those things which men do to please men, and to satisfy our own liking, those things which we do for any by-respect, not sincerely and purely for the love of God; and a small score will serve for the num- ber of our righteous deeds. Let the holiest and best thing we do be considered; we are never better affected unto God than when we pray; yet when we pray, how are our affections many times distracted r How little reverence do we show unto the grand majesty of God, unto whom we speak? how little remorse of our own miseries! How little taste of the sweet influence of his tender mercies do we ft el? Are we not as unwilling many times to begin, and as glad to make an end; as if in saving, call upon me, he had set us a very burden- some task? It n»ay seem somewhat extreme, which I will speak; therefore let every one judge of it, even as his own heart shall tell him, and no otherwise; 1 will but only make a demand; if God tshouUJ yield unto us, not as unto Abraham, if fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, yea, or if ten good persons could be found ir a city, for their sakes that city should not be destroyed; but, and if he should make us an offer thus large; search all the gene- rations of men, since the fall of our father Adam, find one man that hath done one action, which has passed from him pure, without any stain or blemish at all, and for that one man's only action, neither man nor angel shall feel the torments which are prepared for both; do THB BPISeOPAL MANUAL. 61 you think that this ransom, to deliver men and an»els, could be found among the sons of men? The best things which we do, have somewhat in them to be pardoned. How then can we do any thing meritorious, or worthy to be rewarded? Indeed God doth liberally promise whatsoever appertaineth to a blessed life, to as many as sincerely keep his law, though they be not exactly able to keep it. Wherefore we acknowledge a dutiful neces- sity of doing well; but the meritorious dignity of doing well we utterly renounce. We see how far we are from the perfect righteousness of the law; the little fruit which we have in holiness, it is, God knovvcth, corrupt and unsound; we put no confidence at all in it, we challenge nothing in the world for it, we dare not call God to reckoning, as if we had him in our debt books: our continual suit to him, is, and must be, to bear with our infirmities, and pardon our offences." '^or God is not a man as we are that we should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us that might lay his hand upon us both.' So that as to any justification before God, upon any ground of merit or obedience, we must let that alone forever. Upon the ground of mercy, we have, as before observed, no hope except upon the terms which the gospel has revealed. Here alone are we informed how the mercy of God can be exercised consistently with his justice. <'Die, man, or justice must; unless for him Some other able, and as willing", pay The rig-id satisfaction, death for death." In stating the doctrine of the atonement, some have gone to the extreme of representing the Almighty as an angry Being, who could be rendered placable only by the death of his Son. But it will be seen that the scrip- tures represent it as following purely from his benignity and love. *'God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," He determined to 6 62 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. save man, and he adopted this method of effecting that object and of shewing forth the infinitude of his goodness. We are, perhaps, not even permitted to say, that this was the only way in which he could save a sinful world; for who can set bounds to his wisdom and power? But having in his mercy appointed this as the medium of our salvation, it is certain, that there is now **no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." As far as our capacities give as leave to judge, we perceive that all the works of God are works of wisdom. It is fair, therefore, to infer, that the same fitness and propriety belong to those subjects which are too high and great to be measured by human under- standing. Far be it from us t© derogate from the powers of rea- son. But it is no disparagement to the eye, to say that it cannot see without light; neither is it to reason to say, that however perfect, it cannot know without in- struction. '^Reason is that which knows; but in- struction is the cause of its knowing; and it would be absurd to make the eye give itself light because it sees with the light, as to make reason instruct itself because it knows by instruction. The phrase, therefore, 'lighfc of reason,' seems to be an improper one; since reason is not the light but an organ for the light of instruction to act upon; and a man may as well take a view of things upon earth in a dark night by the light of his own eye, as pretend to discover the things of Heaven in the night of nature, by the light of his own reason: nor do we derogate from the perfection of reason, when we affirm that it cannot know without instruction, any more than we derogate from the perfection of the eye when we deny it has the power of seeing in the dark." These principles are applicable to the great doctrine now under discussion. "Without controversy great is that mystery of godliness, — God manifest in the flesh.'* That he who was '*equal with God'* should become man, and humble himself unto the death, is a mystery far above our reason, but is not contrary to our reason, *Phil. ii. 6. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 63 for we have no data by which we can draw any demon- strations on this subject. The doctrine of transubstan- tiation is both above our reasoji, and contrary to it as well as to our common sense, and therefore, may justly be rejected. But the doctrine of the Trinity stands on wholly ditFerent grounds. It relates to the subsistence of that awful Being who is far removed frofu our com- prehension, and of whom we can know i)0thi.j!;»;, but what he vouchsafes to inform us. It is mingled with none of those accidents which bring it under the cognizance of sense. The simplest ideas we can form ot Him con- found and humble us. To consider Him .is self-existent, and uncreated, as being from everlasting to everlasting, without beginning or end, — overwhelms and confounds all our conceptions. To suppose him as possessed of an exuberance by which he iiows into three persons uni- ted in one, carries with it nothing more ^leiplexiag or improbable to our reason than this. We must take rest then on the ground of scripture. Let reason canvass, if it will, every part of that evidence upon which revela- tion claims our credence; let it jealously scrutinize the credentials which attest its divine original; but, having been convinced that the Divine Legislatorhas here spoken, let it not presumptuously attempt to decide upon the fit- ness or unfitness of what is revealed — let it not stumble at the apparent discrepancy of some parts, or the incom- prehensible mysteriousness of others; but learn from the analogies of nature, that though these things are high and beyond our comprehension, the difficulty may arise, not from the nature of the things themselves, but from the finite capacity of the human intellect — To require of reason that it should comprehend, and explain, the essence and modes of revealed subjects, is to require what it is unable to effect in regard to the most simple and obvious objects in nature, if there be a vast dis- proportion between the works of God, and the capaci- ties of man, it cannot be presumed, that a knowledge of the divine counsels and of the mysterious subjects rela- ting to spirits and to eternity, should be accessible to our understandings. ^4 t4ie episcopal manual. Some abvocates of this doctrine have inadvertently given representations of it, which have increased the grounds of objection that are alleged against it by its opponents. It is therefore thought proper to refer the reader here to an appendix for the views entertained by the church on this subject, and for some proofs of it as drawn from scripture.* The great doctrine of the atonement lies at the foun- dation of all our hopes. Take that corner stone away, and the edifice of salvation falls to the ground. Let us ever hold fast, then, this profession of our faith. By this, and this alone, can the problem be solved, that sin- ful man should escape the penalty due to his sins, and that God should retain inviolate his attibute of perfect justice. The dignity of the law is vindicated, while pardon is offered to the vilest sinners. God is rendered glorious in holiness^ yet no less glorious in mercy, for- giving iniquity, transgression and sin; yet so as not to clear the guilty. A just God, and yet a merciful Sa- viour. Just, and yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. *See Appendix No. 3. CHAPTER VIL On Justification, <*We are accounted righteous before GOD. only for the merits of our LORD JESUS CHRIST by faith and not for our own works or deservings; — wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine and full of comfort, as more largely explained in the homily of justification."* ''The Homily," says Bishop Horsley, **is a clear and perspicuous exposition of this doctrine. Its language is as folloyvs: ''because all men be sinners and olFenders against GOD, and breakers of his law and commandments, therefore can no man by his own acts, works and deeds, (seem they ever so good) be justified and made righteous before GOD; but every man of necessity is constrained to seek for another righteousness of justification to be received at GOD's hands, that is to say, the forgiveness of liis sins and tres- passes, in such things as he hath offended. And this justification or righteousness which we sq receive of GOD's mercy and CHRIST'S merits embraced by faith, is taken, accepted and allowed of GOD, for our perfect and full justification. This is that justification of righteousness which St. Paul speaks of, when he says, 'no man is justified by the works of the law, but purely by faith in JESUS CHRIST." "To be short, the sum of all St. Paul's disputations is this — that if justice come of works, then it cometh not of grace; and if it cometh of grace, then it cometh not of works. And to this end tend all the prophets. — 'Of CHRIST, all the prophets, 'saith St. Peter, «do witness, that through his name, all they that believe in * Article xi. 66 THE EPiSCaPAL MANUAL. him shall receive remission of sins. " And after this wise to be justified only by this true and lively faith in CHRIST, speak all the old and ancient authors both Greek and Latins; of whom I will especially rehearse three — Hilary, Basil, and Ambrose. St. Hilary saith these words plainly in the ninth canon upon Matthew: *Faith only justifieth.' And St. Basil, a Greek author, writeth thus — 'this is a perfect and whole rejoicing in GOD, when a man advanceth not himself for his own righteousness? but acknowledgeth himself to lack true justice and righteousness, and[ to be justified by only faith in CHRIST!' And St. Ambrose a Latin author, saith these words — 'This is the ordinance of GOD, that they which believe in CHRIST should be saved without works, by faith only, freely receiving remission of their sins;' considering diligently these words, without works by faith only, freely we receive remission of our sins. These and other like sentences, that we be justified by faith only, freely and without works, we do read often- times in the best and most approved ancient writers, as besides Hilary, Basil and St. Ambrose, before rehears- ed, we read the same in Origen, St. Chrysostom, St Cyprian, Prosper, Occumenius, Proelus, Bernardus, Anselm and many other authors, Greek and Latin. This faith the Holy Scripture teacheth us; this is the strong rock and foundation of christian religion? this doctrine all old and ancient authors of CHRST's church do approve; this doctrine advanceth and setteth forth the true glory of CHRIST; and beateth down the vain glory of man; this whosoever denieth is not to be accounted for a christian man, nor for a setter-forth of CHRIST'S glory; but for an adversary to CHRIST and his gospel, and for a setter-forth of man's vain glory.'' During the persecutions which took place in the reign of Queen Mary, the Reformers* united in drawing up a ♦The persons who signed the confession were, Dr. Robert Farrcr, Bishop of St David's; Dr. Rowland Taylor, Vicar of Had- ley; John Philpot, John Bradford, Chaplain to Phihp Ridgley; John Hooper, Bishop of Worcester; Edward Crome; Lawrence Saunders; Edmund Lawrence: Miles Covcrdale. The episcopal i^iancal. 67 confession of faith, a copy of which has been preserved by Fox. It ma^ not prove uninteresting to give a short extract from this document, as further shewing the pri- vate sentiments of the reformers. "We believe and confess, concerning justification, that as it cometh only from GOD's mercy through CHRIST, so it is perceived and had of none who be of years of discretion, other- wise than by faith only, which faith is not an opinion but a certain persuasion, wrouo;ht by the HOLY GHOST in the mind and heart of man 5 by which as the mind is illuminated, so the heart is supplied to submit itself to the will of GOD unfeigned ly, and so showeth forth an inherent righteousness, which is to be discerned [dis- tinguished] from the righteousness which GOD endueth us withal in justifying us, although they unseparably go together." Bishop Latimer also speaking on this subject says, ^'Remission of sins, standeth in CHRIST our Redeem- er; he hath washed and cleansed us from our sins; by him we shall be clean. But how shall we come to CHRIS r? How shall we have himP—I hear that he is beneficial as the scripture witnesseth; there is full and plenteous redemption by him; but how shall I come to it? by faith; faith is the hand wherewith we receive his benefits;* and this faith must be not only a general faith, but it must be a special taith; he believes that CHRIST is come into the world and hath made a reconciliation between GOD and man; he hatli a general faith; but I say that every one of us must have a special faith, I must not stand in generalities as to believe that CHRIST suffered under Pontius Pilale, but I must believe that was done for my sake, to redeem witli his passion my sins, and all them which believe a'ld trust in him."t "The way of salvation is but one," says Bishop Home, viz. faith in CHRIST, bringing forth the fruits thereof; and none but those who preach that are ser- vants of the Most High GOD, and show unto man the * Sermon xxi. p. 70. tSennon xxiii. p. 153, and Sermon xi. p. 72. S8 THE El'ISeOPAL MAK'tfAL. way of salvation. The fruit receives its goodness from the tree, not the tree from the fruitj which does not make the tree good, but shews it to be so. So works receive all their goodness from faith, not faith from works; which do not themselves justify, but show a prior justification of the soul." To these extracts which might be multiplied to almost any amount, it is thought unnecessary to add more than the opinion of one other learned and judicious writer. This epithet renders it almost unnecessary to add the name of Hooker. "There is a glorifying righteousness of men, in the world to come, as there is a justifying and sanctifying righteousness here." "The righteousness wherewith we shall be clothed in the world to come, is both perfect and inherent. That whereby we are justified is perfect, butjnot inherent. That whereby we are sanctified is inherent but not perfect.'' *'The righteousness wherein we must be found, if we will be justified, is not our own; therefore, we cannot be justified by any inherent quality. CHRIST has merited righteousness for as many as are found in him. There is two kind of righteousness; the one without us, which we have by imputation; the other in us, which consisteth of faith, hope, and charity, and other christian virtues. God giveth us both the one justice and the other; theoneby acceptiug us for rightheousin CHRIST; the other by working christian righteousness in us. If here it be demanded which of these we do first receive, I answer that the Spirit, the virtues of the SPIRIT, the habitual justice, which is ingrafted, the external justice of JBiSUS CHRIST which is imparted; these we receive all at one and the same time. Yet since no man is justified except he believe, and no man be- lieveth except he have faith, and no man except he hath received the Spirit of adoption haih faith, forasmuch as they do necessarily infer justification, and justification doth of necessity suppose them, we must needs hold that imputed righteousness, in dignity being the chief- est, is, notwithstanding, in order last of these." ''Then althougjh in ourselves we be sinful and unrighteous, yet THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 69 even the man which is impious in himself, full of iniqui- ty, full of sin: being found in CHRIST through faith, and having his sin remitted through repentance: but GOD upholdeth with a gracious eye, pulteth away his sin by not imputing it, taketh quite away the punish- ment due thereto by pardoning it, and accepteth him in JESUS CHRIST, as perfectly righteous, as if he had fulfilled all that was commanded in the law; shall I say more perfectly righteous than if himself had fulfilled the law? I must take heed what I say; but the Apostle saith, 'GOD made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of GOD in him.' *Such we are in the sight of GiiD the Father, as is the very SON of GOD himself. Let it be count- ed folly, or frensy or fury, or whatsoever; it is our com- fort and our wisdom; we care for no knowledge in the world but this, that man hath sinned and that GOD hath suffered; that GOD made himself the son of man, and that men are made the righteousness of GOD."* Such are the views of .the doctrine of justification as entertained by the reformers and luminaries of our church, such also is the view entertained by Arminius himself. Such is the doctrine of our articles, our lit- urgy, and homilies, and above all, such is the unequiv- ocal doctrine of holy scripture. By grace are we saved, through faith; not of works, lest any man should boast. The doctrine of justification by faith, is termed by Luther "the distinguishing characteristic of a rising or falling church." It forms one of the most impor- tant points of distinction between the Roman and the Reformed churches: the doctrine of justification by works, is the doctrine of the Romish church; and "it will always be the popular doctrine," says Buchanan, "among Christians who have little true ' religion, by whatever denomination they may be called. For it is the doctrine of the world; it is found where the name of CHRIST is not known; and it is the spirit of every false religion and superstition upon earth." *Discoui'se on Justification. 70 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. To this view of justification, two objections have been urged, which it will be proper here to notice. The first is founded upon the apparent discrepancy between St. James and St. Paul, and which supposes" the former to maintain the doctrine of justification by works, in the common acceptation of the <^erm. Much of the diffi- culty will be removed by considerinjr the diiference of character in those whom they were addressing. St. Paul had in view those who were disposed to look for •salvation by their obedience to the ceremonial and moral law; and argues against them, that they were to be jus- tified by faith only, without any works or deserving on their part, yet implying as he has elsewhere expressed, in unison with St, James, that * 'faith without works is dead." Indeed no write.- m the whole Bible more stre- nuously inculcates the indispensable necessity of good works than this Apostle. '^Though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity I am nothing. Now abideth faith, hope, charity; but the greatest of these is charity. Faith worketh by love. The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. Be thou an example ot the believers in w(»rd, in conversation, in char- ity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which believe in God, might be careful to maintain good works — and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." Whoever considers these and many similar precepts enjoined by the Apostle Paul, cannot justly charge him with preaching a licentious doctrine. But there were some who abused his doctrines then, as there are now and erronously adopted the inference against which he was so careful to warn them. — **What! shall we sin that grace may abound 1" It was such as these for whom St. James wio'e his epistle They pro- fess a fnith in Christ, and supj)osed, therefore, that they were released from the obligations of moral duty. To combat this dangerous notiwii, he undertakes to prove, not that faith is not essential to salvation, not that we THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. Tl are justified by faith only, but that such a faith as that which did not produce good works, was a dead faith — was not the faith which justifies — was, in fact, no better faith than that of the devil. ''Was not Abraham, or father, justified by works, when he had offered his son Isaac upon the altar? That is, did he not by that act of holy obedience prove, and display, and justify that living faith which was imputed to him for righteousness? Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only;" that is, he proves his faith to be genuine, while it thus purifies the heart and works by love. Such works, proceeding from such a principle as that which actuated Abraham, may be said to justify. There are some who suppose that the Apostles used the term "justify" in different senses. Tyndal, one of our re- formers, in his comment on the place says, this epistle layeth not the foundation of faith in Christ, but speak- eth of a general faith in Uod; that faith that hath no good deeds following, is ? false faith, and none of that faith that justifieth or receiveth the forgiveness of sin. I have no objections to or liiffiuSties in understanding St. James' langjuage 'for deeds aiso justify;' and as faith only jutifies before God, so do deeds only justify before the world." But supposing the Apostles to use the term justry, as it is p'obable they did, in the same sense, the contradiction is only in appearance, and may be fairly reconciled by the general scope of each writer, and by a reference to the case of Abraham, upon which the whole argument turns. If St. James had meant that it is not by faith but by works, in the common ac~ captation of the term, a man is justified, the example of Abraham would have been foreign to the purpose. But it is worthy of remark that St. James does not say "vyhat doth it profit a man if he have faith?" though this might be truly said, but he asks "if any man say that he hath faith," evidently meaning that he merely says this without any foundation for so saying; "can such a pretended or false faith save him?" We, who can judge only by the outward act, can determine the strength and reality of a man's faith only by his works; ^ut God knoweth the heart, the motive and action, and. T^ tHE BPISGOPAL ilANUAt* can infallibly judge of the character by this sure and unerring standard. A man may have a true and lively faith and an ardent love to God and man, and yet have no opportunity to display these principles in practice, he may be poor, and therefore ^annot abound in alms; he may be low and obscure in life, and therefore cannot exert much influence; he may be in a situation similar to that of the penitent thief on the cross, and therefore be out off from the power of showing his faith by his works; but if faith and its natural accompaniments — the principle of a pure and fervent love to God and man, a sincere and earnest desire to do all the good he can, dwell in him, his faith will be accounted for righteous- ness. *'To him that worketh is the reward not reckon- ed of grace, but of debt; but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." On the contrary, a man may abound in splendid actions, he may give all his goods to feed the poor, and his bodj^ to be burned, and yet his works, proceeding not from true charity or love, but from selfish or corrupt principles, are worth nothing in his sight who seeth the heart. A true faith includes in it holy desires, and determined purposes of goodness, and, consequently, the elements of all holy living; and being as much the subject of God's cogni- zance as the very actions themselves, he imputes to it the righteousness of actions which it never performed, but which he sees it would perform, did the occasion admit and require. Upon this principle the widow's mite, and a cup of cold water given with right motives, are counted more worthy of honour and recompense, than the most costly oblations given otherwise. This is the principle upon which we shall be judged at the last day. When our Saviour tells us of the blessings to be pronounced upon the righteous, he makes the whole value of their character, of their feeding the hungry, visiting and relieving the sick, and those in prison, to turn upon the circumstance of their having done it at all in his name. Abraham's faith was imputed to him for righteousness without works; but it was necessary for THE BI*ISCOPAL MANUAL. / O him to give some proof of his faith, which he did in an eminent manner; and thus justifi^^d his pretensions, jus- tified his faith, justified himself by his works. We conclude then, that, taking the whole scope of the two writers, the tenor of their whole sentiment, and ol' the different descriptions of persons they were combatting, into view, there will appear to be no contradiction — that they both maintain the value and necessity of faith as the originating principle of good works, the ground of our justification; and also the necessity of good works as evidencing that faith and justifying their claim to that blessing. — The sum of all the doctrines of scripture, and one also which approves itself to right reason, is, that the value of works depends entirely upon the motives w^iich actuate the performance of them. These motives are, love to God and a regard to his glory. But without faith it is impossible to have this love, these motives and consequently, to please God. — Our works, then, are not meritorious in themselves, because they derive all their value from faith, and faith being the gift of God, and accepted in return by him through the merits of Christ they must forever be excluded from the office of jus- tifying. But they are the indispensable fruits of faith in all cases where there is opportunity for producing them; they are the evidence of faith, and as such, God is pleased to reward them, not on their own account, but on account of the principle from which they spring. In accordance with these views is the doctrine of our eleventh article. "Works done before the grace of Christ, a)i'i the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, toiasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make man meet to receive grace; yea, rather for that they are not done as God hath willed, and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin." The second objection alluded to above is, that the doc- trine of justification, by faith only, without works, seems to untie the obligations, and necessity of good works. This has been partly answered in the declaration, that faith • 7 T4 THE EPISCOPAL UANtJAI* itself includes in it all the elements of good works, and necessarily leads to their performance. If we should say that the eyes cannot do the work of the hands, does it therefore folloyv that the eyes have not necessary func- tions to perform? Because we say with the Apostle that good works cannot do the work of our justification, does it follow that good works are not important and necessary to salvation? ''It is a childish cavil," says Hooker, " wherewith in the matter of justification, our adversaries do greatly please themselves, exclaim- ing, that we tread all christian virtues under our feet, and require nothing in christians but faith, because we teach that faith alone justifieth; whereas by this speech we never meant to exclude either hope or charity from being always joined as inseparable mates with faith in the man that is justified; or works from being added as necessary duties required at the hand of every justified man, but to show that faith is the only hand which putteth on Christ unto justification; and Christ being the only garment which being so put on, covereth the shame of our defiled nature, hideth the imperfection of our works, pre- serveth us blameless in the sight of God, before whom otherwise, the weakness of our faith, were cause suflH- cient to make us culpable, yea, to shut us out from the kingdom of Heaven, where nothing that is not absolute can enter. We acknowledge the dutiful necessity of doing well; but the meritorious dignity of doing well, we utterly renounce." **Faith does not shut out the justice of our good works,'' say the Homilies, ''necessarily to be done afterwards, of the duty towards bod: (for we are most bounden to serve God, in doing gooc deeds, commanded by him in the scriptures ail the dajs of our life:) but it excludeth them so that we may not do them to this intent to be made jubt by doing them. For the right and true christian faith is, not only to be- lieve that holy scripture, and all the reioi med articles of our faith are true; but also to have a suie trust and con- fidence in God's merciful promises to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ; whereof doth follow a loving heart to obey his commandments. These great TUB EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 7o 411(1 merciful benefits of God, if they be well considered, do neither minister to us occasion to be idle, and to live without doin» any good works, neither yet stir up by any means to do evil things; but contrariwise, if we be not desperate persons, and our hearts harder than stone, they move us to render ourselves wholly to God, with all our will, heart, might and power to serve him in all good deeds, obeying his com nandments during our lives, to seek in all things his glory and honor; evermore dread- ing willingly to offe d such a merciful God, and loving Redeemer; in word, thought or deed. And the same benefits of God, deeply considered, move us for his sake also, to be ready to give ourselves to our neighbour, and as much as lietli in u.s to study with all our endea- vours to do good to every man. These be the fruits of true faith to do good, as much as lieth in us, to every man; and above all things and in all things to ad- vance the glory of God, of whom only we have oursanc- tification, justification, salvation and redemption; to whom De ever glory, praise and honor, world without end." "Faith," says Tyndal, "is a lively thing, mighty in working, valiant and strong, ever-doing, ever faithful, so that it is impossible that he which is endued there- with should m)t always work good works without ceasing; he asketh nut whether good works are to be done or not, but hath done them aiready, ere mention is made of them, and he is always doing, for such is his nature." Such also is the doctrine of our twelf h article * 'Albeit tiiat good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure tlie severity of God's juflgment; yet they are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do sprint out, necessarily, of a true and lively faith; insomuch that bj them a lively faith m.iy be as e'^vidently known as a tree discerned by its fruits." So far, then, from the doctrine of justification by faith alone, being licentious in its tendency, and -weakening the obligations of liojy living, it is the only one which can guaranty, with certainty this gre^it result. Implant in a child a reverence and love for his parentSj and you 7^ THE EPIS80PAL MANUAL. more effectually secure his filial obedience, than by aii abstract arguments you can think of, on the fitness and propriety, and utility of virtue. While his heart is disaffected towards his parent, his obedience will be constrained aad partial , suited to his own convenience and policy; but when love has taken possession of his heart, he will deiight to hcmour and obey i.is commands. The heart of man in his unrenewed state is enmity 'Against God. Faith is the instrument through v/hich the holy JSpirit eftects its amelioration and works by 'ove. To preach lo one in this state on the beauty and iitness of v.i tue, to delineate the duties of morality with never so graphic ?, band, and to enforce them by motives and sanctions, never so powerful, will be as ineffectual as ihe attempts to purify the stream while the fountain con- tinues impure, or to adjust the irregularities of the clock by altering the index, w hile the main spring is weak and disordered. The beauty and fitness of virtue are, in- deed, proper arguments, but they must be subordinate to the higner one of love t;) Christ and must be founded upon faith in him, or else they will leave an impression little more permanent than the transient passage of an object on the polished surface of a mirror. *'To preach practical sermons," says Bishop Home, **i. e. seruions on virtues and vice&, without inculcating those great scripture truths of redemption, grace, &.c. which alone can excite, or enable us to forsake sin and follow af- ter righteousness, what is it but to pu; together the wheels and set the hands of a watch, forgetting llie spring which iS to n.ake theiu uil go." If it be complained, that in dwelling so much upon faith, we neglect the mo- ral duties we reply ThMt we must tirst sovv^ the seed and plant the routs in the garden, before we can hope for fruit. And wl.en v.e have once succeeded in plant- ing in the heart the principle of iaiih, ciiensiied by the kindly infiuenee of heaven, it will yield an abundant in- crease. And this is the only way to nave good fruit. W hat, in fact, is the indicative process prescribed in the gospell*^ vv hat does it require of those wiio are imjuiring alter salvation? Does it, in a single instance, lell them THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 77 to go about to establish their own righteousness, or to perform any good work as preparatory to justification? The direction universally is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Chrisst." *'Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." ''If I be lifted up," says the Saviour, "I will draw all men after me." This is God's way, but man has sought out many inventions. We shall ever find our labour vain, while we attempt to lop off the branches, or to hang on the tree other branches of etchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, |»erfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. * Eccles. V 6. and xviii. 22. CHAPTER IM3 JPaith. As without faith it is impossible to please God, it is of importance t-iat we fairly understand the fmndation upon which its obligation rests, as well as its nature and effects. In order to derive the benefits of any system, we must first give it our credence. This is equally true of the gospel as of any other system. If the gospel be the only rule of salvation, we must obey it, and in order to obey it we must believe it. That it is the only rule of salvation is probable from these considerations, without the gospel man never did know and can never know his duty to God, and con- sequently, cannot possess the means of obtaining his favour. This is proved by an impartial appeal to those nations who have been, and still are without the light ot the gospel. They are not acquainted with the simple precepts of morality, or if they are, they on the other hand allow the practice of vices which must offend that Being who delights only in vir- tue. They offend him further by the most abominable rights of cruelty in their religious offerings. '* Where- with shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself be- fore the High God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings and calves of a year old? shall I give oi the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul;^" 1 iiese are the anxious inquiries of human i^ature; and miserable would be our condition, if it had not pleased God to shew us what was good, and that to love mercy, do justly, and walk humbly before him was all tiiat was required of those who believed in Jesus Christ, the propi- 82 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. tiatory atonement for the sins of mankind. Man knows not how to approach God with a( ceptance but through the gospel, and failing in this, the first rudiment of duty, he cannot reasonably hope for the divine favour. Further, if man be an accountable creature, the equitable judgment in his case, must have reference to rules, and the favour of his Jud-^e may be suppo- sed to depend upon his observance of the best rules with which he is acquainted. Now it is confessed that a morality so pure and perfect has no where else been taught as in the gospel. So that if men desired to be good men, to live and die usefully and happily, they would meet with more helps and motives to these ends in the gospel than any where else. Besides this, though reason might be supposed to discover, it cannot assist us to perform, the duties upon which our felicities de- pends. In both these views the gospel becomes neces- sary to our salvation, by its furnishing that system of morality which alone is acceptable to God, and by giv- ing us that grace without which he cannot do what we know to be our duty. So perfectly is it adapted to the wants of mankind, that reason at once inclines us to view favourably the evidence which it brings of its divine origin, and it may with truth be afl&rmed, that he who with an honest heart, and a love for truth, and a desire to practice it, sets himself to examine the subject without prejudice, and with an humble appeal to the divine help, will perceive in the Christian system an irradiation of heavenly light, recommending itself both to his understanding and his heart. We have high authority for this seniiment in this declaration of our Saviour, ''If any man wilt uo my will, he shall know of the doctrine if it be of God." On the other hand he has authorized the opiriuu, that when a man does not discern this light, and refuses his belief, it is because sin has obscured or enfeebled his mental sight. He loves darkness rather than light, because his deeds are evil." **It is not in general," says Bishop Porteus, **the want of evdience, so much as the want of* virtue, which makes TSie EPISCOPAL &tAKUAZ» iS3 men unbelievers." It is not with the head, but with the heart, that men disbelieve unto unrighteousness. If this be true, the gospel may be considered as the test of a virtuous state of the heart, and it would seem to follow, that when we plead an inability to believe it, it is only saying that we are too sinful to relish and prac- tise its holy precepts, too strongly wedded to our lusts, to welcome that sword of the spirit which comes to make these painful separations. The love of happiness is a constituent part of the na- ture of man, coeval with his existence, and through eve- ry period of his life inseparable from him. As God has surrounded our bodies with a nervous system, which by its exquisitely nice sensibilities, teaches us by painful feelings, what to avoid as being injurious, and as he who runs counter to these feelings is an enemy to his natural life; so has he endowed us with a moral sense, designed to guard us against moral evil, and he who vio- lates it is guilty of criminal inattentiou to his best inte- rests. Men can never cease to consider themselves ac- countable beings. This is a natural sentiment, the plain result of that reason which is born within us, and be it true, or be it false, it has an important influence on our happiness. Destined then as we feel ourselves to be for immortality, there rests upon us a moral obligation to use every means of securin* our happiness in that everlasting state to which we are travelling. Now when the scriptures declare that there is no other name by which we may be saved, but that of Jesus Christ, when we see great and good men, who have studied this sub- ject with an earnestness and diligence correspondent to its vast importance deliberately concluding, that the evidence which supports the assertion is fully establish- ed, and resting their hopes of heaven upon that founda- tion; surely he who rejects this evidence without due care, impartiality and labour, and without aevoutly imploring the blessing of God upon his endeavours, cannot answer t© his conscience and his God for his un- belief. 84 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. Faith, in one sense, may be defined as consisting not so much in a belief of any abstract religious truth or proposition, as in a sincere attachment of the heart to God, with an earnest desire to know and do his will. And he who has these dispositions, may be assured of the blessing of Heaven, displaying itself, not perhaps in worldly riches or honors, but in something infinitely more valuable — a secret influence upon his heart and un- derstanding, to direct his conduct, to improve his nature and to lead him, though in the lowly vale, along the path of peace. Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ. *'He that believ- eth on the Son, hath everlasting lite; and he that believ- eth not the Son shall nut see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The heathen who live without the law are a law unto themselves, but even they will owe their salvation to the great atonement offered by him who, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man, and who, by his sovereign influence pervades, enlight- ens and sanctifies the whole moral world: for verily there is no other name under Heaven whereby man can be saved. The Nature of Faith. A faith which consists in a bare assent to the truth of certain propositions, without producing any change of the heart, is not the faith which pleases God. The faith which saves the soul, is not barely an assent to the truths of revelation, but a powerful persuasion of the heart, which kindles the affections and animates the conduct in the love and practice of the precepts of the gospel. This kind of "faith is the gift of God."* It is not meant here, however, that the influence of the Holy Spirit supersede, in any degree, the use of means — the necessity of rational and diligent inquiry. But it is evident that this quality cannot be wrought in us by our own power. No man in this sense can say * Ephes. iu 8. THE EPISCOPAL liAMUAI. B5 that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. "Blessed art thou Simon Barjonas, flesh and blood hath not re- vealed it to thee, but the Holy Ghost." Our Church constantly directs us to the Holy Spirit a« the only power which can raise in us this wonder work- ing faith. In the collects we pray, that by "his holy in- spiration we may think those things that are good,"* that *«by the same spirit we may have a right judgment in all things,"! that he would "give unto us the increase of faith, hope and charity4 **The right faith," says St. Basil, "is not that which is forced by mathematical demonstration; but that which grows in the mind from the operation or energies of the Holy Spirit"§ ''We must carry this yet further," says Bishop Burnet, ''than the bare believing that these things (the doctrines of Christianity) are true; such a faith devils have. We must make our people understand, that this faith purifies the heart, and works by love; and it only becomes a saving and justifying faith, when upon our entering on the practice of those rules that this re- ligion prescribes, we feel a real virtue derived into us, that makes us new creatures, and gives us such a vital perception of the truth of the promises made us in it, that we receive these as earnests of our inheritance, and so taste and see that God is gracious to us. This makes us living stones in the spiritual building.!! ^ Bishop Pearson, who is in the highest esteem as a divine, and whose work on the creed is recommended by the house of Bishops to all students in divinity, says, "As the increase and perfection, so the original or in- itiation of faith, is from the spirit of God, not only by an external proposal in the word, butb_y an internal illu- mination in the soul, by which we are inclined to the * Collect for 5th Sunday after Easter, f Collect for Whitsunday. t Collect for 14th Sunday after Trinity. § St. Basil in Psalm p. 195. jl Bishop Burnet's charge. i Bishop Pearson on the creed. Article 8. 8 S6 THE EPISCOPAL MANtTAL« obedience of faith, in assenting to those truths whicfe unto a natural and carnal man are foolishness. And thus we affirm not only the revelation of the will of God, but also the illumination of the soul of man to be part of the office of the spirit of God.-' "Illuminating grace," says Dr. Ridley, ''consists not in the assent we give to the history of the Gospel, as a narration of matters of fact, sufficiently supported by human evidence, for this may be purely the efiect of our study and learning. This sort of faith is an acquisition of our own. But faith is the gift of God." Dr. Barrow, "Our reason is shut up and barred with various appetites, humours, and passions against Gospel truths; nor can we admit them into our hearts, except God by his spirit do set open our minds and work a free passage for them into us. It is he who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, that must as St. Paul speaketh, illustrate our hearts with the knowledge of these things. An unction from the Holy One, clearing our eyes, softening our hearts, healing our distempered faculties, must, as St. John informeth us, teach us this sort of truths. A hearty belief of these seemingly in- credible propositions must indeed be, as St. Paul calleth it, the gift of God; such faith is not as St. Basil saith, engendered by geometrical necessities, but by the effect- ual operations of the Holy Ghost. Flesh and blood will not reveal it to us, nor can any man with clear confi- dence say that Jesus is the Lord (the Messias, the infal- lible Prophet, tiie universal Lawgiver, the Son of the living Godj but by the Holy Ghost." Dr. Scott, celebrated for a book entitled "The Christian Life," says, ''without the Holy Ghost we can do nothing. He is the author and finisher of our faith, who worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. Beside the external illuminations of the Holy Spirit, there is also an internal one, which consists in inipressing that exter- nal light and evidence of scripture upon our understand- ings, whereby we are able more clearly to apprehend, and more cftectually to believe it. "Justification may not be separated from good works. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 8r By faith we receive Christ such as he offers himself to us. He however not only delivers us from sin and death, but also by the divine influence and power of the Holy Ghost, he begets us again, and forms our hearts to the "love of innocence and purity, which we term pure- ness of life. Therefore justification, faith and good works are so connected with each other, that nothing may separate them. He therefore cannot be reckoned a true believer who does not avoid sin, and follow after righteousness to the utmost of his power." Nowell's catechism. True faith then produces Works, "Albeit that good works which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet thej are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; in so much that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the fruit."* Thus, "instead of retarding our progress in piety, faith is the principal means of exciting us therein. — There are no good works and merits by which we may procure the iove and favour of God, and induce him to deal kindly with us. Yet those pious duties which spring from faith working by love are pleasing to God, not for their own merit, but because God graciously deigns to regard them. For although they flow from a divine principle, yet they never fail to contract a pollution from the intermixtion of our carnal aftections. It does not follow that good works are of no importance, because they are ineffica- cious to justification. They conduce to the welfare of our neighbour and the glory of God. They become evi- dences of God's loving kindness towards us, and on the other hand, of our faith in God, and our love for hia name, and thus give us assurance of our salvation; and it is altogether proper that we, who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and loaded with innumerable mercies, ♦Article 12, 88 THE EPISCOPAL MANL'AL. should live conformably to the will of our Redeemer, never forgetting the obligations under which we are laid of always studying to win others to him by our example. While any one considers these things with himself, he may well rejoice in his works of faith and labour of love.*' Nowell's catechism. "The fruit receives its goodness from the tree," says the pious Bishop Home, *'and not the tree from the fruit: which does not make the tree good, but shews it to be so, because men do not gather grapes of thorns. So works receive all their goodness from faith, not faith from works; which do not themselves justify, but shew a prior justification of the soul, that produces them, as it is written, 'We know that we have passed from death unto life» because we love the brethren.'" Scarcely any subject has occasioned more disputes than the question relating to the power of man to work right- eousness; it being contended on the one hand, that to suppose man as not having this power, overthrows the idea of his free agency, and on the other, that not to sup- pose it were to undervalue the sovereignty of grace. And thus, by those who have carried their respective systems to the greatest lengths, it would seem, that either the power of man must supersede the grace of God, or else the^grace of God must exclude the power of man. Contradictory as these two suppositions ap- pear to be, St. Paul, who seems to have understood the matter as well as any modern commentator, joins them together, and calls upon Christians to work out their own salvation, for this very reason, that it is God who worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. The metaphors under which the affairs of our salvation are represented, are taken from objects which are fami- liar to our apprehension, and authorize us to prosecute the analogy, which plainly seems to subsist between nature and grace. The word is called the seed, and the human heart the soil: the grace of God, which bring- eth salvation, appears to all, and deposits in every heart the seed of life. The instruments which convey this grace, like the husbandman who commits his seed to the THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. ^9 field, can only plant. It is God alone who can give the increase. The dew of heavenly grace, the influences of the Holy Spirit, and the prolific beams of the sun of righteousness must refresh, invigorate and mature, the celestial fruit. In vain man toils, unless the fostering breezes blow, the rain descend, and the reviving sun temper all into the perfect ear. — And yet these great agents would be ineffectual, unless laborious man did his part. The rain descends, the sun pours out his beams in vain, unless the husbandman cultivate and stir the soil. So in the work of salvation, man has this seed, this talent, this grace, this manifestation of the spirit which is given to every man to profit withal. Herein man may be con- sidered as having no moral power; he cannot change his heart, he cannot make the fruits of holiness to bud forth and blossom. But he has a natural power; his feet can carry him to the house of God 5 he can read, and medi- tate and pray; he can in his way lie down at the pool of Siloam, and in due time, if he continue to wait upon God, he shall receive the renewing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, which worketh all in all. In all the variety of sentiment entertained upon this subject, we cannot well err if, while we labour towards our salvation with as much diligence, as though our salvation depend- ed on our works, we depend no more upon them then if we had done nothing. CHAPTER X, On Divine Influences. As the knowledge of the true religion would never have had an existence in the world without the revela- tion of God, so neither can it have an existence in the soul without the operation of God. If in Him we live and move, and have our natural being, shall we derive from an inferior source our spiritual life? There must be to us, indeed, from the nature of the subject, a mys- teriousness in any agency which relates to Spirit; for in its nature it is necessarily removed from human appre- hension. Our Saviour represents it under the figure of the wind, one of the most common phenomena of nature visibly and powerfully sensible in its effects, but far re- moved in its essence from our apprehension. **The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit."* The same power who brought order and har- mony out of the primeval chaos, is necessary to quicken the soul which is dead in trespasses and sins. Ac- cordingly, we find the sacred writers in the Old and New Testament constantly ascribing the great work of man's regeneration and moral improvement to the in- fluence of that Almighty Agent, whose prerogative it is to infuse his sovereign energy throughout all the works of his hands. The church also directs us to the Holy Spirit as the author of every good and perfect gift. The question proposed to those who are to be ordained, is, "Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and ministration to serve God for the promoting of his glory and the edifying of •John iii. 8. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL, 91 his people? I trust so,'' replies the candidate.* In the collects, we pray, that God may * THE EriSCOPAL MANUAL. 4thly, Not only signs of grace, but "means whereby tve receive the same," None but our blessed Lord could appoint such means, and which of his ordinances should be such, and which not, none but himself could determine. From his word therefore we are to learn it; and then as we hope to attain the end we must use the means. By calling the sacraments means of grace, it is not designed to speak of them as means by M hich we merit gra^e; for nothing but the sufferings and merits of Christ tould do that for us; but means by which, what he hath merited is conveyed to us. Nor are they the only means of conveying grace; for reading and hearing and meditating upon the word of God are part of the things which he hath appointed for this end; and prayer is another part, accompanied with an express promise, that *'if we ask we shall receive.'" 'Eutthese, not being such actions as figure out and rep- resent the benefits which they derive to us, though they are means of grace, are not signs of it; and therefore do not come under the notion of a sacrament. But Fifthly: A sacrament is not only a sign, or represent- ation of some heavenly favour, and a means whereby we receive the same, but a pledge to assure us thereof: not that any thing can give us greater assurance, in point of reason, of any blessing from God, than his bare promises can do, but that such observances, appointed in token of his promises, and strongly representing the blessings promised, affect our imagination with a strong sense of them; and make a deeper, and more lasting, and conse- quently a more useful impression on our minds. For this cause, in all nations of the world, representations by actions have ever been used as well as words upon solemn occasions; especially upon entering into and re- newing treaties, and covenants with each other. And perhaps in condescension to a practice, which being so universal autong n^en, appears to be founded in the na- ture of man: God hath graciously added to his covenant also the solemnity of certain outward instructive per- foiuiances; bv which he declares to us, that as our bodies are spiinkled or washed by water, and nourished THJ^ EPISCOPAL MANUAL, ^^"^ by bread broken and wine poured out and received, s« are our souls purified from sin and strengthened in all goodness by partaking of that mercy which the wound- ing of the bodv of Christ and shedding of his blood hath obtained for us. And thus these religious actions, so far as they are performed by God's minister, in pur- suance of his appointment, are an earnest and pledge on his part which, as was observed, was one signification of the word sacrament: and so far as we join in them, they are an obligation binding like an oath on our part, which was the primitive meanins; of the word. Applying these characteristics to the positive institu- tions orclained by our Lord, our church esteems two only as sacraments, that is to say, baptism and the supper of our Lord. These two correspond to the two sacraments under the law; baptism succeeding to circumcision, and the eucharist to the passover. Other legal ria;hts and cere- monies and sacrifices they had under the law and many typical signitications and shadows, but no more sacra- ments than the two mentioned. St. Augustine tells us, that there should be but two only.* *'z\s Eve was made out of Adam's side while he was asleep, so out of the Lord's side sleeping on the cross, the sacraments of the church issued; that is water and blood;" by which he understands the two sacra- ments. The same testimony also give Tertullian and many of the ancient Fathers, and thus believe all the protestant churches in Christendom, excepting one de- nomination. . •Sic ex latere dormiehtis in cnice, &c. Sacramenta ecciesiz proriuxerunt. St. Augustin. Tract. 15 in Evang-el. Joan- 9* CHAPTER XIK Baptism. The duty of observing this ordinance appears to be very ])laiii and ob\'ious. Our Saviour has expressly declared that we must be born of water as well as the Spirit, if we would enter into the kingdom of Heaven.* John his forerunner baptized,t and his disciples also baptized more than John.i When therefore he bade them after- wards teach all nations baptizing them, what baptism could he mean but that in which he had employed them before? And accordingly we find they did understand it as being the same, viz. a baptism of water as well as of the Holy Ghost. Philip, we read, baptized the Sa- maritans; not with the Holy Ghost;§ (for the Apostles went down some time afterwards to do that them- selves;!!) but with water undoubtedly, as we find in the same chapter he did the eunuch.^ Again, after Corne- lius and his friends had received the Hol\ Ghost, and so were already baptized in that sense, Peter asks, can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?** When therefore John says that he baptized with wa- ter, but Christ would baptize with the Holy Ghost; his meaninfjj appears to be, not that Christians sliould not be baptized v.ith water, but that they should have the Holy Ghost poured out upon them, wiiich was not the case, at least in an equal degree, under John's baptism. When St. Peter says, "the baptism which saveth us, is * John lii. 5. f Matthew iii. 11. :|: John Iv. 1, 2. § Acts viil. 12. \ Acts viii. 14. ^ Acti yiii. W— 38. ♦* Act* X. 47. THE EPISCOPAL MAHUAL. lOS not the washing away the filth of the flesh;" he means it is not the mere outvvard act, unaccompanied by a suita- ble inward disposition. When St. Paul says, that Christ sent him, not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, he means that preaching was the principal thing that he was to do in person; to baptize he might appoint others under him; as it seems he commonly did; as St. Peter ne*. ^04 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAU animals being once devoted and set apart for this ser- vice, acquired a new relation, and consequently a value, from the substance of which they were only types and shadows. It is easy for the God of nature to carry on his great purposes without the intervention of any means; but this has not been his usual mode either in the affairs of nature or grace. Our Lord could easily have cured the eyes of the blind man by the word of his power, but he chose to honour means, by making clay and spittle the ostensible channel of his power. It is easy for him to give efficacy to the most simple agents, and because he has instituted baptism, he grants bis blessing upon it when it is rightly used. "If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldest thou not have clone it? How much rather when he saith to thee, wash and be clean?" The Mode of Baptism. Circumcision, which was the painful initiatory rite under the law, was accordant witli the rigour of that dispensation, under whose ceremonious tyranny the Jewish worshippers groaned: whereas the rite of bap- tism which has succeeded in its place under the gospel, is easy, and correspondent to the lighter yoke which Christ is pleased to place upon his disciples. Water is an appropriate emblem of the grace of the gospel; for like it, it is the great purifier of nature, and like it, it flows free and unconfined to all the inhabitants of the globe. The customs of the Jews were accommodated in some measure to the temperature of their climate, which be- ing warm, required of them in order to their health and comfort, frequent ablutions. It is therefore very proba- ble that, in some instances, they received baptism, by a mode adapted to their custom, and went down into the water. But this fact cannot be ascertained by tlm THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 105 meaning of the original word which we tran^ate ftopftze, or by any account which is given us of baptism in scrip- ture. If in some places it should be admitted that the word baptize means to dip under the water, it is certain that it does not always so mean: For instance, when the Apostle says of the children of Israel, "they were bap- tized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea," it would seem that he could not mean that they were dipped into the cloud and into the sea, for these are contrary to the fact; but that they were sprinkled with rain from the cloud, and with the spray from the sea, which was a wall on each side of their pathway. With regard to those passages in the scripture where persons at theii baptism are said to go down into and to come out of the water, it is. sufficient to observe, that the prepositions EK and EIS, which are translated out of and i7ito, may, with equal propriety, be rendered from or to the water. So that these passages, at the best am- biguous, are more than balanced by the many instances in which the persons were baptized suddenly, and in their houses, where it is not reasonable to suppose, they had conveniences for immersing themselves under the water. And if it were even demonstrated, that immer- sion was the universal mode of performing baptism in that country, it would not render it obligatory upon people of other climates, unless there were an express precept, or some other reason in the nature of things, by which we may understand that it is the quantity of the water, the circumstance, and not the thing, which con- stitutes the virtue of it. As the children of Israel were delivered from the plague wherewith God smote the Egyptians, by having tlie sides and door posts of their houses sprinkled with the blood of the Paschal Lamb, which typified Christ the true Passoverj thus is the blood of Jesus supposed to be sprinkled upon believers, so as to wash them from their sins, and deliver them from the wrath of God, Thus it comes to pass, that instead of dipping persons baptized, or washing them all over, as it might be proper to do in hot countries; in cold climates it has been eui- 1G6 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. tomary only to sprinkle them with water; for this being a symbol or sign of the blood of Christ now, as the blood of the sacrifices was of old; and the Holy Ghost having been pleased to signify the application of the blood of Christ by sprinkling it, as well as by washing with it; it was easy to infer, that it might be represented by sprinkling as well as by any other way, if not in some sense better, as this comes nearer to the phrase of ^'sprinkling the blood of Christ," so often used in scrip- ture, and which seems to have been so used to prevent the mistake of supposing, that unless persons were dip- ped and washed all over with water, they are not rightly baptized; as if sprinkling the water did not represent the sprinkling of the blood of Christ as well as being dipped in it. This view accords with the words of the Prophet Isaiah, who, speaking of our Saviour, says "He shall sprinkle many nations," that is, many shall receive his baptism; and with the well known Prophecy of Ezekiel, "1 will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you." The method of sprinkling or pouring has the advan- tage, that it may be administered to the sick and dying, who would be otherwise deprived of the ordinance; and that it is convenient in all climates and in the most in- clement seasons. In some countries water is so rarely and insufficiently procured, that any other mode of bap- tism would be altogether impracticable. Now as this rite is of universal obligation to every nation and indi- vidual, it must be a presumptive consideration in favour «jf any mode of its administration, that it is adapted to every circumstance and exigency of human att'airs. In any case, however, where the candidate for baptism pre- fers immersion, the church authorizes her ministers to accommodate the mode to his wishes. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. lOf The benefits of Baptism. "There are two extremes," says Bishop Burnet,* '*that are to be avoided in this matter. The one is of the church of Rome, that teaches, that as some sacra- ments imprint a character upon the soul, which thev de- fine to be a physical quality, so do they all carry along with them such a divine virtue, that by the very re- ceiving them (the opus operatum) it is conveyed to the souls of those to whom they are applied; unless them- selves put a bar in the way of it by some mortal sin. But the other extreme which we likewise avoid, is that of sinking the sacraments so low as to make them mere rites and ceremonies. St. Peter says 'Baptism saves us.' St. Paul calls it the laver of regeneration, to which he joins the renewal of the Holy Ghost. These words have a sense and signification that rise far above a mere ceremony done to keep up order, and to maintain a set- tled form." In, the catechism, baptism is said to consist of two parts, **the outward and visible sign, water, and the in- ward and spiritual grace;" the latter being "a death un- to sin, and a new birth unto righteousness: for being by nature born in sin and the children of wrath, we are thereby made the children of grace." "Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened; but it is also a sign of re- generation, or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the church: the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed: faith is confirmed, and grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God." Article xxvii. There are several particulars necessary in order to a proper understanding of these expressions. • Burnet on 25th and 2rth Articles. 108 THE EPISCOPAL MAKUAU By disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit, our first parents corrupted their nature; and we, being derived from them, received of necessity an original taint of the same disorder; and therefore coming into the world un- der the ill effects of their sins, and being prone to sin ourselves, we are said to be **born in sin." By the same disobedience, they forfeited the favour of God; and we, descending from them, and inheriting from them by way of natural consequence, what they suffered as a riiark of God's displeasure, are said to be "the children of wrath." Not that God, with whatever disapprobation he must view our native depravity, is, or properly speaking, can be angry with us personally for what is not our own voluntary fault. But He might undoubtedly both refuse us that favour which our first parents had forfeited, and to which we have no right; and leave us without help, to that weakness and misery which followed our fallen con- dition. But what in strict justice he might have done, in his infinite goodness he has not done. For the first covenant being broken by Adam, He has entered into a new one with mankind through Jesus Christ; by which we are freed from the punishment due to our first pa- rent's transgression, and restored to a state ef salvation. "As in Adam we all died, so in Christ we are all made alive." And thus the Christian covenant delivering us, if we are faithful, from eve-ry thing we had to fear, and bestowing on us every thing we hope for, brings us into a state unspeakably different from our former. As the minor who is the heir of an estate, may be fitly called the heir, though he has not yet received, and may by his mis- conduct forfeit, his inheritance, so may we who enter in- to covenant with Christ, be called the heirs of salvation, though we are liable to forfeit it by our transgressions; and this new state being effected by the grace or good- ness of God, we, who have entered upon it, are properly called the Children of grace. Now baptism is the ap- pointed sign of our profession in these matters. It is also the means whereby we receive the same and a pledge to assure us thereof, because they "who rightly receive it" have reason to hope that God will not fail to THE BTISCOPAL MANUAL. 1W? bless his own institutions^ and they now being "grafted into the church, the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of their adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; faith is confirmed, and grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.* The church is a body of men taken out of the rest of the world, as the peculiar care of our Redeemer; to whom he affords the special means of salvation, con- ducting them by the methods of his providence and grace in the v/ay of eternal life. The church is therefore by St. Peter compared to the ark in the days of Noah, in which those who entered into it were saved from the de- luge. **They were saved," as the Apostle expresses it, **by water," or in the ark which was carried upon the waters: and he adds "the like figure where unto baptism, doth also save us." For our Lord hath appointed that all those who enter into the ark of his church shall be ad- mitted therein by the solemn rite or ceremony of bap- tism, according' to that express precept given to his Apostles, *'Go ye and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. In his conversation with Nicodemus he tells him, ''Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." And further explaining himself he says, "Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." This corresponds with the following passage of St. Paul; "he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." Here the words "born" and "born again," plainly answer to the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. And whereas our Saviour makes these necessary to our entering into the kingdom of God, St. Paul makes them the means of salvation. Thus we find baptism and the gift of the Spirit to be frequently joined together, as in the passages before cited, and in the following places. Mark xvi. 16. "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." **Jesu8 being baptized, the Holy Ghost descended upon him." ,• Article xxrlu. 10 !!• THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. Luke iii. 21, 22. *^ho have imagined that bap- tism is nothing more than a mark or sign by which we profess our religion before men, have not considered that which was the principal thing in baptism 5 which is, that we ought to receive it with this promise, *he that believ- ethand is baptized shall be saved.' " "We are baptized into the mortification of the flesh, which commences in us at baptism, which we pursue from day to day, and which will be perfected when we shall pass out of this life unto the Lord."* Our church goes no farther than the above authorities in declaring that we are regenerate by the Holy Spirit in baptism. And whether this de- claration be taken hypothetically or otherwise, there is no solid ground of objection to the phraseology. In fact a service designed tor popular use, must in its nature be constructed in general terms and not undertake to decide the case in which the benefit is received and where it is not, but must proceed upon the supposition of Calvin, that *'God, in promising his gifts does not de- ceive us." At the time the baptismal service was framed, there was no danger of its being misunderstood. And the authors of it, have guarded against any misunderstand- ing of it, both by the expression of their own private * Calvin Institut lib. 3. ch. 6. *n4 4, ; in the belief "that no man could be saved without baptism." Another that arose out of this was the "mixing the outward and inward effects of baptism; it being believed, that every person that was born of wa- ter, was also born of the Spirit, &c. But after all, this is not to be believed to be of the nature of a charm, as if the very act of baptism carried always with it an in- ward regeneration." ♦See Sermon on the Holy Ghost. THE EPISCOPAL MAKUAL, IIT Connected with this error of making *'the act of bap- tism to carry with it always an inward regeneration, is the doctrine of a baptismal justification as held by some in the present day. *'Tt is a tenet in the Church of Rome, (says Bishop Burnet) that the use of the sacraments, if men do not put a bar to them, and if they have only imperfect acts of sorrow accompanying them, does so far complete those weak acts as to justify us. This we do utterly deny, as a doctrine that tends to enervate all religion; and to make the sacraments that were appointed to be the so- lemn acts of religion, for quickening and exciting our piety, and for conveying grace to us, iqjon our coming devoutly to them, become means to flatter and deaden us. — The doctrine of sacramental justification is justly to be reckoned among the most mischievous of all those practical errors that are in the church of Rome. Since the natural consequence of this doctrine is to make men rest contented in low imperfect acts, when they can be easily made up by a sacrament, we have just reason to detest it, as one of the depths of satan; the tendency of it being to make those ordinances of the gospel which were given us as means to raise and heighten our faith and repentance, become engines to encourage sloth and impenitence." (p. 172.) The Bishop of Gloucester in speaking of "that most serious error of exalting too highly the just views of baptismal regeneration," says, "This erroneous view, in my opinion, strikes at the root of all useful preaching. Ministerial addresses founded upon it, soothe and delude the people into a false peace; they do but half open the wounds of the sinner, they act as a dull and clouded mirror to the soul, and exhibit to him a most imperfect representation of what he is, and what he should be — of what must be done for him, and in him; they may make many a pharisee, and produce on many a death-bed a vain self righteous case, which must soon be changed into self condemnation and death eternal. But they will never be the spiritual weapons, mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, and bringing 118 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. the servant of safaii *irito captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ.' They will never be instrumental in draw- ing forth, from practical unbelievers, the question of the gaoler, 'What must I do to be saved?' nor in leading tliem as humble penitents to the cross of Christ, and binding them down to the horns of the altar, as devoted disciples of his word, and willing dependants on his grace. **What advantage tlion liath baptism?" Much every way. There is no difficulty in considering the bap- tismal right as an assurance and pledjie, on the part of God, that the person hereby admitted into personal cov- enant with him through the second Adam, shall not perish through the fault of the first. It is reasonable further to believe, that some special gracious effect at- tends the due administration of this interesting ordi- nance; that in many instances true spiritual regenera- tion takes place in baptism, and that in all, where it is rightly received, some spiritual benefit is bestowed, be- sides the mere external condition. Some of the further benefits to be derived from it will suggest themselves when we come to consider the baptism of infants. **Very necessary is the admonition," says Bishop Bradford, "that we ought to be careful, neither on the one hand to slight or neglect the external institutions of religion; (he is speaking of baptism) nor on the other hand, to depend upon our compliance with them, unless we at the same time answer their end and design." *'Some of an enthusiastic temper are ready to under- value or neglect all the external institutions of religion; not considering that these are the divinely instituted means and pledges, to those who worthily receive them, of the divine favour and blessing. '•But then on the other hand, there are great num- bers of professing Christians, who satisfy themselves with a cold compliance with the external institutions of Christianity, whilst they are devoid of all that is truly spiritual and internal. 'The^ are baptized in the name of Chirst; they attend public worship: divers of them partake of the Lord's supper; they go on in a constant THE EPISCOPAL MAKUALi It^ i'ound of performances: but they are still unreformed; they are not renewed in the spirit of their minds; nor do the fruits of the Divine Spirit appear in their lives and conversation." *'It should, therefore, be our care to reverence all the institutions of our Lord, and all those external observ- ances which are desii^ned as aids and excitements to religious impressions; but at the same time, never to content ourselves till we find the Sj)irit of God and of Christ dwell ins: in_us, sanctifying our tempers, and becoming a settled principle of piety and virtue through- out the course of our lives."* But hence arises another question, *'why are infants baptized, when by reason of their tender age, they can- not perform the conditions?" The reasons for not denying baptism to infants are these: Moses and the prophets avow circumcision to be a sign of repentance, and St. Paul styles it a sacrament of faith; notwithstantling which, the children of the Jews, though incapable of faith and repentance by rea- son of their tender age, were circumcised. By this outward sign, God acknowledges himself the Father of the offspring of his people; but the favour of God is more abundantly poured out upon us, and more fully declared in the gospel of Christ. Inasmuch also as our infants undoubtedly enjoy the substance of baptism with us, it would be doing them an injury to refuse them the sigriy which greatly tends to evidence the mercy of God and confirm his promises. Christians would thus be de- prived of a principal means of consolation enjo^d by the ancients, and our little ones would be in worse cir- cumstances than tiiose of the Jews. Further, since Christ our Lord calls little Children to him, and forbids any one from hindering them to come to him, and re- ceives them in his arms, and testifies that the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them; it would seem the highest degree of injustice to prohibit their access into the porch * Disc, on baptismal and spiritual regeneration. 120 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. of the Christian commonwealth, whom God himself deigns to admit into his heavenly palace. Repentance and faith are requisite, not before thej are possible, but when they are possible. And until Ihey are possible, baptism may very fitly be administered; because God, on his part, can certainly express by it, both his removing, at present, the disadvantages under which they lie by reason of the sin of Adam; and his removing hereafter, on proper conditions, the disadvan- tages which they may come to lie under by their own sins. And though they cannot, on their parts, expressly promise to perform these conditions; yet they are not only bound to perform them; but (vvhicli is the point our catechism insists on) their sureties promise for them, that they shall be made sensible, as soon as may be, that they are so bound: and ratify the engagement in their own persons. For it is by no means necessary, that a covenant should be executed by both the parties to it, at the same time: and as the Christian covenant is one of the greatest equity and favour, we cannot "doubt, but that God favourably alloweth the charitable work of bringing infants to his holy baptism." The promise of the covenant being expressly said to belong *'to us and our children,"* without any limita- tion of age, it is proper that they should partake of the sign as well as the promise: especially as the infants of the Jews and of proselytes to the Jews were, by a sol- emn sign, admitted into their covenant. In objection to the baptism of infants, it has been urged that there is no express command given in scrip- ture for the practice. Admitting for a moment, the •force of this objection, we have a right to put upon those who deny this privilege to infants, the burthen of proving, that it was taken away by the Christian dis- pensation. Children were admitted into covenant in the Jewish Church, and circumcision was as much "a seal of the righteousness of faith,'' as is baptism. It is not incumbent on us, then, to shew, that this privilege was eontioued to children; it belongs to those who deoj • Acts ii. 39. THE EPISCOPAL MAKUAL. 1£I it, to prove that it was abolished by that better covenant which the gospel introduced. But where is the text, that would authorize the belief, that our Lord intended to exclude those from his visible kingdom, whom he de- clared to be of the kingdom of heaven? Is it said, that this maj be inferred from the fact, that faith was re- quired of those who were to be baptized, and conse- quently, that infants, being incapable of faith, were not proper subjects of baptism? It may be replied, that the same argument would exclude them from heaven, for faith being necessary to salvation, and infants being in- capable of faith, upon this principle they cannot be saved. The opponents of infant baptism profess to lay freat stress upon the positive precepts of scripture, lut upon what positive precept do they ground their ob- servance of the first, instead of the seventh day of the week? Upon what part of scripture do they build their belief in the authenticity and genuineness of the scrip- ture itself? These are subjects equally important with baptism, and yet no express direction is given concern- ing them. Is it said, that they are fairly implied in scripture, and may be clearly deduced from the prac- tice of the Apostles? We say the same of the baptism of infants, and are prepared to shew that the evidence is as strong in favour of it. as of the Christian Sabbath, and of the authenticity of the sacred scriptures them- selves. In carrying into effect their great commission, in preaching the gospel to every creature, and admitting into the visible fold of Christ, by baptism, those to whom they were sent, the Apostles, unless they were forbidden, would naturally, according to the terms of that covenant, which had already existed between God and his church, consider children as coming within the scope of their pastoral office, and as entitled to the privileges of the covenant. The mere change of the sign of initiation, from circumcision to baptism, could not have beeii supposed as affecting the essential rites and privileges of the party. These rites and privileges had never been taken away by any act or declaration of 11 122 THE KriSOOPAL MANUAL^ the Lawgiver, and tbefefore continued in full forcc'e When, therefore, thej baptized whole families at once,* we cannot question but they baptized, (as we know their successors did) little children among the rest. **0f such," says our Lord, '*is the kingdom of heaven," and St. Paul, *Hhey are holy;" which they cannot be reputed, without entering into the gospel covenant; and the only way of entering into it is by baptism; which therefore is constantly represented in the New Testa- ment as a means of salvation. Accordingly we find, that the earliest writers make mention of the baptism of infants. A circumstance oc- curs in the third century, which serves to shew the footing which it had obtained at that period. A council was held in Africa by sixty-six bishops, with Cyprian at their head, before whom the following question was brought, whether infants should be baptized imme- diately, or on the eigthth day. The council unanimously resolved that they should be baptized as soon as possi- ble; on which Mr. Milner remarks, *'If infant baptism had been an innovation, it must have been now of con- siderable standing. The disputes concerning Easter, and other very uninteresting points, show that such an in- novation must have formed a remarkable era in the church; the number of heresies and divisions had been very great; among them all, such a deviation from Apostolical practice as this must have been remarked. It appears impossible to account for this state of things, but on the footino; that it had ever been allowed, and therefore that the custom was that of the first churches." The benefits which children derive from baptism, if they were properly improved, would be very important. They become thereby children of the covenant, and are admitted to the benefits of the prayers and ordinances of the church. Their sponsors solemnly promise, in the presence of God and his congregation, that they will teach them all that they * 'ought to know for their soul's • Acts xvi. 15. 33. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 123 health,'' and the minister is bound, as the hich, that covenant of grace was ratified and confirmed. Tlie bread and wine are therefore to be received by every member of the church to represent their receiving and applying the blessings of redemption, or in other word?, receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, and by faitli, partaking of his body and blood for their spiritual sustenance. The Lord's Supper may, therefore, be considered as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace to all who believe and repent.t What is professed by those who partake of the Lordh Supper? We hereby publicly avow ourselves to be the disciples of a crucified master, and that we will not be ashamed to confess him before men, but fight, as good soldiers under his banner, to our life's end. We promise to fol- low his example, to be crucified to the world, to deny * See Dr. Newcombe, Wall, Waterland, Cudwprth, and Toin- ard's Greek Harmony, &c. for the various opinions. \ If the above view be correct, it would seem wrong to speak of this sacrament as being- *'the Christian sacrifice. Is it not rather the memorial of it than the sacrifice itself? THE £HS06pAL MAMUaL iSl ourselves, and take up our cross. We promise* like him, to do the will of God, to go about doing good, to forgive and love our enemies, to return good for evil, to weep with those who weep, as well as rejoice with those who rejoice, to bind up the broken hearted, and relieve the distressed, to "visit the fatherless, and the widow in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world." We own him, not only as a teacher sent from God, to be our instructor and guide; but we confide in him as our Almighty friend and Saviour; rely upon his sacrifice; and commit ourselves to him, to be re- deemed, sanctified and saved. By attending the Lord's Supper, we publicly profess our faith in the efficacy of the Saviour's death to put away sin; our cordial approbation of that method of salvation which God hath appointed, and our thankful acceptance of the divine mercy through the Redeemer. We express our hearty compliance with all the requisitions of the divine law, that we repent of sin, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; that we obey his gospel and devote ourselves to God, through the Mediator, to be his for ever. By partaking of the Lord's Supper, in a social manner, with the members of Christ's Church, we pro- fess our sincere love to them as brethren, and our deter- mination to perform all the duties of this relation; and, finally, that if we are not faithful to this covenant, we shall justly incur all the punishment which it was de- signed to avert. Such was the nature of covenants en- tered into by the ancients on great occasions. They slew an animal, and after dividing it, placed it on two opposite altars. The parties then walked in the space between the parts divided, signifying that if they should prove unfaithful to this treaty, thus solemnly contracted, they would consent to be turn asunder, and consumed like this animal. Blessed be God, we live under a new and better covenant, in which 'Hhe blood of sprinkling speaketh better things." ''If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propiation for our sins." But if we habit- ually and perseveringly fall away from the dispositions 132 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. and duties required of our high rocation, wc crucify to ourselyes the Son of God, and put him to an open shame; and must expect a punishment commensurate to the dig- nity and value of those privileges which we despise* "He that despised Moses's law died without mercy. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, where- with he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the spirit of grace?" The Qualifications necessary to the participation of this Ordinance, In answer to the question "what is required of those who come to the Lord's Supper?" the catechism replies, *'To examine themselves, whether they repent them truly of their former sins, steadfastly purposing to lead a new life; have a lively faith in God's mercy, through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of his death; and be in charity with all men." They and they only, "who truly and earnestly repent them of their sins, and are in love and charity with their neiglibours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways, may draw near, and take this holy sacrament to their comfort,^^* "The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth, (as St. Augustine saith) the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ; yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ; but rather to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing." Arti- cle XXIX. The use of all the ordinances is to quicken and ani- mate us in the i others are offering the same prayers, at the same time, in various and distant parts of the world. Though fib- sent in body, we have this bond, which makes us pie- sent with ail the true worshippers of the Lord.* But how powerful would be the association of thought, if a!i mankind, with one voice ancl one heart, were enga^eO at one time, in offering one prayer to the one Thrcne in Heaven! Surely HeaVen would be opened, ar •iessings v/ould descend upon earth. The laurf'ulness of forms of prayer is easily demon- strated from the fact, that God himself did prescribe .15 irO 1 HE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. them on several occasions.* When David brought up the ark from the h for we are not told that the Apostles ever baptized persons in the name of ih^ Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; but as they were commanded to do it, we take it for granted they did so, though in so short a history as that of the Apostles, no mention of the fact was deemed ne- cessary. If we come down to the times subsequent to the Apos- tles, we shall find liturgies composed for the service of the different ciiurches. The liturgies of St. Peter, St. Mark, and St. James, though they were corrupted in * Numbers iv. 23—26. Deut. xxi. 7, 8, xxvi. 3, 5—10, 13, 15. Matt. xxvi. 30. . , , ^ -. ^ j f Compare 1 Cbron. xvi. 7. 36, with Psalms cv. 1—15, and xcvi. 1 — 13, and cxxxvi. 1, and cvi. 47, 48. 4: Matt, xxvi, 30. § Alatt. vi. 19. The word outw; has been construed by some as implying only t'liat our prayers should be, after thh manner; but in other places it shews its meanmg- to be that such should be our prayer in /om; as in these words oww, y,y ^uirrc^l, thus it is M ritten; but what puts it beyond cloubt is the pai allel passage m Luke xi. 2, where our Lord says, "When ye pray, say? f Tertullian, Cyprian, Cyril. Jerome, Augustine, Chrysostom, (.rcgory.—Sce Bennett's London Cases, and Smieon on the Uturtcy- THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 171. later ages, are certainly of high antkiuity: that of St. James was of great authority in the clays of St. Cyril, who in his younger years wrote a toininect upon it. And it would be easy to trace the use of them from that time even to the present day. Our reformers carefully distinguished between what appeared to be superstitious and superfluous, and what was apostolical and scriptural; and therefore retained many of the prayers which the Roman Church had in use, and which, as Dr.JjiUrke observes, had been in use in the early ;!ges of C^istianity, long before Pope or popery was unknown upon earth. At the commence- ment of the reformation, the most lamentable ignorance prevailed throughout the land: and even those who from their office ought to have been well instructed in the Holy Scriptures, themselves needed to be taught the first principles of the oracks of God. If then the pious asul venerable reformers of our Church had not provided a suitable form of prayer, the people would still in many thousands of places, have remained in ut- ter darkness; but by the diffusion of this sacred light throughout the land, every part of the country became in a good measure irradiated with scriptural knowledge and with saving truth. The few who were enlightened, might indeed have scattered some partial rays around them; but their light would have been only as a meteor that passes away, and leaves no permanent effect. Moreover if their zeal and piety and knowledge had been suffered to die with them, we should have in vain sought for composition, of equal excellence, from any set of governors from that day to the present hour, but by conveying to posterity the impress of their piety in stated forms of prayer, they have in them transmitted a measure of their own spirit, which like Elijah's mantle, has descended on multitudes, who have succeeded them. It is not possible to form a correct estimate of the ben- efit which we at this day derive from having such a stan- dard of piety in our hands; but we do not speak too strongly if we say, thnt the most enlightened among us, of whatever denomination they may be, owe much to ITxi TJFtE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. existence of the liturgy; which has been as it were, the piilar and ground of the truth in this land, and has served as fuel to perpetuate the flame, which the Lord himself kindled, at the time of the reformation upon our, altars."* It IS objected against the prayers of the Church, that, admitting them to be good, they are too long; there is too much appearance of form and ceremony in the fre- quent necessity of rising up and sitting down; and be- sides this, that they do not a\^ken the same animated and devotional feelings that are found under extempora- neous prayers. With regard to the length of the service, there is no just cause of complaint, unless there be superfluity or repetition. But this charge has not been urged. It is true, that to a mind not well disposed to prayer, the prayers of the church, or any other prayers, may become irksome, and such persons might find less ennui and fa- tigue in listening to a novel prayer, and to a sermon» It is much more easy to do this than to bring the mind to that solemnity and engagedness, which are necessary tor the proper discharge of the duties of praise and prayer. That restless principle of curiosity, ever on the wmg to hear or see something new, and the imagina- tion and passions, those powerful masters of the human mind, too generally lead men to seek for gratification, amusement, and novelty, rather than profit. — From all these causes there is reason to fear that Christians will lay an undue stress upon public preaching, and under- value or neglect the public prayers. Public preaching is indeed generally the instrument which God applies to the awakening and conversion of sinners, and of settling his people in their most holy-faith. But prayer and praise are the great objects at which preaching aims. When men are brought to that contri- tion of heart, that humility and reverence, that lively sense of the divine goodness, that earnest desire for the tavour of God, in which consist the dispositions essen- * Simeon on the liturgy. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL irs tial to prayer, one of the great objects of preaching is answered. Instead of finding fault with the length of the prayers, it would be well to inquire if the fault does not he in our own hearts. For every one acknowledges, that the prayers are good, and when we would omit any part, we are'at a loss on account of the excellence of the whole, and the peculiar relation of the several parts, to know which to select for that purpose. And besides it will be found in general, that the time occupied in prayer and praise under these forms, is not greater than that devoted to these objects in other places of public worship. * The apparent excess of ceremony, in rising up and sitting down so frequently in the course ol divine ser- vice, which constitutes another objection, furnishes in our estimation an argument in favour of the practice. By giving an opportunity of variety in the posture, the fatigue which attends upon one tixed attitude is consid- erably lessened. Besides there is so close an union be- tween our souls and bodies, that when one is seriously affected, the other cannot remain unconcerned. When our mind is filled with exalted ideas of God's wonderful perfections, his majesty, his power, his goodness and loving kindness towards us, it is natural that we should display these sentiments by visible demonstrations. It is indeed essential to public worship, as an homage to the Almighty, that we make tne dispositions of our souls known by public tokens of reverence p.nd honour, that, together with our fellow Christians, we may with oge mind and one voice, as a congregation, glorify God, and excite one another to praise and adore him. Thus the different parts which the people are ca!lec\ upon to bear in the service, and the difterent postures recommended will be found to be admirably adapted to the sentiments and feelings which they are designed to inspire. When we confess our sins, we kneel belbre the Lord our maker;* when we praise him, as in the an- * Psalm xcv. 6. 15* 5^4 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. themsjthe psalms and hymns, we rise up; and when we listen to his word, we sit down. With wise adaptation to oiir nature, the service is rendered thus various, "that the mind of desultory man, studious of change, may be indulged." This diversity of posture, and the responses of the people give such variety to the service, and are so adapted to the infirmities of human nature, and to the purposes they were intended to promote, that if it M'ere impartially considered, it seems to us that the propriety , the beauty, and utility of the practice would manifestly appear. ^It is perhaps more difficult to rectify the notions *which are frequently entertained of spiritual edification. Many, if their imaginations are pleased, and their spirits elevated, are apt to think, that they have been greatly edified: and this error is at the root of that pre- ference which they give to extempore prayer, and the indifference which they manifest towards the prayers of the church. But real edification consists in humility of mind, and in being led to a more holy and consistent walk with God: and one atom of such a spirit is more valuable than all the animal fervour that ever was ex- cited. High excitements in the moral system, like high stimulants in the bodily, are followed by a correspondent exhaustion, and when repeated, tend to wear out the ex- citability and energy of life. In accommodation to this qualitv of our nature, our church never wishes to raise the pulse too high by raptures and animal impulses. She feeds us with solid and wholesome food, endeavour- ing to adapt a portion to each in due season, not with ii\e view of exhilirating the spirits beyond their due standard, but of keeping up that equable flow of health and spirits, which is always most permanent, when con- f')rmable to the reason and nature of things. It is with solid truths, and not with Jluent words, that we are to be impressed; and if we desire from our hearts the things which we pray for in our public forms, we need neves- regret, that our fancy was not gratified, or our animal spirits raised by the delusive charms of novelty. Only let a person be in a devout frame, and he will be far THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 175 more likely to have his soul elevated to Heaven by the liturgy of the Church, than he would by the generality of prayers, which he would hear in other places of wor- ship; and if any one complain that he cannot enter into the spirit of them, let him only examine his frame of mind when engaged in extemporaneous prayers and he will find that his formality is not confined to the service of the church, but is the sad fruit and consequence of his own weakness and corruption. Every thing in this composition is truly grand, and excellently adapted to its subject. We are there tauglit, that all in man is misery, and that all in God is mercy. Examine but the suppliant language of the litany, and say if ever more earnest, humble petitions were put into the mouths of miserable sinners: petitions which, if offered up with the same spirit with which they were composed, would, as a certain writer strongly expresses it, almost force open the gates of Heaven. With what universal charity, and tenderness of affection, are we taught to present all our fellow creatures to the Father of the Universe; that he would "be graciously pleased to succour, help and comfort all who are in danger, ne- cessity and tribulation;*' "that he would defend and provide for the fatherless children and widows, and all who are desolate and oppressed;" in a word, **that he would have mercy upon all men." The practice of reading the scriptures in public to the people, must always be attended with salutary conse- quences. By the course prescribed in the calendar, nearly the whole of the Bible, and allthat is important, is read through in the year. So that they who are not able to read themselves, may, by a regular attendance at Church, get a competent knowledge of the contents of the Bible. From our very birth to the grave, the Church omits nothing that can tend to the edification of her members. At our first introduction into her bosom, with what so- lemnity are we dedicated to God in our baptismal sec- vice. ^ What pledges does she require of our sponsors, that we shall be brought up in the true faith, and in the 176 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. Fear of God? No sooner are we capable of receiving instruction, than she provides for us, and expressly requires that we be well instructed in a catechism, so short that it burthens the memory of none, and so com- prehensive that it contains all that is necessary for our information at that early period of life. When once we are taught by that to know the nature and extent of our baptismal vows, the Church calls upon us to renew, in our own persons, the vows that were formerly made for us in our name; and in a service especially prepared for that purpose, leads us to consecrate ourselves to God, Not content with having thus initiated, instructed and confirmed her members in the relig;ion of Christ, she embraces every opportunity of instilling into their minds the knowledge and love of his ways. Are mercies and deliverances vouchsafed to any, especially that great mercy of preservation in the pangs and perils of child- birth? the Church appoints a public acknowledgment to be made to Almighty God in the presence of the con- gregation, and provides a suitable service to that end. In like manner, for every public mercy, or in any time of public calamity, she calls upon us to acknowledge him who can kill and make alive. In time of sickness there is also very particular provision made for our in- struction and consolation: viid even after death, when she can no more benefit the r :ceased, she labours to pro- mote the benefit of her survi- in^ members by a service the most solemn and impressive that ever was formed. Thus attentive is she, to supply in every thing, as far as human endeavours can a\ail, our spiritual wants: Decent in her forms, but not » persmious; strong in her expressions, but not erroneous; in short, in all things spiritual and pure; full and suitable; moderate and candid. Could we enter heartily into this service, and make, with propriety, the responses requirfid, it would soon become animating and delightfal. But here is the evil under which we labour. Many wno profess to admire this form of worship either do not joiu in the responses at all, or less do it in so cold and lukewarm a manner, THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 177 as not only to betray the indifference of the v/orshipper, but to impart a seeming character of lukewarmness to the service itself. In this way it has fallen into disre- pute. As a remedy against this evil, and to excite you to a more cordial performance of the service, **in the various parts assigned to you, directions for a devout and decent attendance upon public worship," are sub- joined to this work. May we not hope that the members of the Church will bear their part in her worship, that they will rid themselves of a false shame, and lift up (heir hearts and voices in the congregation? In singing, and in the responses, it is the bounden duty of each one to bear his part. To be sitting down, either during the prayers, or while the church is sending up her chorus of praise, or to be gazing about with indifference, is as much as to say, that the person has no interest in, or desire for, the blessings which are conveyed through the channel of public worship. With regard to other de- nominations who attend our worship, and who prefer standing in prayer, to kneeling, and sitting in singing, to standing, and who do not feel it a duty to conform to our mode, these remarks of course do not apply. But it certainly is expected of our own members, that they show some respect for their own forms; that they should conform to the venerable usages of their forefathers, and that they should not countenance by their example the neglect of others. "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Let us do better in future. Like David, let us say, "I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the as- sembly of the upright, and in the congregation." What spectacle can be more august and affecting tlian an as- semblage of people, creatures of the same Almighty Lord, children of the same gracious parent, offering to him in his temple, the fervent homage of adoration and praise? The mind of devotion seems to be exalted into the immediate presence of the God of ages, to join "with angels, and archangels, and all the company of Heaven to laud and magnify his glorious name." Entering into 178 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. the spirit of our inimitable liturgy, the devout worship per exclaims with Jacob, "Surely God is in this place and I knew it not; this is none other but the house ot God, this is the g;ate of Heaven." But the more excellent any thing is, the more liable is it to abuse. And too many, contenting themselves with pronouncing eulogiums on the liturgy, and resting in the excellence of the form, neglect to cultivate the power, of godliness. "They have well said, all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them." *'It is one thing to repeat the words, and ano- ther to feel them. Let us bring ourselves then to this test^ and never imagine that we are in a Christian state, till we can appeal to God, that the prayers we utter are the very language of our hearts. Let us inquire whether from our inmost souls we lament the numberless trans- gressions of our lives, and the unsearchable depravity of our hearts? When we cry to God for mercy as mise- rable offenders, do we abhor ourselves for our guilt, and tremble for our danger? Do we indeed feel that we deserve the wrath of God? Is the consciousness of this truth wrought into us and become the habit of our minds, so that we can find no peace but in crying unto God, and pleading with him the merits of his dear Son? Is Christ in this view, precious to our souls? Is he our •wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption? Having no good thing within us, do we make him our all in all? Are we renewed in the spirit of our minds? Do we hate sin, not merely as it is destructive, but as it is defiling to the soul? Do we account the service of God to be perfect freedom, and do we, in truth and in our hearts, praise God, when we call upon "'all that is within us to praise his holy name?" If this be not the state of our souls, we are in an awful condition indeed; our very best services have been nothing but a solemn mockeryj in our prayers we have insulted rather than, worshiped, the majesty of Heaven; we have come before our God with a lie in our right hand; that it might please God to discover to us the heinousness of our guilt: and that we might all be **pricked to the heart," ere it THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL, 1T9 be too late! Let us the very next time we attempt to use these prayers, take notice of the frame of our minds: let us mark the awful incongruity between our public pro- fessions and our actual experience, and let a sense of our hypocrisy lead us to repentance. — Thus shall the returning seasons of worship be attended with a double advantage to our souls: in praying for what we ought to seek, we shall be stirred up to seek it in good earnest: and through the tender mercy of our God we shall attain the experience of those things which too many of us, it is to be feared, have hitherto hypocritically asked, and ig- norantly condemned."* ,^n Exhortation to the members of the Church to adorn their profession by a proper temper and conduct. It is by the conduct of men, and not by their profes- sion, that their sincerity and integrity can be tested. "Learn of me," said our Saviour, **for I am meek and lowly of heart." Of all the graces, which he, who was perfection itself, possessed, meekness and lowliness are those, for which he proposes himself more peculiarly as the exemplar and pattern of his followers. Irascible tempers, peevish and morose dispositions, discontented minds and slanderous tongues, deform the character of any one; but when set in the same case with the fair pearl of religious profession, they exhibit a frightful caricature. The wit and ridicule of infidels would have done but little harm to the Church of God, had not the irrejigion of professing Christians famished them wea- pons already sharpened to their hands. — These are the darts that have made Zion to bleed, and languish, and mourn. "What are those wounds in thine hands? Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends, "t * Simeon on the liturg-y. fEzek. xiii. 6, 180 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. They who know nothing of the truth and excellence of religion by their own experience, very naturally judge of it by its influence upon others; and when they see those who profess it living as other men do, and none the better or happier for it they- do not fail to improve so palpable an advantage against us, and conclude that we do not believe our doctrines, and, therefore do not deserve belief; and that because we do not practise our precepts, therefore they cannot be practised. And thus they become confirmed in infidelity and hardened in crime. There can be no propriety, it is true, in such conclusions as these. For, whatever abuses have been made of the Christian religion, the candid must admit, that its direct tendency is to promote the practice of every virtue, to alleviate every sorrow, and to improve in every respect the moral conduct of mankind. The obligations to believe and practise it, cannot be lessened by the malconduct of hypocrites. They are founded up- on the unchangeable nature of things, upon that relation in which man stands to his Creator, and which binds him to render the homage of his love and obedience. But as the irregularities of professors do become the pretexts for its neglect, and do have a natural tendency to loosen the bonds of duty upon others, they thereby render themselves accessary to their sins, and partakers of their guilt. Tliis is an awful thought. Our account will be heavy enough of itself, without being swelled by the transgressions of others. And what makes the re- flection still more dreadful is, that this guilt steals upon us when we are asleep, and is loading our account, long after we are laid in the grave. Every person has his influence in his respective orbit, and is liable for the quality of that influence, and the power of attraction which he imparts. And as the guilt of all who lend a baneful influence to society, is great in all cases, so is it increased to those wjjo ^11 a larger sphere. They re- semble that great star, which fell, and drew after it two thirds of the host of heaven. If we hope then to avoid this guilt; if we hope to ob- tain the end of our profession, even the salvation of our THE EPISCOPAL 3tANtJAL. 181 souls; if we desire the favour and peace of God on earth and in heaven; if we hope to escape the damnation of hell, let us labour to walk worthy of our vocation, adorning our profession by an upright walk and a chaste conversation. Let our li2;ht so shine before men that they seeing our good works may glorify our Father which is in heaven. If all who named the name cf Christ would depart from iniquity, and become indeed a peculiar people, zealous of good works, our Ziim would soon present a glorious aspect. The mouths of gainsayers would be stopped; vice and immorality would hide their faces ashamed, and infidelity fall like Dagon before the ark. Many would come and cast in their lots with us, saying *'we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." God would delight ro dwell with us; we should be his people and he would be our God. "Pray" then "for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace Ue within thy walls and pros- perity within thy palaces For my brethren and com- panions' sakes, I will now say, peace be within thee. Because of tlie house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do thee good."* Concerning family religion.'^ The very learned and pious Bishop Pearson took occa- sion very often, and publici^ly, to bless God, that he was born and bred in a ta^.ily in which God was worshipped daily. And certainly, it is a duty which entails very many blessings on prosperity; for which reason, a Pastor should labour wita all his might to introduce it into every family under his charge; at least he should give neither himself nor his people any rest, till he has done all that *Psalm cxxii. '^ — 9. jTaken principuliy from Bishop Wilson. 1^ 182 T«E EPISCOPAL 81ANVAL* lies in his power to effect so good a work: which if he does not effect, this very intimation will rise up in judgment against hira. And in truth this duty is so reasonable and advanta- geous, that a man who will but set about it in good earnest will find people less backward than he would imagine. To acknowledge God to be the giver of all good gifts; to put a man's self, his wife, his children, his servants, and all that belongs to him under God's protection; to ask from him as from a father, whatever we want, and to thank him for the favours we have received; these are duties so obvious that the reason of mankind concurs with them as soon as they are proposed. To begin and end every day with God, will be the likeliest way to make servants faithful, children dutiful, wives obedient, and husbands sober, loving and careful; every one acting as in the sight of God. This will be a check upo'. every one of the family, and will be a means of p: eventing much wickedness, at least people with sin and remorse, (which is far better than with a seared conscience) when every one knows he must go upon his knees before he sleeps. This is the way to entail piety upon the generations to come. Children who have from their infancy been ac- customed to family prayer, coming to have families of their own, cannot be easy till they fall into the same pious habit. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it; nor perhaps his children after him for n»any gererations. But if there are persons upon ^\hom these motives make no impression, let them know the evil conse- quences of ne hen a curse goes alon^ with a portion, it i& often the ruin of the whole family. These were the re- markable uords ol Judge llale to his children; "I leave you but iittle, but it will wear like iron." Very necessary also is the admonition that parents should not squander away the inheritance which wa» left then; by their foretalhers, and lelt them in trust only for those who should come after them; that they should not deprive their children of their right, exposing them thereby to hardships, lo temptations, and to the necessity ot cursing their memory. These considera- tions should make the hearts of such to ache, and force * Proverbs xvi. 8. THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. 185 them to put an end to that idleness and intemperance, which are the occasions of so much sin and mischief. In all these duties it is needful to obtain God's grace and blessing: and to do this we must ask for them in prayer. Heads of families have an awful account to give in the day of judgment. They ought therefore to be vigilant and active. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand." Never en- ter upon the business of the day without assembling your family in prayer, and imploring his blessing. Never suffer them to go to bed without offering up with Ihem your thanksgivings and prayers: for many have gone to their bed, and found it the bed of death. Read always some portion of Scripture, and when practicable, ex- plain it to them. When you are providentially pre- vented from going to public worship on Sundays, it will be highly useful to go through some of the morning service, and to read them a plain practical ser- mon.* On every Sunday evening, there being usually no service in our churches, a good opportunity offers itself for these exercises. Think not the time and la- bour lost which you devote to these duties. The time how short, compared with that which we give to the world; the labour how little, compared to the object of training immortal souls for Heaven! O let us be dili- gent and unwearied in so great and good a cause. **Let others do as they will, but let us determine, that we and our house will serve the Lord." Then shall God dwell in our families. We shall re>ide in safety under the shadow of his wings: We shall lie down on our beds in peace, and not fear to meet our parting hour. This hour is at hand. Our life is ebbing apace, and the shadows of that long night are spreading around us. Al- most every year's review of our domestic circle tells us that this is not our home, and reminds us that death shall come to call us hence. But blessed be God, though we live but a short space, and that thick set with heavy * Family Sermons selected from the Christian Observer, or some such plain discourses. 16* i86 THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. troubles and sore afflictions; though the day of human life is doomed to set in a night of dreary darkness; though year after year we see bv sudden blast, or slow decline, our social comforts drop away; though we must resign our own bodies to the tomb, which is open to re- ceive all mankind; yet in the midst of judgment God re- members mercy. Even in this dark scene there arises light to the upright. God enlarges our view beyond these territories of wild disorder, and sSiews us our friends al- ready landed on the farther shore. We see the man- sions he has prepared, the psalms of victory, the crown of glory; we hear the voice of the Aichangel and the trump of God; we see the deai!,a mighty army, spring- ing up from their beds of dust and corruption; we see Jesus on the throne, and the faithful at his right hand; w^e seem already to be of the hap|-v number, and to hear theblessed sentence, "Come ye blessed of my Father.^' Let us ever then *'be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord." Conclusion, "Walk abeut Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider h(?r palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation follow- ing.''* It will not be deemed uncharitable to say, that the Episcopal Church, in her devotions and institutions, does not shrink from a comparison with any church on earth. To us it appears, that there is none which con- tains a more exact transcript of the word of God; more scriptural lessons than her homilies, a more scriptural creed than her articles, and more scriptural supplication, than her Book of Common Prayer. But as the artist tlirew a veil over the face of Agamemnon, from the im- posbibility of expressing by his art such a commixture *Psalm xlviii. 12, 13. THE EPISCOPAL MAKUAL:. 1S7 of passions; so we would not presume, in the short space that remains, to enter fully upon a topic, to which, even if we were competent, it would require volumes to do justice.* It is not pretended, that the liturgy is free from the imperfection of all human things. We are its admirers, but not its idolaters; and therefore sensible of its blem- ishes. There are perliaps a few parts which would ad- m'lt of the knife; but then in whose hands could it be safely trusted? The creed of a whole people is an awful deposit; and it is much to be feared that if ever cast into a modern crucible, it would lose much of its pure gold in the process. V*'e are content then to take it as it is; and remembering our own infirmities, and those of our species, we are rather disposed to wonder it is so good, than to complain it is no better. Every day's experi- ence shews us, that it is competent under the divine blessing, to produce, to sustain, and, what is perhaps more, to revivCy a spiritual religion. Tlie church in England and America, presents at the present moment, a very unusual phenomenon; "a green old age;" a clergy in many instances, combining the youthful ardour of a sect, with the calm wisdom of a long and temperate course. By a resuscitation of her decayed powers, she has, as it were, broken the bars of the tomb; revived first in one limb, and then in another; and promises, under God, again to advance a favourite child of the reformation, and to bear her share in the dispensation of religion to a perishing world. The liturgy in its present form, derives an advantage ill the powerful influence of association, which it would lose by any material alteration. The period of its birth was the age of the reformation. And not only does the era of its birth blazon it to the eyes of Protestants; its authors have a no less connnaiiding influence upon our * Whoever wishes to see this subject treated more fully, wUl be gratified in perusing- Simeon on the burgy, and also a Sermon by Bishop Dehon, of South Caroluia. Tlie author has borrowed freely, as will be seen, from the former. 18S THE EPISCOPAL MANUAL. feelings; it is written in the blood, and signed by the names of Cranmer, and Ridley, and Hooper and Lati- mer; of those martyrs, <*vvhose blood is the seed of our church." If any then should be disposed to leave her commu- nion and seek richer pastures in other folds, can it be wondered if we venture to think they will be disappoint- ed? Let any man live up to the spirit and practice which she inspires and inculcates, and Heaven will re- quire no more. Say no longer then that her forms are cold, her ceremonies unmeaning, and her worship un- profitable. Look within thee, and behold there the true cause of the evil. It is the want of health, and not the quality of the food, which creates the disgust under which many labour, and who, instead of taking the whole- some though sometimes unpleasant, medicines, have re- course to potions which give, though a more agreeable, yet a deleterious stimulus! Men without religion are in the case of sick men, and the regimen necessary to restore them is not pleasant to the feelings. For this cause, a sober and temperate course of religious exer- cises may be tedious and irksome at first; but when bj daily and constant practice, we have accustomed our- selves to them, and have got the better of our corrupt nature, we come to delight in them, and find them well suited to preserve a healthful and happy state of the sys- tem. On the other hand, we may adopt an empirical course, which is at once agreeable to our feelings, and enlivening to our sj.irits, but this, by keeping up an un- due excitement m che system, induces a morbid and sickly condition, and the last state of that man is worse than the first. It is of great importance to avoid extremes in our re- ligious career. We may be too fond of having our feel- ings roused, and our ears tickled by a good performer; but there is at least ecjual danger of our contenting our- selves with a cold, unmeaning, and unfeeling kind of religion, which hardly deserves the name. Whatever abuses may have beeo made of truth, it still remains a irm and glorious truth, that there is a peace which Jesus THfi ETISOOPAL MANtTAL. 18^ gives to his people, a peace which the understanding cannot conceive, but which the heart can feel with the most delightful experience. This is a jov which seeks no plnucJits, and makes no parade. It blazes not out like the sudden eruptions of the volcano; but burns, like the vestal fire, clear und constant, with a warmth that invigorates with, and to leave us to the vanity and folly of our own minds. We humbly beseech thee, O most merciful Father, to forgive us all our past offences. Do thou mercifully hear our prajers, and let our cry come unto thee. Let our whole behaviour on this day be such, that there may be nothing thought, said, or done by us, but what msij best serve to promote the end for which thou hast instituted it; and, good God, make every one of us dili- gent, not only to savp our own souls, but, as much as in us lies, the souls of others too. Bless thy universal church: Be thou graciously present in all Christian assemblies throughout the world, and hear the prayers they shall this day put up, and make thy word effectual to the pulling down the kingdom of Satan, and to the edifying the Church of Christ in sound faith and real gorllines^. M.iy thy word come with power into every conscience, and have a due and saving effect upon the minds of all that hear it. Bestow a plentiful portion of thy good Spirit upon all that by sickness, imprisonment, or any other lawful im- pediment, are kept from partaking of the means of grace 192 THE EPISCOVAL SIANVAL. that we enjoy; and be pleased mercifully to relieve and succour them in all their straits and difficulties. Those that are troubled in mind, do thou direct to proper means to obtain comfort and satisfaction. Give all that have no sense of thy Majesty, and live as it were without God in the world, awakening convictions ot the dangers they are in, and the miseries they are exposed to, that they may escape them. Pardon our sins and imperfections, and relieve all our wants, for the sake of Jesus Christ; in whose words we farther pray; Our Father^ ^c. A Concluding Prayer. The Grace of our Loid Jesus Christ; and the Love •f God; and the Communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all. Smen. An Evening Prayer for a Family on the Lord's Day. Eternally blessed, and infinitely glorious Lord God, who keepest mercy for thousands, and forgivest the iniquities of all truly ptnitent and returning sinners; We present ourselves this evening before thee, acknow- ledging our manifold sins, whereby we have exposed ourselves to thy just lUspleasure. We have been unndiidful both of our duty and interest; have broken thy hul\ laws, dishonored our holy religion, and miserably neglect<-d the great salvatmn thy blessed Son purchased and pn/rured for mankind. We have c«)nie Mithi»ut due preparation to thy solemn worship, and been heeUiess and inattentive in hearing thy word. O how cold and flat have we been in t)>y praises! how eanhiy, dull, and distracted, in our prayers! THE EPISBOPAL MANUAL. 19S Mow seldvom have we been seriously exercised in holy meditation! How seldom have we recollected thy multi- plied mercies to us, so as to become sensible of the many oblig;ation^ we are under to thee for them; or so thought on our ways, as to turn our feet to thy testimonies! But, O'Lard, we humbly pray thee, for Jesus Christ's sake, to forgive us all our past offences. Direct and guide us in the ways of truth and holiness: And that we may alwavs ff^ar thee our God, help us to set thee always before ua; and so to observe and consider thy all-seeing eye, that we may dread to offend thee. Reform whatever thou seest amiss in the temper and disposition of our minds: and be thou graciously pleased to coisd ict us s;ife thr.)Uj;h all the te oplatious and troub?cS of this world. To this end, enable us strictly to follow the example of Jesus Christ, and manfully to fight under his banner, against the world, the flesh, and the devil, vigorously opposing, and valiantly conquering all the enemies of our ?uuls. Help us, in conformity to his death, to die dady unto sin, and in conformity to his resurrection, to rise to a life of holiness and otiedience, that so we may receive the prize of a glorious and incor- ruptible inho.-i'uince. O Lord, we render unto thee our most humble and thankful acknowledgments, for thy many and undeserved mercie . It was thy hand that formed us. It was Thou that g'tvf^st us life, and breath, and being. Oar food and raiment, our health and strcugta, our ease and liberty, the use of our liinos, and the exercise of our reason and understanding, are all derived from thee. We therefore render unto thee, O thou bountiful giver of all good, our praises and thankso;ivin;j;s, for thy tetnporal mercies to us, whicii we are uiterij uawortny oL But above all, O Lord, we praise thee for thy spiritual mercies; for blessing us in heavenly things "^in Christ Jesus, which tend to the renewing us after thy likeness in this life, and to the sanctifying and preparing us for that which is to come. For ever blessed be thy Name, that our compassionate Itedeenier took upon bioi oar human iesh. We oraf^ 394 THE BPISCOFAb VAVUAlX thee for His holy doctrine, and eiemplarv life; that he <;ave himsplf to death, to purchase our redemption; that he completed that great work by his glorious resurrection. We bless thee that he hath begotten us again to the lively ong the Gentiles, from the rising of the sun, unto Ih^ v;t.liig d(.wii of ihe same. Bless thy universal churl h. Put an end to all schism and division, strife and contention; purify and cleanse it froui profanene-^s and ungodliness, from superstition, l^eresv, iivil false doctrine; arn! u.ake it. the joy of the whole earth. Be gracious to this sinful nation to which we belong,* forgive our many and great si!i^; ami jarticularly, we pray thee, paidon our abuse of time set apart for thy more immediate worship: our untha».luch as becometh not only the holiness and worship of his house, but his more immediate presence. In Prayer, you will fix your thoughts wholly upon God, who alone heareth Prayer; you will disengage your mind from all worldly concerns; you will keep your eyes from wandering, and your lips from disturb- ing others in their devotions. In T/ianks8^ivmf(, imprint upon your heart a just and lively sense of God's goodness and loving kindness to yourself and to all men; since you will then Jeel how joyful and pleasant a thing it is to be thankful. Psalm cxlvii. 1. In hearins^ of God^s Word^ (whether it be read or preached) be not only attentive to it, but inwardly digest it, by applyinji to your own conscience its ^e?iera/ admo- nitions, reproofs, or exhortations; and by treasuring up in your memory its prece jts and examples, its promises and threatenings, for the constant and right ordering of your conversation. In Singing Psalms, let your understanding and spirit direct and govern the melody of your voice that so your heart may be no less filled with grace, than your tongue with joy. And, Lastly. In Receiving the Sacrament of the Lord^s Sup' per, remember always the exceeding great love of our master and only Saviour in dying for us, and the innu- merable benefits which by his precious bloodsheddinghe hath obtained for us. — For you will then at all times draw near to receive it with faith, with a penitent and obedient heart, in love and charity with all mankind, and with a determined resolution to forsake those sins which brou-ht him even to the death upon the cross; which will likewise engage you to serve him in true holi- ness and righteousness all the days of your life. But beside these general directions for the Public Worship of God, there are others, which particularly concern a devout and proper use of the Book ot Common Prayer; and which will lequire your immediate attention to the nature and order of every part in that service. 209 The' Sentences* Now the first thing; done by the Minister, is to read some sentences out of the Holy Scriptures. Hearken diligently to these; and consider them as spoken by the inspiration or command of God himself at first, and now repeated by his Minister, to put you in mind of something which he would have you believe or do. For they are such sentences as not only bring our sins against him to our remembrance, but also his promises of par- don and forgiveness if we do not repent; so that we may worship him with that reverence and godly fear, which becomes those who are sensible of their own sin- fulness and unworthiness to approach his divine Majesty; and likewise with that faith and humble confidence which becomes those who believe that upon our repent- ance he will pardon and accept us, according to his promises. The Exhortation, Then follows a solemn exhortation. Now while this is reading (which is the Minister's part alone, and not to be repeated after him bj the congregation,) take particular notice of every word and expression in it, as contrived on purpose to prepare you for the v/orship of God by possessing 3'our minds with a due sense of his special presence, and of the great end of your coming before him at this time; which will no doubt compose your thoughts for that part of the service which follows next; I mean, an humble confession of your sins. The Confession. But here, while you are Confessing to God with your mouth, and repeating sentence by sentence after the minister, be sure to do the same in your heart; calling to mind as many as you can of those particular sins which you have been guilty of, either by doing what you oifght not to do, or 'not doing what you ought; so as to be heartily sorry for them, and steadfastly to resolve against them for the time to come; imploring his mercy in the'pardon of them, and his grace, that from hence- forward you may entirely forsake them, and bring forth the fruits of an unfeigned repentance. The Absolution. The Confession ended, and you continuing upon your knees, the minister stands up, and in the name of God declares and pronounces pardon and forgiveness to all that truly repent and un feigned ly believe his holy Gos- pel. But while the absolution is thus pronouncing, you are to hearken to it with perfect silence, not reading av repeating it along with the minister, as many ignorant or unthinking people do; for it is the minister's duty alone to make this declaration by authority from God: and, in his Name, ps his ambassador. However, every particular person there present ought humbly and thank- fully to apply it to himself, so far as to be fully per- suaded in his own mind, that if his conscience tells him, that after an unfeigned and unshaken belief in Christ, he doth really and heartily repent, he will be discharged and absolved from all the sins he had before committed, as certainly as if God himself had declared it with his own mouth, since his minister has done it in his name, and by bis power. The Lord^s Prayer. AY hat follows is the Lord's Prayer, in which the whole congregation joins: for looking upon ourselves as thus absolved from our sins, through a faith that worketh true repentance; we, as reconciled unto God through his Son, may have such boldness and access to the throne of Divine Grace, as by the spirit of adoption to cry out, I'lbba, Father, fRom. viii. 16.) in the very form he tanght us to pitvy, saying, Our Father who art in Heaven, Sfc. ■Preparation for praising God. — The Psalms and Hymns* This done, we are to lift up our hearts to God in this petition of his Minister for his grace, O Lord, open thou our lips; to which the answer is, what it ought to be, from the people, £nd our mouth shall show forth thy praise. Then immediately standing up, we put our- selves into a posture of giving praise to the One living and true God; the King of kings, and Lord of lords. For which purpose the Minister first says. Glory be to the Father, iS'C. the people, to show their consent, an- swer, .-^5 it was in the beginning, ;a- tive of being the Vicegprent of God, with power to par- don sins, to punish transgressors as well by temporal as by spiritual pains, to depose princes, and to absolve their subjects from their oaths of allegiance to heretical princes. The canon law of the Roman Church says, that "if the Pope were so M'icked as to carry with him innumerable people by troops to hell, to be ''witli him- self tormented for ever, yet no mortal man must presume here to reprove his fault", because he is judge of all, and himself to be judged ot none." The Divines of Jhat Church speak of the Pope as having **an incomprehen- sible power, because great is the Lord, and great is his power, and of his greatness there is no end." Again he is called *'King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." It is truly surprising, upon what slight pretexts these lofty claims are founded. The whole authority that is urged tor them from scripture is, the declaration of our Lord to Peter, Mark xvi. 18. "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock 1 build my church." If common sense was not sufficient to teach us, that these words give no authority for the supremacy of Peter and his successors, we should find ample evidence of the fact in the opin- ions of the fathers and tire acts of councils. It is cer- tain that our Lord constantly discouraged the idea of any pre-eminence among the Apostles, and that St. Peter never claimed any. At the council of Jerusalem, APPENDIX. St. James, and not St. Peter, pronounced the sentence of the assembly. St. Paul on a certain occasion pub- iickly reproved Peter before ail, because he was to blame. Galat. ii. 12. This coulrl not have been permit- ted if Peter had been appointed Pope in the sense now contended for by Roman Catholics. Si, Ambrose, St. Austin, and Hieronimus commentins: on the text, draw the same inference. The taiherss sometimes speak of a primacy of worth or merit, on account of the aj;e, or zeal, or elevation by which Peter was distinguished; and again they say with Chrysostom, that '*St. Paul sheweth that each Apostle oid enjf»y equal dignity." Accordingly we find that in the dift'erent councils Bish- ops from different sees presided Hosuis, the Bishop of Corduba, in the council of Sardeia, Cvri!, Bisliop of Alexandria, in the third general council (^f Ephesus, and Constantine the Emperor iti the council of Nice — the Bishop of Rome, at that time, neither claiming, nor re- ceiving, any precedence whatevtr. At length, how- ever, because of its njore powerful principality, Rome came to be looked up to with some deference, and her Bishop began to ei.joy a proportionate share of her dignity. Cyprian gives this reason for its piecedence; "Because Rome for its magnitude ou2;ht to precede Car- thage." Ihis is the sole ground upon which the council of Chalcedon affirmed the pre-eminence of Rome; "To the throne of ancient Rome, because that was the Royal city, the fathers reasonably conterred the pnvileges." Upon this ground the Church of Constantinople at one time claimed the supremucy, and wus called the head ot the Churches. Tiie iViost Holy Church of thac most religious city, the mother of our devotion, and of all orthodox Chribtians, and the most holy see of that impe- rial city." In.p. Leo. cou. lib. 1. Tit 2. §16. Theo- dout says, that "Antioch was the most ancient and truly Apostolical Church." 'Iheod. 5. 9. These facts shew that the papal office was not known in the primitive Church. It so, the Church of Rome as a true Church falls to the ground; for it is on this hypo- thesis that the infill libility of that Church rests, and on APPENDIX. 221 this infallibility the whole chain of her rites, ceremonies, and doctrines depends. Many of these she does not pretend to derive from scripture, but from tradition and the authority of the Church which are paramount to them. The Church has decreed, and the Church is infallible, therefore the decree is ri2;ht and true. This is the great sword that cuts every Onrdian knot, and removes every difficulty as by a magic wand. Upon this principle, her members are not permitte,D, of the Eastern Diocese, composed of the States of Maine, Massachusetts, lihode Island, New Hampshire, and Ver- mont, was consf'crate*! at tne sanie time and place. 13. 'ihe /-light Rev. Theodore Dehon, D. D. of South Carolina, was consecrated in Christ Church, in the city of Philadelphia, t»n Thursday, October lo, 1812, by the Right Rev. Bishop IF/iife, of Pennsylvania. The Right Rev. Bishop Jarvts, of Connecticut, and the Right Rev. Bishop Hobart, of New York, being present and assist- ing. — Died August 6, 1 8 1'. 14. * The Right Kev. Richard Charming Moore, D.D. of Virginia, was consecrated in St. James' Church, in the city of Philadelphia, on VVednesday, May 18, 18 14, by the Right Rev. Bishop tVhite^ of Pennsylvania, pre- siding Bishop. The Right Rev. Bishop Hobm% of New York, the Right Rev. iiishop Griswold, of the Eastern Diocese, and the Right Rev. Bishop Dehon, of South Carolina, being present aa(i assisting. 15. ihe Right Rev. James Kemp, D. D. of Maryland, was consecrated in Christ Church, m the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, on Thursday, September 1, 1814, by the Right Rev. Bishop PVhite^ of Pennsylvania. The Right Rev. Biiihop Hobart^ of New York, and the Right Rev. Bishop Moore, of Virginia, being present and assisting. — Died October 26, 1627'. 16. * The Right Rev. John Croes, D. D. of New Jer- sey, was consecrated in St. Peter's Church, in the city of Philadeiptiia, on Sunday, November 19, 1815, by the £26 APPEKDIX. Right Tiev. Bishop JVhite^ of Pennsylvania. The Ri}>ht Rev. Bishop Hohart^ of New York," and the Ri^ht Rev. Bishop Kemp, of Maryland, being; present and assisting. 17. * The Right Rev. iVa^/i«me/ .Bozf;en, D.D. of South Carolina, was consecrated in Christ Church, in the city of Philadelphia, on Thursday, October 8, 1818, by the Right Rev. Bishop White, of Pennsylvania. The Right Rev. Bishop Hobart, of New York, the Right Rev. Bishop Kemp^ of Maryland, and the Right Rev. Bishop Croes, of New Jersey, being present and assisting. 13. * The Right Rev Philander Chase, D. D. of Ohio, was consecrated in St. James Church, in the city of Philadelphia, on Thursday, February 11, 1819, by the Right Rev. Bishop ffhife, of Pennsylvania. The Right Rev. Bishop Hobart, (A'^ew York, the Right Rev. Bishop Kemp, of Maryland, and the Rijiht Rev. Bishop Croes, of New Jersey, being present and assisting. 19. * The Right Rev. Thomas Church Brownell, D. D. L. L. D. of Connecticut, was consecrated in Trinity Church, in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, on "Wednesday, October 27, 1819, by the Right Rev. Bishop White, of Pennsylvania. The Right Rev. hi shop Hobart, of New York, and the Right Rev Bishop Griswold, of the Eastern Diocese, being present and assisting. 20. * The Right Rev. John Stark Ravenscroft, D. D. of North Carolina, was consecrated in St. Paul's Church, in t!ie city of Philadelphia, on Thursday, May 22, 1823, by the Right Rev. Bishop IVhite, of Pennsylvania, pre- siding Bishop. The Right Rev. Bishop Griswold, of the Eastern Diocese, the Right Rev. Bishop Kemp, of Maryland, the Right Rev. Bishop Croes, ot New Jersey, the Right Rev. Bishop Bowen, of South Carolina, and the Right Rev. Bishop Brownell, of Connecticut, being present and assisting. 21. *The Rii^ht Rev. Henry Uslick Onderdonk, D.D. of Pennsylvania, was consecrated in Christ Church,- in the city of Philadelphia, on I hursday, October 25, 1827, by the Right Rev. Bishop White, of Pennsylvania, pre- siding Bishop. The Right Rev. Bishop Hobart, of New York, the Right Rev. Bishop Kemp, of Maryland, the APPENDIX. %^ Right Rev. Bishop Croes^ of New Jersey, and the Right Rev. Bishop Boiven, of South Carolina, being present and assisting. This mark * designates the present members of the House of Bishops. APPENDIX. KO. III. Those who deny the doctrine of the Trinity, profess to do it upon an al'e'igHj zeal for the unity of God; and by the name which they assume, desire evidently to be considered as the only persons who maifif-vii this great truth. But those who hold the doctri. e of the Trinity do, in the strongest sense, concur in the doctrine of the unity of God. The)- maintain, as a fundamental truth which is to regulate and modify their belief in a trinity of persons, that there is one only eternal and infinite God. And, though they pretend not to explain or comprehend the consistency of this plurality of per- sons with this unity of nature, they nevertheless, in the most unequivocal manner, admit and affirm it. But though God is one, yet he has revealed himself under three dift'erent characters and titles. The precise nature of the distinction here implied is not described in scripture; nor, perhaps, is it conceivable by fallen man. The word "person'* has been agreed upon as serv- ing to expresb this distinction. And this term is per- haps, as eligible as any other, whilst it is understood not to Convey any real idea of the nature of this dis- tinction, but merely to affirm that it exists, and is not confined to a distinction of mere titles or attributes. As to the argument drawn against the doctrine of the Trinity from its mysteriousness, it may be replied, that any revelation respecting the divine nature, if in any de- gree minute, might have been anticipated to involve some points far beyond our comprehension. For with what are we familiar, which is beyond the ran^e of our senses? "When we attempt to speak even of tne operations of tQr own mind, we are iayolred in inexplicable difficnl APPENDIX. 2£9 ties. We cannot form the slightest conception of the manner in which spiritual beings exist at all, much less the manner in which they can communicate their ideas and feelings without material organs. As it regards the Divine nature, it is no more probable that we should comprehend it, than that an animal of the very lowest order should comprehend and delineate the faculties of man. Such indeed is the obscurity in which the Divine nature is necessarily involved, that it matters little what terms are employed by us to describe it. Change the terms, yet the obscurity remains. Human language is too indigent to convey, human conceptions, too weak to receive, adequate impressions on such a subject. But it still remains true, that though the doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious and above our reasons, it is not contrary to our reason. And this is a most important distinction. We do not affirm that there are more Gods than one, or that God is one and three in the same sense. We do not say that any principle or nature is one, and at the same time three natures or principles. This would be contrary to reason. But this we say, and we say it on the ground of reason, and without fear of contradicting any known principles of reasoning that there is one Eternal and incomprehensible Being; that he has represented Himself to us in the scriptures un- der three distinct persons of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that each ttiree distinct persons exercise and claim severally all the prerogatives, attributes, and honours of Divinity; and that these, nevertheless, con- stitute but one Divine B3ing, concentering in Himself all this fulne&s of the Godhead bodily. We confess with the Apostle, that great is this mystery of GoJI'ness. Who by searchin^i; can find out God? Such know- ledge is too wonderful for us; it is high, we cannot attain unto it. If this be an objection, it is ^ne which applies to the simplest ideas we can form of God. Can we explain how it is that he subsists from everlast- ing to everlasting, without beginning or end? Can we comprehend the infinitude of space? Can we explain 20 530 APPENDIX. the laws of that union which subsists between soul anS body? We are confounded even by an atom. There wilf be difficulties upon every, hypothesis that can be adopted. And we allege that there are far greater diffi- culties in the scheme of those who reject the divinity of the Son of God, than in any otht •. If he be not God, what, we may aj^k, is He? Clear! v not an ano;el? Scrip- ture ascribes to him none but D vine attributes. Some, to get clear of the difficultv, ?• ?ak of him as an attri- bute of God. But then what beromes of the passages describing: his personality, and even distinguishing him from the Father? To show the absurdity of this idea, it is otily necessary to substitute for the name given him in scripture, the name of attribute. Others, in the hope of escapir>g these difficulties, have reduced the Saviour to the rank of a man. But what difficulties have these not to encounter? What violence of criticism, what forced interpretations, what perversion of doubtful passages and denial of plain ones, have they not been compelled to em- ploy? If, indeed, all difficulty could be escaped by any particular theory, then, (although its very clearness would be suspicious) it mi}>.ht be worthy of attention. But, hitherto, all objections to the orthodox doctrine, if they have shifted or eluded the difficulty, have never removed it. The recesses of the divine nature constitute a depth that we have no eye to measure, and no line to fathom; and he who rashly presumes upon his own powers to do it, sinks from one abyss of error and confusion to an- other.* It is on the ground of scripture alone that we can hope to find firm tooting. Let us reverently apply ourselves to the study ot that and we shall not fail to see in every page of it, that he who redeemed us by his blood, is he who made the worlds, even God overall, blessed for ever. A few references of scripture are here subjoined, in order to shew that the scriptures ascribe to ♦See an excellent sermon of Veron on Matthew 28. 19, from which some of the foregoiiii,^ remarks have been abridged.— Horsley's tracts, Jones on the 1 rinity. Professor Stuart's and Wood's LtUers, and Dr. lyiiller's Letters. APPENDIX. 231 him all the attributes of Deity. Let no man by words of enticing; wisdom rob you of the hope which the di- vinity of the Saviour bestows; for as in him all the ful- ness of the Godhead bquily dwells, and as the Father has given to him the government of his mediatorial king- dom, and required all to honour the Son even as they honour the Father, (John v. 23,) they who reject his divine chara ler, and siumble at that stone of otFence, are in danger of falling to rise no more. "He that be- lieveth not the Sun, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abidetii on him." Unitarians and Socinians are so divided among them- selves, and from each other, and assume, perpetually, such protean shapes, that it is impossible to ijive an ac- curate outline of their belief. They seem to agree in nothing but the determination to disbelieve, and it is easier to state what they do not believe than to make out fairly what they da believe. In the first place they deny the divinity of Jesus Christ: most of them do this with- out any qualification, or reserve; but there are some, who, when pressed upon this point in public, disavow any such denial, and charge Trinitarians with unfairness in making the accusation. But press them again into a defini- tion of what they mean by the divinity of the Saviour, and they explain it as being the divinity of his mission. He is our Saviour in the same sense that General Washington was the saviour of his country, and by a metonymical figure, the divinity ot his mission is transferred to himself. Such has been the reasoning of several among them who are esteemed by their own body as champions of their cause. But who does not see the disingenuousness of such a subterfuge? Their books are full of the most un- equivocal declarations, that Jesus Christ is not a divine personage. Dr. Priestly declares, that the Apostles had no other ideas of Christ, than that "he was a man like themselves." Mr. Belaham, the great oracle of Unita- rians says, "the Unitarian Doctrine is, that Jesus of Nazareth was a man couatituted in all respects like other men, subject to the same infirmities, the same ignorance, prejudices, and frailties;" and that there can be no pro 23% APPENDIX. per foundation for religious addresses to Jesus, nor of gratitude lov favours now received, nor yet of confidence in his future i tterposition in our behalf." Hov^r all this can bf made to consist with the divinity of Christ, the wit and nietonymical adroitness of others must deter- mine. They deny also the personality and agency of the Ho- ly Spirit. **'rne distinct, personal existence of the Ho- ly Spirit, (says Mr. Belsham) is abandoned by every person who has paid much attention to the phraseology of the scriptures." Dr. Ware, on the part of Cambridge university, in his answer tc professor Wood, denies the eternity of future punishment. In short, the principle upon which they explain scripture is the same as th;;t upon which Deists construct their system. — They take the bible just as far as it corresponds with their notions of propriety, and no f^irthei. — The Deists do not object to the same. This principle of exegesis by which they explain the scrip- tures, has led almost all the Unitarians of Germany into open infidelity, and it is working the same effect in this country. In fact, Mr Belsham speaking of the Deistical philanthropists of France, says, **their professed prin- ciples comprehend the essence of the Christian religion." And this congeniality is abundantly manifested in the fact, that in every place where the Unitarian standard is raised, almost every Deist in the vicinity rallies around it, glad to find a system prepared for them in which they can be Christians on their own terms. No argument can be more conclusive against any system pretending to be drawn from the bible, than that it is thus found to harmonize with the views, the feelings, th^ conduct and the hopes of such people as generally are found ready to swell the ranks of Unitarianism. W^here the pure Gospel is preached, it will be the power of God unto salvation to Deists and ungodly men among others; but then they must leave their infidelity and ungodliness and renounce their lusts. Until they do this, they will hate the light that comes to enlighten them. That they still continue in their infidelity and their sins, and yet ap- APPRNDIX. i233 prove the gospel that is preached to them, is proof demonstrative, that it is another gospel than that of a crucified Saviour. And in that case, the Apostle tells us that, **if any man preach any other gospel let him be accursed," **go ye not after them, for many will come (says our Lord,) saying lo, here is Christ, or there, inso- much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Go ye not after them. Bid them not Gob speed, for he that biddeth them God speed, is partaker of their evil deeds. "* * Matthew, xxiv. 23. 2 John 7. 10, 11. Gal 1. 8, 9. TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE, PROVING 1. TJmt Christ is the Creator of all things. John i. 3. 10. Coloss. i. 16. Heb. i. 10. * 1 Cor. viii. 6. 2. That he presei-veth andupholdeth all things. Coloss. i. 17. Heb. i. 3. 3. That he is the governor of all things. Heb. i. 8. Isaiah ix. 6, 7. Daniel vii, 13, 14. Acts x. 36. Philipp. ii. 9, 11. Matthew xxviii. 18. Rev. i. 17, 18— iii. 7. Eph. i. 20. 1. Cor. xv. 25. Psalms 11. xxii. and ex. i. viii. 5. Rev. xix. 2, xvii. 14. 1 Tim. vi. 15. Col. ii. 10. 4. That he giveth and restoreth life. John li. 43. John v. 21. 1 Cor. xv. 45. John x. 17, IB— v. 28. 5. That he forgiveth sins. Matthew rx. 2, 7. Coloss. iii. 13. Acts vii. 59, 60. 6. That he will Judge the world and give unto his people eternal life. John V. 22. Matthew xxv. John v. 27, 28. Rev. iii. 5, 7. That all the attributes of God are ascribed to him. 1. Eternity. Rev. i. 8, 17, 18. Isaiah xliv. 6. Proverbs viii. 22, 23. Micak V. 2. John i. 1, 2. John viii. 58. 2. Omnipotence. Rev. i. 8. Math, xxviii. 18. 3. Omniscience. John xxi. 17. Rev. ii. 23. John ii. 24. Luke vi. 8. A. Omnipresence. Matt, xviii. 20. xxviii. 20. 5. Immutahility. Heb. xiii. 8. i. 10. 6. He is called God. John i. 1. Rom. ix. 5. 1 Tim. iii. 16. M'att. i. 23. Heb. i. 8, 9. Rev. xxi. 5, 7, John xx. 28. 1 John v. 20. Acts xx. 28. APPENDXX. * .^55 7. Mighty God. Isaiah ix. 6. See Dwig-ht, iii. vol. page 6o. 8. Wise God. Jude xxiy. 25. See Jones, p. 73. 9. The L&rd God. Compare Rev. xxi. 6, with v. 16. 10. Divine worship paid to Him, John V. 22, 23. Philipp. ii. 9, 11. Isaiah vi. 1 Thess. iii. 11, 12. 2 Thess. ii. 16, 17. 2 Cor. xii. 8. Acts ix. 14. 1 Cor. i. 1. 2 Tim. ii. 22. Rom. x. 12. Rev. v. 13— vii. 9, Heb. i. 6. When the Jews charged it upon him that he made himself God, he did not coiTect the idea, John v. 17, 18 — x, 30. The Heathens too bear testimony of the early Christians, that they sang- hymns to Christ as God. And accordingly his Divinity was universally believed by the whole primitive Church. FINIS. Date Due . ^tftiN&^^'i^ ,.«,*.«*—- - A. <.^ k.-,>--,u »»»- ..jBpawas^^.- ' ,Mi/m.iet^>ifit^.i^^ r \ \ \ \ \ mX f PRINTED IN U. S. A. EL HOP |RIG0[0ECK[| Pnnceton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1 1012 01016 5639 .1 w 11 ■h;'; si