^^^ 
 
 ^> 
 
 1 
 
 m- 
 
 1- 
 
 M 
 
 r^ 
 
 >rZ.:^ 
 
 M\ 
 
 
 1 
 
 vWGN>^_>'' 
 
 ^ 
 
# 
 
SERMON, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE ' 
 
 GENERAL CONVENTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
 IN ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, TRENTON, NEW-JERSEY, ON FRIDAY, 
 SEPTEMBER 11, 1801, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 OCCASION OF THE MEETING OF THE SAID CONVENTION, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 CONSECRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RIGHT REVEREND BISHOP MOORE, 
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 BY THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE, D.D. 
 
 Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of Pennsylvania, 
 
 N E W-Y O R K : 
 
 Printed by T. i3 J. SWORDS, No. 99 Peail-strcct, 
 
 1801. 
 
 
Extract from the Journals of the General CoxvcNTiaN. 
 House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, 
 
 Friday, Sept. 1 1, i8oi, P. M. 
 
 " On motion, Resolved, That the thanks of this House be presented 
 to the Right Rev. Bishop White, for his Sermon, delivered this day, 
 at the consecration of the Rev. Dr. Moore, and that he be requested 
 to furnish a copy of the same for publication." 
 
 In consequence of the foregoing resolve, the original copy of the Ser- 
 mon was delivered to a committee in New-York, by whom it is pub- 
 lished. 
 
A SERMON, &c. 
 
 St. JOHN iv. 35. 
 
 Say not ye^ There are yet four months, and then comet h 
 Rankest ? Behold, I say unto you. Lift up your eyes, 
 and look on the fields; for they are xvhite already to 
 harvest. 
 
 JL O understand these words we must have regard to the 
 occasion, to the time, to the proverb quoted, and to the 
 contrast drawn. 
 
 The occasion was our Saviour's having held discourse 
 with the inhabitants of a Samaritan village : and as this was 
 his first opportunity of addressing persons who were in the 
 darkness of heathen error, it brought to his mind the splen- 
 did property of his mission, that he should be " a light to 
 " enlighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of 
 ** the earth." 
 
 The time was the seeding season of Judea, as appears 
 from the term specified — " four months;" that being com- 
 monly the interval between the seeding season and the 
 harvest. 
 
 The expression — " say ye not" that this is so, refers to 
 what we are told of its having been a proverb among tlie 
 Jews: and the ground of the proverb is in the satisfaction 
 with which the husbandman, having lodged his seed within 
 the soil, anticipates a joyful increase. 
 
 But between this case and tlie matter intended, there is a 
 contrast drawn: for the husbandman, after all his labour, 
 had many a fear to undergo, from chilling winds, from 
 parching heats, and from drenching rains, befoie his green 
 
stalks should be crowned with the full cars ; the white hue 
 of which would show that they would be soon the golden 
 grain, fit for the reaper's sickle. Not so the gospel harvest; 
 for '* behold," says our Saviour, ** lift up your eyes and 
 " look on the fields, white already:" that is, the time is 
 come ; the world is prepared ; the means are at hand ; and 
 the event is sure. 
 
 It is probable that this transaction fell in with what is said 
 by another of the Evangelists — " From that time Jesus be- 
 *' gan to preacli, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of 
 ** heaven is at hand:" so that now was the eve of the gos- 
 pel day: now was to begin that sound which should ** go 
 " out into all lands, and its words unto the ends of the 
 " world:" now was to be verified what our Saviour had 
 just before told the Samaritans, that the local worship of tliQ 
 Jews was to give way to an universal " worship of the 
 ** Father, in spirit and in truth;" and that his own blessed 
 instructions should be in the hearts of believers, *' a well of 
 ** water, springing up into everlasting life." 
 
 You see, then, that the text respects an event, wliich, 
 at tlie time, was just about to take place; namely, tho 
 establishment of Christ's Church, emphatically called his 
 kingdom on earth. It Is a subject that has its encourage- 
 ments and its duties. 1 chose it with a view to the present 
 ecclesiastical convention; because such a body, at any pe- 
 riod of the Church, can have no proper object, except in the 
 way of instrumentality to the event foreshown. But there 
 having occurred, unexpectedly, another occasion, which calls 
 f(jr some notice from this place, I consider, with satisfac- 
 tion, that there arc no sentiments arising from my subject 
 previously selected, but what will apply alike as a charge 
 and as an incentive to our Rev. Brother, now entering Into 
 the highest order of the ministry. And when I contemplate 
 both these occasions in connection with the present state of 
 the world in general, and of this our country In particular, 
 there oj^ens so wide a field of gosiK-l labour, tliat I find my- 
 
self warranted to apply to my text that saying of our Saviour 
 on another occasion — " This clay is this scripture fulfilled 
 ** in your ears." 
 
 The use which I intend to make of the text is as follows : 
 
 1st. To lay open to you the ground on which our Sa- 
 viour predicted the success of the ensuing preaching of his 
 gospel. 
 
 2dly. To bring before you the encouragement which we 
 have at this time, to expect an happy issue of our labours, 
 in the same blessed work : and, 
 
 3dly. To apply to the state of our Church what shall be 
 said on both these heads, in respect to the influence which 
 they should have on doctrine, on discipline, and on morals. 
 
 1 . I am to lay open to you the ground on which our 
 Saviour predicted the success of the ensuing preaching of 
 his gospel. 
 
 That ground is in the crisis to which all the manifesta- 
 tions of God to man, after his apostasy, have a reference. 
 
 The most distinguishing characteristic of the history of 
 the Bible is its presenting us with a long series of cir- 
 cumstances, connected with one another, and terminating 
 in a great event, which could have happened at no other 
 time than that when " the Sun of Righteousness arose, witli 
 " healing in his wings." With the curse upon the ground, 
 and the sentence of man's mortality, there was given the 
 consoling promise of " the seed of the woman to bruise 
 " the serpent's head:" And to be a sensible representation 
 of the promise, pointing to the fulfilment of it, sacrifices 
 were instituted, to be figures of that great sacrifice, which 
 should be made in due time for sin. 
 
 If we carry on our attention to the patriarchal age, we 
 find nothing in it more conspicuous than its being distin- 
 gulslied by promises not at that time fulfilled. Tlie Apostle 
 St. Paul, in reference to this very point, says, " By faith 
 *' Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange 
 *• country : By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, con- 
 
8 
 
 ** ceming tilings to come: And by faith Jacob, wlicn bft 
 ** was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph." Yes, it 
 was all in faith, and not in sight ; in expectation, and not 
 in enjoyment, that they were distinguished by the divine 
 blessing. If this life, and if those times only had been in 
 question, we see nothing, in the circumstances of the per- 
 sonages spoken of, answering to the chain of expectation, 
 that reaches tlirough their history, of good things in store, 
 from a dispensation, in which themselves, their posterity, 
 and, indeed, the world were interested; an expectation, 
 which wc find the last of them delivering to his sons, with 
 some note of the time when it was to be accomplished ; viz. 
 when the sceptre should be departing from the tribe of 
 Judah. 
 
 The later wc descend, the more evidence we find of the 
 time designed. Thus Haggai makes it between the building 
 and the destruction of the second temple: Malachi " seals 
 *' up the vision and prophecy witli an annunciation of the 
 •* Messiah's harbinger:" But the Prophet Daniel is the 
 most precise of all, when he si)ecifics seventy weeks of years, 
 as what should end widi the " bringing in of everlasting 
 *' righteousness, and the anointing of the Most Holy." 
 
 All these predictions, and many more, apply to the time 
 of our blessed Saviour's appearance, as to the beginning of 
 a new era, in which they were to have their comj^lction. 
 And 1 have taken this review, as conceiving that nothing 
 can more recommend the publishing of the glail tidings of 
 salvation, or more powerfully persuade to the contributing 
 to that gcKxl work, than the seeing, diat it was appointed us 
 early as man's apostasy in paradise; that it was foretold and 
 hoj)cd in by a succession of patriarchs, of prophets, and of 
 saints; in short, that long and often before its commence- 
 iiK nt it was held out, as what should at last prove the com- 
 pletion ot all the dispensations of providence to die humau 
 race. 
 
 This then is the ground of the prediction in iny text; 
 
and the laying it open prepares the way for my remarks 
 under the second head; 
 
 2. Which is to bring before you the encouragement we 
 have at this day to expect an happy issue of our labours in 
 the same blessed work. 
 
 For, 1st. It is a continuance of the same merciful dis- 
 pensation to mankind. We have seen how wonderfully the 
 prophecies of the Old Testament centered in the point of 
 time which our Saviour has called the beginning of his 
 gospel harvest. But thence arises another chain of pro- 
 phecy, which will end in the finishing of the harvest, by 
 *' the binding of the tares in bundles, to burn them, and the 
 " gathering of the wheat into the barn:" for such is the 
 figurative language in which there is represented to us the 
 final appointment of rewards to the righteous, and of punish- 
 ments to the wicked. 
 
 There is a very expressive prophecy to this purpose, in 
 which Christ compares his Church to " a grain of mustard- 
 *' seed, which was the least of all seeds; but yet (in the 
 " climates of the east) became a great tree; so that the 
 " fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." The 
 smallness of the seed was, indeed, a fit emblem of the hum- 
 ble beginning of Christianity ; the branching out into a tree 
 was a lively representation of what happened in the ensuing 
 increase of the Church ; and the circumstance of the fowls 
 of the air finding shelter under the branches of it, corre- 
 sponds with the consolations and the uses of Christian Doc- 
 trine. But yet we are not to consider the prophecy as fulfil- 
 led until, agreeably to the clear sense of other prophecies, 
 *' the fulness of the gentiles be come in." 
 
 As there is thus a continuance of the same dispensation 
 in another chain of prophecy, so, 2dly. There is the same 
 divine commission on which to rely for success. 
 
 The promise of Christ to his Apostles, and through them 
 to his whole Church, that he would be with them to the end 
 *' of the world," is as much in force at die present dav as 
 
10 
 
 when it proceeded from liis gracious lips. I'he command 
 origliiidly given — " Go ye into all the world and preach the 
 ** gospel to every creature," comes as authoritatively in suc- 
 cession as when it was first received. As to any hindrances 
 which have occurred to the accomplishing of tlie full effect 
 of such promises and of such commands, they are what 
 were foretold in scripture. Still, the *' promises of God in 
 ** Christ are yea and amen;" that is, immutable and sure; 
 carrying on our expectations to the time, when " the fuU 
 " ness of the gentiles shall come in," and when the king- 
 dom of the Messiah shall " cover the whole cartli, as the 
 " waters cover the sea." 
 
 As there is tlius the same commission, so, 3dly. There 
 are stipulated the same divine aids, as well, generally, to all 
 for whose sake the commission was given, as, especially, to 
 those vested with it. The promise, tJiat " where two or 
 *' three are gathered together in Christ's name, there is he 
 *' in the midst of them," was a pledging of divine truth, 
 which no length of time can abrogate or weaken. AVhat 
 animating promises, to the same purpose, do we meet with 
 every where in scripture f Such as, of " a strength to be 
 " made perfect in our weakness;" of *' a grace that is to be 
 " sufficient for us;" of *' a love" which " will bring us 
 ** off more than conquerors" over our spiritual enemies; 
 and of " a power," by which we shall be " kept through 
 " faith unto salvation !" In connection with these aids, and 
 as the ordinary means of their conveyance, wc have the 
 sanyj sacraments, to be the seal and the outward sign of that 
 inward grace; all designed for the strengthening of our 
 faith, for the confirming of our resolutions, and for the in- 
 creasing of our graces; and further, to keep steadily before 
 our view that great end of all, " the life and the immorta- 
 ** lity brought to light by the gospel." 
 
 •4-thly. I cannot leave this brant h of my subject without 
 adding, as another encouragement, or rather as a circum- 
 itancc giving weight to all die encouragements enumerated, 
 
11 
 
 that tlie time in which we live is sucli as naturally prompts 
 the expectation of the enlargement of tlie Messiah's king- 
 dom, held out to us in prophecy. 
 
 It cannot be unknown to you, that many of great name, 
 in different countries, have had their attention drawn to this 
 point, and especially to the openings whic h they think they 
 discover of it in the book of Revelation; which has been 
 profanely called a " book of riddles;" but is not exceeded 
 by any book, cither in the nicely wrought contexture of its 
 parts, or for the evidences of a deep design throughout die 
 whole ; and of which there have been some predictions so 
 conspicuously fulfilled (predictions expressed in symbolical 
 language, but intelligible from the use of the same symbols 
 in other parts of scripture), that we have reason to rely oq 
 it in regard to events to come. 
 
 It is not my design to bring before you all the reasons 
 which have occurred of the expectation stated. I will^ 
 however, principally mention one passage of the said book, 
 which has made a particular impression on my miiid. It is 
 in the 14th chapter; where, after the events of the sixdi 
 trumpet, which are supposed to reach down to die age in 
 which we live, and just before the fall of mystic Babylon, 
 which, in subsequent parts of the prophecy, appeal* to be 
 connected with the sounding of the seventh trumpet, not 
 yet heard ; I say, at this crisis the sublime symbol is intro.- 
 duced, of " an Angel, flying in the midst of heaven, hav- 
 *' ing the everlasting gospel to preach unto them tliat dwell 
 *' on the earth; and to every nation, and kingdom, and 
 ^'tongue, and people:" a symbol, the sense of which can- 
 not, I think, be accomplished in the preaching of the gospel 
 between the two periods, amidst the darkness of the inter- 
 vening times, which is the interpretation commonly given 
 to it; but, considering the new agent introduced, the so- 
 lemn notice given of him, and die extent of his errand, 
 ^eems to be a new and general extension of the faith. 
 
 "\ Whether this shall happen in consequence of pcrsccutionr, 
 
12 
 
 first falling on the professors of Christianity, as some think 
 there is prophetic ground to apprcliend, and which shall 
 cause tlieir religion to extend itself into distant countries, 
 in like manner as literature formerly spread itself over the 
 western parts of Europe, in its flight from the desolations 
 of the eastern ; and whether a temporary prevalence of in- 
 fidelity shall be marked with such bloody violence as to 
 draw men back to the mild religion of Jesus, divested of 
 whatever corruptions may have been grafted on it; and 
 whether it may not he the splendid privilege of the land in 
 which we live, to be, the most conspicuously, tlie scene of 
 the fulfilment of the prophecy, by exhibiting a concurrent 
 progress of Christianity and of civilization, are points which 
 I do not presume to determine, and wliich do not materially 
 affect the remark I have introduced: for the event being 
 sure, but the time and the means of it locked up in the coun- 
 sels of God; the expectation of it is an encouragement to 
 gospel duties and to gospel labours. 
 
 What inclines me the more to the interpretation given, 
 is the consideration of two events predicted in the same 
 book, and, in all probability, not now remote: I mean 
 the ceasing of the dominion by whicli the Arabian impos- 
 ture has been supported, and the overthrow of the Roman 
 power in its seventh and last head. And when I say that, 
 in all probability, they are not remote, I allude to the long 
 interval which has taken place since tlie event which was 
 the subject of the sixth trumpet; and the place assigned to 
 the events now spoken of, which will be under the seventh. 
 In regard to the first of these events, die specified periods of 
 ** an hour, a day, a month, and a year," however figura- 
 tive the language, denote a determinate time in the coun- 
 sels of God: and although 1 presume not to fix die begin- 
 ning and the ending of the term, yet I contemplate a rela- 
 tion between tlie ending of it and that other figure of " the 
 " drying up of tlie Kuphrates, that the way of the Kings 
 J* of the East may be prepared:" which 1 suppose can dc- 
 
lis 
 
 note nothing short of an opportunity given for the conver- 
 sion of the nations who have been under the iron sceptre 
 of the impostor and his successors. In regard to the other 
 event, I should be misunderstood if I were thought to im- 
 pHcate pious and virtuous persons of any rehgion, or of 
 any station, in the woes denounced under this department 
 of the prophecy. The figurative language of a beast, with 
 the attributes in which he is arrayed, must mean, in this 
 book, as in the book of Daniel, from which the figures of 
 this are in a great measure taken, not a person, not a suc- 
 cession of persons in their individual capacities, but a power. 
 And when this political agency, this metaphysical Being, 
 is described with the properties of persecuting and idolatrous, 
 1 conceive that the censure can no further apply to real 
 persons, than as they may have been carried, either con- 
 trary to their convictions, or through the influence of pas- 
 sion, into habits of idolatry and of persecution. With this 
 caution against the charge of uncharitableness in myself, 
 and against the danger of exciting it in others, I profess the 
 opinion that the book in question is utterly unintelligible, 
 but on the principle of applying the metaphor of the beast 
 who took the dragon's seat, to that power which arose 
 during the dark ages, within the bounds of the western 
 Church. And it is the downfal of this power at the sound- 
 ing of the seventh trumpet, as it is expressed in one place, 
 or at the pouring out of the seventh vial, as it is in another, 
 when a new and better dispensation of Providence is to 
 begin; under which " all the kingdoms of the world are 
 " to become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ." 
 
 Let me not be supposed chargeable with the folly of cal- 
 culating the times of events, which, for the evident pur- 
 pose of obscurity until the times shall come, are wrapped 
 up in hieroglyphic language. No; 1 leave such knowledge 
 to the dispensations which arc to disclose it; when there 
 will, doubdess, stand forth as evident a correspondency be- 
 tween the events and the figurative exhibitions of them, as 
 
11 
 
 there is now in regard to past events which had been fore- 
 told in tliis very book : for instance, the rise and the vast 
 extent of the Saracenical and tlie Turkish empires ; concern- 
 ing which it was impossible to have formed any precise ex- 
 pectations from the terms in which they had been anncjunced. 
 And there is this unhappy circumstance attached to the being, 
 by anticipation, " wise above what is written;" that it tends 
 to reconcile men to very wicked deeds, under tlie idea that 
 they are hastening the accomplishment of the divine pre- 
 dictions. No doubt, the great Being " who makes the 
 ** wrath of man to praise him," will, in this line, as in 
 the more ordinary dealings of his providence, overrule in- 
 jurious passions to a subserviency of his eternal purposes. 
 But his course, in this respect, is perceivable no other- 
 wise tlian by the issue ; and, in the meanwhile, it rests with 
 lis to judge of men and measures on tlie immutable grounds 
 of justice and mercy, independently on tlie consideration, 
 that good will be at last brought out of the temporary pre- 
 valence of evil. But notwithstanding the abuses into which 
 some well-meaning persons have been betrayed, the cir- 
 cumstances stated may be considered as the opening of 
 splendid prospects as to the future prevalence oi the uncor- 
 rupted gospel of the Redeemer. And if the field, in this 
 extensive sense of the words, be not " already ripe to 
 ** harvest," the c;rain is in such forwardness as that the 
 reai>ers should be in readiness to avail themselves of die ripe- 
 ness when it shall appear; and, in the mean time, there is 
 work sufficient for the exercise of their vigilance, their ac- 
 tivity, and the best gifts which they may possess, whether 
 of nature or of education. 
 
 1 he sum of what has been said is this: ITiat the gospel 
 stands not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of 
 God: its preparatory disi)ensations, its miraculous establish- 
 ment, and its subsc<)ucnt progress, entering into evcM v part 
 of the series of Divine Providence, from the creation of 
 the world to its dissolution. 
 
15 
 
 Nevertheless, God acts here, as in the natural world, 
 by second causes : so tliat, after the establishment of the 
 christian faith by miracles, the extension of it will very 
 much depend, under the divine blessing, on the zeal, the 
 charity, and all the graces and the quahfications of its mi- 
 nisters, and its other members, in their respective times and 
 places. For this reason I proposed, under the third head 
 of my discourse, 
 
 3. To apply to the state of our Church what has been 
 said, under the preceding heads, in respect to the influence 
 which they should have on doctrine, on discipline, and on 
 morals. 
 
 Here I Implore divine grace, to be guarded alike against 
 that influence of infirmity which may make me mistake 
 human opinion for the infallible word of God, as against 
 that extreme of caution which might keep back any mat- 
 ters arising out of my subject, and profitable to us, either 
 individually, or in relation to the trust at this time com- 
 mitted to our management. 
 
 First, then, in regard to doctrine, it must be evident, 
 that if, as this whole discourse was designed to prove, it be 
 a part of the plan of unerring wisdom, that Christian Doc- 
 trine should have an important, an increasing, and, at last, 
 an universally pervading effect on the condition of man- 
 kind, it must be accompHshed by something inherent to the 
 system, and of wlilch it cannot be deprived without Its ceas- 
 ing to be the contemplated instrument in the divine hand. 
 
 If this be so, here is a powerful motive to christians of 
 all degrees, to maintain Inviolate the precious deposit of 
 " the faith once delivered to tlie saints.'* Especially, it 
 brings an obligation to that effect on the consciences of 
 those to whom is committed the superintendance of ecclesi- 
 astical concerns; and It intimates cause of fear, that the 
 neglect of so sacred a trust may be visited by the judgment 
 denounced in scripture relative to the very delinquency in 
 question; viz. " the removing of the candlestick out of its 
 
16 
 
 " place," or the ceasing to be a branch of Christ's mystic 
 body. 
 
 It will not be thought that I am cautioning against an 
 imaginary danger, when it is recollected, that in these lat- 
 ter ages there lias been a growing, disposition to accommo- 
 date to a concurrent growth of infidelity, by laying little 
 stress on those parts of the christian system which are exclu- 
 sively christian, and by representing its blessed Author as 
 little else dian die teacher of a rule of morals. It would 
 be easy to show diat such prevarication has been die mcans^ 
 not of checking infidelity, but of extending it. This ont 
 of the question, it is a mean which no apparent bcnetit of 
 the end can justify; especially as it is evident, throughout 
 the whole history of Christianity, that, as well its consola-^ 
 tions as its restraints, have been the most conspicuous in 
 the conduct of mankind, when its doctrines and its precepts 
 have gone together in a consistent union. 
 
 It will not be expected that I should, at this time, make 
 a display of the body of christian doctrine. It may be pro- 
 per, however, to advert to a few leading points, in evi- 
 dence of die sentiments which have been expressed. With 
 this view only, dien, I add, diat the ground-work of the 
 whole scheme in man's loss of his original righteousness; 
 that, by way of remedy of this, the mediatorial character 
 of Christ, involving die sacrifice which he made for sin, 
 in the strict and proper meaning of die expressions; as 
 connected with every branch of the subject, his divinity, 
 and his existence before all ages ; and, as stamping a cha- 
 racter on the entire design, its being a dispensation of grace, 
 meaning of grace or favour as die operating motive of tlic 
 divMK" mind, and of grace or aid as essential to man's per- 
 formaiKc of the ( onJitions of die gospel covenant; arc 
 points not dependent on detached pas.sHges oi' holy writ, 
 but pervadltig all its books, 'i'hey aie points which have 
 been held by the Ciiurcli at all times and in all places, and 
 have always entered into die encouragements and the hopes 
 
17 
 
 of christians. Of consequence, if there be any promises 
 which favour the expectation of a future increase of the pre- 
 valence of the gospel, sUch promises can have no force, 
 otherwise than as connected with tliese characteristic doc- 
 trines of the system to be propagated. 
 
 On this occasion, then, I remind the Clerical Members 
 of our assembly, of the duty lying on us so to form our 
 discourses from the pulpit as not to separate what God has 
 thus joined together, in his revelation of himself in the 
 gospel. You will understand mCj my Rev. Brethren, as 
 meaning that we should be not merely moral, but gospel 
 preachers; God forbid that I should echo the cant of those 
 who value themselves on the decrying of moral righteous- 
 ness — that perfection of the human character, or rather of 
 the divine. But however full the scriptures in their display 
 of every branch of moral righteousness, their principal be- 
 nefit to man, in his present state of infirmity and sin, is in 
 the motives and the aids by which virtue and duty of 
 every sort are brought within the sphere of his attainment 
 and his practice. 
 
 Is it, then, that the minister of the gospel is never to 
 make a particular moral duty the professed subject of his 
 discourse? It is not my design to say so: but what I mean 
 is in relation to the three points which follow, and which, 
 I conceive, should distinguish him from a preacher of mere 
 moral righteousness. First. That the leading doctrines of 
 the gospel should be, occasionally, the especial subjects of 
 his discourses : next, that moral duties, inculcate them when 
 he may, should be grounded on christian principles, and 
 enforced by christian motives : and, principally, that the 
 same righteousness ought not, according to his statements, 
 to be a mere " cleansing of the outside of the cup and 
 " platter," consistent with uncleanliness within, but should 
 be, what the gospel precepts are so full of, that renovation 
 of the heart which is the only source of real rectitude in the 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 Jife, and tho only evidence of our being wlthiii the gospel 
 covenant. 
 
 In delivering these sentiments, I will clothe myself with 
 the sanction of an eminent character mucli venerated in 
 this country in his day. The person whom I mean is the 
 late Archbishop Skcker , and I allude to a letter of his re- 
 lative to a disturbance which had arisen in one of our Ame- 
 rican congregations. The American clergy had been re- 
 presented to the Archbishop as not being gospel preachers : 
 In relation to wliich he advises to guard against the re- 
 proach, by more diligently inculcating whatever truths 
 border on the errors existing in the quarter from which 
 the accusation came. 'J he letter, addressed to a Rev. Mem- 
 ber of this Convention,* was published, many years ago, 
 in a narrative of tlic transaction referred to, by another 
 Rev. Brother, formerly of this State. f And I am happy 
 in the idea, that a venerable father of the Church, now 
 dead, and during his life very attentive to the concerns of 
 our American Churches, yet .speaks to you in what I am 
 delivering from this place. 
 
 The principle which I am inculcating is obligatory not 
 only on preachers, as such, but on all persons, wliether 
 of the clerical order or of the laity, who may be ap- 
 pointed to the exercise of the legislative authority of tlic 
 Church. I know tlwt this contradicts the notions which 
 some persons have framed to themselves, of liberality and 
 toleration. Strange misapplication of the Words ! Is it not 
 suificicntly liberal that we leave diose who dither fiom us 
 to the judgment of our common Master; duly estimating 
 wluit virtues they may ix)sscss, and nwking every charitable 
 allowante for what we may conceive to be their errors^ 
 is it not bufliciently tolerant to show ourselves as far frora 
 
 • Dr. Smith, of Pennsylvania. 
 
 t Dr. ChaiiUlcr, of ElizdbcUi-Town. 
 
19 
 
 having the will, as, God be thanked, we are, in this land 
 of freedom, from the power, of inflicting injury for diver- 
 sity of opinion? And can there be no claim to the virtues 
 spoken of, until we acknowledge t\o truth which some per- 
 sons may suppose to be an error, and until we have no 
 prayers to which there are opinions in opposition ? It may 
 be doubted whedier, on such a ground, there can be any 
 social worship: But it is certain that such a system is not 
 in the gospel, which proclaims " the truth as it is in Jesus," 
 independently on what may be the speculations of fallible 
 men. It may happen — it has happened to the said divine 
 truth, to be disfigured by the additions of human weakness. 
 To disengage the Church from these, is incumbent on those 
 who govern in it, according to the best of their ability, and 
 as they shall answer to the Judge of all. But they are 
 jiot to do this by the sacrifice of gospel doctrine to doubt 
 and unbelief; which would render the Church of Christ ai; 
 institution dependent on the changing interests and the un- 
 foreseen incidents of different times; and not that spiritual 
 society always subject to the same faith, the same sacra-, 
 ments, and the same ministry; and whose divine Head has 
 promised to be with it " even unto the end of the world." 
 
 The next point to which the discourse applies is that of 
 the discipline of the Church : for it has been of the essence 
 of the subject, that the spiritual harvest promised was the 
 gathering of a social body. To this body diere must be- 
 long all the attributes which are found in society under its 
 various forms: which attributes, so far as the society in 
 question is concerned, must be considered in connection 
 with whatever else has been determined by its divine Foun- 
 der, as especially belonging to it. The different portions of 
 this spiritual body extended over the world, are joined toge- 
 ther by the common tie of the " unity of die Spirit, and 
 '' the bond of peace." But, besides dds, each part is charged 
 with the preservation in itself of the integrity of die com- 
 mon faidi, and the administration of its local interests and 
 
20 
 
 concerns. Now, if there be such a body grounded, as the 
 argument impHes, not on voluntary association, but on di- 
 vine institution ; and if there rests on each particular part of 
 the body, the obligation of maintaining and of extending 
 che influence of gospel truth, no doubt its success must 
 very much depend on the unblemished reputation of its 
 members: and it is evident, tlxat licentiousness, in any de- 
 gree, and in any shape, must operate in contrariety to the 
 profession made, however true and holy. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it is difficult to believe that 
 any one can be persuaded of the divine institution of the 
 Christian Church, and not at least entertain the wish, that 
 the discipline of it might clear it of the scandal of every 
 person who lives in violation of its moral precepts. 
 
 Far be it from me to hold up ecclesiastical authority, as 
 extending to a discipline of the mind. If there be any re- 
 ligious societies who think, that, by such means, they can 
 accomplish such an object, it is not the sense of the Church 
 to which we belong: for she considers as her legitimate 
 children all who, having been brought within her commu- 
 nion by the regenerating rite of Baptism, have not swerved, 
 in conduct, from the profession therein made by them, or 
 in their name. She knows that there may be tares growing 
 •among the wheat; but she remembers the injunction of the 
 Lord of the field — " let both grow together until the har- 
 ** vest:'* and she therefore restrains the officious zeal of 
 those servants who might be tempted to ** gather up the 
 ** tares," by the exercise of an inquisitorial authority over 
 the movements of the mind. But if there be any living in 
 sensuality, or in profancncss, or in dlshonesiv, or in avowed 
 disbelief of our holy religion ; and if there be any christian 
 who is not wounded by the dishonour which the Church 
 sustains from the mcmbcrsliipand exercised rights of persons 
 so living, such a cliristian must have less sensibility to the 
 honour of that body of Christ of which he is a part, than 
 he would have for the reputation of any human association. 
 
21 
 
 intended for the transaction of the business of the world, or 
 for the entertainment of conversation. 
 
 I know the magnitude of the work which I am holding 
 up as an object of desire: I am aware of the weight of 
 character necessary to prevent every effort towards it from 
 being not only impotent, but contemptible : I confess that 
 nothing ought to be done in it, unless it can be, as nearly 
 as human inhimity will permit, without prejudice or parti- 
 ality: and I calculate on the clamorous pretences which 
 would be made of persecution, however unconnected the 
 matter with any civil interests. I hope that, in considera- 
 tion of these impediments, we do not stand guilty in the 
 eye of the Father of mercies, of criminal neglect of a trust, 
 "which, to all appearance, and under present circumstances, 
 cannot be exercised for the Church's good, except in that 
 moderate degree which I suppose It to be practised by all 
 the Clergy, the repelling of immoral livers from the cele- 
 bration of the Eucharist. Yet this hinders not its being a 
 matter of devout desire, and much tending to the propaga- 
 tion of the gospel, that. In regard to every ungodly and 
 licentious liver, we were In the practice of that precept of 
 the gospel, applied to this very matter — " Put away from 
 *' among yourselves that wicked person." 
 
 There Is a more limited exercise of ecclesiastical disci- 
 pline, concerning which I take this opportunity of declar- 
 ing my opinion, that there are no existing circumstances 
 apologizing for the neglect of It ; I mean as It respects im- 
 moral Clergymen, If such are to be found. There is so 
 glaring an inconsistency in preaching to others what we 
 have no sense of the duty of practising ourselves; tliere is 
 such a mockery of God in assuming, at ordination, those 
 solemn vows, which are not intended to have any opera- 
 tion on the conscience: in short, an immoral Clergyman 
 so much shocks the sense which mankind in general enter- 
 tain of decency, that both saints and sinners will lionour 
 
22 
 
 cveiy exertion for the clearing of the Cliurch from the 
 scandal of his irregularities. 
 
 It is your preacher's duty to suppose, that no such case 
 exists as that which he contemplates to be a ground of ec- 
 clesiastical censure. It is more especially his duty to sup- 
 pose so, because, if such a case were to be found, it must 
 be either not within the sphere of his acquaintance, or, if 
 within it, not subject to his notice, until brought before him 
 by those on whom it lies to make the presentation : and, on 
 any other principle, he would be in the double character of 
 accuser and judge. While, therefore, he is conscious of a 
 readiness to exercise the authority committed to him by our 
 ecclesiastical institutions, he finds himself warranted and 
 incited by his subject, to make a call on tlie consciences of 
 those who hear him, to do in this matter what lies on them 
 in their respective places; to do it as a measure eminently 
 conducive to the honour and the increase of the Christian 
 Church, and as removing from themselves the foul reproach 
 of countenancing iniquity by a sinful toleration more effec- 
 tually than, they can recommend, by any other means, the 
 practice of religious and moral duty. 
 
 The obligation now stated is peculiarly incumbent on our 
 Church, in consideration of the claim made by her (we 
 trust with truth) of a nearer conformity than tliat of many 
 odier communities of christians, to the practice of primi- 
 tive antiquity, particularly in res|x;ct to the orders of the 
 ministry. These orders, say we, three in number, were 
 of apostolic institution, and existed universally in the 
 Church, as now among us, until within a few ages of these 
 later times. We think that the current of testimony is in 
 pur favour. Still, we mu:>i acknowledge, that there has been 
 the exercise of much learning and ingenuity on the other 
 Jildei and that the generality of christians are not possessed 
 of the materials of knowledge which enter into the merits 
 of tlic question. J hey have, however, sufficient reason 
 
23 
 
 to believe, on the testimony of all who write or speak con- 
 cerning the early ages of the Church, in the devotion, the 
 charity, and the- holy lives of its worthy fathers: and, whHe 
 this is the case, there will be a considerable bias to the sup- 
 position, that the best pretensions to antiquity must be with 
 those who have the most of the purity of manners by which 
 antiquity was adorned. 
 
 Before I leave this part of my subject, I will venture to 
 rise above the tone of argument to that of prediction, 
 grounded not on the fancy of supernatural communica- 
 tion, but on observation of men and manners, and some 
 small knowledge of the history of preceding times. We 
 have been anticipating the future progress of the gospel, as 
 an event grounded on the truth of God. Now my predic- 
 tion is, that whatever may be the extent in which the ex- 
 pected progress may be realized, very little of it will arise 
 from the exertions of any Church, in which a Minister may 
 be a by-word for his immoralities, without being driven 
 from the administration of its ordinances. Instances of this 
 sort offend in such a degree, that the Church which tole- 
 rates them will constantly behold people going ofF from her 
 communion; some to infidelity, and others to any sect that 
 has, at least, an apparent sense of the sanctity of its profes- 
 sion. — But I pass from doctrine which may be in the head, 
 without affecting the heart, and from discipline which can 
 extend no further than to the preventing of licentious con- 
 duct, to the 
 
 Third and last branch of this part of my subject, that of 
 morals: I mean christian morals; comprehending as well 
 the graces of the mind, as the exercise of them in the per- 
 formance of all the duties of practical obligation. 
 
 I consider myself as at this time exhorting to an holy life 
 and conversation, with an especial view to the subject. I 
 say notliing, therefore, of a preparation for the higli demand, 
 " Give an account of your stewardship." I do not bring 
 forward the interest which we have in the apostolic Intima- 
 
24 
 
 rion, of " saving ourselves as well as those who hear ui:'^ 
 and I put out of view the danger of being found among 
 those who, having prophesied, that is, preached in their 
 Master's name, shall be the subjects of the disdainful rejec- 
 tion — " Depart from me, I never knew you." AH these 
 things shall be forgotten, while 1 contemplate the effects of 
 our labours on the extension of the Messiah's kingdom, 
 which shall at last, whether with our instrumentality or 
 without it, know no bounds, and endure for ever. 
 
 Can any one doubt, that this blessed cause is hindered by 
 every instance of a profession of godliness, without its be- 
 ing accompanied by tlie power? Certainly not: for so 
 congenial is the sense of religion to the human mind, that 
 men can, in no other way, wholly discaid its obligations, 
 tlian by persuading themselves that there are no practical 
 uses of it to be discerned. They, indeed, are apt to adopt this 
 opinion, on the ground of very imperfect observation ; not 
 estimating the innumerable occasions on which, in ways 
 unseen, religion exercises her restraints; and the many others 
 in which, in like ways, she administers her consolations. 
 Yes, they judge in error; but it is prompted and confirmed 
 in them, in proportion as they think they see the inefficiency 
 of this blessed governess, towards regulating the known con-» 
 duct of those who seem to be the best informed of its evi- 
 dences, and who have brought themselves under the weigh- 
 tiest of its obligations. 
 
 We live at a time when a specious but unsound philoso- 
 phy has made, and is still making, havock within the fold 
 of Christ's flock; and the consideration of this alarming 
 fact ouglit to bring a charge on the conscience, not to say 
 of every delinquent professor, but of every one who docs 
 not evidence in his actions a sense of religion over his mind, 
 of being accessary to that murder of unwary souls. 'J'he 
 pen of inspiiation has intimated a period when, notwith- 
 standing an intervening prevalence of the gospel, *' .Satan 
 *• shall be let loose for a season." 1 presume not to deter- 
 
25 
 
 mine the date of the especial fulfihnent of tlie prediction; 
 but it has been, and may be expected to be again, in various 
 degrees, fulfilled in ditFerent times and places, by extra- 
 ordinary efforts of ungodly men against the truth. Lee 
 such a temporary dominion of the wicked one happen when 
 or where it may, it will be marked by trophies of violence, 
 of desolation, of human misery of every description and 
 degree; and, therefore, woe be to those who become con- 
 tributors to such mischiefs, in contrariety as well to their 
 inward convictions, as to the testimony of their professions. 
 
 To all appearance, these States are designed by Provi- 
 dence to be an increasing, and, at last, an immense addi- 
 tion to the population, the agriculture, the commerce, and 
 the stock of useful arts throughout the world. All tliis 
 will be dependent on our laws, on our policy, and on the 
 administration of them botli. But will these again have 
 no dependence on the degree of influence which religion 
 shall exercise alike over those who are to govern, as over 
 those who are to obey ? Unquestionably they will ; and, 
 in proportion as the constitutions of our country disclaim 
 that agency which directly applies the religious principle 
 to the promotion of its purposes, there will be the heavier 
 obligation on religious bodies to extend, by the means of 
 their exertions in their collective capacities, and by their 
 examples as individuals, the influence of this only efl^ectual 
 restraint on the injurious passions of mankind. This opens 
 before us a prospect in which we cannot but perceive an 
 immense field " already white to harvest :" a rising empire 
 calling for religious cultivation, not only as essential to the 
 enjoyment of all the blessings which a gracious Providence 
 has bestowed; but to check that prevalence of irreligion, 
 which will otherwise make it, in future times, the seat of 
 licentibusness, of civil discord, and, perhaps, of barbarism. 
 
 I trust that considerations of this sort will operate as a 
 charge on those of my audience, whether clerical or lay, 
 who are at this time assembled to exercise the ecclesiastical 
 
2G 
 
 jurisdiction of our Church. Kor,shoukl it be found that there 
 is in their conduct any deviation from good morals; and 
 more especially should they be known, in societies of ano- 
 tlier cast, to be unbelievers in the divine authority of the 
 religion, the concerns of which they have undertaken to 
 administer, it cannot hut aflcct the reputation of any coun- 
 sels adopted with their concurrence, and tend to load us 
 with the reproach of being a withered branch of the Uni- 
 versal Church. I'here are no circumstances of civil respec- 
 tability which can atone for any defect of moral character, 
 or for the want of a sense of religion in the mind, as a 
 qualification for the wojk before us. To dispense with 
 tliese, on the score of any extraneous considerations, is to 
 *' build with untcmpcred mortar," and has as little chance 
 of being resi>cctable in tlie eye of the world, as it has of 
 claim to the promise of the divine blessing. 
 
 On the clerical niembers of this Convention there is an 
 especial call to whatever contributes to the progress of the 
 gospel. Yes, my Rev. Brethren, you will consider it as 
 falling in with the design of the appointment of a preacher, 
 when he incites both himself and you to a purity suited to 
 the work which we have in hand. Let us, therefore, look 
 forward to the times displayed to the eye of faith by the 
 sure word of prophecy, and remark how much may be de- 
 pendent on our zeal, our charity, our temperance in re- 
 gard to this workl, and our transcendent affection for ano- 
 ther. Let us consider, further, tliat besides the abundant 
 liarvest, to the contemplation of which we are carried by 
 my text, and by similar passages of scripture, we may al- 
 ways, in a lower sense of the expression, " behold the held 
 ** already white to harvest," in the multitude of persons 
 who may be brought to an holy life and convcisalion, by 
 our instructions, our exhortations, and our reproofs; and let 
 lis avail oui selves of the blessed opportunity for this, while it 
 siiall continue. In regard to the business brought lx:forc us 
 on this occasion of oui being assembled, let die recollection 
 
27 
 
 of the tiiist committed to us prevent every word and every 
 feeling wliich may be discordant to tlie nature of religious 
 inquiry and opinion. Finally, I trust that it is not an undue 
 partiality to the apostolical constitution of our ministry, to 
 the evangelical tenour of our doctrine, and to the edifying 
 spirit of our offices, when I venture confidently to predict, 
 that, let them be adorned by the correspondent manners of 
 the ministers, and of the members generally, of our Church, 
 and they will render her " a joy and praise in the whole 
 " earth ;" securing to her a splendid share in the accomplish- 
 ment of the promise — " From the rising of tlie sun, even 
 " unto the going down of the same, my name shall be gieat 
 " among the Gentiles, and in ev^cry place incense shall be 
 " offered unto my name, and a pure offering." 
 
 If in the circumstances which I have stated, and if in the 
 sentiments which have arisen from them, there be any thing 
 of an edifying tendency, it will doubtless have its effect on 
 the mind of the Rev. Person to the consecration of whom 
 we shall soon proceed. 
 
 My Rev. Brother will not be displeased with the confes- 
 sion, unconnected with his personal character, that in en- 
 tering on the administration of this holy rite, I experience 
 sensations of a painful nature. A celebrated Reman has, 
 in a pleasing dress of eloquence, displayed the sentiment, 
 that delegation to the same civil office is a ground on which 
 benevolence and friendly offices may be expected.* The 
 remark seems reasonable: and if so, how much more sa- 
 cred is a relation between two persons, wlio, under the 
 appointment of a Christian Church, had been successfully 
 engaged together in obtaining for it the succession to the 
 apostolic office of the Episcopacy; who, in the subsequent 
 exercise of that Episcopacy, had jointly laboured in all the 
 ecclesiastical business which has occurred among us; who, 
 through the whole of it, never knew a word, or even a 
 
 * Cicero pro Murxn^. 
 
2S 
 
 sensation, tending to personal dissatisfacti^^n or disunion, 
 and who had lived, during the time, in the exchange of all 
 the friendly civilities which the circumstances of their re- 
 spective residence permitted. In respect to such persons, 
 no event can be altogether welcome to one of them, under 
 such circumstances as now occur relative to the other;* 
 or prevent the former from mourning over the want of 
 health, or any other cause that has lead to tlic transaction 
 of this day, however proper. 
 
 I the more confidently give vent to what I feel, from the 
 belief, that there arc many present who so well know my 
 affection for the elected Bishop, and my opinion of his 
 abilities, of his integrity, and of his zeal, as to screen me 
 from the imputation of indelicacy towards him. I have, 
 indeed, so sanguine an expectation of his future usefulness, 
 that I might be tempted rather confidently to foretell, than 
 earnestly to exhort to it, were it not for the consideration 
 of that universal insecurity of human virtue during this 
 state of frailty, which should be an incitement to him, to 
 me, and to the whole ministry, to live under the influence 
 of a caution, which even an Apostle thought applicable 
 to his standing in the Christian life; viz. of taking care, 
 *' lest, while we preach to others, we ourselves should be- 
 ** come cast aways.'* 
 
 Yes, my Brother, this is a danger which will still attend 
 you, notwithstanding your present attainments, your past 
 worthy conduct in the order of the Presbytery, and the 
 reputation which you have thus acquired: a danger to which 
 you well know nothing is equal but the grace to be invoked 
 on your behalf in the ensuing service ; which may be pro- 
 nounced to be as instructive, as solemn, and as aflecting 
 a dis|)lay, as human ingenuity can devise, of the duties on 
 
 • Rl^hop Provoost, wlio was induced, by ill health, aiul other causes, 
 to resign his Episcopal Jurisdiction of the Prottstaiit F-piscopal Church 
 in the State of Ncw-Yorlc 
 
29 
 
 which you are entering. It will, therefore, be sufficient to 
 remind you, tliat the Church need have no better security 
 for your faithful discharge of the trust which, by our hands, 
 she is committing to you, than your keeping always be- 
 fore you the engagements which she exacts of you at this 
 solemn crisis, as what should have an abiding weight on 
 your conscience, and be a continual incitement of your best 
 faculties and affections. 
 
r 
 
 ■V 
 
 ■f's;<-f. '■^•1^ 
 
 •♦ -»'-> 
 
 ;^ 
 
 ^**^' 
 
 ^^^5^ 
 
 0; 
 
 •M 
 
 SuV 
 
 ^m