* ON CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS. < pV 4017 I.D43 ICopy 1 SERMON PRE ACHED AT W§t <&rtrination in tfavntwrn araatlr, ON SUNDAY, JULY 10, 1842. BY W. DEALTRY, D.D. F.R.S. RECTOR OF CLAPHAM, SURREY, AND CHANCELLOR OF THE DIOCESE OF "WINCHESTER i LONDON : PUBLISHED BY D. BATTEN, CLAPHAM COMMON J HATCH ARD AND SON, PICCADILLY : AND JACOB AND JOHNSON, WINCHESTER. 1842. i ON CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS. A SERMON PREACHED AT €f)e <&rtrinatton in dfawtjattt <£a0tie, ON SUNDAY, JULY 10, 1842. W. DEALTRY, D.D. F.R.S. RECTOR OF CLAPHAM, SURREY, AND CHANCELLOR OF THI DIOCESE OF WINCHESTER LONDON : PUBLISHED BY D. BATTEN, CLAPHAM COMMON ; HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY : AND JACOB AND JOHNSON, WINCHESTER. 1842. r LONDON : PRINTED BY D. BATTEN, CLAPHAM. 4^ TO THE RIGHT REVEREND CHARLES RICHARD, LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, THE CANDIDATES FOR ORDINATION, AT FARNHAM CASTLE, JULY 10, 1842, THIS SERMON, PUBLISHED BY HIS LORDSHIP'S DESIRE, AND IN CONFORMITY WITH THE REQUEST OF THE CANDIDATES, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. A SERMON. THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE, Verse 3. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. The Church of Christ was troubled, even in the first ages, by false and heretical teachers ; in- somuch that, according to some writers, there has probably arisen in later times scarcely any cor- ruption of the truth the germ of which did not exist at that early period. Hence the Apostles, in denouncing the errors of their own day, have met, by almost direct anticipation, the chief per- versions of the Gospel which have since appeared ; and their admonitions are scarcely less applicable now than at the time when they were first deli- vered. Nor is this the only assistance which, in B defence of the truth, we derive from the already harassed state of the primitive Church. In con- tending for the faith once delivered unto the saints the inspired writers have placed before us some of the chief doctrines of the Gospel under many aspects, and in a way to meet many objec- tions ; whilst on other great truths they have, by their reasonings, shed a light for which we cannot be too thankful. So mercifully has Infinite Wis- dom brought good out of evil, and rendered heresies themselves subservient to the welfare of the Church of Christ. It was on account of certain flagrant perversions of the Gospel, specified in the verses which follow the text, that St. Jude wrote this Epistle. On these it is not my purpose to dwell. The general exhortation with which he introduces the mention of them will afford ample scope for our consider- ation. It is useful to every class of Christians ; but it may with special propriety be urged upon those who are undertaking the responsible office of Ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mys- teries of God. May the Holy Spirit direct and bless our meditations ! I. The term " faith" is obviously to be under- stood here as denoting the objects of faith, as comprising all those truths which had been deli- vered to the saints, and are essential to man's salvation. The Apostle evidently speaks of this faith as a thing known. The persons addressed, being sanctified by God the Father, and pre- served in Jesus Christ, and called, were already acquainted with it: there was to them no need of further discoveries : that was the faith which they professed and held. The design of the Apostle is not to teach them the faith, but to stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance, to build them up on its well-known statements, and to guard against every perversion of it. St. Jude speaks of this faith as once delivered to the saints : whether he means that it was delivered formerly, or once for all, may possibly be a question ; the latter interpretation seems to be the best, from the strength which it gives to the admonition in the text as condemnatory of the false teachers. But upon this point we need not dwell. The Apostles, we know, had received the faith in its fulness. They had received it from Him who alone could deliver it, the Holy Spirit of God. He had, by his own immediate teaching, instructed them in all things which were requisite for the great object of their mi- nistry ; and, under the same heavenly guidance, they have left the truth as they received it, for all generations: though dead, yet speaking ; warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom. The faith had been in progress of delivery from b2 8 the earliest times. Holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost : the Bible con- tains the words which they thus spake, both before and under the Christian dispensation : and beyond the boundaries of that inspired volume we can find no statement which has any accre- dited claim to Divine authority. So far as knowledge is concerned, if the things necessary to salvation, from its commencement to its com- pletion, be not found in the Scriptures, they are to be found nowhere. Tn conformity with these views is the express language of our Church in her Article " On the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation." " Holy Scripture con- taineth all things necessary to salvation : so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." And not less decisive is the Homily " Of the Knowledge of the Holy Scripture," written, as it should seem, by one of our greatest Reformers, and appointed,* like the other Homilies, to be read in churches by the Ministers. " Let us diligently search for the well of life in the books of the Old and New Testament, and not run to the puddles of men's traditions, devised by men's * Art. XXXY. 9 imagination for our justification and salvation. For in Holy Scripture is fully contained what we ought to do, and what to eschew, what to believe, what to love, and what to look for at God's right hand at length." It appears to follow from this reasoning, and to be implied in these remarks, that the faith is set forth in the Scriptures in a clear and explicit manner. But are there not in the Bible many things obscure ? Do we not in various parts of it meet with difficulties which for the present it seems impossible to remove ? These are questions frequently proposed, and a few observations on this point may, perhaps, not be wholly without use. As to the alleged obscurity, then, of certain passages in the Sacred Writings, no man of wis- dom or humility can doubt the fact. The revela- tion of God's will and purposes of grace, by a gradual process, from the patriarchal times, would necessarily have the effect of leaving obscure in one age what was clear in another. The predic- tions of the Prophets were, for the most part, and for obvious reasons, not understood at the time of their delivery, and their meaning can in general be clearly and fully seen only by the fulfilment of them. Our want of correct knowledge as to the modes of thinking, and manners, and particular history of ancient nations, must render difficult 10 many passages, especially in the Prophets, which would otherwise be plain. And, not to mention other causes of obscurity, many of the great sub- jects of revelation are by their very nature beyond the capacity of man. Of this sort are the resur- rection of the dead, the destruction of the heavens and the earth, the judgment of the last day, and generally what is said of spiritual things and of the invisible world; and it is of such subjects that St. Peter is speaking when he tells us that with reference to them there are in St. Paul's Epistles some things hard to be understood. Could it, we might ask, be otherwise ? The time will come when we shall know even as ice are known : but ■ if it please God to make any revelation concerning these things, it must, to our limited perceptions, be encompassed by clouds which man cannot penetrate. It does not, however, follow that the faith once delivered to the saints is therefore doubtful : whatever is essential to salvation may still be as clear as the noon-day sun. It is not necessary for my belief in the fact of the Trinity, or for my deriving from such belief great practical benefit, that I should be able to comprehend the mode in which that fact is true. And I may experience the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit, in renewing my heart, and sanctifying my nature, and making me meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, while of the 11 manner of his operation I can say little more than I can tell of the wind, whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. Let it be granted only that the Scriptures are all given by Divine inspiration, and that their grand design is to point out the way to heaven, and the conclusion is inevitable — to doubt their clearness, or their sufficiency for the end proposed, what is it but to impeach the goodness or wisdom of God ? The testimony of the Sacred Records is in this respect decisive. The dispensation of the Old Testament was but as the dawning of a coming day. Even the Prophets knew not the full meaning of their own predictions concerning the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow ; but were these predictions insufficient to direct the mind which was prepared for such discoveries to the Great Sacrifice and the way of salvation ? It is of the Old Testament that we read Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and com- fort of the Holy Scriptures might have hope. It is of the ancient Scriptures that the Apostle speaks, as being profitable for doctrine, for re- proof for correction, for instruction in right- eousness, that the man of God may he perfect, throughly furnished unto all good ivorks. It is of a portion of these Scriptures that the Psalmist says, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a 12 light unto my path. And the law of Moses, which God commanded the fathers to make known to their children, was to be learnt for this very purpose, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. Did not our blessed Saviour himself enjoin upon his hearers, Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have (that is, in them ye have) eternal life, and they are they which testify of me ? Did not the Apostles, in their controversies with the Jews, refer in like manner to the books of the Old Testament ? And are not the Bereans commended because on hearing St. Paul they searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so ? Therefore, it is added, many of them believed. But if the Old Testament, on matters so impor- tant, were clear, much rather may we affirm this of the New Testament. This exhibits to us the realities which were shadowed forth in the ancient "Writings ; it opens to us more fully the mind of God : and can we imagine that it is less explicit ? or that it withholds from us any thing which is necessary to salvation : Let us hear its own tes- timony. St Luke wrote his Gospel that the person to whom he addressed it might know the certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed. St. John, in stating that our blessed Lord did 13 many other things which are not recorded in his Gospel, adds, But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might have life through his name. Are we not justified, then, in affirming, that in the words of Christ and his Apostles we have clearly delivered to us whatever it is neces- sary for us to know that we may attain to ever- lasting life ? In thus holding up the Scriptures as the rule of faith we do in no wise depreciate the Christian ministry. We know that it is of Divine appoint- ment, and that it has great duties to discharge ; to awaken the careless, to instruct the ignorant, to edify the whole body of Christ. It is mainly through the agency of those who have been ordained to this office that the worship of God is preserved from age to age, and that in every nation men are turned from darkness to light, and become established in the faith of the Gospel. While we say, therefore, with a venerated father of our Church, " Faith, and all things pertaining to godliness, do hang upon the reading and hear- ing of the Word of God," we add also with him, " that therefore apostles, and teachers, and pro- phets, and expounders are most necessary to the Church of God, and that we are bound to hear such teachers and expounders even as the Lord himself if he were present, so far as they teach 14 only those things which they have received of the Lord." * Neither do we take away any credit which is justly due to the ancient fathers: "We read their works, we reverence them, we give God thanks for them, we call them the pillars, the lights, the fathers of God's Church ; we despise them not ; this thing only we say, were their learning and holiness never so great, yet be they not equal in credit with the Scriptures of God." "j~ A like testimony of honour and respect, with a like dis- tinction, we gladly bear to many writers of later date, and to none more fully than to our own Reformers. Nor must it be supposed that we cast any dis- credit upon human learning, and upon studious research for the illustration of the Word of God. That much has been done in this way to remove difficulties and to explain dark passages, to vin- dicate the truth, to leave infidelity without excuse, and to convince gainsayers, and that an unlearned ministry is little suited to the almost daily calls and exigencies of the Church, is readily and fully admitted : but all this affects not our argument ; we are still strong as ever in the fact that, in the sense here assigned to the expression, the Scrip- tures are the only rule of faith, and that they are * Nowell's Catechism. f Jewell. 15 clear and explicit on all the great points which involve the salvation of the soul. Yet it cannot be denied that there is,, even on these points, great diversity of judgment, and that hitherto we discover nothing like agreement and uniformity, either as to faith or practice. Whence is it that these divisions and heresies arise ? Whence is it that men have so little learned to ivalk by the same rule, and to mind the same thing ? The answer is, that although God has made known his will in the Holy Scriptures, yet is it necessary for us, if we would rightly understand them, to be instructed and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. " Surely," says a great writer, # blind must they be that can suffer themselves to be persuaded that ever God in Christ would have a rule for man's direction in the mysteries of sal- vation, so plain and easy as he should not need to be beholden to his Maker and Redeemer for the perfect understanding of it." It was not till our blessed Saviour, beginning at Moses and all the "Prophets, expounded to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself, and, in like manner, till he had opened the understandings of the eleven Apostles that they might understand the * Dr. T. Jackson. 16 Scriptures, that even these men saw the just application and force of the predictions concern- ing Christ. And neither shall we, till the Holy Spirit removes the veil from our minds, have a right apprehension of those things which belong to our peace, and, like Lydia, receive the truth into our hearts. To whom, then, will this Spirit be vouchsafed ? to the careless, or disobedient, or worldly, or in- sincere ? to the proud or presumptuous ? to men who love darkness rather than light, or prefer prejudice and party to the truth ? This blessing will be afforded to the poor in spirit, to the hum- ble and contrite, to those who in simplicity and teachableness are like little children, to such as are desirous to know the will of God to the end that they may do it. To men of this description the Holy Spirit will be given : he will enlighten their minds, and will guide them into all necessary truth. And if there be still some dark pages in the inspired records, this circumstance will only render such persons more humble, and induce them to search the Scriptures with increased diligence and continued prayer, and make them cling with heightened devotion and gratitude to that faith which points to a world where all igno- rance shall be dispelled, and they shall walk for ever in the light. On matters not essential to salvation, and not distinctly set forth in God's 17 Holy Word, there may, and perhaps must, be among the best of men, some difference of judg- ment. Such was the case with the venerated Reformers of the sixteenth century. But, says one of the chief of them,* " God be thanked, we agree thoroughly together in the whole substance of the religion of Christ, and altogether with one heart and one spirit do glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Chrysostom, Epiphanius, and Theo- philus, as it appeareth by their writings, agreed no better in their times than we do now ; yet had they and every of them the Word of God, and the same Word of God was a light unto their feet." In assuming that you, my brethren, who are now giving yourselves to the service of the Chris- tian ministry, have searched the Scriptures in a right spirit, and have, by God's grace, been en- abled to understand and to receive the faith once delivered to the saints, we take nothing for granted but what it behoves us to believe ; it is meet for us to think this of you all. And in becoming Ministers of the Church of England you avow that this faith is set forth in her Articles, and embodied in her Liturgy. In place, then, of deducing here, and necessarily at some length, * Jewell. Defence of the Apology. the essential principles of the faith from the Scriptures themselves, we may at once refer to the Articles, which you acknowledge to be a just and distinct exhibition of them. And among these let it suffice now to refer to the Eleventh Article, " Of the Justification of Man," as being- one which, if sincerely maintained, will, by God's blessing, secure you against most of the sophistries and errors of the day. To the mistaken views which have prevailed on this most important doctrine may be traced in a very great degree the decay of true religion in past times, as well as most of those unhappy speculations which from age to age have made havoc of the Church. II. Now, with respect to this faith once deli- vered to the saints, I exhort yon, saith St. Jude, that ye should earnestly contend for it. This exhortation is addressed generally to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and pre- served in Jesus Christ, and called ; that is, to all true Christians of every class. It must apply, as already intimated, in an especial manner to those who are called to the office of the ministry. The allusion, in the word " contend," appears to be to the Grecian games, in which the can- didate for the prize put forth all his strength. Thus it behoves us to contend for the faith. There is a principle abroad, sometimes mistaken 19 for liberality or candour, which, in acknowledging the right of private judgment, prompts men to act as if there were no such thing as a doctrine necessary to salvation ; as if, in fact, not the Holy Scripture, but our interpretation of it, were the rule of faith ; as if one set of doctrines were just as good as another, provided that a man has sin- cerely, as the term is, brought himself to embrace it. How different the principle of St. Jude ! He makes mention of the faith once delivered to the saints as the only true faith, and calls upon us to contend for it. The expression is remarkable. For is not the herald of the gospel one that publisheth peace ? God is himself the God of peace : Jesus Christ is the Prince of peace : the legacy which he left to his disciples was the blessing of peace : his ser- vants are directed, as much as lieth in them, to live peaceably with all men : and the final effect of the Gospel is to be peace on earth, universal peace, strikingly represented in ancient prophecy by the concord of beasts naturally ravenous and ferocious enemies to man and to each other. No spirit can be more opposed to that of true religion than is the spirit of discord ; yet is it enjoined upon the servants of Christ to contend for the faith. This may be done by us, in a general way, by preaching the Word ; by testifying the gospel of 20 the grace of God, in its fulness and its purity ; not dwelling upon one part, and keeping another in reserve ; not shrinking from the assertion of one scriptural truth because by some persons it has been carried to an unwarrantable length, or giving undue prominence to another because it happens to suit the taste of the day, or declining to urge a third through some apprehension of mischievous results ; but, taking the Apostles as our guides, to preach the gospel just as it has been delivered to us. The Minister of Christ must seek to gain no man by qualifying the state- ments of the Bible : he is fearlessly to declare the whole counsel of God. And in doing this he is to contend earnestly. Not like a person who is satisfied with a mere exposition of the truth, but like one who feels its unspeakable value. It must be seen by his ear- nestness as well as his faithfulness in preaching the Word, that on the due receiving of it, and on obedience to its precepts, depends, according to his own clear conviction, all the real happiness of this life, and all the hope of the life to come, — the reconciliation through Christ of the sinner to his God, the sanctification and salvation of the soul. To preach even the truth itself as if we had no right feeling of its importance, is not the way to impress it upon others. Our congregations must learn from our earnestness that we duly appreciate 21 the value of the Gospel, if we ever expect that it is to find its way to their hearts. But the circumstances of the times may require from us yet more. It may be that false doctrines are abroad ; that the blessed truths of the Gospel are either openly assailed, or in danger of being covertly undermined by error creeping in among us almost unawares. What is, in such a case, to be the conduct of the Minister of Christ ? Is he simply to preach the Word ? or is he to contend in another sense for the faith, by meeting front to front the advocates of error, and withstanding them to the face ? If there be an adequate cause he is doubtless to combat with the error directly ; he must not, through fear of being deemed con- tentious, remain silent as to particular perversions of the truth, whatever they be, when faithfulness to God or to the flock committed to his charge calls him into conflict. " St. Paul gave an example of this earnestness in the case of the Galatians, contending against those who troubled them, and so perverted their minds from the truth ; and not scrupling to say, 6 If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed/ He had done the same at Antioch, when the per- son to be contended with was one of the chief Apostles. Peter had yielded to his own natural prejudices and those of his countrymen, and with- c 22 drew himself for awhile from brotherly communion with the Gentile Christians ; then, said Paul, ' 1 withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.' " * And to a like course every Priest of the Church of England is voluntarily pledged, when duty requires it. He is to be " ready with all faithful diligence to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's Word." ~}~ But let us not in this way be eager for contention; let us be sure that there is a sufficient cause ; and if we must combat thus directly for the truth, let us be very careful to do it in a right spirit — in the spirit of humility, of meekness, and of love. In the spirit of humility ; with a deep sense of our proneness to err, except as we obtain wisdom from above ; with a heartfelt acknow- ledgment, that unless it had pleased God by his Holy Spirit to open our eyes that we might behold wondrous things out of his law, we should our- selves have been in darkness. In the spirit of meekness. The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness in- structing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance, to the * Bishop of Chester on St. Jude. f Ordination Service. 23 acknowledgment of the truth. If we have to give a reason of the hope that is in us, it is to be done with meekness. We are required to put on meekness, to follow meekness, to walk with all meekness ; whatever be our intercourse with our fellow-creatures, to show all meekness unto all men. The wrath of man worketh not the right- eousness of God. In the spirit of love. With an aifectionate desire that the advocates themselves of false doc- trine may be brought to the saving knowledge of the truth. This is not only the disposition which our blessed Saviour, when enduring the contra- diction of sinners against himself, uniformly exhi- bited, but it is the disposition which his religion pointedly demands. To contend for the faith in a different spirit is to tarnish and degrade it. And by this disposition we shall most effectually recommend the truth. Arguments which are thus urged have peculiar influence ; the most stubborn natures are found often to bend before them ; and the same man who would be roused into bitterness by the sharp language of strife, will in many cases readily yield himself to the assertor of principles deemed hitherto offensive, when addressed by him in the spirit of love. But permit me here to advert once again, and yet more expressly, to the point of not contending before contention is to be desired. Permit me to 24 suggest to the youthful Minister to guard against the snare of alwa} T s taking a part in the contro- versies of the times. To dwell much upon the errors of others is to deprive our own minds of the near contact of truth. Spirituality of mind courts retirement, tranquility, and prayer. Would we bless others, we must live in familiarity with great and holy thoughts. We must address our flocks as do those who labour to commune with God, that we may guide them to his presence. Controversy should be our sorrow, and not our pursuit. In drawing these observations to a. close, I cannot but refer to the great solemnity of the occasion which brings us together this day. To see a goodly company of young persons deliber- ately renouncing the attractions and vanities of the world, and devoting themselves to the work of the Christian ministry, would, even in ordinary times, awaken in the considerate spectator many serious reflections, and call forth on their behalf many fervent prayers. But these are not ordinary times. If, like Moses on Mount Pisgah, we could stand on some eminence from which we might survey the lengtii and breadth of this Christian land ; if we could see in all their workings the heresies and divisions which disturb the peace of the Church ; if we could distinctly observe the 25 emissaries of false doctrine who creep in unawares, and the more daring abettors of corrupt principles, who have no fear of God before their eyes ; — if wc could trace and follow these men respectively in their unhappy occupations, we should feel that the office of the Minister of Christ is, especially in these days, one of high responsibility : and how much, my brethren, must depend upon the fidelity and wisdom with which you discharge it ! Let no man, says the Apostle to Timothy, de- spise thy youth. — Let there be nothing in thy teaching or thy conduct which shall bring dis- credit on thyself, and thus inflict injury on religion. — If in some respects pertaining to the Christian ministry youth has its disadvantages ; if, from the want of large experience, it be disposed to adopt principles without just examination ; if it be prone to be led away by subtle and ingenious theories, and to listen with undue regard to the bold claims of imposing forms and ceremonies, till the faith once delivered to the saints is in danger of being obscured by them, or even lost ; — yet let it not, on the other hand, be forgotten, how valuable for the work of the ministry are that zeal, and energy, and freshness, and hopefulness, which are so often the associates of youthful piety, and how well they become the Preacher of the Gospel. Only let there be added to these qualities the spirit of a sound mind, stability in the faith, and a readiness 26 to profit by the wisdom of the wise, and the experience of the aged, and then no man can have any reasonable pretence for despising your youth. The station which you will even now occupy in the Church of Christ is one in which the best qualities of the youthful mind will find ample scope for operation ; and for your encou- ragement we would bid you remember that pro- bably the youngest member of that little flock which our Saviour had chosen to follow him is mentioned as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Shall we say that, in fulfilling the ministry which you have received of the Lord, in taking heed unto yourselves and unto the doctrine, and continuing in them, you will both save yourselves and them that hear you ? It seems as if upon your fidelity depend interests of yet greater mag- nitude. We have spoken of wide-spread disorders and divisions, and the strife of conflicting parties; may we not hope that by your faithful ministra- tions and earnest prayers much may be done to heal these divisions, and, through the instrumen- tality of the National Church, to diffuse over the land the blessings of the Reformation in all their purity ? In the efforts which we have now wit- nessed for some years to repair the walls of our Zion, and to extend yet more and more through all classes of our people the knowledge and the worship of God, we see much to inspire us with 27 thankfulness and hope. It is for you to carry on this good work with increased vigour, and to transmit it in a more advanced state to those that follow you. But let us look yet farther. Cast your eyes upon scenes still more remote. See what the Church of our fathers, under all her domestic trials, through the Divine goodness, is effecting in distant countries, how she is lengthening her cords, and strengthening her stakes, and stretching forth the curtains of her habitations, and, with these, the cords and stakes and habitations of the Church universal. Contemplate her Mission- aries and her Bishops, going forth to the east, and to the west, wherever Divine Providence opens the way, carrying with them the blessings of the Gospel of peace, and, after the example of ancient times, adopting the best measures for its permanent success. At this moment, and by the blessing of God upon the noble efforts of our own days, to the New Zealander, and the Australian, and the Hindoo, and the emancipated children of Africa in the Western World, are thus preached by her Ministers the unsearchable riches of Christ. Nor is it among the least encouraging or least remarkable signs of the times, that by the happy co-operation of other Christians, servants alike of the same Master, although belonging to different sections of the Catholic Church, and in striking 28 accordance with the prophecy, Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their Queens thy nursing mothers ; the very land which witnessed the mira- cles, and heard the voice of the Son of God, and the very city where by his express command the Apostles first began to preach in his name repent- ance and remission of sins, can now with peculiar emphasis exclaim, How beautiful upon the mount- ains are the feet of him that bring eth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that saith unto Zion Thy God reigneth ! Shall these and other similar openings of Divine Providence, connected as they are with the increasing prosperity of the Church in this kingdom, be without effect? Shall the promise, thus apparently held forth, that the Church of England is destined in an eminent degree to spread the benefit of Christian civiliza- tion and Christian knowledge not be fulfilled ? These questions, my brethren, in humble depend- ence upon him who alone can crown all human efforts with success, it is in part for you to answer. In proportion to the purity and intensity of the light in this our sanctuary will it stream forth to the dark places of the earth. Of those who by the grace of God have signally promoted the good work, many have gone to their reward, and others will speedily follow them. You are entering into their labours. Imitate their example. Like them contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to 29 the saints ; and doubt not, that while there is promised to you a gracious recompense in the last day, you shall also be among the honoured instruments of God in accomplishing that sure word of prophecy, From the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts. THE END. BATTEN, PRINTER, CLAPHAM. r 1 r ■SSSSX 0F CONGRESS • 022 168 942 2