£*v m m m m I yo n Q. as- f/3fc G3 ^<^ S-2-* "T n "o : 5 c bfl < * | E 5 *» V to 3 _Q -a CD c CD jBX 9175 .M5 M3 1847 filler, Samuel, 1769-1850 Manual of Presbytery LIBRARY OF PRINCETON MAR I 2005 . THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY MANUAL OF PRESBYTERY: COMPRISING, ^ I. PRESBYTERIANISU THE TRULY PRIMITIVE AND APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION OP THE CHURCH OE CHRIST ; OR, A VISW OF THE HISTORY, DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, AND WORSHIP OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. BY SAMUEL MILLEE, D.D., PROFESSOR OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY AND CHURCH GOVERNMENT IN THE PRESBY- TERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY. II. THE CHARACTER AND ADVANTAGES OE PRESBYTERIANISil ASCERTAINED BY EACTf WITH AN APT .NDIX ON THB TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS AND REFORMERS TO PRESBYTERY- THE MORAL TENDENCY OF CALVINISM, ETC. BY THE REV. JOHN G.^LORIMER, MINISTER OF FREE ST. DAVID'S CHURCH, GLASGOW. SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED. JOHN JOHNSTONE, 15, PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH; AND 26, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. MDCCCXLVII. ENTERED IN STATIONERS HALL. Printed by John Johnstone, 104, High Street, Edinburgh. ■ ■ ■ • 7. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. While I rejoice in the increased interest which questions of Church government are awakening, and the demand for fresh publications on the sub- ject which that interest is calling forth, I have nothing to add to the statements of the former Preface, except that in this New Edition I have endeavoured to bring down the question of Pres- bytery to the present day, by supplying a Chapter on Presbytery as Favourable to Catholic Views of the Church of Christ ; another on the Free Church movement, as furnishing a favourable illustration of the operation of Presbytery; and by also giving the most recent information re- specting the progress of this form of ecclesiastical government in other Christian Churches. I trust that, by these and kindred additions, the reader will find the present Edition more worthy of his iv PREFACE. attention. It is certain that within the last five years questions of Church rule have acquired a fresh importance in themselves, and in their bearing at once upon the civil and religious pro- spects of Christendom. J. G. L. Glasgow, August, 1847. PRISON ^hsologk PEEEACE TO THE FIRST EDITION The question has of late been not unfrequently put, " What is the best book on the distinguishing charac- teristics of the Presbyterian Church — free from personal controversy — at once simple, short, and comprehensive, and adapted to general use ? " This inquiry is not pro- posed by those members of the Church of Scotland — few it is believed in number — who, from ignorance, prejudice, or other causes, taking offence at her present struggle, have passed into another communion. These persons do not put themselves to the trouble of inquiry. They act not from principle, but from feeling, and probably, there- fore, would not be moved by any investigation which they might institute. The inquiry originates with warmly attached friends of the Church, who are quite satisfied that her constitution is scriptural, and who are daily — unlike to the carelessness of other times — taking a deeper and deeper interest in her prospects, but who are anxious to inform themselves, and the youth of their families, more intelligently of the peculiar principles and institu- tions of the Presbyterian Church, than they have hitherto had a call for, or opportunity of doing. VI PREFACE. It is probable that some may say, "The fewer such books as those referred to on denominational distinctions the better. In these days, when there is so much Infi- delity, Popery, and Error in the world, and such vast continents to be reclaimed from Heathenism, would it not be well that all Christian Churches holding the Head, were united in heart, and joined together in the same labours ?" In answer to this, we have to say, that controversy upon confessedly subordinate matters is to be deprecated, especially if it interfere with Christian union and co-operation; but we are not sure that in any circumstances it is warrantable to sink the peculiarities of Presbyterianism. Church government, discipline, and worship, hold an important connection with doctrine- They are in some respects the fences of its purity, and though in themselves inferior to the weightier matters of the Law and the Gospel, yet, as part of the revealed will of God, are of higher value than the most esteemed objects of earth. If men are to give an account of every idle word which they speak, they will certainly be held responsible before God for the care which they bestow in ascertaining the scriptural constitution of the Chris- tian Church, and the zeal or remissness which they manifest in adhering to it after ascertained. Besides, the more closely that any Church is conformed in con- stitution to the will of its great Head, the richer blessing may be expected to rest on its ministrations. Whatever may be the particular circumstances of the Church or of the world, requiring Christians, it may be for a time, to subordinate questions of ecclesiastical polity to more important and immediate duty, no one PREFACE. Vll who is alive to the present state of the Christian world, and much more, to the existing religious condition of British society, can question that this is not one of the seasons when Presbyterians should be silent upon the peculiarities of their faith. Unhappily, it is too well known that a large, influential, and rapidly increasing party have of late years appeared in the Episcopal, or, more correctly speaking, the Prelatical Churches, both of Britain and America, whose proclaimed doctrine it is, that the Pres- byterian Church, and all Churches not Episcopal, have no authorized ministry or valid ordinances; in short, are no Churches of Christ at all, but mere religious com- munities, dealing in pretended services. In such cir- cumstances, it is high time at least to stand on the defensive, and to vindicate the claims of the Presbyterian Church. Silence were not only treachery to the cause of truth where assailed, it would be equivalent to a cowardly ac- quiescence in insolent presumption. It were well that there were no need for controversy, or that less impor- tant controversies were occasionally absorbed in the common pursuit of higher objects; but when not merely the honour, but the very existence, of the Presbyterian Church as a Church of Christ is denied, and millions of the most intelligent and w T ell-conducted professors of Christianity, not a whit inferior to their brethren in character, are summarily unchurched, it is a sacred duty, if not to expose the pretensions of assailants, at least calmly to state the claims of the Presbyterian Church, and to circulate the knowledge of these claims as exten- sively as possible among the members. It is only in this way, with God's blessing, that painful apprehensions PREFACE. as to the validity of the ordinances of which they partake can be allayed, supposing them to be once excited. No candid Episcopalian can wonder, and much less be offend- ed, at the members of other Churches standing forward in behalf of their denominational peculiarities. When so many of his brethren call in question all that is dear to them, it would be strange to find fault with their de- fending themselves : the efforts, too, which some Episco- palians are making to avail themselves of the trials of the Church of Scotland, to add to their numbers, is a call for such work as the present. There is a further reason for Presbyterians being fur- nished with the knowledge of their peculiarities as a Church, and that is — the wide dispersion of not a few of them over the world. The migratory spirit of Scot- land is proverbial. England, Ireland, and all the colonies of Great Britain, particularly the East and West Indies, Canada, and Australia, can bear witness to its strength. Removed from their mother Church, and often scattered in such small groups among the professors of other Churches, as not to have any opportunity for worshipping together, they are in considerable danger of losing sight of the peculiarities of the parent Church, and of either recruiting the ranks of other communions, or, in dislike of their forms and discipline, sinking into spiritual care- lessness and neglect. In the midst of these disadvantages and perils, how important is it that they be well instructed in the divine claims of the Church in which they were born, and baptized, and educated ; that they be able to carry the means of this knowledge along with them, so that greater efforts maybe employed to furnish them with PREFACE. IX divine ordinances, in the mode which to them is most in- teresting and effective; and that, instead of being hope- lessly lost to the mother Church on leaving the Scottish shores, they may, as soon as opportunity offers, return from the communions in which, for a season, they may have been constrained by circumstances to worship. There can be little question, that a more familiar and intelligent acquaintance with the divine warrant for Presbyterianism, in its principles and institutions, would not only save the loss of many members on going abroad, but would lead to more vigorous exertions to provide them with the means of grace and salvation, and so con- duce to the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom in foreign lands. Though Presbyterians have frequently been accused of party spirit, perhaps there never was a religious body which, upon the whole, has been so free from it; one remarkable proof of this is, that, compared with other religious parties, they have done so little to record and spread the knowledge of their peculiarities. The history of Presbyterianism has long been imperfectly related, and is only now beginning to be, in some measure, adequately attended to. Its ecclesiastical polity has, if possible, been still less cared for. Presbyterians seem, in almost all ages, to have taken for granted that their principles and usages are so obviously accordant with Scripture and common sense, that they may be left to find their way unaided among professed Christians. Unless where specially provoked, they have done little by books to recommend the religious system to which they are attached. In this respect, there is a decided PREFACE. contrast between them and the adherents of Episcopal and Congregational Churches. Where they have stood forward, it has almost always been, not as aggressors, but simply in self-defence; and hence the controversial air of their works, which, in its turn, has been injurious. Even the young men intended for the ministry of the Presby- terian Church have not (I allude here particularly to the Established Church of Scotland) been instructed at the universities in the principles of Presbytery. Though a distinct branch of study, it has been greatly neglected. Any improvement in this respect is of very recent origin. But though, in a catholic spirit, almost carried to excess, Presbyterians have done little as" they ought to have done to spread their peculiarities, it must not be imagined, that where they have entered the field, their success has been indifferent. Far from it. As often as their principles have been seriously assailed, whether by Episcopalians on the one hand, or Congregationalists on the other, they have given forth able and triumphant defences to the world. Not to refer to foreign Pres- byterians of pre-eminent talent and learning — Beza in Switzerland, Blondel in France, Voetius in Holland, and many others — there never was a period in the his- tory of the Church of Scotland, when Presbytery was assailed, in which, with God's blessing, there was not an ample and adequate defence. In early days, when Episcopacy, in an insidious form, was introduced by an unprincipled monarch, Calderwood,in his "Altare Daraa- scenum," was found more than a match for all that could be alleged in its behalf. At a later day, in the middle of the seventeenth century, Gillespie, Rutherford, Baillie, PREFACE. Fergusson, and "Wood, most ably defended Presbytery against both Episcopacy and the Sectaries, or Indepen- dents of these days. The Presbyterian ministers of London, at the same period, waged a successful war in the south, and with the Independents of New England. After the Revolution of 1688, when the Prelatists, who had persecuted for thirty years, were overthrown, and, stung with defeat, assailed the Church of Scotland in all its aspects with a virulence of calumny almost un- known in the history of the Christian Church, her cause was nobly maintained, with blended piety, talent, and learning, by Rule and Forrester, Jameson and Lauder. Shortly after, Anderson, in answer to a new assailant, an apostate Presbyterian, published his able " Defence." When Independency, which had long slumbered, reared its head anew in the writings of Glass, it was imme- diately and powerfully met by Ayton of Alyth, in a publication which, if I have not been misinformed, was considered by the late Dr. M'Crie as the most complete work on Church government. In this connection, the honoured name of Willison of Dundee, who wrote both against Prelacy and Independency, might be introduced. For sixty years no book of any consequence was pub- lished in behalf of Presbytery in Scotland — a pretty plain proof of its non-sectarian character. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Congregationalism anew appeared, associated with the secession of one or two ministers from the Church of Scotland, Dr. Brown, now of Langton, published a full and learned " Vindi- cation." Since then there has been no publication in Scotland of any moment, till the other day, when four Xll PREFACE. ministers of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland stepped forth with two able defences of Presbytery, against the assaults of modern Episcopacy. In their own land, with the exception of Boyse of Dublin in the last century, there has been as little written in behalf of Presbytery as in this country. Nor is the Presbyterian Church of America an exception to the rule, if such it may be called. Dr. M'Leod, Dr. Mason, Dr. Miller, belonging to different branches of the Presbyterian body, have almost alone maintained the cause of Presbytery in the New World in modern times. Of late, something has been done at home to diffuse its principles, by the pub- lication of Dr. M'Leod's " Ecclesiastical Catechism," and another still smaller, which, I rejoice to find, has, in the course of a few years, passed through eight editions, and obtained a circulation of 40,000 copies. Still there is much need for a work to meet the wants of the Presbyterian Church, and of the age. Most of the larger works are scarce and inaccessible, perhaps re- pulsive, to the general reader; and of late years, with the awakened interest in behalf of religion, and of inquiry in connection with the constitution of Christian Churches, have become very expensive. Moreover, they are all mixed up with personal controversy, which prejudices many minds. Very small works, again, such as cate- chisms, though most useful in their own place, particu- larly after reading a larger work, have too much the air of a table of contents, and, from not detaining the mind sufficiently long upon the subject, do not give it such a firm hold of principles as is desirable to pos- sess. Besides these disadvantages, none of the works, PREFACE. Xlll whether larger or smaller, give a comprehensive view of he leading points involved in Presby terianism ; they are :hiefly occupied with the article of Church government. I have long wished for something in a brief, but not too brief a form, which should comprehend some view of the history and doctrine of the Presbyterian Church, as well as of its government and worship, and that in an attractive and readable style. In the little work of the able and accomplished Professor of Ecclesiastical His- tory in the Presbyterian College of Princeton, New Jersey, I think I have met with the desideratum. So far as it goes it is admirable, and only needs to be adapted, by means of additional information, to the state and prospects of the question in this country, to prove a most useful digest for every Presbyterian family. In the large additions which are given in notes, and a Second Part, and Appendix, as large as the original work, I humbly hope that some important and useful informa- tion has been supplied which may not only add to the value of Dr. Miller's publication, but, in some measure, direct the reader who wishes to pursue the subject farther fqr himself, to appropriate sources. A list of works is given in the Appendix. The recommendations of the following treatise are peculiar. Besides its own merits, its accuracy, simplicity, brevity, comprehensiveness — embracing a sketch of the history, doctrine, government, and worship of the Pres- byterian Church — and freedom from controversy, it is the work of one who occupies a leading place in one of the most important Presbyterian Churches of the world, who has devoted many years to the study of Church history, XIV PREFACE. and who has written largely and well on the subject of Church government. The treatise, too, was written at the request of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America, and has for years been adopted as one of the many useful little works to which that body gives currency by the sanction of its official approbation. In the United States it has had a circulation of many thousands, and continues in high estimation. In these circumstances, I have thought that a republication, with additional original matter, suited to this side of the Atlantic, would be a service to the cause of Presbyte- rianism, which has suffered from the want of such a work — a cause which I believe to be the cause of know- ledge and truth, freedom, order, social happiness, virtue, religion, because founded on the Word of God. Of course, in writing on such a subject, however shortly, it is impossible, let one's spirit be as catholic as it may, to avoid the appearance of assailing other deno- minations of Christians. One cannot state the case of Presbytery without seeming to reflect on its rival sys- tems of government — Prelacy and Congregationalism — any more than the advocates of these forms can state theirs without seeming to disparage Presbytery and Presbyterians. Once for all, I beg to disclaim all rivalry and uncharitableness. The object of the following pages is to state and recommend the claims of Presbytery — not to run down other kinds of ecclesiastical govern- ment, and far less to provoke their adherents. Any reference to them is no more than what is essential, and is, I trust, conducted in a Christian and charitable spirit. I rejoice to think that there are multitudes of excellent PREFACE. XV men in all Evangelical Churches; but when it is re- membered how Presbytery has been, and continues to be, spoken of by many — that no system has in all ages been more calumniated and misrepresented (taken with other circumstances, no mean intimation of its divine origin) ; and, above all, that at the present moment an immense and growing party in the Church of England, throughout the three kingdoms, is denying that Presby- terians have a Church at all, and consequently can be saved, unless as the heathen are saved — it would not have been wonderful, nor perhaps very unwarrantable, that ministers whose ordination, office, and ordinances, have all been denounced as pretended, should feel and write strongly. This certainly would have been the case had Presbyterians treated Episcopalians or Con- gregationalists in the same way; but, as I have already said, every thing which savours of party spirit and un- charitableness is anxiously disclaimed. I am not con- scious of such feelings; and as Presbyterians have all along been, as a whole, distinguished for their catholic spirit, I should be sorry that any work I republish, or any comments with which it is accompanied, should even seem to offend against the law of charity. For the notes, except in the few cases where Dr. Miller's name is appended, I am solely responsible. To prevent misapprehension, however, I add the letter L. May the great Head of the Church bless this humble effort to vindicate and diffuse important doctrines and ecclesiastical principles — which were held and exem- plified in apostolic and primitive times — have been re- cognised more or less fully in all subsequent ages — which PREFACE. the writer has no doubt will be triumphant in millennial days, and which, in a variety of ways, conduce to the divine glory. J. G. L. Glasgow, January, 1842. PKESBYTERIANISM. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ' The Church of God, in the days of the apostles, as is well known, was not divided into different denominations. Even then, indeed, there were parties in the Church. The restless and selfish spirit of depraved human nature soon began, in different places, to display its unhallowed influence, either in the form of Judaizing claims, philo- sophical speculations, or turbulent opposition to regular ecclesiastical authority. In the Church of Corinth, though planted and nurtured by " the chiefest of the apostles," there were factious and troublesome members, who contended among themselves, and said, one to an- other, " I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ." Still the Church was one. The names, " Presbyterian," " Episcopalian," " Congregationalist," &c, &c, were unknown. All professing Christians, " though many, were considered as one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." The only popular distinction then recognised, as far as the pro- fessed followers of Christ were concerned, was between the Church and the heretics. Not long after the apostolic age, when heresies had become numerous, when each of them claimed to belong to the Church, and when convenience demanded the 18 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. adoption of some term which might distinguish between the true or orthodox Church, and the various sects of errorists — the title of catholic (or general, as the term catholic signifies) was applied to the former; while the latter were distinguished by various names, derived either from the nature of their distinguishing opinions, or from the original authors or promoters of those opinions. It is well known, indeed, that the blinded and supersti- tious followers of the Bishop of Rome claim the title of catholic, as exclusively applicable to themselves. In their own estimation, they are the Church, the only true Church, the catholic or universal Church; and all the olher classes of nominal Christians throughout the world are heretics, out of the way of salvation. This claim, however, in the estimation of all enlightened Christians, is as presumptuous as it is vain. That department of nominal Christendom, instead of being the only true Church, is considered by many as too far gone in cor- ruption to be comprehended under the Christian name at all; and instead of there being no salvation out of her communion, the danger of eternal perdition is rather to those who are found within her pale. It is not doubted, indeed, that there are many pious individuals within that pale; but it is believed that they are placed in cir- cumstances deplorably unfavourable to their growth in grace; and that the multitudes around them in the same communion, are immersed in darkness, supersti- tion, and dreadful error, which place them in the utmost jeopardy of eternal perdition. This is that " Antichrist," that " Man of Sin and Son of Perdition," who exalte th himself above all that is called God, and who is yet to be " destroyed with the breath of Jehovah's mouth, and with the brightness of his coming."* * There is no doubt that persons in the outward communion of the Church of Rome are saved. God's people are expressly required " to come out of her," which implies that some of them are in her. But they are saved, not as believing the doctrine and practising the unscriptural requirements of the Church of Rome — that were de- structive; but as holding Protestant truth, and exemplifying its power — it may be, unknown to themselves — and in these circum- stances remaining within her external pale. It is more than ques- tionable whether the Church of Rome should be regarded or called INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 19 No particular denomination of Christians is now en- titled to be called, byway of eminence, the catholic or uni- versal Church. There are Churches, indeed, which bear a nearer resemblance to the apostolical model than others, and which deserve to be favourably distinguished in the list of Christian communities ; but the visible catholic Church is made up of all those throughout the world who profess the true religion, together with their children. The Presbyterian, the Congregationalist, the Methodist, the Baptist, the Episcopalian, the Indepen- dent, who hold the fundamentals of our holy religion, in whatever part of the globe they may reside, are all members of the same visible community; and, if they be sincere believers, will all finally be made partakers of its eternal blessings. They cannot, indeed, all worship together in the same solemn assembly, even if they were disposed to do so. A physical impossibility forbids it; and, in many cases, prejudice and folly widely separate those who ought to be entirely united. Still, in spite of all the sects and names by which professing Christians are divided, there is a visible Church catholic. There is a precious sense in which the whole visible Church on earth is one. All who "hold the Head," of course, be- long to the body of Christ. Those who are united by a sound profession to the same divine Saviour; who em- brace the same precious faith ; who are sanctified by the same Spirit; who eat the same spiritual meat; who drink the same spiritual drink; who repose and rejoice a Church at all. The Reformers, who had grown up in her com- munion, certainly admitted the claim; but there is not only no authority for this from Scripture, but so far as its light goes, there seems to be an intimation that she is no Church. Rome is repre- sented as occupying the outer court of the temple, left out of the measurement. She is spoken of not as Zion, but Babylon — not the Lamb's wife, but the mother of harlots. She is not to be reformed, but destroyed. If, as is well asked by Fuller, she be a true Church of Christ, what is that Church which fled from her persecution into the wilderness? Her proper name is Antichrist — the Roman apos- tasy; and yet some professing a purer faith glory in drawing their supposed title and pedigree from her ! What can be more ludicrous than for parties to be drawing an " apostolic succession " from those who form no part of the Church of Christ at all ? What advantage can be expected from such a genealogy ? — L. 20 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. in the same promises ; and who are travelling to the same eternal rest — are surely one body — one in a sense more richly significant and valuable than can be ascribed to millions who sustain and boast a mere nominal rela- tion.* But while we thus maintain the doctrine of the unit* of the visible Church catholic; and while we rejoice ii the assured belief that sectarian names, as they wer: unknown in the apostolic age, so they will be unknowi among the members of the Redeemer's glorified body still, in this militant state, there is a separation, no merely nominal, but real and deplorable; a separatior which interferes most deeply with the communion oi saints, and which lamentably mars those precious oppor- tunities of proximity and intercourse which too often, alas! become incentives to contention and strife, rather than to Christian love. Amidst this diversity of sects and names, it becomes, to every intelligent and conscientious Christian, a most interesting question, Which of the various denomina- tions, which bear the name of Christian Churches, may be considered as approaching nearest to the New Testa- ment model? We freely acknowledge, indeed, as Churches of Christ, all who hold the fundamentals of our holy religion, and consider it as our duty to love and honour them as such; carefully avoiding all treatment of them that tends to the increase of strife and division, and that is contrary to " godly edifying." Still it cannot be doubted by any rational man, that some one of these denominations is nearer to the apostolic model, as a Church of Christ, than any of the rest. Which of the whole number this is, is a most serious question in the * Among Evangelical Christians, the points of agreement are far more numerous and important than those of diversity. There is much more real harmony between Protestant Churches, manifold as may be their outward forms and aspects, than there is in the Church of Rome, where there is a great air of unity, or rather of external uniformity. This holds out the prospect one day of a much larger amount of visible union among Evangelical Christians than at present exists. In the meantime, the Church of Rome gains by the mere picture and pretence of unity, as in other cases she gains by deceiv- ing men with the outward, as a substitute for the im.ard. — L. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 21 view of every one who wishes to know the will of Christ, and who is desirous to be found walking in that way which was trod by inspired apostles, and in which they left the Church harmoniously walking, when they ceased from their labours. It is the sincere belief of the writer of these pages, that the Presbyterian Church, taking the Word of God as its " only infallible rule of faith and practice," is more truly primitive and apostolical in its whole constitution, of doctrine, worship, and order, than any other Church now on earth. An humble attempt to evince the truth of this position will occupy the following pages. For the fulfilment of the purpose in view, I shall endeavour, very briefly, to consider the history of Pres- byterianism ; its doctrine, its order or form of govern- ment, its tcorship, and its comparative advantages. In each of these respects, unless I am deceived, it will be easy to show that it approaches nearer than any other Christian denomination to the apostolical model.* To prepare the way more fully for the ensuing dis- cussion, it may be proper to state, that there are four distinct forms of Church order, each of which claims a scriptural w r arrant: — the Papal, or spiritual monarchy; the Episcopal, or spiritual prelacy ; Independency, or spiritual democracy; and Presbyterianism, or spiri- tual republicanism. The first maintaining the necessity of one supreme, universal, infallible head of the whole Christian body throughout the world, as the authorized vicar of Christ. The second, contending for an order of clerical prelates, above the rank of ordinary ministers of the Gospel, who are alone, in their view, empowered to ordain, and without whose presiding agency there can be no regular Church. The third, holding that all * There are some persons who are continually styling their Churches " apostolic," " primitive," &c, as if they were to become so by mere asseveration. It should be remembered, that every in- telligent Christian believes the Church to which he belongs to be apostolic and primitive, and that he is as well entitled to claim these titles as others. Shrewd men will generally remark, that the Churches which claim these words most in speech, have the least title to them in reality. — L. c 22 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ecclesiastical power resides in the mass of the Church members, and that all acts of ecclesiastical authority are to be performed immediately by them. While, in the fourth and last place, Presbyterians believe that Christ has made all ministers, who are authorized to dispense the word and sacraments, perfectly equal in official rank and power; that in every Church the immediate exer- cise of ecclesiastical power is deposited, not with the whole mass of the people, but with a body of their re- presentatives, styled elders; and that the whole visible Church catholic, so far as their denomination is con- cerned, is not only one in name, but so united by a series of assemblies of these representatives, acting in the name and by the authority of the whole, as to bind the whole body together as one Church, walking by the same principles of faith and order, and voluntarily, yet autho- ritatively, governed by the same system of rule and regulation. Presbyterianism, then, is a term which primarily refers to the form of Church government. That is a Presbyterian Church in which the presbytery is the radical and leading judicatory; in which teaching and ruling presbyters, or elders, have committed to them the watch and care of the whole flock; in which all ministers of the word and sacraments are equal; in which ruling elders, as the representatives of the people, form a part of all ecclesiastical assemblies, and partake, in all authoritative acts, equally w T ith the teaching elders; and in which, by a series of judicatories, rising one above another, each individual Church is under the watch and care of its appropriate judicatory, and the whole body, by a system of review and control, is bound together as one homogeneous community. Wherever this system is found in operation in the Church of God, there is Presbyterianism. Though there may be much diversity in the names of the several judicatories; and though, in the minuter details of arrangement, some variety may exist, still it is essentially the same. Thus the Reformed Churches in France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, and Geneva, are all Presbyterian, not with* • INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 23 standing some minor varieties in the names and regula- tions of their judicatories. Wherever ministerial parity, the government of the Church by elders, instead of the mass of the communicants, and the authoritative union of Churches under courts of review and control, are found, there we have that ecclesiastical system which it is the object of the following pages to explain and re- commend. But although the term Presbyterian has a primary reference to the form of Church government, yet Pres- byterian Churches were originally agreed, and have been commonly in all ages agreed, in a variety of other mat- ters, which, we believe, are all warranted by the Holy Scriptures. It is to the whole system, then, of doctrine, government, and mode of worship, which now distin- guishes the Presbyterian Church in the United States, that the attention of the readers of these pages is re- quested ; and which, it shall be my aim to show, is set forth in the Word of God, " the only infallible rule of faith and practice." CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. The essential principles of Presbyterian Church order were of very early origin. Those principles are the authoritative binding of the whole Church together as one body; and conducting this government, not by the entire ecclesiastical population, but by representatives, elected by, and acting on behalf of, the whole. That this mode of administering the affairs of the visible Church was adopted long before the coming of Christ, is certain, and can be doubted by none who intelligently and impartially read the Old Testament Scriptures. Even before the institution of the ceremonial economy, while the covenanted people of God were yet in bond- age in Egypt, we find that they had their elders ; that is, their men of gravity, experience, and wisdom, who were obeyed as heads of tribes, and rulers among the people. (Exod. iii. 16.) The powers committed to them, and exercised by them, are not particularly specified ; but we may take for granted, with confidence, that their office was to inspect and govern the people, and to ad- just all disputes both of a civil and ecclesiastical nature. Before the publication of the law from Mount Sinai, and anterior to the establishment of the ceremonial eco- nomy, Moses chose wise and able men out of the tribes of Israel, made them rulers over thousands, over hun- dreds, over fifties, and over tens. (Exod. xviii.) These rulers are elsewhere, in almost every part of the Old Testament, styled elders. To them, as we are expressly HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 25 informed, all the ordinary cases of government and dis- cipline were committed. The same mode of dispensing justice and order among the people seems to have been employed after the institution of the Aaronic priesthood ; during the time of the judges and of the kings; dur- ing the Babylonish captivity; and after the return of the captives from Babylon. At whatever time the syna- gogue system was adopted, it is evident that the plan of conducting government by means of a body of elders was universal through all the land of Judea, up to the time of the Saviour's advent. The synagogues were the parish churches of the Jews. There the ordinary wor- ship and instruction of the Sabbath were conducted ; and the excommunication of an individual from the body of the professing people of God was expressed by " putting him out of the synagogue." In these syna- gogues, the essential principles of Presbyterianism were universally established. The similarity, as to every im- portant point, was exact. In short, during the whole tract of time embraced in the history of the Mosaic economy, we have complete evidence that the ecclesias- tical government, as well as the civil, was conducted, under God, the supreme ruler, by boards of elders, acting as the authorized representatives of the people. To this mode of government, as is notorious, every city and every synagogue was accustomed. In no instance, in either Church or State, is a case recollected in which the population was called together to settle a dispute, or dispense justice between persons at variance. The re- presentative system was universally in use. The work of administering justice was always done by a body of rulers or officers, commonly styled, amidst all the changes of dispensation, " elders of the people." * Nor was this all. As each particular synagogue was * The truth is, the representative system of government, whether on Church or in State, is founded on reason and necessity, as well as on Scripture. There is no other way of governing a large hody of intelligent men. All cannot govern. Hence, with the progress^ of representative principles of government— from the progress of civi- lization—provision is made for the spread of Presbyterianism m the Christian Church. This holds out good prospects for the future.— L. 26 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. governed by a bench of elders, of which the bishop or " angel of the Church" was the presiding officer ; so also, as the whole Jewish body was one — one catholic Church — there were always appeals admitted, in cases of alleged incorrectness of judgment, to the " great synagogue" at Jerusalem, where an opportunity was given for redressing what was done amiss. Nothing like the independency of particular synagogues was admitted or thought of. A system which bound the whole com- munity together as one visible professing body was uni- formly in operation. The first converts to Christianity being all native Jews, who had been always accustomed to the exercise of government by benches of " elders," in the manner just specified; and this representative plan being so equitable, so wise, and so convenient in itself, no wonder that the same plan was adopted by the apostles in organizing the primitive Church. Accordingly, as in the account which the inspired writers give of the Jewish constitu- tion, we read continually of the " rulers of the syna- gogue," and of the " elders of the people," as a body distinguished from the priests ; so, when they proceed to give us an account of the organization and proceed- ings of the New Testament Church, we find the same language used in cases almost innumerable. We read of " elders being ordained in every Church ;" of an im- portant question being referred to a synod, made up of "apostles and elders;" of "elders who ruled well, but did not labour in the word and doctrine;" of the " elders of the Church being called together" to consider eccle- siastical questions; of the "elders of the Church being called for to visit and pray over the sick," &c.* The question, whether the exact mode of conducting * The Hebrews, on becoming Christian, -would naturally follow the same forms of Church government to which they had been ac- customed when Jews. Hence, if a change was intended by Christ, it was essential that they should be apprized of it ; nay, the former polity would need to have been repealed, and they cautioned against recurring to it. Now, is there any repeal of, or caution against adopting, the old Jewish form of government ? No : The inference is plain. In principle it was continued. — L. HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 2? the government and discipline of the Church, which we find delineated in the New Testament, is obligatory on Christians now, is one concerning which there is no small diversity of opinion- That an entire conformity to that model, in every minute particular, is essential to the existence of the Church, will be maintained by few, and certainly by no Presbyterian. None can doubt, however, that it is most expedient and safe to keep, as near as may be, to that plan of Church order which in- spired men approved and left in use, when they ceased from their labours.* As to what that plan was, it would really seem almost impossible that intelligent and impartial readers of the New Testament should entertain different opinions. The moment we open the inspired history of the apostolic age, we find a style of speaking concerning the officers of the Church, and a statement of facts, which evince, beyond all controversy, that the model of the synagogue was that which was then adopt- ed, and which was left in universal use when inspired men surrendered the Church to their successors. We find, preaching the Gospel. " feeding the sheep and the lambs" of Christ, and administering the Christian sacra- ments, the highest offices intrusted to the ministers of Christ. We find a plurality of " elders," by divine direction, ordained in every Church. In no instance, in the whole New Testament, do we find an organized congregation under the watch and care of a single officer. Farther: we find "bishop" and "elder," titles given, interchangeably, to the same persons ; plainly showing that the term " bishop," in the apostolic age, was the title which designated the pastor or "overseer" of a single flock or Church.t We find in the New Testa - * While God may, and doubtless does, acknowledge all forms where Gospel truth is held and professed, yet it may be expected that the blessing will always be richer, the nearer that any particu- lar Church approaches to' the standard of Scripture. We are not allowed, when favoured with the means of knowledge, to despise even the least of Christ's commandments with impunity. And there is a reward, also, for being faithful in searching out God's mind and will from his Word. — L. + Episcopalians obtain an undue advantage over their brethren in other communions, from the word ' ; bishop" in the English Ian- 28 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. ment history no trace of Prelacy. All priority or pre- eminence among the ministers of Christ is expressly rebuked and forbidden.* There is evidently but one commission given to the authorized ministers of the word and sacraments. When the Saviour left the world, he commissioned no higher officer in his Church, speaks of no higher than he who was empowered to go forth and " teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" The ordaining power is manifestly represented as pos- sessed and exercised by ordinary pastors, and as per- formed by the " laying on of the hands of the presbytery." There is not a solitary instance to be found in all the New Testament, of an ordination being performed by a single individual, whether an ordinary or an extraor- dinary minister. In all the cases which we find record- ed or hinted at, a plurality of ordainers officiated. When Paul and Barnabas were designated to a special mission, it was by a plurality of " prophets and teachers of the Church in Antioch." (Acts xii.) When they went forth to preach and organize Churches, we are informed that they together " ordained elders in every Church." Timothy was ordained by the " laying on of the hands of the presbytery ." t (1 Tim. iv. 14.) And even when the guage having come to describe the overseer, not of a congregation, but of the clergy. This is not, however, its original meaning. It simply signifies an "overseer." Presbyterians and Congregation- al ists are equally entitled to use it as Episcopalians, and to apply it to their ministers as " overseers" of the Christian people. Where met with in Scripture, Christians should always remember that it means nothing but the pastor and overseer of the congregation, and that the same is its meaning in the earliest period of the primitive Church. — L. * Among the twelve apostles there was perfect parity; there wag no arch-apostle, like archbishop in modern times. — L. f Paul, indeed, in 2 Tim. i. 0, says, " I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands;'''' but the gift here spoken of is evidently not the gift of ordination, but of miraculous powers conferred by the apostle. A man could not well " stir up" his ordination ; and it is immediately added, that God had not given the " spirit of fear," but of " power," alluding to the gift of miraculous power. The apostle seems to have bestowed miraculous gifts on Timothy, just as Ananias, Avho was no bishop, laid his hands on Paul, and he received the Holy Ghost." (Acts ix. 17.)— L. HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 29 deacons were set apart to their office, it is plain, from the narrative (Acts vi. 1-6), that a plurality laid hands upon them, with prayer and fasting. It is plain, too, that the whole visible Church, in the apostolic age, whether in Jerusalem or in Antioch, in Philippi or in Ephesus, was regarded as one hody, all governed by the same laws, subject to the same authority, and regulated by the same judicial decisions. Thus, when a question arose which interested and affected the whole Christian community, it was decided by a synod of the " apostles and elders at Jerusalem;"* and the "decrees" of that synod were sent down to "all the Churches," to be registered and obeyed. Here was evidently an assembly of ministers and elders, acting as the representatives of the whole Church, and pronouncing judicial decisions, which were intended to bind the whole body. If this be not Presbyterianism, then there is nothing of the kind in Scotland, or in the United States. When we pass from the New Testament to the earliest records of uninspired antiquity, the same form of Church order is everywhere apparent. The plan of ecclesiasti- cal government disclosed by the Epistles of Ignatius, as actually existing in his day, is manifestly Presbyterian. He represents every particular Church of which he speaks, as furnished with a bishop or pastor, a bench of elders, and deacons; he continually employs language which implies that these officers were present in every worshipping assembly; and he most evidently gives us to understand, that these elders, with the pastor or bishop at their head, conducted the government and discipline of each Church. Clemens Romanus, contem- porary with Ignatius, speaks in language of similar import. He represents bishops and presbyters — the Episcopate and the Presbyterate — as the same; and expressly states that the presbyters were " set over the Church" by the choice of the Church; and that to rise up in rebellion against them was considered as highly criminal. The testimony of Irenaeus, who lived in the * Not by the apostles or bishops alone, but also by the ruling elders.— L. 0\) HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. second century, is no less decisive in favour of our system. He continually applies the title of bishop and presbyter to the same men ; speaks of " the succession of the Episcopate," through the presbyters and through the bishops, as the very same; nay, represents the Apostolical succession, the Episcopal succession, and the Presbyterial succession, as all identical. In short, he could scarcely have kept a more scrupulous and exact balance than he does between the dignities, powers, and duties connected ■with each title, and ascribed interchangeably to all. I might go on to quote Justin Martyr, Clemens Alexan- drinus, and other early fathers, as speaking a language of equivalent import. But there is no need of going into further detail. The truth is, for the first two hun- dred years after Christ, it is certain that neither Prelacy nor Independency was known in the Church of Christ. There is not a single record within that period which either asserts or implies it; but everything of a contrary aspect. Every flock of professing Christians had its pastor or bishop, with its bench of elders, by whom the govern- ment and discipline were conducted; and its body of deacons, by whom the funds collected for the relief of the poor were received and disbursed.* In the third century after Christ, the aspect of things began to change. Some seasons, in this century of ex- emption from persecution, and of comparative outward prosperity, were marked by very sensible departure from the simplicity and purity of the preceding times. Here- sies and schisms began to distract the congregations of God's professing people. The ministry and eldership of the Church declined both in zeal and faithfulness. The clergy became ambitious and voluptuous, and, as a natu- ral consequence, full of intrigue and contention. The pictures given of their cupidity, mutual encroachments, and degrading strife, by Cyprian, by Origen, and by Eusebius, as in full operation in the third century, are truly of the most revolting character. Some have said, indeed, that the Church, in the Cyprianic age, presented, * Vide "The Testimony of the Fathers and Reformers in behalf of Presbytery," in the Appendix. — L. HISTORY OF PRE3BYTERIANISM. 31 on the whole, one of the most satisfactory models of ecclesiastical perfection. Those who can entertain this opinion must judge of what is desirahle in a Church by a very different criterion from that which the Bible fur- nishes. Let them impartially read the statements given by the writers just mentioned, and they will speedily alter their opinion.* Among such a clergy, an undue aspiring after preferment, titles, and places, might be expected, as a matter of course. Indeed, in such cir- cumstances, it would have required a constant succession of miracles to prevent Prelacy from arising. Nor was this all. As the Church declined from her primitive simplicity and purity, seme of her more serious ministers thought themselves warranted in resorting to other forms of attraction for drawing the populace into the Church. For attracting the Jews, they began to adopt some of the titles, ceremonies, and vestments of the temple ser- vice. They began to call the Christian ministry the "priesthood;" and, as a natural consequence, to speak of u priests " and " high priests," and " altars," and " sacrifices," &c, &c; for all which, in reference to the Christian economy, there is not the smallest warrant in the New Testament. Other ecclesiastical leaders, for the purpose of conciliating and attracting the Pagans, * We are indebted to recent controversies for more just views of the character of the Christian Church in the first three centuries than were formerly entertained. Even the great body of intelligent men took it for granted that the primitive Church, with a few ex- ceptions, was not only irreproachable, but highly estimable. Recent investigators (and to no one is the Christian Church more obliged than to Mr. Taylor, in his " Ancient Christianity." in answer to the new Anglican school) have brought out a very different — most 'affect- ing and appalling result. Nothing is more fitted to soften the hor- rors of Popery, than, with Mr. Taylor's aid, to read the history of the primitive Church which the new school extol. In doctrine, worship, and practice, the picture is fearful. Well may any corruption in Church government rise out of such previous corruption in faith and manners. It were strange were it otherwise. Antichrist existed in the days of the apostles, and was to rise to dominion gradually. The history of the primitive Church is the picture of its' progress, and that a" rapid one. In addition to Mr. Taylor's work, the reader may consult with advantage the third chapter of Jameson's " Cyp- rianus Isotimus." It gives a well accredited and melancholy ac- count of Cyprian, as well as of his contemporaries. — L. 32 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. introduced a variety of rites from the ceremonial of the heathen, intended to make the Christian ritual more splendid, dazzling, and alluring to those "who had been the votaries of dumb idols, and whose chief objection to the religion of Christ was, that its worship was too simple and unadorned. The consequence was, that, toward the close of the third century, Prelacy was gra- dually and insidiously introduced. All orders of eccle- siastical men partook of the spirit of ambitious encroach- ment. The deacons, whom the apostles had appointed to be guardians of the poor, and of the temporalities of the Church, became too proud to discharge the appro- priate duties of their office, employed " sub-deacons" to perform their official work, and, after a while, claimed, and had conceded to them, the power of preaching and baptizing. The presbyters or elders partook of the same spirit, and although the greater part of them had been chosen and set apart for ruling only; yet, as the disci- pline of the Church became relaxed and unpopular, and finally in a great measure abandoned, they all aspired to be public teachers, and turned away from their ori- ginal work, to what they deemed a more honourable employment. The bishops, who had been originally overseers or pastors of single flocks, claimed authority over the congregations in their neighbourhood, which had branched out from their original charges; so that, by little and little, they became prelates — a new office covertly brought in under an old name. Nor did the principle of ambitious encroachment stop here. Metro- politans and patriarchs began to "lord it" over bishops. And to crown the gradations of rank, the Bishop of Rome, seduced by the imperial splendour which sur- rounded him, and countenanced by imperial power and munificence, came to be acknowledged as the supreme head, under Christ, of the whole Church upon earth, and the infallible interpreter of the Saviour's will. This statement is confirmed by early Christian writers of the highest character, and who were nearly contem- porary with the criminal innovation of which they speak. Thus Ambrose, who wrote about the year 376 after HISTORY OF PRESBYTER I ANISM. 33 Christ, in his Commentary on Eph. iv. 2, has the following passage : — " After Churches were planted in all places, and officers ordained, matters were settled otherwise than they were in the beginning. And hence it is that the apostles' writings do not, in all things, agree with the present constitution of the Church, because they were written under the first rise of the Church; for he calls Timothy, who was created a presbyter by him, a bishop — for so, at first, the presbyters were called." This passage is so plain, that it requires no comment. Still more unequivocal and decisive is the language of Jerome. " Among the ancients," says he. " presbyters and bishops were the same. But by little and little, that all the seeds of dissension might be plucked up, the whole care w r as devolved on one. As, therefore, the presbyters know that, by the custom of the Church, they are subject to him who is their president; so let bishops know, that they are above presbyters more by the custom of the Church, than by the true dispensation of Jesus Christ I w And in order to establish his position, that, in the apostolic age, bishop and presbyter were the same, he quotes precisely those passages from Scripture which Presbyterians have been accustomed, for three hundred years, to adduce in attestation of the same fact. The testimony of Augustine, bishop of Hippo, is to the same amount. In writing to his contemporary, Jerome, who was a presbyter, he expresses himself in the following language : — " I entreat you to correct me faithfully when you see I need it; for although, according to the names of honour which the custom of the Church has now brought into use, the office of bishop is greater than that of presbyter; nevertheless, in many respects Augustine is inferior to Jerome," (Oper., torn, ii., epist. 19, ad Ilieron.) It is worthy of notice, that Bishop Jewel, in his " Defence of his Apology for the Church of Eng- land," produces this passage from Augustine, for the express purpose of showing the original identity of bishop and presbyter, and translates it thus : — " The office of bishop is above the office of priest, not by autho- rity of Scripture, but after the names of honour which 34 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. the custom of the Church hath now obtained." (Defence, 122, 123.) And, finally, to the same effect is the testi- mony of Chrysostom, who wrote toward the close of the fourth century. In his eleventh Homily on the Epistles to Timothy, he speaks thus : — " Having spoken of bishops, and described them, Paul passes on to the dea- * cons. But why is this ? Because between bishop and presbyter there is not much diiieience; for these also, in like manner, have committed to them both the in- struction and the government of the Church; and what things he has said concerning bishops, the same also he intended for presbyters; for they have gained the ascendency only in respect to ordination; and of this they seem to have defrauded the presbyters." This pas- sage of the eloquent father needs no comment. If there be meaning in words, Chrysostom distinctly conveys the idea, not only that ordination was the only point in re- spect to which bishops, in his day, had gained prece- dence over presbyters, but that they had gained even this by fraudulent means. This is the undoubted im- port of the word which he employs, and which we trans- late defraud. The same word is employed in 1 Thess. iv. 5 : " That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter," &c. And again, 2 Cor. vii. 2 : " We have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man." And, be it remembered, no individual in the fourth century was more competent, in every respect, than Chrysostom, to say whether the pre- eminence which had been gained by bishops in his day rested on a divine warrant, or had been fraudulently obtained. Thus it is evident — the ancients themselves being our witnesses — that, in the apostolic age, bishop and presby- ter were the same; that the bishops were parish minis- ters; that, in every parish, a body of elders, with their pastor at their head, conducted the government and dis- cipline; that, of course, Presbyterian parity in the Gospel ministry universally prevailed ; that the rite of ordination was equally the prerogative of all who were empowered to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments; HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN ISM. 35 that it was habitually performed " by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery;" that matters continued in this situation for more than one hundred years after the close of the apostolic age; that then clerical pride, ambition, and cupidity, began, more sensibly than in preceding times, to disclose their native effects; and that the pastors of the more opulent towns claimed special pre-eminence and powers, as peculiarly the successors of the apostles, which, by little and little, were admitted, and at length, permanently established. Thus were parochial bishops, or the pastors of single congregations, gradually transformed into diocesan or prelatical bishops, and, under an old familiar title, a new office artfully in- troduced; until, in the fourth century, when Christianity became the established religion of the empire, when the clergy were pampered by imperial bounty, defended by imperial authority, and their honours arranged accord- ing to the gradations of rank which were obtained in the State, all traces of primitive simplicity and purity were lost in the plans and splendour of worldly policy. Bishops became " lords over God's heritage," rather than " examples to their flocks." We are not to suppose, however, that this departure from the apostolic model of Church order was universal. There were " witnesses of the truth," who, in humble retirement, bore a faithful testimony to the original sys- tem of discipline as well as doctrine. The simple- hearted Paulicians, in the seventh century, testified against the encroachments of Prelacy. They were suc- ceeded, not long afterwards, by the Waldenses and Albigenses, who still more distinctly and zealously pro- tested against all encroachments on Presbyterian simpli- city. This is frequently acknowledged by many of the advocates of Prelacy, as well as others. 2Eneas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius II., declares, " They (the Wal- denses) deny the hierarchy, maintaining that there is no difference among the priests, by reason of dignity or office." Medina, a learned Prelatist, in the Council of Trent, asserted that the doctrine of ministerial parity had been condemned in Aerius, and in the Waldenses, as 36 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. well as in others specified by him. Bellarmine acknow- ledges that the Waldenses denied the divine right of Prelacy. The Rev. Dr. Retinoids, an eminently learned Episcopal divine, professor of divinity in the university of Oxford, in the reign of Elizabeth, in writing on this subject to Sir Francis Knotty s, declares: " All those who have, for five hundred years past, endeavoured the reformation of the Church, have taught that all pastors, whether they be called bishops or priests, are invested with equal authority and power — as, first, the Waldenses; next, Marcilius Pctavinus ; then Wickliffe, and his disciples; afterwards Hms and the Hussites; and last of all, Luther, Calvin, Bollinger, Musculus" &c. Their own historians, John Paul Perrin, and Sir Sa?nuel Moreland, make statements, and exhibit documents, which fully confirm this representation. For although in some of the records of the Waldenses, certain Seniors are mentioned who performed particular duties for the sake of order; yet we are explicitly informed that they claimed no superiority by divine right. Accordingly, Peter Heylin, a bigoted Episcopalian, speaking of the Bohemian Brethren, a branch of the same people, and who are known to have received ministers from them, says, that "they had fallen upon a way of. ordaining ministers among themselves, without having recourse to the bishop, or any such superior officer, as a super- intendent." {History of P resbyterianism, pp. 409, 410.) The Rev. John Scott, the pious Episcopal continuator of " Milner'sjEcclesiastical History," in giving a particular statement of the tenets and practices of the Waldenses, addressed by George Mauzel, one of their most devoted ministers, to (Ecolampadius, the celebrated Reformer, in 1530, represents that minister as stating, in the most unequivocal manner, that the different orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, did not exist in their ministry. (Vol. i., 139,) The Rev. Adam Blair, one of the latest and most profound writers on the history of the Wal- denses, asserts and shows, with the utmost confidence, that their ecclesiastical government was not Episcopal. (History of the Waldenses, in two volumes octavo, HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 37 1833.) " Like Presbyterians and Independents," says this writer, '' they denied the establishment of the dif- ferent orders of ministers then received in the Western Church, such as bishops, archbishops," &c. (Vol. i., 176.) Again he says: "No form of ecclesiastical go- vernment in Great Britain seems exactly the same with the ancient Waldenses." Viewing them as having a constant moderator, Episcopalians think him like a bishop. But in regard to Episcopal consecration, Mr. Acland, an Episcopalian, informs us, that " this orna- ment of our Church establishment, as justly cherished bv us, is unquestionably no longer preserved among the Vaudois" Viewing them as having a synod, and hav- ing a consistory or session in each congregation, they are Presbyterians; yet with this difference, that, in our country, synods and presbyteries have a new moderator every year, and the lay-elders are sent by the session in each congregation; while the Waldensian congregations meet and appoint the elder. The visits of the moderator to the different congregations, as appointed by the court, have nothing in them inconsistent with Presbytery. Mr. Gilly (also an Episcopalian) admits that the pre- sent Vaudois are nearer to Presbyterians than to any other form of Church government, only not so rigid." (Vol. i. 540, 541.) But the undoubted fact which places this whole subject beyond all question is, that after the commencement of the Reformation in Geneva, the Waldenses not only held communion with that Church, which we all know was strictly Presbyterian, but also received ministers from her, and, of course, recognised the validity of her ordinations in the strongest practical manner. This they could never have done, had they been in the habit of regarding the subject in the same light with modern Prelatists. But the Waldenses were not merely Presbyterian as to the point of ministerial parity. According to their own most authentic writers, as well as the acknowledg- ment of their bitterest enemies, they resembled our beloved Church in almost everything. They rejected all human inventions in the worship of God — such as D 38 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAMSM. the sign of the cross in baptism; fast and festival days; the confirmation of children and youth; the consecration of edifices for public worship, &c. We are also told that all their Churches were bound together by synods, which assembled once a-year ; that these synods were composed of ministers and ruling elders, as in the Pres- byterian Church ; that their business was to examine and ordain candidates for the ministry, and authorita- tively to order everything respecting their own body. We may say, then, with strict regard to historical verity, that in the darkest and most corrupt periods of the Church, Presbyterianism was kept alive in the purest, and, indeed, in the only pure Churches now known to have then existed.* When the Reformation from Popery occurred, it is at once wonderful and edifying to observe with what al- most entire unanimity the leaders in that glorious enter- prise concurred in proclaiming and sustaining Presby- terian principles. Luther, Melancthon, and Bucer, in Germany; Farel, Viret, and Calvin, in France and Geneva; Zuingle and CEcolampadius, in Switzerland; Peter Martyr, in Italy; A. Lasco, in Hungary; Junius and others, in Holland ; Knox, in Scotland ; and a de- cided majority of the most enlightened and pious friends of the Reformation even in England — all, without con- cert, concurred in maintaining, that in the apostolic age there was no Prelacy (bishop and presbyter being the same); that the government of the Church by ruling as well as teaching elders was plainly warranted in Scrip- ture ; and that individual congregations were not to be considered as independent communities, but as so many members of the body to which they belonged, and to be governed by representative assemblies, for the benefit of the whole. It is true, these different leaders of the * Even some intelligent Episcopalians, such as Faber, believe these Churches to be the Two Witnesses of the Book of Reve- lation ; in other words, the only faithful witnessing Church for many- ages; and yet they lay no claim to unbroken Prelatical succession, — yea, would have treated the fiction with contempt. What, then, becomes of succession as essential to the being of a Church ? the only Church which deserves the name for centuries, has it not. — L. HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. 39 Reformed Churches did not, all of them, actually estab- lish Presbyterian order in their respective ecclesiastical bodies; but while all the Reformed Churches in France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Geneva, and Scotland, were thorough Presbyterians, not only in principle, but also in practice — even the Lutherans universally ac- knowledged that ministerial parity was the order of the apostolic Church, and also, that in the primitive times ruling elders conducted the government and discipline in all the Churches — still, many of them holding, ns they did, that the Church was not bound to adhere, in every respect, to the apostolic model of government and discipline, but was at liberty to modify it according to exigencies, and as they might deem for edification, they adopted forms of regulation and discipline differing from each other, and differing, as they did not hesitate to confess, from the plan actually in use in the days of apostolic simplicity. The Church of England was the only one, in all Protestant Christendom, which, at the Reformation, adopted the system of Prelacy. This was occasioned by the fact that, in that country, the bishops, the court clergy, and the monarchs, took the lead in re- forming the Church ; and, as might have been expected, chose to retain the system of ecclesiastical pre-eminence which had been so long established. It is notorious, how- ever, that this was done originally without any claim of divine right, with a spirit of affectionate intercourse and communion with all the non-episcopal Churches on the continent of Europe, and, after all, contrary to the judg- ment of large numbers of the most eminently pious and learned friends of the Reformation in that kingdom.* It is very common for the more uninformed op- * Parallel to this it may be mentioned, that the office of ruling elder, now peculiar to the Presbyterian Church, was, in the reign of P^lizabeth, kept out of the constitution of the Church of England, into -which there was every prospect of its being received — not on the ground that it wanted divine authority; no, that authority was conceded; but expressly on the ground that it would interfere with the queen's prerogative. In other words, the Reformation of the Church was sacrificed to narrow views of supposed political con- venience. ( Vide the Testimony of Bishop Burnet, quoted in the Plea of Presbytery, p. 3G2.) — L. 40 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. ponents of Presbyterianism to assort, that this form of ecclesiastical order was invented by Calvin, and first set in operation in the Church of Geneva. The ignorance of those who can make this allegation is indeed surpris- ing! Passing by all that has been said of the palpable existence of Presbyterian order in the apostolic age; of its plain delineation in the Epistles of Ignatius, and in the writings of other fathers succeeding the pastor of Antioch ; and waiving all remarks on its acknowledged establishment, as we have seen, among the pious Wal- denses; it was undoubtedly in use in Switzerland and in Geneva long before Calvin had appeared as a Reformer, or had set his foot in either of those countries. The Rev. Mr. Scott, the Episcopal continuator of "Milner's Ecclesiastical History," beforequoted, explicitlystates,that as early as 1528, when Calvin was but nineteen years of Rge, and was wholly unknown in the ecclesiastical world, " the Presbyterian form of Church government was introduced into Switzerland;" and that the doctrine of ministerial parity had been uniformly taught by Zuingle, before the time of Calvin. In Geneva, like- wise, before Calvin ever saw that city, his countrymen, Fare! and Yiret, had gone thither and commenced the Reformation upon Presbyterian principles. There, when he consented to cast in his lot with them, he found a "presbytery" established; and all that he had to do was to complete the system, by adding the bench of ruling elders for conducting the discipline of the Church; and even this he did not invent, but confessedly bor- rowed from that branch of the Waldenses called the Bohemian Brethren ; although he evidently considered and represented it as distinctly warranted by Scripture.* Presbyterianism, as it has long existed in Scotland, Holland, France, Geneva, and Germany, is, in substance, the same system, differing only in these several countries in minor details, and chiefly in the names and arrange- * There is about as much truth in the assertion, that Presby- terianism was the creation of Calvin, as there is in the Popish al- legation, that the doctrines of the Reformation originated with Luther. The answer is the same.—//. HISTORY OP PKESBYTURIANIS.M. 41 merits of their several ecclesiastical assemblies. As those who commenced the Presbyterian Church in America, about the beginning of the eighteenth century, were chiefly emigrants from North Britain and Ireland; so the Church of Scotland was, more than any other, their model. Our whole arrangement of judicatories, and our whole ecclesi- astical nomenclature, are, with few exceptions, borrowed from Scotland. What our ecclesiastical mother and we call the " Church Session," most of the Presbyterians on the continent of Europe call the "Consistory;" and what we call the " Presbytery,' 1 they call the "Classes." But, in general principles, we are all entirely agreed. It would be doing gross injustice to Presbyterianism not to state, before closing this historical sketch, that it has been found, in all ages, friendly to " the rights of man" — conducive to the advancement, rather than the destruction, of civil and religious liberty. In making this statement, it is not meant to be maintained that no Presbyterian has ever been chargeable with the spirit or practice of persecution ; but simply to say, that the general characteristic of the Presbyterian Church, as a denomination, is, that it has ever shown itself friendly to the diffusion of knowledge, to the rights of conscience, and to the enjoyments of rational liberty. It has often, very often, been a persecuted, but never a persecuting Church. The few examples of a contrary aspect which have appeared, were, in almost all cases, traceable either to individual mistake and infirmity, or to a momentary impulse of retaliation on bloody persecutors, when un- expectedly placed in the power of those who had been recently the victims of the most cruel oppression. The death of Servetus (even allowing all the agency in his death on the part of Calvin which the enemies of that illustrious man have been fond of ascribing to him, but which every well informed and impartial person knows cannot be allowed) had no real connection with Pres- 'byterianism. The cases of undue severity exercised to- wards others, by Presbyterians in Great Britain, in the course of the seventeenth century, were almost all refer- able to the maxim, "that oppression makes even wise men 42 niSTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. mad," and seldom rose much above the point of self-de- fence.* And as to the fierce unrelenting oppression recent- ly experienced by evangelical men in Geneva, it is noto- riously the spirit and the work of Unitarianism — the same spirit which, in the sixteenth century, prompted the lead- ing Socinians, when Francis David, one of their own num- ber, who believed with them the mere humanity of Christ, and therefore thought that divine worship ought not to be paid him — to throw him into prison, where he died.f * It is truly wonderful that intelligent and conscientious men, while they make such an outcry concerning the case of Servetus, and study to place in so odious a light the severities inflicted on some of the Episcopal clergy by the Independents in England, during the Commonwealth, should entirely forget the instances of persecution, a hundredfold more frequent and severe, practised by Prelacy. Archbishop Cranmer was immediately active in dragging at least four persons to the flames, of whom two were women. Let the flames A\bich consumed the amiable and pious Ann Askew, kindled through the misguided zeal of that prelate, shame those who would represent Calvin as the prince of persecutors. More than this, in the reign of Edward VI., he is also confessed by the histo- rians of his own Church to have " procured the death" of Joanna Bocher and George Paris, labouring, and with success, to overcome the scruples of the young king in signing the warrant for burning them. Again, during the reign of James I., about twenty-five per- sons were hanged, drawn, and quartered, for their religion, in England. (See Brook's History oj Religious Liberty, vol. ii. p. 403.) During the same reign (a.d. 1612), Bartholomew Legate and Edward Wightman were burnt to death for the same cause— the former under the immediate administration and authority of Dr. King, bishop of London, and the latter under the direction of Neile, bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, who are acknoAvledged to have had an immediate agency in bringing them to the stake. One would think, that in more than half a century after the affair of Servetus, the prelates of England might have become a little more enlightened with regard to the rights of conscience. But the miserable oppressions and cruelty exercised by Prelacy, and especi- ally by Archbishop Laud and his coadjutors, and the still more cruel ejections, imprisonments, and massacres, both in North and South Britain, which marked the reigns cf Charles II. and James 11., are enough to sicken the heart, and ought for ever to impose silence on Prelacy with regard to persecution. — Miller. Vide Rev. Mr. Tweedie's "Calvin and Servetus." Johnstone, Edinburgh, 1846. This work consists of a translation of the Trial of Servetus, now first published. Nothing can more clearly show that the Reformer had no hand whatever in the condemnation or execution of Servetus — that both were the deeds of Calvin's enemies.— L. f For a full discussion upon these points, the reader is refei red to Part II., " Presbyterianism the Friend of Freedom, Civil and Religious." — L. CHAPTER III. DOCTRINE OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The Presbyterian Church has been distinguished, in all ages, for laying great stress on the maintenance of pure doctrine. Such was eminently the case in primitive times, when it was enjoined upon them to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." And such was no less remarkably their characteristic, when, under the name of Waldenses, for five or six hundred years before the Reformation, they maintained a noble testimony in favour of the truth, in the midst of the deplorable darkness and corruption of the Papacy. At the period of the Reformation, the same zeal for the true doctrine of the Gospel of Christ led the faithful servants of God, in different parts of the Church, to form and publish their "Confessions of Faith," which remain to the present day as monuments of their fidelity to their Master's will. The people of whom we speak evidently regarded the pure doctrines of the Gospel as lying at the foundation of Christian character and hope; and while they attached no small importance to the government and discipline of the Church, they regarded as of far more vital importance those great fundamental principles of our common salvation which enter essen- tially into the character and life of Christian experience. The system of doctrine of which the Presbyterian Church has solemnly declared her acceptance and belief is comprised in the " Westminster Confession of Faith," and the " Larger and Shorter Catechisms." These, we 44 DOCTRINE OF THE believe, contain a summary of the doctrines taught in the Holy Scriptures; and, on this account alone, we pro- fess to receive them, and require a solemn assent to the u Confession of Faith" on the part of all who are ad- mitted to the pastoral office, or that of spiritual ruling in our body. This system of doctrine has received the distinctive title of Calvinism. Not because Calvin in- vented it; but because, among all the modern advocates of it, he was undoubtedly the most profound and able; and because it has suited the policy of some to endeavour to convey the idea, that the system in question was un- known until Calvin began to propagate and defend it. In the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, there are many doctrines in which we entirely agree with our brethren of other denominations. In regard to all that is embraced in that formula concerning the being: and perfections of God; the trinity of persons in the Godhead; the divinity, incarnation, and atoning sacri- fice of the Son of God, &c, we may be said to hold sub- stantially in common with all sects who deserve the Christian name. But with respect to the true state of human nature before God; the doctrine of sovereign, un- conditional election to eternal life; the doctrine that Christ died in a special sense for his elect people; the doctrine of justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ alone; of sanctification by the special and invin- cible power of the Holy Spirit; and of the perseverance of the saints in holiness- — we differ ver} 7 materially from many who bear the Christian name. In short, with re- gard to what are commonly called the "five points," dis- cussed and decided in the Synod of Dort, our Confession is opposed to Arminianism, and coincides with the Cal- vinistic system maintained by that body. It may be safely said that no theological system was ever more grossly misrepresented, or more foully and un- justly vilified, than this. It has been by multitudes de- famed, as an abominable system, revolting to every dictate of reason, dishonourable to God, unfriendly to Christian, comfort, adapted to beget discouragement and despair on the one hand, or presumption and licentiousness on the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 45 other. The gross misrepresentations with which it has been assailed, the disingenuous attempts to fasten upon it consequences which its advocates disavow and abhor, and the unsparing calumny which is continually heaped upon it and its friends, have scarcely ever been equalled in any other case in the entire annals of theological controversy.* Those who have been accustomed to listen to this blind and unhallowed abuse, are respectfully requested to weigh with serious impartiality the following considerations : — 1. It is but. justice to ascertain tchat the real system is which Presbyterians believe. The opponents of this system are wont to give the most unjust and shocking pictures of it. Whether this is done from ignorance or dishonesty, it would be painful as well as vain, at pre- sent, to inquire. They allege that it represents God as really the author of sin, and man as laid under a physi- cal necessity of sinning, and then is damned for it, do what he can. They insist that our doctrine of depravity, and the mode of inheriting it, if true, destroys moral agency, reduces our race to the condition of mere ma- chines, and, of course, makes all punishment of sin un- * Excessive hostility and odium, directed against any system, unless it be plainly self-contradictory and ruinous, are by no means an unfavourable symptom, in so far as its divine truth is concerned. Such has been the treatment of the truth in all ages. Any system ■which so deeply abases the pride of man, and calls so loudly to a holy life as Calvinism, cannot but provoke the enmity of many a mind. To satisfy the reader that that system of interpretation is not so utterly monstrous as some may imagine, from the terms in which it is often spoken of, it may be mentioned, that the most illustrious philosophers — such as Bacon, Leibnitz, and Newton, and many others — on the ground of reason and philosophy, apart from Scripture, substantially came to the principles of Calvinism. That the system, too, is thoroughly logical, hangs together like a golden chain (another presumption of its truth), may be gathered from the fact, that when a mind has got hold of one of its first principles, there is no stopping short of the whole. Scott, the well-known Scripture commentator, keenly opposed to Calvinism, was anxious to enter the lists of controversy with his friend, Mr. Newton of Lon- don, against it; but Newton, while he disclaimed controversy, with his superior discernment, saw that Scott had got hold of one of the first links, and assured him that he would soon come to the same conclusions with himself— a prediction which was amply realized. It is well known that Scott afterwards became one of the ablest advocates of Calvinism against a prelate of his own Church. — L. 46 DOCTRINE OF TIIE just and absurd. In short, they contend that the view which we give of the plan of salvation, makes it a sys- tem of heathenish fate, or of refined Antinomianisra, equally destructive of holiness and comfort; and that, under the guise of free grace, we build up a fabric of favouritism on the one hand, and of fixed necessity on the other — at once making God a tyrant, and man a passive subject of his arbitrary will. But is it true that Presbyterians embrace any such system as this ? No- thing can be farther from the truth. It is a shameful aricature, which has no correspondence with anything but the perverted pictures of prejudice and bigotry. We abhor such sentiments just as much as our uncandid accusers. The truth is, it would be difficult to find a writer or speaker who has distinguished himself by opposing Cal- vinism, who has fairly represented the system, or who really appeared to understand it. They are for ever fighting against a caricature. Some of the most grave and venerable writers in our country, who have appeared in the Arminian ranks, are undoubtedly in this predica- ment. Whether this has arisen from the want of know- ledge, or the want of candour, the effect is the same, and the conduct is worthy of severe censure. The writer of these pages is fully persuaded that Arminian principles, when traced out to their natural and unavoidable conse- quences, lead to an invasion of the essential attributes of God, and, of course, to blank and cheerless Atheism. Yet, in making a statement of the Arminian system, as actually held by its advocates, he should consider him- self as inexcusable, if he departed a hairs-breadth from the delineation made by its friends. The system itself is one thing — the consequences which may be drawn from it another. Without pretending to go over all the points of Cal- vinism in detail, let it suffice to say, that the system which Presbyterians profess to receive, is of the follow- ing character and amount :* — That the Gospel finds all * To prevent misapprehension, it may be well to notice, that there is no necessary connection between Calvinism and Presbytery. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 47 men by nature dead in trespasses and sins, destitute alike of the image and favour of God, and incapable of regaining either, in virtue of any strength or resources -within themselves; that the plan of man's recovery from this state of rebellion, depravity, and sin, is, from be- ginning to end, a system of mere unmerited grace; that it was the wonderful, unprompted grace, or undeserved love of God, which, in the eternal counsels of peace, contemplating man as fallen, devised a stupendous plan of redemption from the guilt and power of sin; that in these eternal counsels and purposes he regarded the whole human race as equally fallen, and as equally un- deserving on account of their sins; that, however, in his sovereign mercy, he resolved to save a portion of them ; that he was prompted to this choice, not by any foresight of faith and obedience on the part of the elect, because their faith and obedience are his own sovereign gift, but by the mere good pleasure of his will, that they might be to the praise of the glory of his grace ; that God was under no obligation to provide deliverance for any of our race; that he might justly have left us all to perish in our iniquity, as he did the fallen angels, toward whom he was, surely, guilty of no injustice; that he was pleased, however, in the exercise of amaz- ing mercy, to provide a plan of pardon, and of restora- tion to life and blessedness; that he gave his only be- gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but obtain everlasting life. We believe, farther, that not only the providing of this Saviour, but the dis- position, in each individual to accept of him, is all of grace; that is, the free, unmerited gift of God. We have no doubt, that all mankind, left to themselves Presbyterian Churches, like others, sad to tell, have occasionally declined from sound doctrine; but this was generally after they had practically abandoned their peculiarities of Church government. Decay was caused in a great measure by the abandonment. The Confessions of Faith of all Presbyterian Churches have been Cal- vinistic — generally higher in this respect than others. There is no instance, so far as I remember, of a Presbyterian Church setting out as an Arminian, and far less as a Socinian Church; and it may be safely said, with few exceptions, that there is a growing revival of Calvinistic principles among all the Presbyterian Churche3 of the world. — L. 48 DOCTRINE OF THE would reject this great salvation, and that it is discrimi- nating and all-conquering grace which inclines any to receive it. We are persuaded farther, that as salvation is all of grace, and as it is evident from Scripture, and from daily observation, that all men are not believers, and, of course, that all are not saved, so it was not God's original intention to save all — for it is granted that he does not save ali; and that which he now does, if he be such a God as the Bible represents him, he always in- tended to do. We believe that known unto God are all his works and wavs from the beginning • and that all the dispensations of his grace, as well as of his provi- dence, and, among the rest, the effectual calling and salvation of every believer, entered into his plan from all eternity; "yet so," as our Confession of Faith declares, "as that thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." In short, the sum of our belief, in reference to this great economy, may be expressed in one sentence — " All that is evil in man is of himself, and to him belongs the blame of it;" u and all that is good in him is of God, and to him belongs the praise of it." We are aware that this systenrof belief may be perverted, mis- represented, and made perfectly odious, by drawing con- sequences from it which we utterly reject and abhor. For such perversions and unjust inferences, the advocates of no creed are responsible. Let any one carefully and dispassionately read over the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, and he will soon perceive that the professed representations of it which are daily proclaimed from the pulpit and the press, are wretched slanders, for which no apology can be found but in the ignorance of their authors. 2. Consider the ample support, of this system which is found in the Word of God. The first question which every sincere and devout inquirer after truth will ask, is, " What saith the Scripture?" Our own reasonings and cavils, when thrown into the scale against revelation, are nothing. " Let God be true, and every man a liar.'' PRESBYTERIAN CI1UDCH. 4 9 Now, it is confidently believed, that when we reverently open the book of God, and impartially examine what it teaches concerning the important point which distinguish our doctrine from other forms of belief, we shall find the divine authority clearly and strongly in favour of that creed which Presbyterians profess to receive. Those who doubt this, are requested seriously, and with prayer, to ponder the following Scriptures : — "■By one man sin entered into the world. By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condem- nation. By one man's disobedience many were made sinners." (Rom. v. 18, 19.) "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! yea, we establish the law." (Rom. iii. 23-31.) "By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For if it be of works, it is no more of grace, otherwise grace is no more grace." (Eph. ii. 8, 9; Rom. xi. 6.) "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." (Acts xv. 18.) "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed.'' (Acts xiii. 41.) " Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obe- dience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. i. 2.) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love; having pre- destinated us unto the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved." (Eph. i. 4-7.) " Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, 50 DOCTRINE OF THE them he also glorified. What shall we say, then, to these things ? If God he for us, who can be against us ? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justified! ; who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or perse- cution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. viii. 29-39.) "Be thou par- taker of the afflictions of the pospel, according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." (2 Tim. i. 8, 9.) "•Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. i. 6.) " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." (John x. 27, 28.) " The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee." (Isa. liv. 10.) " Who maketh thee to differ from another ? and what hast thou that thou hast not received? Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? " (1 Cor. iv. 7.) "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." (John xvii. 11-15.) "Father, I will that they also whom thou PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 51 hast given me be -with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." (John xvii. 24.) " Even so, then, at this time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." (Rom. xi. 5-7.) "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." (Ps. ex. 3.) "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. " (Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27.) The reader of these pages is earnestly requested to ponder seriously the foregoing Scriptures; to examine them in their connection ; to interpret them with the same candour and simplicity with which he is wont to interpret other writings; and then to say whether they do not manifestly support those peculiar doctrines for which Presbyterians are so much reproached and vili- fied? The question is, not whether the ingenuity of Biblical criticism may not torture these passages into a different meaning, but whether the plain, natural, and obvious meaning be not that which will sustain the system in support of which we are wont to quote them ? If it will, the controversy is at an end; for whatever is plainly contained in Scripture we are bound to receive. 3. It is worthy of notice, that the system of doctrine maintained by the Presbyterian Church is the same in substance with that which teas maintained by the icit- nesses for the truth, and by the great body of the Re- . formers and which has generally been styled^ " The doctrines of the Reformation'* 52 DOCTRINE OF THE There is probably no class of professing Christians more remote than Presbyterians from a disposition to appeal to human authority as a test of truth. Our ecclesiastical formularies, as well as our history, proclaim that we consider the Scriptures as the infallible rule of faith and practice; and that we are distinguished from Prelatists and others, by contending for this principle in reference to every department of the Christian system. Yet it is, undoubtedly, an interesting fact, well worthy of being noticed, and adapted to confirm our confidence, in the system which we have embraced, that all the great and good men who took the lead in bearing testi- mony against error, and in reforming the Church from the corruptions of the Papacy, however diverse in their views on other points, agreed, with scarcely an excep- tion in adopting and maintaining that system of doctrine which is popularly denominated Calvinism, and which many of its bigoted opponents are so ignorant as to imagine that Calvin invented. The "Waldenses, those far-famed witnesses of the truth, whom all Protestants profess to venerate, but whom few, alas! appear to understand and follow, not only adopted, in substance, the whole Presbyterian government and discipline, as we have seen in a former page, but also all the leading features of our system of doctrine. The following ex- tract from one of their Confessions is conclusive. The eleventh article is in these words: " God saves from that corruption and condemnation, into which all have fallen, those whom he has chosen from the foundation of the world, not for any disposition, faith, or holiness, which he foresaw in them, but of his mere mercy in Jesus Christ his Son; passingly all the rest, according to the irreprehensiblereasnn of his free icill and justice'' And in one of their ancient catechisms, they tell us, that " the real Church of Christ consists of the elect of God, from the beginning to the end of the world, by the grace of God, through the merit of Christ, gathered together by the Holy Spirit, and fore-ordained to eternal life." (See Gilly's Narrative of Researches among the Waldenses, Appendix. See, also, Sir Samuel Mor- PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 53 land, pp. 40, 48, &c; Milner, iii. pp. 440, 441.) The same general system was undoubtedly adopted by John Wickliffe, the "morning star of the Reformation;" by John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, his companion in faith and in martyrdom. " The distinguishing tenet of Wickliffe in religion," says Milner, "was, undoubt- edly, the election of grace." And the same writer gives an account of Huss and Jerome, which precludes all doubt that, in their general system, they followed Wick- liffe, who was a disciple of Augustine. When we comedown to the time of the Reformation, the same general fact continues to be unquestionable. It is notorious that Lather, long before Calvin was known as a reformer, or even as a theological writer, publicly maintained the doctrines of the divine decrees and human impotence as thoroughly as Calvin ever did. The proof of this is so complete, that no one well in- formed in the history of those times will dare deny it. Melancthon, the friend, coadjutor, and survivor of Luther, also held in substance the very same system. Those who read the statements, and the extracts from his writings, which appear in the pages of the Rev. Mr. Scott, the Episcopal continuator of " Milner's Ecclesias- tical History," can no longer doubt of this. Melancthon assured Calvin that he concurred with him in his creed; and Calvin, in his Preface to Melancthon's book of " Common Places," recommends the work as one in the doctrines of which he concurred. Zuingle, the apostolical reformer of Switzerland, it is well known, adopted the same system. After all that has been alleged to the contrary, nothing is more certain than that he maintained the doctrines of the depravity and moral impotence of human nature, the sovereign elec- tion of grace, and the perseverance of the saints in holi- ness, as decisively and zealously as any of his contem- poraries. Yet Zuingle died before Calvin was ever heard of as a friend to the Reformation, and before he had published a sentence in reference to it. Of course, the Swiss Reformer was indebted for no part of his creed to the ministry or the writings of the illustrious pastor E 54 DOCTRINE OF THE of Geneva. The same may be said of Bucer, of Peter Martyr, of Bullinger, of Bugenhagius, of Junius, and in general of all the leaders of the Reformation on the con- tinent of Europe. When we pass over to Great Britain, precisely the same fact appears. Hamilton, Wishart, Archbishop Cranmer; Bishops Ridley, Hooper, and Latimer; Arch- bishops Grinda and Whitgift; John Knox; and, in short, all the Reformers of any name, both in North and South Britain, were doctrinal Calvinists. This fact, indeed, has been denied, but not by any candid, well-informed man. The proof of it is complete. Let any one read the Thirty- nine Articles of the Church of England, es- pecially the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and seventeenth — let him, particularly, ponder well the last mentioned article, which treats directly of the doctrine of predes- tination, and ask whether it is possible fairly to give it any other than a Calvinistic interpretation. I am not, indeed, ignorant that prejudice and bigotry have some- times contended that this seventeenth article is decidedly anti-Calvinistic in its import; and as proof of this, the qualifying clause towards the end of it is cited as suffi- cient evidence. Now, it so happens that that qualifying clause is nearly copied from Calvin's Institutes ; and the latter part of it is a literal translation of that Reformer's caution against the abuse of this doctrine ! Again : let him who entertains a doubt on this subject, read the celebrated Catechism of Dr. Nowell, which was reviewed, corrected, formally approved, and ordered to be pub- lished, as containing a summary of true doctrine, by the same Convocation which formed and adopted the Thirty- nine Articles, and which is acknowledged by the bitter- est enemies of Calvin to be decisively Calvinistic. Let him read the Lambeth Articles, drawn up and signed by Archbishop Whitgift, and also subscribed by the Archbishop of York, and at least three other leading prelates, and by them transmitted to the University of Cambridge, as containing doctrines " corresponding with those professed in the Church of England." Let him recollect that for more than half a century after the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 55 Reformation was established in England, Calvin's Body of Divinity, commonly styled his " Institutes of the Christian Religion," was publicly received and studied as a standard of orthodoxy in both the Universities ; and that, by a Convocation held at Oxford, the work was recommended to the general study of the nation. Now, is it not remarkable that all the great and good men who took the lead in the Reformation, men of dif- ferent languages, habits, and prejudices, many of them absolute strangers to each other, not merely in Geneva, but in Great Britain, in France, in Germany, in Holland, in Switzerland — nay, wherever the darkness of the Papacy was dissipated, and her corruptions abandoned — all, all, with scarcely an exception, should become advo- cates in substance of that system which we denominate Calvinism; that, appealing to the Bible as the common repository and standard of gospel truth, they should, with almost entire unanimity, without concert, and how- ever divided as to other points, be so harmoniously united in the great doctrines of sovereign grace, that they have ever since been styled, emphatically, " The doctrines of the Reformation?" How shall we account for it, that brethren who claim to be well-informed, should represent this system as originating with Calvin, and peculiar to him and his followers, when, to say nothing of its scriptural authority, everyone knows it was, in substance, espoused by Augustine, a thousand years before Calvin was born; by all the witness's of the truth during the " dark ages;" and by all those venerable men, whose piety, wisdom, and devotedness, have been the theme of gratitude and praise for three hundred years ? Above all, how shall we account for it, that brethren, who find no language too strong by which to express their profound veneration for the spirit, the opinions, and the services of Cranmer, Parker, Whitgift, and other distin- guished prelates, who, under God, conducted and com- pleted the Reformation in England; while they are never tired of vilifying the character, and denouncing the creed of the venerable Calvin, whose name those very lauded men never mentioned but with epithets of the highest 5ft DOCTRINE OF THE honour; whose writings they made their text-books for students of theology; and whose person and ministry they regarded as among the most glorious lights of Chris- tendom ? * 4. As the system of doctrine taught in our Confession is most in accordance with Scripture, and was common to all the Reformers, so it has, to say the least, quite as few drfficu/ties attending it as any other system, It is not pretended that the Calvinistic system is free from all difficulties. When finite creatures are called to scan either the works or the revealed will of an Infinite Being, they must be truly demented if they expect to * For additional information on the above points, the reader is re- ferred to an interesting and able work of the Rev. Augustus Toplady, a well-known minister of the Church of England in the last century, entitled " Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England.'" He shows that the doctrines of Calvinism, with more or less clearness, have been the faith of the true Avitnessing Church of God, from primitive, down through Popish times, onwards to the Reformation; that they were the faith of all the Reformed Churches at that period; and that Arminianism, in all ages preva- lent in the Church of Rome, is a comparative novelty in tiie Protes- tant Church, and has been always attended with the worst results, moral and religious. In addition to the ample information which he supplies on the Calvinism of the Christian Church, it maybe stated, that even the Scottish Episcopalians, who have generally been reputed anti-Cal- vinistic, were not always of this character. The Confession of Faith which the bishops drew up in 1616, is rigidly Calvinistic. Many of them, in the course of the next twenty years, may have, and doubtless did, become unsound, and for this, among other reasons, were deposed by the General Assembly of 1638; but the Confession stands as their professed faith ; and in 1 6*92, not less than one hund- red and eighty Scottish Episcopal ministers, in the name of the Episcopal body, applied for admission to the Church of Scotland, a Church which is strongly Calvinistic, on the ground of subscribing the Westminster Confession. Toplady, in 1773, in reference to the above work, says, "Though I have, for fifteen years past, been solidly and clearly convinced of the original and intrinsic Calvinism of the Established Church of England, still I did not know that the subject was supported by such a vast confluence of positive authorities, until the furious opposition of the Methodists forced me to take a nearer and more exact view of the argument." Again, " On a retrospective survey of the whole matter, I myself stand astonished at that profusion of evidence which pours from every quarter in favour of the main point. My own collections, to go no farther, viewed in the aggregate, absolutely surprise me.'" {Works, p. 840.) — L. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 57 find nothing which they cannot comprehend. Accord- ingly, when we undertake to solve some of the diffi- culties which that system of Christian doctrine usually styled Calvinism presents, it cannot be denied that "such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high, we can- not attain unto it." How to reconcile what the Scrip- tures plainly reveal, on the one hand, concerning the entire dependence of man, and on the other, concerning his activity and responsibility — how to explain the per- fect foreknowledge and predestination of God, in consis- tency with the perfect freedom and moral agency of his intelligent creatures — is a problem which no thinkingman expects fully to solve. But the question is, Are there fewer difficulties attending any other system? Especially, are there fewer difficulties attending the Arminian or Pelagian systems, which are commonly the resort of those who reject Calvinism ? There are not; nay, instead of being less, they are greater, far greater, both in number and magnitude. The writer of these pages rests in the Calvinistic system with a confidence daily increasing, not only because the more he examines it, the more clearly it appears to him to be taught in the Holy Scriptures; but, also, because the more frequently and impartially he compares the amount of the difficulties on both sides, the more heavily by far they seem to him to press against the Arminian and Pelagian schemes. It is easy — and in the estimation of the superficial and unreflecting, it is conclusive — to object, that Calvinism has a tendency to cut the nerves of all spiritual exertion; that if we are elected, we shall be saved, do what we will; and if not elected, we shall be lost, do what we can. But is it not perfectly evident that this objection lies with quite as much force against the Arminian or Pelagian hypothesis ? Arminians and Pelagians grant that all men will not be actually saved; that the salva- tion or perdition of each individual is distinctly foreknown by God; and that the event will certainly happen as he foresees that it will. May not a caviller then say, with quite as much appearance of justice in this case as in the other, M The result as to my salvation is known and 58 DOCTltlNE OP THE certain. If I am to be saved, no anxiety about it is necessary; and if I am to perish, all anxiety about it would be useless?" But would Arminians consider this objection as valid against their creed ? Probably not. Yet it is just as valid against theirs as against ours. The truth is, Arminians and Pelagians, by resorting to their respective schemes, do not really get rid of one particle 1 of the difficulty which they allege against the Calvinistie system ; they only place it one step farther back, but must meet it in unimpaired strength after all. If there be a God who is endowed with perfect foreknowledge, and who is, and always has been, acting upon a plan, of which he knew the end from the beginning — and there is such a being, or there is no God — then all the difficulty which lies against the doctrine of sovereign, unconditional pre- determination, lies equally, and in all its unmitigated force against the doctrine of foreknowledge, and certain futurition; and all the shocking consequences with which they charge our system of belief are quite as legitimately chargeable on their own. No other proof of this is needed than the subterfuges to which Arminians and Pelagians have resorted, in order to avoid the difficulties which they have felt pressing on their schemes. Some have denied the possibility of God's foreknowing future contingencies, alleging that such fore- knowledge cannot be conceived or admitted, any more than his power of doing impossibilities, or doing what involves a contradiction. Others have denied the plen- ary foreknowledge of God, alleging that there are many things which he does not choose to know; the latter making the Divine ignorance of many future things voluntary, while the former consider it as necessary. Pelagians, to get rid of the same difficulties, take refuge in the principle that the Most High is deficient in power as well as in knowledge; that he would be glad to have less natural and moral evil in his kingdom than exists ; would be glad to have many more saved than will be; but is not able to fulfil his wishes, and is constantly restrained and thwarted by his own inability. Those who wish to see a specimen of the difficulties PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 59 to which good men feel themselves reduced in the course of their opposition to Calvinism, may see a remarkable one in the Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. There they will find an amiable and pious man driven to the necessity of borrowing from the Socinian camp a denial of the essential omniscience of God, because he saw that this attribute, if admitted, would unavoidably land him in the peculiarities of Cal- vinistic theology ! A more painful example of preju- dice, and of subserviency to the dictates of a favourite system, can scarcely be produced in the annals of Chris- tian piety ! Are not these consequences even more shocking than the worst which its adversaries charge on the Calvinistic system? Do not the allegations, that God is not omni- potent — that he is not omniscient — that he is not act- ing upon an eternal plan — that his purposes, instead of being eternal, are all formed in time, and, instead of being immutable, are all liable every day to be altered, and are, in fact, altered by the changing will of his creatures — that there is no certainty of his predictions and promises ever being fulfilled, because he can neither foresee nor control future contingencies — that it is his express design to save all men alike, while yet it is certain that all will not be saved — that he purposes as much, and does as much for those who perish as for those who are saved, but is, after all, baffled and dis- appointed in his hopes concerning them — that he is cer- tain of nothing, because he has determined on nothing, and is not able to do all his pleasure ; — I say, do not these allegations shock every serious mind? Are they not equally contrary to Scripture, to reason, and to all the hopes of the pious? Yet they have all been either actually avowed by the opponents of Calvinism, or they follow unavoidably from the principles which they as- sume. The truth is, we abandon the ground that Jeho- vah is acting upon an infinitely wise and eternal plan ; that he is ordering all things according to the counsel of his own will; and that his people are not their own saviours, but indebted to his sovereign grace for every 60 DOCTRINE OF THE r«'al good which they possess or hope for ; — the moment we abandon this ground, we abandon all that is solid and tenable, and if we would follow up unavoidable consequences, must plunge into the gulf of Atheism. The same train of remark may be applied to the diffi- culties winch attend the doctrine of original sin. The humiliating fact, that all men are by nature sinners; that their nature is corrupt — that is, that there is such a tendency to sin in all the children of men, that no mere man of all the human family ever failed of falling into it — is not only taught in Scripture, but is notorious to universal observation. Now, the question is, How shall we account for this fact? Presbyterians, speaking the language of Calvinism, of their Confession of Faith, and, above all, as they think, of the Bible, say that Adam was constituted the covenant-head of his posterity; that they were to stand or fall with him ; that when he fell all his posterity, in that first transgression, sinned in him, and fell with him ; in other words, that the guilt of his sin, in virtue of a sovereign and righteous constitution, was imputed to his posterity — that is, it was set to their account ; they incurred the same forfeit as if they had themselves committed it. And hence, as Adam, by that transgression, became mortal, lost the moral image of God, and incurred the penalty of a cor- rupt nature; so all his posterity, in consequence of their covenant relation to him, come into the world mortal, depraved, and guilty, and liable to the same penalty in all its extent which fell upon him. This, Presbyterians profess to believe, is the meaning of those Scriptures which declare, " In Adam all die." ( 1 Cor. xv. 22.) " By one man's disobedience many were made sinners" — " By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation." (Rom. v. 18, 19.) They do not sup- pose, indeed, that there is here any transfer of moral character, or any transfusion of Adam's act into his posterity ; but that, in consequence of the covenant re- lation in which he and they stood, they are treated as if they had themselves committed the sin by which our race fell. This, and this only, is the imputation of the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Gl sin of our first parents, for which Presbyterians con- tend. Pelagians, revolting at this view of the subject, hope to remove all difficulty by saying, that man's nature is not corrupt ; that all men come into the world in the same state of entire innocence that Adam was when first created ; and that to suppose men to be born with a corrupt nature, would be dishonourable to God, and in- consistent with moral agency. They acknowledge, how- ever, that all men are in fact sinners; and that all begin to sin as soon as they become capable of moral action. Put is any difficulty which is supposed to attend the Calvinistic doctrine really removed, or even diminished by this hypothesis ? Is it more honourable to God, or less revolting to our sense of justice, to represent the whole human family, without the adoption of any cove- nant arrangement, or representative principle, as brought into being, and placed by their Creator in circumstances in which not one of their number ever fails of falling into sin? Arminians, or semi- Pelagians, also rejecting the Cal- vinistic doctrine of the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity, but, at the same time, perceiving that the Pelagian hypothesis is utterly unscriptural, take another method of removing the difficulty. They tell us that Adam was not constituted the covenant head of his pos- terity, and that the guilt of his first sin was not imputed to them; but yet that, in virtue of their connection with him, and descent from him, they come into the world mortal, and infected with a sinful nature ; but that it is on account of their own sin, and not that of Adam, that they are guilty and exposed to any penalty. Is it not plain, however, that this hypothesis, instead of removing the difficulty which its advocates suppose to lie against the Calvinistic doctrine of original sin, rather increases it ? On what principle is it, according to them, that mortality and a depraved nature descend from Adam to his posterity ? Not, it seems, in virtue of any covenant relation between them ; not on the principle of repre- sentative headship ; but of an arbitrary constitution, 62 DOCTRINE OF THE ordering it so by a mere act of authority. And while they reject the doctrine of imputation, they are con- strained to confess, that in consequence, somehow, of Adam's sin, all his posterity come into the world with a depraved nature, which, if not removed, must lead to everlasting destruction. And is this no evil, no penalty? But if being born in this condition be a penalty, and a heavy penalty too, why was this penalty inflicted upon them ? It cannot be said that it was on account of their depravity ; for this would be to make their depra- vity the procuring cause of itself. No imputation of our first father's sin ! and yet acknowledge that, in conse- quence of that sin, some of the most awful inflictions are sent upon us that can affect moral and immortal beings! No imputation ! Whence, then, the fact that all the posterity of Adam are born depraved, and liable to death? How came this calamity upon them? Surely, while the term is rejected, we have here the essence of all the imputation for which we contend! Alas! we never fail to augment difficulties, and introduce addi- tional perplexity, whenever we deviate from the simple statements of God's Word ! 5. The very same objections were made in apostolic times to the doctrines of grace, as taught by the inspired Paul. In the 9th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, the doctrine of sovereign, distinguishing grace, is dis- cussed professedly and at length. The apostle boldly announces the language of God to be, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have com- passion on whom I will have compassion. So, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." He then asks, " Is there unrighteousness with God ? God forbid." Still, the apostle is aware that a blind caviller may continue to object. He therefore adds — "Thou wilt say, then, unto me, Why doth he yet find fault ? for who hath re- sisted his will?" The very language and scope of this objection show that the apostle meant that his doctrine should be understood in a Calvinistic sense, for upon any other ground the objection would be irrelevant. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 63 flow does he reply to it ? Does he retract or disavow that view of the subject on which the cavil is evidently founded ? Not at all. He attempts no mitigation or softening. His reply is — "Nay, but O man, who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to de- struction : and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory ?" Here the apostle has anticipated the whole force of the Arminian objection. It cannot be pushed farther than he has carried it in a single sen- tence. No addition has ever been made to its force by the most ingenious gainsayer. Yet the apostle answers it, not by an attempt to explain, to bring down to human comprehension, or to show that his statements had been misconstrued. Nothing like it. He resolves the whole into the supremacy, the sovereignty, and the incompre- hensibleness of God and his counsels, and calls upon all to yield to this great and all- governing principle, closing, as he does in another place when on the same subject, with that memorable exclamation — " O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !" 6. It is a strong argument in favour of that creed which the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church exhibits, that every serious, devout professor of religion, however decided as an Arminian or semi- Pelagian he may be in preaching, or in conversation, never fails to be a Calvinist in prayer. So far as my observation has gone, the most zealous advocates of Arminianism almost always lay aside their favourite opinions when they pour out their hearts in prayer, under a feeling sense of their dependence and their unworthiness. How many examples have we of this in thousands of pulpits, G4 DOCTRINE OF THE and in thousands of published volumes, in which the preaching is decidedly semi-Pelagian, while the prayers are quite as decidedly Calvinistic! The reason of this inconsistency is perfectly evident. In preaching and conversation, errorists argue to maintain a point; in prayer, they supplicate grace. In the former, they are actuated by the spirit of controvertists ; in the latter, they feel their entire dependence as creatures, and their lost and perishing condition as sinners. " A prayer," says one, "upon Arminian principles, and into which the peculiarities of that system were introduced, we have never seen, and never heard. It would be a theo- logical curiosity sufficiently daring in its structure ; but we venture to say, no man of Christian humility and devotion will be found to carry it into the presence of his God." There — there the sinner ever acknowledges his weakness and depravity; disclaims all merit; con- fesses his multiplied sins; adores the sovereign, unme- rited mercy of God ; ascribes to his grace every good desire and hope; glorifies his universal government over all his creatures and all their actions ; and ascribes the plan, the execution, and the consummation, of that de- liverance for which he hopes, to the sovereign, undeserv- ed grace of God abounding through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Now here is the very essence of Calvinism ; — not, indeed, of those monstrous absurdities and impieties in which its adversaries are ever fond of dressing it up ; but of that sober and scriptural system which is found in our formularies, and for which all whom we acknowledge as Calvinists have ever con- tended. 7. Finally, it is worthy of serious inquirj', whether the moral influence of the Calvinistic system has not bean found in all ages more pure and happy than that of any other. For this appeal no apology is necessary. That system which is ever found connected with larger measures of the spirit of prayer, and of humble, habitual, deep devotion; that system which is ever productive of more holy living, and more active Christian benevolence than any other — we may confidently say, without pre- PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. G~> sumption, is most agreeable to Scripture, arid, of course, most worthy of being embraced. This allegation, it is presumed, will not be denied. For, although the oppo- nents of this system at one time charge it with having a tendency to promote licentiousness, yet much more frequently and unanimously they charge it with being austere, over strict in its abstinence from worldly plea- sures, and standing unnecessarily aloof from the various forms of public amusement. Is it not notorious that the followers of A ugustine, of the Paulicians, of Clau- dius of Turin, of the Waldenses, and of Wickliffe, Huss, and Jerome, in the dark ages, were far more pure in their morals, devout in their habits, and separated from a corrupt and idolatrous world, than any of their con- temporaries ? Will it not be granted by every intelli- gent reader, that during the first half century after the Reformation was established in England, when no one doubts that nineteen-twentieths of the Protestant clergy in that kingdom were avowed Calvinists, the state both of piety and of morals was unspeakably better than during the latter half of the seventeenth century, when Arminianism had, among the majority, taken its place ? What was the character of the two thousand " ejected ministers," in the reign of Charles IT., who were almost to a man Calvinists? Were they not characteristically, as a body, the most pious, pure, diligent, and exem- plary servants of Christ that England ever saw ? Is it not universally admitted, that the state of piety and of morals has ever been far more pure in Scotland than in England, and pre-eminently in those districts and con- gregations in Scotland in which Calvinism has main- tained a steady reign? And can any part of the world be named, in which, for nearly a hundred years after its settlement, purer morals reigned than in New England, in which, as every one knows, during the greater part of that period, a Calvinistic creed almost universally prevailed ?* The following remarks, by a distinguished divine of * For some additional facts on the moral tendency of Calvinism vide the Appendix. — L. 66 DOCTRINE OF THE the Church of England who professes not to be a Cal- vinist, are as just as they are striking: — "Does not this opinion (of the immoral tendency of Calvinism) in a sjreat measure originate from a mistaken conception of what Calvinism is ? Those who would impute all these practical evils to the operation of Cal- vinism, appear to suppose that the belief of the Calvinist, by which he admits the doctrine of personal election, necessarily includes also an assumption of his own elec- tion. The Calvinist, properly so called, is no enthu- siast. He believes, indeed, in the eternal purposes of God, as to the salvation of the elect ; but as to the hopes of his own salvation, and of his individual interest in those purposes, he professes to obtain it by the evidences which he possesses of his being himself in a renewed and justified state. He knows from the Word of God that the saints are 'chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit,' no less than 'the belief of the truth;' that they are 'predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ,' and ' created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that they should walk in them/ And hence he feels that it is only so long as he experiences the sanctifying influences of the Spirit in his own heart, so long as he himself in some degree reflects the linage of Christ, and walks, imperfectly indeed, but yet sincerely, in good works, that he can have any scriptural grounds for concluding that he is one of God's elect, and will have his portion with the saints. This is true Cal- vinism. And where is the tendency of this doctrine to make its followers slothful or confident, negligent of the means of grace, or inattentive to moral and relative duties? While the practical evils which Calvinism is charged with producing, are so prominently and studiously ex- hibited to view by many of its opponents, let us not omit, on the other hand, to do justice to this calumniated system, nor forget the abundant good which it is not only capable of accomplishing, but which it actually does accomplish. I have no doubt, but that some of the sublimest feelings of pure and spiritual delight which are ever experienced on earth, are those of which the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 67 Calvinist partakes, when, in his secret retirement with his God, ' the Spirit bearing witness with his spirit,' and shining on his own gracious operation on the heart, he meditates on the wonderful and unspeakable privileges to which, through Christ, he sees himself entitled; and, resolving all the blessings which have been already re- ceived, or are prepared for him hereafter, into the eter- nal purpose and electing love of God his Father, and absorbed in a holy contemplation of the divine counsels and perfections, he lies prostrate before the throne ot grace, in deep humiliation, and with overwhelming joy. I do not say that others have not their peculiar feelings of spiritual delight; but these are his. And does he rise from such communion with his God, without en- larged desires and resolutions of more seriously devoting himself to the Divine favour, of more decidedly over- coming the flesh and the world, and of more faithfully doing the will and advancing the glory of his Lord and Saviour? Facts and experience reply to this inquiry. Among no denomination or description of professing Christians is there to be found a larger portion of humble, pious, and devoted servants of God — persons of a truly Christian spirit, zealous of good works, and exemplary in every duty and relation of life — than among those who hold the Calvinistic tenets. I am sure that your observation and your candour will fully justify this statement. And, therefore, so far as this system is to be judged of by its actual effects, I think that, on a candid re -consideration of the subject, you will be in- duced to abandon your objection, and to admit that it was founded on an erroneous and partial view of the subject." * In the same general strain, Bishop Burnet, who was avowedly a moderate Arminian, expresses the following opinion as to the practical advantages of Calvinism: " A Calvinist is taught by his opinions to think meanly of himself, and to ascribe the honour of all to God; which lays in him a deep foundation for humility; he * " Letters addressed to a Serious and Humble Inquirer," &c, by the Rev. Edward Cooper, Rector of Hamstall Ridware. f?8 DOCTRINE OF THE is also much inclined to secret prayer, and to a fixed dependence on God." A very able and learned foreign lawyer, the author of the article Predestination in the JEncyclopcedia JBri- tannica, though he is evidently no friend to Calvinism, makes the following declaration : — " There is one re- mark which we feel ourselves bound in justice to make, although it appears to us somewhat singular. It is this : That from the earliest ages down to our own days, if we consider the character of the ancient Stoics, the Jewish Essenes, the modern Calvinists and Jansenists, when compared with that of their antagonists, the Epicureans, the Sadducees, the Arminians, and the Jesuits, we shall find that they have excelled, in no small degree, in the practice of the most rigid and respectable virtues; and have been the highest honour of their own ages, and the best models for imitation to every age succeeding. At the same time, it must be confessed, that their virtues have in general been rendered unamiable by a tinge of gloomy and severe austerity." After all, however, that can be said in favour of that doctrinal system which it is our happiness and honour, as a Church, to receive; however demonstrative its scrip- tural support, and however manifest its deduction from the character of an infinitely great, wise, and good Gover- nor of the universe; it will never cease, while human nature remains as it is, to be hated, reviled, caricatured, ridiculed, and rejected, by a large majority of the pro- fessedly religious world. It is too humbling to human pride; it calls for too much self-denial, self-renunciation, and submission of the mind and the heart to heavenly teaching; demands too much spirituality and withdraw- ment from worldly pleasures and amusements, not to be opposed by the mass of mankind, and even by the mass of professing Christians, who have little taste for the spirit of the gospel. These very doctrines were thus treated in the days of the inspired apostles, who first taught them in their fulness; and, even in our own communion, those of our members who are most tinctured with the worldly spirit, are ever found most apt to quarrel with PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 6.9 the peculiarities of our creSd. The most deeply humble, enlightened, and spiritual Christians are, in all ages and Churches, ever found to be those to whom the doctrines of free and sovereign grace, for substance, as collected in our standards from the Scriptures of truth, are most precious, and in whose view they are most glorious. CHAPTER IV. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The Church, being a social body, called out of the world, and constituted by the authority of Jesus Christ, indispensably needs a form of government. No society can exist in purity and peace without order. And no order can be maintained without authority, laws, and a set of officers to apply the laws, and administer the form of order which may have been adopted. Our Master in heaven has commanded " his body, the Church," to preserve within her borders purity of doc- trine, and holiness of conversation ; and for this purpose to "warn the unruly," to admonish the careless, reclaim the wandering, and to cut of those who are obstinately corrupt, either in faith or practice. All this she was commanded to do, and actually did perform, while all the civil governments of the world were leagued against her, and the fires of martyrdom were kindled on every side. Now, it is obviously impossible for the Church to fulfil these obligations, without such an ecclesiastical constitution, such a system of laws, and such a body of officers, as will enable her to apply to her members that authority which her Master has vested in her, u for edi- fication, and not for destruction." Hence the necessity of organizing the Church under some distinct and defi- nite form. It is not asserted, or believed by us, that any one form of government is essential to the existence of the Church; but simply, that if purity and peace be maintained, there must be some form adopted; and that THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 71 that form which is derived from the Word of God, is undoubtedly the best, and binding on all.* The Presbyterian Church claims to derive her form of government from the Holy Scriptures. She is per- suaded that the New Testament most distinctly presents, as existing in the apostolic Church, all the three features which constitute the peculiarities of her eccle- siastical polity, viz., the parity of her ministers, the government of the Church by ruling elders, and the attainment of unity and co-operation by courts of review and control. She aims to avoid the unauthorized pre- tensions of Prelacy on the one hand, and the lax, in- adequate scheme of Independency on the other ; nnd to adopt that system of ministerial equality and efficient representation in the government of the Church, which at once guards, as far as possible, against the encroach- ments of clerical ambition, secures the rights of the people, and provides for the exercise of pure and whole- some discipline in the most edifying manner. I. In the first place, we reject the claim of Prelacy. Our Episcopal brethren contend that in the Christian Church there are three orders of clergy — bishops, pres- byters, and deacons ; that the first only have power to ordain, and the last to preach, and administer the sacrament of baptism alone. We maintain, that all ministers of the gospel who are empowered to admini- ster the Word and sacraments, are officially equal, and authorized to perform the highest acts of ecclesiastical power. We believe, in a word, that there is but one order of gospel ministers authorized in the New Testa- ment ; that the title of bishop was constantly applied in the apostolic age, and for a considerable time afterwards, * The condescending consideration of our Lord for his people, which he often manifested when upon earth, would warrant the same expectation. Surely in their Church estate, now that he is in heaven, he would not leave them without government, the prey of anarchy and confusion — destructive of the very ends of a Church altogether. Having loved the Church, and purchased it with his blood, and now managing all the affairs of the world insubordination to its interests, we may be sure he would appoint a government, and not leave so important a matter to accident or the invention of erring men. — L. 72 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE to the ordinary pastors of particular Churches ; and that setting up a superior under this title, as exclusively pos- sessed of the power of ordaining, is a departure from the primitive model — a usurpation for which there is not the smallest warrant in the Word of God. Our Episcopal brethren, indeed, freely acknowledge that the title of " bishop " is never employed in the New Testament, in a single instance, to designate that class of officers to which they now exclusively apply it. They, with one voice, grant that all that we read in the apostolical writings concerning bishops, is to be regarded as pertaining to presbyters, or the ordinary pastors of Churches; in other words, to what they call the "second grade" of ministers. They allege, however, that the apostles occupied a place of ecclesiastical pre-eminence in the primitive Church ; that they alone, while they lived, were endowed with the power of ordination ; that, as they deceased, their pre-eminence was transmitted to certain successors ; that to these successors of the apostles, the title of bishop, which had before, while the apostles lived, been given to presbyters, began to be appropriated; and that ever since the apostolic age this title has been confined to prelates;* to those who suc- ceeded to the apostolical pre-eminence, and who, like the apostles, exclusively possess the power of ordination. But to no part of this claim does the New Testament afford the least countenance. It is manifest that ordi- nation was not confined to the apostles officially and technically so called; for nothing can be plainer, than that Barnabas, Timothy, and Titus, who were not apostles in the appropriated sense, were invested with the ordaining power, and actually and abundantly exer- cised it. It is equally manifest, that when the apostles ceased from the Church, they left no successors in that peculiar and pre-eminent office which they filled during their lives. "The apostolical office," says Dr. Barrow, an eminent Episcopal divine — "The apostolical office, as such, was personal and temporary, and therefore, ac- * See Bishop Onderdonk's "Episcopacy Tested by Scripture," p. 12. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 73 cording to its nature and design, not successive nor com- municable to others, in perpetual descendence from them : it was, as such, in all respects extraordinary, conferred in aspecial manner, designed forspecial purposes, discharged by special aids, endowed with special privileges, as was needful for the propagation of Christianity, and found- ing of Churches. To that office, it was requisite that the person should have an immediate designation and commission from God; that he should be endowed with miraculous gifts and graces; that he should be able, ac- cording to his discretion, to impart spiritual gifts; and that he should govern in an absolute manner, as being guided by infallible assistance, to which he might ap- peal. Now, such an office, consisting of so many ex- traordinary privileges, and miraculous powers, which were requisite for the foundation of the Church, was not designed to continue by derivation, for it contained in it divers things which apparently were not communi- cated, and which no man, without gross imposture and hypocrisy, could challenge to himself." * ISuch is the judgment of this learned and able Prela- tist concerning the foundation of the whole argument before us. There is not the semblance of support, then, to be found in Scripture for the alleged transmission of the pre-eminent and peculiar powers of the apostles to a set of ecclesiastical successors. As men endowed with the gifts of miracles and inspiration, who were, prior to the completion of the New Testament canon, constituted the infallible guides of the Church, they had no succes- * Pope's Supremacy, p. 79. It is quite plain that the apostolic office was a temporary one, in force till the canon of Scripture was completed. After this, it be- came unnecessary, and therefore ceased. " When I shall see," says James Owen, in his " Plea for Scripture Ordination,'" p. 56, " bishops immediately sent of God — infallibly assisted by the Holy Ghost— travelling to the remotest kingdoms to preach the gospel in their own language to the infidel nations, and confirming their doctrine by undoubted miracles, I shall bel.eve them to be the apos- tles 1 true successors in the apostolic office." Why do Prelatists not contend for successors to the prophets and evangelists, as well as to the apostles ? They were equally "given " by Christ for the edi- fication of the Church; but this would expose the absurdity of the claim. — L. 74- THE GOVERNMENT OF THE sors; nor can the remotest hint he found in Scripture that tliey had, or were ever intended to have, any such successors. But as ministers of Christ, empowered to go forth preaching the gospel and administering Christian sacraments, they had successors, and these successors were, manifestly, all those who were empowered to preach the gospel, and administer the sacramental seals of discipleship; for in the final commission which the Saviour gave to the apostles, and which must he con- sidered as embracing their final and highest functions, they nre sent forth to disciple all nations, and to baptise them "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" and it was in immediate connection with the command to discharge these ordinary duties, that the promise which is considered as pointing to the ministerial succession was given: — " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." If the friends of Prelacy could produce even the semhlance of testimony from Scripture that the ordaining power is something more sacred and elevated than that of dis- pensing the gospel, and adininistering sacraments; if they could produce the least hint from the New Testa- ment, that the powers possessed by the apostles were afterwards divided, and that one class of ministers suc- ceeded them in certain pre-eminent powers, not men- tioned in their final commission, while another class succeeded them only in respect to lower and more ordi- nary function?, their cause would rest on some plausible ground ; but there is not a syllable in Scripture which gives the most distant intimation of either of these alleged facts. It is not so much as pretended that a passage is to be found which gives a hint of this kind. Accordingly, when we ask the advocates of Episcopacy whence they derive their favourite doctrine, that diocesan bishops succeed the apostles in the appropriate powers and pre-eminence of their apostolical character, they re- fer us to no passages of Scripture asserting, or even hint- ing it; but to some equivocal suggestions and allusions of several Fathers who wrote within the first four or five hundred years after Christ. The writer most frequently PRESBYTERTAN CHURCH. 75 quoted by our Episcopal brethren, for this purpose, is Theodoret, who flourished about the middle of the fifth century, and who speaks thus: — " The same persons were anciently called bishops and presbyters; and those whom we now call bishops, were then called apostles. But in process of time, the title of apostle was appro- priated to those who were called apostles in the strict sense, and the rest, who had formerly the name of apostles, were styled bishops, In this sense, Epaphro- ditus is called the apostle of the Philippians; Titus was the apostle of the Cretians, and Timothy of Asia." On this testimony several remarks may be made: — 1. It is not the testimony of Scripture, but the dream of a writer four centuries after the apostolic age, in whose time the Church had become very corrupt, and in whose works much superstition and error are found. 2. No one doubts that, in Theodoret's time, Prelacy had obtained a complete establishment, and that he alleges principles and facts in relation to the priesthood in his day, which none but Papists are prepared to sanction. 3. It is very certain that the Fathers who flourished nearest to the apostolic age, generally represent presby- ters, and not prelates, as the successors of the apostles. Ignatius, in particular, who was contemporary with the last of the apostles, expresses himself again and again in the following language: — "The presbyters succeed in the place of the bench of the apostles " And again: ** In like manner, let all reverence the presbyters, as the sanhedrim of God, and college of the apostles." And again : "Be subject to your presbyters, as to the apostles of Jesus Christ our hope." And, once more: " Follow the presbyters as the apostles." Which shall we believe, Ignatius or Theodoret ? Beyond all doubt, neither is to be trusted in relation to a matter which receives no countenance from Scripture. It is notorious, too, that Irenreus, a Christian father who flourished toward the latter part of the second century, repeatedly speaks of presbyters as being the successors of the apostles. In other places he speaks of the same persons as bishops, 76 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE and under that title also represents them as the succes- sors of the apostles. And this he does, not once only, but several times, as if his object were to show that, according to the representation of the New Testament, bishop and presbyter were the same. 4. Augustine, a writer earlier than Theodoret, more learned, and of higher authority, expressly declares that the apostolical office was above that of any bishop. (De Baptis. contra Donatis., ii. ].) 5. And, after all, to what does Theodoret's statement amount? Why, only that in the fifth century, such claims and such language as he presents were common. Who doubts this? But does he say that the New Tes- tament authorizes any such statement ? He does not. Nor, if he had, could we possibly believe him with the Bible in our hands ? The truth is, no such fact as this argument supposes is stated or hinted at in Scripture. It everywhere represents the apostles as extraordinary officers, who, in their peculiar qualifications and autho- rity, had no successors; but who, in respect to that office which is perpetual, are succeeded by all regularly autho- rized ministers of the gospel. And to give any other view of the subject, is an imposition on popular credulity. Accordingly, this whole argument for the superiority of bishops, drawn from the plea that they are the peculiar and exclusive successors of the apostles, in their official pre-eminence, has been wholly abandoned by a number of the most distinguished divines of the Church of Eng- land, as invalid and untenable. The next argument commonly urged by our Episco- pal brethren in support of Prelacy, is, that Timothy was evidently, in fact, bishop of Ephesus, and Titus of Crete; and that this furnishes, of course, a plain example of an order of ministers superior to common pastors. This alleged fact is a corner-stone of the Episcopal fabric; and unless it can be supported, the whole edifice must fall to the ground. But for this alleged Prelacy of Timothy and Titus, there is not only no positive proof, but there is not even a shadow of it, in the whole New Testament. There is PRESBYTERIAN CIIURCIT. 77 no evidence whatever that either of them ever had a fixed pastoral charge at Ephesus or Crete. There is no evidence that either of them ever performed the work of ordination alone. One of them, while at Ephesus, Mas expressly directed to " do the work of an evangelist," and there is not the slightest intimation that either acted in any higher character. There is no hint that they per- formed any act, to which any regular minister of the gospel is not fully competent. In short, the whole Epis- copal argument drawn from the charge to Timothy and Titus is destitute of the semblance of proof from Scrip- ture. All the premises on which it is founded are taken for granted, without evidence. All that appears to have been done by these evangelists, is done every day by evangelists sent forth by the Presbyterian Church; and no reason can be assigned for ascribing to the mission- aries to Ephesus and Crete any higher character than that the Episcopal cause demands it. In truth, when thrown into the form of a regular syllogism, its amount is neither more nor less than the following: — M None but diocesan bishops can ordain ministers and 4 set in order' Churches; but Timothy and Titus discharged these offices: therefore, Timothy and Titus were dio- cesan bishops." But is not the very thing to he proved, — viz., that diocesan bishops alone can ordain, &c. — here taken for granted? Can there be a more gross begging of the whole question than this argument ex- emplifies? It is hardly necessary to inform any intelligent reader of the Bible, that the postscripts, at the close of the Second Epistle to Timothy, and of the Epistle to Titus, and which speak of the former as u the first bishop of Ephesus," and the latter as " the first bishop of Crete," are of no authority. It is acknowledged by all learned men, that they make no part of the sacred text. They were, no doubt, interpolated by officious transcribers, more than four hundred years after the date of the epistles. They are not found at all in the most authentic copies of the original. They are not the same in the copies in which they are found. They were excluded from all the earliest 78 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE English translations. And for a long time after their introduction, they were printed in a different type from the received text, to indicate that they formed no part of the authentic Scriptures. But when our present translation of the Bible, in the reign of James I., was executed, as the translators were all Episcopalians, they, very improperly, suffered these postscripts to occupy the place in which we now find them, without any mark to distinguish them from the authorized text. Such is the amount of the argument drawn from the alleged Episcopal character of Timothy and Titus. It finds no countenance whatever in the New Testament. Every fact which is stated in the inspired history concerning those pious evangelists is not only perfectly reconcilable with the Presbyterian doctrine, but agrees far better with it than with the Episcopalian hypothesis. Accordingly, the eminent Episcopal divine, Dr. Whitby, with all his zeal for Prelacy, speaks, in his Commentary, in the following language: — "The great controversy concerning this, and the Epistles to Timothy, is, whether Timothy and Titus were indeed made bishops — the one of Ephesus, and the Proconsular Asia ; the other of Crete. Now, of this matter I confess I can find nothing in any icriter of the first three centuries, nor any inti- mation that they lore that name." And afterwards he adds, concerning the whole argument: "' I confess that these two instances, absolutely taken, afford us no con- vincing arguments in favour of a settled diocesan Epis- copacy, because there is nothing which proves they did, or were, to exercise these acts of government rather as bishops than evangelists." It is true, this learned writer, while lie acknowledges that no evidence in favour of the Episcopal character of these missionaries is to be found within the first three centuries, expresses an opinion, that there is testimony enough to establish it in the writers of the fourth and fifth centuries. This, however, is not scriptural testimony; and what is not found in the Bible, is surely not binding on the Church. Besides, this testimony of the fourth and fifth centuries, when impartially examined, and compared with other con- PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 79 temporaneous testimony, will be found perfectly worth- ies?, and, of course, unavailing to the cause in support of which it is adduced, hecause it is not consistent either with itself or with the New Testament.* Another argument from Scripture, commonly urged by our Episcopal brethren, is derived from the " angels" addressed in the Epistles to the Seven Churches of the Lesser Asia. " In each of those Churches," say the ad- vocates of Prelacy, " an individual is addressed under the title of ■ Angel,' which is a very strong argument against ministerial parity, and in favour of Episcopacy." But this argument is just as powerless as any of the preceding, or rather, it is destitute even of their degree of plausibility. The term " angel" signifies messenger. As an ecclesiastical title, it is derived from the Old Tes- tament. In every Jewish synagogue, or worshipping congregation, there was " an angel of the Church," whose duty it was to preside and take the lead in pub- lic worship. This title was evidently transferred from the Synagogue to the Christian Church. And if we suppose each of these "angels" to be the ordinary pas- tor of a single church or congregation, it will perfectly accord with every representation concerning them found in the epistles in question. But, he who looks carefully into the addresses to the several Churches contained in these epistles, will find much reason to doubt whether individual ministers are at all designated by the title of "angel." Some have supposed that collective bodies of pastors were intended. Of this opinion a number of the most eminent Episcopal writers have been the advocates. There is absolutely not a shadow of proof that prelates, or anything like them, are referred to. Some of the most learned and zealous advocates of Prelacy have * Episcopal writers are very much divided among themselves as to the case of Timothy and Titus. Some would make them out to be archbishops! It is plain that they were Commissioners appointed for a special object, which is not inconsistent with the principles or practice of the Presbyterian Church. Vide " PrymVs Unbishoping of Timothy and Titus;" and " Ayton's Original Constitution," 412-440. See abo the testimonies of Episcopal writers in his Ap- pendix, 22-28.— L. 80 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE acknowledged this ; and the -whole argument really amounts to nothing more than a mere gratuitous assump- tion of the point to be proved.* One more argument may he briefly adverted to, which our Episcopal brethren sometimes urge in support of their cause. They say that the Apostle James was evi- dently bishop of Jerusalem. This they attempt to prove by telling us that he spoke last, and gave a very pointed sentence, or opinion, in the Synod of Jerusalem; that Peter, after his release from prison, snid to certain per- sons, " Go, show these things unto James and to the brethren;" and that when Paul visited Jerusalem, it is said concerning him: "And the day following, Paul went in with us unto James, and all the elders were pre- sent." On these, and other occasions, the advocates of Episcopal claims tell us, James was spoken of as a dis- tinguished man, and treated with marked respect ; and from this circumstance it is inferred that he was the bishop of Jerusalem. This argument, when stripped of all its decorations, stands thus: "James was the last speaker, and gave a decisive opinion in an ecclesiastical assembly ; therefore, he was superior to all others present, and, of course, the bishop of Jerusalem ! Peter requested an account of his release from prison to be sent to James; then/ore, James was the bishop of Jerusalem ! Paul and his company went to the house of James in Jerusalem, and there found the elders convened; therefore, James was the ecclesias- tical governor of that city!" This is absolutely the whole of the scriptural argument drawn from the char- acter of James ! Surely, a more singular instance of the gratuitous assumption of what ought to be proved, was never exhibited. j* So utterly groundless, then, do we find the claim of our Episcopal brethren, when brought to the test of * Dr. Stillingfleet. an able Episcopal writer, asks, " Why may not the word ' anger be taken only by way of representatives of the body itself ; or, what is far more probable, of the concessory, or order of presbyters in that Church." (Irenicum, p. 836.) — L. f Vide a number of Episcopal testimonies, in Ayton's Appendix, against the supposed Prelacy of James. — L. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 81 Scripture. Their claim, it will be observed, is positive and explicit. It is, that the New Testament holds forth, as existing in the apostolic Church, and intended to be \ perpetual, an order of men superior to ministers of the word and sacraments; that this order is alone empowered to ordain; and, of course, that without ordination by this order of men, there can be no ministry, no Church, no valid ordinances, no "covenanted mercy," to any of the children of men. In short, they would persuade us, not only that the New Testament bears them out in main- taining the actual existence of such an order in the apos- tolic Church, but also, that it warrants them in contend- ing for it as absolutely and indispensably necessary. The burden of proof lies on them. They have not proved, and cannot prove, either. That the power of ordaining was not confined to the apostles while they lived, is* manifest to all who read the Bible without prejudice. That the extraordinary powers of the apostles were to be transmitted to successors, can no more be proved from the Word of God, than that inspiration and miracles are still continued and transmitted from man to man in the Church. That Timothy and Titus were prelates, because they were appointed to "ordain elders," and "set in order the things that were wanting" in Ephesus and Crete, when it is utterly uncertain whether either of them performed a single ordination alone, is no more proved, or even probable, than that modern Presbyterian missionaries to frontier settlements are prelates, because they are commissioned to perform similar work. And so of all the other alleged sources of proof from Scrip- ture. They are just as destitute of force, and just as delusive as the Popish doctrine — that the primacy of St. Peter, and the transmission of that primacy to the bishops of Rome, mav be proved from the Word of God. Some of the most learned advocates of Episcopacy, however, while they have freely confessed that their favourite system could not be established from Scrip- ture, have confidently asserted, that it is abundantly and unquestionably supported by the testimony of the 82 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE Fathers. Into this field it is not judged proper here to enter, for the following reasons: — 1. The Bible contains the religion of Protestants. It is the only infallible, and the only sufficient rule of faith and practice. Even if Prelacy were found unequivo- cally represented as existing, by the Fathers, in fifty years after the last apostle, yet if it he not found in the Bible, as it assuredly is not, such testimony would by no means establish its apostolic appointment. It would only prove that the Church was very early corrupted. We know, indeed, that no such testimony exists; but if it did, as long as we have the Bible, we ought to reject it. 2. We know that human inventions, and various forms of corruption, did in fact very early obtain cur- rency in the Christian Church ; and that several prac- tices, quite as likely to be opposed as the encroachments of Prelacy, were introduced and established within the first three hundred years. 3. This is a kind of testimony very difficult to be brought within a narrow compass. For, while some de- tached passages from the early Fathers have the appear- ance at first view of favouring Prelacy ; yet, when care- fully examined, and compared with other passages from the same Fathers, and others of equal credibility, their testimony will be found utterly unfavourable to Prelati- cal claims. He who reads what the learned Jerome, in the fourth century, declares concerning Prelacy, as hav- ing no foundation in divine appointment, and as gradu- ally brought in by human ambition, will begin to see that the testimony of the Fathers on this subject is very different from what sanguine and ardent Pre la lists are accustomed to represent it. So the testimony of Jerome was understood by Bishop Jewel, by Bishop Morton, by Archbishop Whirgifr, by Bishop Bilston, by Bishop Stiilingfleet, and by a number of other divines as learned and able as ever adorned the Cburch of England. And with respect to the testimony of Ignatius, early in the second century, who is commonly regarded and resorted to as the sheet-anchor of the Episcopal claim, one could PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 83 scarcely wish for a more distinct and graphic description of Presbyterianism than his epistles represent as existing in all the Churches which he addressed. Ignatius speaks expressly of a bishop, elders, and deacons existing in every worshipping assembly -which he addressed. Is this the language of Prelacy ? So far from it, nothing can be plainer than that this language can be reconciled with the Presbyterian system alone. Presbyterians are the only denomination who have, in every worshipping assembly, a bishop, presbyters or elders, and deacons.* But it cannot be too often repeated, or too constantly kept in view, that whatever the Fathers may say on this subject, is not to decide respecting it. If Episcopacy, when brought to the test of Scripture, cannot stand, we may very willingly leave its support from other sources to those who may feel inclined to "receive for doctrines the commandments of men." This principle formed one of the great dividing lines between our fathers, the Puritans of England, and the prelates and others by whom the Reformed Church was organized in that land* The Puritans contended that the Bible was the only infallible rule of faith and practice; that it ought to be regarded as the standard of Church government and discipline, as well as of doctrine; and that the Church, as it stood in the days of the apostles, is the proper model for our imitation. But the bishops and the court clergy openly maintained that the Scriptures were not to be considered as the only standard of Church govern- ment and discipline; that the Fathers and the early councils were to be united with them as the rule; that the Saviour and his apostles left the whole matter of Church order to be accommodated to the discretion of the civil magistrate, and to the form of polity in the State; and that the form of Church government adopted in the third and fourth centuries, and especially in the civil establishment under Constantine, was really to be preferred to that which existed in the days of the apostles, which they considered as peculiarly fitted to the infant * For a short view of the Testimony of the Fathers and Refor- mers, Bee Appendix. — L. 84 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE state of the Church, while depressed by persecution. And upon this plan it is notorious that the men who took the lead in reforming and organizing the Church of England avowedly proceeded. But we can not only prove a negative — that is, we can not only establish that there is no evidence in favour diocesan Episcopacy to be found in Scripture — but we can go farther, and show that the testimony in favour of ministerial parity found in the New Testament is clear and strong. Nothing is plainer than that our blessed Lord severely rebuked, and explicitly condemned all contests among his ministering servants about rank and pre-eminence.""' It is acknowledged, by the great mass of learned and pious men of all Protestant deno- minations, that it is plain, from the apostolical writings, that the ecclesiastical order of the Synagogue was trans- ferred by inspired men to the Christian Church. It is evident, on the slightest inspection of the New Testa- ment history, that the names and functions of the Church officers appointed by the apostles were derived, not from the Temple, but from the Synagogue. It is explicitly granted by our Episcopal brethren themselves, that in the New Testament, the titles bishop and presbyter were used intereh ingeahly to designate the same office, and that the names were then common. Nothing is plainer than that the elders of the Ctiurch of Ephesus are spoken of as its bishops (Acts xx.), and, of course, that there were a plurality of bishops in the same Church, which is wholly inconsistent with the doctrine of Pre- lacy, f It is manifest that Timothy received his desig- nation to the sacred office " by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery'.' We find that such men as * Our Lord fir^aw. and no doubt meant to discourage, the lordly pretensions which lie knew would one day appear in his professed Church. His cautions were evidently rae.int to guard his followers in ;ill agss ag linst the spirit of Popery, and the course from which it, in a great me isure, springs — unequal official rank in the ministry, whether in the Church of Rome or in professedly Protestant com- munions. — L. f It is essential to Prelacy to have one bishop over many — it may be hundreds, or even thousands of Churches. — L. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 85 Barnabas, and Simeon, and Lucius, and Manaen, none of whom, it is evident, were prelates, were commanded to lay their hands on Paul, and one of their own num- ber, and " separate them" to a special ministry on which they were about to depart; " and when they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them away." But it is contrary to all order, human and divine, for an official inferior authoritatively to bless, and, by imposition of hands, to set forth an official superior; and, finally, it is evident, that the mere silence of Scripture, as to the claim of our Episcopal brethren, affords positive and conclusive proof that it cannot be well founded. The advocates of Prelacy, especially the more zealous and determined of their number, make their claim a fundamental one. According to them, as before said, there can be no covenanted Church, no valid ministry or sacraments, without ordination to the sacred office by prelates. Now, can it be believed, that a matter so important, nay, vital, should not be laid down in Scripture, in explicit terms, and with incon- trovertible evidence? Surely, if the claim were well founded, whatever else was left in doubt, the preroga- tive of the bishop might be expected to be set forth with reiterated and unquestionable evidence. But our Epis- copal brethren themselves acknowledge that this is not the case. Their scriptural testimony is, in no one in- stance, direct and explicit; but all indirect, and remotely inferential. They do not pretend to quote a single passage of Scripture which declares, in so many words, or anything like it, in favour of their claim ; but their whole reliance, in regard to scriptural testimony, is placed on facts, and deductions from those facts, which many of the most learned of their own denomination pro- nounce utterly unavailing for their purpose. Now, can any rational man believe that our blessed Lord and his apostles could possibly have regarded the doctrine of Prelacy in the same light, and laid equal stress upon it with our Episcopal brethren, and yet have left the whole subject, to say the least, in so inexplicit and dubious a G R6 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE posture ? He who can believe this is prepared to believe anything that his prejudices may dictate. In conformity with the foregoing statements, it is well known that, at the era of the Reformation, the leaders of the Church of England stood alone in reforming their Church upon Prelatical principles.* Luther, Melanc- thon, Zuingle, Bucer, and Peter Martyr, as well as Calvin and Knox, as stated in a preceding chapter — all, all, scattered through every part of Europe, without concert, interpreted the New Testament as plainly teach- ing the doctrine of ministerial parity, and regarded every kind of imparity in the gospel ministry as the result of human contrivance, and not of divine appointment. In * Perhaps some readers, who are aware that the Lutheran Church in Germany nov: lias superintendents, and that the Churches of Den- mark, Norway, and Sweden, have bishops, may think that the test needs qualification. Eut I believe Dr. Miller is quite accurate. It is well known that Luther held the scriptural authority of parity of ministers; that he acted upon the principle, though himself simply a presbyter, joining in the ordination of men to the office of the ministry down to within a few days of his death; and that in this his sentiments and practice were at one with those of the other illus- trious German Reformers. At the same time, he thought it not unlawful, as a matter of mere human and political expediency, sometimes to have superintendents. Hence the existence of the office in the Lutheran Church, which seems to be much the same sis the office bearing the same name in the early history of the Church p f Scotland. So far as I can learn, the superintendents in the German Lutheran Ch rch at Lie present day have no inherent superiority over other pastors; the office, too. is not for life — but temporary according to '.he need of the Church. As in Presbyterian Cb.useb.es, the Lutheran holds the office of the ruling elder to be scriptural and divine. With regard to the Northern Churches of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, though they l- \ and archbishops, and a full organization of Episcopal government, yet it is important to remem- ber that those who planted the Reformation, and ordained the first Protestant ministers, were not prelates, but presbyters; that those who wear the names of bishops ard archhishops, themselves re- ceived the ordination of presbyters, and so can transmit only Presby- terian ordination; and that all the Swedish divines, even th< hold Prelacy not to beof divine right, but a mere human regulation. They, as well as the Danes, have all along maintained the divine parity of ministers though their bishops retain the office for life. The Rev. Dr. Collier of Philadelphia, a learned Swedish pastor, cer- tify s these facts in reference to his country. See " Letters of Dr. Miller," p. 3116. It is well known that Bugenhagius, who ordained the first superintendents in Denmark, was mere];, a presbyter, vide " iiiogrupi.hi Lrangeiiea,' 1 under his name. — L. PltESlJYTF.RIA.N GHURCH. 87 short, in every part of Protestant Christendom, out ot England — however the leaders of the Reformation dif- fered, and differed sometimes with ardour on other sub- jects — here they, with scarcely a single exception, were all agreed, that in the apostles' days bishop and pres- byter were the same, in fact as well as in name; and that, even when it was thought proper to allow to any minister a degree of pre-eminence, it was to be defended on the ground of human prudence alone. How shall we account for this fact, hut by supposing that the plain and obvious construction of the Word of God, on this subject, is favourable to Presbyterian parity, and un- friendly to Prelatical claims ? But while our Episcopal brethren depart from the primitive and apostolic model in regard to bishops, so they equally depart from that model in respect to the deacon's office. They contend that deacons are one of the orders of clergy, and are authorized, by divine appointment, to preach and baptize. Let any one im- partially read the first six verses of the 6th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and then say whether there is the smallest warrant for this opinion. The apostles say to the people, " It is not meet that \ye should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Wherefore look ye out among you seven men of honest report, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." Can it be supposed, in direct opposition to this whole statement, that these very deacons were appointed, after all, not to take care of the poor, but to labour in " the ministry of the Word?" This were an inconsistency, nay, an absurdity so glaring, that the only wonder is, how any one can possibly adopt it after reading the in- spired statement. The circumstance of Philip, some time after his appointment as deacon, being found preach- ing and baptizing in Samaria and other places, does not afford the smallest presumptive evidence against this conclusion. Are not cases frequently occurring in the Presbyterian Church in which young men, after serving ayetr or two as ruling elders or deacons, are set apart 88 THE GOVERNMENT OP THE as ministers of the gospel ? Soon after Philip's appoint- ment to the deaconship in Jerusalem, the members of the Church in that city were chiefly " scattered abroad by persecution." He was, of course, driven from his residence. Now, the probability is, that about this time — seeing he was " a man full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom," and, therefore, eminently qualified to be useful in preaching the gospel — he received a new ordination as an evangelist, and in this character went forth to preach and baptize. He is expressly called an " evangelist * by the same inspired writer who gives us the account just recited of his appointment as deacon. (Acts xxi. 8.) Until it can be proved, then, that he preached and baptized as a deacon, and not as an evan- gelist, the supposition is utterly improbable, and wholly unworthy of credit. The truth is, the primitive and apostolical office of deacon, was to take care of the poor and "serve tables." By little and little, several centuries after the apostolic age, the occupants of this office usurped the functions of a higher one ; which usurpation was afterwards confirmed by ecclesiastical custom. So a number of the most respectable of the early Fathers clearly understood the matter. Thus Origen, in his Commentary on the 21st chapter of Matthew, speaking of the corruption which prevailed among the deacons in his day, repre- sents them, not as neglecting to preach or baptize, but as "neglecting the poor, and converting to their own use the Church's charitable funds." Again, the same father tells us {Tract lf>, in 3f«tt.), " the deacons pre- side over the money-tables of the Church." And again, " The deacons were appointed to preside over the tables of the Church, as we are taught in the Acts of the Apostles." Ambrose, in the fourth century, in his Commentary on Ephesians, expressly declares that, in his day, " the deacons ordinarily were not authorized to preach." Chrysostom, in the same century, in his Commentry on Acts vi., Homil. 14, tells us, that in his time " there were no such deacons in the Church as the apostles ordained ;" and, in the same connection, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 80 gives it as his opinion, that it ought to have been then as it was in the apostles' days. Jerome, in his famous letter to Evagrius, expressly calls the deacon " a minister of tables and widows." The " Apostolical Constitu- tions," commonly referred to the fourth or fifth century, contain (book ii., ch. 27) the following passage : — " Let the deacon give nothing to any poor man without the bishop's knowledge and consent." And in the sixth general Council of Constantinople, Can. 16', it is de- clared, that the scriptural deacons were no other than overseers of the poor, and that such was the opinion of the ancient Fathers." * But parity among her ministers is not the only feature which distinguishes the government of the Presbyterian Church. Her mode of conducting discipline in each Church by a bench of elders acting as the representative of the members at large ; and by courts of review and control, admitting of appeals, where parties feel aggriev- ed, and binding all the particular Churches together as one body walking by the same rules of truth and order, and subject to the same uniform constitutional autho- rity, are among her peculiar privileges. In regard to both these points, Presbyterians differ from Indepen- dents and Congregationalists, as well as from Episcopa- lians, and, indeed, from most other denominations of Christians. To these our attention will next be directed. Independents and Congregationalists commit the whole government and discipline of their Churches immediately to the body of the communicants. In some of their Churches all the communicants, male and female, have * Before tamely .submitting to be unchurched by what, after all, is only a handful of Protestant Christendom, Presbyterians, consti- tuting the vast majority, may well start the inquiry, Whether that Church can be a Church of Christ, which creates the office of pre- late without divine appointment — which mangles the office of presbyter — perverts the office of deacon to a purpose never con- templated in Scripture, and which altogether extinguishes the divine office of ruling elder ? It may well admit of question, Whether such a Church be apostolic and primitive ? At least, when there is so much evidently necessary to make out their own Christian title, the new Anglican school may pause a little in their summary unchurch- ing of their neighbours. — L. 90 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE an equal vote ; in others, the males only take a part in discipline. In the estimation of Preshyterians, this mode of conducting ecclesiastical discipline is liable to most serious objections. They consider it as wholly unsup- ported by Scripture ; as " setting those to judge, in many cases, who are least esteemed in the Church ;" as ex- tremely unfavourable to the calm and wise administra- tion of justice; nay, as, of ail the forms of ecclesiastical discipline, most exposed to the sway of ignorance, pre- judice, passion, and artful intrigue ; that, under the guise of liberty, it often leads to the most grievous tyranny ; and is adapted to exert an injurious influence on the characters both of the pastor and the people In the Presbyterian Church, the government and dis- cipline in each congregation is committed to a bench of elders, consisting of eight or ten of the most pious, enlightened, wise, prudent, and grave members of the Church. They constitute, with the pastor at their head, a judicial body, who maintain an official inspection over the members of the Church, and deliberately sit in judg- ment on all those delicate and yet momentous cases, which are connected with receiving, admonishing, re- buking, suspending, excommunicating, and dismissing the members of the flock committed to their care. Our reasons for conducting in this manner the government and discipline of the Church, are the following : — 1. It is certain, that in the system of the Jewish Synagogue, according to the model of which the Chris- tian Church was undoubtedly organized, the whole government and discipline was conducted by a bench of elders, and not by the body of the people. 2. It is manifest that government and discipline were so' conducted in the apostolic Church. We read that, in every Church under the direction of the apostles, a plurality of elders were ordained ; and we find a class of elders distinctly spoken of, who ''ruled well," but did not " labour in the word and doctrine." (1 Tim. v. 17.) 3. We find this class of elders, as bearing rule in each Church, very distinctly and frequently alluded to in several of the earliest Christian Fathers, and by none PRESBYTERIAN CHORCH. 01 more clearly than by Ignatius, the pious pastor of Antioch.* 4. The pious witnesses of the truth, who kept alive the true doctrine and order of the Church during the dark ages, more especially the Waldeases and the Bohe- mian brethren, uniformly governed their Churches by means of ruling as well as teaching elders, as we have before seen. 5. Ail the leading Reformers on the continent of Europe, with scarcely an exception, though separated from each other by different names and strong preju- dices* agreed, without concert, in teaching the divine authority of ruling elders, and, in proof of it, referred to the same Scriptures which we are accustomed to cite for establishing the same thing. The Reformers in England stood alone in excluding this class of officers from their Church; and even some of their number — among the rest Archbishop Whitgift, as we have seen — acknowledged that there were such officers in the primitive Church ; but that, in the then existing circumstances, it was not necessary or expedient to retain them. 6. Such officers are indispensably necessary to the maintenance of sound and edifying discipline. With- out them, discipline will either be wholly neglected, or carried on with popular noise and confusion, or con- ducted by the pastor himself — thus often placing him in circumstances adapted to make him either a tyrant, partial to favourites, or a political temporizer. This has appeared so manifest to many Independent Congre- gational Churches, that they have appointed each a committee, consisting of six or eight of their most pious, enlightened, and grave members, on whom was devolved the whole business of preparing, arranging, and manag- * This is explicitly acknowledged by a number of learned Episco- palians. Anioug the rest Archbishop Whitgift expresseshimself thus : — " I know that, in the primitive Church, they had in every Church certain seniors, to whom the government of the congregation was committed ; but that was before there was any Christian prince or magistrate that openly professed the gospel, and before there was any Church by public authority established." {Defence against lariivrujid, pp. 638, 651.)— M, 92 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ing every case of discipline, so that the body of the com- municants might have nothing more to do than to give their public sanction, by a vote, to what had been vir- tually done already by this judicious committee. Could there be a more emphatic acknowledgment of the im- portance and necessity of this class of officers ?* Finally, Independents and Congregationalists consider each particular Church as entirely independent of every other Church. They suppose that the authority exercised by the communicants of each Church is supreme and final; and that no courts of review and control, formed by the representatives of a number of co-ordinate Churches, and invested with judicial power over the whole, ought to be admitted. Hence, when any mem- ber of an Independent, or of a strictly Congregational Church, is considered by himself, or by his friends, as unjustly cast out, or is in any way injuriously treated, he has no remedy. The system of Independency fur- nishes no tribunal to which he can appeal. He must sit down, while he lives, under the oppressive sentence, unless the body originally pronouncing it should choose to remove it. The same essential defect in this system also appears in a variety of other cases. If a controversy arise between a pastor and his flock, acting on strict Congregational principles ; or if a contest occur between two Independent or Congregational Churches in the vicinity of each other, their ecclesiastical constitution furnishes no means of relief. The controversy may be subjected to the decision of a civil court, or to the judg- ment of selected arbitrators, just as may be done when controversies occur among secular men. But their sys- tem of Church" order affords no remedy. Recourse must be had for relief to those worldly instrumentalities, which are equally painful to the pious heart, and dishonourable to the cause of Christ. But for all these difficulties, Presbyterianism, in her essential constitution, furnishes appropriate, prompt, and * For farther and fuller views on the office of ruling elder, as also the subsequent point of Courts of Review, vide my little work on the " Eldership of the Church of Scotland," Lc, 1841, pp. 93-98.— L. PRESBYTERTAN CHURCH. 93 for the most part, adequate relief. Her system of govern- ment and discipline contains within its own bosom the means of adjustment and of peace. Every species of controversy is committed for settlement to a grave and enlightened judicial body, made up of the representatives of all the Churches in a given district — a body, not the creature of a day, which, when its work is done, ceases to exist ; but organized, permanent, and responsible ; whose decisions are not merely advisory, but authorita- tive ; and from whose sentences, if they be considered as erroneous, an appeal may be taken to a higher tribu- nal, embracing a larger portion of the Church, and far removed from the excitement of the original contest. We find the principle on which these courts of review and control are founded strikingly exemplified in the New Testament history, and our practice abundantly warranted by ]S T ew Testament facts. When a question arose at Antioch respecting the obligation of Jewish ob- servances, the Church in that place did not attempt, as a body of Independents would, of course, have done, to decide the matter for themselves, leaving the other Churches to do as they pleased; but they felt that, as it was a question which concerned the whole Christian body, so a general and authoritative decision of the question, binding on the whole body, ought to be made. They, therefore, empowered special delegates to carry up the question to " the apostles and elders at Jerusalem," to be by them conclusively settled. There, accordingly, it was debated and decided upon in full synod; and that decision, in the form of "decrees" (loypara), that is, authoritative adjudications, sent down to all the Churches to be registered and obeyed. Can any one conceive of a more perfect example of a Presbyterian synod, con- vened as a judicial body, and pronouncing a decision, not as a mere advisory council, but as a judicatory of Christ, invested with judicial power to declare the path of duty in a given case, not for a single congregation merely, but for the whole visible Church ? There is no doubt, indeed, that this system of autho- ritative decision, not for one congregation only, but for a 94 Tnrc government of the number of Churches belonging to the same visible bodv, may be weakly or wickedly managed. Like every thing in the hands of* man, and even like the gospel itself, it may be unskilfully administered, and sometimes even perverted into means of oppression and mischief. So may the most perfect system in the world, civil and ecclesiastical. So may Independency and Congrega- tionalism. For, as an eminent Independent (the Rev. Robert Hall) remarked, in speaking on this very subject, " While power is dangerous in the hands of a few, wis- dom is seldom with the multitude." The fault, how- ever, is not in the system, but in the administration. Here is a form of ecclesiastical polity, complete in all its parts — fitted to obviate every difficulty; not, indeed, armed with civil power — not permitted to enforce its decisions by civil penalties (in which every friend of genuine Christianity must rejoice); a polity to which folly, caprice, or rebellion, may refuse to bow; but, so far as happy adjustment and moral power can go, better adapted to promote the union, and the harmonious counsel and co-operation of all the Churches which are willing to avail themselves of its advantages, assuredly, than any other that Christendom presents. Such is a cursory view of the argument in favour of Presbyterian Church government, and of the peculiar advantages attending that form of ecclesiastical order. It is better adapted than any other to repress clerical ambition ; to prevent clerical encroachments and tyranny ; to guard against the reign of popular effervescence and violence ; to secure the calm, enlightened, and edifying exercise of discipline ; to maintain the religious rights of the people against all sinister influence ; and to afford relief in all cases in which a single Church, or an inferior judicatory, may have passed an improper sentence, from either mistake, prejudice, or passion. It establishes, in all our ecclesiastical borders, that strict, representative system of government, which has been u ever found to lie at the foundation of all practical freedom, both poli- tical and religious;" and which, under God, affords the best pledge of justice and stability in the administration.. PRESBYTERTAN CHURCH. 05 It affords that inspection over the lives and conversation of Church members, which is ever indispensably needed, and which is at once vigilant, parental, and judicious ; and when faithfully carried into execution, is hetter fitted than any other to bring the whole Church to act together, and to unite all hearts and hands in Christian benefi- cence.* And, finally, it is hetter fitted than any other to maintain a wise, impartial, and faithful inspection over the lives and ministrations of the body of the clergy. How much hetter is a venerable presbytery adapted to discharge this duty to edification, than a single bishop, who, to say nothing of other faults, may indulge in the grossest favouritism or tyranny, without the possibility of adequate control ! This form of Church government cannot, indeed, of itself, infuse life and activity into an ecclesiastical body ; but where vitality, and zeal, and resources exist, there is, undoubtedly, no form of eccle- siastical organization so well adapted to bind together a body consisting of many parts, to unite councils, to invigorate efforts, and to cause a large and extended mass of professing Christians to walk by the same rules, to mind the same things, to speak the same language, and to feel that they are in fact, as well as in name, one body in Christ, and every "one members one of another." Our Methodist brethren refuse to admit any repre- sentation from the laymen of their Churches into their Conferences, to which the exercise of ecclesiastical autho- rity is committed; and by this refusal, as w r ell as on account of some other things of a similar nature, they have occasioned a serious schism in their body. Our Episcopal brethren, yielding to what appeared to them the necessity and importance of introducing a lay repre- sentation into their ecclesiastical assemblies, have " lay deputies" in the lower house of all their " Conventions."t For this feature, however, in their organization in this country, they do not pretend to offer any divine warrant. * See " Pre^byterianism Favourable to Peace and Union," in Part II.— L. f'l'he Episcopalians to whom Dr. JMiller refers, are American Episcopalians. — L. 96 THE GOVERNMENT, ETC. It is well known that there is no such feature in the Church from which they derive their origin; and it is without the shadow of support from any other principle in their system than that which grows out of the suppos- ed right of the Church to institute, at her pleasure, both rites and offices which the Master never sanctioned. On the contrary, for every part of her system, the Presbyte- rian Church claims a scriptural warrant. She maintains that no Church is at liberty to appoint officers, or to ex- ercise authority which cannot be found in Scripture. She vests ruling elders with the function of overseeing and governing in the Church, not because they are con- venient and useful, or even necessary, but because she finds ample evidence of their institution in the apostolic Church. She commits to appropriate judicial assemblies the authoritative regulation of all her affairs, under the laws of Christ, not merely because she sees many human advantages resulting from this system, but also, and chiefly, because she finds in the scriptural principles of the essential unity of the visible Church, and in the de- cisive example of the synod of Jerusalem, the fullest in- spired warrant for this plan of ecclesiastical polity. Let Presbyterians rejoice that even those denominations which reject, in theory, her scriptural representative sys- tem, are compelled, after all. to resort to it in fact, and cannot without it preserve either unity or order.* * It is a high testimony to Presbytery, that intelligent Christian men and Christian Churches are gradually forced, by the experienced defects of every other ecclesiastical system, to Presbyterian ground. It is generally understood that the Methodist Church feels the need of some such office as the ruling elder being introduced to its Con- ference. In the United States of America, the Episcopal Church has been greatly pared down in its Church government, as well as decidedly improved in its liturgy; in short, has been made to ap- proach nearer to Presbytery. The German Lutherans, too, who settle there, soon give up their superintendents, as well as rise in their theological purity. It is well known, too, that when a Church becomes missionary, either at home or abroad, it is obliged to set up associations for the accomplishment of its purposes—associations which substantially, and in that respect, make it Presbyterian. — L. CHAPTER V. THE WORSHIP OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. A fundamental principle of the Presbyterian Church, in forming her " Directory for the Worship of God," is, that here, as in everything else, Holy Scripture is the only safe guide. One of the earliest practical errors which gained ground in the Christian community was, the adoption of the principle that the ministers of religion might lawfully add, at their pleasure, to the rites and ceremonies of the Church. In consequence of the ad- mission of this error, Augustine complained, as early as the beginning of the fifth century, that for one appoint- ment of God's, ten of man's had crept into the Church, and formed a burden greater, in some respects, than was the ceremonial economy of the Jews. The fact is, for the sake of drawing both Jews and Pagans into the Church, many rites and ceremonies were adopted from both, that they might feel more at home in the Christian assemblies. This evil increased, until, before the Reformation, it had reay Neology ! How unsound is the Church of England, fn her different divisions, at the present day — withering under the consuming power of semi- Popery ! How unsound is the Episcopal Church of America, nearly equally divided by the same heresy ! Nor has Congre- gationalism any reason to triumph. "Wherever avowed Socinianism appears, whether in Britain or America, it is almost wholly in the Congregational form. It may not, at the present moment, be very extensive in Britain; but it has been in other days. Considerable bodies of Baptists, too, in the United States, are more or less under its influence, and that of kindred errors. On the other hand, it is only in some parts of the Continent that Presbyterianism is seen in union with very serious heresy; and that heresy is on the decline. Though still, unhappily, powerful, it is, moreover, where true Presbytery is least understood. This brings me to notice, that it was the relaxation of Presbyterian Church government among Presbyterians which chiefly led to the heresies which have at any time invaded their borders. Socinianism has sadly infected the Presbyterian Church of Geneva; but it was not till the subscription to an orthodox standard — one of the 1 64? PRESBTTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE indispensable parts of Presbyterian polity — was aban- doned. The same fatal error infected the Church of France; but it was not till relentless persecution had, in a great measure, broken up the Church government, and prevented the meetings of courts of review, which might have checked the heresy — and, indeed, till the whole Church was laid waste, and its most valuable members slain or driven into exile. Socinianism in- fected the congregations of the Presbyterian Puritans of England; but it was not till they had dropped any Pres- byterial organization which, they possessed, and had become Congregationalists, and therefore without power to depose a heretical brother, or to cut off a heretical congregation. So, when unsound doctrine prevailed in the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, low and relaxed views of Church government also prevailed. The same remark applies to the Church of Scotland. The period in her history when she was most unsound, was from the middle to the end of last century. And when were the spirit and practice of Presbyterianism more in abeyance ? Practically, and especially so far as doctrine was concerned, a great body of the ministers had become Independents. They had neither kirk- sessions nor presbyterial visitations. In harmony with these views of the superior advan- tages of Presbytery as a protection against heresy, it may be added, that, where sound doctrine revives, it revives more rapidly in a Prysbyterian than in a Prelatical or Congregational Church. The reason is obvious. There is a much more natural and easy com- munication of favourable influence in the one case than in the other. No new or artificial means need to be got up for the revival. Presbytery already supplies a full organization; good men necessarily meet in Church courts, and encourage each other. Hence, under God's Spirit, the rapidity and extent of Presbyterian revivals. Witness the improvement in the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland, Ireland, the United States, France, Swit- zerland, and even Germany. Where a decided majority has not been already attained, there is a rapid tendiDg MAINTENANCE OF SOUND DOCTRINE. 1G5 towards it. Compare this with the Church of Eng- land, whose evangelical ministers are, with all their progress, still very inconsiderable in number, and now in danger of being thrown back by the new heresy, or, rather, the old apostasy revived. Compare it also with the Congregational Churches of Britain and America, which, where not declining, do not, either in the past or the present, indicate, for the most part, the same rapid revival. Hence it appears, alike from the very constitution of the Presbyterian Church and the facts of history, that there are, proportionally, fewer temptations to unsound doctrine, greater faci- lities for checking it when it arises, a more speedy revival out of it where it has prevailed, in the Presby- terian than in the Prelatic or Congregational Churches ; and is not this an important argument in behalf of Presbytery, and no indistinct intimation that it is from God? The experience of the last few years, since the above was first published, amply confirms the views embodied. Popish, in other words, false doctrine, has been spreading with fearful rapidity, in the Prelatic Churches of Eng- land and America, in the meantime; but there has been no checking of the evil in the way of discipline — or, at least, no checking which deserves the name, indeed, scarcely any attempt at it. The greatest relief to the Church of England has proceeded from the spontaneous withdrawal of many of her ministers and members into the Church of Rome. Is this the proper position of a Church of Christ — to trust to the common honesty of the heretic ? Where the need for the appointment of the ordinance of discipline at all, if this be sufficient ? Is it not to be feared, too, in such cases, that while a quicker conscience leads some to withdraw, a much larger body who have less courage, or less moral sensibility, will remain behind ? "With regard, again, to Congregationalism, it is not unknown that some leading men of the body in Eng- land are infected, to say the least, with the semi- Pelagian heresy. No discipline has been exercised M 166 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE, ETC. upon them — no public testimony lifted up against their errors. Is it said that, from the constitution of Inde- pendency, no discipline can be employed ? Then, this is admitting the inadequacy of such a form of govern- ment to protect against error, the very point for which we contend. But, to the honour of Scotch Inde- pendency, there has recently been a decided condem- nation of the heresy in question. To what is the difference between Scotland and England, in this respect, owing ? Is it any disparagement of orthodox Scottish Congregationalism to say that it is the better of the near neighbourhood of Presbytery ? The Free Church has had one case of this kind before her courts, which she decided by deposition. The United Seces- sion has had several, which she has settled by separation from her pale. It is matter of joy that Independents, even at the expense of their denominational consistency, pursue a similar course ; but all this serves to establish the truth of the title of this chapter. CHAPTER III. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO UNITY AND PEACE. Next to sound doctrine, there is nothing more im- portant to a Church than union and peace in itself, and with other Churches. These are right in themselves — a source of strength to the Church of Christ — a great recommendation of religion to the world — and a mean of advancing its progress. Now, the Preshyterian form of Church government and worship eminently conduces to these ends. This was to be expected. If it be the friend of sound doctrine, it must also be of the peace which is based on it. There is nothing incon- sistent with unity in Presbytery. It holds no doctrine which excludes evangelical Christians from its pale, and so turns the Church into a schismatic — a maker of schisms. It admits of easy expansion; and there is nothing in its organization to stir up dispeace within itself: it binds all the members closely together. This is one of the grand charms of Presbytery. It presents a vivid idea of the united Church of Christ. The humblest member, who feels in any religious matter aggrieved, or who has a good suggestion to bring for- ward, has the power, by appeal or petition, to have his case or suggestion submitted to the whole Church, through its representative courts, and to obtain the interest and sympathy, it may be judgment, of the entire Christian body with which he is connected. In Presbytery all the parts are mutually dependent. No 168 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO one can say, " I have no need of thee." There is a beautiful gradation of courts. Every one who is a member of the Church may justly feel that he is not isolated — that through his representatives, he is con- nected with the whole. By bringing the ministers and elders frequently together, too, in ecclesiastical courts, upon a footing of peifect equality, not only are dividing jealousies prevented, but a spirit of love and co-opera- tion is fostered, and the whole bears the aspect of a large and well-regulated family. Accordingly, such have been the tendency and the working of Presbytery wherever it has been fully organized, and no accidental disturbing influences have been present. Some, indeed, judging of Presbytery solely by warm discussions, which occasionally take place in Church courts, are ready to imagine that it must be injurious to peace even where it does not break up unity. But it is well to remember, that, in an ordinary state of things, it is but a small part of the business of Church courts which can occa- sion any serious difference of opinion — that the great mass of business connected with the government and order of the Church is conducted with such har- mony, and so much as a matter of routine, that it never can meet the public eye in the form of discussion. It is well, also, to bear in mind, that a discussion, it may be a warm one, where great principles are involved, is not an unmitigated evil; that it tends to enlighten the mind of the Church, and to guide it aright; while it is almost inseparable from the advantages of free discussion, whether in Church or State. Moreover, it should be remembered that there may be, yea, there certainly is, as much division of opinion among office-bearers in the Church, under Prelatical or Congregational rule, as in Presbyterian courts. The only difference is, that the public organized courts of the one afford facilities for division of opinion being known, which do not hold in the other cases. Facts, however, which occasionally transpire, clearly show r that there may be, and often is, as real discord between a prelate and his clergy, and among the members of Congregational Churches, as can UNITY AND PEACE. 1C9 with any truth be alleged to obtain among the ministers and elders of the Presbyterian Church assembled in her public courts. Presbyterian Churches can point to as many years of unbroken quiet and steady enlargement as any other Christian body. I may here refer to a few testimonies regarding the Church of Scotland. The Corpus Confess. Fidei, p. 6\, thus speaks : — " It is the rare privilege of the Church of Scotland, in which respect her name is famous even among strangers, that, for the space of fifty-four years without schism, not to speak of heresy, she has held fast unity with purity of doctrine. The greatest aid to this unity, through the mercy of God, was, that with the doctrine of Christ, the apostolic discipline, as pre- scribed in the Word of God, was gradually received, and the whole government of the Church was arranged as nearly as possible according to this discipline. By this means all the seeds of schism and error, as soon as they began to bud or show themselves, were smothered and rooted out." Writing of the Church of Scotland under the Com- monwealth, Kirkton, a most interesting contemporary historian, says of the period when the greatest division which, perhaps, ever appeared in the Church, under the influence of evangelical and Presbyterian principles prevailed : — " The division of the Church betwixt Protesters and Resolutionists continued for six or seven years with far more heat than became them, and errors in some places infected some few ; yet were all these losses inconsiderable in regard to the great success the Word preached had in sanctifying the nation; and I verily believe there were more souls converted to Christ in that short period of time, than in any period since the Reformation, though of triple the duration. Nor was there ever greater plenty and purity of the means of grace than was in their time." (P. 55.) Again, writing more comprehensively, he says of the Church as a whole : — " Lastly, the unity of the Church of Scotland was unparalleled; for whereas all other Churches were troubled with division and error, there 170 PRESBYTER1ANISM FAVOURABLE TO was never in Scotland one minister censured for error, save only Mr. John Hepburn (who held that the soul slept till the resurrection of the body) ; nor ever any schism in the Church of Scotland, except concerning the introduction of bishops ; for all the time the true government of the Church stood in it." (Secret History, p. 28.) But, more than this, it is plain from the nature of the case, as well as history, that neither Congregationalism nor Prelacy are, in principle, favourable to Church unity and peace. The unfavourable tendency may be controlled by peculiar or adventitious causes, but the tendency itself is adverse. Congregationalism gives all the members, young and old, male and female, equal power to speak, and vote, and determine, the questions which may be brought before the Church. Is this friendly to unity ? Let the endless divisions and sub- divisions of small parties among the Independents and Baptists, created by separations, decide. The divisions among the English Independents in the time of the Commonwealth, and the numerous sects, particularly among the Baptists at the present day, testify to the same unhappy tendency.* * Were it necessary, it would be easy to quote many striking facts illustrative of the endless divisions of the sectaries during the Com- monwealth. No wonder that the Presbyterians generally were opposed to toleration, when it involved a license of so many blas- phemies and immoralities, under the name of religion. Edwards, in his " Gangrena, 11 and Prynn in his pamphlets, preserve a singular catalogue. Bishop Hall complained that 180 new, many of them dangerous and blasphemous, opinions were broached and defended in England; and that, in London and its suburbs alone, there were eighty congregations of sectaries, preached to by cobblers, tailors, feltmakers, grooms, &c. .Speaking of the sectaries generally, he says: " One allows community of wives — another, divorce on slight occasions; one is a Hunter — another a Seeker — another a Shaker; one disparages Scripture — another denies the immortality of the soul— a third, the resurrection of the body; one spits on the doctrine of the Trinity — and the other denies Christ's divinity; one gave himself out for God— another, Christ— and another, the Virgin Mary; and others taught, the more sin the more grace." (Jones' 1 Lift and Times of Hall,?. 322.) h is to the honour of Scotland, and the superior intelligence which her Presbyterian Church secured, that the early sectaries, within her borders, were few and free from extravagance as com- pared with England; and they seem soon to have disappeared, at UNITY AND PEACE. l?l Then, supposing individual congregations were in no danger of division from within, still there is no union among the different Churches. They are truly inde- pendent of each other. Officially they know nothing of each other's state, and can minister no counsel or relief. The grievous inconveniences and evils of this state of things have led, especially of late years, to provincial associations, and still larger unions, among persons holding Congregational views; but so far as they have done so, and that successfully, so far must they be held as departing from the strict principles of Independency, and as availing themselves, without acknowledgment, of the advantages of Presbyterian Church government. Of course, it is contended in such cases, that the unions referred to are merely optional and advisory, not authoritative; but, at least, the expedient shows the felt disadvantages of the Congrega- tional system ; and though there may be no promise of compliance where men seek advice, it is generally with the intention of following what is suggested. Apart from this, to continue asking advice is un- reasonable. With regard, again, to Prelacy, in connection with union and peace, it is well known that these are often pleaded as its great recommendations. No idea, how- ever, can be more unfounded. The extravagant fictions as to apostolic succession, and kindred points, would prevent the Church of Rome, even were she otherwise disposed, from recognising the Christianity of Protestant Churches, and holding communion with them, supposing them to be willing to recognise and hold fellowship with her. The same schismatical views, entertained by so large, and, it is to be feared, growing number in the Episcopal Churches of England and America, destroy every thing like a well-founded claim to union on the least they made no progress from the days of the Commonwealth. Modern Congregational views, which, it is to be remembered, in- volve no extravagance of sentiment or practice, are of very recent date in Scotland— within the memory of many of the existing generation. This is an indirect testimony to Presbyterian govern- ment. 172 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO part of these Churches; so far from being friends of union, as is alleged, they are its greatest enemies. If their principles be fairly carried out, not only will they prevent any union with Churches which disown the pretended apostolic succession, but they will go to expel the Evangelical party from their own com- munion, because they do not hold them. Nothing can be more disquieting and disuniting than the Prelatic notions of apostolic succession. Apart from every thing else, this may well condemn them. They would keep good men in perpetual anxiety as to the validity of their ministerial title. When it is demonstrable that a single break or false link in the chain would, in the course of two hundred years, involve the entire ministry of such a body as the Church of England in infirmity and illegality, who but the most credulous could feel secure? And as the Reformers had no bishop, and could not transmit what they did not receive, where would be the title or stability of any Church of the Reforma- tion ? Are the men or the Church which advocate such notions on the side of peace and unity, whether for themselves or others ? More than this, even though there were no exclusive apostolic claims, still, the very constitution of Prelacy tends to division. The granting to one man, not better educated, more learned or wise than his brethren, such immense power as Prelacy implies, must, as human nature is constituted, create jealousies and envies which tend to separation, while the pride and ambition which great, and, it may be, suddenly acquired power begets, tend to the same result. They lead to the harsh treatment of others, or such views of self-importance as induce men to tamper with received doctrines and institutions, for the sake of obtaining a name for themselves. This conducts to new errors or superstitions, which, in their turn, produce sects and parties in the Church, These views are strongly confirmed by the facts of history. Many have imagined that Prelacy is well fitted to prevent schism, and that this, indeed, was the origin of the office of diocesan bishop when first instituted. That UNITY AND PEACE. 173 this was alleged maybe true; but very different was the real source of the office. The desire of pre-eminence of the ministers of large town congregations over rural brethren who laboured in smaller spheres dependent on the greater, is much nearer the truth (vide Dr. Owen's Inquiry, passim, pp. 25-27) ; and then, so far from keeping out schism, the bishops, when they were intro- duced, were the very parties who originated most of the heresies and errors which created serious and lasting divisions. As is justly remarked by Owen, the first attempt to corrupt and to divide a Church from within, was in the Church of Jerusalem, by Thebulis, because Simon Cleopas was chosen bishop and he was refused. (Euseb., lib. iv., ch. 21.) Here was the work of a bishop ! So of other and more important cases. Victor of Rome, and Polycrates of Ephesus, were the authors of the great schism about the celebration of Easter. Stephen of Rome, and Cyprian of Carthage, of the schism regarding the rebaptizing of the lapsed. Paulus, bishop of Samosata, originated the Samosatsean heresy. Donatus, that of the Donatists, because Sicilianus was preferred to him ; Macedonius of Constantinople, that of the heresy which bears his name. So of Nestorius of the same city, the Nestorian heresy ; Arius, of the heresy which spread so widely ; and many others too tedious to name. And these were not trifliDg errors; not a few of them were most serious, subverting the very foundations of revealed religion. As Sutlivius testifies and proves, " all the blackest schisms and most pestilent heresies had bishops for their authors." {Jameson's Querela, p. 19.) They were either authors or abettors. In many cases, had it not been for them, the errors must have perished. Of what schisms and heresies has not the Pope of Rome been the originator in successive ages, and yet he is the leading prelate, without whose aid the modern Anglican school cannot make out their Christian genealogy ! Descending from earlier times, I might refer to the period stretching between a.d. 815 and 1 072 — a period of one hundred andfifty years, when such were the contests and the heresies in thePrela- ] 74 PRESBYTEBIANISM FAVOURABLE TO tical Church, that it was necessary to call 260 councils to endeavour to settle controversies, and obtain peace ! At the same time, the official life of a pope did not exceed between two and three years ! Do these things look like union and peace ? And yet Prelacy was at its height. Coming down to modern days, do we find that Pro- testant Episcopal Churches are most eminent for unity and quiet ? Supposing these to be always desirable, and the evidence of spiritual life, what saj^s the history of the Church of England ? Has she had longer in - tervals of scriptural peace than the Presbyterian Church ? Has she not always had keen parties within her own bosom — parties who occasionally break out with great severity, as in the middle of the seventeenth, the beginning of the eighteenth, and now in the early part of the nineteenth centuries ? Was it unity or peace which she communicated to Scotland, when she endea- voured to set up her forms in this land ? Was it not rather the most persecuting schism? Have not the most unsound doctrines appeared within her pale, under the very eye of her prelates, without any discipline to preserve her purity? Has there not been on the one hand, the grossest enthusiasm, both in former and present times — Bourignonism, &c, in the one, and modern pretensions to the gift of tongues in the other ? Was there not also Socinianism, when 250 ministers, in 1772, petitioned to be released from signing the Articles as the confession of their faith? Is there not semi- Popery now, and has any minister been deposed for any of these, as in the Church of Scotland for much less ? What, too, is the amount of unity of which the Church can boast in the people legally placed under her care, whether in England or in Ireland? It might be expected that a Prelatic Church, if Prelacy be the grand source and bond of union, should, upon the whole, have a religiously united nation under her. Not to speak of Ireland — where, in spite of the healing power of Pre- lacy, one-half the Protestant population belongs to another communion — what is the state of England, UNITY AND PEACE. 175 where Prelacy is so powerful ? Is it harmonious and one ? Far from it. Perhaps there is no country where the same advantages have been enjoyed, in which greater division prevails. The Church of England has some 10,000 or 12,000 congregations; those not belong- ing to her communion, and disowning Prelacy, have some 7,000 or 8,000 : of course, many are small. How striking the contrast in Scotland ! Though when tried by the question of Church and State, there are many Dissenters, when tried by the question of Church government, there is almost universal harmony. There may be 80 Episcopalian congregations (out of the 900 which Prelacy once claimed as her own), and as many Congregationalists; but almost all the remainder, now above 1,800, are Presbyterian — with the Free Church addition, a much larger number. A few facts may be noticed in this connection, not usually adverted to, but fitted to correct misapprehen- sions, and honour Presbytery. According to the late census, the population of Presbyterian Scotland is about one-sixth of that of Episcopalian England and "Wales. Hence, if the countries were the same in point of religious divisions on Church government, Scotland should have a sixth of the parties which divide England. The result is widely different; much more creditable to the reli- gious unity of Scotland, and the strength of Presbytery over a nation. The Congregationalists of England and Wales are estimated to have 1,600 congregations. If the same division of opinion on Church government prevailed in Scotland, proportionally, there should be nearly 270 Independent congregations. There are only 105, and 21 of these are reported as vacant. The Baptists of England and Wales are rated at 1,520. If the same proportion held in Scotland, there should be much the same number — 270 congregations; instead of which, there are 58. The Wesleyan Methodists have, in England and Wales, above 1,100 preachers, and about 330,000 members. In the same proportion in Scotland, there should have been about 200 preachers, and 55,000 176' PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO members; instead of which, there are only 30 preachers, and 3,700 members. The Roman Catholics have 561 priests in England and Wales, and 18 convents. Were Scotland equally divided, or did it equally favour the same soul-destroying system, it should have had 93 priests, and three con- vents. It has 80 of the one, and one of the other; and that though old Popery has held some parts of the Highlands and Islands as its ancient seat, undisturbed by the Reformation, and though near neighbourhood to Popish Ireland has, in later days, given it superior facilities, which have not been unimproved, for invading the Scottish shores. I have not been able precisely to ascertain the numbers of the Socinian body in England and AY ales. Probably they may count 300 congregations. According to this proportion, Scotland should have 50; but so sound has Presbytery kept the country, that she has not five. Whether, then, does Prelacy or Presbytery conduce more to union and peace among Christians? There may be peace among the semi-Prelatic Churches of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. But before any thing can be gathered from this, it will be necessary to determine whether the peace be not, to a great extent, the peace of spiritual death ; whether division of opinion in the form of separation from the Established Churches, to any considerable extent, be not forbidden and punish- able ; and whether the moral results wrought out in the nation under this system be not its impressive condem- nation. It appears from indubitable official statistics, that Sweden has a larger amount of crime than any State in Europe. (Vide Laiwfs Tour, 1838.) Let no Episcopalian, then, taunt Presbyterian Scotland with religious division. On the most important points of doctrine and government, perhaps she is the most united country in Protestant Christendom — such is the admirable operation of Presbytery as a whole. In farther illustration of the views contained in this chapter, it may be noted that, so far from proving the friends of religious unity, whether in doctrine or obser- UNITY AND PEACE. 177 vance, several of the present prelates of the Church of England have been the patrons of the most divisive opinions and practices. Though members of a small body of rulers, one (the Bishop of Durham) has pub- lished, and never recalled, the most dangerous views on the Canon of Scripture — views fitted to furnish the infidel with ready weapons; another (the Bishop of Exeter) has framed a net-work of questions for the sake of enforcing the belief and inculcation of baptismal regeneration in all the parishes of his diocese, to the express exclusion of all other views; while a third (the Archbishop of Dublin) has given expression to the most erroneous opinions in regard to the obligation of the Sabbath — opinions in the face of the doctrine and service-book of his own Church. Here are three prelates, all alive at the same moment, teaching the most serious error, without any real check or counter- active — one diocese independent of another. Are there any tendencies against unity under Presbyterian rule for one moment to be compared with this ? Then, again, in the small communion of the Scottish Episcopal Church, what a display has there been of late years of discord, both as to doctrine and discipline ! Excommunications have been fulminated by bishops — separation after separation has taken place of minister and congregation — English and Irish prelates have been invoked, and expressed their opinions and wishes all in vain — the war has been waged for years, and is not yet over ; and all this has occurred in a body which gloried in its quietness and unity ! What does this show but the fragile nature of Prelatic peace ? It may be affirmed, with truth, that a larger amount of division has been discovered in a shorter time by this very limited communion than by considerable Presbyterian Churches. And this brings me to notice in contrast, at the same period, the unity of the Free Church of Scotland. Though there were circumstances which one before- hand might have imagined would have led to dispeace in this Church, yet, by the grace of God, it was en- 178 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE, ETC. abled to triumph over them. The most memorable unanimity has characterized all its proceedings, and yet this has not been brought about by the suppression of discussion, or holding different opinions in abeyance. No ; there has been the utmost freedom of opinion, and full use made of it. Under God, the harmony has been owing to perfect unanimity of doctrinal sentiment, combined with a free Presbyterian organization. At what period in her history has Prelacy been able to point to a large Church entirely at one in doctrine, discipline, government, and worship ? Perhaps the present Episcopal Church of America is the best ex- ample to which an admirer of Prelacy could point; but, not to speak of growing and fundamental differences among the clergy — such differences as stretch between Popery and Evangelism — what is the testimony of Bishop Hopkins of Vermont, so recently as 1844 ? In his " Letters on the Novelties which Disturb our Peace" he tells us that, in spite of all the Articles and Canons, there is no standard of unity between the different dioceses, no general regulation; that the decision of one bishop is weakened hy the non-agreement of others; and that one of the effects of the disunion is, that aggrieved parties betake themselves to the public press in self-defence — a course which only aggravates the evil. So unsatisfactory is the state of internal regula- tion in the Church that the necessity of instituting a censorship of the Episcopal press is mooted; and the writer, who is a respectable Evangelical man, is driven to the conclusion that, in the government of the Church, " the distinct approbation of our laity" is indispensable, at least, offers the most likely remedy — in other words, he is driven to Presbyterian ground. CHAPTER IV. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE CULTIVA- TION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. The present is a day when almost all denominations of Christians are taking steps, if this has not previously been done, for raising up a well educated, if possible, a learned ministry. In these circumstances, it may not be amiss to advert to the established character of Pres- byterian Churches in this respect. They have ever been the warm friends of a well qualified ministry. When Ave speak of learning for the pastors of the Church, we do not mean a mere acquaintance with what may have been thought and written by others in every department of knowledge. There is much of this knowledge, which, to a minister of the gospel, is useless, burdening his memory without any corresponding good, and prevent- ing the free exercise of his judgment. In this class may be comprehended very enlarged and minute clas- sical and mathematical attainments, and a laborious acquaintance with ancient history and antiquities. No doubt, these are advantageous in their own place; but where possessed to the neglect or exclusion of other and more important branches, they are a hindrance rather than a help. What should be chiefly valued and sought in connection with ministerial education, is a competent share of the knowledge referred to, with an ample measure of all that bears directly or indirectly on the elucidation of the Scriptures in all their parts, together with whatever is fitted to interest 180 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO and impress the conscience of a congregation. Tried by this standard, how uninformed would many other- wise learned men be found — men familiarly acquainted with the Classics and the Fathers, but who scarcely know Theology or Church history, or the writings of the Reformers. Now, the Presbyterian Church has ever encouraged the cultivation of sound learning on the part of her mi- nisters — not everything which bears the name, but what is truly useful. She has been the great patron of widely diffused knowledge among the body of her people, set- ting up elementary and grammar schools wherever she had the opportunity. This necessarily requires a supe- rior education on the part of her clergy. They could not otherwise be qualified to instruct those whom she places, with awakened intelligence, under their care. Besides, there is nothing ceremonious or gaudy in the Presbyterian form of worship. However scriptural, to the eye of many it will seem naked : this, rendering the hearers more dependent on the minister, makes it the more indispensable that he should be a Avell-educated, well-informed man, who can bring out of his treasures things new and old. The fact, too, of her ministers being raised, through the intervention of Church courts, above the influence of the humblest of the flock, removes them from the temptation of sinking ministerial qualifi- cation. Owing to these, and other circumstances, we would expect that the Presbyterian Church should be the friend of ministerial learning ; and we are not dis- appointed. To ascend no higher than the Reformation, we uni- formly find colleges, professors, literature, and learning, in connection with the Presbyterian Church. So it was in Switzerland, France, Holland, Germany, Scotland. The acquirements of the professors and ministers, always respectable, were often pre-eminent. In point of mere scholarship, not to speak of learning and ability, it will not be easy, in any age, to find superiors to Calvin, Beza, Melancthon, Melville, and, in subsequent times, Blondel, Bochart, Chamier, Spanheim, the Turretines, Pictet, CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. 181 Calderwood, Boyd, Cameron, Salmasius, Diodati, Mes- trezat, Rutherford, Baillie, Gillespie, and a multitude of others. Their works testify to their knowledge and learning. How striking the contrast between the pre- lates of the Popish Council of Trent and the Protestant Reformers ! Though the council was so important, and lasted so long, yet the most learned man among the members, Cajetan, did not know a word of Hebrew, while very many of his coadjutors were as ignorant of Greek as they were rude and unmannerly to each other. How different were the attainments of the Presbyterian Reformers ! John Knox and Christopher Goodmen, two Scotch Presbyterians, with others, were translators, at Geneva, of the Bible into English; a version dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, long esteemed, and extensively surviv- ing in the present version, after the lapse of nearly three hundred years. In England, among the Presbyterian Puritans, there were many of surpassing acquirements — Poole, Bates, Flavel, Charnock, Howe, &c. I might fill sheets w T ith the mere names of distinguished minis- ters and professors, in the Presbyterian Churches, in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, men who were eminent among their contemporaries for learning. While Cartwright, the father of the Puritans, was employed in 1618, by the government of the kingdom, to answer the notes of the Popish version of the Scrip- tures, brought out at Rheims, and money was advanced from the public purse to defray the expense, the in- heritors of his principles, at a later period of the century, produced those books which have ever since been the great staple of popular and practical theology — the uni- versal reading among serious minds in England, Scot- land, and America. Who needs to be reminded that the Owens, and the Baxters, the Alleines, the Flavels, the Charnocks, the Howes, whose works, with those of many kindred spirits, have been honoured to transmit evangelical religion from generation to generation, were in principle Presbyterian? Coming down to modern times again, I think it may be safely said, that the Pres- byterian Church (to take Scotland for an example) has N 182 PRESBYTERIAXIS.M FAVOURABLE TO THE never been involved in any controversy, metaphysical or theological — whether affecting doctrine or Church go- vernment — the integrity of the Word of God, the Head- ship of Christ over the nations and over the Church — without having a sufficient number of men to maintain the truth with all adequate argument and learning. To look at the matter in another light, how ample is the provision which is made in many Presbyterian Churches for the education of young men for the minis- try! Not to refer to the colleges of Holland, from whence, in former times, such an array of learned theo- logy was wont to issue — what provision is there in Ger- many and the United States, in the present day, for theological literature and teaching! The universities of Protestant Germany are well known for their numbers, the full complement of professors and students, the pro- tracted course of study, their immense libraries, the works of theological literature and learning which, from time to time, are sent forth. And with regard to the Presbyterian Church of the United States, it has, throughout all its history, been a zealous advocate of a well-educated ministry. The Rev. Dr. Hodge, its pre- sent historian, states, that so early as 1 733, the question was raised before the General Assembly, "Whether a person without a liberal education might be taken on trials, or licensed to preach the gospel?" and it was decided in the negative. Two years after, the same question came up in a different form, in connection with a revival of religion, when there was an earnest call for a great number of ministers; still the Church decided, bv a large majority, against any departure from an esta- blished curriculum of study; and it is worthy of notice, that this was the occasion of the only division in the Presbyterian Church, till recently — a division, not as to doctrine, or discipline, or worship, but as to the pro- priety, in all cases, of adhering to a fixed course of edu- cation for candidates for the ministry, however other- wise well qualified. This was the origin of the large body which bears the name of the Cumberland Presby- terians; and, to say the least, the decision was a do*ubt- CULTIVATION OP KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING 1 S3 ful one; but few things can better proclaim the Church's zeal for a well-educated ministry. She risked and en- dured division in its behalf. Maintaining these prin- ciples, we need not wonder to learn that the Presbyte- rian Church, in its different branches, has not less than 18 theological colleges and institutions for the education of young men; and when it is remembered that, for the most part, they reside within the walls, and that their time is not occupied, and their attention distracted, by " private teaching," the professional advantages are the greater. It may be stated, as an interesting fact, in full harmony with the character of the Presbyterian Church, that dividing the 100 American collegiate institutions which teach general literature and science among the different religious denominations, it is found that the Presbyterian Church can claim not less than 58, and nearly 5,000 students, as connected with, or falling under her influence. Tried in the same way, the Baptists, who are Congregationalists, have 8, and the Episcopa- lians 4. This is a much smaller proportional number than the Presbyterians. The Congregationalists proper have 0. (Vide " Universities" Encyclopaedia Brltan- nica.) Even in the new State of Missouri, on the edge of the wilderness, the Presbyterians have set up a theo- logical seminary for the education of theological students in that State. Surely these facts amply show that, all the world over, and in every age, there is not only no indifference to learning — no favour for ignorance and meagre attainments, in alliance with Presbytery — but that the very opposite qualities belong to this branch of the Christian Church — that she is distinguished among others for her encouragement of sound, substantial, use- ful acquirements in all her clergy. With reference to the Churches brought into compa- rison, I trust not invidiously, it is highly creditable to the Congregationalists of Britain, that, in spite of various disadvantages, they have pursued, and continue to pur- sue, theological literature and learning with so much success. The names of not a few authors whom they claim, both in former and present times, it is impossible 1 84 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE not to honour. So far as I have heen able to learn, the English Congregationalists have at present 10 theologi- cal seminaries, which educate about 160 students. The young men are supported during the whole course, which lasts for several years, and devote their time en- tirely to study. The annual expense is very consider- able, and its cheerful contribution most honourable to the religious body, indicating, as it does, just views of the importance of ministerial acquirement. The English Baptists have five similar institutions, maintained at an annual expense of nearly £6,000. And the Independent body in Scotland have a similar seminary, where the course is four years, and the annual expenditure £800. Every enlightened and candid Christian must rejoice in the spirit which such a provision proclaims. At the same time, the system of Church polity is not friendly to a superior style of theological acquirement as a whole, nor is there nearly a sufficient number of educated young men. Any man may step into the ministry with whose preaching gifts the individual congregation with which he is associated may happen to be satisfied; and hence it is believed, that though, from what is expected in this country, most Independents have received a liberal edu- cation, there are many, and especially of their Baptist brethren, who have been strangers to it. In the United States of America, it is well known that a very large proportion of the Baptist body pass under the name of " an uneducated ministry." It is possible, that in the particular circumstances in which many of them are placed, it is better, for the sake of souls, that they do not wait for a liberal education — that they are not so scru- pulous as Presbyterians, but go forth to the desolations of the South and West with such resources as are within command. It is doubtful whether Popery, and many other errors in these regions, can at present be met in any other way. At the same time, there are very se- rious dangers on the other side; and the history of American revivals bears witness to their magnitude. The Baptists, though numerically the largest body in the United States (compared with any single Church), CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. 1 8S have only 7 seminaries for the instruction of young men for the ministry — the Presbyterians, we have seen, number 18. After the facts which have been presented, so credit- able to Presbyterianism both in the Old and New Worlds, one would think there could be no room for taunting its friends with indifference to literature and learning. It is well known, however, that no Scotch- man, especially in the present day of religious contro- versy, can speak of these in presence of many members of the Church of England, without being regarded with great incredulity. We are told that the southern Esta- blishment is the only Church which has any claim to learning, and to speak of it in connection with another Church, is pretension. Now, it is freely conceded that Prelacy has often stood in alliance with learning. Some out of the prodigious multitudes of the Romish priest- hood, who have been notorious for ignorance, have been men of high literary and theological acquirement. Look- ing to a Protestant Establishment, perhaps, upon the whole, there is nothing for which the Church of England has been more known and justly distinguished, than the number of learned men whom, from age to age, she has produced, and whose works remain as monuments of their ability. The writings of prelates have been eminently useful in many all-important controversies. But after cheerfully conceding this, it seems very doubt- ful whether a Prelatic form of Church government has anything to boast of on this account — whether the same services to learning and theology might not have been obtained without Prelacy. From the many admirable works which have been prepared and sent forth from beyond, the walls of the Church of England, it would seem that there is no necessary connection between them. It is to be noticed, that the Church of England has not a high standard of acquirement for candidates for orders ; that her theological course at college is very meagre ; that multitudes of her ministers have never been at college at all ; that till lately, if not still, men could come over from other professions, such as the army and 186 PRESBYTERTANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE navy, and almost immediately be admitted to her pulpits -it may be, ere long, raised to her Prelatical bench. This does not discover a high idea of the claims of theological literature and learning. There may have been an im- provement of late years ; but so recently as 1826, all the theological knowledge which was required at Cambridge from candidates for the ministry was equally required from other students — from the students ©f law or medi- cine. Of the three professors of theology, neither the Casuistical nor the Regius ever lectured; and the Margaret professor only gave thirty lectui es in sixteen years. The Norrisian professor was the sole regular lecturer, and his labours were limited to the evidences. The conse- quence is, that of late the Church of England has pro- duced few profound theologians — few who are acknow- ledged to be of this character by foreign nations. Pro- fessor Tholuck of Halle notices the contrast in this respect between the present day and the seventeenth cen- tury, and the small number of British works of theological erudition which now reach the Continent. Indeed, not a few intelligent friends of the Church of England have no hesitation in declaring that little progress has been made by her sons, in theological literature, since the days of Lowth and Horseley. Comparisons are proverbially odious, and particularly so as to the attainments of the ministers of different Christian Churches. But, as has been already remarked, the acquirements of Presbyterian pastors are often spoken of disparagingly by the prouder sons of the southern Establishment. In one of the most plausible defences of Episcopacy,* the mere bishops of the Church of Eng- land are represented as having done more for the vindi- cation of sound doctrine than all the presbyters of all other Christian communities united! It is not, then, in the wav of aggression, but defence, I remind the reader, that if the prelates of England have been the advocates of sound doctrine, very many of them have also been the teachers of errors more or less baneful; and that if many of them have been eminent for learning (which is * Sinclair's Dissertations, p. lib'. CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. 187 cheerfully conceded), there are not a few of the presby- ters of the Continental Churches which, in this respect, cannot be accounted inferior. The early presbyters of the Churches of France, and Holland, and Geneva, were, many of them, as their works attest, men of surpassing attainment, equal to any prelates that England ever pro- duced. It is not necessary to go farther than to so com- mon a book as " Home's Introduction to the Scriptures," to see in his Bibliography, or account of the works of commentators on the "Word of God, that the British and foreign presbyters have no occasion to dread a compa- rison with English prelates. The list is a long one, ex- tending to a closely- printed volume, and we have no inten- tion, even had we the ability, to enter into it; but among foreign Protestant critics and commentators, it may be safely said, in addition to names already given, that Tremellius and Junius, Drusius, Piscator, Lewis de Dieu, Wetstein, V enema, Vitringa, Bengel, and the authors of the foreign edition of the " Critici Sacri," have no reason to be ashamed of any comparison which may be instituted with other parties. Of the last im- mense work, the mere supplement was the production of 150 learned men, of whom Adam Clarke, a recent commentator, by no means unfriendly to English pre- lates, says, " Such a constellation of learned men can scarcely be equalled in any age or country." ( Vide Ge- neral Preface to his Commentary.) It may be noticed, that the summary or synopsis of the book, in five folio Latin volumes, the labour often years, was the work of a Puritan and Presbyterian (Poole), and that this vast depository of theological learning, together with several others, was written and published, not when Prelacy was honoured and triumphant, but when Presbytery was the order of the day. It is a curious fact, that Walton's Polyglot, in fi vols, folio, and the British edition of the " Critici Sacri," in 9 vols. — perhaps the two greatest theological works — were prepared in the days of the Commonwealth, and that Cromwell rendered essential aid to the publication of the former. An important list of Nonconformist commentators, 188 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE who could boast only of being presbyters, might be given ; but their works are so popular and well known, and have stood the test of generations so creditably, that it is unnecessary. Let me only remind the men who make an invidious boast of the literature and learning of prelates, that in more modern days, and in all de- partments of knowledge, the German scholars are con- fessedly the foremost; so much so, that England is glad to translate and copy from their works; and yet they can boast of nothing higher, in point of orders, than the presbyter. If the reader wishes the name of a foreign presbyter whose services to the cause of Protestant truth all will acknowledge, I may remind him of Daille, a humble pastor of the Reformed Church of France. What is the testimony which Bishop Hurd, in his Lec- tures on Prophecy, bears to his learning and its fruits? " The inconvenience (of the Popish appeal to the fathers) was sensibly felt by the Protestant world, and, after a prodigious waste of industry and erudition, a learned foreigner at length showed the inutility and the folly of pursuing the contest any farther. In a well -considered discourse i On the use of the Fathers,'' he clearly evinced that their authority was much less than was generally supposed, &c. This discovery had great effects. It opened the eyes of the more candid and intelligent in- quirers; and our incomparable Chillingworth, with some others (Jeremy Taylor), took the advantage of it to set the controversy with the Church of Rome once more on its proper foot," &c. (P. 425.) Here is a credit- able acknowledgment that the most important service which has been rendered to the cause of the Reforma- tion in modern times, was the deed not of a prelate, but of a Presbyterian, treading, strange to say, the favourite walk of the erudite in the Church of England — the writings of the Fathers. The same unfounded assertion of the superiority of the learning of Prelacy could be met in other ways — a comparison might be instituted between the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church and their Presbyterian brethren. It might be asked, if Prelacy be so favour- CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. 189 able, almost indispensable, to learning, how it happens that not above two or three of this order can lay claim, in the whole course of Scottish history (so far as may be judged from their works), to pre-eminent acquire- ments — to equal attainments with their leading Presby- terian contemporaries ? It might, for instance, be asked, who of them, in point of scholarship or learning, can compare with Andrew Melville ? but such comparisons are painful, and we are glad to escape from them. We conclude by reminding those who provoke these discus- sions, that, admitting all their pretensions to be just, there are other ways of showing a love of knowledge besides the encouragement of learned books from the Episcopal bench — that there are other ways of testing the true operation of a religious system on a nation ; and while the Registrar General's documents show, so recently as 1839, that out of 121,000 couples married in England, above 40,000 men and 59,000 women could not sign their own name — the humblest form of writing — Prelacy has little to boast of in connection with the great inte- rests of popular knowledge. She has still less, if that be true which has repeatedly been stated, apparently on good authority, and, so far as we know, never contradicted, that the cathedral towns of England, in- stead of being far superior to others in point of know- ledge and its means, are, generally speaking, noted for the reverse. It may seem scarcely credible, but it is confidently stated, that at Oxford, the very seat of Pre- lacy, while there are 400 spirit and public houses to a population of 24,000, there is not one public reading room for the middle and working classes, and not one society for the improvement of the rising youth. {Christian Witness, May, 1845.) In comparing the Church of England with others, such as Scotland, in point of ministerial acquirements, it is necessary to remember the relative proportions of the parties compared. It is estimated that some 15,000 persons are in orders in the Church of England. Though many of them be not in actual employment, and cannot be said to pursue their profession, yet they have been 100 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THB educated more or less with a view to it. It would be strange if, in a free Protestant country, out of such a mass as this, there were not many men of all acquire- ments. The Church of Scotland has probably little more than 1 ,500 men standing in the same circumstances. It were unreasonable to expect the same result. More- over, it is to be remembered that the clergy of the Church of England are not only immensely more numerous, but that they have peculiar facilities for prosecuting litera- ture and learning in such a form as discovers itself in books. A vast body are non-resident — have no cure, or many cures — but do their parochial work by curates — leaving them time, and, through pluralities and large collegiate libraries, furnishing them with resources for pursuing with effect any theological or other inquiry to which they may be inclined. The extent to which such facilities exist may, in part at least, be estimated from the fact, given on the authority of Parliamentary returns, that there are not less than 5,230 curates, on an average salary of only £81 a-year — not a sum, surely, on which a man can afford himself to become learned, however much he may be the means of lightening the Avork, and so contributing to the learning of others. The encour- agements, too, to the acquisition and diffusion of know- ledge in connection with the universities, are immense. I have seen it stated, on apparently good authority — that of the Rev. Mr. Jones before the " British Association" in 1838 — that besides a vast amount of patronage in a variety of ways, 750 livings, the two great southern universities haye, together, nearly 1,000 fellowships, and a revenue of nearly £324,000 a-year. What a prodi- gious stimulus to study and learning ! What a burning reproach were it to any Church so situated if she did not, from year to year, send forth a host of accomplished scholars and theologians. The fellowships f are almost as numerous as the benefices of the Church of Scotland; and the revenue of the universities exceeds, by £100,000, that of her entire ecclesiastical Establishment. What wonder that a great deal of learning should be thrown off in England every year ? The wonder would be were CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. 191 it otherwise. Wealth can always command learning. The true way to compare the Church of Scotland with that of England, in this matter, is, not to set a Church of 1,200 against a Church of 12,000, hut a Church of 1,200 in Scotland against 1,200 in England ; and even with all the immense advantages for study of the English university and ecclesiastical system, it is very doubtful whether the superiority would be so manifest as many imagine. If England were required, for every minister of the Church of Scotland who has been distinguished in any department of literature or theology, to produce 1 5 equally distinguished in the Church of England, can any question how the balance would turn? Has she 15 metaphysicians like Reid ; 15 Biblical critics like Camp- bell; 15 historians like Robertson; 15 philosophers and theologians like Chalmers? Are her parochial clergy superior in acquirement to the same class of men in Scotland ? Let their published discourses testify. There is nothing, then, in Prelacy, as a system, which is supe- rior to Presbytery, as an encouragement to learning among the ministers of the Church; and, if we consider which system has wrought best for the instruction of the great mass of the people, surely there cannot be two opinions among men acquainted with the facts. The ser- vices of the Church of England, in connection with popu- lar education, are but of yesterday — those of Scotland are three hundred years old, and are daily growing in strength. And, after all, what is it to have a few men profoundly learned and accomplished, often in branches of no great public utility, in the classics or mathematics, while the great mass of society living under their shadow are allowed to live and die, generation after generation, in the most Avretched ignorance, unable to read in their own language the wonderful works of God ? Nothing can be more striking than the contrast between the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, in their treatment of the great cause of popular education at the Reformation, and in subsequent times, down to a recent date. In confirmation of the statements made in this chap- 192 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE ter, we may subjoin one or two testimonies to ministerial education among Presbyterians, from competent autho- rities. These are fitted to show that the cultivation of suitable acquirement in the pastor is no strange thing in the annals of Presbytery — that in all periods, and in all countries, it has been an object of anxious care. Principal Rule, in his " Second Vindication" of the Church of Scotland, published in 1691, speaking of the period of the Revolution, says : u Our entrants into the ministry are able to vie in learning with the Episcopalian candidates, and are far before them. Some in the late persecution, it is true, were forced to follow other em- ployments for a livelihood. They have now resumed their former studies, but they are not admitted without giving good proof of a competency, at least in knowledge of the Scriptures, and in the controversies of divinity." The Principal states that, even in the knowledge of languages, the Presbyterian students were not inferior — that the friends of the Church made efforts for the ap- pointment of suitable professors, skilled in Oriental tongues. Among the Presbyterians of Ireland, the spirit was the same. In the Irish edition of Towgood's Letters, it is stated that the Presbyterians always laboured that all their ministers should possess a sufficient knowledge of languages, science, and divinity, and that many re- gulations were made for this purpose. In the days of Charles II., philosophy was taught at Antrim and other places, as well as theology, and repeatedly rules provid- ing for an extended examination of candidates were adopted. With regard, again, to the Presbyterian Churches of the Continent, we have the testimony of Bishop Burnet, in the History of his Own Times. After spending some time among them, he writes thus, in 1G86: "I was indeed amazed at the labours and learning of the minis- ters among the Reformed. They understood the Scrip- tures well in the original tongues. They had all the points of controversy very ready, and did thoroughly un- derstand the whole body of divinity. In many places CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. 193 they preached every day, and were almost constantly employed in visiting their flock." Surely a more beautiful testimony from a prelate to Presbyterian ministers could not be rendered. Long may the pastors of Presbyterian Churches be distinguished for the qualities which drew forth the admiration of Bishop Burnet! CHAPTER V. PRESBYTERIAN1SM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. Few charges against Presbyterianism have been more common than that it is inconsistent with monarchy, and tends to civil insubordination and sedition. This is not a matter of idle talk or surmise. It has been gravely propounded in large books written against the govern- ment of the Church of Scotland. It was a celebrated maxim of James VI., " No bishop, no king;" and when any one has, notwithstanding, spoken of the loyalty of Presbyterians, it has been common to point to the execution of Charles I. as conclusively deciding the point of the rebellious character of Pres- bytery. Now, were this charge true, it would be a serious drawback from the good qualities which \vf have alleged in behalf of Presbyterianism — it would go far to neutralize them. Insubordination to civil autho- rity is a very serious matter. Submission is expressly required by God — on the ground not merely of social expediency, but of solemn duty. We are to obey, not in dread of punishment only, but for con- science' sake. Christianity recognises and hallows the social bond of obedience. But the charge is not only not true — it is, like many similar charges, the very opposite of the truth. Christians might have been pre- pared for it. In every age evangelical religion has been charged w r ith civil insubordination ; and as Pres- byterian Christians have generally exhibited much of PREfiBYTERIANISM F AVOURABLK TO LOYALTY. 1 9 5 the evangelical religion which existed in the world at the time, and have, moreover, constitutionally presented a strong front in its behalf, by means of their Church courts, so the allegation has come to be peculiarly charged upon them ; but it is the old allegation against evangelical religion, and, whether directed against it or against Presbyterianism, is utterly false. I need not enter on the proof, from Scripture and ecclesiastical history, that true religion has, in every age, been accused of disloyalty and sedition; nor need I refer to the satisfactory explanations which can be given of the origin of the charge. It is, doubtless, founded in the enmity of men to the truth — gospel, law, and government of Christ. Ashamed to express this in as many words, they veil their persecution under plausible pretexts, of which regard for social authority is one of the most popular. The Apostle Peter (1 Epist. ii. 15), when exhorting the Christians of early times to be submissive to the civil magistrate (of course only in lawful things), encouraged them to do so by the con- sideration that thus they would " put to silence the ignorance of foolish men"- — implying that, even in his day, there were many who charged them with being rebels, and that it was only by well-doing that they could hope to put down the calumny. That Presbyterianism holds no connection with dis- loyalty, is abundantly plain. There is nothing in its distinguishing principles inconsistent with civil authority in any form, whether monarchical or republican. Are the office of ruling elder, courts of review, and the parity of pastors in the Church, at war with kingly authority and civil submission in the State ? Where is the point of variance ? * If we look at the Confessions of Faith * It was indeed a favourite sentiment of James VI., which he exhorts his sun (in the Basil-icon, lib. ii.) never to forget, that •• parity is the mother of confusion. ,, But there is no proof of this, or rather, there is ample evidence of the contrary. Prelacy magnifies mere government much more than Presbytery. It con- stitutes the bishop or governor the highest and most honoured officer ; whereas Presbytery represents the preacher of the gospel as fulfilling the most honourable part of the sacred calling. The latter, 196 PRESBYTERIAN ISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. of Presbyterian Churches, we find them full of the soundest sentiment in regard to the civil magistrate — as foil, if not fuller, than those of any other Church. They call upon all the members to be submissive, not merely to Christian but even to Heathen kings and tyrants, such as Nero.. It may not be amiss to notice a few of these. The Augustan, or German Confession, which is the standard of a Presbyterian Church, says': "Christians must necessarily obey the existing magistrates and laws, save when they command to sin. Then they must obey God rather than man." (Acts iv.) The French Confession, the standard of a strictly Presbyterian Church, runs in similar terms : " We maintain, then, that we ought to obey laws and statutes, and pay tribute, and bear other burdens, and undergo the yoke with a good will, although the magistrates should be infidels, provided God's sovereign authority remain entire and inviolate." The Helvetic or Swiss Con- fession, also thoroughly Presbyterian, bears : " As God will work the safety of his people by the magistrate whom he hath given to the world as a father, so all subjects are commanded to acknowledge that benefit in the magistrate. Let them honour and reverence the magistrate as the minister of God — let them love and assist him, and pray for him as their father. Let them obey him in all his just and equitable commands ; let them pay all imposts and tributes, and all other dues of that kind faithfully and willingly; and if the public safety of the country and justice require it, and the magistrate undertake a war by necessity, let them also therefore, one would think less likely to create confusion. Besides, if parity be essentially the parent of disorder, what shall be thought of the Houses of the British Parliament, which present the most perfect picture of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church — complete pant// with a speaker or moderator, who has no autho- rity of superior rank, but merely of regulation, to which he has been called by his brethren ? Is Parliamentary parity, then, the source of confusion ? AVhat, too, shall be thought of the Houses of Convo- cation in the Church of England, and similar courts in the Scottish Episcopal Church, in which there are important elements of parity. Are they, too, " the mothers of confusion ? " PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 197 lay down their lives, and spill their blood for the good of the public and of the magistrate, and that in the name of God, willingly, valiantly, cheerfully; for he that opposeth himself to the magistrate provoketh the heavy wrath of God upon himself." The Saxon Confession might be added to the same purpose. The Bohemian runs in these terms: u Let all and every one yield subjection, in all things that are no ways contrary to God, unto the higher power, first to the king's majesty, and next to all magistrates and those that are in autho- rity in Avhat offices soever they are placed, whether the men be good or bad, as also to all their deputies and officers; and let them defer to them all honour, and perform all things which are due to them by right ; let them pay unto them also the homage, imposts, tribute, and the like, which they are obliged to pay and per- form." The Waldensian Confession, which dates so far back as 1120, says: " We ought to honour the secular powers by submission, ready obedience, and paying of tribute." The sentiment of all the Scottish Confessions is well known — that of Westminster is conveyed in these words : " It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates, to honour their persons, to pay them tribute and other dues; to obey their lawful com- mands, and to be subject to their authority for con- science' sake. Infidelity or difference in religion doth not make void the magistrate's just and legal autho- rity, nor free the people from their due obedience to him, from which ecclesiastical persons are not exempt," &c. Such are the views of the leading Presbyterian Con- fessions on civil obedience; and what can be more en- tirely loyal? The very men, such as Luther, Calvin, Zuingle, whom Papists have accused of propagating seditious principles, were the thorough approvers, if not the actual writers, of the very Confessions from which we have been quoting. And in accordance with these articles of faith, how eminent have the Presbyterian Churches ever been for loyalty ! Though shamefully persecuted in Piedmont, France, Holland, Germany, 19S PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. Scotland, &c, by Popish and other rulers, how submis- sive have they been in all civil things! How did they honour the civil magistrate in his own province, and occasionally draw the admiration even of oppressive masters, by their fidelity, industry, loyalty, and courage ! A few cases may be referred to. The Waldenses, emi- nently a nation of martyrs, are uniformly designated in the royal edicts, " Our faithful subjects." It was long before the dukes of Savoy could be prevailed upon by Popish emissaries to persecute a people so remarkable for their loyal attachment; and after persecution had begun and ceased, repeatedly did the Popish rulers bear witness to its generosity and strength. Similar was the character of the French Protestants. For the first forty years of their Reformation, though numerous and af- flicted, they were so submissive that they were not even brought into collision with secular power. On subse- quent occasions they were repeatedly engaged in war: but politics, not religion, was the chief source of the contest, and in this they took a part with a large body of their Roman Catholic countrymen. Nothing on this point can be more appropriate than what is said in their defence by James VI.* Writing in 161 5, when France was at peace, he says : " I never knew yet that the French Protestants took arms against their king. In the first troubles they stood only on their defence. Be- fore they took arms, they were burned and massacred everywhere; the quarrel did not begin for religion," &c. " It shall not be found that they made any other war. Nay, is it not true that Henry III. sent armies against, to destroy them, and yet they ran to his help as soon as they saw him in danger? Is it not true that they saved his life at Tours, and delivered him from extreme peril? Is it not true that they never forsook either him or his successor in the midst of the revolt and rebellion of most part of his kingdom, raised by the pope and the greater part of his clergy? Is it not true that they have assisted him in all his battles, and helped much to raise the crown again, which was ready to fall ? " * In his Right of K ; nes, p. 14. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 199 It is well known how much Henry IV. was indebted to his Protestant and Presbyterian subjects, and that the edict of Nantes was intended as a reward for their loyal adherence. In 1617, Louis XIII., in a letter to their ecclesiastical synod, testified to their past " fidelity and obedience;" and his son, Louis XI V., repeatedly em- ployed the same language. Indeed, he in a great mea- sure owed his crown to their exertions, and acknowledged that they had given proof " of their fidelity and zeal for his service beyond all that could be imagined, and con- tributed in all things to the welfare and advantage of his affairs." The Edinburgh Christian Instructor of 1813, vindicating the loyalty of Presbyterians against the in- sinuations of an English assailant, thus characterizes the loyalty of the French Presbyterians : " We request the reviewers to look back to the history of the Re- formed Churches in France, which were strictly Presby- terian, and they will see there an exhibition of loyalty which it has never been given to the Presbyterians (we may add, much more the Prelatists) of any country to display — of loyalty to despots who had no feeling of kindness or pity to their subjects — of loyalty in the midst of persecutions the most cruel and bloody to which men were ever subjected — of loyalty which remained undi- minished even after recourse to the sword had become an act of necessity, and neither forgot itself in victory nor was soured and alienated by defeat — of loyalty which was rather to be blamed for its excess than doubted of for its existence or sincerity, and which we are firmly convinced would never have been carried to such a height by the people either of England or Scotland. We refer our readers to Laval, Beza, D'Aubigne, Mezeray, Thuanus, and every writer, indeed, who has given an account of the civil wars of France, with the exception of a few Roman Catholics, whose religious prejudices led them to indulge in misrepresentations which they had not honesty enough to withhold." (P. 427.) Other illus- trations might be given, but let these suffice. That Presbyterians were reluctantly constrained occasionally to resist the tyrannous exercise of civil power, invading 200 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. the conscience and trampling on rights guaranteed by oaths, is true; but this is no more than the British sove- reigns, Elizabeth, James, and Charles I., by their own example, in encouraging the subjects of foreign states to rise against their sovereign, sanctioned. It is no more than what the Church of England and the English nation, under the rule of Prelacy, did, and justly did, in the ever memorable Revolution of 1688. The most popular and plausible charge against the Presbyterians of the three kingdoms, is the giving up of Charles L, as is alleged, for a bribe, and then putting him to death. Now, admitting all this to be true, what could be more unfair than to attempt to determine the general character of an ecclesiastical system, in all ages, from the conduct of a few adherents on a very sad, and withal trying occasion in its history? But there is not one word of truth in the Charge. Though the king's duplicity and cruelty were notorious — driving 20,000 of his best subjects across the Atlantic, when it was a more formidable matter to cross the ocean than it is now — yet they endured with marvellous patience, and were con- strained only by dire necessity to take up arms. To say that they sold their king is a statement as anti- national as ignorant. A sum of money, agreed upon years before, for the support of the Scottish army, was paid four months before there were any steps taken in regard to the sovereign by the two nations; and the Presbyterians of Scotland, England, and Ireland, remonstrated and protested against the contemplated execution in the strongest possible manner — in a stronger manner than can be alleged of any other religious party. The real authors of the king's death were his Prelatic counsellors. The proximate were the Sectaries, who were as much opposed to Presbytery as to Prelacy. As this baseless calumny is still repeated, to the prejudice of Presbyte- rianism, and is the only act having the air of plausibility to those who will not examine and distinguish, it may not be amiss to quote the words of fifty- seven learned and godly Presbyterian ministers of London, in a remon- strance which they gave in before the trial, and which PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 201 I they presented at the hazard of their own safety. They say : " We hold ourselves bound, in duty to God, religion, the king, parliament, and kingdom, to profess before God, angels, and men, that we verily believe what is now so much feared to be in agitation — the taking away of the life of the king in the present way of trial — is not only not agreeable to any word of God, the principles of the Protestant religion (never yet stained with the least drop of the blood of a king), or the fundamental consti- tution of the kingdom: but contrary to them, as also to the oath of allegiance, the protestation of May 5, 1641, and the solemn league and covenant ; from all which engagements we know not of any power on earth able to absolve us or others." Such was the Presbyterian protest against the trial or sentence of Charles I. — a protest shared in by the whole Presbyterian people of the three kingdoms; and well was its sincerity proved by their immediately crowning the monarch's son in Scotland as king; by refusing publicly to pray for Cromwell, as protector, for years ; and by an actual martyrdom into loyalty. Christopher Love, an eminent Presbyterian minister of London, suf- fered unto the death for no other reason than his attach- ment to the family and rights of Charles II. Perhaps those who will not be moved by any other authority, may, on such a point as the death of the king, listen to the opinion of Sir George M'Kenzie, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, during the times of the persecution. Writ- ing of the Presbyterians, he says : " Even our rebellious countrymen delivered him (the king) only up to such of our neighbour nation as did swear upon oath that they should preserve him and his crown; and when they found that these sectarians neither regarded their oath nor their king, they raised an army immediately, to ex- piate their crime. Nor wanted ever our nation (Scot- land; an army, even under the usurpers, to appear for the monarchy ; and from us, and encouraged by us, went that army that restored our present king."* If any farther evidence were needful, we might appeal * Vindication of his Majesty's Government, 1683, p. 5. 202 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. to Bishop Burnet, who, in the History of his Own Times, testifies that the Presbyterians were much against the king's death, fasting and praying for his preservation. "We might appeal also to Echard, Clarendon, Rapin, to the fact that the Presbyterians accounted the charge a slander, and indignantly resented it, appealing to Lord Hollis, Richard Baxter, and many others then living, for the truth of the contrary. But, perhaps, the reader may wish to see the testimony of such a man as Principal Rule. It is less accessible than the others, and was given forth in 1 69 1 . Vindicating his calumniated coun- try, he asks, " Did Scotland ever set up a common- wealth, as England once did? It is known what they adventured and suffered for the monarchy when England abjured it. And what yielding was in Scotland to the anti-monarchical way, was by force from England. And it is known to all %cho lived in these days, that the Pres- byterians did cleave more firmly to their banished king, and prayed for him with more constancy and resolution, than that party did who after appeared for Episcopacy." In harmony with this, their London brethren, we are informed by Palmer, in the Nonconformists' Memo- rial, attended him on his restoration with their acclama- tions, and, by the hands of old Mr. Jackson, presented him with a richly-adorned Bible, which he (Charles II.) told them would be the rule of his actions !" Passing from the Presbyterians generally to those of Scotland in particular, at a later day, can it be alleged that it was for rebellion that they suffered? No doubt this was the charge, just as it was the charge in the case of the Old Testament prophets, and of our blessed Lord and his apostles, and the primitive Christians. In none of these instances were the parties ostensibly persecuted. No; they only suffered for pretended sedition and re- bellion. This has always been the course of the men of the world. They shrink from appearing in the naked character of persecutors. Bad as the world is, this would defeat the object, and hence they dress up Chris- tians in the skins of wild beasts, before they give them to the lions. Though cowardly, this is the uniform PRESBYTER1ANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 203 practice. In the case of the Scottish sufferers, nothing could be more shamefully false than the cry of rebel- lion. I subjoin two or three sentences from dying testimonies breathed forth by martyrs in passing into eternity. The Marquis of Argyle says: " I had no accession to his late majesty's horrid and execrahle murder, by counsel, or knowledge of it, or any other manner of way. And I pray the Lord preserve his majesty, and to pour out his best blessing on his person and govern- ment." The Rev. James Guthrie says : " God is my record that, for the things for which sentence of death has been passed against me, I have a good conscience. I bless God they are not matters of compliance with Sectaries, or designs or practices against his majesty's person, or government of his royal father. My heart, I bless God, is conscious to no disloyalty — nay, loyal I have been, and I commend it unto you to be loyal and obedient in the Lord." Lord Warriston says : " I am free, as I shall now answer before God's tribunal, from any accession, by counsel, or contrivance, or any other way, to his late majesty's death, or to their making that change of go- vernment; and I pray the Lord to preserve our present king, his majesty, and to pour out His best blessings upon his royal posterity." Captain Arnot, with nine others who suffered with him on the same day, said: "We are condemned by men, and esteemed by many as rebels against the king, whose authority we acknowledge •; but this is our rejoic- ing, the testimony of our conscience." John Wilson said : " For my part, I pray that the Lord may bless our king with blessings from heaven; and I pray for all who are in authority under his ma- jesty." James Learmont says: " My dear friends, I give my testimony against that calumny cast upon Presbyte- rians, that they are seditious and disloyal persons, the which assertion I do abhor; therefore I exhort all people 204 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. that they will show loyalty to the king and all law- ful magistrates, and all their just and lawful com- mands." The Rev. John King says: " The Lord knows, who is the searcher of hearts, that neither my design nor practice was against his majesty's person and just govern- ment, but I always intended to be loyal to lawful authority in the Lord. I thank God that my heart does not condemn me of any disloyalty. I have been loyal, and do recommend it to all to be obedient to the higher powers in the Lord." Such was the loyal spirit of the Scottish Presbyterians even in the most trying times, and such it has been in every age. Apart from every thing else, the " Solemn League and Covenant " which they had sworn, and which so many now misunderstand and misrepresent, bound them to loyalty more than others. Their subsequent history has strikingly illustrated the same features of character. The Rev. Mr. Williamson, one of the mi- nisters of the West Kirk, Edinburgh, preaching before the General Assembly, as moderator, in 1703, thus expressed himself in regard to Presbyterian loyalty. He was addressing an audience who were well able, from their own experience, to judge of the accuracy of his statements : " These fourteen years' experience may stop the mouth of impudence itself respecting the peaceful- ness of Presbytery. During one hundred years there has not been such a long tract of tranquillity in Scotland. Civil government has been advantageously managed in several of the most eminent Reformed Churches (con- temporaneously) with that discipline of Christ's house for which we plead. None maintain more loyal prin- ciples towards kings than Presbyterians, who think themselves obliged to fear God and honour the king, and to be always ready to obey him in the Lord. Many, if not the greater part of the Episcopal clergy, would not pray for the king, William." Nor was there any diminution of Scottish loyalty at a later day. In the rebellion of 174-5, who were more loyal or so loyal as the Presbyterians? The Duke of PRE8BYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 205 Cumberland, the commander of the king's troops, speak- ing of the clergy of the Church of Scotland, declared, u I owe it in justice to them to say, that, upon all occa- sions, I have received from them professions of the most inviolable attachment to his majesty's person and govern- ment, and have always found them ready and forward to act in their several stations in all such affairs as they could be useful in, though often to their own great hazard." (Quoted in Towgood's Letters, 15th edition, p. 221.) It may be less known, but it is not less honourable to Presbytery, that the Rev. Adam Gibb, a Presbyterian minister of Edinburgh, though a seceder from the Na- tional Establishment, raised not less than three companies of volunteers, mainly from his own congregation, to quell the rebellion ; and so impressed was the government of the day with his services, and those of his brother mi- nister, the Rev. Ralph Erskine, that they warmly ac- knowledged them in a letter of thanks. It may be added that, at the present moment, a far larger propor- tion of the British army is composed of Scottish Pres- byterians, according to the general population of the nation, than of English or Irish. Whatever explanation may be given of the fact, it certainly does not counte- nance the idea of any alliance between disloyalty and Presbytery, at least the rulers of the British nation have not, from observation, been led to detect any such rela- tionship. The same spirit has ever been manifested by the Presbyterians of Ireland. They may, in common with the vast body of the intelligence and piety of Britain, have concurred with the Parliament in the early and necessary resistance to royal tyranny; but when faction in the army began to pervert a cause which was good, and indicate a disposition to subvert all royal authority, with their brethren throughout Great Britain, they took part with the monarch, and nobly stood by his cause. Though treated with great ingratitude, they used all the influence with the leaders in the army which they could command, to persuade them to be loyal to the king and 206* PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY, spare his life; read official "declarations" from their pulpits against the anti-monarchical principles which the perversity and duplicity of the king's counsellors were the grand means of creating and spreading; prayed for the king's son; maintained his cause in Ulster; and warned the people against his enemies, and that at a time when the whole province was in the power of the army. Nay, more, not a few of them suffered for their loyalty. Their influence was such, that the council of war passed an act of banishment against them, and, but for an accident, many would have been transported beyond the seas. As it was, they were deprived by Cromwell of the tithes which they had enjoyed, and a small precarious provision was substituted, the better to break down their principles. I need not say that they have been loyal ever since. In the Popish rebellion of 1799, they stood true to the old character of Pres- bytery, and to their country. The Synod of Ulster had, upon a review of the whole proceedings, reason to record, " That the general condition of its members and proba- tioners was conformable to order and good government in the late afflicting circumstances of the country." Only a very few members of the Presbyterian Church had proved disloyal, and the ecclesiastical courts subjected them to discipline on this account. It is notorious that the Irish Presbyterians continue pre-eminent for their loyalty, and that, at the present moment, they form a chief safeguard of the integrity of the British empire in the sister island. The same holds true of evangelical Presbyterianism wherever, in the providence of God, it has been planted. In 1775, the year before the declaration of American independence, it appears, from Hodge's History of the Presbyterian Church of America, that the Synods of New York and Philadelphia addressed a pastoral letter to the Churches under their authority, in which the fol- lowing statement occurs : " In carrying on this impor- tant struggle, let every opportunity be taken to express your attachment and respect to our sovereign, King George III., and to the Revolution principles by which PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 207 his august family were seated on the British throne. We recommend, indeed, not only allegiance to him from principle and duty, as the first magistrate of the empire, but esteem and reverence for the person of the prince who has merited well of his subjects on many accounts, and who has probably been misled into his late and pre- sent measures by those about him. Neither have we any doubt that they themselves have been, in a great degree, deceived by false representations from interested persons residing in America. It gives us the greatest pleasure to say, from our own certain knowledge of all belonging to our communion, and from the best means of information of far the greatest part of all denomina- tions in this country, that the present opposition to the measures of administration does not in the least arise from disaffection to the king, or a desire of separation from the parent state. We are happy in being able, with truth, to affirm, that no part of America would either have approved or permitted such insults as have been offered to the sovereign in Great Britain. We ex- hort you, therefore, to continue in the same disposition, and not to suffer oppression, or injury itself, to provoke you to anything which may seem to betray contrary sentiments. Let it ever appear that you only desire the preservation and security of those rights which belong to you as free- men and Britons, and that reconciliation upon these terms is your most ardent desire." What could breathe a spirit of more enlightened loyalty, blended with just sentiments of freedom, than these pastoral counsels? In perfect harmony with them, it deserves to be recorded, to the honour of the Presbyterian Church in the Canadas at the present day, that, though smarting from what might have provoked against British rule, its office- bearers and members were among the warmest and most useful friends of British authority in the recent rebellion; that not one of their number was found in the ranks of disaffection ; and that their influence, physical as well as moral, contributed, in an important degree, to the speedy restoration of peace and order. And now, shortly, to turn to other forms of Church 208 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. government, I make no charge against modern Inde- pendency. I believe it to be perfectly loyal, and that there are as warm friends of the British constitution in its ranks as in any other denomination. But it can scarcely be doubted that their democratical form of Church rule is more favourable to political democracy than a more limited representative government ; and it cannot be forgotten, that, with some exceptions, the In- dependents were the great patrons of the anti-monarchi- cal principles of the seventeenth century. It may be stated that, among Evangelical Dissenters, the Metho- dist body have ever been distinguished for their loyalty. They occupy a central position between Prelacy and other forms of Church government; though they did not appear till several occasions of testing loyalty in this country were over, yet it cannot be questioned that they would have stood faithful had they been then in existence. George Whitefield, in his " Letter to the Rev. Dr. Durell," on the expulsion of six students from Oxford in 1768, in the judgment of his biographer, the ablest of his pro- ductions, says, referring to the examples of Christ and his apostles, " Fain would the Methodists copy after such gloriously divine examples; and, blessed be God! after a trial of near forty years, upon the most severe scrutiny, their loyalty cannot be justly so much as once called in question ; for as they fear God, so they dearly love and honour their king, their rightful sovereign King George, and have been, and continue to be, steady, invariable friends to the Protestant succession in the illustrious house of Hanover." This is the more creditable when it is remembered to what irritation and oppression they were subjected, from various classes of their countrymen, in the earlier periods of their history. In so far as Cal- vinistic Methodism is Presbyterian, this form of govern- ment is entitled to claim a share in the credit of its good character. With regard to Prelacy in connection with loyalty: If loyalty consists in a blind worship of the reigning sovereign, no matter what his character or his acts, how- ever unconstitutional and tyrannical, there may not be PRESBYTERIAN ISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 209 much ground for calling in question its loyalty. It is only in this sense that the maxim of James VI. is true, " No bishop, no king" — rather, no tyrant. Understood more constitutionally, Prelacy, however trustworthy now, has not always been loyal. Is it necessary to say how prelates, in days of Popery, stirred up disaffection in kingdoms, both in Scotland and England; for example, how Richard II. of the latter was robbed of his domi- nion; and how Parliament found it indispensable, in the reign of Edward VI., to deprive them of their usurped power over the crown? In the seventeenth century, who were at the bottom of the civil troubles of the land ? According to the testimony of candid Episcopalians themselves, it was the Prelatic Laud and his party. He dealt in gross encroachments on the consciences and liberties of the people. In Scotland, again, in the suc- ceeding century, who were the prime movers of the re- bellions in behalf of the deposed house of Stuart? Did they not consist of the Roman Catholics and nonjuring Episcopalians — in other words, of a combination of Pre- latists? A few facts may be stated in confirmation of these views. Were it necessary, one might refer to the maxims and proceedings of the Jesuits — a powerful order in a Prelatic Church — so dangerous to thrones that they have been repeatedly suppressed even in Roman Catholic countries; but it would be unfair to Protestants to com- pare them with such a body. To turn, however, to a party who make a boast of their loyalty, and many of whom were wont to be suspicious of that of their Pres- byterian neighbours, I would ask, whether Scottish Episcopacy has, in this respect, much to boast of? It is notorious that a very large body of them — in short, the party which did not conform to the Established Church at the Revolution in 1688 — remained disaffected to the present reigning family, and did not abandon that disaffection till the death of Charles Edward Stuart, in 1788. In other words, this religious body lived in a state of disaffection for one hundred years, till they could keep it up no longer. Can a similar statement be made 210 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. in regard to any other Christian Church? It appears from the " Narrative of the Proceedings" of the Relief Bill, in 1792, drawn up by one of the bishops, that the bill was objected to in the House of Lords, on the score of the former connection of the Episcopal clergy with the Pretender. The preamble of the act refers to their disaffection, and provides that the minister who omits praying for the present royal family by name, shall, for a second offence, be declared incapable of officiating for three years. The Earl of Elgin, who spoke in favour of the bill, went over the different penal enactments, and showed that they were intended " to check the disaffec- tion which was known to prevail, at the time they were passed, among the Episcopalians in Scotland." The bishop of St. David's, also a supporter, maintained, that the refusal to pray for the royal family by name " stood upon no better ground than that of gross and avowed disaffection." It is an interesting fact, that the success of the bill was, in a considerable degree, owing to the friendly interposition of the Church of Scotland — to the letters of Principal Robertson, Dr. Campbell, and Dr. Gerard, to leading men in England; so that, in this way, the Presbyterian Church had an opportunity of requiting with kindness the harsh treatment which she had re- ceived at the hands of Episcopacy at an earlier season. Surely the members of this Church are not the parties who should charge the Church of Scotland with disaffec- tion or rebellion? That it may not be supposed I am putting too strong an interpretation upon the Parliament- ary proceedings in connection with Scottish Episcopacy, I appeal to the statement of the Rev. Mr. Skinner, a warm partisan. Writing of the Scottish Episcopal Church, as it appeared in 1788, he says, that his father, the bishop, " saw the considerations of State policy con- straining the class of landed proprietors, whether peers or commoners, and nearly all of the Episcopal persuasion in public stations, to turn their backs upon the altar of their native Church, that they might support the throne of their native land" * In other words, continued alle- * Annals. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 211 giance to their Church was not consistent with loyalty to the throne of the realms! They abandoned the Church, because they could not otherwise be loyal to their king. When could this be alleged of the Scottish or any other Presbyterian Church? At the present day, I do not call in question the loyalty of any evangelical party. All that I contend for is, that Presbyterians are as loyal as any other — that Scotland is as loyal as England — that, in times of national danger, Presbyterians have contributed in as large pro- portion, whether of money, or men, or courage, to the defence of their country, as the members of any Prelatic Church; in short, that there is nothing in Presbytery inconsistent with enlightened loyalty. In addition to this, looking to the history of the past, I humbly think that Presbyterians are entitled to say that the form of ecclesiastical government for which they contend has been more frequently found in alliance with fervent loyalty than other forms of rule. It has often been alleged that Presbytery is republi- can in its constitution, and that republican ideas and feelings must be its fruit. Of course, as an objection, this can be alleged with propriety only by Prelatists. Congregationalists cannot urge it without laying them- selves open to the more serious charge of democratic tendency. But there is no force in the allegation of which any Presbyterian has reason to be ashamed. In so far as republicanism is identified with representative government, Presbytery may be described as republican ; just in the same sense all the leading councils of the Christian Church were republican, and the British con- stitution embraces a large republican element, yea, the governing one. Indeed, the first real illustrations of representative government are to be found in the early councils of the Church. The State here borrowed from the Church, as Sir James M'Intosh substantially allows. {History of England, p. 43.) There is nothing, how- ever, in all this discreditable to Presbytery, but the re- verse. History has amply and impressively shown that its representative principles and courts can and do move 212 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. on in harmony with the most devoted attachment to monarchy — such attachment as has seldom been equalled, certainly never surpassed, by religious bodies whose ecclesiastical might be supposed to be more favourable to their civil government. The truth is, that Presbyte- rian Church government, drawn as it is from the Word of God, is quite peculiar. It rinds no exact parallel in any form of civil rule ; while the democratic element may be said to enter in the popular election by the members, the republican in its representative councils, there is a decided recognition of the aristocratic in the judgment of qualification of members, and the power of license and ordination, translation, deposition, &c. These functions are inherent and permanent ; only those who are in office can transmit office. Thus Presbytery stands alone, and on the same ground on which it is charged with republican tendency, it might be charged with the opposite. There is no real force in either. Presbyte- rianism is wide-spread. It needs to be able to live under all forms of political government, and it is equally trust- worthy under them all. Nor is this matter of wonder, for if it be conducive, as we have shown, to the mainten- ance of divine truth, Christian union, and ministerial and popular education — then, by making men good Christians, it must make them the best subjects. The more frequent collisions which, in the history of Scotland, have taken place between the civil and eccle- siastical authorities, than between the same parties in England, are not owing to any greater tendency to civil insubordination in the one case over the other, but to the fact of the greater prevalence of true religion in the one country above the other, leading men to contend for all that belongs to them as Christians. The pecu- liarities of the union between Church and State in Scotland, and the temptations of civil judges to put a wrong interpretation upon statutes affecting the Church of Scotland, from the vicinity of England, whose Esta- blishment is regulated on opposite principles, explain the difference still farther. It is certain that the doctrine of the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ over the PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. 213 Church and over the State — the great doctrine which has given rise to so much recent discussion — not only has not the most remote relationship to rebellion, but holds such a connection with civil allegiance that the British Crown never had in former times, as it has not now, more devoted loyalists than the Presbyterians, who regard that doctrine as vital and supreme. CHAPTER VI. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, While Presbytery has ever, as we have seen, proved herself the friend of loyalty, she has been not less cer- tainly the friend of freedom, civil and religious. These, so far from being inconsistent, are happily harmonious. A man may love his sovereign, and love liberty, yet keep both in their proper place. Indeed, this is the character and attainment of all true Christians. Loyalty and liberty are the fruit of living, evangelical religion. It is not necessary to say any thing of the importance of freedom. However frequently it may have been abused to licentiousness, and accompanying tyranny — whatever may have been the crimes which have been perpetrated in its sacred name — there is no question that there is such a thing as liberty, civil and religious, that it is an inestimable blessing, and that it is inseparably bound up with the interests of true religion, knowledge, and civilization — in short, the welfare of man for time and eternity. I rejoice in liberty, not merely for its own sake, as ungodly men may rejoice in it, but chiefly as an instrument of good to society, to the Church, and the world; and because its opposite, especially where severe, is deeply injurious to the character and progress, if not to the existence, of that religion which is the handmaid of human happiness. " True liberty," to adopt the de- finition of a sound Calvinistic divine, " does not consist in an inflammatory turbulence of conduct, in an unlimited PRESBYTERIAN ISM FAVOURABLE, ETC. 215 indecency of speech, or a blind attachment to party, but in the legal safety and good order of each for the advan- tage of the whole. It does not consist in licentiousness, or the power of doing evil with impunity, but the pri- vilege of doing all the good we can, and enjoying, with- out molestation or fear, as much personal happiness as is consistent with the written law of God, the unwritten law of conscience, and the welfare of society at large." * Liberty, as thus defined, is not understood or appreciated by man in his natural state of depravity. Enlightened reason may approve of it when stated; and the constitu- tion of one political system, apart from the knowledge of true religion, may, from various causes, approach nearer to it than others; but man's narrow views and selfish passions, particularly his love of power, and want of regard for, and confidence in, his neighbour, will pre- vent him ever realizing the freedom which has been de- scribed. True religion, however, directly leads to it. It cultivates intellect, and so makes the man thoughtful — enlightens his conscience, and so gives peace and guid- ance — represses his selfishness, while it teaches self- denial, and a kind regard to the rights, privileges, and happiness of others. Thus it both makes men capable of freedom for themselves, and disposes them to concede freedom to others At the same time, it renders them objects of public confidence. These are the very ele ments of liberty; and without them, whatever may be the vauntings of philosophers or political orators, freedom can exist only in name. It will not reach the mass of the people, and it will be in great danger of perishing, even when attained. Now, Presbyterianism, as a scriptural form of true religion, and an efficient dispenser of its knowledge and blessings, is, and must be, a friend of Freedom. Accord- ingly, all history testifies to this truth. Without inter- fering with the particular form of civil government under which men live, it makes them both good rulers and good subjects; the result of which is, the greatest amount of happiness to individuals consistent with the order and * Toplady's Works, p. 394. 216 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO good of the whole. - It is well known, that in modern Europe, the rise of freedom was contemporaneous with the revival of Protestant evangelical religion. This was the first thing to check, and ultimately subvert, the civil and religious despotism of Popery. The reading of the Word of God in the vernacular languages, and the oral preaching of the Gospel, were far more powerful than any other means. Some may ask, What is the connec- tion between civil and religious freedom? They are always seen together, flourishing or fading. It is not difficult to trace the relationship. True religion calls men to the exercise of private judgment on the most momentous questions. It marks off a large field for conscience, and declares, that into that field civil autho- rity shall not enter, unless at the risk of being disobeyed. It imparts a deep feeling of responsibility, and braces men to endure the loss of all things sooner than relin- quish their religious convictions. This state of things is most favourable to the creation, growth, and diffusion of civil liberty. Men have but to extend to the matters of civil life the principles which they cherish in regard to religion, and they are free. Besides, supremely valuing their religion, they will naturally avail themselves of civil rights and privileges, as a protection to the undis- turbed exercise of faith and practice. In this way it is easy to see how the religious principles of the Reforma- tion directly conducted to civil freedom; and how mo- dern Protestants are so deeply indebted to the sacrifices and sufferings of their forefathers. These, whether im- mediately successful at the time or not, argued the pre- sence of principles and resolution which it were hopeless to expect to put down. Viewing the case historically, it is hardly necessary to appeal to the services which Presbyterian Churches have rendered, in different countries of Europe, to the cause of religious, and so of civil freedom. Who can be igno- rant of the struggles for liberty or independence, often and largely at the price of blood, which were waged by the Presbyterians of Piedmont, Switzerland, Holland, France, Germany, Scotland, &c. ? Had it not been for CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 217 these — had the public mind not been roused upon a question which involved the dearest interests, in all pro- bability Popery would have been re-established univer- sally, and with it the civil despotism. Hence it is appa- rent, that Christian men, who are often by philosophers denounced as enthusiasts and fanatics, were the real parties, and not secular politicians, who wrought out the liberties of Europe. They are the only men who will persevere amid desperate sacrifices and hazards; and that candid men of the world occasionally acknowledge. The only ground of hesitation which any can feel in awarding to evangelical Christians the title of the friends and martyrs of freedom, is the practice of persecution which has too frequently marked their proceedings. Some may think this invalidates their claim, but we humbly apprehend such an idea is a mistaken one. That the Reformers, and even leading men of the Church of a much later day, did not rightly, at least fully, un- derstand the principles of religious toleration, may be readily conceded. Brought up in the persecuting school of the Church of Rome from the days of infancy, it would have been strange if remains of error had not clung to them, the more especially as their religious hap- pened also to be their political opponents. It is granted that all the Protestant Churches and leading denomina- tions proved intolerant where they had the power — the members of Prelatic, Presbyterian, and Congregational Churches. But we would be guilty of gross injustice to some, did Ave place all upon the same footing with the Church of Rome, or even of some Protestant commu- nions. With few exceptions, Presbyterians can plead guiltless to bloody persecution. The religious wars of France were, on the part of the Protestants, self-defensive ; and even the cruelties which took place in Holland were in part of the same character. It is a just boast of the Church of Scotland, that she never shed a drop of human blood ; and the Presbyterians of England and Ireland can rejoice in the same satisfaction. To com- pare the doings of Presbyterians, then, with the Church of Rome, the murderer of many millions of lives, or even 218 PRESBYTERIAN ISM FAVOURABLE TO with the sad proceedings of the Church of England in the South, and particularly in Scotland in the seventeenth century, would be to compare things which do, not ad- mit of any reasonable comparison. Contrast would be more appropriate. The English Presbyterians did, in- deed, protest most solemnly against toleration and pre- tended liberty of conscience; but what sort of toleration? Toleration in the sense of encouragement to tenets and practices, many of them abominable, blasphemous, and destructive to society. * And with regard to the Scot- tish Presbyterians, though, smarting under the memory of intolerable wrongs, they may have occasionally treated the Episcopal clergy with hard usage; yet, that there was nothing worthy of the name of persecution, as it had been practised in their country, may be gathered from the following extracts from Episcopal writers themselves. Dr. Edwards, an eminent divine of the Church of Eng- land, at the period of the Union, said of the Church of Scotland, " They have with the patience of confessors and martyrs (and such a great number of them were) borne the sufferings which the High Churchmen brought upon them; and now, when they are able to retaliate, they study not revenge, but let the world see that they can forgive as well as suffer." This testimony was given when the religious troubles of Scotland had scarcely sub- sided. Similar is the statement of the present Scottish Episcopal Bishop of Glasgow, whose strong prejudices are not unknown. He acknowledges that the intolerance of the Presbyterian Church seldom proceeded beyond the theory of persecution, and except in civil war, was un- stained with blood. t So far from being persecuted, two hundred of the Episcopal clergy, at the Revolution of 1688, were allowed to retain their parishes; and of those who were not comprehended, it is known that their wants were often relieved by their Presbyterian brethren; while those who had good opportunities of knowledge declare, that in the twenty-eight years of Prelatic perse- cution, they cannot remember to have heard of a case * Vide Edwards' Gangrena, passim,; also, Ferguson's Refutation, f History, &c. 5 ii. 320. CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 219 where the suffering Presbyterian clergy received relief from the clerical hands of Episcopacy. There is ample evidence that the sufferings of the Episcopalians at the Revolution were much exaggerated, and where real, were inflicted, not by the Presbyterian Church, but by lawless mobs. Thus substantially cleared from the imputation of persecution, how pleasing to contemplate Presbyterianism as the friend of civil and religious freedom ! The charac- ter originates in the true religion which she circulates, and there is nothing in her peculiarities at war with it. There is nought in the parity of ministers, or their free election by the communicants — in the office of ruling elder, and its popular mode of appointment — and in the power of appeal, in cases of discipline or advice, from court to court — unfavourable to true freedom, but the reverse. Hence the whole history of Scottish Presbyte- rianism is the history of freedom. "When Presbytery was depressed, freedom languished; when it revived, freedom revived. Similar is the history of Ireland. One of the most gallant deeds in her history — the mainten- ance of Derry against the Popish forces, and with it the maintenance of the Protestant liberties of the country, if not of the three kingdoms — was the deed, in a chief degree, of Irish Presbyterians. The person who opened up the way to relief was a Presbyterian minister, and nine-tenths of the defenders belonged to the same reli- gious denomination. A similar spirit animated the Presbyterians of the United States. While devotedly loyal during the colo- nial era, after the declaration of independence they clung to the liberties of their country ; their ministers were the first publicly to declare in behalf of the national independence; and they did so at no small hazard. In some cases their property was laid waste, their churches burnt down, their ministers murdered; still they vigor- ously and successfully contended for the honour of their country, and the rights of their countrymen. Nay, it is understood that a Presbyterian minister from Scotland (Witherspoon) not only rallied the friends of American 220 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO freedom at a most critical moment when misgiving was about to spoil all, but had a leading hand in the construc- tion of the American constitution (he was for seven years a member of Congress) — a constitution which, whatever may be thought of it politically, every Christian must rejoice in, inasmuch as under it a great nation has grown up, destined, with the mother country, to spread the blessings of evangelical religion to the ends of the earth. Nor is it irrelevant here to remark, that the freedom, civil and religious, with which the United States have been blessed, and which they have been enabled hitherto to maintain, has been owing, in great measure, to the large amount of Presbyterianism which the country then em- braced, and to which continual accessions have ever since been made. The ample infusion of Dutch, French, German, Irish, and Scottish Presbyterians, with their sound intelligence, industrious habits, moral and religious character, comprehending reverence for the Sabbath among the most important virtues, has doubtless com- municated a steadiness to the frame of government which it would not otherwise have possessed — a stability which favourably contrasts with the unsteadiness of other re- publics, nominally under the same rule, but strangers to the same religious faith. Adverting for a moment to other kinds of Church government, few* with the history of the world before them, will think Prelacy entitled to rank among the friends of freedom. In some countries, its injurious tendencies have been in a great measure repressed by a variety of causes; hence it has not prevented their free- dom; but the natural operation is toward pride, ambition, usurped power, exclusiveness — in other words, selfish feelings, which lead to a disregard of what is due to others, and naturally terminate in harshness, if not per- secution. In the fourth and fifth centuries, after Pre- lacy had begun to show itself in the Christian Church, how much real persecution was there! Where prelates did not persecute, how did they encourage the civil power to do so ! In the after ages of the Papacy, what a fear- ful manifestation was there of intense selfish power, de- CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 221 structive of every thing like freedom, sacred or secular ! In the Protestant Church of England, when was it that liberty was trampled on? Was it not when Prelacy, with its exclusive pretensions, was predominant, particularly in the reigns of James VI., Charles I., Charles II., and James VII. ? And who was it that prostrated the liberties of Scotland for twenty-eight years, before one of the most atrocious tyrannies of modern times? Was it not the English and Scottish prelates combined? It is well known that the Episcopal clergy were the most violent abettors of the persecution of the evangelical Methodists, when they first appeared in England, during the last century. And it is not unknown that some of the leading men of the new Anglican school, at the present day, are already giving expression to sentiments respect- ing Church power essentially intolerant. Individual pre- lates, no doubt, may be referred to distinguished for their love of freedom; but these are exceptions to the rule. Liberty is no characteristic of the system. Even good men — good before — have been spoiled by the Prelates' robes. With regard to Congregationalism, it puts forth high claims to liberty, and I have no hesitation in granting that where evangelical, there is nothing in the system incon- sistent with freedom, and that its adherents have been warm advocates of liberty. But it has been a favourite idea with many in this body, that there is something in the Congregational system more favourable to sound views of toleration, and so of religious liberty, than in Prelacy or Presbytery. Along with this, it is generally contended that the Independents were the first in modern times to understand and practise toleration. Now, no- thing can be more unfounded than such views. That the rule of Cromwell, who may be regarded as the re- presentative of the Independents, was vastly more tole- rant than that of his predecessor Charles I., or his suc- cessor Charles II., — that, comparatively speaking, his usurpation was an oasis in the wilderness of persecution, may be true; but that there was no suffering on account of religious opinions under his iron sceptre, is far wide of the truth. The Episcopalians were not allowed to 222 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO use their liturgy under a penalty, and many of their ministers were hardly dealt with. The Presbyterians of Scotland, too, were not allowed freely to hold their Church courts: these were sometimes broken up by mi- litary; and we have seen that the Presbyterians of Ire- land were exposed to banishment for loyalty to the mo- narch. It is well known, likewise, that the Independents who emigrated to America, visited, particularly upon the Quakers, the most cruel inflictions, even to death. Sig- natures, too, to an " Engagement," or covenant of the In- dependents in England in 1 G50, were as really enforced as ever were signatures to the Solemn League of the Presby- terians; while the fearful inflictions of a few years in America far exceeded, according to Dr. M'Crie, all that could be alleged of the Presbyterian Church of England or Scotland, from its foundation to the present day. * The Congregationalists, then, have nothing in point of practice of which to boast over their Presbyterian * Had this little work not already exceeded the limits which were originally intended, it would not be difficult to vindicate the Presby- terians from any serious charge of persecution in connection with the signing of the " Solemn League and Covenant,'" and kindred points. It could be shown, from the testimony of such men as Hen- derson, Dickson, Cant, and Lord Loudon, that parties were not forced to take the covenant, or punished for refusal; that any cases of this kind were rare and unauthorized; that the league was most cordially embraced, without any compulsion from Church or State, by the great body of the nation; and that any undue influence was chiefly employed against the covenant. It could be shown, also, from the exhortations ot the Westminster Assembly, and the speeches of such members as Coleman, Caryl, Palmer, Thorowgood, &c, that they disapproved of the propagation of religion by force, and that it was mainly the seditio-political, and not the erroneous-religious, against which their exertions were directed, and which gave to their senti- ments and proceedings the air of persecution. The case is correctly stated by " the Reformed Presbytery" in their Explanation and Defence of Terms of Communion in 1801. " If any otherwise peace- able and inoffensive subjects in Church and State, had religious scruples in their own mind, both the open doctrine and uniform practice of our pious ancestors recommended all possible tenderness in labouring to have them removed. But, on the other hand, when cruel Popish factions, under the fair pretence of only claiming a liberty to serve God in their own way, were plotting the utter ruin of both Church and State, and seeking the overthrow of all laws, human and divine, in such a case, indeed, they could not help think- ing that salutary restraint and well-regulated coercion were indis- pensably necessary. And what nation under heaven, properly con- sulting her own safety and happiness in time of danger, would not find it advisable to act on the same great principle ?" CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 223 brethren; and in regard to their earlier holding sound theoretical views of toleration and religious liberty, the same high historical authority shows that as correct sentiments were entertained from a much earlier date by the Reformers and first Puritans, who were Presbyterian, than by the Independents ; that soon after the Reforma- tion, the same views were common among the Presbyte- rians of Holland and France;* that it was not the principles of the Sectaries, but of the Reformers and their successors, which lay, and still lie, at the foundation of British freedom; that the writings of leading Indepen- dents at the period referred to betray decided symptoms of intolerance and persecution; and that it was the ex- travagant and most injurious proceedings of many of them which, by driving matters to extremities in Eng- land, created a reaction, lost all the immense advantages of a sound civil and ecclesiastical reformation, destroyed the monarch, and recalled persecution with its horrors and blood. While, then, the British Independents are acquitted of any serious persecution, it cannot be con- ceded to them that in this respect they are superior to their Presbyterian brethren, and much less that there was, or is, anything in their principles more favourable to true and scriptural freedom. For the historical proof of the latter points vide an admirable u Review of Orme's Life of Owen by Dr. M'Crie," republished in the volume of his "Miscellaneous Writings." — Edin. 1841. Were it necessary to state anything farther in corro- boration of the above views, we might appeal to the preface to the important work, " Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici," by the London Presbyterian ministers, where they ably vindicate themselves and the form of Church government to which they were attached, both in principle and practice, from the charge of "tyranniz- * When the Scottish Episcopal clergy, after the Revolution of 1688, earnestly petitioned for a larger toleration than was considered safe to grant, they pleaded the case of Presbyterian Holland as an example of the safety and advantages of an unlimited toleration, proved by experience. It may be noticed, as at once a curious and interesting circumstance, indicative of the spirit of freedom, that the Presbyterian Puritans of England were the first to abolish the use of torture in judicial cases. {Edinburgh Review. 1828.) 224 PRESBYTERIAN ISM FAVOURABLE, ETC. ing over any." We might appeal to the fact that the Independents did not press for religious toleration till they saw that the Preshyterians were ahout to be esta- blished; in short, that there was no enlightened principle m their toleration, such as it was, but the factious desire to disappoint a rival — while their specious conduct was one of the influential causes in the restoration of the civil and religious despotism of the Stuarts. But we prefer to allow Richard Baxter, who lived among them and knew their sentiments well, to describe their character. " The poor Church of Christ," says he, " the sober, sound, religious part, are like Christ that was crucified between two malefactors. The profane and for- mal persecutors on the one hand, and the fanatic dividmg sectaries on the other, have in all ages been grinding the spiritual seed as the corn is ground between the mill- stones; and, though their sins have ruined themselves and us, and silenced so many hundreds of ministers ; and scattered the flocks, and made us the hatred and scorn of the ungodly world, and a by-word and a desolation on the earth, yet there are few of them that lament their sin," &c, &c. Is it possible to suppose that these men were the first discoverers of toleration, and the genuine friends of freedom, civil or religious — the calumniators and ene- mies of the most faithful servants of God — of such men as Baxter, the apostle of peace and union? The sec- taries, indeed, have got credit with various historical writers for being the first in British history to understand the principles of liberty, but the more the claim is exa- mined, the less will the reader be disposed to allow it. From accidental circumstances, their name has come to be associated with the sacred cause; but this is all. They were the instructors of Locke, the first great philoso- phical writer on toleration. It is a hasty inference, however, to conclude that it was from them exclusively he derived his enlarged views of freedom. His first Letter on toleration, which is considered by many the most able and original of his writings, was composed not among the Independents of England, but among the Presbyterians of Holland — a country where full religious toleration had been in exercise for generations. CHAPTER VII, PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO CATHOLIC VIEWS OP THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. The quality of character here pointed at may be re- garded as involved in those which precede. If Presby- tery be favourable to the maintenance of sound doctrine, knowledge, and freedom, it naturally allies itself with enlarged views of the Christian Church, at least narrow views of it are inconsistent with these. But the subject at the present day is so important, that it deserves a sepa- rate notice. I do not charge individual Christians, and far less Churches, holding the opposite forms of Church government, the Congregational and Prelatic, with bigotry or uncharitableness. There may be countervailing in- fluences, and multitudes of the actual members in both cases, it is well known, are distinguished for as enlarged views and warm-hearted liberality as any Presbyterian can lay claim to; but reasoning on the tendencies of religious systems — tendencies, too, whose operation is borne out by facts — we believe it admits of proof that Presbytery as a whole, and Presbyterian Churches in point of fact, have proved more favourable to catholicity than the opposite forms of ecclesiastical organization. Presbyterian Churches have often been charged with an exclusive and bigoted spirit, and we are far from deny- ing their culpability in this respect. Where they have consisted of small bodies, maintaining the character of protesters testifying against the failures and sins of 226 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO others, there is no small danger of the indulgence of such a spirit, while the very completeness of their orga- nization and the publicity of their proceedings tend to force that spirit upon public observation. Such a posi- tion as that referred to has very frequently been the position of Presbytery. It is the attitude of not a few Presbyterian Churches at the present day, as it has been for generations. In these circumstances, it is not won- derful that many have come to associate illiberality with Presbytery,though the associationis accidental, and much more due to other bodies, which, however, owing to less prominency of position, have escaped the imputation. That Presbytery is propitious to enlarged views of the Church of Christ, is, we humbly apprehend, unde- niable. The members of the Church are taught to look beyond their individual congregation — they are taught that they form part of a great whole, consisting of many congregations. Representatives of this large visible Church regularly assemble from the most distant parts of the country, for the management of its business, in the sight of the members. These representatives, taken as a whole, are little, if at all, raised in rank above the members; hence there is no interruption to full sym- pathy. They are also so numerous as to furnish a fair idea to the mind of the collective Church. Can any one doubt that such a system as this is far more favourable to catho- lic views of the Church of Christ in general, than a Church consisting of a number of individual congregations without any tie to, or necessary knowledge of, each other? How great must be the tendency in these cases to limit the view and interest to one's own congregation, as if it were the only Church, and so to nurse a narrow and exclusive spirit ! There is no tendency in the system to carry the Christian out of the congregation in which he worships — there are no regular courts of representatives from a distance to remind him of the unity as well as the extent of the Church. He may, and often is, a large- minded Christian notwithstanding; but it is not in con- sequence of the organization with which he is associated, but in spite of it. So in regard to Prelacy. Here there CATHOLIC VIEWS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 227 may he a sufficiently expanded and at the same time united hc-dy, but the union is not visible nor frequently and impressively exhibited. Twenty-six bishops spread over such a country as England — not seen by the people as Church rulers more frequently than once in three years — often at far greater intervals — removed also above the great mass of the people in rank — associated in the public eye chiefly with temporal peers, transacting secular busi- ness — can give the members of the Church of England a very faint idea of the unity of the Church of Christ. Even in the most favourable circumstances, though the rulers stood on the same footing with their brethren of the Scottish Prelacy, no one could allege that the relationship of member and governor was such as to encourage the feelings of expansion and catholicity. In point of fact, there is great isolation in the congregations of the Epis- copal Church; the ministers are to a large extent prac- tically Independents. Neither they nor their flocks could draw from the organization in which they stand the ideas and impressions of a universal Church. There is a want of close and intimate connection between gover- nor and governed, congregation and congregation. Now, it is from enlarged view r s of the particular Church with which men are connected that their minds naturally expand to other Churches, till they are able to take in the idea of the holy Church Catholic. Wehold that here Pres- bytery has a decided advantage. From its very constitu- tion, easily and without effort, it trains men to large views of the Church of Christ. And the facts of history seem to bear out these reasonings of principle. There is a wonderful and delightful harmony in the Confessions of Faith of the Churches of the Reformation on the subject of the Church visible and universal. Substantially they speak the same language. The predominant party in the Church of England and Ireland might well be referred to tke 19th article of their own Church, the Irish brethren to the 13th chapter of the Confession drawn up by Ussher — they could not find a stronger condemnation of their prevailing spirit, nor a clearer testimony to the univer- 228 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO sality of the Church of Christ. But however correct and excellent, these are short and general compared with the statements of Presbyterian Churches on the same subject. In the Confessions of Switzerland, Bohemia, France, Belgium, Saxony, Scotland, there are a fulness and a strength which we do not meet with in the Confessions of Prelacy, though the sentiments be the same. One feels, in reading them, that the view of catho- licity had a firmer, or at least a warmer, hold on the minds of the Presbyterian than of the Prelatic Re- formers. And when we descend to subsequent times, the proof in this respect of superiority becomes more visible. It is well known, that from the days of Archbishop Laud, in the middle of the seventeenth century, downwards to the present time, there has always been a powerful party in the Church of England, and now so numerous and influential as to be well-nigh supreme, who make Prelacy essential to the being of the Church of Christ. The natural and the necessary inference from this, whether men have the courage to draw it or not, is, that there is no salvation beyond the pale of Prelatic organization. The immediate effect of this, again, of course, is to create and cherish the most narrow, illiberal, and God-dishon- ouring views of the Church of Christ. For many years there has been a corresponding and growing party in the American Episcopal Church, not less exclusive; while there is reason to fear that the small Episcopal Church of Scotland is not free from a large admixture of the same spirit. However we attempt to explain it, the fact is indubitable, that in Scotland, England, and America, (we may add the British Colonies), Prelacy is found in combination with the most narrow and bigoted views of the Church of Christ — views not only at war with the Word of God, but the professed standards of the parties themselves. Surely this indicates no small strength of error. To say the least, there can be nothing in Prelacy to counteract bigotry. But there is more than this; it seems impossible to explain the universality of the expe- rience, in circumstances so different, upon any other sup- position than that Prelacy in itself is an active propa- CATHOLIC VIEWS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 22JJ gator of the narrow and anti- Christian views to which we refer that there is a congeniality between the system and the fruit. Individual Presbyterians, and even small Presbyterian Churches, may for a time have prac- tically indulged in very contracted and unworthy notions of the Church of Christ. But when was it ever heard that large bodies of Presbyterians, almost entire Churches, as matter of doctrinal faith, put Prelatists and Congrega- tionalists beyond the pale of Christianity, or even made the least approach to such a spirit and proceedings ? and yet these are familiar on the part of Prelatists, as the writings of leading men on both sides of the Atlantic amply testify. In regard to Congregationalism, it is no more than justice to say, that while the absence of Confessions of Faith in Independent Churches prevents us appealing in the same certain manner to the professed views of the body on the subject of the Church of Christ, there is no reason to believe that any of them entertain ideas so repulsive and extravagant as those of modern Prelacy. Many of them may hold very narrow views of Church fellowship, and the tendency of their organization may be to isolation and exclusiveness in their general ideas of the Church of Christ; but it would be doing a manifest injustice to the large and excellent body of evangelical Congregationalists, both in Britain and America, to class, or even seem to class, them for a moment with the advo- cates of High Church and pretended apostolic succession. They can have little in common. While the standards of Presbyterian Churches bear witness to enlarged and catholic views of the Church of Christ, we think that the facts of their history are in a main degree in harmony with their professed creed. Of course we speak of Churches only while they retain their evangelical character. It is difficult to quote evidence on such a subject; but in addition to the fact that the Westminster Confession of Faith— subscribed by most Presbyterian Churches both in this country and the United States* — does not unchurch non-Presbyterians, does not maintain that the ministry consists only of in- 230 PRESBYTERTANISM FAVOURABLE TO dividuals holding Presbyterian ordination, and draws a clear distinction between the Presbyterian Church and the Church universal — limiting the expression that there is no salvation out of the Church to the latter ; contend- ing, in short, for some government as essential to the Church of Christ, but not restricting it to Presbytery. In addition to these general grounds, we have such a testimony to the Church of England from the commis- sioners of the General Assembly of the Church of Scot- land, assembled in London in 1644, as the following. Speaking of the Church of England at the Reformation and subsequently they say : " We do, upon very good reasons, judge the Church of England in the midst of her ceremonies to have been a true Church; and the ministry thereof, notwithstanding the many blemishes and corruptions cleaving unto it, to have been a true ministry ; and shall never deny unto them that praise, whether in debating controversies with Papists, or in practical divinity for private Christians, which they do most justly deserve. Upon the other part, we are neither so ignorant nor so arrogant to ascribe to the Church of Scotland such absolute purity and perfection as hath not need, or cannot admit of, further reformation ; yet that there is a wide difference between the one and the other, acknowledged also in the common covenant, we bring two famous witnesses from the Church of England to prove," viz., Brightman and Cartwright. When it is remem- bered what was the relation in which the Presby- terian Church stood at that time to the Church of England — how much the former had suffered, and were about to suffer, from the friends of the latter, the testimony is the more remarkable. It is sufficient to show that the Scottish Church, even in the days of the covenant, was not that exclusive and illiberal body which many of the ill-informed imagine. In the same spirit Robert Baillie, one of the commissioners, in his book against Archbishop Laud, says : " With the Eng- lish Church we have nought to do, but as with our most dear and nearest sister. We wish them all happiness, and that not only they, but all other Christian Churches, CATHOLIC VIEWS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 231 this day were both almost and altogether such as we are, except our afflictions. We hare no enemies there but the Canterbury faction, no less heavy to her than to us." (Lademium, &c, p. 97.) Surely there is nothing here of the illiberal and the bigoted. And if we pass from England to Scotland, in the very midst of the Prelatic persecution, we hear a leading minister of the Church of Scotland (Kirkton) speaking of the usurpers who had seized the places of the ejected ministers, exclaim, " God forbid that I should say the Lord had no interest among them." Coming down to our own day, and appealing to the spirit of the Presbyterian Church with which I am best acquainted, I might well ask whether the Free Church of Scotland be exclusive or illiberal ? From the peculiar circumstances in the providence of God in which she has been placed, the peculiar testimony which she has been called upon to bear, she may have been exposed in some quarters to the imputation of uncharitableness. But what Church has shown a more cordial welcome to other Churches ? Not only on the Bicentenary celebra- tion of the Westminster Assembly was there a kindly interchange of Christian sentiment and feeling among bodies which had long been separate, but from year to year leading ministers of Foreign Churches occupy a pro- minent place at the meetings of her General Assembly, and receive the most cordial proofs of co-operation Regular correspondence is kept up by her with Chris- tians abroad, while the recent movement in behalf of greater union among all evangelical Christians, was it not originated by, at least largely indebted for its impulse to, her energy ? This augurs the more, as she is natu- rally and justly jealous of any union which would obscure the peculiar testimony which she has been called to bear before the Churches and kingdoms of Christendom. If suspicion and alienation prevail in any quarter, it may be safely said that they do not lie with her; and yet it would not have been strange, if, smarting from injustice and reproach, she had stood aloof from others. It is not only with Presbyterians that she readily 232 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE, ETC. co-operates : — the Wesleyan Methodists, differing from her to some extent in doctrine as well as ecclesiastical government, find in her a warm friend, and affectionately reciprocate the regard. Can more, yea, can as much, be alleged of Prelacy and Independency towards other bodies, surveying their history and present relations as a whole ? It is plain, then, that the tendencies of Presby- terv are towards catholic views of the Church of Christ; and in an age when narrow Popish views are rapidly reviving, how important is it that we should be able to make this statement ! CHAPTER VIII, PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE MAINTEN- ANCE OF SCRIPT URAL PRINCIPLES AND PRIVILEGES IN PEACEFUL AND ADVERSE TIMES. It is a high recommendation of any system, whether civil or ecclesiastical, that it is strong in its self- preserving and self-diffusing power. What avails it that a system be good, if it be destined soon to decay, from the absence of the principle of perpetuation ? The more excellent it is, in these circumstances its weakness is the more to be regretted. Now, happily, such is not the character of Presbyterianism. It is armed with the principle of self-preservation, and hence is able to maintain and diffuse whatever good qualities it possesses, even in unpropitious times. 1. "With regard to times of peace, it provides, in its very constitution, for a warm sympathy, wise con- sultation, and successful co-operation, among the office- bearers of the Church. All know how much is gained in the conduct of important business, by a number of intelligent men meeting together — consulting — throw- ing out suggestions — comparing their ideas, and join- ing in the execution of the same plans. In this way, many good hints are given and received — incipient misapprehensions corrected, and evils prevented. Thus, too, younger and inexperienced men are encouraged by older; and, where it is necessary to do what may be delicate or unwelcome, the fact of a number doing 234 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE it together, takes off the difficulty from individuals. Hence duty is discharged to the Church and to society, which probably would otherwise be left undone. These are great advantages in connection with Presbyterian Church courts, which can scarcely be appreciated by those who have not experienced them. They indeed serve to strengthen the hands and encourage the heart. How different the case of the man, probably a young pastor, who is left, in addition to all the natural difficulties of his office, to struggle with many adver- sities, without an official friend with whom to confer, or from whom to obtain sympathy and aid ! Then there is the diffusive power of Presbytery. Education, missions, and other plans of spiritual good, are wrought out through the medium of the Church herself. It is not necessary to form general associations, composed of individuals who are friendly, of different denominations, imperfectly known to each other, and without any well-defined and satisfactory principles of union. No ; the work naturally falls into the hands of the Church courts, as the representatives and organs of the whole body of members. This is the scriptural mode; not, of course, excluding others where, from particular circumstances, it is unattainable. A richer blessing may therefore be expected to attend it; and, moreover, it is a way safe from a variety of dangers to which any other is exposed. Thus there is a provision in the very constitution of Presbyterianism for its perpetuity, and, with it, the truth of God, with all its unspeakable blessings. Is it not an evil, when, before a Church can proceed to the discharge of the plainest and most imperative duty — that of the propagation of the Gospel — it is necessary to go out of the Church herself, and to get up some extraneous machinery, which the parties themselves do not believe to be recognised in the Word ? So much for the working of Presbytery in peaceful times. 2. With regard to times of trial and danger — such times as all Churches may sooner or later expect in one form or another — how admirable is the defensive armour MAINTENANCE OF SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES, ETC. 235 which Presby terianisrn throws around the truth of God, and all the principles and constitution of the Christian Church ! In such cases, with the Divine blessing, safety and success depend upon promptitude and union of operation. Without these all other means are vain. Now Presbytery beautifully provides for them. Many are apt to imagine, that, whatever may be the good qualities of this form of Church government in resisting aggression, promptitude is not in the number. Now, under reluctant or bad management, this may often have been the case ; but, in its own nature, there is nothing inconsistent with rapid decision and action. Take the constitution of the Church of Scotland, in connection with a recent question, as an illustration. A few years ago, the Church felt it to be her duty to resist a proposed bill for the reform of the Universities, which she believed would have been destructive to their true character, and, through them, injurious to the Church. Extraordinary meetings of Presbyteries and Synods, and of the Commission of the General Assem- bly, on a few days' notice, were called. The question was discussed — the evils of the proposed measure powerfully exposed ; the result was, that the bill was withdrawn by the Government. The truth is, that nothing can be more flexible than the constitution of the Church of Scotland. Of late years, previous to the Disruption, every regular meeting of the Commission was attended. This may be said to bring the supreme court into play four times a-year. Besides, by a requi- sition to the moderator, it may be called at any time on a few days' intimation. In this way the supreme power is ever ready to act. What more could be wished in the form of defence ? Nor is promptitude of movement all. There is what is not less essential, union — united resistance. It is, not only a great advantage to a Church to be spread over a whole country, so that every part can be touched at once; it is still more important that the ministers and elders are united together in presbyterial courts, and these again in synods, so that there is an extensive 236' PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE organization, not hurriedly got up for the occasion, but standing as a fixed and regular part of the eccle- siastical machinery, ever ready to be called into play on a few hours' notice. It is not easy to estimate the advantage which this gives for defence. Suppose that any aggression were made upon the constitution of Prelatical or Congregational Churches : they might be trodden down, at least seriously damaged, before they could muster strength to explain their cause to the public, and defend themselves. An extensive organi- zation would need to be prepared, and this demands time: even where it exists, there might be a want of understanding with, and confidence in, the members. The movement, too, might be open to many misunderstand- ings and misrepresentations. These evils are prevented by regular Church courts. The defence comes naturally, and it is immediate. It proceeds from a variety of quarters at once. It is also effective, because the parties fully understand each other. Through the organs of the public press, too, they enjoy a ready and ascertained mode of communicating with the community. It was remarked in a recent controversy, in which the Church of England felt a deep interest — in which, indeed, her very existence as an Establishment was at stake — that she was never able to gather up and present her strength. The ministers of one diocese might be anxious to act, but they were repressed by the coldness or want of organization in the adjoining diocese. Hence nothing was done by either. Meantime temporary advantages were gained by their assailants from acting on Presby- terian organization; this forming, however, no part of the fixed constitution of their Churches, gradually fell away. It is doubtless owing in part to this superior Presbyterian organization, that any petitions to Parlia- ment from this country, on great public questions, of late years have, proportionally, so far surpassed those of the Church of England. Thus it is apparent that Presbytery is favourable to the maintenance of scriptural principles, and the diffu- sion of divine truth, generally, in times of trouble and MAINTENANCE OF SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES, ETC. 237 danger, as well as in days of peace. Any organization which other Churches may get up for the accomplish- ment of their objects, is but an approximation to the Presbyterian — at best defective, and ever ready to fall away. Their very creation is a testimony to the ad- vantages of Presbyterian Church government. The success of the struggles of the past was more owing to its presence than many are perhaps aware; and the struggles of the future, if successful, will, in all like- lihood, be indebted, under God, to the same cause. Such being the case, let all who have influence seek to purify and strengthen the courts of the Presbyterian Church yet more and more. Let them see to their right constitution in the mode of appointment of office- bearers; let them see that there is a full complement of office-bearers — that these make it a matter of conscience regularly to attend and to take their share in the responsibility ; and lastly, let it be matter of care that office-bearers conduct the business iu such a spirit of wisdom and meekness, as well as freedom and fidelity, that none of that large class in all communities who are determined in their judgment of the good or evil of a system by the conduct of its administrators, may have any occasion to find fault with Presbytery, but rather to commend and to rejoice in it. To escape, if possible, from the imputation of parti- sanship in dealing with the delicacies involved in this chapter, I am glad to have it in my power to appeal to a witness who, from his known attachment to Episco- pacy, will be regarded as sufficiently impartial when pointing out its known and felt defects. The London Record, which, perhaps more than any other religious paper, may be considered as well acquainted with the character of the evangelical party in the Church of England, laments, under date 12th December 1845, the timidity of the evangelical clergy of that Church; and this as the effect of the system of which they form a part. The editor speaks of the sad failure of all their efforts against the evils and dangers of the times, attributes it to a great deficiency of courage, and that again to the 238 PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE position of the ministry being extremely unfavourable to united and energetic action. He then goes on to say: " The Episcopal form of government exercises unseen an influence over the whole clerical body, perfectly withering to independent and energetic action." After referring to what " Presbyterianism had developed with prodigious energy in the Free Church in Scotland," he adds, " Our forces, though nominally united and appa- rently serving under one banner, possess no power of effective action against the master mischief of the age." " The feebleness, and consequent incapacity to encounter with success the torrent of evil, is mainly to be traced to our Episcopal form of government, and very prominently to the unscriptural influence which the bishops and higher dignitaries of the Church exercise over the clergy at large. It is held by multitudes of the evangelical clergy as a duty (which is absolutely fatal to united and energetic action) of going as far with the views and wishes of their bishop as they possibly can, instead of embracing and acting on an enlarged view of what the circumstances of the Church require." Without meaning to reflect for a moment on the cha- racter of men, as a body, so estimable and laborious, it is plain that they are the victims of their position; that, from the power of circumstances, the result must sub- stantially be what the Record describes. Nor is it limited to the adherents of Episcopacy. Where the free Church courts of Presbytery are abandoned, and Presbyterian ministers practically become Independents, experience proclaims that they lose the public spirit, and energy, and united action for which their fathers were distinguished. The intelligent student of Church history can mark a loss of public spirit in the Presbyterian Churches of France and Switzerland, when they lost their public courts. The comparative narrowness of spirit and timi- dity of action in Presbyterian ministers on the Conti- nent, otherwise estimable, at the present time, may be traced back to the same unhappy cause. Let it not be supposed that there is any peculiarity in the English soil or the English mind. It is the ecclesi- MAINTENANCE OF SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES, ETC, 239 astical system wbich, in the course of one or two gene- rations, imperceptibly but surely operating, moulds the general character, and assimilates those who are under its dominion to its own likeness. Presbytery had once its hold in England as well as in Scotland, and had it been favoured with but fair play for a few years, no one can tell how different might have been the condition and prospects of that country at the present day from what they are. It may seem like idle Presbyterian predilec- tion, but as matter of serious belief we cordially adopt the sentiment of a much-respected brother, well qualified, from position as well as knowledge, to judge, when he says: "While we rejoice unfeignedly in the successful labours of Christian ministers in other communions, we will not disguise our belief, that nothing can so effec- tually meet the present crisis in English Christianity as a revival of the Presbyterian polity and the Presbyterian pastorate — that polity and pastorate ichich in ten years did more to render England a religious people than all the discursive efforts of different denominations since"* * Rev. James Hamilton, Regent Square Church, London. CHAPTER IX. THE FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBYTERIANISM ILLUSTRATED IN THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT OF SCOTLAND. During the five years which have elapsed since the publication of the former edition of this little work, there has been marked changes in Christendom respecting Church government, especially as regards Prelacy and Presbytery. The Prelacy of the Church of Rome has become more organized and active, and so far as the State would allow, similar progress has characterized the Prelacy of the Church of England, both at home and in the colonies. It is true, that in reference to the latter, there has been no improvement in real discipline. Mr. Ward retained his fellowship three years unchallenged, he himself tells us, after publicly declaring that he re- nounced no one Romish doctrine in subscribing the articles of the Church of England ; Dr. Pusey, after all that has passed, continues to preach sermons which are publicly described as " Popery all over " Avith the most perfect impunity; and a curate at Leamington, for well- nigh reviving the confessional, was simply told by the diocesan, that he withdrew his liberty to labour in his diocese, and that he hoped he would use more discretion in the next diocese to which he might repair ! Though, however, there be no improvement in the government of the Church of England, it is quickened in its existing powers, and particularly against evangelical religion. As FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBTTERIANISM. 241 Prelacy has become more active, so has Presbytery; in- deed the one movement naturally leads to the other. Without meaning the smallest disparagement to other forms of ecclesiastical rule, we believe it may be affirmed with truth, that Prelacy and Presbytery are the most natural antagonists, and that the rise of Prelatic Popery and High Churchism in England and elsewhere in these latter days, is likely to lead to the revival of Presbyterian- ism, as the most suitable opponent. Many who are non- Presbyterian give credit to Presbytery as the best form of government for warring with adverse civil power, and imagine that it drew its origin from such a necessity in the days of the Reformation. But, not to suggest that much of the enmity to the truth and kingdom of Christ down to the end is represented in the book of prophecy as pro- ceeding from the rulers of this world, it may be remarked, that if Presbyterian organization be a favourable one for meeting the combined array of hostile civil governments, for the same reason it must be well fitted for maintain- ing the truth against the organization of Prelacy, whether Popish or semi-Popish. These opponents require to be met by easy combination and general and instantaneous action, as well as the others ; and surely much more of these is to be found in united Presbytery than in isolated Congregationalism. We know not whether it be owing to any felt necessity of this kind, but, as compared with Con- gregationalism, there has of late years been a decided revival of the principles of Presbytery. The symptoms of this revival may be traced, not only in the publication of various important works, but in the improved strength and spirit of not a few Presbyterian bodies, and in the growing adoption, if not in words, yet in proceedings, of Presbyterian principles by other bodies. Looking abroad, we find the Free Church of the Canton de Yaud in the act of organizing on thorough Presbyterian principles. The Protestant Church of Prussia, also, in anxious deliberation about an organization which shall bring her still nearer to the Presbyterian model. Among the evangelical ministers of Belgium and France, 242 FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBYTERIAN ISM whether connected with the National Church or not, we find earnest inquiries and discussions about a right system of Presbyterian Church government as loudly called for by their necessities. We find the Presbyterian Church of England so revived as to count six presby- teries with numerous congregations, and surrounded with applications for ministers which, at present, she cannot meet. Meanwhile, she has for the first time started a theological college, in favourable circumstances, and with promising prospects. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, during the last five years, as we had occa sion to notice, has made decided progress. In Scot- land, again, there has been the Free Church move- ment, which is thoroughly Presbyterian in its organi- zation and spirit. Before alluding to it a little more particularly, it may be noticed, in connection with the Free Church at home, that there has been Presbyterian progress in the colonies, and especially in Canada. During the last few years, the congregations of both have increased at once in numbers and spirit. In Scot- land, two important Presbyterian Churches have in- corporated. Besides traces of direct revival, other bodies, non-Presbyterian, have, in a season of trial, been con- strained to act upon Presbyterian principles. When heresy lately appeared in Congregational Churches in Scotland, the sound called the unsound to account, tried them by an implied Confession of Faith, and separated them from their fellowship; thus practically acting upon principles inconsistent with strict Independency, but fully recognised and daily acted upon by Presbytery. In England, again, the leading and most influential organ of Congregationalism has more than once declared that the Independency for which it contendsisnotextreme; that it would be well satisfied to see such a connection among the Churches as to regulate the ordination, translation, and deposition of pastors; apart from which a general sus- tentation fund for the gospel ministry — an object not only desirable, but in these days of advancing Popery urgently needful — is believed to be impracticable. Here, again, is a substantial recognition of Presbyterian organization. ILLUSTRATED IN THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT. 243 But, we turn to the Free Church movement in Scot- land, as eminently illustrative of the successful operation of Presbytery. Whatever injury Presbyterianism as connected with the Establishment may have sustained, has been far more than counterbalanced by the display of Presbyterian principles in this separate body. Nay, that display has held up Presbytery in general, before the Christian world, and proclaimed its advantages in a manner almost unknown before, certainly unknown to the present generation. u The Disruption of the Scot- tish Church," remarked a friend from America, " was a proud day for Presbytery;" and if the fidelity and sacri- fices of that day were recommendatory of the form of Church government under which the office-bearers and members had been trained, the preparation which pre- ceded and the proceedings which have followed, bear a similar attestation. It was not the Presbyterian govern- ment of the Church of Scotland which led to its Disrup- tion in 1843. Ignorant and prejudiced men may allege this ; but, in truth, the event was owing to civil courts invading an old scriptural and civilly recognised consti- tution; and the legislature of the land, instead of staying the invasion, giving to it the seal of their sanction. The Presbyterian organization, instead of creating, de- layed the crisis, and gave public men full time for re- consideration. It afforded facilities for everything being done which could possibly be done by combination and mutual representation to prevent the event; and when, in the mysterious providence of God, the event could be kept back no longer, the Presbyterian organization of the Church furnished the most admirable preparation for it. Though, for a short time before the Disruption the preparation was withdrawn from the Church courts where men were divided in opinion, still these courts continued to afford means of public explanation and dis- cussion which were highly beneficial to the friends of the cause throughout the land; and the knowledge which ministers and elders had of each other, as members of the same Church courts, prepared them to act as one man when the day of trial came. Familiar with meet- 244 FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBYTERIANISM ings and business, accustomed to confide in each other and in leading men, readily communicating with every part of the land, they could concentrate their whole efforts at one moment. Under God, it was owing in a large measure to their previous Presbyterian knowledge and training, that ministers and elders were fitted for the high duties to which they were called. And what had been so useful before did not prove less serviceable at the moment of movement. The Presbyte- rian organization was immediately called into play. Mem- bers of the different synods from the four quarters of Scot- land, then present in Edinburgh, were asked to meet ac- cording to their synods and make provision for religious worship in their respective districts. This was promptly done, and ere a few days had elapsed the ministers who withdrew from the Establishment, with the addition of probationers, had already their former or new spheres of labour, and the Church, as a whole, went forward as peacefully as if there had been no Disruption. The order and ease with which from 800,000 to 1,000,000 of people separated themselves from connection with the State, and that in many cases in spite of intimidation, is one of the most memorable events of modern history, and should prove a great encouragement to all conscientious men called to take a similar course. And as Presbytery conduced largely to the success of the event itself, so it formed a powerful help in all sub- sequent proceedings. The principles of Presbyterianism were severely tried; but being the principles of the Word of God, they stood the trial. A vast body of men had to be elected to office in the Church — ministers, elders, deacons ; but though the electors were generally new to the duties, such is the happy action of Presbytery, where truly free, and animated by an evangelical spirit, that not a single case of disputed election has come before the superior Church court. The unanimity here, as in other departments, was universal; and yet it was not blind, as occasional discussions served to show. The usual impression in regard to Presbyterian Church government, especially in quiet times, is, that it is slow ILLUSTRATED IN THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT. 245 and unelastic, that great evils are completed before the counteracting machinery can be brought to bear upon them. But the history of the Scottish Disruption has shown that there is no inconsistency in Presbytery be- tween the greatest activity and the greatest strength — that the utmost flexibility is quite compatible with com- bined and unbroken energy. It may be safely said that no Prelacy, in the exercise of the most instantaneous authority, has ever surpassed the rapidity and elasticity of the Presbyterian movement. The Free Church was like an army of high discipline, dealing in easy and united action. To estimate the relative advantages of different forms of Church government, let the reader consider how Pre- lacy and Independency would probably have wrought in the same circumstances. Disruptions are like storms which try the capabilities of vessels. It is true that Prelacy and Independency have had little to do with disruptions' — that these are almost appropriate to Pres- bytery. But suppose Prelacy were forced by con- science to contemplate such an event, how serious would be her disadvantages ! Many would be puzzled by the primary difficulty, how they could act, suppose no pre- late came out. Supposing this got over, what difficul- ties, from unacquaintance one with another, with business, with government, with the management of meetings! what difficulties from the absence of confidence in them- selves or each other, from jealousy of individuals, or from habits of hitherto unthinking submission ! There can be little question that difficulties of the nature referred to, palsy not a few excellent ministers of the Church of England, and prevent them seeing clearly the line of duty at the present moment. With regard, again, to Congregationalism, it is still more difficult to fancy a separation from the State, inasmuch as the absence of Confessions of Faith in principle, and the very nature of the ecclesiastical government, would almost prevent the possibility of union between Church and State. But, supposing such an event to take place, and to be followed by disruption, R 246 FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBYTERrANlSM in addition to several of the difficulties already stated, there would be the great difficulty of the absence of com- mon counsel and co-operation in such an authoritative manner as to secure immediate and universal action; and, besides, there would be the hazard of jealousy — of one congregation thinking that another was taking too much upon it, and impairing the rule of strict Independency. It is easy, then, to see what advantages the previous Presbyterian education and habits of the office-bearers and members of the Free Church must have furnished for the events of 1 843 and subsequent years. But if the principles of Presbytery be thus useful for great emer- gencies, is it to be supposed that they are prejudicial or useless in the ordinary business of the Church of Christ in peaceful times ? Surely not. Besides, the day in which we live is not a day of peace, but of warfare, if not with civil rulers, with an ecclesiastical enemy, who has often proved too powerful for States — we mean the Papal Antichrist. And surely the same qualities, habits, and organization, which Avere so needful for the one conflict, are not less necessary for a sustained and successful war- fare in the other. The distinctions in behalf of Presbytery to which we have alluded are not matters of mere reasoning or speculation. So recently as hist year, the £reat majority of the faithful ministry of the Canton de Vaud felt themselves constrained to withdraw from com- munion with the Church of the State. Apart from the fierce persecution which they had been called to endure, what was the great barrier to the success of their movement at first, and its progress afterwards? We have their own repeated testimony for saying, that the great loss was the absence of ruling elders — an essential part of the Presbyterian system. The ministers, unaccustomed to almost any work save the pastoral, were left standing alone in the storm, like faithful presbyters of a Prelatic Church, when they ought to have been surrounded with vigorous auxiliaries. The pleasing prospect of stability and progress which now opens up before them in the midst of oppression, is drawn from the grow- ILLUSTRATED IN THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT. 247 ing Presbyterian organization which they are enabled to set up, and which they hope to be able to maintain. Presbytery, indeed, has its trials — we do not call them disadvantages. In the popular constitution of its courts, it is liable to the annoyance of an injudicious mind, forcing on an unsuitable subject of discussion in an unseasonable way. But this trial is inseparable from freedom, whether civil or religious, and it is more appa- rent than real. Truth in the end does not suffer by dis- cussion. It is better to allow extreme views and feelings to be expressed, and immediately met by just views, than, by suppression, to allow them to fester into a secret sore. Moreover, Presbyterian government, while it takes for granted, and requires that men be judicious, naturally educates them to this temper. There can be little doubt that the great Head of the Church designed all the gifts and powers of his servants to be exercised ; and the ad- ministration of the government of his Church is one of the means of drawing these forth. That it may not be imagined the views of this chapter, in commendation of Presbytery, are the warm impressions of a partisan, I beg to appeal to the testimony of an able and impartial witness. Bishop Hughes, Roman Catholic prelate of America, in his " Discussion" with the Rev. Dr. Breckenridge of Baltimore, a minister of the Presby- terian Church, speaking of the General Assembly of that Church, says : " I must say, with every man acquainted with the mode in which it is organized, that, for the pur- poses of popular and political government, its structure is little inferior to that of the Congress itself. In any emergency which may arise, the General Assembly can produce a uniformity among its adherents to the farthest boundaries of the land. It acts on the principle of a radiating centre, and is without an equal or a rival among the other denominations in the country." (P. 86.) Of course, a Presbyterian contends for a General Assembly upon a far higher principle ; but the fact of its capacity and power, as attested by an intelligent Romanist, is worth noticing. With regard, again, to the actual result of Presbyterian organization in Scotland during the late 248 FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBYTERIAN ISM. eventful years, there is no one whose authority is so unex- ceptionable as that of a distinguished leader, and all the more that the testimony is given, not in self-praise, or in praise of the Free Church, but when modestly repelling in- jurious misrepresentations. The Rev. Dr. Candlish, in his Letters to the Rev. Mr. Elliott, says: "We have made no change in our constitution or manner of acting. We have continued to transact the business of the Church, both its domestic and its missionary business, precisely as we were doing before. The Disruption did not cause the very slightest interregnum or interval of anarchy — no, not the interruption of a single hour; and ever since that event the regular and orderly course of the admini- stration of ecclesiastical affairs has been unbroken." (P. 20.) It is unnecessary to quote testimonies to the mar- vellous attainments of various kinds which have been achieved. Prelatists, and Congregationalists, and Wes- levans, have alike borne warm attestation to them, and urged the example of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland upon the members of their own communions. From the whole, it is apparent that during the last five years not only has nothing occurred, whether in Scotland or elsewhere, disparaging to the cause of Pres- bytery (the enslaving of the Presbyterian Establishment by the civil power excepted), but that much has occurred indicative of reviving interest and strength in its behalf, both at home and abroad; — in short, that Presbytery seems to be burnishing its old armour, and preparing for the conflict with Popery in its most formidable retreats. APPENDIX THE TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS IN BEHALF OF PRESBYTERY. Perhaps Presbyterians should decline to argue the question of Church government or worship, or any other, on the ground of human authority. Holding the principles which they do, of the exclusive authority of the Word of God, they ought to refuse to meet their opponents on an inferior footing. This would be honouring to the Scriptures, and make a grand and visible line of distinction between Presbyterians and many of those who are ranged against their views. It would also be perfectly fair, and tend to correct the abuses which are connected with endless discussions about opinions which, before they can have any binding force, must themselves be tried and approved by the infallible standard of Heaven. The homage paid to the Fathers and Tradition is one of the causes of the revival of Popery in the Church of England, which cannot be too much condemned. In the present state of society, however, long accustomed to an opposite mode of procedure, the declinature would be misunderstood. It would be attributed to fear, and the advocates of rival forms of polity w r ould triumph. Many, too, would mistake their vaunt- ing for confessed victory. Hence Presbyterians, however re- luctantly, must encounter the Fathers. Though well satis- fied of the scriptural ground of their system, and therefore made up in their convictions, whatever may turn up in the writings of men, whether for or against it; still, yet such is the uuhappy way in which these controversies have been con- ducted, that they cannot avoid such a discussion as that to which the reader's attention is now briefly solicited. The early writers of the Christian Church, usually styled the Fathers, however venerable for antiquity and piety, are, for the most part, very unsatisfactory witnesses to any point. 250 APPENDIX. It is but fragments of their writings which have descended to our day, some of them notoriously interpolated and cor- rupted by later ages; others, detected forgeries. Then the Fathers are by no means clear or discriminating in their views. On the most important doctrines of the Gospel they are not a little vague and confused, and in regard to points of Church government and order their character is the same. They are often self-contradictory and puerile in their inter- pretations of Scripture. Nay, as is justly remarked by the Rev. Mr. Scott, the well-known commentator on the Bible, they are often mistaken as to undeniable historical facts; for instance, Irenanis contended that Christ was crucified at fifty years of age, and lived to old age, and that this was uni- versal tradition ! In short, it seems to have been the inten- tion of the great Head of the Church, that the fragments of their works should be of such a character that no Christian could be in any danger of idolizing or confounding them with the writings of Inspiration; and yet this is the great error into which multitudes have fallen, and continue to fall. Instead of being fathers, in point of clearness, wisdom, and strength, they are truly the children of the Christian Church, as Daillie's work on the " Right Use of the Fathers" amply shows. In addition to all this, it is to be borne in mind that there is not a single authentic writing of the first three hun- dred years which speaks directly and formally to the questions in agitation; any thing which occurs is incidental. What sad disadvantages are these! Who, with any important interest at stake, in daily life, would be willing to rest much upon the testimony of such witnesses, especially when the testimony is given casually and by the way; and when the age in which they lived was one of notorious and growing declension in matters which could not fail to affect their judgment ? To render the writings of the Fathers of any use in the circum- stances in which they appear, they would have needed to have had every advantage of character and position. Instead of this, they are destitute of all. No wonder, then, that many Presbyterians should decline to descend to the discussion to which they invite, as of very little value. But with all this the reader will greatly mistake if he imagines, as many Pre- latical writers would lead him to think, that Presbytery has no countenance from early antiquity, and that its voice is clear and unanimous in favour of Prelacy. The very opposite is the truth. To one who has had any opportunity of examin- ing the subject, nothing can seem more ludicrous than the vauntings of the friends of Prelacy. Such is the force of truth, that throughout all the dimness and imperfection of APPENDIX. 251 the fragmentary writings of the Fathers, the light of Presby- tery shines at least with such clearness as to show the utter fallacy of the opposite claims. With the explanations which have been given as to the character and value of the writings of the Fathers, and their perfect impotence to affect the previous determination pro- duced by the Word of God, let us, more as a matter of curio- sity than in a more serious light, contemplate the testimony of the leading Fathers of the first two, the purest centuries — the remainder may be safely left to the learned and the idle. Presbyterians have never shrunk from the argument on this or on any other field. Most of the works which they have published in defence of their views, and which, for talent and learning, throw the Fathers into hopeless shade, deal fully in testimonies from primitive antiquity. By some of them, large volumes have been devoted to the discussion of a particular point in ecclesiastical history; such as Forrester, Rule, and Jameson, on the Bishop of the Cyprianic age. Cyprian was bishop or minister of Carthage, but not appointed to his office till nearly two hundred and fifty years from the birth of Christ; yet these Presbyterian writers canvass and explore his sentiments as if they were very gospel. This shows how thorough and minute have been the ecclesiastical inquiries of Presbyterianism. I aim at the merest outline of the most important and earliest points. In setting out on this inquiry, there is only one thing addi- tional which it is essential to bear in mind, and that is the pre- cise point which Episcopalians must prove from the Fathers. It is nothing to show that the names of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, occur in their writings. No one denies this; it proves nothing. A Presbyterian, holding that bishops and pastors are the same ; that Presbytery includes both teaching and ruling elders; and that the deacon has the charge of the Chris- tian poor and ecclesiastical finance as a permanent office in the Church, lays his account with meeting with such names, and deems them essential to the full proof of his system, so far as Christian antiquity is concerned. The points which Prela- tists must prove, and without which the whole appeal to anti- quity is delusive, are — that the office of bishop is a distinct office, inherently higher than that of presbyter; that presby- ters, with a number of congregations, more or less numerous, are subject to the authority of the bishop; that the bishop has the sole power of ordination, and himself receives a new or dination when raised to the bishopric; and that the whole primitive Church regarded this kind of Episcopacy as of divine ordination. In making the following quotations, let 252 APPENDIX. the reader judge whether these points are directly or indi- rectly made out in behalf of Prelacy. Clement of Rome, who lived thirty years after the death of Peter and Paul, at the close of the first century, wrote a letter to the Church of Corinth, in order to heal its divisions. Hav- ing seen and conversed with the apostles, he is entitled to as much, if not more, weight than most of the early writers. Here are his strongest sentences on Church government : — w The apostles going abroad, preaching through countries and cities, appointed the first-fruits of their ministry to be bishops and deacons." There is nothing in this inconsistent with Presbytery : bishop, presbyter, and teaching elder, in the view of Scripture, according to Presbyterians, mean the same person. But there is a serious defect here, according to the Prelatic theory; for there is no order of presbyters. Again: " It would be no small sin in us should we cast off those from their episcopate (or bishopric) who holily and without blame fulfil the duties. Blessed are those presbyters who, having finished their course before these times, have obtained a per- fect dissolution." " It is a shame," &c.," that the Church of the Corinthians should, by one or two individuals, be led into a sedition against its presbyters. Only let the flock of Christ be in peace with the presbyters who are set over it," &c. " Submit to your presbyters" The Church is represented as being sub- jected, not to one, a prelate, but to many presbyters; and no distinction is made between the offices of bishop andpresbyter. Had there been a single prelate at Corinth, ruling over all, would Clement, writing on such a subject, have completely overlooked him ? Surely not. Hermas, at the time he wrote, resided at Rome, where the preceding Clement was a minister. He refers particularly to the Church there, and yet this. is his language: "But thou shalt read (the books) in this city, with the elders who pre- side over the Church." This is quite Presbyterian language, and the following words are not inconsistent : " The square and white stones which agree exactly in their joints, are the apostles, and bishops, and doctors, and ministers, who, through the mercy of God, have come in and governed," &c. There is no trace of Prelacy here. The Churches are ruled by a plurality of elders, or presbyters, who evidently are of the same rank with bishops. There is nothing about superiority or exclusive ordination. In the second quotation there seems to be an accumulation of names describing the same persons. Polycarp, bishop or pastor of Smyrna, comes next. Even the word bishop — which, properly understood, is quite harm- less — does not occur in his writings. He refers only to APPENDIX. 253 presbyters and deacons, which, however, embrace all that Presbyterians contend for ; the first being divisible into the teaching and ruling presbyters. " It behoves you," says he, addressing the Philippians, " to abstain from these things, being subject to presbyters and deacons, as to God and Christ." It is plain that he contemplated no one above the presbyter, as Episcopalians contend ; for the Philippians are to be subject to them as to God and Christ, who have none above them. Moreover, Polycarp, as a bishop, is exhorted by a contemporary Father to be formally acquainted with every member of his flock. How ? By cultivating acquaint- ance only with the inferior clergy — the presbyters and the deacons ? No ; but by acquainting himself with every one by name, down to the servant maid; evidently showing that Poly- carp, though a bishop, had no flock but a congregational one. We now pass to Ignatics. Episcopalian writers found largely upon him. They contend for every word as if it were very gospel; and yet of the fifteen Letters attributed to him, all scholars are now agreed that more than a half are gross forgeries, written several centuries after the death of the honoured martyr. One of the letters is a pretended one from the Virgin Mary to Ignatius; of the remainder, learned men are at a loss to determine how much is genuine, and how much consists of corrupt interpolations — interpolations intended to favour Prelacy. Jameson, through four sections of his " Nazianzeni Querela," &c, discusses the weight due to Ignatius' epistles, which, whether received or rejected, must carry conviction to every candid mind. An Episcopa- lian writer (Christian Observer, vol. ii. p. 710), by no means disposed to underrate the early testimonies in behalf of his own views, confesses that, on the point in dispute, Ignatius is so unlike his brethren, * marshals the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, with such unreasonable exact- ness, and repeated and unfortunate anxiety," as to throw the greatest suspicion over his testimony. He is like a witness in a court of law, whose memory, as to remote and minute circumstances, is so uncommonly exact, that the judge and jury at once see that he is detailing a vamped up story of recent invention. I might well dismiss Ignatius as a witness. It would be foolish, at all events, to risk anything of impor- tance upon the testimony of the epistles ascribed to him. But there is more than this; the strongest passages which are quoted, to say the least, have as much of a Presbyterian as a Prelatic air. Thus, to the Church of Magnesia, he says : " Seeing I have been judged worthy to see you, by Damas, your most excellent bishop, and by your worthy presbyters, 254 APPENDIX. Bassus and Appollonius, and by my fellow-servant Sotio, the deacon, I determined to write to you." Here, so far as appears, there is nothing more than the minister, ruling pres- byters or elders, and deacon of the Presbyterian Church. The epistle takes for granted that the parties "come together into the same place, have one common prayer, one supplica- tion," which agrees much better with a congregational or parochial minister than a diocesan bishop, who does not wor- ship with all his clergy ; the presbyters, too, are always represented as being present with their bishop, which accords with Presbytery, but not with Episcopacy. Again : " He that is within the altar is pure; but he that is without — that is, that does anything without the bishop, and presbyters, and deacons — is not pure in his conscience." There is not one word of bishops being of a distinct and superior pastoral order, and being alone entitled to ordain; and without these what is the real worth of Ignatius' testimony to Prelatists ? Bishop Stillingfleet well says in his ' Irenicum,' " — Of all the thirty-five testimonies pro- duced out of Ignatius' epistles for Episcopacy, I can meet with but one which is brought to prove the least semblance of an institution of Christ for Episcopacy; and, if I be not much deceived, the sense of that place is clearly mistaken.'' The whole strain of the epistles shows, that the bishop of whom they speak is not the diocesan bishop, but the con- gregational bishop, or Presbyterian pastor. " If the prayer of one or two have so much efficacy, how much more the prayer of the bishop and the whole Church ?" Even sup- posing that there were several distinct congregations at Smyrna, with separate pastors, and that Ignatius is styled the bishop of Smyrna, while the same title is not bestowed upon others, this would by no means prove diocesan Epis- copacy to be divine. Ignatius might only be the moderator of the presbytery, the presiding head, through whom directions to all the Churches in the bounds would naturally pass. This would explain far stronger language than is to be found in Ignatius, in perfect consistency with Presbyterian principle and usage. Passing over Papias, who, by the way, styles the apostles presbyters, showing that that term marked no inferiority of office to the bishop, we come to an important witness, Iren^eus, who became a martyr about a.d. 202. There are various passages — we select two : " When wo challenge them (the heretics) to that apostolical tradition which is pre- served in the Churches, through the succession of the presbyters, they oppose the tradition, pretending that they are wiser, not APPENDIX. 255 only than the presbyters, but than the apostles." Again : " Obey those presbyters in the Church who have the succes- sion, as we have shown, from the apostles, who, with the succes- sion of the episcopate, received the gift of truth, according to the good pleasure of the Father." Irenaeus not only shows plainly that the bishop and the presbyter are the same, attri- buting the apostolic succession to both, and of equal value in each, but he expressly says that the presbyters received the succession of the episcopate from the apostles. What more could a candid inquirer wish, to establish the operation of Presbyterian principles in the days of Irenaeus ? Justin Martyr, who also lived in the second century, de- scribes the usual service of Christian worship. In this he speaks of the president as well as of the deacons. All allow this president was the bishop; and if so, then every congre- gation had its bishop. In other words, the office was congre- gational, not diocesan. Clemens Alexandrinus, who lived at the tlose of the second century, a man of great learning, writes : " Just so in the Church, the presbyters are intrusted with the dignified ministry, the deacons with the subordinate." Though but a presbyter, he calls himself one of the " governors," which is inconsistent with diocesan Episcopacy, and compares the grades of Church officers with those of angels. Now there are but two among the heavenly host, angels and archangels; at least we do not read of others. Were there room and occasion for it, and did we not wish to confine the attention of the reader to the earliest testimo- nies, we might appeal, in the third and fourth centuries, to Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Augustine, Hilary, Chrysostom, and others, as bearing out distinctly the views which have been already adduced from earlier antiquity. Several of these, indeed, are quoted by Prelatic writers in their behalf, but, I am satisfied, without reason. The language, taken as a whole, and fairly interpreted, is decidedly Presbyterian. The reader is referred, for farther information, to several works quoted in the Appendix, particularly Rule, Forrester, and Jameson. In the meantime, let me ask, Is there any thing which has been brought forward which lends the slight- est countenance to the idea that the bishop is a distinct and superior order to that of presbyter; that he has many con- gregations under him; that ordination is exclusively vested in his hands; and that these things are so important, that without them there cannot be a Christian Church ? Will any allege that such is the testimony of one, and much less of all the Christian Fathers; and yet without them what becomes 256 APPENDIX. of diocesan Episcopacy as at present contended for ? It is remarkable that, as there is no one in Scripture bearing the name of bishop who is represented as performing an ordina- tion singly, so there is no one in primitive antiquity who is re- presented as executing this function, nor is there any instance, in its records, of a presbyter receiving a new or second ordi- nation when lie became a bishop ; yet, if Prelacy were well founded, this must have been of frequent occurrence. The strong presumption founded on this, taken along with other things, is, that Prelacy was an insidious corruption which grew up in the Church. Were there space, this could be shown in its different steps, as has been often done at great length. I have room only to state a few presumptions, that the bishop of the primitive Church was nothing more than the parochial minister, for the following reasons : — 1. The large number of bishops who are represented as attending early councils — six hundred or seven hundred drawn from a space not much larger than a few of our largest counties combined. It is absurd to imagine, especially with the limited progress of Christianity, that these were all dio- cesans, when there are only twenty-four persons bearing this designation in Great Britain. 2. The small number of souls committed to the care of each bishop. Often they lived in small villages near each other, and could not possibly have the care of more than a few hun- dreds. Gregory Thaumaturgus had only seventeen professors of Christianity under his charge, and yet he was a bishop ! 3. It was common for the flock to meet together for the election of the bishop, and he was ordained in their presence — a fact utterly inconsistent with diocesan Episcopacy. 4. All the elders connected with a bishop are represented as belonging to the same congregation with him, and sitting with him when the congregation is convened for public wor- ship — another fact equally inconsistent with it. 5. The early writers represent the bishop as living in the same house with his presbyters or elders. Is this consistent with the modern notion of the word Bishop ? And, 6. and lastly. The nature of the service which he is repre- sented as performing leads to the same conclusion. He is not, like the modern bishop, only busy about the government of the Church, the examination and ordination of young men for the ministry, &c. On the contrary, he is represented as regularly preaching and dispensing the sacraments, visiting the sick, celebrating marriage; in short, discharging all the usual functions of a parochial minister. Such are the facts, and can any candid mind doubt what APPENDIX. 257 is the fair inference ? It is plain that the primitive bishop was just the pastor of a single congregation; no other suppo- sition will explain the facts. The elevation to which he after- wards attained was, like the rise of Antichrist, by slow and insidious degrees, and was, throughout, marked by unseriptural ■usurpation. (For the above and similar facts, see the ad- mirable Letters of Dr. Miller on the Christian Ministry p. 130-134.) TESTIMONY OF THE REFORMERS. It is pleasant to leave the Fathers, and turn to the great Re- formers from Popery. One immediately feels that he is in contact with a very different and far superior order of minds. Instead of the puerile interpretations of Scripture which dis- figure the pages of Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Iren£eus,Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, and various others — interpretations which place them beneath the humblest commentator of our day — we meet with men whose interpretations, after the lapse of three centuries, commend themselves to the judgment of the most intelligent and able, so that they are glad to adopt them as their own. And instead of discordant opinions — a perfect chaos — even on such a vital doctrine as that of the mode of a sinner's justification before God (witness many of the sentiments to be found in Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, Jerome, Cyprian), we find, and that without concert, the most remarkable agreement, down to minute points, among the Reformers, though living at a distance, and exercising the most unfettered freedom of private judgment on the Scrip- tures. The truth is, there is no comparison between the parties, or rather there is the most striking contrast. Not only were the great body of the Reformers men of gigantic minds, but the Spirit of God seems to have been conferred upon them in an eminent degree, at once to fit for the ardu- ous trials which awaited them, and to guide them in drawing up those articles of faith from the Word of God, and con- structing that ecclesiastical platform from the same source, which were destined to endure for many generations, and, it may be, to affect the character of Christendom down to the day of judgment. If ever there was a class of men entitled to the deference, and even submission of posterity, the Re- formers were the men; but they would be the first themselves to disclaim it, as unseriptural and dangerous, and to direct all disposed to worship them to the Word of God as the only as well as the infallible standard of doctrine and practice. It is marvellous how many Prelatical writers have deceived 258 APPENDIX. themselves, in regard to the sentiments of the Reformers on Church government. While professedly holding their testi- mony light, they have been at the same time most anxious to show that it is in favour of Prelacy. According to a recent writer, the whole of Christendom was Prelatic at the era of the Reformation. The Reformers held the same views; reluc- tantly departed from them, owing to the pressure of circum- stances; and to the end entertained the highest veneration for the Church of England. The plain truth of the matter is, that Prelacy was not universal at the Reformation, except in the apostate Church of Rome; that the faithful and only Pro- testants, the Waldenses and Bohemians, were Presbyterians; that the Reformers, from the very first, held clear and decided views on the parity of pastors, and never abandoned them; that any expressions, apparently inconsistent with this doc- trine, particularly in Calvin, are incidental, and are very obviously misunderstood — at war with the practice as well as the published sentiments of the Reformers; and that the praise of the Church of England chiefly consists of the recommen- dation, that the early Puritans should abide in her com- munion as a lawful communion, rather than separate at a season when the Church of England was far nearer the Pres- byterian Church than she is now, and when there was the prospect of her becoming still nearer by their remaining within her pale. Even supposing that the Reformers had, in the first instance, been favourably disposed to Prelacy, it would not have been wonderful. It Avas the form of govern- ment to which they had all been accustomed, and their sub- sequent change might justly have been attributed to deeper Scripture study and more mature views. But the fact is, that the great body of them, making the Word of God their standard, started with Presbyterian sentiments from the very outset. Nor was this owing to the absence of any occasion for accurate study. On the contrary, investigation into such points was forced upon them by the Popish controversy, in which they were all engaged. What was the shortest way to overthrow the proud pretensions of the See of Rome ? It was by showing that all ministers were equal; in other words, by establishing Presbyterian parity. There is no question that the creating an inequality of ranks among the pastors of the Church — an inequality against which the cautions of oui Lord were doubtless directed — lies at the root of the Papacy Prelacy is as really a corruption as purgatory, or any other invention of the Romish apostasy. Once admit inequality where Christ has made none, and it is a mere accident if, in the course of time, it does not become as extreme as between APPENDIX. 250 the curate and the pope. No wonder, then, that men so capa- cious in mind, and so well read in the Scriptures and in anti- quity as the Reformers, should disown the pretensions of Pre- lacy. It would have been strange had it been otherwise. But let us shortly turn to their testimony. First of all, it is plain, from the testimony, not of enemies or apostates, but of their own pastors, that the ancient Wal- denses, who rise in point of origin as high as the seventh cen- tury, if not earlier, and who, under different names, spread themselves widely over Europe for ages, were Presbyterians. Any bishops which they ever had in name were mere pres- byters, and claimed no superiority of order or power. Pro- fessor Raignolds, an eminent Episcopalian, in a well-known letter to Sir F. Knolleys, declares that the Waldenses had uniformly taught " that all pastors, whether styled bishops or priests, have one and the same authority by the Word of God;" and what is still better authority, the 31st Article of their Confession of Faith bears, " It is necessary for the Church to have pastors sufficiently learned, and exemplary in their conduct, as well to preach God's Word as to administer the sacraments and watch over the flock of Jesus Christ, together with the elders and deacons, according to the rules of good and holy Church discipline, and the practice of the primitive Church." It is the glory of the Waldenses that, as a Church, no human power could ever overcome them. The testimony of living Episcopalians, who have resided among them, could be appealed to in behalf of the Presbyteriauism of the modern witnesses of Piedmont. Not only their principles, but their very forms, are almost identical with those of the Church of Scotland. The increasing research of modern times is bring- ing out their ancient Calvinism, and Presbyterianism, and observance of infant baptism, in fresh lustre. (See Blair's History, Appendix.) No assertion, then, can be more ignorant, than that Presbytery originated with Calvin. The Walden- ses had an organized and powerful Church many centuries before he was born. The next witness, in point of time, is John Wicklifpe, "the Morning Star of the Reformation." He flourished about 1350. No one can doubt his testimony, and his wide- spread followers doubtless imbibed his sentiments. "One thing," says he, " I boldly assert, that in the primitive Church, or in the time of the Apostle Paul, two orders of clergy were thought sufficient, viz., priest and deacon; and I do also say, that in the time of Paul a priest and a bishop were one and the same." His followers could easily have had Prelatical ordi- nation, but they preferred Presbyterian. 2 GO APPENDIX. Huss and Jerome of Prague come next. They were as remarkable for their learning as scholars, as their devoted- ness as martyrs. They held the same views as Wickliffe, and particularly on Presbyterian parity. One of the solemn charges brought against them by a Popish adversary, after- wards Pius II., " as a pestiferous sect," was their holding " no difference of order among those who bear the priestly office." The Bohemian Brethren or Church, who were the fol- lowers of the martyrs, maintained the same views. They drew their ministry from the Presbyterian Waldenses — had the office of ruling elder in active operation among them — contended that there is but one order of ministers by divine right — that any grades in the ministry is mere matter of human arrangement. Heylin, the chaplain of Laud, and the bitterest of the opponents of Presbytery, admits (in his His- tory, p. 409) that the Bohemian Church w r as Episcopal neither in principle nor practice. Luther, the most illustrious of all the Reformers, did not differ from the faithful men who had preceded him. He and his associates, it appears, from certain expressions, were so anxious for the peaceful propagation of the Gospel, that they would have borne with the Prelatic government which pre- vailed, not as a thing of divine origin, but mere political ex- pediency; and these expressions have been perverted by some writers into a proof that the Reformer and his friends were favourable to Episcopacy, as a divine institution. But nothing can be wider of the truth. It is plain, from the writings of Luther, his comments on texts of Scripture which involve Church government, and an entire book which was written against the bishops, that he held there was but one order of teachers by divine right, and that every pastor of a congre- gation is a bishop, and that Scripture recognises no other. Commenting on the 20th of the Acts, he says : "You see plainly that the apostle Paul calls those alone bishops who preach the gospel to the people, and administer the sacra- ments, as in our times parish ministers and preachers are wont to do. These, therefore, though they preach the gospel in small villages and hamlets, yet, as faithful ministers of the "Word, I believe, beyond all doubt, possess of right the title and the name of bishop." And the Reformer's practice corre- sponded with his sentiments. He was himself ordained a pres- byter at twenty-four years of age, and for thirty years ordained many — yea, within a few days of his death, in the full prospect of eternity (to use the language of biographers and associates), " ordained two ministers of the Word of God after the apostles' APPENDIX. 261 manner." Of course, this would have been presumptuous sin, according to the notions of Prelacy, which restrict ordination to the diocesan bishop. It is true that Luther had, and his followers, down to the present day, have had, no objections to superintendents in the Church, or rather they prefer them; but this is not on the ground of Scripture or antiquity, but solely of human expediency. It is to be remembered, too, that these superintendents are mere presbyters, can confer only Presbyterian ordination,are responsible to their brethren, and do not always enjoy the office for life. On one occasion, 1542, Luther, himself a simple presbyter, at the request of the Elector of Saxony, consecrated Amsdorff bishop of a diocese ! What inconsistency and folly, had he believed in the bishop or prelate as a divine order, who alone could ordain. (Vide 3Iosheim, vol. iv., p. 287.) In harmony with these views, we find that Melancthon and other asso- ciates entertained and acted on the same sentiments. From the Augustan Confession — the Defence of that document by Melancthon — the Articles of Smalcald in 1537, &c; in short, the standards of the Lutheran Church, extracts are quoted by Dr. Miller in his Letters (pp. 372, 373), all clearly and triumphantly bearing out the conclusions which have been stated. Were it necessary, it would be easy to refer to a multitude of distinguished Lutheran divines and writers, some contem- poraneous with the Reformer, others subsequent to his day, who held and proclaimed the same sentiments. Some were professors of divinity — others, themselves superintendents in the Lutheran Church, such as Ursinus, Musculus, Balduin, Deiterich, Hulseman, Gehard, Budus, &c; but their testi- mony is harmonious. These authorities are collected by Dr. Miller in his sixth and eighth Letters; they need not here be quoted. Turning from the Lutheran Churches to those which more expressly bear the name of Reformed, the testimony to Pres- bytery becomes, if possible, more decided. Indeed, no one who has carefully read the Confessions of Faith of the Saxon, Bohemian, Swiss, Belgic, Dutch, French, and Scotch Churches, can question their Presbyterian character. Accordingly, there is no controversy upon these points. Were there room, many striking passages might be quoted, but I forbear. Let me only assure the reader, that among the fathers and founders of these Churches, he will find men as pre-eminent, if not more pre-eminent, for talent, learning, the study of the Word of God, submission to its authority, integrity, and public usefulness, as in any Churches of Christendom in any period S 2b'2 APPENDIX. of history, ancient or modern. I single out one name — that of Calvin, not so much for its acknowledged superiority and influence, as to correct a misapprehension. The friends of Episcopacy, anxious for the benefit of his name, have often alleged that he was favourable to their views, and have quoted one or two detached sentences from his voluminous works in proof of their assertion; but these can be easily explained from circumstances which have been already noticed. The strongest of them all, as Dr. M'Crie well shows, not only does not, but cannot, apply to the Church of England.* The sentiments of Calvin are to be learned from his " Institutes," his earliest work, published at twenty-seven years of age, where he fully discusses the subject, and his Commentaries on the Scriptures, down to the day of his death — from his own practice — from the advice which he gave to the Churches of Scotland and France, an advice which they acted upon, be- lieving it to be accordant with Scripture — from his very will and testament — all mark the enlightened and resolute Pres- byterian. I subjoin a single sentence from a comment on the 20th of Acts, Avritten very shortly before his death. " Concerning the word bishop," he says, " it is observable that Paul gives this title to all the presbyters of Ephesus; from which we may infer, that, according to Scripture, presbyters differed in no respect from bishops, but that it arose from corruption and a departure from primitive purity, that those who held the first seats in particular cities began to be called bishops. I say that it arose from corruption — not that it is an evil for some one in each college of pastors to be distin- guished above the rest, but because it is intolerable presumption that men, in perverting the titles of Scripture to their own humour, do not hesitate to alter the meaning of the Holy Spirit." j- It would be endless to quote the distinguished Continental writers who held and maintained the sentiments of Calvin. Suffice it to mention the names of a few. The Presbyterian, the only Protestant Church of France, was remarkable for the ability and learning of her sons, and for the contributions which they made to the literature of the Church. It is no dishonour to the learned men of modern times to say, that it would not be easy from their ranks to draw such men as Sadeel, Chamier, Danau, Le Blanc, De Moulin, Bochart, Blondel, Daille, and Claude, and many others; and yet their Presbyterianism is indubitable. Turning to Holland, similar names appear, such as Junius in early days, who preached * Miscel. Writings, p. 176. t For a notice of Calvin in this connection, vide p. 158 of " Eldership of the Church oi Scotland." APPENDIX. 263 at Antwerp with no other light than that supplied by blazing martyrs. The divines of the Synod of Dort — the most pious and learned of their profession, of whose assembly Bishop Hall said, " there was no place upon earth so like heaven as the Synod of Dort, or where he should be more willing to dwell" — they came under the solemn sanction of an oath to the resolution : " We believe that the true Church must be governed by that spiritual policy which our Lord hath taught us in his Word, viz., that there must be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God, and to administer the sacraments; also elders and deacons, who, together w r ith the pastors, form the council of the Church. As for the ministers of God's Word, they have equally the same power and authority where- soever they are; as they are all ministers of Christ, the only universal Bishop and the only Head of the Church." I quote these words the more, because some, from the circumstance that a few English bishops, at the request of James VI., were present, and acted as members of Synod, have drawn the in- ference that the assembly was favourably inclined to Prelacy. A more natural inference would have been, that the good English bishops of those days were strangers to the notion of Episcopacy by dirine right, and recognised the Presbyterian ordination of the Dutch Church, and acknowledged her as a sister. If farther proof of the decided Presbyterianism of the Synod of Dort were desired, it may be found in the published works of Gomarus, Polyander, Thysius, and Wala?us, all members of Synod, and professors of divinity in the Dutch universities; in the writings also of the celebrated Salmasius. The same point might be established from the constitution of the Synod : out of the ninety members, tw r enty were ruling elders. The only remaining point in connection with the testimony of the Reformers which demands notice, is the opinion of the early English Reformers and Divines. Though their testimony had been clear and unanimous against Presbytery, it would not have been wonderful, nor would it have affected the weight of the other authorities which have been quoted. But it is an interesting and remarknble fact, that the great men of the Church of England, in her early, and perhaps some would say, her best days, did not differ from their brother Reformers of the Continent; but either held, with them, that there should be no diversity of rank among the ministers of the gospel, or contended for it as a mere matter of expediency, to be retained till the days of a more extensive and favour- able reformation. It is certain that the opinion of Episcopacy, as founded on divine right, is comparatively a recent idea, 264 APPENDIX. that its origin can be pointed out, and that its prevalence can be identified with the ascendency of the Arminian Archbishop Laud, towards the middle of the seventeenth century. The reader is referred to the Appendixof Ayton's work for " A Short Account of the Rise of the Jure Dicino Prelatists," where a full answer to each of their arguments is " drawn forth from the writings of many learned Episcopal divines and members of their own Church." This jure divino doctrine is the doc- trine which is so prevalent in the Church of England at the present day, through the labours of her new Tractarian school. I have space to advert ouly to a few testimonies on the other side; but they are indisputable. It appears, then, that the earliest of the English martyrs, distinguished for learning as well as high principle, one of them the first translator of the Word of God into English, Tyndal and Lambert, with many of their brethren, maintained the identity of the bishop and the presbyter, and the perfect equality of the ministers of the Gospel. In Archbishop Cran- mer's " Institution of a Christian Man," printed in 1537, sub- scribed and recommended by two archbishops, nineteen bishops, and the whole Lower House of Convocation, it is ex- pressly declared, " That in the New Testament there is no mention made of any other degree and distinction in orders, but only of deacons or ministers, and of presbyters or bishops." Thus, it is obvious that the founders of the Church of Eng- land were essentially Presbyterian; and doubtless, had it not been for the influence of the scarcely half-reformed civil government, which clung to the old Popish government of prelates, their principles would have been carried into effect. Passing from additional evidence of the same nature, which might be appealed to, the reader may be reminded that in the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, the one (Twenty-third) which bears upon the office of the mini- stry does not contain one word about diocesan bishops, or the necessity of Episcopal ordination; on the contrary, it uses such language, apparently on purpose, as shall comprehend other Reformed Churches, and recognise the validity of their ordinances. " Those," says the Article, " we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the congregation, to call and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard." Is this like the language of men who hold dio- cesan bishops to be essential to the being of a Christian Church ? If they held the sentiment, would they not, on such an occasion as the drawing up articles involving the consti- tution of the Church, have expressed it ? But this is not all. APPENDIX. 2fi5 The founders of the English Church invited the aid of lead- ing men in other Churches, such as Bucer and Peter Martyr, and recognised their ordination, though it was only Presbyte- rian. Archbishop Grindal in this way received John Mori- son,, a minister of the Church of Scotland, to labour in the diocese of Canterbury in 15S2. Indeed, as is stated by Bishop Burnet for a long time after the beginning of the Reforma- tion in Great Britain, the validity of Presbyterian ordination was clearly and uniformly acknowledged. The first intima- tion of an opposite notion did not appear till 1588. The person who first gave utterance to the sentiment in the Pro- testant Church, that bishops, by divine right, have a superiority to presbyters, was Doctor (afterwards Bishop) Bancroft, at that time chaplain to Archbishop Whitgift, who, as his writ- ings testify, disclaimed all such views. Bancroft's sermon, as might have been anticipated in the circumstances, gave great offence, and drew forth a letter from Dr. J. Raignolds, professor of divinity in the university of Oxford — accounted a prodigy of learning as well as humility by his contempora- ries. The letter was in reply to one from Sir F. Knolleys. The following are one or two sentences : — " All that have laboured in reforming the Church, for five hundred years, have taught that all pastors, be they entitled bishops or priests, have equal authority and power by God's Word — as, first, the Waldenses; next, Marsilius Petavinus; then Wicklifte and his disciples; afterwards Huss and the Hussites; and last of all, Luther, Calvin, Brentius, Buliinger, and Museums. Among ourselves we have bishops; the Queen's professors of divinity, in our universities, and other learned men, as Brad- ford, Lambert, Jewel, Pilkington, Humfreys, Fulke, who all agree in this matter; and so do all divines beyond sea that I ever read, and doubtless many more whom I never read. But why do I speak of particular persons I It is the common judgment of the Reformed Churches of Helvetia (Switzer- land), Savoy, France, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Low Countries (Holland), and our own (the Church of England). Wherefore, since Dr. Bancroft will certainly never pretend that an heresy condemned by the consent of the whole Church, in its most flourishing times, was yet accounted a sound and Christian doctrine by all these I have mentioned, I hope he will acknowledge that he was mistaken, when he asserted the superiority which bishops have among us over the clergy to be God's own ordinance." (Boyse on Episcopacy, pp. 13-19.) It is unnecessary to add any thing to the statements of this admirable document, which must be held by all candid 26C> APPENDIX. men as settling the question of the sentiments of the early Church of England on the claims of Prelacy to a divine origin. The reader who wishes farther to investigate the views of the English Reformers on the government and worship of the Church, and to see their harmony with those of the other Reformed Churches, in short, their substantial Presbyterian- ism and Puritanism, may consult "M'Crie's Life of Knox," App., vol. i., pp. 385-390. Satisfied of the unquestionable accuracy of the views which have been presented, we forbear from making any quotations from the writings of leading divines of the Church of Eng- land, subsequent to the Reformation, down to the Revolution, and even to the present day. To such passages it would have been easy to refer. In addition to the names of the Reformers which have been given, those of Jewel, Willet, Bilson, Holland, Whitaker, Hall, Davenant, Usher, Hooker, might have been subjoined; and later still, those of Stilling- fleet, Tillotson, Wake, Bingham, Edwards, Haweis, Gisborne, Tomline, Noel; who all, with greater or less distinctness, dis- claim the views of the higher Prelatists — but this is unneces- sary. The truth is, that almost all sound writers against the Papacy, if consistent, must entertain Presbyterian views of the pastoral office. If parity be once allowed in the ministry, and different ranks suited to different ranks in society, it will be difficult to show that there should not be a pope above all. The true way to cut up his pretensions by the root, is to establish ministerial parity. Reviewing the whole, it appears that the Reformers from Popery, large in point of numbers, widely dispersed in point of situation, men of powerful minds, eminent learning, ardent students of the Scriptures and of antiquity, distinguished also for their spirit of prayer, though exposed to opposite tempta- tions, came to clear, decided, unanimous views on the parity of pastors as a scriptural principle, and acted upon it wherever they had the opportunity; in the few cases where they did depart from it, avowedly doing so on the score of human ex- pediency. Such are the facts of the case, and do they not speak powerfully in behalf of Presbytery ? Is not England standing alone in Protestant Christendom for the divine right of Prelacy, and even she not maintaining this position in hor best days, one of the most impressive testimonies which can be conceived in favour of the principles of the Church of Scotland ? If ever human authority should weigh with them, this should be the occasion. But we again remind the reader, that it is neither the Fathers nor the Reformers on whom we rely; we appeal to the authority of God speaking in the Scrip- APPENDIX. 2fi? tures as supreme. This is the exclusive as it is the perfect standard of faith and practice. I cannot more appropriately conclude the testimony of the Reformers than in the words of the great Alexander Hen- derson, one of the most distinguished ministers of the Church of Scotland, in one of the most eventful periods of her history. The passage, while it bears testimony to Presbytery in general, has a special reference to the Church of Scotland, as a Pres- byterian Church. The admirable little work from which it is taken is very scarce, and almost unknown. It is entitled, " The Government and Order of the Church of Scotland — 1641." Though anonymous, Baillie, and the Reviewer of " Protesters not Subverters," unhesitatingly ascribe it to Hen- derson. It is worthy of the celebrated Moderator of the General Assembly of 163S. Speaking of the Church courts, he says : " In the authority of these assemblies, parochial, presbyterial, provincial, and national, and in the subordination of the lesser unto the greater, or of more particular elderships to the larger and general eldership, doth consist the external order, strength, and stedfastness of the Church of Scotland, which is lovely and comfortable to all fearing God, whether pastors or pro- fessors, and hath been very awful and terrible as an army with banners to all Papists, to all heretics, schismatics, hire- lings, and all ungodly persons. As, upon the one part, they break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, but do cherish and labour to bring to ripeness and use the grain of mustard-seed in sincere beginners, and the smallest talent in preachers having the zeal of God; so, upon the other part, no scandal of proud sinners escapeth censure, no heresy or error is sooner hatched, but is either presently spied out and crushed by some of the inferior assemblies, or, if it be kept on foot and gather strength, it is quite suppressed and extin- guished in the General Assembly, which meeteth once in the year, and never suffereth such bastard births to grow to be one year old; which is a true and main cause why no sects nor errors have appeared in the Reformed Church of France; and in the Churches of Scotland and of the Low Countries, so long as they enjoyed the liberty and happiness of assem- blies — which they did no sooner by the mercy of God recover but immediately, at their brightness, the mists and mildews, gathered before, were scattered and vanished. " 2d, And as, by the order and power of these assemblies, foxes are taken that they spoil not the vines, and gangrenes are prevented that they spread not against truth and unity, all sorts of lewd and wicked men are discouraged and put 268 APPENDIX. to shame; so is there excited among the godly ministers an holy emulation, by acquaintance, conference, and by perceiv- ing the gifts one of another, which maketh them return from the assemblies with a mean and humble conceit of them- selves, and with new and strong resolutions for greater dili- gence in their studies, and faithfulness in every pastoral duty, to the common benefit and edification of all the Churches; all the ministers are made more wise in the matters of go- vernment; and all the congregations are affected with reve- rence to what is required of them by their particular elder- ships, as having the consent and approbation of the whole Church. Many such fruits are reaped of these assemblies, which, without them, no particular person or congregation can have any ground to hope for or expect. " 3d, They have no archbishops, diocesan bishops, suffra- gans, no chapters, no curates, dumb nor idle ministers; no hirelings, non-residents, nor pluralists; no deans, nor arch- deacons; no chanters, sub-chanters, nor treasurers; no chan- cellors, officials, nor apparitors; no canons, petit-canons, pre- bends, singing men nor boys; and yet, without these and the like, they have practice and use of all the ordinances of Christ; all matters ecclesiastical determined; remitting ques- tions of tithes, marriages, divorcements, &c, to the civil judge, to whom they properly do belong; and all petitions, com- plaints, and Church grievances heard and redressed, which they esteem as the sweet yoke of Christ, and think it a great ease, both to their consciences and estates, to be free of such bundles and burdens of trash and superfluities. They con- ceive that to erect presbyteries, synods, and National Assem- blies, and still to keep prelates and the members of that hierarchy, is, in the matter of Church government, not unlike the Popish adding of traditions to Scripture in the rule of faith, or works unto faith in the point of justification, &c; additions to Christ's institution being not only, in respect to their author, human inventions,and for any use they can have, idlements, vanities, and follies; but that they do also corrupt the purity, and eat out the life of the ordinances of Christ. " 4th, Here there is a superiority without tyranny, for no minister hath a papal or monarchical jurisdiction over his own flock, far less over other pastors, and over all the congrega- tions of a large diocese. Here, then, is parity without con- fusion and disorder, for the pastors are in order before the elders, and the elders before the deacons; every particular Church is subordinate to the presbytery, the presbytery to the synod, and the synod to the National Assembly. One pastor, also, hath priority of esteem before another for age, APPENDIX. 2G9 for zeal, for gifts, for his good deservings of the Church, each one honouring him whom God hath honoured, and as he beareth the image of God; which was to be seen amongst the apostles themselves. But none hath pre-eminence of title, or power, or jurisdiction above others; even as in nature, one eye hath not power over another, only the head hath power over all, even as Christ over his Church. The same may be seen in the Commonwealth, and in some of the offices of the Roman Church itself. And, lastly, here there is a subjection without slavery; for the people are subject to the pastors and assemblies, yet there is no assembly wherein every particular Church hath not interest and power, nor is there anything done but they are, if not actually yet virtually, called to consent unto it. " 5th, As they have done and suffered much for vindicating and maintaining the liberty of their religion, that what be- longeth unto God may be rendered unto God; so do they desire that, according to the rule of righteousness, each man have his own, and above all men; that the things which are Csesar's be rendered unto him, and to give him that which is God's, were a wronging both of God and Caesar. They have ever been willing to taxes, and to pay subsidies above that which they were able. They join with the inward re- verence of their hearts external honour and obedience in all things lawful. They pour forth their prayers to God in pri- vate and public, for all blessings, spiritual and temporal, upon the king's royal person and government, and upon his pro- geny; and for the same blessings upon the queen's majesty, especially that God by his Spirit would give unto her the knowledge and love of the truth. They long for her con- version, as happiness to herself,* and a mean of great happi- ness to the king, to their children, and to all their subjects; and that the Lord may answer their prayers, they think it incumbent to the Church of England, nor can any bond whatsoever oblige them to the contrary, to use the best and most powerful means, and would most willingly, in all humi- lity, love, and respect, join their endeavours for that blessed end. And as they thus present their best desires and pray- ers, so are they ready to sacrifice their lives to God for his majesty's good, and in their hearts are grieved that their loyalty, which they account their no small glory, should have been called in question. " 6th, Neither is this all. But, moreover, they do acknow- ledge that his majesty, as supreme magistrate, hath not only charge over the Commonwealth, but doth watch, and hath * The Queen was then, in the year 1641, a Papist. 270 APPENDIX. inspection over the Church and Church matters, but in a civil way — " Vos Episcopi in Ecclesia (saith Constantine), ego extra Ecclesiam Episcopus d Deo constitutes sum;" and therefore, that he is by his high calling and place, Custos utriusque tabulce, to command the precepts of the first table as well as of the second table to be obeyed; that he is Vindex relhjionis by his sword, as the Spirit of God in Scripture is Judex, and the Church is Index; that he hath power to turn the constitu- tions of the Church into laws, and to confirm them by the civil sanction in Parliament, that he may constrain all his subjects to do duty in matters of religion,* and may punish the transgressors; that when debates arise about religion, he hath power to call assemblies of the Church, to be present, and civilly preside in them, and to examine their constitu- tions, that he may discern of them both as a Christian caring for his own soul, and as a supreme magistrate watching over his people; and that he may do all things which can prove him to be a kind and careful nursing father. They account all that is vomited out to the contrary (as that they liked anarchy better than monarchy, and that they would turn a kingdom into a democrac} T ) to be but the fictions and calum- nies of the malicious enemies of God and his truth; not unlike the lies which were devised against the Christians of old; their consciences, their words, writings, and actions, even then when the world did put the worst constructions upon them, were witnesses of the integrity of their heart. " 1th, They do still hold there can be no antipathy betwixt one ordinance of God and another. By him princes do reign, and he hath also appointed the officers and government of his own house. They do desire nothing more than that the Son of God may reign, and that with and under the Son of God, the king may command, and they, as good subjects to Christ and the king, may obey." (P. 57.) This is an ancient, but correct and beautiful testimony. Perhaps the reader will not regret to be reminded of a briefer and more modern. The Parliamentary Committee on Church Patronage in 1834, on reporting the result of their labours to the Legislature, remark : " No sentiment has been so deeply impressed on the mind of your Committee, in the course of their long and laborious investigation, as that of veneration and respect for the Established Church of Scotland. They believe that no institution has ever existed, which, at so little cost, has accomplished so much good. The eminent place which Scotland holds in the scale of nations is mainly owing to the purity of the standards, and the zeal of the ministers * The just freedom, nevertheless, of conscience still excepted. APPENDIX. 271 of its Church, as well as the wisdom with which its internal institutions have been adapted to the habits and interests of the people." {Report on Patronage.) The eldership of the Presbyterian Church, too, has been suc- cessfully vindicated by Dr. King of Glasgow, and Dr. M'Ker- row of the United Presbyterian Church. ADDITIONAL FACTS ON TIIE MORAL TENDENCY OF CALVINISM. (Referred to at page 65.) Many additional facts to those given in the text might be stated; let a few suffice. Fuller, in his triumphant little work, " The Calvinistic and Socinian Systems Compared ill their Moral Tendency," has beautifully made out that Cal- vinism has a very high moral influence as compared with Socinianism; and it cannot be doubted, that on many of the grounds stated, it would be found greatly superior to Armi- nianism. It could be shown that Calvinism supplies the best answer to the objections against the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel — doctrines which both parties admit to be the grand sources of all truly moral influence; and that, its theory of Scripture interpretation is much more simple, and sublime, and glorifying to the character of God than any other. These things must be favourable to high moral and religious prin- ciple and conduct. With regard more particularly to facts, all will admit that true Calvinists are, in point of character, at least as good as the professors of Arminianism— as zealous for God — as ready to make sacrifices — as benevolent to their fellow-men. This, at least, shows that Calvinism cannot be very injurious; and yet, if one were to believe in the representations which too many give of it, he could expect nothing but the most loose and abandoned life as its fruit. Toplady testifies to the superior power of his preaching in converting souls, when he preached the Calvinistic system, than before; and if conversion to God be the first and best security for individual holiness, and, through it, national morality, it is plain that Calvinism must be considered the friend of both. He says, in 1774 : " As to the doctrines of special and discri- minating grace, I have this much to observe, that for the first four years after I was in orders, I dwelt chiefly on the general outline of the Gospel. I preached little else but of justification by faith only in the righteousness and atonement of Christ, and of that personal holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. My reasons for thus narrowing the truths of God were (with humiliation and repentance I desire 272 APPENDIX. to speak it) these two : — 1st, I thought these points were suf- ficient to convey as clear an idea as was absolutely necessary of salvation; and, 2d, I was partly afraid to go any farther. God himself (for none but he could do it) gradually freed me from that fear. And as he never at any time permitted me to deliver, or even insinuate, anything contradictory to his truths, so has he been graciously pleased, for between seven and eight years past, to open my mouth to make known the entire mystery of his Gospel, as far as his Spirit has enlight- ened me in it. The consequence of my first plan of opera- tions was, that the generality of my hearers were pleased, but very few were concerted. The result of my latter deliverance from worldly wisdom and worldly fear, is, that multitudes have been very angry. But the conversions which God has given me reason to hope he has wrought, home been at least three for one before. Thus I can testify, so far as I have been con- cerned, the usefulness of preaching predestination, or, in other words, of tracing salvation and redemption to their first source." Abraham Booth, a popular and useful evangelical writer, thus describes his own change of mind in becoming a Calvi- nist. After speaking of persons who, though their own ex- perience may plead for Calvinism, and though their other avowed sentiments involve it, yet dispute against it as com- monly and justly stated, and endeavour to load it with horrid consequences, he goes on to say of himself : " This the writer of these pages knows by experience, to his grief and shame. Through the ignorance of his mind, the pride of his heart, and the prejudices of his education, he, in his younger years, often opposed it with much warmth, though with no small degree of weakness; but after an impartial inquiry and many prayers, he found reason to alter his judgment. He found it to be the doctrine of the Bible, and a dictate of the unerring Spirit. Being thus patronized, he received the once obnoxious sentiment under the full conviction of its being a divine truth. Now he considers the eternal discriminating love of God, in the choice of his people, as the original source of all those spiri- tual blessings they here enjoy, and of all that glory they hereafter expect. To the distinguishing love of the Father, to the redeeming blood of the Son, to the almighty agency and sanctifying operation of the Divine Spirit, he now desires to ascribes the whole unrivalled honour of a complete eternal salvation. In the firm belief of those glorious comprehensive truths he desires to live — enjoying the sweet consolations arising from it, he desires to die; and if the Lord thus favour him, he does not fear but his life u-lll be useful in some degree, APPENDIX. 273 his death peaceful, and his end salvation." {Death of Legal Hope, p. 46.) Can any one read such a statement of feeling and hope as this, and imagine that Calvinism makes a man careless in his religion and relaxed in his morals ? Is not its tone rather spiritual and sanctifying, plainly conducting to much happi- ness, and so to active usefulness ? Passing from individual testimonies and experience, how- striking is the following picture of the moral influence of Puritanism, which was Calvinistic in doctrine and Presby- terian in form. The most zealous advocates of Arminianism were to be found among the High Church party of Arch- bishop Laud, not at that time numerous, and the wilder Sec- taries I The writer is the Rev. J. Jones, the biographer of Bishop Hall, " Life and Times," 1826. He is a minister of the Church of England, and though better than many Epis- copalians when writing of such times, is by no means parti- cularly favourable to the Puritans; yet the following is his sketch of the moral operation of their system, which was one of unbroken Calvinism : — " During the troubles of the times, on account of the differences between Charles I. and the Parliament, Puritanism was in one sense productive of much good. The reformation of manners icas then very remarkable. The laws against vice and profaneness were so strict and so vigorously put in execution, that vice was forced to hide itself in corners. The magistrates did their duty in suppressing all kinds of games, stage-plays, and abuses in public-houses. There teas not a play acted on any theatre in England for almost twenty years. Profane swearing, drunkenness, or any kind of debauchery, were not to be heard or seen on the streets. The Lord's- day was observed with unusual reverence. The churches were crowded with numerous and attentive wor- shippers, three or four times in the day. The peace-officers patrolled the streets of London, and all the public-houses were shut up. There was no travelling on the road or walk- ing in the fields, except in cases of absolute necessity. Re- ligious exercises were set up in private families — as reading the Scriptures, family prayer, repeating sermons, and singing of psalms. This was so general a custom, that we are told a person might walk through the city of London, on the even- ing of the Lord's-day, without seeing an idle person, or hear- ing any thing but the voice of prayer or praise from churches or private houses. It is also said that tliere was hardly a single bankruptcy to be heard of in a year, and that even in such a case the bankrupt had a mark of infamy set upon him, that he could never wipe off.'' (Pp. 455, 456.) 2?4 APPENDIX. While the morality of the Calvinistic period of the seven- teenth century was so pure and stern in England, what was the character of the Arminian period which succeeded ? It was dissolute to a proverb. We do not charge the Arminian doctrine with being the cause of all the mischief — there were other adverse influences at work; but that it produced much evil is certain ; and it is not less clear that it was too weak to prevent what it did not directly produce. Toplady, ad- dressing the bench of bishops, and therefore, it may be be- lieved, writing with all due caution, says : " With that prince (Charles II.) Arminianism returned as a flood, and licentious- ness of manners was co-extensive with it. We have had since that period more than one hundred years' experience of Hie unsanctified effects which naturally result from the ideal system of free-will and universal redemption. What has that system done for us ? It has unbraced every nerve of virtue, and relaxed every rein of religious and social duty. In proportion to the operation of its influence, it has gone far toward subverting all moral obedience, and seems to endanger the entire series even of political and ecclesiastical subordi- nation, & c. Look round the land, and your Lordships can- not fail of perceiving that our fiercest free-willers are for the most part the freest livers, and that the belief of universal grace is in too many instances the turnpike road to universal sin." (P. 278.) In accordance with these views, Toplady, at a later, day, quoted, as an illustration of the demoralizing in- fluence of Arminianism fairly carried out, the case of a zealous advocate of the system, who, " when he was in a fit of intem- perance, if any one reminded him of the wrath of God threat- ened against such courses, he would answer, I am a child of the devil to-day, but 1 hare free will, and to-morrow I icill make myself a child of God." (Works, p. 759.) A recent number of the " Edinburgh Review," January, 1S41, without connecting the immoral results of the period of the Restoration with the state of religious sentiment, bears a striking testimony to the extent and fearfulness of the moral relaxation. This literary journal, not, of course, on religious grounds, but as a matter of historical fact, con- tended many years ago for the moralizing influence of Calvinism on society. The following sentences describe the state of England when Arminianism was everywhere en- couraged and all-powerful. Surely there can be nothing in its influence very favourable to strict morals, otherwise we should not have such results as these. Writing of the dramatists, the reviewer says : " We can at present hardly call to mind a single English play written before the civil APPENDIX. 275 war" (a generally Calvinistic period) "in which the character of a seducer of married women is represented in a favour- able light. W T e remember many plays in which such persons are baffled and exposed, covered with derision, and insulted by triumphant husbands." Proofs are given. He then adds: " In general we will venture to say, that the dramatists of the age of Elizabeth and James I." (a still more Calvinistic period) " either treat the breach of the married vow as a serious crime, or, if they treat it as a matter of laughter, turn the laugh against the gallant. On the contrary, during the forty years which followed the Restoration" (a strongly Arminian period), " the whole body of the dramatists invari- ably represented adultery, not as a peccadillo or error of the passions, but as the calling of a fine gentleman — as a grace, without which his character would be imperfect. It is repre- sented as essential as that he should know French or wear a wig. There is no passion in it." Now contemplate the moral result on society. " A period of wild and desperate dissoluteness followed. Even in remote manor-houses and hamlets, thechange"(from the strictness of the Commonwealth — in other words, from Calvinism to Armi- nianism)"was felt. But in London the outbreak of debauchery was appalling; and in London the places most deeply affected were, the palace, the quarters inhabited by the aristocracy,and the inns of court. It was on the support of these parts of the town that the play-houses depended. The character of the drama became conformed to the character of its patrons. The comic poet was the mouth-piece of the most deeply corrupted part of a corrupted society, and in the plays before us (Wycherley and Congreve), we find distilled and condensed the essential spirit of the fashionable world during the anti- Puritan reaction.'' Dr. Owen, who lived in both periods— the Commonwealth and the age of Charles II. — gives a fearful and detailed pic- ture of the irreligion and profanity of the latter. (Inquiry, &c, pp. 206, 207, 331.) To prevent misapprehension, I beg leave to state, that while fully convinced that Arminianism, carried out to its logical consequences, lowers both the law and the gospel, and so relaxes morality, I am equally con- vinced that there are multitudes who popularly pass under the name of Arminian, such as many of the present Evan- gelical party in the Church of England, and of the modern Wesleyan Methodists, who are much better than their pro- fessed name, who hold the doctrine of justification by free grace through faith alone, and only differ from Calvinists in tracing up grace to its source. Such persons are Anti-pre- 276 APPENDIX. destinarian, but should not be confounded or classed with Arminians, properly so called — the men who make a man's good works the ground of his acceptance with God. WORKS ON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH GOVERNMENT. A.MONG the leading British works in defence of the Presby- terian Church, some more extensive in their scope than others, but all indicating a talent and learning which rebuke the allegation that the ministers of the Presbyterian Church are weak or ignorant men, may be enumerated the follow- ing :* — " Altare Damascenum seu Ecclesia? Anglican^ Politia," 1623. This is a thick quarto in Latin, by David Calderwood, the historian. It has frequently been republished on the Continent, where it bears, and justly, a high reputation. " A Dispute against the English-Popish Ceremonies ob- truded upon the Church of Scotland, wherein not only our own arguments against the same are strongly confirmed, but like- wise the answers and defences of our opposites, &c, particu- larly confuted," 1637. A small quarto in English, most masterly in its character, by George Gillespie, one of the mi- nisters of Edinburgh. " Aaron's Rod Blossoming; or, the Divine Ordinance of Church Government Vindicated," &c, 1646. It is by the same author, and is dedicated to the divines of the Westmin- ster Assembly, of which he was a member as a commissioner from Scotland. Many other publications, bearing more or less on Presbyterian Church government, proceeded from his pen; among others, "An Assertion of the Discipline and Government of the Church of Scotland," 1641, in small quarto. Gillespie was a first-rate scholar for his years — learned in the original languages of the Scriptures and antiquity, and highly esteemed by his contemporaries. In debate he was eminent. * It is not necessary to refer to foreign writers ; otherwise, in addition to those named in the preface, many might be adduced, such as F. Turretine, 41 De Distinctione Episcopi et Presbyteri," in his " Institutio Theologian," torn. 3. Vitringa, a professor of theology and Church history at Franeker, in North Holland, " De Synagoga Vetere." showing that the government and ministry of the Ancient were transferred to the Christian Church. (P. 846.) H. vYitsius, " De Vita Timothei." (P. 318.) " Exercitationes Deylingii Observationes Miscellanea;." (P. 429.) " Ursinus Corpus Doctrinae Christiana?." (P.582.) And the usual text- books used in the Continental Divinity Halls. Among modern works, " Neander's Church History," and also " Planting of the Christian Church," might be appealed to. He contends for the primi- tive identity of the bishop and presbyter. APPENDIX. 2/7 The works of the antagonist of Selden and Lightfoot in the Westminster Assembly are well worthy the attention of in- telligent Presbyterians. " Due Right of Presbytery," by Samuel Rutherford, author of the celebrated " Letters" which bear his name — a man of eminent scholarship and acuteness, as his attainments in Rab- binical learning, appearances in the Westminster Assembly, his works, and the estimation in which he was held by foreign contemporaries, all show. " A Dissuasive from the Errors of the Time, wherein the tenets of the principal sects, especially of the Independents, are drawn together, &c, and examined by the touchstone of the Holy Scriptures," by Robert Baillie, 1645. Baillie, after holding more than one professorship, was principal of Glas- gow College, and, like his two preceding brethren, was a mem- ber of the Westminster Assembly. He was a master in lan- guages, being able to claim acquaintance with ten or twelve of them. Learned in chronology, theology, &c, he stood high in the estimation of the most distinguished Continental scho- lars and divines, such as Salmasius, Spanheim, Leusden, &c. " A Brief Refutation of the Errors of Toleration, Erastian- ism, Independency, and Separation," by James Fergusson of Kilwinning, written in 1652, but published in 1692. James Wood, professor of theology at St. Andrews, pub- lished " An Examination and Refutation of Lockyer's Lec- ture on the Visible Church, in defence of Presbytery, and against Independency," in 1654. In the same period Presbyterian ministers in London and England published, " Jus^Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici, or Divine Right o. Church Government Asserted and Evidenced by the Holy Scriptures," &c, &c, by sundry ministers of Christ within the city of London. A small quarto. " Smectymnus, an Answer to a Humble Remonstrance, 1646, in which the original of Liturgy and Episcopacy is dis- cussed, the parity of Bishops and Presbyters in Scripture de- monstrated, the antiquity of Ruling Elders in the Church vindicated, &c, &c, by five learned and orthodox Divines." This was an answer to Bishop Hall's " Defence of the Church of England." The authors were, Stephen Marshall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurston, whose initials make up the title. "A Vindication of the Presbyterial Government and Mi- nistry, by the Ministers and Elders met in Provincial Assem- bly, November 1649." Small quarto, London, 1650. "The Good Old Way Defended, &c, wherein the Divine T 278 APPENDIX. Right of the Government of the Church by Presbyters act- ing in parity, is Asserted," &c.,by Gilbert Rule, principal of the College of Edinburgh, 1697. He was the author of vari- ous pamphlets in defence of Presbytery against Episcopacy, after the Restoration. " Nazianzeni Querela et Votum Justum : the Fundamen- tals of the Hierarchy Examined and Disproved," by William Jameson, lecturer of history in the University of Glasgow, 1697. " Cyprianus Isotimus, or J. S.'s (John Sage, a Scottish Epis- copal bishop) Vindication of his Principles of the Cyprianic Age Confuted," &c, by the same author, 1705. " The Sum of the Episcopal Controversy, as it is Pleaded from the Holy Scriptures," &c, &c, by the same, 1713. Jameson must have been a remarkable man. His works are full of learning, and yet he was blind. This is beauti- fully referred to by him, in the conclusion of his " Nazian- zenzi." " The Hierarchical Bishops' Claim to a Divine Right, Tried at the Scripture Bar" (in answer to three authors, two of them bishops), " the whole issuing in a clear discerning of the solid grounds of Presbyterian Government, in opposition to Pre- lacy," by Principal Forrester of St. Andrews. Quarto, 1669. The same author, though his name is not given, published in a thick quarto a " Review and Consideration of two Pamph- lets, &c, in confutation of Bishop Sage on the Cyprianic Age," 1706. The same author, at an earlier day, 16S4, anony- mously published, " Rectius Instruendum, containing a Con- futation of Episcopacy, and Vindication of the Truth, owned by the true Protestant and Presbyterian Church of Scot- land." Currie, in his " Vindication," states that Forrester was the author. " The Divine Institution of Bishops having Churches con- sisting of many Congregations, Examined by Scripture," by Alex. Lauder, minister of Mordington, 1711. The same author published " The Jurisdiction and Power of the An- cient Bishops Considered," in answer to Chillingworth, 1707. " Defence of the Church Government, Faith, Worship, and Spirit, of the Presbyterians," by Anderson, minister of Dum- barton, and afterwards first minister of the Ramshorn Church, Glasgow, 1704. Here may added, "A Plea for Scripture Ordination, or Ten Arguments from Scripture and Antiquity proving Ordination by Presbyters without Bishops to be Valid," by J. 0. (James Owen, a Dissenting minister), pre- faced by Rev. Daniel Williams, 1694. " The Original Constitution of the Christian Church, APPENDIX. 279 wherein the Extremes on either hand are Stated and Exa- mined; to which is added, an Appendix, containing the rise of the Jure Divino Prelatists, and an answer to their Argu- ments hy Episcopal Divines," hy T. A. (Thomas Ayton), minister of the gospel at Alyth, 1730. " A Clear Account of the Ancient Episcopacy, proving it to have been Parochial, and therefore inconsistent with the present Model of Diocesan Episcopacy, wherein the several Pretensions of the Divine Right of the latter are fully Exa- mined," by Joseph Boyse of Dublin. Vide Works, 1726. The works of the excellent Willison of Dundee may here be referred to. His views on Episcopacy are contained in his Letter from " A Parochial Bishop to a Prelatical Gentle- man;" his views on Independency in his controversy with John Glas. " A Humble Attempt to Exhibit a Scriptural View of the Constitution, Order, Discipline, and Fellowship of the Gospel Church," by Archibald Hall. London, 1795. " A Short Vindication of Presby terial Church Government, containing a Summary View of the Evidence in Support of it from Scripture, together with an Examination of the Prin- cipal Arguments of the Independents against it," by George Whytock, of the Associate Congregation, Dalkeith. 1799. i " Letters on the Constitution, Government, and Discipline of the Christian Church," by John Brown of Haddington, 1799. " A Vindication of the Presbyterian Form of Church Go- vernment, as professed in the Standards of the Church of Scotland, in reply to the Animadversions of Modern and An- cient Independents," by Rev. John Brown of Gartmore (now Dr. Brown of Langton), 1805. " Presbyterian Letters, addressed to Bishop Skinner of Aberdeen, on his Vindication of Primitive Truths and Order," &c, by Dr. Mitchell of Kemnay, 1809. " Presby terianism Defended," 1839, and " Plea of Presbytery," &c, &c, both by Ministers of the General Synod of Ulster, 1841. Several of the authors above named have published others which it would have been too tedious to mention, but which the reader, with those given, will have little difficulty in finding. Perhaps to the list might be added a work of the great Dr. Owen, entitled " An Inquiry into the Original Na- ture, Institution, Power, Order, and Communion, of Evange- lical Churches, with an Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet." Quarto, 1681. Though not strictly a Presbyterian book, yet it is a powerful exposure of the claims of Prelacy, and is written with a freedom and ease unusual in many of the works of Owen. 280 APPENDIX. There is a posthumous little work by David Clarkson, pub- lished in London in 16SS, entitled '^Primitive Episcopacy Stated and Cleaved from the Holy Scriptures and Ancient Records." The object is to show, and it is done with great learning, that the Primitive Episcopacy was not an oversight of a number of pastors, as Prelatists allege, but of a single congregation. Various treatises, bearing more or less on the same controversy, have been republished by the WicklifFe Society, the production of the same author. Of modern American works, by far the most important which I have seen, bears the title of " Letters concerning the Constitution and Order of the Christian Ministry, addressed to the Members of the Presby- terian Churches in the City of New York," &c, &c, by Dr. Miller of Princeton. Large octavo, 2d edition, Philadelphia, 1830. The Letters are by the same author as the little treatise which is now republished, and are of a very high character. What adds to their value is, that they most satisfactorily discuss the pretensions of the new Anglican School in the Church of England, in a controversy which Dr. Miller held with similar parties in America in 1807. " An Ecclesiastical Catechism : being a Series of Ques- tions relative to the Scriptural Authority of the Presbyterian Form of Church Government." By Alexander M'Leod,D.D., pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, New York. Republished by Johnstone, Edinburgh. The Rev. Dr. Smyth of Charleston has recently published various important works in defence of Presbytery and against High Church Prelacy. A little useful M*ork has been published by Dr. Barnes, trying Episcopacy solely upon scriptural grounds. It has been reprinted in London, while one of Dr. Smyth's has been reprinted by Mr. Collins of Glasgow. Since the above was written, Dr. James Buchanan of Edin- burgh has published valuable Tracts, and Dr. Alexander an able volume on Apostolic Succession. Dr. King of Glasgow, and Dr. M'Kerrow of the United Presbyterian Church, have published useful volumes on the Eldership, which so far vindicate an important part of the Presbyterian Constitution. INDEX. INDEX Preface to the Second Edition, ... . Page iii Preface to the First Edition, ...... v I. DR. MLLEE'S TREATISE. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. On the name Catholic or Universal Church— Is the Church of Rome a Church of Christ? Note— Of whom the True Catholic Church consists— Its Unity — Obligation of Christians to Ascertain which Christian Denomination comes nearest to the Scriptural Model— Four distinct Forms of Church Order— The precise and general Meaning of Presbyterianism, Page\l-2i CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM. The Government of the Church conducted by Representatives in Old Testa- ment Times — The Synagogue ruled by Elders— Appeal from the Inferior to the Great Synagogue— The same System adopted by the First Con- verts to Christianity— No countenance in the New Testament to any Go- vernment except the Presbyterian— True meaning of the word " Bishop." Note— The Earliest Fathers testify in behalf of Presbytery— Prelacy and Independeney unknown in the Christian Church for the first two hundred years— Prelacy began to rise in theJThird Century amid great Corruptions — Taylor's "Ancient Christianity" recommended. Note— Christian Writers of the highest character bear witness to the unhappy Change— Ambrose — Augustine— Chrvsostom— Summary of the Argument from Early Times —There were alwavs Witnesses against Prelacy in the Christian Church — Paulicians in the Seventh Century— The Waldenses were Presbyterians —Presbyterianism kept alive in the only Pure Churches known^toexist at the time— The Reformers almost unanimously adopted Presbytery— The Church of England alone, in Protestant Christendom, clung to Prelacy- Political Considerations the cause— The ignorant charge thatPresbyterian- ism originated with Calvin— The history of Presbyterianism shows that it is Favourable to Freedom— The Presbyterian Church often Perse- cuted, never a Persecuting Church— Case of Calvin and Servetus, Page 21-42. T 2 282 INDEX. CHAPTER III. DOCTRINE OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Presbyterians have, in all ages, laid great stress on Pure Doctrine — Their System of Doctrine contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith — Usually bears the name of Calvinistic — Why ?— In what they Agree and in what Differ from other Evangelical Denominat ; ons — Gross Misrepre- sentations of the Calvinistic System — Facts fitted to moderate the hostility. Note— 1. Statement of the real System of Doctrine which Presbyterian's believe — 5. The ample support of this System found in the Word of God — 3. For substance the same with that of the Witnesses to the Truth, and great borly of the Reformers in past times— 4. As few Difficulties attend it as any other System — 5. The very same Objections were made in Apos- tolic Times to the Doctrines of Grace— 6. Every devout Professor of Religion becomes a Calvinist in Prayer— 7. The Moral Influence of the Calvinistic System higher than that of any other, . Page 43-69. CHAPTER IV. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The Necessity of Government in the Church— The Peculiarities of Presby- tery—The Official Equality of Ministers against Prelacy— Statement of the Prelatic Claim — Diocesan Bishops not the Successors of the Apostles — Total absence of Scriptural Authority for them— The Testimony of Theodoret, Four Centuries after the Apostolic Age, of no value in itself, and is, besides, opposed by earlier Fathers — The alleged Prelacy of Timothy and Titus without the slightest Foundation in Scripture — Aban- doned by Episcopalian Writers— The Postscripts of the Epistles of Second Timothy and Titus ofno Authority— The Argument from the Angels of the Seven Churches shown to be equally vain— The Ciaim that James was Bishop of Jerusalem a Gratuitous Assumption — Summary Answer to the Prelatic Arguments— Episcopal Writers claim the Fathers in behalf of their Views — Dr. Miller's Reasons for not entering on this Field — The Supremacy of the Word of God — New Testament Testimony in favour of Ministerial Parity clear— All the Reformers Contended for the same. Note on the Views of the Lutheran Church in the matter— The Office of Deacon in the Episcopal Church Destitute of Scriptural Authority— True Nature of the Office— Views of the Fathers regarding it— Presbyterians contend not only for Parity among Ministers, but for the Office of Ruling Elder— Summary of the Argument for— Also for Courts of Review- Inconveniences of the absence of them— Arguments for — General Ad- vantages of the Presbyterian Form of Government— Other Churches con- strained to Act upon its Principles, .... Page 70-96. CHAPTER V. THE WORSHIP OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Word of God only Safe Guide in regard to Worship— Views of the English Puritans— High Character of. Note— 1. Christ is the only King and Head of the Church— 2. Human Additions expressly Forbidden in Scripture— 3. Once Admitted, there is no end to them, . . Page 97-100. INDEX. 283 SECTION I. — PRESBYTERIANS REJECT PRESCRIBED LITURGIES. True State of the Question. Not/'—]. No Forms of Prayer in the Apostolic Age of the Church — 2. The Lord's Prayer not intended to be used as an Exclusive Form— 3. No Prescribed Form known for several hundred years— 4. If the Apostles had given a Liturgy to the Church, it would have been Preserved — 5. Forms Injurious to the Spirit of Prayer— 6. No Forms can be adapted to all circumstances — 7. When Religion is in a lively state, Forms are felt to be a Restraint— 8. Prescribed Liturgies have a tendency to Perpetuate Error — Summary of Argument — Clarkson on Liturgies Recommended. Note. SECTION II. — PRESBYTERIANS DO NOT OBSERVE HOLY DAYS. Because. 1. Scripture does not Warrant— 2. Expressly Discountenances them — 3. Existence of under Old, no Argument for use under New Testa- ment— 4. .The History of, does not Recommend the Practice of— 5. The Motives and Manner of Introducing, is an Argument against — 6. There is no Limit to them— 7. The Observance of, Injurious to the Sanctification of the Lord's Day. SECTION III.— PRESBYTERIANS REJECT GOD-FATHERS AND GOD- MOTHERS IN BAPTISM. 1. There is not a shadow of Scripture Evidence for them— 2. No Trace of them for five hundred years after Christ— 3. Their subsequent History- marks the Progress of Superstition— 4. Unknown among the Waldenses and Albigenses-5 The Practice sets asido Parents in a solemn transac- tion — Church of England allows Lay- Baptism. Note. SECTION IV. — PRESBYTERIANS REJECT THE SIGN OF THE CROSS IN BAPTISM. The Practice was retained in the Church of England only by a Majority of Owe— 1. It has no Scripture Authority— 2. Is associated in its Origin with much Superstition— 3 Also in its Progress— Tertullian, &c— 4 The miserable Superstition to which it is subservient in the Church of Rome. SECTION V. — FRESBYTERIANS REJECT THE RITE OF CONFIRMATION. Because Unwarranted, 1. By the Word of God— 2. By Inspired Antiquity— 3. It is Superfluous— 4.. As Administered in the Church of England, ft is liable to Serious Objections. SECTION VI. — PRESBYTERIANS REJECT KNEELING AT THE LORD'S SUPPER. Because, 1. Sitting was the Posture of our Lord and his Disciples— 2. Kneel- ing was unknown for many Centuries after the Apostolic Age— 3. Is In- congruous, and therefore unsuitable to the Lord's Supper— 4. Is liable to Misapprehension and Abuse. 284 INDEX. SECTION VII.— PRESBYTERIANS DO NOT ADMINISTER THE LORD^S SUPPER IN PRIVATE. The Ordinance much Perverted from Earliest Times downwards by the Church of Rome— The Church of England Administers to Impenitent Criminals— Cases — Presbyterians refuse it in Private, because, 1. The Ordinance in its own nature is Social— 2. No Warrant for Private Com- munion in the New Testament— 3. It Encourages the Dying to rely on an External Sign— 4. There is no end to the Practice if the Principle be once admitted— Declining to Administer in Private avoids serious Em- barrassments. SECTION VIII. — PRESBYTERIANS REJECT BOWING AT THE NAME OF JESUS. Because, I. There is no Warrant for it in Scripture— 2. No good Reason can be assigned foOt— 3. It Encourages Superstition— Was never heard of till the Fifteenth Century. SECTION IX. — PRESBYTERIANS REJECT THE READING OF APOCRYPHAL BOOKS IN PUBLIC WORSHIP. Because, 1. Nothing should be read under the name of Holy Scripture, ex- cept what truly is so — 2. The Apocryphal Books contain False Doctrine —The Homilies of the Church of England speak favourably of them— The Reading of them in Public Worship Protested against by many of the most eminent Divines, .... Page 100- 139 . CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSION. Presbyterians, while they Maintain their own Principles, do not Condemn other Christians— A large portion of the Apostolic Spirit essential]. to the Maintenance and due Execution of their System, . Page 140-142. CONCLUDING NOTE BY THE EDITOR. The Presbyterian Church has never Unchurched other Evangelical Churches — Historical References Proving her Candid and Charitable Spirit — Ex- hortation to Presbyterians not to be moved by the arrogant assumptions which deny the Validity of their Religious Ordinances, Page 142-144, INDEX. 285 II. MR. LOBIMER'S TEEATISE. THE CHARACTER AND ADVANTAGES OF PRESBYTERIANISM ASCERTAINED BY FACTS, WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE PRETENSIONS OF THE NEW ANGLICAN SCHOOL, TESTI- MONY OF THE FATHERS AND REFORMERS TO PRESBY- TERY, ETC. CHAPTER I. VIEW OF THE PRESENT STATE OF PRESBYTERIANISM THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. The Church of Scotland— The Free Church— Other Scottish Presbyterian Bodies— Growth of Presbytery— Presbyterian Church of Ireland— Increas- ing Presbyterian Church of England— Recent Growth— Calvinistic Methodists'— Presbyterian Churches of Holland— Of France — Switzerland — Hungary— Piedmont— Germany— United States of America-- All Re- viving—In some cases Great and Growing Enlargement, Page 147-157. CHAPTER II. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO THE MAINTENANCE OF SOUND DOCTRINE. No System of Church Government of itself able always to Preserve Sound Doctrine, but Presbytery more Favourable than others — No Tenets or Practice of the Presbyterian Church fitted to Pervert Sound Doctrine — Prelacy Injurious to it— Also Independency— The latter proved by His- tory — Fergusson and Baillie's Testimonies — Sound Doctrine of the.Pres- byterian Church of America— Explanation of the Cases where Presbyte- rian Churches have become Unsound— The Relaxation of Presbyterian Principles a Leading Cause— When Sound Doctrine Revives in a Church, its Presbyterian Organization Aids the Revival, . Page 158-166. CHAPTER III. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO UNITY AND PEACE. Its Organization Conduces to Unity— Misapprehension springing from the Free Discussions of its Church Courts — Independency tends to Division — Prelacy, where associated with the notion of the Uninterrupted Epis- copal Succession — And in its own Nature — Divisive in its Tendency — — Proved by the Facts of History— Particularly of the Church of Eng- land—The Alleged Unity of the Churches of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, .... . . Page 167-178. INDEX. CHAPTER IV. PRESBYTER I A NISM FAVOURABLE TO THE CULTIVATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING. What sort of Knowledge is most Important for the Ministers of the Gospel— The Presbyterian Church, on Principle, and from its Constitution, always the Friend'of a Well-educated Ministry— The high Acquirements of the Presbyterian Reformers, both in Britain and on the Continent, and in subsequent periods— The Presbyterian Church of America Zealous in her Efforts for a Well-instructed Ministry— High Proportional Number of her Theological Institutions and College's for General Literature— Creditable Labours of the British and American Congregationalists in the same Causs — The Claim of some Episcopalians in behalf of the learning of the Church of England, to the Disparagement of that of Presbyterian Churches, Considered and Answered— In Comparing the Church of Eng- land with other Churches, the Relative Number of Educated Men must be taken into account, also the peculiar Encouragements and Facilities for Learning— Statistics of Cambridge and Oxford Universities — Application of these Considerations, ..... Page 179-193. CHAPTER V. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO LOYALTY. Civil Insubordination a Common Charge against Presbytery— True Religion in every age assailed with the same charge — Parity not the Parent of Con- fusion. Note— The Confessions of Faith of Presbyterian Churches Prove their Lovalty— German, French, Swiss, Bohemian, Waldensian, Scottish — Presbyterian Churches have, in point i f fact, been Eminent for their Loyalty—The Waldenses— French Protestants— Testimony of James VI. —British Presbyterians Vindicated from the Calumny of being the Authors of the Death of Charles I.— The Protest of the Presbyterian Ministers of London— The Acknowledgment of Sir George Mackenzie— The Dying Testimonies of the Scottish Martyrs— The Loyalty of the Irish Presbyterians Proved by History, also the Presbyterians of America — Prelacy in the days of Popery Seditious— 1 he Scottish Episcopal Church Disloyal for "one hundred" years— Explanation of the Collisions of the Presbyterian Church with Civil Power in former and present times, Page 194-213. CHAPTER VI. PRESBYTERIANISM FAVOURABLE TO CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. What True Liberty is— The Fruit of True Religion— The Connection be- tween Civil and Religious Freedom— The Services of the Presbyterian Church in Working out the Freedom of Europe at the Reformation — Explanation of the Intolerance into which Evangelical Christians have been occasionally Betrayed — Presbyterians Vindicated from all Serious Persecution. Note, 222— Also Confessions of Episcopal Writers to this effect — Connection between Presbyterianism and Freedom in Scotland, in Ireland, in the United States—Prelacy Injurious to Liberty Proved bv History— The Exclusive Claims of Congregationalists to be the Friends of Freedom Considered— Neither their Practice nor their Principles en- title to the honour, ...... Page 214-224. INDEX. 287 CHAPTER VII. PRESBYTERIANTSM FAVOURABLE TO CATHOLIC VIEWS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. Presbyterian Principles Cultivate just Views of the Unity of the Church of Christ— Facts — Confessions of Faith— Prelacy Injurious to such Views — Also Congregationalism— The Church of Scotland in former times Catho- i Catho 22MBS2 lie — The Free Church of the present day Catholic, . Page -22«32, CHAPTER VIII. PRESBYTERIANTSM FAVOURABLE TO THE MAINTENANCE OF SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES AND PRIVILEGES IN PEACEFUL AND ADVERSE TIMES. Importance of a Self-preserving Power — In Peace, Presbytery Provides for Sympathy, Consultation, and Co-operation — Its Diffusive Tendency — Christian Missions— In Times of Trial, Presbytery is a good Defence- Promptitude of Movement — United Resistance — Disadvantages under which Episcopal and Congregational Churches Labour — Concluding Re- marks, ....... Page 233-239. CHAPTER IX. THE FAVOURABLE OPERATION OF PRESBYTERIANISM ILLUS- TRATED IN THE FREE CHURCH MOVEMENT OF SCOTLAND. Change in Ecclesiastical Parties during the last Five Years — Revival of the Principles of Presbytery even among those not professedly Presbyterian — The Scottish Disruption honourable to Presbylery — Prepared for the event— Useful at and subsequent to it— The inadequacy of Prelacy or Congregationalism in similar circumstances — Facts in confirmation — Tes- timony of a Popish Bishop to the Advantages of Presbytery, Page 210-248. APPENDIX. THE TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS IN BEHALF OF PRESBYTERY. Presbyterians might Consistently Decline to Acknowledge the Fathers— The Inferior and Unsatisfactory Character of their Writings— At the same time, Presbyterians have never shrunk from this Argument— What it la Essential Episcopalians should Establish from theWritings of the Fathers — Testimonies of Clement, Hermes, Polycaip, Ignatius, Irenzeus, Justin Martyr, Clemens Alexandrinus, not Inconsistent with, but more or less Favourable to, Presbytery— Strong Presumptions against Diocesan Epis- copacy in Primitive Times from Acknowledged Facts, Page 249-257. 288 INDEX. TESTIMONY OF THE REFORMERS IN BEHALF OF PRESBYTERY. The Superiority of the Reformers to the Fathers— Misapprehension of Prela- tists as to the Origin and Prevalence of Presbytery— Any Favourable Opinion of the Reformers in Behalf of Prelacy Explained — The Ancient Waldenses Presbvterian— Also Wickliffe, Huss, Jerome, and the Rohe- mian Brethren— Luther, his Sentiment and Practice— Others— Lutheran Divines— The Reformed Churches Presbyteiian— Calvin— France— Hol- land— Synod of Dort— Reformers of the English Church Substantially Presbyterian— Also their Successors and more Modern Writers — Sum- mary of the Argument from the Reformers — Striking Testimony to Pres- bvtery in general, and the Church of Scotland in particular, by Alexander Henderson, in 1641 — Also to the latter by Committee of the House of Commons, in 1834, Page 257-271. ADDITIONAL FACTS ON TI1E MORAL TENDENCY OF CALVINISM. Experimental Testimony of Toplady to the Success of Preaching the higher Doctrines of Calvinism in the Conversion of Souls— Booth's Kecantation of Anti-Calvinistic Views, and accompanying Happiness — An Episcopal Minister's Attestation to the high Moral and Religious Character of the Calviniftic Age of the English Puritans— The "Edinburgh Review" on the fearful Immorality of the Arminian Age, which succeeded— Dr. Owen's Testimony to the same purpose— Misapprehension guarded against, Pag* 271-276. WORKS ON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH GOVERNMENT. Page 276-280. I ! LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY JOHN JOHNSTONE, AGENT FOR THE FREE BIBLE PRESS COMPANY, COLDSTREAM; PRINTER FOR THE CHEAP PUBLICATION SCHEME THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 26, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON; (ROBERT THEOBALD, FROM THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, MANAGER,) AND 15, PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH. Novejiber, 1846. THIRD YEAR'S ISSUE OP THE CHEAP PUBLICATION SCHEME OF THB FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. Being from May 1846 to May 1847. The Committee on Publications of the Free Church of Scotland beg to announce, that the following Works will form the Third Year's Issue of this Scheme :— 1. Halyburton's Memoirs, with Life 2. M'Crie's Sketches of Church History, revised by the Author, 2 vols. 3. History of the Revival at Cambuslang in 1742, from the Narrative and Notes of the Rev. William M'Culloch, then minister of the parish ; with a series of Sermons by the Rev. George Whitefield, preached in connection with that event, and never before published. Each of these volumes will contain about 320 pages 12mo, handsomely bound in cloth, and will be supplied to subscribers on the same terms as before, viz., four shillings per anmim, payable in advance. The first delivery of two volumes will take place in January, and the remaining two volumes in April, 1847. The following Works have been already published in the Series, and - can be obtained on application to the publisher, John Johnstone, 26, Paternoster Row, London, and 15, Princes Street, Edinburgh; and through order of any Bookseller : — 1. Select Writings of Knox, . . . Demy 12mo. 2. Rutherford, ... do. 3. Traill, .... do. 4. Memoirs of Veitch, Hogg, Erskine, and Carstairs, do. 5. Fleming on the Fulfilling of Prophecy. Vol. L, do. 6. Select Writings of Dickson. ... do. 7. Lives of Henderson and Guthrie, with Specimens of their Writings, .... do. 8. Selections for the Young, .... Royal 32mo. %• This Scheme was the first projected for supplying valuable Works at an unprecedentedly low price, and the Volumes are still the cheapest offered to the Public. November, 1846. LIST OF WOEKS PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY JOHN JOHNSTONE AFFEICTER'S REFUGE ; THE Or, Prayers Adapted to Various Circumstances of Distress, chiefly expressed in the language of Scripture. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. " This work consists of a series, of devotional exercises, suited to those exigencies of life of most frequent occurrence. They are rich in the language of Sacred Scripture, and breathe a spirit of deep and fervent piety ." — Edinburgh A dvertiser. AILZIE GRIERSOIY; A Tale of a Prisoner. By a Lady. 18mo, 6d. " The inculcation of piety, kindness, and truth, is the leading feature in this Tale of a Prisoner, and we hope our readers will allow it to fulfil its mission, by perusing it attentively for themselves." — Dumfries Standard. ANDERSON- Hymns from the German ofDr. Martin Euther. By the Rev. John Anderson, Minister of the Free Church of Scot- land, Helensburgh. Foolscap 8vo, Is. 6d. " It is peculiarly interesting to read those simple and fervid strains by which Luther led captive the ear and stirred the heart of the oppressed people. The mere English reader may now experience all this interest and gratification ; and for this treat he is indebted to the amiable and gifted author of ' Patrick Wellwood,' who for the simplicity and beauty of the translations, the terse and vigorous Saxon into which the original is rendered, has our most cordial thanks." — Witness. AIVJ>ERSOIV— Gymnasia ; Or, Intermediate Institutions ; being a Statement submitted to the College Committee of the Free Church. By Alexander Anderson, Minister of the Free Church, Old Aberdeen. 8vo, price 8d. " They would refer to the work upon this subject now in circulation, by the Rev. Mr. Anderson of Old Aberdeen."— Report of the Comviitlee of tlie Free Church on Education. ANTOERSOIV— Two Sermons Preached on Sacramental Occasions. By the Rev. Jonathan R. Anderson, John Knox's Church, Glasgow. Fcap. 8vo, sewed, 6d.; cloth, 9d. AIVBERSOIV-Wonl of Counsel To Distressed Souls. By the Rev. Jonathan R. Anderson, John Knox's Church, Glasgow. Per 100, 3s. Cd. 4 LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY ANTI-PATRONAGE LIBRARY, Comprehending a , Collection of Acts of Parliament and Assembly connected with Patronage ; Currie's Jus Populi Divinum; and Treatises on Patronage by different Civil and Ecclesiastical Authors, including Lord Prestongrange, Mr. Crosby, &c. Demy 8vo, cl., 3s. 6d. ARNOT (W.V- Memoir and Remains of the late James Ilalley, A.B,, Student of Theology. By the Rev. W. Arnot, Glasgow. Second Edition. Foolscap 8vo, with Portrait, cloth, 5s. " The history of a young man in humble life — one of the untimely lost — rising, by the exercise of his own talents, which were of the highest order — by his application to study, which was intense and ardent — by his perseverance, which overcame every obstacle — to the chief place of honour and renown in the sphere which he occupied." — Dundee Warder. ARNOTT— Theocracy of the Bible; Or, a Defence of the Christian Religion against the Charges of John Howden, Esq., Author of " Natural Philosophy," in a series of Letters. By the Rev. George Arnott, Lanark. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. BAGOT- Commentary on the First Seventeen Chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew; containing several Essays on Impor- tant Subjects ; being the First Volume of a Copious Commentary on that Gospel. By the Rev. Daniel Bagot, B.D., Vicar-General, and Commissary of Newry and Morne, and Vicar of Newry. Royal 8vo, 12s. By the same Author, 1 The Protestant Catechism; containing a plain and concise Refu- tation from the Bible of all the leading Errors of the Church of Rome ; with references to all the passages of Scripture which are connected with the subject; and an Appendix, containing Extracts and Explanations illustrative of the Nature of that System. For popular use. Foolscap 8vo, 6d. 2 The Catechism of the Church of England, with additional Questions, Explanations, and Copious Scripture References. 32mo, stitched, 2d. ; cloth, 4d. 3 A Catechism on the Leading Truths of the Gospel, with Scrip- ture Proofs, for Sunday and other Schools. Fifty-sixth Thousand. Id. 4 Three Hundred and Sixty-five Simple Questions for very Young Children, with References to Texts for Answers. Tenth thousand, 2d. 5 The Kingdom of Christ, a Concise Tract on the Second Advent, with Scripture References. For general circulation. Id. 6 The Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Explained. Id. 7 The Complaint of Jacob, Gen. xlii. 3b'; or, A Word of Comfort to the Afflicted. 2d. 8 A Treatise on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. For popular use. Sewed, 6d. ; cloth, 8d. 9 The Thorn in the Flesh; or, An Exposition of 2 Cor. xii. 7-9. 6d. 10 The Temptation; or, An Exposition of Matthew iv. 1-11. Is. Cd. 1 1 The Transfiguration ; or, An Exposition of Matthew xvii. 1-8. Is. 6d. 12 The Disciples in the Storm; or, An Exposition of Matthew, xiv. 22-33. 2s. 6d. I? A I- EM* I N- Pulpit Themes. illustrated by Three Thousand Scripture texts in full; systematically classified from the works of the most eminent divines. By the Rev. A. C. Baldwin, New York. Fooslcap 8vo, cloth, 2s. JOHN JOHNSTONE, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 5 BARIVE9- Inqairy into the Organization and ^ovornnirs-.i of the Apostolic Church; with reference to the claims of Episco- pacy. By the Rev. Albert Barnes. 18mo, cloth, 2s. " Who will not rejoice to meet Albert Barnes, 'who has laid the Church of Christ under such a weight of obligation by his numerous and invaluable Biblical labours, on the present occasion : j ' Himself a Presby- terian, he has demolished the claims of Episcopacy in a manner as satis- factory as can well be conceived. The br>ok is an'exquisite specimen of scriptural controversy." — Christian Witness. BEAUTS EA3IO..Y WOX^fllP; A course of Morning and Evening Prayers for every Day in the Month; with Prayers for special occasions, and a Discourse on Family Religion. 18mo, cloth, Is. 6d, - BE3TE1— Sorrowing, yet Suejcicinaj; Or, Narrative of Recent Successive Bereavements in a Clergyman's Family. By the Rev. Alexander Beith, Stirling. Fifth Edition, 18mo, cloth, Is. 6d. " This is a little work of no ordinary interest, and fraught with in- struction the most valuable, both to parents and children. A healthy and happy family, consisting of seven children, the comfort and delight of pious parents, is visited with sore afiiiction, and in the short period of six weeks four of the number are called away from this mortal scene.'''' — Christian Instructor. BOIYAIS — Ulemoir and Remain* of the JaSe BfT. R. T?I. M'Cheyne, Minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee. By the Rev. A. A. Bonar, Collace. Post 8vo, cloth, 5s. Memoir, without Remains. 18mo, Is. BOOTSrS (ABRAHAM) SELECT WORKS, Consisting of Glad Tidings to Perishing Sinners, the Reign of Grace, and Death of Legal Hope. 12mo, cloth, 3s. b'd. BRIDGES- T.irht in Darkness, Or, the Collier's Tale. A True History. With Woodcut Illustra- tions. By James Bridges, Esq. Second Edition, 18mo, cloth, 8d. " This story presents one of the most remarkable exemplifications of the power and advantage of religious education and principle with which it has ever been our privilege to meet. 'We know not a narrative better fitted to arrest the attention of the careless, whether among young or old, and lead them to serious thought." — Christian Treasury. RR5TSS3H FEUIAJjE BIOGHAPHT; Being Select Memoirs of Pious Ladies, including queens, princesses, martyrs, scholars, instructors, poetesses, philanthropists, and minis- ters' wives. By the Rev. T. Timpson, Author of the " Companion to the Bible," kc, &c. 12mo, cloth, 6s. BKOTSIT^— Science of Articulate Sounds. By the Rev. J. Brodie, Monimail. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 4s. BSDOKS- y^ectnres on Subjects connected wish Prophecy. By the Rev. J. W. Brooks, M.A., Vicar of Clareborough, Retford. Foolscap, 8vo, cloth, 2s. E2£OWN--Thc Second Advent. Will our Lord'3 Second Advent be Pre-millennial ? By the Tier. David Brown, Glasgow. Post 8vo, cloth, 5s. ** This is, in our judgment, one of the most able, comprehensive, and 6 LIST OF WORKS TUBLISIIED BY conclusive, of the numerous works which the Millenarian controversy haa called forth." — Watchman. '* A work of great power, on what we deem the soher and scriptural side of this controversy. We hail its appearance with extraordinary pleasure, as one of the best contributions of the modern press." — Evan. Magazine. BROWN— The Evidence of Christianity in the Nineteenth Century; or, Results of Inquiry as to the Divine Origin of the Scriptures. By the Rev. W. Brown, A.M., Tobermore. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 3s. " For those who wish to see the irrational Rationalism of Germany shown in its true light, encountered on its own ground, and defeated with its own weapons, we know not a cheaper or a better book in an English dress." — Londonderry Standard. BRUCE— Duty and Privilege of Keeping the Sabbath. By the Rev. John Bruce, Edinburgh. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s. BRIICE-Funeral Sermon on the late Dr. Abcrcromb'c. By the Rev. John Bruce, A.M. Third Edition, demy 8vo, 6d. BUCHANA IV— Comfort in Affliction: A Series of Meditations. By James Buchanan, D.D., Edinburgh. Thirteenth Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. "See this subject ('Blessed Results of Affliction'), treated with peculiar force of argument, and felicity of expression — strong in scrip- tural statements of divine truth, and rich in scriptural sources of divine consolation — in a most valuable work, entitled ' Comfort in Affliction, by the Rev. James Buchanan, North Leith,' which I would affectionately recommend to every Christian mourner, who desires to drink deeply of the refreshing streams which the fountain of all comfort — the Word of God — supplies ; for it is from this sacred source the pious and talented author of this excellent work derives ' Comfort in Affliction,' which his pages so eloquently and attractively set forth." — Extract from the Rev. Hugh White's {of Dublin) Meditations. BUCK AIVAN— f mprovemcnt of Affliction : A Practical Sequel to a Series of Meditations, entitled " Comfort in Affliction." By James Buchanan, D.D., Edinburgh. Sixth Edition, foolscap 8vo, 3s. 6d. " Remembering how admirably Dr. Buchanan had ministered comfort to those in trial, we rejoiced to see the same pious and talented author treating of the improvement which ought to be derived/row?, trial. We have read this ' sequel ' to his ' Meditations ' with unmingled satis- faction. It is essentially a ' practical sequel.' While its style evidences labour performed in the study, its thoughts speak of experiences gather- ed hi the sick chamber." — Scottish Guardian. BCCaiANAIV— The Office and Work of the Holy Spirit. By James Buchanan, D.D., Edinburgh. Sixth Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 6s. 6d. " He has adopted a comprehensive plan, and the execution is wor- thy of it. There is an earnestness in his tone which bespeaks the man of God, tremblingly alive to the responsibilities of his ministry. He has satisfactorily proved the necessity of a great spiritual change; given a general view of the Spirit's agency, with reference to the world and the Church; a general view of the process of conversion by which individuals are translated from the world into the Church ; and shown the work of the Spirit in enlightening the mind, convincing the con- science, and renewing the heart." — Scottish Guardian. JOHN JOHNSTONE, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 7 BUCHANAN— On the "Tracts for the Times." By James Buchanan, D.D., Edinburgh. Second Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, Is. 6d. " Brief, but comprehensive, clearly argued, and eloquently expressed; this is an admirable manual of Protestant truth, as opposed to Tractarian Popery." — Watchman. BUCHANAIV- A Warning against Popery: Being the Substance of a Discourse delivered in Free St. Stephen's, Edinburgh, on the day appointed by the Commission of Assembly of the Free Church for Testifying against the Errors of that System. By James Buchanan, D.D. Second Edition, fcp. 8vo. 6d. BUCK (CHARLES)-! Treatise on Religious Experience; its Nature, Evidences, and Advantages. 32mo, cloth, Is. BURDGK (GEORGE) -Village Sermons; Or, Fifty-two Plain and Short Discourses on the Principal Doc- trines of the Gospel, intended for the use of Families, Sunday Schools, and Companies assembled for religious instruction. 12mo, cloth, 3s. BURIV9 (JABEZ)- Missionary Enterprises in ITIany Eands; With a History of Missionary Societies. Royal 32mo, with Twenty Engravings, cloth, 2s. 6d. " This is really a beautiful little book, and as valuable as it is beauti- ful. Mr. Burns has done many things in book-publishing, but he never did better than this. We predict it will become an universal favourite, and find a rapid and extensive sale. It contains above twenty neat engravings, with gilt and ornamented cover." — Baptist Record. CAMPBEkE- African Eight Thrown on a Selection of Scripture Texts. By the late Rev. John Campbell, Kingsland Chapel, London. Second Edition, with a Biographical Sketch of the Author. Frontispiece, 18mo, cloth, gilt edges, 2s. " This is one of the most delightful volumes which could be put into a young person's hand. The illustrations are at once striking and graphic, and are written in an exceedingly pleasing and 6imple style." — Dundee Warder. CANBEfSBT— Contributions towards the Exposition of the Book of Genesis. By Robert S. Candlish, D.D., Edinburgh. Third Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 6"s. " The grand dispensation of Providence towards the fallen race of man, as manifested and matured through the scheme of Christian re- demption, is here laid open, and expounded in a series of discourses, in a plain and practical way, but, at the same time, with a clearness of reasoning and a felicity of illustration that we have rarely seen equalled. ,, — Edinburgh A dvertiser. CANOEISII-Thc Cross of Christ: The Call off.od: Savins Faith: An Inquiry into the Completeness and Extent of the Atonement, with especial reference to the Universal Offer of the Gospel, and the Universal Obligation to Believe. By Robert S. Candlish, D.D., Edinburgh. Second Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. " It would be very vain to attempt giving an idea of this work. There is more in it than in many ponderous folios. It is full of thought; and it is well deserving of being read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested. " — Scott isk Guardian. P LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY CAtfDCISH— Fojii- t,et!eis to the S?«v. E. B. Elliott. On some passages in his floras Apocalypticae. By R. S. Candlish, D.D., Edinburgh. Demy 8vo, sewed, 2s. Gd. CA.^D^SSSI— Trt.-o Principle nf Free Inquiry nnd Private Judgment, and its Special Importance in the present times. By R. S. Candlish, D.D., Edinburgh. 8vo, sewed, 6d. CWDI^ISII— .lohn K»«, his Times, aa« his Work. A Discourse delivered in the Assembly Hall of the Free Church of Scotland, on 18th May, 1846. By R. 8. Candlish, D.D. Fcap. 8vo, 6'd. CEft" rV 2CS£— ;YiIln«re Discourses On the more Important Doctrines of the Gospel; with the Life of the Author, and Preface by Matthew Wilks. 12mo, cloth, 2s. 6d. CHAINING (Dr.) on Self-Culture. 82mo, in a wrapper, 4d. Cloth, gilt, 6d. " A gem of English composition; and of sound, vigorous thought." (APADO^F-Dcalh-Bwl of a Child of&v. Cnfmdese. Translated from the Original Dutch, 18mo, price 3d. _ "A short, but deeply interesting account of one in whom the declara- tion of the Psalmist was remarkably verified — ' Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.' " — Dumfries Standard. CBIEKVKR-TSie lAfe and Times of John Banyan. By George B. Cheever, D.D. With a Preface by the Rev. Ingram Cobbin, A.M. Royal 32mo, cloth, Is. 6d. " In this volume the author has shown that he possesses all the quali- ties, both intellectual and moral, necessary to form a just estimate of Bunyan, whether as a man, a preacher of the Gospel, a sufferer for con- science' sake, or a writer. The author's observations on the character of i mnyan's writings, and especially on his great work, are of high merit and excellence." — Witness. CSIEEVER— Iicetures on the. Pilgrim's Progress. Uniform with " Life and Times of Bunyan." By George B. Cheever, D.D. Royal 32mo, gilt edges, Is. 6d. " Dr. Cheever's sketches are so vivid, and so true, at the same time, to the spirit of Bunyan, that we have passed on from Lecture to Lecture without feeling, in a single instance, that either the poetry or the theology of the Pilgrim has been dissipated. Indeed, we cannot withhold our strongly cherished conviction, that our American brother has better caught the feeling of the Pilgrim, and better transfused it into his pages, than any writer on this side the Atlantic." — Evangelical Magazine. %* The above two works in one volume, 2s. CHRISTIAN TREASSTRY ; Containing Contributions from Ministers and Members of various Evangelical Denominations. Volume I., cloth, 5s. Published in Weekly Numbers, price Id. Monthly Parts, price 5d. " This is an admirable miscellany. It is conducted with taste and judgment. The articles are the productions of eminent writers, and the whole are in harmony with the liberal and catholic spirit of the work." ■ — Universe. CIjKRVCAIj ECONOMICS; Or, Hints, Rural and Household, to Ministers and Others of Limited Income. By a Clergyman of the Old School. Foolscap, 8vo, cloth, 4s. JOILN JOILNSTONE, LO.NDOS AND ED1KBURQII. 9 COE.MNS' fHEAP HESBIIESt- In Demy 12mo, sewed, at Is. 6d. ") In Demy l*2mo, cloth, at 2s. > as follows : — In Royal l2mo, cloth, 3s. j CIIEEVER'S LECTURES ON THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, and on the LIFE and TIMES of BUNYAN. IVAUBIGNE'S HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION. 4 vols. The Fourth Volume, printed by arrangement with Messrs. Oliver and Boyd, from the author's own English edition. DICK'S CHRISTMN PHILOSOPHER; or, The Connection of Science and Philosophy with Religion. Illustrated with Engra- vings, 2 vols. ESSAYS AND DISCOURSES. By J. H. Merle D'Aubignk, D.D. With a Frontispiece of the Author's Residence. %* Other Popular Works in preparation for this Cheap Series. COEtQITIIOUN— The World's Religion, As Contrasted with Genuine Christianity. By Lady Colquhoun. Second Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 38. 6d. " We should particularly recommend this excellent volume to be put into the hands of such educated young females as admire the writings of Hannah More, and are able to relish them. The pious and gifted -writer treats her subjects, under the evident influence of great spirituality of feeling, very clearly, and very impressively." — Watchman, COLQUHOUN— The Kingdom of God, As to its Nature and Subjects. By Lady Colquhoun, 12mo, cloth, 3s. 6d. COFjQUHOUIV— Impressions of «hc ETcart. Relative to the Nature and Excellency of Genuine Religion. By Lady Colquhoun. Second Edition, 12mo, cloth, 3s. C5SAEG— The Foundation of Christian Ifo7*e; Being a Plain and Impartial Inquiry after a Safe Ground of Confi- dence for a Sinful Creature at the'Bar of God. By the Rev. Ed- ward Craig. Fifth Edition, 32mo, cloth, 6d. CR AEG— Christian Circumspection ; A Brief View of the Duty of Christians to Preserve themselves Pure from the Irreligious Customs of this World. By the Rev. Edward Craig. Fifth Edition, 18mo, stitched, 6d. CfJWIflWCHHAKI— The Boctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome Truly Represented. By Edward Stillingfleet, D.D., Bishop of Worcester; in answer to a Book entitled "A Papist Misrepresented and Represented." A New Edition, with Preface and Notes, forming more than one-half of the volume, by William Cunningham, D.D. Foolscap ftvo, cloth, 5s. " This work gives an accurate view of the doctrines of the Church of Home, and the tricks to which Papists have recourse in defending them. 1 1 is, therefore, of great importance that such able works should bs widely circulated and deeply pondered.'" — Aberdeen Banner. BA!LY DFVOTIO^'S. Royal 32mo, cloth, gilt edges, 2s. D'AUBIfiXE-Gencva and Oxford: ,„,,., An Address to the Professors and Students of the Theological School, Geneva. By J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, D.D. Second Edi- tion, 8vo, sewed, 6d. 44 An admirable illustration of three grand comprehensive principles, which of themselves furnish a sufficient antidote to the delusions of 10 LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY Tractarianism— the Word of (^od alone, the grace of Christ alone, the work of the Spirit alone." — Scottish Presbyterian. JOE FOF- Memoir* of the Church of Scotland, in Four Periods. From the Reformation to the Union. "With an Appendix of some Transactions since the Union. By Daniel De Foe. Demy 8vo, sewed, 2s. DOROS— A Century of Scottish Church History* In an Historical Sketch of tlTe Church of Scotland from the Seces- sion to the Disruption. With an Account of the Free Church. By the Rev. James Dodds of the Free Church, Belhaven. 18mo, 8d. " Much judgment and discrimination is displayed in selecting the points that ought to hold the prominent place in such an outline; and the narrative is given in such a clear, lively, and appropriate style, that the attention in perusing it never flags." — Witness. DUFF-The Jesuits: Their Origin and Order, Morality and Practices, Suppression and Restoration. By Alexander Duff, D.D., Calcutta. Second Edition, 8vo, Is. 6d. " A clear, connected, and most instructive sketch of that subtle, powerful, and unprincipled Society, which, in its revived strength, is now operating, to an extent little suspected by many, against the truth of God." — London Watchman. RIFF— India and India Missions; Including Sketches of the Gigantic System of Hinduism, both in Theory and Practice ; also, Notices of some of the Principal Agencies employed in conducting the process of Indian Evangelization, &c. Bv Alexander Duff, D.D., Calcutta. Second Edition, demy, 8vo, cloth, 12s. " This work reflects most remarkably the principal qualities of Dr. Duff's mind — his fervent enthusiasm in the great cause in which he has embarked — his wonderful talent of description, by which he can almost succeed in bringing before us, as in a panorama, the Eastern scenes he is illustrating — and the extreme fervency of his appeals, both to the understanding and heart, in behalf of the natives of that extraordinary land." — Glasgow Constitutional. Dl'FF- Missions the Chief End of the Christian Church: Also, The Qualifications, Duties, and Trials of an Indian Mission- ary. By Alexander Duff, D.D., Calcutta. Fourth Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. " We consider this to be one of the most valuable publications ever produced, by Christian piety, in aid of the great cause of Missions." — Aberdeen Constitutional. EARLY FIFTY, Illustrated in the Brief Memoir and Journal of a Youthful Mem- ber of St. James' Chapel, Edinburgh. 18mo, cloth, Is. 6d. EMANCIPATION OF THE SOIL, And Free Trade in Land. By a Landed Proprietor. 8vo, sd., Is. EMERSON (RALI'II WALDO) -Orations, Lectures, and Addresses; to which is added, Nature, an Essay. 12mo, cloth. Is. 6d. ESSENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS for Young Christians when entering on the Active Period of Life. Adapted for Sabbath School Libraries, cloth, 2s. 6d. FERRIE— Catechism on the Evidences of Revealed Religion, with a few Remarks on Natural Religion. By William Ferrie, D.D., Kilconquhar. 18mo, 4d. JOHN JOHNSTONE, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 11 FAIRRAIRN-Songs for Wayfarers. By the Rev. J. C. Fairbairn, Allanton. Price 6d. sewed, or cloth, gilt edges, 9d. " This is a small, neat collection of songs, of a sacred character, simple in their nature, and directing and encouraging in their tendency." — Greenock Advertiser. FIFTY QUKSTIONS concerning the Trailing Doctrines and Duties of the Gospel. For the Use of Sabbath Schools. Sewed, Id. FLEMING— The Rise and Fall of Papacy. By the Rev. Robert Fleming, junior, Minister of the Gospel, Lon- don. A New Edition. Edited, with a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. Thomas Thomson. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. *** The wondrous changes of the P'rench Revolution were foretold in this work nearly one hundred years before the occurrence. It excited great attention when its interpretations of prophecy were thus verified, and was not only reprinted in England and America, but translated into several foreign languages. " A reprint of one of the most remarkable and sagacious works extant on the subject of unfulfilled prophecy, deserving a perusal as a succinct, learned, and eminently devout exposition of the Apocalypse.' 1 — Patriot. FOOTE-Effcctual Calling. A Doctrinal, Experimental, and Practical Treatise on Effectual Calling. By James Foote, A.M., Minister of the Free East Church, Aberdeen, Author of " Lectures on Luke," &c, fcap. 8vo, cloth, 3s. " Within the work, limited as it is, and perhaps, therefore, more likely to be useful, the various views in which the subject presents itself — through which it can be pressed — by which it can be illustrated — and the classes, embracing ultimately all, to whom it can be addressed, are exhausted; and the treatise forms thus 'a hand-book'' on a most vital department of theology." — Banner of Ulster. " This treatise displays a full mastery of the theme to which it is de- voted, and shows the author to be a scribe well instructed in the myste- ries of the kingdom of heaven. We regard it as the best work on 1 Effectual Calling' in the English language." — Evangelical Magazine. FOX E— Universal History of Christian Martyrdom ; With Notes, Commentaries, and Illustrations, by the Rev. J. Mil- ner, M.A. 8vo, with sixteen original designs, cloth, 10s. 6d. FRFF CHURCH CATECHISM: Catechism on the Principles and Constitution of the Free Church of Scotland. Issued by authority of the General Assembly. Second Impression of 20,00J copies, 18mo, 4d. FRFF CHURCH MAOAZIIVE. Published on the 15th of each Month. Unstamped, 5d. : Stamped, for Post, 6d. " One of the best magazines extant." — ChHstian Witness. FRENCH TESTAMENT. Le Nouveau Testament de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ. D'Apres la Version revue par J. F. Ostervald, ruby, 24mo,roan, sprinkled edges, 2s. _ roan, embossed, gilt edges, 2s. 3d. morocco, plain, 3s. 9d. . extra, 4s. 3d. QARONER— Memoirs of Eminent Christian Missionaries. By tbe Rev. James Gardner, A.M., M.D., foolscap 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. " A better book of the kind never has been printed. It contains judi- cious and elegant Memoirs of Eliot, Neff, Martyn, Carey, Whitefield, Morison, Fisk, Rhenius, Marslunan, Campbell, Williams, Heber; and 12 LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY there is prefixed a most excellent introductory essay on the extension of the missionary spirit, which ha3 only one fault— that of being too bhort.' 1 '' — Witness* GARDNER— Memoirs of" Christian Females; With an Essay on the Influences of Female Piety. By the Rer. James Gardner, A.M.. M.D. Third Edition, in foolscap ovo, with an Elegant Portrait of Mrs. Margaret Wilson, Bombay. 44 We know few volumes that Christian parents may more suitably put into the hand of their daughters than this, and that are better adapted, by the blessing from on high, to realise for them the Psalmist's desire, that they may be ' as corner stones polished alter the similitude of a palace.'' " — The Covenanter. <*AUS^"E'V— Sefseva and Rome. An Address to the Students of the Theological School, Geneva, at the opening of the Session 1843. By Professor L. Gaussen, 8vo, 4d. " A very graphic description of the present aspect of Popery and Pro- testantism. " — Scottish Congregational Magazine. tilFT-EOOK OF P«STR¥; Selected chiefly from Modern Authors. 18mo, with Frontispiece and Vignette, 2s. " Notwithstanding the many selections of poetry and prose issued to the public of late, we have not seen any so well deserving the name a.s the one now before us, nor one more worthy a place on the table of the boudoir, or as a companion for a leisure moment." — Dundee Courier. GORDO^-ScriHons. By Robert Gordon, D.D., Edinburgh. Fourth Edition, demy 8vo, cloth, 6s. " These are orations, these are arguments, worthy of a very high and permanent place in our theological literature. They display a vigour and originality of thought which it is truly refreshing to meet with in printed sermons, and are, at the same time, boldly explicit in the enun- ciation of the Gospel system." — Eclectic Review. GOTETT -Hades; Or, The Place of Departed Spirits. By the Rev. R. Govett, junior, A.M., Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, and Curate of St. Stephen's, Norwich. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, Is. 6d. GRKY-AinuseHiPHts of Vonth* addresses! to "Yortifg People. By Henry Grey, D.D., Edinburgh. 18mo, sewed, 4d. GREY- Catechism on Baptism, In which are considered its Nature, its Subjects, and the Obligations resulting from it. By Henry Grey, D.D., Edinburgh. 6d. GRIEVANCE OF F> T SVF.RS5TY TEST*, As set forth in the Proceedings of the Presbytery of St. Andrews; with an Authentic Copy of the Libel in the case of Sir David Brewster, as Principal of the United College of St. Salvator and St. Leonard, in the University of St. Andrews. 8vo, sewed, Is. GRIIS^IUIVK-Thc Future Restoration and Conversion of the Jews. Being the Substance of a Course of Lectures delivered in St. James' Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, in May, 1842. By the Rev. T. S. Grimshawe, M.A., Rector of Burton, Northamptonshire, and Vicar of Biddenham, Bedfordshire. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. Bfi .4 ITIR I /''O'V— Assembly's Shorter ra'cclvsin. With Three Hundred Doctrinal Questions. By William Hamilton. Sewed, l^d. JOHN JOHNSTONE, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 13 HSRATiD OF TESE CSBTTRCEERS; Or Monthly Recorvl of Ecclesiastical and Missionary Intelligence, price, per Number, Unstamped, 5d. ■ , Stamped, 6d. " An admirable digest of missionary intelligence." — Evan. Mag. EIOSIC^K — The Orihooe:d: From the Introduction of Christianity to the Disruption in 184.1 By the Rev. W. M. Hetherington, LL.D., St. Andrews. Fifth Edi- tion, royal 8vo, cloth, Cs. 6d. " The work is written in an energetic and engaging style. There is no feebleness in its composition or details. Its completeness, too, is a very strong recommendation, as it brings down the history to our own times, and supplies a clear statement of the Non-intrusion controversy to the period of the last General Assembly, and the enrolment of the Free Church. 1 '' — Evangelical Magazine, Dec. 1843. HETIfERINGTOlV — History ©f the Westminster Assembly of Divines. By the Rev. W. M. Hetherington, LL.D. Second Edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 5s. " The character which Dr. Hetherington has acquired as an ecclesi- astical historian, will be augmented and consolidated by the volume now before us, which supplies what is felt to. be a desideratum — a connected and comprehensive account of the Westminster Assembly, the meeting of which was unquestionably one of the most important events of the seventeenth century." — Watchman. EIET5XEREIVGnrOIV--The Minister's Fr.swilv. By the Rev. W. M. Hetherington, LL.D. Fourth Edition, with Frontispiece, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 5s. " It relates, with affecting simplicity, and purity and chasteness of style, the death of the devoted mitnster, the consequent trials of his widow and family, including successive bereavements by death, and the gracious providences that ministered to their provision and comfort." — Covenanter. ESfTf ?^— £'aere«l lories. By Richard Huie, M.D. 32m o, cloth, 3s. "They form, in their collected state, a very acceptable addition to those stores of pure and hallowed enjoyment which the religious press of our country has, in varied forms and measures, been honoured to supply." — Scottish Guardian. BIVFA^TT ALTAR. 16mo, square, cloth, gilt edges, Is. E&ING— The fiord's Nsipper. By the Rev. David King, LL.D., Glasgow, Author of " The Ruling Eldership of the Christian Church." Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 3s. Gd. u Dr. King has here given a luminous exposition of the true character of the blessed ordinance of which he writes— (equally free from Socinian lowering down on the one hand, and from Popish and Pusevite exalta- tion on the other)— and he urges the claims of that holy sacrament with an evangelical simplicity and power, which warrant us in wishing that the volume may be widely circulated, and prayerfully and carefully •cad." — Watchman. 14 LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY IjAIIVCS— A Catechism on the Wistorv of the 4'lmrch of Scot- land. By the Rev. B. Laing, Colmonell. liJmo, cloth, Is. 6d. u We cordially recommend the Catechism by Mr. Laing. It brings out in a narrow compass, with great ckarness and fidelity, the leading points in our ecclesiastical history, 3^1 js eminently fitted to remove prejudices, and convey correct information respecting the principles of the Second Reformation, and the proceedings of the men who struggled and suffered on their behalf." — Scottish Presbyterian. LAI IVO— What ought the Reformed Presbyterians and the Original Seceders to do now ? By the Rev. B. Laing, Colmonell. With an Appendix, containing Hints on the Nature and Obligation of the Solemn League and Covenant. 8vo, sewed, 6d. I>AIVI>SBOR©U€}H_Ayrshire Sketches; Or, Memoirs of Jeanie Charters, Hugh Cunninghame, and James Baird. By the Rev. D. Landsborough, Stevenston. 18mo, 6d. liEIftlBTO.X- Zion's Plea against Prelacy. By Alexander Leighton, D.D. Demy 12mo, cloth, 3s. %* For writing this treatise the author was condemned twice to ex- posure in the pillory, to have his ears cut off, his nostrils slit, and to heavy fines and imprisonment. LESLIE— A Short and Easy method with the »eist». By the Rev. Charles Leslie, A.M.; with an Introductory Essay by David Russell, D.D., Dundee. 18mo, Is. I^ORIIHTER— JVIannal of Presbytery— comprising 1. Presbyterianism the truly Primitive and Apostolic Constitution of the Church of Christ; or, a View of the History, Doctrine, Government, and Worship of the Presbyterian Church. By Samuel Miller, D.D., Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey. 2. The Character and Advantages of Presbyterianism ascertained by Facts; with an Appendix on the Pretensions of the New Anglican School, commonly called Puseyites— the Testimony of the Fathers and Reformers to Presbytery — the Moral Tendency of Calvinism, kc. By the Rev. John G. Lorimer, Glasgow. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6"d. " This is a highly seasonable compendium. It consists, in the first place, of a full but succinct treatise on the Constitution of Presbytery, by Dr. Miller, an American professor, and then an admirable sequel by Mr. Lorimer, confirmatory of the principles laid down in the previous work, from the Statistics of Presbytery. Like all the productions of the estimable editor, this ' Manual' abounds in curious information, and evinces an ardent, vigorous, and enlightened mind." — Greenock Intelli- gencer. JLORIJVIFR— A Treatise on the Office of Deacon; With Suggestions for its Revival. By the Rev. J. G. Lorimer, Glasgow. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. " We would earnestly recommend this very able and lucid treatise to the attention of our readers. They will here find the whole subject dis- cussed, in all its bearings, with a power of argument and weight of evi- dence, both from Scripture and ecclesiastical history, that must convince every candid and unprejudiced mind at once of the scriptural nature of the office, and its indispensable necessity to the well-being of a Christian community." — Scottish Guardian. JLOKT TIER— An Historical Sketch of the Protestant Church of France, from its Origin down to the Present Day; with Parallel Notices of the History of the Church of Scotland during the sam« JOHN JOHNSTONE, LONDON AND EDINBURGH. 15 period. By the Rev. J. G. Lorimer, Glasgow. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. " The public are indebted to Mr. Lorimer for a narrative fraught ■with facts of great interest to the friends of religion ; and we can cor- dially recommend his work to our readers, as containing a great deal of very usercrt information, deduced from a variety of authentic sources, and exhibited in a clear and impressive manner." — Baptist Magazine. M Christian's Walk with Ood. By the Hon. Mrs. M . Second Edition, 18rno, cloth, Is. " An admirable help to the child of God, the heir of glory, in the work of self-examination.'" — Christian Witness. MACKAY— Eife of Eieufcnant-€«cncral Hugh Mackay. of Scoury. By the late John Mackay, Esq. of Rockfield. A New Edition, Revised. With a Memoir of the Author. Post 8vo. cl. 6s. MACHAY-Habbalh Musings throughout the Year. By Mrs. Colonel Mackay, Authoress of " The Family at Heather- dale." 18mo, cloth, 2s. " This book consists of a short chapter for each Sabbath in the year, written in a tasteful and pleasing style, and breathing a fine spirit ol evangelical piety." — Scottish Congregational Magazine. MMEWBN— Grace and Truth; In an Attempt to Illustrate the Types, Figures, and Allegories of the Old Testament. By the Rev. William M'Ewen. 18mo, cloth, 2s. M'LEOD- Ecclesiastical Catechism ; Bei»g a Series of Questions on the Scriptural Authority for the Presbyterian Form of Church Government. By Alexander M'Leod, D.D., New York. 18mo, 6d. MAC»ONAE»— Memoirs and Manuscript of Isobel Hood. By the Rev. John Macdonald, Calcutta. Second Edition, with an Introductory Notice, by Hugh Miller. 18mo, cloth, Is. 6d. MARSHAL£-Inward Revival; Or, Motives and Hindrances to Advancement in Holiness. By the Rev. J. Marshall, Bristol. Second Edition, fcap. 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. IW'CHFYIVE-Mcmoir and Remains of the late Kev. K. M. M'Cheyne, Dundee. By the Rev. A. A. Bonar, Collace. Post 8vo, cloth, 5s. M'CHEYNE— Memoir, without the Remains. 18mo, Is. M'CHEYNE— Additional Remains of she late Kev. R. M. M'Cheyne, consisting of Sermons and Lectures delivered by him in the course of his Ministry. With Frontispiece. Post 8vo, cloth, 6s. M CHE YNE— Tracts: 32mo, sewed, each 2d. Sabat the Arabian ; or, The Apostate. Sudden Conversions. Missions, and their First- Fruits. Abdool Messee; or, The True Convert. M'CR IE— Miscellaneous Writing*. Chiefly Historical. By Thomas M'Crie, D.D., Edinburgh. Edited by his Son. Demy 8vo, cloth, 10s. 6d. " This work contains a collection of a number of pieces by Dr. M'Crie, which appeared at various times in magazines and other periodicals. They are all characterized by his usual ability and research. The work is edited by his son, whose success as his father's biographer shows his qualifications for the present task." — Dumfries Times. 16 LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY M'CKIE- JAfe of Thomas M'4>5e. I>.TB. Author of the " Life of John Knox." By the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, Edinburgh. Demy 8vo, cloth, 9s. " Seldom is it that the life of a Christian pastor and of a man of lite- rature presents so much in variety of incident to keep up the interest of the narration. The reader of this work will feel little inclined to rise from its perusal till he hath devoured it in toto; for as you proceed you feel a renewed relish for the repast. 1 '' — Christian Instructor. M'CRIE— Sketches of Scottish Church History, Embracing the Period from the Reformation to the Revolution. With an Appendix, relative to the alleged Accession of John Knox to the Conspiracy against Riccio. By the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, Edinburgh. Third Edition, fcap. 8vo, cloth, 5a. " There is a particular charm in Mr. M'Crie's Sketches, from the great collection of anecdotes illustrative of characters and events with which they abound. His work ought almost to be called ' A History of the Church of Scotland in Anecdotes.' At the same time, he preserves the just properties of historical writing Another valuable quality in the 'Sketches' is, the frequent reference to authorities, and the important information contained in subsidiary notes." — Scottish Guardian. itt'CRSE-Pascal's Provincial lieJters, A New Translation, with an Introduction, containing an Historical Account of the Jesuits. By the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, Edinburgh. With a Portrait of Pascal. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, 5s. ME JKIjE— Solilisae Sweetened. By James Meikle. With a Biographical Sketch of the Author. Ninth Edition, fcap. 8vo, cloth, 3s. MEMOIR OF JANE MARTIN And her Little Brother. By a Lady, 18mo, Gd. " Here we have the life of a lovely girl most beautifully written. The Memoir is compiled by ' a Lady.' No Sunday scholar can read this little book without wishing to be as holy in life and as happy in death as this dear child." — Sunday Scholar. MENNAIS— The Words of a Believer. By the Abbe de la Mennais. Translated from the French, by Edward Smith Prvce, A.M. 18mo, ornamented wrapper, Is. 6a-?r. ooicrj pM^nMAMnyflir I f"012"01254 3734 DATE DUE _ 4fjg$&!0* , *r "^p!^ HIGHSMI" m #45115