' •■•••/W'-.T :^H-'- rli^Sil w IhBGP^^I • Im£^ 1 .*;/ ^^^ :* '•i' ; THE LAWS OF THE CHURCH, CHURCHMAN'S GUARD AGAINST ROMANISM AND PURITANISM. T\YO CHARGES, ADDRESSED TO HIS CLERGY, IN JUNE AND JULY, 1842, BY THE LORD BISHOP OF DOWN AND CONNOR, AND DROMORE. RHPRl.NTED FROM THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL JOURNAL. DUBLIN: GRANT AND BOLTON, GRAFTON-STREET. J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON, ST. PAUL'S CIIl RCHYAUL), AND WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON. PHILLIPS, BELFAST. 1842. [I'BICK EIGHT PEXCE, OR A DOZES FOR SIX SHILLINGS,] DCBLiir : PRI.NTED BY GRAI SHERRY AXD GILL, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. CHARGE, &C. &C. {^Extracted from the Irish EcclesiasticalJournal for June, 1842.] It is unnecessary for the Editor to introduce the following Charge to the notice of his readers by any observations of his own, further than to express his obligations to the Right Rev. Prelate who has honoured his columns by the communication of a document so important, and to express his sincere hope that it may prove extensively beneficial to the Church. My dear Sir, — I had been some time preparing for my visi- tation of the clergy of Down and Connor, when I was informed that the cathedral church of Lisburn, the legal place for the visitation of this diocese, was imder repair, and would not be in a fit condition to receive the clergy till a season, when it would be too late to assemble them without much inconve- nience. Being, however, nevertheless desirous of submitting the subject, on which I purposed to address them, to their con- sideration, I request permission for the admittance of the fol- lowing Charge into the pages of your publication. I remain, dear Sir, Your very faithful Servant, Rd. Down and Connor, and Dromore. Down and Connor House, June 11, 1842. A CHARGE INTENDED FOR DELIVERY AT THE VISITATION OF THE CLERGY OF DOWN AND CONNOR, BY THEIR BISHOP, JUNE, J842. It is within the knowledge of many of you, my reverend bre- thren, that, at a meeting of one of our diocesan societies last January, I took occasion to observe, in a letter addressed to the a2 noble Marquis, who kindly occupied the chair, that " since the Reformation the Church has experienced seasons of trial, and is experiencing such a season now. On the one hand a disposi- tion may be perceived, not only to slight her authority and for- mularies, but to compromise her apostolical character, and to merge her distinctive excellence in the gulf of Protestant lati- tudinarianism ; a disposition, on the other hand, may be perceived to revert to the once bygone fancies of Romish superstition, and thence to bring forward obsolete notions and practices, which, in common with others from the same repository of error, she had disallowed and repudiated." It will perhaps be not inex- pedient, if I avail myself of our present annual Meeting, for ex- panding the sentiment thus compendiously expressed, and laying before you some of the particular forms of trial, whereby the Church appears to be beset. I. In thus referring to the Roman errors, to which, although noticed last in the foregoing extract, it is my purpose to direct on this occasion your first attention, you will naturally under- stand m.e as alluding to certain publications, under the title of " Tracts for the Times," which have of late been the subject of much public discussion. But here I would at once profess my disapproval of the spirit and manner, wherein that discussion has been too often con- ducted. Those of you, my reverend brethren, who have read the Tracts, will probably concur with me in opinion, that they were undertaken with good and laudable motives, that in many particulars they were directed to valuable ends, that they have in some cases been productive of important benefit. These, however, are not sufficient reasons, why, if evil has been blend- ed with their good, that evil should not be imfolded and depre- cated ; rather there are obvious reasons why it should. But I am confident, my reverend brethren, that you will also concur with me in opinion, that those, who are not acquainted with the productions by actual perusal, are not the proper persons rightly to estimate their character ; that many of those, who have as- sumed the office of judges, are not qualified for discharging it ; that general, indiscriminate, intemperate, violent abuse, is not the lanETuage fit for a discussion of their merits or demerits ; that, if erroneous sentiments be avowed in them, whilst we condemn the error, respect is due to the religious attainments, the high moral excellence, the learning, and the conscientious efforts, conscientious doubtless, however misdirected, of the wTiters from whom these compositions proceed ; and that, in particular, it is an act of grievous injury to a distinguished in- dividual, to brand the opinions in question and the maintainers of them with appellations derived from his name ; appellations, which in point of fact are not correctlv attributed, the fitness of ^UIUC . which he has distinctly discLairaed, and the imposition of which ?ie feels to be injurious to himself, however the discredit may properly attach to such as employ the appellations, rather than to him. Necessarily as my subject will lead me to speak with disapprobation of some of the views and practices of those of our brethren, I hold myself bound to speak thus respectfully of their persons. And such a course you, I trust, will esteem most agreeable to eqviity and reason, as well as to our Christian pro- fession and the obligations of brotherly love. In obedience to the same spirit will be the manner, in which it is my purpose to bring the several topics before your minds : in the manner, namely, not of censure upon others, so much as of admonition to ourselves. It is not in the character of a the- ological critic or polemic, that I am now addressing you. But as one, whose duty it is, and who is "ready, the Lord being his helper, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doc- trine, contrary to God's Word, and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others in the same(«)," I invite your attention to the proposed inquiry, which, under God's blessing, shall be submitted to you as instrumental, less to a judgment upon others, than to a salutary admonition for ourselves. 1. Be it then our first caution, not to deviate from our na- tional Church, by adopting any guide to faith or practice, other than that which the Church herself acknowledges and pre- scribes. To elevate tradition into an authority, independent of and paramoimt to the written Word of God, was the fatal error on which the Romish Church made shipwreck ; to reduce tradition to its secondary station, and to value it as subordinate only and auxiliary to God's Word, contained in Holy Scripture, was the first step to our religious reformation. Holy Scripture, with respect to matters of faith, is pronounced by the Church to '* contain all things necessary to salvation;" and with respect to practice, in the decreeing of rites and ceremonies, she pro- nounces it to be " not lawful for her to ordain any thing, that is contrary to God's Word written(Z/)." The Church, indeed, cherishes and professes a high respect for the sentiments of the ancient doctors and bishops of the early Church, as best qualified, by their opportunities of time and place, to illustrate and aid the true interpretation of the written Word of God; and as embodying the sentiments of those ancient doctors, she has regarded with special veneration the decrees of the first four General Councils, those of Nice, of Constantinople, of Ephesus, and of Chalcedon. But whilst she protests that " things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared {a) The Consecration of Bishops. (i) Articles vi. and xx. that they be taken out of Holy Scripture(«)," so she receives them only upon the ground of their ordinances being of scrip- tural origin. Thus in the Council of Nice it was decided, that the Son is truly God, of the same substance with the Father ; in that of Constantinople, that the Holy Ghost also is truly God ; in the Council of Ephesus the divine nature was affirmed to be truly united in Christ to the human, and with it to constitute one person ; and in the Council of Chalcedon both natures were af- firmed to remain distinct, and that the human nature was not swallowed up in the divine. But why does the Church receive .these decrees of the four Councils ? Is it upon the authority of the decrees themselves ? Surely not ; but because they have their foundation in Holy Writ. " These truths," as Bishop Burnet says, " we find in the Scriptures, and therefore we be- lieve them : we reverence those Councils for the sake of their doctrine ; but do not believe the doctrine for the authority of the Councils(&)." Thus again, with respect to the Athanasian Creed, which is a practical application of these decrees, setting forth that the Son and Holy Ghost, who are each truly God, are in the unity of the Godhead justly the objects of divine worship. But here also the Church maintains this position, not because the Atha- nasian Creed asserts it, but because the creed may be " proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture, and therefore ought to be thoroughly received and believed(c)." Let us, however, put a different case. Let us suppose that the ancient doctors of the Church were favourable to an opi- nion and a practice agreeable thereto, not of an indifferent nature, such as might be safely and harmlessly embraced, but involving a theological doctrine, would it be consistent with the principles of the Church to follow such an example, if it could not be shown to rest upon Holy Scripture, but were " rather repugnant to the Word of God(c?)? " I will put the question in a specific form. Let us suppose that the ancient doctors of the Church were favourable to the usage of prayers for the dead : an usage, which presupposes that the dead are capable of being profited by the prayers of the survivors, for ' otherwise the prayers were nugatory ; but such a supposition is unfounded, and gratuitous at least, not to say at variance with God's written Word : an usage, which sup- poses likewise that such prayers are agreeable to God's will and pleasure ; but this supposition also is without scriptural foun- dation, or, if it have foundation, it makes the usage matter of obligation rather than of permission, and, instead of leaving it to the option of the Church, imposes it on her as a duty. But (a) Art. xxi. {b) Bp. Bumet on Art. xx. (c) Art. viii. (d) Art. xxii. supposing tVie practice of the doctors of the ancient Church to he precedents for prayers for the dead, would it be a fit exam- ple for our national Church to follow, in accordance with her declared principles ? The answer shall be given in the language of the Church, in her "Homily concerning prayer." " Now to entreat of that question, whether we ought to pray for them that are departed out of this world, or no ? Wherein, if we will cleave only unto the Word of God, then must we needs grant, that we have no commandment so to do." Again: " Therefore let us not de- ceive ourselves, thinking that either we may help other, or other may help us by their good and charitable prayers in time to come." And again : " Neither let us dream any more, that the souls of the dead are any thing at all holpcn by our prayers : but, as the Scripture teacheth us, let us think that the soul of man, passing out of the body, goeth straightways either to hea- ven, or else to hell, whereof the one needeth no prayer, the other is without redemption." The fact is, that this practice of praying for the dead is not recognized in the Sacred Scriptures of Christianity, by way either of precept or of example. In the Apostolical age, in the first century, no such practice was known. It had its origin in the curiosities of the second century, and by degrees became more widely spread and more firmly established, but with no other authority than custom. Before the Reformation, it was admitted generally, if not universally. At the Reformation it was abolished by our Church : who, having at first retained it in her Liturgy, subsequently saw better reason to displace it, and left it altogether out of her Common Prayer Book. In times succeed- ing the Reformation, some of our divines have spoken wdth ten- derness of the practice, but it has received no countenance or encouragement from our national Church. Nor has any at- tempt been made for reviving it in the use of her members, till of later years, first by the non-juring clergy early in the eighteenth century, and now in the nineteenth by some of our brethren, whose proceedings are the subject of our present inquiry. With them itrests upon the precedent of the ancient Catholic Church, independently of the guide which our Church recognizes and prescribes : a precedent which, if consistently followed, would lead to very serious and dangerous consequences ; for, if prayers for the dead be revived in the Church, as an ancient Catholic practice, of which we have the evidence, for instance, of Ter- tullian in the second century, why should not the practice of ofi*ering annual oblations at the tombs of the dead be restored on the same authority ? Why should not the practice of making a cross on the breast upon every trivial occasion be also revived ? a practice so general, that, as Tertullian also relates, not a shoe 8 could be put on by a Christian, until he had thus testified his reliance on the cross of Christ(a). How, in a word, shall we resist that host of superstitious usages, which, on the authority of Catholic antiquity, the Romanists will be ready to pour in upon us, and which, the principle being once admitted, we shall find it impossible to controvert and repel? So important is it, on account of the consequences, as well as of the principle, that we should adhere to the guidance of Holy Scripture, which our national Church acknowledges and prescribes. 2. Be it our second caution, that, in our extreme reverence and affection for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ at large, we do not abate the feelings and restrict the conduct of dutiful respect, which become us in relation to our national branch of it. To be conscious on good grounds that we are true members of the Catholic Chiu'ch of Christ, such as she was founded under his authority by his Apostles, is one of the purest and most abundant soui'ces of delight, which in our present state of trial have been vouchsafed to us by our God and Redeemer. But all the means of grace and holiness, all the blessings of apostoli- cal doctrine and fellowship, are possessed by us in our national Church ; and it is by communion with her that we have commu- nion with "the Holy Ghost throughout all the world." To her, our holy mother in Christ Jesus cur Lord, our first, our best, our most affectionate regards are due ; the regards of du- tiful children to a tender parent deserving of all love and ho- nour. By the reformation of the errors into which she had fallen under the domination of Romish t}Tanny, and by her restora- tion to evangelical pm-ity of faith and soundness of doctrine, by the holy aspirations of her liturgical devotions, by the integrity and uncoiTuptedness of her ritual, she claims our filial confi- dence, as in this kingdom the legitimate descendant of primeval, and the unrivalled glory of modern, Christendom. Imperfec- tions mav, perhaps, be found in some of her provisions (as in what of human composition will there not?), by those who search for them with an eagle eye. But, should such be dis- covered here and there, it may be matter of grave and earnest deliberation with us, my brethren, whether with respect to her, who bore us at our new birth, and carried us in her arms, and nurtured us at her bosom, and trained us to tread in the paths of righteousness, and strengthened us by the imposition of hands episcopal, and continually accustomed us to worship God in the beauty of holiness, and fed us with the bread of life, and o-ave us to drink of the waters of salvation, and sent us forth, as her ministers and representatives, under a solemn pledge to (o) Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, pages 345 and 456. 9 " give our faithful diligence, always so to minister the doctrine and sacraments, and the discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded, and as she hath received the same(a) :" it may, I say, be matter of most serious deliberation with us, my bre- thren, in our relation to our holy mother Church, whether it behoves us to put forward, unfold, descant, and enlarge upon her fancied imperfections, after the manner of some of the com- positions now under our consideration ; whether it be well to suggest with one that "she is in need of a second Reforma- tion(6);"to exhort with another, that, till her members be stirred up to a certain religious course, " the Church sit still, be content to be in bondage, work in chains, submit to her imper- fections as a punishment, go on teaching with the stammering lips of ambiguous fctrmularies, and inconsistent precedents, and principles but partially developed(c) ;" to plead with another, that " until God be pleased to amend it, we may rest contented with our lot(^Z);"to contend with another, that "the English Church seems to give an uncertain sound ; that she fails in one of her very principal duties, that of witnessing plainly and di- rectly to Catholic truth, that she seems to include what she ought to repel, to teach what she ought to anathematize(e) ;" to argue with another, that we must " unprotestantize the national Church," that we " cannot stand where we are," that " as we go on we must recede more and more from the principles, if any such there be, of the English Reformation(/) ;" whether it be well to hold up to admiration the excellence and beauty of the ancient Catholic Breviary in comparison with the English Book of Common Prayer, and to expose her rites and ceremonies to an invidious comparison with those of earlier times by the re- flection, " that although the details of the early ritual varied in importance, and corrupt additions v/ere made in the middle ages, yet, as a whole, the Catholic ritual was a precious posses- sion ; and if we, who have escaped from Popery, have lost not only the possession, but the sense of its value, it is a serious question whether we are not like men who recover from some grievous illness with the loss or injury of their sight or hearing; whether we are not like the Jews returned from captivity, who could never find the rod of Aaron, or the ark of the covenant, which indeed had ever been hid from the world, but then was removed from the temple itself(^)." Whether such positions as these, my brethren, befit the lips of filial aflection and duty, is submitted to your deliberation ; for my own part, amidst this language of disparagement and derogation, methinks to my ear (a) Ordination of Triests. (I') Tracts for the Times, No. 41. (t) Tracts, No. 1*0, Introd. (d) Dr. Fusey's letter to Abp. of Canterbury, p. 22. {f) Ward's Few more Words, p. '/'j. (Jj iiritibh Critic, No. lix. p. 45. (,i'; Tracts, No. 34, at the end. a3 10 a plaintive voice calmly but feelingly responds, '* If I be a parent, where is my honour." 3. Be it our third caution, that we do not, out of a fond re- spect for the bygone usages of antiquity, infringe the duty which we owe to our national Church in a faithful observance of her ordinances, and of her ordinances only. At the era of the Reformation, by the agency of her sons, well versed as they were in the history and writings of the early Church, the Anglican Church compiled her form of prayer for her people, after the likeness, so far as change of circumstances would permit, in all respects on the principles, of the Catholic Church in her purest ages. In the exercise of a sound judg- ment upon matters indifferent or questionable, some things she chose, and others she rejected; and as the progressive light of divine knowledge beamed more clearly on her vision, clouded as it had been by the obscurity of the mediaeval corruptions, she continued to make successive improvements, until her liturgy was liberated from all essential error, and attained comparative perfection. Thus she appointed her Sundays and other festivals or holy- days for divine service, besides the order of her daily prayers ; she appropriated the morning and evening of each day to the matins and even song of her congregations ; and from various rites, which had been used for religious solemnities, she selected those which, having in principle at least the sanction of Holy Scripture, as well as of ecclesiastical antiquity, and being fitted withal for edification, and conducive to "the doing of all things in a seemly and due order(a)," appeared to her requisite to be retained ; whilst, with a clear discrimination and salutary dis- cretion, she repudiated or omitted others. It is a fit subject for our cautionary consideration again, whether it be conduct worthy of commendation and imitation, or whether it be not rather to be dispraised and avoided, if the things, which the Church hath set aside, her modern sons betray a disposition to reestablish, and to engraft upon them others of alike character: whether a tendency at least to disrespect for her decisions be not manifested by them, who after the pattern of the ordi- nances of the earlier Church, but in deviation from those of their own mother, would fain institute new festivals for annual celebration, and institute new services ; for example, by the ap- propriation of the 21st of March, under the title of " Bishop Ken's day(Z>)," in honour of one of her holy bishops and confes- sors, and by the construction of another special " service in commemoration of the dead in Christ(c) ;" would fain, for her morning and evening services, distribute her seasons of prayer into seven daily hours after a fanciful but unauthorized hypo- (a) B. C. P. Of Ceremonies. (6) Tracts, No. 75, p. 125. (c) Ibid. p. 13(i. 11 thesis of the precedent of apostolical worship(a) ; and would fain withal, in opposition to the judgment, which the Church her- self saw cause to adopt after much deliberation and in her bet- ter mind, revert to the obsolete and antiquated practice of prayers for the dead. It is true that these alterations have not been proposed for public adoption in the Church. But they are indications of the bearing of the mind of those by whom they are commended. They show a restlessness of thought ; a dissatisfaction with the actual devotions of the Church, and a hankering after other things " more excellent and beautiful." And they are thus cal- culated to shake in others, especially in youthful and unsteady minds, their esteem for the Church's provisions, and their con- fidence in her learning, piety, and wisdom. An opening is thus likely to be made for numberless innovations in our worship. In the same spirit of reverting to the example of early, but not scriptural, apostolical, and primeval antiquity, and in counterac- tion of the significant, though silent, self-correction of the Eng- lish Church, there are those who have seen good to mix water with the wine at the holy communion. As in the same spirit, and notwithstanding the like disapproval of the Church, others might proceed, should they see good, to revive exorcism and other obsolete usages, practised of old time in the ministration of holy baptism. 4. Be it a fourth caution, that we do not adopt a rule for the interpretation of the Articles of the Church, so as to impose upon them a sense different from that which they were origi- nally intended to, and do properly, bear. The articles of religion, "agreed upon by the archbishops and bishops of both provinces, and the whole clergy, in the con- vocation holden at London in the year 1562," were agreed upon "for the avoiding of diversities of opinions, and for the esta- blishing of consent touching true religion." And the King's declaration, in ratification of the Articles in 1628, insisted on the agreement of the clergy " in the true, usual, literal meaning of the articles ;" and commanded every man " not to draw the Ar- ticle aside any way, or to put his own sense or comment to be the meaning of it," but "to submit to it in the plain and full meaning thereof," and to " take it in the literal grammatical sense." The conduct of the Church herein was marked by integrity and prudence ; and the line described for the observance of her ministers appears intelligible and plain : on her part, a clear enimciation of her sentiments on the various topics brought un- der notice ; on her ministers, an honest subscription to her senti- (a) Tracts, No. 75, pp. 4, 5. 12 meats, in " the true, usual, literal meaning," in " the literal gi'ammatical sense" of the language which conveyed them. Other views, however, both of the conduct of the Church, and of the interpretation of her Articles by her ministers, have been taken in these our times. The Church has been described as " seeming to give an uncertain sound;" as teaching "with the stammering lips of ambiguous formularies(a) ;" a grievous impeachment of her character, for truth or discretion, that she could discover and prescribe no better means than uncertainty and ambiguity for the attainment of her avowed object of " avoid- ing diversities of opinions, and establishing consent touching true religion." And for the sense of the Articles reference has been made, less to the true purport of their language according to the use of their framers, than to the teaching, or rather the imaginary teaching, of the Catholic Church, according as each individual may form his measure of that criterion ; a process for ascertaining the truth, the very contrary to that which our Church has prescribed ; for, whereas she has studied to avoid diversities of opinions by definite statements, to which she has required her ministers to testify their assent, the modern h}-po- thesis supposes her ministers to be thus referred back again to the scattered testimonies of bygone times, and an indefinite anti- quity ; or rather to the deductions, each of his own mind, from the records of antiquarian ecclesiastical lore. The consequence of this must needs be perplexity and hesitation in fixing the meaning of the Articles ; occasions for evading or explaining away their real intention ; laxity of sentiment as to the importance of unity of the faith, and diversity and contrariety, instead of una- nimity and concord, in those who make profession of it ; nay, the co*^existence of subscription to the x\rticles with an inward be- lief of the very errors which the Articles themselves were framed to counteract. And what, meanwhile, is the object to be thus attained? Avowedly, that "members of our Chm-ch m.ay he kept from straggling in the direction of Rome(&) ;" or, as I understand it, hat those whose minds disincline them for communion with our national Chm-ch, from a want of cordial concurrence with her Articles literally understood, may discover a solution for their embarrassment in interpretations supposed to be supplied by ec- clesiastical antiquity ; and thus effectively retrograde step by step from their natural parent, under the semblance of a strict devotion to the Catholic Church ; but in reality, it is to be feared, bv an approximation to the Church of Rome. ' For, in truth, the points on which this latitude of interpreta- tion is sought, and a reference is pleaded to the testimony of Catholic antiquity, are the points on which our national Chiu'ch (a) Tracts, No. GO. (J) Letter to Dr. Jelf by the Author of No. 90, p. 37. 13 is at variance with the Romish Church : and it is on these points that satisfaction is offered to the scrupulous inquirer, hy detach- ing corruptions of the Christian rehgion from their connexion with Rome, in which connexion they are condemned by our twenty-second Article ; and thereby procuring admission for them into the mind, under the character of ancient Catholic truths : as if, for example, whilst the particular corruptions, condemned by the Article, were condemned merely as Romish corruptions, other synonymous practices of " purgatory, par- dons, worshipping and adoration, as well of images as of re- liques, and also of invocation of saints," had been previously in being, for which the example of ante-Roman antiquity might be pleaded, and against which, therefore, the Article was not di- rected. And so protection is thrown over the very doctrine which the Article was intended to reprobate : whilst we are told that " a certain veneration for reliques"(ff) is not to be con- demned, but is to be tolerated; that "a certain worshipping and invocation of saints"(Z*) is not censurable ; that " a certain adoration of God's messengers" is not wrong and exceptionable, but is allowable : provided they be not accompanied with all the fond and foolish conceits, with all the aggravations of a sense- less and profane superstition, which mark the Romish errors(c). By this principle, then, of interpretation, it is to be under- stood, that not the errors repudiated by the Church in her twenty-second Article, but the circumstances attending them, are condemned. And by a somewhat similar process it is dis- covered, that the thirty-first Article, which condemns " the sacrifices of masses," is not to be understood as speaking of " the sacrifice of the mass(rf) ;" that notwithstanding the thirty- second, which declares the lawfulness of the marriage of priests at their own discretion, the Church has power, did she so choose, to take from them this discretion, and to oblige them either to marriage or to celibacy(e) ; and that, notwithstanding the de- claration in the thirty-seventh Article, that " the Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm of England," the supre- macy of the Pope, while it lasted, was " an event in Providence ;" that his jurisdiction, while it lasted, was " ordained of God," and had a claim on our obedience ; that the same character be- longed to " the metropolitan, the patriarchal, and the papal sys- tems;" and that, as to whether the Pope " ought to have supre- macy, ought does not in any degree come into the question(y')." Thus, indeed, may "the stanmiering lips of uncertain fornni- laries" be fastened upon the Anglican Church : not so, whilst she is suffered to utter her sentiments in her own plain forms of speech, and is not constrained to submit her meaning to the (a) No. 9r),p. 24. (i) lb. p. 3G. (c) Fb. p. 40. (d) lb. p. 59. (O lb. p. C4. (/)Ib. p. 77. 14 fanciful exposition which her interpreters may be pleased to call the teaching of the Catholic Church. 5. And this leads to a further caution, that we abstain from the use of all such language as may tend to indicate in our own minds, or to implant in others, an indifference to the errors and corruptions of the Romish Church, and to encourage, on the other hand, a favoiu'able contemplation of her, by putting for- ward and commending her better qualities, and by obscuring and keeping out of sight her peculiar abominations. They are the " errors" of the Church of Rome, " not only in her living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of faith(a)," which, so far as we have any concern with that Church, it is our business, in pursuance of the example and instructions of our national Chm'ch, to fix in our own minds, and to make sub- jects of admonition to our people. Under the former division allusion has been made to certain representations, calculated to lead to an acquiescence in some parts of the Romish system, if not to an approbation of it. I would here refer to some commendations which have been be- stowed on her devotional provisions, in particular relation to those of our national Church. There are doubtless devotional compositions in the Romish Church, deservmg of approbation as to their matter, however *' repugnant to the word of God and the custom of the primi- tive Church," by reason of their being "in a tongue not under- standed of the people(5)." But these are not her peculiar pro- perty : these she shares with our own Church, by whom, in common with her, they were derived from Catholic antiquity, and are still wisely, piously, and happily retained. Her devo- tional peculiarities, besides the use of a foreign and unintelligi- ble language, are her superstitions, her idolatry, her invocation and adoration of the blessed Virgin and other saints, her inter- cessory supplications in their names, her giving of the Creator's honour to the creature. These ought to be kept constantly in our minds, if we would entertain a right idea of the Romish Church. These ought to be presented to others, if we would impress the like idea on their minds. And, to say the truth, this is, to a certain extent, done by the authors to whom we are adverting ; and they scruple not to avow " the utter contrariety between the Roman system, as ac- tually existing, and our owm ; which, however similar in certain respects, are, in others, so at variance, as to make any attempts to reconcile them together in their "present state, perfectly nu- gatory." " Till Rome moves towards us," they add, "it is quite impossible that we should move towards Rome ; however closely (a) Art. xix. (6) Art. xxiv. 15 we may approximate to her in particular doctrines, principles, or views(ttj." Yet there seems to lurk in their minds a desire, perhaps I may say that desire is embodied in the attempt, to extenuate and apologize for some of these characteristics of Romish wor- ship: as if some of the addresses to created beings, in the Bre- viary, were, and others were not, "intrinsically exceptionable;" as if the "confession before God Almighty, before the Blessed Mary, ever-virgin, the blessed Michael, Archangel, the blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paiil, before all saints, and you, my brethren, that I have sinned too much in thought, word, and deed ;" followed by the petition, " There- fore I beseech thee, blessed Mary, ever-virgin, the blessed Mi- chael, Archangel, the blessed John Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all saints, and you, my brethren, to pray the Lord our God for me(Z>);" as if this confession, I say, and this petition, were " not a simple gratuitous invocation made to the saints, but an address to Almighty God in his heavenly court, as surrounded by his saints and angels :" and as if any thing what- ever could be said toward the justification of such an invocation as the following : " Holy Mary, succour the wretched, help the weak-hearted, comfort the mourners, pray for the people, in- terpose for the clergy, intercede for the devoted females j let all feel thy assistance, who observe thy holy commemoration. Pray for us, holy Mother of God(c)." Speaking, however, independently of these invocations, it is the evident tendency of the tracts, in which the services contain- ing them are inserted, to raise the character of the Romish Church to an elevation exceeding that of our own, for her devo- tional exercises. Let the unbiassed reader examine the account given of the Breviary, whence our service w^as derived, and let him .judge in the first place whether the Breviary, as it was practised in the Catholic Church, is not holden up to admira- tion, as preferable to the English Book of Common Prayer ; and then whether the same Breviary, as practised still in the Romish Church, save only the addresses to the Virgin Mary and other saints, is not represented as preferable to our Com- mon Prayer, and whether, therefore, as a general structure, it is not deemed entitled to a higher praise. Set aside these ob- jectionable addresses, which are capable of easy extermination, and the Common Prayer Book would stand in no competition •with the exceeding " excellence and beauty in the services of the Breviary of the Roman Church," embodying as they, in the title of their panegyric, represent it to embody, " the substance of the devotional services of the Church Catholic (o?)." (a) Tract, No. 75, p. 23. {h) No. 75, pp. 10, 61. (r) lb. pp. 53, and 10. Id) No. 75, p. 1. 16 Representations such as these, my brethren, appear to me fit subjects of cautionary reflection concerning tlie compositions, whereby they are conveyed to the public mind. Nor is the ne- sessity of caution in this behalf diminished, rather, indeed, it is greatly augmented by such passages as I would now submit to your thoughts ; the former of which asserts a proper religious feeling to exist exclusively at the present time in the Romish Church, and the second exhibits the two Churches of Rome and England, in actual contrast with each other, greatly to the ad- vantage of that of Rome. " In truth," says the former of the two passages alluded tc. " there is at this moment a great progress of the religious mind of our Church to something deeper and truer than satisfied the last century . . . The age is moving towards something, and most unhappily the one religious communion among us, which has of late years been practically in possession of this something, is the Church of Rome. She alone, amid all the errors and evils of her practical system, has given free scope to the feelings of awe, mystery, tenderness, reverence, devotedness, and other feelings, which may be especially called Catholic(rt)." The other passage enters more into detail ; and if the length of the extract shall make it seem inappropriate for a quotation, an apology must be pleaded by its importance. " To these," says my author, speaking of certain persons peculiarly exposed to temptation, " to these the Roman Communion, as at present seen in this coimtry, does come in a fascinating and imposing form. She comes to us with our common saints, which modern habits have led many wrongly to regard as her's exclusively ; with holy truths and practices, which in our recent carelessness are too often disregarded or neglected, or even spoken against amongst ourselves ; with unity on truths, whereon we are dis- tracted (although, alas ! upon doctrines and practices also which are not true nor holy) ; with discipline, which we should find useful for ourselves, and which has been neglected among us ; with fuller devotions, works of practical wisdom or of purified and kindled love ; a ritual, which (though withdrawn mostly from the laity), still in itself, at some holy seasons, sets before the eyes more prominently than our own, our Saviour in his life and death for his Church, or which utters more distinctly some truths, which the sins of the Church caused to be more veiled among om-selves ; or she points to a communion of saints, in which we profess our belief, but of which little is heard among us, now that even the prayer for the Church militant for the most part practically forms no part of our weekly service ; she has in her monastic institutions a refuge from the weariness and vanities of the world, and a means of higher perfection to t^a) Letter to Dr. Jelf by the Author of No. 90, p. 25. 17 individuals, which many sigh after, and which might be revived in a primitive form, but which as yet we have not ; in her small communion in this country she is not pressed on all sides by the spiritual wants of her children as we are, which hinder, perhaps, from noble enterprize in God's service, some who might other- wise have essayed it, still she does erect among us edifices to his glory, with which, notwithstanding the ample means at the command of our people, we have but a little, here and there, in this day to compare. Above all, she comes to us with her prayers ; and some of her members by remembering us at the altar, and night and day in the holy week, have drawn men's hearts unto them, and won our sympathy and gratitude, in any lawful way wherein we may manifest it(tt)." Your reflections, my brethren, will readily furnish the coun- terpart of this picture ; and, together with the flattering features of the portrait, you will remember others of a very different cast, which distinguish the Roman communion : the adoration paid to our common saints, and the multitudinous addition of her own, with their meritorious and miraculous actions ; the " blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits(Z>)" by which her most holy truths and practices are desecrated and profaned ; her real disagreements under the semblance of universal union ; her discipline disgraced by tyranny ; her devotions sullied by superstition ; her ritual abounding in occasions of offence, and representing our Saviour's sacrifice as aided by the merits of her saints ; her monastic institutions supplied by frnud, supported by injustice and violence, teeming with profligacy, and too grie- vous to be borne ; her edifices erected professedly to God's ho- nour, but abounding in abominations which dishonour God ; her implacable animosity towards us, and her anathemas and exe- crations perpetually poured on us from her altars. But to these things I can barely allude in passing, and must be contented to leave the foregoing picture of the Roman communion drawn by a favourable hand, with a warning that we be not thereby de- luded to mitigate our well-founded disapprobation of Rome, much less to make her the object of our admiration and imita- tion. II. We now proceeed to consider another class of topics on which some cautionary reflection may be useful ; and as, under the former division, the movement may be judged to have a Rome-ward tendency, that which is now to be considered claims attention, as having an undue tendency toward Geneva. Situ- ated as the Anglican Church is between the two, and subject as she is, and heretofore has been, to temptations on either hand, it is prudent that our eyes should be tiirned occasionally to- wards each, and that, in the height of our disapprobation and {a) Dr. Puscy's Letter to the Abp. Canterbury, pp. 11,12. (6) Art. xx-Ti. 18 alarm at the one, we be not drawn aside to take friendly coun- sel with the other. 1 . And here our first caution shall have regard to the con- stitution of the Chm'ch and the commission of her ministers. There are those who regard such things as among the non- essentials of Christianity ; and according to their views every association of men, calling themselves Christians, is a Church, and every man who takes upon himself, or receives, throughout whatever channel, the oflBce of preaching in a so-called Chris- tian congregation, is a minister of the Chiu*ch. It is not my purpose to enter upon these questions as presented to us by Holy Scripture, further than to say, that the assumptions here no- ticed seem altogether at variance with God's will and word. But speaking to you, my bretliren, as members and ministers of our national Church, I would warn you against these assumptions, as opposed to her authoritative declarations and ordinances. By her nineteenth Article, "the\dsible Chm'ch of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered accord- ing to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." By her twenty-third Article, " it is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or ministering the sacraments in the congregation, before he be lawfully called and sent to execute the same; and by the same Article, "those we are 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 congi'egation, to call and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard." By the preface to her Ordi- nation services she declares that " it is evident unto all men dili- gently reading the Holy Scriptures and ancient authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these orders of ministers in Christ's Church; bishops, priests, and deacons; which offices were evermore had in such reverent estimation, that no man might pre- sume to execute any of them, except he were first called, tried, examined, and known to have such qualities as are requisite for the same ; and also by public prayer and imposition of hands were approved and admitted thereunto by lawful authority." And, therefore, by the same preface she pronounces, that "to the intent that these orders may be continued, and reverently used and es- teemed in the united Church of England and Ireland, no man shall be accounted or taken to be a lawful bishop, priest, or deacon, in the united Church of England and Ireland, or suffered to exe- cute any of the said functions, except he be called, tried, exa- mined, and admitted thereunto, according to the form hereafter following, or hath had formerly episcopal consecration or ordi- nation." By the ninth English Canon, adopted in the 5th Irish, entitled " Authors of Schism in the Church of England cen- sured," she pronounces, " that whosoever shall hereafter sepa- 19 rate themselves from the communion of saints, as it is approved by the Apostles' rules, in the Church of England, and combine themselves in a new brotherhood, accounting the Christians, who are conformable to the doctrine, government, rites, and ceremonies of the Church of England, to be profane and unmeet for them to join with in Christian profession; let them be ex- communicated ipso facto, and not restored but by the arch- bishop, after their repentance, and public revocation of such their wicked errors." By the eleventh English, and fifth Irish Canon, entitled " Maintainers of conventicles censured," she pro- nounces, " whosoever shall hereafter affirm or maintain, that there are within this realm other meetings, assemblies, or con- gregations of the King's born subjects, than such as by the laws of the land are held and allowed, which may rightly challenge to themselves the name of true and lawful Churches ; let him be excommunicated, and not restored but by the archbishop, after his repentance, and public revocation of such his wicked er- rors." And, according to these plain propositions is the perpe- tual current of her liturgical devotions ; whilst in her ordination services, and in her prayers for the Ember days, she supplicates l)lessings upon her ministers of that " Almighty God, who, by his divine providence, hath appointed divers orders of minis- ters in his Church ;" whilst, in her morning and evening prayer, she beseeches Almighty God to " send down upon our bishops and curates, and all congregations committed to their charge, the healthful spirit of his grace ;" whilst in her litany she teaches her people to " beseech the good Lord to hear them," that so " it may please him to illuminate all bishops, priests, and deacons with true knowledge and understanding of his word ;" and in the same litany instructs them to call on the "good Lord to deliver them," as " from all sedition, privy con- spiracy, and rebellion," so also from the correlative spiritual or ecclesiastical evils, namely, " from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism." By these authoritative testimonies of our national Church, it is abundantly plain, that we, her ministers, are pledged to main- tain the ministerial office in its threefold division, as transmited from Apostolical origin by the imposition of episcopal hands, to be necessary to the constitution of a true and lawful member of the Church, and to the due preaching of God's Word and mi- nistration of his sacraments; and that we are pledged to account "schism," or a wilful separation from the Church, to be a grievous sin, and them, who are guilty of it, to be deserving of severe punishment. Those who are not blessed with the apos- tolical commission by episcopal ordination, and who separate themselves from the communion of saints in such a rightly con- stituted member of the holy Catholic Church, are apt to make 20 Iiarht both of the blessing and of the sin, erring therein as widely from God's will in His Holy Word as from the judgment of His Church. But on this it is not my present business to dwell ; rather it is my business to caution you, as ministers of the Church, and in accordance with her avowed principles and rules, not to be betrayed into an adoption of the modern latitu- dinarian notion, the fruit of puritanical inventions about the era of the Reformation, of confounding self-constituted sects with lawful Churches, and imagining schism and sectarianism to be no sin. 2. A clear line of distinction was thus drawn between the Church and her puritanical opponents on the ground of eccle- siastical polity. It was strengthened by differences on other topics, especially the rights and ceremonies of public worship, which, having been introduced by the Church for the use of her congregations, encountered bitter, persevering, and relentless opposition from those who ranged themselves imder the banners of nonconformity. To those, who are acquainted with the ecclesiastical history of these kingdoms in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, this state of things must be well known. And you, my brethren, need to be only reminded, by the way, of the struggles between the Church and the puritanical party in the reign of Queen Eli- zabeth ; of the discussions at the Hampton Court conference in the reign of King James I. ; and of the substitution of the Di- rectory for the Book of Common Prayer, together with the overthrow of episcopacy and of the monarchy withal, during the disastrous period of the rebellion and usurpation at and after the reign of King Charles the Martyr, under the tyranny of that " solemn league and covenant," which, originating with the Presbyterians of Scotland, bound all its adherents in a band to exterminate, as well in England and Ireland as in that country, the episcopal polity and the liturgical form of prayer ; in a word, " the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government" of the Church. Upon the revival, however, of the Church, toge- ther with the monarchy, on the restoration of King Charles the Second by the blessing of Divine Providence, an attempt was made to reconcile these differences by a royal commission to certain Episcopal and Presbyterian divines, authorizing and re- quiring them to advise upon and review the Book of Common Prayer, to consult upon the several objections and exceptions which should be raised against the same, and to make such rea- Bonable alterations, corrections, and amendments therein as should be agi'eedupon to be needful and expedient, " for giving satisfaction to tender consciences, and for the restoring and con- tinuance of peace and unity in the Church." The ensuing exa- mination, however, commonlv known bv the name of the " Sa- 21 voy Conference," from the place of meeting, was of small effect. Objections were alleged by the Presbyterian, and answered by the Episcopal divines ; but few alterations were agreed upon, and, with some not essential corrections, the Book of Common Prayer remained as it was, and thus was made part of the new Act for the uniformity of public prayers, which, after a brief interval, was enacted severally in England and in Ireland, and which, as we all know, both as being the law of the Church and realm, and by our own voluntary and solemn undertaking, is the rule of our ministrations. Meanwhile an account of the proceedings between the bishops and their assistants on the one hand, and the Presbyterian di- vines on the other, was published in 1661. A copy of it now lies before me, in a pamphlet, entitled, " The grand Debate between the most Reverend the Bishops, and the Presbyterian Divines," as also in Dr. Cardwell's History of Conferences. From that account I would now lay before you the principal objections and answers on the topics, on which alterations were proposed and rejected. These things appear to me important, not merely as interesting occurrences in our ecclesiastical his- tory, but still more in their relation to our professional engage- ments and conduct; and as affording cautions to ourselves, that we strictly observe our fidelity to the Church, and that we do not, by any inconsiderate or ill-advised deviations from our plain line of duty, so far forfeit our allegiance to her, and take part with her opponents. To those, who have not contemplated the subject under this point of view, it may be matter of surprise, that of certain irregularities now prevailing among some minis- ters of the Church, especially, if I mistake not, among those who have been most prominent in reprobating their brethren for other alleged offences, the most striking are in accordance with the objections, which at the Savoy Conference were advanced ])y the Presbyterian divines, and negatived on the part of the Church by the Bishops and their assistants. 3. Following the example of the primitive Catholic Church in her mode of worship as well as in her constitution, the Re- fcjrmed English Church had provided a liturgical form for her people ; a form, defined in all particulars, and not open to any innovation, whether by diminution or addition ; and concerning " the prescript form of divine service," it had been her judg- ment in her canons, that "that form of liturgy or divine ser- vice, and no other, shall be used in any church of this realm, but that which is established by the law, and comprised in the l^ook of Common Prayer and administration of the sacraments." But the Puritanical party, who had stricken out a new and anti- Catholic project of ecclesiastical polity, struck out a similar project of Christian worship, whereby, during the usurpation, 22 the Church's Book of Common Prayer had been superseded. The repetition of such an attempt would have been now mani- festly ineffectual ; so that they were content to limit their objec- tions to particular portions of divine service^ to some of which I will now specially advert. 4. They proposed then, that " the repetitions and responsals of the clerk and people, and the alternate reading of the psalms and hymns with a confused murmur in the congregation, where- by what is read is less intelligible, and therefore unedifying, may be omitted (a);" and that "in regard the litany is so framed, that the petitions for a great part are uttered only by the people, which we think;not to be so consonant to Scriptm'e, which makes the minister the mouth of the people to God in prayer, the par- ticulars thereof may be composed into one solemn prayer, to be offered by the minister unto God for the people"(^). But the Episcopal divines made answer, that the demand for taking these away was made " upon such reason, as doth in truth en- force the necessity of continuinsr them as thev are, namely, for edification. They would take these away because they do not edify ; and upon that very reason they should continue because they do edify ; if not by informing of om' reasons and imderstand- ings (the prayers and hymns were never made for a catechism), yet by quickening, continuing, and uniting oui' devotion, which is apt to freeze, or sleep, or flat in a long continued prayer or form. It is necessary, therefore, for the edifying of us therein, to be often called upon and awakened by frequent Aniens, to be excited and stirred up by mutual exultations, provocations, peti- tions, holy contentions and strivings, which shall most show his own, and stir up others' zeal to the glory of God. For this purpose alternate reading, repetitions, and responsals, are far better than a long, tedious prayer ; nor is this our opinion only, but the judgment of former ages, as appears by the practice of ancient Christian Churches, and of the Jews also"(c). o. Again, in opposition to the limitation prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer, the Puritans pleaded, " that the gift of prayer being one special qualification for the work of the ministry, bestowed by Christ in order to the edification of his Church, and to be exercised for the profit and benefit thereof according to its various and emergent necessities ;" they, there- fore, desired " that there may be no such imposition of the litui'gy, as that the exercise of that gift be thereby totally excluded in any part of public worship ; and further, that con- sidering the great age of some ministers and the infirmities of others, and the variety of several services oft time occurring upon the same day, whereby it may be inexpedient to require (c) Grand Debate, p. 3 ; Cardwell, p. 305. lb) Grand Debate, p. 4 ; Cardwell, p. 306. (c) Grand Debate, p. 66 ; Cardxrell, p. 338. 23 every minister at all times to read the whole ; it may be left to the discretion of the minister to omit it, as occasion shall re- quire(a)." But it was remarked, in answer, by the Bishops and Episcopal divines, that " this makes the liturgy void, if every minister may put in and leave out all at his discretion ;" that " the gift or rather spirit of prayer consists in the inward graces of the spirit, not in ex tempore expressions, which any man of natural parts, having a voluble tongue and audacity, may attain to without any special gift ;" but that " if there be any such gift as is pretended, it is to be subject to the prophets and to the order of the Church;" and that "the mischiefs that come by idle, impertinent, ridiculous, sometimes seditious, im- pious, and blasphemous expressions, under pretence of the gift, to the dishonour of God, and scorn of religion, being far great- er than the pretended good of exercising the gift ; it is fit that they, who desire such liberty in public devotions, should first give the Church security, that no private opinions should be put into their prayers, as is desired in their first proposal, and that nothing contrary to the faith should be uttered before God, or offered up to him in the Church(i)." And whereas of late years a custom had been gaining ground of " extemporary pray- ers being used before and aJter sermon, without any foundation from law or canons, and coming only from connivance," the Bishops and their assistants expressed their " hearty desire, that great care might be taken to suppress those private conceptions of prayers both before and after sermon, lest private opinions be made the matter of prayer in public, as hath, and will be, if private persons take liberty to make public prayers(c)." 6. Again, it was proposed by the Nonconformists, "that there be nothing in the Liturgy which may seem to countenance the observation of Lent as a religious fast ; the example of Christ's fasting forty days and nights being no more imitable, nor in- tended for the imitation of Christians, than any other of his miraculous works were, or than Moses's forty days(^)." To which the Episcopal divines answered, that this desire, " as an expedient for peace, was in effect to desire, that this our Church may be contentious for peace sake, and to divide from the Church Catholick, that we may live at unity among ourselves ; for Saint Paul reckons them among the lovers of contention, who shall oppose themselves against the custom of the Churches of God : that the religious observation of Lent was a custom of the Churches of God, appears by the testimonies of St. Chry- sostom, St. Cyril, St. Augustin, and St. Jerome, who says it was secundum iraditionem Apostoloruin : this demand, then, (a) Grand Debate, p. 5 ; Cardwcll, p. 306. (ft) Grand Debate, pp. 71, 72 ; Cardwell, p. 341. (>) Grand Debate, p. 57 ; Cardwell, pp. '^54, 337. (rf) Grand Debate, p, 4 ; Cardwell, p. 306. 24 tends not to peace, but dissension. The fasting forty days may be in imitation of our Saviour, for all that is here said to the contrary ; for though we cannot arrive to his perfection, ab- staining wholly from meat so long, yet we may fast forty days together, either Cornelius's fast, till three of the clock after- noon, or St. Peter's fast till noon, or at least Daniel's fast, ab- staining from meats and drinks of delight, and thus far imitate our Lord(«)." 7. Again, it was desired by the puritanical objectors, **that the religious observation of saints' days appointed to be kept as holy-days, and the vigils thereof, w^ithout any foundation (as we conceive) in Scripture, may be omitted; that, if any be re- tained, they may be called festival, and not holy-days, nor made equal with the Lord's day, nor have any peculiar service ap- pointed for them(&)." But answer was made by the represen- tatives of the Church, that "the observation of saints' davs is not as of divine, but ecclesiastical institution, and, therefore, it is not necessary that they should have any other ground in Scripture, than all other institutions of the same nature, so that they be agreeable to the Scripture in the general end, for tJie promoting of piety : and the observation of them was ancient, as appears by the rituals and liturgies, and by the joint consent of antiquity, and by the ancient translation of the Bible, as the Syriac and Ethiopic, where the lessons appointed for holy-days are noted and set down, the former of which was made near the Apostles' times. Besides our Saviour himself kept a feast of the Church's institution, namely, the feast of the dedication, St. John, xii. 22. The choice end of these days being not feasting, but the exercise of holy duties, they are fitter called holy-days than festivals ; and though they be all of like nature it doth not follow that they are equal (c)." 8. Again, an objection was made by the Presbyterians, on the ground of the lessons appointed to be read in public wor- ship : " that inasmuch as the Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation, to furnish us thoroughly unto all good works, and contain in them all things necessary either in doc- trine to be believed, or in duty to be practised ; whereas divers chapters of the Apocryphal Books appointed to be read, are charged to be, in both respects, of dubious and imcertain cre- dit : it is therefore desired," they said, " that nothing be read in the Church, for lessons, but the holy Scriptm'es in the Old and New Testament(cr)." But they were answered by the Epis- copal Commissioners, with reference to the reason, which, it was contended, " would exclude all sermons as well as Apocry- (a) Grand Debate, p. 69 ; Cardwell, p. 339. (b) Grand Debate, p. 4 ; Cardwell, p. 306. (c) Grand Debate, p. 70 ; Cardwell, p. 340. (d) Grand Debate, p. 6 ; Cardwell, p. 307. 25 pha :" if so, why so many unnecessary sermons ? why any more but reading of Scriptures ? If, notwithstanding their sufficiency, sermons be necessary, there is no reason why these apocryphal chapters should not be useful, most of them containing excellent discourses and rules of morality. It is heartily to be wished that sermons were as good. If their fear be that by this mean those books may come to be of equal esteem with the Canon, they may be secured against that by the title which the Church hath put upon them, calling them Apocryphal ; and it is the Church's testimony which teacheth us this difference : and to leave them out, were to cross the practice of the Church in for- mer ages(a)." 9. Again, the Puritans objected to the provision in the Burial of the Dead, where it is said, " Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother here departed, we therefore commit his body to the gi'ound, &c., in sure and certain hope of resurrec- tion to eternal life." And they remarked thereon : " These words cannot in truth be said of persons livhig and dying in open and notorious sins(Z/)." But it was answered by the Epis- copal divines : "We see not why these words may not be said of any person who we dare not say is damned : and it were a breach of charity to say so, even of those whose repentance we do not see ; for whether they do not inwardly and heartily re- pent, even at the last act, who knows? And that God will not even then pardon them upon repentance, who dares say ? It is better to be charitable and hope the best, than rashly to con- demn(c)." 10. Again, it was demanded by the Puritans, " Because sing- ing of psalms is a considerable part of public worship, we desire that the version set forth and allowed to be sung in churches may be amended, or that we may have leave to make use of a purer version (rf)." To which the answer of the Bishops and their assistants was an excuse for passing over the objection: "Singing of psalms in metre is no part of the Liturgy, and so no part of our commission (