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A RECENT TRACT

UPOJ*

EESEKVE

COMMUNICATING RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE
COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

BY THE REV. HENRY LE MESURIER, M.A.
SECOND MASIEIt OF BEDFORD SCHOOL, LAXE FELLOW OF NEW COM, EG*.

avoj •jrorafitov lepwv
XapoviTl irayal.

OXFORD,
PRINTED BY J. MUNDAY, JUN.
FOB THE AUTHOR,
SOLD BY J. H. PARKER;
AND BY HATCHARD AND SON, LONDON.
MDCCCXXXIX.

A RECENT TRACT

UPON

RESERVE

COMMUNICATING RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE
COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

BY THE REV. HENRY LE MESURIER, M.A.
SECOND MASTER OP BEDFORD SCHOOL, LATE FELLOW OF NEW COLLEGE.
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^oapovat irayal.

OXFORD,
PRINTED BY J. MUNDAY, JUN.
FOR THE AUTHOR,
SOLD BY J. H. PARKER;
AND BY HATCHABD AND SON, LONDON.
MDCCCXXXIX,

PREFACE.

The Tract upon Reserve, &c. was shewn to the
writer of the following pages by one of his friends, upon
whom, and others of the same circle, it had made a con
siderable impression. Upon his saying that such a view as
it was represented to set forth could not possibly be right,
he was desired, on reading the Tract, to show where it
was wrong. In answer to this request, he wrote the first
half of the following Paper, as it now stands, with the
exception of some of the introductory remarks. As this
had the effect of changing the mind of those to whom it
was shewn, he was urged to publish it. This will account
for the subject not being more methodically laid out, or
the divisions more pointedly marked ; for as the Paper
has only a temporary object, and therefore can only possess
a temporary interest, it did not seem worth while to under
take the trouble of writing it over again. Some allusions,
in the latter part, to a book bearing the name of its Author,
oblige the writer of this to affix his own name also, which,
for reasons that are rightly estimated in the Tract, he had
not intended to do.

INDEX TO THE PARTS.

Page.
1. Introduction 1
2. Speculative grounds of the Theory of Reserve, from
the dispensations of God, and the habits of religious
men ...... 6
3. From the conduct of our Lord - - - 10
4. More proper grounds, from the instructions of our Lord
to his Apostles, and the example they have left - 12
5. From the Epistles 14
6. The doctrine of the Atonement, whether reserved in
the preaching of the Apostles - - 16
7. As witnessed in the Acts - - - 18
8. As witnessed in the Epistles - - 20
9. Denied - - 22
10. The system of Reserve exhibited - - ib.
1 1 . Questions at issue - - - - - 26
12. Is it commanded to publish the knowledge of God ? - ib.
13. Is the Word a Channel of Grace? - - 27
14. The doctrine of the Tract respecting Holiness - 29
15. The Word of God the first instrument of Grace - 31
16. The Atonement to be preached explicitly - - 32
17. Its efficacy - ... 35
18. The Religion that leaves out the Atonement 37
19. Obscurity of St. Paul's Epistles - - 41
20. Object and tendency of the doctrine - 46
21. The Ordinances ... - 48
22. Comparison of views - 56
23. Tradition - - 60
24. The charge of Socinianism - 83
25. Concluding Notices - - 87

A RECENT TRACT
UPON RESERVE IN COMMUNICATING RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE
COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

" And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned." —
Mark xvi. 15, 16.
This was the last parting command which our Lord
gave to his Apostles. What thoughts, then, shall arise
in our minds, when we turn our eyes from this to the
title of No. 80 of the Tracts for the Times, " On Reserve
in communicating Religious Knowledge," and find it the
capitulary of an argument designed to prove that the
observance of such reserve is a sacred and solemn duty
both towards God and our fellow men, and aiming to
enforce the same as a rule of practice upon the Christian
Church ? When further we understand that this Tract
expresses the opinions not of one individual, but of a
widely-extended association ; that it is only a more elabo
rate statement of what has been advanced with equal
assurance by one who possesses extensive influence over
the minds of that class and age by whom the offices of
B

THEORY OF RESERVE

the Church are soon to be filled ; and, when further we
see the learning and talents brought to bear upon the
promotion of a system embracing such a tenet among its
fundamental principles, we cannot but be struck at once
with the danger imminent to the Church. For although
the extreme aberration from the rule of truth, discernible
in this principle, be such a sign against the system which
embraces it, as to be itself a promise of safety, yet viewed
in another light, it is an evidence of the prevalence and
progress of a spirit of sophistry which is lying at the
foundations of established truth. In all important revo
lutions, in every momentous crisis, there appear the
marks of a more powerful influence than the mortal
agents who seem to guide them. As it is certain from
Scripture that the minds of men are capable of motion
from unseen intelligence ; so in the movements of society
are often to be discerned the symptoms of a comprehen
sive purpose working its way through unconnected chan
nels. There are tendencies of circumstances which seem
to have been apprehended before they were obviously
developed, and a wonderful provision of means for making
use of a favourable conjuncture before its approach was
manifest ; and there is a needful preparation of minds
and parties for the working of a comprehensive purpose,
which human power can neither secure to its aims, nor
human intelligence, perhaps, discern with all the sagacity
required. But to the observer they seem to have been
provided in the schemes of a mysterious Providence.
These remarks arise out of the contemplation of a fearful
combination of current circumstances in favour of that
great enemy of the truth, which had, indeed, to all

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

appearance received a deadly wound, but of which it is
foretold in prophecy that the same wound should be
healed. Among- that combination of circumstances I
place the efforts of the party from whom this Tract pro
ceeded. Is it any answer to that imputation, that they
declare, that union with Rome, as she is, is a thing
utterly impossible ? It is of no force whatever, while
they are engaged in laying again the foundation on which
that pile of error is raised, against which, in its enormity,
they protest : if so they do. But is it possible such men
can be deceived? The question is of no avail. The
spirit which unconsciously works out the mysterious plans
of Providence is ever a subtle spirit, although he be able
to look no further into futurity than to one stage of con
sequences. To draw in our view from the more extensive
work of which the Tract under notice forms a part, and
fix it upon the particular instance, where shall we find a
more striking example of the perversion of view, of which
even great talents are capable, than the ingenious attempt
which is here made to establish the principle it maintains
upon the authority of Scripture ? We have noticed that
command of our Lord to his Apostles, absolute in itself,
and unrestricted by other Scripture ; yet here it is
endeavoured to persuade us, that the whole texture and
history of revelation is a constructive rule of secrecy : a
very sophistical theory indeed, because, by its very nature,
it claims the condition of a very indecisive kind of proof.
And for such theories what a very plastic subject the
word of truth is shewn to be. Reason, too, which wit
nesses with revelation that knowledge of the truth is good
for man, is made to hold a different language. And
b2

THEORY OP RESERVE

reference is made to history as confirming the testimouy ;
while the ages of darkness and gloominess, of clouds and
thick darkness, of darkness that might be felt and seen,
" The double night of ages, and of her,
Night's daughter, ignorance,"
with which the length and breadth of Christendom was
so long overspread by the carrying out of this principle of
concealment, is a lesson obliterated from the memory.
It is said that truth is one, that error is multiform.
But as there is a body of truth, so is there a body of
error, equally compact and joined together, of which the
admission of any one part necessitates the recognition of
the rest, as a fossil bone may prove a datum to erect a
theory of the world. This is wonderfully exemplified in
the writings of the school from whom this Tract proceeds.
Take what part you will of Christian doctrine, and their
view of it is a point in a circle radiating to one common
centre. The whole is a body in which there is the face
of a man, and the voice is as the voice of one man, and
animated by one spirit. There is not a word in the
whole, but it bears a due proportion to the rest, and the
method complete is that which has been witnessed in full
action before, and which is spreading again through
various ramifications, like a crystalizing mass, obedient
to one principle of form. The subject of present notice
will serve for example. " The principle of reserve in
" communicating religious knowledge," or, as otherwise
expressed, " This principle of concealment." If I should
say that it is the wedge of Popery, I should be accused
of a disposition to rail, instead of employing argument.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

Yet it is impossible, in speculative, to admit the principle
without justifying the Romish Church in withholding the
Scriptures from the people. And how much more follows
upon that ? Nor can it be carried into practice without
resorting to the same expedient, unless, indeed, that
other equally Popish tenet be allowed, that the Scriptures
do not contain the whole revelation of God. And that
doctrine, also, is to be met with in this treatise. But
other points of assimilation to the Popish system, and
plain departures from Scriptural doctrine will appear, I
think, in the sequel.
Before proceeding to examine the arguments from
which the principle is deduced, I am fain to say of the
Tract, that as regards the open statement of its views, it
is written with great candour ; that it exhibits proofs of
a highly cultivated mind, and a style of composition that
is marked with extreme simplicity and good taste. But
it contains, as we might expect to find in such a work, a
mixture of right and wrong delicately interwoven toge
ther ; in which the truth of particular observations seems
to guarantee the same for others that are placed in joint
dependency with them. The facts are generally as there
stated, though the comment passed upon them is dis
allowed. But it is in the hands of an able writer to give
a turn to unquestionable truths, of which the indirection
can only be conveniently proved by placing the conclusion
in comparison with a standard, about which there can be
no dispute. Admitting, then, that the two first parts of
the Tract contain several just observations, and some
passages of beauty, what I have said will excuse me from
the task of sifting them in minute detail, I will rather

THEORY OF RESERVE

premise a few short notices of the more speculative
grounds of his theory, and then proceed to the questions
of more essential moment to the grand conclusion.
Be it allowed, then, as stated in Part I. that the
Sacred Scriptures, especially the Old Testament, abound
in difficult passages ; that the Words of God often con
tain a meaning which does not float upon the surface of
the letter. That there is also a prophetic intimation of
some doctrinal truth, resembling the moral of a fable, in
several of the actions and occurrences that are there
recorded for our instruction. I grant the fact of ob
scurity as mingling with revelation in Scripture : and
that the heathen were left long unvisited, although God
left not them without a witness of Himself. And in
respect to Part II. I grant that the knowledge by which
the soul is nourished, renewed, sanctified, and gradually
transformed into a holier being, is in a great measure of
a moral kind, and derived through its moral perceptions.
I grant in respect to Part III. that an intellectual know
ledge of Divine truths may be abused, nay, that it is
much abused, and always has been, and ever will be, so
long as it has to contend with the corruptions of the
human heart. That there is a tendency in man to rest
in the abstract contemplation of the Divine law, instead
of exerting himself to practise it. That men who are
seriously engaged in the search after Divine truth, and
occupied with the work of their sanctification, are inclined
to withdraw from the world. But the conclusion which
the author would draw from these premises I deny. I
deny that because there is obscurity in Scripture, we are
to conceal what is clearly made known. That because

fllMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

God saw good to leave the greater part of mankind, for
several ages, without a revelation of Himself, we are
therefore to stint the knowledge, which He has now im
parted, to those whom He has placed in a later age, in
opposition to His express command. I deny that because
men may abuse the truth, we are therefore not to impart
it : that we are to judge, which is the spirit's office,
whether men are fit to receive it or not ; that we may
decide that in any particular case the truths of God will
fail of their effect. I deny that, because the work of
religion is a secret one in the heart, and carried on in a
private communion between God and each individual
man : that because it is a secret of the conscience, attended
with awe and fear, and liable to many changes of feeling,
which naturally cause men to be very shy of speaking, as
those who are making profession of attainments ; there
fore we are to observe a systematic reserve on the subject
of God's mercies, and to consider such silence as a test of
the true religious sentiment. And again, I deny, that
because religion is in part a private work, to be witnessed
in the retirement of the chamber ; and because, being the
study of, and preparation for, another life, it tends to
withdraw men from this, therefore Christians are to form
themselves into a close society, and keep the righteousness
of God within their heart, instead of letting " their light
" so shine before men, that they may see their good works,
" and glorify their Father, which is in heaven." I deny, in
short, that in either the one case or the other, we are to
make our own observations on the arbitrary pleasure of
God in the counsels of his infinite wisdom, or upon the
natural traits of human character, as exhibited in any class

THEORY OF RF.SF.RVF.

or sort of men, to deduce from them a speculative rule for
the conformity of our conduct in dispensing the religion
we have received, instead of looking to the express com
mands with which the consignment of that religion was
accompanied. In the one case we should seem to imitate
the answer of the unprofitable servant, " I knew that thou
" wast an austere man ;" and to draw conclusions respect
ing the will of Christ from what this writer calls the
manifestations that he makes of himself in the lives of
pious men, is something the same as for a man " to think
" that God is even such an one as himself."
Again, as to tbe theory that the obscurity noticed in
Scripture is to avoid the condemnation of men, I main
tain that it is a false comment, broadly stated as in the
Tract. That in the course of revelation a regard was
had to the capacity of man to receive it, is a fact of
course. But this consideration by no means stands alone
as a cause either of the progressive history of revelation,
or of the obscurity in which parts of it are involved. In
the full extent of the observation it is rather to be regarded
as a thing of course. In every method of instruction, a
regard is had to the capacity of the pupil. The subjects
of the highest form are not offered to the lowest ; but the
mind is led on from the apprehension of simple subjects,
gradually opening the understanding to others of a more
complex and abstract nature. If man had never fallen, it
is probable that God would have pursued some plan for
enlightening him, not altogether dissimilar. In looking
back upon the history of Revelation, we may regard the
human race as one man. Israel is frequently personified
in the Old Testament. Now before the full discovery of

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 9
the covenant of redemption was made, there were many
things to be taught. But these were not simply objects
of the intellect : rather inward convictions and practical
proofs leading to self-knowledge, and inducing a state of
mind prepared to receive the truths, the suitableness of
which to the condition of man would not else have
appeared. It would be a very wide speculation, and
probably beyond the power of man, to explore all that is
concluded in the designs of God, in His leaving so large a
portion ofthe world, for so great a length of time, in igno
rance of what He has revealed to us. The great purpose
would seem to have been to prove and exhibit the truth
regarding man's fallen nature, in every variety of way.
But the day of revelation of the judgment of God, which
perhaps will make all this manifest, is not yet arrived.
Further, as to the obscurity that is interspersed with
revelation, this will also appear inherent in the nature
of the thing, if duly considered. The Word of God em
braces in its application the compass of all time : and that
is not yet run out. It is a well from which men may
draw the waters of life, but it is not likely they should
fathom it. It is like the universe, which is often brought
into parallel with it in the Psalms. And there in relation
to God's hiding Himself it is expressed, that " He
" covereth Himself with light as with a garment." A main
lesson which it is intended to teach man, is the littleness
and impotence of his own understanding, and the mighty
mind of God. Neither has the Almighty made known
His whole counsel at once, nor even yet has He made to
man, nor will He ever make, a perfect revelation of Him
self. At present we but see through a glass darkly

10 THEORY OF RESERVE
although in comparison with earlier periods the morning
is spread abroad upon the mountains, and the beams of day
have penetrated the valleys of darkness. It is true, that
to human eye, God has appeared but under a veil. "You
" cannot see my face and live," He said to Moses, when
that Prophet desired to see the person of Jehovah. Christ
was God hidden under the veil of human flesh. And as to
the comparative obscurity which He sought on earth, and
the degree of reserve which He may be said to have prac
tised, a specific reason for this is supplied by the nature of
the case itself.
First of all He was come in the form of man, to be
offered as a sacrifice. This was the great object of His
coming at that time : not to make a display of His divi
nity. But it was necessary that this should be discovered
in such a manner, and by such degrees, that when His
work should be completed, the evidence sufficient to
establish this fact as an object of faith should be completed
also. A course of events was necessary to be fulfilled in
Him, and the whole work of His ministry was to be
accomplished. He had, as a teacher of righteousness, to
unfold the nature of spiritual holiness, and to teach the
worship of God in spirit and in truth : to found a Church
of faithful disciples, who should be witnesses of His life,
and the depository of His instructions. He had to shew
Himself to these as the fulfiller of prophecy, contrary to
their notions of the sense of prophecy : to found a religion
which was to confound the wise, and dignify the mean
things of the world. For these purposes there was need
of time and comparative retirement from public agitation;
while at the same time He had to give proof to the world

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 11
by His power over the course of nature, that He was the
Lord of all things ; a doctrine, which they could not fully
receive, while they saw Him coming in and going out
among them. We are told, " There is a time for all
" things." And our Lord said, " I go not up yet to this
" feast, for my time is not yet full come." Further, as our
Lord was during His sojourn on the earth only preparing
the materials of His Church, which was to be built upon a
foundation not yet made manifest ; as the main action of
His life was His laying it down ; He adopted a method of
instruction by parables, and embued the substance of
precept with the hues of prophecy : because His doctrine
was a form of wisdom not yet discernible by man, as the
mystery of the Gospel consists in its requiring the Spirit
of God to interpret it to the understanding of man, and
the Spirit was not yet given. But as our Saviour said,
" Now I speak unto you in parables, but the time cometh
" when I shall no more speak unto you in parables ;" and,
" I have many things to speak unto you, but ye cannot bear
" them now : howbeit, when He, the Spirit of Truth shall
" come, He will guide you unto all truth," &c. : so when
the Spirit was given, we hear no more of parables. The
Gospel was no more preached by figure or with reserve, as
is here maintained, out of consideration for the ignorance
and unworthiness of man, lest it should become to him "the
" savour of death unto death." Heretofore our Saviour had
said, " I have many things to speak unto you, but ye cannot
" bear them now," and it is written, " He could not do
" many mighty works among them, because ofthe hardness
" of their hearts." But now the case was altered. " When
" He is come" said our Lord, " He will reprove the world

12 THEORY OF RESERVE

"of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." And
with this supernatural agent accompanying the Word, and
pleading the cause of Christ, bringing home the Word
spoken with power to the hearts of men, reproving them,
and convincing them of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment, " taking of mine and shewing unto you," the
rule of preaching was no more Reserve. The command
was given, " Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel
" to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized,
" shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
And upon this rule the Apostles acted, preaching the
Gospel without reserve, as the book of their Acts, and
their own Epistles testify. But here we come into more
direct opposition to the writer of the Tract. Hitherto we
have been engaged with his more speculative grounds.
We come now to matter of more weight : since the in
structions given by Christ to His Apostles respecting the
preaching of the Gospel, and the example they have left
us in propria re, supply a rule of more certainty, than
the most ingenious reasonings of our own upon any other
grounds whatever.
The Sth Section of Part I. is headed, " The instruc-
" tions to the Disciples, and their conduct illustrating the
" same," namely, " this mode of concealment;" and the 9th
Section is headed, " the same system in the Epistles."
In relation to the first head, I have just shewn, that our
Lord's instructions to the Apostles were, that they should
preach the Gospel unto every creature. What does the
Tract adduce on the other side ? Nothing! positively no
thing, but a certain interpretation of the word riaOrjTevaaTe,
which, he says, implies something different from teaching,

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 13
namely, making them Disciples. But the remark re
ceives additional force, he says, from something observ
able in the conduct of the Apostles. And the instance
noticed is what is related of St. Peter, when he raised
Tabitha, that he first " put them all forth." As this has
no relation whatever to the communication of religious
knowledge, I need not dwell further upon it. There
follows however an opinion of Athanasius " that the
" Apostles first declared to the Jews what concerned the
" human nature of Christ ; in order, that when they had
" thoroughly persuaded them, from the manifest miracles
" that had taken place, that Christ had come, they might
" afterwards lead them on to faith in His divine nature,
" shewing that the works that had taken place were not
" those of a man, but of God." There may be more or
less of truth in this, although it is a nice question. Some
method of instruction must of course be adopted, some doc
trines must precede others in the order of delivery, one truth
must be taught first, and one truth must necessarily be
apprehended before another. The whole question respecting
the duty of reserve in communicating religious knowledge
must turn upon the nature and principle of the course
pursued. The first object of the Apostles, seems to have
been to convince the Jews, that Jesus, whom they had
crucified, was the Christ ; and there are passages in the
Gospels which shew that the Jews were not altogether
ignorant of the divine nature of Christ ; as St. Peter
confessed " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
"God." And as the High Priest, " I adjure thee by the
"living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ,
" the Son of God," And, as our Saviour for affirming

14 THEORY OF RESERVE
this, suffered death by the law of blasphemy, it is clear,
as Tomline says, " that the Jews understood the title of
" Son of God in the sense of absolute divinity." Therefore,
as said above, the object of the Apostles was to prove to
the Jews, that Jesus whom they had crucified was the
Christ. But indeed, they appear to have been more ex
plicit, for the first thing we read of St. Paul, after his
conversion, is, that " straightway he preached Christ in
"the Synagogues, that He is the Son of God." And indeed
in the very first preaching after Pentecost, when Peter and
John had healed the lame man at the beautiful gate of the
Temple, the former most explicitly declares to the Jews
the divinity of our Lord's person, " The God of Abraham,
" the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our
"fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered
" up and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he
" was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy
" One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted
" unto you ; and killed the Prince of Life." I think then,
there is little weight in what was alleged on this head.
I proceed to the 9th Section, " The same in the Epistles."
But here all that is adduced is the saying of St. Peter,
" that in the Epistles of St. Paul are many things hard
" to be understood," and the opinion of Origen, that this is
" to prevent those who are unworthy, from discovering to
" the condemnation of their souls things which it is for their
" good should be concealed from them." But I apprehend
other reasons can be assigned for the fact in question, than
this, which the Author, as I contend, mistakes also to be
the purpose of our Lord's Parables, and which he sup
poses on equal grounds, to be the purpose of the figures

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. li)
of the Old Testament. " But with regard to the Epistles
" as confirming these opinions," he says "the subject would
" be too long to enter .upon, further than just to notice the
" many passages in them, in which the Apostle speaks of
" his care not to impart divine knowledge to those who are
" not worthy to receive it." Here, then, we are promised a
better authority than Origen. We wait to be shewn the
conclusive passages. But the Author proceeds to supply
" a full and adequate reason for this withholding and
" withdrawing of Divine truth," in the place of that we
look for, the word of the Apostle to the fact. Here he
alludes to those words of St. Paul, " for we are unto God a
" sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
" them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death
" unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life."
II Cor. ii. 15. 16. But what ! Does the Apostle assign
this as a reason for reserving the Gospel ? Nay ! the very
contrary. The verse that precedes, is, " now thanks be
" unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ,
" and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us
" in every place." ver. 1 4. And the verse which follows is,
"for we are not as many, which corrupt the Word of God:
" but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God
" speak we in Christ." v. 17- I fear that by " corrupting
" the Word of God," theApostle would mean to include the
reserve which the Tract accuses him of having practised.
The intermediate verses shew that he did not withhold
the truth, for fear of its turning to the condemnation of
the unworthy. And, in the first of the verses quoted, he
glorifies God for making manifest the savour of His
knowledge in every place, whether it were to the life or

]6 THEORY OF RESERVE
death of those who received it : so little imagining, that
by using difficult and obscure language he would avoid the
condemnation of the ignorant, that he says in the fourth
chapter, after having testified of himself that he had
" renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking
" in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully;
" but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves
" to every man's conscience in the sight of God, — But if
" our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost : In
" whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of
" them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
" Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
" unto them." , Tliese are strong words : and St. Paul in
the ardour of his honesty, makes many similar protest
ations ; so that there is no one thing that he insists on with
more earnestness, than his own undeviating integrity, in
preaching the Lord Jesus Christ without respect of men.
Moreover, he here denies that he ever handled the Word
of God craftily, as Origen conceived, that men might not
apprehend the truth ; but he says that it was the God of
this world, not he, who blinded the eyes of them to whom
the Gospel was hid ; and so far from the Gospel being
concealed from them to their justification, it was hid from
them to their perdition.
These remarks have yet a stronger application, when
we come to the application of " this principle of conceal-
" ment," or " reserve," in the concluding part of the Tract,
(Part III. Section 5,) and find that it is particularly
directed against " the prevailing notion of bringing for-
" ward the doctrine of the Atonement explicitly and promi-
" nently on all occasions." " It is evidently quite opposed,"

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 17
he says, " to what we consider the teaching of Scripture ;
" nor do we find any sanction for it in the Gospels." And
here again an attempt is made to prove that St. Paul
held the same view. But all that the Tract undertakes
on that head is to put a certain construction on those very
numerous passages of St. Paul which seem to express the
direct contrary. And it must be confessed that the sense
which the Tract puts upon the expression " Christ cruci-
" fied," is not excluded from its true meaning : but it must
be most strongly asserted, that so far from excluding the
sense, which his explanation is intended to exclude, (or at
least to lower,) the latter, on the contrary, is the funda
mental doctrine which is there intended to be expressed,
and the other as following from it. To know what
actually was the system of teaching adopted by St. Paul
and the other Apostles, we must have recourse to their
own witness or the testimony of their historian. The
question is, whether they were accustomed " to bring
" forward the doctrine of the atonement, explicitly and
" prominently on all occasions." I use the very words in
which the exception is taken, and which, of course, there
fore express the matter strongly. Now, there is this
difference between the epistles and the sermons reported
in the Acts, that the former are addressed to men already
built up in the faith, the latter are the first announcement
of the doctrine of salvation to a yet unbelieving audience.
This, I conceive, to be the case in which the author of
the Tract thinks it not merely " nugatory and unavailing,
" but that it may be productive of evil," (Part III. Section
4.) to place the doctrine of Atonement in the foreground.
In Acts, chapter iv. then, St. Peter and St. John are

18 THEORY OF RESERVE
brought before the council, and there testify of Jesus
Christ — " this is the stone which you builders rejected,
" which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there
" salvation in any other : for there is none other name
" under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
" saved." And the same Apostle again, chapter v. " The
" God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and
" hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right
" hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repent-
" ance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." And again,
chapter x. he declares the Gospel to Cornelius and his
friends. " The Word which God sent unto the children
" of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — how God
" anointed Jesus of Nazareth — To him give all the prophets
" witness, that through His name, whosoever believeth on
" Him shall receive remission of sins." In chapter xiii.
we read the sermon of St. Paul in the Synagogue at
Antioch, who after a course of reasoning from the pro
phecies in proof of Jesus being the Messiah, proceeds,
" Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that
" through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
"of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from
" all things, from which ye could not be justified by the
" law of Moses." Chapter xvi. presents the case of the
jailer at Philippi.* " What must I do to be saved ? And
* This case is remarkable. The observation has been made
that St. Paul, when addressing himselffor the first time to a Gentile
audience, takes a different doctrine for the subject of his preaching
from that which himself and the other Apostles were accustomed
to put forward when addressing the Jews. Indeed, nothing could
be more natural. The law was a schoolmaster to bring the Jews

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 19
" they said unto Him, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
" and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." It is unneces
sary to multiply examples. The testimony of St. Paul
himself is recorded in chapter xx. " And how I kept
" back nothing that was profitable, but have shewed
"you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to
"house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the
" Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our
" Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore I take you to record
" this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For
" I have not shunned to declare unto you all the council
" of God."
Therefore in the first preaching of the Gospel to the
to Christ, which the Gentiles wanted. In the first place, whoso
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of those that diligently seek him. When preaching to the idolatrous
and superstitious polytheists at Athens, St. Paul had therefore to
commence by declaring that truth, for the deducing of which from
reason Socrates had suffered death, the unity of the Godhead, or,
as it came from the Apostle, the knowledge of the true God, the
sole Creator and Governor of the world. Christ could not be
preached as the Son of God to those who knew not God himself.
Neither could he be preached as the Redeemer of mankind to those
who knew not that they were under the curse. Therefore, also,
when declaring the Gospel before Felix, the Apostle reasoned of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come; for a Gentile,
next to the knowledge of the true God, required to have enforced
upon his conscience that other truth which it was the object of
the Old Testament to shew, the moral corruption of man, which
rendered him unable of himself to satisfy the holiness of God. But
this rule reaches no further.' Indeed, in the case of the jailer, it
was superseded altogether, because the conscience of the man was
alarmed, and he was prepared to receive the word of the Apostle
as the truth of God.
c2

20 THEORY OF RESERVE
world by the Apostles, as related in the Acts, we find no
keeping back the doctrine of the Atonement. The Epis
tles, however, contain still further testimony upon the
same point. We read in the last chapter of the book
last mentioned, how St. Paul laid the foundation of the
Church at Rome : "To whom he expounded and testified
" the Kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus,
"both out of the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from
" morning till evening." Acts xxviii. 23. And the
Epistle to the same Church at an earlier date holds agree
able language. " So as much as in me is, I am ready to
" preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I
" am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ : for it is the
'' power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth;
".to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the
" righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is
" written ' The Just shall live by faith.' " The first Epistle
to the Church at Corinth bears similar testimony in a
passage already noticed, " And I, brethren, when I came
" unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wis-
" dom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I
" determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus
"Christ, and Him crucified." chap. ii. 1, 2. And the
meaning of the expression, since it has been questioned,
is sufficiently explained in chapter xv. where the same
thing is declared more at large. " Moreover, brethren, I
" declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you,
"which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by
" which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I
" preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For
" I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 21
" how that Christ died for our sins according to the
" Scriptures." From the 2nd Epistle to the same Church,
I have, in a former part, cited that most strong passage in
which the Apostle thanks God for making manifest by
him the savour of His knowledge, whether to life or
death, chap. ii. In chap. v. he illustrates what is here
declared respecting the method of his teaching. " And
"all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself
" by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministration
" of reconciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, recon-
" ciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their tres-
" passes unto them : and hath committed to us the word of
" reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,
" as though God did beseech you by us : we pray you in
" Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God. For He hath
" made Him sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might
" be made the righteousness of God in Him." I pursue
the passage no further for the present. The Epistle to
the Galatians begins with a statement of the doctrine of
the atonement : " Grace be to you and peace from God
" the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave
"Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this
" present evil world, according to the will of God and our
" Father ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
And the whole Epistle is an enforcement of this doctrine.
The contents of the Epistle to the Ephesians are expressed
in one verse : " Unto me, who am the least of all Saints,
" is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gen-
" tiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." In short it is
abundantly clear, that there cannot be a more mistaken
view of St. Paul's preaching, than that he either practised

22 THEORY OP RESERVE
concealment or reserve in general, or especially in respect
to the doctrine of the Atonement. As I think of the
charge, my ears seem to ring with his own earnest and
repeated protestations in denial of such conduct. It is
indeed most strange that the opinion should ever have
been conceived, when, in fact, there are not five conse
cutive verses in any one of his Epistles, which do not
express something either immediately tending to, or imme
diately flowing from, the doctrine of the Atonement ; and
that in a plain and direct, not in a covert, manner, as will
be shewn hereafter. It is the foundation of his whole
system, the support of every part of it, or rather as the
root, which is at once the foundation, and the source from
whence every part draws life and force, coherence and
form. " Other foundation can no man lay," says he,
" than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." But this is an
important passage. It is the principle of a system ; that
system which alone, according to the Apostle, can stand.
And the system of the Tract, however excellent much of
the matter may be, is in direct opposition to it.
It has been stated that sect. 5, of Part III. is headed,
" On the necessity of bringing forward the doctrine of the
"Atonement." The preceding section (4) exhibits the
more general heading. " This principle of Reserve applied
to prevailing opinions on promoting religion." The bearing
of this part of the Treatise is against that general opinion
of the virtue of religious knowledge, which at the present
day puts so many engines in motion for the circulation
of the knowledge of God, and of the way of salvation,
although it may end in a multitude of cases, in a knowledge
of the Word only. " The subject under discussion may

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 23
" in the next place be wisely applied as a test to the popular
" modes of extending Christianity, which partake of the
" spirit of the age. And these may be considered under
" three heads, that of bringing churches near to the houses
" of every body, cheap publications, and national schools."
Upon the subject of churches the writer's remarks are
strange indeed. The building of churches, he says, is
very well in the relation of the work to the persons en
gaged in it, as all religious sacrifices are beneficial to the
person that makes them. But in " the utilitarian view of
" the subject, are we not thinking that we may do by human
" means, that wliich is the work of God alone." This is
one objection to church building. The next is, that, as
Thucydides says, men venerate that which resisteth them,
and despise that which courteth their favour, there is
danger lest by making the Church easy of access, we
break that holy commandment, that we give not that
which is holy to the dogs. " For if churches are to be
" brought home to all, then are all persons to be brought
"into churches, and this by human means." In sect. 2, he
had said, " and so far from it being considered necessary
" to keep persons from church on account of irreligious lives
" it is usually thought that every thing is done if they can
" be brought to it." This most generally considered means
of awakening the conscience, by bringing men within
hearing of the Word, and within the circle of prayer is
therefore rejected. Next, "Much of what is here said may
" be applied to an indiscriminate distribution of Bibles and
" religious publications. We must not expect that the work
" which occasioned our Saviour and His disciples so much
" pains, can be done by such means. We have rather to

24 THEORY OF RESERVE
" look with awe on these new dealings of Providence with
" mankind." The latter words refer to a remark in the
second section respecting the present aspect of the world
as much opposed to his principle of concealment. " An
'' extraordinary aspect of things meets our view," he says;
" The knowledge of God hastening to cover the earth,
" as the waters cover the sea ; and a remarkable combina-
" tion of circumstances at work to produce effects, the
" opposite to what has been hitherto witnessed in the world.
"The art of printing bringing home the knowledge to all.
" Men of various creeds, opposed in principle and opposed
" in discipline, one might almost say Christians and unbe-
" lievers, combining together in the circulation of the
" Scriptures." But does he not incline to thank God for
that great discovery here alluded to, as so mighty an engine
for the dissemination of the Word of God ? There is no
sign of it : but only " to look with awe on these new
" dealings of Providence," which is certainly an inconsis
tency. For if this be not an instrument calculated to do
good, there is no occasion to fear the Judgments of God
for not profiting by it. Schools the writer does not object
to altogether, but only those on an extensive national
system. Yet I think the difference he would draw between
them and those on " the church system," is rather one in
theory than in practice. For what method of " practical
instruction" in religious knowledge, does, or can, any
school employ? You can only teach what words will
convey. Whether the child will be nourished by it, rests
between God and himself. In connexion with this subject,
but more immediately with that part which relates to
church building, are some observations in disparagement

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 25
of preaching, as an instrument of conversion. " It is
" worthy of notice," he says, in a note, "that in the Pari-
" sian Breviary, in its long services for the Feast of Dedi-
" cation, there appears no allusion to this end as the object
"of building churches, viz. the converting of persons by
" preaching." Any one, who rightly understands the
character and system of the Romish Church, will not be
surprised at it. He will discern in this point of difference
between the Roman and Protestant Churches, a return of
the latter to the spirit of Apostolic times, to the obedience
of the mind to the Word of Scripture. But we have now
to judge these opinions by the language of Holy Writ.
The author of the Tract then denies the use of religious
knowledge in extending the kingdom of the Gospel.
Schools, in which the young are made acquainted, as far
as man can teach, with the Book of the revelation of
God's will : churches, in which men are invited to join in
communion of prayer, so prescribed as to exercise the
mind in the doctrines of salvation : preaching, " dividing
" the Word of God," reasoning with the sinner of " right-
" eousness, temperance, and judgment to come," that by the
grace of God, his conscience may be awakened, while the
Spirit pleadeth with him, (not to speak of its other uses,)
but especially the distribution of Bibles, and cheap reli
gious publications, all these are disallowed by " this prin-
" ciple of reserve," as means of any value to promote reli
gion. We might ask, how then is the knowledge of God
to be spread abroad, if Christians shall form themselves
into a close society, in obedience to this " principle of con-
" cealment," which the Tract represents as the test of
genuine religion. But instead of reasoning upon the

26 THEORY OF RESERVE
principles of common sense, let us have recourse to the
Scriptures. I say to the Scriptures ; for the writer of
the Tract asserts the authority of the Fathers as to the
practice of the Church in this matter, citing in his favour
the tradition, which he calls, " the unwritten Word of
" God." But the Protestant must answer, " To the law
" and the testimony : if they speak not according to this
" Word, it is because there is no light in them ;" Isaiah,
viii. 20. Do the Scriptures, then, command to publish the
Word of God, and did the Apostles so act ? Do the
Scriptures support the idea that the knowledge of the
Truth, is an instrument of grace.
" Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord is King,"
are the words of David in Psalm xcvi. " O Zion, that
" bringest good tidings," said Isaiah, "get thee up into
" the high mountains : O Jerusalem, that bringest good
" tidings, lift up thy voice with strength : lift it up, be not
" afraid : say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God !"
" Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
" creature," said our Saviour. And again : " go out into
" the high ways and hedges, and compel them to come in."
I need not again go over the Acts of the Apostles. It is
all a history of the preaching of the kingdom of heaven.
The Gospel of St. Luke also records, chapter ix. " And
" He (Jesus) sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and
" to heal the sick," ver. 2. " And they departed, and went
" through the towns, preaching the Gospel, and healing
" every where," ver. 6. And had the Word spoken no
power ? See on the feast of Pentecost, three thousand
souls converted to the faith by one sermon of St. Peter.
See Felix tremble on his throne, as St. Paul " reasoned

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 27
" of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come."
See Agrippa almost persuaded to become a Christian. See
the Eunuch converted by the preaching of Philip. In
short, according to St. Paul, " when the world by wisdom
" knewnot God,it pleased God,bythe foolishness of preach-
" ing, to save them that believe." And now we come to
the subject of the dissemination of the Scriptures, and what
is connected with it. It has pleased God by his providence
to discover a means, by which his whole counsel may be
carried into the recesses of every man's dwelling ; so that
in every favourable time, when the Lord may prepare the
heart to seek Him, the image of the Divine voice may
wait to be heard, to awaken in the womb of Providence, the
living spirit of grace. But there is more in this question
than at first sight appears. And in this also, as in the
question respecting the doctrine of the Atonement which
I noticed before, there is a principle involved, which places
the religious system of the Tract in radical disagreement
with the religious system of the Gospel ; although this
principle of disagreement is not so strongly developed in
the present question as in the other, which is connected
with it, and to which it leads.
According to the writer of the Tract, we should not
preach the Gospel to unconverted men. And his reason
is, that religious knowledge merely, and of itself, tendeth
only to condemnation. I have quoted passages to this
effect, from section 4 of the Third Part, in which he
considers that, to invite all to Church, is to violate the
command, not to give that which is holy to the dogs ; and
in which he speaks of the indiscriminate distribution of
Bibles and religious publications, as no means for effecting

28 THEORY OF RESERVE
the Work of conversion ; and that we should rather fear
the judgment of God for acting so. " It might perhaps
" be thought," he adds, " that if it is a state of the heart
" alone which can receive the truth, to bring it forward
" before persons unprepared to acknowledge it, does not
" signify. Such persons cannot receive it ; and, therefore,
" the effect is merely nugatory and unavailing. But this
" does not follow. That they cannot receive it, is the
" appointment of God, but our attempting to act contrary
" to His mode of acting, may be productive of evil," &c.
Where then are the springs of grace ? This is the ques
tion. And I answer, in the Word of God. The writer
has asserted that to act upon this principle is, " contrary
" to His, the Almighty's, mode of acting." This is supposed
to be deduced from the general argument of his first aud
second Parts, namely, that God concealeth Himself. But
the whole voice of Scripture is against it. There seems
indeed, to be a mystery of divine operation, signified in
the twofold application of the title, The Word of God,
in which was life, and the life was the light of men, to
Christ, and to the Holy Scripture. For as Christ was
the revelation of God, so is the Holy Scripture the revela
tion of Christ to us. And it is a notable coincidence that
the same system removes either foundation, the Scriptures
as the foundation of knowledge, the Atonement as the
foundation of faith. The first article is contrary to the
Old Testament, which testifies the corrupt nature and
inward darkness of man : the last is contrary to the New,
which makes the new birth unto righteousness to be the
fruit of faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
In the first section of the Second Part of the Tract,

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 29
the author adduces the sentiment of the best moral writers,
that " a state of probation is one of increasing moral light,
"or of increasing darkness : that a good life is, in some
" especial sense, one of advancement in knowledge, and
" an evil life, of growing and progressive ignorance." He
proceeds to identify this with the teaching of Scripture,
" where sin is frequently spoken of by expressions, which
" imply the light within being darkened : and progressive
" holiness is continually alluded to, as progress in know-
" ledge, and to know God as the end of all obedience."
He argues, in Section 2, " that Scripture attributes these
" effects to the immediate agency of God." And hence he
leads us into a system of doctrine, to which the whole
compass of Scripture is opposed. He confounds that
clearness of intellect in the discernment of right and
wrong, which a heathen may attain to, it is argued, by
habitual honesty of conduct and purity of life, with that
illumination of the Spirit, which is promised in the Gospel
to the faithful disciples of Christ. That the former is ever
recognised in Scripture at all as an existent or possible
thing, I deny : and it is denied in every passage of the
New Testament. Nor is it proved by any of the passages
which are adduced to that purpose, as implying the teach
ing of God without the Word. It is true that He said of
Peter's confession, " Flesh and blood hath not revealed
"this unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven:"
that He said also, " I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of
" heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things
"from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
" unto babes :" that St. Paul said, " If any be otherwise
" minded, God shall reveal even this unto you :" and St.

30 THEORY OF RESERVE
James, " If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God :"
and " every good and perfect gift is from above." But
was there not the previous illumination of God's Word in
every one of these cases? Yet this is the course of an
argument of which the bearing is to dispense with the
Word of God. For " this hidden wisdom," that is, the
spiritual treasures, which are hid in Christ, " being purely
"of a moral nature," as he says, (sect. 4.) that is, the
growth of a good life, as he explained it in a passage
transcribed above ; and St. Paul being, as he proceeds to
say, " cautious in disclosing that heavenly knowledge of
" which he speaks, to those who are carnally minded ;"
we have all the premises for this double conclusion, that
men can be converted, or prepared for the reception of
the Gospel covenant by other means than the Word of
God : and that " to bring it forward before persons
" unprepared to acknowledge it, is acting contrary to His,
" (God's) mode of acting :" than either of which con
clusions nothing can be more untrue. For as the
Almighty is universally represented in Scripture as
earnestly seeking and soliciting, and calling upon men to
come to Him and be taught to know Him, — " I am sought
" of them that asked not for me ; I am found of them
" that sought me not : I said, behold me, behold me,
" unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have
" spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious
" people, which walked in a way that was not good."
Isaiah lxv. 1, 2. "Behold I stand at the door and
" knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the door,
" I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
" with me." Rev. iii. 20. So it is by His Word that He

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 31
maketh Himself known to them ; by His Word He
inviteth them : the statement of which proposition, is, in
fact, but to contradict a paradox.
The Word of God, then, is the derivation of grace,
and in it is laid the foundation of man's conversion to
righteousness: "After that the world by wisdom knew
" not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
" to save them that believe." 1 Cor. i. 21 . And by
preaching is here intended the communication of God's
Word. This, in the days of the Apostles, could be done
in the first instance only by preaching, on account of the
general want of ability to read, and the equal want of a
means of sufficiently multiplying copies of the Word.
But it is the same thing, whether the knowledge of the
truth came to a man by hearing or reading. It is the
same Word ; and this writer objects to either means of
publishing it ; in short, he denies the power of the Word,
saying " we must not expect to do by such means what
" cost our Lord and His Apostles so much trouble" :
whereas, this was the very trouble they took, this the very
means they employed. For what was it the sower went
out to sow ? The Word of God. And who is the sower ?
Christ himself, or any faithful minister of Christ. So
far is it from there being any truth in the theory, that the
heart of man without the knowledge of God, can by moral
cultivation so enlighten itself, as to become fit for the
apprehension of divine things. The Scriptures positively
deny this moral light to the man that is not regenerated
by the grace of God : and regeneration is denied to all
that have not believed in the Son of God. " And how
" shall they believe in Him, of whom they have not heard ?

32 THEORY OF RESERVE
" And how shall they hear without a preacher ? So then
" faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
" God." Rom. x. 14. 17-
Such then being the reason of the absolute necessity of
instruction from the Word of God, before the faintest
spark, I say not of moral, but of spiritual, light can ever
be kindled in the soul ; it is no wonder that this rejection
of the Scriptures, as the source of Divine knowledge,
should be accompanied by the rejection of the doctrine of
the Atonement as the fundamental article of faith. In the
second section of the Third Part, which shews, "that
" the present aspect of the world is much opposed to it,"
namely, " the principle of concealment," after instancing
in the zealous circulation of the Scriptures, the increasing
number of schools and churches, as indications of a spirit
unfavourable to this testing principle of true religion, the
writer proceeds : " Add moreover a new principle, un-
" known to former ages, prevailing throughout the world,
" in the shape, not only of an article of faith, but a sthe
" one and only article, indeed, as so important, and re-
" quiring to be received with such authority as to supersede
" the very fabric of the Church : dispensing with her
" sacraments, her creeds, her liturgies, her discipline ; and
" this principle is, that the highest and most sacred of all
" Christian doctrines, is to be brought before, and pressed
" home to, all persons indiscriminately, and most espe-
" cially to those who are leading unchristian lives." The
fifth section discusses this, " the necessity of bringing
" forward the doctrine of the Atonement," maintaining an
argument, which I have before disproved, that it was not
the practice of St. Paul to do so. Surely this is an

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 33
alarming sign. Let no one be deceived by the misinter
pretation of Scripture, which for the doctrine of the
atonement which St. Paul preached, substitutes as the sense
of his language a doctrine which of itself is good, and an
essential part of Christianity, but which is not that foun
dation which the Apostle laid, namely, the being crucified
unto the world. Remission of sins through our Lord
Jesus Christ, was the doctrine preached, the foundation
laid both by St. Paul and the other Apostles, as I have
already shewn : " by whom also we have access by faith
" into this grace wherein we stand." That proof I am
not going over again. But this is not a common fact.
It is the foundation of the true Christian doctrine, which
is immediately overthrown, if this foundation be removed.
This is that doctrine which was " to the Jews a stumbling
" block, and to the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them
" that are called, Christ the power of God, and the wis-
" dom of God." 1 Cor. i. 23. This is the doctrine which
cannot be grafted upon the moral illumination of Aristotle;
which cannot be held in reserve, and a Socinian course of
practical obedience, though it be called a process of cruci
fixion to the world, be substituted in its stead. And why ?
Because sin is not condemned in the heart but by the
sacrifice of Christ : because grace is not given to walk in
His steps but through faith in His blood. " Christ cruci-
" fied" is " the power of God," " the power of God unto
"salvation to all them that believe." Rom. i. 16. Believe
what ? That the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died
for our sins, " and not for ours only, but for the sins of
" the whole world." This is the doctrine of Christ cruci
fied, which until a man believe and apprehend, he is no

34 THEORY OV RESERVE
partaker of the benefits of Christ's death, and the first parti
cipation in those benefits is the being made a child of grace ;
for faith is the indispensible condition of this reception,
" set forth," says St. Paul, " to be a propitiation through
" faith in His blood." Rom. iii. 25. And whoso is not a
partaker in the benefits of Christ's death, is dead — yet
dead in trespasses and sins, — yet walking in darkness and
the shadow of death, whatever advancement he may have
made in that "improved moral and practical discernment"
of the heathen moralists, who yet, as St. Paul says, " in
" their wisdom knew not God." In this writer's inter
pretation of the doctrine of Christ crucified, there is no
mention of faith at all, of any thing whatsoever to be
believed : but it signifies, as he argues, the object of faith
concealed, as " the very secret of the Lord," and the
practical duty enforced of a man's taking up his own
cross. Is this the righteousness which is of faith ? Is
this the principle of " that Gospel which," St. Paul says,
" I preached unto you first of all, wherein ye stand, and
" by which ye are saved, now that Christ died for our sins,
" according to the Scriptures." 1 Cor. xv. 1.
The writer has proposed to shew in one section, that
God punishes with blindness those who approach sacred
truths with a speculative mind : which proposition, while
I must say that I think he falls far short of proving, and
yet admit that God giveth not light to those who seek it
not in a right mind : and while I wonder not, for that very
reason, that an argument should fall short of a conclusion,
of which the ultimate design is to disparage the efficacy
of the Word of God, I do, at the same time, marvel that
any mind, ever so speculative or otherwise, should have

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

35

been visited with such awful blindness, as to conceive that
the Atonement is a doctrine hidden in the New Testament.
Surely this comes of forsaking the counsel of the Lord,
and seeking the testimony of erring witnesses, of which
there is more in this Tract than of the word of Scripture.
" My people have committed two evils, they have forsaken
" me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed them
" out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
Jer. ii. 13. The doctrine of the Atonement this writer
thinks to be unconducive to holiness of life, and unfit for
communication to the multitude. Having shewn that it
was the foundation of the preaching of the Apostles, no
more is needed by way of proof that the writer's views
are contrary to the testimony of Scripture. But if it yet
wants to be reconciled to his understanding, I would beg
leave to refer him to those Sermons of Dr. Chalmers,
to which some one of his way of thinking objects, as
bringing forward the Atonement too prominently ; whereas
I have always thought that no other expounder of Scripture
exhibited so powerfully the guilt and peril of sin. But,
in truth, what can bring home to the conscience the
heinousness of sin so strongly, as that it was necessary
that the Son of God should become man, to suffer and die
in the flesh, the just for the unjust, to make expiation for
it. Without this doctrine the natural man may take his
stand upon the ground of his natural reason, and ask why
he must die for that which he never could avoid. But
being bought with a price, no less than the voluntary
shedding of the blood of his judge himself, who offers to
redeem him from his sins, giving him power to overcome
them through faith and love, the mouth of the unbeliever
d2

3(5

THEORY OF RESERVE

is stopped, and sin is left without excuse, as our Saviour
said, " If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had
" not had sin, but now have they no cloak for their sin."
Knowing, then, that those who believe are made free from
the law of sin and death, " being justified freely by His
" grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ;
" whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through
" faith in His blood, that He might be just, and the justi-
"fier of him which believeth in Jesus :" Rom. iii. 24, 25,
26 ; knowing that they are thus " made free from the law of
" sin and death," that " sin is condemned in the flesh" by
the blood of Jesus Christ : they that will, are received
under another covenant, to walk not after the flesh but the
Spirit ; the righteousness of the law which could not be
fulfilled in the flesh, in that it was weak through sin, being
fulfilled in those which walk after the Spirit, the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus, which hath made them free from the
law of sin and death. And of this doctrine it follows of
a necessity clear enough, that if they are in Christ, they
must walk after the Spirit ; and this is the trial of their
faith. Before, it was a trial of righteousness by obedi
ence to the law ; now, it is a trial of faith by obedience
to the Spirit. And the test of this faith is likewise clear
enough : "for they that are after the flesh do mind the
" things of the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit,
" the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is
" death." Rom. viii. 5, 6. There is no foundation laid
in Scripture, upon which the Gospel covenant, whereby
alone men can be saved, can rest, but this doctrine of
reconciliation by the blood of Christ : " by whom alone
" we have access to the Father through faith in His blood."

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

37

We can come to God in no other way. How did the
Fathers come before the Lord ? With sacrifice. And so
have we " boldness to enter into the Holiest," where God
dwells, " by the blood of Jesus." Heb. x. 19- Or as
it is expressed in Eph. ii. 13. " But now in Christ
" Jesus, ye who sometime were far off, are made nigh
" by the blood of Christ. For through Him we both
" have access by one spirit unto the Father." Or Rom.
v. 1, " Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace
" with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
" also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we
" stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
What, then, is to be thought of that doctrine, which
would first reconcile men to God without faith in the blood
of Christ ; which would lead them to take up their cross,
and of course do works acceptable and pleasing to God,
before they have been justified, reserving the Atonement,
as " the very secret of the Lord," which they are to be
let into, when they shall be able to bear it ; that is, suffi
ciently established in holiness, to prevent this doctrine
working sin, and so turning to their condemnation ? Here,
indeed, is a lamentable state of delusion. Where is the
secret of the Lord to be met with here? Here is a
doctrine in direct opposition to every word of the Gospel,
and contradicting how many of the express articles of our
Church 1 The Scriptures say, " without shedding of blood
" is no remission," and, " all things are purged with blood."
Yet this doctrine would both purify the lives and consci
ences of men, and acquit them of their guilt without the
blood of Christ. This is not even doing so much for
them as placing them again under the law, for there they

38 THEORY OF RESERVE
had the daily sacrifice to make atonement for them. But
here they are left still under the law of sin and death,
that law which condemneth through the weakness of the
flesh ; and no sacrifice is provided for their deliverance.
It is manifest that this is the leaven of the heathen
moralist, who takes into his system no account of the
corruption of the human heart. Here is no account
of those two articles of our Church, first, that all
works prior to justification are sinful, which doctrine is
explained in that part of the Epistle to the Romans from
which I have quoted, and secondly, that we are justified
by faith alone. Yet here is a confusion too ; for it is the
fear of evil effects resulting from this latter doctrine that
is the motive for its concealment. The writer seems to
permit the acknowledgment of it in those who are
acquainted with it : but advises to conceal it, and deal
with the people as if the truth were otherwise ; which,
it is clear would be cruel indeed, , if the writer fully
received the doctrine himself; for then he would be
wilfully and intentionally shutting out the mass of mankind
from the sole condition of salvation. He thinks that he
can bring men to holiness by the terrors of the law ;
forgetting that we are not under the law, but under grace,
all our strength to do the will of God consisting in the
spirit of grace, which is the seal of faith, and is given to
those who believe.
Here is evidently a radical mistake of the very nature
of spiritual things, and of all the conditions appertaining
to them. In Part II. he confounds the moral light of
nature, with " the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hid
" in Christ :" and in the third Part, he proposes to carry

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 39
men onwards a considerable way in the progress of this
acquirement, before they are even initiated in the mystery
of that faith by which alone the light of the Spirit
can be obtained ; and this, too, he purposes to do without
the instrumentality of the Word of Truth, the seed of
life. And above all, he doubts the power of the death
and resurrection of Christ. And no wonder, since he
doubts the power of God's Word, and takes no account
of the spirit of grace. How different this reasoning
unbelief from the faith of St. Paul, who declares that
when he came among the Corinthians, he " determined
" to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ, and
" Him crucified." " And His preaching was not with
" enticing words of man's wisdom, but with the demon-
" stration of the Spirit and of power ; that their faith
" should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
" power of God." As if the Spirit of God has not
power accompanying His own Word, to work its professed
object in the hearts of men. " The righteousness which
" is of faith," says St. Paul, " speaketh on this wise :
" that is, the word of faith which we preach ; that if thou
" shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
" believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the
" dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. x. 9. But how shall
any one be saved by this faith ? Because it is in the
power of the spirit of God to change his nature, and to
make him a child of God instead of a child of the devil,
which he is, and must continue to be, until he is born
anew by the spirit of Christ, which He gives to all those
who believe on Him ; according to Eph. i. 4. " In whom
" ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth,

40 THEORY OF RESERVE
" the Gospel of Salvation ; in whom also, after that ye
" believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spiritof promise,
" which is the earnest of our inheritance." According to
the scheme of this writer, the fact of the Atonement, the
secret of the Lord, might as well, or perhaps better, have
been reserved altogether for our illumination and comfort
in the next world, since it is judged to be not likely to
conduce to our benefit in this.*
Christ was accused in the days of His flesh of associating
with sinners. His characteristic answer was, " I am not
" come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Let them consider this who would strain the precept, not
to give what is holy to the dogs, so far as to prohibit the
preaching of the Gospel to the lost children of Adam.
Let them be sure there is no other way of salvation but
the Gospel, and that Gospel which is delivered in the
written Word of God. It is stated as one of the unfa
vourable traits in the present aspect of the world, that an
explicit profession of the Atonement has been reckoned
the test of Christian truth : and the passage proceeds,
" this is as if an affectionate child should be condemned
" for undutifulness, if it did not use strong expressions of
" filial attachment." But in a passage lately quoted, an
Apostle said, " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth," &c.
" thou shalt be saved," and the continuation is, " For
" with the heart a man believeth unto righteousness, and
" with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." But
* I am sorry to find that the same system of doctrine, which is
here argued against, is set forth with approbation in Mr. Newman's
History of the Arians. Indeed the whole Tract seems to be a
statement at greater length of views propounded in that History.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 41
it is clear from what has been said, that it is not the
explicit confession of the doctrine of the Atonement, but
the putting it in its right place, that most offends this
writer's judgment.
Before observing upon the object and tendency of these
views, I would say a word or two upon what this writer
proposes respecting the obscurities which are met with in
St. Paul's epistles being intended to answer the same
purpose as the figures of the Old Testament, and the
parables of the New. The two last mentioned vehicles
of knowledge were adapted respectively to their several
purposes. The figures of the Old Testament were a part
of prophecy, intended as initiatory knowledge to prepare
the mind for the apprehension of the Gospel, and to lend it
the aid at once of testimony and explanation, when its day
should arrive. The parabolic style of our Saviour's
instructions I have before accounted for, shewing that
they were in some sense prophetic, inasmuch as they were
not intended for immediate apprehension, because the time
was not yet come for the nature of His kingdom to be
fully understood. So the parables were in a manner as a
cypher, to which the key was not furnished until the
Spirit was given. But I apprehend the obscurities of St.
Paul are to be accounted for on different principles. His
writings contain the laws and privileges of a spiritual
kingdom, and " the natural man receiveth not the things
" of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness to him :
" neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
" discerned." Such is the language of Scripture. And
the teaching of the Spirit is progressive, and, as this
Tract has stated, correctly so far, it is not purely intel-

42 THEORY OF RESERVE
lectual. Proficiency in it depends not at all upon the
cultivation of the intellect, except so far as appertains to
the Holy Scriptures. But to suppose that a man can
make any great proficiency in spiritual knowledge, with
out a diligent study of the Scriptures, is a delusion. The
mode of the Spirit's teaching is by the application of the
Word of God to the heart and conscience of man : and
this not, as is the case with other knowledge, in the hour
of study, but in the hour of temptation and of action.
The knowledge which is drawn from the Scriptures by the
intellect, is like the aliment which is taken into the body ;
which must pass through the functions of life, and be
digested into the vital system, before it will become part
of our own substance. By doing the will of God it is
that we are given to understand His doctrine, the purity
and excellence of His commandments, the truth, at first a
mystery, respecting the corruption of our own heart, the
evil nature and tendency of our passions, the lifelessness
of the soul to God, its resistance to good, that is, to the
commandment of God, the vanity of worldly deires, the
refuge that there is in Christ. These things open out to
our consciousness and our understanding as we adopt the
law of God for the rule of our conduct : and being
enlightened upon these fundamental points, we necessarily
begin to experience trouble as we find into what a warfare
with all our natural feelings, passions, habits and propensi
ties we are enlisted : through what a course of mortification
it is necessary to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Such
experiences would tend greatly to our discouragement, but
looking into the Scriptures, we find it all there described
before-hand, and every assurance given us there by which

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

13

our resolution may be supported, and every reason
supplied, by which we may understand that it is all for our
good : while, as we learn not to trust to an arm of flesh,
but to repose on the mercies of the Almighty, we feel our
security established, to whatever enmities we may be
exposed : and while as we discover the vast change of
nature which it is necessary that we should undergo, in
order to be resembled ' to the dispositions of heaven, we
gain higher and brighter views of what is beautiful and
lovely there ; and while as we increase in faith and in
earnest dependence upon our Saviour, we learn more of
the riches of His grace, and have a foretaste of those
pure delights which only flow for eternity from the foun
tain of His infinite love. These treasures of wisdom and
knowledge hid in Christ, and only approachable through
the Holy Scriptures, supply a great portion of the subject
matter of St. Paul's epistles. It being then not a kind
of knowledge arranged and set out in a system as a piece
of science, but a progressive light, requiring the hand of
the Spirit to hold it to the soul, and a season of its own
to shine and make itself manifest, like the stars that come
forth in the evening ; it being the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith, the fulness of Christ which is
received in the way of grace for grace ; and above all, it
being in its higher points a subject above the comprehen
sion of the human intellect, as every thing infinite is
beyond its grasp, there is no wonder that St. Paul should
" speak the wisdom of God in a mystery even among
" them that are perfect." 1 Cor. ii. 6. Much less that to
those who are babes in Christ, (iii. 1.) and " unskilful in
" the Word," the matters of higher attainment should be

44 THEORY OF RESERVE
past their comprehension. As it would be to present a
difficult problem in mathematics to one who is scarcely
acquainted with figures, such in spiritual acquirements
would be the higher mysteries of Christianity to " such
"as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For
" every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of
" righteousness ; for he is a babe." Heb. v. 13. The
truths of the Gospel are intended to be the object of dili
gent search, therefore they are not taught methodically.
And they are to be apprehended spiritually ; therefore they
are not conveyed "in the words which man's wisdom
" teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing
" spiritual things with spiritual." 1 Cor. ii. 13. And
therefore also the Apostle prays in behalf of the Ephesians,
" that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
" glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
" revelation of the knowledge of Him : the eyes of your
" understanding being enlightened ; that ye may know
" what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of
" the glory of His inheritence in the saints, and what is
" the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who
" believe, according to the working of His mighty power."
Eph. i. 17> 18- And they are to be apprehended practi
cally and progressively : therefore the Apostle expresses
his prayer in behalf of the saints at Colosse in such a
form as the following ; " that their hearts might be com-
"forted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of
" the full assurance of understanding, to the acknow-
" ledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father
" and of Christ ; in whom are hid all the treasures of
" wisdom and knowledge." Col. ii. 2. These are trea-

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURK.

sures of knowledge, not only to be realized in the affections
of the soul, but they are spoken of as enlarging the capa
city to receive more and more ; in which a continual state
of progress is declared, and so also a measure of obscurity,
though gradually decreasing, in the writings from which
this knowledge is derived. It is the obscurity of heaven
with its infinities, brought under gradual, though imperfect,
cognizance of the finite human understanding. The
obscurity results, in part, from the inequality of the mind
to its objects ; but more from its inexperience of them.
From the study of the Scriptures this experience is
acquired by degrees, and the treasures of knowledge that
are spoken of, if it please the Holy Spirit to reveal them,
are shewn to us by its so changing our nature as to adjust it
to the gradual apprehension of them. This is St. Paul's
own account of it ; " But we all with open face behold-
" ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
" into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
" Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. iii. 18. Now surely it is not
to be called an exemplification of a systematic principle
of concealment in the Apostle if the following passage,
which perhaps more than any other in the Bible expresses
the infinity of that knowledge which is hid in Christ, shall
seem to be wrapt in some obscurity. The obscurity is in
ourselves ; no concealment in the Apostle, but rather a
manifestation of the truth beyond the proportions of an
ordinary Christian's understanding, yet of great attraction
and power, as was intended, to draw the desires of his
mind to the earnest attainment of faculties and affections
equal to the apprehension of such superior objects. " Now
"for this cause I bend my knees unto the Father of our

46 THEORY OF RESERVE
"Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven
" and earth is named, that He would grant you according
" to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with
" might in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your
" hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in
"love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is
" the breadth, and length, and depth, and height : and to
" know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
" ye might be filled with the fulness of God." Eph. iii. 14.
Such openings of scenes beyond are sufficiently clear for
the eye of that persuasion which is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Having thus passed in review the leading points of the
Tract, we are necessarily met with the question, what can
be the object of the writer in so attempting to bind the
Word of God, and lay another foundation in the place of
redemption, to build a. house upon the sand ? Some
other passages yet unnoticed will assist in directing us to
the writer's object. In the last section of the first Part
he carries on the course of Divine concealment subsequent
to the Gospel narrative by representing the sacrament of
the Lord's Supper as a veil of the Godhead : and he
adduces in confirmation of his view a passage from Pas
chal, a Romanist, which strikingly agrees, and no wonder,
with the author's own opinion : and if we held the Roman
doctrine of the sacrament, the idea is not unnatural,
though rather calculated, as I think, to offend the feelings
of a Protestant, (suppose we vary the term to the more
Scriptural one of witness.) And the 3rd section of the

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 47
3rd Part commences as follows : " Practical rules afforded
"by it in the investigation of truth. And now the
"observations which have been made respecting God's
" mode of revealing himself to mankind, will furnish us
" with some important general rules for the attainment of
" religious truth. If in the sacraments we have in some
" especial sense the present power of God among us, and
" the episcopal and priestly succession have in them some-
" thing Divine, as channels which convey, as it were,
" such His presence to us ; according to tbe analogy of
" what has been said, we must expect to find in them
" something that hideth itself, something like the personal
" presence of our Lord in his incarnation, surrounded with
" difficulties to the carnal mind, withdrawing itself, and
" leaving excuses for the Divine power being denied ; for
" did they come to us in a strong unquestionable shape,
" with the palpable evidence by some required, they would
" come to us in a manner unlike all other Divine mani-
" festations." These passages, I think, express the main
object of the treatise, which is to concentrate the means of
grace in the ministrations of the episcopally ordained
priesthood. Now, belonging to this order myself, and
feeling the awful responsibility attaching to so solemn an
office as both reason and Scripture represent it to be, I
cannot be disposed to detract from its authority, while,
however, I shrink from the presumption of arrogating
more of such perilous prerogative than is assured by the
Word of God. And I cannot but regard with fear and
distrust a view of the priesthood which, to sustain the
privileges claimed for it, disparages the power of the
Divine Word, advises to suppress the doctrine of the

48 THEORY OP RESERVE
Atonement, aud evokes to its assistance that portentous
shade " the unwritten Word of God." It would seem
that the author of the Tract, in his zeal to deny the
means of grace to those without the pale of the episcopal
Church, has sought out a theory by which he may at once
stop those channels through which other Christians most
trust to receive the grace of salvation, throw suspicion on
the system of doctrine which he regards, but which I
should be very sorry to regard, as peculiar to them, and
at the same time recommend the ministrations, of which
he claims sole right to the Church, as exhibiting the
characteristic and proper test of Divine interference. But
as the theory is unsound, based upon an observation both
just and obvious in the less relevant instances, and admit
ting a specific explanation in each, but unproved and
untrue in the only instances of weight and authority : so
is the deduction vain, and equally void of the Divine
sanction. The point of the conclusion is that Christ is present to
his Church in his regularly ordained ministers, and in his
sacraments as administered by them. And it is inferred
by the denial of the power of the Word and of the efficacy
of common prayer, and by the overthrow of the doctrine
of faith, that in the aforesaid ordinances alone Christ is pre
sent with his Church ; that through them alone is his pre
sence conveyed to believers : and by his presence of course
are understood the various blessings of his mediatorial
kingdom, sanctification, redemption, peace of conscience,
love, joy, hope, and spiritual understanding. Here again
is a departure from Scripture, and a doctrine inconsistent
with the whole context of the New Testament. There is

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 49
not one passage in the writings of the Apostles, which
speaks of the office of the priesthood being a channel to
convey the presence of Christ to us : nor is there any
thing like the admonition that in the sacraments only is
Christ apprehended. Truly in this doctrine of the priest
hood there is " something that hideth itself ;" for it is not
revealed in Scripture : and so far from this being an argu
ment in favour of the doctrine, as the Tract declares, it
will be with every sound Christian sufficient to overthrow
it.* It is in the nature of a sacrament indeed to intimate
something hidden, as it is the outward and visible sign of
an inward and; spiritual grace, but inward, that is, to the
Christian, not to the rite. It is an express ordinance im
posed upon us by the highest command, which it is our
duty to obey with faith. A believer in Christ is com
manded to be baptized : and believing he is entitled in
such act to see his regeneration sealed. It is the outward
sign of belief on the part of man, the outward seal of
regeneration on the part of Christ. It is the passage from
one state to another, from the old world wherein we
were born, the land of sin and bondage, into a new state
and covenant, as typified in the passage through the Red
Sea, and more early through the waters of the flood.
" The like figure whereunto," that is, the antitype of which,
says St. Peter, (1 Ep. iii. 21,) "even baptism doth also
" now save us, (not the putting away of the filth of the
" flesh," that is, the outward washing, " but the answer
" of a good conscience towards God,) by the resurrection
"of Jesus Christ." This is one of the passages which
* See Appendix, notes A and B.
E

50 THEORY OF RESERVE
speaks of the efficacy of baptism : and here the Apostle is
careful to separate it, that is, the efficacy from the outward
performance. The other principal passages on the same
point are Eph. v. 26, " As Christ also loved the church,
" and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and
" cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word :"
and Titus iii. 5, " Not by the works of righteousness
" which we had done, but according to his mercy he saved
" us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of
" the Holy Ghost." The first of these two passages by
the preposition expressly assigns the power of the opera
tion to the Word, and the latter no less gtrictly to the
Holy Ghost.* Now the apostolic epistles being written for
the direction and encouragement of the faith of Christians,
and in the whole length of those writings little, if any
thing, more occuring which should lead them to fix their
minds upon the efficacy of this ordinance ; but it being rather
referred to in the way of reminding them of their duty, in
the spirit of the baptismal service, which bids us remember
that baptism doth represent unto us our profession ; it is,
I think, an unscriptural system of religion, which confines
the operation of redeeming grace to any unprescribed and
unexpressed particularity in the outward performance of
this sacrament. And still less is said in Scripture of the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It is, as I believe, only
mentioned in one epistle, and then only in the way of
allusion, though it is alluded to in this epistle in three
different places, namely, in chapters x. xi. and xii. of the
first epistle to the Corinthians. The first of these occa-
* See Appendix, note C.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

51

sions is an admonition to the people of that church to flee
from idolatry, and not to partake in the feasts which were
held in honour of false gods : " The cup of blessing which
" we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ?
" The bread which we break, is it not the communion of
" the body of Christ" ? chap. x. 16. " Ye cannot drink
" of the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils : ye cannot
" be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of devils."
verse 21. The occasion of the second allusion to the
same ordinance is the indecorous manner in which, as the
Apostle had heard, they were accustomed to celebrate it ;
which leads him to repeat to the Corinthians the language
in which it was first instituted, in order that they might
treat it with due solemnity. The third allusion in the
next chapter is by way of illustration of the doctrine of
the unity of believers in Christ : " For as the body is one,
" and hath many members, and all the members of that
"body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
" For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body,
" whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond
"or free; and have been all made to drink into one
"Spirit." chap. xii. 13.
Now far be it from me to undervalue the sacraments
as rich treasures of mercy, as effectual signs and powerful
instruments of grace, as ordinances replete with con
solation and refreshment, stirring up and strengthening
the faith that is in us, giving us to apprehend more sen
sibly the reality of the love of Christ our Saviour, jmd to
feel ourselves bound in a stricter bond to walk in His
ways, and feed upon His promises. Having these views
ofthe sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which is the only

E 2

THEORY OF RESERVE

one of the power of which a Christian baptized in infancy
can have had any sensible assurance in his own case,
(though he may, by reflection, appreciate also the value of
his baptism) ; and being apt to regard the privation of it
as the loss of a portion of blessing ; it is necessarily
against my feelings to seem to hold any argument in
limitation of the value of that ordinance : but when I find
it spoken of systematically as, after baptism, the one sole
channel of grace, as that one covenanted instrument, by
which alone salvation is procured ; and when I see this
associated, as is natural, with proud views of the privileges
of the episcopally ordained priesthood, as being invested
with exclusive power to prepare this instrument, and
ratify this covenant of salvation ; and when I reflect how
much human argument is then required to supply a
deficiency in the Scriptures upon a point of so much
moment ; and when I think of the dangerous tendency of
a religion which attributes so much to man, a thing so
repugnant to the tenor of the Gospel, which makes man
to be nothing in the plan of salvation, but ascribes all
power, and the free communication of his blessings, with
out any restriction to Christ, and that solely and ex
clusively by his Spirit, I cannot but feel distrust in a
representation of religion which goes so far to magnify
the form instead of the power of Godliness, which attri
butes so much to the form that the power is denied,
except as it is supposed to be inherent in a very particular
formality. Now it cannot be overlooked by any impartial student
of the New Testament, that the spirit of the Gospel is
essentially a worship of God, as our Lord describes it,

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 53
" in spirit and in truth ;" meaning that it does not consist
in forms and ceremonies, but is operated by the Divine
Spirit in the heart of man. There is not a word of pre
scription in the New Testament respecting the form of
baptism, or the ceremonial consecration of the Lord's
Supper, only " Do this in remembrance of me." But it
is written that "He brake and blessed the bread, and
having taken the cup he gave thanks," &c. And St. Paul,
alluding to the ordinances as commemorated by the
church, says, " The bread which we break, and the cup of
"blessing which we bless." There is not a single com
mand given by any one of the Apostles, in all their instruc
tions to the churches, to be constant communicants, for
that this was the bread of life. Among all that they
wrote about the gifts and operations of grace,, there is not
one word, except what I have noticed, respecting the
Supper of the Lord. And especially, and above all, be
this observed, that of the many passages which speak of
Christ's presence with believers, there is not one which
takes notice of the sacrament as the channel of that com
munication, (except, perhaps, 1 Cor. xii. 13, " made to
" drink into one Spirit ;") much less indeed is there one
word about the priest; whereas, if the Apostles had
entertained the same view of religion which some of the
present day recommend, their epistles would have been
lectures on the efficacy of the sacraments, to which they
rarely allude even in their thanksgivings, and those abun
dant and most edifying revelations of the dispensation of
the Spirit would never have been entered among the
testimonies and oracles of God, as a faithful depository to
every age of the wisdom that tendeth to salvation. And

54 THEORY OF RESERVE
why do we suppose that the writings of the Apostles
dwell so little upon the institutions or outward ordinances
of the church ? Surely because of this solemn truth, that
" In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing,
" nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love,"
Gal. v. 6 ; because " the kingdom of God is not meat
" and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the
" Holy Ghost," Rom. xiv. 17 j because "he is not a Jew
" which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision
" which is outward in the flesh : but he is a Jew which is
" one inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart, in
" the spirit and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of
" men but of God," Rom. ii. 28. The like figure where
unto being baptism in the Christian church, the passage
necessarily may be read with equal truth, if that word be
exchanged for circumcision, and Christian for Jew. And
I believe the following passage has a like import, " For
" we are the circumcision, which worship God in the
" Spirit, and rejoice in Jesus Christ, and have no confi-
" dence in the flesh," Phil. iii. 3. For consider what St.
Paul means by " having confidence in the flesh," and
" glorying in the flesh," and it will appear to be something
analogous to the confidence which a Christian might feel,
that he was in the covenant, because in all external quali
fications he was perfect. In discountenance of which the
Apostle says, " But God forbid that I should glory, save
" in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
" world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in
" Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
" uncircumcision, but a new creature," Gal. vi. 14. If to
this we add the silence of Scripture respecting the requisite

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 5fi
qualifications for administering the ordinances effectually, I
think it will appear not to accord with the teaching of the
Apostles, to build so much upon this point. An argument
will prove that we possess the true outward qualifications,
and none else can prove the same. But it does not follow
that we can prove that they have them not, or at least
what is sufficient. When then it is considered that the
New Testament Scriptures make more of the inward than
of the outward mark — that the Spirit is he that calls and
that confers the true commission — that he is free and
unbound by our arguments, and may send whom he will
and we cannot discern it ; for the Spirit is as the wind
that bloweth where it listeth, and we cannot tell whither
it goeth, and " where the Spirit of the Lord is there is
" liberty" — I think it must appear a more safe and Scrip
tural course to be content with the grounds of confidence
which ourselves possess — to preach the Gospel as the
Apostles preached it, and trust to the Spirit to prove his
own commission, and give power to his own word. This,
I think, is more scriptural than to build arguments upon
which we may boast of " the treasures of grace that are
" hidden in the church," as some have done ; especially
when the same parties find it necessary, in support of their
claims, to resort to the muddled stream of tradition, and
the fiction of an unwritten word. If a work is not of
God, it will fall to the ground. The constitution of pur
church is apostolical, there can be very little doubt;
therefore it is of His building who knows what is best ;
and if she acts up to her trust the gates of hell shall not
prevail against her. The inventions of men, on the con
trary, have in them no stability ; and there is no device

56 THEORY OF RESERVE
of man but It comes to nought at the last. If the contra
dictions of the world are strengthened against us, if our
arm is weakened and our pride brought low, let us put on
sackcloth, and walk humbly, and cast all our care upon
Him, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, for
He giveth grace to the lowly. But if we shall say within
ourselves " We are Abraham's children, we are not gotten
" of fornication," and trust in the circumcision, which is
in the letter not in the spirit, and place our confidence in
the flesh, it is well to remember that God is able by His
Spirit of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.*
It is argued that those who resist that system of doc
trine which places the whole efficacy of religion in the
sacraments, are really the lowest in faith ; that this is the
real trial of faith, and the highest attainment in it is to
see Christ hidden in the sacraments and in His ministers ;
that those who do not take the same view of the matter
are like the Jews who required " a sign." " To require
" that such subjects should come to us in a more sensible
" and palpable way, before we will accept them, betrays
" the same temper of mind as that of requiring a sign ;
" or at best, it is but that weak belief which says, * Unless
" I handle and feel I will not believe,' and which, there-
" fore, loses the highest blessing, ' Blessed are they who
" have not seen and yet have believed.' If the Divine
" presence is among us in these things unbelief must be
" met as our Lord met that of the Jews. The obstacles
" to their belief were, first, low conceptions of God's
" Messiah and his promises :" Part III. sect. -3. Now if,
* See Appendix, note D.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 57
this were written against any who denied the presence of
Christ in his church, because they do not see Him, who
neglected the sacraments because they can see no likeness
to grace in them, the words might have weight ; but such
is not the nature of the difference. So far from the oppo
nents of the Tracts resembling the Jews, their opposition
evidently inclines a directly contrary way ; for it is a faith
which is able to see God without the figure of the priest,
which is able to conceive Christ in the heart without the
intervention of the sacrament — I mean which does not
bind the communication of inward grace to the vehicle of
the outward "sign, because the Christian religion is a dis
pensation of the Spirit, a kingdom of God that is within
you ; and that, whereas the writings of the Apostles are
the jus civile of this kingdom, they are so far from bind
ing our faith to the sacraments, that they tend the con
trary way ; because, whereas the Tracts systematically
connect the communication of grace to the outward mean,
which is the sacrament, the Apostles systematically con
nect it with the inward mean, which is faith ; because,
whereas the' Tracts, this very Tract speaks of Christ being
present with us by His ministers, the Apostles speak
uniformly of Christ as being present with us by His
Spirit. The one way tends to the glory of God, the
other to the glory of man ; the one leads to dependence
upon Christ, the other to dependence upon man ; (look
to the congregations of the Romish priests for an exem
plification of this;) the one brings Christ immediately
present, to the comfort of the believer, the other brings
the priest in between. There is no denial of any essential

58 THEORY OF RESERVE
article of faith in either the one case or the other. They
are different views taken from^e same spot, and followed
out they become points of departure, which lead in very
different directions. That the scriptural view may be
followed into a path of error we cannot deny, as it is
allowed in the following passage : " Other foundation can
" no man lay than that is laid, even Jesus Christ. Now
" if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver,
" precious stones, wood, hay, stubble ; every man's work
" shall be made manifest ; for the day shall declare it,
" because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try
"every man's work of what sort it is." 1 Cor. iii. 11.
But the view to which I oppose myself leads immediately
wrong, for it leads away from the Scripture path, or
rather turns back into the path of the ceremonial law,
instead of that which leadeth " from bondage into the
"glorious liberty of the sons of God." Rom. viii. 21.
And so, in reply to what was said about the " low
" conceptions" as " of the Jews," and " the same temper
" of mind as that of requiring a sign," it is the theology
of the Tracts that really takes after the Jewish, " which
" stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings
" and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time
"of reformation," Heb. ix. 10. We have seen in the
corruptions of religion, as held in submission to the pope,
how the whole extent of Christendom, " after having
" known God," can turn again from " the liberty where-
" with Christ hath made us free," to worse than " the
" weak and beggarly elements," of the Jewish ritual, " to
" be entangled again in the yoke of bondage," Gal. iv. 9,

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

59

v. 1, and go on from generation to generation, for ages
after ages, enslaved to a dark and base delusion, in utter
ignorance of Christ as their Saviour, bowing down in
vain adoration of those who cannot help them, " having
" their understanding darkened, being alienated from the
"life of God through the ignorance that is in them,"
" given over to believe a lie :" and this because they
became ensnared into the delusion of mistaking the form
of Godliness for the power of it : because they became
contented to exercise their faith in beholding God beneath
the veil of the sacraments and the priests : because " that
" indeed this principle was fully recognised by the ancient
" church," Part I. sect. 1 . and is yet recognised in that
vast portion which has resisted the reformation, of con
cealing the knowledge of God, especially the Atonement
of Christ, and of disciplining, or making disciples of the
people (Part I. sect. 8.) by some other means judged
preferable to " the mere communicating of knowledge."
And the harvest has been once reaped by our fathers, and
taken in, and burned : and shall we go again to the
ancient granaries of Rome, that we may sow the seed
afresh, where the stubble has been ploughed into the
ground, and the Word of God has already flourished to
the knowledge of Christ the Saviour. These are not
mere words. Any competent enquiry respecting the faith
of the Roman catholics of Ireland at this day will shew
that they have no knowledge of Christ as their Saviour,
but only as their Judge, that for remission of their sins
they trust to the merits and intercession of the saints, to
be appropriated to their souls' benefit by wearing the

60 THEORY OF RESERVE
sacred cord of St. Francis, or the scapulary of the holy
brotherhood of the blessed virgin of St. Carmel.

The character which the writer would assign to the
religion of those whom he regards as the adversaries of
his own system, must be further noticed in the sequel.
I am at present detained by the consideration of the
tendency of his own views.
It seems a strange thing at first sight, that the writers
of the Tracts should have closed their eyes to the severe
lessons of history. From other of their publications I
discover, that their system represents the Romish church
as dating its proper existence from the council of Trent.
Not to enter upon this question at present, which so
stated has its peculiar application to subjects not now
under discussion, they cannot, and do not, that I am
aware of, pretend that every error which at that council
was established by consent of the church then assembled,
as matters of faith and doctrine never to be questioned
more, had not been held and taught and enforced every
where, up and down, by the highest and the lowest in the
church for ages and ages before. The argument is a vain
one for any other purpose than to save the necessity of
every individual minister in the church before that period
having signed to his express acceptance of every part of
that enormous fiction. The open and authoritative pro
fessions and declarations of all the high officers in the
church from generation to generation, the public teaching
every where, the rites and forms of worship as celebrated

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

61

in every quarter, the anathemas and persecutions of the
church had recognized every one of those errors as parts
of the catholic religion, long before the reformers, by
protesting against them, drew the communion of the
pope to put its final irrecoverable seal of confirmation
to them, as the last act of self-condemnation, never
to be recalled. Now the point of this is the question,
when, where, and whence did these errors take their
rise ? The writers of the Tracts, in aid of their design to
enforce upon society that form of religion which I have
described, finding it necessary to disparage the Scripture,
both as an efficient instrument of grace and as a sufficient
rule of faith, interpreted by itself alone, have recourse, as
is well known, to the traditions of the early church as
they are to be gleaned from the writings of the Fathers
respecting the doctrines and usages of primitive times ;
and so they heap a vast weight of human learning as a
necessary qualification upon the shoulders of any Christian
who shall presume to interpret or understand the Word
of God. Against this demand the objection at once arises
that the Fathers of the church, to whom we are thus re
ferred, are the same from whom the communion of the
pope's subjects profess to derive the authority by which
their own doctrines are established. But, say the Tract-
men, this they cannot do. We are able to prove that the
primitive church did not admit those superstitions, namely,
the superstitions to which they object as deviations from
catholic doctrine. And so Mr. Newman states in his
lectures on this subject, that our question with the
Romanists is not whether such and such doctrines are
according to Scripture, but whether they were the doctrines

62 THEORY OF RESERVE
of the early church ; and so that we are not at issue with
them upon principles, but only respecting certain histo
rical facts. And the rule of a Roman catholic writer is
adopted as the test of truth, quod semper, quod ubique, quod
ab omnibus acceptum est. Now to rest here for a moment
and review our position. Here is the Word of God deposed
from its authority. The testimonies of the Lord are rejected
and the counsels of men are enquired after to supply a pre
tended deficiency in the teaching of God ; and the oracles
to whom they apply are of the same class, if not in some
instances the same individuals, whom the Church (that
does really hold this rule, as our Church does not, though
some individuals within it do,) brings in between its people
and their God, not only as channels of knowledge, but as
derivations of grace, as worthy not only of consultation,
but of worship and supplication also, transferring to them
the incommunicable prerogatives of the Almighty, and
setting them up as idols, not only in their hearts, and in
a spiritual and questionable sense, but in a palpable form
and in a literal sense in her temples, in her offices and in
her prayers. We cannot wonder if the Lord shall answer
them in the language which he addressed to the Jews in
the same case by Ezekiel in a chapter that is read as a
proper lesson in our churches for the sake of this very
admonition, Ezek. xiv. 3, " Son of Man, these men have
" set up idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block
" of their iniquity before their face : should I be enquired
" of at all by them ? Therefore speak unto them, and
" say unto them, thus saith the Lord God ; every man
" of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his
" heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. ™

" before his face, and cometh to the prophet ; I the Lord
" will answer him that cometh according to the multitude
" of his idols ; that I may take the house of Israel in their
"own heart, because they are all estranged from me
" through their idols. Therefore say unto the house of
" Israel, thus saith the Lord God ; repent, and turn
" yourselves from your idols ; and turn away your faces
" from all your abominations. For every one of the house
" of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel,
" which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his
" idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of
" his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to
" enquire of him concerning me ; I the Lord will answer
" him by myself ; and I will set my face against that
" man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I
" will cut him off fr?>m the midst of my people ; and ye
" shall know that I am the Lord. And if the prophet be
" deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have
" deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand
" upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my
"people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment
" of their iniquity : the punishment of the prophet shall
" be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto
" him." To return to the theology of the Tractmen. The
Word of God is set aside as the rule of faith. The
subject of enquiry is no more the consent of Scripture,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual, but the testimony
of the church : and this as witnessed in the writings of
every age and every country throughout Christendom
from the days of the Apostles until now, or by limitation

VA

THEORY OF RESERVE

of arbitrary pleasure until some certain period of history.
The limits will be differently fixed according to the objects
of the parties : and as it is a question incapable of infal
lible decision, the points of difference involved in it are not
likely to be speedily determined : but at all events a pretty
large volume will be substituted for the Bible :* and, what
is more to the present purpose a large portion of the
accretions of superstition, which are as inseparable from
the rest of the Romish religion as part of a system, as
one member of the human frame is from its fellows, must
be regarded as at least indifferent or questionable matter,
if not as worthy to be certainly received as an essential
part of Christianity. Well did our Saviour say, " ye do
" make the Word of God of none effect by your tradition."
A man's reason must be perverted by prejudice, who does
not at once perceive that it is impossible to admit tradition
* " The Bible indeed is a small book, but the writings of anti
quity are voluminous; and to read them is the work of a life;"
Newman's " Romanism and Popular Protestantism," p. 48. Can
such then be necessary to reading the Bible aright ? especially,
when the same authorities are represented as inconsistent and
contradictory. The following extract from a Roman catholic
work is given at p. 78 of the same treatise, which does not deny
the truth of the statement with reference at least to the particular
tenet alluded to, which is the state of departed souls, the foundation
of purgatory, indulgences, and other parts of the Romish ecclesi
astical system. " It is not indeed wonderful that Ambrose should
have written in this way concerning the state of souls ; but what
seems almost incredible is the uncertainty and inconsistency ofthe
holy Fathers on the subject, from the very days of the Apostles to
the pontificate of Gregory XI. and the council of Florence; that
is, for almost the whole of fourteen centuries. For they not only
differ from one another, as ordinarily hapjiens in such questions,
until the church has defined, but they are even inconsistent with
themselves, sometimes allowing, sometimes denying" &c. p. 79.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 65
without immediately abandoning Scripture. For suppose
there be some one truth which the Scriptures assert as
plainly as it is possible, some duty which they enforce
as plainly as any other in the whole law: take for instance
the doctrinal truth, that faith in the atoning blood of Christ
is the condition of reconciliation with God ; or the duty
laid down in the second commandment, " thou shalt
" not make to thyself any graven image, — thou shalt
" not fall down to them nor worship them," or in the
missionary commandment of our Lord, " go unto all the
" world, and preach the Gospel unto every creature,"
and the same as in the parable, "go into the high-ways
" and hedges, and compel them to come in :" and, suppose
that Origen, or some one else of early times, asserts that
the universal church interpreted these words so as to render
them null and void, that we are in the habit of doing so
and so, for whereas there are divers species and different
relations, the church makes such and such distinctions,
and therefore Christians hold and practise what the Scrip
ture expressly condemns ; it is clear that the admission of
such testimony by immediate consequence makes the Word
of God of none effect. They will say that there is not
to be found such an instance as any one of the Catholic
Fathers declaring the construction of the church in a
doctrine at variance with Scripture. Why ? we may ask
on a priori grounds. Were they not liable to error ?
individually, they say : but collectively not. The church
could not err, because of Christ's promise to be with it to
the end of the world. So say the Roman Catholics. And
therefore Christ and his spirit must have been with her
down to the times of the reformation at least : and that,

66 THEORY OF RESERVE
I mean, in a sense to withhold her from error. But the
Tractmen cannot hold that. Therefore either Christ must
have been with the catholic church, to keep her in the
catholic truth, as long as she held the catholic truth ;
which is in itself a nullity, and moreover the time is
incapable of definition, except by the rule of Scripture
which it is the object of the argument to set aside. Or
they must hold that the Romish continued still to be the
catholic church, because she still professed the doctrine of
the Trinity : and then they must admit that the catholic
church may hold error as well as truth, and consequently
that the testimony of her writers respecting the catholic
faith is not necessarily a testimony to the truth. But they
will say that such errors are proved to be no part of the
catholic truth, because they do not answer to the rule quod
semper, &c. ; for that the errors of the church of Rome
are not to be found in the records of the faith of the church
in the first or second century. But suppose the Romanists
deny it, and bring passages from the early Fathers, that,
according to their interpretation of them, agree with their
own doctrine. The Tractmen will either dispute the
sense of the passages, or will say that they express indi
vidual opinions, not the sense of the church. Now not
doubting that the weight of antiquity is against egregious
errors for the most part, and that a distinction may often
be drawn between individual opinions and testimonies to
the faith of the church, I deny however, that either this
can be done in every case, or that if it could, such testimony
must of necessity be credible. Do not the authors of the
Tracts correspond to their own idea of catholic Christians f
This is the symbol of their union. And have not they

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. ('7
advanced a great deal in testimony to the faith of the
church which the church disavows altogether. What is to
guide the opinion of a fallible man to an infallible estimate
of the collective opinions of thousands ? Here is an allow
ance that a man may be wrong when he expresses the
sense of Scripture, but that he is to be safely relied upon
when interpreting the thoughts of whole nations and
generations of men. Or suppose a wider ground is taken,
and they profess not to accept the testimony of one, but
the general consent of all. Then, who is to determine
this consent ? Who is to undertake this office of a pro
phet, and like Ezra, or some other inspired scribe, reduce
the historical records of the faith to a consistency and
compass, and establish this new canon of catholic doctrine,*
which is to supersede the Scriptures of God ? The rule
of universal acceptation is an utter paradox. There is no
such thing to be found. Every truth of Scripture has
been denied. And so its only effect, if acknowledged,
would be to overturn the whole faith. For necessarily by
the same rule the converse must be true, that whatsoever
has not been universally held is not catholic doctrine,
which is the substituted term for divine truth in the system,
* It is really strange that it should not glare upon the conviction
of every one, that there is not the shadow ofa difference between
the traditions ofthe catholic church, as the term is used, and those
of the Jewish church, which our Saviour so strongly condemned.
The Jews said that God had revealed many more things to Moses,
in his frequent conferences with him, than that prophet committed
to writing. The Anglo-catholics allege that the Apostles delivered
many more things to the church by oral communication than were
expressly taught in their writings. The Jews said that the un
written tradition was necessary to interpret the written word.
The catholics maintain the same thing.

68 THEORY OF RESERVE
which preaches the tradition of the church instead of the
Word of Scripture. There is a tradition of the church,
and a most valuable tradition it is, which consists in its
authorized formularies, creeds, homilies, and liturgies.
And these assert no authority, but what is derived from
Scripture. These are the pillars of orthodoxy, and every
day convinces me the more of their inestimable value.
Witness the attempt which has been made by this party,
and in particular by Mr. Newman, to force upon the
church a doctrine of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
which is alike at variance with the articles and with the
homilies, but above all, with the service appointed for the
celebration of that mystery in the Prayer-book. Besides
this there is no tradition in the church. There is no
unwritten Word, as this Tract speaks, Part 3. sect. 2,
and in the holding fast of which the writer oddly enough
declares the steadfastness of a Christian's faith to consist.
As regards the writings of the ancient Fathers, they are
no doubt both interesting as expressions of early piety, and
valuable for many purposes of testimony, but as a measure
of truth vain. And equally the habits of the primitive
Christians are interesting, and the knowledge of them is
serviceable also as matter of history : but as evidence of
doctrina] truth, a source only of delusion. Does not St.
Paul bear testimony to the fact, that the church was verg
ing into error even in the days of its first love, even while
under the guidance of the inspired Apostles, and shew
that it was all that they could do, to resist the propensity
to declension ? Even then, he said, " all seek their own,
"not the things that are Jesus Christ's." Phil. ii. 21.
And St. Jude, " it was needful for me to write unto you

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. °»
41 and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the
"faith which was once delivered to the Saints. For there
" are certain men crept in unawares, which were before
" ordained to this condemnation. These are spots in your
"feasts of charity — clouds without water, carried about
" of winds" &c. And St. John in Rev. ii. 1 3, 14, 15, 20,
had to witness heavy offences from the Lord against the
churches of Pergamus and Thyatira, that " they held
" the doctrine of Balaam, they held the doctrine of the
" Nicolaitanes, which I hate, that they suffered the woman
" Jezebel who called herself a prophetess, to teach and to
" seduce my servants to commit fornication and eat things
"sacrificed to idols." But especially St. Paul in fore
telling the apostacy, which does not the less resemble the
papal system for Mr. Newman's late attempt to avert it,
declared that even in his own day " the mystery of iniquity
"did already work." How then can we give up the
Scriptures for the determination of truth, come down from
the rock and fortress of our strength, and taking up human
weapons of warfare assert in abandonment of the truth,
that we are at issue with Rome not on principles but on
certain historical facts ? The corruptions which in their
full ripeness and developement became the religion of the
church of Rome, were in progress from the days of the
Apostles. And therefore one may perceive before hand,
that a species of theology which admits the tradition of
the church as controlling the sense of Scripture, must
necessarily soon find itself in a predicament, in which its
opposition to the errors of Rome shall be contracted to a
much nearer space ; in which the tone of protestation
against them shall be lowered to a gentle difference of

70 THEORY OF RESERVE
opinion, and a great many of her less enormous corrup
tions shall pass as indifferent matter. In regard to the
second of these consequences, this is but natural, when the
offence against God in abandoning His word and His
truth is overlooked, and the adversary is regarded as one,
who is only mistaken in a point which he may hold with
innocence, some obscure question of remote history. Here
then we have an explanation of that excess of charity,
which the party connected with the Tracts have for the
last two or three years been exhibiting in their periodical
and other issues, towards the yet vigorous, yet persecuting
Roman heresy. In regard to the last mentioned conse
quence, we see in it the general form of such confessions
as that of Mr. Froude, that image-worship and the adora
tion of the virgin might possibly be idolatrous, he had not
made up his mind on the question. With this also is to
be connected that drawing towards the system of ceremo
nies which the Tracts set forth as the services of the
catholic church, those vain pieces of idle superstitious
fancies which they have lately sent forth under their own
patronage as the hymns ofthe church, the frequent signa
ture of the cross, in the efficacy of which certain of the
party have manifested their belief, and those sinkings of
the voice of the church in protesting against purgatory,
prayers for the dead, and other Romish doctrines, which
the Tracts have carried to such a pitch of faintness, that
the breath of her dissent is scarcely sufficient to tarnish
the mirror of the fiction held before her, scarcely sufficient
indeed to indicate life. These are but necessary conse
quences of introducing tradition. There are many ambi
guous statements of catholic or Roman catholic doctrines

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 7l
in the Tracts and their attendant publications, which I can
only understand and account for by comparing them with
a passage in Froude's "Remains," where he says that
there are many things which the minds of the people are
not in a state to receive, if propounded to them in a positive
manner ; that it is necessary at first to throw out the
ideas, and let them work together in the mind till they
mould themselves into the form of opinion. In regard to
the first mentioned consequence of rejecting the Bible and
taking up with the doctrine of tradition, that it immediately
narrows the ground of difference between themselves and
the Romish church, this will necessarily appear, when we
consider, that the measure of truth is then sought in the
testimony of the church, which then held all the Roman
catholic corruptions in infancy in its own bosom. This is
the point of most consideration in connexion with the
present subject. The mystery of iniquity did already
work, as it is working again now. Jews and Greeks,
embracing the profession of the Gospel, brought with them
their ancient predilections, their habits of thought, their
exercises, their philosophy. And so this very doctrine and
practice of concealment, which the writer has endeavoured
to deduce from the Bible, was derived into the church
through the Greek schools from the ancient womb of
Egypt, the_original of all mystery, and the principal nurse
of superstition. I would have mentioned those other
derivations into the Christian church from the Jewish and
heathen religions, which are seen in the worship of saints,
the doctrine of purgatory, and that sacrificial acceptation
of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which the Tractmen
have endeavoured to retrieve into their system of catholic

THEORY OF RESERVE

religion ; but that I see these points adverted to in a
pamphlet that has just come to my hands, upon the same
subject as my own, and much more ably written. But
above all, the nature of man, of whatever nation, was the
subject to which the Gospel was applied : and this is
sufficient to reconcile with the piety and hearty devotion
of the first Christians, the existence in the church at that
very time of all the seeds of error, which gradually waxed
into popery. It was impossible that the earliest Christians
should be able to foresee what after experience has proved
to have been the tendency of habits of thought and practice,
than which nothing could be more natural or apparently
innocent in them. Nothing for instance could be more
natural in a Christian who had come out from a deluded
world, and had found the doctrine of the cross to his com
fort, like a pearl of great price, if he should carry about
with him every fanciful memorial that he could devise
of the solemn symbol of his salvation ; if he should record
the consecration of his body to the service of his Saviour
every hour of the day by marking it with the signature of
the cross. " Men have found out many inventions :" and
never, as I believe, was there any device of man with
reference to the things of God, but it contained in itself
the elements of corruption and a handle for Satan to work
with. Who could have said, upon the first blush, that
there was any thing mischievous in penance ? But experi
ence has proved, that as it is no part of the commandment
of God, so it belongs to the rudiments of the world, and
is the root of a pernicious error. Yet what was more
natural in its origin ? And now we are told again that
this, and such exercises are simply expressions of devotion

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 73
and methods of discipline, that in themselves, no doubt,
are harmless, even good and acceptable, but that they may
be connected with errors which do not necessarily adhere
to them. The same may be said of the seven services of
the catholic church, which are mentioned in this Tract,
and which occupy a large space in the contents of the
third volume. It might have seemed at first that it was
impossible to be, in such a sense, righteous overmuch, to
devote too large a portion of time to the direct worship of
God. But history has proved a second time, for it had
been proved before in the Jewish church, what is the
tendency of a religion overburdened with ceremonies.
Again, as to the expressions of doctrine which may be
found in the early Fathers, and adduced in the form of a
catena patrum, in proof of their holding some gross super
stition, which perhaps was not then developed : it was
utterly impossible that the ancients should have been able
to forecast the various distortions of Scriptural truths,
which age after age should give birth to. Equally unrea
sonable is it therefore to expect that they should have
fenced their expressions against the admission of errors,
which had never been presented to them in question.*
* The creeds contain the ultimate conclusions of many minds,
and ages, and controversies. The doctrines which are scattered
about the Bible must necessarily be reduced to summary form :
and the creeds present those several statements of them which
involve no tendency to error nor contradiction of any part of
truth ; which, on the contrary, are the logical contradiction of
those unscriptural views which the propensity to exaggeration in
the human mind is liable to run into. This result of experience,
and growth of controversy, could hardly have been enjoyed with
out it ; as the tendency of each partial or exaggerated statement

74 THEORY OF RESERVE

Correctness in faith does not necessarily imply distinctness
and definiteness of thought. Nay, it is agreeable to human
nature to indulge in every imaginable variety of illustra
tion, and in the strongest and most glowing colours of
language to give the deepest impression to subjects in
which the feelings are interested, and equal by the warmth
of its expressions the heat of the mind that conceives them.
Hence it is possible that every form of error that has
sprung up, may pretend to find its justification in the
writings of the Fathers. And why not, as well as in the
Scriptures ? With equal justice, perhaps in either case.
But if the Word of God be no standard of truth, much
less the unregulated expressions of fallible and short-sighted
men. Little honour then is due to Mr. Newman, who
launches the vain paradox, that the error and reproach of
the Romish church is its neglect of antiquity. Delusive
idea ! He thinks, no doubt, that he has made himself
master of the compass of that subject, and that he possesses
an argument by which he can defeat the Romanist with
the weapons of carnal warfare. The Romanist will not
undeceive him. Not yet, I mean. It is not his interest
to do so. Rather he will yield him an advantage, a com
mon stratagem in warfare, to draw him on with the
greater confidence to quit the impregnable strong hold of
the Divine Word, by which alone he can be safe. But
the subtle enemy will smile upon him with smothered
of doctrine could not have been clearly perceived without the
proof of the several heresies to which they have once led, as a
premiss to its direct conclusion. To abandon the creeds would be
as the levity of a man who would throw away all the experience
of his past life, and re-act the indiscretions of his boyhood.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

75

satisfaction, till he has fairly drawn him into his toils, and
the traditionist will then find that however seemly and
compact his argument may be, ^he enemy will have some
thing to say* on the other side, and there is no judge to
* For instance, the argument of the following passage from the
preface to a Roman catholic liturgy, further alluded to in the
Appendix : " In the early ages of the church, and during the
" period of pagan persecution, the more sacred parts of the Chris-
" tian liturgy were not exposed in writing, lest they should be
" profaned by the infidels. During that era, the lex arcani, or the
"law of secrecy, prevailed ; and it was not until the reign of Con-
"stantine, and the quiet establishment of religion throughout the
" Roman empire, that the pastors ventured to commit to writing
" the prayers and ceremonies employed in the different mysteries.
" The several liturgies, however, which were then composed by
" the Fathers of the Greek and Latin church, under the titles of
"St. Basil's, St. Chrysostom's, St. Gelasius's, St. Ambrose's, &c.
" prove that with the exception of a very trifling difference in the
" wording of the prayers and the order of the ceremonies, they
" were substantially the same, and that the whole had been derived,
"by tradition, from the Apostles. For example, in all we see
" prescribed frequent signs ofthe cross, bending the body, the use
" of blessed and holy water, candles, sacred vestments, commemo-
" ration of saints, prayers for the dead, &c. These liturgies were
"again compared, revised and amended by councils and popes,
"till nearly the universal liturgy of the church was reduced to
" two forms, the Roman or Latin, and the Greek; which have
" continued to be the only two sanctioned and authorized by the
"church." This argument from the lex arcani in defence of
Romish inventions would entail some difficulty upon those who,
holding the principle of tradition, maintain that we are at issue
with the Roman catholics not on principles but on certain histo
rical facts, especially as the same persons admit the lex arcani in
their system of interpretation, (see especially the Tract on Reserve,
Part III. sect. 1, that the principle was fully recognised by the
ancient church,) and I do not see what data they can find by which
to limit its application. The principle is one which divests itself

76 THEORY OF RESERVE
determine the issue. But, in the mean time, let me admo
nish my own brethren, they are committing the very same
defection from God in surrendering the certainty of His
truth, in denying that there is any standard of truth in the
Word of God, because men will differ about it.
The writer of this Tract alludes to the passage in 2
Thess. ii. 15, where St. Paul charges the Christians of
that place to " stand fast, and hold the tradition which ye
" have been taught whether by word or our epistle." And
of all power of limitation. And though the holders of it, not
Romish, may seem to discern some limits satisfactory to them
selves, the rule of limitation would probably be really their own
prepossessions only. At any rate, between tradition and the lex
arcani there is a vast and undefinable latitude, where every
chimera may find its proper footing, and the pale of authoritative
mystery enclose all. Tenent media omnia sylvse,
Cocytusque sinu Iabens circumvenit atro.
Verily one may say, umbrarum hie locus est, it is the land of
shades and darkness visible, which fiction ever loves and peoples
with her own creations. Here controversy may wander through
unreal realms, and find never-ceasing entertainment ; but the sun
that was set to give light to the world never shines upon these
parts. What converts will ever be made by the arguments from
historical facts? The priests will never give up their system.
They have armour of their own forging against weapons of that
sort, that is like a seven-fold shield -xavroa' ki<sr\s, as long as their
conscience is untouched by the Word of God. The people who
are innocent of the craft, are the part we may hope to win over :
as there is a work of reformation going on slowly, but still going
on, in Ireland at the present day. And by what means ? By the
Bible. Upon this Luther took his stand, and Wickliffe before
him. And by this alone can a reformation be effected. Historical
testimony is just as useful in this as in any moral question. It is
something incidental, but has nothing to do with principles. And
we do differ from Rome on principles.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 77
this, he says, contains something of prophetic admonition,
as addressed to persons under the same apprehension,
(which was not the case) as he himself entertains, regard
ing with awe the irreverent exertions that are now made
to disseminate the knowledge of the Lord. But the
tradition here mentioned was something definite and of
course, namely the Gospel preached by the Apostle him
self before his epistle was written. While the Gospel
was preached by word of mouth, it was of course tradi
tion. This was a thing that must have been, a matter
of course. But is this an argument against the complete
ness of Scripture, when the canon of Scripture was com
plete ? The tradition here mentioned was the Word of
God as spoken by an inspired Apostle. The tradition, to
recommend which is the purpose for which this passage
is cited, is what they call the tradition of the church,
delivered by fallible men in writings that are replete with
errors of the most palpable kind.* The passage of Scrip
ture most applicable to the case is Coloss. ii. 8, "beware
"lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
" after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ." For admit this tenet of the
unwritten word defining and interpreting the , Scripture,
to be sought in the volumes of the Fathers ; and not only
are we lost in an endless maze of perplexity, as I have
already intimated, but the whole church is again brought
into bondage to the rudiments of the world, professino- to
hold a faith, of which it can never ascertain the truth,
because it is delivered in writings which few can attain
* See Appendix, note E.

78 THEORY OF RESERVE
to the knowledge of. Here is the old engine brought into
play again, to bring the congregations under the dominion
of the priest, to make him the depository of their faith.
I said at the beginning, that all the writings of this party
are as the voice of one man : and so one is continually
drawn by association from one to another. An article
in the October number of the British Critic* has made an
explicit statement of their view of this matter, which I take
the opportunity of noticing. " The very best of the
' present race of Christians, if asked why they believe its
4 doctrines will answer, because they are true. The reason
4 is but another form of the conclusion. It is good for
' nothing. But ask them why they believe it to be true,
' and of those who are able and willing to give a reason,
' not one in a hundred will assign the right. The poor,
' ignorant, uninstructed peasant will probably come nearest
* to the answer of the Gospel. He will say, because I
4 have been told so by those who are wiser and better
4 than myself. My parents told me so, and the clergyman
4 of the parish told me so ; and I hear the same whenever
4 1 go to church. * * * * Now such reasoning
4 will appear to this rational age very paltry and unsatis-
4 factory and yet the logic is as sound as it is humble,
4 and there is nothing to compare with it either intellec-
' tually, or morally, or religiously in all the elaborate
'defences and evidences which could be produced from
4 Paley and Grotius, and Sumner and Chalmers, &c.
4 We beg most strongly to protest against any such
' evidences of religion — against any evidences whatever
* Sec Appendix, note F.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 79
"which are to draw off men's minds from the true
" basis of their belief. There is a very ingenious process
44 in architecture, by which the rotten foundations of a
44 building are removed and sound piles inserted in their
" stead. With no less ingenuity in theology the very
44 opposite work has been accomplished. The whole fabric
44 of catholic Christianity has been shifted bodily from the
44 sound old piles of authority on which its founder placed
44 it to new fantastic props rotten in themselves, &c. It
44 is very true that we are to give a reason for the faith
44 that is in us. But this is no command to give a wrong
" reason. And it is a wrong reason, that is, an injudicious,
44 an unscriptural, a faithless, a wilful reason, however true
44 and logically conclusive in itself, when we believe
44 Christianity, not because the church has told us, in
44 recognition of her authority and in obedience to her
44 commands as our lawful and natural superior, but
44 because its doctrines are conformable to our own indivi-
44 dual reason, its laws agreeable to our own personal,
44 moral feeling, its whole scheme precisely what we should
44 expect from our knowledge and notion of the deity."
Here, be it observed, among the reasons for faith is no
mention of the Word of God. That, I suppose, is con
ceived to have been already exploded by the ingenious
Tract upon concealment. And so the only true reason
that is not 4f unscriptural, faithless and wilful," is this,
44 because the clergyman of the parish told me so." What
could the pope ask more ? But I remember that Jesus
said, " search the Scriptures : for in them ye think that
44 ye have eternal life ; and they are they which testify of
44 me." And I remember that the priests or teachers of

yO THEORY OF RESERVE
that day, who, I believe, were entitled to as much autho
rity as the clergymen of this, denied the right of judgment
to the people. " Have any of the rulers believed on him ?
44 But this people is accursed that know not the law."
And I remember that the Bereans are praised in Scripture
as more wise than they of Thessalonica, because " they
" searched the Scriptures daily, to see if these things
44 were so." And I mind me, that St. Paul warned the
Colossians to beware ! that there are such things as tradi
tions of men, and that such are taught in the Roman
catholic church at this day by the priests with the asserted
authority of God ; and yet by this rule they are to be
received by the people without question, or they are guilty
of presumption. Then why did St. Paul give a caution
to beware ? Are not these " the rudiments of the world,
44 traditions of men and vain deceit" ? It is the very plan
of popery : not this bit, nor that bit. " The whole head
44 is sick, and the whole heart faint." As I said at the
beginning, it is a body of error, compact and perfect, with
the face of a man ; and it is the same that once pressed as
an incubus upon the heart of Christendom, and yet holds
the greater part in its clutch. A scheme of authority is
devised, which is not after Christ : to carry the accom
plishment of which it is necessary to depose the Bible.
This done, all the rest follows. They may practise their
own principles of reserve, and they may disavow the
enormities and gross extremes of popery.* But they are
* The chief foundation of popery is certainly the doctrine of
tradition, its correlatives and consequences, the inconclusiveness of
Scripture, the disproportionate authority of the priesthood and its
ministrations. Out of this grows the necessity of infallibility

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

81

entangled in the system. And all follows in due time.
Why is Mr. Newman labouring to avert from the Pope

resident in the church somewhere, and as the effect of all and
several of these doctrines is to depose Christ more or less from his
throne of grace, perhaps a worldly High-priest or spiritual Head
over all the church is as inseparable as an apex to such a system,
as looking to Christ as all in all is essential to the religion of Pro
testants. There is therefore something very striking in the fact,
that we find the Tract party holding very suspicious language
about St. Peter and the Bishop of Rome. " The unity of the
" church," (says Dr. Pusey, Sermons on the Queen's letter, p. 35)
" was exhibited in the actual Church, in that, as it had one Head,
" even Christ, so (though with no eminence of authority, still) both
"Jews and Gentiles were called into this one church by one, St.
" Peter ; and to this church such as should be saved were added."
Here we have a perfectly gratuitous assertion of a decidedly
Popish tendency. The Jews and Gentiles were not called into
the church by one, St. Peter. They were called by the twelve
Apostles, all and equally. And there is not a single circumstance
which indicates any thing like a singleness of office, or peculiarity
of commission in St. Peter ; although he did actually gain for him
self a certain eminence, and may be said in common language to
have taken that lead among the Apostles, which is always the part
of a man of more energy and impetuosity of character than the
rest. But as he was eminent in his zeal, so was he eminent in his
fall ; as in his confession, so in his denial ; as in his courage, when
he would walk on the sea, so in his weakness, (Help, Lord, or I
sink :) as in his forwardness, when acknowledging the election of
the Gentiles, so in his backwardness, when reproved by St. Paul
for withdrawing and separating himself from them. But was there
ever such a sentence for a free exposition of opinion ? How could
the church be called by one, and that one not possess an eminence
of authority, and of more than authority? Whereas Jesus Christ
sent forth all the twelve Apostles together, to teach and baptize
all nations ; and the Church is built upon the foundation of
the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being itye chief
corner-stone.

82

THEORY OF RESERVE

the application of those prophecies which all our Divines
have fixed upon him ? Why ! but that he feels that their
cause is one. Of that vain attempt it is only necessary
to notice, that he makes the mystery of iniquity, which
St. Paul foretels, to mean open infidelity and rebellion.
But there is no mystery in that. It is a vain deceit, a
subtle counterfeit of the truth, the bane of Christianity
under its outward form and name, a mystery within the
church, not open defiance without it, that answers to the
Apostle's designation. It is iniquity clothed with mystery.
Again, why has Mr. Newman put forth that heap of
superstition * under the title 'Hymni Ecclesice, as an in
strument of Christian worship, if it be not to instil the
Roman catholic leaven under the disguise of poetic beauty,
and draw the affections of the young towards a system,
which offers so much to the imagination ? Or, look once
more at that passage which I have transcribed from the
British Critic. What are the two periods of a scriptural
and unscriptural faith, there brought into contrast ? It is
clear that they point to the periods anterior and subse
quent to the reformation. In fact, the whole Tract system
is nothing more or less than the dissemination of Popery
afresh, the mystery of iniquity working again. They have
set up an idol in their hearts, namely, priestly authority,
and have taken up with a form of religion in which the
church and the priest are all : Christ and the Spirit are
cast into the distance. The former only manifests himself
under the form of the sacrament : the latter has no part at
all. Its graces are fixed in the elements, over which the
i * See Appendix, Note G.

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. S3
priest has power. Its teaching is rejected as hidden and
obscure : and the doctrines of men are sought, to teach
the way of salvation. The doctrine of the Atonement is
discarded as the foundation of faith, and faith is discarded
as the foundation of righteousness. Concealment is sub
stituted for the scriptural doctrine and practice, as the test
of true religion : and men are withheld from the direct
worship of God or Christ, except in prayer, (and I know
not if this is touched upon,) as a Being too lofty for them
to praise, too worthy for them to adore with suitable ex
pressions of gratitude, without violating a certain delicacy
which is the characteristic of genuine piety. What wonder
that laying such a foundation, God should refuse to be
enquired of by them : that he should leave them to labour
in a delusion. I speak hard words, not to wound or to
reproach, but to warn and save. For it is time to away
with scruple, before the leaven has spread too widely in
the church to be afterwards repressed, till it burst the
vessel to pieces.
I have before noticed the character which the writer
attempts to fix on those who are adverse to his own pecu
liar views, where he likens them to the Jews who required
a sign. In another place he casts a heavier suspicion
upon them, that they tend to Socinianism. This is cer
tainly a most unaccountable paradox. It is in the section,
44 On the necessity of bringing forward the doctrine of the
44 Atonement." We have seen above, what is this writer's
conception of the scriptural doctrine and apostolic preach
ing of Ghrist crucified as set forth in this section, namely
that each man should take up his own cross without any
allusion to the remission of sins by faith in Christ : nay,
a 2

84 THEORY OF RESERVE
what is of more point in this case, with the concealment
of our Lord's divinity. " It will be evident (he says) on
44 a little attention, that when St. Paul thus speaks, (as at
44 all times preaching Christ crucified,) it is not the
44 Atonement and Divinity of our Lord which he brings
44 forward, although it is implied in that saying." " And
" this, he says, strongly confirms the view here taken."
That is, that it quite accords with his own view, that in
preaching what may be called Christ crucified, the Atone
ment and Divinity of our Lord should not be brought
forward, but only implied, and implied in such a sense,
it seems, as it is " secretly implied in the whole of Scrip-
44 ture, in the Law, and the Prophets, and the New Testa-
44 ment." The passage from which the last words are
extracted continues thus : " In the Gospel it is in most of
44 the precepts, in the blessings, in most of the parables,
44 so much so, that they would have no meaning without
" it as the foundation : for how is the mourner to be
44 comforted without it, or the poor in spirit to have a
" kingdom ? How is the prodigal to be received with
44 such a welcome, or what is the pearl of great price,
44 and the hidden treasure ? In like manner it ought to
44 pervade the teaching of the church under the same spi-
44 rit, as doubtless it does its liturgies, especially the bap-
44 tismal service." Now in this passage taken altogether
there is great inconsistency. It is asserted that the doc
trine of the Atonement is secretly implied in the New
Testament : as in the Law and the Prophets, so in the
New Testament. In what part then of the New Testa
ment is the doctrine of the Atonement secretly implied ?
In the Gospel. In the precepts, blessings, and parables,

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 85
of the Gospel. Well ! And " in like manner it ought to
44 pervade the teaching of the church." So he says. That
is, the church ought to preach the Atonement no more
explicitly (this is the word used) than it is preached in
the Law, and in the Prophets, and in the parables, the
precepts, and blessings of the Gospel ; than it was preach
ed, in short, under figure and in prophecy, before the
work itself was accomplished, before the type was ex
plained by the antitype, before the Spirit was given to
make all these things manifest. But " How" (I may ask
in his own words) " is the mourner to be comforted with-
44 out it ? or the poor in spirit to have a kingdom ?
14 How is the prodigal to be received with a welcome ?
44 Or what is the pearl of great price, and the hidden
44 treasure ?" The kingdom of heaven was a hidden trea
sure at the time the parable was spoken. Even the Apos
tles did not understand it. " But when Jesus was glo-
44 rifled," (John xii. 16.) and the Holy Ghost was poured
upon them, even the promise of the Father, which they
waited for (Acts i. 4.) by his direction, which was to
guide them to all truth, they declared " the hidden wis-
44 dom which God ordained before the world," as the
Spirit gave them utterance. And it is only by the light
of that knowledge which the Spirit has revealed by them,
that we are able to find the true doctrine of redemption
in the law, the prophecies, or the parables. There it is,
no doubt : and we see it now, with its gracious purpose
and merciful effects illustrated in wonderful ways, affect
ing, attracting, encouraging, rejoicing. And therefore it
is to be brought out and made plain for the attraction
and conversion of men. " When I am lifted up," said
our Lord, " I will draw all men unto me." And yet it is

86 THEORY OF RESERVE
asserted that men are to be drawn, without shewing them
the Lord lifted up, except as a malefactor, or a martyr.
Not preach the Lord's divinity ! certainly there is no doc
trine of any Atonement without that : " for it cost more
44 to redeem their souls." " No man can by any means
44 redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him."
Psalm xlix. J. " And He saw that there was no man,
44 and wondered that there was no intercessor : therefore
44 His arm brought salvation unto him : and His righte
ousness, it sustained him." Isa. lix. 16. But the won
derful point of this is, that the author's reason for not
preaching the Divinity and Atonement of our Lord is,
that it tends to Socinianism. The Tract concludes with
an eloquent paraphrase of Quo musa tendis ? The ori
ginal is more expressive in this place. Surely, to let out
a secret is not to lose it. As Socinianism is the denial of
our Lord's Divinity and Atonement, so, I think, to preach
Christianity without it, that is, without preaching it ex
plicitly, though it be to preach all those other things in
which it is contained, " the necessity of being crucified to
44 the world, our humiliation together with him, mortifi-
44 cation in the flesh, being made conformable to his suf-
44 ferings and death," (p. 75) which is holding the Sa
viour forth as no more than an example, is neither more
nor less than Socinianism. But indeed the reasoning of
this whole chapter, if I may speak of the intention as of
the act, is of so extraordinary a kind, that the writer
clearly falls below himself in it. And it is not wonderful.
For the ingenious nature of his arguments involving much
of just observation upon human character in the parts
that lie more remote from the great central Truth ; in

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 87
the observations that are drawn from his studies in ethics,
criticism and poetry, their bearing on the subject being
something indirect, and their relation to the conclusion
remote and obscure, the genius of the writer was not
straightened. But when he draws his thoughts to a cen
tre, and exhibits them nearer the sun, the fallacy which
he has undertaken becomes a burden to himself : and he
is obliged to combine his observations with signs of con
nexion and consequence, when there is no such relation
between them. One instance of this may be pointed out
in page 77> where some difficulty respecting the doctrine
of eternal punishment is adduced in aid of the conclusion,
that the Atonement should not be preached explicitly :
and, pages 79, 80, where an observation that the doctrine
of Christ's Divinity is accompanied in the preaching of
the Apostles with exhortations to humiliation and obe
dience, (though indeed I remember no such particular
connexion of this doctrine and that precept, as though it
were written, If ye believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God, humble yourselves : Since Christ is the Son of
God keep his commandments :) however, this observa
tion is made the medium of substituting as the subject of
the argument, and as the root of Socinianism, the prac
tical disregard of religion where professed, for the expli
cit profession of faith in the Divinity and Atonement of
Christ. I said at the beginning that the Tract is written
with candour, and so I think it is, for it states its views
plainly and explicitly. But it contains many such irre
gular connexions of argument as I have just mentioned,
and some obiter dicta also of considerable bearing and
consequence, which, as opening new questions, it would

88 THEORY OF RESERVE
be inccmvenient to touch upon here ; but which are by no
means fairly dealt with as corollary truths, or facts that
may be assumed. The cursory mention of the unwritten
Word, and of the rebellion of 1 688, may be noticed on
this head. But this is perhaps a necessary consequence,
when a mind has laid its foundations in peculiar princi
ples, which give their impression to all associable matter.
I would add one more observation. Every body might be
expected to understand that our Lord's commands, " Do
44 not your alms in the sight of men, to be seen of them,"
&c. are intended as safeguards to that pure motive to
which our wordly feelings are most subtle enemies. But
in pages 55, 59, the Tract represents them as proofs that
it is our Lord's will and pleasure to conceal the evidence
of his presence from the gaze of the multitude. " For all
44 the most purely religious actions (he says) are thus
44 withdrawn from view, done from God only, who is in
14 secret, and to him only who seeth in secret ; they begin
44 and end in Him alone, unknown to the world. These
44 are the signs of God's presence among us, and of His
44 withholding that presence from the gaze of the multi-
44 tude, as too pure and holy for us to look on, and cover-
44 ing those that seek Him in the shadow of his hand."
Again, page 58 we read, " That as our Lord wrapt up
44 the most sacred and divine truths in parables and mys-
44 terious sayings, so we find that in good men there is a
44 natural reserve of expression, which is apt to veil from
44 the world holy sentiments ; in both cases the end is
44 observed, of keeping ' that which is holy from the
44 'dogs.'" These passages are instances of the taking
manner in which the opposite to the truth may be in-

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE. 89
sinuated under its outward garb. The facts are true :
the comment is plausible, taken by itself, and prettily
expressed. But it is in contradiction to the express lan
guage of Scripture. As to the first point, our Saviour
said to his disciples, " Ye are the light of the world. A
44 city, that is set upon a hill, cannot be hid. Let your
44 light so shine before men, that they may see your good
44 works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Do
44 men light a candle, and put it under a bushel ? Do not
44 they place it in a candlestick, that it may give light to
44 them that are in the house ?" And upon the second
point, St. Paul bids the Ephesians pray, " and for me,
44 that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open
'4 my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the
44 Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds ; that
44 therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." And
to Timothy, " I charge thee therefore before God and the
44 Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and dead
44 at his appearing, preach the word : be instant, in sea-
44 son and out of season." 2 Tim. ii. 2. And of himself,
1 Cor. ix. 16. " Yea, woe is me, if I preach not the
44 Gospel." And the Gospel, be it remembered, means
the glad tidings of salvation, " which shall be to all peo-
44 pie." The principle of concealment, however, which
the writer of the Tract would inculcate, he declares to be
the mode of dealing with Scripture, approved by the
Fathers of the church, and he observes, " the principle of
"interpretation, so catholic, and apostolic ! it cannot be
44 doubted, is the right one. Where shall we find Him,
44 who is the truth itself, more assuredly than in the
44 catholic consent of his church ?" There is a passage in

90 THEORY OF RESERVE
the Gospel which tallies with this. " Then came to Jesus
44 Scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, say-
" ing, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of
44 the elders ? But he answered and said unto them, Why
44 do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your
44 tradition?" There remains one more passage too important as part
of a system to be passed over. It is found in the last sec
tion, which sets forth, " the important practical conclu-
44 sion" of the whole. Here after reading what is very
extraordinary, " that Scripture does not set before us any
44 sensible joy or satisfaction to be sought for as the end
44 of holiness," — the writer must have forgotten that " the
44 fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace," that it is writ
ten in recommendation of wisdom, " Her ways of plea-
44 santness, and all her paths are peace," and of God,
that " in his presence is fulness of joy, and in his
" right hand there is pleasure for evermore," that our
Saviour said, " Come unto me all ye that labour and
44 are heavy laden, and I will refresh you," that " the
44 kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in
" the Holy Ghost :" and there are many more such pas
sages, — we come to a really important practical conclu
sion, namely, " That with regard to any ways of doing
44 good to the world, it is far too great a work for any
44 thing of human device, or any plans that partake of
44 this world to perform." I should judge that the device
especially alluded to, is such as an association for the dis
semination of the Word of God. However that be, the
doctrine is absolute. Yet our Saviour, who cursed the
barren fig tree, himself " went about doing good," and

COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

91

44 left us an example that we should follow his steps."
And St. Paul said, " As we have opportunity, let us do
44 good unto all men." And in almost every Epistle that
that he has left, he exhorts or prays for his converts, or
those to whom he wrote, the Corinthians, the Colossians,
the Galatians, the Thessalonians, the Hebrews — and he
urges Timothy and Titus to press upon the churches
under their charge, that they should " be fruitful in every
good work." Perhaps the philosophy of Origen may give
a different aspect to religion. For he appears in every
age of the Church to have been a great authority with
the holders of peculiar doctrines. But it is worth notice,
that we have here a doctrine which indicates a deeper root
than we might have suspected, to the opinions put forth
some time ago in a periodical that acts as auxiliary to the
Tracts, in favour of a revival of monachism. So inti
mately connected in principle and tendency, so united in
purpose, so combined in operation, so compact as a body
of Theology, however various in subject, in form, and
manner of statement, is the entire multitudinous mass of
doctrines, sentiments, speculations, antiquities, histories
and miscellanies, which for some time past have been
flowing from the press under the colours of catholic Chris
tianity, a title which is intended to fix upon Protestants a
strong suspicion of heresy ; but which, if strictly looked
into, will place its advocates in a predicament not far re
moved from popery.

The readers of the Tract are furnished at the end with
a list of books, as bearing upon the same subject. By
the same rule I would mention Scougall's Christian Life,

92 THEORY OF RESERVE, &C
and Knox's Christian Philosophy, as setting forth what
there is of truth in the Tract, unclouded by its errors :
and that, not like " A dull imprisoned ray,
" A sunbeam, that has lost its way ;"
but a full diurnal round of broad daylight ; by which a
man may walk, and see his path, and proceed with a fair
prospect. The first is sold by the Society for 2d. and
the other contains a sort of Catena Patrum, which per
haps will recommend it more.

APPENDIX.

Note A, p. 49.
The doctrine of the priesthood contained in the passage
last quoted from Part 3, sect. 3, may be found also in the in
troduction to an English Roman Catholic Liturgy, edited by the
Rev. Peter Gandolphy, 1812, with the view, he says, of "exhibit-
" ing religion to his Protestant countrymen, as it is professed and
"practised in the Catholic Church.'' Here we read that "in the
" Christian dispensation God having substituted the weak for the
"strong, continues to interpose vessels of clay, to veil his Majesty
"from the sight of men." This doctrine is the main-spring of that
great engine of priestcraft, the so called Sacrament of Confession,
as may be seen in the following passage from the Canons of the
Council of Trent, as given in Delahogue's system of theology,
one ofthe class-books ofthe college at Maynooth. "Itaque merito
"patres Tridentini dicunt: Ex institutione Sacramenti Pceniten-
" tiee universa Ecclesia semper intellexit, institutam etiam esse
" a Domino integram peccatorum confessionem, et omnibus post
" baptismum lapsis jure divino necessariam existere, .... quia
" Sacerdotes sui ipsius viearios reliquit." (Sess. 14, de Pceniten.
cap. 5.) And the following passage from Dens's Theology, which
is not a system of private opinions, but a compendium ofthe The
ology ofthe church, expresses perhaps no more than a logical con
clusion from the doctrine just laid down. It is taken from the
chapter de sigillo confession-is, on the obligation of secrecy laid
upon the priest as to what he has heard in confession. It is de
clared, that if a priest should be interrogated in a court of justice as
to an act of murder or any other crime that has been revealed to
him in the confessional, he is to deny his knowledge of it, and if
necessary, to confirm the same with an oath. Then comes the

94 APPENDIX.
following objection and answer, upon the authority of St. Thomas
(Aquinas.) Obj. Nullo licet casu mentiri: atqui confessarius ille menti-
retur, quia scit veritatem, ergo, &c.
R. Nego minorem : quia talis confessarius interrogatur ut ho
mo, et respondet ut homo ; jam autem non scit ut homo illam
veritatem, quamvis sciat ut Deus, ait S. Th." &c. Surely this is a
device of Satan, to throw contempt upon the Holy Incarnation
of the Son of God, and the consequent union of the divine and
human natures in the one person of the Redeemer.

Note B, p. 49.
One pervading doctrine of the Tract is, that some of the
principal and most important matters of faith have been pur
posely left by God very imperfectly revealed, at least not expressly
declared, in order to prove the state of our hearts : for that if our
hearts are in the proper frame, they will acknowledge the will of
God in a very slight intimation. This is one of those propositions
which are pregnant with more peril than others, because there is
in it a substance of truth, while it is yet capable by. particular
application of being made an instrument of deceit, as it is in the
Roman Catholic Church. True, it is said, " whosoever will do
" His will shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God."
True, it is a doctrine revealing itself to a certain state of mind,
and opening different parts of knowledge, under different circum
stances, to the soul that seeks to be brought into obedience to the
will of God. Whoever studies the Word and lays it up in his
mind, will find its meaning shine in his heart, as circumstances
bring it to light. But strange it is, that this as the principal part ofthe
system of internal evidence is rejected by the Tract party, as is in
stanced in an extract from No. 48 of The British Critic, given in an
other place, or in p. 118 of Mr. Newman's Romanism and Popular
Protestantism. Those important matters of faith, the obscure revela
tion of which, arid the deficiency of divine sanction directly given
to them, the Tract would construe according to its principles as

APPENDIX.

95

the highest authority in their favour, are not the mysteries of the
divine nature and of man's redemption, the peculiar "spiritual
44 things," which are only "spiritually discerned." Against any
such inward and spiritual discernment, as a witness of the truth of
these things, they strongly and decidedly protest, as in the places
just noticed, and others which I shall afterwards take notice of.
The doctrines in favour of which these principles are laid out, are
the views of this author and his party respecting the Sacraments
and the Priesthood. " Did they come to us (he says) in a strong
" unquestionable shape, with the palpable evidence by some re
quired, they would come to us in a manner unlike all other
" manifestations." I may indeed freely concede to this argument
in favour of mystery the credit, which it claims, of being part of
the Catholic system. Let men define the term as they will. The
Introduction to the Roman Catholic Liturgy, which is mentioned
in the preceding note, adduces the same argument in recommend
ation of its own peculiar doctrines ; namely, that true faith is
exercised in receiving that as from God, which does not enforce
assent as such by very strong evidence. The following passage,
however, will shew how far it is required to exercise this faith, in
order to prove it genuine. It will also afford a good practical
comment upon the principle of reserve, and an illustration, at the
same time, ofthe doctrine of Christ manifested in the priesthood.
" The great mysteries of the Christian faith are contained in the
" Apostles' Creed, (the seven sacraments, the eucharistic sacrifice of
"Jesus Christ, original sin, &c. &c. being included under the
" infallibility of the Church,) and are proposed to the mind's assent
44 as the same divine authority, which proposes to us faith in Jesus
" Christ, his Church, and the Scriptures. For the soul can never
" render an obedient faith, if it make any exception ; because to
" except against one is virtually to except against all, by destroy
ing the motive and subverting the foundation of faith. Neither
14 does this divine authority change its character by being dele-
" gated. Therefore whether the Deity speak by himself, or through
44 his ministers, he is equally entitled to our obedient faith,'' &c.
The latter part of this passage will serve as a comment also upon
the doctrine of the British Critic, who asserts that the only true

96 appendix.
and Scriptural ground of faith is the authority of the church,
and that not the Word of God is our guide to saving truth, but the
word ofthe church.
I recur now to what I noticed above ofthe work just mentioned,
and of Mr. Newman's Romanism and Popular Protestantism, that
they reject from among the true grounds of faith, the prac
tical and spiritual discernment of the appropriateness of the doc
trine to the end proposed, and all the other perceptions of what
constitutes its internal evidence. In the first we read, that " it is
"a wrong reason for the faith that is in us, when we believe Chris-
" tianity, because its laws are agreeable to our own personal
"moral feeling:" and that, "when a man appeals to the truth,
" and reasonableness, and morality, and consistency of Chris-
" tianity,  he is after all only appealing to himself." Brit.
Critic, No. 48, pp. 306, 7. And this is reputed to have been
written by one ofthe leading members ofthe Tract party. In the
latter work, pp. 117 — 125, there is perhaps the most sophistical
argument that ever was framed. Its substance is this. The Ro
man catholics have systematized religion : and they appeal to the
completeness of their system as an evidence of its truth. Popular
Protestants, the school whose opinions are represented in Erskine's
Internal Evidence and Dr. Chalmers's Sermons, endeavour also to
exhibit the Gospel as a system, in which there is an adaptation of
means to a purpose, an evident meaning and adjustment of parts,
a manifestation of divine character, a suitableness of the doctrine
revealed to the character of God and the wants of man. The first
observation upon this is, that " both parties evidently put forth
" their respective views as independent and substantive evidences"
of their truth. And the conclusion follows : " that they are not so,
" is shown even by this, that they are adduced by their respective
*' advocates in order to prove contradictories.'' But this conclu
sion from his own observation is inconclusive. For prophecy also
is adduced both by Jews and Christians in support of their respec
tive systems, which, in relation to Christ, are contradictory : yet
the evidence is divine and true. But there is an egregious fallacy
in the argument. For there is an attempt to draw a general con
clusion from a particular premiss. The Roman catholic theology,

APPENDIX.

97

as a system adapted to a certain end, is perfect : but as a develope-
ment of the principles of the Gospel it is false. Therefore, he
argues, it is no evidence of the Gospel being the Word of God,
that the representation which it holds forth of human nature is
attested by the conscience to be true, and that the plan which it
proposes for the accomplishment of its professed purpose is proved
to be the most effectual and consistent that can be conceived ; that
purpose being the reconciliation of man to God consistently with
the divine character and the sanctification of man's nature as the
consequence of his redemption. Why ! as Mr. Newman himself
states them, the two systems profess quite different things. The
Roman Catholic, as he shews, " observes that there is something
" in Romanism beautifully contrasted to the eye of the philosopher
" with the manifest imperfections of what he calls the Protestant
" system. There is a natural and obvious beauty in the simplicity
" of this basis, which at once gives stability and unity to convic-
44 tion." In another place he observes, " the end of every rule
44 and law, and consequently of every rule of faith, is to bring men
44 into a unity of principle and action ; that the rule proposed by
44 others is proved by experience to lead to exactly opposite
44 results — in other words, that it removes men farther from that
44 union, towards which it must be intended to bring them, for it
44 leads them to the most contradictory opinions, professing to be
44 supported by precisely the same principle of faith, whereas the
44 principle of Romanism is fully equal to those objects, for which
44 the rule was given," p. 120. Here the end of religion, accord
ing to the Roman Catholic system, is to bring men to an unity of
principle and action : at least, Mr. Newman views the passage in
this light ; for he introduces it as presenting " one of the latest
H advocates of Rome applauding the Gospel as a system;" and as
such, he sees in it a mark of " the agreement of temper and cha
racter between the one and the other creed," the Roman and
Protestant. But the Protestant, as shewn in Mr. Newman's
pages, speaks of " the beauty of the Christian system, the unity of
44 its aim, the simplicity of its contrivance for the conversion ofthe
" soul,' and the manifestation of divine character contained in it,"
P- 119. He tells us that " according to it (the Protestant system)
H

98 appendix.
44 the most striking and persuasive proof of the divine origin of
" Christianity lies in the harmonious adjustment and correspond-
44 ence, and the evident meaning of its parts. One of the ablest
44 defenders of this view (he proceeds) at the close of a popular
44 essay, even ventures to speak as follows : — 4 It has been my object
" to draw the attention of the reader to the internal structure of
44 the religion of the Bible ; first, because I am convinced that no
" man in the unfettered exercise of his understanding can fully
" and candidly acquiesce in its pretensions to divine inspiration,
" until he sees in its substance that which accords both with the
" character of God and with the wants of man ; and secondly, be-
44 cause any admission of its divine original, if unaccompanied
44 with a knowledge of its principles, is absolutely useless,' " p. 118.
Such, respectively, are the Roman and Protestant systems, as
exhibited in Mr. Newman's own pages ; and in them, by some
singular method of reasoning, he discovers something particularly
congenial, because indeed they both treat the Gospel as a system.
" Such (he says) is the popular Protestantism of the present day.
" Now we might have hoped that Romanism would have been
" clear oi the fault, into which the rival system has been betrayed.
" .... Yet strange to say, as if to shew the agreement of temper and
" character between the one and the other creed, as actually adminis-
" tered, we find one of the latest advocates of Rome claiming the
44 privilege of criticising and applauding the Gospel as a system,"
p. 119. He calls the Romish theology the- "Gospel ; and asserts
an agreement of temper and character between the system of
internal evidence, as traced out in the passage just transcribed,
which is taken from Erskine, and the Roman system of casuistry,
as faintly portrayed by himself in another passage. " RomanisA
" classifies our duties and their rewards, the things to believe, the
44 things to do, the modes of pleasing God, the penalties and reme-
" dies of sin, with such exactness, that an individual knows (so to
" speak) just where he is upon his journey heavenward, how far
44 he has got, how much he has to pass, and his duties become a
" matter of calculation. It provides us with a sort of graduated
44 scale of devotion and obedience, and engrosses our thoughts with
44 the details of a mere system, to a comparative forgetfulness of

appendix.

99

" its professed author," p.«121. Here, by the by, is something
wrong ; for the professed author of this casuistry is not God, but
the Church claiming equal authority with God. To proceed: —
" In Romanism each deed has its price, every quarter of the land
44 of promise is laid down and described. Roads are carefully
44 marked out, and such as would attain to perfection are con-
44 strained to move in certain lines, as if there was a science of
44 gaining heaven. Thus the saints are cut off from the Christian
44 multitude by certain fixed duties," &c. But enough. It would
have been more simple to have instanced in the graduated scale
of guilt incurred by acts of dishonesty in proportion to the value
of the plunder, and the respective condition of the parties, or in
the graduated scale of pecuniary fines in which a sinner is to be
mulcted by way of penance, as the means of absolving him from
his guilt. And this is the system, I repeat, in which Mr. Newman
asserts a wonderful congeniality of -character with that which finds
in the Gospel a manifestation of the divine character, a provision
suitable to the wants of men, an adjustment and correspondence
(so he alleges) and an evident meaning in its parts. Why ? —
Because, first, both speak of religion as a system. But the one is
a system of works, that rests upon the authority of the Church;
the other is a system of truth, that rests upon the authority of God.
Because, secondly, he says, they both partake of the same peculi
arity " of subjecting divine truth to the intellect, and professing to
14 take a complete survey, and to make a map of it," p. 121. But
the one is not a map of divine truth at all, but a system of eccle
siastical sophistry ; the other does indeed, to a certain extent, sub
ject divine truth to the intellect, and that with very good warrant,
although he pronounces it a fault. Certainly, there is a degree of
tact in one who would lay again all the underground foundations
of.popery, while finding fault with certain particulars in the exist
ing popish system (as if they were irregularities in the execution,
not essential parts of the design, and regular results of its deepest
principles), to throw upon the Protestant religion the obloquy of
participating in the same character. See, say their scholars, what
discrimination, what independence and clearness of view. They
protest against the excesses of both parties, and, as all extremes
h2

100 appendix.
meet, they prove satisfactorily that popery and Protestantism are
only different developements of the same errors.
The question I have been discussing obtains more importance,
as connected with an industrious attempt that is now made to
throw suspicion on real Protestant principles. The Roman Catholic
doctrine of the authority of the Church, as put forth especially by
the British Critic, is most jealous ofthe idea that the Word of God
should contain internal evidence of its own divinity and truth.
How much the Author of that Word is honoured in such ecclesi-
tical jealousy, is a serious question. However, it is impossible
that an unprejudiced Christian, popular Protestant or not, should
cease to see the wisdom of God in the principles of the Gospel, or
should blench the brightness of divine truth to save the authority
of the Church. The doctrine ofthe British Critic and Mr. Newman
on > this subject, and the Scripture answer to it, I shall recur to
in the sequel. But here I find occasion to notice that worst
extreme, to which this jealousy against the sufficiency of Scripture
has carried the Catholic Christians, as they call themselves, of the
present day, which is the charge that to hold Scripture alone
involves a tendency to Socinianism. I have in another part
noticed the same scandal, as carefully taken up by the author of
the Tract upon Reserve, and by him most oddly alleged as an
effect of bringing forward the Atonement. Thus they are ready
to attach this suspicion to their adversaries on some ground or
other, though on that they are not quite agreed. But I think
either of the two alleged causes of such heresy is equally irreverent
and injurious to the Spirit that spake by the Prophets. The
following passage is from Dr. Hook's printed sermon upon the
Text, "Sirs, ye are brethren:" a sermon, which professing the
object to reconcile differences and discourage contention, departs
so far from the spirit of its profession as to become a much more
bitter and acrimonious attack upon the party, who have opposed
the Oxford Tracts, than any thing to be found in the writings,
which he is pleased so angrily to arraign.
" For my own part I am free to confess, I am opposed to the
" opinions maintained by those, who call themselves low church-
44 men, on this very ground : I believe it to be only on account of

APPENDIX.

101

44 their being bad logicians that they are not Socinians : I believe
" that they ought to be, if consistent, both Dissenters and Socinians.'
" If they accuse Church principles of tending to popery, we think
" their opinions must lead logical and unprejudiced minds to
" Socmianism," — Note, p. 59.
In this passage there are two designations applied in such a
manner as may carry the prepossessions of the unwary with the
interpretations of the writer. First he designates a party not
merely low churchmen, but those who call themselves low church
men, and then speaks of their accusing Church principles of tending
to popery ; whereas I conceive it is the party who differ from them,
who call them low churchmen, and it is the same only, who call
the principles which they so arraign, Church principles. But let
us see what these principles are. The note is appended to another
" On the deference to tradition, and respect for the Fathers." The
characteristic difference between the parties here opposed is that
one declares his faith to be founded upon the Scriptures alone, and
this the writer calls low Church, the other upon Scripture con
jointly with tradition, and this he calls the Churdi principle. Let
him justify this by the articles of the Church, if he can. But the
most important matter yet remains. The party who build their
faith on Scripture alone, are only withheld, he says, from becoming
Socinians by their being bad logicians. Let this be well weighed.
Such is this learned gentleman's estimate of Scripture doctrine. If
we were to judge from Scripture only, one would be a bad logician,
if he were not a Socinian. Such is the meaning of the passage.
And such is this learned gentleman's own logic. I say his logic ; for
I am sure he would never in plain language say any such thing.
Yet to such an extent does he commit himself in his rash eagerness
to uphold his own party views and disparage his adversaries. But
this is not all. At p. 100. is another note to the same purpose.
" Of a truth, the Socinian or Unitarian as he denominates himself,
" meets with hard measure from his brethren among ultra- Protest-
44 ants. He protests most loudly against popery. He takes the
" Bible and the Bible only for his guide. He affirms that in the
44 Bible, interpreted according to the best of his ability, he cannot
44 discover those great doctrines, which we, of the Church of

102 appendix.
" England, know to be the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.
" He is wrong, and we of the Church of England anathematize
" him, and refuse to regard him as a Christian. And so do many
" ofthe ultra-Protestant sects, who hold in fact with us, the great
" fundamentals of Christianity. But on their own principles what
" right can they have to do so ? Of what crime has he, on their
" principles, been guilty ? At the very most, he can only be
" guilty, as is stated above, of obtuseness of intellect, which has
" led to bad logic or bad criticism. But after all for the ultra-
" Protestant to assert that the Socinian interprets Scripture
" wrongly is only to beg the point in dispute," &c. And at the
end he says. " We marvel, when we hear them joining with us
44 in censuring Unitarianism as a heresy." Now by the ultra-
Protestants in this passage, as he opposes them to the Church of
England, he should mean those who dissent from that Church.
But both the argument and the note last quoted involve equally
those of the Church of England also, whom he calls low church
men, and not holding Church principles, because they build their
faith on Scripture alone, not on Scripture conjointly with tradition.
Here, then, he says, that a man who holds- this principle is dis
qualified from pronouncing Unitarianism a heresy : because the
Unitarian is guilty of nothing but misunderstanding Scripture.
And this he calls merely an obtuseness of intellect, bad logic, and
bad criticism. But the Word of God says, it is the hardness of
the heart, and its natural enmity to God, that withholds men from
embracing the truth as delivered in that Word. There is, therefore,
in the argument of the learned gentleman this first departure from
Scriptural doctrine. Further, it is implied in this passage, that
the Word of God is too obscure to be a safe guide upon the sub
ject of our Lord's divinity, and that those who trust to it alone,
are liable to be misled : whereas, there can be no stronger proof
than is afforded by this very instance, that the errors of men pro
ceed from their contempt of Scripture, and their wilful obstinacy in
refusing to be taught by it, not indeed from their exclusive respect
for it. See alone Micah in a passage applied in the Gospels to
our Saviour : " And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
"little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come

APPENDIX.

103

14 forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth lutve
"been from of old, from everlasting," Micah v. 2 ; add Isaiah ix. 6,
44 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ; and the
44 government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be
44 called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting
" Father, the Prince of Peace." John viii. 58, " Jesus said unto
" them, verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am."
xx. 28, " Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my
" God." These passages any candid mind would allow to be
enough to establish the divinity of the Saviour. And the Scrip
ture would be justified if no more were found in it. But the fact
is, that the entire scheme of Christianity depends upon it, implies
it, requires it, continually affirms it, and is none without it. And
therefore not to see it, is to deny the whole truth of Scripture, the
Atonement, and all that is subservient to the Atonement, the
necessity for it, or the corruption of man ; which is also to deny
the holiness of God. And is the denial of the corruption of the
heart an obtuseness of intellect merely, a false logic or bad criticism ?
Is it not a moral blindness and self-deceit, proving emphatically
the truth of what is written, that " the heart is deceitful above all
14 things, and desperately wicked," not merely dull, but wicked.
And now, is a man who builds his faith on Scripture a bad logician,
if he is not a Socinian ? But further, the argument implies that
the testimony of man is necessary to confirm our faith in the Word
of God. To this again the Scripture replies : " If we receive the
" witness of men, the witness of God is greater : for this is the
14 witness of God, which he hath testified of his Son. He that
44 believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself: he
14 that believeth not God, hath made him a liar ; because he
44 believeth not the record that God gave of his Son," 1 John v. 9.
The last proposition, that the testimony of man is necessary to
confirm our faith in the Word of God, is systematically . held by
the whole party ; and they arrogate to themselves the sole credit
of holding church principles, which, however, by a strange incon
sistency they are not content to measure by the articles. But as
they assert the need of the ancient Fathers to determine the sense
of Scripture, so they again demand the testimony of modern

104 APPENDIX.
divines to determine the sense of our articles. Dr. Hook, in his
sermon and appendix upon uniformity of views respecting the
doctrines of the reformation, appeals to any thing but the articles,
which are the symbol of those doctrines and the rule of uniformity
in the Church. They will not abide by the joint act of all
the reformers, but seek a voice in favour of their views among
the expressions of individuals. I come, however, to the place
where I said I should take further notice of that doctrine of Mr.
Newman and the British Critic, which I have handled above.
The latter declares that to say, I believe the Gospel true for its-
internal evidence, or because of its adaptation to the nature and
condition of man, which is the same thing, is a wilful, and above
all, an unscriptural, ground of faith, and that to believe on this
ground is only to appeal to oneself. Now we have just read the
Word of the Spirit of God affirming, that not to believe it on this
ground is to make God a liar. And in ver. 6 of the same chapter,
" It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth."
But how then does the Spirit bear witness ? Inwardly to the heart,
by working conviction there by the personal application of the
Word of God. And this the whole texture of Scripture after the
effusion of the Spirit, and the language of our Saviour before it,
attest. "He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness,"
&c. " He will take of mine, and show it unto you." " The Spirit
" itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of
" God," Rom. viii. 16. " But God hath revealed them to us by
" his Spirit : for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things
" of God: for what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
" Spirit of man, which is in him? Even so the things of God
" knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received
" not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that
" we might know the things that are freely given to us of God,"
1 Cor. ii. 10-12.
But the most serious matter of all is this, that no faith that is
founded on any other grounds has any assurance of salvation.
" He that hath the Son, hath life, and he that hath not the Son,
" hath not life," 1 John v. 12. And "hereby we know that we
1 dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his

APPENDIX.

105

•' Spirit," iv. 13. " For it is the Spirit that beareth witness,"
v. 6. " He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness
44 in himself," v. 10.
It is upon these grounds, then, that Erskine says in the passage
objected to by Mr. Newman, p. 118. that "an admission ofthe
" divine original of the religion of the Bible, if unaccompanied
44 with a knowledge of its principles, is useless." Mr. Newman
reduces this to some general head of subjecting divine truth to the
intellect, and mingling together things totally different under one
vague category, passes a condemnation upon this, because the
Romish theology is a fiction of the Church. In which logic there
is certainly a monstrous neglect of that upon which the correctness
of the whole process depends, a due exercise of the faculty of
abstraction. The Gospel must be accepted for the Word of God
on one of two grounds, on external or internal evidence. The
latter implies a knowledge of its principles. The former merely
receives the testimony of the church. The latter Mr. Newman
condemns, as a part of the system of his popular Protestantism.
Yet, truly, as Erskine says, the other without this is useless : it
does not amount to Christian faith. For if a man only believes that
his heart is sinful, because the church assures him that God has
said so, but does not feel the truth, nor consequently his need of
regenerating grace, &c. how can he be said to believe with the heart,
as is necessary to righteousness ? But how preposterous to identify
as to kind, this Scriptural faith with the popish inventions concern
ing kinds and degrees of sin, proportions of punishment, remainder
of merit, penance, purgatory and indulgences, which are accepted
by the Roman catholics on the credit of the church, not on the
faith of the Word of God.
I must here refer to what I adduced from Scripture in the last
paragraph but one, respecting the testimony of the spirit as con
nected with the validity of the internal evidence of the truth of
the Gospel : because I suppose it must be to such as believe and
acknowledge the truths therein declared, that Mr. Newman alludes
at p. 147 of the work before noticed. " We know (he says) there
" are individuals among Protestants who consider themselves to be
41 infallibly taught by a divine light, but such claim is never taken

106 appendix.
44 as a proof that they are favoured in the way they suppose."
Now it is not to be denied that there are individuals of every class,
who are apt to deceive themselves. But here is a question about
Christian doctrine. And the associations ofthe context direct the
allusion to the party who agree in such points with Erskine and
Chalmers. Are not those passages, then, indeed written by the
finger of God, which I lately adduced concerning the teaching of
the Spirit? To which add 1 Cor. ii. 14, "For the natural man
" receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are
" foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they
" are spiritually discerned." Is it not, then, too bad, that so plain
a truth of Scripture, so essential a part of Christianity, a doctrine
so mingling with every declaration of the New Testament, so in
terfused with the whole language of the church, that Christians are
taught the truth by the Spirit of God, and that by no other means
they can discern it, should be obliquely condemned as a parallel
extravagance with the infallibility of the Romish church ? It is a
very clever stratagem, in a certain party, to divine an accordance
of spirit between Protestants and Roman Catholics. But there
is a broad distinction in the case, and a distinction which indicates
to which of the two a certain party have the nearer affinity. For
the one receives the Word of God as the perfect rule of truth, the
other declare that authority to be vested in themselves. The one
professes nothing of himself, teaches nothing of himself, but points .
to the Word of God ; the other says, we, the church, are the
depository of the truth, our Word is the rule which you are to
receive. The one is Scriptural Christianity, the other an eccle
siastical theology, which they call the catholic religion. In
addition to what I have adduced elsewhere, the following passage
in a review, of which Mr. Newman is the reputed editor, will help
to shew who really are nearest allied to the ecclesiastical system
of the Roman Catholics : — " He (God) has blest us with a
" message from Him, the Gospel, to teach us how to please Him,
" and attain to heaven : He has given us directions what to do.
" So far all parties, Romanist, sectarian, and anglo-catholic agree ;
" but now comes the turning question, where those directions are,
" and what? The ultra-Protestant says they are in the Bible, in

APPENDIX. 107
" such sort that any individual taking it up for himself in a proper
44 spirit may, by Divine blessing, learn from thence without
" external help what he must do to be saved. On the other hand,
" Mr. Palmer (without, of course, infringing upon his reverence
" for the Bible as God's gracious gift to us, as inspired, and as the
" record of the whole faith) maintains that not the Bible, but the
" church is, in matter of fact, our great divinely appointed guide
44 into saving truth, under Divine grace, whatever be the abstract
" power or sufficiency of the Bible." — British Critic, No. 48, p.
354. What is the doctrine here stated ? That the divinely appointed
guide unto saving truth is not the unerring Word of God, but the
interpretations of fallible men. This is the principle of the doctrine
of tradition. For of course the same is the case at all times. The
church, then, has been, from the beginning, the divinely appointed
guide into saving truth, in such sort that the Word of God by
itself is not. Of necessity, then, all the glosses of the church are
of higher authority than the apparent meaning, be it ever so clear,
ofthe Word of God. For after all, they are accustomed to argue,
to appeal to "the evident meaning of the Word of God," is only
" to appeal to ourself." What right, then, had Luther, and the
English Reformers who drew up our articles, to take the Scriptures
for the measure of truth, opposing the authority of the church ?
How could they say that churches are liable to error — that the
Word of God is the standard of truth ? The authority of the
Word of God is either superior to that of the church or inferior to
it. There is no middle ground. If the latter, popery is esta
blished. If the former, this evil only follows, that the wilful and
disobedient may cavil at the truth, and plead that they cannot
discover it. And the Word of God expressly declares that they
shall not ; albeit with a willing mind, with an humble spirit, with
an obedient heart, he who runs may read. Is the minister, there
fore, not ordained to teach, is he not the ambassador of Christ,
because his word is not the measure of truth, but the Word of
God, which is committed to him ? He is still the minister of the
New Testament, the ambassador of Christ, the steward of the
mysteries of God, to dispense the word of grace and reconciliation.

108 appendix.
But it is the Word of God, not his word, which claims authority.
He is the keeper of the oracle, not the oracle itself. He is a
messenger only, who cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord.
Say, he is appointed to instruct the ignorant, to lead the blind : so
accounted the Pharisees of themselves in the days of our Saviour :
it is reasonable that the blind should be led, that the ignorant
should receive his instructions. And it is at men's own risk that
they dissent from the teaching of those who both are appointed to
teach, and are likely to know better than others. Still their word
is not supreme. The Scripture reference is " to the law and to
" the testimony." The teaching of the church, even as regards
the definition of doctrine, is indeed most valuable. But, then, I
accept not the record of this or that man's opinions for the teaching
of the church; but the acts of the collective body, the creeds,
articles, &c. which I am sure are according to Scripture. Such
they are by the good pleasure of God. They might have been
otherwise, " as the church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and
"Rome have erred." However, the church itself holds and
teaches them in submission to Scripture. As to those who would
exalt the word of the church, which is tradition, to the honour
which belongs only to the Word of God, to be the standard of
truth, it is to them the sentence applies, " In vain do they honour
" me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
It is to the same effect of disparaging the pure Word of God,
and the work of the Spirit accompanying it, that Mr. Newman
says " the sacraments are His imperceptible means of changing'the
" soul,* p. 157. This is said in opposition to what is effected by the
Word of Truth : and I hesitate not to say that it is quite at variance
with the whole tenour of the Apostolic Epistles, which uniformly
speak of the sanctification of the soul as the Spirit's work, through
the power of the truth : as in Ephes, i. 13, " In whom ye also
" trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of
" your salvation : in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were
" sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." But especially the
prayer of our Lord to the Father, on behalf of his followers, refers
(he instrumentality of their sanctification not to the sacraments,
but to the Word of Truth :—" Sanctify them through thy Truth.

APPENDIX. 109
" Thy Word is Truth," John xvii. 17. This word, however,
Mr. Newman only classes with " The existing church, tradition,
44 catholicity, learning, antiquity, and the national faith," as " The
44 external means by which God conveys to Christians the know-
" ledge of His will", p. 156, 7. All these he further calls " Divine
" informants^ p. 158, — and says, " Of course what comes from
" God must be one and the same, whatever way it comes,"
p. 149. Therefore, of course, the national faith in any country at
any time, learning, antiquity, &c, must be one and the same
with Scripture, and of course Scripture must be one and the same
with them. And these are God's external means of making known
His will to men ! And the sacraments are exclusively His imper
ceptible means of changing the soul. So much for his notions of
the abstract power of the Bible.

Note C. p. 50.
The nature of the sacrament of baptism will be better understood
by examining all that relates to it in Scripture, and drawing an
estimate of its properties from thence, than by conceiving certain
notions respecting the nature ofa sacrament, and construing Scrip
ture by the rule of traditional theology. Upon one point, then,
there is no dispute, that it is the rite of initiation into the Christian
church. The command of our Saviour to his disciples, that they
should baptise all nations, and their uniformly requiring this of all
who professed to believe, put this beyond question. No one, with
out the most manifest heresy, can deny this — can profess himself
a Christian and refuse baptism. Then ensues the speculation,
what is the use of baptism ? in common language, of what good is
it ? One might say this is nothing to the purpose. The Scriptures
recognise no one as a Christian without it. When a soldier enters
the service of a prince he takes an oath to serve him : there is a
form of admittance to every office, rank and privilege. Why is
this ? Because it is an evidence and proof to all parties of the
engagement being actually undertaken, and of the distinction being
actually conferred. Common observation and reflection upon the
nature and practices of men would shew the necessity, or at least

110 APPENDIX.
the expedience, of such a form, as a plain act of profession on the
part of the believer, and an aid of assurance to him that he is really
in the covenant. And this might be alleged as a sufficient reason
for the institution, without any mystical operation at all. The
condition of acceptance with Christ, it might be said, is faith. A
soldier receives his pay in return for service : alld so does a
Christian receive grace in return for faith. But a soldier is not
received into a state of service without an oath of allegiance : nor
is a Christian received into the state of one in covenant with Christ
without baptism. There is no more necessity for any mystical
operation in baptism than in any other act of a Christian's life.
Whatever God has commanded to be done, he has, however,
attached a blessing to the doing of it. And so, as He has com
manded a believer to be baptised, he has annexed a boon to the
ceremony. And so the author of our faith has declared that, " He
" that believeth and is baptised shall be saved," Mark xvi. 16.
Is a man therefore saved by baptism ? No more than a soldier
receives a pension for taking the oath of allegiance. But a soldier
receives a bounty, money, clothes, arms and accoutrements. And
so one that is admitted into the service of Christ in baptism receives
a bounty in the forgiveness of his sins, a new clothing in the
righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to him for his faith, and
an armour of spiritual graces, which are described by St. Paul.
But is there any peculiar mystery in this ? It is written also that,
" Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved ;"
which is as good a sanction for prayer as a means of grace, as the
last passage is for baptism. But, then, it will be said, our Lord
intimated some peculiar mystical operation in baptism, when he
said, " Except a man be born again — except a man be born of
" water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of
44 heaven." To this it may be answered, our Lord continues,
44 Whatsoever is born ofthe flesh is flesh, and whatsoever is born
" of the spirit is spirit." It is a doctrine independent of any question
respecting baptism, and made out by many passages bearing no
reference to that rite, that Christians are converted and changed in
their nature, renewed in their minds, made new creatures, sons of
God, and heirs of immortality, &c, by God putting his spirit within

APPENDIX. Ill
them, which is a great mystery indeed. Of the Spirit then,
according to our Lord's explanation, men are born Spirit. Men
are not born Spirit of water ; but still water is connected as an
instrument with the spiritual communication. The new birth is
therefore associated with baptism. But this does not increase the
mystery, or make the mystery to consist in the relation of the out
ward form to the spiritual communication that is associated with
it. If there be such a mystery as the new birth of man, by com
munication of the Spirit of God to his soul, and this be the com
mencement of that new life which a believer leads in the faith and
service of Christ, of course it will be coincident with his entering
on that service ; and as baptism is the form of -his admission into
that state, of course it must be regarded as in a sacramental
sense coincident with that ; because the person baptised into the
Christian faith is received into a new covenant of grace thereby ;
and the one will be coincident with the other actually, as regards
the cancelling the debt of original sin. And now what is the eftee*;
of this view ? It excludes all superstition : that is, the attributing'to
creatures what is due to the Divinity alone. There is nothing mys
tical in the ministration of the priest, as the Tract implies, nay,
says, " And the episcopal and priestly succession have in them
" something divine," .and as Froude more plainly speaks of the
awful office of the priest as making the body of Christ, with refer
ence to the other sacrament. The mystery of regeneration is fully
allowed : and that baptism is the outward form and circumstance
with which it is connected. But the mystery of spiritual commu
nication by which it is operated, is no greater than is implied in
the whole Christian life. It is a more memorable point in the
history, as every first act and first favour is. Besides, its value is
apparently greater, as the condition of the soul before and after
that which the rite expresses, differs more than at any other period.
Therefore in the sacrament, as an appointed sign of regeneration,
we acknowledge a greater mercy. But we no more regard the
priest as a party to the operation of the new birth, than the Garter-
King-at-Arms, or whatever officer officiates in the installing a
new companion of any illustrious order, is a party to investing
him in those honours. As a minister of the Word, as an intercessor

112 APPENDIX.
by prayer, which are effectual means of sanctification, he can
exercise, as any other Christian, but he more especially by his
office, an influence towards the effusion of grace. But this is
because God has promised to accompany his Word, and to answer
prayer. But as to his exercising any influence to make water an
element of regeneration ; he can do no more than sprinkle water,
or immerse, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Ghost : the effectuality of the ordinance depends upon other cir
cumstances, upon faith in the person baptised : although in the
case of infants, where there can be nothing to resist grace, the
faith of the minister is as likely to be received in behalf of the
child, if accompanied with earnest prayer to that end, as that of
those who expressly answer for it. The passages of Scripture,
which I have quoted in the part to which this note is appended,
spe'ak ofthe washing of water, and the washing of regeneration, and
the putting away the filth of the flesh. These allusions to baptism
|re accompanied with the mention of such effects as santification
and salvation. But then, as noticed in the same place, they are
connected with other causes. "Baptism," says St. Peter, "doth
" now save us, not the putting away the filth ofthe flesh, but the
" answer of a good conscience towards God." " Christ gave him-
44 self for the church," says St. Paul, " that he might sanctify and
" cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word :" and in the
Epist. to Tit. " He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the
" renewing of the Holy Ghost." In each case the Apostles express
the spiritual work which accompanying the rite, accomplished that
of which the sacrament is the sign. But it will serve to examine
the phrases. In these passages we read of baptism as a washing.
It is scarcely necessary to dwell upon this. Every one sees the
application of the figure : and in that, the reason why water was
appointed as the element of the sacrament of regeneration. This
is, according to the divine method of teaching by figure, action and
circumstance. And as we see the practice so frequent in Scripture,
the consideration of it will help to induce a sober understanding
on this point. Baptism is a washing — a putting away the filth of
the flesh. In the flesh man* sinned, and his evil propensities are
treated in Scripture as proceeding from the taint of his flesh. The

APPENDIX. 113
flesh is the representation of the carnal or sinful part of his soul.
As, therefore, a Christian is required on his part to renounce all
the sinful works of the flesh upon entering into covenant with
Christ, and as the Saviour engages to cancel his sins and to purify
him by the gift of His spirit, the washing of water is very significant,
as the form by which this double engagement is ratified. It must,
however, be " sanctified by the Word of God and by prayer :" as
the waters of Jordan only, to which the Word of God directed
him, not Abanali or Pharpar, could wash away the leprosy of
Naaman. The cases are exactly analogous. The water had as
much to do with the bodily cleansing of one, as it has with the
spiritual cleansing ofthe other. And this will serve for an expla
nation of Acts xxii. 16, " Arise, be baptised, and wash away
44 thy sins." But further, the typical signification of baptism com
prises more than purification. The vow of the Christian extends
not merely to the renouncing of sin, but by a stronger figure it
expresses even a death unto sin, a death unto this world. By a
literal death in the flesh Christ saved us from a death according to
the nature ofthe soul, that is, an eternal death, an eternal state of
existence under the privation of every thing that is considered
life. His death was a sacrifice for our sins, a propitiation offered
to the holiness of God, to make Atonement with Him for the sin
of man. It was, then, a vicarious and mediatorial sacrifice. But
it was an offering, as made by man of that which was to be offered,
namely the human nature, because it was that which had sinned :
though in Christ it was found without sin. There was, then, an
offering unto death of the sinful human nature, otherwise of the
flesh, in the death of Christ. Now, then, the wrath of God is
propitiated : sin is atoned for, and by death : yet man still lives ;
because Christ, as man, has offered such a sacrifice, and over Him
death had no power. But this He did in our stead, and in our
behalf. Having made death His debtor, by paying the penalty of
sin without sin, He is able to rescue from the penalty of sin those
who were liable to it. By His death, therefore, we are saved, and
that by the right He has purchased, to make His death a substitute
for others. As He died, therefore, and yet lives, so those also who
by faith are united to Him, have also died with Him, and yet live

114 APPENDIX.
in Him. Being united to Him by His Spirit placed in them, -and
so made His body, they incur the conditions of His body, which is
dead because of sin, but alive because of righteousness. But in this
extension of the conditions of the literal to the mystical body of
Christ, there is the same ambiguity, according to our notions, of
the sense of the word flesh, that appears in relation to the washing.
We can scarcely penetrate the surface of things. And in relation
to the thoughts of God, and the mysteries of heaven, our minds
are like a prism, in which the individual sunbeam is conceived in
a triple or seven-fold form. Hence the cause of mystery : namely,
the narrowness of our thoughts, which commence at the lower end
of knowledge, in the multitude of particulars, which are the
varieties of general forms, and cannot always ascend to the point
where they meet and agree in one. It was in the flesh that Christ
died in our stead : and so His people also are accounted as dead in
the flesh. But that part of the flesh in which Christ died, was the
mortal substance. That part in which Christians are dead is the
root of carnal affection, which by nature clings to this world.
They are, therefore, baptized into Christ's death, which means
that they lay dowD their carnal life and carnal affections, and
account themselves as dead to this world, living henceforth, by
faith in Him, and in the exercise of that new principle, and those
new affections, wliich He gives them. And this is represented,
that is, it is professed in the very act and form of baptism, and,
therefore, is taught in the institution of that ordinance : " We are
" buried with Him by baptism into death," Rom. vi. 4. We go
under the surface of the earth in baptism. If immersion in the
natural stream were practised, this would need no illustration.
And thus we follow Christ in his buriaL But it may be as easily
conceived in the form of baptism by sprinkling, since the water is
raised from the surface of the earth, and is poured upon tbe person
Of the believer. But now we come to what I consider a very
important fact in the doctrine of this sacrament, and which will
tend materially to check a superstitious feeling in respect to the
outward part. The grace of baptism is two-fold, a death unto sin
and a new birth unto righteousness. But there is in the use of
water no analogy to more than the first. Water cleanses, but it

APPENDIX.

115

confers nothing new. The grave receives the old man, but it
does not reproduce him. Even considered as a womb in which
the new man is formed, for which analogy there is no Scripture,
unless the words of our Saviour " born of water and ofthe Spirit,"
be thought sufficient to receive such a comment, it cannot be held
in any higher sense than as merely the circumstance in connexion
with which the mystery is accomplished. But I am not specu
lating merely by critical rule. The references of the Apostles to
this rite agree with such a view. But first of all, let us pursue the
history of our Lord, the Captain of our salvation. Neither did
Christ accomplish our salvation, so as to make us the sons of God,
by his death and burial only, nor was he himself declared to be
the Son of God, except by His resurrection. We see Him, there
fore, laid in the grave, and we have followed iu His steps so far,
when we have entered the waters of baptism. But now the work
of the Spirit begins. And this, and its effects, are shewn in the
following passages : — " For Christ also once suffered for sin, the
"just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to
"death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit," 1 Pet. iii. 18.
" Declared to be the Son of God with power according tp the
" Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead," Rom. i. 4.
"And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise
" which was made unto the Fathers, God hath fulfilled the same
" unto us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again ;
44 as it is written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day
"have I begotten thee," Acts xiii. 32, 33. Thus was Jesus, as
man, made the Son of God, and declared so to be with power by
His resurrection from the dead, being quickened, or made alive
again, by the Holy Spirit. And in that, iu which they follow and
imitate, or figuratively represent in their own personal actions, the
steps of their Saviour, Christians also are made and declared to be
the Sons of God by the same Spirit. It is by the resurrection of
Christ that their baptism is made effectual, as St. Peter expresses
in the sequel to the passage just quoted : " The like figure where-
" unto even baptism doth now save us. . . .by the resurrection of
44 Jesus Christ." Such is the case of our Lord and His work in
relation to us. But now that we are accounted to be dead with
i2

116 APPENDIX.
Him in baptism, the power of His resurrection too, that is, the
quickening aid of His Spirit, is extended to ourselves also. This
is declared in Col. ii. 12, " Buried with Him in baptism, wherein
44 ye are also risen with Him through faith of the operation of God,
44 who hath raised Him from the dead." It is applied to our case
by faith. There is no outward part in the sacrament that repre
sents this (except the Christian coming forth out of the water
again.) It is the incommunicable work of the Spirit, which alone
can make the dead body instinct with a new life. And the carry
ing on of this work in the same manner, and by the same spiritual
means of faith, is part of the subject matter of a lofty passage in
Eph. i. 19, 20, " The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward
44 who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,
" which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the
" dead — And hath given Him to be the head over all things to the
" Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in
"all." We may connect the washing and the death unto sin
more or less intimately with the water of baptism. But the new
birth is the work of the Spirit that, as the wind, bloweth where
it listeth. The priest does not baptize with the Holy Ghost :
Christ only does that. And we trust that He does it, when
we use the ordinance which He appointed as circumstantial to it.
The baptism of the Holy Ghost, in the first instance, was not
accompanied by water: Acts i. 5, "John truly baptized with
44 water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
44 days hence." And in some subsequent instances, it seems rather
to have accompanied the laying on of hands of the Apostle or
bishop, who did not himself baptize. Compare 1 Cor. i. 17, "For
44 God sent me not to baptize, but to preach," with Acts xix. 5, 6,
" When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the
" Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the
44 Holy Ghost came on them ; and they spake with tongues, and
" prophesied" ; which is a strong recommendation of the rite of
confirmation. However, the only comment we can pass upon the
whole is this : such is God's ordinance, such is His promise, yet
dependent on conditions, and such accordingly is our trust.
Nevertheless, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou

APPENDIX. 117
" hearest the sound thereof, and canst not tell whence it cometh
" nor whither it goeth : so is everyone that is born of the Spirit,"
John iii. 8.
I take all more curious questions respecting the time of regene
ration to be vain and self-willed. The baptismal service declares
the child regenerate when it is baptized and admitted into the
church ; and I hold the language to be most "perfectly correct. It
is the language of faith : —
" Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
Relies on that alone ;
Holds no impossibilities,
But says — it shall be done."
Christ orders the children to be brought to Him, and declares them
fit to be received into His kingdom. He enjoins baptism as the
rite of admittance. He connects baptism and regeneration, and
says none can enter into His kingdom except he be so regenerate.
And it is surely a very wilful creed that denies, in opposition to our
Lord's command, that children are fit to be brought to Him ; that
would withhold them from that sacrament which He has appointed
as a token of mercy for those who approach Him. And it is a
very weak faith that has any difficulty in seeing a little child
accepted by the Saviour, and favoured by His Spirit. Doubtless
the covenant of God is conditional ; and a spark of grace may
easily be extinguished, if it be not nourished and fed. But clearly
the child is placed within the covenant of salvation, and the guilt
of original sin is done away. Indeed, St. Paul even seems to
intimate this as the natural inheritance of the offspring of a
believer, 1 Cor. vii. 15 ; as if, the guilt of original sin descending
to the child by inheritance from fallen parents, where the fall of
the parent is retrieved, its amended condition is transmitted to the
child. But as this stated absolutely would militate against many
other parts of Scripture, which have included all under sin, it is
reconciled with them by considering the word here translated
44 holy," as including and implying baptism, which is strictly
proper: and as the passage accordingly furnishes unanswerable
testimony in favour of infant baptism, it equally confirms the truth.
of all that infant baptism implies. Indeed, the very words almost

118 APPENDIX.
literally express that the faith of the parent is effectual on behalf
of the child, and that, as under the Jewish covenant, so under the
Christian, there is an inheritance of privilege transmitted to an
infant as its birth-right.

Note D, p. 56.
The case between the church and dissent may perhaps be
viewed in the following light. On behalf of the church it may be
said, that God is a God of order not of confusion. That, in the
Gospel, he insists much upon the unity of his church, and that such
unity can never be preserved unless there be an established con
stitution within it, to which all are bound to conform. To secure
this unity there must be some one element of association, of vital
importance to the constitution ofa church, around which the body
must necessarily gather, and hold together in joint dependance
upon it. Above all things, then, it will be necessary that this prin
ciple of unity should itself be liable to no division : for if that which
is the cement of union may possibly be multiplied so that several
centres may be established of societies independent of each other,
there is an end at once of any outward form or symbol of unity.
But this principle of combination in the constitution of a church is
the authority to administer its ordinances. And this, to secure the
ends required, must be an authority delegated from above, and so
transmitted through regular channels receiving and holding from
above. An unbroken chain of succession being preserved in the
highest degree, a consistent subordination in the lower, "by which
means a perfect bond of unity will be preserved from age to age
in the whole community of the church. That as to this authority,
the Scripture says, that " no one taketh this honour upon himself
" but he that is called of God as was Aaron," Heb. v. 4. That
this passage being written in the New Testament proposes the rule
ofthe ancient priesthood as applicable to the Christian. The first
in succession of that priesthood was Aaron who was called to it by
God in an especial manner : that the rest received it by transmis
sion from him : and so the unity of the church was preserved. In

APPENDIX. 1T9
like manner Christ, the founder of our religion, being first called by1
God, himself likewise with equal authority called and sent his
Apostles as the ministers of his Gospel, who transmitted the autho
rity invested in them to others appointed to succeed them. The
fact is established by Scripture. And this is the only outward call
that can pretend to be legitimate, and it is the only plan by which
the unity insisted upon can be preserved.
This reasoning, I believe, to be sound and unanswerable. It is
not invalidated by an alleged defect, namely, that it assumes
Christ to have added to the commission he gave his Apostles " as
" my Father sent me, even so send I you," the words, " and so do
44 you send others." The analogy of the Levitical priesthood which
the Scripture sanctions, the necessity of such delegated authority,
unless there were a continual course of revelation, and above all
the example of the Apostles, which is a sufficient rule, supply the
alleged defect. But further such a resignation of all part in the
matter, as such a clause would have implied, was not to be
expected. The objection involves a confusion of things that must
be distinguished. The Levitical priesthood being an adumbration
of ceremonies almost wholly, there was not the same need of a
spiritually enlightened mind to discharge its duties, as is required
in the ministry of reconciliation. The succession, therefore, in this
case,does not rest in a lineal descent by blood. But the superior
authority is commanded to look*out fit persons : and he is led to
act upon the rule recommended by the example of the Apostles,
to seek in prayer to God that He will make clear, whom He has
chosen. The Christian system leaves to tlie Spirit of God to call
his servants and prepare their hearts for the ministry, and then the
Bishop exercises the authority of his office to the best of his judg
ment, with prayer, and having all the assurance he can obtain that
the candidate has been called by the Spirit of God, confers upon
him the outward authority to exercise that calling in the church,
over which himself has been appointed to preside.
Now, what is to be said on the other hand ? In the first place
we see dissent existing in various forms : and we have reason to
believe that the Spirit of God and of Christ is with many who are
not in union with the episcopal church, and so that the ministry of

120 APPENDIX.
men who have not received episcopal ordination is yet in many
instances attended with the blessing of God. How is this to be
explained ?
We still hold that God has appointed a church which he has
constructed upon the best principles, and such as, if it were not im
peded by the infirmities of those, both to whom the administration
of it is committed, and of those also upon whom it is appointed to
act, should work the ends of its appointment in the best manner.
Still it is committed into the hands of men, who are liable to
infirmity ; in its working it necessarily in some of its parts partakes
of the nature of a human institution, and has a great variety of
obstacles to contend with, by which the accomplishment of its
purposes is proportionably impeded. Such has been the case before.
And in the old church God called up judges and prophets who
were not in the sacred line, to retrieve the defects and failures
incidental to his establishment through the infirmities of men.
We have the case also of the latter Samaritans, with whom, as
hving in the knowledge and worship of God by His Word and
ordinances, although in a state of separation from the establishment,
our Lord vouchsafed to hold communication upon earth, while as
yet His mission was restricted to a peculiar people, which now is
without distinction. To one of that nation our Saviour even con
descends to liken himself in parable. The case of the ten tribes,
the original Samaria presents a case more in point. They were a
portion of the church in a state of schism, and with an irregularly
ordained ministry. Yet God not only raised up prophets among
them, but he every where speaks of them as his people, and at one
time told Elijah that he had yet six thousand men in Israel. These
facts should induce us not to be over strict in defining the terms of
the covenant : and to be careful that we do not define them, as
they are not defined by the Word of God. The doctrine now
urged under the title of catholic religion makes the covenant to be
co-extensive with the church, the church co-extensive with the
portion in communion with the episcopal priesthood. The terms
of the covenant being in. that system a participation in the sacra
ments as administered by that order: and the sacraments so
administered being laid down as the sole means of grace. This

APPENDIX.

121

system of religion, I hesitate not to describe as superstitious, and
as an addition to Scripture. The argument which I have stated
above in regard to order, represents the episcopal priesthood as the
proper administrators of the ordinances. But it is an addition to
the Word of Scripture to say that no one else can do it. And it is
alike contrary to the evidence of the old church and the present in -
dications ofthe new. Circumcision, the ancient seal ofthe covenant,
does not seem to have required the priest, and nothing is insisted
on upon this head in the New Testament. But the worst part of
this system is the evil root which it supplies to the religion that is
raised upon it. Faith is the foundation of religion, and the valid
condition ofthe covenant from the beginning to the end ofthe New
Testament. And it is the true mean of union with Christ. This
is a doctrine tending to the glory and honour of the Saviour, and
conducing to growth in grace and in the knowledge of God. It
looks immediately to Christ as the source of all grace, and to the
Spirit as the worker of all good, and keeps the believer in imme
diate intercourse with, and faithful dependence upon, God. The
catholic religion as it is called, which directs the attention of men
to the doctrine, that they are saved as members of the church ;
that the church is the steward of the sacraments, and that by the
sacraments their salvation is operated ; which is ever referring to
the traditions of men, and framing arguments to the maintenance
of privileges, is a system which tends to draw men from the
Saviour, to disparage the Word of God and the covenant of
prayer, to magnify the ministrations of men. There is no root of
vital godhness in it. Nor will it ever stir the consciences of men,
and lead them to seek peace and strength where only these are to
be found. In speaking of vital godliness I have used an expression
at which they are apt to mock. And so do Froude's Remains,
which they have published, deride the idea of Bible Christians.
But I believe the former expression has a legitimate meaning, and
I have more faith in the religion that is drawn from the Bible,
than in any thing else which disparages that source under the title
of catholic religion.
Having alluded to the ancient Samaritans, whom I have shewn
to have been in covenant with God, although in schism, I must

122 APPENDIX.
not overlook the fact, that their time was not for long. They
were soon swept away, and never replaced as the people of Judah
were, and their temple rebuilt and their ordinances restored. For
this was of God's own establishing. So will it be, I doubt not,
in the latter days, if the church, which is founded upon the sanction
of God's Word, and the example and authority of his Apostles,
shall perform the trust committed to her. The dissenting system
being one which involves many points of discipline that are in
consistent with the tenour of Scripture, and the examples there set
forth for a rule to the church, not being therefore the system of
God's appointing, it is not likely to co-operate with the mind of his
Spirit in working his purposes, steadily. Indeed, it contains in
itself the principle of the people controling the preacher, who is
the ambassador of Christ. It is not, therefore, to be expected that
it will prosper long. Besides it can never be denied that it is
schism, and as such destructive of order and government, and
denounced by the Word of God. But we are not, therefore, to add
to Scripture, and assert that none are in covenant with Christ, nor
included in His spiritual church, who do not partake in the minis
trations of men ordained under the episcopal succession. I cannot
say, but I should judge that there has been a succession by ordina
tion in the presbyterian line in most dissenting communions. And
there is that indecisiveness in Scripture on the subject of ordination,
that, although we know by history, and by an argument deducible
from Scripture, that episcopal ordination was the plan of the
apostolical church, still we cannot say positively that presbyterian
ordination is invalid. The Spirit of Christ is essentially free, and
it is very inconsistent with the rest of the Gospel that the covenant
of Christ should depend on such minute and unprescribed distinc
tions. It is substituting a different mean of union with Christ,
than that the Gospel favours. Texts — " Of a truth I perceive
" that God is no respecter of persons ; but in every nation he that
" feareth him, and worketh righteousness is accepted of Him,"
Acts x. 35. " For we, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of
" righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
" availeth any thing nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh
" by love", Gal. v. 6. " But now the righteousness without the

APPENDIX. 123
" law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets ;
" even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ
" unto all that beheve : for there is no difference," Rom. iii. 21.
" For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on Him shall not
" be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and
" the Greek : for the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon
" him. For whosoever shall call upon the name ofthe Lord shall
" be saved," Rom. x. 1 1-13. " And ye have put on the new
" man, which' is renewed in knowledge, after the image of Him
" that created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circum-
" cision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free :
" but Christ is all, and in all," Col. iii. 10.

Note E, p. 77.
We have a specimen of the -traditions of the early church in
sect. 7, of Part I. of the Tract, which is said to be mentioned by
Origen, " That our Lord was in the habit of appearing to different
"beholders in a different personal form." There is another pre
served in Ireneeus adv. Hseres, which is worthy to be placed by
the side of it. He says, " The elders, who saw John, the disciple
"ofthe Lord, have related that they heard of him, how the Lord
" was accustomed to teach concerning those times, (quando regna-
"nabunt justi surgentes a mortuis,) and say, The days shall come
"in which vines shall spring up, every one having ten thousand
44 shoots, and on one shoot ten thousand arms, and on one true
44 shoot ten thousand branches, and on every branch ten thousand
44 bunches of grapes, and on '<every bunch ten thousand grapes,
"and every single grape, when pressed, shall yield five and
44 twenty measures of wine. And when any of the saints shall lay
44 hold of any of these bunches, another bunch shall cry out, I am
14 a better bunch ; take me, and bless the Lord by me. In like
44 manner also, one grain of wheat shall produce ten thousand
14 ears, and every ear shall bear ten thousand grains, and every
" grain shall yield five pounds of meal ; and all other fruits, and
"seeds, and herbs shall keep the same proportion; and all

124 APPENDIX.
" animals, that live upon those foods, which are gathered from
44 the earth, shall be peaceable, and agreeing with one another,
" and in perfect subjection to men." These things, says Irenaeus,
are related by Papias, a hearer of John, and an acquaintance of
Polycarp. What I would direct attention to, however, is not the
absurdity of the story, but the apparently strong testimony to the
authenticity of that which, however, cannot be true ; although, as
I venture to affirm this upon the faith of my own natural reason,
comparing the tradition with Scripture, and seeing in it an irre-
concileable inconsistency with the discourses of our Saviour
recorded there, but on the other hand a perfect consistency with
the Judaizing views of ancient prophecy — I am liable to be told
by the British Critic that I am " drawing off men's minds from the
" true basis of their belief ;" that I am " shifting the foundation
"from testimony to argument, from persons to things,yh>m others
" to ourselves, from faith to reason :" for that when a man " appeals
" to the truth, and reasonableness, and morality, and consistency
" of Christianity — to any thing but testimony over which he exer-
" cises no control whatever — he is, after all, only appealing to
" himself, to what seems true and reasonable, and consistent to
" himself."

Note F. p. 78.
The British Critic. For some years I have seen but that one
number of this periodical, to which I have made allusion, but to*
judge from that it would seem that its object is to propagate super
stition for religious faith, and mystify the notions of the young and
inexperienced upon the subject of that religion which is given for
the salvation of their souls. Catholic Christianity is the key-note
of all its music. Catholic Christianity ! The Christian religion is
something definite. It signifies redemption by Jesus Christ, and
sanctification by His Spirit. Is this what is intended by catholic
Christianity ? I fear these principles occupy no leading place in
the assemblage of ideas that are contemplated in that phrase.
That pervading harmony of drift and purpose running through the

APPENDIX. 125
most miscellaneous subjects of its criticism, as far as it may be
gathered from the context, seems to be a compound of those sub
ordinate parts of Christianity which point to the church as their
centre. Whether the subject of review be " animal magnetism,"
or " the Life of Sir Walter Scott," the one subject ever present is
the authority, mystery, and beauty of the catholic church. That
there is in this the element of a deep delusion I strongly feel, the
inculcation of a principle of which the tendency is to evil. And it
is calculated to glide into the inexperienced mind as something
congenial to the current of its youthful imaginations, before the
judgment is ripe for estimating its true qualities. First, at p. 226,
we have a suggestion, " that a profounder acquaintance with the
" earlier history of the church, and a more correct estimate of her
" office and position, might have given a more vigorous and more
" truly catholic tone to the theological opinions" of Mr. Wilber-
force. Did not Mr. Wilberforce, then, rightly estimate his duties
as a Christian ? Or was he not a member of the church ? Or
were his views and sympathies confined ? For the only whole
some sense of catholic is universal. Next, in an article on animal
magnetism, after reading of" that sustenance of marvels which in
44 some shape or Other is necessary to our moral life, and which
44 man will greedily swallow" even in the most corrupted form, if it
" is not ministered to him regularly in sound and healthy diet;"
which is intended as an argument, by the rule of contraries, to
trace the causes of Irvingism and Mesmerism to the cultivation of
physical science ; we are told, that if the members of the church
Tiad been reminded in time of the spirit in which attacks upon the
miracles ofthe Bible, from the miracles asserted to be worked in
these schools, should be met, there would probably have been
fewer instances of departure from the catholic church. The latter
part of this I can understand: because, although Irvingism is not
a renunciation of Christianity, it is certainly and plainly beyond
all doubt a device of the devil to overthrow the church that was
founded upon the Apostles and prophets. It is an attempt to get
the Christian dispensation out of the way, by introducing a new
dispensation, superseding the Scriptures and the ordinances toge
ther. Therefore, the church of the Irvingites is a clear departure

126 APPENDIX.
from fthe apostolic church, although I would not say that its
deluded, but generally pious, members, are one and all cut off
from the communion of the church catholic or universal, which is
the body of Christ. This anathema would include Tertullian,
who, as a Montanist, became a subject of the same spirit that has
recommenced its delusions in these latter days, yet he is always
regarded as a Father of the church. But how those departures
from the truth are connected with any wrong spirit, in which
resistance was offered to the arguments deduced from the Irvingite
miracles to the disparagement of those of the Bible, I do not see.
If there be here a slip of the pen, and the meaning intended is,
that the Irvingite miracles being met in a wrong spirit, was the
cause of the delusion spreading, we should be informed in what
spirit they should be met. The Rev. W. Goode, Mr. Baxter the
great prophet of their own revelations, and others who were once
of high authority in their church, have shewn it to be the work of
a deluding spirit. But to proceed. At p. 306 we are informed
that catholic Christianity is that which rests upon the foundation
of testimony, which is beheved, because it is preached. And at
p. 313 we begin to be informed in part, in what it consists.
Here we seem to understand that one of its doctrines is the immor
tality of the soul, and something else much mystified, which I take
really to mean no more than the simple belief of every Christian in
the doctrine of divine grace. " That his soul can, and will exist,
" independent of his mere animal frame ; that even in this life it
" may be so far withdrawn from his body as to be in a great degree
" insensible to its temptations and pains ; that in this spiritualized11^
"state of existence all its powers and virtues will be, and
" are, enlarged beyond all human conception ; that knowledge is
" conveyed to it of things far beyond sight by means wholly
44 incomprehensible; that all this is effected by mysterious com-
" munications of one mighty, connecting, all pervading, unific
" Spirit, sent into it by the will of the Almighty mind ; these great
" and awful mysteries, inexplicable as they are, are yet the creed
" and the experience of every catholic Christian" : not of the
Christian, but ofthe catholic Christian. Probably the former only
comprehends the plain prose of the matter. " And if men venture

APPENDIX. 127
" with sneers and sarcasm coolly to set aside phenomena, so per-
"fectly analogous in the natural world, as wholly incredible and
" ridiculous, they must be prepared either to give up their religious
"faith on the same grounds, or to prove at least, what it will not
" be easy to prove, that there can be no analogy between the con-
" stitution, and laws, and operations of the natural mind of man,
41 and those of the spiritualized soul." This being rather strong,
it will be well to see what are these phenomena so perfectly
analogous to the things of the Spirit, and to which a catholic
Christian is required to give heed with a prostrate submission of his
understanding, or else he must be prepared to give up his faith in
the doctrines of Christianity. Accipite ergo animis. " A Som-
44 nambulist, mentioned by Tardy, read a piece of writing in
" characters strange and unknown to her by pressing it on her
" stomach, her eyes having been securely closed," p. 311. "A
41 damsel, whose case is given in, the Strazburg Zeitung, was able
" to read not only letters folded up and placed within a cover over
44 her stomach, but a book in another chamber, on a leaf of which
" a man had placed his open hand, while with the other he held
44 the hand of a third person, the latter holding in like manner a
44 fourth, and a chain being thus formed as in electrical experi-
" ments, the last holding his open hand upon the stomach of the
44 Somnambulist :" ibid. Again, the fourth degree of lucidity.
44 He is endowed with a retrospective and prospective faculty, and
" knows a number of things both past and future, with which he
44 could not have become acquainted through the ordinary channels
14 of knowledge. Marie, said a strange physician to a Somnam-
44 bulist, do you know me ? Yes, Sir. Who am I ? You are a
44 physician. Whence do I come ? From Chartres. Where is
44 my house at Chartres ? In a small street running down a decli-
44 vity. Can you see my house ? Yes, Sir. Is there any company
44 in it ? Yes, Sir, four ladies, one old, two middle-aged, and one
44 young lady. For what purpose have I come to this part of the
"country? To see a female patient. Where is her complaint? Here
" she pointed to the part affected. Where did I dine ? At M.'s.
44 Was there a good dinner ? Yes, Sir. Could you tell me what
" dishes we had ? Certainly. She names every dish, and its

128 APPENDIX.
" particular place on the table  Now, what have I in my hand ?
" Some money. How much ? She names the sum. In what
" coin? She specifies the various coins. Can you tell me my
" thoughts at this moment ? Yes, Sir. Say it. I dare not, I must
44 not tell you. Well, I will tell you. I think of giving you
" the money. So you do, Sir, but I could not say so," p. 332.
To all this a catholic Christian must give heed, or else " he must
44 be prepared either to give up his own religious faith, or to prove
" that there can be no analogy between the constitution and laws
" and operations of the natural mind of man and those of the
44 spiritualized soul." Why ? Because both facts rest on the same
ground, namely testimony. And whoever introduces among the
grounds of his faith any consideration of44 what is agreeable to our
" own personal moral feeling," or conformable to "what we should
" expect from our knowledge and notions ofthe Deity," is " shift -
" ing the fabric of catholic Christianity from the sound old piles of
" authority, on which its founder placed it, to new fantastic props,
" rotten in themselves." The writer " begs most strongly to pro-
" test against any more such evidences of religion," as -aay be
drawn from physical science : but he will make the security of a
man's faith in the divine truth and spiritual doctrines of the Bible
to depend upon his readiness to believe in such legerdemain as is
related above, unless he can prove that there is no analogy between
the laws of the natural mind and those of the spiritualized soul :
that is, unless he can prove, that as the Spirit of God by his Word
imparts knowledge to the soul, and by his power interprets it to
the understanding, so the natural mind cannot by strong volition
acquire a power of intelligence independent of the ordinary com
munications of knowledge. A very exact parallel indeed ! And
this is one phase of catholic Christianity. This probably is "that
" sustenance of marvels necessary to our moral life, administered
" in a sound and healthy diet."
I have always understood that the natural mind of man is sub
ject to natural laws : that it is only a power above the laws of
nature that can go beyond them: that our Saviour proved the
truth of His mission by His superiority to these laws : as when the
disciples were convinced by His answering their thoughts, and the

APPENDIX.

129

woman of Samaria by his telling her her own history : Nathaniel,
by the words, "when he called thee under the fig-tree." The
woman of Samaria said, " Is not this the Christ"? Nathaniel said,
"Rabbi, thou art the Son of God." Yet now we must surrender
our faith in this evidence, unless we also believe that which
nullifies it, namely, that the same power which is here accounted
divine, may possibly be an operation of the natural mind, the
fourth form of lucidity or clair-voyance, as seen in Marie the som
nambulist. Now, as the British Critic protests against any such adminicula
as science can furnish to religious faith, I protest against any such
jugglery as this being associated with the workings of divine power ;
against religious faith being associated in any way with the appe
tite for marvels, however necessary these may be to our moral life,
when administered in such a sound and healthy diet as this.
There are two things of which one may feel pretty sure : one,
that no such powers as are here exhibited are within the compass
ofthe natural mind. For admit it, and the moral government of
the world is confounded — the foundations of evidence, and, there
fore, of truth, are overthrown. The other, that the powers of in-.
telligence here recorded are not the manifestations of the Spirit of
God ; for they are not imparted as the fruits of faith in Christ.
What loose may be allowed to evil spirits in these latter days, to
delude those who choose to prostrate themselves before them, I
cannot say. Mr. Baxter, in his " Narrative of Facts," has given
the world an awful but salutary warning, how they venture to
44 tamper with such dangerous art." The book is hard to be
obtained, as it was bought up by the Irvingites, and perhaps Mr.
Baxter may recoil with natural pain from re-publishing the history
of his own fall, thinking that he has satisfied the demands of truth.
But the facts should be as extensively circulated as the error to
which they are the antidote ; especially as the same spirit is mul
tiplying its machinations, and the coincident falsehood, that was
hatched in America, is flying like fame through the cities of the
land. We come now to the " Life of Sir Walter Scott," and after
following the honoured old cavalier to his grave in the sorrows of

130 APPENDIX.
his age, what is the reflection that arises ? Is it the vanity of
worldly honours, the instability of worldly happiness, the hope
that his soul is at peace with God, a feeling of comfort or un
easiness, as he may seem to have been right or wrong on those
points of faith with which the promise of future glory is connected ?
Rather different. " It is not forced, nor irrelevant, for it comes
" spontaneously, we will venture to say, into the minds of most
" readers at all imbued with catholic principles. What if this
" gifted writer had become the poet ofthe church in as eminent a
" sense as he was the poet of border and highland chivalry !"
This is called " a deeply interesting, and almost an awful, question."
It is certainly not a very reasonable one, unless it be put in a
Roman catholic spirit : inasmuch as the passion of Scott's genius
was romance, and the romance of religion is popery. It possessed
a degree of beauty in its own day, dazzling by its pomp and
circumstance, and interesting from the ardour of many minds
that were the innocent subjects of its fascinations. It is the por
traiture of the spirit of the middle ages ; and though now it is like
the flaunting ofa pageant protracted till day-light, yet softened by
.distance, and the mingling hues of the fairer forms that diversify its
scenes, its enormities are overlooked by the poet's eye, and he may
find in the histories, into which its passions are transfused, the
elements and embodied forms of things that to the heart of man
will ever be beautiful and lovely. As such, it might be suited to
the genius of Scott: but in no other sense was Scott designed to
be the poet of the church : and as such it was to pure and unde
filed religion, as the " Lay of the Last Minstrel" to the " Braes of
Yarrow." Yet, says the British Critic, in continuation, " We feel
" that this one thing, the presence of high catholic views of reli-
" gion, is just the thing needed to elevate indefinitely the many
" noble parts of Scott's j)0oe, and to correct the comparatively few
" points which one would wish otherwise," p. 474. There follows,
however, a long extract, apparently for the sake of a passage, in
which Scott tells Byron, on his asking, " do you think I shall turn
44 methodist" ? " No. I don't expect your conversion to be of such
" an ordinary kind. I would rather look to see you retreat upon
" the catholic faith, and distinguish yourself by the austerity of

APPENDIX. 131
" your penances." For this is the only expression of opinion upon
the subject of religion attributed to Scott in the extract. And the
observation of the Critic follows : " The religious principle, more-
" over, of the reality of which the above extracts, with many
" others, afford no doubtful indication, was accompanied in Scott
" by certain predilections and opinions, which require only to be
" named in order to shew what hopeful training he was in for the
" complete system of the old catholic church, could it have been
44 fairly presented to his mind. We allude, in particular, to a
" trait, which needs no proof by examples, the love ofthe marvellous
" and supernatural, not simply as employing his fancy, but as exer-
" cising the principle of faith within him," p. 479. " The tenets
" of tbe presence of good and evil angels, of the power of sacra-
" mentals, of communion with the faithful departed, in short, the
" whole ofthe high doctrine concerning the holy catholic church,
" and the communion of saints, had it been fairly presented to him
44 unincumbered of Romanism, would have found ready entrance
" into a willing mind," p. 480. Is this really the turn of serious
reflection, which religion prompts over the grave of the departed ?
Why ! Did he not believe in the power of the sacraments ? Had
he not his children baptized? Did he never attend the Lord's
table? Was he "who had his Bible by heart," who frequented
the episcopal church, so ignorant of the doctrine of the commu
nion of saints, as far as the Bible regards it of importance, as to
need that it should have been some otherwise presented to him ?
And this to what end ? Surely the man who kept " arranged in
44 careful order in his repositories a series of Uttle objects so placed
44 that his eye might rest on them every morning before he began
44 his tasks ; the old-fashioned boxes that had garnished his mother's
44 toilette, when he, a sickly child, slept in her dressing-room ; the
" silver taper-stand, which the young advocate had bought her
44 with his first five-guinea fee ; a row of small packets inscribed
44 with her hand, and containing the hair of those of her offspring
" that had died before her ; his father's snuff-box and etui-case,
" and more things of the like sort, recalling the old familiar faces,"
p. 475. Surely such a man being a Christian, and so cherishing
the memory of parents of such a character, that the reviewer thinks

132 APPENDIX.
it is to be attributed to his deep domestic affections, that their
strict Calvinism did not cause him, when set free, " to break loose
"" from all religious restraint, if not into actual infidelity", as if
that were a consequence to be expected — surely such a man did
not evince any deficiency of that feeling which seeks communion
beyond the grave. One circumstance of his death-bed, however,
the critic dwells upon with unmixed satisfaction : " Commonly
" what we could follow him in, was a fragment of the Bible, a
" verse of some old psalm, in the old Scottish metrical version, or
" of some magnificent hymns of the Romish ritual, in which he
" had always delighted, but which probably hung on his memory
" now in connexion with the church services he had attended while
" in Italy. We very often heard distinctly the cadence of the Dies
" Iree : and I think the last stanza we could make out was the
41 first of a still greater favourite —
" Stabat mater dolorosa
" Juxta crucem lachrymosa,
" Dum pendebat Filius."
" In all this," says the critic, " we seem to discern the reach-
" ings and graspings of a natural piety, deep and practical in
" itself, and, therefore, manly in its expressions, often striving to
" feel its way out of the unnatural confinement in which it was
" educated, but not well discerning in what direction to emerge."
Rather one would be inclined to recognize the romantic and
poetical spirit of the bard of chivalry, indulging in a manner agree
able to his natural taste, the sentimental exercise of those religious
principles which his education had so deeply rooted. As to " the
" unnatural confinement," he was not confined : for he indulged
his religious sentiments according to his taste, and he removed
from the Presbyterians into the episcopal church. But it is clear
that the British Critic is not content with that, for after a passage
quoted above concerning the " high doctrine of the holy catholic
" church, and the communion of saints,", he adds, " The simple
'* majesty and richness oi the full Apostolic ritual, would as surely
" have attracted him, as he was disgusted by the over-strained
" fancies of ultra-Proteetants," p. 480; and " we do consider it a

APPENDIX. 133
" sorrowful thing, that the eye of such a mind should never have
" rested on the true form of the city of God," p. 482.

Note G. p. 82.
Hymni Ecclesiee e Breviario Parisiensi. — The light in which one
is inclined to view a publication of this sort, depends much upon
the use it is designed to serve, the character in which it claims to
be regarded, and the associations with which it is ushered before
the world. As to the last, they are such as these': abuse of the
reformers and the reformation, dissatisfaction expressed against
the communion service, approbation of the service of the mass, a
recommendation to reproduce it under another name, a doctrine of
the Lord's Supper very near transubstantiation, the loss of the
ancient ritual lamented, the Virgin Mary thought worthy of being
addressed in prayer, the worship of saints questioned to be idol
atrous, prayers for the dead an open question, Christ manifested
in the priest, power of the priest to absolve absolutely and excom
municate unconditionally, tradition the rule of faith, mystery
advocated. The character in which it claims to be regarded is
expressed in the title, " Hymns of the Church." If the doctrines
they contain were ever so dangerous, the religion ever so corrupt,
yet, were they exhibited as such as they are, to be read for their
poetic beauty, and accompanied with a suitable preface, it might
be difficult to say why they should be placed out of the way,
while the poems of the heathens are read. But they are intro
duced as the hymns of the church ; and they are professedly
brought forward for devotional purposes, to supply an alleged
deficiency in the reformed church, and they are declared to be
divested of all objectionable matter. " At the present day", we
read in the preface, " thoughtful minds naturally revert to the dis-
44 carded collections of the ante-reform era, discarded because of
44 associations with which they were then viewed, and of interpo-
44 lations by which they were disfigured ; but which, when purified
44 from these, are far more profitable to the Christian than the
" light and wanton effusions which are their present substitute

134 APPENDIX,
"among us."  " It only remains to say, that the following
44 selection of hymns, from the Paris Breviary, has been confined
" to such holydays and seasons as are recognized by our church,
" or to special events or things recorded in Scripture ; those
" hymns, however, being omitted which contained invocations to
" the saints of such a nature as to be, even in tbe largest judg-
" ment of charity, not mere apostrophes, but supplications."
Does, then, the hymn, p. 144, on the nativity of the blessed
virgin Mary, refer to a holy day recognized by our church, or to
an event recorded in Scripture ?
And will one properly incur the imputation of a contracted
charity by objecting to the following invocation to the Apostles
Peter and Paul ? " Yet having experienced the infirmity of the
" flesh, you know it to be a weak vessel of potter's clay ; and
" having obtained grace, you of your own motion lend to your
" dependents the help which they devoutly pray for. Attend,
•' therefore, to the solemn prayers of your supplicants : procure
" grace for those who fall," p. 120. Or this, addressed to the
virgin, " and then, be mindful of thine own people, who, while
" with modest mind, thou callest thyself the handmaid of the Lord,
" art called the queen of the world," p. 1 09. Or this, to the com
pany of saints in heaven : " O holy company, be kind to us,
" grant that those whom you now see struggling in the midst of
" the waves, grant that they may reach the harbours of felicity,
" Christ showing the way," p. 154. The foregoing quotations
are in the form of invocations. The same doctrine, however, is
expressed in the following prayer to Christ that he will accept the
merits and intercession of the martyrs on behalf of sinners. " All
" resplendent in purple they surround your throne : they shew
" the wounds they have received, and supplicate you by all those
44 mouths. If you refuse us, whom the burden of our sins weighs
" dowD, listen to your own martyrs, who have shed their blood
" for you," p. 168. I think it will be hard to reconcile such
passages with the engagements of the preface to which the initials
of Mr. Newman are subscribed, they being professedly set forth
with the sanction of that authority as devotional exercises, more
profitable to the Christian than the hymns at present in use, and

APPENDIX.

135

declared to be purified from all objectionable matter, without con
sidering the editor as favourable to the doctrine upon which they
are evidently built, and without which they mean nothing. If
they were represented as mere effusions of the fancy, as school
exercises on sacred subjects in imitation of classical models, they
might be highly praised in some parts for their beauty. But they
are offered as instruments of devotion, as means of solemn com
munion with the fountain of grace. Granting, therefore, the fullest
latitude of interpretation which can be claimed on the score of
poetical figure — yet let me say, I like not the way of insinuating
the associations and every substance of pernicious doctrines under
the privilege of poetic licence — let us consider the profitableness of
such effusions as the following, as an act of sacred worship ; it is
the hymn on the nativity of the blessed virgin already alluded to :
" Let the earth be filled with sounds of joy. A virgin mother of
" God is born. At whose appearance all things immediately wear
" a new aspect. Golden peace returns to the earth." Surely in
this language there is an application to the virgin of the honour
given in Scripture to the Son of God. " This is that house,
" in which God, as a visitant, dwells upon earth, a house worthy of
" God ; a magnificent temple, which the supreme builder founded
" with His own hand. What though the ancient ark shone round
" with golden rays, this ark is better graced by obscurity : the glory
44 ofthe deity within adorns it. No manna is laid up within this,
44 nor oracular stone ; no barren branch. Here blooms a flower
44 rich in virtues ; here that sacred bread, the man God ; here
44 resides the giver of the law," p. 144. It certainly were a ques
tion by itself, how much the mind is likely to be edified by such
exercises of the fancy as these : but as one most gross form of
idolatry in the Romish church has been judged by some of our
most eminent divines to be the extravagant honours paid to the
virgin, there is in such language the taint of positive evil, the
inoculation of a popish heresy. Elsewhere we find the virgin's
freedom from sin asserted, another doctrine contrary to Scripture:
44 As the sun shines with its beautiful orb without a cloud, so,
44 virgin, there, is in your bosom no shadow of sin. As the moon,
44 refreshing the heavens, overcomes the darkness with its light, so

136

APPENDIX.

" you shine all over, and so no shade infringes your beauty. As
44 a lily, the glory of the garden, flowers with pure white, so your
44 fairness, flower of virgins, remains ever unsullied. As water,
" clearer than glass, faithfully reflects the face, so, virgin, you
44 express the pure image of God in your mind," p. 99.
The Eucharist is another doctrine respecting which we here find
very questionable expressions, as the following In festo Corporis
Christi. " Suppliant I worship you, latent deity, which really art
44 concealed beneath these signs... .Sight, touch, taste, are deceived
" in you. . . .1 do not see the wounds as Thomas, yet / confess you
" my God  Jesus, whom I now look upon under a veil," p. 98.
" We confess, that after the typical lamb, when the supper was
" ended, the body ofthe Lord was given in His own hands to the
" disciples, thus whole to all, which was given whole to each. . . .O
" wonderful thing! the poor, the servant, the lowly manducates
" the Lord," p. 95. The following is from the Commune Presby-
terorum, " A rich libation, and a new priest, God is now sacrificed
" throughout the world. Christ offers himself by our hand with an
" unbloody death," p. 176. Is not all this transubstantiation ?
And was not the following written in acknowledgment of the
pope's universal authority ? " O Rome, now empurpled with
" noble blood, and happy in your new founders, exalted by their
" victories, how much more truly do you shine the imperial city
" over all the world," p. 123.
Recollecting what the editor says of the light and wanton
effusions of the present day, we must not omit to notice the collec
tion at the end for the service of virgins ; which will probably be
thought to express ideas, that go very far to suggest the nunnery.
The first of these hymns calls upon the angel choirs to sing in
honour of the virgin, who sacrifices herself for Christ ; though in
the Scriptures we read of the heavenly choirs singing only of the
Lamb : " O ye angelic choirs, with your sweet sounding harps,
" sing of the virgin : now fit your trumpets, take your cymbals,
44 sing the martyr of Christ," p. 184. " Worthy only of God for
" her spouse, she rejects a mortal marriage chamber. As soon as
" she binds herself to her own, whom she despairingly loves, God
" willingly binds himself to her. Lest images should pollute her

APPENDIX. 137
" pure breast, her whole mind, forgetful of the body, withdraws
" within itself. Her eyes see nothing, no sound enters her deaf
" ears. Scarcely is there any food suitable to her pining body.
" She burns to die a thousand ways before her day. Whatever
" death will strip off, she strips off from herself before. God
" alone becomes all things to her. Grant, O Christ, that we may
" emulate your virgin, may pursue the path in which she walks,"
p. 185. But in Scripture not even the Apostles, but Christ alone
is made our example. " Why, O virgin, noble martyr, do two
" crowns encircle your holy brow ?. . . .The spouse reclines upon
" lilies and roses : you, ever faithful to your spouse, have given
" him both roses, as a martyr, and lilies as a virgin," p. 188. No
one will deny that this is a very pretty imitation of That sweet
mouth of Calliope, that sung the dirge which the Loves repeated.
But the house of prayer is built upon other soil than the grave of
the son of Cinyras. There the rose and the anemone grow, as if
scattered by nature's hand, and watered with the dew of Arethuse.
But here is not a subject for the sports of fancy. Our judgment is
invited to the question of what is profitable for Christian worship.
And I think there is something positively gross and indecently
wanton in applying to unmarried women, singly and individually,
the language applied in Scripture to the church as the spouse of
Christ. In the following passage and others the spouse is pluralized.
" But this is the peculiar happiness, O Christ, of your spouses,"
p. 189. " The father calls the mothers and unmarried virgins
44 to the marriage of the Lamb. O happy you, to whom a bed
41 and a place among the spouses is given," p. 190.
The preface after an unsatisfactory attempt to distinguish between
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, lays down some critical rules
for the correct composition of hymns, intended to prove the excel
lency of the specimens presented. But as the rules are evidently-
drawn from the present examples, to judge of the latter by the
former were merely to compare them with themselves. The editor
says that the hymns of the Breviary " consist mainly of the praises
44 of God, and .the very nature of praise involves a certain abstin-
44 ence from intimate approach to Him, and the introduction of
44 other beings into our thoughts, through whom our offering may
i.

138 APPENDIX.
" come round to Him," p. 6. Who does not perceive in this a
principle shaped out for an express object ? And who will not be
surprised to understand that we cannot praise God in direct
language for the blessings ourselves enjoy ? " The very nature
" of praise involves the introduction of other beings into our
" thoughts, though whom our offering may come round to Him, to
" whom it is offered," Why ? Because " it is more becoming not
" to regard Him as directly addressed in praise." Why, again?
Because " this would imply passing a judgment on Him, who is
44 above all scrutiny and all standards." The truth of these pro
positions being contingent, and they being as clearly deduced from
the volume before us, as the rules of epic from the poems of Homer,
let us scan them in their prototypes, and judge of their profitable
ness by the palpable examples.
We suppose ourselves within the walls of a cloister, assembled
for divine worship in the temple of God. We decline to address
our praises to him direct for the reasons alleged : therefore we
frame our worship after the following model : " O virgins, (or
" Nuns,) whose sacred breast free from wanton passion the Holy
" Spirit has inflamed within with his own fires ; beguiling pleasure,
" with its sweet poison, did not soften you, living only to pursue the
" marriage ofthe celestial lamb," p. 189. " Come, holy spouses,
44 behold that resolute woman, who, adorned with virtues, triumphs
44 among the celestials. That she might conquer flattering enemies,
44 she was clad in fortitude : that she might profit those who behold
" her, she was adorned with celestial beauty," &c. p. 191. " By
" what steps she seeks heaven, she teaches all you to walk in the
" same path, O wives, that are joined in the marriage bond, and ye
" O wives that are free. Us also it becomes to follow the steps of
" this noble woman," &c. p. 193. These, I doubt not are " those
" high doctrines of the holy catholic church and the communion of
" saints" referred to by the British Critic. Let us now compare
the examples with Bishop Kenn's evening hymn, and judge which
is most " profitable to the Christian :" —
" Glory to thee, my God, this night,
" For all the blessings ofthe light," &c.

APPENDIX. 139
Or the following by Mrs. Steel, a morning hymn. —
" Lord of my life, O may thy praise
" Employ my noblest powers,
" Whose goodness lengthens out my days,
" And fills the circling hours.
" Preserved by thy Almighty arm
" I passed the shades of night,
" Serene and safe from every harm,
" And see returning light," &c.
Or that of Dr. Watts.—
44 Sweet is the task, my God and King,
44 To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing,
" To shew thy love by morning light,
" And tell of all thy truth at night," &c.

THE END.

ERRATA.
At page 62, the author has committed an error in speaking of the rule quod
semper, &c. as from Roman catholic theology, whereas it belongs to an earlier date.
Page 5, line 1, for "speculative," read "speculation."
Page 31, line 15, for " came," read " come."
Page 34, line 20, for " now," read "how."
Page 55, line 6, for " prove that they have them not," read " prove that none
else have them."
Page 62, line 5, for " quod ab omnibus acceptum est," read " quod ab omnibus
creditum est."

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