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h it the Duty of the Church to Educate, at
her own Cost, every young man whom the
holy Spirit calls to Preach the Uospel.
If, as has been seen in our last article on
this question, it is the duty of the Churoh
(embracing her entire membership,) to
preach the Gospel to every creature; and
if, as was further seen, it is her duty to do
this through the heaven-ordained agency
of, men who are called to the office of the
ministry by the Holy Ghost, it must be
matONAt., that the question placed at the
hear of this article is reduced to very nar
row limits. If the positions embraced in
this statement are valid, then the question
of duty must lie between the entire Church
and the individuals singled out by the Holy
Spirit, and called to'the work of the min
istry. The duty of preparation is implied
in the commission given to the whole
Church, and no less unquestionably implied
in the call to the execution of this com
mission, given to the individual. As the
work of preparation involves not only labor,
but cost, the question is, Who is to bear it
—the young man, or the Church? Against
the former conclusion, and in favor of the
latter, there are many weighty reasons :
1. The class of men chosen for the work
of the ministry, warrants the inference
that it is not the will of God that those
who are called to serve him in the Gospel
of his Son, should bear the burthen of the
work of preparation. What was true of
the membership of the Church at Corinth,
is true of the ministry. To them, with
singular appropriateness, the langua g e of
the Apostle to that Church may be ad
dressed : "Ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men afterthe flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are call
ed; but God hath chosen the toolieh things
of the world to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are
mighty; and base things of the world, and
things which are despised, bath God chosen,
yea, and things which are not, to bring to
nought things that are ; that no flesh
should , glory in his presence." It is just
as true of the ministers of ChriSt as it is of
the private members of his Church, that
it is not the wise, or mighty, or noble, who
are called. The venerable Dr. Alexander,
whose observations as an instructor of can
didates for the ministry, through a long
life, must give great weight to his opinion
on this subject, in a sermon preached near
the close of his life, advanced and sustain
ed the proposition, that the Gospel is not
only prettehed to thepoor, but the poor.
Indeed, so prominent is this fact in the his
tory of the Church, that we are persuaded
few will call it in question. From the call
of the fishermen of Galilee to this day, the
Master has drawn his ambassadors chiefly
from the poor, It has been by the poor
that his Gospel has been preached,
In this feature of his policy, as the Ad
ministrator of the economy of redemption,
we have a clear intimation of his will, as
to whether the cost of preparation should
be borne by the Church, or by the individ
ual. By this course ,of procedure in call
ing his ambassadors, be shuts the Ch utch
up to the necessity of providing the means
requisite to the o preparation of 'those Whom
he calls, or of refusing to fulfill her great
commission. By laying upon his Church
the obligation to preach the Gospel to ev:
cry creature, by the agency of, men celled
to, anct'gualified for the work, and then
calling those who are not able, through
lack of means, to qualify themselves, he
places the Church under the manifest ne
cessity of supplying the means, or of prov
ing recreant to her trust. When a young
- man of this class appears before a Presby
tery, and the Presbytery, after due exami
nation, are satisfied that Christ has called
him to preach the Gospel,. it is at their
peril they refuse to receive him as a candi
date. Is there a' Presbytery in Christen
dom that would refuse to receive a candi
date, whom they believed to be called, be
cause he was destitute of the means of ob
taining an education ? Why this were to
revolutionize the policy of the Divine ad
ministration, and transfer the honors of a
place on the embassy of reconciliation from •
the poor to the rich, and to wrest, so far as
man can, the keys of the kingdom from the
hands to which Chrilit has conlinitted them.
Suoh a position could not, be,,taken except
on the assumption that wealth is a condi
tion of admission to the ministry. And if
this ground is taken, and the divinely-or
dained rule of vocation, which was estab
lished on the shore of Gennesaret, remain
unrevoked, then must the great majority of
those whom Christ has called to the minis
try be excluded from the harvest-field.
2, The readiness of the Church to sus
tain candidates for the ministry is implied
in that prayer which, in obedience to the
command of her Lord, she is ever present
ing 'before his Throne of Grace. In be
seeching him to send forth laborers into
the harvest, she professes her readiness to
do all in her power to cooperate with his
providence and grace in sending forth those
whom he may call. She places no restric
tions around his will, either as to numbers
or means. She asks him to send forth la
borers, and it were a reflection, both upon
her sincerity and her humility, to say that
she is not ready to receive, as his ambassa
dors, all whom he may choose to call, and
to provide; 'is. far as in her lies, all the
means necessary to their equipment for the
field. Would it not be impiety of the
deepest die to reply to the Lord, who, in an
swer to her supplication, had conferred
upon her, as an ambassador, one who was
not mighty, or noble, or wise, or wealthy,
saying, "Take back thy'gifts, for he upon
whom thy choice is fallen•cannot bear the
cost of preparation."
,If' the Church is
now y siOr /he first time 'lli, her history, either
on .Y ie Old Testament or the New , to take
the position, that I sbe is not to hear the
expenses incident to the preparation of
her ministry, she is certainly tinder all the
obligations which candor and sincerity can
impose, in the most sacred of ell, tratisac-
Cons, to express, in unequivocal terms,
when she bows before the Lord of the har
vest, the conditions on w,hich she is willing
to receive an increase of laborers. Let her
not ask as if Ellie were willing to 80101 to
the wisdom of her Lord all questions rela.-
Ave to persons and means, and then, as , if
she had reserved to herself the right, of
challenge, except'• from the list of his ap
pointments those who are unable to educate
themselves. On the principle that it is rislt
the duty of the Church to educate these
whom Christ may designate as his ambush
dors, that prayer which was placed upon
the altar of incense by her great High
Priest, cannot be offered any longer withi
out modiffnation. Tostead of simply ask
ing laborers , she must, in conformity with
. .
•
It :7
;di
111111,,
• -
.
•
. .
, •
. .
-
,
.
,
VOL. X., V.O. 30.
the principle, that those who are called are
bound 'to bear the cost of their own prepar
ation, pray the Lord of the harvest to•call
and send forth wealthy laborers into his
harvest.
3. Justice demands that the cost of pre
paration be borne by the Church. If it be
said that such questions are too sacred to
be determined on such principles, we would
refer those who have any such doubts to the
argument of the Apostle in support of the
temporal claims of the Christian ministry,
1. Cor. ix. He appeals to the customs of
men, and argues from the fact that the hus
bandman, and the soldier, and the shepherd,
and even the very oxen which tread out
the corn, are rewarded for their labor, that
the ministers of Christ ought to be reward
ed for theirs. It is true the Apostle is
here simply laying the basis of an a forti
ori argument, the conclusion of which he
advances interrogatively, ‘4 If we have sown
unto you spiritual, things, is it a great
thing if we reap your carnal things ?"
But in laying the foundation of his argu
ment on the principle of work and wages,
he sanctions and authorizes the application
of the principle of justice between man
and man, in the settlement of all questions
which may arise between the Church and
her servants, in the advancement of the
kingdom of ,their common Lord. The
question between the Church and her can
didates, during their course of preparation,
belongs to this class. As the duty of prep
aration rests upon both, by virtue of the
general commission and the specific call,
the question is, By which of the parties—
the candidates of the Church—shall the
cost be borne ?
There can be but one answer to this
question. The Society, and not a few of
its members, ought to bear the cost inci
dent to all its operations. The Church, as
an organization for the evangelization of
the world, as the Apostle argues, is not to
be regarded as exempt from the operation of
this principle. In order, therefore, to
prove that it is not the duty of the Church
to bear the expenses incident to the prep
aration of her candidates 'for the work of
the ministry, it is necessary to show that
her commission to preach the Gospel to ev
ery creature, does not lay upon her the ob
ligation to provide the means, or that the
ministry is not embraced in' the means.
We are persuaded, that when a Christian
man finds himself driven to the necessity
of establishing , either of these positions,.he,
will prefer abandoning his opposition to
the susteutation of candidates for the min
istry.
In these remarks we have had reference
to endidates who are not possessed of the
means necessary to their support during a
course of preparation. We wish it to be un
derstood, however, that we do not base the
Church's obligation, in this matter, upon
the indigence of her candidates. We have
argued -the will of the Master from the
temporal circumstances of those whom be
is wont to call to therwork Of, the ministry;
but we would be very far from resting the
claims of the future' ambassadors of Christ
upon their present poverty. Had'it been
our purpose to advocate the cause of Christ's
poor, we might fitcre appealed simply to the
benevolence of his, people: But the cause
in hand is the cause, not of the poor; but
of men whom Christ has 'designated, and
whom the Church has recognized, as his
servants, to execute the great commission
committed to her trust. So'long as the
Church is responsible -for the execution of
the commission, so long most she be held
responsible, not simply On principles of
benevolence, but on the- principle of-.jus
tice, for the sustentation• of those who are
preparing to execute it.
The full development and'application of
this principle are so important, that we
shall devote another arable ,to the subject
in the'next numiber of - the'ReCord.—Honze
and Foreign Record.
For the Presbyterian Banner
Eating a FIISSAiR the
A little girl not three years old was taken
to church by her mother. Annie was a
dear child, very smart thriller age and ap
peared-very attentive to the' preacher dur
ing the exercises. On returning homo her
mother said to her : " Well, Annie, did.you
hear the preaching ?" " No, mother," was
her prompt reply. The question was va
ried, and her reply was still the same.
" Did yen , not see Dr "M in the pulpit, up
high ?" Yes, mother." Ouriosity was
awakened to know the child's ideas of the
exercise. So her niother flaked again :
"But what was Dr. M. doing up there ?"
With the greatest promptness and compo-•
sure, she said, "Why he was just making
a fuss."
Now, perhaps, she was notlar wrong, in
her infantile judgment. There is not a.
little of pulpit performance, that is well,
described by her graphic phrase. I know.
the preacher on that occasion; he is usu-'
ally not a smasher in his elocution, and
would not knock a pulpit Bible to pieces
in a lifetime. He must have been doing
something extra, on that day—aiming, pos- -
sibly, at a popular impression. '
But there are more 'ways than one, of
making a fuss in the pulpit. Besides the
vociferous declamation and the athletic
performance—what Cowper calls "the atti
tude -and stare, and start theatric "--L--much
of the • fineireaching comes fairly under
this head. Highly polished elegances of
style, or, just as much, gewgaws of tinsel
brightness; sentences flowery with violets,
and roses and . hollyhocks; and sparkling
with the splendors of 'noonday effulgence,
make a sermon very fine, there is no donbt
of it—equal to a ,pretty fair novel; bating
the lack of interest in the story.- But,.
after the Thesis over, what are its results?;
Whose conscience is awakened 7. Whose
mind is enlightens - a ? Attrac
tions that draw attention to the truth are
valuable, however simple they may bey
while those which draw the mind .away
from the truth, however splendid, are per
nicious. There is a picture, by the cele
brated Paul Veronese, whieh has ,puzzled
artists; he has placed the principal, figure
in the shade, and sacrificed, of course; , the .
general effect to a whimsical effort to dis:.
play kis exqUisite skill in the subordinate
features of the piece. What he did with
design, is often done in the pulpit, Ltrust
unintentionally, by putting God's truth an&
man's Saviour in the back ground, seemly
visible through the'preacher's tinted *IOU&
and'blooming shrubbery,"
A great proportion of the so•calle& deep
preaching, is but making a fuss in the
pulpit. It-seems to be deep because, likeit
well, it is dark. Not one person in five, in,
a common audience, can afford to have a
preacher dispense with those important
qualities—simplicity and clearness. It is
hard, to sit through a sermon, in doubt
whether we are getting the sense out of it;
but the additional doubt, whether there is
any sense in it, with a strong leaning to
the negative side, is any thing but an im
proving exercise. I think it is told of the
Persians,:that they esteem that speech the
greatest, which is most difficult to be under-
I I stood. It must he the speakers and not the
hearers who have' this opinion. Besides,
for the purposes of pulpit discourse, ab
struse speculations in theology, although
correct; and criticisms -on the Greek or
Hebrew text, although sound, are unprofit
able. Many ,a person has derived benefit
from Owen's, book on Justification, who
would be able to make little out of his
learned " Exercitation " on the canonical
authority of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
One of the most common and most illu
sive ways of making a fuss in the pulpit, is
what may be called the Dictionary method.
It is really astonishing—perhaps it is in
tended to be so—to see what power in poly
syllables some men possess ! Nor is the
English language alone at their command.
The Apostle's .doctrine on the subject of
" unknown tongues" requires review and
adjustment to our times. It is exceedingly
embarrassing to a minister, desirous of lead
ing a people, in 'the way of knowledge, to
think that he is not understood ;• if he have
this fear, he will spurn the suggestions of
vanity, and help the infirmities of his flock
by speaking more plainly. What, to an
educated, Christian man, is the senseless
praise of his "great larnin'!" Like Dean
Swift, " I defy any man to prove that I am
bound, by any law of God or man, to un
derstand the meaning of such words as
phenomena, &e."
There is some fuss made in the pulpit,
in the way of common-place preaching; or,
rather, the repetition of, the same things
over and over again —the only variety
being, like that in the Indian's dinner
courses, succatosh in a big dish, and SUCCEt
tosh in a little dish. Paul's rule was,
"Leaving the principles," or elementary
truths, "let us go an to perfection." And
his preaching of " Christ, and him cruci
fied," embraced all the themes of theology.
Growth in knowledge is auxiliary to growth ,
in grace, and the minister should lead his
disciples in both. God's Word is his text
book, but bringing forth things new and
old, is something more than-putting new
texts to old discourses.
These reflections on the remark of dear
little Annie,
and, much more, the remark
itself, may afford some light on the sorrow
ful question, Why is it, that a Christian
congregation, which has for ten, fifteen or
twenty years attended on the public preach
ing, are sometimes so imperfectly acquaint
ed with the great truths of religion ? Some
allowance, it is true, must be made, for the
Tiiicongeniality of the subject of religion;
but this does not cover the whole ground.
The lack of instructiveness in the pulpit,
admits of no. compensations. Rhetoric and
Dictionaries furnish aid, not substitutes,
for Gospel preaching and the exhibition of
Bible truth. Sanctied talent and learning
have,, 3 a wide orbit in theology, without
losing sight AA* the cross of Christ; and
their clear and steady light. , is better than
the gleams of meteoric brightness.
Por g the Presbyterian Banner
From Port - Royal,
PORT ROYAL, SOUTH CAR., I
March 25th, 1862.
Mn: Enrroit behalf of "
Christian Union of the 76th Reg't Penna.
V 01.," .1 am requested to return our most
grateful acknowledgments to the. Unity
congregation, Beaver Presbytery, to Mrs.
Clark; of Ebensburg, and to others whose
names are unknown,, for quantities of re.:
ligious reading sent 'to our regiment' by
express for 'general distribution. We were
all greedy for Something good to read, arid
when• the books and` papers were spread'
upon the table, many happy hearts gath
ered around, and very soon the rich least
of fat things was devoured. May 'God
bless the readings of these documents to
the good of the soldiers, and may he 'also
bless abundantly the kind donors for their
beneficence.
We have organized in our regiment a
religious Society by the name of "The;
Christian Union," for the promotion of
personal piety and the ,advancement of
Christ's kingdom, and I am hippy to say'
that it is working most charmingly for
the •good of our men. Article IV. of-our'
Constitution reads as follows : " BUsineSs.
At each meeting subjects may be intro
duced, on which , remarks may be made by'
any of the members, that will hairs a leti
dency to do good, accompanied - by singing,
and prayer. Committees maybe-appointed
to organize Bible Classes, prayer meetings,
-distribute religions reading, correspond
with churches , and 'Christian Aisociations
at home, and for such other 'purpose's as
may be deemed important."
Here let me requett our friends at holow
to write us a good word, to be read in our
meetings, as often as they. can -find it con
venient. More than once I have seen
tears fill the eyes of brave men, when they
have read kind words to their souls from
the loved ones at home.
We have several prayer meetings-regu
larly during. the week,lvihich are well at.;
tended, and are truly most delightful 'and
refreshing to the heart. amidst the noise
and tumult, the trials . and temptations; 'of
life in the camp.
We have also organized a class which
holds- its meetings regularly every *reek to
practice in singmg, and we find it a very'
pleasant andprefitable•Way of spending an.
evening. ,
We have in 'addition to these meetings;
a. regularly organised Literary Society,
which is a most useful and profitable
thing to men separated from the'sUrroUnd=
ings and associations , of 'Society at home.
Whilst I beli'eve . the chaplaincy of a
regiment in the army is the most difficult
positien 'to fill in which a minister of the
4 8pel is ever placed, yet 'with the use such means as' I have mentioned; and
with the cooperation of' friends 'at home,
I am not without groat hope-that God
will: make the chaplains' of'the army' the
humble instruments of doing much good'
to the souls of those over which, in his
providence, he has called' them to be over
seers:
Provideice 'has ti favored us with fine
weather; iW , :this Sciothern clirieate, Tor
open-air service. So that during the entire
Winter we have been obliged to dispenie
with preaching on , Sabbatirlintllareelinaes.
For this we have reason to be' profoundly
thankful.
PITTSBURGH, SATURDAY, A. PRIL 12, 1862.
J. F. M.
Affairs in this division of: the army are
moving off quietly, but firmly and steadily.
Unexpected obstructions in the water
courses here have prevented movements
from'being executed which have repeatedly
been attempted ; but very soon our, ar
rangements will be complete for the bom
bardment of Fort Pulaski, and we shall
have the privilege of rejoicing in a gloriims
vicfdry. The rebels have beer/ making
great preparations for advances cation differ
ent parts of our division, but as .we are
forewarned they had better not be so fool
hardy as to come within reach of our nu
merous gun-boats. They have a whole
some dread t.f these, and I Italie but little
-idea that they will venture near them.
A sad accident occurred a few days ago,
at Otter Island, in the 45th Penna. Reg't.
Two Companies went by different roads to
capture a body of Rebels, at the - house of
et-Governer Aiken, on the mainland, and
being misled by their negro gnides, they
came upon each other in the grey dawn of
morning, and one Company, supposing the
other to be th - e rebels they were
fired, and killed Captain E. Y. Rambo afid
a Corporal, and wounded several 0t143.
They were so close together that when the
command to fire again was given, the voice
of the commanding officer was recognized,
and any further calamity was thus avoided.
The Lieut. Colonel of the 55th Penba.
Reg% a Lieutenant of one of the cortipa
nies in the New -York 47th Reg't, and Tan
agent of the'Government, on the search of
cotton on Ediko Island, one day lase *CAE,
were surrounded by a party of rebels, and
all taken prisoners.
We have captured quite a number of
rebels in this division of late, and , with them
we can" prtibablY buy bait our Men who
have been so very unfortunate as to' fall
into rebel hands.
Some deserters that have come into ( pur
lines lately, say there Is quite a wide
spread 'dissatisfaction among the soldiVis of
the rebel army; 'and many of then:if:OW(l
gladly desert : if they . ould get an °pith:t
ufty. A few more victories on our ; art
will doubtless increase the disaffection there
until there will be a rebellion within a re
bellion. Gothspeed the right i
I send you : a copy of a paper published
at this place, which indicates very strongly,
among . other things, the permanent estabf
liehment of the United'States Government
upon' this " sacred soil."
The health of our 'army here is 'Much
better now than it was for Several weeks
after the division landed last Fall. Our
regiment—the 76th—has been the health- .
Test regiment in the whOle diVision. We
have now but six in the hospital 'ax there
are no dangerous cases among them. The
sickly season is just about- commencing
again, and it remains to be seen how our
soldiers will eredirre a Senate= climate.
Yours, faithfully,
EUROYEAR mingESNYBENcE
Railway Statistics—Speculations as to Peace or War
Tracts for Priests and People"—The RishoP
of Oxford and "The Layman"—Pleas!for
" Doubt "—Rev. F. D. illaurice—" Morality ittyl
.Divinity"-The "Negative" &hoot, and Mr.
Spurgeon'sSatio- r Are, Puseyites PapisLe77—A
New Order in the'ehurch of England—An
"Ejected" of 1662, and the Modern Evcingeli
. cals.
LONDON, March 14, 1862
Oun. RAILWAY SYSTEM presents facts
and figures whiCh are very remarkable.
The 'Directors of riiiltays - rule an airy` of
100,000 men, control a' capital of X350,-
000,000, and receive a revenue of .Z28,-
000,000. The number of railway journeys
now taken, gives an average of six for ev
ery mail, woman and Child in the — United
Kingdom. The price of food, -especially
as to the London' supply, is Wonderfully
affected by rail*Sys. West of England
gardeners forward - their early fruits `to CO
vent Gaiden ; &etch 'farmers fortiiird
their beasts to the lnetropolitan market,
and their hind quarters - of mutton to the
Newgate meat-factor; and vvhile Yarmouth
even with light van's and post:horse.4 form
erly only brought some 2000 tons. of fish
to London, in a year, the' Norfolk railways
often dispatch as much in a fortnight.
During . last `year 12,000,000 cattle, sheep,
and pigs made railway excursions, besides
250,000 horses, and 350,000 dog,s. Some
90,000,000 tons of therchaniiik and min
erals were conveyed, for which the owners
paid -a' bill of 15,000,000 sterling.
The London add Northwestern Railway
extends from Lofidon to Carlisle;frorn Pe
terborough to Cardiff; and froth Leeds' to`
Holyhead. It includes more that 1000
miles of railway. Its total capital account
is , nearly thirty-seven Sterling.
Its rolling stock includes 972 locomotives;'.
1,972 passenger carriages, 1,048 guards'
breaks, horse boxes, travelling post-offices,
and carriage trucks. If a train were made
exclusively of North-western engines, it
would extend eight miles; if in front of
them the passenger carriages wSie' placed,
the train world extend beyond Herron and
neafiy to Pinher; and if the guards'
breaks and goods trains were — added, it
would extend from London to .Northemp:.
ton, 67 miles. The revenue of this one
Cordpany last half year, was X,2,360,000, or
at the rate of £88,200 a week, Xl2,6oovit
day, or £525 every hour, day and 'night,
and seven days a week, though it is' very
pleasing to find that the NortiPivestgin has
reduted its Stilday traffic almost to a min
imum:
Othar'Statisties .ee 'on the - aanie colneial
scale On the various lines'of RHEA - and
Irish Railways; there axe 6000 rocemotiVes;
worth between X2OOO and X3OOO each.
• k
These engines consume half SS much coal
-is the Metropolis, 'and water enough to
supply all Liverpool. There are more than
15,000 passenger carriages, and 180,000
goods truCki. The engines and vehicles
have cost some X35,000;000. On an av
erage, 100 miles of railway require some
six milesnf engines, earriagee and`trueks,
to work it; and if all 'Were collected' to
gether, the engines would reach ;from=
Brighton - to London; the catriagei to be-
yond Wol4rethainpton and - BliswOrth, anct ,
with trucks of all kindS, the 'train woiild
extend'to Abeideen,'6oo miles. Upwards'
of 10,060 . trairie'run every day, an average,
of 7-start every minute, and nearly 4,600,-'
000 • railway trains ran ' last year. The
trains;paatenger and gOods, travelled alto'-
gether more than 100,000,000' miles.
More than 200 new railWay'hills wilt be
brought Un6er the consideration of Par
liament this' session, and' among the pro-
jects of'the day is that of a talibmarine,
Wrought iro'n'thhe: line, twenty
from - Dover to Calais. A large ventilating
shaft'is proposed to befited in the centre
of the Channel, and the laying of the tubes
is to cominenee on kith' sidee 'from this
point. Wrought iron boxes, filled with
stones on each side of the tubes, are to
keep them in their place, and over them a
ridge, of stones or chalk, is to be raised, 40
feet in height. It is estimated that the
cor:it wotild be £12,000,000, and that the
railway wOuld bring Paris and London
within 7 - or 8 brows of each other. The
project however;will not be endorsed.
PEACE OR WAR is being 'discussed, in
connexion with' the Fort Donelson victory.
At first it was thought that the South
would suhroit. Messrs. Neill Brothers, of
Manchester, hate" issued a circular which
leads to despondency among Meichants, and
also affects the Money Market.
THE "TRACTS POE PEIEETS AND PEO
PLE," written by clergymen and'laymen of
the " Negative' and anti-dogmatic school,
are still being circulated and read. Tracts
No. 6 and 7 are. now : before me as I write.
The first is by, a layman, J. M: ,Ludlow;
the second -by that strange . plieriomenon,
the Rev. F. D. Maurice. The two papers!
form one pamphlet, pp. 42, duodecimo size.
The, genergAtopic is, "The Sermon of the
iehop of Oxford on Revelation, and the
Layman's Answer.' en comes the lay
man's " Dialogue on 'Doubt," arid Mr..
Mauriee's " Morality and Divinity." The
" Interlocutors " in the dialogue are "Gray"
(a. safe man,) and " Williams , " (a.
speaking man.) The " safe, man " is
rather timid in his utterances, and of course,
the p/ain speaking-man does the giant's
business in deinolishing 'the Bishop, and
the " safe " Aan, Dr. Wilberforee, is re
proved for saying that " doubt" is to be
thrown from your mind just as you would
instantly cast frOm you " a loaded
shell ;" his highly wrought pictufe of the
" doubter's death" (when he quotea from
the Book of Job, "Yea the light of the
wicked shall be pht Cut," &c.,) is set down
as exactly parallel in the style of plead
ing, as that of those three friends
of Job, agairist whom God's wrath
was kindled. " ; There, is," says Mr. Lud
low, "'the same hardriesi and want of sym
pathy with one of the most, acute ' l would
almost say, one of the most sacred of hu-
Man miseries; the same use of threats
and bullyingto - orush struggles which need
-rather the tenderest help." Now:---eveii
I supposing that the High Church Bishop is
rather intolerant and ex cathedra.in his
tene and granting that there is such a
thing as honest doubt or inquiry, which
1 longs for light, and has not got it, (in . which
sense---rarer than is generally taken for
granted---skepticism is worthy of " tender
est help") surely poor Job was no skeptic,
and the fault of his friends was speaking
truth as applicable. 'to him, as a 'hypocrite
and an enerriy.of God, which; as an upright
and true man; hedid.. not 'desire to have
fastened like label of infamy; upon bin,.
The Bishop cif Oxford hilliself, 'speaks of
those doubts., which, instead of being the
resource of evil, are the trouble of " holy
souls" which, " whether the result of a'
peculiar'constitution of'.body or of mind,
or the fruitof an 'unhappy training, or the
bitter consequences of past'sin, rise unbid
den, and need the tenderest 'care, arid the
wisest,,and most loving discipline." But
the. 4 ' fayman " says that there is an hon
est drilibt which none of these assigned
causes account for, and he instances, ASaph
(Psalm lxxiii,) Jeremiah (cxii, xiv, „Lam.
iii,) and Christ himself, "Why halt thou
forsaken me ?" and therefore he says
wWhen we• can once enter into the reality
of that awful mystery, ''the Son of God,
for Man's sake, doubting God himself, we
shall feel that to try to stifle doubt by death
bed terrors,
is to crueify the Lord afresh."
When this language is clesely examined by
a sound' and well-taught mind, and when
'the real cause of Christ's Desertion on the
cross by the Father ' arid of that Eclipse of
soul is remembered, it can hardly fail to,
shbek, as ifit almost approached the borders
of blasphemy, to compare it with "the
death-bed terrors" of a dying infidel.
The crucifixion is called in connexion with
his whole life, " that inward passion of
doubt," and as justifying the golden lines
of the poet
B. 14. AGNEW
Ana thus the "Layman"goes on to la
ment " the absence of positive faith;among
Our young men," (to which a righteous
doubt is exactly correlative,") and main
tains that the prevailing. evil of the age is
net doubt, but rather " the prevalence and
miiltiplication of lazy beliefs in the easily
credible; or again, in either the credible
or incredible, so long: as neither makes
much demand on men's heart and conduct!'
In fact, " this state of mind is closely
analogous to that which was - exhibited in
the"multiplication of gods at• and after the
Christian era, when, all received beliefs sat
loosely, on:men, and they were always ready
to receive new ones with the old, or, instead
of them, so 'long as the change required
was one of forms or ceremonies only, and
not of the life itself." "ht such a state of
mind," it is added, " a setter up of a new
philosophy, as the setter forth of strange
gods, is sure of a, curious hearing. He
who simply seeks to unveil the name, the
nature, the purpose, and Will of the Un
known God'and Father, is treated as a mere
babbler." -
.
In the foregoing extract you have a
strange union of presumption of spirit and
of inconsequence of argument. First of
all, our. new Rationalizing Schools claim
to be doing, the work of an Iconoclast Paul
amid the temples of Athens. But is it so?
Is the evangelical' spirit of this age that of
Frazar, who proposed to add the image of
Christ to those of the gods already.wor
shipped in the Pantheon ? Do we endorse
every new religion, or even some that call
thethaelves Christian'? No kwe leave that
to the school of Theodore Parker, of Emer
son, and of their Socinian and Rational
izing followers, who all consider "modes
of faith " as detestable.;, endorse "Jeho
vah, 'Ewe, and Lord," as alike the Father
of all; who set up and, worship in a °bin
mon Pantheon, "Mohammet and Jesus
Christ. " Received beliefs" amongst us
imply the death of a real sin offering—the
"resurrection`of the dead" as the proof
of its reality and efficacy, and of its appli
cation. •by the priest on his throne; in a
word, all that Paul preached in his day, as
distinctive truth, dogmatie"undoubtedly in
its "formulas."
And so the Layman" ends his shallow
trac---without for one moment recognizing
the existence of oldective truth at all, and
in that kind of conceited, contemptuous
tone adopted toward the Articles of his
own Church, which in a layman is bad,
but in a clergyman, still retaining his
emoluments and status, and arguing thatit,
is right and . litiffizl - to do se, is intolerable..
"There lived more faith in honest. doubt,
BelieVe me, than in half the creeds."
WHOLE NO. 498.
And so " Gray," the man of straw, the
" safe man," is made to inquire, " And
what do you think all this will lead to ?"
and " Williams " replies : " I think the
issue must be precisely the same in the
nineteenth, and. probablY the next century,
as it was in the first and &Boling centu
ries—the fall of all the new philosophic
idols" (are not Maurice & Co. the only
philosophic party in their eyes ?) " as of
the old religious ones, before one whose
name. is Kin. of Kings and Lord of Lords."
.Alas.! for the cause, the glory, and honor
of our glorious King, if these traducers of
his true and proper work of obedience
unto death "huper humort". for use and in our
stead, are to be his recognized champions
and defenders.
But now let us hear "No. II,"—" Moral
ity and Divinity," by Mr. Maurice. As
many of your readers know, Mr. Maurice,
although removed from his Professorship
in King's College, London, retains a Lon-'
,don living, and this although he denies the
real substitution of Christ, : regards all men
as already redeemed and reconciled, and
looks upon Christ's self-sacrifice ihe
means of saving the world, or in other
words, making men holy and happy for
ever. As for the judicial character of God,
he practically ignores it, and denies the
doctrine of the eternal punishment of the
wicked. Mr. M. begins his "'Morality and
Divinity." by referring to a Layman's
Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, " The
Suppression of Doubt is not Faith." The
author of that pamphlet said that Dr.
Wilberforce, 'being a Bishop, was " bound
to maintain all that a dogmatic Church de
clares, by her =authority, to be Matter of
faith.". But then, "1 am a Layman, and
shall be content to preserve the :religious
truth by which we live!' This " religious
truth" " the Christianity deliVered in
the Sermon on the Mount!' The Church'S
" terminology," her " Creeds and Con
fessions," stand on a very different footing.
This is the style of this new school.
Precept is " religious truth," not dog
matic statement i On this principle, our
Lord himself would be condenmed for de:
Oaring that he came to "give his life a
ransom for many;" and as for Paul, to say
nothing of Calvin, Luther, and the Fathers
and Founders of the Church, of England,
they went away by the very fact of con
tending for dogmas, from " the Christianity
of the Sermon on the Mount." The shal
lowness of this need not be exposed. The
fatal influence of the disseverance: of doc
trine from duty is the peril of the time.
Sucinianism may well be glad, and Deism
itA'ol may take heart. Maurice accordingly
dwells on the •Sermon on the Mount;
ti uutes from it about the two men who
built their houses respectively on the -rock
and the sand ; extracts the passages be
" Judge not," &e • and then adds b :
"These are not words which have paSsed
away. They do not belong to the myths
which a refined criticism eliminates from
the Gospel." The italics are mine, not
Mr. Maurice's ; but they bring out histeachpe
culler views, his ignorance of what Evan
gelicals tea as to duty, and the ideaa
cherished and sedulously propagated against
the teaching of great facts in connexion
With God'S work for and in man.
Mkurice, indeed, goes a, little farther
than the "Layman," in that he discovers
the Fatherhood of God in the Sermon on
the Mount. Nay, he admits that mere
moral teaching : will not operate on men ; ;
that when that style has been adopted,
boors have eared as little for the preacher
as the gentleman ;" and that the success of
both Puritans and Methodists was owing
to the fact that they " both ascended into
the Divine region." And one would think
that he had got the experience of Thomas
Chalmers when after his conversion he
preached Evangelical truth as the basis and
stimulus of Evangelical morality, and when
Ite,saw this produce the fruit which before
had been totally wanting when he only
spoke of the morality of the Sermon on the
Mount.
" That,vvhich changed John and Charier
Wesley from rather formal Oxford Divines
into messengers of life to colliers and
ruffians, was the discovery to their own
minds and hearts of a Spirit wlao showed
them their evil beneath all their respecta
bility and devotion; who showed them a
Deliverer from that evil; who showed them
that he was not less a Deliverer for the
most disreputable and the most undevout."
All this is true about the Wesleyan
leaders, but it is
,not all the truth. They
dealt with conscience ; they spoke of sin
as leading 'to the "wrath to come," and
that wratk. eternal of a judgment day—an
eternity of retribution, and by" the terrors
of the Lord!' They roused men's fears
and so made precious the Hiding Place.
This' Mr. Maurice and his: school do not
preach.; God is paternal; that is the
Revelation; his justice inflexible, that
"will by no means clear the 'guilty," ex
cept by'a real sin offering, they scout "as
old fashioned terminology!' And so the
Puritans and the Methodists " both ascend
ed into a Divine region," to, which, alas .1
the NeW School never soars.
According to Mr. Maurice, Christ's
prayer, ' That they may all be one in us,'
" does comprehend all Churches whatso
ever, the members of all schools and sects
whatsoever, their positive principles what
soever. W hat we want is a ground in the
name of the Eternal God, which shall em
brace F all, and at last subdue at/ to itself.
We, cannot draw lines like those of the
Evangelical Alliance, which_ shall cut off
the, whole Latin and Greek churches."
So that all Paul's denunciations and
anathemas of " any other doctrine than
that we have preached," was quite
unwarranted, for the teachers were pro
fessedly Girlish:an teachers. Arius was as
truly embraced in the fold as Athanasius,
and'ai the Article of the English Church
which denounce' the " bliephernous fables
and: dangerous secrets" they. are simply
"judging," and the " drawing of lines,'
and so of the • corrupt Churches of tie
East. If he said that within these
Churches God has a people—a true Church
—then it Would be true, and "the barriers
would not be broken down, set - up (by
Apostolic exampled by the Reformers, nor
would truth be sacrificed and souls imper
illed by false and fatal charity."
The inference drawn from the whole
matter by Mr. blaurice, - is, as usual, for the
toleration, by the Church of England, of
every shade of opinion. He declares-that
_upon this depends "the fate of. England !"
And he trusts, therefore, that the Anglican
Episoopate, and the Anglican clergy, Will
earnehtly consider what their sPiritual faun=
dation is—whether. it is an 'authoritative
document or an everlasting Name." Ac-:
ebrdingly he admits that there are "appos
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PROPRIETORS AND PORL ses:6i.
ing truths" in the Artieles,," none of which
we can afford to loose ;" he deprecates all
" prosecutions," (of the Essayists,) "as
equally exposing our formularies to eon
tempt by their failure or success." Bish
ops are entreated not to enforce their indi
vidual " notions and opinions," for (what ,
gargon 1) " the Revelation of God is Malt"
(the Bishops') " probation—that God is
asking them whether they can trust it, of
whether they trust rather in their own no
tions or opinions." Nay, if they don't do
thus, and not let things alone, "our Na
tional Church will perish !" And surely
every honest man, or every man not blind
ed by the absurd theory of a Maurice and
his school, which hates nothing but Evan
gelical teaching, and hugs every form of
so-called Christianity as in some way part
and parcel of the 'Christianity of the
Church Catholic—will say, "Let the Na
tional Church perish"—if truth and error,
light and darkness, grand facts and mythi
cal fables, are thus to be confounded, and
" Triith on her eternal throne is to be
treilk,e.d as a fool;!"
= I
‘ RATIONALIZING PREACHERS talk much
il these days of " objective truth" and.
'4 •pbjective truth." The. Baptist Mars
e, (one of whose editors is Mr. Spur-.
peon, and in a review which I think bears
his stamp,) thus ridicules this fashion and
style of teaching:
" Glancing at the table of contents of
the volume before us, we feel no elevation
of our expectations when we read chaps.
i., ii, and iii.—Grace Objectively Consid
ered; chaps. iv. and v.—Grace' Subjectively
Considered. We remark in terjectively that,
viewed objectively, such terms are adject ,
ively to be described as the offspring of a
theology, which is treated most rejectively
by all sound divines and is only received
by those whose minds are comparatively
bewildered, and are therefore trajectively
impelled into an admiration of a jargon
which, speaking conjectively, was invent
ed projectively to propagate injectively
a philosophy which would act disjectively
to the Gospel of 'Christ. Re-subjectively
we e
remark, that we are often dejectively
impressed with the mischief which, subjec
tively, such barbarisms work to the simpli
city of our faith; we counter-projectively
exhort ail men to treat, ' objectively,' ' sub
jectively,' and all such rubbish, in the style
known as 'electively.'"
ARE PIISEYITES PAPISTS ? is a question
on which some light is thrown by recent
utterances of Church organs. The Union
says -" It is perfectly true that we have
professed a_desire for reunion with the an
cient Mother of the English Church; but
it is equally true that we have also advo
cated union with the more ancient body
from which the Roman Church herself is
sprung." The Record " presumes that it
is into the corrupt and idolArons Greek
Church that the Union, seeks the eventual
absorption, both of the Church of England
and of its 'Mother Church' of Rome."
The Union thus apoligizes for the word
" Mass "—" Is it worth while to differ from
the rest of the Western world in the name
whichwe give, in common parlance, to the
Holy Eucharist ? We think not. In the
first place, it is an imposition on mankind
to make them, believe that the phrase is
essentially Roman Catholic. Neither is
there any thing in the word itself which
would compromise its patrons, inasmuch as
it does not imply any doctrine, one way
or the other. It is simply an ancient,
convenient, and accepted phrase, under
wh,ich we recognize .the Great Service in
general, without reference to any part of
it; it includes" (here comes out the secret
reason of the love for. the term) "BOTH
SACRIFICE AND SACRAMENT."
It is only just to say, that there are Pu
seyites who do not go so far as the Union,
but their proclivities are necessarily the
same. The High-Churchmen, at the last
meeting of Convocation, indicated their
fears of Dissent, and their anxiety to keep
out of Dissent the laity—to establish a vir
tually new Clerical Order of sub-deacons or
Readers. Canon Woodgate and the Arch
deacon warned their ,brethren to take heed,
that in creating this new order, they were
not establishing the, nucleus of future Dis
senting bodies. If they Were allowed to
teach and catechize, they would by-and-by
want to preach, and they,would throw off
the imperfect restraints imposed. The
Canon saw the advantage - possessed by the
Romish Church in having numerous orders
in the ministry, which enabled it to hold
its strings in its hands, and to feel the
pulse of the Church to the
,very extremity,
and he hoped that the: time might come
when the English Church might realize a
machinery of a similar kind. But the
time was not . et come. At present they,
were obliged -to supplement Church an
thority by moral authority; but Church
principles were extending and taking root,
and creating an atmosphere in which these'
institutions might safely float.
These are the ipsissima verbs, and the
laity of England now know what are the
hopes and aims of the High-Church clergy.
All that they want by professing sub-dea
cons, each of whom is to be under the
direction of " the priest," (the word " in
cumbent " being rejected,) is, as the
Guardian' honestly confesses, to prevent
religious zeal making for itself "illegiti
mate employment through the ever-ready
channel of Non-Conformity." And even
the Evangelical clergy are getting alarmed
about the • Non-Contortnist Memorial Cele
bration of the Ejected of 1662. Dr. Mil
ler, of Birmingham, has spoken unadvisedly
and bitterly, and a public writer warns him
that the "facilis descensus" of a clergyman
who'has got to the windward of conscience,
leads to an issue of most " unwelcome con
templation." If Dr. M. and his friends
are not beyond the reach of a faithful admo
nition' I would commend to them the words
of M. Trench, one of the ejected ministers
of 1662: " I do not think that the declara
tion of cm:deigned consent and assent"
to all- things contained in the Book
of Common •Prayer can be sincerely made
by those whose judgments disapproved so
many things contained therein as I de.
And I am the More confirmed in this mi.
sion to this esifitiatirig declaration, from
observing several of thy acquaintance who '
have made it, by giving a looser construc
tion to several things, to become less strict
and conscientious in other things than they
were before." These are indeed weighty
words. Conscience may not be - tampered
With; t and yet what outrages' it receives'
from - Evangelicals subscribing to, the form
ulas and services which their legitimate
successors put away from them, as Dr.
* Begs proposes that the. Veit, Free-Chtirth
General Assembly stiall devote a ipciitiorr
of;time: to a Bicentetaary Comtaniorstivtv,
service.