fixed and firm resolution, and on this basis she has rested the British reformation, that, in the first place, respect be had to the Scriptures, and then, in the second place, to the bishops, martyrs, and ecclesiastical writers of the first ages. Thus she becomes one in spirit, in doctrine, and practice, with that Church, which was watered by the blood of the apostles, and which must have possessed a distinguished claim to the promise of its Lord."

Another point of view in which the resemblance can be traced, is in that form of Church government which she has derived from the earliest and purest times. In her prudent and wise, though uncompromising, zeal for reformation, she happily steered clear from the innovations in this respect, which the overstrained anxiety to escape from the corruptions of the Church of Rome introduced into the continental reformed Churches; and, what was still more to be lamented, into a communion closely allied to her by proximity of situation and by union of interests. But we rest on the comfortable and assured persuasion, that in this instance she has not swerved from the pure and apostolical Church of Christ; she has rather kept her union with it by preserving unimpaired that form of episcopal government, which the eye of sound and sober criticism can discern to have been the apostolical practice as discoverable in the sacred writings. belief of the primitive Church," says the learned Bishop Taylor, " is, that bishops are the ordinary successors of the apostles, and presbyters of the seventy-two; and therefore did believe that episcopacy is as truly of divine institution as the apostolate; for the ordinary office both of one and the other is the same thing. For this," he adds, "there is abundant testimony.' Herein I claim a strict resemblance between the Church of England and the primitive Church of Christ. A Church thus founded on apostolical doctrines and apostolical usages may humbly hope to be preserved from the gates of hell.

"The

Nor is this all. One glorious mark of distinction which accompanied the apostolical Church of Christ in all its particular branches, was its zeal in spreading through the world the saving truths of the Gospel. The primitive Church, like the great Founder of it among the Gentiles, was debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. Animated by this spirit, the primitive missionary was prepared to quit home and kindred, to renounce the nearest and tenderest connexions, with a view of making known to heathen lands the unsearchable riches of Christ. The effect of

• Bishop Heber's edition, vol. vii. p. 37.

such unparalleled exertions became manifest before the close of the second century, when an ancient father, in his "Apology to the Roman governors," could say, "We are but of yesterday, and yet we have filled your cities, islands, towns, the camp, the senate, and the forum."* This spirit has also animated our Church. Its two great societies, founded for more than a century on this principle, bear witness to the fact; but more especially the last thirty years have witnessed a more than ordinary zeal for effecting this glorious purpose. The Church of England has spared neither gold nor silver, neither talent nor exertion, to bear the glad tidings of Gospel-truth throughout the world. We, who are living in these lands, are witnesses to the beneficial effects produced by it among us at the present day; and in the East the valuable lives, which have been successively sacrificed for the attainment of this object, bear a strong, though melancholy, testimony to that zeal, which counts not its life dear unto itself, so that it might finish the ministry which has been received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.

If the primitive Church can boast of its long train of Christian moralists, expositors, and apologists, the Church of England loses nothing in the comparison. If the treasures of ecclesiastical antiquity are replete with sound learning, patient research, and accurate criticism, applied to the canon of holy Scripture, our Church can produce an honourable catalogue of names, venerable both for theological learning and for primitive piety; the names of men, who, from the highest to the lowest order in our Church, have applied talent, knowledge, and eloquence, to the elucidation of the Scriptures and the inculcation of scriptural truths.

The limits of my discourse will permit me only to allude to the liturgy of our Church : in its language, scriptural; in its doctrine, pure and primitive; in its prayers, exhibiting the spirit, and very often using the words, of the most ancient liturgies.

I proceed to the last point of resemblance which I have time to mention, and that will bear on a distinguishing and preeminent excellency common alike to the early ages of the Church in general, and to the Church of England in particular. The Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of St. Paul, contain abundant proofs of the attention paid by the several Churches to the temporal wants and necessities of their poorer brethren. St. Paul thus speaks of three of the apostles: "When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me,

• Tertullian.

they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor, the same which I also was forward to do." And what enemy to the Church of England can dare to deny that, in every instance which calls for aid and relief, the Church of England is pre-eminent in her readiness to remember the poor? Whether the relief of poverty and of destitution is to be promoted; whether the education of the poor is to be advanced, and sickness and sorrow to be mitigated, the Church of England is always foremost in every plan of benevolence. To the exertions of her clergy, the great national system of education now pursued universally and successfully is mainly to be attributed; to the labours of her clergy, the establishment of schools throughout the land is chiefly owing. To this primary object of real benevolence; to this advancement, not of the temporal only, but of the eternal interests of their poorer brethren, they have given not merely the pecuniary assistance, sometimes bountifully, according to their means, but their time, their talents, their personal superintendence, their active and unwearied influence; thus shewing to their country, and before the Churches, this proof of Christian love.

After this enumeration of points of resemblance between the Church of England and the primitive Church of Christ, may we not humbly and piously indulge the hope, that the promise of her Lord will mercifully be extended to her; and that, against this particular Church, any more than against the universal Church, the gates of hell shall not prevail. This cheering and consoling promise must bear us up under all the threatening appearances which the present aspect of public affairs has assumed to the eye of every thinking Churchman. Schemes of spoliation are afloat; theoretical plans of reform are at the present day being devised; but, notwithstanding any faults of minor importance which the prying eye of modern innovation may discover in our ecclesiastical establishments, I firmly believe that the Church of England will continue to hold the same station which she has ever holden, 66 as the glory of the Reformation, and the purest branch of the Church of Christ."* But let all her sons be equipped for the conflict, however it may end, with that armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, which preserved the great apostle of the Gentiles in undeviating consistency of character, "through honour and dishonour, through evil report and good report; as poor, yet making many rich; as deceivers,

Christian Observer.

and yet true: being reviled, we bless; being defamed, we entreat."

In this particular Church, thus founded on prophets and apostles-Christ Jesus himself being the head corner-stone-in the Church of England, thus bearing in so many points the closest resemblance with the primitive Church of Christ,-you, my reverend brethren, are on this day to be admitted to the second; while others among you will take their place in the first order among the beautiful gradations of her sacred ministry. Permit me, as your elder brother, to beseech you all, in the spirit of meekness, and with an humble sense of my own imperfections, to weigh well the solemn vows which you are now about to take upon yourselves, in the presence of the congregation and at the altar of your God, and which you will seal with the precious emblems of your Saviour's body and blood. Crucify him not afresh by falseness to these holy vows. Study to shew yourselves workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. the work of evangelists, make full proof of your ministry" (2 Tim. iv. 5). Seeking, by all the means which the labours of the wise and good afford you, to be mighty in the Scriptures, preach the truth as it is in Jesus. "Determine to know nothing, in your respective congregations, but Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. ii. 2). Endeavour, in dependence on his grace, to enforce Christian morality from Christian principles. The inquiring spirit of the age, and the excitement every where produced by it, demand a learned clergy-a body of men prepared to defend either the evidences or the doctrines of their faith with fervour, simplicity, knowledge, and discretion. In these times, and in these lands, you will be expected to do more; you must be animated by a spirit similar to that which actuated the primitive missionary; and with prudence, yet with zeal, you are to bear the name of Christ to thousands, who know not-at any rate, feel notthe value of a Saviour. Slacken not your exertions for this high and holy purpose; but in the use of all those means which the mercies of God, through Christ, shall put into your hands, consider yourselves debtors both to the wise and to the unwise, both to the free and to the bond. "Search the Scriptures" (John, v. 39); revere antiquity, especially the antiquity of the earliest ages,-remembering, however, that "holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation;"* be not carried about with every wind of doctrine. For this purpose, let the labours of the wise, and the learned, and the good, of past times, and more particularly the golden

6th Article.

days of our Church, the period of the Reformation, and that immediately subsequent to it, be familiar to your minds; let not novel opinions or novel phrases-novel at least in their modern acceptation - tempt you to swerve from the simplicity of the Gospel; let the Articles of our Church form a principal part of your studies; and in this way the essential doctrines of the Gospel will hold a prominent place in your sermons. An inattention to this point sinks the instruction of the pulpit into merely moral essays, and is one cause why the Church of England must and will suffer in public estimation. Above all, let the light of a good example so shine before men, that they, seeing your holy and unblameable lives, may glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Let me, in conclusion, entreat you, my brethren of the laity, in times so full of interesting events as the present, when the Church of England is assailed by countless enemies, and her very existence as a Church is at stake; when "without are fightings, and within are fears,"-let me entreat you to stand fast in one spirit, striving together for the faith of the Gospel. Above all, let me call on you, with all the earnestness and affection of a preacher of the Gospel of peace and love, to pray always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit; with prayer for the Church to which you belong, that the continual pity of its divine Founder may cleanse and defend it; that it may evermore be preserved by his help and goodness; and that the course of this world may be so peace ably ordered by his governance, that it may joyfully serve him in all godly quietness, with prayer and supplication in the Spirit for us; that "utterance may be given unto us, that we may open our mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, that herein we may speak boldly as we ought to speak;" and with prayer and supplication in the Spirit for yourselves, that "the word of God may have free course among you, and be glorified, till you all come, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceed

ing abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end."

THE GIFTS OF GOD IN NATURE AND GRACE.

BY MISS M. A. S. BAREER.

No. VI.-The Light of Truth. THERE are two sorts of truth: one, the immutable

perfection of virtue and knowledge; the other, the conscience, or sense of right iu man. The truth, as it exists in its perfect form, neither is nor can be susceptible of change; but in the other sense, all ideas of right and wrong, of good and evil, fluctuate not only under every latitude, but in the heart of almost every individual: like the natural and sensible horizon, of the first there is but one, fixed and unchangeable; the other, varying with every different position of man upon earth.

nicated to us by revelation; for how can the finite take

The knowledge of "the truth" can only be commu

the measure of the infinite? how can perfection proceed from imperfection? or from man, with his folly, ignorance, and wickedness, can there possibly emanate any perfect law of virtue? Unless, therefore, we suppose any person to possess perfect goodness or perfect knowledge, he can neither, unassisted by revelation, know the truth himself, or teach it to others.

Living, however, in the light of revelation, we are to be guided, not by our own weak and corrupted glorious truth which has been revealed to us. To judgment, but by the knowledge of the eternal and live according to our own conscience, without taking any care to consider whether our conscience is in the right or not, is much like the great naval commander, who, not wishing to observe the signal made to him, put the glass to his blind eye, and declared he could not see it. But, it may be observed, both the eyes of the understanding are blind, until they are enlightened by God. This is true; but notwithstanding, we are taught to consider ourselves as accountable beings; and whatever difficulty this may present as a religious creed, we never find it embarrassing the actions of men where their own temporal and immediate interests are concerned; they are ready enough to exert themselves, they are totally and entirely dependent upon God for even in cases where they are willing to acknowledge the result. When we consider how much the course of our lives depends upon the degree of knowledge we possess, we cannot but feel ourselves strongly bound to obey the apostolic command, and endeavour to "add to our faith knowledge."

If we are Christians, we receive the revelation made to us by Christ as being indeed the truth; and in proportion as our hearts are illuminated by it, we may judge of our approach to the light.

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

While we think that to be good which he has declared evil, we are in ignorance; while we practise that as harmless which he has said to be sinful, we are in error; when we are leaning upon a hope of acceptance with God which he has denounced as vain, we are in darkness. There is no other way of peace with God than the atonement of Christ, no other way to holiness than communion with him; by which we may become

adorned with true wisdom and virtue, as the flowers derive their rich and beautiful colours from the light of the sun.

Doubtless there is much sin which is daily committed against our better judgment; but there is also a vast amount which arises from ignorance, or rather from self-deception; and if the understanding, by which the conduct is guided, be itself deceived, how widely must the life err from the truth! "If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" We do not know ourselves, we do not try ourselves, and we have too good an opinion of ourselves. Among the blinding shadows of sins and passions which pre

vent the entrance of the light of truth into the human heart, there is none perhaps more difficult to be penetrated than the pride of self-conceit: "Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him" (Prov. xxvi. 12). Some African missionaries, who were making a journey through the negro villages scattered among the swamps and forests of Africa, adjacent to the settlement of Sierra Leone, were once entirely silenced in a village where they had been preaching, by the following circumstance. After the English missionary (Mr. Cates) had been occupied some time in endeavouring to instruct the people in the first great principles of Christianity, there arrived at the village two other negroes, a headman and his son. This son had been in America, and in several parts of Europe; and, though he had never learnt a letter, he considered himself a wise man. To these people Mr. Cates was requested to read his bock. No sooner, however, was the small Bible produced, than, before he could begin, the young man observed, that he knew it was not God's book, as Mr. Cates represented, for he had seen God's book in the different churches where he had been, and it was much larger than Mr. Cates's! Argument-reasoning, was, of course, vain. This sagacious discovery had its full weight upon the minds of the ignorant natives; and Mr. Cates was scarcely permitted to leave the village in safety.

Every person who leans solely upon his own understanding, is as likely to pronounce a moral verdict upon his own actions as egregiously foolish and remote from the truth as the travelled negro, who argued only upon his own limited knowledge. We are so prone to believe ourselves in the right, that so long as we have the approval of our own conscience, we do not trouble ourselves to consider how far its verdict is to be depended upon; and are apt to judge ourselves rather by our own standard, than by the word of God. No stronger human lesson can be afforded us upon this subject, than the crrors of judgment into which many wise and pious men have occasionally fallen, which should teach us always to distrust ourselves; and, remembering how likely we are to err and be deceived, to seek more earnestly for knowledge. Like faith, it is the gift of God, shining into our hearts, "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ."

Truth, in its other form, is usually characterised by the name of sincerity; it is the conformity of the outward conduct with the inward feelings, that open honesty of character which needs no veil, and wears none. It needs no veil,-for the affectation of virtues which are not possessed are forged title deeds to the esteem of men, used only by those who have no real claim; and it wears none,-for where there is nothing to be concealed, no veil can be needed.

"The devil," it is said by our Saviour, "is the father of lies;" and nothing can be more opposed to the spirit of Christianity than falsehood or deceit in any shape; nothing was more strongly reprehended by our Redeemer. It was this deception of character which drew down upon the Pharisees the severe rebuke which named them "whited sepulchres," whose fair outside contrasts so fearfully with the corruption below, could we see into its depths. But without being guilty of predeterminate hypocrisy, the spirit of it, from the natural deceitfulness of the human heart, is but too apt to insinuate itself into our lives. How much of our conduct is regulated, not according to what we know to be the will of God, not even according to what we feel to be right, but to be "seen of men," to follow the practice, to secure the good opinion of cur fellow-creatures. Is a person, then, not to desire the esteem of others? Yes; but it is not a proper motive for action; every good deed, done with reference to such a motive, partakes more or less of the nature of hypocrisy. A "single eye" to the glory

of God, and to do that which is good in his sight, ought to guide our conduct: when the praise of men, the love of applause, and the fear of censure, are mingled with it, we begin, like a person with an imperfect sight, to see all things double, and are unable, in judging of our duty, to distinguish the substance from the shadow,the reality from the spectral illusion. Take a work of art for an illustration of this subject: would a poet, would a painter, when meditating a great composition, be continually thinking what would please the beholders? No, certainly not; if he did, he would never succeed on the contrary, he would have a regard only to what he considered as the beautiful and the true, and trust to his imitation of it to secure applause. If this be the case in a matter where the favour of men is the end desired, how much more so with regard to the moral conduct, in which man is not, cannot be, save in a very, very slight and subordinate degree, either the rewarder or the judge?

:

It

If we descend from the general character into the minute details of daily life, it is scarcely possible, perhaps, to find a vice the temptations to which more largely abound. Not to speak of wilful lying, which all know to be a sin, and most condemn as base and dishonourable, there are a thousand more general and more tolerable forms in which falsehood is dressed, until it is so disguised, that it sits in its well-chosen masquerade, unknown and undetected, in the very heart which cherishes it. First, there is the deceitful look; the countenance, upon which at home the clouds of illhumour and discontent perpetually rest, clears up abroad, like night before morning; then there is the deceitful smile, which assures the undesired visitor of a hearty welcome; then the untrue words, the flattering commendation of things really despised, the false assurances of esteem never felt, the kind expressions which mean absolutely nothing: it is all worthless, base gold, mock pearls, false diamonds; nothing can be valuable except in proportion as it is true. may be said, we are not to make ourselves disagreeable to those we are connected with in society, and that it is impossible to please without having recourse to such arts as these: even if it were so, it would be better not to please at all, than to please at the expense of truth; and such unreal courtesy can do no good to the individual receiving it. But the assertion is not true; for the person who really has a kind feeling for others, who can sympathise, even if but a little, in sorrows not his own, and rejoice in prosperity in which he has no share, whose nature is not engrossed by selfishness, and who is willing to yield the gratification of his own small desires to those of others,-and these qualities suppose no heroic virtue, no depths of disinterestedness,-such a person may please without the use of dissimulation; courtesies, from such an one, are current coin, not the base counterfeit. Besides, it is not argued that we should not be courteous to all, but that we should be sincere in that courtesy, and not endeavour to make the eyes and tongue do duty for the heart: such kindness is like the apples of Sodom, which were beautiful to look at, but, when tasted, dust and ashes.

There is no human law against falsehood, although it is as contrary to moral right as stealing, or any other civil crime; for human laws are enacted, not for the enforcement of moral right, but for the protection of one man against another; yet it may be doubted whether falsehood is not as great an injury to society as theft. From it arises every sort of injustice; there are but few sins which are not practised under the hood of deception-few contrary to moral light, and the interest and happiness of our fellow-creatures, which walk about in the open daylight of truth and honesty. Evil-speaking, for instance, that fruitful source of disquiet in the intercourse of society, generally has its rise in untruth.

If deception is injurious to others, it is still more