should conceive himself at liberty,-not even the highest in the church, who, in this case has no more right than the lowest, -to impose upon these Articles any private sense or comment of his own, to the exclusion of every other that may not hap pen to agree with his in every particular. It is manifest, that he who does so pro poses a new test, different from that which has been sanctioned by the church to which we belong; and, so far, usurps an authority to which he has no title, and himself violates the standard by which he presumes injuriously to judge the orthodoxy of others. “To prove, that this is a just view of the case, I shall read to you part of the Declaration, which, by Royal Mandate, is prefixed to the Articles; and which open ly manifests the true spirit in which they were composed, and the duty of those who profess to submit to their direction. For the purpose of healing the curious and unhappy differences, which have for so many hundred years, in different times and places, exercised the church of Christ,' the Royal Declaration observes, 'We will, that all further curious search be laid aside, and these disputes shut up in God's promises, as they be generally set forth to us in the holy Scriptures, and the general meaning of the Articles of the Church of England, according to them. And that no man, hereafter, shall print or preach, to draw the Article aside in any way, but shall submit to it in the plain and full meaning thereof; and shall not put his own sense or comment to be the meaning of the Article, but shall take it in the literal and grammatical sense.' "Thus, happily, through the wisdom of the Church, we have one standard, not many. We are not left to the authorita tive dictum of every confident person, who shall assume more than oracular authority, and pronounce that his view, and his view only, of the doctrines of the Church, as set forth in the Articles, is the true one; but, each individual is left to the literal and grammatical sense of the Articles, and to his own conscience, to judge what they declare to be the doctrines of Scripture: and, the same Articles refer him to that Scripture, as the only authority by which they submit themselves to be tried. Thus we see, that, if the unity of the church be broken by the jarrings of those who exclude from the pale of her received doctrines all that differ from their peculiar views of orthodoxy, the Articles are not the cause of this dissension. They pronounce, that a certain latitude exists, within which those who differ may conscientiously subscribe to a common creed: and those, on the other hand, who wilk admit no such latitude, contradict the Ar ticles which they profess to support; and, if they happen to possess authority in the Church, they are fearfully responsible, as guilty of an act of schism, in driving from the Church those who may be purer members of it than themselves; in raising up those curious questions and controver sies, which war with Christian concord; in rending asunder that one great family which should live together in brotherlyunion; and in setting up a variety of creeds, in place of the one admirable, compre hensive, and scriptural digest, under which the members of our church have the hap piness to enjoy a Christian freedom. "If any proof were wanting, that our Articles are, as they profess to be, of a comprehensive character, it would be found in this, that, of the contending parties into which our church is unhappily divided, each claims them as its own. By those who hold the creed of Arminius, they are pronounced to be Arminian: and, by those who hold the creed of Calvin, they are pronounced to be Calvinistic. The natural inference of the impartial reasoner would be, that they are neither; whilst they contain within them what may be traced to some of the leading principles of both. And this is the truth. They are not enslaved to the dogmas of any party in religion. They are not Arminian. They are not Calvinistic. They are Scriptural.. They are Christian. As the different parties profess to derive their leading tenets from Scripture, so do they profess to find them in the Articles. But these are answerable for the extravagances of no sect; and are as far removed from the unjustifiable assumption, that man is sufficient for his own salvation, as they are from the monstrous metaphysics that would render him in all respects a necessary agent, and altogether passive and inoperative in that great work. "At the same time, the true Christian teacher should not be deterred from setting forth the great fundamental doctrinės which the Articles contain, by the imputation of particular names, which ignorance may attach to those doctrines. Nothing, in truth, has contributed to give, to some of the sects and parties in religion, so much credit and popularity, as the erroneously ascribing to them, as characteristics of their peculiar creed, tenets which belong to our common Christianity. Thus, for example, nothing is more com mon, at the present day, than to hear a person pronounced to be a Calvinist, be cause he holds the doctrine of original sin, or of justification by faith; whereas, he' might with equal justice be so denominated for holding the doctrines of the Trinity or the Atonement. But, let the honest and faithful servant of his Lord not fear to insist on all the great doctrines of the Gospel, as they are laid before him in the Articles. The Fall of man, the Atonement by Jesus Christ, the Personality and Divinity of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, the doctrine of Original and Actual Sin, the insufficiency of man to merit heaven by his own works, justification by faith, the need and nature of the Divine influences, the importance of the Christian sacraments, the social, moral, and spiritual duties, which become the Christian, and which are to be grounded upon evangelical principles, on love to God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ: these are the vital truths, which the Articles fully justify him in preaching; and these are the truths which, if preached zealously and honestly by the clergy of the Established Church, will not fail to uphold the credit of that church, whilst they promote the true cause of Christian holiness in these lands. "At the same time, it is particularly necessary to guard the young student in divinity against extremes on these very points. The ardour of youth requires to be restrained, not stimulated: it seizes upon strong points, and is disposed to take rapid views. The young preacher, therefore, should be particularly careful and suspicious of himself. He is in great danger of identifying himself with partisans, who are ever watchful to enrol him amongst their ranks and therefore, until he has time and opportunity to take a comprehensive and scriptural view of the Gospel, and fully to acquaint himself with the opinions and arguments of experienced and eminent divines, he will be much safer in not pushing his bark adventurously from the shore. His preaching should be moderate on these great leading points, and dealing more in their results of holiness and good living, than in the schemes and systems to which they may seem to lead." pp. 30-36. The length of this highly important extract will preclude our devoting much space to his Grace's Charge to his clergy of the archbishoprick of Dublin. Some remarks in this Charge naturally ex away, cited a warm controversy, which having now, we believe, died we shall cautiously abstain from renewing; especially as we have not time or space at present to enter, at the length and with the attention which the topic would demand, upon the very peculiar and delicate circumstances under which the Established Church of Ireland is placed. We may possibly take of stating our humble views upon an opportunity, at some future time, the subject; but at present we confine ourselves to two or three extracts from his Grace's Charge, unconnected with points of contro versy. The Archbishop thus affectionately impresses upon his clergy the duties which they bound themselves to perform at their ordination:— "What is the description which our Ordination Service presents, of the character, duties, and obligations, of these who are admitted to the Christian ministry in our church? Are they not there expressly represented as the messengers, watchmen, and stewards of the Lord;" who are to teach, and to premonish, to feed and to provide for the Lord's family?' Are they not warned to keep in constant ⚫ remembrance how great a treasure is committed to their charge;' no less than the sheep of Christ which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood; and that the church and congregation, whom they must serve, is his spouse and his body;' and that, if it shall happen the same church or any member thereof, to take any hurt or hindrance by reason of their negligence," they should think with dread upon the greatness of the fault, and the horrible punishment that will ensue:' that they should therefore, considering with themselves the end of their ministry towards the children of God, towards the spouse and body of Christ,' beware that they never cease their labour, their care and diligence, until they have done all that lieth in them, according to their bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to their charge, into that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no place left among them, either for error in religion, or for viciousness in life?' ་ "Well then, indeed, may they be sc lemnly called on (as they are immediately after) to see, with what great care and study they ought to apply themselves; as well that they may shew themselves dutiful and thankful to the Lord, who hath placed them in so high a dignity, as also to be careful that they neither themselves offend, nor be occasion that others offend:' and that, for this purpose, they should, as much as in them lies, forsake and set aside all worldly cares and studies,' and endeavour by God's grace to give themselves wholly to the office, whereunto it hath pleased God to call them, so as, to the utmost of their power, to apply themselves wholly to this one thing, and draw all their cares and studies this way; and that they will continually pray to God the Father, by the mediation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost, that, by daily reading and weighing of the Scriptures, they may wax riper and stronger in their ministry; and that they may so endeavour themselves from time to time, to sanctify the lives of them and theirs, and to fashion them after the rule and doctrine of Christ, that they may be wholesome and godly examples and patterns for the people to follow."" pp. 7—9. His Grace earnestly points out the necessity of increased zeal and unanimity in the clergy, from the consideration not only of personal duty, but of the peculiar circumstances of the times. Thus he remarks: "There is no slumbering on our post. `We may rest assured, that if we join lukewarmness from within, to the unceasing hostility, which assails us from without, and assails us in every form and degree from the false and hypocritical pretence of a desire for the improvement of our order, to the open violence which avows the purpose of its extinction, the triumph of those who labour for the downfal of our church will soon be completed. "It will not do, to boast of our orthodoxy, and shew no fruit of right opinions in our practice; to content ourselves with exclaiming against what is called new light, without endeavouring to extend to our flocks the benefit of the old; to be fearful of an excess of zeal, without any alarm as to the consequence of indifference; and to reserve for the appearance of sanctity and separation from the world amongst our brethren, the indignation and censure, which should be bestowed upon levity of demeanor and habitual carelessness about spiritual concerns.. "The time is come, when, if not from higher considerations, we must, from prudence at least, bring these things to an end. The time is come, when we must shew ourselves, in truth and in spirit, what we profess ourselves to be, the soldiers and servants of Christ; when we must manifest in our lives the superior "excellence of that pure and reformed religion which we have undertaken to teach." pp. 17, 18. His Grace further strongly enforces the duty of " strict residence" in the clergy, and dwells particularly, and with great feeling and force, upon their office as a pastoral rela tion. "The true relation of the clergy to the people (it cannot be too often repeated) is a pastoral relation. It is not by the parish minister's securing the ostensible discharge of the Sunday's duty, that he properly exercises his functions; nor even by his providing for a punctual attention to those occasional duties which he is invited to discharge. No: the clergyman should be the true parish priest; in continual contact with his flock; one, whose voice they know; not only in constant residence amongst them, but in continual intercourse with them; their adviser; their friend; the moderator of their disputes; the composer of their differences; the careful instructor of their children; not content merely to afford spiritual aid where it may be demanded, but vigilant to discover where it may be applied, and prompt to bestow it where it will be received: stimulating all, and particularly the young, to come to that fountain of living waters, which it is his office to dispense; and proving to his people by every possible exertion, that the first object he has at heart is their everlasting welfare. All this, it is manifest, he can effect, only by living continually amongst his flock, and by the continued personal discharge of the several offices of the priesthood." pp. 30, 31. There are some points in this Charge, and perhaps in the former, on which minor differences of opinion may exist among good men, and even among sound churchmen. On these we have avoided touching, being anxious chiefly to bring before our readers on the eastern side of the channel a portion of the valu able remarks of the learned Archbishop, without entering at present into the litigations either of British or Irish controversy. We had occasion in former years (see Christian Observer for 1803 and 1810) to speak with high applause of his Grace's now well-known and justly popular discourses on Sacrifice and Atonement; and we have hailed with great pleasure the accession of so zealous, learned, and orthodox a prelate to the episcopal ranks of the sister kingdom; a remark which,—as his Grace has been pleased, in the work just mentioned, to designate the Christian Observer, as "a periodical publication distinguished for the uprightness," as well as for "the lent with which it is conducted," we trust, will not be construed into a mere customary compliment, but be viewed as an unfeigned, however humble, tribute, of respect to those eminent qualifications which have long placed his Grace high among the most learned and successful defenders of "the faith once delivered to the saints," against some of the most dangerous errors which have infested the Christian church. We only add our humble prayer to the Giver of every good gift, that the Most Reverend author may be long spared to regulate the affairs of his important province with that piety, wisdom, conciliation, and firmness, which its circumstances so urgently require; and that his clergy, enlightened and guided by the sentiments which we have quoted from these Charges, may be enabled diligently and successfully to promote the Gospel of their Saviour, with all its holy and healing effects, in their respective spheres of ministration. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE, &c. &c. GREAT BRITAIN. PREPARING for publication :-The Founders and Benefactors of Oxford and Cambridge; by Alexander Chalmers ;-The Library Companion; by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin;-Original Letters, from Autographs in the British Museum; by H. Ellis ;-A Translation of Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe; by Mrs. Roscoe. In the press :-Boutenoch's History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature, translated from the German; by Thomasina Ross;-A Tour through the Morea; by Sir W. Gell;-Memoirs of Marie Antoinette; by Madame Campin. The St. David's Church Union Society have offered a Premium of Fifty Pounds for the best Essay on the following proposition::-"That there is more Credulity in the Disbelief of Christianity, than in the Belief of it." Also, a Premium of Fifty Pounds for the best Translation of the Canwll y Cymry into English Verse.The compositions are to be sent on or before the 1st day of October, 1823, directed to the Rev. D. Lewis, Secretary to the Society, to be left at the Vicarage, Carmarthen. They must be sent in a legible hand, accompanied with a CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 254. appear still more favourable; and among the causes of the increase, in addition to greatly augmented improvements in all the points mentioned by Sir Gilbert, the discovery of vaccination, though it may have proved fallible in individual cases, would claim a large share*. Such public bless Having alluded to the discovery of vaccination, we cannot forbear pausing for a moment to inform our readers, that the amiable and excellent author of this discovery is now no more. Before his most important discovery was announced, the small-pox was a far greater scourge to the human race, than the plague itself; and, even where it did not deprive the sufferer of life, almost every second or third face in every public assembly, exhibited the remains of its ravages; at least, till the disease was moderated by the practice of incculation. The small-pox had existed in the East, especially in China and Hindostan, probably for several thousand years. It visited the more Western nations towards the middle of the sixth century: it broke out near Mecca, immediately before the birth of Mohammed. It was afterwards gradually diffused over the whole of the Old World, and was finally transported to the New, shortly after the death of Columbus. In the British islands alone, it has been computed that forty thousand individuals perished annually by this disease! It killed one in fourteen of all that were born, and one in six of all that were attacked by it in the natural way. The introduction of inoculation for small-pox was productive of great benefit to those who submitted to the operation; but though it augmented individual security, it added to the general mortality, by multiplying the sources of contagion. This disease has now been Banished from some countries, and, with due care, might probably be eradicated from all; and notwithstanding prejudices, carelessness, and ignorance, millions, doubtless, now live, who, but for vaccination, would have been in their graves. We are informed that the meekness and simplicity of the demeanour of the excellent individual to whom we are indebted for this discovery, forined a striking contrast to the self-esteem which might have arisen from its splendid consequences. He was thankful and grateful to God; but to pride and vain-glory he seemed to be an utter stranger. Ashort time before his death, the nature of his services to his fellowcreatures having been the subject of conversation: "I do not wonder," he ob ings should excite gratitude to God, and induce every person of intelligence to endeavour, to the utmost of his power, to introduce the arts of social improvement among the poor and ignorant in his vicinity. We cannot, however, resist adding, as Christian Observers, that the average prolongation of life is no just plea for procrastinating the great work for which we were sent into the world. To every individual, the term of his earthly existence is as absolutely uncertain, and his dissolution ultimately as inevitable, in the most salubrious climate, and under the most improved arts of life, as amidst the swamps of Batavia, the jungles of India, the earthquakes of Smyrna, or the pestilence of Constantinople. "Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." The Bishop of St. David's remarks, in his postscript to the second edition of his Vindication of 1 John v. 7. (which a friend has adverted to in another part of this Number), that in our English language, there is a sufficient mixture of the British or Welsh in common use, changed indeed in the spelling, to prove that, though the military part of the British Nation retired into the West, the unarmed part, including served, "that men are not grateful to me; but I am surprised that they do not feel gratitude to God, for making me a medium of good." This was the habitual frame of his mind. He invariably exhibited an exemplary uprightness of conduct, singleness of purpose, and disinterested earnestness to promote the welfare of his species. These qualities particularly arrested the attention of the many distinguished foreigners who came to visit him; and were not less the cause of satisfaction and delight to his friends. The last public act of his life harmonized with his previous efforts in behalf of his fellow-creatures. He attended a meeting convened on the 19th of December last, at Berkeley, for forming a Bible Society, and moved the first resolution. It was, doubtless, a sight singularly gratifying, to behold a venerable individual, whose life had been spent in successfully devising means to extinguish a pestilential bodily disease, thus putting his hand to a work which has been designed for arresting the moral pestilence that desolates so large a portion of the earth, and for the healing of the nations. We are happy to learn that a memoir of his life is likely to be undertaken by a gentleman competent to the task. |