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NEW SERIES. NO. 215
 ^Q^ THE DIFFUSION OF TRUTH AND THE SUPPORT OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE^UNITED~STATES
SOUTHERN RELIGIOUS TELEGRAPH.
A. CONVERSE, EDITOR .—134 C
HESTNUT Street.
CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.
PHILADELPHIA^ FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1844.
VOL. XXIII. NO. 9.
Foi the Chrlstinn Oliserver, WHY IS THK PRKACHINO OF THE GOS- PKI. L.iBS8 EFFICIENT NOW THAN IN THB DAYS OF THE APOSTLES 1-NO. 4.
Another reason why the preaching of the gospel is less efTectual now than in the days of the Apostles, is found in the low state of piety in the Church at the pre¬ sent time.
No one, I presume, will pretend to say that any branch of the Christian Church is as devoted to the cause of God now as in the days of Paul. That there has been a most lamentable falling away from lhat high degree of devotional feeling, lhat spirit of entire self-consecration to the cause of Jesus Christ, that untir¬ ing zeal for the salvation of sinners, ihat unbounded benevolence, and that sin¬ cere and ardent love for one another, which the primitive Christians manifest¬ ed, must be granted by all. It cannot be said of the Church, as a body, "See how these brethren love one another." That there is this falling away which we speak of, is manifest,
1st. From the fact that the Church how will not endure sound doctrine; i. e., will not bear with it, or receive it.
This slate of things, Paul predicted would exist "in the last days." We do not say that there are no churches that will bear to hear the truth upon the sub¬ jects that should come before them, but we apprehend they are very few. What would be the effect, if every minister in the land should for the space of one year, lift up his voice like a trumpet, and proclaitn the truth of God, without fear or favor, against sin in all its shades, and against sinners of all grades] What if they should proclaim the truth of God against Sabbath breakers in the church or out of it: against the covetous, who in the sight of God are idolaters; against those who oppress their brethren in any way; against those who through their covet¬ ousness and speculations, defraud the widow and the fatherless ; against drunk¬ ards and drunkard-makers; against the proud and haughty in Zion; against the unjust and the extortioners ; and in short, against all who depart from the law of the Lord! The effect would be glorious in the end, bul it would produce results, in some degree, similar to those which transpired on the day of Petecost, or among the worshippers of Diana.under the power of truth. Many, no doubt, would rage, while others would be con- \erted to God. Not a few ministers would be deprived of a temporal support, and might find imprisonment, bonds, stripes, or even death, to be the reward of their fidelity to God and the souls of men.— But the word of the Lord would have free course, and God would be glorified. (2.) The low stale of piety in the Church is manifest, from the covetousness that abounds in her midst.
The inordinate desire to acquire wealth and lo spend   that wealth upon   them¬ selves, or upon their families, which we see  manifested by many, is the sin we are speaking of.   While there are some, who do live for the glory of God, and who do sustain His cause with an undi¬ vided heart, and with a liberal hand, still the great body of the church do not act so.   Covetousness is/Aeir sin. And if we characterize the whole   church  by the predominani feeling of the majority, we may say, in truth, that covetousness is the sin ofthe church in these latter days. Oh! how grudgingly do  many give back lo God even a pittance of all the money he has entrusted in their hands to be used for his glory !    Thousands can be raised by the church for worldly purpo¬ ses, or lo gratify their pride, where tens can  scarcely be  got for  the   cause of Christ.    If any scheme  of  worldliness which  promises   a handsome temporal profit be  presented  to   the   mind,  how eagerly will many of God's people em¬ brace il.   Aye, they will venture thou¬ sands, and lose ihem loo, in preference lo castitig in even fens into the treasury of the Lord, though they have the pro¬ mise that they shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.    The church has money enough for every thing else, but for the cause of her Lord.  Christians seem to have the Lord's money in abun¬ dance, if their own desires are to be gra¬ tified by its use ;  but little or none to spare for ihe salvation of a world, or to encourage those who are striving to build up the wastes of Zior, at home or abroad. Permit me to give you a fact, the cor¬ rectness of which we have no reason to doubt.   Some lime ago, a young minis- ter who had spent all his patrimony in preparing himself for the work of the Lord,   found   himself   in   a large   city preaching the gospel to the multitudes who were moving onward to the grave, regardless ofGod and ofthe future, wish¬ ing to purchase an important work on the Bible, he called upon a wealthy mer¬ chant in lhat cily, lo borrow the requisite amount.    The merchant refused.   Whyl The reason assigned was  that he had cume to the  conclusion not lo lend any fnoney ;  if he had any to give, he would give it.    Well; did he give any 1  No ; he had none just then lo give.   The young >"inister felt grieved to think that while he had spent a/J he had in carrying him t^irough his studies iu the academy, ed¬ ge and seminary, he could not borrow a"id h^^ •'' ^""^ ^^^^" ^ *^"^^" volumes, lo
ward     '" ^'' '^"'^*    '^  ^''^ "^^^^ ^^^^^' *'' '^^^a\v the name of that same mer¬
chant lauded in the secular papers ofthe day, and for whati For lending to the State, in which he resided, the sum of ninety-three thousand dollars I And would you believe it, that merchant was a com-^ municant, yea, a spiritual ifficer in the church of Jesus Christ. Time rolled on. That merchant died insane. His proper¬ ty passed into the hands of his sons, some of whom were already established in bu* siness. Those sons speculated, became bankrupts, and died leaving their widows without the means ofa support.
Facts like these might be multiplied to any extent, where members of the church have spent \\ie\x hundreds for one night's parade and festivity, and when called upon for a donation to the cause of mis¬ sions, or to educate young men for the ministry, have doled out their paltry ten dollars, with a most lugubrious counte¬ nance.
The sentiments ofthe Rev. Mr. Barnes, in his notes on Acts, v., p. 95, on the sub¬ ject of withholding the Lord's money, deserve the solemn consideration of all Christians. I cannot do better than to quote his language. In speaking of An¬ anias and Sapphira, he says—"We see here the guilt of attempting to impose on God in regard to property. There is no subject in which men are more liable to hypocrisy; none in which they are more apt to keep back apart. Christians pro¬ fessedly devote all they have to God.— They profess to believe that God has a right to the silver and the gold, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Their proper¬ ty, as well their bodies and their spirits, they have devoted to Him; and profess to desire to devote it as he shall direct and please. And yet is it not clear that the sin of Ananias has not ceased in the church! How many professing Chris¬ tians there are who give nothing really to God, who contribute nothing for tbe poor, and the needy; who give nothing, or next to nothing, to any purpose of be¬ nevolence ; who would devote ' millions' for their own gratification, and their fa¬ milies, *but not a cent for tribute' to God. The case of Ananias is, to all such, a case of most fearful warning. And on no point should Christians more faithful¬ ly examine themselves than in regard to the professed devotion of their property to God. If God punished this sin in the beginning of the Christian Church, he will do it still in its progress; and in no¬ thing have professed Christians more to fear the wrath of God, than on this very subject." Oh! when will the church un¬ derstand this aright!
Look again at the churches in the land. How many of them are free from embar¬ rassing or crushing debtl And what is striking in the matter, is that they are in debt, as a general thing, to those who are not the professed people of God. Thus the church becomes, in fact, the servant of the men of the world ; for "the bor¬ rower is the servant ofthe lender." The rich worldlings, rule over the poor of God's people. A case recently occurred, where a few worldly, theatre-going men, who held the property in a certain church, actually drove the minister from his flock, merely because the investment in that minister's hands did not yield as handsome a profit as they wished. The flock loved their under-shepherd, and sinners were converted to God, but that did not gratify the covetousness of those who had the power. This ought not so to be. If the command of God to indi¬ viduals, "owe no man any thing," is binding upon them, it it equally so upon congregations. So long as a standing debt remains upon a church to be a stere¬ otyped excuse for doing something for others; or to trammel them in their ef¬ forts to do good among themselves, so long will they remain like Samson under the shears of the Philistines. They may make some spasmodic efforts to conquer the enemies of the Lord, but their very eflforts only weaken them the more, while their bondage continues.
It is owing to the same spirit of covet¬ ousness, that the church supports her ministers so wretchedly. A few have perhaps more than enough, but there are hundreds who have not enough to raise them above absolute want. There is a sinful neglect on this subject, on the part of multitudes in the church. They seem to have, in this matter, no conscience at all.   Who ever may sustain the cause of
the work of the Pope^ in Michigan, on his arrival in that State, told the bishop he could no longer be allied to Rome. He had studied the Bible on the voyage, had been enlightened by the Spirit of God, and could preach Rome no more. He is now studymg under a protestant minister, a theology better than the licentious vul¬ garity of Dens, and hopes ere long to be installed as a preacher of " Christ and him crucified.
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«THE BIBI<EI W^HERB IS VtV*
A French correspondent of the British and Foreign Bible Society writes from the Department of Mayenne—"One of our colporteurs, on entering a small town, went into the first house that was open.   Would you please to buy a Bible 1*-said he to a woman whom he met with. Scarcely had he asked the question, than the woman, hastily rising from her seat, called out lustily, * My husband! the Bi¬ ble! the Bible! We have at last got it again !' On hearing her cries, a man came running in. •What'.' said he, 'the Bible! Where is ill Where is iti' At these words the woman turned again to the colporleur, who held a Bible in his hand, and, hastily seizing it, she pressed it to her bosom, exclaiming, at the same time, 'No! No! I will never let you go again!' "
The following may serve as an expla¬ nation ofthe foregoing: The Bible had actually been once in the house; it had been read, but, in a moment of fear, it had been given up to the Cure, who had destroyed it. As much, however, of it had been read, it made a lasting impression upon the readers and hearers; and not a day passed but sighs and prayers were offered up for the return of the Bible- seller.
For the Christian Obtenrer. CHARITY AT HOBIE.~No. %.
In a previous article, under the above title, I spoke of the recently introduced system of Colportage as a mighty engine of moral power. It is beautifully adapted to tbe present condition and wants of our country, and especially has it proved a mostsuccessful means of arresting the pro¬ gress of Romanism. And I intimated that it might be the peculiar instrumentality of the age for the more rapid and universal spread ofthetruth;foras Providencewise- ly selects the best means to accomplish his ends, we may expect each age, different¬ ly characterized as it is, will require sys¬ tems of moral action adapted to its char¬ acter. Though truth remains the un¬ changeable identity, the best modes of bringing it before the mind, and enforcing it on the heart and conscience, will vary with the ever varying characteristics and conditions of the age. The wise disciple, intent on the best interests of his Master's kingdom, will sludy the character of his generation, and seek out the best means ofdoing good which that allows.
It will not be amiss here to look for a moment at some of the leading features of Colportage, and see what elements of power it has, and consequently what claims it has on the patronage of the friends of reform and religion.
1. It employs the Press. It calls up the spiritof the excellent men of other times, and makes them act over again the most interesting scenes' of their very useful ministry. It sends Bunyan, and Baxter, and Doddridge, and Edwards abroad again over the face of a wicked world, as preachers of righteousness to thousands ready to perish. In the "pines" of New Jersey, amidst the wastes ofthe Allegha- nies, under the scorching sun of Florida, in the wide wilderness, and over the boundless prairies of the west, these ex- cellent men, raised from the grave of ob¬ livion by the mighty arm ofthe Press, lift up their voices and spare not. They now speak by a thousand mouths. They go where no living preacher may go—preach lo myriads that never cross the threshold of the sanctuary—enter the privacy of the bedchamber—drop a word of exhorta¬ tion, warning, alarm, or consolation, where the witchery ofthe world's fascina¬ tion has lost its charm, or the sable folds of affliction are drawn about the soul, or an unseen shaft from the quiver of the Almighty has transfixed some thought¬ less soul, and made it ready to receive at their hands the balm in Gilead, and the Great Physician. Through the agency of sixty colporteurs, traversing twenty-two States, these mighty men, of a by-gone generation, are still preaching " liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
2. Another beautiful feature of Col¬ portage, is that it enlists in the service of
our Master a powerful lay agency.   Our God, they do not.   They give nothing; I mode of warfare against our common foe,
they do nothing. And yet they profess to be ripening for heaven and for glory, un¬ der the influence of those means of grace which they contribute nothing towards sustaining.
There is an abundance in the hands of God's people, to enable them to pay off the debt of every church in the land—to support their ministers properly—to fur¬ nish them all the necessary facilities to aid them in carrying on the Lord's work, and il oughtto be done. But so long as the church will refuse to do her duty here, so long may she expect the displea¬ sure of her Lord. Hear what He himself says; "Bring ye all the tilhes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house,and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it"
Yours, Y.
A Converted Jesuit.—The American
Messenger states that Mr. , a Jesuit,
trained in the Propaganda, at Rome, for
has been like that of a great army going out to battle, yet when the tug of war comes, and the enemy are actually to be met, the officers of our army go out to do battle, while the rank and file have lit¬ tle more to do than stand and look on. Our enemy is wiser. The votaries of eve¬ ry false religion have a service for all ranks and conditions of their adherents. They suit their means to their ends— have a work suited to every man—or ra¬ ther find and employ a man suited to every work.
We have thought to convert the world through the agency of ministers alone. But we have found that there is much, very much, which, for two reasons, they cannot do. First, they are not, and by no probable process can we make them nu¬ merous enough, (be they never so labo¬ rious and faithful,) that they may do one hundredth part of the evangelical labor which the finger of God points out as de¬ volving on the Christian church. And, secondly, there is much to be done, which ministers cannot do, as well as lay¬
men. In no age were the indications of Providence more distinct as to what Christ expects of bis people. Yet itis not physically possible that thd presetit corps of ministers should be more Uian leaders in this immense work. What shall be done? The case is clear. An immense lay agency must be brought into the field. The providence of God has settled this question. Whatsayypu, then, my friend, to the Colporteur system? Is it not a child of Providence, reared up amon^ us at this particular time, and brought ia to achieve a noble purpose! It is especial¬ ly designed to draw out and employ in the actual service of our warfare, theita- lents and moral energies of laymen.
3. Another feature of Colportage is that it seizes hold of and uses the power of personal address to the sinniir. Tbe ef¬ ficacy of this kind of agen,cy,i3, well un¬ derstood by all who have made trial of it. Multitudes may be'reached in this way, who can be in no other. And other mul¬ titudes who fall within the pale of the or¬ dinary means of grace, find the truth they have so often heard and rejected forced home upon them in no ordinary manner, when addressed by the fireside, and the personal appeal is made by a friend, their fellow and equal. We are beings of sympathy, and we can scarcely estimate too highly an agency which so beautifully adapts itself to the various conditions of men, as to give full play to sympathy. The Colporteur is a man/rom the people, and not this alone, but he is, as far as such can be obtained, a man fa¬ miliar with the condition, mental, moral, and physical, of the class to be benefit¬ ted. Romanists—infidels—men of the western wilds—foreign idimigrants—Ger¬ mans of our native State—are severally to be reached by one called out by the grace of God from their own ranks. Strange indeed if an agency so much in accordance with right reason and com¬ mon sense, and withal so much in accord¬ ance with the spirit of Christianity, should not be successful.
4. The last characteristic 1 shall name is that the peculiar and appropriate field of its labors is the spiritual wastes of our country and ofthe world. Its field is all that vast territory which is not cultivated by others. Have you a population about you whose ear is not reached by the preacher, where the Sabbath School sheds not its blessings, nor the press its heal- ing leaves, there is the field for the Col¬ porteur.
Butl need not enlarge. A word to the wise is enough. Before urgtag the claims of this system on all who love the truth, I shall present it in its application to the people of our own State. R.
RISE OF BIBLE SOCIETIES.
[From Col. Troncbia's Report to tbe Evange¬ lical Society of Geneva, published in the Quar¬ terly Paper of the United States Foreiga Evan¬ gelical Society.]
In the year 1793 there was formed in London a small Christian Association whose object was to spread the Bible among the population of France. Seve¬ ral thousands of Francs were collected for that work, which political circumstan¬ ces prevented from being accomplished at that period. Various efforts were made the same year to supply some destitute counties in England with the holy volume. But it was not till 1804 that the British Foreiga Bible Society was formed. Mr. Hughes, one of its principal founders, toofi froiR Uie com¬ mencement the burden of that enter- prise, and scarcely ten years elapsed be¬ fore the North of Europe, nearly all Pro¬ testant Germany, the vast empire of Rus¬ sia, the United States of America, the English colonies, and a portion of the Eastern world, had numerous Associa¬ tions whose sole object was the circula¬ tion of the Book of God. The Society of Nuremberg, subsequently removed to Balle, was formed in 1904, that at Berlin in 1805, that of Philadelphia in 1808, and the central Society of New York in 1816. Russia undertook the Bible work in 1813, during her terrible conflict with France. Investigations made at that period prove that that population of fifty millions of inhabitants possessed scarcely six thousand copies of the Bi¬ ble. In the Netherlands it was not till 1814 that Bible Societies were estab¬ lished. In 1812 the first Bible committee was formed at Paris under the patronage of the Society at Balle. Jn 1815 the pi¬ ous Blenig, a clergyman of fourscore years of age, founded a Bible Society at Strasburg,—"he would have," he said, " the last drop in his lamp consumed in the service of the Lord." The year 1816 witnessed the commencement of the nu¬ merous Bible Societies in Switzerland.— The Protestant Bible Society of Paris, had its birth in 1819. The "Moniteur" opened its columns on the 20th April, 1819, to the pious and learned Stapfer for the purpose of confuting the sophisms of Lamennais, and Sylvester de Saci re¬ commended the Bible work in the Jour¬ nal of Science. From that time, it may be said, wherever Protestants have been found organized into a church, there has also been found a Bible Association.
The reports ofthe last year present the success of several of them. The British and Foreign Bible Society itself has printed and circulated fifteen millions of Bibles in one hundred and fifty-seven lan¬ guages, and during the last year no less than 985,000 copies were iold or distribu¬ ted by this noble institution.
Col. T. traces in the history of France, during the last two centuries, the various efforts of the enemies of the Bible, espe¬ cially those of Rome, to overthrow and annihilate the truth and its friends toge¬ ther, and especiallyher modern adoption of the press, which she denounced a few years since as an "instrument of damna¬ tion," but which the spread of civil and religious liberty, science, and free dis¬ cussion, has driven her in self-defence to employ; and also the recent develope-
ments in England of her more secret ma¬ chinations and weapons, veiled "under the folds of the Protestant mantle,'* by which she threatens the overthrow of that church "which was one of the pillars of the Reformation and has been the cradle of so many plans and efforts for the pro¬ motion of the Divine glory." He then asks—What shall the people of God op¬ pose to this Goliath, who for twelve hun¬ dred years has had the power to insult those who were disposed to bear testimo¬ ny for Jesus Christi It is the Word of God, the entire Word of God, and no¬ thing but the Word of God! Ah! yes; it is high time for us to exclaim with the stripling David, "Thou comest against us wilh a spear and shield, we come to thee only in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and the whole earth shall know lhat there is a God in Israel. For the battle is the Lord's!"
Our next extract gives the reader a glimpse ofthe
CONFLICTS OF THE BIBLE IN FRANCE.
The Geneva Society has employed the current year sixty-six Colporteurs and readers ofthe Bible, who, for a longer or shorter term, have travelled in thirty De¬ partments. Of these sixty-six laborers five orily are Swiss. The principles of the Plymouthians have prevented many Swiss and French laborers from engaging in the blessed work of spreading the gos¬ pel. The committee have felt it their du¬ ty to avoid offering employment to those who attach more importance to the cir¬ culation of particular views respecting the forms of the church, than to the making known to souls, weary and hea¬ vy laden, the Lamb who has taken upon himself their griefs, and sustained the weight of their iniquities. You will no- lice with pleasure, as we do, lhat Chris¬ tians in France engage in large numbers in disseminating the gospel, and we have reason to believe, that, if God permit, many more will consecrate themselves to the work the ensuing year. Certain diffi¬ culties which the subordinate authorities, at the instigation of the priests, have raised against the messengers ofthe gos¬ pel, have induced us this year to accept the services of several Christians, who, without becoming colporteurs in the strict sense of that term, can circulate, from neighbor to neighbor, a goodly numberof copies ofthe Book of Life, by lending them, and sometimes by giving them, though the latter method is always an exception to the general rule. In this way a large number Of tracts and of the sacred volume have been put in circula¬ tion. Thus a sinjfle Testament, lent by a certain individual, regardless of its cost, in a Department where the authorities are hostile to the distribution of the Holy Scriptures, has this year been the means ofthe conversion of five persons, who, wilh no other aid, have accepted salva¬ tion by grace, and have abandoned the Church of Rome.
This mode of operation is not always agreeable to the priests.
"Do not come into my parish," said the priest of* * * to one of our distributors, formerly a French corporal, " or I will seize you, and shut you up, and you may be sure you shall not depart alive." " He attempted, at my second visit, to strike me," he writes to us, "but seeing that I presented my back to receive the blow, he did not dare to do it." "The mon¬ ster!" said the priest, "he dares to resist me, the d—d rascal!" , "Speak to him mildly," said the vicar to him. You can¬ not convert such people—it is labor lost." "This infamous scoundrel," he added, "is not contented with selling his books, but he must also give them away. If he did not give them away we could con¬ trive to prevent every person in the pa¬ rish from purchasing them."
This poor man was mistaken in his cal¬ culations, for in that same region, within the space of eight leagues, (less than three miles,) more than seventeen hun¬ dred copies of the sacred volume, and se- vpral thousand tracts, were sold a few days previous. Poor, blind dupes! who cannot understand that when God opens a door, no man can shut it.
Perseverance is necessary for the mes¬ sengers ofthe gospel, for sometimes it is the case, lhat behind the veil of prejudice which the clergy take such pains to ren¬ der still thicker, there is to be found a hungering and thirsting after salvation.
" I entered the house of a lady," writes a colporteur, " and was thrust out, and the door shut in my face. I knocked a second time, beseeching them to exam¬ ine my books. " Come in," said the lady, in a harsh tone, "and let us see your books." Scarcely had she seen the book of God, when she exclaimed," Ah! when I pushed you so rudely, I did not believe that you carried this good book! God has kindly directed you, in disposing you to knock at my door the second time!" During the evening I read to them the tract, " What will you do when the end shall come ?"
A young lady who gave her whole at¬ tention, came to me very politely to purchase a New Testament; saying, " This, after all, is, I think, the best book for my edification." Another lady said to me with a sigh, " Ah, what love God has entertained towards us poor sinners, in giving his Son for our salvation! Give me a book in which I can read." I hand¬ ed her an "Epistle" in large print. Her son also wished to buy a New Testament, being encouraged by his mother, who said to him, « Buy this good book, it is the word of God which has been sent to us. When I am no longer able to read, you can read ilto me." Another woman expresssd a strong desire to procure for herself the sacred volume, but she had no money. To gratify her, I tooksome eggs in payment for it. 0, how rejoiced she was! You see one ought not to be afraid to knock twice at the door, in the name ofthe Lord."
You will be gratified to learn, that, in some Departments, our colporteurs have been cheered, and their hearts rejoiced by meeting many priests who have not only encouraged them in their efforts, but have introduced them to their parish¬ ioners for the purpose of affording them an opportunity to purchase the holy vo¬ lume. Some of these priests have ex¬ pressed a desire to obtain certain pamph¬ lets, which may assist them in comparing the Romish doctrines with the declara¬ tions ofthe word of God. It is manifest that the recent mandates of many bish¬ ops so zealous forthe worship ofthe Vir¬
gin Mary, have deeply disgusted those others of the Romish clergy, who have retained some respect for the fundamen¬ tal doctrines of Christianity and the com¬ mandments of God.
[From the N; Y. Commercial Advertiser.] NO CHURCH  IVITfadUf A PRELATE 11
Or Is THK  Episcopacy  essential   to   the
CHcncal
According to promise, my opponent has commenced his series of "Essays" upon the subject which has, for some lime past, interested the attention of nu¬ merous readers of the "Commercial," and other public prints. He has thus as¬ sumed precisely the position which was his of right, from the beginning, and which I should have insisted upon his taking, had he not manifested the most determined purpose to avoid it.
Wiihout rehearsing the history of the attempted " discussion, farther than to remind the reader of its origin, I shall content myself wilh repeating my satis¬ faction that the public will now have— what I have been attempting to secure for them—an opportunity of knowing the grounds upon which the unchurching dog¬ ma (expressed in either of the proposi¬ tions which stand al the head of this com¬ munication,for theyarethesame in mean., ing,) is sustained by its advocates. My opponent (for such I intend to consider him,) has now taken the affirmative, and according to a promise, I have already given, I hold myself in readiness to re¬ ply, with all candor, to his vindication of the above dogma.
In consequence of the altered posture of the affair, I propose to suspend, at least for the present, the course of argu¬ ment upon which I had entered, and lo plant myself once more in front of my opponent. I hope our readers will at least give me credit for an honest desire to make a true issue.
There is scarcely any thing in his last communication which requires an ex¬ tended notice. When understood with a single qualification, all that he has quoted from Dr. Mason's unfinished Essay on "the Church of God" meets my full assent. What lhat qualification ia, I pro¬ pose to consider very briefly.
Dr. Mason has proved very conclu¬ sively, lhat "a standing ministry" is an essential provision in the Church of Christ. He has asserted, but not proved, that the scriptural method of perpetuat¬ ing that ministry is through the ordina¬ tion of previously ordained men. I say he has not proved this point, not be¬ cause he could not, bul because, for some reason unknown to me, the Essay on the Church was left in an unfinished stale, a fact which every one must regret who wishes lo have the complete views of his master mind. This very point was to form the subject of a distinct inquiry.— Should the reader comply with the re¬ commendation of my opponent, (to which I beg leave to add my own,) and turn to that "Essay," he will find that the eminent writer proposed to con¬ sider, in the close of his Essay "the mode of preserving a standing ministry." Had he carried out his plan, the Essay, which originally appeared in monthly parts, in " Christian Magazine," would have satisfied the reader that the views of Dr. M., on this point, were precisely those entertained by all persons who agree wilh him in the propriety and necessity of a standing ministry. Those views, I be¬ lieve, I have fairly expressed, in my pre¬ vious papers, to this effect:—
That Christ appointed, in his visible Church, a ministry lo which should be committed the great work of preach¬ ing the truth, administering the ordinan¬ ces, and superintending, in company with other office bearers, the general in¬ terests of Christian congregations; that in the early days of the Christian dispen¬ sation, he gave to this Church certain ex¬ traordinary office-bearers—Apostles, pro¬ phets, and evangelists—with extraordi¬ nary functions and endowments, qualify, ing them for their extraordinary duties, as the first heralds of the new spiritual kingdom; that beside these, he gave other officers, called by various names— pastors, teachers, presbyter, or (as the word means) elder, bishops, (overseers) and deacons, with ordinary endowments, qualifying them for ordinary functions ; that these last, in some form or other, were meant to be perpetuated to the end of the Christian dispensation ; that they were to be sel apart, or appointed, (for this is the essential idea in "ordination") in some regular manner to their several duties; that in the case of the teaching ministry, the manner of appointment (certain previous qualifications of the candidate being supposed,) was usually the " laying on of hands" by their prede- cessors in ofiice ; and that this ceremony was nothing more upon the part of the Church, (embracing both its ministers and members,) than a visible recogni¬ tion of the individual as a suitable per. son to take part in the ministry; while upon the part of the individual it was a solemn consecration of himself to this service.
Now it is in relation to the method of " perpetuating a standing ministry" that the question arises, whether any case may occur, or has occurred, when a de¬ parture from the "regular" process of induction is justified ; whether, in other words, the " laying on of hands" by pre¬ viously ordained ministers, be in every supposable case essential to a valid, scriptural, useful ministry. To affirm that it is, is to affirm, in effect, lhat an unbroken series of ordinations from the time of the Apostles is indispensible to the existence of the Church, because il is indispensible to the ministry; for there can be no Church without a ministry. It is to make the Church dependant upon tbe ministry, in the relation of antece¬ dent and consequent; the ministry being the antecedent, the Church the conse¬ quent: the Church being the tree, of which the ministry is the germ, it is to take from the Church the power lo right itself should its ministry become corrupt; a thing which has happened, and may happen again.
Now,—not to dwell at present upon these and other consequences of this doctrine which will be hereafter noticed, it is enough to say that I can conceive of cases in which a departure from the ordinary rule of perpetiiating the minis. try is a less evil than subjection to a mi¬ nistry which has become corrupt in doc¬ trine or practice.   Such cases, I have
shown, have already occurred* Tbe Rei formation was one of them. They may occur again; and the only question which can be raised concerning ihem is this, whether there was a real necessity to justi¬ fy the Church in throwing itself upon the power and promise of its Lord, and trust¬ ing to him to raise up for it such a mi-' nistry as will preach and practice tbe truth<
If it be asked, who is to judge of the existence of such a necessity, the an¬ swer is, that every man must do it, at hit own peril. It is precisely one of those cases in which Christians must fall back upon the right and duty of private judg¬ ment, taking the word of God, as their rule, and remembering that God is to be their judge. Men have often been obliged to do this in respect to other points of truth and duty, and I can see no reason for supposing that il may not be done when a crisis occurs in which oppression and false doctrine in a nominal Church have become intolerable, in the sober conviction of a portion of its members. The sin of schism, in such a case, must rest upon those who make a separation from them necessary.
But I will go farther, and affirm that if il could be shown that, at some past pe¬ riod, two hundred years ago let us say, a particular body of professing Christians originated in even a rash and culpable spirit, separating from a Christian church wiihout suflicient reasons, that circum* stance alone will not necessarily destroy their church character, or invalidate the character and acts of their ministry. On the contrary, provided they do now ad¬ here to substantial truth, and follow the substantial order ofthe gospel according to the convictions of duly, so far as to maintain among them a ministry which preaches Christ ai^d the obligation of a holy life, they thereby establish their claim to be considered an integral part ofthe Christian church. Their success in accomplishing the grand aims of the gospel, viz. the instruciion, reformation and consolation of mankind, is a proof lhat the Head ofthe Church is wilh them» and this is the best authentication of a church character that can be conceiv¬ ed ; for it is a palpable fulfilment of the promise, "Lo, I am with you."
But, after all, (as I shall have a future opportunity of showing,) the real reason why the necessity of an unbroken series of ordinations is so insisted upon, as indis* pensable lo the very being ofthe Church, is the false and destructive notion that or¬ dination imparts a character lo the indi¬ vidual, which in no case he could have except by ordination; that in " the laying on of hands" there is, not simply are- cognition of qualities already possessed, but a bestowment of qualities never be¬ fore possessed; in short, that there is a sacramental virtue in ordination which can be communicated only by those who in like manner have received it.   This notion is found associated with exagger¬ ated ideas ofthe sanctity and lof\y supe¬ riority of the clergy, both as respects their authority to govern and the efficacy of their admistration to the Christian or¬ dinances.
Apart from these fancied notions, ordi¬ nation is simplified into a recognition of the individual by tbe regular ofBcers^f a Christian church, as one who has satisfied them of his piety and " aptness to leach." So it is regarded in every Christian con¬ gregation in which the opposite notions do not prevail; and if they require ordi¬ nation before they receive a pastor, (as my opponent has truly said they will,) it is only because such an ordination is re¬ garded by them as a judgment pronounc¬ ed by well qualified judges of his fitness to minister in holy things. They pretend to look for no more than this; they see no virtue in his ministrations, but what the truth he preaches gives to them. For it is to the truth, chiefly, and to the man only as he is a personification of that truth, that the efficacious blessing of God is pledged. Who dare deny that lhat blessinghasbeen signally bestowed upon multitudes of ministers in past ages, who had no higher notion of the official cha¬ racter given in ordination than that which I have just described"! That blessing is the seal of their ministry. It is clear, therefore, that in re.spect to the Christian body in which that blessing is found, no former irregularity in " the succession," or (what'is the same thing,) in the series of ordinations, is of such moment as to justify any one in unchurching them ; i. e., in counting them as rebels against the God who blesses them,
Wilh these things understood, I deny that in all supposable cases ordination by previously ordained persons, who themselves have been ordained, and so on, up to the Apostles, is necessary to constitute a valid ministry. Such ordi¬ nation is the rule, (and an important rule which all Christian denominations ob- , serve,) but the rule admits, and has a'c- tually had exceptions. Unlil a valid case of exception can be made out, no depar¬ ture from the rule should be allowed; not, however, from a fear that the chain of Apostolic virtue and authority will be broken, but because unnecessary depar¬ ture is the evidence of a schismatical spirit, and is inconsistent with tbe valu- ble ends of social order.
And here let me ask whether we have not reason to thank God that the exist¬ ence of the church and the Christian ministry is not made absolutely depend¬ ant upon the fact of uninterrupted ordi¬ nations through a long series of ages. If they were, the consequence would be that there is no church or ministry in ex¬ istence, since between the present time and the Apostolic age the line has been often broken in every body calling itself a Christian church. And yet the ministry has been perpetuated; il has been always in existence, just as the church has been in existence, although it has passed through numerous and critical changes. Of this, as a historical fact, there is as great a certainty as can be claimed for any other fact whatever. There has been, (to use the language of Dr. Mason,) a "regular successive"—a "standing min- istry"_and that is enough.
In entire accordance with these views are those of Archbishop Whately, (pp. 186—188, Kingdom of Christ,) which I virill here quote, and lo which I ask spe¬ cial attention. Speaking ofthe exclusive religionists ofthe day, he says :
^'The fallacy, indeed, by which, ac¬ cording to tha above principles, the Christian is taught to rest his own person*