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him that believeth in Jesus?" In a word, how can we know anything at all about the matter, save by what is declared or manifested to us? Besides this, there is something novel and startling in the assertion; it is one of those things that, as the Christian Remembrancer, in Number for June, 1838, p. 321, rightly says, causes "dissatisfaction and uneasiness;" we look in vain for any similar sentiment in the works of the older and sterling writers of the Church of England, and it seems to me, can be of no use, except to "set people agog."

If" No Phoenix" desires to see more on this matter, I would refer him to the Appendix B, to Russell's Remarks on Keble's Visitation Sermon, and also to the review of that work in the Christian Remembrancer for May, 1837, p. 288.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

PHOENIX.

STRICTURES ON ARCHDEACON HARE'S SERMONS.

SIR,-I most fully concur in the praises you have bestowed on Archdeacon Hare's Sermons. except against the general tenor of the volume, it contains a statement At the same time, while I have little to or two deserving, I think, some reprehension.

In the Visitation Sermon, entitled "Christ's Promise the Strength of the Church;" the author attacks the doctrine of the Apostolical Succession. I am not about to defend that doctrine at present, but merely to enter my protest against the unfairness of his representation of it, in the following particulars.

1. He styles it "a notion, which has been brought forward, somewhat prominently, by certain very amiable and pious men, in our days." Now, the younger, and less informed portion of his audience, when they heard these words, could hardly have been led to imagine, that the notion in question has been entertained by nearly every one of our greatest divines. Further on, indeed, we encounter this sentence; "I am aware the interpretation (of Matt. xxviii. 19-30,) I am controverting, has been maintained by some very eminent divines in former times ;" but this is not an adequate acknowledgment of the real state of the case. The more slight and cursory the notice of this subject, (and Archdeacon Hare's is exceedingly so,) the more was he bound to allow that, in decrying the Apostolical Succession, he was differing, not merely from a newly-arisen school, but from the general and prevailing opinion of the church to which he belongs.

2. He objects, that it "leads straightway to the most revolting conclusions according to which, the chief part of Protestant Christendom is cast out at once, by a sweeping interdict, from the pale of Christ's Church, nay, is recklessly declared to stand on a level with the Heathens, and to be left to the uncovenanted mercies of God." I think wrong, in so cursory a treatment of the subject; inasmuch as the advocates of the succession differ, as to whether, and how far the Now, this too,

It is true, Archdeacon Hare is professedly attacking only a particular interpretation of a passage in St. Matthew. But he mixes it up with the whole question of the Succession.

VOL. XXII. NO. XII.

5 c

results in question follow from it. Before then, Archdeacon Hare can use those results, as a reductio ad absurdum, (supposing them to constitute one), he is bound to prove that the position he attacks does necessarily involve them.

3. Our author falls into the common error of supposing the question to be one relating to forms of church government, and tacitly assumes an identity of result under several forms. When investigated, this common argument against laying such stress on a form, when applied to this subject, will be found to amount to this Episcopacy being nothing but a form, all the benefits of the New Covenant are to be had without it.. Why then lay such stress on it? If the premise be granted, the conclusion does indeed follow, but the premise happens to be the very point to be proved. Were the contest simply about forms of church government, there need not be many words about it. But the question, as I now proceed to show, is one of a totally different character.

The high churchman, then, does not ask whether one form of church government, as such, be obligatory or not; but first, whether spiritual power be or be not exercised in the church; and secondly, how this spiritual power is conferred. If the office of the christian minister be simply to teach, by the aid of his natural faculties and acquired knowledge, then there would be a fair presumption, in the absence of any assurance to the contrary, that several modes of designation to it might in themselves be equally safe and sufficient. But if his office be not merely to teach-if it be, what Scripture calls it, a "ministry of reconciliation" between God and man, involving the possession and demanding the exercise of powers such as no man naturally has, then it becomes a most momentous question how men are to be invested with it, and when and through what channel they receive its accompanying gifts. This is not in the least a question about forms of church government. It is a question, first, as to the existence, and secondly, as to the seat of spiritual power in the church, and is only connected by accident with that of episcopal rule.

These remarks do not in the least pretend to amount to a discussion of the apostolical succession-a subject which has received already such abundant consideration, as to make additional discussion almost impertinent. But when a writer like Archdeacon Hare falls into such misapprehensions in regard to it, as those I have tried to point out, it seems desirable at least to suggest the real question before us. He has also (in my judgment) misconceived a point, if not of equal importance, yet of much greater difficulty, on which I may perhaps make a few observations hereafter.

In the meantime, I beg leave earnestly to warn your younger readers, and all who may be unused to theological study, against an error which is not unlikely to become prevalent-that of confounding all high church principles with the peculiarities of the newly-arisen school of Oxford divines. In designating them a newly-arisen school, I trust I shall not be deemed guilty of any personal disrespect towards men for whom I feel no ordinary amount of admiration and gratitude. But I think it undeniable that some of the opinions which they hold in common with the non-jurors of old, whether true or false, are but

Poetry.

private and peculiar notions; whereas the exclusive authority of the apostolical succession, the grace of the sacraments, and the visible unity of the true church, have been held in common by nearly all the divines of our church who are reputed orthodox, and are fully and clearly set forth in her public formularies: and I consider it most important that attention should be called to this, so that, on the one hand, those who feel a highly natural caution against committing themselves to the peculiarities of a school, may not be thereby deterred from boldly proclaiming the fundamental principles of the church; and on the other, those who have become convinced of the soundness of these latter, may be warned against rashly proceeding to the former.

POETRY.

F. G.

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THE MORNING OF THE WORLD.

WHEN the young Day is in her joyous prime,
And the tuneful tribes awake

In woodland hoar and dewy brake,
While merry peals across the waters chime;
When bees, with thighs unladen, from the cells,
Dive in the blooming bells;

And every sight is glad, and every sound;

Th' elastic pulses bound,

And catch new motion from the pleasant time.

Thus was it in the morning of the world:

They dream'd not then on storms that were to be,
So the sun shone upon them pleasantly,

And they to thoughtless lays might strike the strings:
As daring not to gaze with stedfast eyes
On unreveal'd and dreadful mysteries,
And having slender hope of future things,
And that afar,-they bask'd them in the beam
Of present good, and call'd the rest a dream.

THE EVENING OF THE WORLD.

BUT as when gazing on the dying day
Melancholy musings fill

All the heart against the will,

Because we view the emblem of decay;
Aye though the sun go redly to his rest,
In golden colours drest,

Giving good promise that to-morrow's light
Shall do away the night,

And bring us joyful to another day.

So we, that in the evening of the world,

(For now we surely know it shortly dies,
Who in the changeful light of sunset skies

And strange unstable hues astonied dwell)

Though well assur'd the promis'd morn shall rise,
Big with assurance breaking on our eyes,

A melancholy mood becomes us well.

How should we thoughtless laugh, and joy, and play,
As though our hope were vain or far away?

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LAW REPORT.

No. LXXV. PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD.

(Extract from Judgment by Lord Langdale, M.R., in the Attorney-General v. Fishmongers' Company, 2 Bevan C. C. p. 151.)

Soon after the statute of Edward VI. questions arose, sometimes upon the uses which were to be deemed superstitious within the statute, and more frequently upon the effect of the statute in giving to the Crown either the land, the rents of which were to be applied to the uses, or only the sums of money which had been annually applied to the uses, and upon that subject, some distinctions which may appear rather nice were made; but it seems to me that the case of Adams v. Lambert, as reported by Coke and by Moore, and several of the authorities there cited, and the case of Pitts v. James, as reported by Rolle, and other cases cited in Duke, cannot be read without coming to the conclusion, that establishments or foundations for securing prayers for the souls of the dead were deemed to be superstitious, and within the statute of Edward VI.

In the argument for the relators, it was urged that the directions to which I have referred are only directions to pray for the souls of the dead; that such directions are not unlawful, and are not, and never have been, prohibited by the Church of England; and were not deemed to be superstitious at the time when the statute of 1 Edward

VI. was passed. It does not appear to me to be necessary, for the purpose of deciding this case, to enter into a

minute examination of the doctrine of the Church of England respecting prayers for the souls of the dead; the question is, whether the uses to which the testator has directed his property to be applied in perpetuity are such as to vest the land, or the monies applicable to the uses directed by the will, in the Crown, according to the intent and true effect of the statute of Edward VI. And although prayers for the souls of deceased persons might not, according to the doctrines of the Church of England, be necessarily connected with the doctrine of purgatory; and although it might not be considered as an ecclesiastical offence to pray for the souls of deceased persons, or request others to do so, (upon which points I do not think it necessary to express any opinion at this time); yet it might nevertheless, as I conceive, be properly deemed superstitious to create an establishment, or endow a foundation, to be continued in perpetuity, and conducted with cer tain ceremonies supposed to be religious, for the purpose of securing the perpetual continuance of prayers for the souls of the dead, either alone, or in connexion with other observances within the express terms of the act; and it appears to me that the question has been determined by authority.

MONTHLY REGISTER.

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

OUR readers will be glad to hear that the Secretary, Mr. Tomlinson, has returned from Constantinople, and although circumstances have prevented his proceeding to Syria, we are informed that his reception, both at Athens and Constantinople, has been

highly gratifying. It is understood that a report will shortly be made to the Foreign Translation Committee, and the result of Mr. Tomlinson's mission will, we presume, be laid before the Board in January.

SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL.

DURING the summer and autumn, public meetings on behalf of the Society have been held in various parts of England and Ireland; and to show how entirely they have been sanctioned by the heads of our Church, it is satisfactory to state, that they have been presided over by the following prelates in their respective dioceses: the Archbishops of Canterbury, York, Armagh, and Dublin; the Bishops of London, Durhaın, Winchester, Worcester, Exeter, Salisbury, Gloucester and Bris

NATIONAL

In an admirable letter written by the Rev. J. Sinclair, to one of the Managers of a National School, the following most important remarks on the subject of imparting religious knowledge, occur:

"But your most serious grounds of opposition remain to be removed, and are those which concern religion and morality. As regards religion, you insist that the explanatory method is inconsistent with those doctrines of Christianity which contain mysteries; that a child trained up upon the system I am advocating, and accustomed to have everything brought down to the level of his capacity, will be wanting in that faith unfeigned-that spirit of docility -that reverence for authority, which Christ enjoins, and which our own Church is so peculiarly solicitous to maintain. If this effect resulted of necessity from the etymological system, I should at once abandon it; but you will not, I think, find many of my reverend brethren ready to agree with you in the suspicion that grammar and etymology are dangerous to religion. An academical education has made them well acquainted with the force of

tol, Hereford, Lincoln, Norwich, Ripon, and Derry.

The number of District Associations was in 1838, 200; 1839,310; 1840,400. Income of the Society from Voluntary Contributions during the last four years

1836

1837

1838

1839

£9,407

10,752

16,082

23,443

The Receipts up to the 31st Oct. of the present year were 35,300. SOCIETY.

English particles, though in a different way from the popular method which I have described. They are especially acquainted with theological terms, and they do not find that knowledge to excite in their own minds a prejudice against mysteries. They see clearly the distinction between explaining a mystery, and explaining the terms in which it is expressed. Unless the terms are understood, no idea whatever is conveyed, and consequently the doctrine remains to all intents and purposes, as if it had never been revealed at all. A young person instructed on the explanatory method, may be made to perceive more distinctly than any other the actual boundaries to which all human knowledge is necessarily restricted. What he sees, he sees clearly; and therefore he can tell how far he sees. He is prepared accordingly to receive the assurance that there is much beyond the sphere of mortal vision; and is peculiarly capable of comprehending the distinction between what may and what cannot be known; between what may be explained, and what admits of no explanation."

CHURCH BUILDING SOCIETY.

A MEETING of the Committee was held, Nov. 16. Present: the Rev. Dr. D'Oyly (in the Chair), the Rev. Drs. Shepherd, J. Lonsdale, B. Harrison, and J. Jennings; H. J. Barchard, A. Powell, J. Cocks, and N. Connop, jun. Esqrs.

Among other business transacted, grants were voted towards building a

chapel of ease at Tean, in the parish of Chickley, Stafford; building a new church in Every street, Manchester; in the parish of Allhallows on the Wall, Exeter; in St. George's, Southwark; the purchasing of a building to be rendered appropriate for an Episcopalian chapel at Falmouth, Cornwall; building a chapel at Knighton, Han

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