Page images
PDF
EPUB

apostolical over a mere secular method of teaching. The awakened mind knows itsata but cannot provide for them; and in its hunger will feed upon ashes, if it ca....ot obtain the pure milk of the word. Methodism and Pop ry are in differnt ways the refuge of those who the Church stints of the gilts of grace; they are the foster-mothers of abandoned children. The neglect of the daily service, the desecration of festivals, the Eucharist scantily administered, insubordination permitted in all ranks of the Church, orders and offices imperfectly developed, the want of societies for particular religious objects, and the like deficiencies, lead the feverish mind, desirous of a vent to his feelings, and a stricter rule of life, to the smaller religious communities, to prayer and bible meetings, and ill-advised institutions and societies, on the one hand, on the other, to the solemn and captivating services by which Popery gains its proselytes. Moreover, the multitude of men cannot teach or guide themselves; and an injunction given them to depend on their private judgment, cruel in itself, is doubly hurtful, as throwing them on such teachers as speak daringly and promise largely, and not only aid but supersede individual exertion.

These remarks may serve as a clue, for those who care to pursue it, to the views which have led to the publication of the following Tracts. The Church of Christ was intended to cope with human nature in all its forms, and surely the gifts vouchsafed it are adequate for that gracious purpose. There are zealous sons and servants of her English branch, who see with sorrow that she is defrauded of her full usefulness by particular theories and principles of the present age, which interfere with the execution of one portion of her commission; and while they consider that the revival of this portion of truth is especially adapted to break up existing parties in the Church, and to form instead a bond of union among all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, they believe that nothing but these neglected doctrines, faithfully preached, will repress that extension of Popery, for which the ever multiplying divisions of the religious world are too clearly preparing the way.

In the advertisement to the second volume, the editors refer to the greater attention, which a variety of circumstances have recently forced upon Churchmen, to the distinctive principles of the Church of England; but they very justly observe that “ words are imparted before ideas ;” hence, say they, "Many more persons have taken up a profession of the main doctrine in question, that, namely, of the One Catholic and Apostolic Church, than fully enter into it." And they very naturally go on to caution us against being over-sanguine at the progress already made; or discouraged from fresh attempts, by the misconceptions and abuses of the doctrines here inculcated, which are sure to happen, They conclude by referring to

the à priori reluctance in those who believe the apostolical commission, to appropriate to it the power of consecrating the Lord's Supper; as if there were some antecedent improbability in God's gifts being lodged in particular observances, and distributed in a particular way; and as if the strong wish, or moral worth, of the individual could create in the outward ceremony a virtue which it had not received from above. Rationalistic, or (as they may be more properly called) carnal notions concerning the sacraments, and, on the other hand, a superstitious apprehension of resting in them, and a slowness to believe the possibility of God's having literally blessed ordinances with invisible power, have, alas! infected a large mass of men in our communion. There are those whose "word will eat as doth a canker;" and it is to be feared, that we have been over-near certain celebrated Protestant teachers, Puritan or Latitudinarian, and have suffered in consequence. Hence we have almost embraced the doctrine, 40

VOL. XVIII. NO. XI.

that God conveys grace only through the instrumentality of the mental energies, that is, through faith, prayer, active spiritual contemplations, or (what is called) communion with God, in contradiction to the primitive view, according to which the church and her sacraments are the ordained and direct visible means of conveying to the soul what is in itself supernatural and unseen. For example, would not most men maintain, on the first view of the subject, that to administer the Lord's Supper to infants, or to the dying and insensible, however consistently pious and believing in their past lives, was a superstition? and yet both practices have the sanction of primitive usage. And does not this account for the prevailing indisposition to admit that baptism conveys regeneration? Indeed, this may even be set down as the essence of sectarian doctrine, (however its mischief may be restrained or compensated, in the case of individuals,) to consider faith, and not the sacraments, as the instrument of justification and other gospel gifts; instead of holding, that the grace of Christ comes to us altogether from without, (as from him, so through externals of his ordaining.) faith being but the sine quá non, the necessary condition on our parts for duly receiving it.

It has been with the view of meeting this cardinal deficiency (as it may be termed) in the religion of the day, that the Tract on Baptism, contained in the latter half of this volume, has been inserted; which is to be regarded, not as an inquiry into one single or isolated doctrine, but as a delineation, and serious examination of a modern system of theology, of extensive popularity and great speciousness, in its elementary and characteristic principles.-Pp. iv. v.

These advertisements very clearly show the design and intention of these publications. The Rationalistic view maintains that "God conveys grace only through the instrumentality of the mental energies ;" the primitive view maintains, that "The Church and her sacraments are the ordained and direct visible means of conveying to the soul what is in itself supernatural and unseen ;" and upon these questions, and the numerous and important inquiries into which they lead us, issue is joined in these Tracts, between the adherents of ultra-protestantism, which is nothing else but Rationalism, and the humbling doctrines of those who adhere to the principles of primitive truth. With a very slight variation in the two volumes, the subjects of the tracts are arranged under the following heads; viz.-I. Liturgical. II. On Ordinances. III. On the Apostolical Succession. IV. On the Doctrine of the Church. V. On the History of the Church. VI. Records of the Church.

We have said there are some things here which we could have wished altered; this however is less the case with the second volume, which in many respects is far superior to the first. We trust this is a sign of improvement, and that, therefore, there is less need of finding fault ; and we shall dwell less, in consequence, upon those portions which we presume to think objectionable; nevertheless we cannot entirely pass them over. As an instance of what we deem objectionable, we will point to Tract No. 3. The title of it is, "Thoughts respectfully addressed to the Clergy on Alterations in the Liturgy." Now we wish on the present occasion to abstain from giving any opinion whatever on the subject of the expediency or inexpediency of such alteration. We

may perhaps even concur with the writer in the inexpediency of such ; but we must object entirely to the whole tone and spirit of the Tract; and especially blame the weakness of the argument on which the writer builds this inexpediency. It amounts simply to this, that, if once we begin, there is no telling where we should end; and hence he couples the rash and foolish outcry of those who merely innovate for the sake of innovation, or who wish to render the services more in accordance with modern rationalistic opinions, with those who have advocated certain alterations on the fixed and well-defined principle of a still nearer approximation to primitive antiquity. Hence the rash innovators of the present day are, in his eyes, on the same level with some of the greatest of our divines, who ave expressed a preference for the first book of King Edward over our present liturgy, and have wished that the latter should be brought back in some respects to the original model. We are sorry to say that this undiscriminating spirit, which confounds things essentially distinct, runs through some of the Tracts in the first volume, and particularly those on similar subjects with the one here pointed out. He instances the phraseology of the Creed in the words, " He descended into hell:" now we suppose no doubt exists as to the meaning of this among the learned; but does it not convey to the great mass of the people a very imperfect, perhaps even an erroneous notion that the soul of Christ went into the place of torment? And does not the use of this word in the Creed, and in the authorised version of the holy Scriptures, greatly obscure the doctrine of the immortality of the human soul, and its existence when separate from the body? Ought a proposition for the change of the word Hell in these places into the word Hades, or some equivalent, a change advocated by the highest names, to be classed with the propositions of those who innovate from a mere love of innovation, or in utter ignorance and presumption? In the same undiscriminating spirit the writer proceeds to condemn those who prefer the Prayer of Consecration, in King Edward's first book, to our present form; yet the tendency of the Tracts in general goes to show, that the writers would all (if they could) really make this innovation; or, to speak more correctly, would restore the form to a still closer resemblance to primitive Christianity. In the same spirit, he treats of the opening sentences, Confession and Absolution, in the Morning and Evening Prayers; without seeming to be aware that these services originally began with the Lord's Prayer, and that these three introductory forms were introduced by the special recommendation of the disciples of the school of Zuingli,-a school so severely but justly, treated in these very Tracts.

We think this undiscriminating temper is one of the besetting snares into which the writers of these Tracts have fallen. We think we discover this temper of mind, in the way in which they, whenever occasion

offers, speak of the rites and ceremonies of the ancient church. Little or no distinction is observed between those rites and practices, which have the testimony of the earliest and best ages, and of the universal church for their observance, and those which are of later and more doubtful origin, and were only partially observed by some particular church. An instance of this is even found in the advertisement to the second volume, above quoted. We are persuaded that an accurate attention to the subject, and due discrimination, should have led the writer to speak with more reserve on the practice of administering the Holy Communion to infants, and to the dying and insensible. Was this practice of the most remote antiquity? was it universal in its observance? was it universally continued down to a late period, or early abandoned, as if the Church had some doubts of her authority for it? Without the least hint as to the existence of the doubts which might arise from any one of these points, the practice is broadly brought forward as one of the universal church in her very first foundation by the apostles. The same may be said of what is somewhere stated in these Tracts on the early rite of Chrism; and the same on their statements regarding the fasts and festivals of the Church. These, it is well known, are many of them of very late and modern origin; with the exception of the Lord's day, and the seasons of Easter and Pentecost, none can claim an apostolical authority, and many of those now observed by our own Church are of comparatively very recent date; yet one hears these observances brought forward, as if they were all equally authorised by the united marks and characters of catholicity, and apostolical authority, and uninterrupted observance. We point out these things, assuredly not in a spirit of captious exception, but in a spirit of caution, lest the doctrines exhibited in these Tracts should meet with needless prejudice from their admixture with what is exceptionable. We would not have an occasion given, to those who seck occasion, for saying that the great doctrines of primitive truth and order lead their supporters into an indiscriminate fondness for ceremonial observances, as if it were necessary that traditions and ceremonies must never be changed "according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners," in direct opposition to the 34th Article of our Church; or, (to use the admirable words of the Preface to the Book of Common Prayer, which bears this title, "Of Ceremonies, why some be abolished, and some retained :") as if it were not true that "Christ's gospel is not a ceremonial law, (as much of Moses' law was,) but it is a religion to serve God, not in bondage of the figure or shadow, but in the freedom of the spirit; being content only with those ceremonies which do serve to a decent order and godly discipline, and such as be apt to stir up the dull mind of man to the remembrance of his duty to God, by some notable and special signification, whereby he might be edified." Let

us entreat these writers to bear in mind that the very best horse may be ridden too far. We would also ask them (if really so small a matter may seem worthy of attention) to dispense with the little piece of affectation whereby each Tract is dated on some festival. This departure from the usual mode is quite uncalled for; it can do no good, and may do harm. Again; we would suggest some alteration, so as to obviate the difficulty of finding out each Tract, when, at the end of the year, they are bound up into a volume. Either the pages should follow consecutively throughout, or the number of each Tract should be printed at the head of each page, for the purpose of easier reference.

We have thus, not without great reluctance, felt ourselves called upon to make these objections; we have now the more agreeable work of pointing out the merits of this undertaking. Where, however, there is so much which is excellent, we can only bring together briefly a few observations on the subjects treated of, and would earnestly recommend our readers to have recourse to the work itself. The four "Letters on the Visible Church" are of peculiar excellency; they at once go to the very root of sectarianism, by showing how unscriptural is the dogma which sets up an invisible church, and then supposes that communion with this non-existent body excuses our separation from the one holy catholic church, founded by the apostles, and to which the name and attributes of the body of Christ belong in Scripture. The last of these Letters admirably gives an answer to those who fear lest this doctrine of the holy catholic church should unchurch the Dissenters, or place them "without the pale of salvation;" and shows that a true faith is not inconsistent with the most enlarged benevolence. And this whole subject is then unanswerably followed up by the Tracts "On the Kingdom of Heaven," and "The Catholic Church a Witness against Illiberality." The two Tracts headed "Via Media" are on a kindred subject, and of similar excellency. The apostolical succession and the divine institution of Episcopacy, and the ancient liturgical forms of christian worship, will here be found illustrated from the deepest researches into primitive times; while in "The Records of the Church," some of the most precious remains of early christian teaching and christian history will be found restored, as it were, to light and life out of the dust of antiquity.

But the most important Tracts, in our estimation, are Nos. 67, 68, 69, entitled, "Scriptural Views of Holy Baptism," accompanied by an elaborate Preface and Notes. The author of these Tracts is the Rev. E. B. Pusey, B.D., Regius Professor of Hebrew.

The great

object of the writer is to show that much of our existing theology, especially many parts of it which are highly popular, had its origin in Zuingli and the Swiss school, and that their system is decidedly a rationalistic system. Hence he goes back to a system which he proves

« PreviousContinue »