munion, of which they were no legitimate offspring, and from which they were speedily ejected as unworthy of her; and similar, probably, will be the result of the new and partial attempt which appears to have been made to supersede the discreet and kind moderation which has long distinguished the episcopal bench. The same high authority, before which the above-mentioned invasion of the peace of our Zion has disappeared, might perhaps interpose soon enough to save from serious injury such a society, for instance, as the Church Missionary Society, which enrols amongst its members some of our most distinguished prelates, and not fewer than fourteen hundred of our clergy, and which has placed all its missions under the direction of episcopal authority, wherever such authority exists. But even were there less reason than there is for any conscientious clergyman, who may feel himself somewhat embarrassed by recent occurences, to look for relief from any human quarter, still, the combination of the two maxims, that "we ought to obey God rather than man," and that "the servant of the Lord must not strive," would, I conceive, generally bring the humble inquirer, after Divine direction, to a practical conclusion, at once safe for himself, and not ultimately injurious to any institution which is essentially contributing to the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. That kingdom is not of this world: may none of those who are most zealously engaged in promoting it ever act as if they thought that it was. If they meet with encouragement and assistance from those to whom they not unreasonably look for co-operation in their work and labour of love, let them accept it with thankfulness, and work the work of God while it is day. But should they, on the contrary, be called to encounter frowns and opposition, where they might hope to find favour, let them not be cast down; let them not be

surprised as if some strange thing had happened to them. The unexpected check may, perhaps not unjustly, be regarded as an intimation from Him who does not despise their well-intended services, that there are other modes, besides that in which they have been engaged, of effectually promoting the cause to which their heart is devoted. For instance, should the zealous friend of a missionary association be precluded by circumstances from advocating its claims, as he has done in times past, from the pulpit, still he may recommend, on its behalf, weekly or monthly contributions, and may give advice and encouragement to those who are employed as its collectors. By arranging or superintending the execution of a plan for thus combining the efforts of many, especially if he proceed on the localizing plan recommended by Dr. Chalmers, he may be providing for the institution much more extensive and permanent support than he could by any other means; and that in a way to which no ecclesiastical superior can reasonably object. Even were the pulpits throughout the kingdom closed, which there is no reason to apprehend, against the advocates of any religious society, which commends itself to the consciences of the religious public; still periodical meetings of its supporters, followed occasionally by a canvas from house to house, would probably more than compensate for any diminution of its funds arising from such an exclusion. Let me be permitted to add for the consideration of any Christian brother to whom the suggestion may be applicable, that while withdrawn from the more public services in which others are engaged, and thus favoured with a temporary seclusion for which they perhaps are sighing, he may be recruiting his strength, and repairing and tempering his weapons for more public labours in the vineyard of his Lord: he may be training others for services to which he himself is not suited: he

may be diffusing correct information respecting the state of the heathen world, and respecting the past and present endeavours of Christians to reclaim them from it. Thus he may be multiplying and purifying the springs and resources of the missionary warfare. Especially, he may be employing more diligently and perseveringly that spiritual engine which, however despised by an upgodly world, availeth much with

God; which, like its emblem, the uplifted hands of Moses, may win victory for those who see not the agency to which they are indebted; and he may be learning more experimentally than he would learn in the field of public observation, that lesson so hard to learn and to remember: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." I am, &c.

AN EPISCOPALIAN.

Justification by Faith; a Course of Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge, in the Month of January 1825. By the Rev. J. W. WHITTAKER; B. D. Fellow of St. John's College Cambridge, Vicar of Blackburne, and lately Domestic Chaplain to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. London: Rivingtons. 1825.

CHRISTIANITY is the religion of intelligent though fallen creatures; and accordingly, while it engages the affections of the heart, it has its basis in the understanding; so that the whole edifice of religious emotions, hopes, and practice, rests upon the general correctness of the apprehension of its doctrines. Among these, the first in the order of importance is the doctrine of justification. For it is manifestly the chief design of the Christian revelation, to discover the principles and the terms upon which the mediatorial' dispensation, instituted for the purpose of justifying and saving the human race, is conducted: unless therefore we maintain, that those principles and terms are such, that every man is saved by the law or sect that he professeth, provided he be diligent and sincere according to that profession," we must conclude, that the perception of the truth in this matter, is of the greatest im

portance to ús, and that our eternal salvation is concerned in the general correctness of our apprehension of the subject. Luther accordingly calls the doctrine of justification, "articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesiæ."

As the question of justification, then, is of such great importance, comprehending the main scope of Divine revelation, we are led to expect that the language of Scripture will be definite and clear concerning it. The most obvious sense in this case, is the sense to be preferred; and the more carefully we avoid giving admission to any theory which confines the interpretation of the sacred records within certain preassigned limits, the more likely we are to discover their sincere and perfect meaning.

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The Roman-Catholic teaches her members, that the sense of the Scriptures is to be discovered, not immediately from the sacred canon, but through the medium of her interpretations of it.

Socinianism confines the meaning of the Scriptures nearly within the limits of natural theology, and regulates their sense by the sovereignty and infallibility of reason; so that while it allows the general correctness of the sacred records, it is careful never to let their meaning go beyond what unassisted reason can fully comprehend.

The Church of England, on the contrary, directs us to consider the holy Scriptures as containing a definite and intelligible meaning, limited by no such theories, and requiring, for the discovery of their general and most important sense, only the humility, patience, and prayer of the inquirer. See, in proof of this, the Homily on the Reading of the holy Scriptures. The Scriptures, understood thus in their simple and obvious sense, contain such clear and positive testimony to the effect that we are justified by faith in Christ, and not by our own works, that he can have little claim to the character of a Christian who does not agree to the truth of the doctrine. The sense of the Church of England also is so definite and clear to the same purport, that he of whose creed the doctrine of justification by faith is not a part, can have no claim to the character of a consistent churchman. It is only, therefore, in cases of extreme heterodoxy, that the proposition just stated, is openly impugned. But it is much to be lamented, that among some of those who maintain the doctrine, a misplaced ingenuity has found out modes of explaining it, neither according to the analogy of the faith, nor the sense of our venerable church. We are grieved to observe a striking exemplification of our observation in the sermons before us; in which, so far as the preacher's obscure and confused manner of treating the subject is sufficiently transparent for us to discover his meaning, it is often in opposition to that of the holy Scriptures, and the doctrines of the Church of England.

Before we proceed to any remarks upon the points at issue, we will give a sketch of our author's plan.

In the first sermon, after stating that we are esteemed innocent and righteous before God" on account of a certain quality in our minds called Faith," he prepares the way CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 291.

for the discussion of the subject by attempting to remove "some prevalent though most unfounded opinions." In prosecution of his design he first proves the opinion to be false, that the doctrine itself was either not known or not recog nised, prior to our Lord's advent, "by shewing that the preservation of faith in the promise of an atonement was the purpose of the Mosaic ordinances." p. 5.

The next erroneous sentiment which he attacks, is, that "Christ's religion, as preached by himself, was widely different from that preached by his Apostles." In confutation of this assertion, he justly observes, that our blessed Saviour's ministry abounds with such declarations as the following: "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day." p. 9.

But the chief cause of the prejudices and misconstructions. that have taken place on the subject of justification by faith, Mr. Whittaker considers to be "the highly indecent, and unscriptural language, which they, who intemperately advocate the doctrine, are so frequently in the habit of using. Many persons," he remarks, "maintain that faith is something which springs up to instant maturity in the human mind." (p. 11.) "Others dreadfully pervert it (faith) from its purpose, as a foundation of moral purity, by urging, that, if we are justified by faith without the deeds of the law, moral purity is not requisite to salvation." He observes, with great propriety, upon the separation of faith from good works, that it implies the absurdity of "a powerful motive terminating in no action-of a strong cause followed by no effect."

He goes on to shew, that the doctrine of faith as the condition of acceptance, is just, reasonable, and true; and that justification by works (by which he means, to use his own X

phrase, "bare actions irrespective of their motives,") involves injustice and impropriety on the part of God, and immorality on the part of man;—that it affords opportunities for glaring impostures upon the credulity which it nourishes;-encourages the ambitious views of those who would convert heaven and immortality into a profitable merchandise; and ends in the most dreadful corruption of Christianity.

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In the third sermon, he says, "The term faith, when spoken of in reference to justification, is distinguished from our reception of other truths both by its origin in the mind and its effect on the mind; and from every species of analogous belief, which has not the mystery of our redemption for its object.' "Here," he says, pose to consider what are its objects we proand materials, that our employment of the term may be in strict accordance with the apostolic usage, and to relieve ourselves from the vagueness and uncertainty of general expressions. The necessity of doing this is very obvious. We cannot believe in that which we do not know; but all our knowledge is not belief. Again, faith must consist of truths which we believe;-[query, is this sense?] but all belief is not faith. Faith must be a belief in spiritual things; but all faith is not Gospel-faith: further, we cannot believe what we do not understand; and yet it is equally true, that most of the articles of the Christian faith are beyond the grasp of our reason.

The fourth sermon is upon the "operation of faith to exterminate sin, produce mental purity, and promote active virtue." The fifth discourse concludes the subject, by shewing the harmony of the Law and the Gospel, and the agreement of the writings of the New Testament one with another, on the subject of justification by faith.

Having thus given a brief sketch of our author's arrangement of the subject, we proceed to consider the particular opinions which he maintains.

The first sermon of the series opens with the following proposition, which is either plainly false, or very obscurely expressed;-false, if taken according to the obvious meaning of the terms; obscurely

expressed, if to be understood in a sense in which it is true.

"There is scarcely any doctrine of our religion so simple and intelligible as that ing of these words is this, that we are of justification by faith: the plain meanesteemed innocent and righteous before God, on account of a certain quality in our minds called faith, and not for our actions."

This, our author says, " is a very perspicuous proposition; one most easily understood," and which can require "no illustration whatever."

We cannot allow that the terms of this proposition are so clear as to need no elucidation. Their most obvious sense is, that we are justified in respect of the merit of a certain quality in our minds called faith: but yet we can hardly think this to be our author's meaning; for the Homily of Salvation, with which we would suppose him well acquainted, and the doctrine of which

the

we conclude he would not think fit to contravene, positively contradicts it. "The true understanding of this doctrine-we be justified freely by faith....is not," says. Homily, "that this our act to be. lieve in Christ, which is within us, doth justify us for that were to count ourselves to be justified by some act or virtue that is within ourselves......as St. John Baptist, although he were never so virtuous and godly a man, yet in this matter of forgiving of sin, he did put the people from him, and appointed them unto Christ, saying thus unto them,-Behold yonder is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world; even so, as great and godly a virtue as the lively faith is, yet it putteth us from itself, and remitteth or appointeth us unto Christ, for to have only by him remission of our sins or justification. So that our faith in Christ, as it were, saith unto us thus, It is not I that take away your sins, but it is Christ only; and to him only I send you for that purpose, forsaking therein all your good virtues, words, thoughts, and works, and only putting your trust in Christ."-Second