Dr. We may infer from CHRIST's promise already mentioned, that this will never happen to the whole Church at once; that some true Apostles will be found on earth in every age, until that last period of the world's history, which shall witness His coming. But that with regard to particular branches of His Church, this may happen, and has happened, is a melancholy truth. There is one simple test, however, by which we may at once assure ourselves that the Church of England has not so fallen away, or, as it is called, apostatized, from the faith of her LORD and Master. J.—And what is that, Sir? Dr. As the eternal truth of GOD is contained in His revealed word the Bible, no Church, whatever may be the errors of her individual members, can be said, as a Church, to have fallen away, and consequently to have lost her claim to the obedience of CHRIST's true disciples, while she still reverences that Bible ;while she puts it into the hand of each of her followers, and bids him read it, and seek there, and there only, the proofs of the doctrine which she inculcates; and while she declares, as the Church of England does in her sixth Article, that "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." J.-Then according to you, Sir, the Church of England is not only the true, but the original Church of CHRIST established in this kingdom.-Now Sam Jones, the Catholic, who attends the Popish Chapel in the next parish, tells me that his is the original Church, and that the Church of England is a new one. Dr. That which is truly the Catholic Church, is indeed the oldest; but though we in a common way call the Papists, or followers of the Pope, Catholics, yet it is we who are the true Catholics; for the term only means members of CHRIST's universal Church. The history of the Papists is this. Many centuries ago, strange and corrupt notions and practices prevailed in many of the Churches in Europe. Among others, people thought the Pope or Bishop of Rome was gifted with authority from Heaven to control all the branches of the Church on earth, and that his word was to be of more weight than even the Holy Scriptures themselves. But about three hundred years ago, the Bishops of the Church of England saw these errors in their true light; they saw that the Pope's authority was not founded on Scripture, and they consequently refused to acknowledge it, while they at the same time corrected, upon scriptural principles, the other errors and evil practices which I have alluded to. These changes did not make the Church of England a new Church, nor prevent that body which was CHRIST's true and original Church before from being CHRIST's true and original Church still. Some Bishops of that day, it is true, disapproved of these changes, and refused to accede to them; but as, when they died, they providentially appointed no successors, there has never since been any real ground for doubt which was the true Church of CHRIST in this favoured land. The Bishops of the Church of England, and they only, are the representatives by succession of those who, more than a thousand years ago, planted the Gospel on our shores 1. J. But there are persons whom the Papists call their Bishops -whence do they come ? Dr.-They derive what they call their right from their appointment by foreign Bishops in an unauthorized manner. The Pope and his followers would by no means acknowledge the changes which had taken place in England; they declared that our Church had apostatized from the faith, and refused to communicate with us, till we should return to all our ancient errors. They have since, upon the alleged ground that our line of Bishops was extinct, given commission from time to time to different persons to exercise episcopal authority here; but as the ground was false, the commission was of course void. We acknowledge the Pope and his Bishops in foreign countries to be, by station, ministers of the Church, though we admit and lament the fact, that they have led the branches of it over which they preside into apostasy and shame; yet we feel that in sending their representatives hither, to act in defiance of the Church already established, they are exceeding the limits of their authority. We feel that GOD, who is not the author of confusion, but of peace, in all churches of the saints, (1 Cor. xiv. 33.) cannot sanction the intrusion of one Bishop, however duly consecrated, into the See of another, with a view to the usurpation of his name and office, and to the organizing a systematic opposition to his authority. We are compelled therefore to regard those who are ordained, as Popish Priests are, by these intruding Bishops, as unauthorized and schismatical ministers of religion, 1 In the same manner it may be shown, that the established Church of Ireland alone represents that Church which the labours of St. Patrick, in the fifth century, planted in that island. Those who preside over the Romanists have received consecration from Rome, at a very recent period. And the corruptions which prevail in their religion, and which distinguish it from ours, became prevalent long after that Saint's death. Our doctrines therefore approach more nearly to his than theirs do; and our Church is the true and original Church of CHRIST in Ireland, in every sense which the words will bear. and as violators, like the other dissenters around them, of the laws of CHRIST's Church, and of the unity of His fold. J.-I thank you, Sir, for giving me so good an answer to Sam when next I meet him. And I thank you, too, deeply and sincerely do I thank you, for teaching me the nature of one great branch of Christian duty which I never understood before. I seem now to see that there is a sin of which a Christian may be guilty, of which I never before thought; the sin, I mean, of refusing obedience to the command of our REDEEMER to hear His Apostles; to demean ourselves as dutiful members of the Church which those holy persons founded, and over which He Himself, invisibly, presides; a sin, of which they are deeply guilty who separate themselves from that Church altogether, and join one or other of the many sects which reject her authority. Pray, Sir, by what name is such a sin properly called? Dr.-It is called "schism," from a Greek word signifying "division." A man may forfeit the privileges enjoyed by him as a member of CHRIST'S Church in two ways:—either on account of" heresy," of his adopting opinions opposed to the great truths of the Word of God; or through schism, through a disregard of Church authority, and a notion that so long as his doctrine is pure, he may join what sect he pleases, or even set up one for himself. The exercise of such a privilege I have heard some people call "Christian Liberty." J. (smiling)—I understand you, Sir: but you shall hear me use the words in this improper sense no more. The true liberty wherewith CHRIST has made us free, is theirs alone, who in reverencing His ministers, walk in the way of His commandments. Admitting, as I now do, the force of what you have said; convinced, as I now am, that the Church of England is, to us, the Apostolic Church of CHRIST, established by our LORD Himself, I cannot but see that their sin is indeed great, who wilfully reject and despise it. Dr. Such persons would do well to consider our SAVIOUR'S words to those Ministers whose successors they slight. "He that despiseth you, despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me, despiseth Him that sent Me." (Luke x. 16.) J.-They would indeed, Sir; and I thank God that you have shown me the meaning of this text before I had completely separated myself from the Church to which my SAVIOUR has commanded me to belong. God knows, I meant to do no such thing when first my curiosity led me to the meeting. Dr.-I know it, John; but let this show you the danger of making the first step, of yielding to the first temptation. Curiosity led you to a place, to which, if you understood your duty, you had no business to go; you were pleased, and tempted to repeat your visit, and might soon have been led to unite yourself entirely to that unauthorized congregation; in defiance, as I have now shown you, of the solemnly declared will of the ALMIGHTY. J.-Well, Sir; I will, by God's blessing, keep myself from such temptations for the future. I trust that on each succeeding Sunday, while life and health are spared me, I shall be found in my old accustomed seat at Church, and kneel in the sacred spot where my forefathers knelt before me: and God grant that no temptation may ever again lead me astray, or induce me to separate from the holy Church of my REDEEMER. Dr.-It gives me, John, the sincerest pleasure to hear you express such sentiments as these. One good effect will, through God's grace, result even from this your temporary wandering from the fold. You will now know better than you did, what we mean when in the words of our Liturgy we pray for "the good estate of the Catholic Church ;" and you will be enabled, I trust, to join more fully than heretofore in the beautiful prayer, "that it may be so guided and governed by God's good SPIRIT, that all who profess and call themselves Christians, may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life." J.-I hope, Sir, that I shall I hope that I shall ever feel duly thankful for the blessing of being called into CHRIST's Church, thus happily established among us; and I trust that when in the name of the congregation you put up the prayer for protection against false doctrine, heresy, and schism," my heart and soul may accompany my lips in the response,-" Good LORD, deliver 66 us!" OXFORD, The Feast of the Annunciation. [SEVENTH EDITION.] These Tracts are continued in Numbers, and sold at the price of 2d. for each sheet, or 7s. for 50 copies. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE. 1840. GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London. TRACTS FOR THE TIMES. THE REFORMED CHURCH. All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the House of the LORD was laid. But many of the Priests and Levites, the chief of the fathers, who were ancient men that had seen the first House, when the foundation of this House was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice.-EZRA iii. 11, 12. SOME remarks may, perhaps, be profitably made on the following well known lines in Herbert's Church Militant, in which the text above quoted is applied to our own period: The second Temple could not reach the first, To these diminishings, as is between The spacious world and Jewry to be seen. Surely there is a close analogy between the state of the Jews after the captivity, and our own; and, if so, a clear understanding and acknowledgment of it will tend to teach us our own place and suggest to us our prospects. 1. It is scarcely necessary to notice the general correspondence between the fortunes of the two Churches. Both Jews and Christians "left their first love," mixed with the world, were brought under the power of their enemies, went into captivity, and at length, through God's mercy, were brought back again from Babylon. Ezra and Nehemiah are the forerunners of our Hookers and Lauds; Sanballat and Geshem of the disturbers of our Israel. Samaria has set up its rival temple among us. 2. The second Temple lacked the peculiar treasures of the Temple of Solomon, the Prince of Peace; such as the Ark, the visible glory of GoD, the tables of the Covenant, Aaron's rod, the manna, the oracle. In like manner the Christian Church was, in the beginning, set up in unity; unity of doctrine, or truth, unity of discipline, or Catholicism, unity of heart, or charity. In spite of the heresies which then disturbed the repose of Christians, consider the evidences which present themselves in ecclesiastical |