copacy is not only a Divine institution, but the ONLY order that derives immediately from Christ."*

2ndly. Dr. Hick, another great authority, says, "Bishops are appointed to succeed the apostles, and like them to stand in Christ's place, and exercise his kingly, priestly, and prophetical office over their flocks." . . . . "They stand in God's and Christ's stead over their flocks; the clergy as well as the people are to be subject to them, as to the VICEGERENTS of our Lord."...." And the successors of the apostles, the bishops, like spiritual princes, exercise the same COERCIVE authority that they did, in inflicting spiritual censures upon their disobedient subjects."+

3rdly. The learned Dodwell declares, "None but the bishop can unite us to the Father and the Son. Whence it will further follow, that whosoever are disunited from the visible communion of the church on earth, and particularly from that visible communion of the bishop, must consequently be disunited from the whole visible catholic church on earth; and not only so, but from the invisible communion of the holy angels and saints in heaven, and, which is yet more, from Christ and God himself."

4thly. "A person NOT COMMISSIONED from the bishop may use the words of baptism, and sprinkle or bathe with water, on earth, but there is no promise from Christ, that such a man shall adinit souls to the kingdom of heaven. A person not commissioned may break bread, and pour out wine, and pretend to give the Lord's supper, but it can afford no comfort to any to receive it at his hands, because there is no warrant from Christ to lead communicants to suppose that, while he does so here on earth, they will be partakers in the Saviour's heavenly body and blood. And as far as the person himself, who takes upon himself, without warrant, to mi

Episcopacy asserted, p. 48, ed. Ox. 1642, 4to. On the Dignity of the Episcopal Order, p. 191, &c. London, 1707, 8vo.

One Altar and one Priesthood. 1683, pp. 317, 379.

nister in holy things, he is all the while treading in the footsteps of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, whose awful punishment you read of in the Book of Numbers. Compare Numbers xvi. with Jude 2." *

The foregoing extracts will explain what I mean by hyper high-church doctrines and principles, and the reader will judge for himself how far they are popish or not. But it may be asked, are these the views and principles held and advocated by all our bishops? No, I bless God they are not; neither were they held or advocated by many who have passed out of time into eternity. I could produce some happy instances, both from the list of bishops departed, and of bishops now living; but I will name only one, whose book on "The Kingdom of Christ" has appeared very opportunely to meet these high-church claims to divine right and apostleship of our bishops. His words are these: "Succession to the apostolic office, the apostles have none. As witnesses of the resurrection, as dispensers of miraculous gifts, as inspired oracles of divine revelation, they have no successors. But as members, as ministers, as governors of Christian communities, their successors are the regularly-admitted members, the lawfully-ordained ministers, the regular and recognized governors of a regularly subsisting church."+ And surely this is all that the case requires, whether the honour of the church or the edification of the people be considered. Here is dignity enough for the bishops, and abundant scope for useful labour within the folds of their respective dioceses. It is no matter of surprise that men who never, theoretically or experimentally, knew the gospel of Christ, should fall into such snares, and be caught in such a self-magnifying scheme, as invests them with something very like divine powers. But it is matter of astonishment and sorrow that many others are daily becoming entangled in this net of high-church apostolic succession, and divine exclu

Tracts for the Times, No. 35, pp. 2, 3.

+ Dr. Whately's Kingdom of Christ delineated.

sive right.

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"And what is meant by this said apostolic succession, and what are its consequences ?" This is a question which some may ask with all simplicity of desire to know the fact. I will then explain the matter, as stated by Dr. Hook, of Leeds, in his two Sermons on the Church and the Establishment. "There is not a bishop, priest, or deacon among us, who cannot, if he please, trace his own spiritual descent from St. Peter or St. Paul." The only ministration to which the Lord has promised his presence, is to those of the bishops who are successors of the first commissioned apostles, and the other clergy acting under THEIR sanction, and by their AUTHORITY." Now, my reader, this is truly very awful in its consequences, as concerns the millions who have composed the Non-Episcopal Church of Scotland, and all the continental Protestant Reformed Churches,

if true and unanswerable. But as a set-off to Dr. Hook, let us see what another living Doctor says; I mean Dr. Whately, the present Archbishop of Dublin, in his recently published work, "The Kingdom of Christ," pp. 176-178. "There is not a minister in all Christendom who is able to trace up, with any approach to certainty, his own spiritual pedigree. The sacramental virtue (for such it is, that is implied, whether the term be used or not, in the principle I have been speaking of,) dependent on the imposition of hands with the due observance of apostolical usages, by a bishop, himself duly consecrated, after having been in like manner baptized into the church, and ordained deacon and priest, this sacramental virtue, if a single link of the chain be faulty, must, on the above principles, be utterly nullified ever after, in respect of all the links that hang on that one. For if a bishop has not been duly consecrated, or had not been, previously, rightly ordained, his ordinations are null; and so are the ministrations of those ordained by him ; and their ordination of others; (supposing any of the persons ordained by him to attain to the episcopal office ;)

and so on, without end. The poisonous taint of informality, if it once creep

in undetected, will spread the infection of nullity to an indefinite and irremediable extent.

"And who can undertake to pronounce, that during that long period usually designated as the dark ages, no such taint ever was introduced? Irregularities could not have been wholly excluded without a perpetual miracle : and that no such miraculous interference existed, we have even historical proof. Amidst the numerous corruptions of doctrine and of practice, and gross superstitions, that crept in, during those ages, we find recorded descriptions, not only of the profound ignorance and profligacy of life of many of the clergy, but also of the grossest irregularities in respect of discipline and form. We read of bishops consecrated when mere children; of men officiating who barely knew their letters; of prelates expelled, and others put into their places, by violence; of illiterate and profligate laymen, and habitual drunkards, admitted to holy orders; and, in short, of the prevalence of every kind of disorder, and reckless disregard of the decency which the apostle enjoins. It is inconceivable that any one, even moderately acquainted with history, can feel a certainty, or any approach to a certainty, that, amidst all this confusion and corruption, every requisite form was, in every instance, strictly adhered to, by men, many of them openly profane and secular, unrestrained by public opinion, through the gross ignorance of the population among whom they lived; and that no one not duly consecrated or ordained was admitted to the sacred offices."

to my brethren, in the ministry of the Established Church, and that by saying, we must humble ourselves before God for our own individual unfaithfulness to our solemn trust as pastors and ministers of Christ's flock. We must also unfeignedly acknowledge and lament the many imperfections cleaving to the church to which we belong, and the still more numerous ones that cleave to many of those who serve at her altars; nor must we forget our past uncourteous, unkind, and unchristian conduct towards those ministers of the Lord Jesus who go not with

us.

We must study, and more closely follow the example of our blessed Lord himself. There yet are, I trust, many of you who stand aloof from Puseyism, and from most of the high-church extravagances maintained by others; but it is to be feared, that no few of you are, more or less, entangled in the net of apostolic succession. Now, as I consider this delusion to lie at the root of all high-church extravagances, of all Puseyism, of all Popery, and of every kind of spiritual intolerance, I would most earnestly beseech you to break from this leading snare, to rouse yourselves from this self-exalting temptation; and "not to think more highly of yourselves than ye ought to think." Look, my brethren, with prayer and calmness on this scheme. Look at the fruits it has borne in every age of the church, when armed with power. Look at what it is now doing; and then ask, "Can such views and such consequences be agreeable to the mind of Christ Jesus? Can such be the rule and law of Heaven concerning the church militant here on earth?" I address you most solemnly as a man who expects shortly to have done with this world, and all its contentions and strifes as a man who is labouring to think and feel on this subject as I must and shall do when I am actually on my passage from earth to heaven. Be assured it is a delusion, and one as destructive of harmony and peace in England, as high-caste is of universal sympathy in Bengal. How can you

seriously believe that the ever-blessed God hath made the salvation of millions of millions to depend on such a scheme; or that his covenant promises of mercy are shut out from all but those who are ministered unto by episcopalian bishops, and episcopalian ordained teachers and preachers? Can you seriously believe that the kingdom of God cannot universally fill the earth, unless it be constituted under the form and government of the Established Church of England, or under that of the apostate, adjudged, and condemned Church of Rome? Or, to come still closer home, can you really think, "that in this country the clergy of the National Church, AND THEY ONLY, are entitled to the respect and obedience of the people, as their lawful guides and governors in spiritual things; that they alone are duly commissioned to preach the word of God, and administer the sacraments?" If these are the settled convictions of your minds, then must you for ever relinquish every scriptural hope of the Lord's will being done on earth as it is done in heaven; of that time ever coming when "peace shall flow down as a river, and righte ousness as the waves of the sea." On such terms as the apostolic succession holds out, there cannot be realized any thing like a heavenly unity of spirit or a bond of peace among men ; and without this unity of spirit among Protestants, Popery cannot be resisted with success. Oh that I could but convince you that "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;" that it is not form and ceremony, that it is not one exclusive denomination or another; but "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost""That in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love." Blessed be God, there is still the possibility of a real unity of spirit and bond of peace existing among his children, without even an attempt at uniformity in matters of church forms and government. Blessed be God, there is a communion of saints still

existing on earth. There is yet an offering of a sweet-smelling savour of love and charity towards all the brethren daily ascending to God from the altar of many a heart; though, alas! the number is too few, and the flame too faint! Faint indeed, but it still burns, nor shall all the blasts of the wicked one extinguish it. Now, it is to fan up this tremulous fire into a bright and heavenly flame among all who name the name of Jesus, that all our efforts should be directed. For the consummation of this glorious object our daily prayers should ascend to God, seeing that this is the very thing that will make all the disciples of Jesus one, whenever it takes place. Yes, my brethren, we who hold the same grand truths of the Gospel must learn to feel and act as brethren, and to love all who hold the same truth, and love the Lord Jesus in spirit and in truth, or we have no scriptural evidence of ourselves being his disciples; without this experience, this frame of mind, we have no safe evidence that we ourselves have "passed from death unto life." (1 John iii. 14.) But, my brethren, we never can thus feel and act towards the ministering servants of the Lord Jesus who belong to nonepiscopal branches of the universal church we never can enter into this hallowed unity of spirit, into this experimental heavenly bond of peace, so long as we cling to the delusive, intoxicating doctrine of apostolic succession and exclusive divine right of episcopacy. Oh, bear with me a little while; I do not ask you to surrender one iota of the clearly revealed truths of God, nor do I ask you to become non-conformist of any name or order; but I do most earnestly implore you, as you value the truths and righteousness of heaven-as you value the gospel of peace and love on earth-as you value the real glory and Christian character of the Established Church, by all these I do implore you to give up this highminded, untenable doctrine; and to esteem every educated, ordained evangelical ministering servant of the Lord

as a brother in Christ Jesus, a fellowlabourer in the great vineyard of the world. I beseech you, not only to feel willing that the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in their hands, but that you stand ready to give glory to the God of all grace, whenever and wherever you behold that grace displayed through such instrumentality.

Oh, were it possible for redeemed and glorified spirits to weep in heaven, many a tear would ere now have been shed by episcopalians and non-episcopalians on the recollection of those unworthy feelings they once cherished towards each other when dwellers on earth. But in heaven they weep not

they are of one mind; being all absorbed in the love and adoration of their common Lord and Saviour, and in the experience of unutterable and undying affection for each other. In that blessed world there are no partition walls, no artificial distinctions, no jealousies or strife, unless it be the strife of love. And is not that the very heaven we ourselves are looking forward to? and do we not now feel assured that all those will meet and hail us as brethren who on earth

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worshipped God in the spirit, rejoiced in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh ?" Why then do we entertain sentiments that only tend to chill every spiritual affection towards these brethren by the way, and to send us, if possible, with feelings of unkindness even to the very margin of that better land? Oh, why do we continue thus to deal towards each other; and that too, when, humanly speaking, the ark of the Lord is in jeopardy of being captured by the Philistines? Doctor Pusey hesitates not to declare, that "on the issue of the present struggle hangs the destiny of the Church of England;" and I believe he is correct. Its destiny, so far as man can judge, does depend on the issue of the present struggle. Here is a conflict not about trifles-not about some few non-essential matters; but a struggle for real, vital Christianity-for the Gospel of Christ-for Protestant

ism; aye, and for civil and religious liberty too- a struggle against the idolatry and insolence of Popery undisguised, and against the silly, corrupt, popish dogmas and traditions of men incorporated into Puseyism, and cheered on by ultra high-church crusaders. In other words, Truth and Error, Light and Darkness, Christ and Belial are in open conflict; and in this conflict the Church of England must and will daily take a more decided part, will make a more decided stand, either for good or for evil; and on the issue depends her destiny. Hers is indeed a momentous and solemn position; for just as she rises above, or sinks down into Popish Puseyite follies and abominations, so will she become a blessed instrument in the hands of the Almighty for good to the nation, and to the world-or become a tool in the hands of Satan, to inflict a curse on mankind.

The position taken by the leaders of the Oxford heresy is, that " The gift of the Holy Ghost has been preserved in the world, solely by means of the episcopal succession, and that to seek communion with Christ by any other channel, is to attempt an impossibility." "* Now, if ever the history of the world produced facts, the most strong and numerous, to disprove any position or hold assertion of man, it has done so in reference to this, utterly disproving that the Holy Ghost has been handed down from bishop to bishop, and only thus preserved in the world. No-that blessed Spirit is neither confined to temples made with hands, nor to any external lineage of so called apostolical succession. He is wherever two or three meet together in the name of Jesus. Ofttimes, during our late long and sanguinary war, did small parties of men meet in the tented field of the British army, and in the floating castles of Albion's navy, and there, on hundreds of occasions, without one apostolical successionist,

Keble and Newman's Preface to the second portion of Froude's Remains.

or minister of any description, to care
for their souls, to preach to them when
in health, or to instruct, direct, and
comfort them when sick or dying, there
I say, did they seek communion with
Christ, and there they found Him
whom they sought. Away from their
native land, and all its privileges, thus

"Oft did they prove the power of prayer
To strengthen faith and sweeten care:
To teach their faint desires to rise,
And bring all heaven before their eyes."

Ah, my reader, many a rude storm has blown over this land since those gone-by days have borne their record into eternity; but still the remembrance of them is cheering to my heart. And so is another event, however the naming of it may bring down the whole weight of Tractarian condemnation. Methinks I now behold that humble house of prayer, wherein I, for the first time in my life, ate bread and drank wine in remembrance that Christ died for me; and where, if I ever found communion with Christ, it was then and there, although the place was only a wood-frame, covered with tarred canvass, and the minister, who dispensed the elements, was only a devoted English Protestant missionary, ordained and set apart, indeed, by his brethren at home, but pretending to no other apostolic succession, than that which consists in doctrine, faith, and holiness; the only succession that will pass current in heaven, or avail to any good purpose on the earth. From that time forward to the present day, my song has been,

"Jesus, where'er thy people meet,

There they behold thy mercy-seat;
Where'er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
And every place is hallow'd ground."

In conclusion, my brethren, ye who minister at the same altar with myself, let me remind you, that duty and privilege call on us to unite with each other, and with real Christians of all denominations, in continued, fervent prayer to Him who alone can give the blessing, that he would arise, and make bare his arm against every enemy of