of its concerns. We are directed to seek knowledge from the mouth of the priest, for this reason, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts; or, in the words of St. Paul, the ambassador for Jesus Christ. Christians must, therefore, be furnished with some sure criterion, by which they may know where this ambassador is to be found.

That this is a matter of no trifling concern, we are authorised to conclude, from the attention at all times paid by God to persons invested with the ministerial commission, considered as a sort of mediators between God and man. We read, for instance, that God would not heal Abimelech, though he knew the integrity of his heart, till Abraham had prayed for him. "He is a prophet, (says God) he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live."* If the good Cornelius will have the Gospel revealed to him, he must send to Joppa, for Peter to preach to him.

Now it is a decided position, that no ambassador can send himself. In like manner, and in allusion to the same idea, the Apostle asks, "how shall they preach, except they be sent." Mr. Haweis will answer the question, by telling us, that those persons are sent into the ministry, who have the inward call and qualifications for it. But there is a wide difference between being qualified for an office, and being authorised to undertake it. The former may be considered as an invisible thing, of which we may not have it in our power to form a competent judgment. The minister may deceive himself, and of course cannot fail to deceive others. *Gen. xx. 7. + Rom. x. 15.

But the outward appointment to an office is that external mark, suited to the administration of a visible society, which our blessed Saviour sanctioned by his own practice, and by which we cannot be deceived.

For, taking the subject on Mr. Haweis's ground, it must be asked, who is to judge of the call and qualifications of every particular minister? not the minister himself, surely? not quite so: but, what appears to amount to the same thing, ministers of a similar description, who have received the same call and qualifications with himself, and have considered them as their sufficient warrant for undertaking the ministry.

This appears to me to be a wild mode of writing, calculated only to exalt that little thing called self, at the expense of propriety and order; and thereby to open a door to endless confusion. The great Dr. Johnson, whose character for piety is too well established to suffer us to suppose that he meant any disparagement to sound religion, when speaking of the inward light to which some pretended, said, it was a principle utterly incompatible with social or civil society. "If a man (said he) pretend to a principle of action, of which I can know nothing; nay, not so much that he has it, but only that he pretends to it; how can I tell what that person may be prompted to do? When a person professes to be governed by a written, ascertained law, I can then know where to find him."*

This judicious observation applies to the principle upon which Mr. Haweis appears to act; which,

* Boswell's Life.

by exchanging a certain and established standard of judgment, for a fallible and unwarranted one, leaves the Christian at some loss with respect to the determination of his conduct, upon a subject of the most essential importance.

Desirous of giving every pious person credit for the best intentions, I conceive that Mr. Haweis cannot have considered the extent to which his principle may be carried, nor even that to which he himself has been carried by it. There is one consideration, therefore, I would take leave to recommend to him, taken out of an excellent letter to the Church of England, lately published." One reformation without authority soon begets another of the same sort: confusion thickens; and of spiritual as well as of political anarchy we all know the end we know whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. One corruption, once admitted, soon increases to more, till all is lost. We preach wrong; that error is corrected by another-by a reformation founded in disobedience, that turns to schism; and in schism, they that are wise without the Church, will soon be wise against it: this leads to heresy, and that to infidelity-a dreadful progress, but it hath been verified a thousand times."*

Nor do I think that it can have occurred to you, Sir, that a principle of insubordination to established authority will never cease to act, while there is any settled government to be acted against. The rebellion that originates in the Church never

* Letter to the Church of England, by the late Rev. Mr. Jones.

fails to terminate in the state; although some of those, who have not scrupled to begin the former, feel themselves most revolting against the latter.

On this account, I have taken the liberty to address this subject to your consideration as a legislator; to prevent you from giving encouragement to practices, which you cannot wish to espouse; which not only break in upon all settled order, but must ultimately tend to the disadvantage of that cause, which it is your object to promote.

Schism is the prolific parent of heresy. The establishment of the Christian Church, is the best security for the preservation of the Christian faith. Separation from it leads, sooner or later, to confusion and error. It does more in the words of Mr. Baxter, to whose authority you will pay respect, it not only leads directly to apostacy from the faith, but shakes states and kingdoms, having a lamentable influence on the civil peace. In a word, (says he) the scripture tells us, that where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." 29*

Should you not be too confirmed in your opinions to take a leaf out of any book, there are two publications, particularly relative to the present subject, which you will thank me for pointing out; because they will tend to furnish you with more correct ideas, upon some subjects, than you now appear to possess. I mean Bishop Stillingfleet's Unreasonableness of Separation, and Dr. Maurice's Defence of Diocesan Episcopacy: publications which, I trust, you will think not unworthy the attention of * Baxter's Christian Directory, page 739.

those separating ministers, whose chapels you occasionally frequent, should they (as it is most proba ble) be at present strangers to their merit.

Admitting that the Church of this country is not what it ought to be, every sound member of it will be thankful to you for your endeavours to make it such. But for that purpose, let me beseech you not to attempt to unmake it; for, in so doing, you fight against God, who best knows the condition of his own Church, and how to manage the concerns of it. He has not removed his candlestick from among us: we may hope, therefore, that as yet he has not seen cause for so dreadful a judgment. At the same time, we are deeply sensible, that, as members of the Church, we are far fallen from our first works.*

But the indiscriminate abuse of the clergy, a disregard of the established order in the ministry, the speaking disrespectfully of those grand sources of national information, the Universities, cannot tend to bring things into a better condition. Taking experience for our instructor, our conclusion must be, that they will be productive of the very contrary effect.

Error, indeed, both in principle and practice, as to this point, seems to pervade our system. For what proof is it in the power of any of us to give, that a due care for the preservation of the established Church, does form, generally speaking, any part of the character of the members of our executive government? Nay, I am not sure, that were the question put to me, how it appears, that the

* Rev. ii. 5.