from us our moral freedom; but rather helps us to do God's will. It is because God works within us both to will and to do,' that we can, and the rather ought, as St. Paul says, 'to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling:' we have reason to tremble and fear lest there should be in us an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. The doctrines of grace, according to our view, do not exclude the necessity of our own works, but their merit only. As we are sinners, and by God's righteous law condemned, we cannot, by our deeds, merit eternal life; all boasting is excluded from us: we ought rather to repent and to give all the glory of our salvation to Him, who is truly our Saviour. We must, therefore, maintain good works, but not trust in them; without such works faith would be dead. The very design or use of faith is to produce in us obedience to what the Gospel requires. And though we cannot change our own hearts, nor create ourselves again unto good works, we can use the means, which God has appointed; we can read the Scriptures, hear the Gospel preached, seek God by prayer, and other appointed means, and endeavor, according to the light and strength already given us, to walk in the way of God's commandments. And those who thus strive to obtain his salvation, he has promised to bless. Seek thus and you shall find: continue in this way to knock and it shall be opened unto you. These we view as the doctrines of eternal life, sometimes briefly expressed by repentance towards God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ.' They are clearly set forth in the standards of our church, and are generally, it is believed, taught by its ministers.-Of God's secret purpose of election and predestination, she speaks with reverence and discreetly; but respecting them, she prescribes no creed beyond what is clearly revealed.

"There are many christians who hold that there are seven sacraments: we receive only two as generally necessary to salvation that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.' Sacraments are outward visible signs, of inward spiritual grace, and were ordained by Christ himself; and we endeavor carefully to avoid two opposite errors respecting them. One is, making too light of them, viewing them as little more than mere ceremonial rites, as many christians seem to do. The other is, making too much of them and

G

Baptism-Regeneration.

exalting the outward ordinances, or visible signs, to a meritorious or efficacious act. Great numbers fall into this last error; they view the Lord's Supper as a real, and vastly meritorious sacrifice, the same as when Christ died on the cross. We view it as a memorial of that sacrifice, and an assurance to the faithful receiver that Christ died for him.

"Baptism, some maintain, always effects an actual inward change. Our church avoids such extremes: she teaches that it is our duty, in obedience to our Saviour, and the believer's privilege for his own comfort, to receive these ordinances; but that they have no good or salutary effect upon those who do not rightly receive or use them. The body and blood of Christ are spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper: but if any receive this sacrament without faith and charity; without properly discerning the Lord's body, they are not benefitted. And the like we believe respecting baptism.

"From some expressions in our offices for baptism and confirmation, many have supposed that our church inclines to one of the errors just mentioned;—of believing that the inward grace always accompanies the outward administration: that they who are baptized with water, are, of course, inwardly sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and that we hold to no other regeneration or birth of the spirit. And it may be, that some few have inclined to this extreme. But the church is not accountable for the particular views of any individual: her doctrine is taught in her Catechism, Articles, and Homilies, where any one may read it. We hold what the church does teach, that baptism signifies or represents regeneration. The inward part or thing signified by baptism, is “a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness. Baptism is hence called the sacrament of regeneration; and when we say that a baptized person is regenerate or born again, we mean that he has received the sacrament in which that grace is exhibited: that he has received the outward, visible sign of that inward spiritual grace. Of the heart we cannot judge: of what is actually wrought in the inner man; how far he is really sanctified, we do not pretend to decide. What we mean, and what we declare is, that 'baptism signifies unto us our profession, which is to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like unto him; that as he died and

Confirmation: Episcopacy.

rose again for us, so should we, who are baptized, die from sin and rise again unto righteousness; or, as St. Paul briefly expresses it, we are buried with Christ by baptism, that as he rose from the dead, we should walk in newness of life.❜

"There are two or three points in which we differ, and regret that we are constrained to differ, from several Protestant denominations.

"The first of them is Confirmation, or the laying on of Hands. This was practised by the Apostles, and we think was evidently intended to be of permanent use, and among the principles of the doctrine of Christ. From the writers of the second and third and following centuries, we learn that it was by christians generally so considered and so used: undoubtedly it has been used as of apostolic authority, from the postolic days to the present time. Before the reformation, almost all christians received it as one of the Sacraments, and the Roman and Greek churches so consider it still. By us, we trust it is duly reformed, and used according to the practice of the holy apostles: and so far as we can judge from experience and observation, where it is solemnly administered and devoutly received, as every ordinance should be, it is very much blessed to the strengthening of christians in their 'holy profession.

"Another point in which we are constrained to differ from some of our brethren of the other denominations, is that which is usually called Episcopacy. In the Jewish church there were three orders of ministers, the High Priest-the Priests and the Levites. During our Saviour's ministry, there were three orders; himself the head-his twelve Apostles, and the seventy whom he also sent. In the apostles' days there were certainly three orders. The apostles were the first: the Elders (who were there also called Bishops,) were the second, and the Deacons were the third. Since the apostles' days all history agrees that this Episcopal government was universal in the church in every age and every country. I know not of any one thing in which christians, during all the first fifteen centuries, or down to the Reformation, were more uniformly agreed, than in the necessity of these three orders of ministers. No ancient church has been, or can be found, without this mode of government.

"The Church of Rome has very much corrupted the chris

Church polity. Forms of prayer.

tian ministry, by adding one order, that of the Pope, who usurps far greater authority than Christ has given to any, or to all of his ministers-authority which belongs to God alone. Since the Reformation, and within the last three hundred years, several denominations have arisen who have adopted different modes of church government. Some of them hold that Presbyters only have the right of ordination. Others, called Independants, or Congregationalists, formerly maintained that each congregation, or religious society has the power and right of ordaining their own minister. This mode of church government was held and practised by the first settlers of New-England. Each congregation, as a complete and independent church, ordained their own minister. Others still have rejected all ordination.

"It is, no doubt, the duty of all christians, after due and candid enquiry, with humble prayer, and being fully persuaded in their mind, to receive what they believe to be the truth of God. We are fully persuaded that what is called Episcopacy is so essential that it would be sinful in us to change it for any novel form of church government. The time will soon come, when it will be known who are right, and who are in error. And let us in the mean time be cautious how we judge each other.

"We differ also from others in conducting our public, social worship, by a Liturgy, or established forms. We do not suppose that this is essential to christianity; but we believe, for several good reasons which we have not time now to mention, that it is more suitable for public worship than the ex. temporary way, and that it is most agreeable to what has been the general practice of God's church from the days of Moses down to this present time. Our Saviour gave his disciples a form of prayer and commands them to use it and of course, the use of the Lord's prayer is a part of c'ristianity.

"Thus have I endeavored to give you, as the application of our text and subject, a brief sketch, or comprehensive view, of the hope that is in us of the Episcopal Church, as distinguished from other denominations. Though, at present, we cannot all agree respecting these things, we can and we ought, candidly to hear what is the belief and the hope of others and also with meekness and fear, declare to them

:

Result of the examination proposed.

what is our own. By such wise and christian conduct, our very disagreement will be made profitable. It will make us more humble and more charitable; it will cause us more carefully to search the Scriptures and the history of the church in its early ages, that we may better know what the apostles taught and christians generally believed. That we may all 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, may the Lord, of his merciful goodness, grant through our blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ."

"I have thus, through the discourse of our excellent Bishop, in part answered your enquiry, and if what I here send you, shall lead you to pursue your investigation in the spirit that he recommends, I am sure it will result, not only in the attainment of valuable information, but in the advancement of your own personal piety.

Yours, &c."