Now what was true of the Church in the wilderness, is in the same manner true of the Church under the Gospel. This Church is called holy, not as simply deriving its title from the holiness of its members, that were a presumptuous assumption; besides which, the Church is in existence and has its character prior to the existence of the individual members, who are gathered into it as their place of refuge. But it is termed holy, because it is Christ's Church; because He is present with it; because its object and intent is to effect the holiness of its members, and its final destiny is, that it will be presented to Christ "as a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle." And St. Peter, speaking of the Christian Church, as a body, uses exactly the same terms as Moses had done of the Jewish: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;"* that was their calling of God; and the object of it, he declares, was, as in the case of the Israelites, "that ye should shew forth the praises of Him, who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light." St. Paul also calls on the Ephesians "to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called." And to prove that it is on this account that the Church is spoken of as "holy" in scripture, notwithstanding, in its militant state, it is a body consisting of a mixed multitude, we will refer to a few descriptions of it, as given by Christ and His Apostles.‡

* 1 Pet. ii. 9.

† Eph. iv. 1.

"Within, therefore, the notion of the Church are comprehended good and bad, being both externally called, and both professing the same faith. For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a field in which wheat and tares grow together unto the harvest; like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind; like unto a floor in which is laid up wheat and chaff; like unto a marriage feast, in which some have on the wedding garment and some not. This is that ark of Noah, in which were preserved beasts clean and unclean. This is that great house in which there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour. There are many called, of all which the Church consisteth, but there are few chosen of those which are called, and thereby within the Church..... At the end of the world, when all the wicked shall be turned into hell, and consequently all cut off from the communion with the Church; when the members of the

In His parables Christ has forewarned us that the kingdom of heaven, the Gospel kingdom, is like unto a net cast into the sea, which gathereth of every kind; and it is not till the end of the world that the good will be severed from the bad. It is compared to a field in which the tares and wheat grow together; to a feast, at which both the good and bad are assembled; to a number of virgins, where the wise and the foolish, previous to the coming of the bridegroom, were of the same company. The Apostles of Christ likewise have admonished us of false teachers, who will privily bring in (into the Church) damnable heresies, denying the Lord, that bought them; and that many will follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Such is the description given by Christ and His Apostles of the Gospel kingdom in the world. It is like the ark of Noah, into which, for a time, are gathered together beasts of every kind, the unclean as well as the clean. The imperfect state of the Church, as a visible body, is therefore no argument against its existence as an institution of Christ; though it is a warning to us, as individuals, lest we be partakers of the sin, or as a body, forfeit our privileges as a branch of the true vine.

Church remaining, being perfectly sanctified, shall be eternally glorified, then shall the whole Church be truly and perfectly holy. Then shall be completely fulfilled, that Christ shall present unto Himself a glorious Church, which shall be holy and without blemish. Not that there are two Churches of Christ; one, in which good and bad are mingled together; another, in which there are good alone; one, in which the saints are imperfectly holy; another, in which they are perfectly such: but one and the same Church, in relation to different times, admitteth or not admitteth the permixtion of the wicked or the imperfection of the godly. To conclude, the Church of God is universally holy in respect of all, by institutions and administrations of sanctity; the same Church is really holy in this world, in relation to all godly persons contained in it by a real infused sanctity; the same is farther yet at the same time perfectly holy in reference to the saints departed and admitted to the presence of God; and the same Church shall hereafter be most completely holy in the world to come, when all the members actually belonging to it, shall be at once perfected in holiness and completed in happiness. And thus I conceive the affection of sanctity sufficiently explicated.' -PEARSON, On the Creed, Article, "The Holy Catholic Church."

Truth may be surrounded with error on every side, but certainly the natural effect of rejecting all belief in the visible existence of the Church, as a body, shows itself in a practical rejection also of the promised gifts of the Church-the presence of God, the power of His sacraments, the assurance of final triumph, &c. A general want of reverence is begotten in the minds of men, by the abstract views they take of the existence of holy things; and instead of depositaries of a divine power, and channels for the communication of sacred gifts, modern religious communities degenerate, at best, into schools for teaching the knowledge of certain revealed truths: consequently, though individuals may talk of God's power or presence being with them, yet it is very much with them, as with Samson when shorn of his strength," I will go," said he, as at other times before, and shake myself; and he wist not that the Lord was departed from him." And in the absence of higher and holier grounds of action, when not under the influence of a firm belief, "that the Lord God is with them, and that the shout of a king is among them," it is the fashion of this backsliding age for religious bodies, with a view of obtaining followers, to betake themselves to all the common-place, wordly arts for gaining popularity. Instead of opposing the world, they fall in with its motives of action; instead of expecting the accomplishment of the promise, "that kings shall be the nursing fathers, and queens the nursing mothers" of the Church, they

* Bishop Hobart, in one of his charges, after stating that it is the duty of ministers of the Church to question these spirits of the age, to try the spirits, whether they be of God," proceeds to say, "But it is a duty far from being inviting. Much more pleasant is it to swim with than to stem the current; to be carried along by the popular gale, than with incessant and wearying exertion, to struggle against it: to be hailed by the applause of hosts, in whose ranks, or as whose leaders, men bear to a triumph the opinions or measures of the day, than to meet their odium by refusing to enlist with them, or, by opposition, somewhat to perplex their progress, if not to diminish their success. And, therefore in general, the method of insuring a prosperous issue to any plan, and a universal reception to any opinions, is to make them popular; for thus are enlisted in their cause all that is weak, and all that is selfish in our nature."-BISHOP HOBART's Prof. Years, p. 443.

accept them for their governors and rulers; instead of endeavouring to raise the tone of worldly men up to the standard of the Gospel principles, they are prepared to lower the Gospel to suit the world; instead of acting as if the Lord was with them, and riding the whirlwind of human appetites, and directing the storm of human passions, they yield to their fury, and seek to make a compromise that they may find shelter from their violence.

God, it is true, is not tied to any ordinances; He can and ❝ wi!l have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He quickeneth." But though God is not so tied, man is; nor are we at liberty to dispense with the use of any of the ordinances of His appointment, of which we may be able to avail ourselves. And could we but gain those views of Gospel institutions, which prevailed in earlier times, we might hope to see again similar evidences of God's presence in His Church; we might find exemplified in modern disciples the simple and single-hearted boldness of primitive Christians, and we then might hope, in the diffusion of the knowledge of divine truth, for success equal to theirs.

The Church of Christ as one great whole is founded on a rock; and it will have its destinies accomplished: "Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel." No persecution can injure it, and the blood of its martyrs is the seed of increasing multitudes of faithful children. But still the presence of that Church is ensured to no particular places or countries. Suicidal acts, abandonment of her privileges, are what will ever cause her to suffer; * and internal sins and divisions are

*" But, I say, if the Church would trust to Him more than to the arm of flesh, she need not fear the power of kings; no, Christ would then give her kings, not as heads and spiritual fathers over her, but as nursing-fathers to protect, love, and cherish her, to reverence and to serve her, as the spouse of Christ, instead of such fathers as she has made kings be over herself, and of whom she now stands in awe, and dare not exert the power Christ has given her, without their good liking; she should then have children whom she might make princes, in all the earth, (Psalm xlv. 16,) kings would become her sons and her servants, instead of being her fathers...... Nay, more, if the temporal rulers should take part with hell against her, they should not both prevail. They might pull down vengeance upon their own heads; but the Church will stand whether they

what can and do cause particular branches to wither away, or even the light of the Church, as a whole, in particular ages to burn less brightly. As Jehovah could have destroyed the Israelites in the wilderness for their iniquity, and have raised up a new generation from Moses; so can He act towards the Christian Church. Yet will He still preserve ever one and the same holy Catholic Church, one continued seed springing up from the Chosen One of God. It is now a mixed multitude; many are called but few are chosen." Individuals, once received by baptism into membership, may stumble or finally fall away; and whole branches of the Church may lapse into grievous error, or lose their first love, as we believe is the case with the existing Roman Church. Or their light may be altogether quenched; as is now the case with the formerly flourishing Church of Africa, where the good Cyprian, "her chief of watchmen," once ruled over, and tended the house of God; or, as is the case at Alexandria, and in those other Eastern countries, where the great Athanasius, and holy Basil, amidst much rebuke and sore trials, so earnestly contended in their day "for the faith once delivered to the saints:" or, as at Ephesus and the other places, famous in the days of St. John for the Churches of the

will or not, even in England, unless the policy of the clergy so far give way as to provoke God to remove their candlestick nothing else can ruin them, while they remain true to their God, and are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, and to assert those powers He has committed unto them. No enchantment will prevail against our Israel; no, none, till themselves are first enchanted and bewitched, as the foolish Galatians, not to obey the truth, not to stand by it, and contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints; not to speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority; and to let no man despise them; for then God will despise them, and make them contemptible and bare before all people, because ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of Hosts... But if, after all, they will not take the Apostle's advice, Quit you like men, be strong; if they dare not come out to stop the way against the persecutor; if they will not stand in the gap, let them return home; let all that are afraid, or faint-hearted, depart out of this battle, lest they discourage their brethren; By the men that lapped will I save you, saith the Lord. Let the timorous, prudent, and wise, stay with the baggage till the danger is over; they may come in for a share of the spoil."LESLIE'S Preface to the Case of the Regale, &c.