in the inglorious warfare of contending with the people of God at home-and delivering them over to uncovenanted mercies, why not go abroad and bring the heathen to Christ? What doth hinder? Money you have, and men you have, and all the apparatus of conversion you have. The heathen are perishingthey are certainly going down into the pit of uncovenanted mercies; but a little water properly or puseyistically administered, would save them. Why then are they not saved?* If the apostolic chain is at present no more than sufficient for these realms, more links can be forged, and more links can be added, till the chain is long enough to extend to earth's remotest bounds. Then why is not this done, or attempted to be done, or why in the name of religion or humanity are no efforts made for the salvation of the heathen, when you profess to be the only church in this country which has a right to be quite sure she has the Lord's body to give to his people, and the only church that can communicate christianity to the world.

* Vide l'Abbe Dubois in India.

I heard the bishop of London declare in his sermon, that the clergy were the only true ministers of Christ in England: if it did not violate public order, I would have stood up and said, "My Lord, I don't believe a word of it."

Rev. T. Mortimer, church of England clergyman, at Wesleyan Missionary Meeting, 1843.

CHAPTER XIII.

CONCLUSION: HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH.

High flown pretensions-Nature of a Church-and of the Church-No visible communion, the Holy Catholic ChurchCase of a sincere inquirer-Anxiety-Puseyite consolation worthless-Christ the refuge, not the Church-He that belongs to Christ necessarily belongs to the Church-Essentials and Non-essentials-in what the Church does not consist with regard to piety,—Mr. Froude-Doctrines,— Ornaments,-Worship of God-Chanting and Organ playing improper in what the Church does consist-Righteousness, &c." Church in danger"-meaning of the cry-fallacy of it-Debate in the house of Lords about it-Holy Catholic Church indestructible.

-the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.-Rom. 14-17.

HEIRS and descendants of the apostles, holding tradition and the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the church of England is to be regarded as the Holy Catholic church-a kind of spiritual corporation to whom is confided the management of all Christ's affairs upon earth; and with whom is the power of making christians-of negotiating between God and man, and of conferring all the honors, privileges, and immunities of the christian religion. But all christians, out of their pale or unsanctified by their formalities, are nothing better than stran

gers and foreigners, and not fellow citizens with the saints and with the household of God. But how can this be? How can they be the Holy Catholic church? In the New Testament, the word church* has only two significations, neither of which will sanction pretensions like these. First, an asembly constituted for divine worship, not according to human laws, or acts of parliament, but according to the laws of Christ is a christian church. The church at Rome, or Corinth, is an example. But secondly, the word church signifies the whole company of the redeemed; for "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it :" not for any particular church, but for that grand catholic association comprehending the saints on earth, and the saints in heaven, and of every age- and of every country throughout the world. This is the holy Catholic church, or the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven.†

Now as the head of the church is unseen, and the greater part of the body likewise, how can a visible society like the church of England or the church of Rome, be the holy Catholic

The word Church (Gr. ecclesia) literally means an assembly acting in concert for the attainment of any common object. A tumultuous crowd once rushed into the theatre at Ephesus, for the sake of procuring the condemnation of Paul. Now that tumultuous crowd is called a church, i. e. an assembly.-Vide Acts. 19-32.

6

In the Tracts for the Times Church is often used as a designation of the Clergy: hence, hear the Church,' means, hear the Clergy;' but this is quite unauthorised in the Bible.

church? It is also extremely evident that myriads were saved, and went to heaven long before the church of England or of Rome had an existence. How then can it be that holy Catholic church, in which are united and reconciled, and made one, all the saints that ever lived. And besides all this, if the church of England is the holy Catholic church, then all without her pale must be lost. This fearful and inevitable consequence is enough to vitiate this arrogant claim in the estimation of all good men.*

But I can easily imagine that a sincere inquirer after truth, contemplating our rival interests, our rival claims, and our conflicting opinions on this subject might be ready to say, "I am weary with controversy, it is too often converted into a trial of strength between the contending parties; your criminations and recriminations give me pain, and your shouts of victory give me no pleasure: I am frightened and alarmed, that after the lapse of so many centuries, religion should still be in that state of uncertainty, which your discussions and controversies about it would seem to imply. My soul is like Noah's dove, that could find no rest for the sole of her foot. O that I knew

*Christ has appointed the Church as the only way to eternal lifeChrist never appointed two ways to heaven; nor did he build a church to save some, and make another institution for other men's salvation. There is no other name under heaven given unto men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus, and that is no otherwise given under heaven than in the Church.-Tract 51, p. 12.

the true church- the ark of safety that will carry me above the flood which will drown men in destruction and perdition!

Now the Puseyite answer to this solemn inquiry would be this: only see to it that you are properly connected by baptism with the church of England or the church of Romeand then your forgiveness, your heaven, your happiness are eternally secured. But this direction having no reference to your personal piety, is most delusive and fraught with peril to your soul. Many persons disliking morality and disliking religion: but at the same time seeking a salvo for a guilty conscience, gladly embrace a way of salvation that substitutes the rites of the church for the religion of the heart. But their case is that of the dishonest bankrupt, who, availing himself of certain legal technicalities, obtains a certificate, and then cries out he is safe, and even exults in his honesty and in the vindication of his character.

Now, if instead of all this, we were to say you must belong to the methodists-or to the baptists, or to any other sect, in order to secure the salvation of your soul, we should be telling you to exchange one folly for another; but we dont say this: and herein we differ from the most sectarian of all sects, the Puseyites:*

*They call themselves coward sinners for trying to extend the limits of the Church, for the admission of Wesleyans and Presbyterians. No. 25, p. 3.