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befall the vine, which the right hand of Christ hath planted; which the Apostles and innumerable martyrs have watered with their blood; and that only requires to be known, in order to command the esteem and veneration of the West.

Next to the glory of God, the triumph of Christ, and the salvation of all, there is no prayer, which I more cordially present before the throne of grace, than the prayer, that our Church might be universally and thoroughly investigated; that she might be subjected to the severest scrutiny; and be made to pass through the most fiery ordeal. I would keep nothing back. I would have her fathomed to the bottom, and in all things rendered visible as the sun. If she cannot endure the refiner's fire; if when refined as silver is refined, and tried as gold is tried, she does not come out pure and without alloy, in all the essentials and requirements of a true faith, and a holy obedience; then am I content, that her altars shall be trodden down, and her glory given to another; another, that shall prove more trustworthy; more closely identified with the Apostolick Church; more scriptural in every thing, we are commanded to believe and obey.

With these preparatory remarks, I proceed to the examination of her doctrines; those evangelical doctrines, which are of the greatest moment, and upon which I have reason to believe, that the largest amount of misapprehension exists. These are to be gained from the received articles of her faith. Articles, that were first published in England, by Edward the sixth; that were there finally revised and established, by a convocation of the clergy in the year fifteen hundred and seventy one, during the reign of Elizabeth; and that, after the revolution, which wrested our country from the yoke of Britain, were adopted by us, with no other alterations, than such as accommodated them, in a political point of view, to the genius of a republican government. Many of them, it will not be necessary to notice, either because they have already passed in review, or are devoted to subjects, upon which we have been permitted to escape without serious imputations upon our principles and professions.

Our belief, for example, in the catholick doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, has never been questioned. It is solemnly repeated every sabbath, and the language of our first article is thus clear and determinate, "There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness;

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the Maker and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead, there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

Our views of the divinity and humanity of Christ are not impugned. "The Son, which is the word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: So that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man."

Our reception of the inspired volume has not been denied. "Holy scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: So that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the holy scripture we do understand those canonical books of the old and new testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church."

We are even allowed, upon the great doctrines of the cross, to have expressed our belief in terms sufficiently explicit and orthodox. But then we are accused of entertaining them, with certain mental reservations, and of harbouring in reality, sentiments materially unsound, and variant from the recorded letter. So far as personally concerned, I do not scruple to repel the calumny with the indignation it deserves. I do most sincerely and heartily subscribe to all the articles of religion embraced by the Church. I have no cause to make, nor have I any confidence in, such secret compromises with the conscience; but freely and unreservedly do I believe every one of those articles, in their plain and literal acceptation. As to others, if there be an exception, in the case of any of our clergy in these United States, it is entirely unknown Our accusers are better informed, and let them substantiate their charges by proof, and not by random assertion.

to me.

To descend to particulars; no one doctrine of the scriptures is more important, or necessary to be received, than the fall of man from the state of primitive innocence, with the consequent corruption of all his moral powers, and the transmission of that cor

ruption to his entire posterity. And what is clearly revealed in the scriptures, the Church as clearly maintains. These are her words, "Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk;) but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is VERY FAR GONE from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek, Phronema sarcos, which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire of the flesh is not subject to the law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized; yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin."

And among our orthodox fellow Christians, who is there to object to this open and undisguised avowal of what, it deeply concerns our fallen and guilty race to understand? Some of their number, I am aware, would prefer to substitute "total depravity," for the expression, "very far gone from original righteousness." But with what correctness, may be estimated from the consideration, that it would involve the infant soul, at its birth, in a state equally degraded and polluted with the spirit of the infernal himself. Whereas with these interesting beings, corruption is rather of a negative quality, and indicates the absence of all natural holiness. Sin is in their hearts; but it is dormant; it is sleeping on a congenial couch, from which it rises active and refreshed, as a giant from his slumbers, with the first perceptions of the mind, and the earliest propensities of the flesh; obtaining an ascendency, in proportion to the failure of the instituted counteracting causes, or the obstinacy, with which the strivings of God's holy Spirit are resisted and withstood.

To support me in these views, I have the testimony of common sense, assuring me, that infants can commit no actual trespasses; I have the testimony of experience, convincing me, that sins unknown to them, and of the blackest turpitude, are the work of man's maturer years; I have the testimony of Jesus Christ, declaring unto each of us, "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God

as a little child, he shall not enter therein." All which is utterly irreconcilable with total depravity, and enough to deter me from adopting that most unnatural and unwarrantable phrase.

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Still however it must not be concealed, that there is no inborn health in us; that we are naturally inclined to evil; and that left to ourselves, we could only forge new links to the chain, which fastens us to the chariot wheels of sin. Whoever thinks otherwise; whoever preaches otherwise, knows little of himself, little of his fellow men, and still less of the gospel. He may amuse his hearers with beautiful delineations of the innocence and the dignity of their nature; but having relinquished the most powerful motive for their reliance upon the Rock of Ages, he will be apt to inspire them with a degree of self confidence, visionary and fatal in the extreme. He will certainly impute falsehood to David where he says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." He will flatly contradict the Apostle, where he feelingly communes with himself, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now, if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but SIN that DWELLETH in me. I find then a LAW, that, when I would do good, sin is PRESENT with me." While therefore we renounce the idea of total depravity, as absurdly applied to any other beings, than the devil and his angels, we cordially agree with the Church in the belief, that "man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit." Let our adversaries assert what they please, upon this belief we preach, and upon this warn every hearer of the absolute, and indispensable necessity of a radical change of the heart and its affections.

But why do we warn EVERY hearer? Why urge upon ALL the duty of becoming faithful, and penitent, and holy? It is because we believe with the Church, that "The offering of Christ once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual;" which she describes to be "the one oblation," and avers, that "there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone." It is because, discarding all metaphysical subtleties, we give the only just and

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natural construction to such inspired declarations, as these, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto ALL MEN.” "As by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came "The love of Christ upon ALL MEN unto justification of life." constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one DIED FOR all, then were all dead.” "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should TASTE DEATH FOR EVERY MAN." "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance." "The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth ALL MEN every where to repent." "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself A RANSOM FOR ALL, to be testified in due time."

Yes, Brethren, such is our creed, such the support it obtains from the scriptures, and although the limits I have prescribed to myself will not permit me to embark in the full discussion of its merits, a brief statement of the opposite doctrine will disclose a system of faith, from which your minds must recoil with abhorrence, and at the same time coincide with me, in pronouncing it to be an outrageous libel upon the true character of God, and the mission of Christ.

Contrary then to the article of our Church, which asserts, that this gracious Being made a "perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual;" it is maintained as the first principle in the Calvinistick creed, that his atonement was partial and particular; that it only embraced the sins of a portion of the human race, while those of the residue of their fellow creatures have neither been atoned for, nor themselves placed in a situation, wherein it is possible to partake of the mercy of God. The pen almost refuses to transcribe an opinion, so diametrically at war with the scriptures, and so inconsistent with their proverbial invitations to all sinners to repent to believe, and to obey.

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