We

feelings toward any branch of the true Church of God. strive to cherish feelings of affectionate regard for them all, and to render praise to the common Father of Christians, for any efforts which are made to advance the intelligence, the purity, and the salvation of mankind. In our views of the nature of mind, and of freedom, we can have no unkind feelings toward any denomination of true Christians. "There are diversities of operations, but the same Spirit." We have no expectation that all men, in this world, will think alike. And we regard it as a wise arrangement, that the Church of God is thus organized into different sections and departments, under the banner of the common Captain of their salvation. It promotes inquiry. It prevents complacency in mere forms and ceremonies. It produces healthy and vigorous emulation. It affords opportunities for all classes of minds to arrange themselves according to their preferences and their habits of thought. And it is not unfavorable to that kindness of feeling which the Christian can cherish, and should cherish, when he utters in the sanctuary the article of his faith, "I believe in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints." The attachment of a soldier to a particular company or squadron, need not diminish his respect for the armies of his country, or extinguish his love of her liberty. Being joined to a company of infantry, need not make me feel that the cavalry are useless, or involve me in a controversy with the artillery.

We ask only, that Episcopacy should not assume arrogant claims; that she should be willing to take her place among other denominations of Christians, entitled to like respect as others, to all the tender and sympathetic affections of the Christian brotherhood; and willing that others should walk in the liberty wherewith CHRIST has made his people free. We shall have no contest with our Episcopal brethren for loving the church of their choice, and the church in which they seek to prepare themselves for heaven. We shall not utter the language of unkindness for their reverencing the ministerial office, in which the spirits of Cranmer and Leighton were prepared for their eternal rest. Content that other denominations should enjoy like freedom, while they do not arrogate to themselves unholy claims, and attempt to "lord it over" other parts "of God's heritage," we shall pray for their success, and rejoice in their advancement. But the moment they cross this line; the moment they make any advances which resemble those of the Papacy; the moment they set up the claim of being the only "primitive and apostolical Church;" and the moment they speak of the "invalid ministry" and the "invalid ordinances" of the churches, and regard them as "left to the uncovenanted mercies of GOD," that moment the language of argument and of Christian rebuke may properly be heard from every other denomination. There are minds that can investigate the Bible, as well as the advocates for Episcopacy; there are pens that can

compete with any found in the Episcopal Church; and there are men who will not be slow to rebuke the first appearance of arrogance and of lordly assumption, and who will remind them, that the time has gone by when an appeal to the infallible Church will answer in this controversy. Arrogant assumptions, they will be at once reminded, do not suit the present state of intelligence in this land, nor the genius of our institutions. While the Episcopal Church shall seek, by kind and gentle means, to widen its influence, like the flowing of a river, or like the dews of heaven, we shall hail its advances: when she departs from this course, and seeks to utter the language of authority and denunciation, to prostrate other churches, as with the sweepings of the mountain-torrent,-she will be checked by all the intelligence and piety of this land; and she will be reminded, by a voice uttered from all the institutions of these times, that Episcopacy has had its reign of authority in the dark ages, and at the Vatican; and that the very genius of Protestantism is, that one church is not to utter the language of arrogance over another; and that not authority or denunciation, but SCRIPTURAL EXPOSITION, is to determine which is in accordance with the Book of GOD.

In our review, we expressed at length our feelings toward the Episcopal Church. (pp. 36-38.) After quoting a part of our remarks on this subject, the author of the Answer makes these candid and kind observations :

"A truly splendid eulogium on our Church,-and one which does credit to the candor, the benevolence, the superiority to prejudice, of the elevated mind that conceived it, and the honorable frankness which gave it public utterance. With the feelings of such a heart as that of the author of these paragraphs, we have, we can have, no controversy whatever, we rather desire to copy them more perfectly ourselves, and be taught more of the grand duty of love, by an opponent who so nobly and so delightfully exemplifies it." (p. 19.)

The author of the "Answer" quoted the whole of our remarks, with the exception of the last five lines. In those lines, we expressed a hope, that "the Episcopal Church was destined yet to be, throughout, the warm friend of revivals, and would consecrate her wealth and power to the work of making a perpetual aggression on the territories of sin and of death." (Review, p. 36.) Why this part of our remarks was omitted, as not worthy of the comment of being a "splendid eulogium on the Church," we know not. The fact was striking. We were not "amazed" by it; but we were conscious of that feeling of pensiveness, which involuntarily steals over the soul, when a Christian, high in office and in talent, evinces any degree of coldness toward the great work of converting the world. We could not but ask ourselves, Is this to be interpreted as an indication, that the author of the "Answer" is alarmed at the word REVIVALS? Are we to consider it as an indication, that he could not

join us in the wish, that the wealth and power of the Episcopal Church should be consecrated to the work of saving the world? Are we to understand, that there is such a fear of the word revivals, and such a dread of an entire consecration of wealth and power to fulfil the special command of CHRIST, as to induce the author of the "Answer" to pause,-in medias res,—in the very midst of a quotation, rather than repeat or write the word revivals, or speak of such a consecration? It may have been, indeed, wholly an inadvertent omission; and as we prefer such an interpretation, to one which implies suspicion or improper motive, we shall close this article as we did the former, with the wish,—a wish which shall never depart from our heart, that, whatever may be the strength or the numbers of the Episcopal Church, when the Son of GoD shall come to take to himself his great power, she may be found foremost among the friends of REVIVALS, of pure spiritual piety, and engaged with untiring zeal amidst the van of the Christian host, in making a perpetual aggression on the territories of sin and of death,

15*

REMARKS

ON THE

REV. MR. BARNES SECOND REVIEW OF "EPISCOPACY

TESTED BY SCRIPTURE,“

THE tract" Episcopacy Tested by Scripture," remained more than three years without any attempt having been made to reply to it. In March, 1834, it was reviewed in the Christian Spectator by, as is now avowed, the Rev. Mr. Barnes. In May following, an answer to this review appeared in the Protestant Episcopalian. And in March, 1835, Mr. Barnes issues his second review, in reply to this answer; the two reviews being reprinted in continuation, in a small volume, under the title, "The Scriptural Argument for Episcopacy Examined." The volume has been kindly sent us by the author. Ours is the next turn, and we accordingly present a rejoinder.

We deem it a source of unfeigned gratulation, that our opponent in this controversy has an exalted standing in his own denomination, and in the community at large; that he is a gentleman of talents and learning, and of entire courtesy-and one to whose piety and Christian attainments it is a pleasure to do homage.

But be the personal character and qualifications of controvertists what they may, themselves are not infallible. They may make mistakes, argue inconclusively, and even contradict themselves. And the cause of truth requires that their arguments be looked into. This is the duty that now devolves

on us.

Our Rev. opponent does us too much honor in taking for granted that in our Tract and Answer, "the scriptural argument for Episcopacy is now fairly and entirely before the world." There are other scriptural topics used by other writers; such as the apostleship of Epaphroditus; that of the " messengers [apostles] of the churches;" the probable deaconship of the seventy disciples; the rise of the twelve to their full apostleship by three steps; the remarkable prophecy that, after the Jewish dispensation, GoD would "take of [his people] for priests and for Levites," which means, as Old Testament fanguage, "for a high priest, for priests, and for Levites;" the existence of those three orders in the Mosaic Church; and, particularly if it be allowed that the whole Christian priesthood, as well as that of CHRIST himself, is "after the order of Melchisedec," the fact, that in the patriarchal branch of that order there were both

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