ANOTHER WORD FOR THE STANDARD.

THE Editors of the Gospel Standard in reply to the Observations in our April number have filled nearly twelve pages of their work, Those who may happen to be so far interested as to peruse this wordy piece of business will see, with us, that notwithstanding its length it leaves us but little to do. They have been compelled to admit the correctness of all we charged them with. They now denounce with us the ribald phrases we have been exposing. And, though very ungraciously, they give us reason to hope that the improper interference to prevent ministers giving their unbiassed opinions of the Gospel Standard will be abandoned. True they have scattered up and down their reply sundry little bits of slander, as if loath to give up all at once their long sustained character of being "bitter and censorious spirits." But if they expect us to follow them through all their exhibitions of spleen, petulance, and falsehood, they will be disappointed. Finding their ground untenable they have abandoned one by one all the points under discussion, and seek now to turn it into an editorial squabble. The Spiritual Magazine is not an arena for such kind of warfare. We exposed their faults because we saw that the ministers who love the truths which the Gospel Standard contains were afraid to do so. "The fear of man bringeth a snare:" and by their fierce and rancourous turning upon us may be seen what a singlehanded minister might have expected. True he would have had truth on his side, and the God of truth for his strong tower; but the flesh trembleth at a contest with men of such a spirit, and to this may be attributed their career hitherto unexposed. The work is now done a further carrying out of the controversy would be unprofitable and useless. The discerning christian will separate all the chaff from their reply, and when he hath done this, he will find indeed that he hath nothing of a reply left.

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Let it always be remembered what was the origin of this controversy. The Standard Editors in their replies have stirred up so much literary dust that the subject in dispute is well nigh buried. This was their object. There are doubtless some connected with the Standard who, being under the tuition of the church's unerring Guide, discerned immediately the error which we pointed out. Party feeling, however, and carnal pride, fortified their minds against an acknowledgement of this, while however conscience would not permit their defence of it. It was not because they called Dr. Hawker's works lean, bony, skinny, and sugary :-it was not be

cause all the eminent men, whose writings have been and perhaps always will be blessed of God to the spiritual advantage of his family, were designated "letter diviners, dead Calvinists," &c. :-it was not because they usurped the position of Romish Inquisitors and threatened all whose minds measured not exactly with their Standard:-it was not even, awful as this is, and acknowledged by them as it now is, because they employed the power this magazine gives them, to usurp an authority over churches and pulpits, and in like manner the power and influence which as ministers they may possess to extend the circulation of this magazine: all these things they might have gone on with to the end of the chapter: but when we perceived them advancing with bold and presumptuous strides into a sentiment which is false and formidable; and when we were called upon publicly to expose this, we felt it to be our imperative duty to do so. We counted the cost. We saw the spirit of our opponents: we looked for slander and disdain, and to the extent of their abilities they have showered it upon us.

The dead fly, then, which causeth their box of ointment to send forth a stinking savour is this-They make the grossness of lip confession the evidence of spirituality of mind: -they encourage their readers to exult and make much of the fleshly workings of the old man, and to estimate their progress in the divine life more by the appetite with which they can gloat over these things, than by an advanced knowledge of, and more endearing acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. Well are we sensible that it is a narrow and a delicate line of separation which we are endeavouring to establish; but it is the narrow way which leadeth unto life. We abominate, as much as they can, the towering professor who regardless of the workings of the old man, exclaims, I am complete in Christ; I dwell upon the heights of Zion; I look out of myself and live upon Christ.

David

Great I, alas, constitutes the all in all with both. There are moments, and they are blissful ones, when the soul can in the confidence of faith use this language, but they who have no changes fear not God; so that when we hear of any one always exclaiming thus, we for our part begin to doubt the reality of his faith altogether. was sometimes on the hill and sometimes in the valley. His harp sometimes thrilled with strains of ecstatic assurance, and sometimes poured forth only the wailings of desertion, and bondage, and distress. Thus walked all whose experience is recorded in scripture, and thus walk all God's children now. The Editors of the Gospel Standard, like us, agree in this, at least professedly so; but in exposing the false hope, and false faith,

and false love of heady professors, they have fallen themselves into a slough just as dangerous, and they make a Christ of their doubts, a Christ of their sins, a Christ of their abominable and carnal thoughts. They hug these things and make much of them as if these were a Saviour; as if these were evidences of spiritual life.

The spiritual man experiences these things, and he who never experiences these things is not spiritually awakened, for in every soul taught of God there is as it were a company of two armies; but the believer will rejcice, not at the struggles of the flesh, but at the opposition thereto by the new man of the heart: -he will exult, not because his breast is the cage of every unclean bird, but because he hath been privileged to know this, and to seek, and it may be to have come to the fountain wherein is cleansing. Here then is the subject under discussion; whether the doubts, and the fears, and the lusts, and the abominable thoughts which every believer in a smaller or greater degree is called on to experience, should be rejoiced at, and exulted in, and gloated over, or whether the believer experiencing these things, and lamenting over these things, should not rather rejoice at and exult in his great and gracious Saviour who, by his Spirit opening these things to the soul's spiritual understanding, presents in himself an object which the eye of faith now, and the eye of realization hereafter, shall behold and rejoice in as the all in all and the altogether lovely.

The Editors of the Standard now again profess to be admirers of the writings of the great William Huntington, we have therefore copied an extract from his reply to the Rev. Timothy Priestly, (The Barber, Part 2, page 123,) by which they will perceive that what we are exposing is no new sentiment, and was regarded by Mr. Huntington just as it is by us :

"Our friend here is more fond of hearing mourning and weeping than he is of piping and dancing. John's ministry suits him better than the Saviour's. But the lively christian will not imitate him; for he had rather speak of the goodness of God to his soul, than tell of the difficulties he has met with from his own heart-he had rather have the Physician uppermost in his thoughts than his stinking wounds."

One or two observations in their reply require notice, and it shall be very brief:

On page 141 they wish to imply that the letter signed "A Constant Reader" is either written by us or by our publishers. This taunt will not make us break the confidence reposed in us of keeping the author's name a secret. He is known to the Standard editors: they have, we believe, visited at his June, 1841.]

house: certainly the ministers alluded to have. We can however without disclosing the name prove its genuineness. Mr. F. Silver of Westminster saw both the author and the document before it came to us. Mr. Silver like us will, of course, refuse to tell the author's name: but Mr. Silver will satisfy them that the letter is no forgery.

On page 142 Mr. Gadsby writes "I never saw the work," alluding to our Magazine. Mr. G. has sent every one of his publications issued since the commencement of our work with his christian regards to be noticed in our review. He adds It will be best to say nothing about them: let them die in their dirt and their filth." A benevolent wish, expressed with singular beauty! But this will not alter our opinion of William Gadsby. We believe him to be a richly endowed and eminently useful servant of our Lord; while at the same time we can perceive in him a clear proof that God's honoured servants do not in this life attain unto a state of sinless perfection.

On page 143 it is said that no publications issued by "E. Palmer " are reviewed and objected to. We might reply that most of the publications issued by him deserve praise, and consequently have it. But it is meant that we succumb our conscience to praise them whether deserving or not. Facts only will answer this. Let the reader look to our first review and to our last review since our new series commenced: both are works published by E. Palmer, and both are censured most severely. We have really not taken the trouble to refer for more proof; we can only say we review conscientiously, and we invite the editors of the Gospel Standard to take every succeeding month the articles reviewed by us, and show that we praise what ought to be censured, or condemn what ought to be commended.

On page 144 they say they derive no profit from their Magazine. In this we certainly differ from them: we confess that we have derived very considerable profit from our's; and we can appeal to God that, while it has been our aim to render our pages profitable to the children of God, we at the same time seek and assuredly have realized much real profit to our own souls. If however they mean they derive no pay in pounds, shillings, and pence, and infer therefrom that we are paid, we shall only say that on this matter we shall not at this time satisfy their curiosity.

On page 144 in reply to our inquiry whether they have never taken what has been previously printed in our pages, they remark with assumed scorn that they never have for in truth they can find nothing worth taking. The brook should not say to the spring,

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Your waters are impure, mine only are crystal. If any one thinks it worth while to compare the two Magazines, they will find many pieces published in the Gospel Standard which had previously appeared in the Spiritual Magazine. Then again their best writers write also for the Spiritual Magazine : they ought, if they wish to carry out their own statement, to reject every paper sent by any one who writes for us; because if all we insert is vile, no author who writes for us can be very estimable. It is a sad pity when passion makes a man write both falsehood and folly.

On page 145 they imply that this attack upon them is only to keep alive the flickering embers of a Magazine just expiring. It is so common to say this that the observation scarcely needs a remark. The Spiritual Magazine was in existence when these editors were little boys at school; and the Spiritual Magazine will, to all human appearance, be in successful and esteemed existence, when in drivelling dotage they descend into second childishness. They did not believe what they wrote when their pen committed it to paper. But it was necessary to have a winding up sentence for a finish which should sound eloquent, and the utterance of one more falsehood after telling so many was but of trifling consideration. Let them remember, however, that God hateth him who loveth and maketh a lie.

In the April number of the Gospel Standard are some remarks by which it will be seen that there is in future to be a cessation of their censure upon great and good men whose shoe-strings they are not worthy to unloose. There they even admit (only think!) that Dr. Thomas Goodwin was perhaps a gracious character. That is to say, here is a little lad who hath two small fishes-we beg his pardon, two Sermons with which he fishes for popularity: the title of one of which he fabricated by making a parody of one of Dr. Goodwin's title

pages; and the title of the other by inverting both scripture and nature; inverting likewise in the sermon the manner of regeneration, by stating that God's children are enlightened before they are born, have light before they have life this little lad, walking on the stilts of a presumptuous criticism, stoops down to tell us, Well, after all I have said about this Dr. Goodwin, he was perhaps a gracious man. We know nothing which can give us a worse opinion of a young man than to hear him rail at his elders: how much worse then to hear a vacillating juvenile speaking first with obloquy, and afterwards with extorted and limited concessions, of an author than whom we do not know one more lavishly endowed of God with special gifts for a special work since the days of Calvin.

And now, Messrs. Editors, for the present farewell. David said "Let the righteous reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head." We can appeal to you that our reproof though deservedly was administered kindly. You have yourselves, by kicking like a wild bull in a net, drawn upon yourselves fresh censure; causing enemies, it may be, to send to us, from all parts of the country, proofs of conduct not creditable. To establish what we had advanced it was necessary to allude to some little of these. You tell us we ought not if we think thus of you to call you brethren: indeed, Sirs, we can scarcely at the present discern the bond of brotherhood, but the greenness of our years hath passed away, we have seen much of the naughtiness of man, and have found that in this time-state, even from the bosoms of God's own saints, the Canaanite of this 'world's wickedness is not wholly driven away. We are not your judges: to your own Master you must stand or fall, and in his hands we leave you.

THE EDITORS.

The Right of a Clergyman to 'Oppose the Errors of his own Church, by Henry Erskine Head, M. A. 12mo. pp. 189. London: Palmers.

THIS Volume consists of a series of Letters addressed to the Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy, Government, and

people of England, and is designed to expose as the author states, with a hope to get amended-certain blemishes in the Baptismal and Confirmation Services and Church Catechism; seeking likewise a repeal of some antiquated statutes which press very heavily on the rights of conscience,

It is not for us to decide upon the scripturality of a clergyman remaining connected with an establishment in which he has discovered these blemishes. In the station which Mr. Head occupies, as a rector, it may be that he possesses the power of altering, in his own use of them, those parts of the Liturgy which he objects to. We have understood that he does alter them. But however this may be, certainly Mr. Head deserves great praise for the bold stand which he has made against episcopal authorities, who have sought, with loud threatenings, to overpower a differing brother.

Our opinion of seceders, as is known, is not very high. Our opinion is drawn from the retrospective history of the most eminent among them. It would be invidious to mention names, but we may put the enquiry, Can one be pointed out upon whose movements, after secession, may not be inscribed, in broad, bold representation, the characteristics of Jacob's eldest son,-unstable as water, like Reuben, they never excel. Vacillation is stamped upon every feature of their after history; and many return back again to their discarded sect. We mention this as matter of fact. We do not pretend to account for it. We cannot account for it. But when, in contradistinction to this extraordinary fact, we remember-and this is equally a fact-the abundant blessings with which God hath, in many instances, honoured the ministerial labours of many who, more spiritually enlightened after ordination than they were before, have yet continued labouring in that sphere where God's grace met with them when we remember the ever renowned names of Romaine, Toplady, Newton, Hawker, Berridge, Hervey, and a countless list besides, we say it should cause clergymen to hesitate, ere they run away from their work in the vineyard, because their allotted place therein happens to be

fenced round with a barrier which, had their eyes been earlier opened, they would never have dared to cross.

These remarks will not apply to a spiritual man's entering into clerical ordination while admission there is as at present constituted. This we should say no spiritually awakened man can do. But we are referring now to clergymen already ordained, and then we say, we would have such ponder, and ponder long before they take a step which most seceders have lived to regret. The young believer rendered honest by the fear of God now put by God in his heart, staggers immediately at the thought of being an unsent intruder in the sanctuary; there are many ready to urge on these honest suggestions, and there is so much that is exciting in the idea of a clergyman throwing up, it may be a competent sufficiency, for conscience sake, that the step is too often taken before the pillow of the cloud directs the movement. We wish not, by anything we have written, to induce any conscientious clergyman to remain within the pale of the Establishment, no not for an hour, if against the dictates of his own heart; but we shall rejoice and be glad if what we have written shall induce any, who may hereafter be thinking of secession, to deliberate yet again ere they forsake the place of God's appointment.

To return, however, to Mr. Head's volume; it is written in language firm, undaunted, scriptural, yet respectful. Paying due regard to dignities the christian minister, however, crouches never to the episcopal mitre. We have but little expectation of any successful result, and to speak quite candidly upon the subject we have but little wish, for in these reforming days, when Expediency reigns paramount over almost all human decisions, we should fear greatly that any alteration would be for the worse, and that the baneful influence of Oxford Popery, if a second reformation were

thought of, would cause it to be like the reformation of the truant child who returns back again to its unfor. gotten parent.

How consoling is it, amid all these vicissitudes, to look above the dark cloud of this world's mutations, and reflect that God sitteth in the heavens, that the helm of all affairs is in his hand; and that the church, the church of Christ which he hath purchased with his own blood, scattered as it now is amongst a variety of sects, distinguished as they are by party names, and separated by party prejudices, are yet all under the guidance of Him, who hath said. I will guide them by my counsel, and afterwards receive them to glory," where all the badges of this world's controversies shall be overwhelmed in an abyss of love.

THIS work, which constitutes upwards of 400 pages closely printed, is divided into six chapters, in which the author dilates on the covenant of redemption—the nature of Christ's suretyship the imputation of the sins of the elect to Christ and his full and proper satisfaction-the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to every member of his mystic body— the efficacy and limitation of redemption, with its particular applicability to those only who were given to him by his Father, and who are designated his " sheep," his " church," &c.

Mr. Eccles, in speaking on the covenant of grace, describes most scripturally the condition of man by nature; the impossibility of mercy doing any thing to help the sinner, until the law which he has broken be fully satisfied; the truth, holiness, wisdom, and justice of God proclaim with one voice that its demands must be answered in

every tittle before the sinner can be liberated. He then adverts to the scheme of suretyship as adapted to this condition, and the fitness of Christ as God-man to be the Surety of sinners: and here the divinity of Christ, his proper humanity, his voluntary engagements, his obedience unto death, and his complete performance of every iota of the covenant entered into with his Father, are each ably enlarged upon and fully confirmed by scripture, which is aptly brought forward and judiciously commented on.

In the second chapter, when illustrating and proving the proper suretyship of Christ, our author ably and conclusively confutes the sophistry and artifice of the late Drs. Adam Clarke and Macknight, and proves the very important difference between Christ as a Surety and as a Mediator.

In the third chapter the doctrine of imputation and proper satisfaction is largely discussed, also the meaning of the word impute, and the objections of Dr. Dwight and others refuted; from the death of infants the doctrine of original sin is confirmed; Mr. Watson's chimera of imputed death, imputed depravity, and imputed liabi lity, are each disproved from the word of God, and many arguments are adduced therefrom to prove the imputation of the church's sin to Christ, whereby he was made sin and they accounted righteous. Some very ju dicious remarks here follow on the nature of Christ's sufferings as the Substitute of his chosen people, the completeness of his atonement, the full discharge of his people from all condemnation, and their full release from the claims of both law and jus tice, being one with Christ their kinsman Redeemer. The punitive nature of the Saviour's sufferings considered as strong evidence that he died under imputed sin, and his resurrection that he endured the full punishment due to sin, are here aptly introduced; and Mr. Watson's charge