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be preserved, by this single illustration, from that deadly and dangerous error, which leads men to think lightly of points of belief as fit only to furnish matter of dispute for the monk and the schoolman. It is true, indeed, that " he cannot be wrong, whose life is in the right;" but then it is equally true that, in the sight of his Maker, his life never can be right whose creed is fundamentally wrong; and, therefore, it is that whilst to him that believeth is promised the blessing of salvation, he that believeth not is threatened with the curse of damnation. It is declared in the text of those "false teachers who privily bring in damnable heresies, that they shall bring upon themselves swift destruction." We read, too, a little after, that "their judgment lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." And can we imagine, with regard to the many "followers of their pernicious ways," who have nevertheless the opportunity of knowing the truth, that they shall meet with a fate much more tolerable? No! it shall be with the people as with the priest, and "the Lord will cut off the master and the scholar."

If, then, my brethren, you would come not into this condemnation, I beseech you take heed unto yourselves, that ye "be not tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine," but hold fast with all your hearts "the truth as it is in Jesus," for which apostles have laboured, and martyrs have died. And that you may be preserved from being led astray "by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive"-I know of no means more likely to be attended with the blessing of Heaven than a sincere and undeviating communion with that pure and apostolical branch of Christ's Church which is at present established-a Church " in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered, according to Christ's ordinance;" which maintains, "whole and undefiledly," "the catholic faith, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;" which teaches, "that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father;" and that "the Holy Ghost is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God;"-a Church which secures, as far as possible, the orthodoxy of her Clergy, by requiring their ex animo subscription to articles and formularies wherein the truths of the gospel are fully and explicitly declared, and which, by "the form of sound words" contained in her admirable Liturgy, and by her annual observance of "fasts and festivals," commemorating the principal circumstances of the work of redemption, does all in her power to preserve her members from falling away from the faith;-a Church, moreover, and this, my brethren, however made light of in the present day, was nevertheless, in the earliest and purest ages of Christianity, considered a matter of supreme importance-which admits none to her altars to minister in holy things, save those to whom authority has been transmitted, in direct and unbroken succession, from Christ and his apostles. To a Church thus evangelical in doctrine, apostolical in discipline, devout and decorous in worship, "pertaineth," without question, "the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;" and to such a Church it becomes all Christians to unite themselves, as the surest means of being kept "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God." Indeed, I am not

ignorant, and God forbid that I should ever for one moment deny,—that there are many without her pale, who, nevertheless, in all points necessary to salvation, hold the truth in uprightness; but I cannot forget, with regard to the religious societies now in existence, that of those which have cast off that mode of government which, being established by the apostles, had prevailed in the Church universally for 1500 years, and have besides dispensed with the safeguard of creeds and formularies, many, both here and abroad, which, at the time of their origin, were, in the matter of doctrine, as pure as ourselves, have gradually lapsed into the deadliest errors, utterly destructive of the christian faith; whilst of those which have adhered to Episcopal regiment," and continued to avail themselves of forms of devotion and articles of belief, though many have, in a greater or less degree, mingled with their gold and silver and precious stones much wood, and hay, and stubble, yet have none of them sought to build on any other foundation than Jesus Christ; and therefore, my brethren, I cannot but conclude that between doctrine and discipline, heresy and schism, there is a much nearer connexion than Christians of the present day usually imagine.

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If, then, you would be preserved pure and stedfast in the catholic faith, see that you never forego those advantages which a strict and sincere communion with the Church of England will not fail to afford. In her courts, "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness," and at her altars, receive the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord." But at the same time remember, my brethren, that neither your communion with the Church, nor your knowledge of the truth, will be of any avail, unless your hearts are thereby influenced-your lives thereby improved: for as there may be branches on the vine, which, notwithstanding the rain from heaven, and the beams of the sun, and the care of the husbandman, still remain unfruitful; so, alas! is it possible for men to appear in the sanctuary, to join in its service with apparent devotion, to hear the word faithfully preached, and with their understandings to assent to all that is said, to partake of the sacrament of their Master's body and blood; nay, they may even "prophesy in his name, and in his name cast out devils, and in his name do many wonderful works;" and yet for all this they may show none of those fruits of the Spirit which this spiritual cultivation is designed to call forth. Then, in the day of his second coming, will he declare unto them, "I never knew you ;" and as in the case of the withered branches of the vine, of the tares which grew up with the wheat, their end will be, to be burned. Having known their Lord's will and done it not, they will be beaten with many stripes, and their portion will be appointed with the unbelievers. Let us, then, ever bear in mind, my brethren, that the more abundant are our privileges, the greater also is our responsibility; and so, instead of resting content that we are members of Christ's visible Church, and yield a speculative assent to the truths of his gospel, let us" give all diligence to add to our faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in us, and abound, they make us that we shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in he knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." J. O.

MISCELLANEOUS.

CHURCH SOCIETIES.

MR. EDITOR,-I thank you very cordially for inserting in your late publication my letter on the Church Societies, and now again beg to request the attention of yourself and your readers to a few more observations on the same important subject. In ordinary times and under ordinary circumstances, the powerful claims of our Societies ought, indeed, to be constantly set forth, and the compassionate sympathies of the Church excited in their behalf; but, at the present period, when Infidels, Socinians, Romanists, and the whole band of sectarians are ranged in battle array against all that we have been accustomed to venerate; and when they would not only innovate upon, but heartlessly destroy the establishments of our apostolic Church, and leave myriads to perish for lack of the saving knowledge and the means of grace which she dispenses, we are imperatively called upon, not only to stand forth and avow ourselves the firm and intrepid supporters of the Church of England, and of the holy religion which she maintains, and would have all men embrace, but we are also powerfully urged to increase, as far as possible, the efficiency of the Church; and to do so, moreover, by making her three accredited institutions, the Societies for the Building and Enlarging of Churches, for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and for Propagating the Gospel, a focus in which both the energies and bounty of her sons may be concentrated.

These Societies have done much for the service of religion, but they are capable of doing infinitely more than their comparatively contracted means have hitherto permitted them to accomplish. It becomes us, therefore, to take active measures both to extend their means of usefulness, and to draw the charities of the Church towards them. To this end, the number of local and parochial committees must be augmented, and their efficiency much increased. Sermon-preaching also must be frequently practised, and general attention directed to the wants and labours of the Societies. In the metropolis, especially, much must be done; for there the Societies are infinitely less known and appreciated by the public than in most other parts of the kingdom, and the publications of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge are far less freely circulated there than in country districts. I have read the letter of "Clericus Kensingtoniensis," to the Bishop of London, on this subject. It contains some sensible remarks, and will, I hope, induce the managers of the Society to give its suggestions their most serious and attentive consideration. But it well deserves inquiry, whether the inactive state of the Society be not more owing to a want of consideration and energy among metropolitan churchmen, than either to any constitutional defect in the Society's system, or practical difficulty in bringing its operations immediately to bear upon the necessities of home districts. For it is also as true as it is lamentable that the other Church Societies are as little, if not less, known in the metropolis than

that for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The Society for Propagating the Gospel has very few local associations in London and the vicinity; and where there are professedly such, through some strange supineness, very few contributions are made to them. Thus the district association in the wealthy and populous village of Clapham numbers exactly seven contributors; and the committee at Hornsey has only supplied 10l. 98. 6d. during the last year. Whilst at Bishopsgate (the committee formed by the present Bishop of London, wheu rector of the parish,) the contributions, which, in the year 1827, amounted to 1897. 8s. were, last year, reduced to 961. 6s. 9d., and these, in a great measure, supplied by persons residing out of the district. And at Hackney, Tottenham, Kensington, Camberwell, Marylebone, Pancras, Bloomsbury, and numerous other extensive and influential places, no committees have ever been formed, or direct exertions made to aid the Society. Again, all-important as are the services of the Church Building Society, it has not, I believe, a single branch association in or near London. One cause of this deplorable public indifference may, I think, be this, viz. that many of our principal parochial clergy, being most closely occupied in superintending the general concerns of the parent societies, have undesignedly omitted to excite the particular charity of their parishioners, and to invite their cooperation in furtherance of the works of love in which they themselves are so laboriously, though secretly, employed. But whatever reason may be assigned for our lukewarmness, we must now, ministers and people, at once alter our course, if we desire to preserve to ourselves the character of consistent Christians, and affectionate churchmen-wish to make others such-or would glorify God and edify our brethren. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," is a Divine command, which, under present circumstances especially, we are most solemnly called upon to observe and practise.

As all the Societies are not only willing, but most anxious, to extend their respective spheres of action, and as we may be assured that their labours of love will be prosecuted, as they ever have been, upon sound christian principles, with a view to the glory of God and the edification and salvation of mankind, we ought to be, and I trust we are, most willing to afford them all the aid that lies in our power, as well "with a bountiful hand as an affectionate heart."

It is difficult to say which of the Societies stands most in need of our patronage and encouragement. Two of them are most powerfully urged by the increasing spiritual necessities and temptations of our countrymen, and the distressing deficiency of church accommodation, to extend their works of love, and diffuse the blessings of pure Christianity as extensively as possible. And the other Society, that for Propagating the Gospel, UNLESS ITS RESOURCES BE FORTHWITH GREATLY AUGMENTED, will be absolutely obliged not only to surrender to contending sectaries and Romanists the congregations it has gathered, and the missionary charges it has watched over with so much anxious assiduity, but withdrawing its succours from many a barren district, and many a laborious servant of Christ, be itself compelled to give a serious, if not a fatal check to the growth of Christianity throughout

the colonies. "If the vast territories comprehended in British North America are to be peopled with millions of our fellow-subjects, for whose spiritual edification no public provision in future will be made, the demand for individual effort and private charity will be increased ten-fold. If the various bands of native Christians, scattered over the plains of Hindostan, are to be brought into immediate connexion with the bishops of the three Indian dioceses, and made to enjoy all the benefits of communion with a pure and apostolic Church, it will be necessary to make great additions to the number of missionaries now employed among them, and a large increase of expenditure will be required for their maintenance :- while, if the emancipation of the Negroes, which has been commenced so happily, is to be carried to a satisfactory conclusion, it will be incumbent upon the trustees of the Codrington Plantations to leave no means untried, by which they may be able to give effect to the benevolent designs of the legislature." "The Society is pledged, moreover, to expend upwards of 10,0001. a year in maintaining the existing missionaries in British North America, and the whole outlay in that quarter of the world will fall very little short of 12,000l. The annual expenditure in the East Indies exceeds 6,000l., and a very considerable addition must be made to this sum before the missions already established can be adequately provided for, and as the Society's income, for the year 1833, was only about 12,000l. there is at once a large excess of expenditure above income without calculating upon any new undertakings in either hemisphere."— (Report, 1833.)

Seeing, then, that our exertions in behalf of the Societies are so indispensable, and of such infinite importance, let District Associations of all three Societies be opened universally, and let the inhabitants of the metropolis, especially, redeem the time they have lost, by making the most indefatigable efforts in future. In places where local committees are already established, let their efficiency, if possible, be increased, and fresh contributions obtained. And where there are no Associations at all, (as in how many places in London, in particular, is this the case!) let committees be formed instanter, and the assistance of all the members of the Church be sought for. I would recommend the formation of distinct committees* for each Society in all places. Some persons would subscribe to one Society, some to two, and many to all. Christianity only expects from her disciples that which it is really in their power to contribute; but she solemnly obliges them to use their talents, whatever they may be, to the utmost extent, in promoting the glory of God and the increase of his kingdom.

And, in order to keep up a lively feeling of attachment to the Societies, and insure their support upon christian principles, let sermons also be preached in their behalf at our different churches once, if not twice, in every year. Let one or two Sundays (such as one of the Sundays after Epiphany, that after Ascension-day, or Advent Sunday)

In a former letter I suggested the formation of a general fund in aid of the three Societies, and in some places that plan would, perhaps, be the best to adopt; but, in general, I should think it would be better for each Society to have its separate list of subscribers. The half yearly or yearly collections, in the churches, would connect the Societies together, and afford an addition to the distinct funds of each.