extended his liberty of preaching his possession of the Spirit, to judge whether there be strict adherence to the words of a Ritual, or a system of ordinances, or the use of certain vestments; human courts are quite competent to take cognizance of such matters. This gives the Ritualists an immense advantage." This, of course, refers to the relative opinions formed by the world with respect to the consistency of their churchmanship. While, therefore, we carefully avoid the vagaries of Tractarianism, and strive to warn the people against its pernicious doctrine, the following advice of an eminent living minister and divine appears much to the purpose : "When we have just wrenched away an error from our minds, we are apt to forget that there is a revulsion of feelWe must never forget, however, ing which, unless we are on our guard, the essential difference between DOCmay carry us too far in the opposite diTRINE and rites and ceremonies; true rection. To be a Scriptural divine is doctrine is unchangeable, rites and the first duty of a Christian. But a ceremonies are changeable, (Art. 34,) | minister of the Church of England and therefore the importance of devi- must also be a faithful disciple of that ating from the Rubric cannot properly, Church. To all its innocent regulain itself, be worthy of comparison with tions he must conform; to all its dethe importance of deviating from the clared doctrines assent; and if he find doctrine of the Articles. Hence, it a repugnance, which he cannot rehas been well remarked, by an impar- move, between his Scriptural and his tial witness, of those strict Ritualists Church duties and belief, it were who assail the Evangelical clergy, (e.g. better not to undertake the office. I the author of "Modern Puritanism,") mean, that of ministers it is required, "Who has the advantage? Doubtless that, whilst they are earnest for the the Ritualists. None but those who Gospel, they should also be obedient are really spiritual can judge whether to their Church; though neither makwhat they hear be the truth of God;ing that Church their idol, nor its nor is any care taken that it shall be preached. But it does not require the authority so absolute as to supersede careful inquiry, and a candid judgment upon Divine Revelation for themselves." (Rev. C. Benson.) In a future paper it will be my endeavour ("if the Lord will," James iv. 15), to expose the fallacy of the view of Subscription in a pamphlet published since my first paper was written, viz., "An Address to Members of Convocation," by Rev. W. G. Ward. In the Church Advocate and Magazine L 61 carnal policy for the sake of temporal power, we should do well to remember Exodus xxiii. 20-25, 32, 33; xxxiv. 10-16, and walk warily in these perilous times, (2 Tim. iii.; 1 Cor. x. 9; 11-13; Rom. xi. 20;) lest we too (2 Pet. iii. 17) "wonder after the beast."-(Rev. xiii. 3.) Let us rather trust "in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy," (1 Tim. vi. 17) casting all our care upon him, (1 Pet. v. 7; Heb. xiii. 5;) not forgetting the exhortations, I Tim. ii. 1-4 ; 2 Tim. ii. 24-26; Jude 3. May we all attend to these things! for January (pp. 29, 30), will be seen a In conclusion, many are, perhaps, C. H. D. (B. A. Oxon.) CAL SCIENCE. NO. III. ITS MORAL NECESSITY, VALUE, AND astonished to see full-grown Popery ON THE PURSUIT OF THEOLOGIarise in Oxford, the scene of our Martyrs' sufferings! A resident Fellow of Balliol College, opposite to which they suffered, declares himself a Papist!* The Rev. C. Benson's Sermon, "Protestant Zeal Recommended," (Baldwin and Cradock, 1837,) and Rev. A. Boyd's Sermon (for 5th Nov.)," National Deliverance and National Gratitude," (Seeley, 1843,) are worthy of attention, since some are for increasing the grants to Maynooth! Instead of adopting * How much does this remind us of the Israelites whose conduct is described in Exodus xx. 18-21, xxiv. 3, 7; yet how soon did they fall away! xxxii. 1-7, &c. Men of the world think lightly of the advance of Popery among us; and, perhaps, many Christians do. But what Bickersteth says of individuals, viz., that sometimes we are tempted, after the enjoyment of a spiritual privilege, to become careless, unwatchful, and off our guard," is no less true of Churches. Therefore, let us remember Rom. xiv. 4; Rev. ii. 4, 5! 66 + Since this paper was sent off for publication, I have seen some remarks in the leading article of the Record, of 13th Feb. in which it is shown (as a plain matter of fact) that the grants to Maynooth have produced results the very OPPOSITE to what STRENGTHENED by the testimonies we have been able to adduce to "the Reasonableness of the Requirements of Theological Science," and its “Harmony with Natural Science," we need not be shaken in mind, if we find, that even men who know much of the latter, and little of the former, are averse to that of which they are ignor ant; much less if we discover the same hostility or neglect in those who have only a smattering of either. Indeed it is one of the inconsistencies were expected by those who thought it 15. who appear to covet the largest field of human science and literature, are astonishingly ignorant of Scripture history, criticism, and antiquities, not to say of Scripture doctrines, and are never less at home than in discoursing on such matters, which they frequently do with great positiveness and profaneness. Others speak with reverence of religion, but seem to consider its truths as the peculiar study of the clergy only and, as they leave law and medicine to their professional advisers, so they think they may safely depute the doctrines of religion to its ministers. The profounder matters of theology can scarcely, indeed, be mastered by any who have not made them their particular study; but this is very much in the power of all well-educated persons, and, to such extent as it is practicable, is an absolute duty. And it holds even by analogy; for Lord Bacon says, Every man ought to know enough of law to keep himself out of it:" and the law itself presumes every man to be acquainted with its injunctions; and none think the simple rules of good health beneath their inquiry. 66 So must every man make himself acquainted, personally, at his peril, with those truths which concern his eternal peace; for he cannot be saved without faith; and he cannot be lieve without knowledge; and with this still more solemn consideration,-that he will not be allowed to appear by his attorney at the bar of God in the day of final trial and retribution. and absurdities of the day, that men, not infinitely pitiable. And yet such persons may do very serious injury to the minds of those who have no opportunity of refuting them; and who are startled, when they are not convinced, by such bold opposition to all that they have been accustomed to hold sacred; and if the springs of morality, which gush from the rock of Scriptural truth, are poisoned, it will little avail us that new fountains of science are discovered. They have their value; but it is infinitely less important to the mass of mankind, that they should know what is the constitution of the physical world in which we live for a few years, than the certainty, nature, and requisite preparations for the eternal world, to which we are hastening. So it is less important to know, with the geologist, that there was a world before the present formation; and with the astronomer, that there are other planets besides this,-than that there are other countries in this earth, beyond the seas; and to be accurately acquainted with our own. Sciences, like the planets of the solar system, revolve in concentric curves around the God of truth: but they are near or remote, important or speculative, as they relate to man himself. The sun and moon are to us the most important bodies, though the latter is far less in diameter than the superior planets. More science, indeed, is needed to examine Jupiter's satellites; but a man will find his plans to succeed better who knows the laws of the moon's rotation, and its connection with the tides, or even his evening walks, than if he can deduce the aberration of light from those distant luminaries, whilst ignorant of the But whenever ignorance of theology is admitted, there ought to be at least the accompanying modesty of silence: but it is common for sceptics to speak of Greek and Roman philoso-motions of that orb which is given to phers, whose names they cannot even our planet "to rule the night." pronounce correctly, as superior to Religion is thus the first and most the Scripture writers: their flippancy important thing to man. It must rewould be quite contemptible, were it gulate all the tides of just opinion, and shed its light on the hours of darkness, meditation, and sorrow. While human science, without it, will be "Distinct, but distant-clear, but oh how cold !" this is the inward spring, the attractive centre. Other things are curious, are not unimportant; but as readily may we give up the moon, because we have discovered the planet Herschel, as surrender religion in compliment to recent discoveries in chemistry and geology. one. not made this thorough investigation. Men are as responsible for their faith to God-and to man also, if they propagate error-as the judge, who pronounces an illegal sentence through. wilful ignorance and inadvertency,.. is answerable to God and his country. TION, received into the heart as well as the mind, is as the rainbow which bẹtokens the presence of the sun and the departure of the storm. The happiness which this conviction of Christian truth affords is inexpressibly sweet.. The mind has found a resting place, the faith a rock,-the soul a sure refuge. The pleasures of all other sciences dwindle into remote and cheerless stars, struggling through Nor is the alternative a necessary mists to illumine the darkness of naRecent writers have gone farture, while this SCIENCE OF SALVAto remove the obstacles which some modern sciences, in their infant state, appeared to set up against the venerable truths of Revelation. Professors Buckland, Sedgwick, and Hitchcock have thrown much light on the geological difficulties, and confirmed the views taken by Bishop Sumner (of Chester) in his Records of Creation," in 1819; and still earlier by Hutton and other scientific writers; and in this, as in every other branch of science and literature, it will be found true, that, as Bishop Berkeley long ago remarked, "An exacter knowledge in language and circumstances, would cause many difficulties in the Bible to vanish like shades before the sun." There are, besides, vast fields of deeply interesting knowledge connected with the Sacred Volume. He must be a truly learned man in all antiquity, as well as a deeply pious Christian, who is well fitted to comment on its sacred pages; and the mass of evidence, by which the faith is sustained, so accumulates on the diligent and candid student, that he will feel it far more incredible that the Gospel should be false, than that any of its miracles should be true. In the meantime, none can plead conscientious scepticism who have Yet it is a rapture, which, while it is enough to fill the soul of an Archangel with ecstacy, does not disdain to inhabit the breast of the humblest believer, in whom simple faith sup-. plies the absence of learning, while it apprehends that which learning could never reach; and obedience, flowing directly from faith and love, obtains the reward of assurance. For the Word of God is, that, If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God." 66 "It cannot be doubted," (says an old divine)*" that there are pleasures in the study of God's lower works, by the mere aid of reason, which amply compensate for the enjoyment. But how sweet and delicious that truth is which holy and heavenly souls feed upon in their mysterious converse with the Deity--who can tell but they that taste it? When reason is once raised, by the mighty force of the divine Spirit, into a converse with God, it is turned to sense; that which before was only faith, well built upon sure *John Smith, M.A., Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge, died 1652. principles, (for such our science may be,) now becomes vision. We shall .then converse with God by mental ntercourse, whereas before we discoursed with him only by the discursive faculty, as the Platonists were wont to distinguish." Let me, therefore, conjure my younger friends especially, while in the pursuit of human science, and the cultivation of human literature, not to omit a very diligent and accurate acquaintance with the SAVING TRUTH of the Scriptures, and all the interesting inquiries connected with the Sacred Volume. A spirit of true science will aid all their studies and find its reward in them. And He who has given them natural powers and desires, to comprehend what is demonstrable and tangible, will also give them, in answer to prayer, spiritual faculties to apprehend those things which are rather felt than seen, rather believed and enjoyed, than understood. C. A. H.* * A typographical error in the last number has made me appear to libel "White" (put for While) the naturalist as a sceptic: but his excellent "Natural History of Selborne" is a beautiful instance of how useful a clergyman may prove to the world by the cultivation of an acquaintance with the works of creation around him. I am allowed by a lady of my family to add the following lines, occasioned by hearing during a tour in Wales the circumstance, that when LINNEUS first saw the prickly gorse, he fell down on his knees to return thanks to God for having permitted him to find such a beautiful flower: : ON THE GOLDEN GORSE. I looked anxiously out of the window of my bed-room, at the dawn of a late autumnal morning, to ascertain the state of the weather. The sky was overcast; and the aspect of the clouds did not betoken a very bright and cheerful day. I could have wished it otherwise for the sake of those who, in an hour's time, were about to be escorted by their respective friends to the church, and there to plight their troth to each other. Eventually, the day became fine; and the bride left her father's house, in company with her chosen partner, to commence the tour which was to terminate at her future home, amidst the beauties of one of the sunnier autumnal days. I did not myself perform the marriage ceremony; having acceded to the request of the father of the bride to allow a neighbouring clergyman, an old friend of the family, to officiate on the occasion. I doubt not, from the piety and thoughtfulness apparent in the parties, that they entered heartily into the instructions, engagements, and prayers of the beautiful marriage service of the Church. With how much pleasure do we discharge our clerical duties, on a matrimonial occasion, when the serious and devout behaviour of the contracting parties manifests their conviction of the solemnity of the transaction! How painful, on the I murmur'd-because it was harsh to my tread, Nor car'd all its beauty to scan; And thus, while the wonders of nature are spread, All cold and forgetful is man. The beautiful gorse-which Linnæus ad- He murmurs at trifles that wound in his |