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DISCOURSE VII.

SAINT MATTHEW, XIII. 52.

Every Scribe which is instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven, is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

THE adequacy of the Apostle's creed, as a summary of faith, is the express doctrine of the Church of England.

In the Catechism, a child is informed, that he had been pledged, by his baptismal engagements, to believe all the articles of the Christian faith: and he redeems this pledge, by assenting to the Creed.

Nor is it only towards the earlier years of her children, that the Church has shown this wise and charitable moderation. When a minister is summoned to attend upon a dying man, in his last preparation for the judgment-seat, he is commanded thus to address him: I exhort you, in the name of God, to remember the profession made unto God in your Baptism. Therefore, I shall rehearse to you the articles of our faith, that you may know, whether you believe as a Christian man should.' The articles thus solemnly rehearsed, are the articles of the Creed, and nothing more.

The restriction imposed upon the public preaching of the clergy, breathes the same spirit of liberal

forbearance. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an order was issued to preachers, That they be, above all things, careful, never to teach aught in a sermon, to be religiously held and believed by the people, except that, which is not only agreeable to the doctrines of the Scriptures, but which has also been collected from that doctrine, by the Fathers and Bishops of the primitive Church.' The limitation here enjoined, is, in substance, the same with the former for, except the articles of the apostles' creed, it is impossible to name one theological tenet, upon which the fathers are agreed among themselves.

Such is the benevolent indulgence with which the Church of England treats her children. She urges nothing merely speculative upon them; nothing, but what is immediately connected with their hearts, their hopes, and their bounden duty. She introduces them to the Father Almighty, to his Son, and to his Spirit, as the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier of man. She consigns them to the protection of that gracious Being, who is no less our peace-maker, than our judge; who, for our sakes, was made perfect through suffering; who has a feeling of our infirmities, who remembers that we are but dust. And lastly, she tells them, that, although for a season, they are sojourners here, their home is in another, and a better world.

Our Church throws open to you the whole moral and intellectual universe; she declares you free of that eternal city, whose foundations are in the

Heavens; and she promises, that, unless you be enemies to yourselves, you shall be admitted to all the privileges of its everlasting citizens. Like her creed, her ritual also, is bland, sober, and of impressive simplicity. In infancy, she receives her children, nothing doubting, into the fellowship of Christ's religion, the participation of his grace, and the inheritance of his promises. During the years of their probation, she provides that holy and comfortable mystery, at once the food, and the medicine of the soul. And, when, in the last solemn office, she commits their mouldering bodies to the grave, she is not betrayed into idle murmurs, or unworthy despondence; she resigns the departed, in the sure and certain hope of a resurrection, and she consoles and edifies the living, by setting before them that future blessedness, "when God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither any more pain; for the former things are passed away, and God himself shall be with them, and they shall see his face; and they shall need no light of the sun, nor light of the moon, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever."

In this affecting summary of belief, there is as much simplicity as is possible, in a system, which professes to develope the various wants of man, and the various remedies provided for those wants, in the nature and bounty of HIM, who hath made us for HIMSELF. Of the truths conveyed either in the

creed, or in the ritual, there is not one which terminates in the mere intellect. As they give a peace, so, they impart a conviction, which passeth all understanding.

The deep things of God, doubtless, do come occasionally into view; but, does an air of mysteriousness ever weaken the interest of minor matters? And if not, who shall pronounce, that mystery is an unsuitable accompaniment, of tidings the most awful, and the most interesting, of all? The facts and objects here disclosed, are such as fill the imagination, and engage the heart; and thus, they can inspire very ordinary minds, with such an elevation of thought, and fixedness of purpose, as, even when exercised upon much meaner things, are usually regarded as prerogatives of genius.

Such is the happy temperament of zeal and of forbearance, with which the Church of England has provided for the edification of her children. Without condescending to the caprice or the superstition of the multitude, without compromising essential truth, and without severing the continuity of apostolical doctrine, she has thus maintained her rank as a National Church. She exhibits the only successful instance, of an attempt to blend the humble and reverential spirit of the antient piety, with the philosophical discursiveness of modern times; and her genuine members have always shown, that, while they bow to her authority, they do not yield to the most unrestrained Christians, in variety of research, or in manliness of avowal.

But there are many, in our times, who would reduce Christian doctrine to greater simplicity. It is, now, about a century, since a party arose, anxious for the abolition of all creeds. This idea was eagerly adopted by the Socinians, who appeared, with renovated strength, some time after. And, in later days, it has found new supporters, among a very different class of Christians. Some benevolent men, became solicitous for a sudden diffusion of the living waters of the gospel; and, as more than a superficial dissemination of them was impossible, within the period which their zeal had prescribed, they were content to arrive at a seeming accomplishment of their wishes, by a proportionate scantiness of irrigation. Now, in opposition to this notion of extreme simplicity, it might be sufficient to observe, that, those articles of belief which it endeavours to reject, are, every one of them, the basis of some important relation between God and man; and, therefore, if true, they cannot safely be omitted. But it may be desirable, to consider this matter somewhat more particularly. I undertake, therefore, to show, that Christian knowledge was designed, by its Heavenly Author, to be progressive; progressive, not in surface only, but in depth: that the articles of the Christian faith, and the terms of Church communion, instead of being reduced, will, as time proceeds, become stricter and that the variety of matter which we find in the scriptures, is, not only suited to the dignity of a revelation from God, but instrumental,