the mass, entirely overlooks the providence of God over His Church, and the administration of that government to which the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted.

5. And if we thoroughly examine the ground on which the objections to Creeds and Confessions rest, will it not appear at length to be simply this? That the sense of Scripture-the true doctrine of the Bible is supposed to be so vague and uncertain, so indistinctly and confusedly expressed, that it is not possible to express it in words of our own; but, just as if it was contained in a language which we do not understand, or set forth in dubious or unintelligible terms, we must content ourselves with a mere repetition of the precise words in which it is conveyed! If a truth be clear in itself, and be clearly understood by us, we can both express it in language of our own, and instantly recognise it when expressed in different ways. And when we cannot do this, must it not be feared, that, instead of a clear view of the Truth, we have only an accurate remembrance of, and blind attachment to, the mere words in which it has been first conveyed to us? I do not believe, I cannot persuade myself, that there is any thing so vague and uncertain in the doctrines of the Bible, as the common objections against Creeds and Confessions seem to imply. I believe, on the contrary, that what is revealed is clearly and distinctly revealed: so that if we do not rightly understand it, the fault

is in ourselves; we are too indolent and careless, or too wilful and perverse, to understand the truth declared in Scripture; we are too much puffed up with a fond conceit of our own wisdom, or too much tied and bound with the chain of our sins, to submit our minds and hearts to the word of God. But "let God be true, and every man a liar ; " let God be wise, and every man a fool. It is little short of blasphemy to maintain, directly or indirectly, that what He hath spoken is not wisely, graciously, sincerely, and plainly spoken: or that the doctrines, on which our souls' comfort and salvation rest, are so stated in His word, that those who seek humbly, earnestly, and sincerely for instruction, shall yet remain in error, or come to opposite conclusions. Therefore I must believe and maintain that whenever the Great Head of the Church has called His faithful people to examine into particular doctrines, He has enabled them to ascertain the truth, and with such accuracy to express it, that the doctrine, once ascertained and clearly stated by His faithful people, remains a settled doctrine, a fixed and decided point, for the comfort and instruction of all succeeding generations. Nor do I believe that the Holy Universal Church of Christ has ever been left to an agreement and concord in error: whatsoever may have been the case with particular individuals, or bodies of men, who in a schismatical spirit have separated themselves from the body of Christ; or howsoever the Syna

gogue of Satan,' pretending to follow the example of the true Church, has riveted upon its deluded votaries the fetters of error, by similar means to those which the true Church of the living God hath used to confirm her children in the truth: even as the Egyptians, by following the course which led the children of Israel to safety and triumph, were overwhelmed and destroyed in the Red Sea. (Heb. xi. 29.)

I would only observe, in conclusion, that now is the time when, instead of discarding Creeds and Confessions, all real soldiers of the Cross should seek to be united and bound together in an orthodox Confession, and to have some fixed and settled symbol or watch-word, by which they may be distinguished from all the various classes of the champions of error, in the strenuous and earnest defence of great, fundamental, saving doctrines. Now is the time when a distinct Confession of Faith, which shall pledge us to a determined conflict against Popery in all its various forms, against Arianism and Socinianism in all their degrees and ramifications, against the Latitudinarianism, Liberalism, and Infidelity of the age, is peculiarly needed. In fine -Now is the time when a strict and resolute adherence to the Articles of the Church of England, in all their clearness and fulness, is most fervently to be desired, as the true and proper symbol of all those who are set for the defence of the truth, in opposition

to the countless and still multiplying errors and delusions of these awful times.1

1 On this subject the Reader is also referred to Two Letters on the Constitution of the Reformation Society, in the Protestant Journal for June and for November, 1834, pp. 385 and 701, by the author of this volume.

CONCLUSION.

THE foregoing letters have extended to a much greater length than I expected; yet my readers will find, that on some points they are very brief; while on others, which are yet important, I have not touched at all: some of them, therefore, will be glad that I should refer to other works, in which they may find further information. It would be no difficult matter to make out a long and valuable list: but I will only mention a few.

Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity is so well known, and has been, ever since its publication, so highly and justly esteemed, that it might seem superfluous to mention it here; were it not that to write in defence of the Church of England, without a distinct reference to the work of her ablest champion, would look like an act of injustice, both to the Cause, and to its learned and pious defender: more especially as Hooker has written in the very spirit in which I should desire to write; and has produced a work, every page of which is calculated, as well to edify the soul and to promote real godliness, as to uphold