THE BISHOP OF LONDON'S DEFINITION OF A CHURCH.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

I LATELY read with much interest an eloquent and graphic definition, or rather description, of "The Church" by the Bishop of Londona man whose learning and talents; whose zealous and indefatigable labours; and whose bold and extensive plans for building and endowing churches; promoting scriptural and intellectual education, in connexion with the Protestant episcopal Church; and extending the ministrations of that Church to distant lands; with innumerable details of daily duty conscientiously filled up for the glory of God and the best welfare of mankind; have rendered him a great blessing to the age in which he lives, and will hand down his name with honour to posterity. This grateful testimony is due to his Lordship even from those who do not concur in the whole of his measures.

The bishop's definition of " the Church," though new to me, may not be so to yourself, or to all of your readers; but I crave its insertion, as the statement is of importance in reply to two classes of persons ; first, to those laymen who, instead of regarding their own best interests as connected with Church stability and extension, seem to regard all such matters as merely professional; the chief concern of the laity, they say, being to prevent "the parsons dipping their hands too deeply into their pockets;" and secondly, to those clergymen who would "lord it over God's heritage," as if they were not only the dispensers of "the word and sacraments," and "ambassadors for God;" but themselves the church, in the most narrow-minded and popish view of the matter; in the same way in which physicians or lawyers are a community with whom extra-professionals have no brotherhood; the duty and interest of the latter being merely to allow the former to direct for them, and to follow their directions without presuming to ask for reasons. Not such is the Bishop of London's opinion:

"What is the church? There is hardly a mistake more injurious to the interests of Christian charity, or one which has more effectually impeded the progress of the gospel, and prevented that gospel from having free course, and being glorified, as it will be glorified when it has free course, than that erroneous opinion which certainly has prevailed, I would almost say universally - but very generally, and I fear, still too widely prevails,-that the church is the clergy. "The church! Am I asked again, what is the church? The ploughman at his daily toil; the workman who plies his shuttle; the merchant in his countinghouse; the scholar in his study; the lawyer in the courts of justice; the senator in the hall of the legislature; the monarch on his throne: these, as well as the clergyman, in the works of the material building, which is consecrated to the honour of God,-these constitute the Church. The Church, as defined by our Articles, is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered.' You, therefore, are the Church, as well as we who address you in this language of exhortation; and it is upon you we make the call, while we admit it to be binding on ourselves; and, therefore, it is because it is the Church's duty, that it is the duty of every member of the Church; for the Church is so constituted under its divine head, that not one of its members can suffer, but the whole body feels: nay, the great Head himself feels in the remotest and meanest member of the body; not the weakest member of the body can make an exertion in faith and love, but the blessed effects of it are felt to the benefit of the whole, which groweth by that which every joint supplieth, to the increase of itself in love."

D. C.

DISSENTING TESTIMONY TO THE VALUE OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

In my younger days I often heard Dissenters object to national ecclesiastical Establishments generally, and to some things in our own in particular; but they did not fail to acknowledge that the Church of England was, after all, the bulwark of the Protestant Reformation, and that they themselves were greatly indebted to it as a powerful barrier against the aggressions of Popery. Of late ⚫years I have not so frequently heard this candid avowal; but having lately met with it where perhaps it could not be expected, I transcribe the testimony to the honour of the deceased writer, and in justice to our much traduced communion.

The name of the late Mr. Ivemey, a pious and zealous Baptist minister, inust be familiar to many of your readers; as besides his various publications, he was well known on the platforms of several religious and charitable institutions; and he took a conspicuous part in the anti-slavery question, the opposition to what was called "Catholic emancipation," and in upholding the civil and religious rights and privileges of Protestant dissenters. Those who know what he said and wrote on this last matter, especially in the Baptist Magazine, which he for many years edited; or who have read his life of Milton, which abounds in sharp strictures upon the Anglican Church, will be able to appreciate the following admission in his Pilgrims of the Seventeenth Century," written in imitation of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and which is not the least pungent of his publications.

"Before we pursue this subject farther,' said Samuel, as it is a beautiful evening, will you all accompany me to the Observatory on the top of the house?' The whole company instantly complied with the invitation. From this lofty elevation we could easily look over the town-walls on the adjacent country to a very great distance. Looking westward we could discover distinctly, without the aid of a glass, a large dome surmounted by a ball and cross, rising high in air, and glistening in the sun (the Metropolitan Cathedral); also a considerable number of spires and steeples, besides other elevated buildings: some for useful and others for vain purposes. That,' said Samuel to me, is a most privileged city as regards the worldly honours and rich emoluments enjoyed by its public instructors. In it are exclusively found the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, the far greater part of the legislature, judges, and magistrates, the commander of the forces, and even the chief ruler of the kingdom :-and all the royal house!'

"It is vastly superior in size,' said I, and in the magnificence of its buildings, and I suppose in the wealth of its inhabitants, to those of your town. Does it contribute any advantage to the Town of Toleration?'

"Samuel.Not any direct: it may, for what I know, have contributed some indirect advantages to us. There is a much larger city situated far beyond it in the same direction, once known as 'the city upon seven hills;' which is, and always has been, extremely hostile to us, and would be glad to invade and destroy us, (the Church of Rome.) But the city which you see, lying exactly between us and it, being well fortified with walls and dykes; the other city cannot succeed in their warlike plans against us without first conquering them; its walls have often repelled their shots; and its dykes, I believe, have several times swallowed up the flood which came out of the mouth of the dragon to overwhelm us :' in various ways it has been found, that the earth has helped the woman,' (the National Church.) "In regard to the superiority of the magnificence and wealth of that established city, it is very trne, they greatly excel us; but then the single circumstance of our town being secured from any attempt to force our consciences in sacred matters, with me more than outweighs all such considerations. The idea, that I

was not left entirely at liberty to worship God according as I understood his directions upon that subject, would change a palace to a dungeon, a park to a jungle.'

Matthew. Well, as we neither envy, nor wish to molest them, suppose we resume the subject, respecting the attention which has of late years been paid to the inhabitants of the desert and solitary places of the wilderness :- "Remember thy covenant, O Lord, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.":

It is not very complimentary to the Anglican National Church, that in its best deeds it is only the earth helping the woman; but the admission is the more important that it does help her, especially in her conflict with the usurping "Quean" of the seven hills. We have it here upon record from the pen of Mr. Ivemey himself, that Popery cannot succeed in its warlike plans against Protestant dissenters, without first overturning the national Church of England, the walls of which, he admits, have often repelled the artillery of Rome, and the dykes of which have several times swallowed up the floods which came out of its mouth to overwhelm the Protestant Reformation. Mr. Ivemey was therefore a consistent Protestant dissenter; and though he liked not episcopacy, or the English prayer-book, or national ecclesiastical establishments, yet he was sensible that to the Church of England he was indebted for his security from any attempt to force his conscience in sacred matters; and this inestimable blessing so outweighed other considerations, that he strongly and justly denounced the conduct of those of his brethren who were truckling to the common enemy, Popery, with a view to cause the downfall of the Church of England, reckless of what would rise upon its shattered foundations.

ECLECTICUS.

BISHOP DOANE'S SERMON AT THE ORDINATION OF

DR. WOLFF.

For the Christian Observer.

In turning over some pamphlets we happened to recur to the sermon preached by the Right Rev. G. W. Doane, D.D., Bishop of New Jersey, at the ordination of Mr. (since Dr.) Joseph Wolff, at Newark (United States), in September 1837. The discourse was on an important and appropriate topic, namely, "The Apostolic commission the missionary charter of the Church;" and in the course of it the Bishop introduces a passage which conveys some interesting particulars, not known perhaps to all our readers, respecting Dr. Wolff; and which we will transcribe for their perusal. Bishop Doane is a zealous upholder of the opinions set forth in the Tracts for the Times; and Dr. Wolff's adoption of those opinions was, we believe, chiefly owing to his intercourse with this prelate ; though there were other predisposing causes which had led him to gravitate towards them.

“Brethren of this congregation, it is by virtue of the commission given by Jesus Christ to his apostles, and in furtherance of the great trust reposed in them for this most glorious object, that we are gathered here to-day. And, strange, beyond the fondest dreams of a poetic fancy, the circumstances of the case. There is a little village (Weilersbach) in Bavaria, the residence, it may be, of an hundred Jews. The Rabbi has a son, whom he instructs after the most perfect manner of the law of his fathers.' Even from four years old, he is accustomed to CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 49.

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regard the Christians who surround him as worshippers of a mere cross of wood. But God has better things in store for him. He leads him in a way of which he did not know; and, through the instructions of a village barber, he is brought, at eight years old, to the determination to be Christian. It was, of course, a child's conclusion. But with his growth it grew, and strengthened with his strength. Difficulties could not daunt it, opposition did but confirm it. Fven the love of parents and of kindred could not overcome it. And, at fourteen years of age, he solicits Christian baptism. His first acquaintance with Christianity is in the Church of Rome. His first determination is to be a missionary. From the bosom of the pious family of a German nobleman, who dignified his station by humility and piety, he proceeds to Rome, to prepare himself at her most distinguished seat of learning, the College of the Propaganda, for the work to which he is devoted. But still, the Lord has better things in store for him. His unsophisticated mind discovers soon that the Christianity of Rome is not the Christianity which, in Count Stolberg's family, had won and satisfied his youthful heart. Litanies to the virgin, pretended miracles, the suppression of the Scriptures, the infallibility of the Pope, are to him quite inconsistent with the simplicity of the cross. Alarmed at the corruptions of doctrine, and disgusted with the corruptions in practice, which deform the Church of Rome, he openly denounces both, and determines to go from her. I will go to the East, he says, and preach the Gospel of Christ!' After a residence of between two and three years, during which he received what the Church of Rome without the least shadow of authority from Scripture, denominates the minor orders, he is sent away, by the Pope's express command, as one who would taint the scholars of the Propaganda with his sentiments; the cardinal to whom this office was intrusted, and who was his personal and intimate friend, performing it with tears, and assuring him, in his parting letter, of his unqualified affection. Cast off by the mother of his adoption, and sent adrift among the errors of German infidelity, it had been but natural, if he had so made shipwreck of the faith; and passed, as so many pass, from the slavery of believing too much, to the far sorer bondage of believing nothing. But still, the Lord has better things in store for him. The providence of God,' as he himself expresses it, conducted him to some English Christians.' His feet are turned to England. He arrives at London, not yet twenty-four years of age. He finds in the Church of England the Gospel, which for sixteen years he has been seeking. He repairs to Cambridge. He enjoys the patronage, the instructions, and the confidence of the Rev. Charles Simeon and the Rev. Professor Lee. He sets out, two years after, in the spring of 1821, on that errand of Christian love to his benighted brethren of the Jewish faith, which, from Gibraltar and Malta and Alexandria and Cairo and Jerusalem, has carried him through Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Georgia, Persia, Tartary, Koordistan, Bokhara, Thibet, Arabia, Abyssinia, and India. He has been, with the apostle, in weakness, and painfulness, and watchings, and hunger, and thirst, and cold, and nakedness. With him, he has been beaten with rods, and in perils among false brethren. He has been thrice sold as a slave, and twice condemned to death. And he is now here, to receive-what he has never yet received, nor professed to receive-the Scriptural authority to preach the Gospel and, though in learning, in experience, in wisdom, in sufferings for the Gospel's sake, so greatly my superior, to go forth, from the laying on of my handssuch is the order of God's providence the recipient of that lowest order of the ministry which Christ has established in his church, the office of a deacon; and, thus entrusted with a portion of that high commission, to make disciples of all nations,' which Jesus gave to his apostles, to resume his wanderings, and renew his efforts, and prove, in suffering, and toil, and self-denial, that, with Paul,—like him, a convert from the old Mosaic faith his heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved.'

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Respected friend, you are no stranger to the solemnity of those vows, to the weight of that responsibility, which, before God and man, you will assume to-day. A life of singular adventure in the cause of Christ and his Gospel has taught you, through that most effectual discipline, experience, how arduous is their duty, and how great their charge, who undertake the cure of souls.' With this tremendous work, you ask that you may be entrusted. Your study of the sacred Scriptures, your acquaintance with ancient authors, your intercourse with the old churches of the East, your knowledge of mankind, your knowledge of yourself-all have conspired to work in you the strong conviction, that only at the hands of a bishop of Christ's church the authority for that high office can be had. From the corrupt communion of Rome, from our nursing-mother, the Church of England, from the time-honoured churches of the East, your feet have wandered, to this youngest branch of the Church Catholic, to seek from me, by a strange providence, the war

rant of the ministerial office. I bid you welcome, in God's name. I praise the glory of his grace who has put it into your heart to care for perishing souls. I honour that love of your brethren of the same blood, which has led you to spend and to be spent for the salvation of the Jews. Go on, dear brother! Let the commission you this day receive, as an ambassador for Christ, impel you in your work of charity, with a new spirit of devotion and determination. Preach the Gospel.' Be instant, in season, and out of season.' Gather together the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' Lead them to look on him whom they have pierced.' Implore them, by the cleansing unction of that blood which their deluded fathers brought upon their heads his blood be upon us, and upon our children!' Pray, with the saintly Stephen, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge!' Pray, with the holy sufferer for sinners, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!' May the Lord's work prosper in your hands! May you turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just!' May he who has fed you all your life long unto this day, delivered you from the snare of the fowler,' and set your feet in a large place,' be still your guardian, guide, and friend, through all the dangers of the way; and, when your service here is ended, may you attain that crown of glory which is prepared for faithful shepherds, and will never fade away!"

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

PUBLICATIONS ON THE OXFORD TRACTS.

1. A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of Winchester, at his fourth Visitation, September 1841. By CHARLES RICHARD SUMNER, D.D., Lord Bishop of Winchester, Prelate of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

2. The Sufficiency of Holy Scripture as the Rule of Faith.

A Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St. John, Calcutta, at an Ordination, May 2, 1841. By DANIEL, Bishop of Calcutta, and Metropolitan of India.

3. A Treatise on the Right Use of the Fathers. by JOHN DAILLÉ, Minister of the Gospel in the Reformed Church of Paris; translated from the French, by the Rev.T. SMITH; now re-edited and amended; with a Preface, by the Rev. G. JEKYLL, LL.B., Rector of West Coker.

4. The Lives of Christians during the first three Centuries of the Church. By Dr. C. L. COUARD. Translated from the German, by L. G. BERNAYS.

5. Two Letters on Apostolical Episcopal Succession, and Tradition. By CHARLES BOWDLER.

6. The National Church of England, ancient, apostolical, pure; a Sermon preached November 28, 1841, for the Winchester Diocesan Church Building Society. By the Rev. R. EDEN, M.A., Minister of St. Mary's Chapel, Lambeth.

7. On Sex in the World to come. By the Rev. G. D. HAUGHTON, B.A. 8. Confessions of an Apostate. By the Author of Felix de Lisle. 9. A second Letter to the Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D. in reference to his Letter to the Rev. R. Jelf, D.D. By the Rev. G. MILLER, D.D., formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin.

THE pending crisis in the affairs of the sect of the Ninety Articles,

more especially in relation to the Oxford Poetry-professorship and