1. The awful ungodliness of some of us too plainly proves the truth of this, believe it who will. It is fearful to think of their standing as they are in the sanctuary of the Most Holy God! “To the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do, to declare my statutes, and to take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.” [7]
2. But, alas! It is not only the unholy beyond dispute that may fail of the Holy Ghost. What say the habits of vain conversation in many; their ease and pleasure in worldly occupations and amusements; their constraint under sacred employments, their gladness when such works are done? Must their hearts be the temples of the Holy Ghost? Will He make the word to be “the power of God,” to honour their preaching of it; or the sacraments means of grace, to own their administration? May He not, does He not refuse to do so? Where is the fruit of their labour?
3. But even were we questionable in nothing but points of doctrine and religious practices which we teach, this were enough, not only to raise the question, whether we minister by the Holy Ghost, but also to determine it. For the Spirit cannot testify to both of two systems differing from one another in many fundamental points.
Such are the two systems at present in agitation. That of Protestant Evangelical Christianity on the one hand, and that of Anglo-catholicity on the other: the one rejecting Romanism in all its peculiarities; the other sympathizing with it, and avowedly rejecting the principles of the Protestant faith. [8a] The controversy is not new, though it has seldom been so vigorously conducted on either side as now. The same spirits were in active warfare some forty years ago. [8b] But, in fact, it has been fairly said by one of the chief writers on the Anglo-catholic side, that there have ever been these two principal parties in the Church of England, whom he calls the Apostolical and the Puritan; introducing a third also, (not now in the controversy,) namely, the Latitudinarian. [9a]
In point of doctrine, the terms Apostolical, Laudian, Orthodox, and Anglo-catholic, have more or less of connexion with each other; and the terms Evangelical, Puritan, Calvinistic, and Protestant, have a similar affinity.
a. Now it has often been acknowledged by the opposite party, that the compilers of our Articles were not only Protestant, but Calvinistic, and what we now call Evangelical, in their religious views. It has often been felt and allowed, that, in the plain and full meaning of these Articles, according to their literal and grammatical sense, which the royal Declaration peremptorily claims for them, without admitting of any new sense whatever, they favour less the Laudians and the Arminians, than the Puritans and Calvinists. [9b] In this sense they are freely and confidently appealed to by the latter; and the appeal is ever most happily and strongly sustained by other appeals to the writings of the Reformers, in proof of what they meant. The true Protestants, therefore, are perceived to have always had the best of the controversy, when conducted by sustaining the full and literal sense on the one hand, and softening it down on the other:—wherefore it is now attempted, with a determination never shown before, not merely to incline the Articles to speak a softer Protestantism; but at once to seize them violently, and force them to an absolute recantation; or, to stifle them under the reiterated pressure of directly antagonist opinions; affirming, against evidence, that those opinions were intended by the compilers to be admissible into the meaning! [11]
They thus, in purpose, completely take away the old, and substitute a new confession of faith, whatever care may seem to be taken to retain the form of words. And, casting out the Writings of our Reformers also, as a Court of Appeal, and proposing extraordinary additions to our Formularies, and various ceremonial innovations, they declare it to be their intention to unprotestantize [12] the Church of England altogether, and to re-unite her, in due time, with the Church of Rome. And they are steadily and gradually advancing.
While they are labouring with most devoted assiduity at this achievement, we, on the other hand, are firmly maintaining our old Church of England ground, standing by our old appeals as resolutely as ever, and humbly believing that the same God, who has for years been gradually and steadily increasing our numbers and our strength, will still go on to increase them, until the Church of England shall stand in the full and undisputed possession of the sons of her reforming fathers; and true Anglo-catholicity shall be the share which the English Protestant Church shall enjoy in Catholic Christianity throughout the world.
But now, the question is, how can we possibly imagine that the Holy Ghost can accredit both these opposing systems, and the advocates of both, so essentially differing from each other? For, either the whole system of the Protestant Reformation, and of our Church as Protestant, is one enormous, awful, and tremendous error; or Anglo-catholics are doubly dishonest, first to the Church of England, which they still subscribe to; and secondly to the TRUTH of God according to our confession of faith. The decision of the question may be suspended for a moment.
b. The more we inquire into this subject, the wider will the difference appear to be. There is one most vital part of it, on which I will not say much; because it is so generally heard of, and amongst ourselves so easily understood. I mean the union, by the Anglo-catholics, of tradition with Holy Scripture as the Rule of Faith, [13a] in direct contradiction (as I think) to our sixth Article. It is contradictory also to testimony upon testimony from their own favourite Fathers and Divines, [13b] as well as the Reformers; and even to the plainest testimony of Holy Scripture itself. “From I child,” says the Spirit of God by St. Paul to Timothy, “thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation though faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God; and is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be PERFECT, THOROUGHLY FURNISHED unto all good works.” [14]