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efficient moral justification. I mean, that the reckoning us righteous indispensably presupposes an inward reality of righteousness, on which this reckoning is founded:" The sum of Mr. Knox's assertion is, that God's accounting us righteous is not independent of a work of the spirit within us; which Waterland asserts yet more strongly, viz. that "justification cannot be conceived without some work of the spirit, in conferring a title to salvation." Again, "inward sanctification of the spirit is necessarily presupposed, in some measure or degree, with respect to adults in their justification; because, without holiness, no man can see the Lord,' no man shall be entitled to salvation; i. e. no man justified. But though this consideration sufficiently proves that sanctification and justification are near allied, yet it does not prove that they are the same thing, or that one is properly part of the other. An essential qualification for any office, post, dig nity, or privilege, must be supposed to go along with that office, post, &c.; but still the notions are very distinct, while the things themselves are in fact connected of course. So stands the case between sanctification and justification; the one is a capacity for such a grant, the other is the very grant itself; the one is an infused and` inherent quality, God's work within us, the other an outward privilege, or extensive relation, God's gracious act towards us. In short, sanctification denotes the frame of mind, the holy disposition; while justification denotes the state which a man is in with respect to God, his discharge from guilt and penalty, his Christian membership, his heavenly citizenship, his gospel rights, pleas, and privileges."-(View of Justification.)

Again, Fidelis totally misunderstands Mr. Knox as to his assertion, that the reputative idea of justification must be understood subordinately to a moral justification; as if he maintained that a man is justified on account of this moral justification, or the righteousness wrought in him. This was the Romish error; and it was in avoiding this that some of the Reformers ran into the opposite extreme of denying an accompanying inward righteousness. But Mr. Knox does not fall into this error: he is well aware that the righteousness which justifies and entitles to heaven must. be perfect-which no internal righteousness can be; that we are accounted righteous before God only for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, which righteousness is imputed to them only who are found in him. But does it, I would ask, therefore follow, that God's reckoning of us should be independent of some moral effect in ourselves, by this incorporation with Christ? Nay, rather would it not be strange if the members of a righteous head and glorified body did not partake of a measure of holiness of a root of righteousness-which, though it certainly does not justify in the sight of God, is always found in the justified? The truth is, we are justified, not because we are holy, but because we are members of one who is holy.

Let us hear another orthodox divine, the judicious Hooker.(Discourse of Justification, sect. 21.) "There be two kinds of Christian righteousness,-the one without us, which we have by imputation; the other within us..... God giveth us both the one

justice and the other, the one by accepting us for righteous in Christ, the other by working Christian righteousness in us." Hooker proceeds to shew that these different kinds of righteousness "we receive at one and the same time: whensoever we have any of these we have all; they go together." "which sheweth how faith is a part of sanctification," &c. &c. As I am anxious that it should appear that Mr. Knox is, at least, not propounding to the world some new and heterodox notions, you will excuse my quoting the other extract from the profound and spiritually-minded Cudworth: "The end of the whole gospel is not only to cover sin, by spreading the purple robe of Christ's death and suffering over it, whilst it still remaineth in us with all its filth and noisomeness unremoved, but also to convey a powerful and mighty spirit of holiness, to cleanse us, and free us from it. And this is a greater grace of God to us than the former, which still go both together in the gospel; besides the free remission and pardon of sin in the blood of Christ, the delivering us from the power of sin by the spirit of Christ dwelling in our hearts."

It would appear from these authorities, that there must be a root of moral righteousness in the justified person; that the faith which justifies also sanctifies. Very different is Fidelis's notion of justifying faith it appears to be simply a mental operation, with respect to the last act on the cross; an application of Christ's blood to the sinner, giving ease to the conscience, through reliance on what Christ has done to satisfy divine justice. Faith, according to Mr. Knox, is a coming to the living Saviour,-the being united to him,-and imbibing from him a new and spiritual life, and power over our corruptions. Such a faith is ready to exclaim with Fidelis, "who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, (but, without pausing here, continues,) yea, rather that is risen again," risen again, and become the accepted, the glorified head, from whom all the streams of spiritual health, and strength, and comfort flow.

As to the text quoted by Fidelis, (Rom. iii., 26,) "That he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," I would briefly remark, that the context does not appear to warrant the usual interpretation. The apostle's object is to shew the extensiveness of God's righteousness, and that in accepting the Christian, he was not necessarily unfaithful to the Jew; that he would both keep his promises to the children of Abraham, and at the same time justify the believer in Jesus. I refer Fidelis to Lock on this passage; and as he seems to think the text so conclusive, I should be glad to know which of the early Christian writers have used it in the Calvinistic sense.

I confess, Sir, I feel interested in the fate of Mr. Knox's book, because it brings prominently forward doctrines which, in my humble judgment, are too commonly kept in the back ground, if not altogether lost sight of; and because I am persuaded that it would tend to produce a greater union of feeling between the two parties in the church. Mr. Knox displays an ardent love for the church of England, her liturgy, and doctrines, together with a devotional fervour, which must awaken a corresponding feeling in the breast of every pious Christian. It is an easy matter to cry down a book by charging it with heterodoxy,

for it is natural that men (especially those who have not much leisure) should shrink from the study of a writer, who is represented as shaking the very foundation of those doctrines which have been embraced by the Christian world for the last three hundred years. But such a charge is false, though pretty generally circulated by those who find it easier to adopt this mode of attack than to confute Mr. Knox's positions. He does not disturb the foundation of our faith. He points to the cross throughout. He makes Jesus Christ the chief corner stone of his building, though it must be confessed his superstructure is somewhat different from that of the Geneva school. At all events he deserves an impartial hearing. He does not dogmatize. He is an humble, rational, and pious inquirer after truth. He brings to the study of the scriptures a large acquaintance with primitive Christianity; and as no reasonable man takes up a book with the intention of adopting all the author's sentiments, so no one ought to be prejudiced against Mr. Knox, because some of his views are original.

July 7th, 1835.

HOME MISSIONARY TACTICS.

CATHOLICUS.

REV. SIR,-To shew what regard the dissenting home missionary agents pay to truth in matters respecting the church, I send you the following statement, which appeared in the "Congregational Magazine" for July, and with it its corrector. The article, of which the statement forms a part, is headed, "New Congregational Chapel, Richmond, Yorkshire," and gives an account of the "opening" of the said chapel. The statement alluded to is this "The two churches and methodist chapel (in Richmond) do not probably contain more than 1,500 sittings; the contributions of the inhabitants to the British and Foreign Bible Society from its foundation amount to less than 501. and to the Church Missionary Society from its commencement do not make 1007." On seeing this statement in the "Congregational Magazine," and suspecting its accuracy, I wrote to the place and made inquiry into the matter, and the result I have to communicate. With regard to the sittings, a surveyor who was employed for the purpose thus testifies :-"I hereby certify that I have examined and found accommodation or sittings for 2,004 persons in the places and in numbers as stated below, allowing for each person twenty inches lineal measure:-Parish Church 1,500, of which 335 are free; Trinity Church 172, all free; Methodist Chapel, 332, of which 138 are free." Thus, according to the dissenting correspondent of the "Congregational," the sittings are only 1,500, but according to truth 2,004. According to the same writer, the contributions of the inhabitants to the Bible Society "amount to less than 501.," but according to truth I find they amount to 2851. According to the same veracious personage, the contributions to the Church Missionary Society "do not make 1007.;" but, according to truth, they make 2007. 19s. 04d. And, besides this, Richmond and its neighbourhood have contributed to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,

2521. 17s. 7 d. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge have also a flourishing branch in the town, but the amount contributed I have not been able to ascertain. These slandered inhabitants. also contribute liberally towards the support of the national and Sunday-schools, the Tract Society, and the District Visiting Society of the town.

The public may now be left to judge of the truth of the statements of the "Congregational," furnished, I have every reason to believe, by an agent of the Home Missionary Society, who is stationed at Richmond for the purpose of propagating the principles of dissent. The course generally adopted by these strolling preachers is to represent the places they enter as destitute of the "gospel,"-in great want of a "gospel ministry," and of religious instruction; and this they do in order to excite public sympathy, that an "appeal to the Christian public" may not be unsuccessful. Thus by gross exaggeration, and very frequently sheer falsehood, they sometimes succeed in drawing money out of the pockets of their dupes to build a meetinghouse, and thus an "interest" becomes established in the place; and the teacher affords a rallying point for all the disaffected, and becomes the promoter, if not the leader, of all the opposition to every thing at all connected with the welfare of the church. Nor is he backward in "creeping into houses," and insinuating what may prove injurious to the church and the clergy, and advantageous to the "interest." I humbly think that it is high time to expose the manœuvres of these Home Missionary gentry in sowing division and disturbance in our towns and villages, and to caution the people to beware of them, and to keep their money in their pockets, or to devote it to some pious purpose connected with the church, when they may rest satisfied that it will be spent in furtherance of the object for which it was given, which is not always the case as it regards some dissenting societies. I remain, yours, Mr. Editor, most respectfully, DETECTOR.*

BAPTISMAL SERVICE.

SIR,-It has often happened in my parish, that among two or three children brought to the font together, one has been already baptized. Now, though there is much that is common to the offices of public baptism, and reception into the church, (as the gospel, the Lord's prayer, the abrenunciation, the last prayer, and the exhortation,) yet they are distinct offices, and are clearly intended to be separately administered. I should be much obliged if any of your correspondents would kindly furnish me with any suggestions, as to the best manner of proceeding in such a case, where the baptisms are solemnized after the second lesson; for if one child is to be baptized, and another re

The proper use to be made of this and similar valuable statements is to circulate them in the newspapers of the county to which they relate. Unless the friends of the church will take the trouble to give every publicity to these contradictions of slander, they are comparatively useless. Detector's future letters will be most acceptable. 2 A

VOL. VIII-August, 1835.

ceived into the church, the performing of these two offices separately, from beginning to end, would seem like the baptismal service twice repeated, and would occasion an interruption of about forty minutes in the evening service. I remain, yours very truly,

14th July, 1835.

RUSTICUS.

CRANMER AND LATIMER'S EXPENSES IN CONFINEMENT. MR. EDITOR, I had occasion lately to examine a curious old MS. in the Corpus Library, at Cambridge, being a bill for the expenses of Cranmer and Latimer during their confinement at Oxford after they had been condemned; and I am tempted to give some account of it, not only as interesting in an antiquarian point of view, but as bearing, in some degree, upon the subject of fasting, so admirably handled in a late letter in the British Magazine.

It is true that, from their mode of living as prisoners, we can form no certain judgment of what it might have been when they were not so; and that, even if they were left to themselves in this respect, they might have been guided by the principle of giving no offence even to their persecutors, and have fasted as Romanists* then, as a matter of indifference, in which compliance was therefore right, without having been used to do so before. It may be observed, however, that there seems to be ground from other documents for believing that the mode of fasting adopted by the reformers themselves did agree with that sanctioned by the previous use of the Roman church, and that during Lent, for instance, they abstained very generally from meat, &c.

The following is an accurate account of the expenses of Bishop Latimer during the last week of his life, beginning from Thursday, the 10th October, 1555.

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* This would account, perhaps, for the observance of the 7th December, 1555, by Cranmer, as a day of abstinence, which I noted in the MS. This day was not a Friday, nor is it a fast of our own church, but, as being the vigil of the Conception of the Virgin, is observed as a fast by the Romanist.

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