to fact does Mr. Haggitt infinuate, that "the obvious effect of our doctrine is, to cut afunder the bonds of all moral obligation, and to put every man's life and property at the mercy of every fanatical audience?" How can fo many perfons, under a profeffion of zeal for truth and justice, load us with fuch palpably falfe and ignominious charges on this fubje&t? How groundless are the apprehensions which are pretended to be entertained by the more refpectable and moderate of those who differ from us! How little must all these perfons know of our doctrines, or how wilfully muft they mifrepresent them!--From this full and extensive view of the fubject of morality it appears,

That we hold equally the neceffity of Sanctification as of Juftification, and confider these bleffings equally provided for in the covenant of grace: that we enforce the practice of good works precisely on the fame grounds which our church does: and that, whether regard is had to the Rule of Morality, or to its Sanctions, or to the degree of it abfolutely infifted upon as the Evidence of a Chriftian ftate; whether we argue a priori from the natural tendency of the doctrines themselves to promote genuine virtue, or whether a pofteriori we have recourfe to the effects actually produced by them, our moral fyftem is far ftricter, and our doctrines far more efficacious, than thofe of our opponents are.

(y) Vifita, Sermon, Preface, p. 15.

CHAP. VIII.

The REASONS of our adherence to the genuine doctrines of the Church of England flated; and a general APOLOGY for her doctrines.

MUCH has been advanced to show, that we certainly do teach according to the plain doctrines of our Articles, Liturgy, and Homilies. It thall be the bufinefs of this chapter to inquire, whether or not there are any folid reafons for fuch a conduct in the Minifters of our church. And, First, We cannot on any other ground justify our SUBSCRIPTION to these forms of doctrine and worship.

That the Articles of our Church were intended by her founders for Articles of belief, to be understood, and taught, in their plain and obvious sense, has been proved beyond all room for question. And to us, her Ministers appear under very weighty obligations, fo to understand and teach

them now. Thefe forms ftill contain and inculcate one explicit and specific body of doctrine, and are nugatory and unmeaning if this doctrine is not believed. Still they are prefaced with the royal Declaration, which forbids any Minifter from "putting his own fenfe or comment to be the meaning of them," or "affixing any new fenfe to any article;" and enjoins that they must be "taken in the literal and grammatical fenfe," in their "plain and full meaning.” Still the defign of the impofer is declared, in the title which the Articles bear, to be, the " avoiding of diverfities of opi

nions, and the establishing of confent touching true religion." Still our fubfcriptions are demanded for the fatisfaction of our Ecclefiaftical Superiors concerning the doctrines we mean to teach, and must therefore imply in them what is neceffary for that fatisfaction.

But what is more, ftill, in the moft folemn manner, after fpace for the matureft deliberation, every candidate for Orders in our Church, declares in the act of fubfcription, according to the 36th Canon, "that the Book of Common Prayer, containeth in it nothing contrary to the Word of God; that he alloweth the Book of Articles of Religion, and acknowledgeth all and every the Articles, therein contained, to be agreeable to the Word of God ;" and that “ willingly, and ex animo, he jubfcribes to these Articles, and to all things that are contained in them." And, according to the ftatute which gives our Articles their legal authority, every Minister who is admitted to a Benefice is required to read them in the Church, with a declaration of his "unfeigned affent to them."

And, if the obligation can be rendered more binding, ftill are we daily exhorted to teach according to the plain and genuine doctrines of thefe articles by the most active and eminent of our Bishops, and affured by them that a contrary procedure is equally pregnant with guilt and danger. Thus, in his famous Sermon on the fubject, Bishop Conybeare fays; "Every one who fubfcribes the Articles of religion, does thereby engage, not only not to contradict them; but his fubfcription amounts to an approbation of, and an affent to, the truth of the doctrines therein contained, in the very fenfe in which the compilers are fuppofed to have underflood them." "All the confiderations which can be urged to prove our obligation to moral honefty, are fo many arguments of our duty to fubfcribe without equivocation or referve.

(b) See the Canon.

(c) See the Statute of the 13th of Elizabeth; or Burnet on the Arts. Introduct. p. 8.

Nor can any thing be urged to justify or excuse prevarication in this respect, which will not tend to deftroy all mutual truft and confidence among men. Whoever therefore, is not really perfuaded that the doctrines contained in our articles are true, cannot subscribe, without an high violation of moral honefty, and a breaking in upon the fundamental principle, on which all fociety must be built."

Archbishop Secker, after observing to Candidates for Orders, that in fubfcribing they have acknowledged the liturgy and articles of the Church of England to be agreeable to the Word of God, proceeds: "I hope you will think yourselves bound, as you are, to be careful that the inftructions which you give, and the doctrines which you maintain, in public and in private, be agreeable to that liturgy and those articles : that you neither contradict, nor omit to inculcate and defend, on proper occafions, the truths which they contain." "For," continues he, mentioning the engagements of our Ordination in general," there can hardly be a cafe in which either infincerity, or even thoughtlessness, would carry in it heavier guilt."

Bishop Barrington confiders us bound, to inculcate and maintain" the doctrines which the laws protect,... by our duty to God, to the laws of our country, and the engagements of our profeffion."

"The Articles," Bishop Pretyman adds, "are to be fubfcribed in their plain and obvious fenfe, and affent is to be given to them fimply and unequivocally." "All perfons when they enter into holy orders, or are admitted to any ecclefiaftical cure or benefice, are required by law to fubfcribe these articles, that all who are employed in the Ministry of the established church should unfeignedly believe the

(d) See this Sermon in the "Encheiridion Ecclefiafticum," lately published at Oxford, and recommended by the Bishop of Durham, (e) See his Inftructions to Candidates for Orders, in the Bishop of Landaff's Tracts, Vol. vi. p. 108. (f) Ch. 1792.. P. 17.

Ch. 1792.

doctrines they contain." And, having mentioned "the profeffed object of these articles," and the "indifpenfable form of fubfcription," and how "it behoves every one before he offers himself a candidate for holy orders, to perufe carefully the articles of our church, and compare them with the written Word of God;" "If," his Lordfhip fays, " upon mature examination he believes them to be authorized by Scripture, he may confcientiously fubfcribe them; but, if on the contrary, he thinks that he fees reafon to diffent from any of the doctrines afferted in them, no hope of emolument or honour, no dread of inconvenience or difappointment, fhould induce him to express his folemn affent to propofitions, which in fact he does not believe.... And let it," he fubjoins, "be ever remembered, that in a business of this serious and important nature, no fpecies whatever of evasion, fubterfuge, or referve is to be allowed, or can be practifed, without imminent danger of incurring the wrath of God."

All attempts therefore, under thefe circumftances, to justify fubfcription without actual belief of the plain doctrines of the articles, we cannot, but confider as gross prevarication; an attack upon common integrity; a conduct moft unbecoming the appointed Guardians of truth and fincerity, and as juftly expofing the Church of which they are Minifters to the fcorn of her enemies.

In answer, therefore, to the notions of Dr. Paley, Dr. Balguy, &c. that our articles were only intended for Articles of peace, profcriptions of certain ancient fects, or whatever they call it, fomething fhort of this belief of the propofitions they contain", we will only further add the words of Bishop Burnet Speaking of the time when thefe articles were compofed, "One notion," his Lordfhip fays, " that has fince been taken up by some, seems not to have been then thought of; which is, that these were rather articles of

(g) Elements of Theology, Vol. ii. p. 566. p. 18-22,

(h) See Chap. i.