Observations on the religious peculiarities of the Society of Friends

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^ PRINCETON, N. J. <3t

Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa.

Agnciu Coll. on Baptism, No.

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.lAH FLETCHEHWRWICH

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OBSERVATIONS

RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES

mitt^ of jFrient)iS>

JOSEPH JOHN^URNEY

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT IN WORD, BUT IN POWER. I. Cor.iv.20.

LONDON

PUBLISHED BY J. AND A. ARCH, CORNHILL,

WILLIAM ALEXANDER AND SON, YORK; S. WILKIN, NORWICH; AND
A. CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH.

1824.

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PREFACE.

Among the arguments employed in the com'se
of the followmg observations, there are some
which are urged upon the attention of such per-
sons, exclusively y as ah'eady possess an intimate
knowledge of the character and circumstances
of the Society of Friends.

The present volume is in fact intended not so
much for the information of the public in general,
as for the use of the junior members of that
Society. To these the essays, contained in it,
may be considered to be addressed. I am per-
suaded that there are not a few of our young
men and women, who, although brought up in
the Society, are nevertheless not sufficiently in-
formed respecting the religious principles by

Yl PREFACE.

which it is distinguished, and who perhaps have
seldom reflected ivith accuracy on the christian
and scriptural grounds of our several peculiar-
ities.

It has fallen to my lot to be brought into
much famihar acquaintance with serious christ-
ians of several denominations ; and, although I
enjoyed a birthright in the Society, my situation,
after I had arrived at years of discretion, was
of that nature which rendered it in rather an
unusual degree incumbent upon me to make my
own choice of a particular religious course. Un-
der these circumstances, I was led, partly by
research, but chiefly I trust by a better guidance^
to a settled preference, on my own account, of
the religious profession of Friends. Nor ought
I to hesitate in expressing a heartfelt gratitude
to the "Shepherd of Israel" who has bestowed
upon me a resting place in this department of
his fold : for although in some degree aware
how much there is of vital Christianity in other
societies, I may acknowledge that I have found
the situation thus provided for myself to be one
accompanied with true safety and with a variety
of substantial ad vantages.

PREFACE. Vll

Such having been my experience, and having,
in reference to this selection of a particular
course, been at various times engaged in much
reflexion and in some scriptural investigation, I
am inclined to submit, to the candid attention
of my young friends, the grounds on which I
was originally led more closely to attach my-
self to Friends, and on which 1 have since been
confirmed in the persuasion that I was right in
doing so.

Although, however, these essays are addressed
principally to the junior members of our own
body, I confess that I have also had in view
a number of individuals who do not actually
belong to us, but who have some intimate con-
nexion with us, and appear to be brought, in
various degrees, under the same peculiar reli-
gious administration.

Should the younger members of our Society
receive, from this humble endeavour to serve
them, any instruction, or any encouragement to
persevere in that restricted path which provi-
dence has cast up for them,— and should the in-
dividuals last alluded to be coniirmed, by any of

VIU PREFACE.

the arguments here adduced, in the choice which
they appear to be making of the same restricted
path — my object in pubHshing the present state-
ment of thought and sentiment will be sufficiently
answered, and I shall rest satisfied in the com-
forting persuasion, that my labour (which I trust
has been a labour of love_,) has not been in vain
in the Lord.

Here it may be j)roper for me to remark, that,
although the various subjects considered in the
present work are discussed in distinct disserta-
tions, and although it may be hoped that these
dissertations, when separately read, will be found
sufficiently intelligible, yet it has been my endea-
vour to maintain, through the whole course of
the work, one continued train of reflexion and
argument ; in such a manner as that the several
parts of the series might be closely connected
with one another, and that all might tend in
harmony to the same general conclusion. Such
having been my plan, I may now venture to
request the reader to abstain from forming a
final judgment of any particular section or chap-
ter, until the wdiole volume shall have passed
under his review.

PREFACE. IX

Since, lastly, the views which I have attempt-
ed to unfold are of a nature entirely religious,
it has of course been necessary for me largely
to refer to that sacred book, to the test of which
all religious opinions are rightly brought, since
it was given by inspiration of God, and contains
a divinely authorized record, both of the doc-
trines which we ought to believe, and of the
duties which we are required to practise. In
thus referring to the Holy Scriptures, I have
often found occasion, on critical points, to ap-
peal to the decisions of various commentators,
])oth ancient and modern. While, however, I
have not hesitated thus to avail myself of the
well applied learning and useful researches of
these writers, I wish to take the present oppor-
tunity of expressing my conviction, that, for
the most importajit practical purposes, the com-
mon English version of the Bible may be un-
derstood with sufficient precision, without the
aid of the critic or the annotator. Above all,
may it ever be remembered, that if the Scrip-
tures of Truth are to make us " wise unto
salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus",
that spiritual eye must be open in us, which
alone is capable of a just and efficacious per-

PREFACE.

ception of their divine contents : for it remains
an incontrovertible truth, that as no man know-
eth the things of a man, save the spirit of man
which is in him, " even so the things of God
knoiceth no man, hut the Spirit of God'.

CONTENTS. ''^*^*^^^^**^

CHAP. I.

On the grounds of Religious luiion which subsist among man-
kind in general, and more especially among true Christians 1

CHAP. II.

Ou religious peculiarities. General observations on those of

the Society of Friends _______ 28

CHAP. III.

On the perceptible influence and guidance of the Spirit of Truth 36

CHAP. IV.

On the disuse of all typical rites in the worship of God - - 60

CHAP. V.

Ou the nature and character of the Christian ministry - - 130

CHAP. VI.

On the selection, preparation, and appointment of the minis-
ters of the Gospel __.-_--- 158

XII CONTENTS.

CHAP. VII.

On the pecuniary remuneration of the ministers of the Gospel 191

CHAP. \1U.

Oil the ministry of Women - - - - - - - 215

CHAP. IX.
On silent worship -___■--- 223

CHAP. X.
On Oaths 242

CHAP. XI.
On War 2G7

CHAP. XII.

On the moral views of Friends. Plainness of speech, behaviour,

and apparel «____---- 299

Conclusion ---------- 34!)

-J-

^Vj ' -««„ ^

V, '<?. ^

OBSERVATION S^i^WO^

•»^-iir---J-^^'*

CHAPTER I.

ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION WHICH

SUBSIST AMONG MANKIND IN GENERAL, AND MORE ESPECIALLY

AMONG TRUE CHRISTIANS.

1 o a series of observations on the particular tenets
and peculiar religious advantages (as I deem them)
of a comparatively small body of persons, I know of
no more salutary introduction, than a survey of those
grounds of union in matters of religion which sub-
sist, first, among mankind in general, and secondly,
among the true members of the visible church of
Christ. Such a survey will, I trust, produce the
effect of animating our hearts Avith the love of our
neighbour, and will prepare us for a calm and cha-
ritable discussion of those particulars, which apper-
tain more or less exclusively to our own religious
situation in the world and in the church.

I. Let us then, in the first place, endeavour to form
some estimate of the breadth of that foundation in
religion, on which Ave are standing in common with

B

2 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

mankind in general. God is the Creator and merciful
Father of us all. Christ died for us all. A measure
of the influence of the Holy Spirit enlightens and,
if obeyed, would save us all. Upon these succes-
sive positions I will venture to offer a few remarks,
and will adduce a selection of scriptural declara-
tions by which they appear to me to be severally
established.

1. That God, to whom alone can be attri])uted the
existence of the universe, and of every thing which
it contains, — " from whom, and through whom, and
unto whom, are all things," — is the Creator of all men,
is a point which none but atheists deny, and which I
shall therefore take for granted. Now it is expressly
asserted in Scripture of this omnipotent Author of our
being, that he is "Love", I. John iv. 8; and again,
the character in which he proclaimed himself to his
servant Moses, was that of " the Lord God, merciful
and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness
and truth" ; Exod. xxxiv. 6. Hence we can scarcely
fail to conclude, that, as the Father of the whole
family of man, he extends over them all the wing of
his paternal care, and graciously offers to them all
his help, his protection, and his mercy. It was on
this principle, or on a principle still more compre-
hensive, that the royal psalnn'st, after describing
Jehovah as "merciful and gracious, slow to anger
and plenteous in mercy", calls npon " all his works in
all places of his dominion to bless his holy name" ;
Ps. ciii. 22. And again, on another occasion he ex-
pressly declares that " the Lord is good to all, and that
his tender mercies are over all his ivorhs' ; Ps. cxlv. 9.

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 3

The attributes of God, as the Creator and Father of
all mankind, were admirably unfolded by the apostle
Paul, in his address to the philosophical Athenians :
" God", said he, " that made the world and all things
therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands ; neither is
worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed
any thing, seeing he giveth to all, life, and breath, and
all things ; and hath made of one blood all nations of
men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek the
Lord, if haply they plight feel after him andjind him,
though he he not fur from everyone of us ; for in him
we live, and move, and have our being ; as certain
also of your own poets have said, for we are also
his offspring'' ; Acts xvii. 24 — 28.

Let it not be imagined that God is the merciful
Father of all mankind, only inasmuch as he makes
his rain to fall, and his sun to shine for them all, and
bestows upon them all a variety of outward and
temporal benefits. The Scriptures plainly declare that
he wills for them a happiness of a far more exalted
and enduring nature. Falh^n and corrupt as they are,
and separated by their iniquities from the Holy One
of Israel, " he willeth not that any should perish, but
tliat all should come to repentance"; ILPet. iii. 9.
And to all mankind he proclaims the same invitation ;
" Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts : and let him retiirn unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon ;" Isa. Iv. 7. The

' b2

4 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

apostle Paul expressly assures us, that "the grace of
God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
meif, Tit. ii. 11 ; that God our Saviour would "have
all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of
the truth" ; I. Tim. ii. 4. And again, he exclaims
" we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all
men'' ; I. Tim. iv. 10. "Look unto me and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth", said Jehovah himself,
" for I am God, and there is none else" ; Isa. xlv. 22.
Nor are these expressions to be understood as being
of a merely general and undefined character. He
Avho offers deliverance to all men, has appointed
for all men a way of escape ; he who would have all
men to be saved, has provided for all men the means
of salvation. " God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them"; II. Cor. v. 19. " God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world ; but that the world
through him might be saved ;" John iii. 17.

2. This concluding observation naturally leads to
my second proposition, that Christ died for all — a
proposition in order to the proof of which I need do
nothing more than simply cite the explicit declarations,
on this subject, of inspired Avriters. "My little child-
ren", says the apostle John in his general epistle,
"these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And
if f/;??/ man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitia-
tion for our sins, and not for ours only (that is, not
only for the sins of christians, to the whole company
of whom this epistle was probably addressed^) but also

' See Michuilis Introd. N. T. btj Marsh, vol. iii, ch. 30.

AxMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 5

for the sins of the whole world" ; I. John ii. 1, 2. The
same doctrine is affirmed by Paul; "There is one God",
says he, in his first epistle to Timothy, "and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesns ;
who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in
due time" ; chap. ii. 5, 6. We may presume it is the
same apostle who Avrites as follows in the epistle to
the Hebrews, "We see Jesus, who was made a little
lower tlian the angels, for the suffering of death,
crowned Avitli glory and honour ; that he by the grace
of God should taste death for even/ man' ; chap. ii. 1).
Lastly, in his epistle to the Romans, after declaring
that we are " reconciled unto God by the death of his
Son", and in drawing the comparison between Adam,
in whom man fell, and Christ, by whom he is reco-
vered, Paul argues as follows, " Therefore as by the
offence of one (judgment came) upon all men to con-
demnation : even so by the righteousness of one, (the
free gift came) upon all men unto justification of life ;
for as by one man's disobedience, many (or as in the
Greek " the many" ") were made sinners : so by the
obedience of one, shall the many be made righteous.
Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might
abound : but where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound : that as sin hath reigned unto death,
even so might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord " ; chap. v.
18 — 2L The complete parallelism observed in this
passage between the effects of Adam's transgression
on the one part, and those of the righteousness of
Christ on the otbci-, appears to afford a plain and

G 0^ THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

satisfactory evidence for the truth of the doctrine of
universal redemption. The two things are descrihed
as being in their operation upon mankind absolutely
co-extensive, and as it is true, without limit or excep-
tion, that all men are exposed to death through the
sin of Adam, so it is true, without limit or exception,
that all men may obtain eternal life through the
righteousness of Christ. Multitudes there are, un-
doubtedly, by whom this free gift "unto justification
of life" is despised, disregarded, and rejected. Never-
theless, among the children of men there are none
"upon" A^ hom it has not "come" — none to whom it is
not freely oiFered.

3. Since Christ died for all men, and has thus
placed within their reach the free gift of justification
unto life ; since such is the natural proneness of man-
kind to sin, that none can avail themselves of the
benefits of the death of Christ, or receive the free gift of
God, except through the influence of the Holy Spirit ;
and since it cannot without great irreverence be imag-
ined that the mercy of God in Christ, thus gratuitously
offered, should in any instances be merely nominal
and nugatory in point of fact ; I cannot but draw the
conclusion that a measure of this influence of the
Spirit is bestowed upon all men, by which they are
enlightened, and by which they may be saved.

Christians can have no difficulty in acceding to the
doctrine of Elihu, that "there is a spirit in man", and
that " the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them
understanding". Job xxxii. 8; nor will they fail to
form a just estimate of the words of the Wisdom of
God, as recorded in the Ijook of Proverbs, " I will

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. /

pour out mij Spirit unto you, I will make known my
words unto you" ; chap. i. 23. That the Spirit which
in these passages is prohahly alluded to, and which
dwelt in the servants of Cxod during the early ages of
the Avorld, was that very Spirit, the more abundant
effusion of which was the most distinguishing feature
of the christian dispensation — that this Spirit was the
true enlightener and sanctificr of men, before as well
as after the coming of Christ in the body — and that
multitudes of those who lived previously to the christ-
ian era, and whose view of tlic character and mediation
of the Messiah was comparatively faint, were really
saved by its influence from the power of sin and fitted
for eternal life, — will not be disputed by any persons
who esteem as sacred the records of the Old Testa-
ment. Since therefore so many persons in those ancient
times were saved by the operation of the Spirit of
Christ, who for the most part possessed nothing more
than an indistinct apprehension of the person and
ofiices of the Messiah, it seems a very reasonable in-
ference that the outward knowledge of Christ is not
absolutely indispensable to salvation, and that other
persons who are altogether destitute of that knowledge,
may also be saved from sin and from the penalties
which are attached to it, through the secret operations
of divine grace.

To this argument from analogy, may be added
another of no inconsiderable weight. Between the
effects of Adam's sin and those of the obedience of
Christ, there is, in various respects, a perfect coinci-
dence. The doctrine of universal redemption has
already been deduced, on the authority of the apostle

8 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

Paul, from the universality of the fall ; and it appears
to have heen provided by the mercy and equity of
(jod, that in both the extent and rnanner of their
operation, the analogy should be preserved between
the disease and the remedy — that the operation of the
one should still be adapted to the operation of the
other. Now, as men participate in the disease arising
from the sin of Adam Avho are totally ignorant of its
original cause, so Ave may with reason infer, that men
may also participate in the remedy arising from the
obedience of Christ who have feceived no outward
revelation whatever respecting that obedience.

The inference deduced from these premises appears
to derive, from certain passages in the New Testa-
ment, substantial confirmation. However Cornelius
the Roman centurion, previously to his communication
with Peter, might have been aware of the events
recorded in the gospel histories, it is obviously im-
probable that he knew Jesus Christ as the Redeemer
of men ; yet that he had received the gift of the
Spirit of grace is indisputable, for he was a just
7nan living in the fear of God ; Acts x. 22. And
what was the remark suggested by the case of Cor-
nelius to the apostle Peter ? — " Of a tnith I perceive",
said he, " that God is no respecter of persons ; but in
even/ nation, he that feareth him and worheih righte-
ousness, is accepted ivith him"; ver. 34, 35. When
the apostle used these words, the truth which he
contemplated appears to have been this : that amongst
the nations of the Gentile world, ignorant as they
generally were, both of the institutions of the Jews
and of the offices of the Messiah, there Avere indivi-

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRLSTIANS. 9

duals who, like Cornelius, feared God and worked
righteousness ^ — who had experienced, therefore, in
some degree, the sanctifying influence of the Holy
Spirit — and that such individuals were accepted by the
Father of mercies, who^is no respecter of persons. It
is true that the mercy of (xod towards Cornelius was
displayed after a particular manner, in his being
brought to the outward knowledge of his Saviour :
Ijut before he was introduced to that outward know-
ledge, he was accepted of the Father, and, had he died
in his condition of comparative ignorance, we can
scarcely doubt that he would have received, with all
the children of God, his eternal reward through the
merits and mediation of Christ. And such, also, we
may believe to have been the happy experience of all
those Gentiles whom the apostle was considering, who
might be so influenced by the power of the Lord's
Spirit, as to live in tJie fear of God, and to work
righfeousness.

That this was, to a great extent, the character of
some of the most virtuous of the ancient Gentile phi-
losophers, their recorded sentiments and known history
aflbrd us strong reasons to believe : and that it was the
character also of many besides them, who were desti-
tute of an outward revelation, we may learn without
difficulty from the apostle Paul. " Not the hearers of
the law are just before God", says this inspired writer,
" but the doers of the law shall be justified. For

^ " 6 !poZov/j,$iiog avrh %al fgya^o',a£i/os S/xa/offui/j)!/. Colens eum, et exercens
nirlutem, pro modulo cognitionis priinas, ex lumine naturae haustac. Etiam infer
paganos fuerunt, qui recte de Deo ejusque providentia et regimine statuerenl.
Egya^o/ASVOS bfKOCioGvvriV, recte agens, secundum legem naturce ; Rem. ii, 13 — 27."
Iti)senm'ulkr Schol. in loc.

10 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by
nature the things contained in the law, these having
not the law, are a law unto themselves; which show
the work of the law written in their hearts, their con-
science also bearing- witness, and their thoughts the
meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another" ;
Rom. ii. 13 — 15. Upon this striking and very lucid
passage of Scripture, it may be observed, first, that
the law here mentioned is not the ceremonial law, as
the whole tenor of the apostle's argument plainly
evinces, but the moral law of God, which was out-
wardly revealed to the Jews, and was with still greater
completeness unfolded under the christian dispensation:
secondly, that the Gentiles, here brought into a com-
parison with the Jews, were not those Gentiles who
had been converted to Christianity ; (for, of persons
who had received the most perfect outward revelation
of the moral law, it could not, with any truth, be as-
serted that they Jiad not the law ;) but they were
Gentiles who had received no outward revelation
whatever of the moral law of God : thirdly, that the
work of the law was nevertheless written on their
hearts, and that many of them (according to the
apostle's obvious supposition) were thereby actually
enabled to become doers of the law : and lastly, that
these persons were justified or accepted of the Father.*

* A curious exemplification of the apostle's doctrine respecting the practical
excellence of some of those Gentiles who are destitute of any knowledge either of
the Jewish law or of the christian revelation, will be found in the following extract
from an account of the Sauds, a moral sect of the Hindoos, who dwell in the
north-western part of Hindoostan. It has been kindly communicated to me by
W. H. Trant, a gentleman of great respectability, who once occupied an important
post in tlie civil service of the East India Company, and who personally visited
this singular people.

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 11

7^hose who accede to this view of the passage before
us (and such a view is surely just and reasonable,) will
probably find no difficulty in admitting this additional
proposition — namely, that the work of the law written
on the hearts of these Gentiles, through which they

'< lu March 181G, I went with tivo otiier gentlemen from Futtehgurh, on the
invitation of the principal persons of the Saud sect, to witness an assemblage of them
tor the purpose of religiiiiis worship in the cit}' of Furiuckhabad, the general meeting
of the sect being held that jear in that city. The assembly took place within the
court yard (Dalan) of a large house. The number of men, women, and children was
considerable : we were received with great attention and chairs were placed for us
in the front of the Deorhte or hall. After some time, when the place was quite full
of people, the worship commenced ; it consisted solely in the cbaunting of a hymn,
this being the only mode of public worship used by the Sauds.

The Sauds utterly reject and abhor all kinds of idolatry, and the Ganges is consi-
dered by them \vilh no greater veneration than by christians, although the converts
are made chiefly, if not entirely from among the Hindoos, whom they resemble in
oulward appearance. Their name for God is Sufgur, and Saud, the appellation of
the sect, means servant of God ; they are pure theists, and their form of worship is
most simple, as I have already stated.

The Sauds resemble the Quakers in their customs, to a remarkable degree.
Ornaments and gay apparel of every kind are strictly prohibited ; their dress is
always white ; they never make any obeisance or salatn ; they ivill not take an oath,
and they are exempted in the courts of justice, — their asseveration, as that of the
Quakers, being considered equivalent. The Sauds profess to abstain from all
luxuries, such as tobacco, pawn, opium, and wine ; they never have nantches or
dances. All attack on man or beast is forbidden, but in self-del'euce resistance is
allowable. Industry is strongly enjoined. The Sauds, like the Quakers, take great
care of their poor and infirm people ; to receive assistance out of the punt or tribe,
would be r-eckoued disgraceful, and render the ofl'ender liable to excommunication.
All parade of worship is forbidden ; secret prayer is commended ; alms should be
unostentatious ; they are not to be done that they should be seen of men. The due
regulation of the tongue is a principal duty.

The chief seats of the Saud sect are Delhi, Agra, Jypoor, and Furruckbabad, but
there are several of the sect scattered over the country. An annual meeting takes
place at one or other of the cities above mentioned, at which the concerns of the
sect are settled.

The Magistrate of Furruckbabad informed me that he had found the Sauds an
orderly and well conducted people. They are chieily engaged in trade.

Bhuivanee Dos (one of their leaders) was anxious to become acquainted with the
christian religion, and I gave him some copies of the New i'eslament in Persian and
Hindostaiiee, which he said he had read and shown to his people, and much approved.
I had no copy of the Old Testament in any language which he understood well, but as
he expressed a strong desire to know the account of the creation, as given in it, I
explained it to him from an Arabic version of which he knew a little. I promised

12 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

Avere thus enal)led to bear the fruits of righteous-
ness, was nothing less than the inward operation
of the Spirit of truth ; for Christianity plainly teaches
us that without such an influence there can be
no acceptable obedience to the moral law of God.^
Here it may be observed, that this inward work of the
Spirit ought not to be confounded with the operation
of the conscience. The two things are separately
mentioned by the apostle, and I would submit that
they are in fact totally distinct. The law written on

to procure him a Persian and Hindostanee Old Testament if possible. I am of
opinion the Sauds are a very interesting people, and that some intelligent and
zealous missionary would find great facility in communicating with them.

( Siijned)
Calcutta, 2 Aug. 1819. W. H. Tr ant."

W. H. Trant informs me that previously to the adoption of their present views,
the Sauds do not appear to have received any christian instruction. The head of
tlieir tribe assured him that they knew nothing of Christianity.

5 This consideration is strong and palpable enough to afiord, in itself, a sufEcient
evidence, that when the apostle makes mention of tlieir performing the works of
righteousness " by nature" , he cannot be understood as alluding to nature unassisted
by divine grace. The fruits of the flesh — that is, of the carnal and unregenerate
state of man — are not righteousness ; but, as the apostle himself declares, " adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry", &c. Gal, v. 19 : and, when
speaking of men in their fallen condition, without grace, he expressly asserts that
they are the " children of wrath", Eph. ii. 3 ; " that there is none that doelh good,
no, not one"; Rom. iii. 12. Besides, after using this expression, he goes on to
attribute the righteousness of the Gentiles, not to their natural reason or acquired
wisdom, but to the "law written in tlieir hearts". Now this law of God written in
the heart, can be nothing less than a divine illumination ; and the larger measures
of such illumination are described in the very same terms, as one of the choicest
blessings of the christian dispensation ; Jer. xxxi, 33. The word (pbdii, appears
to refer to that natural condition of the Gentiles, by which they were distinguished
from the Jews — a condition of comparative darkness, and one in which the}' did
not enjoy the superadded help of a written law, or outward revelation. Not having
a law, they performed the works of righteousness by nature, i. e. " without the
law". Just on the same principles, in verse 27, the uncircumcised Gentile in his
natural condition, and fullilling the law, is compared with the Jew, who possesses
the letter and the external rite, and nevertheless infringes the law. In both passages,
the state of nature is placed in opposition, not to a state of grace, but only to one
of outward light and instruction.

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 13

the heart is a divine ilhiniination : the conscience is a
natural faculty by which a man judges of his own
conduct. It is through the conscience that the law
operates. The law informs the conscience. The law
is the light : the conscience is the eije. The light
reveals the beauty of any given object : the eye " bears
witness" to that beauty : it beholds and approves. The
light is of an uniform character, for when not inter-
rupted, it never fails to make things manifest as they
really are ,- but the eye may be obscured or destroyed
by disease, or it may be deceived by the influence of
surrounding substances. So the law written on the
heart, although capable of being hindered in its ope-
ration, is of an unchangeal)le nature and would guide
iuvariahlij into righteousness and truth : but the con-
science may be darkened by ignorance, deadened
by sin, or perverted by an illusive education. The
conscience indeed, like every other natural faculty of
the human mind, is prone to perversion, and the law
written in the heart is given not only to enlighten but
to rectify it. Those only have " a good conscience",
who obey that law.

As the Gentiles to whom the apostle was here allud-
ing were, according to their measure of light, sanctified
through the spirit, and when sanctified accepted ; so I
think every christian must allow that they were accepted
not because of their own righteousness, but through the
merits and mediation of the Son of God. Now the
benefit of those merits and that mediation, is offered
according to the declarations of Scripture, only to those
who believe ; for " without faith it is impossible to
please God". The doctrine that we are justified bv

14 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

faith, and that without faith none can ohtain salvation,
is to be freely admitted as a doctrine revealed to
mankintl on the authority of God himself. Let it,
however, be carefully kept in view, that God is equal.
It is unquestionably true in great as well as in little
things, that " if there be first a willing mind, it is
accepted according to that a man hath, and not accord-
ing to that he hath not" ; II. Cor. viii. 12. The
extent of faith required in man in order that he may
be accepted with the supreme Being, will ever be
proportioned to the extent of light communicated.
Those to whom the merits and mediation of the Son
of God are made known, are undoubtedly required to
believe in the merits and mediation of the Son of God.
Those from whom the plan of redemption is con-
cealed, and to whom the Deity is made manifest only
by his outward works, and by his law written on the
heart, may nevertheless so believe in God, that it
shall be counted to them " for righteousness".

The reader will observe that I have already deduced
the universality of saving light from the declarations
of Scripture that God's tender mercies are over all
his works, and that Christ died for all men. The
most plausible objection to this inference, arises from
the notion, so prevalent amongst some christians, that
the Spirit of God operates on the heart of man only
in connexion with the outward knowledge of the
Scriptures and of Christ, and that consequently such
outward knowledge is indispensable to salvation.
Having, therefore, endeavoured to remove this objec-
tion, and to show on apostolic authority, that there
were individuals in the Gentile world who had no

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRLSTIANS. 15

acquaintance with the truths of rehgion as they are
revealed in the Holy Scriptures, hut who were never-
theless enahled to tear God and work righteousness,
I consider there is nothing in the way to prevent our
coming to a sound conclusion, that, as, on the one hand,
God is merciful to all men, and Christ is a sacrifice
for all men, so, on the other hand, all men have
received a measure of that spiritual influence, through
which alone they can permanently enjoy the mercy
of God, or participate in the benefits of the death of
Christ.

In confirmation of this conclusion it remains for
me to adduce the apostle's memorable declaration
respecting the Son or Word of God, that he was " the
true light which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world" ; John i. 9. In order to apprehend the
true force of these expressions, it will be desirable
to cite the entire passage of which it forms a part.
1. " In the beginning", says the inspired apostle, " was
the Word, and the Word was with (lod, and the Word
was God. 2. The same was in the beirinninff with
God. 3. All things were made by him ; and without him
was not any thing made that Avas made. 4. In him
was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. And
the light shincth in darkness, and the darkness com-
prehended (or received) it not. 6. There was a man
sent from God, M'liose name was John. 7. The same
came for a Avitness, to bear witness of the light, that
all men through him might believe. 8. He was not
that light, but was sent to bear AA'itncss of that light.
9. That was the true light, which lighteth even/ man
that cometh into the world. 10. He was in the Avorld,

16 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

and the Avorld was made by liiin, and the world knew
him not, 11. He came mito his own, and his own
received him not. 12. But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that beheve (or beheved) on his name.
13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the Avill of
the flesh, nor of the Avill of man, but of God. 14.
And the word Avas made flesh, and dAvelt among us,
(and Ave beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth".

In this solemn and emphatic preface to his gospel
history, John has unfolded the character and attributes
of the Word of God ; that is of the Son in his original
and divine nature. That this is the true meaning of
that title, is almost uniA^ersally alloAved by christian
commentators both ancient and modern ; and is in my
opinion amply proAcd by the known theology of the
JcAvs, at the time Avhcn the apostle wrote. At the
conclusion of the passage, we are informed that this
diAane Word was made flesh (i. e. man), and dAA^elt
amono;st us ; and that so his glory as the glory of
the only-begotten Son of God, became lusible. But
the order in which the apostle has treated his subject,
plainly leads us to suppose, that in the previous
verses, he is speaking of Christ in his condition
of pre-existence, or at least solely AA'ith reference
to this original and divine nature. I Avould suggest
that the declarations respecting the Word contained
in A^erses 10 and 11, that he was "in the Avorld"
and " came unto his oAvn", form no exception to this
observation ; for these declarations may very properly
be explained of the appearances and visitations of the

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 17

Son of God, (wlictlicr visible or merely spiritual)
before his incarnation. But even if we interpret these
verses as connected with verse 14, and as forming a part
of the apostle's account of the incarnation, it certainly
ajjpcars most probable, that the preceding doctrine,
respecting Christ, relates to his operations, onli/ in that
glorious and unchangeable character, in which he was
with God in the hes:innin!i:, and in which he was God.
Accordingly it is declared, first, that by him all things
tvere made; and, secondly, that in him (or by him) was
life, and that the life was the light of men. Let us
then enquire in what sense the eternal Word of God
was thus described as the author or medium of life
and light P Since all things were made by him, he
is undoubtedly the origin of their natural life, and
bountiful giver of those intellectual faculties by which
man is distinguished from the inferior animals ; but
those who take a comprehensive view of the writings
of the apostle John can scarcely suppose that he is
here speaking only of the natural life and of the light
of reason. The " life" of which in every part of
his works he makes such frequent mention, is the
life of which they only avail themselves who are the
true children of God — that spiritual life, in the first
place, by Avhich the souls of men are quickened in
the world, and that eternal life, in the second place,
which is laid up for them in the world to come ; see
John iii. 15, v. 24, 40, vi. 33, 63, viii. 12, xiv. 6, &c.
That such is here the apostle's meaning is confirmed
by a comparison with the opening passage of his first
epistle, in which Jesus Christ, in reference to his pre-
existence, is expressly denominated that " eternal life''

V

18 ON THE GROLINDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

(i. e. tliat source of eternal life) "which was with the
Fatlicr". So, also, the word light is no where used
by the apostle to designate the intellectual faculty or
the light of reason. With him that substantive denotes
spiritual light — the light which is enjoyed by those
Avho come to a real knowledge of the tnith — the light
in which the children of God walk before their Father ;
see Johniii. 19, viii. 12, ix. 5, I.John i. 7, ii. 8, &c.
I conceive therefore that the apostle's doctrine declared
in the fourth verse of his gospel, is precisely this —
that the Son or Word of God, or the Messiah in his
original and divine character, was the giver of eternal
life and the spiritual quichener and illuminator of the
children of men. And this inference is strengthened
by the consideration that "the life" here mentioned
iva.s " the light" ; for it is the peculiar characteristic of
the Spirit of Christ that it quickens and enlightens at
the same time. That very principle within us which illu-
minates our darkness raises our souls from the death of
sin, and springs up Avithin us unto everlasting life.

Since such appears to be the true meaning of verse
4, we cannot reasonably hesitate in our interpretation
of verse 9. In the former, the light is said to be in
or bt/ the Word ; in the latter, according to a very
usual figure of rhetoric, the Word being the source of
the light, is himself denominated " light". The light
in either case must be of the same character, and if
there be any correctness in the view we have now
taken of the whole passage, it can be no other tha?i the
light of the Spirit of the Soji of God. Hence, there-
fore, I conclude, on the authority of the apostle John,
that a measure of the light of the Spirit of the Son of

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 19

God, '■Highteth every man that cometh into the ivorld".^
Such, according to iny apprehension of scriptural
truth, are the reHgious advantages which may be
deemed the common allotment of mankind in general.
God is their equal judge, and compassionate Father :
the Son of God, Avhcn clothed with humanity, gave
his life a ransom for them all : and lastly, through
the operation of his Holy Spirit, a moral sense of
right and wrong, accompanied with a portion ot
quickening and redeeming power, is implanted in
them universally. Here, then, we may perceive
grounds of union and brotherly kindness co-extensive
with the whole world ; and whilst we cultivate a sense

6 John i. 9. ^Hi* rh (pug to aXridivov o (poorlZ^si vdvra avS^WTTOv s^^ofisvov
sig rhv XOS/xov. " That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world." It was observed by Augusline, (De Peccatorum meritis et remiss.
lib. i. § 38.) and the suggestion has been adopted by many modern critics, that
the words s^yofMiVOV iig rhv x6fff/,ov, in this passage, are «(/)«&/« of being construed
in connexion with ^Sig "the light", instead of with Tavra av^gWCTOV "every
man", in which case the sentence must be rendered as follows; " That was the
true light, which, coming into the world, lighleth every man." Now it ought to
be remarked, that the term " every man" is in itself very strong and precise.
It denotes every individual man, and since there is nothing in the context to limit
its signification, it must be considered as signifying the whole of mankind. Were
we, therefore, to adopt such a construction and translation of the passage, there
would still be good reasons for interpreting it, not of that outward knowledge of
Christianity which is enjoyed by a comparatively small number of human beings,
but of an internal light bestowed universally on man. It is, however, obvious,
that the commonly adopted consliuction of this sentence is more agreeable to the
order of the apostle's words, and therefore more consistent, than the other, with the
general simplicity and perspicuity of his style. That construction is, moreover,
confirmed by the consideration that John has here adopted a phrase well known
amongst the Jews, in its usual sense. With that people, "to come into the world"
was a common expression signifying "to be born"; and " all men who come into
tlie world'", a customary description of "all mankind" ; Vide Lightfoot Hor. Heb.
in loc. The ancient fathers in general appear to have construed this passage in the
same manner as the authors of our English version. See for example Terlullian ,
adv. Prax. cap. 12. Ed. Semler. ii. 214 ; Theodotus, epitom. in Ed. Bened. Clement
Alex, p. 979 ; Origen, in lib. Judiciim Homil. Ed. Bened. ii. -160, See also Ihe Inu
Sijriac, jEthiopic, Persic, and Vulgate, versions.

c 2

20 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

of these animating trnths, we shall be disposed neither
to think too highly of ourselves, nor to despise others.
On the contrary a feeling of true charity towards our
neighbour, of whatever colour or country, will spread
in our hearts ; and a lively disposition will arise in us
to labour for the happiness of that universal family,
who not only owe their existence to the same Creator,
but are the common objects of his paternal regard and
of his redeeming love.

While I am persuaded of the existence of these
broad grounds of union ; while I am well satisfied
in the conviction that there is bestowed upon all
men that moral sense and that measure of a quick-
ening influence of which I have spoken ; and while,
lastly, I am convinced that such a sense and such
an influence can be justly attributed only to the
eternal Spirit of the Lord, I am very far from
forming a low estimate of the sinfulness and degrada-
tion of the heathen Avorld. However universally
visited by a moral light, it is a mournful and melan-
choly fact, that men have very generally yielded
themselves a prey to the deceitfulness and depravity
of their own hearts. Multitudes indeed there are
amongst those who have not been made acquainted
with the truths of Christianity, who, " when they knew
God, glorified him not as God, neither were thankfuf;
but have " changed the glory of the incorruptible God
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things" ;
Rom. i. 21, 23. Hence hath God given them over
" to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts",

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 21

and hence may be applied to them that awfiil descrip-
tion used by the apostle; — "Gentiles in the flesh —
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world;" Eph. ii. 11, 12.

We are not to forget that the same apostle, who
has drawn this affecting picture of the Gentile world,
has declared that the Jews, on whom was bestowed
the written law, were not " better than they"; Rom.iii.
9 — that all will be judged by a perfectly equitable
Being, according to their oivn demerits, the Gentiles
"without the law", the Jews "by the law", Rom. ii. 12;
and finally, that God " hath concluded them all in
unbelief, that he might have mercy upon alV; Rom.
xi. 32. Nevertheless, a contemplation of so mournfal
a scene may serve to convince us of the unutterable
advantages of that outward revelation, by which are
so clearly made known to us the glorious attributes
of the one true God, the awful realities of the eternal
world, and the various oflices of that divine Saviour
who is made unto us, of the Father, " wisdom, righte-
ousness, sanctification, and redemption". This con-
sideration natm'ally leads to the second branch of my
present subject, and Avill fitly introduce a brief view
of those religious advantages, which are not bestowed
upon the world in general, but are nevertheless com-
mon to all true christians.

II. The visible church of Christ, upon earth, may
be regarded, either in its most extensive character, as
consisting of the whole of that proportion of mankind
vfho profess Christianity ; or in that narrower, yet more
accurate point of view, in Avhich none can be looked

22 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

upon as its members except those persons who really
love and serve their Redeemer, and who evince, by
their conduct and conversation, that they are brought
under the influence of vital religion.

It is to such as these alone, that my present obser-
vations will be directed. Merely nominal christians
may indeed be considered as so far participating in
the religious advantages of the church of Christ, as
they receive their share of benefit from that general
amelioration of the moral views and habits of mankind,
which has, in so remarkable a manner, been effected
by the introduction of Christianity. But from the
more important, substantial, and enduring privileges
of the followers of Jesus, the careless and disobedient
hearers of the truth are plainly excluded. Nothing
indeed can be more fraught with danger, than the
condition of those persons, who, whilst they profess
to believe in Jesus, and are called by his name, are
nevertheless the servants of sin, and are living to the
" lusts of the world ; the lusts of the flesh ; and the
pride of life". The light of the Sun of righteousness
has risen upon them ; but they hide themselves from
its beams. They love " darkness rather than light,
because their deeds are evil". In despite of those
awful truths, which, on the authority of their Creator
himself, have been proclaimed in their hearing, they
pursue without interruption the mad career of vice
and dissipation. If there be any class amongst man-
kind, by whom, above others, the punishment of
"many stripes" may justly be expected, it is surely
that class who profess without practising Christianity,
who hiow their Master s will and do it not. " And

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 23

every one", said our Lord Jesus, "that hcaretli these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened
unto a foolish man Avhieh ))uilt his house upon the
sand : and the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat npon that house ; and
it fell ; and gy^eat was the fall of it "; Matt. vii. 26, 27.

Let us therefore direct our regards to that scattered
family and flock of Christ, appertaining to various
kindreds, nations, and denominations, who have re-
ceived revealed reliij;ion in the love of it ; who have
been made willing in the day of the Lord's power ;
and who, with earnestness and honest determination,
are fighting the good fight of faith, and laying hold
of eternal life.

The religions privileges which are common to the
whole of this family of true believers in Christ are
unspeakably valuable. At some of the principal of
them we may now shortly glance.

1. They are brought out of darkness into marvellous
light. " Ye are a chosen generation", said the apostle
Peter to some of the early christians, " a royal priest-
hood, a holy nation, a peculiar people ; that ye should
shoAv forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvellous light''''; I. Pet. ii. 9.
Furnished with ample and satisfactory evidences of
the truth and divine authority of Christianity, they
have found in that holy religion, as it is recorded in
the Holy Scriptures, a plain statement of all those
truths which appertain to man's salvation — a clear
account of the character of man — of the attributes of
God — of the future life — of eternal rewards and pun-
ishments, and more especially of that divine Saviovir,

24 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

the incarnate Son of God, who died for our sins, and
rose again for our justification. That outward know-
ledge, which has been thus graciously communicated
to them, may tnily be denominated a '^ tnarvellous
light'". Yet these expressions are more properly appli-
cable to that spiritual illumination, by which the
humble followers of Jesus are enabled to form a right
estimate of the things of God. Triie christians may be
described as persons whose moral optics are rectified.
God has given them the spirit of " a sound mind".
Every thing connected with religion appears to them
(as far as is consistent with the narrow limits of the
apprehension of mortals) in its real dimensions. From
the secret illumination of the Lord's Holy Spirit, and
by the instrumentality of the outward revelation of
divine truth, they are enabled to form a comparatively
just view of themselves — of their Creator — of virtue
and vice — of the world and eternity — of heaven and
hell, — and more particularly of Jesus Christ, as their
Mediator with the Father, as their divine and all-
powerful Redeemer. Such persons can acknowledge
with humble gratitude, that " the darkness is past",
and that " the true light now shineth" ; I. John ii. 8.
2. The religion respecting the truths of which
christians are thus enlightened is a powerful religion.
In other words, it is the medium through which the
power of God operates upon them, for the great
purposes of sanctification and salvation. Thus the
apostle Paul expressly asserts, that the gospel of
Christ is ^^t\\e power of God unto salvation"; Rom. i. 16.
Again he says, " The preaching of the cross is to them
that perish foolishness ; but unto us which are saved

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 25

it is the power of God", I. Cor. i. 18 : and in addressing
his Ephesian converts, he makes particular mention
of the "^exceeding greatness" of the ''^ power'' of God
" to US-ward ivho believe, according to the working
of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ,
when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his
own right hand in the heavenly places"; Eph. i. 19, 20.
We may conclude, therefore, that "the grace of God
which bringeth salvation", and which " hath appeared
unto all men", is, with a pre-eminent fulness of
measure, poured forth on the believers in Jesus.
" We trust in the living God", says the same Apostle,
" who is the Saviour of all men, specialhj of those
that believe"; I. Tim. iv. 10.

Faith in the Son of God is not the mere assent
of the understanding to the mission and divinity of
Jesus. It is a practical and operative principle of
wonderful energy. Those who live by this faith enjoy
an access unto the Father by a new and living way,
which Christ hath "consecrated for them through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh". Their dependence is
placed, not upon their own strength and wisdom, but
upon that Great High Priest of their profession, who
"ever livethto make intercession" for them — who "is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him", Heb. vii. 25 ; and at his gracious
hands, they receive that more abundant effusion of the
Holy Spirit, by which they are enabled in a distinguished
degree, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, and to
become conformed to the will of a righteous and holy
God. Thus do they experience, that, " if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are passed

26 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION

away; behold, all things are become new"; II Cor. v. 17.

3. The followers of Jesus Christ being enlightened in
their darkness, and strengthened in their weakness, are
animated dm-ing the varied course of their earthly
pilgrimage, with the clear hope of immortal joy . Their
treasure — their conversation are in heaven : their
desire is fixed on " that city which hath foundations,
whose maker and builder is God". They are seeking
" a better country, that is, a heavenly". Often indeed
are they cast down under a humbling sense of their
great infirmities, and many trangressions ; and are at
times scarcely able to entertain the belief that they shall
" be counted worthy of the kingdom of God". Yet,
as their regards remain steadily fixed on that Saviour
who died for their sins, and rose again for their justi-
fication; as they are "kept by the power of God,
through faith" ; they are seldom permitted to sink into
despondence, or finally to lose a peaceful expectation
of that inheritance which is "reserved for them in
heaven" — " an inheiitance incorruptible, and undefiled
and that fadeth not away"; I. Pet. i. 4.

4. Lastly. — They are in a pre-eminent manner
" baptized by one Spirit into one body". How delight-
ful is the union which subsists among the numerous
members of this holy family ! It is true that their
views, in some respects, are far from being perfectly
coincident. — It is true that they are ranged under
various banners, and are designated by a considerable
diversity of denomination. — It is true also, that they
do not all possess the same measure of light; and
that the sentiments of some amongst them are of
a more spiritual character than those of others.

AMONG OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 27

Nevertheless, their ground of accordance is at once
wide and substantial. Their tooting is placed on the
same Rock of ages, and that Rock is Christ. They
enjoy a true fellowship one with another, even be-
cause their fellowship is " with the Father, and v*Mth
his Son Jesus Christ". Love is the blessed principle
by which they are united, and which animates them
in the prosecution of joint efforts, conducted on com-
mon principles, in support of the same cause.

Such then arc the religious privileges which appear
to distinguish, from mankind in general, the members
of the true visible church of Christ; and which as it
relates to them, are universal. They are in a peculiar
manner brought out of darkness into marvellous light
— they experience the ejcceeding greatness of the
poAver of God revealed in Christ for their salvation —
they are cheered by a prospect of immortal joy clearly
manifested to them by the gospel; and in a pre-emi-
nent degree they are brought into spiritual fellowship
one with another. May the love, which cements
together the varied members of this mystical body of
Christ, more and more abound : may the barriers
which ignorance or prejudice have reared amongst
them be broken through and demolished : may
christians be enabled increasingly to strive together
for the hope of the gospel; and while they individu-
ally draw nearer to the Fountain of all good, may
they be enabled yet more perfectly, to enjoy " the
communion of the Holy Ghost", — to " keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace"!

CHAPTER 11.

ON RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. — GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON
THOSE OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.

1 HE members of the true visible church of Christ,
some of whose common rehgious privileges have now
been described, are divided, as the reader cannot fail to
know", into a variety of particular societies. United
as they are in the fundamental principles of repentance
towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ,
these societies are distinguished from one another by
different and sometimes even opposite views and
practices in connexion with several particulars in reli-
gion of a less essential character/

When we consider the infirmity and deceitfidness of
the heart of man, and remember how often the power
of habit and prejudice are found to interfere with a
just and enlightened apprehension of truth, it is no

' I am well aware that in llie various societies of professing christians, many
persons are necessaiily included who cannot, on any sound scriptural principle, be
considered mimbers of the true visible chuich of Christ. To such nominal pro-
fessors of religion, under whatever denomination they may be ranged, I am not now
alluding ; and 1 must in a particular manner request my reader to observe, that in
Ireaiing of the Society of Friends as forming a part of that tri.e chvrch, my views
are directed only to those persons of our peculiar profession, who are really living
under the influeuLe of vital re'i;;iou.

RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 29

matter of wonder that such a resuk should have taken
place. Nor ought we, in tracing the causes of these
differences, hy any means to forget, that on many
points of a merely secondary nature — those particu-
larly AY hich relate to modes of worship and of church
government — there is to be found, in the divinely
authorized records of the christian revelation, very
little of precise direction ; and thus is there obviously
left, in reference to such points, a considerable scope
for the formation of different views.

However indeed the diversities, which are permitted
in some degree to divide from one another the servants
of the same divine Master, may afford many humbling
proofs of weakness and imperfection, and in some
instances of real degeneracy from the original strength
and purity of truth, we ought, nevertheless, to ac-
knowledge that, while christians are preserved in the
love and fear of God, these diversities are in various
respects overruled for their good. The existence of
different opinions, respecting minor points, entails on
us the necessity of a careful selection of our own
particular course, and thus operates indirectly as a
stimulus by which we are induced to bestow a closer
attention on religion in general. Such a difference of
sentiment brings with it moreover a course of moral
discipline ; for many occasions arise out of this source
which call for the exercise of christian charity — of
mutual liberality, meekness, and forbearance ; nor is it
unreasonable to suppose that as we rightly avail our-
selves of this discipline, it will be one means of pre-
paring us for a perfect unanimity of sentiment in a
better state of being. While, lastly, a reasonable hope

30 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON

may be entertained that, as the church mihtant pro-
ceeds in her appointed career, a gradual yet certain
advancement will take place among her members to a
state of greater unity and more entire simplicity, yet
it can scarcely be denied that in that variety of admi-
nistration, through which the sa^ ing principles of re-
ligion are for the present permitted to pass, there is
much of a real adaptation to a corresponding variety
of mental condition. Well therefore may we boAv
with thankfolness before that infinite and unsearchable
Being who, in all our weakness, follows us icitli his
love, and who, through the diversified mediums of reli-
gion to which the several classes of true christians are
respectively accustomed, is still pleased to reveal to
them all the same crucified Redeemer, and to direct
their footsteps into one path of obedience, holiness,
and peace.

The particular sentiments and practices which dis-
tinguish respectively the different classes of true
christians, may be denominated r^eligiouspecuUarities;^
and before I proceed to the discussion of those which
distinguish the Society of Friends, I would invite the
candid attention of the reader to two excellent rules,
laid down by the apostle Paul, on the subject of
somewhat similar distinctions in matters of religion.

The first of these niles enjoins, that christians,

8 The term religious peculiarities has been adopted for the sake of convenience
and perspicuity, and I conceive it to be accurately descriptive of ihose opinions and
customs which distinguish, from other parts of the church, any one community of
christians. It is far from my intention by the use of such a term, to convey the
idea that such distinctions are of little practical consequence. With regard to the
religious peculiarities of Friends, it is the very object of the present work to evince
their importance, and to show their real connexion with the fandamental principles
of the gospel of Christ.

RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 31

united as they are in the great fundamentals of doc-
trine and practice, shoukl ahstain from judging or
condemning one another on account of their minor
differences. " Let not him that eateth despise him
that eateth not ; and let not him that eateth not
judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?
to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he
shall be holden up : for God is able to make him
stand;" Rom. xiv. 3, 4.

The differences of opinion and conduct to which
Paul was here alluding were indeed of less magni-
tude, and appertained to matters (jf less practical
importance, than many of those which now exist
within the more extended borders of the church of
Christ; but whatever change may have taken place
in this respect in the circumstances of christians, it is
plain that the apostle's principle of mutual liberality
still holds good; and that, while in our various
allotments within the churcli we are respectively
endeavouring to " live unto the Lord", it is our
unquestionable duty to refrain from the crimina-
tion and condemnation one of another. Had this
principle been uniformly observed among those who
call themselves christians, wbere would have been
the vexatious disputes, the polemical severity, and
above all, the cruel persecutions, which have retarded
the progress and disgraced the profession of a pure
and peaceable religion ?

The apostle's second nile respecting the different
views maintained by christians in his own time, is
applicable, with an increased degree of force, to those

32 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON

more important religious peculiarities, by which in
the present day the church is divided into classes.
" Let every man", says he, " be fully persuaded in his
own mind" — a rule to which may be added his em-
phatic remark, " happy is he that condemneth not
himself in that thing which he alloweth"; Rom. xiv.
5, 22. In order to obtain that " full persuasion" to
which we are thus exhorted, it is plainly necessary
for us to comply with another precept of the same
inspired writer, — '^ prove all things"; I. Thes. v. 21.
That it is very generally desirable for christians, who
are arrived at years of sound discretion, to prove those
peculiar religious principles in which they have been
educated, — to examine the foundation on which they
rest, — to try them by the test of Scriptm-e and expe-
rience,— and more especially, with all humility and
devotion of heart, to seek the counsel of God respect-
ing them, — will not be disputed by persons of good
sense, candour, and liberality. Such a course seems
to be prescribed, not only by the rule already cited,
but by the exhortation of the apostle Peter ; — " Add
to your faith virtue ; and to viiirue knowledge" ; II. Pet.
i. 5; an exhortation perfectly coincident with the
injunction of Paul, — " Brethren, be not children in
understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, bid
in understanding be men' ; I. Cor. xiv. 20.

This careful and devout examination might, in
various instances, lead to the discarding of views and
practices which are useless and irrelevant, and which
have no favourable influence in promoting the cause
of vital and practical religion. On the other hand,
should any christian be led by such a proving of his

RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 33

peculiar principles, to a "J'u II persuasion' that, being
founded on the law of God, they are calculated to
edify himself, and to promote the spiritual welfare of
the church in general, it becomes him again to obey
the dictate of the apostle, and to " hold fast that
ichich is good" ; I. Thes. v. 21.

Having premised these general remarks, I shall pro-
ceed, in pursuance of my main object, to apply them
to the religious peculiarities of that society of christ-
ians of which I am myself a member.

There are, I believe, few persons accustomed to
a comprehensive view of the whole militant church,
and of the course which true religion is taking
amongst mankind, who will be disposed to deny that
the situation occupied in the body by the Society of
Friends is one of considerable importance to the
cause of righteousness. My own observation has
indeed led me to form the conclusion, that there are
some spiritually-minded persons, not immediately
connected with Friends, who go still farther, and
who even rejoice in the consideration, that, among
the various classes of the christian church, there is
numbered one fraternity who bear a plain and deci-
sive testimony against warfare in all its fornisj —
against oaths under any pretext — and against all hiring
or paying of the ministers of the gospel: a fraternity
whose practice and history afford a sufficient evidence
that God may he acceptably and profitably worship-
ped without the intervention of a single typical
ceremony, and without the necessary or constant aid
of any human ministry. However such persons may
differ from us in the precise view of these very subjects,

D

34 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON

tliey appear to be aware that the tendencij of our
pecuharhies is good, and they will allow that Christ-
ianity in its progress through the world may derive
no trifling advantage from the circumstance, that
these religious principles are, by some at least
among the followers of Jesus, plainly and resolutely
uuheld.

That such an apprehension is well founded — that
the consistent and religious part of the Society of
Friends are actually occupying an important and use-
ful station in the mystical body of Christ — that their
peculiar principles are of an edifying tendency, and
are calculated to promote the spiritual welfare, not
only of Friends themselves, but of the church in
general — is the deliberate conviction of my own
mind ; and it is probable that the persons for whose
use this Avork is principally intended may very general-
ly unite with me in entertaining that conviction.

If such be the case, I would remind them, that no
religious views or practices can be salutary in the
long run, or truly promote the spiritual progress of
the militant church, which are the mere creatures of
human reason and ima.'^ination, and which do not
arise directly or indirectly out of the essential and
unalterable principles of the law of God. I may
with humility acknowledge my own persuasion, that
the religious peculiarities of the Society of Friends
do indeed arise out of those principles; and to the
proof of this point my future observations respecting
them will be chiefly, if not exclusively, directed. In
the first place, however, I must call the reader's at-
tention to a few arguments and reflections respecting

RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 35

an important doctrine of religion, which, although
by no means peculiar to Friends, is certainly promul-
gated amongst them with a peculiar degree of ear-
nestness, and which lies at the root of all their
particular views and practices — the doctrine of the
perceptible injluence and guidance of the Spirit of
truth.

d2

CHAPTER 111.

ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE AND GUIDANCE OF THE
SPIRIT OF TRUTH.

It is generally allowed among the professors of
Christianity, that in us, that is, in our "flesh", or natu-
ral man, dwelleth no good thing ; that we are unable
of ourselves to fulfil the law of righteousness, or to
serve the Lord with acceptance, and that the fountain
of all true moral excellence in mankind, is the Spirit
of God. The serious and enlightened christian of
every denomination will readily confess that it is only
through the influence of this Holy Spirit that he is
enabled rightly to apprehend God, to know himself, and
to accept Jesus Christ as his all-suflicient Saviour —
that it is only through such an influence that he is
converted in the first place, and afterwards sanctified
and prepared for his heavenly inheritance.

The differences of sentiment which exist in the
church, on this great subject, have respect not to the
question whether the Holy Spirit does or does not
operate on the heart of man, for on this question
all true christians are agreed ; but principally, if
not entirely, to the mofi?e in which that Spirit operates.

GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 37

On this point there appears to exist among the
professors of Christianity, and even among serious
christians, a considerable diversity of opinion. Some
persons conceive, that the Spirit of God does not influ-
ence the heart of man directly, but only through the
means of certain appointed instruments ; such as
the Holy Scriptures, and the word preached. Many
others, who allow the direct and independent influences
of the Spirit, and deem them absolutely essential to the
formation of the christian character, refuse to admit
that they are perceptible to the mind, but consider
them to be hidden in their action and revealed only
in their fruits. Now with Friends (and I believe
with very many persons not so denominated) it is a
leading principle in religion — a principle on which
they deem it to be in a peculiar manner their duty
to insist — that the operations of the Holy Spirit
in the soul are not only immediate and direct, but
perceptible; and that we are all furnished with an
inward Guide or Monitor who makes his voice knoAvn
to us, and who, if faithfully obeyed and closely follow-
ed, will infalhbly conduct us into true viitue and hap-
piness, because he leads us into a real conformity with
the will of God.

That our sentiments on this important subject are
well founded — that the principle in question forms a
constituent part of the unchangeable truth of God, is
satisfactorily evinced, according to our apprehension,
by various declarations contained in the Holy Scrip-
tures.

In a former chapter I have called the attention of
the reader to the doctrine that a measure of the Spirit

38 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

of" the Son of God is bestowed upon all mankind, and
I have endeavoured to shew it to be in reference to
his spiritual appearance in the hearts of his crea-
tures, that Christ is styled "the true light which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world".
Now it is certain that nothing can justly be denom-
inated light, which does not 7nake manifest. " All
things that are reproved", says the apostle Paul, "are
made manifest by the light, for whatsoever doth make
Tnamfest is light''; Eph. v. 13. Since then Christ, or
the Spirit of Christ, in those operations which are
altogether internal and independent of an outward
revelation, is light, it is plain that this Spirit in such
inward operations mahes manifest — communicates an
actual moral sense — teaches what is right and what
is wrong, in a perceptil^le or intelligible manner.
Thus the Psalmist prayed as follows ; " O send out
thy light and thy truth, let them lead me ; let them
bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles";
Ps. xliii. 3. The light and the truth for which he
thus offered up his petitions, could not be the written
law of which he was already in possession : the expres-
sions are rather to be understood of the light of God's
countenance, and the truth revealed by his Spirit ;
and these, according to the view^s of tlie Psalmist,
were at once perceptible and powerful, for they were
to lead him in the way of righteousness, and to bring
him to the holy hill and tabernacles of God.

Under the christian dispensation the Holy Spirit
is poured forth in pre-eminent abundance, as has been
already observed and as the Scriptures testify, on the
souls of true believers in Jesus Christ. Of the oper-

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 39

ations of divine grace under this new covenant, none
of the inspired writers appear to have enjoyed a clearer
view than the apostle Paul. Often was he led to
expatiate on the Spirit who " dwells" in the children
of God, and who enables them, on the one hand, to
mortify their carnal affections, and, on the other, to
bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness. It is m
or after this Spirit that the apostle commands us to
ivalk : " If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in
the Spirit ; " Gal. v. 25 : and again, to the Romans, he
says, " there is therefore now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus, wlio ivalk not after the
fiesh, but after the Spirit'' ; Rom, viii. 1. Now to
walk in or after the Spirit who dwells in us, can be
nothing less than to conform our life and conver-
sation to his dictates ; and this we could not do unless
those dictates were perceptible to the mind. On the
same principles the apostle has on two occasions
described christians as persons who are led by the
Spirit. "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under
the law ;" GaL v. 18. " For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God ;" Rom.
viii. 14. Any one, who impartially examines the two
chapters from which these quotations are derived,
will easily perceive that the leading, of which Paul is
here speaking, is not the instruction derived from
inspired preaching, or from divinely authorised Scrip-
ture, but an internal work carried on by the Spirit in
the soul of man. If then there be given to us an
internal communication of the Spirit of truth by
which we are to be led, it is surely very plain that
such communication must be made manifest to our

40 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

mental perception, or otherwise we could not folloAv it.
The Spirit whose practical influence the apostle thus
describes is the Spirit of Christ. With this inspired
writer the declarations that the Spirit is in us and
that Chinst is in us appear to be equivalent. " But
ye", says he, " are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now
if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none
of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead,
because of (or as it relates to) sin ; but the Spirit is life
because of (or as it relates to) righteousness" ; Rom.
viii. 9, 10. Since then the apostle teaches us that we
are to be led by the Spirit, and that the Spirit by
whom we are to be led is the Spirit of Christ, we
may without difficulty understand the principle on
which Christ is denominated " the Shepherd and
Bishop of souls" ; I. Pet. ii. 25.

The character of Jesus, as the Shepherd of his
people, was unfolded in very touching expressions
by our Lord himself. " I am the good Shepherd",
said he, " and know my sheep, and am known of mine,
.... other sheep I have, which are not of this fold :
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice, and there shall be one fold, and one Shep-
herd".— " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me ; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand ;"
John X. 14, 16, 27, 28. The disciples of Jesus who
were gathered to him during his short abode upon the
earth, undoubtedly enjoyed the privilege of being in-
structed by his outward voice, but that voice of Christ,
which was to be afterwards heard by his sheep who

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 41

were not of the Jewish fold, and which is still heard by
his faithful followers, whom he leads " in the way of
righteousness", we may conclude to be the voice of his
Spirit — a voice inwardly communicated to the soul of
man. Such a view of our Lord's pastoral office and
of the method by which it is conducted, is perfectly
accordant with the promise which he made to his dis-
ciples on a subsequent occasion : — " I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that
he may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit of
Truth ; Avhom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know
him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall he in your
. . . ." But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring all thi?igs to your
remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you ;" John
xiv. 16, 17, 26. — " Howbeit when he, the Spirit of
ti'uth, shall come, he will guide you into all truth ;
for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he
shall hear that shall he speak ; and he shall shew
you things to come. He shall glorify me ; for he
shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you ; "
John xvi. 13, 14.

These passages contain a plain description of the
perceptible guidance of the Spirit of Christ ; and the
same doctrine was declared with equal clccirness bv
the apostle John, at a period when the promises thus
made by the Lord Jesus had been graciously fulfilled
in the experience of his disciples. "But ye", says
the apostle, " have an unction from the Holy One,
and ye know all things" "The anointing Avhich

42 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

ye have received of him ahldeth in you, and ye need
not that any man teach you : but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,
and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in
him ;" I. John ii. 20, 27.

It may indeed be remarked that the disciples who
personally received these promises, and many of those
primitive christians whom the apostle was thus address-
ing, were endowed for special purposes with miraculous
powers, and with a correspondent extraordinary mea-
sure of the Holy Spirit; but it cannot, I think, with any
reason be denied that the promise of the Holy Ghost,
the fulfilment of which is described in this passage of
the epistle of John, was addressed to all ivho might
believe in all ages of the church of Christ. " He that
believeth on me", said the Saviour, '■' out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water", John vii. 38 ; and
in a passage already cited, he expressly declared that
the Spirit whom he thus promised to believers should
abide with them "for ever\ " Repent", cried the
apostle Peter to the listening multitude, " and be bap-
tized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you
and unto your children, and to all that are afar off',
even unto as many as the Lord our God shall caW ;
Acts ii. 38, 39. Hence, therefore, it follows that the
true believers in Jesus, of every description and in
all ages, are in a peculiar and pre-eminent manner
visited and guided by the Comforter. No longer are
they to depend on the teaching of their fellow crea-
tures, for the anointing Avhich they have received of

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 43

Christ ahideth in them, and teacheth them of all things,
and is truth, and no lie.

Such was indeed one of the most striking charac-
teristics of that new dispensation under which all real
christians are living ; and I cannot better conclude
this selection of scriptural evidences on the perceptible
inward guidance of the Holy Spirit, than by citing a
well-known prophetical description of that dispensa-
tion : — " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that
I will make a new covenant Avith the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah : not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day
that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt ; A\'hich my covenant they brake,
though I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord ;
but this shall be the covenant that I will make Avith
the house of Israel ; after those days, saith the Lord ;
/ ivill put my law in their inward paints, and write it
in their hearts ; and will be their God, and they shall
be my peojjle. And they shall teach no more every
man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord : for they shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord ; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more ;" Jer. xxxi. 31 — 34.
comp. Heb. viii. 8 — 13.

Thus explicit are the declarations contained in both
the Old and New Testaments, respecting the actual
illumination of divine grace — the intelligible voice of
the true Shepherd — the perceptible guidance and
instruction of the Spirit of Truth in the souls of men.

While it may be hoped that the spiritually-minded

44 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

christian will readily admit the force of these scrip-
tural evidences, and will cheerfully embrace that
profitable truth which they so clearly unfold, it is not
to be forgotten, tliat the human imaginatiori is very
active and very delusive ; and that persons who are
superficial in religion, or who are not sufliciently
watchful, may sometimes mistake the unauthorized
dictates of their own minds for the voice of a divine
and unerring guide. That errors of this description
have on many occasions occurred must be freely al-
lowed ; and that under particular circumstances they
may probably continue to occur, will not be denied
by those, who are sutficiently aware of the infirmity
and deceitfulness of the heart of man. It appears,
therefore, on the one hand, that the inward illumina-
tion of the Spirit of God is mercifully bestowed on us
as a perceptible giiide to righteousness ; and on the
other hand, that we are exceedingly liable to be led
about by the dictates of our own imagination. Such
a view of the subject necessarily introduces the enquiry
by what characteristics the voice of the Lord's Spirit
and the voice of unauthorized human imagination in
matters of religion, may be distinguished from each
other.

That the two influences of which I have spoken, —
the true guide and the false guide, are in reality abso-
lutely distinct, different, and sometimes even opposite,
the least reflection may serve to convince us. The
true guide is the " day-spring from on high", and
comes immediately from God, in whom there is no
mixture of evil, and who is the original and unfailing
source of all good. The false guide is the creatiu^e of

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 45

human infirmity and misapprehension, and frequently
the source out of which it arises is positively evil and
corrupt. Those who are faithfully following the true
guide are the dedicated children of a holy God. Those
who are following only the false guide have con-
structed for themselves an unsound religion, and are
mere enthusiasts.

As the voice of the true Shepherd and the voice of
the stranger are thus really distinct and in fact opposed
to one another, so, I helieve, the sincere and humhle
christian, who has been taught the lesson of waiting
upon God, and whose religion is of no shallow cha-
racter, will be, by divine grace, enabled to discern the
one from the other. He will find that they are clearly
distinguished, first, by the mode of their operation,
and secondly, by the fruits which they produce.

First, with respect to the mode of their operation.
The human imagination, when applied to matters
of religion, may often be justly described as work-
ing in the whirlwind. It is violent in its impulses :
it lays hold of us, and leads us astray when we are
in a condition of restlessness and temporary con-
fusion, and when the disquietude in which we find
ourselves, affords a sufficient evidence to any candid
mind, that self is predominant. On the other hand,
the voice of Christ in the heart is not more pure
than gentle. Justly may it be denominated the
"still small voice'''' , and clearly is the mode of its
operation, as distinguished from the mode in which
the dictates of mere imagination operate, illustrated
by that part of the history of the prophet Elijah, from
which these expressions are borrowed. When Elijah

46 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

Stood before the Lord on mount Horeb, we read that
" the Lord passed by, and a great and a strong wind
rent the mountams, and brake in pieces the rocks
before the Lord ; but the Lord was not in the wind :
and after the wind an earthquake ; hut the Lord was
not in the earthquake : and after the earthquake a
fire ; hut the Lord was not in the Jire : and after the
fire a still small voice''! L Kings xix. 11, 12. When
the pride of the heart is laid low, when the activity
of human reasoning is quieted, when the soul is
reduced to a state of silent subjection in the presence
of its Creator, then is this " still small voice" intelli-
gibly heard, and the word of the Lord as it is iuAvardly
revealed to us, becomes " a lamp" unto our " feet " and
a " light" unto our " paths". Here it may not be im-
proper to remark, that in order to maintain this state
of humble and quiet dependence upon God, the habit
of a frequent retirement from the common occupations
of life is of great use and importance. Nevertheless,
such a frame of mind may be preserved even when
we are engaged in the pursuits of business. Watchful
christians are taught to live with a heart subjected
before the Lord, and with an eye ever directed towards
him in real simplicity. While such is their condition,
the true guide to peace will not forsake them. When
they turn to the right hand or Avhen they turn to the
left, a voice shall still be found to follow them, saying,
" This is the ivay, walk ye m if'. If, however, there
are persons (as I believe there are) of real piety, who
sincerely desire to follow the guidance of their Lord
and Master, and yet have not learned to distinguish
as they would wish to do, the internal manifestations

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 47

of his Holy Spirit, let them not be miprofitably dis-
couraged. Let theiii rather pursue their course in
humble reliance on the mercy of God, and let them
cultivate the animating hope, that, as they are preserv^-
ed in dedication to the divine Avill and grow in grace,
they m411 gradually become better acquainted with the
word of the Lord within them, and will be comforted,
in a greater degree, with the light of his countenance.
See Isa. 1. 10.

Secondly, with regard to the fruits which these
opposite influences respectively produce, the suggest-
ions of the human imagination in matters of religion,
as they prevail over us when we are in a state of
restlessness and confusion, so when they are fol-
lowed they confirm and aggravate that condition.
While they tend only to the elevation of self, and to
the gratification of the eager desires of the unsub-
dued mind, they may indeed inflame us with a false
and misdirected zeal, but they can never soften the
obdurate heart, bring the restless mind into stillness,
or truly pacify the troubled conscience. On the con-
trary, the sure effect of obedience to the " still small
voice" of our Divine Master in the soul, is quietness,
tenderness, humility, true sanity of mind, and sub-
stantial peace.

But we may extend our views farther, and consider
the consequences of these respective influences, not
only on the inward frame of the mind, but on the
outward conduct and conversation of the man. Here
the difference between the fruits of two distinct and
even opposite principles becomes completely manifest.
The imaginations of the heart of man, when not

48 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

subdued and rectified by the power of divine grace,
are continually prone to evil, and hoAvever Satan may
transform himself into an " angel of light", and conceal
his operations under the cover of a religious profession,
and even of a sincere enthusiasm, his fruits will still
be fruits of darkness and unrighteousness ; and those
who in the heat of their own spirits commit them-
selves, without reserve, to so delusive and perilous a
guidance, will not fail to make shipwreck, in many
particulars, of the great moral principles of the gospel
of Christ. Again and again will they be found
breaking the law of their Redeemer, — the law of
kindness, charity, order, submission, gentleness, integ-
rity, purity, or peace. And truly the end of such a
course is sorrow. " Behold, all ye that kindle a fire,
that compass yourselves about with sparks : walk in
the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have
kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall
lie doivn in sorrow ^ Isa. 1. 11.

On the other hand, those who follow the Lord's
Spirit will assuredly be found to bear the fruits of
the Spirit, which are " love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Against such there is no law" ; Gal. v. 22, 23. That
there are very many persons not of our religious body
who are endeavouring to follow the Spirit as a per-
ceptible guide, there can be little doubt. Neveitheless
there will, 1 trust, be no impropriety in my making
an appeal, in connexion with the present branch of
my argument, to the observation and experience of
those persons to whom this work is principally ad-
dressed. However discouras^ement mav often overtake

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 49

US through the uiisconduct of unsound brethren, my
young friends with myself have undoubtedly enjoyed
a very easy opportunity of observing the life and
conversation of many persons, who profess that the
internal manifestations of the Holy Spirit are their
rule of life ; and who by a long and tried course
of patience, submission, and self-denial, have fully
evinced the sincerity of their profession. Now we are
certainly well aware, and we need not, I think, fear
to acknowledge, that the character and deportment
of such persons is distinguished for sobriety and sub-
stantial excellence, and that however varied they may
be as to their situations in life, their talents, and their
gifts, they resemble one another in this main charac-
teristic— that they are fulfilling the law of love, and
living a life of piety and usefulness.

Our observation of others may suffice to convince us
that when that great principle of religion to which I am
now adverting, is conscientiously and strictly main-
tained, these pure and lovely fruits are invariably
produced. And further, as far as we ourselves also,
who are younger in religious growth, have been
enabled to order our conversation by the same rule,
and to " mind the same thing", our own experience
will oblige us to confess that the Shepherd of Israel,
as he is thus followed, is a safe guide, and that he
would ever lead as away from the snares of the enemy,
from the vanities and sensualities of the world, and
from the pride of life, into humility, charity, and pure
morality. Finally, may we not with gratitude ac-
knowledge, that in observing the latter days and
death of manv faithful servants of the Lord who oi.ve

50 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

occupied a place among us, we have been furnished
with ample evidencCj that the end of a life passed in
obedience to the inward monitions of the Spirit,
united with a dependence on Christ as an all-sufficient
Saviour, is quietness and peace.

That God is able to illuminate the souls of men
with the immediate visitations of spiritual light, the
most incredulous metaphysician will not venture to
deny. On the other hand, we may readily accede
to the principle laid down by the celebrated Locke,
that we can entertain no reasonable confidence in
any supposed inward spiritual illumination, farther
than as Ave are furnished with evidence that such
illumination proceeds from God ; See Essaif on the
Human Understanding, Book iii. ch. 19. Now, that
the perceptible influence of the Holy Spirit on the
soul, proceeds from God, the christian enjoys satis-
factory evidence — first, in the declarations of Scripture
that such an influence shall be bestowed upon him —
and secondly, in the practical results into which it
leads. " He that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in himself;" I. John v. 10. He brings
his own sensations to the test of experience. He
hiows the tree hy its fruits.

This general argument will be found to derive con-
firmation from a view which we may now briefly take
of some main particular characteristics in the practical
operation of this perceptible guidance. In discussing
those characteristics, I must of course be understood
as appealing to the experience of my readers ; and
happy should I be were my observations to serAC as
way-marks to any of thein, by which they may learn

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 51

more accurately to distinguish the spirit of truth from
the spirit of error.

1. The hght of the Spirit of Christ in the heart
tends to the humiliation of man : for, in the first place,
it reveals to liim his many iniquities, and affords him
the clearest evidence that he is fallen, corrupt, and
prone to evil ; and, in the second place, as he endea-
vours to follow this light, he is again and again
instructed in the lesson, that his own strength is utter
weakness, and that he can do no good thing of him-
self. Besides, it is ever to be remembered, that
divine grace in the soul is not only light, but power.
It softens all that is hard, and levels as witli the
dust all that is lofty within us ; those persons, there-
fore, who are truly subject to it, will of necessity
become tender, contrite, and lowly, of heart. The
operation of the same principle tends moreover to
the exaltation of Christ. That light and that power
which convince us of our own iniquities, lead us
also to form a right estimate of the character and
merits of our Lord : and while in our endeavours to
follow his guidance, we are brought to the humbling
discovery of our oavii weakness and worthlessness ;
we are taught that in this weakness, the strength of
Christ is made perfect ; and we cannot but extol
that Saviour, who supports us in every difficulty,
arms us against every temptation, restores our souls,
and leads us in the path of righteousness for his
name's sake.

2. Since fallen man is corrupt and perverse ; since
his natural inclinations, if not checked in their opera-
tion, will infallibly lead liim, under some form or other,

e2

52 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

into the vanities of the Avorkl and the sins of the flesh ;
and since it is the great purpose of the christian sys-
tem, to recover him from this lost condition, and to
bring him into conformity with the Avill of God, we
may rest assured that the true voice of Christ in the
heart will conduct us in the path of daily self denial.
And such undoubtedly is the experience of all those
persons who have committed themselves to the guid-
ance of this inward Monitor. They find that he leads
them through the " strait gate" and by the " narrow
way", and that in order to follow him, it is indispens-
ably necessary for them to resist their own desires,
and to mortify those perverted selfish principles,
which constitute the character of the natural man.

When our Lord declared that if any man would
come after him, he must tahe up his cross and follow
him — (the cross being the instrument employed for
the infliction of capital punishment) — he might per-
haps intend to impress upon his immediate followers,
that in order to be his disciples, they must be willing
even to die for his name's sake. Such a doctrine was
well adapted to the circumstances in which these
persons were placed : but in that spiritual sense of
which our Lord's words are obviously capable, it will
be found to coincide with the experience of every real
christian. None can " follow the Lamb whitherso-
ever he goeth", without being conformed to his suf-
ferings— without bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus — without dying themselves to the
lusts of the world, the sins of the flesh, and the pride
of life. " We are buried with Christ by baptism unto
death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 53

by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life ;" Rom. vi. 4. But let us not
fear this death, or shrink from the cross of Christ !
He Avho imposes it in order to our highest good, will
render it more than tolerable ; and it is the enemy of
our souls, who magnifies in our view the pain and
difficulty of bearing it. To the dependent, simple,
yet decided christian, the yoke of Jesus becomes easy
and his burthen light.

3. Those who resist and grieve their heavenly
Guide, and quench that delicate flame of light with
which he condescends to visit them, gradually envelop
themselves in gross darkness. They become incapa-
ble of the instructions of their divine Monitor, and
thus they continually form a lower and a lower
standard respecting right and wrong. On the contrary,
the Spirit of Christ, as it is closely followed and
scrupulously obeyed, rectifies, illuminates, and quick-
ens, the faculties of the conscience. Our perceptions
of good and evil become more and more just and
lively, and at the same time our apprehension of
spiritual things is enlarged and strengthened. Thus
is accomplished in the experience of his followers the
promise of the Lord Jesus, that " unto every one that
hath shall be given"; Matt. xxv. 29. " The path of
the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and
more unto the perfect day;" Prov. iv. 18.

4. Since the inward manifestations of divine light
in the soul, if attended to, lead invariably into the
practice of christian virtues ; and since those virtues
are clearly described and enjoined in the Holy
Scriptures (especially in the New Testament); it is

54 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

plain that these two practical guides to righteous-
ness, Avill ever he found in accordance with one
another. The law written in the hook, and the law
written in the heart, have proceeded from the same
Author : the only standard of hoth these laws is the
will of God ; and the former corresponds with the
latter, as the image in the mirror corresponds with its
original. It ought, however, to he remarked that the
written law, for the most part, consists in general
directions. Now the inward manifestations of the
Spirit of Christ, while they confirm the principles on
which those general directions are founded, will in-
struct us how to aj)ply them in our daily walk, and
under all the various circumstances and exigencies of
hfe. For example, the outward law declares, "thou
shalt love thy neighhour as thyself". The inward
law will not only inculcate the same rule, hut will
point out to the obedient followers of Christ, in what
manner, and on what occasions this love is to be
brought into action.

5. It is worthy, in the last place, of particular
observation, that the monitions of the Holy Spirit
within us, direct an exact, comprehensive, and unmixed,
obedience to the will of God. How imperfect is the
obedience of those persons, who acknowledge only
the written law, and who in the application of that
law to the various incidents and occasions of human
life, are accustomed to seek no other direction than
that of their oavu reason, and to depend upon no
other strength than that of their own Avills I While
in the secret of their hearts there dwells a spirit of
rebellion against that Lord who would lead them into

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 55

self-mortification ; how readily can they plead excuses
and nri;e the doctrine of expediency in opposition to
the dictates of truth ! Notwithstanding their professed
regard to the Scriptures, how soon docs their moral
sense degenerate, and how easily do they learn to
" call evil good, and good evil", to put " darkness for
light, and light for darkness", to put " hitter for sweet,
and sweet for bitter"! Isa. v. 20. In such unsound
professors of religion, there is no full coming out —
no effectual emancipation — from that which is evil in
the sight of God.

It may, moreover, be questioned whether something
of the same kind of imperfection may not be detected
in the experience even of seriously-minded christians,
who, while their dependence is mainly placed on the
grace of God, are not fully believing in the light of
Christ, as it is inwardly revealed to the soul. I am.
in some measure, aw^are of the depth of human ini-
cpiity, and know how difficult it is to escape from
its secret influence ; but I believe that christians
would not be so much perplexed as they often are
with a sense of imperfection and sin in the perform-
ance of their various religious duties, were that
performance less of themselves and more of God ;
were it less dictated by the activity of their own minds,
and derived with greater simplicity from the fountain
of all good. Great as is our own infirmity, deep as is
our natural defilement, it is certain that the inward
Guide, of whom we are speaking, is entirely holy, and
he still upholds to his followers the very highest
standard of action — " Be ye therefore perfect even as
your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'' He com-

56 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

mands them to be of clean hands, and to refrain
completely from every thing which his own light has
made manifest to be evil. He admits of no excuses ;
he sacrifices his law to no apparent expediency ; he is
satisfied with no mixed obedience ; and when he calls
us into active duties and more especially into religious
services, he is ever ready to assist us in our humble
endeavour to offer unto the Lord an " offering in
righteousness" — even a pure offering.

Such are the tests and such are the fruits of the
perceptible guidance of the Holy Spirit in the soul.
In reverting to the course of argument adopted in
the present disquisition, the reader will recollect that
the doctrine of such perceptible guidance rests upon
the authority of Scripture ; being clearly declared
by the prophet Jeremiah, by the apostles John and
Paul, and by our Lord himself — that the dictates of
the Spirit, A^hich lead into truth, are totally distinct
from the dictates of the human imagination, which
lead into enthusiasm ; — that the two principles are to
be distinguished, first, by the mode of their operation,
and, secondly, by the fruits which they produce —
that the dictates of the Spirit operate in a gentle man-
ner on the waiting and prostrate soul — that the fruits
of the Spirit are the " peaceable fruits of righteous-
ness"— that these fruits afford a substantial evidence
of the divine origin of that guiding principle which
leads to the production of them — and, lastly, that this
general argument is greatly strengthened when we
come to trace some particular characteristics in the
practical operation of the principle in question ; for
as it is closely followed, it is ever found to lead to the

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT.

57

humiliation of men, and to the exaltation of Christ ;
to the denial of self, and to the bearing of the cross ;
to the increase of moral and spiritual light ; to the
confirmation and right application of the divine law
as it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and to a
peculiarly exact fulfilment of that law.

Before I dismiss the subject of the perceptible
guidance of the Spirit, it is necessary for me somewhat
more distinctly than I have hitherto done, to advert
to the outward religious points which distinguish the
Society of Friends. The principal of them may be
enumerated as follows : — their disuse of all typical
observances in the worship of God : their refusal to
recognize any ministry in connexion with divine wor-
ship, which they do not conceive to be dictated by
the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit : their
acceptance of the public ministry of females : their
objection to human ordination, and also to the paying
or hiring of preachers : their practice of silent worship:
their abstaining from all warfare, and from the use
of oaths : their plainness in speech, behaviour, and
apparel. In the preceding chapter has been advanced
the sentiment (which I believe to be held by many
persons without as well as within the pale of the
Society) that these peculiarities are of an edifying
tendency, and that the maintenance of them by
Friends is calculated to promote the spiritual wel-
fare of the church at large. It has also been
observed that this can be true, only insomuch as
they arise out of the principles of the divine law : and

58 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE

I have stated that in the future discussion of them, it
was my intention to direct mv lemarks chiefly to the
proof of this very point — that they arise out of the
jirbic'iples of the divine law.

Now the first argument to he adduced in support
of this position, is immediately connected with the
doctrine unfokled in the present chapter. If the
question hv. addressed to us Avhy we consider it to he
our duty to adopt our several religious peculiarities,
we may answer, because we believe we have been
led into them hi/ the Spirit of truth. The casual
observer indeed may attribute our maintenance of
them to the mere force of habit and education, and
certainly there is much reason to apprehend that
with too many amongst us they rest upon no better
foundation. Nevertheless, you whom I am now
addressing can scarcely fail to be aware, that Avith
rea/ Friends, the adoption and punctual observance
of such a line of conduct, are not only matters of
honest principle, but are truly the consequences of
obedience to their inward Guide. It is a fact Avliich
the world can scarcely be expected to notice, but
which is well known to every experienced Quaker,
and Avill not be denied by any persons who possess
an intimate knowledge of the Society, that the very
same guiding and governing principle which leads
the sincere-hearted and serious amongst Friends into
the practice of universally -acknowledged christian
virtues, leads them also into these peculiarities. I
am not asserting that such would necessarily be the
experience of all persons who endeavour to folloAV
the guidance of the Spirit ; nor Avould I in any

AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 59

respect venture to set limits to the sovereignty,
freedom, scope, and variety, of divine operation. I
assert only that tliis is our own experience. Such,
therefore, heing our experience, we cannot hut derive
from it a strong and satisfactory conviction, that our
religious peculiarities truly appertain to the law of
God ; for it is certain that the Spirit of truth, by
whose influence alone men are made truly righteous,
and brought into conformity v»^ith the divine will,
will never lead any of the followers of Jesus into a
course of conduct Avhich is not founded on the prin-
cijjles of that law. The inward manifestations of the
Spirit are in themselves the law of God written on
the heart.

I may now proceed to confirm this general argu-
ment by more particular observations on the several
peculiarities already enumerated ; and in endeavouring
to trace the connexion of each of them with the law
of God, I shall aj)peal to the principles of that law
as they are unfolded in the New Testament. For I
consider that it is only under the new and more
spiritual dispensation, that the divine law is revealed
to us in all its purity and in all its completeness.

CHAPTER IV.

ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL RITES IN THE WORSHIP
OF GOJ).

Although it is almost universally allowed among-
christians that when the New Covenant was established
in the world by the death of Christ, the ceremonial
observ^ances of the Jewish law were abolished, there
are two religious rites of a very similar description,
the maintenance of which is still very generally insisted
upon, as necessary to the edification and true order
of the church of Christ. These rites are baptism
with water, and that participation of bread and wine
which is usually denominated the sacrament of the
Lord's supper. So great is the virtue and efficacy
attributed to these ceremonies, that they are considered
by very many christians to be especial means of grace,
or mediums through which grace is conveyed to
the soul, and not a few theologians both ancient
and modern, appear to have entertained the extra-
ordinary opinion that the rite of baptism more espe-
cially, is of indispensable necessity in order to man's
salvation.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 61

On the other hand I am informed, that in some
parts of the continent of Enrope, there are small
societies of pious christians by Avhom water-baptism
and the ceremony of the Lord's supper are entirely
disused;^ and that such is the fact in the Society of
Friends is very generally understood. It is our belief
that we have been led out of the practice of these
rites by the Spirit of truth ; that we could not recur
to them without grieving our heavenly Monitor ; and
that in fact they are not in accordance with the entire
spirituality of the gospel dispensation.

In order to explain our principle on the subject
with clearness, I must remark in limine that the cere-
monies in question, as now practised among christians,
must be considered as constituting a part of their
si/stem of ivorship : for they are, in the first place, in
the strictest sense of the terms, religious rites per-
formed in supposed obedience to the command of
the Almighty ; and, secondly, they are employed in
immediate connexion with the more direct and gene-
rally with the public acts of divine worship. Such
being the state of the case, the objection of Friends
to the use of these ordinances will be perceived to
have its foundation in a principle of acknowledged
importance, and one which is clearly revealed in the
New Testament, that under the christian dispensation,
the worship of God is not to be formal, ceremonial, ,
or typical, but simply spiritual.

This principle was declared in a clear and forcible
manner by Jesus Christ himself. When the woman

' This is the case as I unilerstaiul witli llie Inspires in Germany and wiih the
Malakans in South Russia.

62 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

of Samaria Avith whom he condescended to converse
by the well of Sychar, spake to him of the worship
observed by the Jews at Jernsahun, and by the Samar-
itans on monnt Gerizim, onr Lord answered " Woman,
beheve me, the honr cometh when ye shall neither
in this monntain, nor yet at Jernsalem worship the
Father . . . .The honr cometh, and now is, when the
true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship
him. God is a Spirit : and they that worship him,
must worship him in spirit and in trnth" ; John iv.
21 — 24. In this passage of onr Lord's discourse,
there is an evident allusion to two separate and distinct
systems of worship, appertaining respectively to two
diifercnt dispensations ; and it is eqnally clear that
the change was then about to take place from one of
these to the other ; that the one was about to be abo-
lished— the other to be established. The system of
w^orship about to be abolished was that Avhich the
Jews were accustomed to practice at Jernsalem and
which the Samaritans had endeavoured to imitate on
their favourite mountain. Now every one who is ac-
quainted with the records of the Old Testament, must
be aware that this was a system of worship chiefly
consisting in outward ceremonies ; in figurative or
typical ordinances. The greatest nicety of divine direc-
tion accompanied the institution of these various rites
which were a " figure for the time then present", and
which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers wash-
ings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on the Israelites
until the time of reformation ; Heb. ix. 10. But now
that time of reformation was at hand, and the law was

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 63

pronounced by the great Mediator of the New Cove-
nant, that men were henceforward to worship the
Father in spirit and in truth. The new worship which
was thus to distinguish Christianity, was to be in spirit;
because it was to consist, not in outward rites of a
formal and ceremonial nature, but in services dictated
bv the Spirit of the Lord, and in direct communion
of the soul Avith its Creator, It was to be in truth ;
not simply as arising out of a sincere heart — a des-
cription which miglit apply with equal force to the
abolished worship of the Jews — l)ut because it was
to consist in substantial realities. It was to be carried
on, not through the old medium of types and figures,
but by the application to the heart of the great and
essential truths of the gospel dispensation ; for the
type was now to be exchanged for the antitype ; the
figure for the thing figured ; the shadow for the sub-
stance,^ Such then and such exclusively is the tnie
character of christian Avorship,

Here it may be proper to remark, that we ought by
no means to disparage the forms and ceremonies of
the JcAvish laAV, as connected Avith the covenant to
AA'hich they appertained. We cannot forget that this
ministration of Avorship AAas appointed by the Almighty
himself, nor can Ave refuse to acknoAvlcdge that it was,
in its OAvn time, glorious. For although these cere-
monies could not make him that did the service
perfect as pertaining to the conscience, yet Avas the
Avhole system of Avhich they formed a part, perfectly

' A siinilnr explanaticn of our Lord's expressions resptciing cliiistiyn worship,
will be found in llie comiiieiiiaries of the following liiblical crilics — Tiienplij'jact,
Calviu, Jac, Cappcllus, Grotius, Rosenmillkr, AA'liilbj', Gill, ScoU, and Doddridge,

64 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

adapted by divine wisdom to the condition of the
Israelites, and the ritual law served a purpose of high
importance to the ultimate promotion of the cause
of righteousness. To that purpose we have already
alluded : it was to typify, prefigure, and introduce the
l)etter, purer, and more glorious ministration of the
gospel : for it is precisely in reference to these cere-
monial observances, that the apostle describes the
Jewish law as being " a figure for the time then
present "; and as " having a shadow of good things to
come''''; Heb. ix. 9, x, 1.

But important as was the purpose thus answered
by the establishment and maintenance of the ceremo-
nial law, it was one of a merely temporary nature.
When the Messiah was come — when he had revealed
the spiritual character of his own dispensation — when
he had died for our sins — when he had risen again for
our justification — when he had shed forth on his dis-
ciples the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit — then
were all the types fulfilled ; then was the law of types
abolished. " There is verily" saith the apostle " a
disannulling of the commandment going before, for
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof; for the
law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a
better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto
God "; Heb. vii. 18, 19. Again, " Wherefore when he
Cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared m,e :
in burnt offerings and (sacrifices) for sin thou hast had
no pleasure : then said I, Lo ! I come, (in the volume
of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O
God. Above, when he said Sacrifice and offering and

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OI GOD. ()5

burnt ofterings and offering; for sin tlioii wcmldest not,
neither liadst pleasure therein ; wliieh arc offered by
the law ; then said he, lo ! I conic to do thy will, O
God. He taketh away thejirst, that lie may establish
the second •" Heb. x. 5 — 9. The system of types and
sacrificial ordinances therefore being; " taken away",
and the system of spiritualities being by the coming
of Christ established, we are no longer to worship
the Father through the intervention of a human priest-
hood, of formal ceremonies, or of typical institutions,
but solely through the mediation of the High Priest
of our profession, and under the immediate and all-
sufficient influences of the Holy Ghost. Although
the shadows of the old law formed an essential part
of the Jewish dispensation, they were no sooner im-
posed upon christians than they became unlawful,
and assumed the character of an unrighteous bondage
and of " beggarly elements" ; Gal. iv. 9. " Wherefore,
if ye be dead with Christ, from tlie rudiments of the
world", says the apostle Paul to his Colossian converts,
"why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to
ordinances'"? Col. ii. 20, comp. 14, Eph.ii. 14 — 16.

Having thus endeavoured to unfold the nature of
that spiritual worship of God which the Lord Jesus
enjoined on his followers, and to show how clearly it
\^'as distinguished fr(jni the old ceremonial worship
practised among the Jews, 1 may now take up the
more particular consideration of the rites of Baptism
and the Lord's Supper. These rites have both received
the name of " sacraments", — a word which properly
signifies oaths, and formerly designated more especi-
ally the oaths of allegiance recjuired of Roman soldiers;

F

66 ON THE DISUSE Or ALL TYIMCAL

but which, as applied to these religions c( rciiionics,
may be considered as denoting " sacred and obligatory
ordinances".

It is imagined 1)y many persons, that the ordi-
nances, thus held to he of a sacred and binding
character in the church, are but little connected
with those Jewish institutions, which are on all
hands allowed to have hcen abolished by the coming
and sacrifice of the Messiah ; that they are on the
contrary, (with the single exception of the baptism
of John) of an origin exclusively christian. On the
supposition of the correctness of this opinion, it is
nevertheless undeniable tliat these rites, as they are
now observed, are oi precisely the same nature as the
ceremonies of the ancient Jews. They are actions
indifferent in themselves, employed as religious forms
and as a constituent part of a system of divine wor-
ship ; and like those Jewish ceremonies, they are
mere types or shadows, representing in a figurative
manner certain great particulars of christian truth.
It is plain, therefore, that the principle on which these
practices are foundt^d appertains to the old covenant ;
and equally plain (in the opinion of Friends) that such
practices arc not in accordance with that entirely
spiritual worship, which is described as so distin-
guishing a feature of the dispensation of the gospel.

Although, however, the rites of baptism and the
supper have been so generally adopted; as appertaining
to their own religious system, by the professors of
faith in Jesus, I cannot consider it true in any accurate
sense of the terms, that they are of christian origin.
On the contrary, there is every reason to believe, that

KITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. G7

hcforc tlic coming- of Christ these practices actually
formed a part of the customary Jewish ritual.

First, with respect to baptism in water. It is noto-
rious, that according to the ceremonial law of the Jews
there could l)e no removal of nncleanness, no purifica-
tion either of things or persons, without a})hition in
water. On various occasions the performance of that
ceremony was appointed hy the divine law, and on many
others it was ohservedon the authority of Rahbinical tra-
dition. Now these "divers carnal washings", to which
the Jews were so much accustomed as a ritual means
of purification, are in the Greek 7'estament described as
baptisms, Heb. ix. 10, Mark vii. 4, Luke xi. 38 ; and
it is certain that the principal of them were effected
by dipping or immersion. Before going into the
temple to minister or officiate, the priests of the Jews
were accustomed to dip their whole body in wat(;r,
and the house in which this ceremony was performed
was denominated " the house of baptism" ; Cod. Jama,
c. 3, quoted by Hammond on Matt. iii. Persons of
every description who had contracted any bodily pol-
lution, were strictly enjoined by the law to wash or
bathe their flesh, see Levit. xv. 5, 8, 11 ; and the
learned Jews determine, that if the least part of the
surface of the body was not wetted by the dipping,
the purification was incomplete. In the Greek orig-
inal of the book of Ecclesiasticus, a person purified
after touching a dead body, is described as one dipped
or baptized; ch. xxxiv. 25. Judith, when on the
point of performing an action which she erroneously
deemed to be of a highly religious nature, "washed
(or, as in the (ireek, baptized) herself in a fountain

F 2

68 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

of water": ch. xii. 7. The Jew not only washed,
hut, on particnlar occasions, dipped himself hefore
he sat (loAvn to meat ; Mark vii. 4, Luke xi. 38, Greek
text. Now akliough the haptism practised hy John
and hy the apostles did not in all its circumstances
resemhle those Jewish washings to which I have now
adverted, yet it was precisely similar to them in that
main particular of immersion in water, and in all these
instances this immersion was typical of one and the
same thing — that is to say, of a change from a con-
dition of uncleanness to one of comparative purity.
But the Jewish dipping from which the baptism first
of John and afterwards of the apostles principally
took its rise, and of Avhicli those baptisms may indeed
be considered as mere instances, was the dipping on
conversion. We read in the book of Exodus that
three days before the delivery of the law, ^' the Lord
said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify
them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their
clothes'" ; in pursuance of which command, we are
afterwards informed that "Moses went down from
the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people ;
and tlieif washed their clothes'"' ; Exod. xix. 10, 14.
From the comparison of other similar passages, it
appears probable that the washing of clothes here
mentioned was a baptism or immersion in water of
the Avhole body together with the apparel ; comp.
Levit. xi. 25, xiv. 47, xv. 5, &c. Such is the express
judgment of the Kabljinical writers, and they further
determine that this baptism was commanded and
observed, on the principle that the Israelites were
then about to be introduced to a new religious cove-

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 69

mint or tlispcnsatioii ; — that, in other words, it was a
baj)t'>sm of conversion to a purer and inoie cxeollent
system of worship, faith, and conduct, than that to
which they had hitherto heen accustomed ; Ma'imon-
ides Issure B'lalt, cap. L3, Lightfoot Hor. Hch. in
Matt. iii. ().

Hence, as it is declared by Maimonides and other
Jewish writers, arose the baptism of proselytes, or of
the Gentile converts to the religion of the Jews.-
It was a principle well understood anioiiiist that peo-
ple, that as it was with the Israelite so it should he
with the proselyte ; see Num. xv. 15 : and accordingly,
as the Israelites had entered into their covenant by
"circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice", the same intro-
ductory rites were considered indispensable to the
proselyte. According to the traditions of the Rabbins,
circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice, were enjoined
on every male and the two latter on every female
convert from heathenism to the Jewish taitli. It
was a trite axiom, as Lightfoot informs us, that no
man could be a proselyte, until he was circumcised
and bajjtized. In the Babylonish Gemara, (part
of the Talmud) we find the following disputation.
" The proselyte who is circumcised and not baptized —
what are we to say of him ? Rabbi Eliezer says.
Behold he is a proselyte ; for so we find it was with
our fathers (the Patriarchs) that they were circum-
cised and not baptized. He that is baptized and
not circumcised — what are we to say of him r Rabbi

2 The proseljtes were of two descriptions : jvoselyles of the gate, wlio forsook
idolatry and worshipped the tiue God, but did not conform to the Jewisli law, and
proselytes of justice, who went farther and embraced the whole legal and ccieiiionial
system. It was the latter only who were baptized.

70 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

Joshua says, Behold he is a proselyte, for so we find
it is with females. But the wise men say, Is he bap-
tized and not circumcised ? or is he circumcised and
not baptized ? He is no proselyte until he he circum-
cised and baptized'"' Jevamoth fol. 46, 2. Lightfoot
Hor. Heb. in Matt. iii. 6.

Maimonidcs, who was a man of extraordinary sense
and learning, and was deeply versed in the laws and
customs of the ancient Jews, has stated a variety of
particulars respecting the baptism of proselytes. It
appears that about three days after circumcision, the
convert to Judaism was conducted during the day time,
to a confluence of waters whether natural or artificial,
sufficiently deep to admit of entire immersion. Having
been placed in the water, he was instructed in various
particulars of the Jewish law, by three scribes of
learning and authority who presided over the whole
ceremony ; and when these doctors had received his
promises of a faithful adherence to the Jewish institu-
tions, and had fully satisfied themselves respecting his
motives and condition of mind, he completed the
immersion of his whole person by dipping his head.
He then ascended from the water, offered his sacrifice
to the Lord, and was thenceforward considered as a
complete Jew and as a new or regenerate man ; Issure
Biah, cap. 13, 14. IVall on Infant Baptism, p. xliv.
Selden de Synedriis lib. i. cap. 3.

I am aware that the existence of the rite of proselyte
baptism, before the christian era, is disputed by some
of the learned, on the ground that such a rite is not
specifically mentioned either in the Old Testament or
in the most ancient uninspired Avritings of the Jews :

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 71

but this omission is very far from being sufficient to
prove the negative ; and the doubt which it occasions,
appears to be very greatly out-balanced by positive
evidences in favour of the antiquity of the practice.
It seems necessary shortly to glance at these evidences.

1. The Jewish writers who make mention of the
baptism of proselytes, expressly describe it as an ordi-
nance practised among their countrymen at a date
long prior to the christian era. Thus it is said in the
Talmud, that Jethro the father-in-law of Moses was
baptized as a proselyte ; Tract. Repudii, Hammond on
Matt. iii. From Maimonides we learn that the bap-
tism of proselytes was practised yrom age to age,^ after
the Israelites themselves had been initiated into their
covenant in the days of Moses ; and again he makes
mention of the proselytes in the time of David and
Solomon, as of persons ivho had been baptized ; Issure
Biah cap. 13.

2. There was a marked resemblance in several
leading particulars between the baptism of proselytes,
as described in the Talmud and by Maimonides, and
the baptism practised by John and the early teachers
of Christianity. The baptism of the proselytes was a
complete immersion, and was appointed to take place
in a conjiuence of waters. The baptism of John and
of the christians is generally allowed to have been of
the same character. " John baptized in ^non near
to Salim, because there was much water thet^e^' John
iii. 23 ; and when the Ethiopian was to be baptized,
we read that he and Philip went down or " descended
into the water", and afterwards that they "came up out

' rrwh

72 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

of the water"; Acts viii. 38, 39. It has indeed been
remarked that, as the proselyte dipped his own head,
he might be considered as baptizing himself, whereas
the convert to Christianity was baptized by the minister
who converted him, and the disciples of John Avere
baptized l)y that prophet. But I apprehend the sup-
posed dilierence in this respect is merely imaginary ;
for althougli the proselyte plunged liis own head in
conclusion of tlie rite, he miglit properly be described
as being baptized by the persons who placed him in
the water and Avho arranged the whole ceremony.
Accordingly I observe that the Jews speak of " hap-
tizrng^ their proselytes, just as christians make mention
of " haptlzing" their converts.*^ Again — during the
act of baptism the proselyte was instructed and made
to stipulate for himself liy the scrilies ; Selden de
Sijned. lib. I. cap. iii. p. 785 : that the same circum-
stances now attend the rite of baptism as practised
among christians is well known, and that they have
been from very early times the accompaniments of that
ceremony is generally allowed ; see Mackmght and
others on I. Pet. iii. 21. Again — when the proselyte
was baptized, the rite was frequently administered not
only to himself but to his family. So also it appears
to have been with the eaily baptism of the christians :
we read, that Lydia was baptized with her household;
that Paul ])aptized " the household of Stephanas"; and
that, when the jailer at Philippi became convinced of

4 " Even as they circumcise and baptize proselytes, so do tbey circumcise and
baptize servants who are received from Gentiles, &c." ; Maim, Issure Biah cap. 13.
" When a proselyte is received he must be circumcised, and when he is cured they
baptize him in the presence of two wise men, &c."; Talmud Bahyl. Mass. Jevamoth.
fol. 47.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 73

the truth of Christianity, he iintl " all his" partook
tog;etlier of the same ceremony ; Acts xvi. 15, 33,
I. Cor. i. 16. Gemara Babyl. Chetub. c. \.fol. 11, S^c.
Wall p. xlix. A£i;ain — the proselyte, who had entered
into covenant by circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice,
was considered as a new man, or to adopt the language
of the Jews, as "a child new born", Gemara, Jevarnoth,
c.'w.fol. 62,1. 3Iaim. Issure Blah cap. 14. Wall p.
Ivii. and of this new Ijirth or introduction to a l)ctter
and purer faith, inuHcrsion in ivater was evidentlij used
as the expressive sign. So it is notorious that the
genuine convert to tlie faith of Christ is ever repre-
sented in the New Testament as one regenerate or
born again, and baptism as employed by John and
the apostles was a type or representation of this
regeneration. These points of resemblance between
the proselyte baptism of the Jews and the baptism of
the christians are so important and so striking as
to render it nearly indisputable that the one ])ap-
tism was borrowed from the other. Since therefore
it is altogether incredible that the Jews should borrow
one of their leading ceremonies from the cliristians
whom they despised and hated, there can be little
reasonable doubt that the baptism of John and the
cliristians was derived from the proselyte baptism of
the Jews, and that, of course, the latter was of a date
anterior to Christianity.

3. Our Saviour's discourse with Nicodemus is con-
sidered (and I think Avith justice) to contain an allusion
to the baptism of proselytes ; for he there describes
conversion under the figure of a second birth — a birth
oi ''^ water and of the spirit". Here there is a precise

74 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

accordance with the known Jewish doctrine respecting
proselytism, and after having- thus treated of that
doctrine and apphed it in a spiritual sense, our Lord
adverts to the want of intelHgence displayed by
Nicodemus on the subject, as to a surprising circum-
stance ; " Art thou a master in Israel, and hnowest
not these things P'

4. Although the baptism of proselytes is no where
expressly mentioned in the Old Testament, it was the
natural and indeed necessary consequence of the
admitted principle of the Jewish law, that unclean
persons of every description were to he purified hy
IV ashing in water, and of the custom which so
generally prevailed amongst the ancient Jews of
effecting this washing by immersion. On whatever
occasion the rite of l)aptism was employed, — whether
as a preparation for religious service, or for the remo-
val of uncleanness, or as a type of conversion to a
holier faith — whether it was enjoined on the High
Priest, or on the leper, or on the proselyte from
heathenism, or on the disciple of John, or on the
convert of the apostles, — it was I believe in all cases
a lite of purification. Thus we find that the baptism
of John excited a disputation between him and the
Jews on the subject of purifying, John iii. 25 : thus
Paul was exhorted by Ananias to be baptized (or as
in the Greek to baptize himself) and to wash away
his sins, Acts xxii. 16: and thus in apparent allusion
(although in a spiritual sense) to the rite of baptism,
the same apostle describes his own converts as washed
and sanctified, I. Cor. vi. 11, comp. Eph. v. 26, Heb.
x. 22, &c. Now it is certain that at the christian era

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 75

the Jews considered the Gentiles to be unclean persons,
so that they were not permitted to associate with them
or to eat in their company ; see Acts x. 28, comp.
John iv. 9, &c. Hence therefore it must have fol-
lowed as a matter of course that no Gentile could
become a Jew — could become clean himself, or fitted
for association with a clean people — without under-
going the fite of baptism.

Such are the positive evidences and plain reasons
which appear to prove, in a very satisfactory manner,
the antiquity of the Jewish rite of baptism on conver-
sion, and which confirm the opinion of Hammond,
Selden, Lightfoot, Wall, and other learned writers,
that this ceremony w as perfectly familiar to the Jews,
before the incarnation of our Lord. Accordingly
we may observe, that, when John " baptized in the
wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance,
(or conversion) for the remission of sins", his doctrine
was very far from being strange or surprising to his
hearers, nor did they evince the least difficulty in
submitting themselves to the ordinance. On the
contrary, multitudes pressed around him for the
purpose, " and there w^ent out to him", says the
evangelist, " all the land of Judea, and they of Jeru-
salem, and were all baptized of him in the river of
Jordan, confessing their sins"; Mark i. 4, 5.

It was the office of the Baptist to proclaim the
approach of that heavenly kingdom — that more per-
fect dispensation — for which the pious among the
Jews were so anxiously looking ; and the faith iiito
the profession of which he baptized, was faith in the
coming Messiah, the long expected ruler of restored

76 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

and renovated Israel. " John, verily", said Paul,
" baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying
unto the people, that theij should believe on him which
should come after ////;?, that is, on Christ Jesus"; Acts
xix. 4. On the ground of his being cither the Christ
himself, orElias the expected forerunner of the Christ,
no objection could be taken to his baptism by the
Pharisees who came to dispute with him ; for in
either of these characters he would be the authorised
minister of a new and purer faith, and as a matter of
course a haptizer. It Avas because of the declaration
of John that he was not the Christ — that he was
fwt Elias^ — that he was not that prophet, and for
that reason exclusively, that the Pharisees addressed
the ([uestion to him, " Why baptizest thou then" ?
John i, 25.

And so it was also with the disciples of Jesus. As
John baptized on conversion to a faith in the Messiah
to come, so they baptized on conversion to a faith
that Jesus was tlie Messiah. Both John and the
apostles were engaged in the work of converting —
in making disciples to a new system of faith and
conduct, to a holier laAV and to a more spiritual dis-
pensation— and therefore, on a well known Jewish
principle, and in conformity with an acknowledged
Jewish practice, they respectively baptized their con-
verts in water.

Secondly, with respect to the " Lord's supper". It
may be doubted Avhether this supper, as it was ob-
served by the primitive christians, could justly be
considered as a direct ceremonial ordinance. But
upon the supposition that the apostles and their com-

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 77

})anions, like more iiioclern christians, were accustomed
to practise it as a religious rite aiid as a part of their
system of divine worship, such an institution must ])e
regarded as immediately connected Avith the Jewish
Passover. Tiie lamh eaten at the Passover and the
hread hroken and wine poured forth in the christian
Eucharist Avere equally mtended as types, and they
Avere types of the same cA'cnt — the death and sacrifice
of Christ. The tAA^o ceremonies, therefore, may he
looked upon as the same i)i point of principle. But
it is more especially to our present purpose to remark,
that the hreaking of the l)rcad and the pouring forth
of the wine, together Avith the hlessing and giving of
thanks, Avhich distinguish the ceremony of the Eucha-
rist, actually formed a part of the ritual order to AAdiich
the ancient Jcavs Avere accustomed, in celel)rating the
supper of the Passover. This fact is sufficiently evi-
dent from the narrations contained in the gospels of
om* Lord's last paschal meal Avith his disciples, and
is fully sul)stantiated on the authority of the Rabhin-
ical Avriters, Avho, in their minute statements respecting
the right method of conducting that ceremonial JcAvish
supper, have explicitly directed the observance of these
several particulars : see Extracts from the Talmud
and Maimonides, in Ligldfoof Hor. Heh. in. Matt. xxvi.
Before avc draAv a conclusion from the facts noAv
stated, it may be desirable briefly to revicAv the for-
mer part of the argument. In explaining that great
laAv of the Ncav Covenant, that God avIio is a Spirit
nnist be Avorshipped in spirit and in truth, I have
adverted to the comparison so evidently instituted by
Jesus Christ, Avhen he i)ronounced the law in (juestion,

78 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

between the spiritual and substantial worship thus
enjoined on his own followers, and that which was
customary among the ancient Samaritans and Jews.
The two systems of worship are described as com-
pletely distinct ; the one was about to die away, the
other to be established. The old worship consisted
principally in the performance of typical rites. The
ncAv worship was of a precisely opposite character.
The ordinance was to cease ; the shadow was to be
discontinued ; the substance was to be enjoyed ; and
in the total disuse of ancient ceremonial ordinances,
communion was now to take place between the Father
and the souls of his people, only through the media-
tion of Jesus Christ, and under the saving influences
of the Spirit of truth. On the supposition, therefore,
that the ceremonies of water baptism and the Eucha-
rist are tnily of christian origin, yet, being shadows
and types and nothing more, they perfectly resemble
the ordinances of the Jewish law, and plainly ap-
pertain to the principle of the old covenant. But
further — on a fair examination of the history of these
ceremonies, we find that they not only appertain to
the principle of the old covenant, but were practices
observed on that principle by the Jews themselves,
before the introduction of the christian revelation.
Thus, then, it appears that they actually formed a
part of the ritual system of Judaism itself; and, since
it is on all hands allowed that the whole of that ritual
system, although observed for many years after the
death of Jesus by most of his immediate disciples, is
nevertheless null and void under the christian dispen-
sation, we appear to be brought to a sound conclusion.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 79

that In connexion with the worship of christians, the
ceremonies in question are rightly disused.

That in this view of the subject there is much of
reasonableness and of consistency with the leading
characteristics of Christianity, will scarcely be denied
by any persons who entertain a just view of the spiritu-
ahty of true religion. But, on the other hand, it
is pleaded that the New Testament contains certain
passages, in which the practice of these rites is not
only justified but enforced, and which in fact render
such practice obligatory upon all the followers of
Christ.

In order to form a sound judgment whether this
notion be correct or erroneous, it will be necessary
for us to enter into a somewhat detailed exainimation
of the passages in question, and of several others in
wliich baptism and the dominical supper are either
alluded to, or directly mentioned. Previously, how-
ever, to entering on such an examination, I may
venture upon one general observation ; namely, that
if, on philological principles, any such passages are
found fairly to admit of either a literal or a spiritual
interpretation, — and if it be alloAved (as I think it
must be, for the general reasons already stated) that
the latter is far more in harmony than the former,
with the admitted character of the christian dispensa-
tion,— in such case we are justified by the soundest
laws of biblical criticism, in adopting the spiritual and
in dropping the literal interpretation.

I shall commence with baptism.

The first passage to be considered, in reference to
this subject, is that in which the apostle John has

80 ON THE nisrsE OK ALL TVrUAL

described our Lord's cDiivcrsiatiou Avith Xicotloiiin>
on the doctrine ot' rci^eneration. '" \ erilv, verilv, 1
say unto thee". >aid our Saviour, " except a uian hi>

born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"

Verily, verily, I say nnto thee, except a man he horn
of wafer and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God": Jolm iii. 8 — o. I cannot deny,
that, when onr Lord thus spake of l)eing' born of water,
his Mords eoutained an iil/usion to the practice of
water liaptism. It has been already remarked that
the doctrine on which he thus insisted in a spirittial
sense, and respecting which the ignorance of Xico-
demns, that master in Israel, was adverted to in so
pointed a niamier. wa> one wliirh. iu its merelv exter-
nal bearings, was perfectly familiar to the Jews. The
proseh'te avIio had forsaken heathenism and adopted
the Jewish religion, was considered as one new-horny
and of this new birth his baptism in Avater appears to
have been the appointed sign. The new birth of the
true christian — that indispensable preparation for his
entrance into the kingdom — is therefore fitlv ilhis-
trated bv the cirenmstances of the baptized proselyte.
Bnt though it is snthciently evident that onr Lord
alluded in this passage to the Jewish rite of baptism
on ct>iiversion. it appears to be ecpiallv clear that he
made that allusion in a merelv hgnratiAe and spiri-
tual sense. Those who would prove, that to "^be
born of water" in this passage literally signifies to
be oittwardhf baptized, defeat their own purposes
by ])roving too much. If the possihilitif of an entrance
into the kingdom of heaven, which a mnltitnde of
moral sins doe> not preclude. i> jneehuled by the

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD, 81

infraction of a merely positive precept, and by the
omission of a rite in itself absolutely indifferent, it
may almost be asserted that the system of Christianity
is overturned, and that the gospel falls to the ground.
To impose on an obscure and ambiguous expression
a sense which thus contradicts so many general de-
clarations made by the sacred writers, and Avhich is
directly opposed to the fundamental doctrines of the
New Testament, is obviously very inconsistent with
the laws of a just and comprehensive criticism.
Nothing, one would think, but absolute necessity
would compel any reasonable critic to the adoption
of such an alternative.

But in point of fact the expressions thus employed
by Jesus are capable of being otherwise interpreted
with the greatest proprietv. Numerous passages
might be adduced from both the old and new Testa-
ments, in which the carnal washings or baptisms of
the Jews are alluded to in a merely spiritual sense,
and in which more particularly Ave find the grace of
the Spirit — that sacred influence giAen to men for
their conversion and sanctification — described under
the obvious figure of " water" ; See Ps. li. 2, 7, Isa.
i. 16, Jer. iv. 14, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, John iv. 10, vii.38,
I. Cor. vi. 11, Eph. V. 26. x\ccording therefore to this
known scriptural phraseology, "to be born of Avater"
may be properly understood as signifving to he con-
verted, cleansed, and introduced to a newness of life,
by the Spirit of God. Such is the interpretation
of these Avords, which is adopted not only by Friends,
but by A'arious pious Avriters and commentators on
Scriptin'c, Avho have no connexion with that Society ;

o

82 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

See Scott, A. Clarke, Gill, ^'c. This interpretation
is by no means preclnded by the addition — " ami
of the Spirit" ; for our Lord's words may here be
understood not as relating to two things, ])ut as
representing one thing, first by means of a figure
and afterwards without that fissure. Such a mode
of expression is not unusual in the sacred writ-
ings. Just in the same manner the apostle Paul
describes his own converts, first as " ivashed'" and
immediately afterwards as " sarictijleir by the Spirit
of God, I. Cor. vi. 11 ; and when John the baptist
declared that Jesus who was coming after him,
should " baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire",
he probably employed both those terms to represent
one internal and purifying influence.

That spiritual interpretation of our Lord's expres-
sions which on critical principles is thus plainly
admissible, is moreover confirmed by the immediate
context. Jesus says to Nicodemus, (according to
the common English version) " Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" ; and
again he says, " Except a man be born of water and
of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
It is, I think, obvious that the latter of these sayings
is nothing more than an ejcplanatori/ repetition of
the former, and that, in point of meaning, they are
to be regarded as equivalent. Now it appears from
the comparison of the other passages in the writings of
this apostle, in which the same adverb is used, that
the term rendered born again, although denoting that
birth which was in fact a second one, ought rather
to be rendered "born from above"' ; See ch. iii. 31.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 83

xix. 11,23, comp. Matt, xxvii. 51, Mark xv. 38, James
i. 17, iii. 15, 17. So Schleiisner in lex. It follows
therefore that to be " Ijorn from above" and " to be
born of water and the Spirit" are expressions which
have the same meaning. But "/o he horn from ahove"
can surely signify nothing- less than to undergo that
true regeneration — that real change of heart, which
is indeed " from above", because it is effected only by
the Spirit and power of the Almighty. Again, after
speaking of this heavenly birth " of water and the
spirit", our Lord immediately drops his figurative
allusion to baptism, and contrasts the moral change,
of which alone he is speaking, with the birth of the
flesh, " That which is born of the flesh, is flesh ; and
tJiat which is horn of the Spirit, is spirit ; ver. 6.

When the apostle Paul described the Corinthian
christians as persons who were "washed", "sanctified",
and "justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the spirit of God", I. Cor. vi. 11; and when,
on another occasion, he made mention of the whole
church as sanctified and cleansed " with the washing
of water by the word", Eph. v. 26 ; it can scarcely
be doubted that he derived his figurative language
from the well known rite of baptism in water ; and
yet the impartial critic will scarcely deny that the
doctrine which he couched under that language related
solely to the operations of divine grace. But there
is in the writings of this apostle another passage,
which, while it plainly illustrates our Lord's doctrine
respecting a birth " of water and of the Spirit", aifords
additional information on the subject of true christian
ba])tism. " For we ourselves also", says the apostle

G 2

84 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

to Titus, " were sometimes foolisli, disobedient, de-
ceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in
malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
But after that the kindness and love of God our
Saviour toward man appeared, not hy works of right-
eousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saixd us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewi?ig of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on
us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour":
Tit. iii. 3 — 6. Here, as in John iii. 3 — 5, there is
a very obA'ious allusion to that outward rite of baptism
on conversion, which was understood among both
Jews and christians to be the sign of regeneration or
of the second birth : and yet where is the enlightened
christian Avho will refuse to allow, that imder these
figurative expressions the apostle is promulgating a
doctrine entirely spiritual ? The " washing of regen-
eration" which is here distinguished from all our
own works of righteousness, attributed solely to
the merciful interposition of God our Saviour, and
described as a dirine operation efficacious for the
salvation of souls, can surely be nothing else than
the baptism of the Spirit, or, to adopt the apostle's
own words of added explanation, — " the renewal of
the Holy Ghost"".

Another passage of no very dissimilar import is
found in the epistle to the Hebrews ; an epistle which
I deem to be rightly attributed to the same inspired
author. " Having, therefore, boldness," says the apos-
tle, " to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which he hath consecrated
for us, throuerh the veil, that is to sav, his flesh ; and

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 85

having an High Priest over the house of God ; let
lis drav*' near with a true heart, in full assurance of
faith, ha\'ing our hearts sprinkled from an evil con-
science, and our bodies washed ivifh pure water'';
ch. X. 19 — 22. The " pure water" mentioned in this
passage is explained by some critics as signifying the
water of an outward baptism, but a little examination
may serve to convince the candid enquirer, that such
an interpretation is inconsistent with the whole scope
of the apostle's argument. Every one who attentively
peruses the ninth and tenth chapters of this admirable
epistle, will observe that Paul is there unfolding the
great principles or doctrines of the christian dispen-
sation, as they were prefigured by the circumstances of
the Jewish ceremonial law. The ritual appointed
to be observed on the great day of atonement, as
described in Levit. xvi. is that part of the Jewish
institution to which he is particularly adverting. On
that day, the High Priest was accustomed to enter
into the Holy of Holies or inner sanctuary of the
temple, after a careful washing or bathing of his own
body. After this purification he offered up a bullock
and a goat as an atonement for sin, and sprinkled
the blood of the victims on the mercy-seat and on
the altar. These and similar ceremonies (among
which he particularly mentions " divers baptisms")
are treated on by the apostle as denoting the spiritual
realities of the New Covenant, and when he proceeds
to describe those realities, it is from the ordinances
of Judaism that he borrows his figures. As the
mercyrseat and the altar on the great day of atone-
ment, and the people themselves on other occasions.

86 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

were sprinkled with the blood of bulls and of goats,
so are the hearts of christians to be sprinkled from
an evil conscience by the blood of Christ ; and as the
flesh of the priest, of the unclean person, or of the
proselyte, was bathed in pure water, so is our body
or natural man, to be cleansed and renewed by the
purifying influence of the Holy Ghost. The " sprink-
ling of the heart" and the " washing of the body" are
expressions equally metaphorical. The one denotes
our deliverance from guilt ; the other our purification
from sin. The one is the application of the sacrifice
of Christ ; the other is the baptism of his Spirit.
So Calvin, Gill, and oilier Commentators.

Such are the passages in the New Testament which
contain indirect allusions to baptism in water, and in
which the circumstances of that rite are figuratively
adverted to, in descriptions relating exclusivelij to the
work of grace. I shall noAv proceed to consider cer-
tain other passages of the same general import, in
which the verb " baptize" or the substantive "baptism"
are actually introduced. In the passages already cited,
the baptism of the Spirit is represented by its charac-
teristic circumstances. In those to which I am now
about to invite the reader's attention, it is called by its
name ; it is described as a baptism.

The first passages to be adduced of the description
now alluded to, are those which contain the declara-
tions of John, the forerunner of Jesus, respecting
the baptism of the Messiah, as contrasted with
his own : one of these declarations is recorded by
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the other by the
apostle John. " I indeed baptize you Avith Avater

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD, 87

iiuto rcpciitauce", cried the Baptist to the Pharisees
iind Sackhicees, and to the whole multitude by whom
he Vias surrounded, comp. Luke iii. 16, " but he that
Cometh after me is mightier than I, wliose shoes I
am not worthy to bear : he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost and ivith Jire : whose fan is in his hand,
and he ^\ ill throughly purge his floor, and gather his
wheat into the garner ; but he will burn up the chaif
with unqucncliable fire" ; Matt. iii. 11, 12. Luke has
recited the Baptist's declaration in nearly the same
words, ch. iii. 16, 17 ; and Mark records it simply as
follows : John " preached, saying. There cometh one
mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes
I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I
indeed have baptized you with water ; but he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost"; ch. i. 8. The
baptism with jire^ mentioned in Matt. iii. 11, and
Luke iii. 16, is explained by some commentators
solely of the pmiishments to be inflicted by the Son
of (rod on the unbelieving Jews and on the wicked
in general. That this expression contains some allu-
sion to punishment, is in my opinion in some degree
probable from the following verse : but the manner
in which it is introduced to notice, in immediate
connexion with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, affords
strong reason to believe that this fiery baptism repre-
sents more particularly the enlightening, inflaming,
and purifying operation of the Spirit, upon the hearts
of men. One thing is described, as Grotius observes
on Matt. iii. 11, liy two different modes of expression
— an observation which derives confirmation from
Mark i. 8, in which passage the baptism attributed

88 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

to Christ, is that of the Holy (Jhost aloue.^ The
other declaration made hy the Baptist to the same
effect, is related by the apostle John as follows :
" And John bare record saying, I saw the Spirit des-
cending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
him^ and I knew him not : bnt he that sent me to
baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon
whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remain-
ing on him, the same is he which haptizeth with the
Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record that this
is the Son of God " ; ch. i. 32 — 34. Such is the con-
trast drawn by John between his owti baptism, and
the baptism of Christ. The one is Avith Avater and
merely external ; the other is with the Spirit and
fire, internal and powerful. The one is the work of
maU;, and, like the minister who practised it, is " of
the earth, earthly" : the other is divine, the work of
the eternal Son of God, who came from heaven, and
"is above all"; John iii. 31.

A precisely similar comparison was afterwards
made by our Saviour himself. When he was on the
point of quitting this lower world, the sphere of his
humiliation, and was about to shed forth upon his
disciples in freshness and abundance the gifts and
graces of the Holy Spirit, he commanded them not
to depart from Jerusalem but to wait there for the
"promise of the Father"; for "John truly," said he,
" baptized with ivater ; but ye shall be baptized ivitk

5 Such is the view taken of the " fiery baptism" here mentioned, by many learned
and able critics : for example, Munster, Erasmus, Vatablus, Clarius, Lud. Cap-
pellus, and Calvin. Grotius I have already mentioned ; See Critic. Sacr. in loc.
An excellent exposition of Matt. iii. U, will be found in the well known and justly
valued commentaries of the late Thomas Scott.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 89

the Holy Ghosi, not many days hence"; Acts i. 5.
Althongh the iinniediate disciples of Christ were
endowed with pre-eminent and extraordinary measures
of the divine influence, it is always to be remembered
that the promise of the Father was to all in every age
who should believe in Jesus, Acts ii. 39 : we may
conclude, therefore, that all in every age who should
believe in Jesus, were to receive as well as the apostles
themselves, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Such, it
is expressly declared was the case with Cornelius and
his family, Acts xi. 15, 16 ; and such undoubtedly
must be the case with every christian, whether more
or less gi/'ted, who is converted and sanctified by the
powerful influence of divine grace. Now the general
doctrine to be deduced from the declarations thus
made both by the Baptist and by our Saviour, may be
explicitly stated in a few words. It is, first, that the
baptism which properly appertained to the dispensation
of John, and which distinguished it froyn Christianity,
was the baptism of water ; and, secondly, that the
baptism which properly appertains to Christianity, and
which distinguishes it from the dispensation of John,
is the baptism of the Spirit.

The baptism of the Spirit is expressly mentioned
by the apostle Paul. When describing the union
which subsists among all the living members of the
church of Christ, he writes as follows : — " For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body :
so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all bapti-
zed into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made

90 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

to drink into one Spirit"; I. Cor. xii. 12, 13. Bap-
tism with water, as adopted among the early christians,
was nothing more than a sign of that conversion
which introduced into the church of Christ. The
baptism of the Spirit here mentioned by the apostle,
is that powerful and divine operation, which really
eftects such an introduction, and by which, therefore,
all the believers in Christ are brought together and
united as fellovA'-members of the same body.

Since this apostle has so frequently alluded to the
work of the Spirit on the heart, under the figure of
ivash'wg in ivater (as in I. Cor. vi. 11, Eph. v. 26,
Tit. iii. 5, Hel). x. 22), and since in the passage now
cited he has plainly used the verb baptize in reference
solely to that internal work ; there can be no critical
impropriety in attributing to him a similar meaning
on other occasions, when he makes use of the same
verb or its derivative substantive, in a manner some-
what less precise and defined. The examples to which
I allude are as follows : — " Know ye not that so many
of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into his death ? Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death : that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we
also should walk in newness of life"; Rom. vi. 3, 4.
" In whom (that is in Christ) ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands, in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision
of Christ : buried with him by baptism, wherein also
ye are risen with him through the faith of the opera-
tion of God, who hath raised him from the dead ;"
Col. ii. 11, 12. " For as many of you as have been

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 91

baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female : for ye are all one
in Christ Jesns ;" Gal. iii. 27, 28, comp. 1. Cor. xii.
12, 13. I am aware that the plurality of commenta-
tors interpret these passages as relating to an outward
baptism. Rut for the general reason stated above,
they are plainly capable of being understood in a
spiritual sense ; and that we are connect in so under-
standing them, they will severally be found on
examination to afford a strong internal evidence. In
Rom. vi. 4, baptism appears to be described as the
efficacious cause of our dying to sin and of our walking
in newness of life. In Col. ii. 11, 12, to be buried
and to rise with Christ in baptism, are mentioned in
immediate connexion, and apparently represented as
identical, with being spiritually circumcised in putting
off the body of the sins of the flesh ; and it is more-
over declared that the good effects of this baptism —
this redeeming influence — are produced in us by the
faith of the operation of God. In Gal. iii. 27, those
only are described as baptized into Christ who liaA^e
actually put on Christ, or who, in other words, are
invested with his character, comp. Rom. xiii. 14, Eph.
iv. 24 ; and who are thus brought into a real unity
with his members. Now the whole of these descrip-
tions apply with the greatest accuracy to that baptism
of the Spirit, to Avhicli Paul in other parts of his
epistles has so frequently adverted, and they are, I
think, as completely inapplicable to the mere outward
rite of immersion in water. On a general view,
therefore, of the passages in Avhich the apostle makes

92 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

any doctrinal allusion to this subject, we may fairly
conclude that the only baptism of importance in his
view^ was that of the Spirit ; and that it Avas exclu-
sively to this inward work that he intended to direct
the attention of his readers, when he expressed himself
as follows : — " There is one body, and one Spirit,
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism"; Eph. iv. 4, 5.

A very lucid declaration on the same subject, may
be found in the writings of the apostle Peter. After
adverting to the events which happened in the days
of Noah — " while the ark was a preparing, wherein
few, that is eight souls Avere saved by water" — that
apostle continues, " the like Jigure whereunto even
baptism doth also noAv save us (not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, bnt the answer of a good
conscience towards God,) by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ"; I. Pet. iii. 21. The common English version
of the first part of this verse is calculated, to produce
an erroneous impression of the apostle's meaning.
There is nothing in the original Gr^ek which conveys
the idea that christian baptism is a "Jigurc". The
word rendered " the like Jigure'" signifies, as is justly
remarked by Schleusner, nothing more than that which
is similar or corresponding. So Archbishop Newcome
renders the apostle's Avords, " And what answereth to
this (even) baptism doth noAv save us". . I apprehend,
hoAvever, that the Greek would be still more accu-
rately rendered, "A corresponding baptism Avhereunto
doth noAv saA^e us".*' We are informed by the apostle
Paul that the Israelites, avIio Avei'e led by the cloud,

® cl '/Ml rjiMi avTlrwrov vvv ffu>C,ii [Sd'XTiSjj.a.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 93

and passed through the sea, " were all baptized unto
Moses in the cloud and in the sea"; I. Cor. x. 2. On
a similar principle, I conceive Peter to insinuate that
Noah and his family who were saved in the ark " by
water" underwent a bajDtism of their own. By that
baptism their natural lives were saved ; and christians
enjoy a corresponding baptism which effects the sal-
vation of their immortal souls. After drawing this
comparison between the baptism of Noah, by which
the life of the body was jDreserved, and the l^aptism of
christians, by which eternal life is secured for the soul,
the apostle proceeds still farther to determine his
meaning bv adding a definition, first, of that which this
saving christian baptism is not, and secondly, of that
which it is. Accordingly he informs us that it is not
the putting away of the filth of the flesh — or, in other
words, not the immersion of the body in water ; and
that it is the answer (or stipulation) of a good con-
science toward God. Here there is probably an
allusion to the circumstances which attended the
outward rite of baptism ; for whether the person
baptized in water, was the proselyte to Judaism or the
convert to Christianity, he was (as is generally allowed)
instructed and interrogated during the course of the
ceremony, and made to stipulate for his future
conduct. But Avhile the out^^ard rite supplies the
apostle with his figures and suggests his phraseology,
he explicitly discards the sign, and insists only on the
substance. The answer or stipulation of a good
conscience is the result of a moral change, of a real
regeneration. This is the baptism Avhich the apostle
here describes as distinguishing Christianity and as

94 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

saving the soul of the hehever. Nor is it hke the
baptism of water, the work of man. Peter expressly
informs us that it is " by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ". It is effected by the power of that Saviour
who is risen from the dead — " who is gone into
heaven and is on the right hand of God ; angels and
authorities and powers being made subject unto him".
With the exception of Mark xvi. 16, (a text pre-
sently to be cited) I believe we have now examined
the whole of the passages in the New Testament
which contain any doctrinal statement on the subject
of baptism. Now the reader will probably recollect,
that in the epistle to the Hebrews, which contains so
noble an exposition of the entire spirituality of true
religion, the " doctrine of baptisms" is mentioned as
one of those elementary principles of truth, which
were familiar even to the babes in Christ ; Heb. v.
13, 14, vi. 2. Of the nature and principal features
of that doctrine, the information of which we are in
possession respecting the old baptisms of the Jews,
together with the several passages of the Ncav Testa-
ment which have now been considered, will enable us
to form a sound and satisfactory estimate. Judging
from the documents before me, I should say, that this
well-known " doctrine of baptisms" must have been
nearly as follows. That under the legal dispensation,
"divers carnal baptisms" were observed by the Jews
as rites of purification, Heb. ix. 10 ; that among those
rites was numbered the baptism on conversion^ a
ceremony to which the Israelites themselves sub-
mitted on their original entrance into the coA^enant of
the law, Exod. xix. 14 ; and which AAas afterwards

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 95

invariably practised on the admission of the proselytes
of justice to the character and privileges of the native
Jew, John iii. 5, 10 ; that under divine authority this
baptism on convei^sion was applied by John to the
j^eculiar purposes of his own ministry; John i. 32 — 34:
that these ancient Jewish baptisms were severally
effected by washing or immersion in water ; that
they were all figures of another and a better baptism,
by which Christianity was distinguished from every
preparatory dispensation — a baptism of which Christ
is the Author, and his disciples in every age and
country the objects ; that this true christian baptism
appertains not to the body but to the soul, and is
effected entirely by the power of the Holy Ghost :
that by it we are regenerated or converted, sanctified
and saved from sin ; and finally, that without it, no
man can find an entrance into the mansions of eternal
rest and glory.

We cannot fail to observe, that " the doctrine of
baptisms", as it is thus unfolded on the authority of
Scripture, is exactly in accordance with that great
principle of the divine law, to which in the preceding
part of this chapter, we have so particularly adverted ;
namely, that under the last or christian dispensation,
God is no longer to be worshipped through the old
medium of ceremonies, shadows, and types, but simply
and exclusively in spirit and iji truth.

Having thus examined the doctrine of baptisms, we
may proceed to consider another passage of the New
Testament, in which it is very generally imagined
that the practice of water baptism is instituted as a
christian ordinance, and imperatively enjoined on the

96 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

ministers of Christ. Matthew conchides his gospel
with the following narration of our Lord's last address
to his eleven apostles : " And Jesus came and spake
unto them, saying, 'AH power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, (or as in the Greek, "Going therefore, make
disciples of all nations") baptizing them in the name
(or " unto the name") of the Father, and of the San,
and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to ohserve all
things whatsoever I have commanded you : and lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen." Matt, xxviii. 18—20.

That the participle " haptizing", as it is used in this
passage, is capable, on common philological principles,
of being interpreted in its literal sense, as relating to
an outward immersion, it would be at once uncandid
and useless to deny. That persons in all ages of the
christian church who have been accustomed to resrard

c

that external rite as sacred, should adopt such an
interpretation, can be no matter of surprize. And
that those ministers of the gospel, who in conscienti-
ous conformity with the words of Christ, according to
their own view of them, continue the practice of
baptizing their converts in water, are no proper
subjects of blame or condemnation, is, to my appre-
hension, equally evident. Nevertheless it ought to be
observed that there is no mention made in the passage
ofM;a^er, nor any thing whatsoever in the terms used,
which renders such literal interpretation imperative
upon us. On the contrary, I am persuaded that a
sound and impartial view of the various collateral
l)oints \A hich throw light on the true meaning of our

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 97

Lord's injunction, will lead us to a very different
estimate of that meaning.

Jesus commands his apostles to make disciples of
all nations ; and in executing that high commission,
it was to be their duty, as we learn from his subse-
quent words, to baptize the persons whom they
taught, unto the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost. Now the peculiar solemnity
of that parting moment, and the apparent improbability
that on such an occasion a merely external ceremony
should be so prominently insisted on — the method
so often employed by Jesus of conveying instruction
and precept concerning spiritual things, in words
which bore an outward allusion to the flesh^ — the
frequent occurrence of the terms "baptize" and "bap-
tism" in the New Testament, and particularly in the
discourses of Christ himself, in a sense purely meta-
phorical— the abolition under the new dispensation,
of the whole Jewish ritual, and the substitution
of a worship entirely spiritual — the evidence derived
from so many other explicit passages of Scripture,
in favor of the doctrine that the baptism of Christi-
anity is the work of the Spirit only — the pointed
manner in which Jesus himself, in a preceding part,
as is most probable, of this very conversation, con-
trasted that efficacious influence, the privilege of
his OAvn followers, with the water-baptism of John,
Acts iii.5 — all these are collateral circumstances which
bear with no slight degree of force on the passage
before us, and which when considered as a whole
appear to afford substantial evidence that the baptism

7 See for example John iii. 5, iv. 14, 32, vi. 53, vii. 38.
H

98 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

of which the use was thus prescribed to his apostles
by the Redeemer of men, was siiiiply and exchisively,
a spiritual baptism.

Here it may be remarked that the converts to
Christianity who submitted to the rite of immersion in
water, are sometimes described as baptized " into the
name of Jesus" ; that is, as the words simply signify,
" unto Jesus'^ ; because that rite was the sign of their
conversion from their old sins unto him, or, in other
words, unto that faith and allegiance of which he
was the object; see Acts ii. 38, viii. 16, &c. comp.
I. Cor. X. 2. Bvit although this form of expression
is occasionally used in relation to water-baptism, it is
wnth still greater correctness applicable to the baptism
of the Spirit, by which alone the work of conversion
unto Jesus Christ, or unto the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, is actually effected.

It is indeed true that the baptism of the Spirit is
elsewhere attributed to Christ himself. Undoubtedly
it is a divine work, and he who properly causes it
and carries it into effect, is one participating in the
nature and attributes of God. But originating, as it
ever must originate, with our divine Master, this
baptism might nevertheless be administered by the
instrumentality of his servants. In as much as the
apostles of Jesus Christ were enabled, through the
efficacy of an inspired ministry, to turn away their
hearers from idolatry and other sins, to introduce
them to a state of comparative purity, and to convert
them to the true faith ; in so much did they possess
the power to baptize, in a spiritual sense, unto the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holv

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 99

Ghost. It appears to be on the same principle, that
Christ is described by the apostle Paul as applying
to his own church the baptism of the Spirit — as
sanctifying and cleansing it " with the washing of
Avater" — " hij the word", ^ that is probably by the mi-
nistry of the gospel ; Eph. v. 26, comp. Rom. x. 17,
Eph. vi. 17. "The preaching of the cross" when
prompted and dictated by the Holy Spirit, is often
found to be "the power of God"; I. Cor. i. 18. The
ministers of the gospel, ought however, always to
remember that they can administer the baptism of
the Spirit, only through the power of their Lord and
Saviour ; and in their humble efforts to comply with
so sacred an injunction, they must derive their encou-
ragement from that gracious promise with which it
was accompanied — " Lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the ivorldr

Upon the present point it only remains to be ob-
served, that the observations now offered on Matt,
xxviii. 19, 20, will be found to derive material support
from the parallel passage in the gospel of Mark ;
" And he said unto them", writes that evangelist, "Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that helleveth and is baptized shall be
saved"", ^c. ch. xvi. 15, 16. Here the baptism to
which our Lord is described as adverting, is classed
with saving faith. It is the baptism ivhich saves.
Now we are assured that the baptism which saves is
" not the putting away of the filth of the flesh", nor
any work of righteousness which we can perform for

^ The expression in ilie original Greek, is not 7.6ycg vliich sometimes signifies
the essential Word of God, and is applied as a title to the Son himself; but k';fj.K.

h2

TOO ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

ourselves. Tit. iii. 5 ; it is that birth ot" water and the
Spirit, which is "from above", and which prepares ns for
an entrance into the kingdom of heaven, John iii. 5 ;
it is " the answer of a good conscience toward God,
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ", I, Pet. iii. 21;
it is " the washing of regeneration, and renewing of
the Holy Ghost" ; Tit. iii. 5.

On a review of the various passages cited in the
present chapter, many of my readers will probably
agree with me in the sentiment, that there is no part
of the New Testament in which the observance of
baptism in water is either commanded or declared
to be necessari/. Such being the case I know of
nothing which remains to be pleaded in support of
that ceremony as a part of the religious service of
christians, but the example of the apostles. That
many of the apostles were accustomed both before
and after the ascension of Jesus to baptize their con-
verts in water, is indeed rendered indisputable by
certain passages in the gospel of John and in the
book of Acts. But this fact by no means aftbrds any
sufficient evidence that the practice of a similar rite
is universally imperative on the ministers of Christi-
anity. The entire spirituality of the new dispensation
— the great principle that God was no longer to be
served by the intervention of sacerdotal and typical
institutions, but only through the mediation of the
Son, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, was
very gradually unfolded to these servants of the Lord.
It is notorious that many of them adhered with
strictness to a great part of the Jewish ritual long
after it was abro2;ated by the death of Christ ; and

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 101

even on the Gentile converts, they enjoined an absti-
nence from things strangled and from blood (that is
from the blood of animals) no less imperatively than
from the sin of fornication ; Acts xv. 29. It is true
that after they had ceased to recommend circmncision
to the Cjentiles,they continued to baptize them in water.
But the reason of this distinction is plain : namely that
circumcision was the sign of an entrance into the cove-
nant of the lair, but that baptism, although a Jewish
practice, and observed on the principles of Judaism, was
the type of conversion to Christianity itself; and was
therefore very naturally considered by the apostles as
appropriate to the specific purposes of their own min-
istry. As long as they observed the ceremonies of
Judaism in their own persons ; as long as they continued
unprepared for a full reception of the doctrine, that
the ordinances and shadows of the law were now to
be disused, and that God was to be worshipped in a
manner entirely spiritual ; so long would they, as a
matter of course, persevere in the practice of baptizing
their converts in water. Neither are we to imagine
that in this respect the apostles acted in opposition to
the will of their divine Master, who appears to have
imposed upon them no sudden change of conduct
respecting ritual observances, but simply to have left
them in possession of those great principles of spiritual
religion, the tendency of which was to undermine all
such observances at the very foundation, and thus in
a gradual manner to effect their abolition.

But there is another reason why the example of the
earliest christian teachers affords no valid evidence
that the practice of water-baptism is still incumbent on

102 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

the ministers of the gospel of Christ — namely, that
this example was not uniform. Its uniformity is
known to have been interrupted by two exceptions of
peculiar weight and importance. The exception which
I shall first notice is that of the apostle Paul. That
eminent individual, who was not " a whit behind the
chiefest apostles", and who had formerly been a
" Pharisee of the Pharisees", and a zealot in the sup-
port of the Jewish law, when he was once converted
to the christian faith, was the first to throw off the
bondage of that law ; and he presently excelled his
brethren in his views of the spirituality of the gospel
dispensation. Accordingly we find that baptism with
water was in his judgment by no means indispensable,
or inseparably connected with the duties of a christian
minister. However it may be admitted, as a probabi-
lity, that his converts received baptism at the hands of
other persons, it is certain that a great proportion of
them were never baptized in water by the apostle
himself. He expressly asserts that among the whole
multitude of the Corinthians who had been converted
by his ministry, he baptized none, save Crispus and
Gains, and the household of Stephanas ; I. Cor. i. 14 —
16. It is not, however, merely the apostle's personal
abstinence from the use of the rite, which claims our
attention in reference to the present argument : it
is rather the ground and principle on which he declares
that he abstained from it. The practice of this cere-
mony in the christian church, is supported chiefly by
the generally received opinion, that Christ com-
manded his apostles, when they made disciples of all
nations, to baptize them with water ; and that from

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 103

the apostles this duty has descended to all the rightly
authorized ministers of Christianity, who, like them,
are engaged in the promulgation of christian truth.
But Paul, highly favoured as he was as a minister of
the gospel, and engaged far more extensively than
any of his brethren in the work of making disciples
of all nations, abstained to a very great extent, from
the act of baptizing with water ; and for this express
reason — that he had received no commission to perform
it: — "For Christ," said he, "sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel"; ver. 17.

The other exception alluded to, is one of still
greater moment : it is that of the Divine Founder of
our religion himself. The holy Jesus, that first and
most eminent of the preachers of the gospel, rendered
in his own person a complete obedience to all right-
eousness, as it was observed under the law ; and there-
fore he submitted to the baptism of John. But his
own converts who belonged to that spiritual institution,
which he so frequently denominates the "kingdom of
heaven", (See Matt. xi. 11. &c.) he baptized not.
Although he permitted his disciples to practise that
ceremony, he abstained from it himself. This fact is
noticed by the apostle John, ^vho after stating that
" the Pharisees heard that Jesus made and baptized
more disciples than John", carefully adds, (for the
prevention of error, no doubt, on so interesting a
subject,) "though (or howbeit) Jesus himself baptized
not, but his disciples;" John iv. 1, 2. Those preachers
of the gospel, therefore, who consider it their duty, in
conformity with the great fundamental law of christ-
ian worship, to abstain from the practice of baptizing

104 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

their converts in water, have the consolation to know
that in adopting such a hue of conduct, they are fol-
lowing the example of him, who is on all hands al-
lowed to have afforded us a perfect pattern.

Since therefore water-haptism was a Jewish cere-
monial or typical observance : since, under the new
dispensation, the plan of divine worship is changed,
and all such observances are by a general law abo-
lished : since^ in precise conformity with that law,
" the doctrine of baptisms", as unfolded in various
passages of the New Testament, appears to attribute
to Christianity o)ily the baptism of the Spirit : since
that particular passage in which the outward rite is
supposed to be enjoined upon christians, may with the
truest critical propriety be otherwise explained : and
since the example of the first preachers of Christianity
in favour of that ceremony, arose out of peculiar
circumstances, and was interrupted by two overpower-
ing exceptions — I cannot but deem it undeniable
that the Society of Friends are fidly justified in their
disuse of water-baptism.

I may now proceed to the consideration of those
parts of the New Testament which relate to the
institution denominated the Lord's Supper.

In order to clear our ground respecting the nature
and character of that ordinance, it will be desirable in
the first place to direct our attention to the tenth
chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians —
a chapter which contains a remarkable allusion to the
Lord's supper, as it was observed by the early christ-

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 105

ians. It appears tliat some of the Corinthian converts
had so far sacrificed their rehgious consistency as to
join the banquets of their heathen neighbours, and to
feast with them upon meats which had been previously
offered to the idols. Such Avas the unchristian prac-
tice which suggested to the apostle Paul the following
reproof and exhortation ; " I speak as to wise men ;
judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we
bless, (or for which we give thanks) is it not a joint
participation in (Eng. Trans. " the communion of")
the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is
it wot a joint participation in (Eng. Trans, "the com-
munion of") the body of Christ? For we being
many are one bread, and one body : for we are all
partakers of that one (or that same) bread. Beliold
Israel after the flesh : are not they which eat of the
sacrifices, joint participants in (Eng. Trans. " par-
takers of") the altar ? What say I then, that the idol
is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to
idols is any thing ? But I say, that the things which
the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not
to God : and I would not that ye should be joint
participants in (Eng. Trans, "have fellowship with")
devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the
cup of devils : ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's
table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the
Lord to jealousy ? Are we stronger than he ?" I. Cor.
X. 15 — 22. In reciting this passage, the reader will
perceive that I have ventured upon some slight alter-
ation of the common English version. The word
" communion" is properly defined by Johnson, " a
participation of something in common"; and this, no

106 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

(loubt^ is the sense in which it was here employed by
our translators. I have exchan2:ed that word for
"joint participation", merely for the purpose of show-
ing the manner in which the true meaning of the
original expression,^ as it is here applied, is fixed by
the use, in two other parts of the same passage, of the
corresponding noun, rendered joint participants}

On a comparison with certain parts of the following
chapter, (hereafter to be noticed) it must in all fairness
be allowed, that the bread broken and the cup of
blessing, which the apostle here describes as a "joint
participation in the body and blood of Christ", are
the bread and the cup of wine which were eaten and
drunk, in a literal sense, at the supper denominated
by the apostle himself, the Lord's supper, ch. xi. 20.
It appears then that those who ate and drank together
of that cup and wine, were joint participants in the
body and blood of Christ, on the same principle, and
in the same sense, that the Jews who ate together of
the sacrifices ordained by the law, were joint partici-
pants in the altar, and the christians who united with
idolaters in the eating of meats offered to false gods,
were joint participants in devils. As no one imagines
that these mixed companies of idolaters and christians
united in eating the devils ; or that the Jewish wor-
shippers united in eating the altar, so it is altogether
an error to suppose that the christian communicants
are here represented by the apostle, as feeding on the
bodij and blood of Christ. When we compare the
three cases together, the whole that we can gather
from the apostle's description of the bread and wine

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 107

is this : that as the eaters of meats sacrificed to the
idols were joint participants in those things which
respected the service of devils, and as the Jews who
ate the victims sacrificed under the law, were joint
participants in those things which respected the altar ;
so the christians, when they niet to celehrate the
Lord's supper, Avere joint participants in those things
which respected the hody and blood or the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ.

I have entered into this examination of the passage
before us, not so much for the purpose of disproving
the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, as
in order to show that the apostle's words give no real
countenance to the notion so generally entertained
among protestants, that those A\ho communicate in
the rite of the Lord's supper, do thereby feed together,
in a spiritual sense, on the bodi/ and blood of Christ.

The declarations of this doctrine, unfounded as it
appears to be on the authority of Scripture, are in the
communion service of the church of England both
frequent and striking. The " sacrament of the Lord's
Supper" is there denominated a " holt/ rnysterif, and
a " banquet of most heavenly food". Thanksgiving-
is enjoined unto God " for that he hath given his Son
our Saviour Jesus Christ, not only to die for us, but
also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that
holy sacrament"; and on another occasion this service
teaches us, that when " we receive that holy sacrament,
then we spiritually eat the flesh of Jesus Christ and
drink his blood : then we dwell in Christ, and Christ
in us : we are one with Christ, and Christ with us".

By such language a mystical importance is attached

108 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

to this outward rite, Avhich appears to have no found-
ation in the original use of the ordinance, as a simple
memorial of the death of Jesus. In these days of
increasing light and spirituality, as we may justly
esteem them it is necessary to say but very little
on this branch of our subject. Although the com-
municants in the rite of the Lord's supper may
sometimes be permitted to " eat the flesh and drink
the blood of the Son of man", no arguments need now
be advanced to prove that this spiritual eating and
dvinking, has no necessary connexion with any exter-
nal ceremony ; and that in every time and place it
may be the privilege of the huml)le christian, who
lives by faith in the Son of God, and whose soul is
su1)jected to the purifying yet sustaining influence of
his Holy Spirit ; See John vi. 53, 63. Neither will
it be any longer disputed, that when persons of such a
character meet in companies for the solemn purpose
of worshipping the Father, they may, without any use
of the outward ordinance, /eec? together, in a spiritual
sense, on the hody and blood of Christ, and experience
the truest commimion with their Holy Head, and one
with another in him ; see Matt, xviii. 20.

Having premised these remarks on the apostle's
description of the Lord's supper, we may hencefoi'ward
consider it in that more simple light in which alone I
believe it to be regarded, in the present day, by many
of those persons who observe it, namely, as an outward
ceremony, constituting part of divine ivorship, and
intended typically to represent and thus to bring into
remembrance, the death and sacrifice of Christ ; and
we may proceed to examine those passages of the New

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 109

Testament which have given rise to the opinion so
generally entertained by modern theologians, that such
a rite was ordained by our Saviour, and that the
practice of it is universally obligatory on believers in
Christ. The passages to Avhich I have to refer, under
this head, are only two in number. The first is in
the gospel of Luke, who in describing the last paschal
supper which Jesus ate with his disciples shortly
before his crucifixion, Avrites as follows : "And he
(Jesus) took bread and gave thanks, and brake it, and
gave unto them, saying, ' This is my body which is
given for you : this do in remembrance of me\ Like-
wise, also, the cup after supper, saying, ' This cup is
the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for
you' "; Luke xxii, 19, 20.

The second passage alluded to, contains a declara-
tion of the apostle Paul's, which fully confirms the
particulai's related by Luke. It appears that the
Corinthian converts had so greatly abused the practice
to Avhich the injunction of Christ had given rise, that
when they met together for the purpose of eating
the Lord's supper in company, there was found
among them a total want of order and harmony, and
many of them availed themselves of the opportunity
thus afforded them, for the intemperate indulgence of
their carnal appetites ; " For in eating" says the apostle,
" every one taketh before other his own supper ; and
one is hungry and another is drunken ". In order to
correct habits of so disgraceful a character, Paul
sharply reproves these Corinthians and calls to their
recollection the origin and object of the observance.
" For I have received of the Lord " says he, " that

110 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

which also I dehvered unto you, that the Lord Jesus,
the same night in Avhich he was betrayed took bread :
and when he had giv^en thanks, he brake it, and said,
'Take, eat : this is my body, which is ])roken for you;
this do in remembrance of me\ After the same man-
ner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying,
'This cup is the New Testament in my blood; this do
ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me'. For
as often" adds the apostle, " as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he
come. Wherefore whosoever shall cat this bread, and
drink this cup unworthily, shall be guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine him-
self, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh condemnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord's body"; I. Cor. xi. 23 — 29.

It will be observed that in this address to the Cor-
inthians, the apostle is not enjoining upon them the
practice of celebrating the Lord's supper. The passage
contains no command of the apostle's to that effect :
it was intended solely to warn them against their
abuse of that practice, and to explain to them its origin
and true purpose. Accordingly he briefly recites the
circumstances which had given rise to it. The know-
ledge of these circumstances, it appears, he had
"received of the Lord";" and the apostle's statement
founded on the instruction thus given to him on the

- For I have rect-ived of the Lord, '^ydj yag iffapEXaQov ocrh TOV XV^icv.
Many commentators assume from these words that the circumstances which the
apostle here narrates, were communicated to him by an immediate and special reve-
lation from Jesus Christ himself; and some wiiters have even imagined that this
siiniile fri'^iiient of dur Lord's history is to be niinibeied among those urmttoiable

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. Ill

subject, substantially accords Avith the narration of
Luke. We are therefore to consider it as a fact rest-
ing on confirmed evidence, that when our Lord at his
last paschal supper invited his disciples to take and eat

mysteries (aggjjra qrniara') into which Paul received an insight when be was
caught up into the third heavens ; H. Cor. xii. 4,

I would suggest that the apostle's expressions above cited are so far from
containing any apparent allusion to that extraordinary vision, that they do not
necessarily convey the idea of any direct revelation whatsoever, 1 he Greek verb
TapaXafjuQavoj, as it is used in this and many other passages of Paul's epistles,
signifies " I am taught" or "I learn" — disco, instituor, edoceor ; \'n\e Schleusner
in voc. no. 3. This apostle had learned or had been taught of the Lord the several
particulars respecting the last supper which he afterwards communicated to his
Corinthian converts : but in tohat manner he received the information in question,
the text does not specify. It might be by that merely spiritual illumination which
he enjoyed in so large a measure. It might also be through the medium of his
inspired brethren, or through that of some written document which rested on
divine authority. Whatever, indeed, this apostle knew in connexion with christian
truth, and in whatever manner his knowledge of it was acquired, he might without
impropriety describe himself as having learned it allo/</ie Lord, who had interposed
in so striking a manner for his convincement and conversion. Now that the
information given to him respecting the circumstances of the Lord's supper, was
received mediately, and not by any direct or extraordinary revelation, appears most
probable, because those circumstances were simply historical, and were perfectly
known to Paul's eleven brethren in the apostleship who were present on the occasion,
and who would, as a matter of course, communicate with him on a subject in
which he was equally interested with themselves.

This view of the case is considerably strengthened by the apostle's having made
use, in this passage, of the preposition avh instead of Vapa ; for in connexion
with verbs implying a reception of knowledge or instruction, the latter preposition
is almost uniformly employed before the name of the person who actually gives the
information so received. This observation applies to the New Testament in general,
and more particularly to those passages of the epistles of Paul in which he ilitro-
duces the verb Ta^ctXafJuCdi/iiv . See Gal. i. 12, I. Thes. ii. 13, iv. 1, II. Thes.
iii. 6, comp. John v. 34, vi. 45, viii. 26, x. 18, xv. 15, Acts x. 22, xxviii. 22,
II. Tim. ii. 2, &c. The preposition aTb, on the contrary, is of a more gen-
eral signification, and is but seldom used in that particular sense which has
now been described as attaching to 'XCCPCC, It may rather be considered as referring
to the original cause. On the supposition that the apostle was taught the history of
the last paschal supper, by his fellow apostles according to the divine will, or on divine
authority, he might be properly said to have received his knowledge on tho subject,
Taga Tuv arrogoXuv, airh rov Kug/ou.

That commentators are by no means unanimous iu the opinion that an immediate
revelation is here intended, will be sufficiently evinced by the following short ab-

112 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

the bread which he had broken, he added, " This do
In rememhrance of me': and further, we learn from the
apostle, that after Jesns had handed to them the cnp
to drink, he repeated a similar command, — " This do,
as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me\

Persons, who have long been habituated to consider
these expressions of our Lord's, in immediate connex-
ion with the rite of the Eucharist as they themselves
observe it, are very naturally led to explain the former
by the latter ; and thus with respect to the passages
now quoted, they lose sight of those plain and simple
principles of interpretation, which they would of
course apply to any other part of the sacred volume.
I confess I see no other way of accounting for the
sentiment still so prevalent among christians, that
when our Lord after participating with his disciples in
their last paschal meal, said to them " Do this in re-
membrance of me", he instituted a religious ceremony,
which was thence-forward to form an essential part of
worshi]), and which in that point of view was to be
obligatory in all ages on the believers in Jesus. That
the words of Christ when tried by the test of common

slract given in Poole's Synopsis from the remarks made on tbis passage by certain
eminent critics, and particularly by Beza. " It may be doubted whether the apostle
learned these things mediately from those who were eye and ear witnesses, and on the
narration of the other apostles, or immediately by revelation. He learned them of
the Lord, that is, as proceeding from the Lord ; the information being given to him by
Ananias or the other disciples ; or else of the Lord by revelation. In the latter case
however he would not have said aiTO, but itapa, according to the usage of Greek
authors in general, of the writers of the New Testament, in particular, and more
especially of Paul himself". Other commentators understand the passage in a
still more general sense, as implying only that the matters which Paul communi-
cated to the Corinthians respecting the Lord's supper, were no invention of his own,
but rested on divine authority. So Camero, and Calvin. Rosenmviller, one of the
most able and impartial of modern biblical critics, expresses a clear judgment that
no direct revelation was here alluded to by the apostle. Vide Schol. in N. T. in loc.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 113

rules, and explained by the circumstances under which
they Avere spoken, do not appear, and cannot he proved
to have been fraught ivith so extensive a meaning, will
probably be allowed by the can(Hd and considerate
critic : and I would suggest that no such meaning can
justly be applied to them, for two reasons.

That our Lord's words, in the first place, are not
rightly interpreted as fixing the institution of a typical
ceremony in connexion with christian worship, there
arises a strong presumption, on this general ground —
that such an interpretation (a completely adventi-
tious one as far as relates to those mere words) is
directly at variance with the acknowledged principle,
that the old Jewish system of typical and ceremonial
observances was to be abrogated by the death of
Christ, and with our Saviour's own law, that the
Father was now to be worshipped, not according to
the shadowy ritual of the Jews and Samaritans, but
in spirit and in truth.

Secondly, it is to be observed, that the command of
Jesus respecting the bread and wine was addressed
only to twelve persons, and was of a nature simply
positive. It is true that all the precepts of Jesus were
addressed to those persons who were in his company
at the time when they were uttered, and many of them
probably to his apostles only : but there is an all-suf-
ficient reason why the bulk of them are to be received
as of universal obligation, — namely that they are moi^al
in their nature, and appertain to that unchangeable
law of God which, when revealed, demands the obe-
dience of all men at all times. But a merely positive
precept has no connexion with that unchangeable law,

I

114 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

and does nothing more than enjoin, for some specific
purpose, a practice in z7*e//* indifferent. Such a precept,
therefore, appears to contain no sufficient internal
evidence of its heing binding on any persons, except
those to whom it Avas actually addressed, and others
who were placed under the same particular circum-
stances. I M'ould submit that an universal obligation
on the followers of any moral lawgiver to obey a
precept of the nature now descrilied, cannot be
rightly admitted, unless it be by such lawgiver ex-
pressly declared : and that its not being expressly
declared affords an indication that no such universality
Avas intended.

The present argument may be fitly illustrated by
another example of a similar nature. On the very same
affecting occasion Avhen Jesus directed his apostles to
observe the practice iioav under consideration, he also
enjoined them to wash one another's /eet. We read in
the gospel of John, that after that last paschal supper,
Jesus rose from the table, took a toAvel, girded himself,
poured water into a bason, and "began to wash his
disciples' feet, and to AA'ipe them with the towel
wherewith he was girded". After thus evincing
the loAvliness of his mind, he said to his disci-
ples, " know ye what I have done unto you ? Ye
call me Master, and ye say well : for so I am. If I
then your Lord and Master have Avashed your feet,
2/e ought also to wash one another's feet ; for I have
given you an example tliat ye should do, as I have
done to you\ Here Avas an injunction conveyed to
the apostles in words fully as explicit, and with
accompaniments equally emphatic, as AAas the pre-

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 115

ceding command respecting die bread and wine.
Yet since that injunction was simply positive, relating
to an act of no moral importance in itself, and since
that act was particularly connected with the habits
and situation of the persons thus addressed — no one
supposes that an obedience to such an injunction, is
necessary for christians of every age and country.
Undoubtedly that mutual respect and benevolence, of
which the washing of one another's feet was thus
prescribed to some of his servants as an instance and
a sign, is universally incumbent on the followers of
Jesus. Universally incumbent upon them also is
that love and allegiance towards their Saviour, and
that dependence upon his meritorious death, Avhich
the apostles were accustomed to express by their
commemorative supper. But in both cases, according
to the view of Friends on the subject, the outward
circumstance may be omitted without any real infrac-
tion of the revealed Avill of God.

In confirmation of these general arguments, the
reader's attention may now be called to a very
striking fact ; namely that in the gospel of Matthew,
which was written by an eye witness, and proba-
bly at a still earlier date than that of Luke, and
which contains a very exact description of our Lord's
last supper with his disciples, of the breaking of
the bread, of the handing of the cup, and of the
comparison made by Jesus of the one with his body,
and of the other with his blood ; the words upon
which alone could have been founded the institution
of this supposed christian rite — " Do this in remem-
brance of me," — are entirely omitted. We are not

I 2

116 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TVPICAL

to conclude from this omission that those words were
not spoken. That they were spoken, on the contrary,
is certain on the authority of hoth Luke and Paul.
But since Matthew describes all the circumstances
of the occasion and narrates the Avhole of our Lord's
address, with the single exception of these words, we
can hardly suppose him to have understood that thti
precept of Jesus was of that very leading importance
which is generally imagined ; or that our Lord then
instituted a rite, which was in every age to form
an essential part of divine worship, and to be
universally obligatory on the professors of Christi-
anity. Precisely the same observation applies to
the gospel of Mark, which is supposed to have been
written under the immediate superintendence of the
apostle Peter.

What then may be deemed a fair and reasonable
interpretation of our Lord's very simple precept ? and
in what signification would the twelve apostles, to
whom these words were addressed, naturally under-
stand them ? In order to give a satisfactory answer to
this enquiry, we may in the first instance observe,
that those twelve apostles, to whom our Lord addressed
himself, were all Jews or Galileans ; that they had
long been accustomed to observe the rites of the
supper of the Passover, and that among those rites
were numbered ( as has been already stated ) the
breaking of the bread and the handing of the cup,
with the blessing, and giving of thanks. As they had
already been habituated to these customs, so was the
Lord Jesus well aware that they would still maintain
them : for as it has been already remarked, the apostles

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 117

continued in the practice of parts of the Jewish ritual,
long after the crucifixion of our Lord ; and although
that ritual was in fact abolished by his death, the
sudden disuse of it does not appear to have been
enjoined upon them by their divine Master. Having
these facts in our view, we may reasonably interpret
the words of Jesus as commanding nothing more,
than that his apostles should call him to their recol-
lection, when they met together to celebrate the
supper of the Passover. " This cup" said Jesus, " is
the NcM'^ Testament in my blood". Now it was not
every cup of wine which represented the New Testa-
ment in the blood of Christ ; it was the cup of wine
drunk at the supper of the Passover — an institution
which they were then celebrating, and which in some
of its circumstances, was expressly typical of the death
of the Messiah. It appears then, by no means very
improbable, that it was to the cup of the passover ex-
clusively, that our Saviour's injunction applied — " This
do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me ;"
that is, as often as ye meet together to celebrate the
supper of the Passover, and to drink of that cup, which
represents the New Testament in my blood, take care
that ye forget not the true purport of the ceremony —
do it in remembrance of me.

Such appears to be an easy and natural interpreta-
tion of our Lord's words. Nevertheless, it cannot be
denied that they are capable of a sense somewhat
more extensive. Although the breaking of the bread,
the handing of the wine, &c., undoubtedly formed a
part of the Jewish ceremonial order of the Passover
supper, there is reason to believe that a very similar

118 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

method was observed in tlie conduct of those more
common meals, of which the Jews were accustomed
to partake in one another's company. Thus w^hen
Jesus on a subsequent occasion " sat at meat" with
the two disciples at Emmaus, we again find him
blessing, breaking, and distributing, the bread, Luke
xxiv. 30 ; and when Paul had induced his companions
on the voyage, to unite with him in taking the needful
food, we read that " he took bread, and gave thanks
to God in the presence of them all : and when he had
broken it, he began to eat"; Acts xxvii. 35. Such
being the common practice of the Jews, it is very
probal^le that the apostles might understand our
Lord's injunction as not confined to the Passover
supper, but as extending to other more familiar occa-
sions, when they might be gathered together to
participate in a common meal. On these occasions
as Avell as at the Passover sujDper, they might consider
it a duty laid upon them by their beloved Master, to
break their bread, and to drink of their cup, not
only for the satisfaction of their natural appetites, but
in commemoration of the body which was broken, and
of the blood which w^as shed for their sakes.

That the Lord Jesus was thus understood by some
of his hearers, may be collected from the known
practice of the church, at the very earliest period of
its history. Of those numerous persons who were con-
verted by means of the ministry of Peter on the day
of Pentecost, we read that " they continued stedfastly
in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in break-
ing of bread, and in prayers"; Acts ii. 42. Since the
" breaking of biead" is here mentioned among other

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 119

signs of religious communion, it probably signifies
(according to the general opinion of bi1)lical critics)
that breaking of bread, which was introduced as a
memorial of the death of Christ. Nevertheless, that
the practice in question was observed as a part of the
social meal, is evident from the immediate context.
"And all that believed", adds the historian, " were
together, and had all things common ... .and they conti-
nuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking
bread Jrom house to house, did eat their meat ivith
gladness and singleness of hearf; verse 46. On
another occasion, when we are informed that " on the
first day of the week" the disciples at Troas " came
together to break bread". Acts xx. 7 ; there is no
reason to suppose that they met for the purpose of
performing a religious ceremony. It appears rather
that they came together to participate in a brotherly
repast, of which, it is probable that, one particular
object was the joint commemoration of the death of
their Lord. After Paul had taken the opportunity
afforded him by this meeting, of preaching at length
to the disciples, it is obvious that he broke bread
with them in order to the refreshment of his body and
the satisfaction of the demands of nature. " When
he therefore was come up again", says Luke, " and
had brohen bread, and eaten, and talked a long while,
even till break of day, so he departed"; ver. 11.

Lastly, the same fact is evident from the description
given by Paul of the abuses which had crept in
among his Corinthian converts in their method of
conducting these common repasts. " When ye come
together therefore into one place, this is not to eat

120 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketli
before other his own snpper : and one is hungry, and
another is drunken. What ? have ye not houses to eat
and to drink in ? or despise ye the church (or assembly)
of God, and shame them that have not ? What shall
I say to you ? Shall I praise you in this ? I praise you
not ;" I. Cor. xi. 20 — 22. After thus reproving them,
and after explaining to them in a passage already
cited, the origin and true object of the observance
which they had thus abused, the apostle, zealous as
he was for the right order of this christian meal,
concludes ^Wth the following exhortation : "wherefore
my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one
for another ; and if any man hunger,^ let him eat at
home, that ye come not together unto condemnation."
The supper which the apostle here describes as the
Lord's supper, which the Corinthians had so shame-
fully mis-conducted, and during the course of which
the bread was broken and the wine handed about in
commemoration of the death of Christ, was probably
the same as w^as otherwise denominated " love" or the
" supper of love". " Their coming together", says
Theophylact on L Cor. xi. 20, (or rather Chrysostom,
from whom his commentaries Avere borrowed,) " was
intended as a sign of love and fellowship, and he
denominates this social banquet the Lord's supper,
because it w^as the imitation of that awful supper
which the Lord ate with his disciples".* These sup-

^ Vid. Grotii Comm. in loc. " Est ^^ivafffihg (irrisio acerba). Loquitar eiiiin
tanquam pueris qui ita solent esse O^VTilVOi (famelici) at quidvis arripiant, nee
alios ad partem vocent, neque velint duxa fis^i^nv (Jictts partiri)."

* So GrotiuSj Estius, Justinian, and otbers, — see Poole's Svnopsis.

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 121

pcrs of love or " love feasts" are alluded to by Peter,
II. Pet. ii. 13, and by Jiidc, ver, 12 ; and are described
by Pliny, Ep. lib. x. 97 ; as well as by Tertullian, Apol.
adv. Gentes. cap. 39 ; and other early Fathers, Clem.
Alex. Pood. lib. ii. c. 1, Constit.Apostol. lib. ii. c. 28, &c.
It appears that they were public repasts of a decent
and frugal character, in which the poor and the rich
of the early christian churches participated together,
and which were considered as being both the symbols
and pledges of mutual harmony and brotherly love.
Such then was the " Lord's supper" of the primitive
christians : such were the occasions on which they
were accustomed to break their bread, and to drink
their wine, as a memorial of the body and blood of
Christ.^

To the simple practice which thus prevailed among
these primitive christians, (if preserved within proper
bounds) there appears to be nothing which can fairly
be objected. It Avas a practice which might be classed
rather under the head of pious customs, than under
that of direct religious ceremonies. It was perhaps
little more than giving to one of the common occa-

^ ViJe ScMeusner Lex, in voc. ayavrj, No. 7, '^'Ayd^ai, agapa?, (love feasts),
fueruni convivia publica in conventibus Christianorum sacris instituta, conjuncta in
primitiva et apostolica ecclesia cum celebralione festiva coenae Dominicae, ita dicta
quod christianae charitatis sjmbola essent et tesseras," &c. The celebration of the
Eucharist and that of the love feast appear to be mentioned by Ignatius (A. D. 101),
as identical. "Let that be considered" says the ancient father " ai valid Eucharist
which is under the care of a bishop, and in which he takes a part. Where the
bishop appears, there let the people attend. It is unlawful either to baptize or to
celebrate the love feast without the bishop" ; Ep. ad Smyrn, ch. 8. So we are in-
formed by Tertullian (A. D, 200), that even in his day, the Eucharist was received
by christians in connexion with their meals; " Eucharistiae sacraraentum et in tem-
pore victus, et omnibus maudatum a Domino, etiam antelucanis coetibus, nee de
aliorum manu quam prassidentium sumus" ; De Coron. Milit. cap. 3, Ed, Semleri,
iv. 341 ; See also Grolius and Whitby on 1 Cor. x. and xi.

1'22 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

sions of life, a specific direction of an edifying charac-
ter, and under the pecuhar circumstances of these
early disciples, it might be considered no inconsistent
result of that general law, that, whether we eat or
drink, or whatsoever we do, all is to be done to the
glory of God and in the name of the Lord Jesus.
But appropriate as these feasts of charity might be to
the condition of the infant church, when the believers
were comparatively few in number, and in a consider-
able degree possessed all things in common, they
would evidently be much less adapted for the use of
those vast multitudes of persons very slightly connect-
ed with one another, who profess Christianity in
modern times. As the numbers increased in any
church, v.ho would as members of it possess a
right to attend the love feasts, there would riecessarily
arise a great danger of abuse in such a practice ; and
that this abuse actually took place in the church of
Corinth to an alarming and disgraceful degree, we
have already noticed on the authority of the apostle
Paul.

On the one hand, therefore, we may allow that
those persons who continue the observance of the
Lord's supper, not as a religious ceremony constituting
a necessary part of divine worship, but on the simple
system, of the primitive christians, are not without
their warrant in the example of those christians, for
the adoption of such a course. On the other hand it
is no less evident that the apparent unsuitableness
of the custom to the present condition of the visible
church, its known liability to abuse, and more egpe-
cially its close ajffinity with the abolished practices of

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 123

the Jewish ritual^ afford very strong reasons for its
discontinuance.

That there is nothing in the history of the origin
of that custom Avhich precludes, under so ohvious a
change of circumstances, the I'lherty for Its disuse, the
reader will prohahly allow, for reasons already stated.
Here, however, it appears necessary to notice a par-
ticular expression of the apostle Paul's from which
many persons have derived an opinion, that this
practice is obligatory on believers in Jesus, until the
end of the ivorld. " For as oft as ye eat this bread
and drink this cup", says the apostle in a passage
already cited, "«/e do show the Lord's death till he
come". The inference deduced from these words
respecting the necessary permanence of the rite
of the Lord's supper, appears to be ill-founded.
For in the first place they contain no command
to the Corinthians to continue the practice in ques-
tion until the Lord's coming ; and in the second
place, it is evident from the context, that it was
not here the apostle's object to impress upon his
friends the duration of the custom, but only its rnean-
ing or direction. The stress of his declaration plainly
lies upon the words "3/e do shoiv the Lord's death"".
The words " till he come" were probably added as a
kind of reservation ; for the purpose of conveying
the idea that when the Lord himself should come,
such a memorial of his death would be obsolete
and unnecessary.

It appears from various passages in the epistles,
that the early christians, and even the apostle Paul
himself, lived under a strong impression that the

124 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

coming of Christ in glory was near at hand. But
although this impression on a point professedly not
revealed to any of the inspired servants of God (Matt.
xxiv, 36) was erroneous ; there is a sense in which
it may be truly declared, that the Lord Jesus is already
come again. He is come in those spiritual manifest-
ations of his divine presence, by which his faithful
disciples in every age are upheld, strengthened, and
comforted. While I by no means intend to assert
that this is the second appearance of Christ to which
Paul is here alluding, I cannot but remark that the prin-
ciple on which he upholds the coming of our Lord
as the termination of the outward ordinance, is plainly
consistent w^ith the sentiment of Friends, that the
spiritual manifestations of the Lord Jesus, and the
direct communion with him enjoyed by his obedient
followers, A'irtually abrogates any practice in his service,
which is of a merely symbolical or typical character.
The vicAV now taken of the apostle's doctrine will
fitly introduce a concluding observation — that while
Friends consider it to be their duty to abstain from
that ritual participation in bread and wine, so usually
observed among their fellow-christians, there are no
persons who insist more strongly than they do, on
that which they deem to be the only needful supper
of the Lord. That supper, according to their appre-
hension, is altogether of a spiritual nature. Now it
is a circumstance which strongly confirms, the general
view thrown before the reader in the arguments
already stated, that according to the narrations
severally presented to us by Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, of the last paschal meal of Jesus with his

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 1"25

disciples, our Lord availed himself of the very
occasion which has given rise among christians to
the rite of the Eucharist, in order to direct the
attention of his disciples, to the supper now alluded
to — a repast of a totally difterent description, and one
which may be enjoyed by the disciples of Christ,
independently of every outward ordinance. " With
desire I have desired", said Jesus to his apostles, " to
eat this passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto
you, I IV ill not any more eat thereof, until it he falfllled
in the kingdom of God''; Luke xxii. 15, 16. Again,
" This is my blood of the New Testament, which is
given for many for the remission of sins. But I say
unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit
of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with
you in my Fathers kingdom'" ; Matt. xxvi. 28, 29.
Again, " Ye are they which have continued with me
in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a king-
dom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye
may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom " ;
Luke xxii. 28—30.

We may indeed believe that these gracious declara-
tions are accomplished in all their fulness, only in the
heavenly state of happiness of glory ; but it is suffici-
ently evident, and is allowed by various commentators,
that our Lord's expressions, now cited, cannot be con-
sidered as relating exclusively to the world to come.
When Jesus Christ had died on the cross a sacrifice
for the sins of the whole world, the type of the pass-
over had received its fulfilment in the kingdom of
God. When his blood had been shed for many, for
the remission of sins, and when he had ascended to

126 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

the right hand of the Father Ahnighty, that kingdom
or reign, conducted through the mediation of the
Messiah, was estabhshed in the earth. Then therefore
did the day arrive, as we may fairly deduce from these
impressive passages, when Jesus was again to eat
the passover with his disciples, and to drink the new
wine in their company ; according to his own declar-
ation on a subsequent occasion, " Behold I stand at the
door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, mid sup ivifh him, and he
ivith me ;" Rev. iii. 20. When the faithful disciples of
our glorified Redeemer open the doors of their hearts at
the voice of his Holy Spirit ; when, more especially,
they are engaged in rendering unto him their joint
and willing service, and in worshipping God in unison ;
he is often pleased to come in amongst them, to sup
with them, and to permit them to sup with him.
Then does he bring them into a holy fellowship with
the Father, with himself, and one with another ;
breaks for them the bread of life ; and gives them
to drink of his most precious blood ; and thus while
their souls are refreshed, nourished, and comforted,
they are brought, in a living and effective manner,
to the remembrance of that crucified Lord, who is
their strength, their joy, and their salvation.

On a general review, then, of the particular pas-
sages of the New Testament which relate to the
observance of the Lord's supper, I may venture to
recapitulate my own sentiments, that such a practice
has no proper or necessary connexion with a spiritual
feeding on the body and blood of Christ — that the
history of our Lord's last paschal supper with his

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 127

disciples, affords no reason for believing that he then
instituted a religious ceremony, which was thenceforth
to form an essential part of the worship of christians —
that our Lord's injunction on that occasion may be
understood, either as relating solely to the rites of the
Passover, or as intended to give a religious direction
to the more common social repasts of his disciples —
that it was in connexion with such repasts and par-
ticularly with their love feasts, that the primitive
christians were accustomed to commemorate the death
of Christ — that the custom of those love feasts,
however appropriate to the circumstances of the
earliest disciples, soon fell into abuse as the numbers
of believers increased, and appears to be, in a great
degree, inapplicable to the present condition of the
christian world — and lastly, that under the influence
of the spiritual manifestations of our Redeemer, we
may participate in that true supper of the Lord which
he has himself so clearly upheld to the expectation of
his disciples, and which alone is indispensable for the
edification, consolation, and salvation of his people.

Although, for the reasons detailed in the present
disquisition, it may fairly be concluded that the prac-
tices of water baptism and the Lord's supper are by
no means needful, it is certain that these practices
have been very generally observed by the professors
of the christian name. This fact is easily explained
not only by the known power of example and tradition,
but also by that principle in our nature, which leads
us so commonly to place our dependence upon outward
and visible things. Man is naturally prone to trust
in any thing rather than in the invisible Creator, and

1*28 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL

he is ever ready to make the formal ordinance a part
of his rehgious system, because he can rely upon it
with ease to himself, and may often find in it a
plausible substitute for the mortification of his own
will. Now I would sugiiest that the ordinances
which we have been considering, so far from being
like the moral law of God universally salutary, are
evidently fraught with no little danger, as occasions
by which this deceitful disposition in the human heart
is naturally excited and brought into action. And
here our appeal may be made not only to theory
Ijut to facts, for it is indisputable that the outward
rites of baptism and the supper as observed among
the professors of Christianity, have been the means
of leading multitudes into gross superstition. How
many thousands of persons are there, as every spiri-
tually-minded christian will allow, \^ho place upon
these outward rites a reliance which is warranted
neither by reason nor by Scripture, and which so far
from bringing them nearer to God — so far from
reminding them of Christ — operates in the most
palpable manner as a diversion from a true and living
faith in their Creator and Redeemer ! How often
has the ignorant sinner, even in the hour of death,
depended on the " sacrament" of the Lord's supper
as upon a saving ordinance ! And hoAv many a
learned theologian both ancient and modern has been
found to insist on the dangerous tenet, that the rite
of baptism is regeneration !

While the Society of Friends believe that ordi-
nances which are so peculiarly liable to abuse, and
which have been the means of exciting, not only the

RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 129

superstitions now alluded to, but endless divisions and
contentions, and many cruel persecutions in the church,
cannot truly appertain to the law of God ; while they
are persuaded on the contrary, that the spirituality
of that law is opposed to the continued observance
of any typical religious rite ; and while on these
grounds, they consider themselves amply justified in
the omission of such practices ; they entertain, I trust,
no disposition whatever to judge their fellow-christians,
who conscientiously make use of these ceremonies.
They are, it may be hoped, too well aware of the
importance of obedience to the Lord Jesus, to con-
demn others, who from their very desire to obey him,
are led to differ from themselves.

For my own part, I am persuaded that there are
many persons who avail themselves of the rites in
question, on principles which cannot be deemed super-
stitious, and who even derive through these signs and
memorials a real instruction and edification. Such
instances may serve to convince us that God continues
to accept the sincere heart, and that he is still pleased
to bless a variety of means to a variety of conditions.
Nevertheless I cannot ])ut deem it probable that there
are many christians not of our profession, who, as
they draw yet nearer in spirit to an omnipresent
Deity, will be permitted to find in the disuse of all
ti/pes, " a more excellent way".

CHAPTER V

ox THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF THE CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY.

1 HE influences of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of
men are both general and extraordinary. By the
general influences of the Spirit I mean the work of
grace, — a work essential to the salvation of the soul,
by which alone we are turned from our evil ways,
enabled to serve God out of a pure heart, and pre-
served alive as members of the body of Christ. " The
grace of God which bringeth salvation", says the
apostle Pavd, ''' hath appeared to all men ; teaching
us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present Avorld"; Tit. ii. 11, 12. Again, he says, "By
grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of
yourselves : it is the gift of God"; Eph. ii. 8. The
eitraordinanj influences of the Spirit, are those Avhicli
qualify individuals for particular religious services :
they are by no means indispensable to salvation : it is
not by them that we maintain our spiritual life :
neither are thev as a whole the common allotment of

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 131

all the living members of the true church, but are
variously bestowed — one upon one person, and another
upon another.

These extraordinary influences are usually denom-
inated the gifts of the Spirit. " To one", says Paul,
" is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to
another the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit ;
to another faith, by the same Spirit ; (that is, probably,
such faith as qualified for the execution of some
peculiarly important service ;) to another the gifts of
heahng, by the same Spirit ; to another the working
of miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another the
discerning of Spirits : to another divers kinds of
tongues ; to another the interpretation of tongues :
but all these worketh that one and the self-same
Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will ";
I. Cor. xii. 8—11.

This apostolic description of the distribution of
divine gifts in the church, is introduced by the de-
claration that " the manifestation of the Spirit is given
to every man^ to profit withal (or as in the Greek, in
order to that ivliich is profitable or usefid'')''\ And
as every member of the natural body contributes by
the exercise of its own functions to the welfare of the
whole body, so it may be presumed that there is no
real christian who is not, sooner or later, endowed with
some particular spiritual capacity for usefulness in the
church, and called to the performance of some specific
services, in the great cause of truth and righteousness.
When, however, we consider any one gift of the
Spirit, we plainly perceive that it is not bestowed

K 2

132 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

g-enerally, but is the portion of those iiidiviihiuls only,
upon whom is laid that peculiar office in the church
to the exercise of which such gift is directed. Now
the gift to which I am about to advert, is pre-eminent
above all others as a means of general usefulness —
of conversion, instruction, and consolation : it is that
which is now generally denominated the gift of
" ministry", but which in the Scriptures is sometimes
described as the gift of "prophecy" ; I. Cor. xiv. 3.
Undoubtedly, there have existed at various periods
and for particular purposes, other gifts of the Spirit,
which require a higher degree of supernatural influ-
ence ; such as those of " miracles" and of " tongues";
but the gift by means of which divine truth is
outwardly communicated and applied, is of constant
and therefore of paramount benefit ; and when we
take into our view the weakness and imperfection of
human nature, we may consider it as equally important
in every age, to the maintenance, edification, and
enlargement of the militant church.

I believe it to be generally allowed among christ-
ians, that none can be true ministers of the gospel,
Avho are not called to the exercise of that office by
the Holy Ghost ; and consequently that the faculty of
ministry is still to be considered a gift of the Spirit.
But although this doctiine is generally admitted, it is
very far indeed from being consistently or universally
carried into practice. Many rush into the sacred
office, and enjoy the temporal privileges with which
it is so usually connected, whose whole deportment
evinces in the plainest manner, that they are destitute
of qualification for any such undertaking. Others,

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 133

whose views are of a somewhat more serious com-
plexion, and who are actuated by a general desire to
perform their duty, are obviously depending in their
ministry, not upon that Spirit who can alone cpialify
for the exercise of his own gifts, but upon human
learning and merely intellectual exertion. Their
discourses are so far from arising out of the intima-
tions of a divine influence, that they are the mere
produce of their own reflexions, and their own indus-
try— unless indeed they be borrowed, as is too
frecpTcntly the case, from the reflexions and industry
of others. Such discourses may be the word of
the preacher, or they may be the word of his
neighbour, but they cannot with any degree of strict-
ness or propriety, be described as " the word of the
Lord".

Happily, there is still another class of ministers
among various denominations of christians (as I can
testify from my own observation), whose views on
the present subject are of a much more spiritual
character. In the first place, tliey enter into the
sacred office under very decided impressions of christ-
ian duty, and in the humble yet full persuasion, that
they are called into this field of service, by the great
Head of the Church. And in the second place, when
invested, according to their own apprehension, with
the office in cpiestion, they exercise its important
functions, not only with zeal and fidelity, but with a
real feeling of dependence upon the divine Spirit.
Such persons are evidently the servants of the Lord
Jesus Christ ; and we can scarcely fail to observe how
frerpiently their labours are blessed to the conversion

134 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

and edification of the people. Nevertheless, it must
be confessed respecting even these preachers of the
gospel, that their ministry is not the unmixed offspring
of the Lord's Spirit. The principle upon which they
generally (I will not say universally) conduct their
religious services, appears to be this — that having
'been called to the work and invested with the office
of preachers, they are constantly to seek for the
assistance of divine power in the exercise of its
functions : nevertheless, that the discourses which
they actually utter, are not to be immediately prompt-
ed of the Lord, but, under the more general and
indirect influences of the Holy Spirit, are to be the
produce of their own minds, and mostly of previous
study, research, and reflexion.

Little as I am inclined to cast any blame upon
others who are evidently accepted and assisted by
their "own Master", I conceive it to be a duty plainly
laid upon the Society of Friends, to hold up a still
higher and purer standard respecting the christian
ministry. It is a principle generally understood and
admitted by the members of that Society, that the
faculty of the christian ministry is a gift of the Spirit
which cannot be rightly exercised, otherwise than
under the direct and imynediate injluence of that Spirit.
Friends are not, therefore, satisfied with any general
impression that it is their duty to preach the gospel ;
nor do they venture, under such impression, either to
employ their own intellectual exertions as a prepara-
tion for the service, or to select their own time for
performing it. If it be the divine will that they
should minister, they believe it will be manifested to

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 135

them by the divine Spirit, when they are to speak,
whom they are to address, and what things they are
to express. In the exercise of so high and sacred a
function, they dare not depend either in a greater or
less degree upon their own strength or wisdom ;
but they feel constrained to place their sole reliance
upon him who " searcheth the reins and the hearts";
upon him who " hath the key of David" ; who " open-
eth and no man shuttcth, and shutteth and no man
openeth"; Rev. iii. 7.

The individual who, according to the apprehension
of Friends, is a true minister of the gospel, (and there
may be many such persons in a single congregation,)
avails himself with strict regularity of the opportu-
nities provided amongst us, as in every religious
society, for the purpose of divine worship. In com-
pany with his brethren and sisters, he waits in public
upon Him, who is alone the author of every good
and perfect gift. His soul is humbled in true pros-
tration before God ; and while he continues in this
condition, he is often sensible not only of a general
desire for the spiritual welfare of his friends, but of a
strong yet secret exercise of mind on their account.
Now as he patiently Avaits, in reverent dependence
upon Christ the great Minister of the sanctuary, this
exercise of mind often assumes an explicit direction ;
and when he apprehends that the secret command has
gone forth towards him, vocalli/ to address either the
congregation in preaching, or the Almighty in prayer ;
he obeys the mandate of his Lord, and speaks as the
Spirit gives him utterance. When he has been
enabled to discharge himself of the burthen which

136 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

has thus rested upon him, he returns to a state
of silence, and is often permitted to experience a
consohng feeHng of rehef and tranquiUity. The qui-
etude and true ease which then prevail in his mind
aiford him an evidence of which he may with humility
avail himself, that in thus exercising his gift, he has
been following, not the carnal imaginations of his
own heart, but the voice of the true Shepherd.

Here I Avould particularly observe, that, with every
humble and devoted minister who acts on these prin-
ciples, and who carefully maintains the watch, the
internal operations of the Spirit will not only prompt
to a right exercise of the gift, but will afford a
constant check upon its abuse. There will be found
in those internal operations, a secret discipline, a
salutary correction, for those who exceed the limits
of their calling, and stretch their gift beyond its
true measure, if, however, in any persons, who have
received the gift of the ministry, a watchful depend-
ence upon God is not maintained, and thus their
services degenerate into the use of words without life,
the spiritually-minded hearer Avill not fail to observe
so important a change ; and thus, while the members
of a religious society are "subject to one another in
love", and a right christian oversight is preserved
among them, it will not, for the most part, be found
a difficult matter, to prevent the continuance, in any
congregation, of a spurious ministry.

The use of the christian ministry whether in preach-
ing or in prayer ; whether in the public congregation,
or even in the more private circle, is immediately
connected with the worship of God. It is universally

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 137

understood to constitute a part of that worship. The
sentiments of Friends, therefore, on this subject, hke
those on the rites of baptism and the supper, arise out
of that part of the divine law, as revealed under the
New Covenant, which declares that God is a Spirit,
and must be worshipped by his followers In spirit and
in truth.

They conceive that true spiritual worship consists
in that communion of the soul with its Creator, which
is not interrupted either by the use of ceremonial
ordinances, or by any religious services originating in
the invention and contrivance of man ; and therefore
they apprehend, that no verbal administrations properly
consist with worship, but those w^hicli arise simply
and immediately from the influence of the Holy Spirit.
They believe that God can be rightly praised only by
his own ivorks. Now among those Avorks may be
reckoned the spiritual ministry of which I am speak-
ing ; for, however it may be affected by the infirmity
of the instrument through which it passes, (and this
may be the case in a greater or lesser degree,) it is
nevertheless prompted, ordered, and directed to its
right object, by the Lord himself.

Here I would observe that there appears to exist
a material distinction between teaching and preaching.
While in the exercise of either of these christian
duties, the dependence of the true christian will be
placed on the grace and Spirit of God, it may be
fairly admitted that in teaching, a much greater liberty
is given for the use of our merely human facultfes,
than in the higher and more important office of
prophecy or preaching. The Spirit operates through

138 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

a variety of administrations : and there often arise
opportunities, when the composition of treatises on
rehgious subjects, when commenting on the Scriptures,
and when the use of other means of christian instruc-
tion, are not only allowable, but desirable. But such
an allowance by no means affects the principle of
Friends, that with occasions so solemn as those of
the congregational worship of the Deity, no ministry
can be in true harmony, but such as is dictated
by the direct influences of the Holy Spirit. It
is then, that in a peculiar and preeminent manner,
the Almighty Saviour of men is present with his
people. The sacred canopy of their heavenly Fa-
ther's love is spread over them ; nor can they
worship him aright, unless the reasonings and ima-
2;inations of their own minds are brought into
subjection. At such, times the mandate is proclaimed
to the spiritual worshipper. " Be silent, O all flesh,
before the Lord ; for he is raised up out of his holy
habitation ;" Zech. ii. 13. If incense is then to be
offered unto him, its sweet savour must arise out of
no "strange fire"; Levit. x. 1. If the ark of the
covenant is to be uplifted among the people, none
may touch it to whom the command is not given ;
II. Sam. vi. 6. If the pure temple of the Lord is
to be built up, he himself must prepare the mate-
rials, " and neither hammer nor axe nor any tool
of iron" — nothing of the unauthojuzed instrumentality
of man — must be "heard in the house"; I. Kings vi. 7.
In offering the description now given of the nature
and operation of that which we deem to be true
ministry ; in adverting to its divine origin, and in

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 139

marking its coincidence with the pure spirituaUty of
christian worship, I have not forgotten our own
infirmities and deficiencies ; and it has been very far
indeed from my intention to convey the idea that we
are found universally to maintain in practice this high
yet simple standard. I am remarking only that this
is our principle, and that it is a principle which evi-
dently arises out of the divine law^ and accords with
its holiness and perfection.

There is another point of view, in which the pre-
sent subject recpiires to be considered.

Although the object for which christians meet in con-
gregations, is the worship of the Deity, and although
it is by means of a direct communion between God
and the soul, that the worshipper is chiejiij edified,
the " Master of assemblies" is pleased to appoint the
outward ministration of preaching, in immediate con-
nexion with the service thus offered to himself, for
the purposes of conversion, edification, and consolation.
It is obvious that, in any assembly of persons, there
is always a variety of internal conditions ; and the
mental state even of a single individual is varied
from time to time, by circumstances known only to
himself and to his Creator. In order then to be
useful to its fullest extent, the ministry of the gospel
ought to consist not only in a statement of scriptural
truths, but in a right experimental application of those
truths, as occasion offers, to all this variety of inter-
nal condition. Now, although the preacher, from his
own observation, may form some opinion respecting
the states of his hearers ; he cannot penetrate the
secrets of the heart, and his judgment never fails

140 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

to be obscure, uncertain, and imperfect. Thus his
administrations may or may not be fitted to those per-
sons for whom they are intended. But the Minister of
ministers searches the hearts of 7nen, and under the
immediate influence of his Spirit, the preacher of
the gospel is enabled to unfold the condition of
individuals ; and rightly to apply to their several
wants, the word of consolation, reproof, or instruction.
Such was the character of that prophesying or preach-
ing of which we read in the epistles of Paul. " If
al] pi'ophecy", says he, " and there come in one that
belie veth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all,
he is judged of all : and thus are the secrets of his
heart made manifest ; and so falling down on Ms face
he will worship God, and report that God. is in you
of a truth'"'; I. Cor. xiv. 24, 25.

So also in public jDrayer, the minister prays as the
representative of the congregation, and the minds of
the hearers are supposed to accompany the words of
the speaker. If he utter the written prayer, and the
congregation follow him in the same words, it is
suflficiently obvious that the expression of the lip and
the feeling of the heart, will often be in total disso-
nance. The obdurate sinner may be found addressing
an omnipresent Deity, in the language of contrition —
the sorrowful and desponding spirit, in the voice of
praise and thanksgiving — the happy and rejoicing
believer, in the words of mourning and woe ! Nor
can it be considered that a less inconsistency prevails,
when the prayer of the minister is extemporaneous,
but proceeds, not from the Spirit of the Lord, but
from his own powers of invention and composition.

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 141

The ^^'ords which under such circumstances he may
express, however satisfactory to his own mind, may
often be in absolute discordance with the feehngs
and real condition of his hearers. Were we in our
public assemblies of worship, to use addresses either
to the people or to the Almighty, not dictated by his
Spirit, but either previously written or extempora-
neously composed, we should, ivith our views of the
subject, consider ourselves not as honouring the God
of our fathers, but as making an unauthorized and
improper use of his holy name. And we are
persuaded, from long experience, that under that
dispensation of religion into which we have been led,
such a mode of conducting the administrations of the
gospel, would greatly injure the life, and as greatly
lessen the true efficacy of our christian worship.

In confirmation of our principle on the present
subject, and as a farther proof that it legitimately
arises out of divine institution, I have now to appeal
to the numerous and plain examples of inspired
ministry, recorded in the Bible.

Various instances are on record in that sacred
volume, of ministry littered either publicly or on
private occasions of peculiar importance ; and the
prayers, praises, and discourses, thus spoken, bear
the character, not of compositions prepared before-
hand, through the exertions of human intellect, but
of effusions flowing spontaneously from that divine
Spirit wlio animated and impelled the speakers. When
Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharoah ; when the
dying Jacob pronounced his blessing on his children
and grandchildren ; when Moses sang aloud his song

142 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

of rejoicing; and when he recited to the people the
marvellous dealings of God with them ; when Joshua
also recounted the mercies of the Lord, and exhorted
the Israelites to ohedience ; when Deborah and Barak
uttered their triumphant hymn ; when Hannah in the
temple poured forth her loud thanksgiving ; when
Samuel communicated the Avord of the Lord to Eli,
and on another occasion pleaded the cause of God
with the people ; when David sung his psalms of
penitence, prophecy, and praise, ^ and Avhen his suc-
cessor uttered his proverbs of wisdom and his thou-
sand songs, L Kings iv. 32 ; when Solomon, Avhen
Hezekiah, and when Ezra, lifted up their a oices in
audible supplication before the assembled multitudes ;
AAlien Elizabeth addressed Avith a loud Aoice the
mother of her Lord, and Avhen Mary responded Avith
the A'oice of thanksgiving ; when Zach arias praised
the Lord who had "Adsited and redeemed his people" ;
Avhen John the Baptist proclaimed the personal pre-
sence and approaching reign of the Messiah ; when
all these and many other individuals thus exercised
the gift of ministry (as it would uoav be denominated),

8 From various statements contained in the recorded liistor}' of David, it may be
collected tbat lie sometimes uttered liis prayers and psalms, before they were com-
mitted to writing; See II. Sam. vii. 18 — 29, xxii. xxiii, 2. Nor can we doubt
that the Spirit often led hiin in the first instance to write that sacred poetry, which
was afterwards sung both by himself and others. While, however, it is evident
that psalmody prevailed among the ancient Hebrews to a great extent, it is to be
remembered that the songs which they introduced into their worship, were the
songs of prophets and originated in direct inspiration.

The psalms to which the earliest christians were accustomed, I conceive to have
been often uttered without premeditation, and under the immediate influence of the
Holy Ghost. In two of his epistles, Paul describes them as " spiritual songs",
Eph. V. 19, Col. iii. 16 ; and on another occasion he numbers the " psalm"
among those inspired administrations, which distinguished the public worship of
primitive times ; I. Cor. xiv. 26.

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 143

there is every reason to believe (and in some of the
instances alkidcd to, it is expressly declared,) that
they spake as they were immediately moved by the
Holy Ghost.

Among the ancient Israelites, the duty which pro-
perly corresponds with that of the christian minister,
was not exercised by the Priests and Levites, whose
office it was to perform the service practised in the
temple, and to offer the sacrifices appointed by the
law. It rather appertained to the prophets, who, at
various periods of the Israelitish history, were a
numerous body of men ; and were distinguished from
their countrymen, not by hereditary dignity or official
appointment, but simply by the gifts of the Holy
Spirit. These persons, as we find from a multitude
of passages in their written works, were by no means
exclusively engaged in predicting events to come, but
were often sent forth to proclaim the judgments and
mercies of the Lord, to warn the people, and to
exhort them to faith, obedience, and holiness. The
gift of "prophecy", therefore, during the more ancient
periods of sacred history, frequently assumed the
same character, as in the days of the apostle Paul,
who described it as identical with the gift of preaching;
I. Cor. xiv. 3. Now whether the prophets exercised
their gift, in predicting or in exhorting, it is on all
hands allowed that their words were dictated by the
direct inffiiencc of the Spiiit of God. They delivered
not the productions of their own invention, but the
messages of JehoA ah. It was not they Avho spoke :
it was the Lord who spoke by them.

Very similar to the case of the prophets, was that

144 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

of the apostles of Jesus Christ. All christians allow
that the verbal ministrations of these servants of God
were immediately inspired of the Holy Ghost. When
our Lord sent forth his disciples to heal the sick and
to preach the gospel, he said to them, " Ye shall be
brought before governors and kings for my sake, for
a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But
when they deliver you up, take no thought how or
what ye shall speak : for it shall be given you in
that same hour, what ye shall speak. For it is not
ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which
speaketh in you" ; Matt. x. 18 — 20. On a subsequent
occasion immediately before his ascension, we read
tliat Jesus opened the understanding of the apostles
" that they might understand the Scriptures", when he
addressed them in the following manner ; " Thus it
is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day : and that repent-
ance and remission of sins should be preached in his
name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold,
I send the promise of my Father upon you (i. e. the
Spirit) : but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye
be endued with powei^ from on high'' ; Luke xxiv.
46 — 49. In pursuance of this declaration, the apos-
tles when gathered together on the day of Pentecost,
were ^'filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance'';
Acts ii. 4. Paul in a very particular manner has ex-
plained the nature and declared the authority of his
own preaching. "And I was with you" says he to the
Corinthians, " in weakness, and in fear, and in much

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 145

trembling. And my speecli and my preaching were
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power : that yonr
faith shoukl not stand in the wisdom of men, but in

the power of God " Again, "Now we have

received, not the spirit of the workl, but the Spirit
which is of God ; that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God ; which things also we
speak, not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth,
hut which the Holy Ghost teacheth" l.Cor. ii, 3 — 5,
12, 13.

But the immediate operation of the Spirit, as pro-
ductive of ministry, was by no means confined, under
the gospel dispensation, to the apostles of Jesus
Christ. There are in the book of Acts a variety of
passages, Avhich prove that the gifts of the Holy
Ghost were poured out in great abundance upon others
also. On that memorable day of Pentecost, more
especially, the Spirit descended from above not only
on the apostles, but on the whole company of their
followers. Then, according to the express declaration
of Peter, was accomplished the prophecy of Joel ;
"And it shall come to pass in the last days (saith God),
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh : and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your
young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams : and on my servants and on my
handmaidens will I pour out in those days of my
Spirit, and they shall prophesy;" Joel ii. 28, 29,
Acts ii. 16 — 18.

The same truth may be without difficulty elicited
from various passages of Paul's epistles ; for he often

I,

146 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

mentions the gifts of direct inspiration, with Avhich
his own converts were endowed by the Lord Jesus.
On one occasion particularly he reproves the Corinthi-
ans for the misapplication of the gift of tongues ; and
gives them very explicit directions respecting the
manner in which that gift, and others of a similar
nature^ wTre to be exercised. '"'' If therefore the whole
church he come together into one place, and all speak
with tongues, and there come in those that are un-
learned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are
mad ? But if all prophesy, and there come in one that
believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all;
he is judged (or discerned) of all. And thus are the
secrets of his heart made manifest ; and so, falling
down on his face, he will worship God, and report
that God is in you of a truth. How is it then,
brethren ? When ye come together, every one of you
hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a
revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be
done to edifying. If any man speak in an unknown
tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and
that by course ; and let one interpret. But if there
be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church ;
and let him speak to himself and to God. Let the
prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
If any thing he revealed to another that sitteth by, let
the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy
one by one, that all may learn and all may be com-
forted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject
to the prophets : for God is not the author of confu-
sion but of peace, as in all churches of the saints ;"
I. Cor. xiv. 23:— 33.

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, 147

This remarkal)le passage of Scrij)ture, as well as
the whole chapter of which it forms a part, plaiiily
relates, as is universally allowed by commentators, to
the conduct of tlie early christian converts in their
public assemblies for divine worship ; nor is there I
believe anv other existing document which throws the
same degree of light upon that interesting topic. The
passage naturally suggests a few remarks.

It is to be observed in the first place, that the
ministry which the apostle describes as exercised on
these occasions, was not prepared or premeditated,
but arose out of the direct impulses of the Spirit of
God. That this was the character of the gift of
tongues, or of ministry in foreign languages, by which
the original preachers of the gospel were miraculously
enabled to promulgate the truth among all nations,
cannot be denied. Nor is it less clear that the j)ro-
phesy'mg which the apostle so much commends as
profitable for consolation, conviction, and edification,
and which comprehended not merely predicting, but
more especially preaching, praying, and singing praises,
was uttered under the direct and extraordinary influ-
ences of the Holy Ghost : for it is in reference to
those very influences, that the public ministry alluded
to, is thus denominated by the apostle. It was
" prophecy" for no other reason than because it
was directly inspired,'^ Koppius, a learned biblical
critic, remarks that this word, as employed by the

9 " Prophecy was another spiritunl gift which St. Paul hath defined (I. Cor. xiv, 3)
to be 'a speaking unto men for edification, and exhortation, and comfort',

" I have never found prophesying used in the Old or New Testament for mere
explaining the Scriptures, or teaching without inspiration. But it appeareth to
me to be always meant of speaking or acting by inspiration. Sometimes it is to

l2

148 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

apostle, describes a faculty possessed "by a certain
description of christians in the apostolic church, who
being in a singular manner affected by diA^ine power,
were accustomed to speak publicly in their assemblies
for worship ; uttered prophecies ; laid open the secret
designs of men ; prayed with a remarkable impetus
and fervor of mind ; rose up under the sudden impulse
of the Holy Spirit, to teach, exhort, and console ; and
sung hymns which bore the stamp of a divine origin."
See Ejccu7's. iii. in Ep. ad Ephes. So also Schleusner
in voc, Grotius, and othei^ commentators.

It appears in the second place, that these gifts of
the Holy Spirit, although truly of a divine origin,
were capable, through unwatchfulness or perverseness,
of being misapplied and abused ; and were in some
measure placed under the control of the persons on
whom they were bestowed. The " spirits of the
prophets" were " subject to the prophets", and to
preserve a right order in the use of their ministry, it
was necessary for them to cultivate individually a
sound and enlightened judgment, and a tender regard
for others. Such a state of mind could in fact be
preserved, only through a watchful dependence upon
the Lord, who is the source of wisdom and of all
spiritual illumination. Under his guidance and influ-

be understood of foretelling future events, such as no human sagacity could have
foreseen. But that is not alwajs its signification.

" In Scripture, prophesying is sometimes to he understood as a delivering by
inspiration of some doctrine, direction, or exhortation, more peculiarly suited to the
state of that church, or of some part of it. At other times praying by inspiration,
or singing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, come under the general name of
prophesying. For all these were performed in the primitive church by inspiration,
and were a speaiting not only unto God, but unto men also ; and that for edification,
or exhortation, or comfort"; See Benson's Essay on the Public Worship of the
first Christians — in his Work on the Epistles, ito, Ed, vol. i. p. CO!*.

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 149

eiice every man would tiiiJ Iiis own place ; all might
then prophesy and all be edified in their tm-n, and
thus would it be made manifest in all the churches of
the saints, that God, the inspirer of his chosen servants,
" is not the author of confusion, but of peace".

Lastly, the reader cannot fail to notice, that the
ministry, Avhich at that early period Avas exercised
in christian assemblies for worship, w^as not the
prayer and lecture of any appointed individual ; but
consisted in the unsolicited and spontaneous effusions
of many ; — of all, who were impelled by the Spirit, and
to whom the word of the Lord was revealed on the
occasion.

Such are the principles upon which were regulated
the preaching and praying of the earliest christians in
their assemblies for worship ; and such precisely are
the principles on which, in their own religious meetings,
the Society of Friends profess to conduct the ministry
of the gospel.

An opinion, I am well aware, is commonly enter-
tained, that those extraordinary endowments of the
Holy Spirit which distinguished the period when
Christianity was first promulgated, have long since
ceased to be enjoyed in the church of Christ; and in
order to complete the present argument, it is necessary
for me to state the grounds on which I am persuaded
that this opinion, in the full extent to which it has
been carried, is by no means correct.

It may indeed Ije readily allowed that several of
the endowments in question, such as the gifts of
healing and of tongues, were of a nature absolutely
miraculous. As such, they were peculiarly adapted

150 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

to the great work of esfahli.shhig in the world a
rehgioii, which was not only new to almost the Avhole
of mankind, but was directly opposed to their favorite
maxims and habits. That object being now effected,
it is by no means surprising, according to my appre-
hension, that such gifts should lie withdrawn from
the church : and there does not appeal* to be any
reason for supposing that under the present circum-
stances of Christianity, they arc likely to be called
into action. Nor are we to forget that many of the
original promulgators of the gospel on whom this
work of establishing a new religion devolved, and
several of whom were employed in composing those
records of divine truth which arc of permanent and
universal authority, were gifted in aybrr moj^e eminent
degree with divine inspiration, than now appears to
be the case with any of the Lord's servants. But,
although these points are to be freely granted, there
are good reasons for the conviction entertained by
Friends, that the immediate operations of the Spirit,
as productive of ministry, continue to this very hour
to be bestowed on the followers of Christ.

In the first place, there is a great probability a pri-
ori that such would be the fact. Since, even under
the dispensation of the law, the ministry was prompted
and exercised by means of those immediate operations,
it is altogether inconsistent with the analogy of divine
truth, to suppose that, under the more spiritual dis-
pensation of the gospel, the church should be deprived
of so important and salutary a privilege. Again, it is
to be remembered that the "prophesying" of which we
are speaking was intended, as the apostle declares.

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 151

for the great purposes of exhortation, edification, and
comfort ; I. Cor. xiv. 3. Now since exhortation,
edification, and comfort, are required at tlie present
day, as much as they Avere in the times of the apostles,
and since the (iieat Head of the church is ever wiUing
and able to supply the need of his servants, there are
obvious reasons for our Ijelieving, that the gift which
was directed to those purposes, would still be permit-
ted to operate.

The strong antecedent probability now adverted
to, may be sufficient to throw the onus prohnndl
upon those who deny the continued existence of
the gift of inspired ministry. Nevertheless it is
desirable for us to remark, in the second place, that
this antecedent probability is confirmed by certain
plain promises contained in the holy Scriptures. The
prediction of Joel, as it is cited by the apostle Peter,
declares that an abundant measure of this very gift,
should be poured forth on the servants of the Lord in
"the last days"; Acts ii. 17.^ From the comparison
of various other passages of the Bible, it appears that
by the " last days" are intended the " times of Christi-
anity"— " the times of the last dispensation" — and it
will scarcely be denied that these expressions include
the whole of that dispensation — its career and termi-
nation, as well as its commencement ; comp. Isa. ii. 2,
Heb. i. 2, I. Pet. i. 20, I. John ii. 18. It is most
probable, therefore, that the promise of the Lord,
through his prophet, did not relate exclusively to the

' In Joel ii. 28, we read, "And it shall come to pass afterwards" — Hebrew
1^ ^"nrii^* Kimchi, the celebrated Jewish conimentator, iuforms us that this
phrase signifies In the last days ; and it is well known that by " the last dajs" the
Jews denote the times of the Messiah.

152 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

events of the day of Pentecost, but is rather to be
interpreted as describing some of the permanent cha-
racteristics of the christian dispensation.

Such a view of this celebrated prophecy appears to
have been entertained by the apostle who cited it.
After explaining to the people that the wonderful
events of the day of Pentecost, were effected by the
Son of God, who had " received of the Father the pro-
mise of the Holy Ghost"', and ivho had shed forth that
which they then saw and heard ; he proceeds to declare
the continuance and universality among believers, of
the same divine influence. " Repent and be baptized
every one of you", said he . . . . " and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost : for the promise is unto
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off,
even as many as the Lord our God shall calP; Acts ii.
38, 39. This passage has been cited on a former
occcasion, to prove that the Holy Spirit was not to
be withdra\A'n from the church, as a guide to morals.
Now when we look at the circumstances under which
these words were spoken, and consider their immediate
connexion with the prediction of Joel and with its
fulfilment, we can scarcely fail to perceive the evidence
which they also afford, that the Holy Spirit was not
to be withdrawn from the church as a guide to pro-
phesying. It was probably in reference to both these
spiritual operations — the one general, the other pecu-
Har — that our Lord himself when he promised to his
disciples (who then represented his church militant)
the effusion of the Holy Ghost, declared that this
divine Teacher and Monitor, should abide with them
"for ever"; that is, I presume, through the whole

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 153

course of the christian dispensation ; John xiv. 16.
Lastly, an appeal may be safely made to the persons
addressed in this ivork, when it is asserted that the
sentiments of Friends on the present subject are con-
firmed by their own experience. That Society has
for more than a century and a half, been acting, in
reference to the ministry, on the principles which have
now been stated, and they certainly have never found
reason for considering those principles either untrue
or inefficacious. Although we are very far indeed
from pretending to those higher degrees of inspiration,
which for peculiar and specific purposes were bestowed
on some of the immediate followers of Jesus, we
know that there are individuals amongst us who have
received that gift of prophecy, which is profitable for
"exhortation, edification, and comfort": that these
persons are incapable of exercising their gift in
their own strength, or at any stated periods ; but
that as they are preserved in watchful dependence
upon their holy Leader, they are sometimes really
anointed for the service ; and that on such occasions,
their prayers and their preaching, however little
adorned with the enticing words of man's wisdom, are
evidently accompanied with life and power.'^

2 In counexioD with the subject of the preseut section, I wish to present to the
reader's attention, a very curious passage selected from the Pastor of Hermas,
a work probably composed during the first century after Christ, and although in
many respects a fanciful composition, held in considerable repute among many
of the early christians.

THE ELEVENTH COMMAND.

That the Spirits and Prophets are to be tried by their works, and of a
two-fold Spirit.

He showed me certain men sitting upon benches, and one sitting in a chair ;
and he said unto me, seest thou those who sit upon the benches? Sir, said I,
I see them. He answered ; they are the faithful ; and he who sits in the chair, is an

154 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

In reviewing the principal particulars of the present
chapter, the reader will observe that the influences of
the Holy Spirit arc both general and extraordinary —
that the former eft'ect our conversion and sanctification,

earthly spirit. For he cometh not into the assembly of the faithful, but avoids it.
But he joins himself to the doubtful and empty ; and prophesies to them in corners
and hidden places ; and pleases them by speaking according to all the desires of
their hearts. For he, placing himself among empty vessels, is not broken, but the
one fitteth the other. But when he cometh into the company of just men, who
are full of the Spirit of God, and they pray unto the Lord ; that man is emptied,
because that earthly spirit flies from him, and he is dumb, and cannot speak any
thing. As if in a store-house you shall stop up wine or oil ; and among those
vessels shall place an empty jar ; and shall afterwards come to open it, you shall
find it empty as you stopped it up : so those empty prophets, when they come
among the spirits of the just, are found to be such as they came.

n. I said, how then shall a man be able to discern them ? Consider what T am
going to say concerning both kinds of men ; and as I speak unto thee, so shalt
thou prove the prophet of God, and the false prophet. And first try the man who
hath the Spirit of God ; because the Spirit ivhich is from above is humble, and quiet ;
and departs from all vuclcedness ; and from the vain desires of the present u-orld ;
and makes himself more humble than all men ; and answers to none when he is asked ;
nor to every one singly : for the Spirit of God doth tiot speak to a man when he ivill,
but when God pleases. When, therefore, a man who hath the Spirit of God shall
come into the church of the righteous, who have the faith of God, and they pray unto
the Lord ; then the holy angel of God fills that man with the blessed Spirit, and he
speaks in the congregation as he is moved of God. Thus therefore is the Spirit of God
known, because whosoever speaketh by the Spirit of God, speiikelh as the Lord will.

HI. Hear now concerning the earthly spirit, which is empty and foolish, and
without virtue. And first of all, the man who is supposed to have the Spirit
(whereas he hath it not in reality,) exalteth himself, and desires to have the first
seat, and is wicked and full of words ; and spends his time in pleasure, and in all
manner of voluptuousness: and receives the reward of his divination; which if he
receive not, he does not divine. Should the Spirit of God receive reward and
divine ? It doth not become a prophet of God so to do. Thus you see the life
of each of these kind of prophets. Wherefore prove that man by his life and
works, who saith that he hath the Holy Spirit. And believe the Spirit which
comes from God, and has power as such. But believe not the earthly and empty
spirit, which is from the devil, in whom there is no faith nor virtue. Hear now
the similitude which I am about to speak unto thee. Take a stone, and throw
it up towards heaven ; or take a spout of water, and mount it up thither-ward ;
and see if thou canst reach unto heaven. Sir, said I, how can this be done?
For neither of those things which you have mentioned is possible to be done.
And he answered ; Therefore as these things cannot be done, so is the earthly
spirit without virtue, and without efl'ect. Understand yet further the power
which cometh from above, in this similitude. The grains of hail that drop down

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 155

and, as siicli, are essential to salvation and common
to all the Lord's children — that the latter arc not
intended for the salvation of those to whom they
are imparted, hut for the uses of the church ; and
are variously hcstowexl upon various persons — that
any one gift of the Spirit such as that of "the ministry"
appertains only to a selected few — that while the
faculty of ministry (called hy the apostle, prophecy)
is loosely acknowledged to he a gift of the Spirit,
this doctrine is, to a great extent, practically disre-
garded among the professors of Christianity — that
by the Society of Friends, no ministry is admitted in
connexion with the worship of God, but such as is
considered to arise immediately from divine influence
— that their views on this subject, as well as those
respecting typical ordinances, are founded upon that
part of the divine law, which prescribes that God
being a Spirit, should be worshipped spiritually —
that in order, moreover, to be accurately applicable
to the mental condition of the hearers, the ministry
must be prompted and ordered by Him who alone
" searcheth the reins and the hearts" — -that the exam-
ples of preaching and public prayer recorded in the
Bible, have in general the character of unjjremeditated
effusions, flowing immediately from the Spirit of
truth and righteousness — that such, more particularly,
was the prophesijhig exercised in their assemblies for

are exceeding small ; and yei when they fall upon the head of a man, how do they
cause pain to it ? And again ; consider the droppings of a house ; how the little
drops railing upon the earth work a hollow in the stones. So in like manner the
least things- which come, from above, and fall upon the earth, have great force.
Wherefore join thyself to this Spirit, which has power ; and depart from the other,
which is empty ; Archbishop Wake's Version of the Apostolic Fathers, p. 255.

156 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER

worship by the primitive christians — finally, that
analogy, Scripture, and experience, unite in bearing
evidence, that the immediate influences of the Spirit,
as productive of such administrations, were not to
be withdrawn from the church on earth, and that
they continue to operate to this very hour.

To conclude : — if the weapons wielded by the
Lord's servants in the cause of righteousness are to
be " mighty for the pulling down of strong holds",
they must be spiritual and not carnal : if the " preach-
ing of the cross" is to be the " power of God", it must
be divine in its origin : if the ministry of the gospel
of Christ, is to enliven and cleanse the recipients,
it must be derived Avith true simplicity from the
Source of life and holiness. Observation may serve
to convince us that these sentiments are gradually
extending their influence among true christians. " All
the minister's efforts will be A^anity and worse than
vanity", said a late enlightened clergyman of the
Church of England, " if he have not unction. Unction
must come down from heaven, and spread a savour,
and relish, and feeling, over his ministry"; See CeciVs
Remains, p. 12. I am persuaded that there are many
pious ministers of various denominations, whose hearts
will respond to such a declaration, and Avho are
more and more convinced that in the exercise of their
gift, they must no longer rely on human learning or
intellectual effort, but rather on the powerfnl visit-
ations of that sacred influence, which when it is
withheld, no man can command, and when it is poured
forth, no man can rightly stay. Under such circum-
stances it is plainly very important, that Friends

OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 157

should be faithful in maintaming their principle on
this subject, in all its vigor and in all its purity ; and
that they should continue without wavering to uphold
in the church the highest standard respecting the
nature and origin of true christian ministry. May
wc, therefore, on the one hand watch unto prayer,
that our preaching and praying may never degenerate
into the expression of words without life ; and on
the other hand, may we be diligent in the use of the
gift committed to us, and exercise a still firmer con-
fidence in that divine anointing, which can impart
even to the foolishness of preaching, an author /tij
not to he gainsayed !

CHAPTER VI.

ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, AND APPOINTMENT, OF THE
MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.

In the preceding chapter I have endeavoured to
explain in what manner the views of Friends, respect-
ing the true nature and character of the christian
ministry, arise out of that well knoAvn principle of the
divine law, that God who is a Spirit, must he wor-
shipped spiritually. Now the sentiments of Friends
respecting the steps which precede the exercise of the
ministry — respecting the pecuniary remuneration of
preachers — respecting the public administrations of
females — and respecting silence in Avorship — will
severally he found inseparably connected with the
doctrine, that, in order properly to consist with divine
worship, the ministry must arise out of the immediate
impulses of the Holy Spirit. These peculiarities
therefore may be considered as all equally arising
(whether directly or indirectly) out of the same essen-
tial principle of the divine law. The reader's attention
will, in the present chapter, be directed to the steps
which precede the exercise of the ministry of the gospel.

MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 159

The standard uphold by any body of christians in
reference to the selection, preparation, and appoint-
ment of the ministers of the gospel, will ever be found
to coincide with their standard respecting the nature
and character of the ministry itself, when l^rought
into exercise. Those who are satisfied with a ministry
which requires for its performance nothing superior
to the powers of man, Avill look for nothing superior
to those powers, in the selection, preparation, and
appointment, of the individuals who are to minister.
Those who are accustomed to regard the ministry as
the offspring partly of divine influence, and partly of
human study, will indeed consider a divine call essen-
tial to the object, but they will not, for the most part,
admit such a call to be sufficient without the addition
of preparatory intellectual efforts, nor without the
interposition of the authority of man. Those, lastly,
who admit no ministry but such as flows immediately
from the Spirit of truth, must of necessity leave the
ivliole work of selection, preparation, and appointment,
to the Lord himself.

In order to unfold this general rule with some
degree of precision, it may be desirable to examine in
the first place, how far it is exemplified by the known
practices of the Anglican church, and of the generality
of English protestant dissenters. I trust, however, it
will be clearly understood by the reader, that in at-
tempting such an examination, I have no intention to
throw discredit on any denomination of professing
christians ; much less to discourage the sincere in
heart from the pursuit of those duties, which appertain
to their own condition and situation in the church

KiO ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

universal. My view is simply to illustrate the subject
on which I am treating, and to introduce in a clear
and explicit manner, the sentiments entertained on
that subject by the Society of Friends.

When the bishop of the Anglican church ordains
to the priesthood, he lays his hand on the head of the
individual to be ordained, and says, " receive the
Holy Ghost, for the office and work of a priest in
the church of God, now committed unto thee by the
imposition of our hands". Here is a plain recognition
of the doctrine, that the person ordained is to exercise
his ministry by means of the influence of the Holy
Ghost ; and it is in perfect coincidence with such a
sentiment that the candidate for the sacred office, in
the same church, professes that he is " inwardly
moved " to the assumption of it, " by the Holy
Ghost" — that he is " called " to the work " according
to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ". That there
are many among the ministers of this denomination,
who, in the exercise of their ministry, really depend
in a great measure on the influence of the Holy
Spirit, and who would by no means have undertaken
the work of the gospel, had they not apprehended, that
they were inwardly moved to such a duty by the
Holy Ghost, my own knowledge of such individuals
enables me freely to allow. On the other hand it
will not be disputed, that much of the ministry actu-
ally employed within the borders of the Established
Church, is the production of human effort ; that it is
universally understood to have no other origin ; and
that nothing whatever of immediate inspiration, in
connexion with the work, is either expected by the

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. IGl

preacher, or required by his hearers. The mukitiide
who are accustomed to this low standard, respecting
the nature and character of the ministry itself, are
habituated to a standard equally low, in relation to the
steps which precede the assumption of the sacred
office. First, Avith respect to selection : the choice of
the individual who is afterwards to proclaim to others
the glad tidings of salvation, is very usually understood
to rest Avith his parents, with his friends, or with
himself. Secondly, with respect to preparation :
nothing is required for the most part, but the passing
of a few years at one of the universities, in order to
the attainment of mathematical and classical literature,
and of a certain moderate stock of theological know-
ledge. Lastly, Avith respect to appointment : the
personal authority of the ordaining bishop is, for this
purpose, generally deemed to be all-sufficient. Were
it true, that by the laying on of his hands, the bishop
of modern times like the apostle of the earliest church,
Avas miraculously enabled to communicate to the
candidate for sacred orders, the gift of the Holy
Ghost ; the most sjiiritual christian could adA ance no
objection to episcopal ordination. But since this is
not true, and since it is perfectly knoAvn not to be
true, the ceremony plainly resolves itself into an
appointment to the office of the ministry by the
Bishop only ; and Avith the exception of those indi-
viduals Avho are really called to the Avork by the
iuAvard motion of the Holy Ghost, the ministers thus
ordained must be considered as undertaking the office
of the preacher, upon the sole authority of that
appointment.

M

162 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

Among the generality of protestant dissenters in
this country, much less of form is observed in con-
ducting the administrations of the gospel, than is
customary in the Anglican church. The written
sermon as well as the printed liturgy are for the most
part discarded, and make way for the extempore
discourse and prayer. While, however, it appears to
be an opinion generally prevalent among English
protestant dissenters, that the faculty of praying aloud
and preaching is the gift of the Spirit ; I believe
there are few of their ministers who hesitate either to
prepare themselves for the work by previous study
and reflexion, or to preach and pray at periods ap-
pointed by others, or fixed upon by themselves.
With this mixed standard, respecting the nature of
the ministry itself, the practices of these christians,
with reference to the j)receding measures, will be
found exactly to correspond. While the necessity
of a divine call and the preparation of grace in
the heart are generally admitted, the first selection
of the dissenting minister depends, in great measure,
on the church to which he belongs. When any
young person is considered as aftbrding a sufficient
evidence of suitability for the ministry, in point of
conduct and talent, as well as of a general call into
such a field of labour, he is mostly recommended by
the church (with his own consent and that of his
friends) to some preparatory academy. There his
attention is directed to the acquirement of general
literature, and to those branches of study, more espe-
cially, which bear immediately on his great object.
Thus prepared, he is invited by «ome congregation.

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 163

to come and preach the gospel among them ; and
finally, when all parties are satisfied, several dissenting
ministers, who have been already established in their
office, unite in ordaining him as an authorized preacher,
and as the minister of that congregation. This may,
I believe, be considered an accurate description of the
course adopted in reference to the selection, prepara-
tion, and appointment of ministers, by some of the
leading bodies of dissenters in this country ; and
among many, others to whom such a description will
not precisely apply, the same principles are, neverthe-
less, recognized and enforced — namely that a divine
call and the work of grace are in the first place indis-
pensable ; but that to these are to be added the appli-
cation of outward means, and the interposition of
human authority.-

Before we proceed to consider the principles and
practices of Friends in reference to the present branch
of our subject, it may be well for us to examine
Avhether any sanction is given in the Holy Scriptures
to that practice so general among modern christians —
the human ordination of the ministers of the gospel.

That the apostles and some others of the earliest
christians were enabled by the laying on of their
hands to draw down upon individuals, in a mira-
culous manner, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, has been
already remarked ; Acts viii. 18, I. Tim. iv. 14. But
it will be allowed by the impartial reader, that the
human ordination of preachers when connected with
this extraordinary power, resolves itself in point of
fact into a divine appointment, and affords no autho-
rity for such ordination, when the power ceases to

M 2

164 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

exist. There are, however, two passages of the New
Testament, in which we read of human ordination,
independently of any miraculous communication of the
Holy Spirit. We are informed in the book of Acts,
that when Paul and Barnabas revisited the churches
which they had planted at Lystra, Iconium, and An-
tioch, they " ordained them elders (or presbyters) in
every church". Acts xiv. 23; and on another occasion,
Paul thus addresses himself to Titus, " For this cause
left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order
the things that are wanting, and ordain elders (or
presbyters) in every city"; Tit. ch. i. 5.

Here, on the supposition that the example of Paul
and Titus may be safely followed by uninspired persons,
Ave find a direct authority for the human ordination
or appointment of christian presbyters; and since the
office of preaching is understood among many modern
christians, to be inseparably connected with the station
of a presbyter, the inference is easily deduced that the
human ordination of the preachers of the gospel is
authorized in the New Testament. But I apprehend
that such an inference is founded upon an original
error of no slight importance. In the times of primi-
tive Christianity, there \\'as no necessary connexion
between the gift of preaching or prophecy, and the
offices of bishops, presbyters, and deacons. The four-
teenth chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians affords abundant evidence, as we have
already found occasion to notice, that when the earliest
christians assembled together for the purpose of divine
worship, it was not the bishop or overseer, nor the
presbyter or elder^ nor the deacon or subordinate

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 165

manager, who preached and prayed, ex officio, in the
congregation. Being for the most part persons of a
spiritual cliaracter, they might indeed be frequently
included in the number of those Avho preached and
prayed in the churches ; but the work of the ministry
was at that time restricted to no appointed individuals :
it devolved promiscuously upon all persons — whether
men or women — whether governors or governed — to
whom the word of God Avas revealed, and who were
visited by the fresh and heavenly influences of the
Spirit of prophecy.

The oflice of the Bishops or Overseers, and that of
the Presbyters or Elders, was, in the earliest christian
churches, identical. The Overseers were denominated
Elders, and the Elders, Overseers.^ Their situation in
the body corresponded with that of the chief Rulers of
the ancient Jewish synagogues. " It was their duty,"
says the elaborate Schleusner, " to rule the church of
Christ, but not to teach : more especially, to preside
over matters of worship ; to administer the sacraments
(or at least the Eucharist); to make decrees in eccle-
siastical aft'airs; to provide assistance for the poor and
the sick; to maintain in the church integrity of doc-
trine and sanctity of manners, and to settle the differ-
ences which arose among christians". * This able
critic appears to have been somewhat hasty in exclud-
ing from the offices of the Bishops and Presbyters
the duty of teaching. The gift of teaching — a gift

3 Puir,. i. 1. " Paul and Timotlieus, &c to all the saints in CI rist Jesus

which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons." Theodoret in his aote upoa
this passage says, " He calls the presbyters, bisJiops ; for at that period Ibey were
called by both those names ;" so also Theophylact.

■• See Schleusner in voc, VPiSZvTigog,

160 ON THE SELECTION^ PREPARATION,

which is sometimes distinguished from that of preach-
ing or prophecy — does not, indeed, appear to have
heen universal among them ; hut tlie apostle in his
general directions respecting the character and quali-
fications of tlie Bishop or Overseer, nevertheless re-
commends that he should he " apt to teach", I. Tim. iii
2 ; and again, that he should " be able by sound doc-
trine (or teaching) both to exhort and to convince (or
rather to refute) the gainsayers"; Tit. i. 9. But al-
though the Elders and Overseers of early Christianity,
as the spiritual governors and appointed guardians of
the flock, who were to protect their followers from
the incroachment of false doctrine, and of every root
of bitterness, were often called upon in the exercise of
their christian authority, to advise, instruct, exhort,
and argue ; they were not (like the Bishops and Pres-
byters of modern times) necessarily ministers of the
gospel. Between the public preaching and praying
practised in assemblies Jor ivorshlp, and the offices of
these persons, there does not appear to have been any
indispensable, peculiar, or official connexion.^

^ In the Jewish synagogues, which were probably in some I'espects the patterns
of the early christian assemblies for worship, the duty of preaching does not appear
to have devolved on any appointed officer. The olTicers of the synagogue were,/rs(,
the Rulers, who corresponded w ith the christian elders and bishops : they govern-
ed the church and regulated the order of divine service. Secondly, the Sheliach
Zibbor, or angel of the congregation, who read the forms of prayer. Thirdly, the
Chozenim or Inspectors, who appear to have answered to the christian deacons :
it was their duty to keep every thing belonging to their place of worship in its
proper order ; to correct those who misread the Holy Scriptures, &c. Fourthly,
the Interpreter, who translated into vernacular Syriac, the portion of Scripture
which had been previously read in Hebrew. The lessons of Scripture were divided
into seven parts, and read by seven persons, most of whom were selected from the
congregation ai large, by one of the Rulers. If the reader desired it, he was at
liberty to expound : and persons who were totally destitute of office in the church,
were accustomed to avail themselves of the opportunity thus afforded them, for
preaching to the people. Such was very frequently the case with our Saviour

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 167

So also the deacon of the early christian church was
not officially a preacher. His office probahly embraced
a variety ol subordinate services, but it is supposed to
have been principally directed to the care of the sick,
and to the management and distribution of the funds
raised in any church, for the maintenance of the poor.^

himself, who taught in the synagogues throughout Galilee and Judea ; and also
with the apostle Paul, as is plainly recorded in the book of Acts ; ch. ix. 20, xiii.
5, 15, xviii. 19. Now if there were no oHicers appointed for the purpose of
preaching in the Jewish synagogue, it is very improbable that there should be any
such officers in the early christian assemblies for worship, which probably differed
from the synagogues only in being conducted on a far purer and more spiritual
system; See Prideaux Con.fol. Ed. i. 306.

Since the Presbyters, Bishops, and Deacons, in the early christian church, must
have been selected as persons of an eminently spiritual character, we may presume
that many of ihem, like Timothy and Titus, were distinguished by the gilt of pro-
phecy or preaching. And since they were at the same time possessed of oflice and
authority iu the church, the erroneous doctrine might very easily arise (as the
spirituality of the church declined), that theij alone might preach. At how early a
period the change took place from the congregational administrations described by
the apostle Paul in I. Cor. xiv., to the modern system of pulpit lectures, it is im-
possible now to ascertain. The extract given from Hermas in a note upon the
preceding chapter, may sullice to show that the original practice of the church in
this respect, continued to be maintained in the latter part of the first century ; and
I observe that Polycarp (A. D. 108), in his description of the duties of Presbyters
and Deacons, makes no allusion whatever to their preaching ; but speaks of them
only as the superintendents and managers of ecclesiastical discipline ; Ep. ad
Philipp. cap. V. et vi. In the following curious passage of his epistle to the
Philadelphians, Ignatius (A. D. 107) describes the divine origin of his own ministry.
"I exhorted you, when I was with you, in a loud voice, to obey the Bishop, the
Presbyters, and the Deacons ; and some persons suspected that when I thus addressed
you, I was previously aware of the divisions which existed among you. But he is
my witness for whom I am in bonds, that I knew it not from any man, but the
Spirit preached by me, saying in this wise, &c.," cap, 7. Justin Martyr (A. D. 133),
in his dialogue with Trypho the Jew, declares the continued existence of the gifts
of prophecy, and that these gifts were exercised by both men and women ; p. 308,
Ed. Paris, lC3(i, Benton vol. i p. 024. Lastly, Irenseus, bishop of Lyons, (A. D,
178) describes the spiritual gifts exercised, at his time, iu the church, in terms
which plainly accord with the account given to us of the same faculties, in the
epistles of Paul. " We hear many brethren in the church" says this father " who
are endued with prophetic gifts ; who speak by the Spirit in all kinds of languages j
who bring to light the secrets of men for good purposes, and who declare divine
mysteries ;" Adv. Hares, lib, v. cap. G.

*" See Schleusner in voc, diaxovog.

1G8 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

On the whole, then, it may he allowed that the
human ordination or appointment of Elders, Ov^er-
seers, and Deacons, (provided that it he effected nnder
the inflnence of devout feelings, and of a sound
and enlightened judgment) is hy no means incon-
sistent with the true order of the christian church.
Such officers are nominated and appointed hy their
brethren, in the Society of Friends. But it by no
means follows from such an allowance, that man is at
liberty to ordain or appoint the preachers of the
gospel of Christ.

Having premised these observations respecting
Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, we may proceed to
apply the general rule stated in the commencement of
the present disquisition, to the known views and
practices of the Society of Friends. In the former
chapter, their sentiments respecting the true nature
and character of the christian ministry have been fully
detailed ; and it has been statv'd that they admit no
preaching or audible praying in their assemblies for
worship, but such as they deem to be prompted by
the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit. Since,
therefore, the ministry, according to the apprehension
of Friends, ought never to be brought into exercise
unless it be suggested, ordered, and directed, of the
Lord; since, as far as is consistent with the infirmity
of the instrument, it thus assumes, in their view, the
character of a divine work ; and since the influence
which alone leads into such a av ork, is in no degree
placed under their authority ; it necessarily follows
that they cannot interfere in any of the preceding-
steps — in the selection, preparation, and appointment.

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 169

of the ministers of the GospeL They conceive that it
is the midivided prerogative of the Great Head of the
church himself, to choose, to prepare, and to ordain,
his own ministers. A few observations may now be
offered upon each of these points.

I. Selection. " Before I formed thee in the belly
I knew thee ; and before thou camest forth out of
the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a
prophet unto the nations." Such was the declaration
of the Lord to Jeremiah, although the prophet deemed
himself to be a mere child, completely incapable of
the office to which he had been called ; Jcr. i. 5.
A yery similar declaration was made respecting an
eminent apostle of Jesus Christ. We find that
Ananias, the messenger of the Lord to Paul, considered
this persecutor of the christians to be utterly unfit
for the exercise of the ministry of the gospel ; " but
the Lord said unto him. Go thy way : for he is a
chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Lsrael " ;
Acts ix. 15. Accordingly Paul himself declares he
was " separated unto the gospel of God", Rom. i. 1 —
that God separated him from his mother s ivomh,
and called him by his grace to reveal his Son in
him, that he might preach him among the heathen;
Gal. i. 15, 16. As it was with Jeremiah and Paul,
so undoubtedly it was wnth all the other prophets
and apostles of whom we read in the Holy Scriptures.
They were " witnesses chosen before of God". In
the secret counsels of their heavenly Father, they
were selected from among the children of men, and
were pre-ordained according to his foreknowledge

170 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

for that peculiar service in the church and in the
world, unto which it was his good pleasure to appoint
them. They were not in general such persons as
men would have chosen for the work : they were .
hut very humhle instruments in their own sight, and
in the sight of others. Nevertheless, the Lord, who
is alone the searcher of hearts, had selected them in
his own wisdom, and for his own work. " Ye have
not chosen me", — said our Saviour to his disciples,
whom he was soon to anoint Avith his Holy Spirit and
to send forth in the work of the gospel, — " but I have
chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and
bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" ;
John XV. 16. Now there is evidently no reason why
the same principle should not apply to every true minis-
ter of the gospel of Christ. Man is no adecpiate judge
beforehand of the capacity of his brother for such a
work ; and often are the individuals Avhom in our
own wisdom we should be prone to prefer for the
purpose, passed over of the Lord. But as he is
pleased, with the powerful influence of his own Spirit,
to anoint some of his servants for the w^ork of the
ministry ; so must it be allowed, that, in his perfect
knowledge and boundless wisdom, he chooses these
individuals for their office in the church, before he
thus anoints them in order to its execution.

Now the selection of which we are speaking, is to
be regarded, not in the light of an unconditional and
irresistible decree, but in that of a gracious purpose,
which requires to be met with corresponding duties.
This purpose may in its operation be disappointed
by the negligence, or perverted by the activity of

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 171

mail. Many an individual, doubtless, whom the Lord
would have numbered among his preachers, has,
through unwatchjFulness and neglect of the Shepherd's
voice, fallen short of the station designed for him.
And many a body of christians, also, by taking the
choice of their ministers into their own hands, have
imposed the sacred office npon those for whom it
was not intended, and have been found in effect to
say to the prophets of the Lord — " Prophesy not".
There can be no reasonable question, that in every
age of the church, the Lord chooses the individuals
whom he is about to intrust with his message to
man. What then can be the corresponding duty
of his people, but to wait patiently on their divine
Master with prayer and supplication, until he shall
be pleased to raise up and anoint, for their service,
those whom he has chosen ?

II. Preparation. Every christian will allow that
the prophets, apostles, and evangelists of ancient
times, who were chosen beforehand in the divine
counsels to be the bearers of the message of their
Lord, Avere prepared for their office before they were
called upon to exercise its duties ; and it is equally
incontrovertible, that this preparation, which in some
instances appears to have been gradual and long
continued, and in others, short and sudden, was of
the Lord, and not of man. They were fitted for the
exercise of the Lord's gifts, by the work of his grace.
Possibly there might be occasions when, under very
peculiar circumstances, and in order to answer some
extraordinary end, even the impenitent sinner might be
made to prophecy. But such instances, if any such

172 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

there were, can be considered only as rare exceptions
to a general rule. No reasonable theologian will
refuse to admit, that in general, the individuals whom
the Lord raised up among the Israelites and in the
infant christian church, to be prophets and preachers
of the word — to be instruments of conversion and
edification in others — were themselves previously sub-
jected to the influence of redeeming power, cleansed
to a considerable degree from their old sins, and taught
to live in the fear and love of God. Utterly unable
would they have been to proclaim unto others, in
demonstration of the Spirit, the righteousness which is
by faith ; had they not, in the first instance, obtained
for themselves an experimental acquaintance with that
righteousness. " Create in me a clean heart, O God",
cried the Psalmist, " and renew a right spirit within
me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and
ujDhold me with thy free Spirit ; then will I teach
transgressors thy tvaijs ; and sinners shall be converted
unto thee''; Ps. h. 10, 12, 13, comp. II. Tim. ii. 19—21.
Now Friends are of the opinion, that, with respect
to the preparation of ministers, as well as Avith refer-
ence to their original selection, no valid distinction
can be drawn between the preachers of the word in
ancient times, and those who are rightly authorized
for the service in the present day. The latter indeed
may receive a far lower degree of inspiration than
the former. Nevertheless, they are gifted of the
Lord according to their own measure, and minister
to the people under the immediate influence of his
Spirit. We hold it then to be an undeniable position,
that for the right exercise of such a gift, (unless, as

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 173

before mentioned, it be under very peculiar and extra-
ordinary circumstances) the work of divine grace in the
heart, is an invariable and indispensable preparation.

Here it ought to be ]-emarked, that this work of
grace in the heart, as it is preparatory to the christian
ministry, is often found to assume a character of more
than ordinary depth. The religious experience of
all true christians will indeed be found to accord in
every main feature ; for where is the living member
of the church who has not some practical acquaint-
ance with the converting and sanctifying power of
the Lord ; with the path of self-denial, and with a con-
formity to the sufferings of Christ ; as well as with
the refreshing and sustaining influence of his redeeming
love ? But those whom the chief Shepherd of the
flock is secretly preparing to minister to others, are
sometimes introduced into stronger mental conflicts,
and brought under more powerful spiritual visitations,
than many of their brethren. It is often their lot, in
no ordinary measure, to be introduced into a variety
of secret trials and temptations, and to be led as
blind men through an unknown and dreary wilder-
ness ; See Isa. xlii. 16. Thus are they taught to
surrender their own wills to the divine guidance,
and are experimentally prepared for those duties of
sympathy, which are so peculiarly adapted to the
oflice designed for them ; and when they have at
length been permitted to experience the delivering
and redeeming power of their Lord, they are ready to
open their mouths in his service, — to utter his praise,
to promulgate his law, and to proclaim his mercy.

The work of grace, which is carried forward in the

174 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

hearts of his selected servants by the Lord himself., is
deemed by Friends to be at once Indispensable and
sufficient, as a preparation for the christian ministry.
The addition of literary attainment, upon which some
persons are accustomed to lay so great a stress, they
regard as a non-essential circumstance. Our views
on this branch of the subject are justified alike by
the records of Scripture, and by our own experience,
as a religious body. Among the prophets and preach-
ers of ancient Israel, and the apostles and other early
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, there were indeed
numbered individuals (such as king Solomon, the
apostle Paul, and the evangelist Luke,) who were
distinguished, in various degrees, by the acquirements
of learning ; but in many other instances it must be
confessed, that the persons who were called upon of
the Lord to become the preachers of righteousness,
were altogether destitute of the advantage of erudition.
That this was the matter of fact, in an especial degree,
w ith most of those pre-eminently able ministers, the
apostles of Jesus Christ, is universally understood and
acknowledged. Nor, with the single exception of the
gift of tongues, does this absence of literature appear
to have been supplied by their inspiration ; for this, in
general, had no other effect than that of enlightening
them respecting the simple truths of Christianity, and
of clothing their humble preaching wdth true energy,
life, and authority. Even Paul, who was brought up
in all the learning of the Hebrews at the feet of
Gamaliel, discarded the " enticing words of man's
wisdom", visited his brethren in weakness, fear, and
trembling, and determined to know nothing among

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 175

them, " save Jesus CJwist, and him crucified'' ; I. Cor.
ii. 2, 3, 4.

Such are the facts recorded in Scri])ture respecting
the preachers of the word of God, and our own his-
tory and experience, as a rehgious society, is calcu-
lated to impress upon us a very similar lesson. It
is an indisputable fact, that many of our most useful
and convincing ministers, both in the first age of the
Society, and in more modern times, have been persons
of very humble origin, and destitute of every thing
which could fairly be described as literary attainment.
Many such persons have been known to go forth from
among us, and to proclaim the spirituality of the
gospel dispensation, Avith an authority and success,
which have plainly evinced, that in the w ork carried
on in their hearts by the Lord himself, they have
found all that was essential, as a preparation for their
ministerial functions.

As an academical preparation for the specific object
of the ministry is considered by Friends to be unneces-
sary and im])roper, so the opportunity of it is precluded
among them by a single consideration; namely, that
according to their sentiments, it is the Lord alone (as
I have already endeavoured to explain) who selects
the ministers of the gospel, and that until the work be
actually commenced, the Society is ignorant who have
been selected. Those who, like Friends, allow that
he only can choose his ministers, must also allow, as
a necessary consequence, that he only can prepare
them. The principle which excludes the interference
of man jn the one particular, plainly excludes it in the
other also.

176 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

In bringing to a conclusion the present branch of
our argument, it will be desirable for me (in order to
the prevention of erroneous impressions) to offer one
or two farther remarks on literary attainments, and
especially on scriptural knowledge. The known
opinion of Friends, that academical studies are unne-
cessary as a preparation for the ministry, has given
rise among some persons, to a notion that the Soci-
ety avoids administering any encouragement to the
general pursuit of literature. The individuals whom
I am now addressing are well aware, that such a
notion has no real foundation. 1 trust it is a principle
acknoAvledged by Friends, as well as by their neigh-
bours, that it is the duty of the christian, as well as
the privilege of the man, to avail himself of every
projjer opportunity for the cultivation of his mind, for
the enlargement of his talents, and for the acquire-
ment of knowledge. George Fox informs us in one
passage of his interesting journal, that he advised
the institution of an academy for the children of
Friends, that they might be instructed in "whatsoever
things wei^e civil and useful in the creation^' fol. ed.
A. D. 1765, p. 395; and I am persuaded that many
Friends in the present day entertain an earnest, — I
hope an increasing desire, that their young people
may be so instructed. Whatever be our calling in
the world, and whatever our station in the church,
it is unquestionable that the exercise of our intellect-
ual faculties, and the collecting of useful knowledge,
will enlarge our capacity for the service of our great
Master ; and on this principle it is to be freely admitted
that learning may produce, collaterally and suhordi-

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 177

natelif, a desirable effect, even on the ministry of the
gospel. Not only may the powers of the mind be
strengthened for that, and every other good purpose,
by means of a liberal education ; but occasions fre-
quently occur in which information upon various
points may be made to subserve the great object of
the christian minister. Thus, for example, when the
apostle Paul was engaged in preaching to the polite
and fastidious Athenians, it gave him no slight advan-
tage with his audience, that he was able to illustrate
his doctrine by an apposite quotation from one of their
own poets; Acts xvii. 28.

While, however, our capacity for usefulness in the
church, may be in some degree enlarged by almost
every description of innocent intellectual pursuit, there
is no species of mental cultivation, to which this ob-
servation applies Avith nearly equal force, as to that
which has in itself a directly edifying tendency — the
acquirement of christian knowledge, especially through
the study of the Holy Scriptures. An accurate ac-
quaintance with that divine book, will be found of no
little avail in the performance of almost any services
which may be allotted to us in the church : for where
is the moral condition, where is the religious engage-
ment, to which something applicable may not be
discovered among the examples, the doctrines, or the
precepts, recorded in the Bible ? But it must on all
hands be allowed, that to the christian minister, a
knowledge of the Bible is of peculiar and pre-eminent
use and importance.

It is one of the leading excellencies of the sacred
volume, and one of the practical proofs of its divine

N

178 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

origin, that it contains an inexhaustible stock of mate-
rials for the ministry of the word. The experience
of Friends in this respect is in accordance with that
of other religious bodies. Although our ministers
can prescribe no limits to the diversified directions of
that divine influence under which they profess to
act, yet we know that, in general, it is Scripture which
supplies them with the subjects of their contemplation ;
it is Scripture which the Spirit of truth recalls to their
recollection, and impresses upon their minds ; it is
the language of Scripture which they quote ; it is the
doctrine of Scripture which they unfold and apply.

Now, although our religious principles plainly pre-
vent our instituting a course even of scriptural study,
as a preparation for the office of preachers, it is to be
remembered, that the perusal of the sacred volume is
a duty enjoined by the Society of Friends on all its
members ; and probably, very few among them will
be found less liable to the omission of such a duty,
than those whom the Lord is preparing for the office
of the ministry. While he is carrying on the work
of grace in tlieir hearts, and leading them through
many a secret conflict, they will be little inclined to the
neglect of these inspired records, by means of which
they may so often be strengthened in their weakness,
instructed in their ignorance, and comforted in tlieir
sorroAV. And thus, when at length they are anointed
for their service, and commissioned to proclaim the
gospel, they are seldom if ever found destitute of an
useful and experimental acquaintance with Holy Writ.
Lastly, after they have been acknowledged as ministers,
a frequent perusal of the Bible and a careful attention

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 179

to its contents, is considered by the Society to be one
of their esjDecial duties. See advices to ministers and
elders — Book of Extracts.

III. Appointment. By the appointment of a minis-
ter, I do not mean his original selection, but his actual
introduction to the office — that introduction which in
episcopal churches is considered to be effected by the
ordaining act of the bishop. In this last of the mea-
sures which are generally understood to precede the
exercise of the christian ministry, as well as in the two
anterior steps already considered, Friends esteem the
interference of man to be needless, improper, and, on
the principles which they entertain, impossible. It is
needless, according to our apprehension, because the
authority of that Being who really invests with the
office is incapable of any augmentation. It is improper,
because he has no counsellor, and no man may inter-
rupt his designs, or interfere with his will. It is on
our principles impossible, because, as we are ignorant
who among us have been selected and prepared for
the work, so are we destitute of any adequate means
of judging, to whom the exercise of that Avork may
rightly be committed.

Although the gifts of the Holy Spirit were in early
times miraculously communicated by the laying on of
the hands of the Lord's inspired servants, there is no-
thing in Scripture, as we have already found occasion
to observe, which justifies, in any degree, the merely
human appointment of the preachers of the gospel.
Paul declares that he Avas an apostle, " not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, avIio raised liini from the dead"; Gal. i. I.

n2

180 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

Such was the case with Paul ; nor coiikl it be other-
wise with the apostles in general, or with their com-
panions and associates in the work of the gospel.
Whether they were or were not subjected to the laying
on of human hands, they were really invested with
their sacred office, not by their bishops, — not by their
churches, — but by Him who had already selected them
for the work, and from whom alone the spirit of pro-
phecy could CA^er emanate. When the one hundred
and twenty persons, who were gathered together on
the day of Pentecost, were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, they spake with tongues and prophesied. These
persons were appointed to the office of the ministry,
and invested with its faculties, by an authority and
power which precluded all interference ; and which
demanded nothing, at the hands of the rulers of the
church, but submission and praise. " Unto every one
of uSj" says Paul to the Ephesians, " is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Where-
fore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led

captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men And

he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and
some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ;
for the perfecting of the saints^ for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" ;
Eph. iv. 7—12.

Now however the gifts of the Holy Spirit may be
found to vary at different periods in measure and
degree, yet as long as the ministry is exercised under
the immediate influence of the Spirit, so long the
principle of ordination to such a function must evi-
dently continue unclianged. When the Lord Jesus

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 181

has selected his ministers from among liis people ;
when he has carried forward and completed the
Avork of their preparation ; when finally he has issned
his gracious command that they shoukl go forth
and preach the gospel, and has anointed them for
the purpose by the influences of his Holy Spirit ;
there is but one right and proper course for them
to pursue — the course of simple and unhesitating
obedience. They know that man has no right to
interfere with tlieir appointment, and they dare not
look to him for their warrant and authority. It is
their Lord and Redeemer who has invested them
with their office, and to him alone they are responsible
for its execution.

Let it not, however, be imagined that, in the decision
of the question whether or not he is truly appointed
to that office, the minister is to depend exclusively
on his own judgment. Christians are ever to be
subject one to another in love, and it must, in great
measure, devolve on their brethren, to determine whe-
ther those Avho speak the word, are rightly invested
with their functions, or whether their communications
rest on no better foundation than their own will.
The generality of my readers are probably well aware
that one of the principal duties of the elders in our
religious Society, is to watch over the ministry, to
guard against the encroachments of unsound and
unauthorized doctrine ; to encourage the feeble and
the diffident, and to restrain the forward and the
hasty among the Lord's servants. Nor is the office
of judging respecting the ministry confined to the
Elders alone. As the whole body of the church in

182 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

any place, is interested in the question respecting
the authority of its ministers, so is the whole body
concerned in the decision of that ([ucstion. When
a congregation of christians have bestowed on the
ministry of any individual, a due and patient attention
— when they are brought to a satisfactory sense that
it is attended with the life and pow er of the Spirit
of truth — when they have fully experienced its enliven-
ing and edifying influence — they are enabled to form
a sound and valid judgment, that such an one is
" inwardly moved" to the w ork " by the Holy Ghost";
and then, though they have no concern with his
appointment to the ministry, it is required of them,
by the order of christian discipline, ,(and it is a
practice universal in the Society of Friends,) to ac-
knowledge that he is a true minister of Christ, and
to yield to him that station in the church which so
important a calling demands.

Before w^e dismiss the subject of the appointment
of ministers, it w'ill l)e desirable to make a few^
remarks on a secondary branch of it. In many
christian churches the appointment of the minister
is tw^ofold — the " or din at ion \ by Avhich he receives
his authority to preach, and the " institution', by
which he is entrusted with the spiritual superintend-
ence of a particular flock. In the church of England,
the ordination is truly the act of the bishop alone ;
the institution, although the ofllicial act of the bishop,
depends in reality on the patron of the living. Upon
him rests the awfiil responsibility (I might almost call
it the divine prerogative) of providing a flock for
the shepherd, and of selecting a shepherd for the

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 183

ftock. Now it may be freely allowed, that this most
important prerogative is sometimes exercised Avith
a pious care, and with an earnest solicitude for the
spiritual welfare of all the parties. But, on the other
hand, who is not aware, that, in consequence of the
prevalence of such a system, the holy things of God
are often miserably profaned — that livings are bestow-
ed and accepted for the mere purpose of temporal
advantage — and that, in general, the more unfit any
persons are for an authority to appoint to the care
of souls, the more ready they are to exercise that
authority, without consideration ?

Among the generality of protestant dissenters,
the choice of the minister, as I have already stated,
rests exchisi^ely with the people ; and his ordination
serves the double purpose of giving an established
authority to his ministerial functions, and of appoint-
ing him as the preacher to a specific congregation.

Now Avith respect to this secondary appointment
of the ministers of the gospel, Friends believe it to
be their duty to adhere to the principles already
unfolded, and to refrain altogether from any inter-
ference Avith the will and Avork of the Lord. We are
thoroughly persuaded that as he alone can bestow
upon us the gifts of the Spirit, so he alone can rightly
determine the line of our services, and the field
of our labours. Within the compass of whatever
meeting a minister is raised up in the Society, there,
for the most part, he continues to reside and to
exercise the duties of his calling ; nor will he, if he
be rightly disposed, venture so to change his resi-
dence, as to transfer his services to another congre-
gation, unless he can entertain the humble confidence

184 ON THE SELECTION^ PREPARATION,

that, in adopting such a measure, he is acting in
conformity with the will of his divine Master.

As our principle, on this subject, evidently applies
to the fixing of the usual residence of the minister
of the gospel, so does it also apply in a very specific
manner, to his itinerant labours. Every one who
is accpiainted Avith the history of the Israelitish
prophets, must be aAvare that, in all their religious
movements, they acted under the direction of " the
word of the Lord"; that is, probably, of the per-
ceptilile inward communication of his Spirit. The
" Avord of tile Lord" sent them forth on their errands,
and plainly directed them to the persons for Avhoni
their message Avas intended, and to the places in
Avhich it Avas to be delivered ; See, for example,
LKingsxAi. 7, xvii. 2 — 9, xviii. 1, xix. 15, Isa. vii.3,
Amos Aii. 14, 15, Jon. i. 2. So also there is every
reason to believe that the proceedings of the apostles,
and of the other preachers of early Christianity,
although net in general described in the same manner,
Avere in fact regulated by the same principle. The
Spirit by Avhose immediate revelations they Avere
alone enabled to preach, v/ould not fail to direct their
ministry to the right persons, and in the right places ;
nor can aa^c imagine that these servants of the Lord
were, in this respect, destitute of that immediate
guidance, Avith which, in the other branches of their
high duty, they Avere so clearly and so eminently
favoured. In the narration, contained in the book
of Acts, of two of the apostle Paul's journies in the
work of the ministry, a plain description is given of
the authority and influence under Avhich he commenced

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 185

and conducted the undertaking. We read that, as
the christians at Antioch "ministered to the Lord
and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them :
and Avhen they had fasted and prayed, and laid their
hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being
sent forth h/ the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucla,
and from thence thei/ sailed to Ci/prus, 8§c. Acts xiii.
2 — 4. Again, in the history of Paufs second journey,
(when Silas was his companion,) we are informed
that "when they had gone throughout Phrygia and
the region of Galatia, and were forhldden of the
Holij Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they
Avere come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia ;
but the Spirit suffered them not''; and we are after-
wards told that, by a special vision from the Lord,
they were encouraged to cross the sea, and to go
forward into Macedonia ; Acts xvi. 6 — 10, comp. ch.
viii. 26, 39.

There appears to be no good reason why that
divine direction which was thus bestowed upon the
ancient prophets and apostles, should be withheld
from the servants of the Lord in the present day,
who conduct their religious administrations under a
lower degree of the same immediate influence. Ac-
cordingly the itinerant labours of their ministers,
are ever considered in the Society of Friends, to be
regulated by the perceptible guidance of the Holy
Spirit ; and in adopting this principle, we conceive
that we have been amply justified by a long-continued
and multiplied trial of its practical operation. A
short description of that which Friends deem to be

186 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

on sucli occasions the proper experience of the minis-
ter, as well as his right method of proceeding, Avill
perhaps he acceptahle to such of my readers, as are
not at present well informed on the siihject.

In the first place, then, we ought to remark, that it is
plainly recognized in the Society to he the general duty
of ministers, not only to exercise their functions in the
place of their own residence, but to be diligent in
visiting the churches which are scattered abroad, and
to be ready, when called of the Lord, to go forth and
promulgate, in other places, the spii'ituality of the
gospel dispensation. Now as the minister is preserved
in humble dependence upon his divine Master, he not
only feels the importance of this general calling, but is
often made sensible of an impression, that it is his
duty to exercise it in particular parts of the Lord's
heritage. The current of christian love in his heart
assumes a specific and peculiar direction. On general
grounds he can feel, with the apostle, that he is a
debtor to all men — but there are particular portions of
men to whom that debt is now commanded to be
paid. The burthen of the Lord rests upon him, and
he endeavours to dwell patiently under its influence,
until his views are so cleared and ripened, that he can
lay them before his brethren and sisters of the meet-
ing to which he belongs. They unite with him in the
deliberate consideration of the subject, and if on wait-
ing in silence together, they come to a judgment, that
the undertaking of the minister truly originates in the
divine will, they set him at liberty for his journey;
commend him to the gracious care and protection of
the good Shepherd ; and, for the satisfaction of those
persons among whom his lot may be cast, bestow upon

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 187

him a certificate of tlieir own unity and approbation.

Thus provided with the recorded sanction of his
friends, and " sent forth", as he humbly trusts, " by
the Holy Ghost" to the work appointed him, the
minister proceeds on his journey ; and whether his
hibours l)e directed only to Friends, or also to tlieir
neighbours of other denominations, (who on such
occasions are frequently invited to attend our reli-
gious gatherings,) he endeavours to follow no other
guidance, throughout the progress of his travels, but
the gentle and secret intimations of the divine word
Avithin him. Under this guidance he passes from place
to place, and from meeting to meeting. Poor and empty
in himself, and totally unprepared for his successive
labours by previous study and reflection, he acts on a
principle of simple faith in his Governor and Guide.
As this faith is maintained, he finds himself again and
again renewed in his spiritual strength ; and as often
as the right opportunity recurs, he is revisited by the
enlivening Spirit of the Lord, and anointed afresh for
his service. At length, Avhen the work assigned to
him on the present occasion has been executed, the
burthen which had rested with so much weight upon
him, is removed. He returns to his home : he restores
to his friends the certificate which they had given him,
and he is for the most part permitted to resume his
usual occupations, with a remunerating and confirming
sense of rest, liberty, and consolation.

In reviewing the principal contents of the present
dissertation, the reader will recall to his remembrance,
the general rule laid down at its commencement ; that
the standard maintained by any body of christians.

188 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION,

respectinfii; the steps preparatory to the ministry, will
always be proportioned to their standard respecting
the origin and nature of the ministry itself. He will
recollect that this rule is illustrated and confirmed by
the known practices of the Anglican church, and of
the generality of English protestant dissenters — that
the human ordination of the preachers of the gospel,
so prevalent among modern christians, derives no
authority from that ordination of Presbyters, which
is recorded in Scripture, as having taken place in
primitive times ; because the Bishops, Presbyters,
and Deacons, of the early church, although rulers,
managers, and even teachers, were not officially the
preachers of the word — that Friends who allow no
ministry in connexion with worship, but such as
they deem to spring from the immediate influence of
the Spirit, can take no part whatever in the steps
antecedent to the exercise of such a gift ; but conceive
it to be their duty to leave the whole work of selection,
preparation, and ordination, to the Lord himself —
that Jesus Christ, according to their apprehension,
chooses his own ministers before-hand, and that no
man may interfere with his choice — that he prepares
them for the office, by the work of his grace — that
this preparation is of itself sufficient without literary
attainment; although mental cultivation and learning
are in themselves desirable, and produce collaterally
a good eft'ect even on our religious services — that a
practical knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, more
especially, is of pre-eminent use to the christian
preacher — that when the Lord has chosen and pre-
pared his ministers, he anoints them for their service.

AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 189

sends tliem forth on his own authority, and directs
them in the course of their labours — that, nevertheless,
the decision of the question, whether the minister be
really acting under divine authority, or otherwise,
rests not so much with himself, as Avith the church —
finally, that the views and practices of Friends, in
relation to these several particulars, are in precise
accordance with a variety of declarations and examples
recorded in Holy Writ.

Having completed my argument on the present
subject, I may venture, in conclusion, to suggest to
the consideration of my friends an important practi-
cal reflection. It has often and justly been observed,
that every species of true excellence and virtue has
its imitating and corresponding vice ; and certainly it
is the obvious duty of christians, Avhile they earnestly
endeavour to embrace the one, to be no less diligent
in avoiding the other. Now that passive course which
it is the object of the present essay to recommend —
that absence of all human interference with the sole
prerogative and peculiar work of the Lord — however
excellent and desirable in itself, will, I believe, be
found to have its imitating and corresponding vice, in
spiritual didness and inactivity, in a real neglect of
the divine call, and in the omission of required duti/.
Such is our own liability to error, and such the art-
fulness of our spiritual enemy, that the very doctrine
of our own insufliciency may be made a cover for
inertness, imd for a culpable and cowardly secession
from the good fight of faith. The mental poverty and
discouragement, also, to which even the Lord's faith-
ful servants are liable, may often be so fostered as to

190 MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.

prevent their laying hold on that arm of power, which
is able to support them in the most arduous conflicts,
and to qualify them, notwithstanding all their weak-
ness, for their labours in the gospel of Christ. Exposed
as we are to these points of danger, and very generally
placed in a condition of outward ease and security,
we had need exercise a peculiar care, lest, while we
are making a pre-eminent profession of spirituality,
our conduct should be marked by real indolence in
the service of our Redeemer.

Now where is the preservative against such an
indolence ? Surely it Avill not be found in the desertion
of those pure and exalted principles, which it is our
especial duty to uphold in the church, but rather In
watchfulness unto praijer. Let us then be more dili-
gent in seeking the animating and strengthening
influence of the grace of God : let us be alive to every
touch of the divine finger : let our hearts breathe the
expressions of Samuel, " Speak, Lord, for thy servant
heareth" : and, since "the harvest truly is plenteous",
and the labourers " few", 1st us unite in earnest sup-
plication to the Almighty, that he will be pleased, yet
more abundantly, to pour forth or his Spirit upon all
flesh, and thus to '"'' send forth labourers into his harvest".

CHAPTER VII.

ON THE PECUNIARY UK M IINERATIOX OF THE MIMISTERS OF
THE GOSl'EL.

When Jcsiis Christ sent forth his seventy disciples
to heal (Hseases, and to prochiim the approaeli of the
kingdoin of heaven, he forljad them to j^rovide any
stores for their journey. They were to place their
confidence in the providential care of their heavenly
Father ; and in the houses Avhich they might visit,
they were freely to avail themselves of the hospitality
of their friends, for the sn])ply of their bodily wants.
" Into whatsoever house ye enter," said he to them,
" first say, Peace be to this house ; and if tile Son of
peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not,
it shall turn to you again. And in the same house
remain, eating and drinking such things as tJiey give ;
for the labourer is worthy of his hire ; Luke x. 5 — 7.
So also the apostle Paul, when addressing his Corinth-
ian converts, among whom he had so diligently
laboured, as a minister of the gospel of Christ, asserts
the claim upon them, which, when so engaged, he
clearly possessed, for such a provision of carnal things
as his necessities might require. " Have we not power ',

192 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

says he, "to eat anddrinh?. . . or I only and Barnabas,
have not we power to forbear working ? Who goeth
a warfare any time at his own charges ? Who planteth
a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or
who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the
flock ? Say I these things as a man ? or saith not the
law the same also ? For it is written in the law of
Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox
that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for
oxen? or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our
sakes, no doubt, this is written : that he that ploweth,
should plow in hope ; and that he that thresheth in
hope, should be partaker of his hope. If we have
sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if
we shall reap your carnal things ? Do ye not know
that they which minister about holy things live of the
things of the temple ? And they Mdiich Avait at the
altar are partakers with the altar ? Even so hath the
Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel,
should live of the gospel" ; I. Cor. ix. 4 — 14.

That particular provision of the Mosaic law which
is here cited — when regarded in its ulterior sense, as
applicable to the labourers in the cause of righteous-
ness— appears to express, in a manner at once full
and simple, the principle on which the apostle asserts
his right to a provision for his natural wants. " Thou
shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn" :
or, in other words, While the ox is treading out the
corn, thou shalt not muzzle him. When the seventy
disciples of Jesus forsook for a time all their secular
employments : when they went forth in the name of
their Lord, to heal the sick, and to preach righteous-

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 193

ness : when they were engaged in traveUing from
place to place, in order to publish to their countrymen
the glad tidings of salvation, it is plain that their
whole time was occupied in their religious services ;
and, deprived as they were, during the continuance of
such services, of the opportunity for earning their
own bread, it was right that they should cast them-
selves, without reserve, on the kindness and liberality
of their friends. It would have been improper in the
visitors to decline such assistance, and shameful in
the visited to withhold it. Very similar were the
circumstances of the apostle Paul, who had sacrificed
his original pursuits, and knew no settled or perma-
nent home ; but moved about from place to place,
according to the will of his Lord, in order to dis-
seminate, among his fellow men, the truths of Christ-
ianity. In as much as he was constantly engaged in
these missionary labours — in as much as his time and
talents were devoted exclusively to the work of an
evangelist — in so much he possessed an undeniable
moral claim, on those in whose behalf he laboured,
for the supjjly of his outward necessities.

The same rule, respecting the maintenance of the
ministers of the gospel, is admitted in the Society of
Friends. Occasions frequently occur, as has been
remarked in the preceding chapter, when our ministers,
as they appi'ehend, are sent forth from their homes
by their divine Master. Constrained by the gentle
influences of his love in their hearts, they visit the
churches which are scattered abroad, and for a time
devote themselves without intermission to the exercise
of their ministerial fimctions. During the progress

o

194 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

and continuance of such undertakings, tliey cannot be
expected to provide for themselves ; and it is, there-
fore, a practice generally prevailing in the society, to
pay the expences of their journies, and to niaintahi
thein during the course of their labours. Like the
seventy disciples to whom we have already alluded,
they eat and drink at the houses which they visit ; and
if they be found true evangelists, it is universally
acknowledged by their brethren, and not only acknow-
ledged, but felt — that " the labourer is worthy of his
hire"; or, as the sentiment is expressed in the gospel of
Matthew, that "the workman is worthy of his meat";
ch. X. 10.

Although, however, Paul upholds the general rule,
that the ox when actually treading out the corn is
not to be muzzled ; he was evidently very jealous of
its being, in any degree, misapplied, or extended
beyond its true bearing. Deprived as he Avas of
any permanent home, and singularly devoted, both in
mind and time, to the duties of an apostle, he might
very reasonably have depended altogether upon the
churches for his food and raiment ; but no sooner did
he take up his residence in any place, for a considera-
ble length of time, than he began to apply himself to
some manual labour, in order that he might earn his
own bread ! avoid being burthensome to his friends,
and throw no impediment whatsoever in the way of
the gospel. " If others be partakers of this poAver
over you", says the apostle to the same Corinthians,
" are not we rather ? Nevertheless, we have not used
this power ; but suffer all things, lest ive should hinder
the gospel of Christ What is my reward then ?

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 195

Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make
the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not
my power in the gospeV ; I. Cor. ix. 12, 18. As the
apostle declined receiving a maintenance from his
friends at Corinth, so he observed the same line of
conduct at Ephesus ; where indeed he not only sup-
ported himself, but contributed to the support of
others. Diligent as he was, during his tarriance in
that city, in the exercise of his ministry — teaching
"publicly from house to house", and warning "every
one night and day with tears" — he was nevertheless
enabled to address the Ephesian Elders in the fol-
lowing terms : " I have coveted no man's silver, or
gold, or apparel ; yea, ye yourselves know that these
hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to
them that were with me" ; Acts xx. 33, 34. And
after thus adverting to his own conduct, he proceeded
to enjoin a similar course upon those whom he was
addressing ; " I have shewed you all things, how
that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and
to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said,
' It is more blessed to give than to receive'." ver. 35.
On the whole, therefore, while the general rule
is to be admitted that the preacher of the gospel,
during the periods when his time is exclusively
devoted to his ministerial functions, may properly
derive his sustenance from those among whom he
is thus engaged ; it is quite evident that according
to the mind of the apostle Paul, any application of
this rule, beyond its true limits, is inconsistent with
the purity of the divine law, and injurious to the cause
of Christianity.

o2

196 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

Now, it is the opinion of Friends, that the limits
of the rule are transgressed, and the rule itself dan-
gerously perverted, in the practice so usual among
christians of hiring the ministers of the gospel. Here
I must beg my reader to understand that in using
the word "hiring", it is altogether foreign from my
intention to express any thing in the least degree
offensive to christian ministers of any denomination.
That a considerable proportion of these persons, are
truly the servants of the Lord Jesus, — that many of
them undertake the oversight of the flock " not for
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind", and are incompar-
ably more intent upon the winning of souls, than
upon their own temporal advantage, — I both know
and am happy to acknowledge. But we arc here
discussing a general principle, and I use the word in
([uestion, simply because it is the only one which can
properly express my meaning. It is, then, indis-
putably a practice prevalent in many christian societies,
to hire their ministers ; that is to say, to engage the
services of their ministers in consideration of pecuni-
ary salaries. As a gentleman agrees with his servant,
and a merchant Avith his clerk, to pay them particular
sums of money, on condition of the performance of
particular descriptions of work ; so are christians
accustomed to agree with the preachers of the gospel,
to remunerate them with such and such salaries, on
condition of their preaching ; and instances sometimes
occur in which the amount of the salary given, is
regulated, very precisely, by the frequency of the
ministry required. Whether this agreement actually
takes place between the minister and his flock, as

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 197

among many dissenting bodies ; or whether the con-
tract between the two parties is permanently fixed by
the law ot" the land, as in the Anglican chnrch, the
principle which the system necessarily and universally
involves, is still the same — namely, that certain work
is to be performed, and pecuniary wages given for its
performance.

According to our apprehension, this hiring of preach-
ers degrades the character, and corrupts the practical
operation, of the ministry of the gospel. It is evident
that such a system is very closely connected with
the notion, that the preacher may exercise his high
functions on the authority and according to the plea-
sure of 7nan, and in practice it unquestionably tends
in a very injm'ious manner, to the confirmation and
establishment of that notion. Were it true that the
ministry of the gospel is properly the work of man,
requiring no other sanction than his appointment,
and no other forces than Ills exertions, no objection
whatever could be made to such a method of pro-
ceeding. In that case it would arise out of those
fundamental laws of justice, which ought ever to
regulate transactions between man and man. But
no sooner is the opposite principle recognized ; no
sooner is it admitted that the ministry of the gospel
is the work of the Lord ; that it can be rightly exer-
cised only in virtue of his appointment, and only
through the effiisions of his Spirit ; and that man has
no power to command and no authority to restrain the
influence which leads into such a service — no sooner
are these things understood and allowed — than the
compact which binds the minister to preach, on the

198 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

condition that his hearers shall pay him for his preach-
ing, assumes the character of absolute inconsistency
with the spirituality of the christian religion. "Though
I preach the gospel", says the apostle Paul, " I have
nothing to glory of : for necess'iti) is laid upon me :
ijea, ivoe is unto me, if I preacJi not the gospel ! For
if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward ; hut if
against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is com-
mitted unto me"; I. Cor. ix. 16, 17.

These observations will enable the reader to form
a just view of the reasons which actuate the Society
of Friends, when, on the one hand, they accede to
the doctrine, that the ox when treading out the corn
is not to be muzzled ; and when, on the other hand,
they totally abstain from engaging their ministers on
pecuniary stipends, and from otherwise paying them
for the exercise of their gift. Such pecuniary provi-
sions would indeed be in total dissonance with our
sentiment, that no ministry ought to be allowed in
connexion with divine w^orship, but such as originates
in the choice and appointment of the Lord, and is
dictated by the immediate influence of his Holy Spirit.
It has never been heard of in the whole annals of
sacred history, that prophecy has been purchased, or
the true prophets hired: and we apprehend that, whe-
ther the immediate gifts of the Spirit operate in a
higher or a lower degree, they are still in their nature
absolutely free. No man can exercise them in pursu-
ance of an agreement with his fellow creatures. They
are delayed, withheld, withdrawn, or poured forth,
according to the good pleasure of him, who searches
the reins and the heart, and who only knows the

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 199

needs of his own church. Those who preach under
such an mfluence, do not preach because their congire-
gation rcfjuires it of them ; but because their hearts
are filled with the love of Christ, and because they
are sent forth and impelled by the Spirit of the Lord,
and can find no rest for their consciences, but in obe-
dience to that Spirit. Our ministers cannot say to us,
' Pay us and we will preach' ; for a woe is upon them
if they preach not the gospel ; and the same injunc-
tion is laid upon them as upon the servants of God
in ancient times, " Freely ye have received, freely
give"; Matt. x. 8. There is not one of them, who is
truly called into the work, who would dare to receive
from the hands of men a payment for his labours, lest
he should thereby sin against God, who requires of
him a willing sacrifice, and should for ever prevent
the efiusion of that heavenly oil by which he has been
anointed ; nor would his brethren dare to propose
such a payment to him, lest a curse should come upon
them — the curse of spiritual darkness and desertion —
for presuming that the free gifts of God might be
purchased for money ; Acts viii. 20. In addressing
our ministers we would use the Avords of the apostle
Peter : " As every man hath received the gift, even so
minister the same one to another, as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let
him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister,
let him do it as of the aljility Avhich God giveth ; that
God in all things may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and
ever" ; I. Pet. iv. 10, 11 : and we would add, Cast all
your care upon the Lord, for he careth for you.

200 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

In point of fact, experience has furnished the Society
of Friends with ample evidence, that the Great Head
of the church who calls his own servants into the
work of the gospel, and who thus gently constrains
them in hehalf of others, as well as on their own
account, to " seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness"; adds unto them all things needful for
their temporal maintenance. When they are travelling
from place to place, and when their whole time is
thus exclusively devoted to the work of the gospel,
the necessary supply of their outward wants is not
withheld from them ; and when they are at home,
they avail themselves, like other persons, of their own
industry, and of the openings of a benevolent provi-
dence, in procuring for themselves and for their
families, an honest and respectable livelihood.

Such being the sentiments of Friends respecting
the direct spirituality and perfect freedom of the
ministry of the gospel, it evidently becomes their
duty, in a plain and consistent manner, to uphold
those sentiments in their practice. Not only, there-
fore, do they refuse to pay or hire their own ministers,
but they also decline making any contributions to the
paying or hiring of ministers of other denominations.
Did they act otherwise, they might justly be deemed
unfaithful to the light bestowed upon them, and they
would in fact be subverting with one hand the edifice
which they are professing to erect with the other.

The reader will be aware that I am now adverting
to the course so generally pursued in our society, in
reference to tithes and other ecclesiastical imposts.
It is certain that whenever these demands are made

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 201

on the true and consistent Friend, he will not fail to
refuse the payment of them : not because such refusal
is generally insisted on in the society ; but because
the religious sentiments which he has embraced, and
Avhich have been unfolded in these essays, inevitably
lead him, if he be faithful, into that result. He feels
that it is a duty laid upon him by his divine Master,
uniformly to maintain the spirituality and freedom of
the christian ministry, nor will he venture hy any
action of his own, to lay waste his principle and to
weaken the force of truth, in reference to so important
a subject. Such an action, beyond all question, Avould
be the voluntary payment of tithes.

This conclusion is by no means affected by the
consideration, that the payment of tithes is imposed
on the inhabitants of this country by the law of the
land ; and that, therefore, the clergy have a legal claim
to such a remuneration. Faithful as Friends desire
to be to the legal authorities of the state under w hich
they live, it is plain that as christians, they cannot
render to the law an active obedience in any particular
which interferes with their religious duty — that is to
say, with their duty to an infinitely superior power.
They cannot obey man, rather than God. The only
obedience to the law, which can be allowable under
such circumstances, is that which the most scrupulous
Quaker Avill not be found to withhold — I mean a
-passive obedience. It is no part of the practice, and
it would be altogether inconsistent with the sentiments,
of the society, to resist the "powers that be". In
those matters in which they find an active compliance
with the law precluded by the dictates of conscience,

202 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

Friends are, I trust, prepared to suffer, and quietly to
allow the law to find its own course. While they
abstain from taking any part themselves in those
things which they deem to be wrong, they are ready
to stand still and abide by the consequences. On
these grounds, therefore, although they refuse to pay
tithes, they oppose no resistance to those legal dis-
traints by which tithes are taken from them. It is
surprising that any persons of reflexion should form
an opinion (not unfrequently expressed), that there is
no essential distinction between these practices, and
should assert that the suffering of the distraint, in a
moral and religious point of view, is tantamount Avith
the voluntary payment. The two courses are, in point
of fact, the respective results of two opposite principles.
The Friend who voluntarily pays tithes, puts forth
his hand to that which he professes to regard as an
unclean thing, and actively contributes to the mainte-
nance of a system, which is in direct contrariety to
his own religious views. The Friend who refuses to
pay tithes, but who (without involving himself in any
secret compromise), quietly suffers a legal distraint for
them ; is clear of any action which contradicts his
own principles. He only follows up another branch
of those principles, in not opposing force to force, and
in rendering a passive obedience to the law.^

'' It is sometimes remarked tliat, in refusing to pay tithes, Friends withhold the
property of their neighbour, and thus, in their endeavour not to counteract their
own views on the subject of a free ministry of the gospel, involve themselves in a
breach of common integrity. Now, it appears to us that such a charge is wholly
fallacious. Although, in the first place, the conscientious Friend cannot take any
active part in the satisfaction of ecclesiastical demands, he opposes no obstruction
to those legal operations by which that satisfaction is, without difficulty, obtained.
And secondly, we deem the notion that any part of the produce of our lands is the

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 203

It would by no means accord with that quietness
of character, which it is the desire of Friends to
maintain as a rehgious body, were they eager and
violent in their efforts to promote their own peculiar-
ities, or clamorous against other christians who differ
from themselves. Nevertheless, they consider it to
be their indispensable duty, by the explicit, yet unob-
trusive, language of conduct, to bear what they very
properly call their testimony against such opinions and
practices as they conceive to be inconsistent with the
spirituality of the gospel dispensation. This observa-
tion is completely exemplified in their refusal to pay
tithes. By such a conduct, they expose themselves
to much expence and inconvenience Avhich might
otherwise be avoided ; but by the course which they
have thus adopted, they not only keep themselves
clear from any involvement in that which they con-
scientiously disapprove, but they plainly express their

property of Ihe priest, to be destitute of any sound foundation. If it were his pro-
perty, his title to it mast be clear and unexceptionable. On what, then, rests the
title of the priest to this supposed property ? On the assumption of a divine right
to the tithes on the part of the church, and on the recognition of that divine right
by the British legislature. See Statutes at large, 29 Hen. Ylll. ch.'IO. Since almost
all Protestants allow that no such right exists, and since, for our own parts, we are
persuaded that the assumption of it is directly opposed to some of the leading prin-
ciples of Christianity, we cannot admit that the priest has any valid title whatsoever
to a propi-rty in any part of the produce of our lands. His ch.im, however ground-
less in itself, is indeed sanctioned by the law of the state ; and the individual who
buys land, pays a smaller sum of money than he otherwise would have done for his
purchase, because it is known by both parlies that a certain proportion of that which
is annually grown upon it, can be legally claimed, and will be actually taken, by the
ecclesiastical incumbent. Nevertheless, every particle of the land which a man
purchases, or inherits in fee, is his own property ; so that he can at all times use it
as he pleases ; — crop it profitably — crop it unprofitably — or allow it to run to abso-
lute waste and ruin. And as every particle of the land is his own property, so also
is every particle of its produce ; unless, indeed, he let the land to another person,
when the produce of it becomes, on certain conditions, the property of his tenant.

204 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

dissent from that system of sentiment and practice out
of which the institution of tithes has arisen, and with
Avhich it is still inseparably connected. A few obser-
vations respecting some of the particulars against
Avhich Friends endeavour thus practically to testify,
will enable the reader to form a more complete view
of the whole subject.

By a refusal to pay tithes, then, they express their
dissent, ^r*^, from the practice, so prevalent in the
christian Avorld, of hiring and paying the ministers of
religion ; secondlij, from that description of ministry
Avhich is capable of being so procured — Avhich is capa-
ble of being exercised at a man's own time, and in
pursuance of an agreement with his fellow creatures :
thirdly, from those human appointments to the minis-
try originating respectively with the bishop and Avith
the patron, by means of Avhich the clergyman is in-
vested with a legal claim on the tithes of any parish.
On these three points, I have already endeavoured to
unfold the sentiments of our Society. It only remains
for me, therefoi'e, to invite the reader's attention, some-
what more particularly, to two other branches of the
same subject.

In the fourth place, therefore, it may be remarked
that, by refusing to pay tithes. Friends express their
dissent from a notion very connnonly entertained —
especially among persons Avho have received but little
religious instruction — that the sacerdotal office is con-
tinued in the church of Christ. The institution of
tithes in the christian church, is generally supposed
to have taken place during the fourth century ; or
rather, the contributions made for the poor began

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 205

about that period to be denominated tithes. By de-
grees these contributions were diverted from their
original channel, and were applied, either in part or
in whole, to the pecuniary remuneration of the minis-
ters of religion. At length, during the progress of
the middle ages, and after kings, emperors, and states,
had very generally fallen under the spiritual dominion
of the papacy, the tenth of the produce of the land
was boldly claimed by the clergy as appertaining to
them of divine right ; and thus, for the partial and
voluntary offerings of former days, was gradually sub-
stituted a general and compulsory tax. See Rees' Cyc.
Tithes, Great Case of Tithes, by A. Pearson, 8^c. 8^c.
Now it is certain that while these changes were taking
place, the professors of the religion of Christ were
quickly degenerating from the simplicity and purity
of their forefathers, and were retrograding in the
most obvious manner, into the ceremonial system of
the old Jewish law. It is more especially to our
purpose to observe, that from the fourth century
downwards, the ministers and bishops of the church
were taught to consider their office sacerdotal, and
to assume the obsolete titles of priests and high
priests.*^ Since, therefore, under the Jewish law, tithes
were appointed for the maintenance of the tribe of
Levi, and especially for the support of the priests,
upon whom lay the duty of sacrifice and intercession,
and the charge of the whole ritual daily practised in
the Lord's temple ; there is evidently a strong proba-
bility that the assumption of a right to tithes by the
clergy of the christian church, arose immediately out

* h^sTg and a^y^noiTc, See Sii'iceii Thes, in voc. hsiug.

206 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

of the notion that the priesthood — the sacerdotal
office — still existed, and was still to be maintained.

This notion derives, in modern times, no little
support from the amhiguity of the word Priest, which,
as it is employed in the established forms of many
christian churches, probably signifies nothing more
than Preshijter ; Imt which is nevertheless generally
understood to denote a person invested with the sacer-
dotal office. Now, although the total abolition of that
office is asserted by many enlightened writers, it is
certain that the opposite error vulgarly prevails to
a great extent, and is productive of very injurious
practical consequences. In Roman Catholic coun-
tries a dependence is notoriously placed on the priest-
hood, which can be explained or justified only on the
principle that the office ot the christian minister is
directly sacerdotal ; nor can it be denied that rem-
nants of the same superstition — of the same undue
reliance on the authority and mediation of the priest —
are very usual even in our own land.

Were it true that the sacerdotal office is continued
in the church of Christ, Friends could Avith no pro-
priety refuse the payment of tithes, which were di-
vinely ajDpointed for its maintenance ; and therefore
they consider that in refusing to pay tithes, they
explicitly uphold the doctrine, that the office in ques-
tion is abolished. That doctrine is allowed by the
generality of well-instructed Protestants, nor will the
reader entertain any doubts on the subject after an
attentive perusal of the seventh, eighth, ninth, and
tenth, chapters of the epistle of Paul to the Hebrews.
It is, indeed, altogether an error to suppose that the

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 207

duty of the preacher was ever necessarily connected
with the office of the priest. In the more ancient
periods of the Israehtish history, that duty lay not
upon the priests, who were consecrated for the service
of the temple, but upon the prophets. Afterwards in
the ministration of the synagogue service of the Jews,
one only of the seven persons who read the Scriptures
and discoursed to the people, was required to be of
the sacerdotal order ; and even his place might be
supplied, in case of need, by any other Israelite ; See
Prideaux's Con. fol. ed. vol. i. p. 306. But however
the preaching of the word might be ordered among
the Jews before the introduction of Christianity, it is
certain that the ceremonial law, the priesthood by
which it was administered, and the provision appoint-
ed for the maintenance of that priesthood, ceased in
point of authority on the death of Christ, when the
whole typical and ritual system was fulfilled and ab-
rogated. It was for the Jews of old to approach their
almighty Governor, through the mediation, interces-
sion, and sacrificial ordinances, of a human priesthood :
but it is the happiness of christians, to acknowledge
no other Mediator than our Lord Jesus Christ, who
is " made a priest for ever after the order of Melchis-
edec", Heb. vi. 20 : who is " an high priest over the
house of God" ch. x. 21 : who is "touched Avith the
feeling of our infirmities", ch. iv. 15 : who " by one
offering hath perfected for ever them that are sancti-
fied", ch. X. 14: who is "able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them", ch. vii. 25.
I have already found occasion to observe that the

208 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

legalitij of ecclesiastical claims, is no just or sufficient
cause, why Friends should take any active part in
satisfying them. I may now advance a step farther,
and remark, that the establishment of such claims by
the law of the civil state is in itself one reason, among
others, which renders a refusal to comply with them
binding on their consciences. For, by refusing to pay
tithes and other ecclesiastical demands imposed upon
them by the law of the land, they express their dis-
sent, in the Jlfth (ind last place, from that compulsory
support of the hierarchy which originated during the
darkest ages of papal superstition ; and generalli/ from
the interference of merely human and civil authority
Avith the affairs of religion.

No one who takes a calm and just view of the
condition of mankind, will deny the usefulness and
importance, within their own sphere, of established
forms of government, and of those various restrictions
and regulations, by which the order and comfort of
civil society are promoted and maintained ; and the
reader is probably well aware that Friends, as well as
other christians, consider it to be their bounden duty
in civil matters, to obey "the powers that be", and to
be faithful in rendering "unto Caesar the things which
are Ca?sar's"; Matt. xxii. 21. We apprehend, how-
ever, that the affairs of religion appertain not to any
civil polity ; but to the kingdom of heaven, or as it
is otherwise described, the kingdom of God and of
Christ. Although, if we are true christians, Ave cannot
fail to render, to our earthly rulers, the homage and
service which are their due ; yet in those things Avhich
appertain to the salvation of the soul, we profess to

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 209

call no man Master, but to live under the undivided
reign of Christ himself. The laAv which christians
are bound in such matters to obey, is revealed in the
Holy Scriptures, and is engraven on their hearts, and
we believe that their celestial Monarch exercises his
dominion over them principally by an unseen and
spiritual agency, with which no mortal, nor set of
mortals, can ever possess authority to interfere. Now,
this kingdom or reign of Christ is not of this world.
The head of it is almighty, and, in the prosecution of
his gracious designs for the extension, edification, and
final perfection, of his church, we are persuaded that
he neither requires the protection, nor sanctions the
interference, of the laws and governments of men.'^

The history of the last eighteen centuries does,
indeed, afford, in various ways, a strong presumptive
evidence that the cause of true Christianity has very

9 In thus stating a very important general sentiment, there are two or three
points which I think it desirable to guard. In the first place, it ought to be
observed that there is nothing in that sentiment, intended to be opposed to those
internal regulations which are adopted, for the maintenance of its own order, by
every religious society : for I conceive that if such regulations are properly formed,
and the officers on whom it devolves to execute them are rightly appointed, the dis-
cipline thus established in the churcli, is so far from interfering with the government
of Christ, that it is rather to be considered (according to various declarations of
Scripture.) as one of the means through which that government is conducted. And
in the second place, it cannot be deemed, on religious grounds, objectionable, when
the civil authorities come forward, either by the exertion of prerogative, or by the
enactment of law, to prevent those various breaches of christian morality, (including
drunkenness, sabbath-breaking, gaming, &.c.) which plainly intorfere with the true
welfare of the body politic. For my own part, I could extend this admission a step
further, and confess that I see no objection, in point of principle, ( however doubtful in
the case may be the question of prudence,) to those human laws wliic:h prohibit all
public attacks on the divine authority of our holy religion, because 1 conceive
that these laws are intended for the benefit, not of the church, but of the state ;
and are grounded upon the plain and undeniable troth, that, for the security and
right order of civil society, by far the most effectual guarantee is to be found in
the unalterable principles of the christian faith.

210 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION

materially suftbred in the world, in consequence of
the forced and arbitrary connexion between two sys-
tems, founded on such different principles, regulated
by such different laws, and directed to such different
objects, as those of the church and the state. While
it does not appear that the state has derived any real
advantage from its supposed union with the church ;
it is probably in great measure the consequence of
such an union (invented and contrived as it has been
by the wisdom of man) that the cJmrch has assumed in
almost all christian countries, so secular a character —
that Christianity has become so lamentably mixed up
with the spiiit, maxims, motives, and politics, of a vain
and evil world. Had the union in question never
been attempted, pure religion might probably have
found a freer course ; the practical effects of Christ-
ianity might have been more unmixed and more
extensive ; and it might have spread its influence
in a much more efficient manner than is now the
case, even over the laws and politics of kings and
nations.

It was in the reign of the emperor Constantine (a.d.
325) that the christian religion was first established
by law, forced into connexion with the body politic,
and handled as a matter appertaining to the state.
Now, though we ought not to attribute to a single
cause an effect which may have had its origin in
many, we cannot but be confirmed in our view of
the present subject, when Ave remember, that, before
its union with the state, our holy religion flourished
with comparative incorruptness ; and that afterwards
it gradually declined in its purity and its power, until

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 211

all was nearly lost in darkness, superstition^ and spi-
ritual tyranny.

Independently, however, of these considerations,
which relate to the interference of civil authority with
the affairs of religion in general ; there appears to be
a distinct moral objection to the legal establishment
in any country, of a particular form of Christianity, to
the disparagement of other modifications of the same
essential religion. However the provisions of such a
legal establishment, may have been rendered liberal
and softened down (as has been so evidently the case
in Great Britain,) by the powerful operation, on the
legislature, of public opinion ; it may reasonably be
questioned, whether there must not always exist in
these provisions, a radical opposition to a free, unbi-
assed, and inexclusive, religious liberty. I would
therefore suggest, that we cannot, conscientiously,
contribute in an active manner, by the voluntary pay-
ment of tithes or church rates, to the maintenance of
the Established Church ; not only because we object
to the system on which it is, in various respects, con-
ducted ; but also because it appears to be inconsistent
with the divine law, that any human government should
compel us, either to adopt for ourselves, or to uphold
for others, a mode of religious tvorsJiip at variance
with our own principles}

On the review of this essay, it will be recollected

' It oiiglit to be noticed that, although several observations od'ered in the present
chapter relate specifically to tithes, most of them are, on general grounds, equally
applicable to other ecclesiastical taxes, such as those denominated church rates.
Tithes and church rates, though diflerentlj applied in detail, are intended for the sup-
port of one and the same system : and the Friend who refuses to pay church rates, as
Well as he who r.?fuses to pay tithes, thereby expresses his disse?tf from that system,

p2

212 ON THE PECUNIARY UEMUNERATION

that in the New Testament, and especially in the
writings of Paul, the doctrine is clearly pronnil gated
that the preacher, when actually labouring in the
cause of the gospel, has a claim upon those who
hear him, for the supply of his outward wants —
that Paul while he allowed and even enforced this
doctrine, was exceedingly jealous (as was proved by
his own conduct) of its being in any respect perverted
or abused — that, according to the opinion of Friends,
it is dangerously perverted and abused in the jiractice,
so prevalent among christians, of hiring the preachers
of the word — that such a practice degrades the cha-
racter of the christian ministry, and is closely con-
nected with the notion, that it may be brought into
exercise according to the will of man — that since
Friends admit no preaching or public praying, but
such as they deem to be offered under the immediate
influence of the Spirit, they cannot pay, or otherwise
remunerate, the Lord's servants for the use of a gift
which is of a nature entirely free ; but they hold that
as every man has received the gift, so he is bound to
minister it — that the preachers among Friends, when
engaged in itinerant labours, are supported by their
brethren ; and when resident at home, find, in general,
no difficulty in maintaining themselves — that the same
principle which prevents Friends from hiring or pay-
ing their own ministers, prevents their contributing
to the hiring or paying of those of other denomina-
tions— that in their refusal to comply with ecclesias-
tical demands, they bear a practical testimony against
all such hiring and paying of preachers ; against that
description of ministry, which is capable of being so

or THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 213

procured ; against those appointments to the sacred
office, which introduce to the possession of a claim on
tithes ; against the vulgar notion that the sacerdotal
office is continued in the church ; against the forced
maintenance of the clergy and the arbitrary union of
church and state ; and against the legal obligation to
maintain, either for themselves or others, a system of
religious worship inconsistent with their own views.

In concluding this dissertation, I cannot be satisfied
without remarking, that our refusal to comply with
ecclesiastical demands arises from a desire to uphold
certain great principles which we deem to be both
true and important, and is not, I trust, in any measure
dictated by a spirit of enmity against the particular
church established by law in this country. On the
contrary, we regard the members of that church with
a friendly eye, and rejoice in the evident extension of
true religion within her borders. For my own part
I consider it only justice to avow, that I know of few
persons who are more generally free from useless
prejudices, more zealous in the cause of religion, and
more ready for every good word and work, than
many serious and devoted ministers of the Anglican
church. It may, moreover, be remarked that some
of them whose labours of love are abundant, receive
very small pecuniary stipends ; and that others make a
point of expending their whole parochial income, in
relieving the necessities of their poor neighbours, and
in promoting other objects of a benevolent natiu'e.

To such individuals we might safely make our
appeal respecting the practical excellence of those
views which have been unfolded in the present chap-

214 PECUNIARY REMUNERATION OF MINISTERS.

ter. Without any fear of an answer in the negative,
we might address to them the enquiry, whether they
do not find that the sacrifice of their personal interest
is a vast advantage to them in their ministerial labours ;
whether it is not a circumstance which gives great
currency to the doctrine preached by them, that they
derive little or no temporal advantage from preaching
it, and that in the promulgation of divine truth they
are known to be actuated by no other motives than a
sense of religious duty, and an ardent love towards
God and man ? While, therefore, w^e encourage a
liberal and friendly feeling towards our fellow-christ-
ians of every denomination — while we readily make
allowances for the various circumstances and condi-
tions in which they are placed — it is certain that we
cannot be too faithful in upholding our own testimony
against the paying and hiring of preachers. For have
we not reason to believe that the further the church
advances in her great career, the more generally will
serious persons of other religious professions sympa-
thize with our solicitude, that the contrivances of
man may not be allowed to interfere with the work
of God ; that avarice, ambition, and selfishness, may
be for ever excluded from the motives which lead
christians into the professed service of their divine
Master ; and that the standard may be more and more
elevated among believers, of such a ministry of the
gospel, as shall be exclusively spiritual in its origin,
and absolutely free in its operation ?

CHAPTER VIII.

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

While, by the bulk of the christian world, the public
preaching and praying of women is strictly excluded,
and it is even considered as an indisputable doctrine,
that the duties which peculiarly appertain to their
character and station in society, and the offices of
the christian ministry, are absolutely incompatible ;
Friends believe it right, freely and equally to allow
the ministry of both sexes. That this is indeed a
necessary consequence of those sentiments respecting
the ministry which I have already endeavoured to
unfold, must be plain to the reflecting reader. Since
we conceive, on the one hand, that all true ministry
is uttered under the immediate influence of the Spirit
of Christ ; and since, on the other hand, we confess
that the wind bloweth where it listeth — we cannot
reasonably do otherwise than make way for the exer-
cise of the gift by those persons, of every description,
whom the Spirit may direct into the service, and
whom the Great Head of the church may be pleased

216 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

to appoint as his instruments, for the performance of
his own work. It is, indeed, declared that " the
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets",
and hence it may be inferred that in the conduct of
our gifts, we ought not to neglect the dictates of a
sound and enlightened discretion : but we believe that
we must not limit the Holy One of Israel, or oppose
to the counsels of infinite wisdom our own fallible
and uniiuthorized determinations. We dare not say
to' the modest and pious female, " Thou shalt not
declare the word of the Lord", when, from an infi-
nitely higher authority, there is issued a directly
opposite injunction, " Thou shalt go to all that I
shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou
shalt speak".

Now that women are often led to proclaim the Avord
of the Lord amongst us — that it is laid upon them
as an indispensable duty — that they are, from time
to time, constrained under the influence of the Spirit,
to rise up in our assemblies for worship, in order to
instruct, exhort, convince, and console ; or to kneel
down and address the Most High, as the organs of
the congregation ; and further, that their services of
this description are frequently accompanied with life
and power, and greatly tend to the edification of their
hearers — are facts, the truth of which long experience
has taught us ; and which no persons who are inti-
mately acquainted with our society, will be disposed
to deny.

Nor is there any thing either astonishing or novel
in this particular direction of the gifts of the Spirit.
Nothing astonishing, because there is no respect of

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 217

persons with God ; the soul of the woman, in his
sight is as the soul of the man, and both are alike
susceptible of the extraordinary as well as of the gen-
eral influences of his Spirit. Nothing novel, because,
in the sacred records of antiquity, there are found
numerous examples of women as well as of men, who
were impelled to speak to others on matters of reli-
gion, by the direct and immediate visitations of the
Holy Ghost. It was, doubtless, under such an influ-
ence, that Miriam responded to the song of Moses ;
that Deborah uttered her psalm of triumph ; that
Hannah poured forth in the temple her acceptable
thanksgivings ; that Huldah prophesied to king Josiah
and his officers ; that the aged Anna spake of Christ
"to all them that looked for redemption in Israel";
that Elizabeth addressed the mother of her Lord ;
and that Mary sung praises to her God and Saviour.
Of the individuals now mentioned, Miriam, Deborah,
and Huldah, are expressly denominated prophetesses.
The wife of Isaiah was a prophetess ; Isa. viii. 3.
We read also of false prophetesses — a circumstance
which affords an obvious indication that there were
true prophetesses who were the objects of their imita-
tion, and from whom they were distinguished ; Ezek.
xiii. 17, Neh. vi. 14.

Among the early ministers of the gospel dispensa-
tion, particular mention is made of the four daughters
of Philip, who prophesied or preached ; Acts xxi. 9,
comp. XV. 32, I. Cor. xiv. 3. The same office proba-
bly devolved, in a very eminent manner, on Priscilla
the wife of Aquila, to whom all the churches of the
Gentiles gave tharihs, and whom Paul expressly de-

218 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

nominates his " helper", or, as in the Greek, his
"fellow-labourer in Christ"; Rom. xvi. 3, 4, comp.
Greek text of ver. 21, II. Cor. viii. 23, Phil. ii. 25,
I. Thes. iii. 2. Again, on another occasion, the apostle
speaks of the women who " laboured" with him " in
the gospel"; Phil iv. 3. In order, however, to estab-
lish the point now under consideration, nothing far-
ther would be necessary than a reference to the history
given in the book of Acts of that great day of Pente-
cost, when the Spirit was so abundantly poured forth
on the disciples of the Lord Jesus. It is recorded
in that history, that when the men and Avomen were
collected together, to the number of about one hun-
dred and twenty, they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and spake as the Spirit gave them utterance ;
ch. i. 14, 15, ii. 1 — 4. Here we have the declaration
of a plain and indisputable fact ; and that fact is of
the more importance because of its correspondence
with the prediction of the prophet Joel. It was ex-
pressly provided and ordained, as is amply proved by
that celebrated prediction, that in the last days, or
under the last dispensation, the Spirit should be poured
forth "upon all flesh" — that no distinction should
in this respect be made between the male and the
female — that the (laughters as well as the sons ; the
handmaidens as well as the servants, should receive
the heavenly gift and prophesy ; Acts ii. 16 — 18.

On the opposite side of the question, however, it
has often been remarked, that Paul in one passage
of his epistles, has commanded women " to keep silence
in the churches'', and in another declares, that he
suffers them not " to teach". The passages alluded

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 219

to are as follows : " Let your women keep silence in
the churches : for it is not permitted unto them to
speak ; but they are commanded to be under obedi-
ence, as also saith the law. And if they will learn
any thing, let them ask their husbands at home : for
it is a shame for women to speak in the church";
I. Cor. xiv. 34, 35. Again ; " I will, therefore, that
men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without
wrath and doubting. In like manner, also, that the
women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with

shamefacedness and sobriety, &c Let the women

learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not
a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the
man, but to be in silence, for Adam was first formed,
then Eve;" LTim. ii. 8—13.

Now, on the comparison of these injunctions with
the other passages of Scripture already cited, and
especially with the prophecy of Joel, and the history
of its fulfilment, the interpreter of the sacred volume
appears to be driven into one of two decisions : the
first, that the apostles and prophets, whose works
must be ultimately traced to the same divine Author,
have contradicted one another ; and this on a point
of considerable practical importance : the second, that
the public speaking of women, so positively forbidden
by Paul, was not that description of speaking Avhich
arose out of the immediate impulses of the Holy Spirit.

Even were it impossible to throw any farther light
on the question, I presume there are few readers of
Scripture, who would hesitate in choosing the latter
alternative ; especially since it is quite unreasonable
to suppose that the apostle would venture to forbid

220 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

any administration which was inspired, and which was
therefore fiilly sanctioned by his divine Master. But
in the adoption of that ahernative, we are yet further
confirmed by critical investigation.

In the former of these passages the clue to the
apostle's real meaning, in forbidding the public speak-
ing of women, will be found in the words of v. 35 —
" And if they ivill learn any thing", says he, "let them
ask their husbands at home'\ It has already been
observed, that the whole of this chapter of the epistle
to the Corinthians, relates to their assemblies for divine
worship, and was intended to correct certain abuses
which had rendered those assemblies unprofitable and
disorderly. Now in the Jewish synagogues, after the
pattern of which the meetings for worship of the
earliest christians, were probably in many respects re-
gulated ; it ivas customary for the hearers to interrogate
the ministers on such points of their doctrine, as might
require further explanation ; See Lightfoot, Hor.
Heh. in loc. : and it appears probable that a similar
practice had been introduced in the church of Corinth,
and that the women of that church were peculiarly
prone to it. Such a practice might, under p'^^'iiliar
circumstances, be allowed to 7ne?i ; and especially to
the Elders and Overseers, who were possessed of au-
thority in the body, and were the managers of the
public congregations, but it was evidently very incon-
sistent with that diffidence »r^*ch ought ever to dis-
tinguish the character and j . ortment of females.
The apostle, therefore, enjoins them to keep silence
in the church, and to restrain their eager desires for
farther instruction, until they could obtain it in pri-

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 221

vate^ from their own husbands. " In the synagogue",
says the learned Benson, " any man who had a mind
might ask questions of his teachers, and demand a
further explanation of what had been said. And this
custom was also transferred into the primitive christian
church, and that with the approbation of St. Paul.
Only he would not permit the women to do so ; as the
judaizers at Corinth would have had them. No ! if
they wanted to have any farther instructions, they were
to ask their own parents or husbands at home ; and not
enter into such conferences publicly in the church" ;
On the Public IVorship of the First Christians, Com.
on Epist.vol. i. p. 628. Such then, we may conclude,
was the public speaking forbidden by the apostle, and
not that inspired ministry which originated in the will
of Christ, and was immediately prompted by his Holy
Spirit.

The second passage above cited is worded in a
manner somewhat obscure ; but appears to be best
construed (according to the opinion of various com-
mentators— See Poole s Synopsis,) as conveying an
injunction that women, as well as men, should pray
every where, lifting uj) holy hands without wrath and
doubting." Having issued this injunction together
with one relating to attire, the apostle proceeds to
command the women in the church of Ephesus (in
conformity with his directions to those at Corinth) to
" learn in silence with all subjection" : and further he

* 1 .Tim. ii. 8, 9. B&uXo//,a/ oZv 'XgaSiliyiC^ai Tovg avdpag sv Tavri roVw,
X. T. X.—' CieabrMg -/.ai rag yvvaTxag sv xaragoXfj Me/xiuj, [j^irb, alBovg y.ai
eu(p^ogvi/y}c, xoei^uv saVTCcg, K.t.X. "I will, therefore, that men jjioy every
where, 4'c. Likewise also the tuomen, in a modest dress; comp. I. Cor. xi. 5 ; (I would
hiive ttiem) adorn themselves with shamefacedness and sobriety'," iS^c.

222 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

expressly declares that he suffers them not "to teach".
The verb " to teach" is one of very general import,
and, together with its derivative nouns, is applied in
Scripture to religious instruction of various descrip-
tions ; but in this passage it probably designates a
specific duty or faculty in the church, which is repeat-
edly fZ/.v^/wo-M/^^e^/ by this apostle from the gift oi pro-
pheci/ or preaching ; Rom. xii. 6, 7, I. Cor. xii. 28,
Eph. iv. 11. Now, although both these faculties, as
enjoyed in the primitive church, are described as being
divinely bestowed, there is reason to believe that the
impulses of the Spirit were of a far more direct and
positive nature in the one case than in the other. I
conceive that the teaching which the apostle suffered
not to be performed by women, differed from prophe-
sying or preaching, in three respects: first, that it was
dictated rather by the general impressions of christian
love and duty, than by any immediate inspiration; for
had it been immediately inspired, the apostle could
not have forbidden it: secondly, that, although adapted
to a variety of occasions, both private and public, it
was not, like modern teaching, employed as the minis-
try of the word, in assendjlies for worship ; for all the
various administrations employed in those assemblies,
appear to be described in I. Cor. xiv. as spontaneous
and divine effusions : thirdly, that, according to the
hint given by the apostle in the passage before us, it
involved the assumption of personal authority. This
duty probably appertained in a particular manner
to the Elders and Overseers, whose calling it was to
exercise a spiritual superintendence over others, and
who were the appointed guardians and governors of

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 223

the flock. Thus we learn from I. Tim. iii. 2, (as al-
ready stated) that the Bishop or Overseer was to be
apt to teach ; and from Ephes. iv. 11, that certain
persons who are there distinguished from the prophets
or inspired ministers of the word, bore the joint cha-
racter of " pastors and teachers".

A very similar view of this passage is taken by
Grotins. " To teach,'"' says he, " was the office of
the president (or bishop), though he sometimes com-
mitted this branch of his duties to other persons,
especially the Elders. The apostle suffers not the
women to perform such an office — that is to say, not
unless they have, and only while they have, the pro-
phetical impulse. Propheci/ is beyond the reach of
positive laws' ; See Com. in loc. " The apostolic rule",
says Benson, " was that when they were under im-
mediate inspiration, the women might pray or pro-
phesy in the church. But when they were under no
such inspiration they were not to speak ; i. e. neither
to pray, nor read, teach, nor ask questions, there";
vol. i. p. 620.

That the interpretation now given of these passages
ill Paul's epistles, is substantially correct — that he had
no intention to forbid that ministry of women which
was dictated by the immediate impulses of the Holy
Ghost — is rendered abundantly plain by another pas-
sage of his first epistle to the Corinthians, in which
he recognizes the public prophesying of females, and
gives particular directions respecting their conduct and
appearance, during the performance of that sacred duty.
" Now I praise you, brethren", says he, " that ye re-
member me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as

224 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

I delivered them unto you. But I would have you
know, that the head of every man is Christ ; and the
head of the woman is the man ; and the head of Christ
is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having
his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every
woman that prayeth or prophesieth, with her head un-
covered, dishonoureth her head ; for that is even all
one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not
covered, let her also be shorn ; but if it be a shame for
a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered ....
For this cause ought the woman to have power (or

a covering) on her head because of the angels

Judge in yourselves : is it comely that a woman pray
unto God, uncovered ? &c."; I. Cor. xi. 2 — 13. That
this passage, as well as the fourteenth chapter of the
same epistle, relates to the conduct of the Corinthian
christians in their public assemblies for worshij), is
allowed by commentators, and is indeed evident from
the whole tenor of the advice which is there imparted.
The apostle, therefore, plainly recognizes the public
prophesying of females; and since he gives directions
' respecting their dress and deportment during the per-
formance of this service, it is plain that he had no
intention to forbid the service itself. With respect to
the prophesying to which Paul has here alluded, as
exercised both by men and women in the churches of
the saints, its nature has already been defined. The
reader Avill remember that the gift was directed to the
" edification, exhortation, and comfort" of believers ;
and to the convincement of unbelievers and unlearned
persons. See I. Cor. xiv. 3, 24, 25 ; and that in fact
it was nothing else than speaking aloud, either in

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 225

prayer or preaching, under the direct and immediate
influences of the Holy Ghost.

Such, and such only, were the public services of
women which the apostle recognized and allowed ;
and such was the ministry of females predicted by the
prophet Joel, and described as so leading a feature in
the economy of the gospel dispensation.

It appears then that the allowance of the public
preaching and praying of women, in the Society of
Friends, necessarily arises out of their principles res-
pecting the character of all true ministry — that we
dare not in this respect, more than in any other, limit
the Holy One of Israel in the exercise of his own
prerogatives — that our practice in reference to the
present subject is justified by the records of Scripture,
respecting the effusions of the Spirit of God in times
of old — ^that even under the legal dispensation many
female servants of the Lord were called to the exer-
cise of prophetical gifts — that of the gospel times,
the common participation of those gifts by men and
women, was a decisive characteristic — and that the in-
junctions of the apostle Paul against the public speak-
ing and teaching of women, can only be understood
(himself being witness) of speaking and teaching which
were not inspired — which were not prophesying.

Such are the general sentiments entertained in the
Society of Friends respecting the ministry of women —
a subject which suggests in conclusion one or two
reflexions of a practical nature.

When the apostle Paul said, " I suffer not women
to teach", he added """^ nor to usurp authority over the
mail"; I.Tim, ii. 12. Had the women in the church

a

226 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

of Ephesus, after receiving this injunction, assumed
the office of pastors ; had they attempted that descrip-
tion of public teaching which was immediately con-
nected with the government of the church ; they
would have been guilty of infringing the apostle's
precept, and would have usurped an improper autho-
rity over their brethren : but as long as their ministry
was dictated by the immediate influence of the Holy
Spirit and consisted in the orderly exercise of the
prophetic gift ; so long must they have been free from
any imputation of that nature. Women who speak
in public assemblies for worship under such an influ-
ence, assume thereby no personal authority over others.
They do not speak in their own name. They are the
instruments through which divine instruction is com-
municated to the people ; but they are only the
instruments ; and the doctrine which they preach
derives its weight and importance, not so much from
the persons by whom it is uttered, as from that Being
in whom it originates, and by whose Spirit it is
prompted. This remark is not only in accordance
with the principles which obviously appertain to the
present subject ; but is confirmed, as many of my
readers will be aware, by our own experience ; for we
well know that there are no women among us, more
generally distinguished for modesty, gentleness, order,
and a right submission to their brethren, than those
who have been called by their divine Master into the
exercise of the christian ministry.

Lastly, I may venture to direct the attention of my
friends to a fact which I deem to be worthy of the con-
sideration of the society ; namely, that during the

ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 227

earlier periods of the history of Friends, the work of
the ministry devolved much more generally and ex-
tensively upon the men, than upon the women. If
in the present day, a similar result from onr religious
principles does not take place ; if, on the contrary,
the ministry of the women is found rather to pre-
ponderate in the society over that of the men ; such
a circumstance can by no means be deemed a favour-
able sign. Justified, as Friends appear to be, by the
doctrine of Scripture, and by the powerful operations
of the Spirit of truth, in equally admitting the ministry
of both sexes ; it is far indeed from being an indication
of life and soundness in the body at large, when the
stronger sex withdraws from the battles of the Lord,
and leaves them to be fought by those whose physical
weakness and delicacy have an obvious tendencij to
render them less fit for the combat. Were we of
that stronger sex less devoted than we now are to
secular objects — were we less prone to a worldly
spirit, and more diligent in seeking ^'' first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness" — there can be little
doubt that we should be called forth in greater num-
bers into the arduous duties of the ministry of the
gospel ; nor would the burthen of the word be found
to rest, in so large a proportion as it now does, on
our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters.

Gl2

CHAPTER IX.

ON SILENT WORSHIP.

oiNCE Friends allow of no audible administrations in
connexion with public worship, except such as arise
out of the immediate impressions of the Holy Spirit,
it is evident that when those impressions are w^ithheld
or withdrawn, and at all times, except during the
actual utterance of ministry, their assemblies must
continue in a state of silence. When they meet to-
gether for the solemn purpose of worshipping their
common Lord and Father, they dare not rush into
his sacred presence with offerings of confession, prayer,
and praise, prepared beforehand or extemporaneously
invented. They sit down, therefore, in reverent still-
ness before him, and whenever it happens that no one
present possesses a gift in the ministry, or that the
individuals who possess such a gift are not called into
the exercise of it, the silence w ith which the meeting
commences, continues uninterrupted until the time
arrives for its separation.

During the earlier periods of the society's history,
the number of its ministers was very large, and I

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 229

cannot but think it probable, that in the present day,
were onr reHgious body in a more hvely, healthy, and
vigorous, condition, the gifts of the Holy Spirit would
be more abundantly poured forth upon us, and would
be exercised more generally in our assemblies for wor-
ship, to the edification of the people, and to the glory
of the Great Giver. But although this allowance
may, I believe, be safely made, it is certain that those
who have imbibed the religious principles of Friends,
Ts^'ever place a high value on the opportunities so
often afforded them in that society, for the public yet
silent worship of God. While much of silence in our
religious meetings is the necessary consequence of our
sentiments respecting the juinistry of the gospel ; it is
a consequence which we are far indeed from regarding
as a hardship or disadvantage. On the contrary, such
silent worship is in complete harmony with the whole
tenor of our principles, and we beheve that to those
who rightly avail themselves of it, it seldom fails to
become the means of unspeakable usefulness.

Our profession and our desire, when we meet
together to worship the Father, is to perform this
sacred duty in spirit and in truth. To this end we
conceive that a condition of outward silence is pre-
eminently adapted. For worship in spirit and in truth
consists neither in the practice of typical ordinances,
nor in the forced or formal use of words, which may
or may not be accordant with the feelings of those
who utter them, or in whose behalf they are spoken ;
but in the communion of the soul with God, in inward
prostration before him, and in those heart-felt offerings
of supplication and thanksgiving which, in order to

230 ON SILENT WORSHIP.

enter into the ears of the Lord of Sahaoth, need not
the intervention of any vocal utterance.

In order to nnfold this interesting subject with
some degree of clearness, it will be desirable to advert
to a fcAv of its principal particulars.

I. Were the enquiry addressed to me, What is the
first and most essential qualification for a right and
spiritual worship of the Almighty — for snch a worship
as would at once edify the creature and glorify the
Creator — I should feel but little hesitation in reply-
ing, A deep humiliation and subjection^ of soul before
the divine Majesti/. True worship may often be pro-
perly expressed by the services of the lip ; but it is,
in itself, the homage which the soul offers to its
Maker ; — it is the reverential communion of man with
his God. Now this homage can never be acceptably
offered — this communion can never take place in a
right or perfect manner — until the mind of the wor-
shipper is made in some degree sensible of the real
relative situation of the two parties concerned — of
himself and his God. The m orshipper is the creatan'e;
the oliject of his worship is the Creator : the former
is finite, ignorant, weak, and helpless ; the latter is
omniscient, eternal, and omnipotent: the former, with-
out grace, is fallen, sinful, and corrupt ; the latter is of
"purer eyes than to behold iniquity": the former is
capable of receiving either wrath or mercy ; the latter
is able either to punish or to forgive. " Surely men of
low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a
lie : to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter
than vanity ;" Ps. Ixii. 9. "All nations before him
are as nothing ; and they are counted to him less than

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 281

nothing, and vanity;" Isa. xl. 17. In order therefore
to make acceptable approaches in spirit to the Al-
mighty, it is abundantly evident that men ought to be
humbled, prostrate, and in a mental condition of pro-
found reverence and awe ; under a sense of their own
vileiiess and of his perfections — of their own unwor-
thiness and of his power — of their own nothingness
and of his infinity. Nor will such a state of true
humiliation, fail to procure for them the gracious
regards of their heavenly Father. "The heaven is
my throne, and the earth is my footstool : where is
the house that ye build unto me, and where is the
place of my rest? For all those things hath mine
hand made, and all these things have been, saith the
Lord : but to this man will I look, even to him that
is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my
word ;" Isa. Ixvi. 1, 2.

The frame of mind which 1 have now attempted to
describe, is indeed, in some measure, at all times
inherent in the true christian : but on occasions ap-
pointed for the high and especial purpose of com-
munion with the Almighty, such a frame is in a
pre-eminent degree necessary ; and is required to be
formed in a much more perfect and uninterrupted
manner, than during the active pursuits and mixed
avocations of common life. Now, in order to this
end — in order to the production of this entire humili-
ation, in those who are met together for divine wor-
ship— there is perhaps no outward condition nearly
so Avell adapted as one of silence. The soul of man,
however it may frequently be fraught with honest and
pious intentions, is laden with many infirmities, and

232 ON SILENT WORSHIP.

on these solemn occasions, it appears to retjiiire the
opportunity which silence so naturally aftbrds, before it
can find its own true level ; before it can be brought to
entertain ivith a sufficient degree of completeness, a just
sense of itself and of its Creator. There is reason to
fear, that such a sense is often very imperfectly formed,
and that it is sometimes materially interrupted, by the
use of words which form prescribes, or which human
imagination invents. Even sincerely religious people
may draw nigh unto God with their lips, while their
souls are far from being sufficiently humbled before
him ; and if it be so, they worship their Creator siiper-
Jicially, and their religious exercises will ever be found
unprofitable, in proportion as they are shallow. It is
when the soul of the christian is thoroughly subjected
in the presence of the Most High ; when his pride
and activity are subdued ; when the restless imagina-
tions of his natural mind are quieted and laid low,
that he is prepared to adopt the words of the Psalmist,
" Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord ;"
Psalm cxxx. 1.

Now silence may be considered not only as aftbrding
a most useful opportunity for the production of this
complete prostration before God in divine worship,
but as being eminently suited to that condition of
mind when it is already produced ; for experience
may serve to convince us, that it is the natural and
frequent accompaniment of humiliation and subjection.
As such it is repeatedly described by the ancient
Hebrew prophets. "I was dumh ivith silence, I held
my peace even from good", said David, when he had
been suifering under the chastisement of the Lord, —

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 233

" / ivas dumb, I opened not my moutJi, because thou
didst it"; Ps. xxxix. 2, 9. " Why do we sit still ?" cried
the mournful Jeremiah — " assemble yourselves, and
let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us he
silent there; for the Lord our God hath put us to
silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because
we have sinned against the Lord"; ch. viii. 14. So
also the prophets Habakkuk and Zechariah, when
engaged in proclaiming the presence of Jehovah
among men, did not fail to enjoin the silence of his
creatures ; " But the Lord is in his holy temple ; let
all the earth keep silence before him ;" Hab. ii. 20.
" Be silent, O all flesh, before the Loi'd, for he is raised
up out of his holy habitation ;" Zech. ii. 13. comp.
Ps. xxxi. 18, Isa. xv. 1, I. Pet. ii. 15. Rev. viii. 1.

II. A second particular of indispensable importance
to a true and spiritual worship, is waiting upon God.
The worshippers of the Almighty Jehovah, must
not only be humbled and cast down under an awful
apprehension of his divine power and majesty ; they
must not only feel their own vileness and wants ;
l)ut they must also look upwards unto God, as unto
the Father of mercies, the Fountain of wisdom and
life, the Author of every good and perfect gift.
Their expectation must be placed on him alone, and
they must learn patiently to ivait upon him, until he
shall be pleased to reveal his mercy, and to bestow
upon his unworthy children, " grace to help in time
of need". On the subject of this important charac-
teristic of true worship, none of the sacred writers
appear to have received a more powerful impression,
than the devout and afflicted David. " Unto thee

234 ON SILENT WORSHIP.

lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the hea-
vens. Behokl, as the eyes of the servants (look)
unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a
maiden unto the hand of her mistress ; so our eyes
(wait) upon the Lord our God, until that he have
mercy upon us;' Ps. cxxiii. 1, 2. " My soul, wait thou
only upon God; for my expectation is from him;"
Ps. Ixii. 5. "^PFait on the Lord : be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart : wait, I say, on
the Lord;"" Ps. xxvii. 14. comp. xxxvii. 7, 9, cxxx. 5,
Isa. XXX. 18, &c.

When a person is anxiously expecting any particular
benefit from his fellow-creatures, it is very natural
for him to be silent ; for anxious expectation and
silence, even in the common affairs of life, are closely
associated. Still more plainly, however, does this
appear to be the case, when the blessings and benefits
which he desires are of a heavenly nature, and when
the great and glorious God is the Being on whom
his expectation and reliance are placed. A holy
silence of soul, accompanied by an outward stillness,
appears to be a frame of the man peculiarly Avell
adapted to this waiting upon the Lord ; and such a
frame will I believe, often be found a very salutary
introduction to the more active communion of the soul
with its Creator — to the actual offerings, whether
secret or vocal, both of confession and prayer.

Were such ofterings, as they are presented on the
altar of the Most High by christian worshippers, less
the product of their own efforts ; were they dictated
more completely by that Spirit Avho " maketh in-
tercession" for us " with groanings that cannot be

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 235

uttered"; and did they more generally arise out of
that condition which has now been described, of reve-
rent ivaitbig on the Lord ; there is much reason to
conclude that they would be still more acceptable
than they now are to the great Searcher of hearts ; and
efficacious in a higher degree, for the edification of
those who worship him. And now it only remains
for me to confirm these remarks by the additional
observation, that waiting upon God, as well as pros-
tration and subjection before his divine Majesty, is,
in the Holy Scriptures, expressly recognized as con-
nected with a state of silence. The words of the
Psalmist " Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for
him", may be more hterally and properly rendered,
as in the margin of the common English version,
" Be .silent to the LorcP and wait patiently for him";
Ps. xxxvii. 7. In Isaiah xl. 31, it is declared, that
" they who wait upon the Lord shall reneiv their
strength''''; and in the following verse the command
is proclaimed " heep silence before me, O islands ; and
let the people renew their strength"''; Isa. xli. 1. Lastly,
in a highly instructive passage of the book of Lament-
ations, the benefit of true waiting upon God, and of
the silence with which it is so naturally accompanied,
are described as follows : " The Lord is good unto
them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly
wait for (in the Hebrew, be silent for ^) the salvation
of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the
yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth
silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He put-

=> Heb. HIiT'? DH- ' DDIT-

236 ON SILENT WORSHIP.

teth his mouth in the dust, if so he there may be
hope"; Lam. iii. 25 — 28. It appears, therefore, both
from Scripture and from experience, first, that a
condition of mental waiting upon God, is a very im-
portant constituent of spiritual worship ; and, secondly,
that silence is a natural and perfectly adapted accom-
jDaniment of such a condition.

III. Among the choicest blessings in the expectation
of which the true worshipper is taught to wait upon
his Lord, and for which he is most accustomed to
present his humble yet earnest petitions at the throne
of grace, is the illumination and instruction of the
Holy Spirit. It is the happiness of all true christians
that they are taught of the Lord. " All thy children",
said the prophet to the church, " shall be taught of
the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children";
Isa. liv. 13. The law of God is written in legible
characters on the hearts of his followers. Under that
new and spiritual dispensation into Avhich they have
been introduced, they need not that one man should
sav to another " Know the Lord", because from the
least to the greatest of them, all may know him for
themselves, Jer. xxxi. 34 ; they need not that any
man teach them, because the anointing which they
have received of Christ abideth in them, and teacheth
them of all things, and is truth and no lie ; I. John
ii. 27. One is their teacher — even Christ.

The obedient family of God, as I have already found
occasion to observe, are, in all their ways, instructed
and illuminated by their divine Master. Even while
they are prosecuting the active business of life, if
they are but careful in maintaining the watchful spirit

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 237

and the single eye, they will not fail to receive, on
every needful occasion, the secret yet perceptible mo-
nitions of the Spirit of truth. But in an especial
manner may they expect to experience this grace, when
they are gathered together, in the name of Jesus, for
the solemn purpose of worshipping the living God.
In pious expectation they fix their souls upon their
Redeemer, and that " Minister of the true tabernacle",
who has promised to be in the midst of his disciples,
when they are thus engaged, is ever ready to carry
forward his work in their souls, to perform his own
part in the covenant of life, and to bestow upon them
the teaching of his Holy Spirit — a teaching which,
when received with submission, never fails to be effi-
cacious, because it is derived without mixture from
the source of wisdom, and is not only light but
power. Many are they of various christian denomi-
nations, who can bear witness that the Lord Jesus
does indeed condescend to instruct his people himself.
It is Christ, that spiritual Teacher of the children of
God, who makes manifest to them their real condition ;
detects their iniquities and convinces them of sin ;
brings them into humility, tenderness, and contrition
of soul ; and thus prepares them for the exercise of
fervent and persevering prayer, for pardon, and deli-
verance. It is Christ also who reveals to the soul
of man the mercy of God, and secretly proclaims to
his penitent followers the extent and efficacy of re-
deeming love. Thus is the contrite sinner relieved
and comforted, and becomes rightly qualified to offer
up at the throne of grace, the acceptable tribute of
thanksgiving and praise. Lastly, it is Christ who

238 ON SILENT WORSHIP.

plainly sets before his people, as in the light of his
sanctuary, the path of self-denial, obedience, and true
holiness : he shews to them the beauty and excellence
of that narroAv way, and inspires them with an ardent
desire to walk in it : and at the same time he invites
them to rely with confidence upon the power of his
grace, that by this sacred influence they may be
strengthened in all their weakness, and actually en-
abled to take up their daily cross and to follow their
Lord and Saviour. Such is a faint and general outline
of the teaching of the Son of God ; and where is the
experienced christian who will venture to deny that
he thus instructs his people, not only by means of
the ministry of his servants, but by the secret and
immediate operations of his Holy Spirit ?

If this point be allowed, and if it be fmlher granted,
as I think it must be by the spiritually-minded reader,
that the periods appointed for the congregational wor-
ship of God, are times when the immediate teaching
of Christ may reasonably be expected ; the propriety
of silence on such occasions is at once established.
When any persons are receiving the instructions of
a human teacher, they find that a state of silence on
their own parts is both beneficial and indispensable.
Not only is such a state the proper and natural token
of submission to their instructor, and of their willing-
ness to receive his lessons, but it is literally impossible
for them to listen to his words, or to derive any
benefit from those lessons, unless they keep silence.
Every one who is accustomed to public worship, must
know with what peculiar force these observations
apply to the experience of christians, in reference to

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 239

the ministry of the gospel. The preacher proclaims
the word of truth ; he declares the messages of God
to his people ; and he instructs them in a knowledge
of the divine law. But all his efforts will be mere
vanity, unless he receive from his hearers that respect-
fal and submissive attention, to which their entire
silence is absolutely and undeniably essential. And
so it is also during those times in the hours appointed
for Avorship, (and that there are such times we are
well aware from our own experience) when the " Mas-
ter of assemblies" calls forth no human instrument for
the performance of his work ; when he is pleased to
take the office of teacher into his own hands ; and
when he condescends to visit his unworthy children
with the immediate illuminations of his Holy Spirit.
They cannot avail themselves of this divine teaching ;
they cannot hear it ; they cannot profit by it — unless
they be silent — unless they maintain that stillness of
soul which is naturally and, under such circumstances,
necessarili/ accompanied with an outward silence. "Be
still, and know that I am God", is the command
which, in his character of universal Sovereign, Jehovah
still addresses to his reasonable creatures : nor can
there be any occasions on which an obedience to this
command is more seasonable or more plainly desira-
ble than those which are appointed for public and
congregational worship. While this true silence is
preserved by christian worshippers, they will often be
permitted to hear the gentle and alluring accents of
Israel's Shepherd ; their Guide, Instructor, and Com-
forter ; and in listening to those accents with reverent
submission, they will in an eminent degree experience

240 ON SILENT WORSHIP.

that renewal of strength without which they can make
no advances in the " way everlasting".

On recurring to the leading particulars of the pre-
sent chapter, the reader will observe, that much of
silence in the time appointed for public worship is
tlie necessary consequence of our principle, that no
verbal administrations, except those which arise di-
rectly out of divine impulse, are on such occasions to
be admitted — that so far from deprecating such a con-
sequence, we consider that the maintenance of silence
in our religious assemblies eminently accords with
that divine law, that God, who is a Spirit, must be
worshipped spiritually — that in this sentiment we are
confirmed by a consideration of some of the principal
constituents of true and spiritual worship, viz. humili-
ation before the divine Majesty, waiting upon God,
and submissive attention to the immediate teaching of
the Lord Jesus — that to these several duties the silent
subjection of the soul is peculiarly suited and even
absolutely indispensable, and that this frame is, in our
judgment, most easily obtained and most effectually
preserved through the medium of an outward silence.
Such are the reasons for the value which Friends
are accustomed to attach to silence in worship, and
which will, I trust, be found more and more to re-
commend so salutary a practice, to christians of every
name and profession. In conclusion, however, it
ought to be remarked, that although silence is a
natural attendant of this inward state of prostration,
waiting, and attention to the divine teaching, the for-
mer may often be maintained when the latter has no
existence. It is easy for any man to be outwardly

ON SILENT WORSHIP. 241

silent, while he allows his mind to be occupied with a
thousand passing reflexions which have no proper con-
nexion with his religious duty ; and Avhen this is
unhappily the case with persons who are met together
for the professed pui'pose of rendering a public hom-
age to the Almighty, it must be confessed that their
worship is as inefficacious and nearly as much of a
mockery, as it would be, did it consist in the use of
words at total variance with the feelings of the heart.
How clearly then is it the duty of Friends, of every
age and station, to maintain a true watchfulness, and
diligence of soul, that their silent worship may not
be marred by the influence of worldly thoughts, and
thus degenerate into a barren and lifeless form ! It
may indeed be freely allowed, that a condition of
true internal silence, is one of no easy attainment.
Great is our infirmity in this respect, and difficult do
we sometimes find it to stay the rapid course of our
own cogitations, and to present ourselves in real qui-
etness, a living sacrifice to our God. But we do not
expect to accomplish this object in our own strength.
In our endeavours to worship God in spirit and in
truth, we are taught to rely on him alone ; and while
such continues to be our reliance, experience will still
enable us to testify, that he is often pleased to arise
for our help — that he has the will as well as the
power to bring our vain thoughts into silence — to
raise our souls into holy communion with himself —
and to say to the multitudinous imaginations of the
natural man, Peace, he still.

CHAPTER X.

ON OATHS.

In the preceding chapters I have endeavoured to give
a clear account of those rehgious pecuHarities of the
Society of Friends, which aj)pertain particularly to
the suhject of worship, and which, therefore, involve
duties (whether positive or negative) especially affect-
ing our relation with the Supreme Being himself.
The points still remaining for discussion, have refer-
ence to our conduct in common life, and more espe-
cially towards our fellow-creatures : for there are
several matters of this description also, respecting
which Friends entertain sentiments, and adopt prac-
tices, different from those of the hulk of their fellow-
christians. Of these practical peculiarities, the first
which presents itself for our consideration is the disuse
of oaths. Profane and irreverent appeals to the Al-
mighty, and those conversational hlasphemies which,
even in christian countries, continue to disgrace the
various classes of worldly society, are indeed unani-
mously condemned by all true christians : but Friends

ON OATH 5. 243

(in accordance, as I understand, with the Moravians)
advance a step further, and consider it their bounden
duty to avoid swearing of every description, and on
every occasion. Such a hue of conduct they deem
to be both justified and required, Jirst, by certain
plain moral pi-inciples, and, secondli/, by divine com-
mands of the most impressive and comprehensive
character. On both these heads I may venture to
offer a few observations.

Of the moral principles alluded to, the first may be
considered as lying at the foundation of the apostolic
precept, " Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay,
lest ye fall into condemnation', Jas. v. 12 ; and as
deriving a clear confirmation from the declaration of
Jesus himself, that " whatsoever is more than these
Cometh of eviV; or as the Greek may be more accu-
rately rendered, 'of the evil one' -^ Matt. v. 37. Since
the laAv of truth in the verbal communications between
man and man — a law strenuously supported even
by heathen moralists, and obviously essential to the
well being of all human societies — is very frequently
enjoined in the records of God's revealed will ; since
it is plainly of universal obligation on the followers
of Jesus ; and since, on the other hand, there is no-
thing more decisively condemned in the sacred volume
than the false tongue : it follows that with true christ-
ians, a deliberate and serious yet simple affirmation
or negation possesses a force so perfect in its kind,
as to be incapa])le of any real augmentation. Hence
there arises a plain moral obligation in conformity
with the precept of the apostle James, that our yea

r2

244 ON OATHS.

should ])c yea, and our nay, nay — that is to say that
our affirmations and negations should he naked, and
simple, and wholly unaccompanied with any form
of oath. For if on any particular occasion a man
swear in addition to his yea or nay, in order to ren-
der them more ohligatory and convincing, their force
becomes comparatively weak at other times, when
they receive no such confirmation. If such an one
he a believer in the Lord Jesus, and especially if
he be a serious professor of religion, it is plain that
by his conduct he gives countenance to the false and
dangerous notion, that the oath of the christian is
more binding upon his conscience, and therefore more
credible, than his deliberate word, and thvis he inevi-
tably lowers the standard of the law of truth.

Nor is the deduction of this consequence the work
of mere theory. Experience bears ample testimony
to the fact that the prevalence of oaths among men
(christians not excepted) has produced a very material
and A^ery general eifect in reducing their estimate of
the obligation of plain truth, in its natural and simple
forms. Even the heathen philosophers of old were
well aware of the deleterious results of the practice
of swearing, and some of them have left on record
an express condemnation of that practice.^ Truly,

6 Epictetus says, craga/TTjCa/ o^xov £/j affav—" Avoid swearing altogether":
Plato, o^'Mi TS^i •rravrog aTsgca — "Let an oath be avoided on every occasion":
Chaerilus, o^xov r oi)r ahi'MV p^gswv Sfi/xsvai outs dix.aiOV — " No oath, whether it
be a just or an unjust one, ought to be allowed" : Menander, QPKQV Ss (psvys xav
Bizaiug hfivvr^g — " Abstain from swearing, even though it be justly". See Grotius
on Matt. V, 34. " Stobsens, Serm. 3, relates that Solon said, A good man ought to
be in that estimation that he need not an oath ; because it is to be reputed a lessening
of his honour, if he be forced to svear. Pythagoras, in his oration, among other
things, hath this maxim, as that which concerns the administration of the common-

ON OATHS. 245

then, may it be asserted, that those awful appeals to a
superior agency, by which, in every oath, the truth is
supposed to be confirmed, (whatever may be the oc-
casion on which such oath is employed,) arise out of
an evil source, — produce an evil consequence, — and
are at variance with the principles of that perfect law,
to which christians, above all others, so plainly owe
an exact and universal obedience.

The true christian cannot, indeed, be ignorant that
he is in the presence of an omniscient God, who is
perfectly aware both of his secret thoughts and of
his open declarations. Nevertheless, the principle to
which I have now adverted, appears to afford a sub-
stantial reason why he should abstain from attempting
to add to the force of his yea or his nay, by making
such an awful appeal to the Deity as constitutes an
oath. But further : there appears to be a distinct
moral objection to oaths, on the ground that, according
to general usage both ancient and modern, they plainly
imply an imprecation — a conditional calling down
upon oneself of some dreaded penalty. A man swears
either by something which is dear and valuable to
him, or by some personal object of his reverence and
dread. In the former case, the penalty which he
means to attach to himself, on the supposition that
his oath is untrue, is the loss of that which he loves ;
and in the latter case, it is the wrath and vengeance
of him whom he fears. When the ancient Grecian,
for instance, swore by his head, he professed to sub-
wealth, Let no man call God to vulness by an oath, no not in judgment ; but let every
man so accustom himself to spealc, that he may become loorlhy to be trusted even without
an oath ;' Barclay's Apology, Prop, xv, ^ 12.

246 ON OATHS.

ject himself to the loss of his head ; and when he
swore by Jupiter, he cursed himself with the wrath
of Jupiter, provided his oath should be false or bro-
ken. Now it is a very affecting consideration that
the oaths in use among the professors of Christianity
are unspeakably more terrible than any heathen oath ;
in as much as the penalty which the swearer calls
down upon himself, on the supposition of his swearing
falsely, is one of infinite weight and severity. It is
nothing short of damnation — the destruction and eter-
nal punishment of his immortal soul.

That such is the import of the common juridical
oath of this country, is notorious. An individual who
is called upon to give evidence in an English court
of justice, swears that he will tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, and he adds " So
help me God"; or, as the words were formerly recited,
" So help me God at his holy dome""; that is to say.
Let this be the conditio??, on which God shall help
me in the day of judgment ; See Rees' Cyclopcedia,
" oatir. The help of God thus technically adverted
to — the help of God in the day of his holy dome —
plainly signifies that help by which alone the soul of
man can be saved from eternal misery, and introduced
to a state of never-ending happiness. Thus, then,
the English swearer, in his appeal to an all-seeing
omnipotent Deity, voluntarily and expressly appends
his own salvation to the condition of his speaking
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
On the supposition of his infringing that condition,
he curses himself with the loss of God's help, and
with consequent damnation.

ON OATHS.

247

Even were it absolutely certain that the alternative,
on account of which a man calls down upon himself
this everlasting ruin and destruction, could by no
possibility occur, the reflecting christian who dwells
under a just sense of the judgments of the Lord and
of the unutterable importance of eternity, will scarcely
fail to acknowledge, that such a cursing of self is in
a high degree rash and irreverent. But hoAv much
more evidently presumptuous, how much more aw-
fully dangerous, is such an imprecation, w^hen it is
connected with an alternative, the negative of which
must always, in the very nature of things, be deemed,
in a great degree, uncertain ! The senses of men
frequently deceive them : their memory easily fails
them : Avhen they are surrounded with appalling cir-
cumstances, or perplexed with difficult questions, their
presence of mind is very commonly disturbed or des-
troyed : and, above all, their own hearts are corrupt
and deceitful — so that perhaps a person who is about
to give evidence in a court of justice, can never be
absolutely assured that he shall speak the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth : and yet, in
appealing to the omnipresent Jehovah, he presumes
to stake upon this frail and fallible condition; the
salvation of his immortal soul !

Those who are acquainted with the history of the
Society of Friends, must be aware hoAv uniformly
they have objected to the use of oaths ; how fully
persuaded they have at all times been, that they could
in no case comply with the prevalent custom of swear-
ing, without grieving and offending their heavenly
Guide and Governor ; and how multifarious were the

•248 ON OATHS.

sufferings which the early members of that society
preferred, to the infringement of their duty in this
important practical particular. Nor will the reader
be surprised by the decision and steadiness of their
vieAvs and conduct in reference to the present subject,
when he has candidly reflected on the moral princi-
ples which have now been stated ; when he has con-
sidered their clearness on the one hand, and their
weight and importance on the other. It is not,
however, solely on account of these moral principles,
that Friends regard it as their indispensable duty to ab-
stain from all swearing; but more especially because of
the express commands of Jesus Christ himself, and of
one of his apostles. " Ye have heard that it hath
been said by them of old time", said the Lord Jesus,
in his sermon on the mount, "Thou shalt not forswear
thyself; but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths :
but I say unto you. Swear not at all ; neither by hea-
ven, for it is God's throne ; nor by the earth, for it
is his footstool ; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the
city of the Great King. Neither shalt thou swear by
thine head, because thou canst not make one hair
white or black : but let your communication be yea,
yea, nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than these
Cometh of evil"; Matt. v. 33 — 37. The apostle James
has also adverted to the subject in forcible and explicit
terms : — "But above all things, my brethren, swear not ;
neither by heaven ; neither by the earth ; neither by
any other oath ; but let your yea be yea, and your nay,
nay; lest ye fall into condemnation;" ch. v. 12.

It might have been supposed that such plain in-
junctions, would have convinced the generality of

ON OATHS. 249

persons who derive their moral standard from the
New Testament, that oaths, on any occasion, and
under any pretext, are absohitely unlawful for the
follovv^crs of Jesus. But the very prevalent notion
that they are necessary to some important purposes
of civil society, has evidently been the means of pre-
venting this result. Many persons have accordingly
acceded to the glosses by which commentators en-
deavour to escape from the force of these passages ;
and that with a far greater readiness and facility than
those glosses deserve. The objections which many
of the learned, and especially the late William Paley,
have made to the more comprehensive interpretation
of these prohibitory declarations, centre principally in
a single point ; namely, that the oaths here specified
both by our Saviour and his apostle, are oaths, not
by Jehovah, but only by his creatures. Since the
latter oaths alone are specified, these writers conclude
that they alone, or they principally, are forbidden ;
and since it appears that in their courts of justice, the
Jews swore not by heaven, the earth, Jerusalem,
or their own heads ; but only by God himself, and
that they used these inferior oaths on more familiar
occasions ; it is argued that the injunctions of Christ
and his apostle were not directed against judicial
swearing, but exclusively against that which was
common and conversational. Now as the inference
thus deduced depends entirely upon the supposition
that the swearing forbidden by our Lord and his
apostle was oiilij or ch'iejiy swearing by the creatures,
and not the oath by Jehovah ; it follows that if that
supposition be disproved, the inference itself must fall

250 ON OATHS.

to the ground. I hope then to make it plain to the
reader's apprehension, that in these passages, every
kind of swearing is foi'bidden, and especially swearing
hy Jehovah.

In the first place, the terms in which our Lord
expresses his new law are of the most decisive and
comprehensive nature. " But I say unto you, Swear
not at alir^ The apostle, whose words may be re-
garded as a sort of commentary on those of Christ,
maintains, and even increases, the force and extent of
these terms : he says ^'^ Above all things, my brethren,
swear not "; and after specifying the oath by heaven
and that by the earth, he completes the significancy
of his sentence by the subsequent clause, " neither by
any other oath". The negative injunction is, more-
over, in both instances, elucidated and confirmed, by
another of a positive character. " Let your yea, be
yea, and your nay, nay", says the apostle — that is, let
them be naked, simple, plain, absolutely destitute of
any oath. " Let your communication (or " your
speech"*^) be yea, yea, nay, nay", says our Saviour,
" for whatsoever is more than these" — whether it be
the lesser or the greater oath, the oath by the creature,
or the oath by the Creator — " whatsoever is more
than these cometh of evil". Here our Lord has
justified and explained his law, by a declaration.
Now that declaration extends to every description of
swearing ; it applies to the higher kinds of it with still
greater force than to the lower : and it must needs be
understood as universal, because, whatever exception
may here be imagined by christians, none is expressed

^ /XJ5 hfLocan oXug. ' yJyog,

ON OATHS. 251

— none, even In the most distant manner, hinted at or
alluded to, by Christ himself.

It is to be observed, in the second place, that oaths
of a secondary kind are forbidden by our Lord on the
express principle, that they were nearly assimilated to
more solemn oaths, and that some of these forms did
in fact involve a real swearing by Jehovah : " Neither
by heaven, for it is God's throne : neither by the
earth, for it is his footstool : neither by Jerusalem for
it is the city of the Crreat King'' — the Lord of Hosts.
Those, therefore, who swore by the heaven, by the
earth, or by Jerusalem, virtually swore by that divine
Being who dwells in them and uses them as his own ;
according to the clear doctrine of the Lord Jesus, on
another occasion — " Whoso shall swear by the temple,
sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein ;
and he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the
throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon :"
Matt, xxiii. 21, 22. If then sweai'ing by the creature
was to be avoided, simply because of its virtual con-
nexion with swearing by the Creator, how much more
plainly exceptionable was the direct and awful oath
by Jehovah himself! I would suggest that our Lord's
meaning may be paraphrastically expressed as fol-
lows : — " But I say unto you. Swear not at all — on
no occasion and by no description of oaths — not even
by those of a secondary form, which you are accus-
tomed to use familiarly, and to regard as harmless
and unmeaning. Such oaths are, in point of fact,
fraught with solemnity, and are of the very same
nature as swearing by the living God. Keep strictly,
therefore, in all your speech, to the yea and nay ; for

252 ON OATHS.

whatsoever method of swearing may be employed to
augment their force, it cometh of the evil one."^

Lastly, the true import of the precept of Christ
respecting swearing is to be gathered from that of the
Jewish law, to which that precept is placed in oppo-
sition. It has already been observed that the worship
prescribed to the ancient Hebrews, was in general of
a much lower and less spiritual character, than that
which is enjoined upon the disciples of Jesus ; and in
complete coincidence with such a fact, it appears
with equal clearness, that the moral law — the law of
practice — was less fully revealed and less properly
understood under the Mosaic, than it is under the
christian dispensation. In condescension to a state of
comparative ignorance and weakness, many things
were permitted, and even temporarily enjoined, which
the full light of christian truth has evinced to be
now unlawful. Every reader of the New Testament
is acquainted with the comparison instituted by our
Lord, in his Sermon on the Mount, between the
system of morals, Avhich the Jews had grounded on
the law of Moses, and his own purer and more per-
fect law. The law of Moses forbad murder : the
law of Christ extends the prohibition to injuries
and insults of every description, and enjoins the sub-
jugation of those angry and malicious feelings which
are the source of overt wrongs. The law of Moses

^ " Graviter falluntur", says Grotius on this passage, " qui solam a Christo
improbari putant consuetudinem jurandi per res alias extra Deum. Nam Jacobns
optimus Cbristi interpres ait, Non jiiratidum, neque yer ctelum, ueque per terram,
neque alia quavis jurandi formula. lino sensus Cbristi est, Non jurandum ; ne qui-
dem (not even) per coeluni, per terram, per Hierosoljiua, [ler capat ; quod ostendit
membrum oppositum, Sit autem sermo tester, est, est, non, non". The Greek particle
u>}}rs is capable of being rendered 'not even' as well as 'nor'; com}}. Mark iii. 20.

ON OATHS. 253

forbad adultery : the law of Christ proclaims the ini-
(jiiity of those secret desires and intentions, in which
alone such crime originates. The law of Moses
allowed of divorce on trifling occasions : the lavv of
Christ repeals that provision, and holds up the highest
standard respecting the security and completeness of
the marriage union. The law of Moses sanctioned
the principle of retaliation, Exod. xxi. 2.3 — 25, Num.
xxxi. 17 — 21 ; the law of Christ enjoins the suffering
of injury, and the return of good for evil. The
principle of the law of Moses was love to friends, and
hatred to enemies : — that of the law of Christ is love
to all. So also the law of Moses, while it forbad both
swearing falsely, and swearing lightly,^ allowed the
use of oaths when required by the order of civil and
religious society, as it was then established : ])ut the
law of Christ goes farther : it cuts off" all opportimity
of peijury, and of every other abuse of the oath, by
the complete prohibition of swearing. " Ye have heard
that it hath been said by them of old time — Thou
shalt not forswear thyself — but I say unto you swear
not at alir The oaths which the ancient Israelites
were thus enjoined not to infringe, were taken in the
name of Jehovah, the living God, and were employed
principally in their courts of judicature, and on other
occasions of seriousness and importance. Such then
are the oaths, as well as others of a less solemn form
and character, from which christians are commanded
by their own lawgiver, entirely to abstain.

• Both these meanings are considered bj comnienlators, and especially by Jewish
commentators, to be included in the injunction " Thou shalt not take the name of
the Lord thy God tn vain" ; Exod. xx. 7.

254 ON OATHS.

For all the reasons now stated I cannot but consider
it abundantly evident that our Lord, in this passage
of his memorable discourse, and also the apostle
James, who has expressed himself in so similar a
manner, Jiave ahsolutelij forbidden swearing of every
description^ and on every occasion. In this conclusion
we are confirmed by the express judgment of the
early fathers both Greek and Latin, who have almost
uniformly interpreted these passages as completely
destitute of any limitation. " I say nothing of per-
jury", says Tertullian, " since swearing itself is un-
lawful to christians"; De Idol. cap. 11. ed. Sender .
torn. iv. 161. "The old law", says Basil, "is satisfied
with the honest keeping of the oath : but Christ cuts
off the opportunity of perjury"; In Ps. xiv. horn. ed.
Ben. torn. i. 356. " He who has precluded murder
by taking away anger", observes Gregory of Nysse,
" and who has driven away the pollution of adultery
by subduing desire, has expelled from our life the
curse of perjury by forbidding us to swear : for where
there is no oath, there can be no infringement of it ";
In Cant. Cant. Horn. 13, ed. Ben. torn. i. 657, 8.
" Let the christian entirely avoid oaths, in obedience
to our Lord's prohibition", exclaims Chrysostom ;
" do not therefore say to me, I swear for a just pur-
pose. It is no longer lawful for thee to swear either
justly or unjustly. Let us preserve our mouths free
from an oath "; In Gen. ii. Horn. xv. ed. Ben. torn.
iv. p. 122. " It is our absolute duty", says Gregory
Nazianzen, " strictly to attend to the commands of
our king, and by all means to avoid an oath — especi-
ally such an one as is taken in the name of God";

ON OATHS. 255

Orat. 53, ed. Colon, a. d. 1690, torn. i. 760. See also
Justin, Apol. i. cap. 16, ed. Ben. p. 53; Clement Alex.
Peed. lib. 3, ed. Ben. p. 299. Strom, lib. v. p. 707 ;
Origen, in Com. Matt, serie, tract. 23. ed. Ben. torn.
iii. 842. Cyprian, Testini. lib. 3, § 12 ; Hilary, Episc.
in Matt. v. 34, ed. Ben. p. 628 ; Theophylact, in
Matt. V. 33 ; Ambrose, in Ps. 118, Expos. 14 ed. Ben.
torn. i. p. 1145; Jerom, in Matt. v. 34; Isidorus
Pelus, lib. i. ep. 155 ; Barclays Apol. prop. xv. § 12.

Since Jesus Christ has thus forcibly, expHcitly, and
without Hmitation or exception, prohibited his follow-
ers from swearing, the corresponding duty on their
parts, is evidently that of a total abstinence from
the practice. By way of excuse, however, for not
abstaining from it, christians may often be heard to
remark, that Jesus himself took a judicial oath — that
Paul swore in his epistles — and that oaths are expe-
dient for the security and welfare of society. It is
impossible for me to complete the present argument,
without taking some notice of these several objections.

When the Lord Jesus stood before the Jewish
Sanhedrim, and the false witnessess had delivered
their testimony respecting him, " the High Priest
arose and said unto him, AnsAverest thou nothing ?
What is it which these witness against thee ? But
Jesus held his peace. And the High Priest an-
swered and said unto him, / adjure thee by the
living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the
Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him. Thou
hast said""; Matt. xxvi. 62 — 64. The reply made by
our Saviour on this occasion is generally, and I believe
rightly, interpreted as an affirmative : and since he was

256 ON OATHS.

adjured by the High Priest, to deelare whetlier lie was
or was not the Christ, the Son of God, it is readily con-
cluded that Jesus was here put upon his oath, and tooh
it. Were this the matter of fact, it would, in my opi-
nion, afford no sufficient reason Avhy christians should
swear in contravention of the direct command of their
divine Master, It ought to be remembered that at
the period Avhen these circumstances happened, the
Mosaic law was still in force, and obedience to that
laAv, Avas evidently one of the principles which regu-
lated the life of Jesus. Nor can there be any just
comparison between the oath of one who was abso-
lutely incapable of either falsehood or error, with that
of others who are perpetually liable to both. A little
investigation, however, may suffice to convince the
reader that Jesus, in the passage cited above, is not
described by the evangelist as taking his oath.

When an ancient Jew was examined in a court of
justice, he swore to the fact to which he might be
deposing, in the following, or some equivalent terms :
" Behold I swear by the name of the Lord God of
Israel, that such or such is the truth": or otherwise
he was put upon his oath, or sworn by the judges,
who said, " We make thee swear by the Lord God
of Israel, that such or such is the truth": to which
adjuration the deponent was accustomed to reply,
"Amen"; See Buxtorf. Sijnag.p. 682. Now it does
not appear that in the present instance the Lord
Jesus either swore himself or was sworn by his judges.
He was not attending the court as a witness, neither
Avas there any fact to which he was called upon to
depose. He was accused of having assumed the di-

ON OATHS. 257

vine character : the evidence bronght in proof of the
point, Avas of a suspicious and unsatisfactory descrip-
tion, and it Avas evidently for the purpose of entrapping
him into the repetition of his supposed crime, that
the High Priest solemnli) enjoined him to declare to
the Sanhedrim Avhether he Avas or Avas not the Son
of God, With this solemn injunction Jesus com-
plied : and no sooner had he uttered his ansAA'^er, than
"the High Priest rent his clothes, saying. He hath
spoken blasphemy ; Avhat further need ha\^e Ave of
Avitnesses ? behold, noAv ye haAC heard his blasphemy";
Acrse 65. Schleusner, in his lexicon of the Greek
Testament, expressly remarks that the A'erb rendered
in this passage " I adjure"' does not here signify
" I make to sAvear, or put upon oath", but only " I
solemnly, and in the name of God, exhort and en-
join". That this A^erb in its more simple form^ is
repeatedly employed in this latter signification, such
of my readers as are accustomed to peruse the Ncav
Testament in its original language will be Avell aAvare.
Thus the evil spirit cried out to Jesus, " / adjure thee
by the living God, that thou torment me not"; Mark
V. 7. Thus Paul Avrote to the Thessalonians, " /
charge (or adjure) you by the Lord, that this epistle
be read unto all the holy brethren ;" I. Thess. v. 27.
Thus also in Canticles ii. 7, v. 8, (passages in AA-hich
Ave find the same verb in the Scptuagint version, and
a corresponding one in the HebrcAv text), the spouse
exclaims, " / charge (or adjure) you, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up my love till he please :
I charge (or adjure) you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

258 ON OATHS.

if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him I am sick of
love". The comparison of these passages of Scripture
with that now under consideration appears to aiford
ample evidence that the Lord Jesus, when he coni-
phed with the solemn injunction of the High Priest,
no more took an oath, than the Thessalonians did
when they read Paul's epistle unto all the holy bre-
thren— than the daughters of Jerusalem did, when
they abstained from waking the bridegroom, and
when they delivered to him the message of the bride —
or than our Lord himself did, when he acceded to the
earnest entreaty of the evil spirit.

It is objected, in the second place, that the apostle
Paul, in some parts of his epistles, has made use of
oaths. "God is my witness", says he to the Romans,
" that without ceasing I make mention of you always
in my prayers"; Rom. i. 9. And again, to the Thes-
salonians, he says, " Neither at any time used we
flattering words — God is witness"; L Thes. ii. v. It
is almost needless to observe that in these passages
the apostle does not swear, but confines himself to the
declaration of a truth which no man could dispute ;
namely that God was the witness of his secret exer-
cises and of his plain address. Again, on another
occasion, when describing to the Galatians the course
which he pursued after his conversion, the apostle
expresses himself in a somewhat similar manner.
" Now the things which I write unto you, behold, he-
fore God, I lie not ;" Gal. i. 20. Here was a solemn
affirmation made in the confessed presence of that
Being who alone searches the heart ; but no oath, no
imprecation, no calling down upon himself of any

ON OATHS. 259

dreaded penalty. Precisely tlie same remark will, I
believe, be found to apply to another passage in which
Paul appeals still more directly to the Deity. "More-
over", says he to the Corinthians, " I call God for a
record (or a witness) upon my soul (or of mij mind)
that to spare you, I came not as yet unto Corinth";
II. Cor. i. 2,3.

Although that appeal to an omniscient Deity which
in the former of these passages is implied, and in the
latter plainly expressed, can by no means be consider-
ed as in itself constituting an oath, it may be freely
allowed on a principle stated in the first part of the
present chapter, that such an addition to a delibe-
rate yet simple yea or nay, in confirmation of their
ti'uth, would be of dangerous application in the com-
mon aifairs of life. But we are to remember that the
apostle was an inspired man, and that in the promul-
gation of the gospel, as well as in the government of
the churches, he was in a pre-eminent degree invested
with the sanctions of a divine authority. That au-
thority he was very frequently led to assert ; See Rom.
i. 1, I. Cor. i. 1, ii. 13, xiv. 37, Gal. i. 1, &c. When,
therefore, we consider the peculiar circumstances under
which he was thus placed, we may very reasonably
interpret as instances of such assertion, the appeals
here made to that Almighty Being by whose inspir-
ation he was protected from error, and by whose
direction his whole conduct as an apostle was so con-
spicuously regulated.

Here, however, it ought to be acknowledged that
the latter of these passages contains certain expressions
which have been very usually interpreted in such a

s2

260 ox OATHS.

manner, as to give to the appeal there made to, the
Deity, the force of a complete oath. The expressions
alluded to* are, in our common English Version,
rendered upon my soul. If we take the preposition
here rendered " upon" in the sense of against (a sense
in which it is sometimes used) and the substantive
rendered "soul" as meaning either the natural life
or the immortal spirit, we must conclude with many
commentators, that Paul, when he detlared to the
Corinthians that to spare them he came not again
unto Corinth, not only called upon God as the witness
of that truth, biit actually staked either his natural
life or his soul on the veracity of his assertion, and
thus involved himself in a real oath.

Now on the supposition of the propriety of such an
interpretation, it may be observed in the first place,
that the apostle's oath related to a branch of his
conduct, in which he was immediately directed of the
Lord, and in reference to Avhich, while he continued
under the influence of inspiration, it was impossible
for him to promulgate any falsehood. An oath taken
by such a person, under these very peculiar circum-
stances, appears to aiford no real countenance to the
swearing of uninspired persons, on matters of a merely
temporal nature. And secondly, though there is an
obvious difficulty in reconciling the supposition that
the apostle Paul has sworn in his epistles, Avith that
comprehensive and absolute prohibition of the practice
which was issued by his Divine Master, yet I appre-
hend that no reasonable christian in the regulation
of his own conduct, would pretend to justify himself

ON OATHS. 261

)3y the example of Paul, in the infringement of the
law of Christ.

The signification of that law is, 1 woukl submit,
far too plainly ascertained to be affected by the sup-
posed collateral circumstance, that the apostle Paul
has here made use of an oath. But now, on the
other hand, it may he observed that, the very exist-
ence of such a law naturally and very properly leads
us to a different interpretation of the apostle's ex-
pressions— an interpretation of which they are obvi-
ously capable, and which at once removes from the
passage before us the true characteristic of an oath.
The substantive already alluded to as sometimes sig-
nifying the natural life or the immortal spirit, still
more frequently denotes the mind — the seat of the
intentions, thoughts, and dispositions. The apostle,
therefore, may here be understood, as is observed, on
the authority of two eminent critics,^ in Poole's Sy-
nopsis, simply to appeal to the Deity as the witness
of his condition of mind — of his real motives and
intentions — that to spare tliem, he came not again
unto Corinth. " The holy apostle", says Theodoret,
" wishing to persuade them of the truth of his asser-
tions, calls in the testimony of Him who was the
inspector of his thoughts".^

5 Vatablus and Castallo.
6 It is observed bj Pje Smith, in liis valuable work entitled The Scripture Testi-
mony to the Mess'uih, that Paul, in his epistles, has sworn " hy Christ". Such is
the interpretation given by this wriier to the expression h ILPigoj in Rom. ix. i,
a passage which he renders " I speak the truth ; by Christ ! I lie not" ; See vol, ii.
part I[. ch. iv. p, G37. That sv followed by a dative is sometimes used in the for-
mula of an oath appears from Matt. v. 34, Rev. x, 6, &c. But surely it is altogether
unnecessary to attribute to the apostle, so light and irreverent an use of the name of
his Saviour. The expressions sv Xe/jw are of very frequent occurrence in Paul's

262 ON OATHS.

Before we proceed to the remaining branch of the
present subject, it may be desirable very briefly to
notice a passage in the epistle to the Hebrews, which
has sometimes been adduced in support of the practice
of swearing : " For when God made promise to
Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he
sware by hiraseh', saying, ' Surely blessing I will bless
thee &c.'. For men verily swear by the greater, and
an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife
(or all litigation): wherein God, willing more abund-
antly to sheAv unto the heirs of promise the immuta-
bility of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ;" vi.
13 — 17. On this passage it may be remarked that
although Jehovah who is infallible Mas pleased to
swear by himself, it can never follow from such a fact,
that men, who are fallible, are at liberty to swear by
Jehovah, who has himself forbidden them, in the
moral law of Christianity, to swear at all. Neither
does the apostle speak in commendation of the practice
of putting an end to litigation, by the confirmation
of an oath. He only illustrates his argument by ad-
verting to the actual prevalence of that practice
amona: mankind.

Lastly, it is objected that oaths are, on many occa-
sions, expedient for the purposes of civil society, and
useful, more especially, in promoting the ends of
justice. Now, while it is plain that no expediency
can justify the infraction of a divine mandate so

epistles, and in scarcely any instance are thej capable, on any fair critical ground,
of being thus interpreted. It appears to me that the true explanation of Rom.
is. 1. is to be found in the apostle's well known doctrine, that whatever the
christian says or does, he is to say or do in the name of Christ — in the character
of a disciple of Jesus ; comp. II. Cor. ii. 17, xii. 19.

ON OATHS. 263

clear and comprehensive as the law of Christ against
swearing, it may perhaps be admitted that a real
adaptation exists between the practice of judicial
swearing, and that lax and imperfect morality which
so grievously prevails in almost every part of the
world. But where the principles of the gospel of
Christ become really influential, there the expediency
of swearing entirely ceases ; nor does the congruity
of the practice with a condition of second-rate moral-
ity, appear to furnish the true christian with any just
excuse for relinquishing the lofty ground on which
he ought ever to be found standing, or for disobeying
the direct command of his divine Master. Those
who are christians in deed as well as in profession,
ought ever to remember that it is their high and
peculiar privilege, to drop, in moral questions, the
consideration of apparent expediency ; to render to
their Lord a strict and consistent obedience ; and en-
tirely to leave the consequences to his wisdom, love,
and care. It is through the steady adherence of
really religious persons to their own holy principles
of conduct, that practical truth may be expected
to spread among men ; it is thus that " the little
leaven" will gradually extend its purifying influence,
until tlie whole lump he leavened. Nor will such a
course be ever attended with any substantial or per-
manent disadvantage to the interests of the community
at large. No one pretends, for example, that those
interests have suffered froni the liberty allowed, upon
so many legal occasions, to Friends, of affirming in-
stead of sivearing; and there are few persons, perhaps,
who will refase to admit that the license thus afforded

264 ON OATHS.

them, might be extended, without any real danger,
to cases of cA^ery description. As it is with Friends
in this respect, so it might be with serious christians
of every denomination. A steady and determined
adherence to the law of Christ, in this important par-
ticular, would soon be the means of procuring for
them a similar liberty from the governments under
which they live, and that liberty would be no less
harmless to the public, than beneficial to themselves.

But the utility of juridical oaths, even among
those whose standard of morals is not the standard
prescribed by true Christianity, is, in all probability,
greatly overrated. Magistrates are ever accustomed
to judge of testimony, not so much by the solemnity
of the obligation under which it is pronounced, as
by the manner in which it is delivered, and by the
known character of the parties who deliver it. And
in persons whose moral sense is feeble and degenerate,
and who have in their own minds little real objection
to the infraction of truth, veracity of evidence is far
more likely to be obtained by the umform and speedy
infliction of punishment on the breach of an affirmation,
than by the easily disregarded influence of any form
of words, however expressive, and however solemn.

In reverting to the principal heads of the present
dissertation, I have again to observe, that while christ-
ians of every denomination unite in condemning irre-
verent and conversational swearing. Friends decidedly
object to any use of oaths whatsoever— that their object-
ion is grounded on moral principles, as well as on the
revealed w ill of God — that the introduction of swear-
ing on particular occasions, plainly lowers the general

ON OATHS,

265

standard of simple truth — that the self imprecation
essential to every oath is always presumptuous ; and
in juridical swearing, as practised among modern
christians, peculiarly rash and dangerous — that the
precept of Christ, and that of his apostle James,
against oaths, are of the most comprehensive and
explicit character — that the attempt to explain those
precepts as relating exclusively to conversational
swearing, is, hy several plain critical considerations,
evinced to be futile — that the notion of our Lord's
having been himself sworn in a court of justice, ap-
pears to be erroneous — that if it be true that Paul
sw^ore in his epistles, his example cannot be safely
followed in opposition to the law of his divine Master ;
but that on examination he in no case appears to have
employed expressions which really amount to an oath
— that true christians are far from being justified in
breaking the law of Christ l)ecause oaths may be
deemed expedient among persons who are accustomed
to an inferior standard of morals — and that even this
expediency is exceedingly doubtful.

Since the moral principles on which we object to
oaths are of so much practical weight ; and since the
authority under Avhich we act, in refusing to swear,
is at once so high and so clear, Ave may aacII be en-
couraged to a persevering faithfulness in such a line
of conduct. The steady sufferings of our forefathers
have indeed been the means of earning for us, in
reference to this particular, a great degree of facility.

I cannot but indulge the hope that as such a faith-
fulness is maintained among Friends, and as their
light is thus made to shine before other men, reli-

266 ON OATHS.

gious persons of every denomination will gradually
perceive the obligation which so plainly rests upon
them, to abstain from all swearing. Certainly it must
on all hands be allowed that the standard to which
the professors of Christianity are at present accus-
tomed, in reference to this subject, is miserably low.
Not only are oaths, in our own enlightened country,
introduced in connexion with matters of solemn import,
and in promotion of the ends of justice ; but they are
multiplied in every direction ; are required by the law
and taken by the subject on a thousand occasions of
comparatively trifling consequence ; and are very gen-
erally administered in a loose, technical, and irreve-
rent manner. Such provisions are utterly disgraceful
to the christian character of Great Britain ; and de-
mand the speedy interference of those members of
our legislature, who are blessed with a deep sense of
the importance of the principles of the gospel, and
who know that the real prosperity of every nation
depends on the consistency of its counsels with the
wnll of God. ^

7 Having already quoted Paley as a defender of the use of oaths, I have the
more pleasure in calling to the recollection of my reader the following excellent
passage in his work on moral philosophy. "The obscure and elliptical form (of
the English oath) together with the levity and frequency with which it is admi-
nistered, has brought about a general inadvertency to the obligation of oaths, which,
both in a religious and political view, is much to be lamented ; and it merits public
consideration whether the requiring of oaths on so many frivolous occasions, especi-
ally in the customs, and in the qualification for petty offices, has any other effect,
than to make them cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel
regularly from the ship to the consumer, without costing half a dozen oaths at least;
and the same security for the due discharge of their office, namely, that of an oath,
is required from a church warden and an archbishop, from a petty constable and the
chief justice of England. Let the law continue its omi sanctions, but let it spare the
solemnity of an oath. And where it is necessary, for the want of something better to
depend upon, to accept mens own word or own account, let it annex to prevarication
penalties proportioned to the public consequences of the offence;" vol.1, chap, x\i. p. 193.

CHAPTER XI.

Of all the practices which disturb the tranquillity and
lay waste the welfare of men, there is none which
operates to so great an extent, or with so prodigious
an efficacy, as ivar. Not only is this tremendous and
dreadfully prevalent scourge productive of an incalcu-
lable amount of bodily and mental suffering, — so that,
in that point of view alone, it may be considered one
of the most terrible enemies of the happiness of the
human race — but it must also be regarded as a moral
evil of the very deepest dye. "From whence come wars
and fightings among you ?" said the apostle James,
" come they not hence, even of your lusts which war in
your members ? Ye lust and have not : ye kill and de-
sire to have, and cannot obtain : ye fight and war : yet
ye have not, because ye ask not"; ch. iv. 1, 2. War,
therefore, has its origin in the inordinate desires
and corrupt passions of men ; and as is its origin,
so is its result. Arising out of an evil root, this
tree of bitterness seldom fails to produce in vast

268 ON WAR.

abundance, the fruits of malice, wrath, cruelty, fraud,
rapine, lasciviousness, confusion, and murder.

Although there are few persons Avho will dispute
the accuracy of this picture of war — although every
one knows that such a custom is evil in itself and
arises out of an evil source — and althou2:h the general
position, that war is at variance with the principles of
Christianity, has a very extensive currency among
the professors of that religion — it is a singular fact
that Friends are almost the only class of christians
who hold it to be their duty to God, to their neigh-
bour, and to themselves, absolutely and entirely to
abstain from that most injurious practice. While
the vicAvs of Friends on the subject are thus compre-
hensive and complete, the generality of professing
christians, and many even of a reflecting and serious
character, are still accustomed to make distinctions
between one kind of war and another. They will
condemn a war which is oppressive and unjust ; and
in this respect they advance no farther than the mo-
ralists of every age, country, and religion. On the
other hand they hesitate as little in expressing their
approbation of wars which are defensive^ or which
are otherwise undertaken in a just cause.

The main argument of a scriptural character by
which the propriety and rectitude of warfare in a just
cause (as it is termed) is defended and maintained, is
the divinely sanctioned example of the ancient Israelites.
That the Israelites were engaged in many contests
Avith other nations ; that those contests Avere often of
a very destructive character ; and that they were car-
ried forAvard, on the part of the Israelites, under the

ON WAR. 269

direct sanction, and often in consequence of the clear
command, of the Ahnighty, are points which no one
who is accustomed to peruse the history of the Okl
Testament, can pretend to deny. But we are not to
forget that the wars of the Israelites differed from
wars in general (even from those of the least excep-
tionable character in point of justice), in certain very
important and striking particulars. That very divine
sanction Avhich is pleaded as giving to the example of
that people an authority of which other nations may
still avail themselves in the maintenance of a similar
practice, did, in fact, distinguish their wars from all
those in which any other nation is known to have been
ever engaged. They Avere undertaken in pursuance
of the express command of the Almiglity Governor
of mankind ; and they were directed to the accom-
plishment of certain revealed designs of his especial
providence. These designs had a twofold object :
the temporal preservation and prosperity of God's
pecuHar people, on the one hand, and the punishment
and destruction of idolatrous nations, on the other.
The Israelites and their kings were, indeed, sometimes
engaged in combating their neighbours without any
direction from their divine Governor, and even against
his declared will ; and these instances will not of
course be pleaded as an authority for the practice of
war : but such of their military o])erations as were
sanctioned and ordered of the Lord (and these only
are adduced in the argument in favour of war) as-
sumed the character of a work of obedience and faith.
They went forth to battle, from time to time, in com-
pliance with the divine command, and in dependence'

270 ON WAR.

upon that Being who condescended to regulate their
movements, and to direct their efforts, in the further-
ance of his own providence. These characteristics in
the divinely sanctioned warfare of the Hebrews, were
attended with two consequences of the most marked
and distinguishing character. In the first place, the
conflicts in which this people were thus engaged, and
which so conspicuously called into exercise their obe-
dience and faith, were far from being attended by that
destruction of moral and pious feeling, which is so
generally the effect of war ; but on the contrary Avere
often accompanied by a condition of high religious
excellence in those who were thus employed in fight-
ing the battles of the Lord — an observation very
plainly suggested by the history of Joshua and his
followers, of the successive Judges, and of David.
And secondly, the contests which were undertaken and
conducted on the principles now stated, were followed
by uniform success. The Lord was carrying on his
own designs, through certain appointed instruments ;
and under such circumstances, while failure was im-
possible, success afforded an evidence of the divine
approbation. Now it cannot be predicated even of
the justest wars, as they are usually carried on among
the nations of the world, that they are undertaken
Avith the revealed sanction, or by the direct command
of Jehovah — or that they are a work of obedience
and faith — or that they are often accompanied with a
condition of high religious excellence in those who
undertake them, or that they are followed by uniform
success. On the supposition, therefore, that the
svstem of Israelitish morals is still in force without

ON WAR. 271

alteration and improvement, it is manifest that we
cannot justly conclude from the example of God's
ancient people, that warfare, as it is generally prac-
tised, even when it bears the stamp of honour or
defence, is consistent with the will of God.

In addition to the example of the Hebrews, the
defenders of modern warfare are accustomed to plead
the authority of John the Baptist ; See Grotius de
Jure Belli ac Pacts lib. I. cap. ii. § vii. 5. It is re-
corded in the gospel of Luke, that Avhen that eminent
prophet was preaching in the wilderness, various
classes of persons resorted to him for advice and
instruction. Among others " the soldiers demanded
of him, saying. And what shall we do ? And he said
unto them. Do violence to no man, neither accuse any
falsely, and be content with your wages"; ch. iii. 14.
Since the precept of John to these soldiers that thei/
should do violence to no man, probably related to their
deportment among their friends and allies, it may be
allowed that he did not on this occasion forbid the
practice of fighting. On the other hand, it must be
observed that the expressions of the Baptist afford no
direct encouragement to that practice. I would sug-
gest that, with reference to the present argument, his
doctrine is neutral. The question whether war was
in itself lawful or unlawful, is one which was probably
placed beyond his scope, and which he obviously did
not entertain. On the supposition that the soldiers
Avould continue to be soldiers, he confined himself to
recommending to them that gentle, orderly, and sub-
missive, demeanour, which was so evidently calculated
to soften the asperities of their profession.

272 ON WAR.

But although John the Baptist Avas engaged in
proclaiming the approach of the christian dispensa-
tion— the kingdom of heaven — he did not himself
appertain to that kingdom ; See Matt. xi. 11. He
belonged to the preceding institution, and his moral
system was that of the law. Now although, on the
supposition that this system continues unchanged,
it may fairly be denied, for the reasons now stated,
that the example of the Hebrews or the expressions
of the Baptist, afford any valid authority for warfare
as generally practised, it ought to be clearly under-
stood that the objection of Friends to every descrip-
tion of military operation, is founded principally on
that more perfect revelation of the moral law of God,
ivhich dist'tnguishes the dispensation of the gospel of
Christ. We contend, and that Avitli no slight degree
of earnestness, that all warfare — whatever be its pecu-
liar features, circumstances, or pretexts — is wholly at
variance with the revealed characteristics and known
principles of the christian religion.

In support of this position I may, in the first place,
adduce the testimony of the prophets ; for these in-
spired writers in their predictions respecting the gospel
dispensation, have frequently alluded both to the
superior spirituality and to the purer morality of that
system of religion, of which the law with all its accom-
])animents, was only the introduction. In the second
cha})ter of the book of Isaiah we read the following
prophecy : " And it shall come to pass in the last
days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow

ON WAR. 273

unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come
ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacoh ; and he Avill teach
us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for
out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Avord of
the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among
the nations, and rehuke many people ; and tlieif shall
heat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall thei/ learn war am/ more ;"
ver. 2 — 4. The prophet Micah repeats the same pre-
diction, and adds the following animating description :
" But they shall sit every man under his vine and
under his fig tree ; and none shall make them afraid :
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it;"
Mic. iv. 1 — 4.

It is alloAved by the Jcavs that the " last days", of
Avhich these prophets speak, are the " days of the
Messiah"; and the unanimous consent of christian
commentators confirms the application of those ex-
pressions to the period of that glorious dispensation,
which was introduced by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. Accordingly, the actual predictions of his
coming are elscAvherc accompanied with similar des-
criptions. In Isa. ix. (), the Messiah is expressly
denominated the " Prince of Peace". In Isa. xi. the
reign of Christ is painted in gloAving colours, as ac-
companied by the universal harmony of God's creation.
Lastly, in Zech. ix. 9, 10; Ave read as follows: "Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is
just, and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an

T

274 ON WAR.

ass, and npon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will
cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from
Jerusalem, and the battle how shall he cut off: and
he shall speak peace unto the heathen : and his dominion
shall he from sea even to sea, and from the river even
to the ends of the earth;" comp. Ps. xlvi. 9.

It is undeniable that, in these passages, a total
cessation from the practice of war is described as
one of the most conspicuous characteristics of Christ-
ianity. Such a consequence is represented by Isaiah
as arising from the conversion of the heathen nations,
— as resulting from their being led into the ways,
instructed in the law, and enlightened by the word, of
the Lord. Whoever indeed were to be the members
of the true church of God, she was no longer to par-
ticipate in the warfare of the world. The chariot
was to be cut off from Ephraim and the war horse
from Jerusalem. It is true that for the fiiU accom-
plishment of these glorious prophecies, we must look
forward to a period yet to come. But let us not
deceive ourselves. The inspired writers describe this
complete and uninterrupted peaceableness, as a dis-
tinguishing feature of the dispensation under which
christians are living — as the result of obedience to
that law which they are at all times bound to follow :
and we may therefore infer, that if the true nature of
the christian dispensation were fully understood, and
if the law by which it is regulated were exactly obeyed,
a conversion to our holy religion, or the cordial and
serious holding of it, would be uniformly accompanied
with an entire abstinence from all warfare. Thus the
prevalence of the law of peace would be found com-

ON WAR. 275

mensurate^ in every age of the church, with the actual
extent of the Messiah's kingdom over men.

As the language of prophecy clearly suggests this
doctrine, so it will be found that, on the introduction
of Christianity, there were promulgated certain moral
rules which, when fully and faithfully obeyed, infalli-
bly lead to this particular result. Here I am by no
means alluding exclusively to those divine laws, which
condemn aggressive warfare and every species of
unjust and unprovoked injury ; for these laws (how-
ever it may be the intention of christians to obey them)
are far from being powerful enough to produce the
effect in question. They were, indeed, commonly
admitted in the world, long before the commence-
ment of the christian dispensation ; and neither before
nor after that era, have they ever been found sufficient
to convert the sword into the ploughshare, and the
spear into the pruning hook. In point of fact, the
distinction which men are accustomed to draw between
just and unjust warfare is, in a great plurality of
instances, entirely nugatory ; for there are few wars,
however atrocious, which are not defended, and not
many perhaps which the persons Avaging them do not
believe to be justified, by some plea or other connected
with self-preservation or honourable retribution. In
addition therefore to the laws which forbid spontaneous
injury, some stronger and more comprehensive prin-
ciples were obviously needed, in order to the accom-
plishment of this great end ; and these principles
are unfolded in that pure and exalted code of mo-
rality which was revealed, in connexion with the
gospel. They are, the non-resistance of injuries, the

T 2

276 ON WAR.

return of good for evil, and the love of our enemies.
It was the Lord Jesus himself who promulgated
these prmciples ; and promulgated them as distm-
guishing his own dispensation from that of the law.
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth : but I say unto you, That
ye resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if
any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy
coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever
shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain, &c.
Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto
you. Love your enemies, hless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them that
despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may
be the children of your Father Avhich is in heaven :
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward
have ye ? do not even the publicans the same ? And
if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than
others ? do not even the publicans so ? Be ye there-
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect ;" Matt. v. 38—48, comp. Luke vi. 27—29.
So also the apostle Peter commands the believers not
to render " evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but,
contrariwise, blessing", L Pet. iii. 9 ; and Paul in
the following lively exhortation, holds up the very
same standard of christian practice: "Dearly beloved,
avenge not yourselves, but v^t\\ev give place unto wrath:
for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay

ON WAR. 277

saith the Lord'. Therefore if thine enemy hunger,
feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing
thou shah heap coals of fire on his head. Be not
overcome of evil, hut overcome evil with good ;" Rom.
xii. 19—21.

In the delivery of that holy law, hy obedience to
which, christians may he brought, in their small
measure, (and yet with completeness according to that
measure,) to a conformity with the moral attributes of
their heavenly Father, our Lord has laid his axe to
the root. He has established certain principles which,
as they are honestly observed in conduct, must put an
end to every evil practice ; and thus is the tree which
bears the fruits of corruption cut down and destroyed.
Of this nature precisely are the principles which we
are now considering, and which, when followed up with
true consistency, cannot fail to abolish warfare, whether
offensive or defensive, whether aggressive or retribu-
tive, whether unjust or just. The great law of Christ,
which his disciples are ever bound to obey, is the law
of love — love complete, uninterrupted, universal, fixed
upon God in the first place, and afterwards embracing
the whole family of man. And, since war (of whatso-
ever* species or description it may be) can never
consist with this love, it is indisputable that, where
the latter prevails as it ought to do, the former must
entirely cease.

It is observed that our Lord's precepts, which have
now been cited, are addressed to individuals. Since
this is undeniably true, it follows that it is the clear
duty of individual christians to obey them ; and to
obey them uniformly, and on every occasion. If,

278 ON WAR.

during the common course of their Hfe, they are at-
tacked, insulted, injured, and persecuted, they ought
to suffer wrong, to revenge no injury, to return good
for evil, and to love their enemies. So also, should it
happen that they are exposed to the more extraordi-
nary calamities of war, their duty remains unaltered ;
their conduct must continue to be guided by the same
principles. If the sword of the invader be lifted up
against them, the precept is still at hand, that they
resist not evil. If the insults and injuries of the
carnal warrior be heaped upon them, they are still
forbidden to avenge themselves, and still commanded
to pray for their persecutors. If they be surrounded
by a host of enemies, however violent and malicious
those enemies may be, christian love must still be
unbroken, still universal. According then to the law
of Christ, it is the duty of mdividuals to abstain from
all warfare ; nor can they avoid such a course if they
follow his law. We are informed by Sulpitius Severus,
that when the Roman Emperor Julian was engaged
in bestowing upon his troops a largess Avith a view to
some approaching battle, his bounty was refused by
Martin a soldier in his army who had been previously
converted to Christianity. " Hitherto", said he to
Caesar, " I have fought for thee : permit me now to
fight for my God. Let those who are about to engage
in war accept thy donative ; I am the soldier of Christ ;
for me, the combat is unlawful "; De Vita B. Mart.
Ed. Amst. A. D. 1665, p. 445. Where is the solid,
the sufficient, reason, why such, under similar circum-
stances, should not be the expressions of every true
christian ?

ON WAR. 279

The man who engages in warfare, retains his
private responsibility ; and, whatever may be the
proceedings of his countrymen, whatever the com-
mands of his superiors, he can never dispossess himself
of his individual obligation to render to the law of
his God a consistent and uniform obedience. But,
secondly, the unlawfiilness of war, under any of its
forms, is equally evident when it is regarded as the
affair of nations. Doubtless there may be found in
the Scriptures a variety of injunctions relating to the
particulars of human conduct, and applicable to men
and vvomen only as individuals ; but it is one of the
excellent characteristics of the moral law of God, that
its principles are of universal application to mankind,
whatever be the circumstances under which they are
placed ; whether they act singly as individuals, or
collectively as nations. No one, surely, who has any
just views of morality, will pretend, for a moment,
that those fundamental rules of conduct, which are
given to guide every man in his own walk through
life, may be deserted as soon as he unites with others,
and acts in a corporate capacity. The absurd conse-
quence of such a system Avould be manifestly this —
that national crimes of every description might be
committed without entailing any national guilt, and
without any real infraction of the revealed will of God.

Now among these fundamental rules — these eter-
nal, unchangeable, principles — is that of universal love.
The law of God, which is addressed without reserv-
ation or exception to all men, plainly says to them.
Resist not evil : revenge not injuries : love your ene-
mies. Individuals, nations consisting of individuals.

280 ON WAR.

and governments acting on behalf of nations, are all
unquestionably bound to obey this law ; and whether
it be the act of an individual, of a nation, or of a go-
vernment, the transgression of the law is sin ; 1. John
iii. 4. Nations or governments transgress the christ-
ian law of love, and commit sin, when they declare
or carry on war, precisely as the private duellist
transgresses that law, and commits sin, when he sends
or accepts a challenge, and deliberately endeavours to
destroy his neighbour. It ought also to be observed
that, through the medium of the nation, the case is
again brought home to the conscience and responsi-
bility of the individual. The man who takes a part,
either himself or by a substitute, in the national war-
fare, takes a part also in the national sin. He aids
and abets his nation in breaking the law of Christ.
So far then is the example of his countrymen — the
authority of his legislature — the command of his mo-
narch— from being sufficient to justify his engagement
in warfare, that he cannot follow that example, avail
himself of that authority, or obey that command,
without adding, to his private transgression, the further
criminality of actively promoting the transgression of
the state.

For the reasons now stated, I consider it evident
that a total abstinence from warfare on the part both
of individuals and of nations, would be the necessary
result of a strict adherence to the principles of the
law of Christ. But it will not be difficult to cany
the argument a step fiu'ther, and to show that one
of the precepts, now cited from the sermon on the
mount, appears to bear a specific and peculiar allusion

ON WAR. 281

to the subject of war. " Ke have heard that it hath
been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and, hate
thine enemy ; but I say unto you, Love your enemies.''''
In the preceding chapter I have found occasion to
remark that our Lord, in the first part of his discourse,
has instituted a comparison between the system of
morahty which, under the sanction and influence of
the Mosaic institution, prevailed among the Israelites,
and that purer and more perfect law of action, of
which he was himself both the author and the minis-
ter. In calling the attention of his hearers to the
sayings uttered " by them of old time" on the several
moral points of his discourse, such as killing, adultery,
divorcement, perjury, and retaliation — he has uni-
formly quoted from the laAv of Moses itself. It was
with the principles of that law, as they were under-
stood and received by the Jews, that he compared
his own holier system, and he improved, enlarged, or
superseded, the introductory and more imperfect code
of morals (as was in each particular required) in order
to make way for one which is capable of no improve-
ment, and must endure for ever. Now the precepts
of ancient times to which he last refers — the precepts
respecting love and hatred — formed, in all probability,
like the whole preceding series, a part of those divine
edicts which Avere delivered to the Israelites by Moses.
That which related to the love of their neighbour is
recognized at once, and is as follows : " Thou shalt
not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children
of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself" ; Lev. xix. 18. The reader will observe
that the love here enjoined was to be directed to the

282 ON WAR.

children of the people of Israel. The neighbour to
be loved was the fellow-countryman ; or if a stranger,
the proselyte ; and the precept in fact commanded no
more than that the Israelites — the members of the
Lord's selected family — should love one another. So
also the injunction of old, that the Israelites should
hate their enemies, was exclusively national. They
were not permitted to hate their private enemies, who
belonged to the same favoured community. On the
contrary they were enjoined to do good to such ene-
mies as these : " If thou meet thine enemy's ox or
his ass going astray", said the law, " thou shalt surely
bring it back to him again"; Exod. xxiii. 4. But
they were to hate^ their national enemies — they were,
to make no covenant with the foreign and idolatrous
tribes, who formerly possessed the land of Canaan.
" When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the
land whither thou goest to possess it", said Moses
to the assembly of his people, " and hath cast out
many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Gir-
gashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and
the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
seven nations greater and mightier than thou ; and
when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before
thee, thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them ;
thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show
mercy unto them"; Deut. vii. 1, 2. conip. Exod. xxxiv.
11 — 13. On another occasion, a similar injunction

^ The verb " lo hate" as used in (he Holy Scriptures (Heb. Ji^^j^^ , Gr. /Mffioj)
does not imply malignity of mind so much as opposilimi and enmity in action ; as the
reader may be fully convinced on a reference to the concordances ; See Schleusner,
Lex, vac. (JjidiU, no. 1.

ON WAR. 283

was delivered respecting the Amalekites : " Therefore
it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee
rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance
to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the y^ememhrance
of Amalek from under heaven ; thou shalt not forget
it ," Dcut. XXV. 19.

Such was the hatred of enemies enjoined upon
ancient Israel, and such was the manner in which
it was to be applied — in the persevering, extermi-
nating use of the national sword .^ Noav it is to these
edicts, delivered in the times of old, and under the
peculiar circumstances of the dispensation then exist-
ing, that the law of Christ is placed in opposition :
"But / say unto you. Love your enemies\ How
much soever, then, w^e may be justified by the un-
doubted universality of this law, in applying it to the
circumstances of private life, we can scarcely fail to
perceive that it was principally intended to discoun-
tenance these natiojial enmities ; and that the love
here enjoined was specifically and peculiarly such as
would prevent the practice of war. The Israelites
were commanded to combat and destroy with the
sword the nations who were their own enemies, and
the enemies of God. But christians are introduced

9 Grotius, in his work De Jure Belli ac Pads, has himself insisted on this inter-
pretation of the sajing of old times respecting hatred, '■•Oclio habebis hdmicitm tiiiitn,
puta septem popnlos, quibuscum amiciliam colere, qnoruraque misereri, vetantiir";
Exod. xxxiv. 11, Deut. vii. 1. " His addendi Amalecitae, in quos Hebraci jubentur
helium habere implacabile;" Deut. xxv, 19. Lib. I. cap. 2, ^ iii. I. The correct-
ness of tlie observation thus made by this learned defender of war is, I think,
indispulal)Ie ; bat it is surprising that he did not notice the argument which it so
dbviouslj' adbrds, in favour of the doctrine that under the christian dispensation, irar
is iinlaivful.

284 ON WAR.

to a purer and more lovely system of moral conduct ;
and the law which they are called upon to obey, is
that which proclaims peace upon earth and good will
to men : they are commanded to be the friends of
all mankind. If they are sent forth among idolatrous
nations, it is as the ministers of their restoration, and
not as the instruments of their punishment ; and as
they may not contend with the sword against the
enemies of their God, much less may they wield it
for any purpose of their own, whether it be in aggres-
sion, retribution, or defence. Armed with submission,
forbearance, and long-suffering^, they must secede from
the warfare of a wrathful and corrupt world ; and
whatever be the aggravations to which they are ex-
posed, must evince themselves, under the softening
influence of universal love, to be the meek, the harm-
less, the benevolent followers of the Prince of Peace.
I know of nothing in the New Testament which
has any appearance of contravening the force of these
divine precepts, or of the deductions now made from
them, but a single passage in the gospel of Luke.
We arc informed by that sacred historian, that after
our Lord's paschal supper, and immediately before he
was betrayed into the hands of his enemies, Jesus
thus addressed his disciples : "When I sent you with-
out purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing ?
And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them.
But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and
likewise his scrip : and he that hath no sword, let him
sell his garment, and huij one. For I say unto you,
that this that is written must yet be accomplished in
me, 'And he was reckoned among the transgressors' :

ON WAR. 285

for the things concerning me have an end"; ch. xxii.
35 — 37. The words employed by the Lord Jesus
on this occasion may, when superficially considered,
be deemed to inculcate the notion that his followers
were permitted and enjoined to defend themselves
and their religion with the sword ; but the context
and the circumstances which followed after these
words were uttered, evidently decide otherwise. The
disciples appear after their usual manner to have un-
derstood their Lord literally, and they answered, "Here
are two swoids", and Jesus replied. It is etiough.
Now in declaring that two swords were enough, al-
though they Avere then exposed to aggravated and
immediately impending danger, he oft'ered them an
intelligible hint that he had been misunderstood —
that the use of the sword in defence of their little
company, was neither consistent with his views, nor
really implied in his injunction. But the opportunity
was at hand on which the disciples were to be com-
pletely undeceived. The enemies of Jesus approached,
armed and caparisoned as if they were in pursuit of
some violent robbers. When the disciples saw what
would follow, they said unto Jesus, " Lord, shall we
smite with the sword ?" and Peter the most zealous
of their number, without waiting for his Master's
reply, rushed forward and smote the ^servant of the
High Priest, and cut off his ear. Then Avere he and
his brethren clearly instructed by their Lord, that it
was their duty, not to fight but to suffer wrong. " Suf-
fer ye thus far", said he to Peter, and immediately
afterAvards he confirmed his doctrine by action : he
touched the Avounded man and healed him. Then,

28G ON WAR.

in expressions of the greatest significancy, he cried
out to Peter, " Put up thy sword into the sheath :
the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not
drink it ?" See John xviii. 11 ; and as an universal
caution against so antichristian a practice as that of
using destructive weapons in self-defence, he added,
''All they that take the sword shall perish with the
sworcV; Matt. xxvi. 52. Lastly, when soon after-
wards he was carried before Pilate the Roman Go-
vernor, he plainly declared that his kingdom was of
such a nature, that it neither required nor allowed
the defence of carnal weapons. " My kingdom", said
he, " is not of this world. If my kingdom were of
this world, tJLe7i ivoiild my servants Jight, that I should
not he delivered to the Jews ; hut now is my kingdom
not from hence"" ; John xviii. 36.

It is sufficiently evident, therefore, that when our
Lord exhorted his disciples to sell their garments and
buy swords, his precept was not to be understood
literally. Such, indeed, is the explicit judgment of
the generality of commentators. We may, therefore,
either conclude with Erasmus that the sword of which
our Lord here spake was the sword of the Spirit —
the word of God, See Com. in loc. ; or we may accede
to the more prevalent opinion of critics, that the words
of Jesus imported nothing more than a general warn-
ing to the disciples, that their situation was about to
be greatly changed — that they were soon to be depri-
ved of the personal and protecting presence of their
divine Master — that they would be exposed to every
species of difficulty, and become the objects of hatred
and persecution — ^that they would no longer be able

ON WAR.

287

to trust in their neighbours, and would, therefore, be
driven to a variety of expedients in order to provide
for their own maintenance and security. See Estius,
Vatahlus, and others in Poll Syn., Gill, 8^c.

In order to complete the present branch of the
argument, I have, in the last place, to remark, that
the doctrine of the Society of Friends respecting the
absolute inconsistency of warfare with the moral code
of the christian dispensation, was one which prevailed
to a very considerable extent, during the early ages
of the christian church. Justin Martyr, (a. d. 140)
in his first apology, quotes the prophecy of Isaiah,
(already cited in the present chapter,) respecting the
going forth of the law and of the word of God from
Jerusalem, and the consequent prevalence of a state
of peace. " That these things have come to pass", he
proceeds, " you may be readily convinced : for twelve
men, destitute both of instruction and eloquence, went
forth from Jerusalem into the world, and by the
power of God gave evidence to every description of
persons, that they were sent by Christ to teach all
men the divine word : and we ivho were once slayers
of one another (that is to say, commonly engaged in
warfare) do not fight against our enemies'' ; ^ Apol. i.
cap. 39, p. 67, Ed. Ben. Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons
(a. D. 167) discusses the same prophecy, and proves
its relation to our Saviour, by the fact that the follow-
ers of Jesus had disused the weapons of war and no
longer knew how to fight ;~ Adv. Hcer. lib. iv. cap. 34.

' oh vokiiMufiiv Toug ly^Sooug.
s " Si autem liberlalis lex, id est, verbum Dei ab apostolis, qui ab Hierusalem
exierunt, annuntiatum in universam terrain, in tantum transmntationem fecit, ut
gladios et lanceas bellatorias in aratra fabricaverit ipse, et in falces quae donavit ad

288 ON WAR.

Ed. Ben. p. 275. TertuUian, (a. d. 200) in one part
of his works, alludes to christians who were engaged
together with their heathen countrymen in military
pursuits, Apol. cap. 42, Ed. Semler. v. 102 ;3 but on
another occasion, he informs us that many soldiers
who had been converted to Christianity, quitted those
pursuits in consequence of their conversion ;* and he
repeatedly expresses his own opinion that any partici-
pation in war was unlawful for believers in Jesus —
not only because of the idolatrous practices enjoined
on the soldiers of the Roman armies, but because
Christ had forbidden the use of the sword and the
revenge of injuries ;^ De Idol. 19 ; Ed. Semler. iv.
176 ; De Coron. Mil. 12, iv. 355. Origen (a. d. 230)
in his work against Celsus, says of himself and his
brethren, " We no longer take up the sword against
any nation, nor do we learn any more to make Avar.
We have become, for the sake of Jesus, the children
of peace''; Lib. v. 33, Ed. Ben. i. 602. In another
passage of the same work he maintains that christians
are the most useful of subjects because they pray for

metendum frumentum demutaverit, et jam nesciimt pugnare, sed percussi et nlteram
preehent maxillam ; non de aliquo alio Proplietse dixerunt liaec, sed de eo qui fecit ea."

3 " Naviganius et nos vobiscura et militamus."
4 " Plane si quos militia prseventos fides posterior iuveiiit, alia conditio est, nt
illorum quos loannes admittebat ad lavacriim ; et ceuturionum fidellissimonim, quem
Christus probat, et quem Pelrus catechizat : dum tamen suscepta fide atque signata,
ant deserendum statiin sit, ut a multis actum; aut omnibus modis cavendum, ne
qnidqnid ad versus Deum committatur ;" De Cor. Mil. cap. ii.

* " Quomodo autem bellabit, imo quomodo etiam in pace militabit, sine gladio,
quem Dominus abstulit ? Nam etsi adierant milites ad loannem et formam observa-
tionis acceperant ; si etiam centurio crediderat ; omnem po'stea mUitern Dominus in
Pefro exarmando discinxit ;" De Idol. cap. 19. " Licebit in gladio conversari,
Domino pronunciante gladio periturum, qui gladio fuerit usus ? Et praelio operabitur
filius pacis, cui nee litigare conveniet? Et vincula et carcerem et tormenta et
snpplicia administrabit, nee snarum ultor injuriarum ?" De Cor. Mil. cap. ii.

ON WAR. 289

their monarch. "By such means", says he, "we fight
for our king abundantly : hut we take no part in his
wars, even though he urge ns' ;^ Lib. viii. 73, Ed. Ben.
i. 797. Here we have not only the declarations of
this ancient and eminent father, of his own sentiment
that war is inconsistent with the rehgion of Christ ;
but a plain testimony (corresponding with that of
Justin and Irenasus) that the christians of those early
times were accustomed to abstain from it. Traces
of the same doctrine and practice are very clearly
marked in the subsequent history of the church.
Under the reign of Dioclesian (a. d. 300) more
especially, a large number of christians refused to
serve in the army, and in consequence of their
refusal, many of them suffered martyrdom ; Vide
Grot, de Jure Bell. lib. I. cap. ii. § 8, Ruinart Acta
Martyrum ; de S. MaximiUano. Ed. Amst. p. 300.
Now although the conduct of these christians might
partly arise, as Grotius suggests, from their religious
objections to the idolatrous rites at that time mixed
up with the military system, it is probable that the
unlawfulness of war itself for the followers of Christ,
was also a principle on which they acted. Thus
Lactantius who wrote during the reign of this very
emperor, expressly asserts that " to engage in war
cannot he lawful for the righteous man, whose warfare
is that of righteousness itself';' De vero Cultu,
lib. vi. cap. 20. And again, in the twelfth canon
of the Council of Nice, held under the reign of Con-
stantine (a. d. 325), a long period of excommunication

'' " Ita neque militare justo licebit, cujus militia est ipsa justitia."
U

290 ON WAR.

is attached, as a penalty, to the conduct of those
persons who, having once in the ardour of their early
faith renounced the military calling, were persuaded
by the force of bribes to return to it — " like dogs
to their own vomit"; Vide Mans'ii Col. Conc'il. torn. ii.
p. 674. The circumstances particularly alluded to in
this canon, might indeed have taken place during
the tyranny of the idolatrous Licinius, whom Con-
stantine had so lately subdued ; but the canon itself
was, I presume, intended for the futiu'e regulation of
the church ; and such a law would scarcely have been
promulgated under the reign of the converted Con-
stantine, had not an opinion been entertained in the
council, that ivai^ itself, however prevalent and gen-
erally allowedj was inconsistent with the highest stand-
ard of christian morality. We have already noticed
the declaration of Martin, addressed to the Empe-
ror Julian, (a. d. 360) that it was unlawful for him
to fight, because he was a christian ; and even so late
as the middle of the fifth century, Leo the Pope
declared it to be " contrary to the rules of the church
that persons after the action of penance (persons then
considered to be pre-eminently bound to obey the
law of Christ) should revert to the umrfare of the
world'": Epist. ii. ^

Having thus endeavoured to establish and confirm
the sentiment of Friends, that all participation in this
warfare of the world is forbidden by the law of Christ,
and especially by that provision of it which enjoins
the love of our enemies, I must, in order to do full

b " Contrarlum esse ecclesiasticis regulis, post pccuitentlae actionem redlre ad
luilitiam seculareiu"j Quoted by Grotius, De Jure Bell, lib. I. cap. ii, ^9,

ON WAR. 291

justice to the }3resent important subject, advert to
another principle, which appears to me equally to
evince the total inconsistency of the practice of war
with the true character of the christian rehgion — the
principle that human life is sacred, and that death is
followed by infinite consequences. Under the dispen-
sation of the law, the Israelites were, on various
occasions, enjoined to inflict death ; both in the cap-
ital punishment of their own delinquents, and in those
wars which had for an object the extermination of
idolatrous nations. When the destruction of the life
of men was thus expresslv authorized, by the mandate
of the Creator, it is unquestionable that the life of men
was rightly destroyed ; but the searcher of the Scrip-
tures will not fail to remark that the sanction, thus
given to killing, was accompanied with a comparatively
small degree of illumination respecting the true nature
of life and death — respecting immortality and future
retribution. Bishop Warburton, in his Avork on the
divine legation of Moses, has endeavoured to prove
the truth of the miraculous history of the Old Testa-
ment, on the ground that the Israelites, Avho were
destitute of all knowledge on the subject in question,
could be governed, as they were governed, onlij through
the medium of miracles. Now although the Bishop
may have overstrained his argument, and although it
may readily be allowed that there are certain passages
in the Old Testament which allude to a life after
death, and to a future judgment, it is sufliciently evident
that the full revelation of these important truths
was reserved for the dispensation of the gospel of
Christ. Those who are accustomed to read the declar-

u2

292 ON WAR.

ations of Jesus and his apostles, can no longer conceal
from themselves that man is born for eternity ; that
when his body dies, his soul ascends into Paradise,
Luke xxiii. 43, &c. or is cast into hell, Luke xvi. 23 ;
and that, after the day of resurrection and of final
and universal judgment, we shall all reap the full and
eternal reward of our obedience or our rebellion, of
our virtue or our vice. Christians thus instructed and
enlightened are constrained to acknowledge, that the
future welfare of an individual man, is of greater
importance than the present and merely temporal
prosperity of a whole nation ; nor can they, if they
be consistent with themselves, refuse to confess that
unless in such an action they are sanctioned by the
express authority of their divine Master, they take
upon themselves a most unwarrantable responsibility
when they cut short the days of their neighbour, and
transmit him, prepared or unprepared, to the awful
realities of an everlasting state. Since, then, no such
express authority can be found in the New Testament ;
since, on the contrary, it is clearly declared in that
sacred volume, that the kingdom of Christ is not of
this world, and that his followers " war not after the
flesh" — I cannot but conclude that for one man to
kill another (under whatever circumstances of expedi-
ency or provocation the deed may be committed,) is
utterly unlawful under the christian dispensation.

The visible effects of the far-famed battle of Wa-
terloo Avere sufficiently appalling — multitudes of the
wounded, the dying, and the dead, spread in wild
confusion over the ensanguined plain ! But did christ-
ians fully know the irwisible consequences of such a

ON WAR. 293

contest — could they trace the flight of thousands of
immortal souls (many of them disembodied, perhaps,
while under the immediate influence of diabolical
passions) into the world of eternal retribution — they
would indeed shrink with horror from such a scene
of destruction, and adopt, without further hesitation,
the same firm and unalterable conclusion.^

Such, then, are the grounds on which Friends con-
sider it to be their duty entirely to abstain from the
practice of war. On a review of the whole argument,
the reader will recollect, that the wars of the Israel-
ites bore, in various respects, so peculiar a character,
as to afford no real sanction to those of other nations,
even on the supposition that the dispensation of the
law is continued — also that the precept of John the
Baptist to soldiers appears, in reference to the present
question, to be negative — but that the opinion of
Friends on that question rests principally on the mo-
ral law, as r^evealed under the christian dispensation —

^ It is evident that the principle now stated applies to the punishment of death
as well as to war. The use of such a punishment was, indeed, consistent with that
inferior degree of moral and religious light which was enjoyed by the people of
God, before the coming of the Messiah; but, on the ground now mentioned, it
appears to be at total variance with the characteristics of the christian revelation.
Such was the opinion of some of the early Fathers of the church, as well as of more
modern philanthropists. Tertullian classes a participation in capital condemnations,
with the aiding and abetting of idolatry itself: for in one of the passages already
cited from his works, we find liim reasoning on the possible innocence of a war, mi
Hon sit necessilas immnlatiotmm (of sacrifices to idols) vel capltaliumjudiciorum ; De
Idol. 19. So also Lactantius; "It is unlawful for a righteous man, to prosecute
any person capitally : for it matters not whether we kill by the sword or by the
word — since all killing is prohibited. This divine law allows of no exception. It
must ever be a forbidden wickedness to put man to death: for God has created him
a sacred animal" ; Be Vero Cultii, lib, vi. cap. 20.

On the subject of the inexpediency of tiapital punishments and of their practical
inconsistency with the present condition of the British population, the reader is
referred to the speech of Thomas Fowell Buxton, delivered in the House of Com-
mons, during the session of 1821, and since published.

294 ON WAR.

that abstinence from warfare, among the followers of
the Messiah, was predicted by the prophets, as one
of the principal characteristics of that dispensation
— that in the code of christian morality are fully
unfolded the principles which are alone sufficiently
po\A'erful to produce this effect, namely, those of suf-
fering wrong, returning good for evil, and loving our
enemies — that since these principles were so clearly
promulgated by Jesus and his apostles, the individual
who engages in warfare and destroys his enemy, whe-
ther it be in aggression or defence, plainly infringes
the divine law — that nations when they carry on war,
do also infringe that law — and that the christian who
fights by the command of his prince, and in behalf
of his country, not only commits sin in his own per-
son, but aids and abets the national transgression —
that on a consideration of the Jewish precepts, with
which is compared the injunction of Christ to his
followers respecting the love of their enemies, it ap-
pears that this injunction was specifically directed
against national wars — that when our Lord exhorted
his disciples to sell their garments and buy swords,
it is evident, from the circumstances which followed,
that his expressions were to be understood figura-
tively— that the sentiments and practices of Friends,
in reference to the present subject, are so far from
being new and extraordinary, that they form a striking
and prevalent feature in the early history of the christ-
ian church — lastly, that the practice of warfare is
utterly at variance with the full light enjoyed under
the gospel dispensation respecting life, death, and
eternity.

ON WAR. 295

Notwithstanding the clearness and importance of
those principles which evince the utter inconsistency
of the practice of war with the christian dispensation,
it is continually pleaded that wars are often expedient,
and sometimes ahsolutely necessary, for the preserv-
ation of states. To such a plea it might he sufficient
to answer that nothing is so expedient, nothing so
desirable, nothing so necessary, either for individuals
or for nations, as a conformity in point of conduct,
with the revealed will of the supreme Governor of
the luiiverse. I may, however, in conclusion, venture
to offer a few additional remarks on this last part of
our subject.

Let reflecting christians, in the first place, take a
deliberate survey of the history of Europe during the
last eighteen centuries, and let them impartially ex-
amine how many of the wars waged among christian
nations have been, on their oAvn principles, really
expedient or necessary, on either side, for the pre-
servation of states. I apprehend that the result of
such an examination would be a satisfactory convic-
tion, that by far the greater part of those wars are so
far from having truly borne this character, that not-
withstanding the common excuse of self-defence by
which, in so many cases, they have been supposed to
be justified, they have, in point of fact, even in a
political point of view, been much more hurtful than
useful to all the parties engaged in them. Where,
for instance, has England found an equivalent for
the almost infinite profusion of blood and treasure,
which she has wasted on her many wars ? Must not
the impartial page of history decide that almost the

296 ON WAR.

whole of her wars, however justified in the view of
the world by the pleas of defence and retribution,
have in fact been waged against imaginary dangers,
might have been avoided by a few harmless conces-
sions, and have turned out to be extensively injurious
to her in many of their results ? If christians would
abstain from all wars which have no better foundation
than the false system of Avorldly honour — from all
which are not, on political grounds, absolutely inevi-
table— from all which are not, in reality, injurious to
their country — they would take a very important step
towards the adoption of that entirely peaceable con-
duct which is uj)held and defended by the Society of
Friends.

After such a step had been taken, it must, indeed,
be admitted, that certain occasions might remain, on
which warfare would appear to be expedient and,
according to the estimate of most persons, actually
necessary, for the 7nere purposes of defence and self-
preservation. On such occasions I am well aware
that if we are to abide by the decisions of that lax
and subordinate morality which so generally prevails
among the professors of the christian name, we must
confess that war is right, and cannot he avoided. But
for true christians, for those who are brought under
the influence of vital religion, for those who would
" follow the Lamb ivhither soever he goeth", war is
never right. It is always their duty to obey his high
and holy law — to suffer wrong — to return good for
evil — to love their enemies. If, in consequence of
their obedience to this law, they apprehend themselves
to be surrounded with many dangers — if tumult and

ON WAR. 297

terror assail them — let them still remember that
" cursed " is " the man that trusteth in man, and
maketh flesh his arm": let them still place an midi-
vided reliance upon the power and benevolence of
their God and Saviour. It may be his good pleasure
that they be delivered from the outward peril by which
they are visited ; or he may decree that they fall a
sacrifice to that peril. But whatever be the result, as
long as they are preserved in obedience to his law, so
long are they safe in his hands. They "know that
ALL THINGS work together for good to them that love
God"; Rom. viii. 28.

Godliness, however, has the promise of this life, as
well as of that which is to come ; we may, therefore,
entertain a reasonable confidence that our temporal
happiness and safety, as well as our growth in grace,
will in general be promoted, by obedience to our hea-
venly Father. It is not in vain, even in an outward
point of view, that God has invited his unworthy
children to cast their cares upon him ; and to trust
him for their support and protection ; for though he
may work no miracles in their favour, the very law
which he gives them to obey, is adapted, in a won-
derful manner, to convert their otherwise rugged path
through life, into one of comparative pleasantness,
security, and peace. These observations are applica-
ble Avith a peculiar degree of force, to those particulars
in the divine law, which, as they arc closely followed,
preclude all M'arfare. No weapons of self-defence
will, on the whole, be found so eflScacious as christian
meekness, kindness, and forbearance, the suffering of
injuries, the absence of revenge, the return of good

298 ON WAR.

for evil, and the ever-operating love of God and man.
Those who regulate their life and conversation with
true circumspection, according to these principles,
have, for the most part, little reason to fear the violent
hand of the enemy and the oppressor. While they
clothe themselves in the breastplate of righteousness,
and firmly grasp the shield of faith, they are quiet in
the centre of storms, safe in the heart of danger, and
victorious amidst a host of enemies.

Such, in a multitude of instances, has been the lot
of christian individuals, and such might also be the
experience of christian nations. When we consider
the still degraded condition of mankind, we can hardly
at present look forward to the trial of the experiment ;
but was there a people who would renounce the
dangerous guidance of worldly honour, and boldly
conform their national conduct to the eternal rules of
the law of Christ — was there a people who would
lay aside the weapons of a carnal warfare, and proclaim
the principles of universal peace ; suffer wrong with
condescension ; abstain from all retaliation ; return
good for evil, and diligently promote the welfare of
all men — I am fidly persuaded that such a people
would not only dwell in absolute safetv, but would be
blessed with eminent prosperity, enriched with unre-
stricted commerce, loaded with reciprocal benefits, and
endowed, for every good, and wise, and worthy,
purpose, with irresistible influence over surrounding
nations.

CHAPTER XII.

ON THE MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. PLAINNESS OF SPEECH,
BEHAVIOUR, AND APPAREL.

r ROM the statements contained in the two preceding
chapters, it will have been observed, that on two
practical points of a very leading and important cha-
racter, Friends have been led to adopt a higher and
pm'er standard of action, and one which appears to be
more exactly conformed to the requisitions of the
divine law, than that which generally prevails among
their fellow-christians.

In point of fact, the adoption of an exalted standard
of action is the proper result of their main and funda-
mental principle, that, in matters of conduct, man is
bound to follow the guidance of a perfectly wise and
holy Monitor — even the Word of the most high God,
revealed in the heart ; a guide who will never fail to
distinguish the good from the evil, the precious from
the vile. According to the doctrine of the inspired
author of the epistle to the Hebrews, this Word of
God " is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any

300 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS.

two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asun-
der of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart. Neither is there any creature", adds the apos-
tle, " that is not manifest in his sight : but all things
are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with
whom we have to do"; Heb. iv. 12, 13.^

True christians of every name and nation will ever
be found producing the fruits of the Spirit : it is by
those fruits alone that they are known and distinguish-
ed, nor can any one who does not bear them, however
right his opinions, or orthodox his profession, justly
claim a membership in the mystical body of Christ.
Being thoroughly convinced of these truths, I am
little disposed to forget either the virtues of those
real christians Avho do not coincide with us in our
peculiar views, or the moral deficiencies and delin-
quencies, which when we forsake the Fountain of
living waters, quickly make their appearance among
ourselves. Nevertheless, the impartial observer will
probably allow that the force and clearness, with
which Friends maintain that great principle of religion
to which I have now adverted, is accompanied in the
serious part of the society, with a corresponding com-

1 It iniglit UMcUiubtetlly be said of tlie word of God, as it is outwardlj' preached,
(wben dictated and applied by the Spirit of truth,) that it is quick and powerful and
sharper than any two-edged sword. \N lien however we view this passage as a tvliole,
we can scarcely fail to perceive that the apostle is speaking of the essential Word
of God, that divine Person " with n-hom ice have lo do", and who, in tlse subsequent
verse, is plainly described as " a great high priest — Jesus the Son of God"; see
ver. 14. Such is the express judgment of a variety of able comiueutatois ; See
Poll Sij)wpsis. On the supposition that the passage describes the Son of God,
it appears very plainly to relate lo the secret operation of his Spirit in the hearts of
men ; Comp. John i. 4, 9, II. Cor. iii. 17.

MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 301

pleteness of view respecting good and evil. " Where-
with shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself
before the high God ? Shall I come before him with
bm'nt offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will the
Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten
thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my firstborn
for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of
my soul ? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good ;
and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, mid to ivalk humbly with
thy God?"" Mic. vi. 6 — 8. As Friends have been
much impressed with the inefficacy of sacrificial rites
and other formal ordinances ; so have they been led to
direct a very particular attention to the sevieral branches
of moral duty which are inculcated in this passage of
Scripture, and which, under the gospel dispensation,
are unfolded and required in their true perfection.
A few examples will elucidate and justify this asser-
tion— it being always understood that my appeal is not
to the practice of the unsound professor or mere for-
malist amongst us, but to the principles of the society
as they arc recognized and enforced in its public acts,^
and as they are in some small measure, I trust, mani-
fested in the known conduct and deportment of its
more consistent members.

With regard then, in the first place, to the great
christian law of trutli and integrity, the reader may

* The laws by which the discipline of Friends is regulated, and the moral and
religious principles by which the society is distinguished, will be found recorded
under various heads, (as many of my readers are probably well aware) in an invalu-
able volume entitled the " Book of Extracts" — a book consisting of selections made
by the authority of our yearly meeting, from the public acts and advices of that body.
To this book a very useful and interesting appendix has lately been added.

.302 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS.

already have remarked that the testimony of Friends
against the use of the oath in confirmation of the
assertion, is founded on a just though exalted view of
this law. A similar high standard, in reference to
the same law, may be traced in the peculiar care
exercised (by means of our meetings for discipline)
throughout the society in this realm, that the king
may not be defrauded by any of our members, of his
customs, duties, or excise ; and that there be no using
of goods or dealing in them, if they be even suspected
to be contraband.^ The views of Friends with respect
to the nice honesty which ought ever to be observed
in trade, are also conspicuously strict. Thus, for ex-
ample, it is a principle universally recognized amongst
us, that however a tradesman who has entered into a
composition with his creditors, or has been made a
bankrupt, may have become legally clear of all pecu-
niary demands against him, he is nevertheless honour-
ably bound whenever the means are in his power, to
carry on and complete the liquidation of his debts.
The Quaker Avho, under the circumstances alluded to,
omits the performance of such a duty, is considered
by his brethren as a delinquent and a dishonest man :*

^ The following query is addressed to the preparative, montbly, and quarterly
meetings of Friends throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and answered by them
respectively to their superior meetings, once every year. " Are Friends clear of
defraiidiny the kiny of his customs, duties, and excise, and of usiny or dealiuy in yoods
suspected to be run !"

•* And it is the sense and judgment of this meeting, if any fall short of paying
their just debts, and a composition is made with their creditors to accept a part
instead of the whole, that, notwithstanding the parties may look upon themselves
legally discharged of any obligation to pay the remainder, yet the principle we pro-
fess, enjoins full satisfaction to be made, if ever the debtors are of ability. And in
order that such may the better retrieve their circumstances, we exhort them to
submit to a manner of living in every respect the most conducive to this purpose.
1759. P. E. See Book of Extracts, " Trade", p. 196. §5.

MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 303

nor is it customary with Friends, even for the support
or education of their poor, to receive contributions
from any persons who have failed in business, until
such a liquidation has been effected.

With reference, secondly, to the christian law of
mercy, charity, and love, the same high standard will
be found to prevail in the professed sentiments, and,
to a great extent, in the known history of the Society
of Friends. On this ground rests, as has been already
stated, their total abstinence from military operations
— the care Avhich has prevailed among them, from
their first origin to the present day, to administer
no support or encouragement, direct or indirect, to
the warfare of the world. A similar quickness and
nicety of apprehension, and general clearness of con-
duct, has been the result of their religious principles,
with regard to capital punishments, the slave trade,
and slavery.

It has long been the usual practice of Friends, at
whatever cost to tlieir own convenience, to abstain
from prosecution, in such criminal cases as might
probably terminate in the death of the persons pro-
secuted. George Fox so early as in the middle of the
seventeenth century, publicly remonstrated with the
rulers in his day, respecting the cruelty, antichristian
tendency, and radical injustice, of the punishment of
death, as it is enacted and applied by British law, in
connexion with so many offences of a subordinate
nature. Since that period. Friends have often declar-
ed their sentiments, and sometimes have addressed
the authorities of the state on this subject ; and in
so doing they have abstained from all political views

304 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS.

of it, and have grounded their testimony against the
bloody provisions of our criminal code, on the plain
and fundamental principles of the gospel of Christ.

The line of conduct which they have observed in
reference to the slave trade and slavery, is very gene-
rally known. Suffice it now to say that long before
those interesting topics successively claimed the at-
tention of the christian world in general, the sentiments
of the society had been both established and declared,
that the nefarious and abominable traffic in men,
and also the subsequent holding of them in hope-
less, cruel, degrading, bondage, are utterly inconsis-
tent with the unalienable rights of the human race,
and still more obviously so with the dictates of christ-
ian love.^

It is unnecessary to advert particularly to the vari-
ous efforts which Friends, in unison with other christ-
ians, have found it their duty to make, with a view
to the relief of the distressed, and in promotion of
philanthropic objects ; and I may conclude this branch
of my remarks on the moral views of the society, by
simply calling to the attention of the reader, the
care which has always been exercised by Friends
in the support and education of their poor, and in
the maintenance of love and harmony among all
the members of their own body. If any Friends
fall into poverty and are found to be unable to provide
for their own wants and those of their families, they
are not accustomed to avail themselves of that paro-
chial aid to which the poor of other denominations
so frequently have recourse ; for it is the uniform

s See Book of Extracts, " Slave Trade and Slavery",/). 177.

MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 305

practice of the religions Society to which they belong,
to snpply them with snch things as are needfnl for
their sustenance and comfort. A similar care is exer-
cised with respect to the education of their chiklren,
wdio, under such circumstances, are usually sent to
our public seminaries, Avhere they are clothed and
fed, and instructed both in the elements of useful
learning, and in the principles of religion. With
regard to love and harmony among all the members
of the body, this is a subject which occupies much
of private care throughout the society, and on which
we are almost annually advised by our yearly meeting ;
and in order, moreover, that it may never be neglected
amongst us, our subordinate meetings are called upon,
three times in every year, to render an explicit answer
to the following close enquiry : " Are Friends pre-
served in love towards each other ; if differences
arise, is due care taken speedily to end them ; and are
Friends careful to avoid and discourage tale-bearing
and detraction ?"

Lastly, with respect to a Immhle walk with God.
This highly important characteristic of true religion
is evinced more clearly by nothing, than by a trans-
formation from the spirit of the world, and by the
watchful avoidance of the lusts, follies, vices, and van-
ities, so prevalent among unregenerate men. " Know
ye not", says the apostle James, " that the friendship
of the w orld is enmity Avith God ? Whosoever there-
fore Avill be a friend of the world, is the enemy of
God": James iv. 4. Such a circumspect and harm-
less walk in life is the inevitable consecpience of that
change of heart — that new and heavenly birth — with-

X

306 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS.

out which no man can be a true christian, and will
indeed be ever found to distinguish the sincere and
dihgent followers of Jesus, of every name and profes-
sion. On the present occasion I would only remark
that no one sect of christians of whom I have ever
heard, have been led to uphold a higher standard
than that maintained among Friends, respecting the
importance of an entire abstinence from those customs,
prevalent in the world, which are necessarily impreg-
nated with moral evil : for example, from profuse
and extravagant entertainments — from the unneces-
sary frequenting of taverns and public houses — from
excess in eating and drinking — from public diversions
— from the reading of useless, frivolous, and perni-
cious books — from gaming of every description, and
from vain and injurious sports^ — from unnecessary
display in funerals, furniture, and style of living —
from unprofitable, seductive, and dangerous amuse-
ments— and generally from all such occupations of
time and mind, as plainly tend to levity, vanity, and
forgctfiilness of our God and Saviour. ^

6 The following extract from one of the printed epistles of our Yearly Meeting,
is well worthy the attention, not only of Friends, but of christians of every name :
''We clearly rank the practice of hunting and shooting /or diversion, with vain
sports ; and we believe the awakened mind may see that even the leisure of those
whom Providence hath permitied to have a competence of worldly goods, is but ill
filled up with these amusements. Therefore being not only accountable for our
substance, but also for our time, let our leisure be employed in serving our neigh-
bour, and not in distressing the creatures of God for our amusement." Book of
Extracts; ' Conduct and Conversation', p. 25.

' There is much reason to fear that some individuals among Friends who take a
strong view of the inconsistency of worldly vanities, with the pure and devotional
religion of Christ, have not been equally alive to the necessity of avoiding that
" covelousness which is idolatry". Excluded as we are by our principles from some
of " the professions" and appertaining so generally to the middle class of the people,
it is very usually our lot to be engaged in tiade ; and such being the case, peculiar

MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 307

Before we proceed further, I must request the
candid reader exphcitly to understand that, in making
the observations which have now been offered, on
the moral system maintained among Friends, I have
been very far from any intention to panegijr'ize the
members of that society. On the contrary, when we
consider the high degree of religious hght which has
been so mercifully bestowed upon us, and the clear
views into which we have been led of the spirituality

watchfulness is undoubtedly required in us — even walcbfulness unto prayer — that
■we may not be numbered among those whose delight and trust is in riches ; for truly
it remains to be impossible to " serve God and Mammon". However reprehensible
may be the disposition and conduct of some of us in this important respect, the
society to which we belong has not failed, in its public advices, to hold out for our
instruction a pure standard on the subject ; as will be amply evinced by the follow-
ing passages selecied from the Book of Extracts; See head, ' Trade p. 195 et seqq,

1. " Advised that none launch into trading and worldly business beyond what
they can manage honourably and with reputation ; so that they may keep their words
with all men, that their yea may prove yea indeed, and their nay, nay : and that
they use few words in their dealings, lest they bring dishonour to the truth."
1688. P. E.— 1675.

3. " It is earnestly desired that Friends be very careful to avoid all pursuit after
the things of this world, by such ways and means as depend too much on hazardous
enterprises ; but rather labour to content themselves with such a plain way and
manner of living, as is most agreeable to the self-denying principle of truth which
we profess; and which is most conducive to that tranquillity of mind which is requi-
site to a religious conduct through this troublesome world." 1724. P. E. — 1801.

7, *' Dear Friends, the continuance of covetousness and of earthly-mindedness in
many, calls upon us to endeavour to awaken such as are infected by it, to a sense of
what they are pursuing, and at what price. The great Master hath shown the
unprofitableness of the whole world, compared with one immortal soul ; and yet
many are pursuing a delusive portion of it, at the expence of their soul's interests.
But were all thus awakened, what place would be found for extensive schemes in
trade, and fictitious credit to support them? To mix with the spirit of the world in
the pursuit of gain, would then be a subject of dread ; and contentment under the
allotment of providence, a sure means of preservation.' 1788. P. E.

8. " Circumscribed even as we are more than many, it is not unusual, in our
pursuit of the things ot this life, for our gain and our convenience to clash with our
testimony. O then may we be willing to pause, and give time for those passions
to subside, which would hurry us to the accomplishment of the desired purpose, ere
the still voice of wisdom be distinctly heard, to guide us in (he way in which we
should go!" 1795. P. E,

x2

308 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS.

of the gospel dispensation, we may readily confess
that, in the inadequacy and shortness of our good
works, we have peculiar cause for sorrow and humi-
liation. Nevertheless, the known views of the society,
and the general conduct of many of its memhers, may
be sufficient to evince that our religious principles
have an edifying tevdenci/. It is then to the practical
efficacy of those principles, that I am desirous of in-
viting a more general and a closer attention, and
especially to the unspeakable value and power of that
word of God in the heart — that law of the Lord
inwardly revealed — Avhich it is so much our profession
to follow, and which, as it is followed, Avill never fail
to detect for us the peccant part in the vain customs
of men, and to lead us into the true, and pure, and
solid excellence of the christian character.

Having again insisted upon this point, I may now
proceed to discuss a su])ject to which it will be desir-
able to allot the remainder of the present disquisition,
viz. plainness of speech, hehainour, and apparel. This
plainness is one of the most obvious of our character-
istics. Whithersoever we bend our steps, and in
whatever business we are engaged, it continually meets
the eve or the ear of those among whom we dwell,
and manifests itself in a variety of particulars, which,
though little, are striking. But obvious and constantly
perceptible as are these minor features of our conduct
and conversation, there is reason to believe that the
2;rounds on which we have adopted them are by no
means generally understood : and indeed the laxity
apparent in so many individuals of our own body,
with reference to these peculiarities, affords a strong

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

309

presumption, that the principles from which they
spring have not been siifticiently considered even
amongst ourselves. It is a prevalent notion in the
world, and one which many young persons in the
society have probably been led to entertain, that the
peculiarities in cpiestion are employed only because
of their expediency, and that they are to be regarded
in no other light than that of a sectarian badge, in-
tended for the purpose of distinguishing and separating
us from the rest of mankind. In treating, then, on
the peculiar plainness of Friends — a subject which,
according to my view, is fraught witli no little interest
— I shall endeavour to show that our practice in this
respect is by no means adopted merely because it is
considered expedient : bat that, on the contrary, it is
truly grounded on the law of God ; — that, in point of
fact, it is one result (perfectly consistent with others
already mentioned) of a complete view of christian
morality.

I. PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

The phraseology which prevails in the modern
world, and, with the exception of Friends, among
christians of all denominations, is replete with a
variety of expressions, used either in addressing or
describing persons, which are of a nature simply com-
plimentary, and have no foundation in truth. The
terms to which I allude are familiar to every one,
but for the sake of clearness, the principal of them
may now be specified.

The words *S'/V or Madam are very generally em-
ployed, both in speech and in writing, as a form of

310 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

address, and of written addresses, to any individual,
one of these words almost miifornily forms the com-
mencement. He who makes use of such terms, ver-
bally professes that the person to whom he is speaking
or writing, is his lord or his lady. Such I conceive to
be the generally acknowledged meaning of the express-
ions in question ; for the word Sir is obviously a
contraction of the Fi-ench term Seigneur, Lord,^ and
Madam, also derived from the French, plainly signi-
fies 3Ii/ lady. This verbal profession of subjection
to the individual addressed is frequently completed
by a declaration, very usual at the conclusion of letters,
that the Avritcr is the humble or obedient servant or
?nost humble or most obedient servant of the person
to whom he writes ; and among foreigners, more
particularly, expressions to the same effect are accu-
mulated with a profuseness which renders the art of
complimenting conspicuously ridiculous.

Precisely on a similar principle the man is denom-
inated 3'Iister, the boy. Master, the married woman,
3Iistress, and the unmarried woman, Miss — being the
same term contracted. These expressions severally
denote, that the persons to Avhom they are applied,
are placed in a situation of authority or mastery over
others, and, if I mistake not, more particularly over
the individual by whom the terms in question are em-
ployed. They, therefore, represent that which is by
way of compliment supposed, but which, generally
speaking, is nevertheless untrite.

8 Dr. Johnson derives Sir from the French Sire, an expression denoting the rank
and authority of a father ; but when we consider the ase of the French word
Monsieur, aud tlie easy transition from Seigneur to Sieur, and from Sieur to Sir,
little doubt can remain that the latter is the trae origin of the English term.

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 311

Again^ by a similar abuse of language, epithets
expressive of a high degree of personal excellence
are applied pro forma, and worthily or unworthily,
(as it may happen,) to a number of individuals who
hold certain offices, or enjoy particular stations, in
religious or civil society. Thus, whatever be their
real character — whatever their conduct and conver-
sation, either in public or in private life — a king is
his most gracious Majesty — a duke, his Grace — a peer
of another rank, and a member of the privy council.
Right Honourable — a son of a peer, and a judge.
Honourable — an archbishop, 3Iost Reverend — a bi-
shop. Right Reveretid — a dean, F^ery Reverend — an
arch-deacon, J^enerable — a priest or deacon. Reve-
rend. Similar terms are often applied in the loose
extravagance of compliment, to other individuals who
are destitute both of office and of high station. Those
who are acquainted with the language and manners
of the. Italians, must be well aware, for example, how
frequently and indiscriminately they employ their
illustrissimo and eccellenza. In the common parlance
of Spain, every gentleman is addressed as Your If^or-
ship ; and, in this country, persons of no peculiar
virtue or eminence are often represented, at the con-
clusion of letters which they receive, as being so ho-
nourable, that it is an honor to be their most humble
se7-vants. Again, among modern latin critics, a mem-
ber of their o^vn fraternity, however obscure, is seldom,
if ever, mentioned without the passing declaration
that he is most celebrated. So common is become
the celeberrimus on such occasions, that it is now
reduced into the particle eel. and is in this shape

312 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

prefixed to the name of every writer of the descrip-
tion now mentioned, ahnost as regularly as is the
English contraction 31r. to those of other men. Not
unfrequently, indeed, do these authors attach to the
name of any brother critic whom they may happen
to cite, a Greek term which may be considered the
very consummation of complimentary phraseology ;
for it denotes nothing less than that the writer cited is
entirelij excellent, or that he comprehends in his own
person an universaUtij of learning and talent.^

In Great Britain, as in other civilized states, there
are a variety of legal dignities, corresponding with
certain situations in the body politic, and constituting
what is usually denominated rank. The lowest of
these dignities is that of an Esqu'we, which legally
appertains to many individuals and especially to all
those persons who hold any office or commission un-
der the king. Now the world appears to imagine that
the possession of some title or other is indispensable
to the character of a gentleman ; and therefore ])y a
falsification of speech, perfectly similar in principle
to those already noticed, every person of gentleman-
like station in life, who is destitute of all legal dignity,
is denominated an Esquire. The gentleman to whom
a letter is directed without the addition of that title,
is considered in the world to be almost affronted by
the omission.

But among the various modes of expression upon
which it is my present object to treat, the most com-
mon and at the same time most absurd, is the appli-
cation to individuals, of pronouns and verbs in the

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 313

plural number. The use of the phiral form of the
first personal pronoun, instead of the singular, is
commonly adopted in their public rescripts and other
documents, by inonarchs, and sometimes by other
persons placed in a situation of high authority. The
common style of a royal mandate or declaration is
as follows : ' We George', or ' We Frederick', or ^ We
William, command or declare', &c. ; and the fiction
which such a form of speech represents, appears to
be precisely this — that the monarch is not to be
regarded as an individual, but as many persons com-
bined— that in that single man are centred the autho-
rity, wisdom, dignity, and power, of many. Since
this rhetorical fiction is thus employed by powerful
and exalted personages, as a mark of their superior
dignity and authority, it easily became a matter of
compliment among men in general, to apply it in
their addresses one to another. Such a custom, in
its early commencement, was probably adopted only
as a mark of respect to superiors ; and unquestionably
for a long period of time, it found no place in ad-
dresses made to inferiors. But even this distinction
is gradually wearing away ; a form of speech which
was at one time a mark of distinction, is become uni-
versally familiar : the Thou and Thee, in the daily
communications between man and man, are disused ;
and every individual as if supposed to consist of seve-
ral persons combined, is addressed with plural pro-
nouns and plural verbs. ^

1 In Germany the art of complinieiilarj phraseology is carried to a very high point.
The German, in addressing his superiors or his equals, is not content with the com-
monly received use of the plural pronouns and verbs, but for the sake of manifesting

314 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

Now we apprehend that our heavenly Guide, whose
Spirit is expressly deuoniinated the " Spirit of truth",
and whose will is directly opposed to all unrighteous
vanities, of whatsoever magnitude' and description
they may he, has taught us in our communications
one with another, and with our fellow-men, to ahstain
from the use of these various complimentary fictions.
The substitution of a plain mode of expression, in
the place of one so nearly universal, has indeed the
effect of rendering us singular ; and the singularity
which is thus occasioned, and which sometimes entails
upon us ridicule and contempt, is often in no slight
degree mortifying to the natural inclinations, especi-
ally to those of the young and tender mind. Neverthe-
less, we are persuaded that this is one of the particulars
of conduct, in which, however trifling the subject may
appear to some persons, a duty is laid upon us to
deny ourselves, patiently to endure the cross, and
faithfully to bear our testimony against the customs
prevalent in the world at large. It is plain, according
to our view of the subject, that the common mode of
speech from which we have thus been led to abstain,
is at variance wdth certain acknowledged and important
principles in the divine law. Such a phraseology may
very fairly be deemed objectionable, Jirst, because it
is intended to flatter the pride of man : and secondly,
because it is inconsistent with truth.

I. It w^as one of the charges which our Saviour
adduced against the unbelieving Jews, that they re-

a yet more profound deference and respect, recites them in the third person. Thus
instead of " Wilt tbou eat or drink ?", be would say to his honoured guest " Will
they eat or drink ?".

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 315

ceived honour " one of another", and songht not ''Hhe
honour luhich cometh from God only\ John v. 44 ;
and truly, a siniihir character is still very generally
prevalent among men. While they neglect to strive
after that true " glory" Avhicli is the end of a " patient
continuance in well doing", Rom. ii. 7 ; there is no-
thing in the pursuit of which they are more generally
intent, than the honour of the world — the honour
which is bestowed by man. To be exalted among
our fellow-creatures, to receive the tribute of their
homage and the incense of their flattery, to be the
objects of their eulogium and polite submission, are
circumstances perfectly adapted to the pride of their
own hearts, and grateful, beyond almost any other
worldly advantages, to the natural disposition of the
human mind. Here it may be observed that the eager
desire to be thus exalted, admired, and commended, is
closely and almost inseparably connected (though per-
haps in somewhat a hidden manner) with a spirit of
undue fear, dependence, and subserviency, in reference
to our fellow-men. And this probably is the reason
why those persons who are themselves the most
desirous of receiving adulation, are often the most
ready to bestow it. There appears to exist among
the children of this evil world, a sort of understood
convention, that they shall praise and be praised, shall
exalt and be exalted, shall flatter and be flattered.

Amongst the various means which mankind have
invented in order to effect this object, and to gratify
their own antichristian dispositions to adulation on
the one hand, and to pride on the other, is evidently to
be numbered the complimentary phraseology to which

316 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

we have now been adverting. We read that the world-
ly-minded Pharisees who loved the uppermost rooms
at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, loved
also the " greetings in the markets, and to be called of
men, Rabbi, Rabbi"; Matt, xxiii. G, 7. Since, there-
fore, the use of the expressions in question proceeds
from a corrupt source, and is plainly intended to foster
the vain desires of the carnal mind, it may reasonably
be concluded that a total abstinence from such a mode
of speech is not only commendable and desirable, but
necessary to a complete conformity with the divine law.
It is needless on the present occasion to cite the
numerous passages of Scripture and more especially
of the New Testament, which forbid the exaltation of
the creature, and enjoin humility and self-abasement.
One passage only will suffice, in which our Lord
insists on this branch of the divine law in immediate
connexion, as it appears, Avith the subject of the pre-
sent section. When charging the Pharisees with
pride, and with their love of being called of men,
Rabbi, Rabbi, he adds the following emphatic injunc-
tion, addressed to his own followers ; " But be not ye
called Rabbi ; for one is your master, even Christ, and
all ye are brethren. And call no man your Father
upon the earth (namely, as a complimentary title) ;
for one is your Father, Avhich is in heaven. Neither
be ye called Masters ; for one is your Master, even
Christ. But he that is greatest among you, shall be
your servant. And whosoever sliall exalt himself,
shall be abased ; and he that shall humble himself,
shall be exalted"; Matt, xxiii. 8 — 12. This instructive
passage of Scripture may be regarded in two points

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 317

of view. We may allow, in the first place, that it
indirectly inculcates the general doctrine, that, in
matters of religion, christians are not to depend upon
the teaching and authority of their fellow-men, but
rather upon those of the Father and of Christ. They
must, in this respect, be careful to set up neither
themselves nor others. They must ever remember
that they have individually cause for deep humiliation;
that they are all brethren ; that one is their Father,
even God ; that one is their Master, even Christ.
And, secondly, the use of merely formal and compli-
mentary appellations, as one of the means by which
men are accustomed to exalt themselves and others —
a means which had been so eagerly adopted by the
Scribes and Pharisees — is, in this passage, forbidden
to the followers of Christ. The complimentary titles
here mentioned by our Saviour, viz. liahhi, FatJier,
and Master, were, at that period, of very late extrac-
tion.2 In the better times of Israelitish history, as
some of the Jews themselves confess, no such corrup-
tion of speech Avas knoAvn ; for the patriarchs, the
prophets, and even the earliest doctors of the Rabbin-
ical schools, were called and addressed by their simple
names. But as the Jews gradually departed from

2 The Greek words gaf3/3.' or hibad/iakog, 'Trarrj^, and Tia&riyrjTrig, as Lightfoot
Las observed, represent respective!}' the Hebrew terms '^3'^ (honourable person),
''3^^ (father), and ^"IQ (master) ; expressions which appear to have been used at
the christian era, in the same formal and complimentary manner, as are the terms Sir,
my Lord, your Grace, &c. in the present day. In order to recommend those titles,
one of the Talmudio authors pretends that king Jehosaphat made much point of
employing them iu addressing any scribe. " Whenever Jehosaphat" says this author,
" saw a disciple of the wise men, he rose from his throne, embraced him, kissed him,
and thus addressed him. Father, Father ; Rabbi, Rabbi ; Master, Master". Bahyl.
Maccoth, fol, xxiv. 1. Lightfoot,

318 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

their ancient simplicity, and shortly before the coming
of onr Saviour, their leading men of learning and
authority, claimed the distinction of these flattering
appellations ; and if, perchance, any of theii" disciples
addressed them according to that simple method which
was usual in better times, it was even pretended that
such persons offended against the majesty of heaven.
In the discourse of which the passage before us forms
a part, our Lord sharply reproves the Scribes and
Pharisees on account of their attachment to so absurd
and ungodly a practice — an attachment which he
mentions as one among many fruits of their vanity,
pride, and presumption ; and then turning round to
his own disciples, he distinctly forbids them to assume
for themselves, or to apply to others, the compliment-
ary titles in question ; showing that the formal use of
such expressions is at variance with the true condition
of those persons who are children and disciples of
one Lord, and whose duty and privilege it is to
humble themselves before God, and to serve one
another for his sake ; SeeLightJoot Hor. Heh. in loc,
Poll Syn. It may indeed be observed, that the Scribes
and Pharisees probably claimed these verbal distinc-
tions, as marks of their religious superiority ; and that
the expressions of the same nature which are now so
common, have a more general application. But
whether such expressions be addressed to clergy or to
laity, whether they be intended as compliments to the
ministers of the church, or to the members of society
at large, they are still equally objectionable, on our
Lord's principle of christian simplicity and humility.
They are still derived from the pride of man, and

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 319

still do they foster the passion from which they spring.
Our Lord's precept on this suhject was remarkably
exemplified both in his own conversation, and in the
verbal or written communications of his inspired dis-
ciples. The mode of address which he employed,
and which the evangelists and apostles also adopted,
though in many instances distinguished for its kindness
and true courtesy, was not less remarkable for its
plainness, and for the absence of all complimentary
phraseology. I know of nothing in the New Testa-
ment which has the appearance of contravening this
observation, unless it be the epithets Most excellent
and Most nohle ; the former applied by Luke to Theo-
philus, Luke i. 3 ; the latter by Paul to Festus, Acts
xxvi. 25 ; and also the title Sirs, by which that apostle
is represented as addressing the inhabitants of Lystra,
and the companions of his voyage to Rome ; Acts xiv.
15, xxvii. 10, 21, 25. comp. vii. 26. But in all these
instances our common English version is in fault, and
there is no reason to suppose that the expressions, as
used in the original Greek, were in any degree mis-
applied. The Greek adjective^ which in Luke i. 3, is
rendered most excellent, and in Acts xxvi. 25, most
nohle, properly denotes neither excellence nor nobility,
but an eminent degree of power. The epithet was
probably not inapplicable to Theophilus, of whom we
know almost nothing, but who from the use of this
very word, is supposed by commentators to have been
the governor of some province ; and certainly it was
properly descriptive of Festus, who as proconsul of
Judea was, in that country, possessed of the supreme

320 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

authority ; See Schleusneri Lex. in voc. With respect
to the appellation rendered Sirs in Acts xiv. 15,
xxvii. 10, 21, 25, it signifies not lords or jnasters, but
simply ynen. The term used in these passages is not
indeed the generic name of man. It is applicable
only to the male sex, and in as much as it represented
the strength and manliness of that sex, it was probably
considered as a term of respect. Nevertheless it
described literal truth, and was therefore no compli-
mentary expression.

I have often thought that the speeches of Paul to
Felix and Agrippa, afford an excellent specimen of
the true christian method of addressing our superiors,
for they are distinguished by respectful courtesy united
to entire plainness. " Forasmuch as I know", said
he to Felix, "that thou hast of many years been a
judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully
answer for myself": again, " I think myself happy,
king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this
day before thee, touching all the things whereof 1 am
accused of the Jews : especially because I know thee
to be expert in all customs and questions Avhich are
among the Jews, wherefore I beseech thee to hear
me patiently": again, "King Agrippa, believest thou
the prophets ? I know that thou believest", &c. To
these speeches we may find an excellent parallel, in
point both of propriety and of plainness, in the public
addresses which have at \ arious times been made by
Friends to high and royal personages ; and more
particularly in Robert Barclay's celebrated dedication
of his "Apology" to king Charles II.

II. It has been already remarked, that in this

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 321

country as in most other civilized states, there are a
variety of titles legally attached to persons who occu-
py particular offices or stations in the body politic.
To the use of these titles there does not appear to be
any moral objection. There is no good reason, as is
generally allowed by Friends, Avhy Kings, Earls,
Barons, Baronets, and Es({uires, should not in the
conversation or letters of christians, be so denominated,
since these are not names of mere courtesy, but are
given in conformity with the constitution of the coun-
try, and appropriately represent the office or condition
of the persons who bear them. Nor ought the
servant to feel the least reserve or hesitation in calling
his master Master, and his mistress Mistress. So far
indeed is it from being inconsistent with christian
principle, to describe our fellow creatures Ijy the
denominations which properly belong to them, and
which correctly represent their actual situation, that
such a practice may rather be deemed to be enjoined
by the apostolic precept — " Render to all their dues";
Rom. xiii. 7. But to those various complimentary
expressions from the use of which Friends consider
it to be their duty to abstain, there is, on the other
hand, this radical objection, that according to their
general usage and in a great plurality of instances, they
represent falsehood. To call a man Sir or Master, who
has no authority over us — to declare ourselves to be
his obedient servants, when we know that we are no
such thing — to style him, as a matter of course, ho-
nourable or reverend, when, as a matter of course, he
is neither one nor the other, and to describe him as
most celebrated, though he be destitute of all celebrity

Y

322 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

— is in our apprehension to depart from that plain
law of truth, by which the words of christians ought
ever to be strictly regulated. That truth of speech
which in the Holy Scriptures is opposed to the lying
tongue, and is so frequently, so clearly, and so earnest-
ly enjoined, obviously consists in the honest and
accurate conformity of our words (according to their
acknowledged signification) to facts and realities.
Since then these complimentary expressions are not
honestly and accurately conformed to facts and reali-
ties ; since, according to their commonly received
meaning, they denote feelings, dispositions, or rela-
tions, in those who use them, which have no existence;
they may justly be considered inconsistent with a
simple and unbending veracity.

Persons are sometimes heard to remark that the
expressions in question are not to be understood lite-
rally— that those of them which appear to express
subjection, are to be interpreted as indicative only of
civility — that their signification is either lessened or
lost — that they may even be considered as meaning
nothing — and hence it is easily concluded that the
formal use of such terms involves no sacrifice of
truth. But the reflecting reader Avill scarcely fail
to detect the fallacy of these observations. There
are none of the expressions in question, which on
philological principles can fairly be interpreted in
a subordinate sense. Used as they are in a familiar
manner as current tokens of respect, it is evident that
they serve such a purpose only because of their in-
trinsic meaning ; and that intrinsic meaning is, I would
submit, undisputed and unaltered. So far indeed are

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 323

some of these terms from being of uncertain applica-
tion, or destitute of signification, that there are scarcely
any words in language, of which the sense is more
obvious, or more clearly fixed. Who docs not know,
for example, that a humble and obedient servant is
a person of lowly mind and servile condition, who
obeys his master — that an honourable or reverend
gentleman, is a gentleman truly worthy of honour or
reverence — that a most celebrated or ?nost illustrious
author, is an author who has attained to a very pre-
eminent degree of literary fame — and that the plural
personal pronouns, denote a plurality of persons ?
The meaning of such terms is plain and cannot be
disputed ; and all that can be urged on the other side
of the question, will probably be found to resolve itself
into a single position, viz. that the falsehoods which
these expressions represent are so customan/, that they
are become inefficacious — that theij no longer deceive.
That this effect has in a very considerable degree
taken place, may readily be admitted ; but such a
result aifords no sufficient excuse for the adoption of
such a mode of speech. It may justly be contended,
that the use of words, which according to their known
signification represent things untrue, constitutes a
falsehood — that however absurd or unavailing that
falsehood may be, it is nevertheless real — that such a
practice arises out of an evil origin — that it is in its
nature evil — and that however it may defeat its o^^^i
ends, and become inoperative in proportion to its pre-
valence, it can never change its character, or cease to
be inconsistent with an exact obedience to the law
of Christ.

y2

324 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH.

To the sincere-hearted christian, who has hitherto
perceived no evil in the use of a compHmentary
phraseology, may in conclusion be addressed the re-
mark, that there are various degrees of insincerity,
and that the passage from the lesser to the greater
measures of it, is exceedingly easy. He who has no
scruple, for example, to declare himself (without any
foundation in literal truth) to be the humble, obedient,
or devoted servant of the person whom he addresses,
is prepared, as it appears to me, to advance a step
farther, and to make other less formal professions
of civility or service, which he is equally without the
intention of fulfilling. Thus his sense of truth is
gradually weakened ; his feelings and intentions, and
the words by which he expresses them, become more
and more dissonant, and at length his communications
assume the character of insincerity in so great a
degree, that our dependence upon them for practical
purposes is very materially shaken. No one scarcely
who is conversant with the business of the world,
can fail to have remarked how easily these conse-
quences result from the sacrifice, however formal, of
literal truth. It may indeed be admitted, that this
observation will not attach, in any great degree, to the
more common and less conspicuous terms of com-
pliment ; but all these expressions are of the same
nature, they appertain to the same principle, they
spring from the same source, and they naturally lead
to one another. On the whole, therefore, it may fairly
be concluded that the line of true safety, in reference
to the present subject, must be drawn at the foundation
of the Mdiole system, and must preclude the use, in

PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 325

conversation and addresses, of any expressions which
are merely compHmentary, and which, according to
their plain and acknowledged meaning, represent any
falsity.

There is another particular connected with the
plainness of speech peculiar to Friends, of which a
very brief notice will be sufficient. It is their practice,
as my reader is probably well aware, to avoid the
commonly adopted names of months and days, and to
indicate those periods by numerical appellations, ac-
cording to the order of their succession : as the Jirst,
second, or third montli, the, Jirst , second, or third day,
8§c. Their reason for making this alteration is simple
and forcible. All the days of the week and many of
the months of the year have received the names by
which they are usually described, in honour oi false
gods. Thus January is the month of Janus, Thursday
the day of Thor, &c. This relic of heathenism is not
only needless and indecorous, but according to our
sentiments, is opposed to the tenor and spirit, as well
as to the letter of those divine commandments ad-
dressed to the Israelites, which forbad the use of
the names of false gods, and every other the slightest
approach to idolatrous practices. See Exod. xxiii. 13,
Josh, xxiii. 7. comp. Deut. xii. 3, Ps. xvi. 4, &c.
Idolatry was indeed a sin which easily beset that an-
cient people, and to which, in the present enlightened
state of society, christians are but little temjited. But
it Avill scarcely be denied that the various precepts
contained in the Old Testament on the subject, form
a part of that law which changes not ; and that the
standard of truth in this particular was heightened

326 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR.

rather than lowered by the introduction of the gospel
dispensation. Although, therefore, we may noAV be in
little or no danger of falling away into the M'Drship of
false gods, it appears that the maintenance of a cus-
tom which had its origin in such worship, and by
which a verbal honour is still given to ideal deities or
to devils, is inconsistent with the pure piety, and
unmixed devotion of the simple christian.^

II. PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR.

The more consistent part of the Society of Friends
consider it to be their duty to uphold the standard of
plainness not only in speech, but in manners, deport-
ment, or behaviour. Their general views on this
branch of our subject, are in full accordance Avith
those of all the humble followers of a crucified Re-
deemer. Where is the seriously minded christian
who will not allow, that servilitv, vanity, and affecta-
tion in manners, afford a sure indication of a worldly
spirit, and of a heart not yet converted from darkness
to liglit ; and on the other hand, that a true simplicity
in our carriage towards other men, whether they be
our inferiors, our equals, or our superiors, is one of
the most genuine ornaments of the christian character?

There is also another constituent of plainness in
behaviour, respecting which Friends are on common
ground with other christians ; I mean the absence of

^ May it not be consitlered in some degree discreditable to the religioua profession
of our country, that the votes of the British Parliament, passed as they are after the
daily recitation of prayers addressed to the ever blessed Jehovah in the name of
Christ, should, when printed, uniformly bear about them the stamp of classical
heathenism ? These documents are dated in Latin ; " Die Veneris, Quarto Marlis ;
Die Mercurii, Secuudo Julii;' dfc.

PLAI>iNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 327

levity — religious seriousness. An innocent and whole-
some cheerfulness is far indeed from being precluded
by the law of Christ : for what persons have so true
an acquaintance with pure pleasure as those upon
whom are shining the beams of the Sun of Righte-
ousness ; or who are so much at ease and liberty to
enjoy themselves, as they who have obeyed the calls
of duty, and have trodden the path of the cross ? While
this allowance may be made without reserve, it is
perhaps no less evident that a lightness and wanton-
ness of manner and an ill regulated, extravagant, mirth,
are totally at variance with the great features of the
christian life. No one surely will be found to indulge
in them, who entertains any adequate notions of the
importance of his moral condition, of the great pur-
poses for which he is called into being, of the im-
mortality of his soul, and of the terrors and hopes
respectively set before him in the christian revelation.

Having made these observations on that simple and
serious deportment which all real christians endeavour
to maintain, I may proceed to remark that there are
certain particulars of conduct and manners, in which
Friends observe a plainness of behaviour, in a great
degree peculiar to themselves. We conceive it to be
our duty to abstain from the use of those obelsa?ices,
upon which, in the world and more especially in the
upper classes of society, a scnipulous attention is very
generally bestowed. In presenting ourselves before
our fellow-creatures, we believe it right to avoid the
submissive inflection of the body and the taking off of
the hat, as a token of personal homage.

The principles on which are founded our objection

328 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR.

to these practices are in part the same as those which
have been unfolded under the last head. The bowing
down of the body and the pulling off of the hat in
honour of man, are actions perfectly coincident with
a servile and comphmentary phraseology. Words in
the one case, and actions in the other, are obviously
intended to denote the same thing ; namely that the
person addressing submits himself to the superior
dignity and authority of the person addressed. Whe-
ther then it be by our expressions or by our carriage,
that we cherish and foment the vanity one of another
— whether the complimentary falsehood be spoken or
acted, — we cannot but entertain the sentiment, that in
adopting, in either way, the customs prevalent in the
world, we should be departing from that simplicity
and godly sincerity by which our conversation among
men ought ever to be regulated.

There is, however, another reason, and that a reason
of a very substantial nature, why Friends conceive it
to be their duty to avoid some of these obeisances ;
namely, that they are the very signs by which cliiist-
ians are accustomed to denote their allegiance to the
Almighty himself. This is generally understood to
be the case more particularly, with the taking off of
the hat as a mark of homage — a practice usual among
Friends, as well as among other christians, on certain
occasions of a religious nature. When we approach
God in supplication, or address others in his name, we
uniformly take off the hat, and kneel or stand unco-
vered before him. It is probable that in every age of
the world, there have been certain customary external
indications of the worship of Jehovah ; and this un-

PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 329

doiibtedly is one of those indications in the present
day. The action in itself is absohitely indifferent, but
through the force of custom it has become significant
— significant of rehgious homage offered to the su-
preme Being. Now we consider it to be inconsistent
with that reverence which is exchisively due to the
Deity, and hold that it involves a very dangerous
confusion, to address to our fellow-creatures, however
exalted they may be, those very acts which, on other
occasions, denote nothing less than the worship of
Him, who " bringeth the princes to nothing, and
maketh the judges of the earth as vanity".

Such are the principles which have given rise to
one of the most conspicuous peculiarities in the de-
portment of the plain Quaker. It is generally known
that when a person of this description approaches
even the earthly monarch to whom he both owes and
feels a real allegiance, he dares not either to bend the
knee or to uncover the head, in token of that allegi-
ance ; and for this plain and, as it appears to me,
fully suflicient reason ; that these are the very outward
signs by which he is accustomed to designate his sub-
missive approaches to the Lord of Lords, and the
King of Kings — the God and Father of us all.

In bearing this testimony against the semi-idolatrous
practices of the world, I cannot but consider it plain
that Friends are acting in conformity with the divine
law, which while it forbids us either to flatter or
deceive our neighbours, is, if possible, still more im-
perative as to the restriction of the acknowledged acts
of worship, to their only proper object — Jehovah.
" All these things will I give thee", said the tempter

330 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR.

to Jesus, " if thou wilt fall doivn and worship zwe'V
Then saith Jesus unto him, " Get thee hence Satan,
for it is written, Thou shalt worship^ the Lord thy
God, and him onli/ shalt thou serve"; Matt. iv. 9, 10.
The prostration of the body on the ground (like
the taking off of the hat or kneeling, among modern
Europeans) was one of those tokens by which the
ancient inhabitants of the East Avere accustomed to
designate worship, whether that worship was address-
ed as homage to their superiors among men, or as
religious adoration to the Deity himself; and the
greek verb, signifying to worship, literally imports such
a prostration. Had that divine mandate which our
Saviour quoted in answer to the tempter, been fully
observed by the Israelites of old, they would surely
have confined these obeisances to the Lord himself;
and their not having so confined them appears to
afford one proof among many, that even the more
enlightened of their number fell short of a just ap-
prehension of the extent and perfection of the law
of God. But that a confusion so dangerous in the
application of such obeisances, is, under the purer
light of the gospel dispensation, strictly precluded,
the history of the New Testament affords satisfactor)'^
evidence. We find from the records of that sacred
volume, that the prostration of the body on the ground,
was an act frequently employed by christians, in the
worship of the Father, L Cor. xiv. 25, Rev. vii. 11, &c.
and also in that of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
the Son of God, participating in the Father's nature,
and one with him ; Matt. xiv. 33, John ix. 38. It

PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 331

was, I think, plainly for this reason, that Jesus
never refused to receive such an homage ; but no
sooner was it addressed to the creature, than it called
forth the just and earnest reprehension of the Lord's
servants. Two instances of this kind are recorded
in the New Testament. When the apostle Peter
was coming into the house of Cornelius, the latter
" met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped
him (or prostrated himself before him) : but Peter
took him up, saying. Stand up, / myself also am a
man^; Acts x. 25, 26. So again in the book of Re-
velation, we read that the apostle John, greatly smitten,
as we may presume, with the glory of the angel Avho
showed him the vision, fell down at his feet " to
worship him" or to prostrate himself before him.
Yet the angel earnestly forbad his doing so — " See
thou do it not"", said he, "I am thy fellow servant,
and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus ;
worship God''; Rev. xix. 10.

It cannot with any reason be supposed that the
act of reverence addressed by Cornelius to Peter, and
by John to the ministering angel, was, in either case,
intended as a sign of spiritual worship. Cornelius,
who was a devout man, redeemed from the errors of
idolatry, and taught to live in the fear of the Lord,
could never for a moment have entertained the notion
that Peter was to be adored as a god ; nor is there
any real probability in the supposition, that the apostle
John, after having been favoured with so repeated a
vision of the glory both of the Father and of the
Son, should mistake for either of them that messenger
of Christ, Avho was appointed for the bare purpose

332 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR.

of shewing him these things ; Rev. xxii. 8. We may
conclude, therefore, that this act of reverence, as
employed by Cornelms and the apostle, was, like the
obeisances of the present day, directed solely to the
purpose of evincing humiliation and subjection in the
presence of a superior. Nevertheless, since it was
otherwise used as a sign of religious adoration, it was,
on both these occasions, strenuously forbidden, on
that main and simple principle of religion, that God
alone is the object of worship. Now this principle
appears to be applied with equal propriety, in prohi-
bition of the modern and perfectly analogous practices
of kneeling and uncovering the head, as tokens of
our homage to men.

In the observations which have now been offered
on plainness of speech and behaviour, I have been
very far from any intention to disparage so useful
and amiable a quality as courtesy. On the contrary,
experience has thoroughly convinced me of the great
practical importance of that quality, as a means of
smoothing down the little asperities of society, and
of rendering the communications between man and
man profitable, easy, and agreeable. Under these
impressions, I cannot rightly do otherwise than ex-
press my earnest desire, that the junior members of
our religious society, may more and more estimate
the advantage of polite manners, and study a true
civility towards all around them — that they may
never so mistake the religious principles professed by
Friends, as to imagine that there is any thing to be
found in those principles, which justifies a want of
refinement, gentleness, and delicate attention, or which

PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 333

can lead us to withhold from our superiors, that
respectful demeanour and that willing service, so evi-
dently their due7

True courtesy of manners is one of the natural
fruits of the love of God " shed abroad" in the heart.
It is christian benevolence carried into detail, and
operating upon all the circumstances of social life.
" Be kindly affectioned one to another", says the apos-
tle Paul, " with brotherly love ; in honour preferring
one another''; Rom. xii. 10. " Be ye all of one mind",
exclaims Peter, in the same spirit, " having compas-
sion one of another ; love as brethren ; be pitiful, be
courteous'' ; I. Pet. iii. 8. It is surely undeniable
that a true politeness — a christian courtesy — may be
exercised without the intervention of complimentary
phraseology, or of bodily obeisances. It is indeed
very evident that these practices, especially when
applied in excess, are nothing more than a formal
and fictitious representative of the genuine quality ;
and that, in the society of the world, they are very
frequently employed as a mere cover for the want of
it. Those persons who are brought to abstain from
them on christian principle, from the humble desire
to walk circumspectly before God, and from a gen-
uine love of the law of their Redeemer, will be
preserved in meekness and tenderness of mind to-
wards their fellow creatures. Obedience to the

7 I venture to take the present opportunity of suggesting to the consideration of
my young friends, whether it be not proper for us when we speak to a person older
than ourselves, or otherwise our superior, to use the family name, in addition
to the first name of the person addressed. This simple and unexceptionable mark
of deference, prevents the appearance of undue familiarity : and let it be remem-
bered, that undue familiarity not only involves a breach of good manners, but is often
productive of moral injury.

334 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

" still, small, voice" of the Spirit of Christ is, in an
eminent degree, calculated to promote these disposi-
'tions ; and the very cross which such an obedience
entails upon us, will be found efficacious in promoting
the same end. Now this meekness and tenderness
of mind will be found the best of antidotes against
imkindness of conduct, or rudeness and incivility in
deportment. United with christian benevolence, they
will generally be effectual in polishing the roughest
materials, and in converting even the homely trades-
man or the humble mechanic into the real gentleman.

HI. PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

It is much to be regretted, as the more reflecting
observers of the christian church will probably allow,
that so many persons who are blessed with a serious
view of religion, and who profess to be the dedicated
followers of a crucified Lord, appear to entertain
scarcely any objection to the decking and ornamenting
of their frail bodies : bodies destined so soon to moul-
der into dust, and to become a prey for worms !
Such a conduct however general in the world, and
however slightly observed because of its being gen-
eral, is far more worthy of the untutored Indian who
fondly delights in the bauble and the bead, than of
the christian, who serves a spiritual master, and lives
with eternity in view.

Although no one can move in what is called the
religious world, without meeting with instances which
justify these reflexions, it ought to be acknowledged
that among many others — perhaps the plurality of
serious christians — a great degree of moderation is

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 335

observed in the ornamenting of their persons ; an
observation Avhich, I beheve, appKes with a pecuHar
force to the Wesleyan Methodists. Nevertheless, on
a general view of the habits of christians in this res-
pect, it will not perhaps be considered irrelevant, if
entire plainness of apparel be treated on as one of
the "religious peculiarities" of the Society of Friends.

The principles which we entertain on this subject
are very simple, and they appear to have an imme-
diate connexion with the divine law. Among those
numerous modifications of self-love which are dis-
played in the character of unregenerate man, is to be
numbered personal vanity. Ridiculous and absurd
as is this petty propensity of the human mind, it may
reasonably be questioned whether there is any passion
more general. While the prevalence of such a dis-
position affords a lamentable proof (among many
others) that the heart of man is " deceitful above
all things"; it must surely be allowed that this is
one of those affections which the law of Christ
forbids us to indulge, and commands us to mortify.
Since then the custom of ornamenting the body plainly
originates in personal vanity, and is as plainly calcu-
lated to encourage the passion from which it springs,
it follows, that such a custom must be at variance
with the law of Christ.

We ought to distinguish between clothing and or-
nament. Clothing is intended to cover and protect
the person ; ornament to beautify it. The former is
necessary both for the maintenance of decency, and
for the preservation of health ; and the provision
which is made for it in nature, calls aloud for the

336 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

tribute of thankfulness to the Author of all our mer-
cies. The latter is altogether needless for the body
and evidently hurtful to the mind. The world has
mixed clothing and ornament together. Some parts
of dress are made to serve the purpose of clothing,
and others that of ornament. Now it is the principle
of Friends to retain those parts of dress by which the
body is protected, and to disuse those by which it is
only adorned.

It may indeed be observed that those parts of dress
which are necessary for protection, may be more or
less ornamental. There are the coarser and finer
materials, the more sober and the brighter colours.
On this point I would remark, that excluding splendid
and costly apparel, the materials of our clothing may
fairly be regulated, to a great degree, by our circum-
stances and situation in life — and that with respect to
colours, those which are the least showy and glaring,
are evidently the most in harmony With the sobriety
of the christian character.

That there can be no moral virtue in any particular
form of dress, is obvious ; and the reflecting reader
will probably agree with me in the sentiment that to
insist upon any such form, as if the wearing of it were
a religious obligation, is to interfere with genuine
christian simplicity, and to substitute superstition for
piety. It is not an uncommon error to suppose that
Friends make it a matter of religious principle, to
insist upon a certain form of dress. As far as I am
acquainted with their sentiments, the main principle
which they entertain in reference to the subject, is
that to which I have already adverted — namely that

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

337

personal vanity is a passion which christians ought
not to indulge, and therefore that nothing is to he
introduced into our clothing or added to it for the
sake of ornament. The appearance of form, I might
rather say " uniform", in the dress of Friends, may be
considered as arising in a great degree from two
causes: Jirst, that the disuse of all the ornamental parts
of dress has, in itself, the inevitable eftbct of making
them in their attire dtjf'er from other people, and resem-
ble one another; secondli/, X\\?it Friends have not allowed
themselves to change their mode of dress from time td
time, in pursuance of the Q\CY-\iU'ym^ fashions of the
world. Those who refuse to comply with such changes
in fashion, except Avhen they really promote conve-"
nience, will presently discover that their personal
appearance is singular. And yet such a refusal to
follow a series of t'hanges so generally grounded ori
the merest folly and vanity, is surely no more than
consistent with christian simplicity and gravity.

The precepts in Scripture respecting plainness of
apparel are directed specifically to the female sexw
In considering those precepts, hov.ever, it becomes
us to remember, that the principles on which they
are founded are equally imperative upon both sexes ;
nor will it be disputed that if the adorning of the!
person is reprehensible in women, it must be far more
evidently blamable in men, whose circumstances place
them under nuich less temptation to any practice of
the kind.

From certain descriptions In the Old 'Testament, It
iuay be inferred, that under the legal disperisatioil
the standard maintained of plainness in dress, like'

7.

338 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

that of SO many other particuhirs of conduct and con-
versation, was hy no means uniformly of the highest
or strictest order. Thus among the gifts which
Abraham sent to Rebekah were ear-rings and brace-
lets with jewels of gold and silver, Gen. xxiv. 53;
and the A^irtuous wife who is so much commended by
king Lemuel, is descri])ed as making for herself
"coverings of tapestry", and as being clothed in
"purple"; Prov. xxxi. 22. Nevertheless, we may
learn, from the apostle Peter, that many of the holy
women of old were exemplary in this respect, I. Pet.
iii. 5 ; and we know that the profusion of ornament,
by which the Jewish Avomen of a worldly character
displayed their personal vanity, called forth the right-
eous indignation of the supreme Being. " Moreover,
the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are
haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks, and
wanton eyes, walking, and mincing as they go, and
making a tinkling with their feet: therefore the Lord
will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the
daughters of Zion. In that day the Lord will take
away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments, and
their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the
chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bon-
nets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-
bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, the rings,
and the nose-jewels, the changeable suits of apparel,
and the mantles^ and the Wimples, and the crisping-
pins ; the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods,
and the veils. And it shall come to pass that instead
of sweet smell, there shall be stink ; and instead of
a girdle, a rent; and instead of well set hair, baldness ;

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 339

and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackclotli ;
and burning instead of beauty"; Isa. iii. 1() — 24.

I have endeavoured to shew, that the sentiments
which Friends enterlain, on the subject of plaiimess of
apparel, arise out of tlie principles of that branch of
the divine law, which enjoins the niortification of the
carnal affections and vanities of the human heart — of
the " lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the
pride of life". Now it will probably be allowed, that
the extent of the requisitions of the law of Ciod, in
these respects, was made fulhj apparent only under
the nu)re spiritual dispensation of Christianity ; and
accordingly it is in the New Testament, alone, that
ornament or finery in attire is expressly forbidden.
There are in the apostolic epistles two passages to
this effect. " I will, therefore", says Paul to Timothy,

" that women adorn (or dress) themselves in

modest (or neat) a]>])arel, with shamefacedness and
sobriety; not w'ltli hroidcred (or curled (ind braided'^)
hair, or gold, or pearls, or cost 1 1/ arrai/ ; but (which
becometh Avomen professing godliness,) with good
works"; I.Tim, ii. 8 — 10. The apostle Peter gives
very similar directions. " Likewise, ye wives", says

he, " be in subjection to your own husbands, &c

whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning,
of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of
putting on of apparel}^ But let it be the hidden man

^ rfi^iyiJjO.tSl. '■'■ nfk'-yiJja.ra notal cincinnos, criiies intorloi,, capillos artidciose
llexos et inter se nexos"; Schlensiier in voc.

9 It plainly appears from the context (hat ijy " the putling on of apparel" the
apostle means the (.ultingon of cos;lv or splendid apparel. The Svriac and Ethiopic
translators have adiled epithets to that elltct. "The apostle", says Dr. Gill, " means
such pppaiel us is unbecoming and unsuitable, for he cannot bethought to forbid
the putting on of any apparel"; in luc.

z 2

340 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

of the heart, in that Avhich is not corruptible ; even
the ornament of a meek and cjuict spirit, which is in
the siglit of God of great price"; I. Pet. iii. 1 — 4.

It has been sometimes remarked, that in the two
passages now cited, the female christian is not abso-
lutely recpiired to disuse ornament in dress, but only
to make the graces and fruits of the Spirit (which, by
these apostles, are described as ornaments,) the prin-
cipal object of her attention and pursuit. But I would
submit that the impartial examiner of the words of
Paul and Peter, will by no means accede to such an
observation. Each of these passages contains both a
positive and a negative injunction : each of them
teaches us how christian women ought, and how they
ought not to adorn themselves — what things arc, and
what things are not to be their ornaments. Peter
assigns to them for an ornament "a meek and quiet
spirit, ^^hich is in the sight of God of great price";
and Paul, a modest dress with good works. On the
other hand, Peter declares that their adorning ought
not to l)e " that outward adorning of plaiting the hair
and of wearing of gold, and of putting on of (splendid)
apparel"; and Paul plainly commands them not to
adorn themselves with " curled or braided hair, or
gold, or pearls, or costly array". Between the positive
and the negative injunction respectively given by the
two apostles, there is evidently preserved a complete
parallelism. Both are to be taken according to their
plain and obvious signification, and both must, in all
fairness, be considered as binding on the followers of
Christ. Since, therefore, a decent and modest dress,
good works, and a meek and (juiet spirit, are here

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 'Ml

plainly enjoined, it must surely be allowed, that the
wearing of splendid apparel, the curling and braiding
of the hair, and the use of other personal ornaments,
are forbidden.

It was the remark of a noted infidel writer, in
reference to that plainness of dress so customary in
the Society of Friends, that there is no quaherism in
the ivorks of nature ; and nothing perhaps is more
usually urged in justification of splendid and orna-
mented apparel, than the brightness of the flowers,
and the gay plumage of the feathered tribes. True
indeed it is, that the great Creator, who has made so
many gracious provisions for the gladdening of our
hearts, and for the gratification of our eyes, has scat-
tered his ornaments in rich profusion over the face of
nature : nor is there any thing, save redeeming mercy,
more calculated to excite in the christian the feeling
of humble adoration, than the harmony and beauty of
created things. Were then our objection against
finery in dress grounded on the absurd principle,
that nothing beautiful or splendid can be good, such
an objection must undoubtedly vanish before the
plumage of the peacock, the beauty of the rose, the
gaiety of the butterfly, and the variegated radiance of
the setting sun. But we are not so foolish as to ob-
ject to beauty under any of its forms, merely because
it is beauty ; we scruple only such a mis-application
of things supposed to be beautiful, as is attended with
an evil operation on the human mind. In a hapjjy
sense and grateful admiration of the ornaments of
nature, there is nothing inconsistent Avith a religious
objection to those ornaments which deck the persons

342 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

of the cliiltlrcn of fasliion. The former appertain to
the excellent order of God's creation, and are so far
from producing any undesirable moral effect, that
they tend to exalt his praises, and teach his intelligent
creatures to adore his power, his wisdom, and his
goodness. But the latter are ornaments misplaced
and perverted : they serve only to amuse the thought-
lessness, and to gratify the vanity, of fallen man.

Besides the objection entertained by Friends to the
indulgence of so antichristian a passion as personal
vanity, there is a further reason why they regard a
plain dress as peculiarly adapted to the profession
and views of the christian ; namely, that it demands
very little t/ioaght, and occupies very little time.
Every one, on the other hand, who has followed the
footsteps of the fashionable world, must be well
aware that there are few things which engage more
attention, or consume a greater number of precious
hours, than a gay, fanciful, and studied, attire. The
advantage, in this respect, of plain apparel over that
of an ornamental character, will be most properly
appreciated by those persons who desire to devote
their time and talents to their Redeemer, and who
are looking forward to the dciy when they must render,
to the Judge of all flesh, an account of their steward-
ship. ^

' The general principles, on which Friends consider it their duty to maintain
plainness in their appaiel, are applicable, in a great extent, to the subject of
furniture. A due moderation in this respect is particularly recommended to us in
those general advices ol' the Yearly Meeting which are ordered to be read once in
the year in our Quarterly, Monthly, and Preparative Meetings. See Book of Exlr,
J), 148. The following caution on the subject of furniture lonlained in t! e printed
epistle from the Yearly Meeting of 1809 is well worthy of our continued attention :
" A fear has prevailed among us at this time that not a few elder Friends, and even

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 343

On reverting to the principal heads of this essay
on plainness, the reader will recollect that the sub-
ject has been treated in reference respectively to
speech, manners, and dress. The plamness of speech
which distinguishes Friends consists in the disuse
of a complimentary phraseology — such phraseoloa^y
being considered by them objectionable,^rA^^, because
it is intended to flatter the pride of man, and, secondly,
because it is made up of falsehoods. To the jjla'm-
ness of hehaviour observed by all true christians,
Friends have added the peculiarity of avoiding bodily
obeisances ; first, because, like the phraseology alrea-
dy adverted to, they are merely complimentary, and
secondly, because some of these obeisances are the
known outward signs of the worship of God himself.
Plainness of apparel has been adopted by the Society,
partly to prevent the undue engagement of time, but
chiefly because ornament in dress is employed to
gratify that personal vanity, which, with every other
modification of the pride of the human heart, christ-
ians are foi'bidden to indulge and enjoined to subdue.
It will moreover be recollected that these peculiarities
in our conversation, carriage, and appearance, ground-
ed as they thus are on certain plain principles of the
divine law, are severally supported by explicit injunc-
tions contained in the New Testament.

some wlio take part in our discipline, have not been sufficiently exemplary with
regard to plainness ; particuLuly mlhefuniiture of their houses. It seems tiieiefore
right to caution all against giving waj in this respect to the varj'ing and often costly
fashions of the age. Tliough it is a weakness which does not seeui to savour so
much of personal pride as does vain attire ; yet it bespeaks a mind engaged with
trifles, and a fondness for show, which is inconsistent with the christian character;
and it disqualifies for duly advising such as may rush into further degrees of extra-
vagance." See Book of Extr. ^pp. p. 269.

344 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

This branch of our subject suggests, in conckision,
one or two general remarks.

I. We are much accustomed to denominate our
scruples respecting speech, behaviour, and apparel,
" ?w/>?or scruples"; and since it is evident that sup-
porting a paid ministry, the awful practice of swear-
ing, and engaging in warfare and bloodshed, would
constitute a more serious infraction of what we deem
to be our religious duty, than a failure of strictness
with respect to plainness, it may be allowed that the
word minor, as thus used, is not improperly applied.
But let it be remembered, that while the particulars
of conduct, into which these scruples lead, arc com-
paratively little, the principles on which they are
founded are great. Nothing is insignificant which
really appertains to the divine law ; nor are there
any parts of that law more important than those with
which our sentiments respecting plainness are con-
nected, and which enjoin, upon the followers of
Christ, a godly sincerity, a true simplicity, and a
consistent humility. The present life is, in a great
measure, filled up with comparatively trifling circum-
stances ; and although the christian is sometimes
called upon to act on occasions of moment, his con-
duct, if narrowly examined, will be found to consist
generally and chiefly in the constant succession of
the little fruits of great principles. If plainness of
speech, behaviour, and apparel is reckoned, as I
think it clearly ought to be, among the little fruits
of great christian principles, let it not be disregarded
or despised : for its impol'tance is to be estimated
not so much by the minuteness of the particulars in

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 345

which it is manifested, as hy the magnitude of the
fundamental rules out of which it arises.

II. Plainness of speech, behaviour, and apparel,
being thus grounded on great and important princi-
ples, and being required, as we apprehend, to complete
the circumspect walk of the christian, is attended
with certain practical consequences very influential
in promoting our religious welfare. Such a plainness
produces a striking distinction, which is in itself of
real value. Who does not perceive, that the young
Friend, who submits to such restraints upon his lan-
guage and personal appearance, is armed with an
important defence against the temptations of the
world ? While he adheres to that simplicity of dic-
tion which marks the profession of a strict and spi-
ritual religion, he cannot easily join in the loose
ribaldry and obscene conversation of the idle and the
dissolute ; and, while he maintains in his apparel an
entire plainness of appearance, his access will be very
difficult to the haunts of folly, fashion, and dissipation »
The language and dress which distinguish him, will
not only have the effect of discouraging others from
any attempt to entice him into the vices of the world,
but, by reminding him, from hour to hour, of the
high profession which he is making, will be found
to operate as a constant check upon himself, and
thus will not fail to prove an useful barrier against
those multiplied vanities and immoralities which
abound amongst men.

III. Such being the practical effect of the peculiar
plainness of Friends, I may now remark that although
it is not adopted by them on any principle of mere

340 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

expediency, it is nevertlieless useful and expedient.
Nor is this utility confined to the experience of indi-
viduals ; it extends to the society at large. Our plain
language, manners, and dress, may l)e regarded as
forming an external hulwark, by which Friends,
considered as a religious community, are separated
from the world, and in some degree defended from
its influence. Did we diftbr from other christians
only in the maintenance of certain speculative views,
such a bulwark would perhaps be little needed. But
this is not the true state of the case. The Mhole
religious peculiarity of Friends consists in a series of
testimonies, which tJiey believe it to he their duty to
hear, in their own conduct, against a variety of par-
ticular practices, affecting partly the worsliip of God,
and partly his moral law, which are still preva-
lent not only among unregenerate men, hut among
sincere christians. In thus running counter to many
of the common customs both of mankind at large,
and of other christian societies, and in upholding
what we deem to be a higher and purer standard
of action, it is plain that we have to tread a path of
some difficulty, trial, and personal mortification, and
in order to a consistent walk in such a course, while
our dependence must ever be chiefly placed on the
power of the Lord's Spirit, we nevertheless need
every outward assistance and defence, wOiich can be
legitimately derived from our own principles. Such
an assistance and such a defence are undoubtedly
found in our peculiar plainness.

We well know from experience that Avhen any
persons amongst us allow themselves to disuse the

PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 347

customary language, (leportment, and dress, of Friends,
the effect very often produced is this — that they be-
come neghgent of our other testimonies, gradually
depart from religious communion Math us, and finally,
perhaps, connect themselves with christian societies
of less strictness, or merge in the irreligious world.
Instances of this description must be f^imiliar to every
one who has any intimate acquaintance with the cir-
cumstances and history of Friends. Now there is
much reason to believe tliat the causes which thus
operate on individuals, would, in the same maimer,
and under parallel circumstances, affect the society
at large ; and that were we to sacrifice these protect-
ing peculiarities, we should not long continue to
maintain, in other respects, our particular and appro-
priate place in the church of Clirist. Not only would
such a sacrifice of our minor scruples naturally intro-
duce a relaxation respecting those major ones which
arise out of the same root, but, the line of demark-
ation, by which we are now so providentially surround-
ed, being removed, there would be little to prevent
our becoming completeli/ m'lAed up with general society.
Thus shoukl we be gradually subjected to an inflnence
directly opposed to all our peculiar views, and, with
our distinctness and singularity as a religious body,
might very probably be lost the high and coiis])icuous
standard which it is now our privilege to upliold,
respecting the christian law of peace, and respecting
the complete spirituality of the gospel dispensation.

If then our young men and women are aware of
the importance and excellency of that standard, — if
they have good reason to believe that our religious

348 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL.

society is raised up for the purpose of shewing forth
certain practical truths, not yet fully embraced by
christians in general, — let them not venture to break
down that " hedge round about us", which not only
affords an useful protection to themselves, but appears
to be graciously provided l)y our heavenly Father,
for the purpose of preserving us in our peculiar
place, and of facilitating the performance of our pe-
culiar duties, in his church universal. Nor Avill
those distinguishing habits, which are thus useful in
promoting our own particular views, produce the
slightest interruption in our harmony and unity with
the serious members of other christian communities.
Experience amply proves the contrary to be the fact.
The religious and consistent Friend is at peace with
all the world, aud is capable of a free communion of
spirit with many who have little or no participation
in some of his views. The more faithful we are in
filling up that place in the body which has been as-
signed to us by the great Head of the church, the
greater will be our capacity for a true brotherhood
with all those persons who are building on the same
foundation — with all Avho love, serve, and follow, the
Lord Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION.

Our discussion of the several religions scntiiilcnf!?
and practices in great niessnre peculiar to the Society
of Friends heing now brought to its conclusion, the
reader is invited to take a slnnt and general review
of that train of reflexion which ha.- been pursued in
the present volume. For this purpose, his recollection
will be assisted by the following summary.

However the meml)ers of any particular religious
community may rejoice in those privileges, whicli, in
consequence of the ado})tion of certain principles, at-
tach in a pre-ennnent manner to themselves, they
ought never to lay aside a just and candid view of
the spiritual blessings which are offered to all mankind,
and of those, more particnhirly, whicli appertain to all
the true members of the visi])le church of Christ. All
men arc the children of (iod by creation, and over
all he extends hi« loving kindness and tender mercy.
Christ died for all men, and all, as we may conclude
from certain passages of Scripture, are endued with
a measure of the moral light and redeeming power of
the Spirit of truth. With res])ect to the true mem-
bers of the visible church of Christ, these, to whatever

,350 COMCLUSION.

name, sect, or coniitry, they may belong, are the
common participants of the especial favours of their
Lord. It is their haj)piness to love and serve an
incarnate, crucified, risen, and glorified. Redeemer.
They enjoy a snpera))undant liglit ; an exceeding
grace ; a revealed and estul)lished hope ; and a pre-
eminent degree of the connnnnion of the Holy Spirit.

United as all real christians are on the basis of
fundamental truth, they are found to differ from one
another in their vicAv and estimate of various ])arti-
culars in religion. Thus (for the present) do those
principles, Avhich are essential to the salvation of
souls, pass to the various classes of true christians,
through as various mediums ; and although some of
these nuHliums are evidently jmrer and more spiritual
than others, it may be acknowledged, {\\'\X\\ gratitude
to that Keing whose mercies are manifold and whose
resources are infinite,) that this consequence of human
infirmity is oveiruled for good, and that there is per-
mitted to exist, in the christian church, a real and
even useful variety of administration, under one Head.

Christians, however, while they libstain from judg-
ing one another on such matters, and rejoice in their
great and common salvation, (mglit nevertheless to
endeavour after a full persuasion respecting their
peculiar religious views; — to examine the foundation
on which they rest; — to leave hold of them and suffer
them to pass away, if their foimdation is a !)ad one;
but, if they are grounded, according to the decision of
their deliberate judgment, on the unchangeable truth
of God, to cleave to them with integrity, patience, and
perseverance. Let us, who belong to the Society of

CONCLUSION. 351

Friends, npply tliosc remarks to onr own religious
peculiarities. They are evidently of" a striking cha-
racter, and of considerable importance in their practical
results, and even at first sight they appear calculated
to promote the trancpiillity of the Avorld, and the
spiritual prosperity of the church of Christ. Wliat
then is the nature, Avhat the authority, of those jjrin-
ciples out of which they spring ?

In reply to this encpiiry it may he observed, in the
first place, that the great doctrine which lies at the
root of them — a doctrine declared in Scripture, and
admitted to be true by the generality of ])i(ms christ-
ians— is that of the immediate and perceptible guidance
of the Holy S])irit. Whatever may be the experience
of other persons, it is certainly our experience, that
the very same guiding and governing Spirit, which
leads the right-minded amongst us into the practice of
universally acknowledged christian virtues, (dso leads
into these peculiarities ; and hence we derive a satis-
factory conviction that they are truly consistent Avith
the UiAV of (iod, and arise out of its principles.

In order to the confirmation of this general argu-
ment, Ave cannot do better than bring our several
peculiarities, respectively, to the test of that clear
revelation of the divine Avill, Avliich is contained in the
Holy Scriptures, and which more particularly distin-
guishes the New Testament. Such has been the work
attempted in the present A^olume. The points first
considered, in pursuance of this plan, have been those
which have a more immediate connexion with our
religious duties toAvards God himself. Again to reca-
pitulate the arguments adduced, on the several parti-

352

CONCLUSION.

ciilar subjects alluded to, would be at once tedious
and unnecessary : but the reader will recollect that
our disuse of typical ordinances, — our refusal to admit
any ministry in our congregations but such as flows
from the immediate influences of the Holy Spirit, —
our vicAvs respecting the selection, preparation, and
ordination, of the ministers of the gospel, — our declin-
ing to participate in the prevalent system of hiring
preachers, or of otherwise making for the ministry
pecuniary returns, — our allowance of the public praying
and preaching of females, — and our practice of waiting
together upon the Lord in silence, — are all grounded
on the great christian law, that they who worship God,
who is a Spirit, ^' must worship liini in spirit and in
frid]i\ We conceive it to ))e in precise accordance
with the principle of this law, — a law which in some
iTspects distinguished the dispensation of Christianity
from that of Judaism, — that we abandon all ceremonial
and typical ordinances, all forms of prayer, all written
and prepared ministry, all human interference in the
steps preceding the exercise of the sacred oflicCj and
all purchase or hire of its administrations ; that we
attempt not the use of words when A^ords are not
required of us ; and thatj while Ave endeavonr to place
an exclusive reliance on the Cireat High Priest of our
profession, we do not hesitate to make Avay for the
liberty of his Spirit, and to suffer the Avind to blow
where it listeth.

The views thus entertained by the Society of
Friends, on the subject of worship, arise from the
entirely spiritual principles, as aa^c deem them, of the
christian dispensation. We conceive, however, that

CONCLUSION. 353

the divine Author and Minister of that dispensation
not only brought to hght and instituted, among his
followers, the highest standard of divine worship, but
pronuilgated also a perfect code of practical nioraHty.
It is the deliberate opinion of Friends, — an opinion
which they have often found it their duty to declare, —
that this moral code ought to be maintained, by
the followers of Jesus, in all its original purity ;
that no compromise ought to be made between the
law of the world and the law of God ; that the
latter can never rightly yield, either to the dictates
of human wisdom, or to the requisitions of apparent
expediency. In consequence of the impression made
on onr minds by this general sentiment, (a sentiment
which, hoAvever far it may be from being confined
to ourselves, is probably maintained in our society
with a more than common degree of completeness,)
we have been led to avoid various practices, which
are still usual, not only among worldly-minded per-
sons, but among many sincere and even pious christ-
ians. We conceive it to be in true consistency with
the requisitions of the divine will, when rightly
understood, that we abstain from lowering the stand-
ard of truth, and from a presumptuous cursing of
self, by the utterance of oaths ; from infringing the
law of love, by taking any part either in offensive or
in defensive Avarfare ; from fomenting the pride of
man by the use of flattering titles and expressions, in
their nature wholly complimentary ; from addressing
to mortals those acts of reverence which are on other
occasions employed to mark our allegiance to the
Deity himself; from gratifying our own vanity, by

A a

354 CONCLUSION.

the useless ornamenting of the person or the apparel ;
and from a conformity with some other common
customs which we consider to have an evil tendency.

Now the reader will recollect that these several
peculiarities — appertaining partly to worship, and
partly to the conduct of common life — are not only,
according to our apprehension, the natural and lawful
results of certain plain christian principles, but are
for the most part found to derive no slight support
and confirmation from particular passages of the sa-
cred writings, and especially of the New Testament,
which appear to bear to them respectively a precise
and specific relation.

Such is a short and general summary of the con-
tents of the preceding essays. It may now be
remarked, that another general argument, in favour
of the christian origin of our religious peculiarities,
is suggested by the considerati(jn of them as parts of
a whole. The religion of Friends, when regarded as
a si/stem of doctrine and practice, may be described as
consisting of many points, on which their views are
coincident with those of their fellow-christians, and
of others the holding of which is, more or less, con-
fined to themselves. Now, among the various parts
which constitute this whole, there exists an uninter-
rupted and very striking harmony. Whilst our pe-
culiarities are in no degree inconsistent with those
fundamentals in religion, which are common to all
true christians, they will be found in a remarkable
manner adapted to one another. Our high view,
respecting the unprofitableness of religious ceremo-
nies, and the total abolition of types, is completely in

CONCLUSION. 355

accordance with views equally high, In relation to the
true natnre and right exercise, tlie divine origin and
absolute freedom, of the christian ministry. And
with our sentiments in regard to the ministry, nothing
can be more properly coincident, than our doctrine
respecting the importance and utility of silent worship.
Nor is it less evident that the estimate which we
have been led to form of christian morality, as evinced
in a practical testimony borne against all swearing
and fighting, and in favour of complete plainness and
simplicity in conduct and conversation, is on a level
with such of our principles as appertain to the sub-
ject of worship, and constitutes a necessary part of
one complete and harmonious view of the purity,
spirituality, and true perfection, of the gospel dispen-
sation. We know that in systems of religion which
are of merely human invention — which have no better
authority than the wisdom of the creature — there
are ever found some inconsistent and discordant par-
ticulars, which betray the secret that the woik is of
man. In the absence of such inconsistency, therefore,
in the nice and accurate adjustment of part with part,
of sentiment with sentiment, of practice with practice,
in the unbroken harmony which pervades the great
whole, — I cannot but perceive a strong confirming
evidence that the religious system of Friends results
from the operations of the divine Spirit, and is bot-
tomed on the unvarying principles of the law of God.

356 CONCLUSION.

Since then the views and practices which have been
considered in the present work are maintained, as a
ivhole, by no christian society except that of Friends,
and since they appear to be rightly grounded on
certain essential principles in the divine law, and to
be adapted, with singular exactness, to the purity and
spirituality of the gospel dispensation, I may venture
with humility to express my own sentiment, that
Friends, viewed as a distinct fraternity in the church
universal, have been brought to a greater degree of
religious light, and to juster views of the true stand-
ard of worship and conduct, than any other class or
denomination of christians with whom I have the
privilege of being acquainted. While, therefore, I
well knoAV the value of that fellowship in the gos-
pel which subsists among all the true believers in the
Lord Jesus, and while I hope never to forget the
vastly paramount importance of those great and fund-
amental principles which are common to them all,
I find myself in an especial manner attached to that
particular society, and the conviction which I have
now expressed is the ground of this attachment.
While I am far from depreciating the usefulness of
any existing class of serious christians, and while I
believe that they are severally permitted to occupy
appropriate departments in the fold of the great Shep-
herd, 1 nevertheless entertain the sentiment (in unison,
it may be hoped, with the views of many of my read-
ers) that a peculiar importance attaches to the station
maintained in the church of Christ by the pious
among Friends ; and for this reason — that they ap-
pear to be the appointed depositaries of certain plain,

CONCLUSION. 357

practical, christian truths, Avhich are at present far
from being generally received, but which, originating
in the Avill of God, as it is both inwardly and out-
wardly revealed, may be expected, as the church on
earth gradually advances to a condition of greater
spirituality, to become more Avidely disseminated, and
more fully allowed.

Small as are the numbers who properly belong to
our society, and who are connected together by the
wholesome rules of its discipline, it will perhaps be
admitted that this result has already taken place in
no very inconsiderable degree. The inefficacy of all
merely human forms and contrivances in the work
of religion, — the inconsistency of typical rites with
the entire spirituality of the christian law of worship, —
the propriety of waiting upon God from time to time
in reverent silence, — the excellence and advantage of
a ministry of the gospel, neither appointed nor paid
by man, but freely exercised under the direct influ-
ence of the Spirit of Christ, — the danger and sinfulness
of all swearing, — the value of an uudeviatbig principle
of christian love, forbearance, and peace, — and the
beauty of a correct and complete simplicity in word,
appearance, and deportment, — are points, as we may
humbly hope, gently yet plainly opening to the view
of many serious christians of different denominations,
and in various parts of the world. Nor can I conceal
from myself, that any such approach towards the reli-
gious sentiments entertained by the Society of Friends
must be of real and important advantage to the church
at large : for, hoAvever the name of cjuakerism may
be disregarded and ultimately perhaps forgotten, the

358 CONCLUSION.

more general adoption of those principles by which
Friends are at present distinguished, must, according
to my apprehension, have a decided and very powerful
tendency to the introduction of a better day ; — a day,
when all men shall cease to place an undue depend-
ence upon the teaching of their neighbour, and shall
know the Lord for themselves ; when the govern-
ment of his own church sliall rest more exclusively
upon him who is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Prince
of Peace ; when the sword shall be beat into the
ploughshare, and the spear into the pruning-hook ;
when the wolf shall dv\'ell with the lamb, and the
lion lie down with the kid ; when the glory of the
Lord shall be more immediately and abundantly re-
vealed, and when " all flesh shall see it together".

The reader can scarcely fail to understand, that, in
thus expressing my attachment to the Society of
Friends, in preference to other christian bodies,
my attention is still directed exclusively to the reli-
gious principles which Friends profess, and by which
many of them sincerely endeavour to order their
walk in life. I am very far from forgetting our defi-
ciencies and imperfections as a community, or how
very apt we are, as individuals, to fall short in our
conduct of that high spiritual and moral standard
which so plainly, so pre-eminently, attaches to our
profession. One great reason why the religious
principles of Friends are not found to take a more
rapid and extended course, in the church and in
the world, is probably this — that so many of us
fail, in various respects, from properly regulating
our practice according to those principles. I desire

CONCLUSION.

359

to apply this observation, in the first place, to myself,
and, secondly, I cannot be satisfied to conclude these
essays without urging on my young friends, and on
all my brethren and sisters in religious profession,
the importance, to ourselves, to the society of which
we are members, and to the church universal, of our
ivalking wort] illy of the vocation wherewith we are
called.

This subject may be considered, in the first place,
as it relates to those christian testimonies which dis-
tinguish our own body in the church, and which have
been considered at large in the present volume.
Since we have so much reason to be convinced that
these religious peculiarities have originated, not in the
imagination of men, but in the will of God, — that we
have been led into the practice of them by the Spirit
of truth, — that they accord with the dictates of the
divine law, as it is recorded in the Scriptures, —
that they are of an edifying tendency, and are calcu-
lated to promote the spiritual welfare both of our
own society and of the church at large, — and finally
that they are in a particular manner deposited in our
keeping, — it im questionably becomes us to maintain
them during our walk through life, with simplicity,
sincerity, firmness, and diligence.

That it is our true interest as well as duty to be
faithful in the observance of such a course, is suffici-
ently evident, from this single consideration, — that, in
the sight of Him who is the Judge of all men and
the Author of every blessing, " to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than tJie fat of rams" ;
I. Sam. XV. 22. But the same inference may be

360 CONCLUSION.

deduced from another position equally incontrovertible ;
■iiz., that the christian's religious prosperity and ad-
vancement in grace will ever be found to depend, in
no inconsiderable degree, upon his keeping his own
right place in the body of Christ.

It is by no means difhcalt to figure to ourselves
the case of a loose and lut'itudiuarian quaker, and to
mark the dangers by which he is surrounded. Placed
by the good hand of divine providence under that
high administration of Christianity Avhich I have now
been endeavouring to describe, and plainly called
upon to glorify God by the steady maintenance of
our peculiar religious testimonies, he flies from the
mortifications which they involve, and pacifies his
conscience with the persuasion that nothing more is
necessary for him, than an adherence to those funda-
mental truths, the profession of which is common to
christians in general. The impartial observer will
probably allow that such an individual greatly deceives
himself, and falls into a very dangerous snare. He
stifles the secret convictions of his own mind, quenches
the gentle and salutary influences of the Lord's Spirit,
leans to his own understanding, indulges himself
in plausible and mis-applied reasoning, and departs
from that practical confidence in God, which is the
life and substance of true religion. HoAvever he may
cherish the notion that he is still maintaining the
general principles of Christianity, he neglects to carry
those principles into detail, omits his oivn duty, and
fails to occupy that station in the church which has
been really assigned to him by the Shepherd and
Bishop of souls. The lamentable consequences of

CONCLUSION. 361

such a failure — of such a frustration of the gracious
purposes of his divine Master — are but too evident.
So far is he from gj-owing in grace, and from prosper-
ing in that christian course which is trodden by all
the followers of Cbrist, that he too often dwindles
into a carnal, lifeless, and worldly, spirit, and gradu-
ally loses his footing on the Rock of ages.

It has occasionally happened that some of our
members who have never thoroughly understood or
embraced the sentiments of Friends, and who have
been thrown into much intimate association with
other christians, have quitted the ranks of the society,
and have been permitted under some other adminis-
tration of religion, to pursue their christian course
with seriousness, zeal, and fidelity. Although I am
persuaded that such persons would never have for-
saken so pure and practical a form of Christianity, had
they been more fully aware of the christian grounds
and real value of our principles ; it is not to them that
the observations now ottered are intended to be ap-
plied ; but to another class of persons somewhat more
numeious than they ; — persons whose notions of reli-
gion are derived almost exclusively through the me-
dium of Friends, and who are secretly convinced of
the veracity of our principles ; but who, nevertheless,
are unfaithful to the light bestowed upon them, and
pusillanimously forsake the peculiar testimonies of the
society, as soon as they are exposed by them to the
necessity of denying their own wills and of bearing
the cross of Christ. Such persons have both known
and slighted the visitations of divine love in their
hearts, and now perhaps they are left in a state of

362 CONCLUSION.

(hvarfisliness and sterility, destitute at once both of the
form and of the substance of rehgion. Onr gracious
Redeemer appears to have marked out for us within
his varied and extended fold, a little space, where we
may dwell in safety and find abundant opportunity to
promote "the glory of God in the highest, and on
earth peace and good will to men". But no sooner
do we transgress the limits by which we are encircled,
forsake our own station, and neglect the performance
of those particular duties in the church which are
committed to our chare^e, than we lose our reliijious
strength, and are in great danger of falling back into
the spirit of a vain and irreligious world. Finally,
when this lamentable eifect is produced, " the salt has
lost its savour", and is " thenceforth good for nothing
but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of
men"; Matt. v. 13.

Let us then be circumspect, steady, and bold, in
the observance of our peculiar religious testimonies.
Belicvirjg, as I trust we do, that they are given us in
charge by Him who hath " all power in heaven and
in earth", let us pray for his grace, that we mav be
preserved from the snares of the enemy, and may be
enabled, in an awful day to come, to give a good ac-
count of our stewardship. We know that in exact
proportion with the measure of light bestowed upon
us is the Aveight, the extent, the awfulness, of our
responsibility !

Here it may not be improper to remark, that the
true efficacy of our religious peculiarities will greatly
depend on the degree of completeness with which we
maintain them. The double-minded man is declared

CONCLUSION. 363

to be "unstable in all his ways", and nothing surely
is more calculated to diminish our usefulness in the
church, than a want of true consistency. The gar-
ment "mingled of linen and woollen" was forbidden
under the law, and such a garment (to employ the
expressions in a metaphorical sense,) is worn by those
persons, who, in some of their actions, adopt the
highest standard of christian conduct, and on other
occasions, are content with one of a very subordinate
character. Is not such a description in some degree
applicable to the member of the Society of Friends
who refuses to take an oath, but consents to the pay-
ment of ecclesiastical demands ? or to him, who bears
a clear testimony in respect to tithes, but indirectly
assists in military operations or carries arms in self-
defence ? or to him, who is faithful in all these parti-
culars, but conforms to the fashions of the world in
his language, manners, and appearance ? or to him
who wears a plain dress, but scruples not the use of
flattering titles ? I have already found occasion to
remark, that throughout the religious system adopted
by Friends, there exists an unbroken harmony — a real
adaptation of practice with practice, and of part with
part ; and no sooner is any one of our testimonies
forsaken, than this harmony is interrupted, and the
work is in some degree (whether greater or less)
marred upon the wheel. Undoubtedly it cannot be
expected that those persons, whether members of the
society or otherwise, who are under the influence of
convhicement, should be brought to see the whole of
their duty at once. It is more probable that the
several points of the prospect should open upon them

364 CONCLUSION.

in succession. But as they are preserved in watch-
fulness unto prayer, and enabled to '"''follow on to
know the Lord", I beheve they will find that our
several religious views and practices are the result of
perfectly accordant principles, and flow from the same
Spirit ; and that in order to glorify God in the way
which he has thus cast up for us, it is needful that
we maintain them all, in a simple, undeviating, and
consistent, manner.

Many of my readers must indeed he well aware,
that the performance of ouY duty in these respects is
no light, easy, or familiar, matter. In abstaining from
so great a variety of practices which we deem to be
inconsistent with the spirituality and purity of the
gospel, and in thus opposing the opinions and habits
of the generality of our fellow-christians, it is our lot,
as I have already observed, to tread a very narrow
path, and to be exposed to many circumstances of a
mortifying nature. Let us then seek to be preserved
in deej) humilitij ; for this is a condition of mind,
which, above all others, will be found to soften the
asperities and to diminish the difficulty of our course.
The more our own pride and vanity are laid low; the
more we are redeemed from the pursuit of that false
honour, which is given and received by man, the
better shall we be prepared for the service of Christ,
and the less will be the pain of our conflict, in becom-
ing fools in the sight of the world, for his sake.
And, truly, we need not fear to take up the cross
which we are thus called upon to bear, for, if we be
but faithful in following the monitions of our hea-
venly Guide, we shall find that his grace is sufficient

CONCLUSION. 365

for US, and that true wisdom is still "justified of her
children". It Avill be amply demonstrated in our
experience, as it is in that of every humble and devot-
ed christian, that the "foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God stronger than
men". Nor shall we dare to repine, when we reflect
on the known characteristics of the christian calling :
" For ye see your calling, brethren", said the apostle,
" how that not many wise men after the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble, are called ; but God
hath chosen the foolish tliiuirs of the world to con-
found the wise ; and Ciod hath chosen the weak
things of the ^'^'orld to confound the things which are
mi£:;htv ' and base things of the Avorld, and tilings
ivhich are despised hath Ciod chosen, yea and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are ;
that no flesh should glory in his presence"; I. Cor. i.
26—29.

Having thus considered the dangers and evils which
attach to the latitudinarian professor of the truth, as
we hold it, we ought by no means to forget those
which are ecpially inseparable from the condition of
the /'arm a list. Such is the weakness, such the deceit-
fulness, of our hearts, that our very abstinence from
forms may sometimes become formal, and our several
religious peculiarities may be maintained in the very
spirit of the Scribes and Pharisees, who paid " tithe
of mint and anise and cummin", and omitted " the
weightier matters of the law — ^judgment, mercy, and
faith"; Matt, xxiii. 23. It is an awful thing to be
liable in any respect to the charge of hypocrisy ; for
this is a sin which, as it finds a place in us, nmst not

366

CONCLUSION.

only render us very offensive in the sight of God, but
can never fail to retard the progress of that cause
which we profess to love and to promote. When
those who object to war in all its forms, as inconsist-
ent with the christian principle of love, forget in their
private life the law of meekness and long-suffering,
and yield themselves a prey to wrath, malice, envy,
and bitterness ; when those who speak of worshipping
the Father in a pre-eminently spiritual manner, are
really living in the neglect of devotional duty ; when
those who sedulously shun the idle vanities of general
society, are seduced into that covetousness which
is idolatry, or are found indulging their gross and
sinfiil appetites ; when those who, in professed ad-
herence to the law of truth, refuse to substitute
even the You for the Thou, are found defective in
common sincerity of language, or integrity of conduct;
— then, indeed, the cause of truth is fearfully laid
waste, and all that is distinguishing in our religious
system is thrown, to the eyes of the enquiring world,
into a deep and almost impenetrable shade.

However reasonably we may entertain the hope
that the character of but few of our members will
correspond in any great degree to the description
now given, that description may nevertheless be par-
tially and slightly applicable to many ; and all of us,
indeed, who are attached by the force of long-conti-
nued habit to the practices of Friends, have great
need of watchfulness, lest we fall into this snare of
our enemy ; — lest, while he leaves us in quiet posses-
sion of the Jigure or sJiell, he rob us of the substance
and Jicrnel of our reliuion.

CONCLUSION. 367

In conclusion I Avould remark, that the true pre-
servative from any such derehction of the virtue,
honour, and love, which become our religious profes-
sion, as well as fiom the neglect of those duties which
are in some degree confined to ourselves, will ever
be found in the fear of God, and in a steady, abiding,
reliance upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
If Christ be made unto us, of the Father, " wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption", w^e shall
not fail to live "as obedient children". Reconciled
unto God through faith in our Redeemer, and subjected
to the government of the Holy Spirit, we shall
order our steps aright, imitate the goodness of our
heavenly Pattern, grow in grace and holiness, and
experience a happy deliverance from the power and
dominion of the prince of darkness.

Let us ever remember that there is no use or se-
curity in the superstructure, except it be erected
upon a sure foundation ; and that, in religious matters,
" other foundation can no man lay tJian that is laid,
U'hich is Christ tJesas'". Solicitous as I am that our
peculiar testimonies should be maintained by us with
all that faithfulness and vigour which their practical
importance demands, I am perfectly aware that they
are no sooner separated from vital Christianity, than
they become vain and unprofitable — deprived at once
of all their efficacy and of all their stability. May it
then be our humble and diligent endeavour to draw
nigh unto the Father of Mercies, through " the blood
of the everlasting covenant, and to live " hi/ faith in
the Son of God". Thus, and thus only, shall we be
enabled to bear Avith acceptance the goodly fruits of

368 - CONCLUSION.

righteousness, to glorify the name of our God, and to
fulfil the particular purposes for which he has seen
meet to raise us up from among the children of men,
to ])e, during his own good pleasure, a distinct and
separate religious people.

THE END,

PRINTED BY S. WILKIN, UPPER HAYMARK.ET, NORWICH.

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