{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52464/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52464","id":"gutenberg_52464","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52464","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Timothy, 1st, IV, 16 -- Sermons","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Episcopal Church -- Sermons","Sermons, English -- 19th century"],"text":"Transcribed from the [1877] Hatchards edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                           Episcopal Fidelity.\n\n\n                                 A SERMON\n                      PREACHED IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY,\n             _St. James\u2019s Day_, _Wednesday_, _July_ 25, 1877,\n\n                  ON THE OCCASION OF THE CONSECRATION OF\n                THE RT. REV. ANTHONY WILSON THOROLD, D.D.\n                        LORD BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  BY THE\n                   REV. SIR EMILIUS BAYLEY, BART. B.D.\n                     VICAR OF ST. JOHN\u2019S, PADDINGTON.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                         _PUBLISHED BY REQUEST_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                      LONDON: HATCHARDS, PICCADILLY\n\n                          _Price One Shilling_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                    TO\n\n                             ANTHONY WILSON,\n\n                        LORD BISHOP OF ROCHESTER,\n\n                               This Sermon\n\n                                    IS\n\n                        AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n    \u2018Our Reformers seem to have designed to leave a certain latitude on\n    points which they regarded as not of fundamental importance; and if\n    we would approve ourselves genuine disciples of those illustrious\n    men, we must not seek to narrow the basis on which they reared their\n    noble edifice, nor to exclude any whom they intended to admit.  As\n    however there are some differences which do not, so there are others\n    also which do, imply the existence of principles adverse to the\n    spirit of our Church, and the prevalence of these ought doubtless to\n    be guarded against.\u2019\u2014ARCHBISHOP WHATELY, _On the Use and Abuse of\n    Party-Feeling in Religion_. pp. 245, 246.\n\n    \u2018We are not to hold a society together by renouncing the objects of\n    it; nor to part with our faith and our hope, as a means of attaining\n    charity; but rather seek to combine the three; and by earnest zeal,\n    without violence or bigotry,\u2014by firmness, accompanied with\n    moderation, discretion, and temper,\u2014by conciliating adversaries\n    without sacrificing the truth,\u2014and by hearty yet mild co-operation\n    with friends, to obtain the advantages of party-feeling, yet avoid\n    its evils; and promote peace, without falling into\n    indifference.\u2019\u2014_Ibid._ pp. 29, 30.\n\n\n\n\nA SERMON.\n\n\n    \u2018Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for\n    in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear\n    thee.\u2019\u20141 _Tim._ iv. 16.\n\nOUR thoughts turn naturally to-day to the subject of the Christian\nministry; and especially to that high office in it to which our brother\nin Christ is about to be admitted.\n\nScripture perhaps contains no exact model of the Episcopal office as it\nnow exists.  It is not identical with the Apostolate. {5}  Neither again\ncan it be satisfactorily proved to be precisely identical with the office\nheld by Timothy at Ephesus, and by Titus at Crete.  St. Paul\u2019s language\nimplies that the position which they held was temporary; they formed, as\nit were, the link between the Apostle whose superintendence was\noccasional, and the bishop whose rule was permanent.\n\nWe must rather seek some central idea if we would grasp the highest aim\nof the Episcopate: and we find that idea not in the outward framework of\nthe Church, but in the truth which it enshrines: not in Apostolic order,\nhowever valuable, but in Apostolic doctrine: not in a succession of form,\nbut in a succession of faith, \u2018_the_ faith once for all delivered to the\nsaints.\u2019 (Jude, 3.)\n\nAnd this leads us to the text: in which the Apostle touches upon the\n_official_ life, the _personal_ life, the _consecrated_ life of one who\nwas called upon to discharge for a while Episcopal functions: \u2018Take heed\nunto the doctrine:\u2019 \u2018Take heed unto thyself:\u2019 \u2018Continue in them:\u2019\nenforcing his exhortation by the _promise_, \u2018for in doing this, thou\nshalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.\u2019\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nTHE OFFICIAL LIFE.  \u2018Take heed unto the doctrine.\u2019\n\nAs believers in the Divine origin of Christianity, we assume that there\nwas revealed to the Apostles a body of religious truth, definite,\ncomplete, unchangeable.\n\nIn the pastoral Epistles this distinctive body of truth is frequently\nreferred to, as \u2018the pattern of sound words\u2019 (2 Tim. i. 13), \u2018the sound\n(healthful) doctrine\u2019 (1 Tim. i. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 3; Tit ii. 1), \u2018the\ndoctrine which is according to godliness\u2019 (1 Tim. vi. 3), \u2018the gospel of\nthe glory of the blessed God\u2019 (1 Tim. i. 11), \u2018the good deposit\u2019 (1 Tim.\nvi. 20; 2 Tim. i. 14); \u1f21 \u03c0\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2, \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c7\u03ae\u03c1\u03c5\u03b3\u03bc\u03b1, according to the gloss of\nChrysostom; Catholic\u00e6 fidei talentum.\n\nOf this body of truth, Divine in its origin, and invested with Divine\nauthority, two things may be predicated; first, that it is unchanged and\nunchangeable; secondly, that it is embodied in the Articles and\nFormularies of the Church of England.\n\nIt may be allowed that in all ages change has been the law of human\naffairs.  But it is a mistake to associate this law of change with the\ncentral truths of Christianity; and for this reason, that Christianity is\nfounded upon facts, upon events that have actually taken place; and if\nthese facts are incapable of change, then are the doctrines which are\nfounded upon them incapable of change also.  Men may seek to sweep away\nthe objective reality of Christianity; but, failing as they do in this,\nthen inasmuch as the facts upon which Christianity reposes have been\nalready wrought, and cannot be undone, the Gospel which we preach\npartakes of the immutability of those facts, and is alike unchangeable.\n\nEqually certain is it, that the great Christian truths which were held in\napostolic and primitive days, are identical with those which are embodied\nin the teaching of the Church of England.\n\nTrue indeed we are liable to attack.  We are met on the one side by the\nchampions of scientific scepticism, and on the other, by the adherents of\nmodern Rome; the one seeking to destroy the historical basis of our\nfaith, the other to press upon us conclusions for which we find no\nwarrant in God\u2019s written word.\n\nIt would seem, however, that as the science of attack developes itself,\nthe science of defence receives from unexpected quarters fresh accessions\nof strength.\n\nIf modern research tends to show that some portions of the outworks of\nChristianity are less strong than had been supposed, it proves with\nrigorous precision that the fortress itself is impregnable.  Every ruin\nthat is uncovered, every site that is identified, every inscription that\nis deciphered, confirms the historical veracity of the sacred writers.\nThe Bible is made an object of ridicule, and the very stones cry out in\ncondemnation; the statements of inspiration are denied, and witness after\nwitness rises up to prove them; the voices of eager sceptics proclaim the\noverthrow of revelation, and there come to us from across those Eastern\nplains such voices from the buried past as prove their boast to be vain.\n\nNor is it only when arguing with the sceptic that we claim the testimony\nof modern research; we call the same witness to our aid when dealing with\nthe errors of Rome and her imitators.\n\nThe most important of recent discoveries in the domain of early Christian\nliterature is that made by the Greek Bishop Briennios in the library of\nthe Holy Sepulchre in Constantinople.\n\nThe lost fragment of the Epistle of Clement is thus recovered, and with\nthe aid of a recently discovered version of the name Epistle, learned men\ncan now restore almost in its entirety the most venerable of uninspired\nChristian writings. {9}\n\nRead that Epistle, and you find that it teaches plainly the doctrines of\nthe Trinity, the Atonement, Justification by faith, and other distinctive\ndoctrines of our Church.  It is important for what it teaches; but it is\nalmost equally important for what it does not teach.  Silence is\nsometimes more eloquent than words; and certainly the fact that the\nEpistle of Clement is absolutely silent upon the prominent doctrines of\nmodern Rome proves that those doctrines were unknown at the close of the\nfirst century.  Is it possible that the doctrines of papal infallibility,\ntransubstantiation, the sacrifice of the mass, the worship of the Virgin,\nand the like, could have existed in the days of Clement, and yet have\nbeen passed over by him in absolute silence?  Whilst as regards those\nquestions which agitate our own Church, the teaching of the epistle upon\nsacrifice, its freedom from sacerdotalism, the absence in it of all\nreference to priestly mediation and the confessional, strongly confirms\nthe Protestant view of Christian faith and practice.\n\nA sacred deposit of Christian truth existed then in the days of the\napostles.\n\nTimothy is solemnly charged to \u2018preach\u2019 it (2 Tim. iv. 1, 2); to \u2018keep\u2019\nit (2 Tim. i. 14); to \u2018hold it fast\u2019 (v. 13); to guard it jealously\nagainst those who would tamper with its integrity, or substitute in its\nplace the inventions of men. (1 Tim. i. 3; vi. 20.)  Nor is he only to\nwatch over it himself, he is to commit the teaching of it to trusty\nguardians: \u2018The things which thou hast heard of me . . . the same commit\nthou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.\u2019 (2 Tim.\nii. 2.)\n\nIf, then, the Christian bishop possesses a glorious heritage of Divine\ntruth, a privilege indeed which he shares with the humblest believer, he\nassumes also a special responsibility.  As \u2018the steward of God,\u2019 he is\npledged in the fullest sense of the term to \u2018give heed unto the\ndoctrine.\u2019\n\nThe principle thus set forth is a plain one; but the application of the\nprinciple in these modern times is attended with no common difficulties.\nPerhaps we may find some clue to their solution if we draw a distinction\nbetween a bishop\u2019s own personal beliefs and acts, and the beliefs and\nacts of others; between the toleration which he extends to others, and\nthe toleration which he metes out to himself.\n\nCertainly in three of the chief functions of the episcopal office, in\n_teaching_, in _ordaining_, in _promoting_, the bishop may adhere, nay,\nhe must adhere with the utmost rigour to what he believes to be the truth\nof God.\n\nIn his charges, in his sermons, in all his public and private utterances,\nhe will speak with faithfulness and courage: he will give no needless\noffence; he will respect the conscientious opinions of those who differ\nfrom him; he will fully recognise the somewhat elastic boundaries of our\nnational Church; but as far as he himself is concerned, he will keep back\nnothing that is profitable.\n\nNever surely was it of greater importance that our bishops should speak\nout plainly and boldly, than it is at this moment.  The public mind is\nanxious.  The air is charged with the subtle electricity of rumour.  Of\nrumour, do I say?  Nay, do not unhealthy _facts_ stare us in the face?\nFacts which tell of the active forces of infidelity on the one hand, and\non the other, of the existence within our own borders of a strong\nanti-Protestant spirit, and an evident sympathy with the doctrines and\npractices of Rome.\n\nBrethren, this country is a Protestant country, and it means to remain\nso.  The Church of England is a Protestant church, and we of this\ngeneration, God willing, mean her to remain so.  We respect the opinions\nof others; but we are not ashamed of our own; we would do violence to no\nman\u2019s faith, but we protest against the action of those who, holding\npositions of authority within our reformed church, are seeking to\nundermine the citadel, if not to hand it over to the enemy at the gate.\n\nThere is need of vigilance, wisdom, fidelity, courage in our spiritual\nrulers: but they lead a willing people.  Never, I believe, were the laity\nof our Church more ready to hearken to the clear, incisive proclamation\nof distinctive truth: never more willing to welcome the doctrine of a\nfree, full present salvation: never more anxious to stand by their\nbishops, if their bishops stand by the pure truth of God.\n\nBut the bishop ordains as well as teaches.\n\nThe limits of the Church of England are confessedly wide:\u2014it is well that\nthey should be so.  Even her limits, perhaps, are narrower than those of\nthe apostolic church; the spirit of exclusion has prevailed over that of\ncomprehension.  Still she is at this moment, to her discredit some would\nhold, to her honour many believe, the most comprehensive church in\nChristendom.  Limits however do exist.  It may be difficult precisely to\ndefine them.  Yet surely the denial of the fundamental verities of our\ncreeds, or the persistent teaching of the peculiar doctrines of Rome are\nnot consistent with honest English churchmanship; and if those who\nexercise their ministry in the Church of England are found in either of\nthese extremes, the question will be asked, how did they gain entrance to\nthat ministry?  No doubt opinions may change, and often do change after\nordination; but it should surely be the aim of him who \u2018gives heed unto\nthe doctrine,\u2019 to detect the latent seeds of evil, as well as to note\nthem when they reach maturity.  And thus to guard the avenue to the\nministerial office with a firm though tolerant hand.\n\nBut once more, the modern bishop is the dispenser of patronage; and\ndirectly and indirectly he influences a large number of appointments in\nhis diocese.\n\nNow if, as a trustee of public property, he thinks last, not first, of\nprivate ends and personal interests; if, as a bishop of the whole\ndiocese, not of any section of it, he ignores mere party claims and seeks\nout the best men from all schools of thought, he will yet surely give\nprominence to these three qualifications: first, that a man by holy\nliving gives evidence of a truly converted heart; secondly, that his\nteaching faithfully reflects the leading truths of the Gospel, as\nreceived by our reformed Church; and lastly, that he has proved by hard\nwork that be will not spare himself in his ministry.\n\nIn the discharge of these important functions the faithful bishop will\n\u2018give heed unto the doctrine.\u2019\n\nBut besides a bishop\u2019s own personal beliefs and actions, he has to deal\nas a ruler in the Church with the beliefs and actions of others.  And\nhere, no doubt, his path is often an anxious one.  As long as his clergy\nkeep within the limits of law, of law interpreted not with the rigour of\na criminal court but in the tolerant spirit of Christian charity, his\nduties in this department will be light.  But if the law through\nnegligence or through self-will be distinctly broken, the bishop is\nsurely bound, so far as the law arms him with power, to vindicate its\nauthority.\n\nPerhaps indeed it is well in the interests of truth that the\ncontroversies which have been vexing our Church have somewhat shifted\ntheir ground; and that the question now is not so much concerning the\ncolour of a vestment, or the precise position of the clergyman, as of the\nsacredness of family life, and the free access of the penitent to his\nGod.\n\nThe public mind of this country is slow to recognise the importance of\nabstract doctrine, and is somewhat scornfully indifferent to the\nextravagancies of medi\u00e6val ritual.  But when the working of a system is\nshown in practices which introduce the priest into the place of the\nSaviour\u2014aye, and which threaten the very foundations of morality\u2014public\nopinion raises its indignant protest, and demands that the evil shall be\ncast forth from our Church.  Let all forbearance be shown to the honest\nperplexities of thought; but let not a church, which is Protestant to the\ncore, ally herself with the enemies of the Reformation, or cherish within\nher bosom practices which are Scripturally indefensible, and morally\nwrong.\n\nI venture, however, to think, that in cases which touch no _moral_\nground, the wisdom of a sound expediency, as well as the spirit of the\nGospel, suggest the anxious employment of every weapon of persuasion, of\nevery influence which love can devise, before recourse be had to the\nharsh and repellent forms of law.  Truth must ever be the great weapon of\npersuasion.  Strife is an element alien to the Gospel.  \u2018The servant of\nthe Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men . . . in meekness\ninstructing those that oppose themselves.\u2019 (2 Tim. ii. 24, 25.)\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nI pass on from the official to\u2014\n\nTHE PERSONAL LIFE of the bishop.\n\nVery close is the connexion between the two lives.\n\n\u2018Holding faith and a good conscience, which some having thrust away made\nshipwreck concerning the faith.\u2019 (1 Tim. i. 19.)\n\n\u2018Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.\u2019 (1 Tim. iii. 9.)\n\n\u2018Take heed unto thyself.\u2019\n\nIt is a condensed enforcement of the counsels of verse 12, \u2018Be thou an\nexample of the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in\npurity.\u2019\n\nIt is needless to dwell upon the truth that a holy life is the best\nrecommendation of holy doctrine, and that what gives force to the\nutterances of the Christian minister is the hidden fire of the spiritual\nlife which burns within.  And if this be true of the humblest of God\u2019s\nservants, it is pre-eminently true of those who occupy high stations in\nthe Church.  If in one sense a bishop\u2019s life is a protected life, a life\nguarded and shielded from many forms of temptation, it probably has its\nspecial and peculiar trials; and it only becomes a safe life, when it is\nlived as in the very presence of God.\n\nAnd this brings us to the last of the three counsels of the text.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nTHE CONSECRATED LIFE.\n\n\u2018Continue in them.\u2019\n\nThe words sound like an echo of those in the preceding verse: \u2018Meditate\nupon these things; give thyself wholly to them\u2019 (ver. 15).  They are the\n\u2018things\u2019 of the official and personal life, the ministry of the word, and\nthe cultivation of the life within.  \u2018In them continue;\u2019 in them be\nwholly occupied and absorbed.\n\n\u2018The longer I live,\u2019 writes a layman, who did good service in his day,\n\u2018the more I am certain that the great difference between men, between the\nfeeble and the powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy,\ninvincible determination of purpose once fixed, and then death or\nvictory.\u2019  (Sir T. Fowell Buxton.)\n\nAnd here I would claim for the clergy some consideration at the hands of\nothers\u2014some time for thought, for study, for meditation, for prayer.\n\nWhen the Apostles declared with an emphasis, which after a lapse of\neighteen centuries preserves all its freshness, \u2018We will give ourselves\ncontinually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word\u2019 (Acts, vi 4),\nthey revealed to us the secret of their success.\n\nBut how hard is it to follow their steps.  Living as we do in the midst\nof an advanced civilisation, surrounded by a network of activities which\ntouches us on every side, it is difficult to resist the pressure of\nsecular duties, and to vindicate the spiritual claims of the office which\nwe hold.  But whilst it is easy to protest against the secularisation of\nthe Christian ministry, it is not so easy to point out the remedy.  Each\none must work out a deliverance for himself.  Each one must map out his\nown life, and pursue his purpose stedfastly to the end.\n\nOur leading journal, writing of the increase of the episcopate, observes\nthat the \u2018danger will be that bishops should allow themselves to be\nabsorbed in the mere business and bustle of their work, and should\nneglect the more solid and silent part of their duties.  The bishop must\nfind time for constant intercourse with his books, for thought, and for\nmature preaching.  He must make himself everywhere felt; but he must also\nreserve himself, and should be at least as conspicuous for judgment as\nfor learning, and for moderation as for activity.\u2019 (_Times_, June 13,\n1877.) {17}\n\nIt is well that the public should recognise the sacredness, the\nspirituality of the episcopal office.  No man, however able, can think,\nand study, and pray, if he is to live in a state of ceaseless location.\nLaity and clergy alike should remember that their bishops must have time\nfor preparation, if their public utterances are to be worthy of the\noccasion; that nothing is so subtle as the processes of thought; nothing\nso laborious as the creative work of composition; and that one needless\ninterruption may bring about a mental chaos, and throw into hopeless\ndisorder the delicate machinery of the mind.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nNote, lastly, THE ANIMATING PROMISE by which the threefold exhortation is\nenforced:\u2014\n\n\u2018For in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou salt save thyself.\u2019  A selfish motive some will argue.  Nay, not\nmore selfish than it is to exist.  It is selfish to pursue our own\nadvantage at the expense of others.  It is _not_ selfish to wish our own\nhighest goal:\u2014the wish is bound up in our existence.\n\nAnd again, the Christian\u2019s wish is not for himself alone; it is not\nlonely, solitary affection.  He longs for immortality for himself; he\nlongs for it also on behalf of and in company with others.  \u2018It is not a\nselfish instinct,\u2019 writes one of our deepest Christian thinkers, \u2018it is\nnot a neutral one, it is a moral and a generous one, . . .  Christianity\nknows nothing of a hope of immortality for the individual alone, but only\nof a glorious hope for the individual . . . in the eternal society of the\nChurch triumphant.  (Mozley\u2019s _University Sermons_, p. 71.)\n\nSuch, then, is the promise held out to the faithful minister.  He ensures\nhis own salvation; he helps forward the salvation of others.  He aims at\nnothing short of this; and he knows that his \u2018labour is not in vain in\nthe Lord.\u2019 (1 Cor. xv. 58.)\n\nTo the work thus briefly sketched our brother in Christ is now to be sent\nforth.\n\nThis much would I only add, that having wrought side by side with him in\nthis great London for years now not a few, I can testify from no\nsuperficial knowledge, as with no common warmth of affection, to what I\ncannot but feel to be his special fitness for the work which lies before\nhim.\n\nIf experience gathered in the past is any pledge for the future; if work\nwell done during years of patient toil is any assurance that work shall\nbe well done in years which may yet remain; if thoughtful, careful\npreaching of the word of life, and the successful administration of the\nlargest metropolitan parishes is any warrant for expecting the\ncontinuation of such ministry in a wider field of labour; then will no\ncommon hopes gather round this now Episcopate.  Nor has there been\nwanting that highest of all training, the training of personal\naffliction.  If we are taught to-day in the martyrdom of St. James, that\nthe law of self-surrender is the law of ministerial success; if the\nvoiceless tomb of the one Apostle and the silent dungeon of the other\nwere the forerunners of the Church\u2019s most rapid growth, when \u2018the word of\nGod grew and multiplied\u2019 (Acts, xii. 24); the ministry of one, who has\nbeen taught in the same school, will issue, we may humbly hope, in a like\nresult.\n\nOur Church claims to have inherited Apostolic doctrine, an Apostolic\nframework, and a history which dates from the Apostolic age.  The\nninety-eighth occupant of the See of Rochester can boast of a long and\ndistinguished spiritual ancestry.  Founded in 604, some ten years after\nthe landing of Augustine, the See is, with the single exception of that\nof Canterbury, the most ancient in the kingdom; and has numbered amongst\nits Bishops such eminent men as Paulinus the apostle of Northumberland;\nGundulph, the greatest of Norman architects; Cardinal Fisher, beheaded by\nHenry VIII.: Ridley, the martyr; Turner, the non-juror; Atterbury, the\nhigh-churchman; and Samuel Horsley, the mathematician, the orator, and\nthe divine.  The See of Rochester carries with it therefore, the prestige\nof a venerable antiquity; but its interest to-day lies not so much in the\nrecords of the past, as in the living wants of the present.\n\nAcross the river which divides our city, lies a vast and dense\npopulation, soon to form part of this ancient diocese.  Faithful men have\nbeen labouring there for years.  The new Bishop goes forth amongst them,\nto guide, to stimulate, to encourage, and to strengthen.\n\nHe will remember, as having enjoyed the liberty himself, that in the\nwords of one whose name is warmly cherished in this place, \u2018the\nindependent and _quasi_ episcopal position of the rector is one of the\nmost blessed safeguards of the Church of England\u2019 (_Kingsley\u2019s Life_, ii.\n80): but he will also remember that a wise and tolerant rule is quite\nconsistent with personal and official fidelity.\n\nHe will remember too, aye, he will never be ashamed of confessing those\ngreat evangelical doctrines which have ever been the joy and strength of\nhis ministry.\n\nIt is the fashion with some to sneer at those doctrines, as belonging to\na byegone age, as the fossil remains of an era, when light was scanty and\nintelligence rare.\n\nBrethren, there were giants in those days.  Are we quite sure that there\nare any giants now?\n\nIf it be indeed a mark of narrow-mindedness to aim in all our teaching at\nthe exaltation of the Saviour; if it be a mark of narrow-mindedness to\npreach the universality of human corruption, the absolute perfection of\nthe redemptive work of Christ, and the regenerating power of the Holy\nGhost; then must we plead guilty to the charge.\n\nBut may not the caution addressed by Bishop Horsley to his clergy upon\nthe subject of Calvinism be applicable with slight change in these modern\ndays?  \u2018Take care before you aim your shafts at\u2019 Evangelical\nChurchmanship, \u2018that you know what it is, and what it is not . . . lest\nwhen you mean only to fall foul of a human system, you should unwarily\nattack something more sacred and of higher origin.\u2019  (_Horsley\u2019s\nCharges_, p. 226.)\n\nWe think we find our doctrines in the formularies of the Church of\nEngland; we think we find them in the writings of our Reformers; we think\nwe find them in the records of primitive antiquity; we think we find them\nin the Word of God.  We lay no claim to infallibility, but we claim a\nright to be true to our convictions.  We have tasted the old; we have\nexamined the new; and we say from the very bottom of our hearts, \u2018The old\nin better.\u2019\n\nIt in on behalf of such a ministry that we ask your prayers.\n\nIn these difficult days, when questions of the most perplexing kind are\nspringing up on every side, and when the demands made upon a bishop\u2019s\nenergies are of a most exhaustive character, the bravest might well\nshrink from entering upon so great a charge.  But we serve a loving and\nconsiderate Master.  The burden may indeed be heavy to bear, but He who\nlays it upon His servant will assuredly give him strength to bear it; and\nbear it we believe he will, untiring, unresting in his work, until the\ndying echoes of this day\u2019s service give place to the blessed, joyous\nwelcome.  \u2018Well done, good and faithful servant, . . . enter thou into\nthe joy of thy Lord.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nBy the same Author.\n\n\n                Just published.  Sq. fcp. 8vo, sewed, 1s.\n\n                        CHRISTIAN TREASURE-TROVE;\n\n       AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECENT DISCOVERIES OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS,\n    Containing the Epistle of St. Clement of Rome to the Corinthians,\n\nAnd the Recovery thereby of a Portion of a Christian Writing of the first\nCentury, which was missing in the only copy of Clement\u2019s Epistle before\nknown to exist: with a Description of the Epistle itself, and of its\nbearing upon Romish Error and Evangelical Truth.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                   ST. PAUL\u2019S EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS.\n                         COMMENTARY AND SERMONS.\n                       Post 8vo. cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                           THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.\n                            12mo. cloth, 3_s._\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                               THE CHOICE.\n                      FIVE LECTURES ON CONFIRMATION.\n                            16mo. cloth, 1_s._\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                          THE POWER OF GOODNESS.\n            A SERMON ON THE DEATH OF THE REV. W. CONWAY, M.A.\n            CANON OF WESTMINSTER AND RECTOR OF ST. MARGARET\u2019S.\n             _Published by Request_.  Crown 8vo. sewed, 6_d._\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                         THE MEEKNESS OF WISDOM.\n            A SERMON ON THE DEATH OF BENJAMIN SHAW, ESQ., M.A.\n                LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.\n\n             _Published by Request_.  Crown 8vo. sewed, 6_d._\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                HATCHARDS, PUBLISHERS, PICCADILLY, LONDON.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES.\n\n\n{5}  Besides other points of difference, the Apostle held no _local_\noffice: he was essentially a Missionary, moving about from place to\nplace, founding and confirming new churches.\n\n{9}  The most probably date of the Epistle of Clement is 96 A.D.\n\n{17}  \u2018The Bishop ought to depute as much as possible of mechanical and\nsecular work . . . he ought to restrict even his political and social\nduties, so as to leave full scope for the spiritual.  Whatever grumbling\nmay be caused by his so doing he must husband his energies and his\ninfluence.\u2019\u2014_Guardian_, June, 1877.","title":"Episcopal Fidelity","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":4875}