AUTHOR'S PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION.

Ir any apology be necessary for this undertaking, it may be found in the fact, that there is no work, on a similar plan, extant. It is not less a matter of obvious truth, than of serious regret, that there exists among the members of the Episcopal Church, a great want of information respecting their own peculiar principles. The following work, therefore, which aims to point out her excellencies, to illustrate her evangelical character, and to infuse into the hearts of her children, a portion of that healthful spirit which pervades all her services, it is hoped, will not prove altogether unacceptable or useless. The author is perfectly conscious of his inability to do justice to subjects so various and momentous, and especially, in so short a summary as his limits have prescribed. All that he can hope to accomplish is, that some who have not considered the subject, may be induced to bestow upon it an attention, in some degree proportioned to its importance, and that, in all, a desire of making farther research into those venerable documents from which he has drawn, may be cherished and increased. Wherever he could do so, he has adopted the language of the Church and her approved writers. In so doing, though he has given to his work only the merit of a compilation, and of an attempt to bring into a smaller focus the irradiations of piety and genius with which the subject is enriched, he hopes to gain a more solid advantage, in having, thereby, fortified his exposition of doctrine, behind the acknowledged bulwarks of the Church.

In the history of the Church, as in that of nations, there are epochas which are esteemed worthy of being cherished with fond remembrance, and to which we refer for the test of principles; times which tried men's souls, and called forth genius and virtue from their inmost recesses. We look back, with enthusiasm, to the sages and heroes of our Revolution, and consent to try, by their standard, maxims of policy and pretensions of patriotism. And, aided by the same power of association, we contemplate the period of the Reformation, the grand jubilee of emancipation to mankind, with veneration for those, who nobly dared to attack the mighty colossus which had so long bestrid and enslaved the world. The heroes in this cause were illustrious men; "they counted not their lives dear unto them," but, like Sampson, upheaved the massy pillars, content to fall, themselves, beneath the ruins, that the world might be free. It moved them not, though the torch, with which they were to illuminate mankind, was to light up their own funeral pile but having vindicated by their writings, and illustrated by their lives, the cause of evangelical truth, they joyfully sealed their last testimony for it at the stake. Then it was, that exalted talents and a fervid piety, refined in the crucible, exhibited their greatest strength and their purest lustre.

Whether it be our object to estimate the real standard of orthodoxy, as then believed and taught, or to strengthen our own faith, hope, and love, by the contemplation of the holy perseverance and fortitude with which these martyrs and confessors bore testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus, we may find a deep interest in those genuine records of their doctrines and actions. To the pious and humble inquirer after truth, this task will furnish its own recompense.

"To the want of a more intimate acquaintance with the writers in question," says a great man, "is very principally to be attributed that diversity of sentiment on

some most important points of theology, and even alarming departure from sound doctrine, which is too prominent a feature in modern divinity. An attentive peruser of our most eminent divines for the last two centuries, will perceive, that each generation seems gradually, and in some instances almost imperceptibly, to have deviated from the principles of their immediate predecessors, till at length, when we compare the now commonly prevailing concep tions of Christianity with those of older times, we startle at the contrast."

The foregoing remark, though subject to many excep. tions, is certainly too generally applicable. The sentiment has at least sufficient force to incline us to hear what those venerable records say for themselves. Exclusively of the intimate connexion which they have with our Episcopal system, and the consequent obligation on us to honour them, it will be found that the more accurately we investigate the lives and writings of the reformers, the stronger ground for confidence in their interpretations of Scripture we shall derive, from the discovery of their high attainments both in learning and in piety. In this school we may study with safety, and with eminent advantage both to the head and the heart.

There are four works of the reformers which most clearly define the sense of the Church in all matters necessary to salvation, viz. the Catechism of King Edward VI.; the Declaration of Doctrines in Jewell's Apology; the Catechism commonly called Dr. Nowell's, and the Homilies.

The Bishop of Oxford, Dr. Randolph, afterwards Bishop of London, republished the first three pieces, in a collection of tracts for the use of students. In his preface he speaks of them in the following terms:

"The catechism published in the time of King Edward VI. was the last work of the reformers of that reign; whence it may be fairly understood to contain, as far as it

goes, their ultimate decision, and to represent the sense of the Church of England as then established. In this, according to Archbishop Wake, the complete model of our church catechism was at first laid; and it was also in some measure a public work; the examination of it having been committed, as the injunction testifies, to certain Bishops and other learned men; after which it was published by the king's authority."

"Jewell's Apology is an account of the grounds of our separation from the Church of Rome, as maintained after that separation had finally taken place."

"Nowell's Catechism is an account of the doctrines of the Church at the same period, when it had been restored and established under Queen Elizabeth. Both of these works also were publicly received and allowed. They have also a claim to the attention of the reader both for clearness of argument, and for eloquence of language.”

The Book of Homilies which is recommended to be read in churches, and is declared by the XXXV. Article" to be an explication of Christian doctrine, and instructive in piety and morals," is well known to have been the work of the reformers. They appeared in the reign of King Edward, and are supposed to have been composed by Cranmer, assisted by Latimer. The second part was published in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and is attributed chiefly to Bishop Jewell. A copy of these Homilies was given to every parish priest in the kingdom, who was commanded to read them diligently and distinctly, that they might be understood by the people. It is to be wished that the same practice were revived at the present day, and that every member of the Church would possess, and search diligently these venerable records of evangelical truth. They are it is true, antique in their garb, but on that account the more venerable, and it is hoped they never will be disrobed of those charms by which they recommend

themselves so powerfully to our feelings. Like the Prayer Book they should be considered sacred in every integral part. They might perhaps be improved and elucidated by the alteration of a few expressions, but then they would be no longer the prayer book or the homilies of the reformers, and are thereby deprived of that power by which they unite all hearts.

These documents with the Liturgy and Articles, form the acknowledged standards of our Church, and exhibit a plain and affecting harmony with each other and with the Scriptures. They are constructed with such singular wisdom and moderation, that all who hold the truth that man's salvation is wholly of grace, and his perdition of himself, may conscientiously subscribe to terms, however they may differ in their modes of speaking. They exclude none, and as it would seem, they intended to exclude none, who hold the essential points of truth, though they who approach nearest to the known sentiments of the reformers, may find most congeniality in the language of the public writings of the Church to their own modes of expression.

There appear to be two prominent errors, to which we are liable to be carried in regard to the principles of the Church; on one hand, to prostrate or undervalue her order and institutions, and on the other, to exhaust all our zeal in behalf of these external concerns, and to permit the spirit and essence of religion to evaporate in this way. It is the object of this work to guard against both these dangerous extremes; and, while it endeavours to maintain the dignity of our institutions, and the excellence of our doctrine and worship, it aims, also, to inculcate that power of godliness, without which all our doings are nothing worth. Especially would the author entertain the hope, that the work may tend, by cherishing the unity of the faith, to cherish also the unity of the spirit,-that heavenly charity, without which there is nothing left us worth con