The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-12 00:00:00

CHURCH ESTABLISHMENTS

Dr. Wardlaw yesterday delivered his Second Lecture
upon Church Establishments at Freemason's Hall, which
was again crowded with a highly respectable audience,
the galleries being filled with ladies, and many Dissent-
ing ministers present, among whom we noticed the
Rev. C. Morris, the Rev. Mr. Harry, the Rev. R.
Young, the Rev. Dr. Halley, &c. We also observed
Sir Culling Eardley Smith, and J. Wilke, Esq.
The Rev. Dr. Morr;sson offered up prayer.
The Rev. LECTURER said the subject of the present
discourse would be " The legitimate sources of argument
and grounds of decision, the opening of the Scripture
argument, and an examination of the New Testament
authorities: Dr. Chalmers had suggested many dis-
creditable grounds for opposition to Church Establish-
ments—such as worldly-mindedness, leading to profane
indifference or apathetic carelessness about reli•
gion. Surely Christian charity might have suggested
some other ground of opposition to Church Establish-
ments, on the part, at least, of those who were sincerely
anxious for the success of the Gospel. The advocates
of the voluntary principle opposed such Establishments,
because they believed them to be destitute of the au-
thority of Christ—to be human innovations upon the
divine constitution of his Church.—(Cheers.) The vo-
luntary principle could equally be defended on the
ground of expediency and ofjustice between man and man.
But on a question connected with religion, the authority
of the Bible should be paramount.—(Hear, hear.)
Where the " mind of God" was manifested ; reasoning
ended, and obedience commenced.—(Hear, hear.)
What would be thought of a statesman who should take
his notions of the British Constitution from his own
fancy, without regarding the ancient records and autho-
rities of that Constitution ?—(Hear, hear.) That the
Bible, and the Bible only, was the religion of Protes-
tants, was universally admitted, in theory at least,
by all who held that name. But theory was different
from practice ; and though the author of the " Natural
History of Enthusiasm" had stated that the main fea-
ture of the present position of the Church was the
honour paid to the Scriptures, as the exclusive autho-
rity in all matters of religious faith and practice, it was
deeply to be lamented that a man of so high and meri-
ted reputation as Dr. Chalmers—the Gamaliel of so
many ministers in the Scottish Establishment—should,
when delivering a series of lectures on Church Esta-
blishments, a subject which one would think must natu-
rally have led to the Bible, should have hardly adverted
to the existence of such an authority.—(Hear, hear.)
Those were noble sentiments which this most eminent
preacher, at the commencement of his brilliant career,
had expressed—" The Bible allows of no compromise—
porofessing to be the only divine rule of faith,
it claims undivided ascendancy over the souls and un-
derstandings of men ; it appeals to heaven for its autho-
rity and sanction, and its language is—. Whosoever
taketh from the book, or addcth thereto, is accursed.'
Closely as ever lawyer did stick to his text, must we
abide by the rule of doctrine which this authentic me-
morial of God sets before us."—(Cheers.) Oh, why
was it that the Rev. Doctor's practice had been so at
variance with his doctrine ?—(Hear.) Instead of re-
ferring to the customs of nations, the experience of ages,
and the claims of long-existing institutions, the question
was first to be decided, whether or no the Scriptures
left the point open for human discretion ?—(Hear.)
Some persons indeed thought that scripture arguments
ought not to be addressed to any but Christians. But
in what authority would infidels, and men of the world,
expect to see the question of civil establishments for
religion ?—was it not the Bible—the acknowledged
source of Christian instruction ?—( Hear, hear.) It
would be well to have the judgment of a candid infidel
on the present controversy, respecting the directions of
the Scriptures. Even with statesmen, he (Dr. Ward-
law) would feel abundantly warranted in pressing the
authority of Scripture upon this subject : though some
people might smile at this, thinking that with
politicians the Bible would be the most fu-
tile of all arguments.—(Hear.) But in taking
Scriptural authority a high vantage-ground of appeal
was gained to the judgment of all sound-thinking men.
In the car of every statesman should the truth be per-
petually rang, that the Church of Christ was no poli-
tical institution ; but a spiritual community, existing
only by the authority of the New Testament.—
(Cheers.) Statesmen, imbued to the core though they
might be, with official secularity, could well understand
such an appeal. And even if they did not, the appeal
ought perseveringly to be made to the Christian commu-
nity.—(Hear.) The Reverend Doctor here alluded
to a prejudice which he said had been raised in some
minds against the voluntary principle, from the supposi-
tion that the advocates of that principle were regardless
of the authority of the Jewish dispensation, and, be re-
marked, that although the authority of the Mosaic eco-
nomy was unquestionably divine, yet that it was as
clearly instituted for a particular purpose and a parti-
cular nation, and was now, by authority equally divine,
done away with. He ren laid down the following
three positions, which it would be his object to esta-
blish :—First, that in the New Testament, there was
no recognition whatever of the power of the civil ruler in
matters of religion. Secondly, that in the New Testa-
ment, the maintenance of the Church's interests is, with all
clearness and explicitness committed to the Church
herself. And thirdly, that all imitation of the ancient
Jewish constitution in this respect, is from its very
nature impossible, and, if it were possible, would not be
warranted.—(Cheers.) The Rev. Doctor then went on
to notice several of the texts which were advanced by
the advocates of Church Establishments. Among these
was the passage in which St. Paul spoke of the civil
magistrates as appointed " for good," and it was argued
that this must include the greatest of all " good"—reli-
gion. But, if this were so, it must be held likewise as
regarded the Ministers of the Gospelwho are said equally
to be appointed " for good," and whom, therefore, it
might just as well be argued, were entitled to interfere
in civil matters—the administration of justice, for in-
stance, which might be certainly comprehended under
the term "good."—(Hear, hear.) Besides, what
proved too much, proved nothing ; and if the civil
ruler were appointed to support "all good"—and that
included religion—he was equally appointed to resist all
evil—and that would include the greatest of all evil—
irreligion.—(Hear, hear.) Thus might be gathered from
their text, with such an interpretation, the germ of that
persecution and intolerance which had so desolated the
earth under the mistaken idea that the state magistrates
were bound, by the infliction of temporal pains and pun.
ishments, to compel the observance of that form of reli-
gion which they selected.—(Hear, hear.) It was too
late now in this country, in the nineteenth century, to
broach such principles. And the seeds of that tree of
death, which had borne more than " twelve manner of
fruits," all noxious and deadly, and the " leaves of which"
were for the poisoning, and destroying, the nations of
the earth, would never more vegetate in our highly
favoured land.—(Loud and continued cheering.) The
Rev. Doctor proceeded to say that Dr. Chalmers bad
admitted the absence of any direct scriptural authority
for Church Establishments. All scriptural authority
in fact was the other way. The whole tenor of the New
Testament was to show that the Church of Christ was
an institution independent of any aid from worldly au-
thority ; its members drawn to it by their own free-will
election ; self-endowed, self-sustained, self-extending,
and acknowledging for its head alone the King of Kings,
and Lord of Lords.—(Loud cheers.) In proof of this
the Roy. Doctor referred to several texts, such as—
" Let him that is taught in the word communicate to
those that teach ;" " Know them that labour among
you," &c. ; all of which, he said, tended to show that
the Ministers of Christ were to be supported by the
voluntary contributions of their flocks.—(Hear, hear.)
Dr. Chalmers, indeed, might call this " voluntaryism
ab intro," internal voluntaryism.—(Hear, hear, and
laughter.) But there was nothing to limit the sup-
port of a Christian minister to those whom he actually
taught ; and the Christian liberality of a Church might
extend beyond its own boundaries and supply the spiri-
tual necessities of others ; but this, though " voluntary-
ism ab extro"—wouldbe voluntaryism still.—(Cheers.)
" Non sibi, sed toll," was the maxim which might be
taken as expressive of the spirit of the New Testament
instructions as to the Church. The Reverend
Doctor at the close of his lecture gave expression to
the feelings of indignant reprehension with which,
he said, a sense of duty compelled him to speak,
of those who by allying the Church with the
State, had secularised an institution appointed by
Christ—altered and degraded its whole character—de-
stroyed its purity and independence, and given occasion
for the sardonic, half scornful, half complacent sneer of
the infidel and the worldling—" you cannot get on
without our aid—you must come to us for support."—
(Loud cheers.)
Dr. Wardlaw was listened to with the greatest at-
tention throughout. The Rev. Doctor's voice is clear,
and in some measure harmonious—his delivery is dis-
tinct and pleasing, though perfectly unimpassioned ;
affording as striking a contrast to the emphatic elo
quence of Dr. Chalmers as the simple, unpretending
plainness of his style does to the laboured magnificence
of his distinguished opponent.
The first lecture occupied two hours--the hour of
commencement being two o'clock. The second was not
so long by a quarter of an hour.