The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-06-29 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD
SIRS I send you an extract of a letter from a highly-
esteemed lay friend, together with its enclosure, and if
you agreed with me, in approving the sentiment it ex-
presses, I shall feel obliged by your inserting it in the
next publication of your excellent journal.—l remain, sir,
your's respectfully, A PROTESTANT LAYMAN.
Liverpool, 18th June, 1847.

Doncaster, June 10, 1847,

MY DEAR FRIEND,—I have just received another most in-
teresting letter from poor Ellis, of which I cannot resist send-
ing you the enclosed extract, as to the poor persecuted Roman
Catholic pedlar woman, to whom he seems to have been sent
"as an angel of God," first to open her eyes to the truth of the
gospel, and then to be a protection to her against her persecu-
tors; who are giving us a specimen there of what we may ex-
pect here when they have the power, which I greatly fear the
Lord will too surely grant them, shortly, as a righteous judg-
ment on this sinful land, for our abominable national apostasy.
The young and ignorant are being drawn away from the faith
of the gospel by these Jesuitical Puseyite teachers; and there
does not seem to be a man amongst those having authority,
either in church or state, to stand up openly to resist them
Surely "the god of this world bath blinded their minds, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto
them ;" for, how otherwise can we account for the infatuated
conduct of our bishops, and, I must also add, of the whole body
of Evangelical Clergy, that they do not rise in a body, and, by
united addresses to the hierarchy of the throne, publicly declare
their protest against these abominable apostates, that they
may be ejected from that sound Protestant church, on whose
resources they are being supported, while they are undermin-
ing her foundations. If we ask the question, " Who is on the
Lord's side ?—Who ?" where shall we find the faithful men
ready to rise up against " the church itself?" or rather those
bold pretenders who arrogate to themselves her name and pri-
vileges, while they are preparing to betray her into the hands
of the enemy, who is truly "coming in Like a flood" through
their supineness or treachery. How strikingly applicable are the
warning words of the prophet Jeremiah to the times in which
we are living—"A wonderful and horrible thing is committed
in the land ; the prophets prophecy falsely, and the priests bear
rule by their means, and my people"—my people, observe—
"love to have it so, and what will ye do in the end thereof?"
The time is past, my dear friend, depend on it, for doing
any good by delivering public lectures, or making speeches
on platforms. The clergy must act,—and act unitedly—
on openly avowed Protestant grounds, in support of the
Protestant faith. Let them unfurl their banner, Who is on
the Lord's side? Who ?" Let them assemble in county or dio-
cesan meetings, and prepare, and draw out, and sign a declara-
tion, containing a distinct avowal of their determination, by
God's help, to maintain the principles of the Reformation both
in church and state. Let it be signed by all who are true to
"the faith once delivered to the saints," and let it be presented,
by deputations, at the foot of the throne. We shall then be
"able to discern between the righteous and the wicked, between
him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." (Mal. iii.
18.) We should then see whether "seven bishops" could be
found, now, who have the holy boldness to stand up, as in the
days of the Papist James, before the throne, or, if needful, at
the bar of a court of justice, to maintain their Christian prin-
ciples, according to their solemn obligation at their ordination.
0 ! my dear friend, surely. we have fallen on "perilous times,"
when it becomes every sincere Christian patriot to be in con-
tinual prayer to the Lord of Hosts, to raise up some God-fearing
men, "after his own heart," who shall rule this people in
righteousness, and deliver us out of the hand of our enemies,
until He shall come, who is "the Prince of the kings of the
earth ;" who " shall indeed be as an hiding-place from the
wind and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of waters in a
dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
(Is. 32, 2.)
Have you seen a printed circular from Ramsgate, soliciting
subscriptions for a new church there, of which Mr. E. Bicker-
steth and Mr. Bates are to be two of the trustees? The account
of the ravages which popery is making amongst the families in
that neighbourhood is quite appalling.
see and hear, it is the. same everycwerae:nifannitliTidrmoleoasttacviceaarrnne
sitting at ease,
them. 01 that‘'istaymiTgghrel7eceilfr Lord's will to "stir up the
things that remain and are ready to die," in the body of the
evangelical clergy! All other bodies combine against the
church: the Puseyites unite; the Dissenters unite. Why do
not the evangelical clergy also unite ? The are the only true
representatives of "the established church." Let them,
shake off the incubus of the tractarian party, and so at once
deprive the political dissenters of that only weapon which they
can with truth and justice bring against the church, and
whereby truly pious churchmen are almost driven to leave her
in despair, rather than be identified with such a caricature of
Christianity! then,