Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1856-01-26

- 49,
Of it, or his personal merit, whatever that nav
be, may impart to il. We may be quite Ger.
tain that he, and Mr. Cummings, and Mr. Mau-
rice will never do the work Of John Knox or
Andrew Melville, or Richard Baxter. Mr.
Parker-we mean no disrospcot in naming lin
after such an evangelical clcrryman--may DC.
light Us with his extremely liber,l sentimental
isms or make Us angry with his fierce and in
tolerant inyecives, but il is Mr. Parker's inspir-
alton afof all-nothing more nor less Il is
the moral power, of man, not sent but cum
ing in his own name, and whose doctrine is his
own--a man Of some striking traits Of charac-
ter, but many imperfeotions-a man very much
Ike ourselves--a man who possibly may deceive
himself, as other men have often done. with
show Of zeal for philanthropy, which is, alier
all, bat an acrimonious spirit Of parry. or a
malignant spirit Of opinion more bicoiod than
party feeling, and more niolerant than any IA
naiicism that ever misiakingly assumed the
name Of message from Heaven. What is
worse we cannot know at all how long the
new gospel will last. or when the new light
shall come which will make il all comparative
darkness. Indeed. we may be certain il will
soon pass away. The speculaions that maay
regard standing highest in philosophy, and
newest in theology, will, in another generation.
be among the things that are remembered, and
remembered 100, by few. These bubbles mast
burst. Such result is distinctly known by
the conservative mind the only mind that tra-
ly secs beyond lis age. because grounded on
those truths thai overlook all ages. that survive
all ages, and that the same for al ages
Bu, are not the clergy. ia any view that can
be taken Of them. men Of like passions with
others True indeed--mnst deplorably true.
and, therefore, the more important the fact, or
the belief at least IN the fact. that The moral
power Of their mission comes from something
higher, purer. more stable. than their own per
sonaliiy. We can only listen to them intent
ly, earnestly, and we may also add, nationally,
when we regard them as messengers from
Heaven. Their words have weight with MS
for the very reason that iheii doctrine is not
their own. Aside from express revelation on
the subject, our position is made OUT by the
shortest aud simplest reasoning The argu-
meni Is both posirTori from experience, aad
pri0ri from the very nature Of truth itself.
We appeal to every mans personal knowl-
edge. Where are the conversions, sudden or
gradual, from the preaching that claims no such
mission When has It made the proud hum-
BILE, or the worldly man spiritually miaded -
When has il ever reclaimed the prongate, or
rendered charitable the maleyoent, or broken
down the hardened wretch to peniiencc and
faith II has indeed sometimes produced very
marked effects. but not like those which char
aelerized the day Of Pcniecosi whea men we're
'pricsed in their hearts" and "smoie upon
their breasts" II may boast Of lis reform,
but we fear that it has set men TO reforming
every thing but themselves, and to cleaning ey-
ii.i..s- k.s sl... .-ei-.l f il.-:-.
when we reason from the very nature OF things
or ideas. The soul Of the serious hearer in
siinctively demands the higher sanction for The
higher truth A man may lecture to us on
science, on political econumy, on uiliiarian
ethics, and we listen to him with complacency,
although he comes in his own name We take
his instructions for what they are worth, or for
what they regard him as being worth. Bat
what right has fellow mortal TO preach to MS
OF perd,ian, and salvation, and the life TO come,
unless he has a message from The universal
Judge, or believes at least, that he has such a
message, or is delivering the doctrine, not as
his own, but as having come from those who
were the inspired media through whom it was
at first specially given to our blind and wander
ing race Ii he discard this idea Of ambassa-
dorship FROM the clerical Office, we will not
listen to him. Let the order be abolished as a
deception, and therefore a moral nuisance if it
take not that high ground which reason and
conscience as well as Scripture would assign
to j, as its only legitimate, its only ,enable po-
siiion.
We have presented our idea in its most ca
lholc aspect. We NEEDLE not with the vexed
questions respecting the mode and validiiies of
ministerial succession. 1t is not essential to
our general argument. We do not say whe,h-
er an unwarranted pries,ly assumption on the
one hand, may not have led TO this lax aiitud-
nariansm on the other We are content with
taking the more clearly revealed, and as we
think, the higher ground, Of the embassadorial
chlracter-higher, we say, because the one
suggests the idea of a request or an offering
from earth TO Heaven, the other Of a message
from Heaven to earth. This we maintain,
must belong to all or must be assumed by all,
who undertake TO proclaim to their fellow men
the truths that relate 10 an eternal kingdom
Is the assumption proud one How much
more arrogant the delivery of such message
without it, The affected humility here is more
irrational than any false prieslly claim that ev-
er came from ignorant or ftnatical exress =