The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-02-17

see. Witness the Romanist. Witness Til
modern Mtualist. And I might also say
witness to some, extent almost any othei
sect N Christendom.
II ministers Of the gospel could only
learn TO pay moro respect TO the plair
teachings Of the Bible, than 10 the ira
dltionS Of men, they would thereby releaSI
themselves from Q thousand difficulties
and save Christianity itself from q world
Of needless and rnseemly striies. 81.
To the principle here laid doWn-o
yielding supreme Difference to the Word
Of God-nearly all parties readily acqui
eSce In theory, but In practice they deny
II. While they admit that the Bible &
the only infallible expositor, their asSoci
atoms are 90 intertwined with the church
idea that Il would seem almost impossible
to divest themselves Of the deluaion-fol
II Is often such-that Divine Revelation
and their peculiar vieWs Of Il must ne.
cessarily be one and the same thing
Hence, whenever any Of these peculiar
views are upset by the touchstone Of Di,
vine Truth, they Immediately begin ID
cry out-"The Ark q N danger -dGreal
q Diana Of the Epheslans lh-and Their
Paul, and Luther, and Wesley, and Cum.
Minis must take care Of themselves,
II isplain from the foregoing, that Wher
men have once allowed the delusior
spoken ot-that their own views and the
teachings Of the Bible are necessarily
identlcat-t0 seize upon their ina ination
and that contrary 70 their own admitted
theory, how easily they may slide into
the fatal error, that the Church q the only
lawful exposition Of Gods Word; and this
delusion acquires tentold strength when
Il is found associated With much that
Is useful, and excellent, and Yenera-
bic, and praiseworthy In the church
and its standards, as being handed
down from an antiquity more or less
remote, and hallowed BY all that ID
sacred In the associations Of their earlier
lives, and the lives Of their yenerated an
cestors. This apprehend3 10 DO one
great source Of the difficulty In the P. e.
In the Church Of England, and
perhaps, In o much more influential de-
gree, In the Church Of Rome. But
Abram went out. and Paul went out, and
Luther went out and Wesley went out, and
now that Cummins and Latane have gone
out, Is the Ark any more In danger than
eyer before Be not afraid-God il IN
the whirlwind and In the storm, and
never "heayes old Oceans pillows high to
waft a feather or to drown fy." :.
Applying the foregoing principles to
the doctrine OF, the two Sacramento, as
held by the Protestant Episcopal Church,
TO soy nothing Of the seven maintained BY
the Church Of Rome, II one will 70 to the
New Testament with an honest and in
curing mind, throwing aside for the time
being. the teachings Of creeds, rituals,
doctors and iathera-all OF which I de-
cidedly favor under certain restrictions
be will fnd, l apprehend, but very little
difficulty in understanding the true nature
and intent Of the ordinances Of Baptism,
and the LorGs Supper; about which
there has been so much needless, not to
say, foolish and sinful wrangling in the
Christian Church, for how many centuries
| would hardly pretend 70 say.
The great error of the times would
seem to be, thSt people are not sufficiently
urged and encouraged to examine the
Scriptures for themselves, and exercise
fully but carefully and prsyerfully, the
right Of private Judgment, with which
God has endowed them, and for the right
use Of which he holds each individual re-
'ponsible for himself. They are rather
urged In many quarters, and not unfre-
quentlY from the evangelical side, 10 &C.
cept the Church's teaching Of the Bible,
and not to rely upon their own private
Nay, in some cases, the
more ignorant classes are excluded from
the use OF that blessed Book entirely.
Hence the people perish for lack Of
knowledge.
And this Is the very kind of teaching
that the unregenerate heart revels In.
It is admirably suited, not only to the
lazy Christian, but to the superstitous
worshipper, and the notoriously evil
liver. Look TO 1t then, ye Bishops, priests
and deacons, or by whatever name We
may be called, that Christ has said,
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE" Therefore,
let the people tread, mark, learn and in
wardly digest the same, that by patience
and comfort Of Gods Holy Word, they
may embrace and ever hold fast the
blessed hope OF everlasting life which he
hath given unto us in Christ Jesus our
Lord" EPncoPAL1AN.