or subvert the hypothesis before us. But every reader and every quoter of the Fathers, can produce abundaut proof of the high sense which was entertained of the absolving power of the Priest-Mr. Burton is not justified in taking it for granted, that ecclesiastical history gives him any material support. Although he may prove easily enough that it is completely at variance with the absurd pretensions of the Church of Rome he is not at liberty to infer, that the power of the keys was confined as he desires to confine it. It was applied beyond all question to baptism. But that is not the point under debate-Was it applied to baptism only? Mr. Burton knows better than to make such an assertion-but some of his readers will believe that he entertains the opinion, and others must regret that he has not more expressly disowned it, and shewn that such a renunciation is not inconsistent with his theory. On the subject of our own Church formularies, the author has the following observations. "It has been said, however, that the Church of England lays claim to the absolving power for her ministers in the highIn est sense which the words will bear. her office for the Visitation of the Sick we certainly find a direction for the priest to use the following words; By his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' "These words are undoubtedly very strong: and I should never wish to defend the Church of England, in her doctrines or her ceremonies, by an equivocal or forced interpretation of words. It cannot be denied, that the form of absolution just quoted, seems to contain an immediate and positive remission of sins. The minister, who uses it, appears to think himself authorized to assure the penitent, that from that moment he is fully pardoned by God and we might perhaps be inclined to think little of the judgment or sincerity of that man, who interprets these words to mean, that the Church did only intend the remission of ecclesiastical censures and bonds. Such an interpretation appears at first sight extremely forced, and used merely in justification of a power, which the Church of England has improperly usurped. It must be confessed, however, that little as we might be led to affix this meaning to the solemn words, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' there is certainly some reason, if not an absolute necessity for concluding, that the Church does not suppose the penitent to receive a full pardon from God in these words. "In the prayer, which follows this absolution, the minister is directed to pray, 'O most merciful God, who, according to the multitude of thy mercies, dost so put away the sins of those who truly repent, that thou rememberest them no more ; open thine eye of mercy upon this thy servant, who most earnestly desireth pardon and forgiveness. Renew in him, most loving Father, whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the devil, or by his own carnal will and frailness; preserve and continue this sick member in the unity of the Church; consider his contrition, accept his tears, assuage his pain, as shall ⚫ seem to thee most expedient for him. And forasmuch as he putteth his full trust only in thy mercy, impute not unto him his former sins, but strengthen him with thy blessed Spirit; and when thou art pleased to take him hence, take him unto thy favour, through the merits,' &c. "I have quoted these words at length, because they demonstrably prove, that the penitent is not at that time supposed to have received pardon from God, nor to be certain of going to heaven. He still ' earnestly desireth pardon and forgiveness,' and therefore cannot have received it. We may agree in thinking that the words of the absolution are too strong, and we may regret that they were admitted into our Prayer Book: but when we take them in connexion with the prayer which follows, it is certainly unfair to say, that the Church of England claims for her ministers a power of plenary absolution. Some interpretation far short of this must be affixed to them. It is not the object of this dissertation to decide what this interpretation should be: the Church of England certainly thinks, that it is necessary to pray for further forgiveness after these words are uttered: and consequently she cannot be said to hold the doctrine, that a priest may absolve a penitent from * Wheatley. "That every minister of the Gospel exercises the Power of the Keys, the power of binding and loosing, or of remitting and retaining sins, when he admits children or adults into the Christian covenant by bap tism that beyond this the Church has no absolving power whatever: that she reminds her members of the mercy of God in accepting the atonement of Jesus Christ: and points out to them, that the merits of this atonement may obtain remission of all their sins, if they will truly repent, and have faith in Christ; but that she cannot do more than this; she cannot declare, that God has actually forgiven the penitent, and blotted out his transgressions, so that his final salvation is certain." P. 103. given by Jesus to his Church. Whatever power he gave, the Church may and ought to use-and the prudent use of it permitted to the ministers of the Church of England, is no blot upon the shield of their faith. As to Mr. Burton's objection, that absolution on these principles may be given every day, and the inference that the Popish practice is on this supposition not only excusable but meritorious, we confess we think that Mr. Burton might have employed himself better than in defending superstition and knavery at the expence of our own communion. On no scriptural principles, and on no Church of England principles, is it possible that absolution, (we mean such a personal absolution as that contained in the Visitation Service) can be granted every day." As he may believe and repent every daythe priest might give him absolution every time that he professed this faith and repentance."-The priest who did so, would be unworthy of his office-such faith and repentance could be nothing but a mockery---and it is by acting upon a different supposition that Papists have fallen into the worst and most corrupting of their errors. To the first of these statements we have little to object. We are no advocates for the doctrine of remission of sins by the priest; we believe the real sense, both of the Church and the Scripture, is in Mr. Burton's own words," that the priest declares in the name of God, that if the man truly repent him of his sins, (of which God only can judge) he may then be absolved;" or as the sentence ought to have concluded, be is then forgiven.- The Church "cannot declare Unless a clergyman believes this, we that God has actually forgiven the know not how he can subscribe to the penitent,"--because she cannot be Articles, or officiate in the services sure that the penitent has actually of the Church. And the best ex- repented.-Mr. Burton admits, p.58. planation of the Visitation Service that admission into the Christian is, that it is a more solemn and covenant conveys a title to forgivepersonal application of that con- ness of sins committed subsequently solatory message which the priest to admission. Why then should he delivers in general terms to the object to a solemn declaration of whole congregation. That abso that consoling fact?" Absolution,' lution is only to be used, after re- be tells us, "in the primitive Church, peated expressions of penitence; it was positive and authoritative only is only to be given to those who so far as concerned the censures of "humbly and heartily desire it," the Church; with respect to the to those who feel the sting of sin in sinner being pardoned by God, the their souls, and wish for the strongest priest only prayed that he might be assurance of God's mercy and forgive- pardoned, and comforted him with ness. The words, “I absolve," are the gracious assurances of Scripture," not in themselves appropriate-but p. 81. And what are these assuthey are qualified and explained by rances? that there is no certainty of the preceding allusion to the power pardon to such as sin after bapREMEMBRANCER, No. 64. II h tism? such ought to be Mr. Burton's answer-but such we are persuaded it would not be. On this, the true difficulty, he is not very explicit,— When he talks of our not being at liberty to say that an absolved sinner, "if he were to die that moment, is certain of going to heaven," he merely states that to which every man of sense would assent.-The priest cannot know the reality of the repentance, and therefore cannot certify the reality of the pardon.But when, as in the concluding summary he tells us that the Church can do no more than point to the merits of Christ, he appears to us to renounce the doctrine of the Communion in which he ministers, not less than the practice of antiquity and the declaration of Scripture. The Church may give absolution in terms much more forcible than those which Mr. Burton is inclined to put into her mouth; and if he is unwilling to learn these facts, and the use to which the custom may be applied, from such humble critics as those into whose hands his work has fallen, we recommend him to study the following passages from Hooker, with which we gladly conclude our observations. "Strange it were unto me that the Fathers who so much every where extol the grace of Jesus Christ, in leaving to his Church this heavenly and divine power, should, as men whose simplicity had universally been abused, agree all to admire and magnify an useless office." "It hath therefore pleased Almighty God, in tender commiseration over these imbecilities of men, to ordain for their spiritual and ghostly comfort consecrated persons, which by sentence of power and authority given from above, may, as it were, out of his very mouth, ascertain timorous and doubtful minds in their own particular-ease them of all their scrupulosities-leave them settled in peace, and satisfied touching the mercy of God towards them." By RoThe Book of the Church. bert Southey, Esq. LL.D. Poet Laureate, Honorary Member of the Royal Spanish Academy, of the Royal Spanish Academy of History, of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, of the Cymmrodorion, of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of the American Antiquarian Society, of the Royal Irish Academy, of the Bristol Philosophical and Literary Society, &c. In Two Volumes. 8vo. 11. 4s. Murray. 1824. IT is certain that an extraordinary degree of ignorance prevails amongst Englishmen as to the real nature of those claims which the National Church has to their respect and affection. Even amongst those who are brought up in her communion, and enjoy the blessing of her ordinances, and who have been qualified by their education to inquire into her history and to appreciate her merits, how rarely do we meet with an individual who is aware of the full extent of her deserts. They are content to take the Established Religion as they find it, without troubling themselves to enquire by what process it became so inti. mately interwoven with our civil institutions, or to what causes it owes its preponderance and stability. This is, perhaps, a natural consequence of long continued security. It is only when their Church is reviled, assaulted, or removed from its place, that men set themselves in good earnest to investigate its claims to respect. From such trials the English Church has always come forth triumphant. In the time of her need, not only have martyrs suffered in her cause, but inquiring and able men have risen up to plead in her behalf, and to convince the great body of the people how inseparably her interests are connected with the well-being of true religion, and with the security of the commonwealth. It requires only a dispassionate and careful survey of our national annals, to understand the greatness of those services which the Church of England has rendered to the cause of pure Christianity and rational freedom. Unfortunately, of our ecclesiastical histories, some deter the ordinary reader by the length of their details, while others offend the more critical student by the unfaithfulness of their representations. From one cause or other, it is a line of study into which the common course of education hardly ever leads; and yet there are few departments of history more interesting or instructive, not merely to the Clergy, but to every one who wishes to obtain a correct knowledge of the growth and principles of the English constitution. The ignorance of which we complain, has of late years displayed itself in a most remarkable manner, The language in which the Church has been spoken of, even in the great council of the nation, has been in such outrageous defiance of all historical truth, so contrary to fact as well as principle; and so little knowledge of her real and substantial title to our affectionate regard has been manifested, even by those who, on such occasions, have stood up in her defence, that we have long earnestly wished for the appearance of some plain, perspicuous statement of the historical arguments which may be urged in her behalf, as being a more tangible proof, at least one more easy of comprehension to the "children of this generation," than a setting forth of her higher and more sacred titles to respect. This has been furnished by Mr. Southey, in a manner which entitles him to the gratitude of every one, who is attached, either from habit or principle, to the Established Church. The one will be instructed, and the other refreshed, by the luminous and affecting sketch which he has given of the most important features in the religious history of this country. It is impossible for us to do justice to the merits of his work in the limits of this journal; bu: we shall extract some of the most striking and important passages, in the hope, that they may direct the attention of our readers to a book, which cannot be too widely circulated, in the present age of prejudice and misrepreThe following is Mr. sentation. Southey's introduction. "Manifold as are the blessings for which Englishmen are beholden to the institutions of their country, there is no part of those institutions from which they derive more important advantages than from its Church Establishment, none by which the temporal condition of all ranks has been so materially improved. many of our countrymen would not be ungrateful for these benefits, if they knew how numerous and how great they are, So how dearly they were prized by our forefathers, and at how dear a price they were purchased for our inheritance; by what religious exertions, what heroic devotion, what precious lives, consumed in pious labours, wasted away in dungeons, or offerledge which, if early inculcated, might arm ed up amid the flames. This is a knowthe young heart against the pestilent errors of these distempered times. I offer, therefore, to those who regard with love and reverence the religion which they have received from their fathers, a brief but comprehensive record, diligently, faithfully, and conscientiously composed, which they may put into the hands of their children. Herein it will be seen from what heathenish delusions and inhuman rites the inhabitants of this island have been delivered by the Christian faith; in what manner the best interests of the country were advanced by the clergy even during the darkest ages of papal domination; the errors and crimes of the Romish Church, and how when its corruptions were at the worst, the daybreak of the Reformation appeared among us: the progress of that Reformation through evil and through good; the e tablishment of a Church pure in its doctrines, irreproachable in its order, beautiful in its forms; and the conduct of that prosperous times, alike faithful to its priuChurch proved both in adverse and in ciples when it adhered to the monarchy during a successful rebellion, and when it opposed the monarch who would have brought back the Romish superstition, and together with the religion, would have overthrown the liberties, of England."Vol. I. p. 1. The whole of the early part of this work, which gives an account of the religion of the ancient Britons, and Anglo Saxons, would admit of very considerable abridgment, which we venture to recommend, not with a view to shortening the book, but in order that room may be gained for a more particular account of later periods, in which a livelier interest is naturally felt. For the same reason we should advise the compression of the fifth chapter, which is principally taken up with a minute account of the Scandinavian Mythology as it is set forth in the Edda. The causes which promoted the success of Christianity amongst the Anglo-Saxons are thus ably stated in the fourth chapter. "In regarding the triumph of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons, a natural inquiry arises why it should have been so easily established, and with so little struggle, seeing that its introduction into heathen countries has in later centuries been found so exceedingly difficult, as at one time to be generally considered hopeless, and almost impossible without a miracle. This striking difference is to be explained by the very different circumstances under which all recent attempts had been undertaken, and the different character of the false faiths against which they were directed, "The paganism of our Saxon ancestors was not rooted in their history, nor inti mately connected with their institutions and manners; it had no hold upon the reason, the imagination, or the feelings of the people. It appealed to no records, or inspired founders: in its forms it was poor and unimpressive; there was nothing useful or consolatory in its tenets; and whatever strength it derived from local superstitions was lost by transplantation; for the conquerors, when they settled in Britain, were cut off from those sacred places in their native land which they had regarded with hereditary reverence. Such a religion, without pomp and without pretensions, had nothing which could be opposed to Christianity. On the other hand, the Christian missionaries came with the loftiest claims, and with no mean display of worldly dignity. They appeared not as unprotected, humble, and indigent adventure:s, whose sole reliance was upon the compassion of those whom they offered to instruct; but as members of that body by which arts and learning were exclusively possessed,....a body enjoying the highest consideration and the highest influence throughout all the Christian kingdoms: they came as accredited messengers from the head of that body, and from that city, which, though no longer the seat of empire, was still the heart of the European world; for wheresoever the Christian religion had extended itself in the west, Rome was already a more sacred name than it had ever been in the height of its power. "The missionaries therefore appeared with a character of superiority, their claim to which was not to be disputed. They spake as men having authority. They appealed to their books for the history of the faith which they taught: and for the truth of its great doctrines they appealed to that inward evidence which the heart of man bears in the sense of its own frailties, and infirmities, and wants. They offered an universal instead of a local religion; a clear and coherent system instead of a mass of unconnected fancies; an assured and unquestionable faith for vague and unsettled notions, which had neither foundation nor support. The errors and fables with which Romish Christianity was debased, in no degree impeded its effect: gross as they were, it is even probable that they rendered it more acceptable to a rude and ignorant people....a people standing as much in need of rites and cere monies, of tangible forms, and a visible dispensation, as the Jews themselves when the law was promulgated. The missionaries also possessed in themselves a strength beyond what they derived from their cause, and from the adventitions circumstances that favoured them. They were the prime spirits of the age, trained in the most per fect school of discipline, steady in purpose, politic in contrivance, little scrupulous concerning the measures which they cmployed, because they were persuaded that any measures were justifiable if they cơnduced to bring about the good end which was their aim. This principle led to abominable consequences among their successors, but they themselves had no sinister views; they were men of the loftiest minds, and ennobled by the highest and holiest motives; their sole object in life was to increase the number of the blessed, and extend the kingdom of their Saviour, by communicating to their fellow-creatures the appointed means of salvation; and elevated as they were above all worldly |