can alledge any other just and reasonable excuse, will endeavour to
compensate for their absence, _by_ occasional visits to their benefices;
_by_ diligent inquiries into the conduct of their assistants; _by_
acts of benevolence, hospitality, and piety; in short, _by_ such
means as testify a readiness to do all the good they can under their
circumstances, and manifest a serious consideration of the duties which,
in some degree or other, are inseparable from the Pastoral Care.
In short, the reason of the thing speaks so strongly for the incumbency
of Parochial Ministers, that they, who have the best excuse to make for
themselves, will lament their absence, and accept the leave granted to
them with regret. And the rest of the Clergy will not allow themselves to
desert their charge, and forfeit the dignity and almost the use of their
destination, for such slight and frivolous reasons as can neither satisfy
themselves nor others: for the convenience, suppose, of living in a
better air or neighbourhood; of seeing a little more, or, what is called,
_better_, company; or sharing in the advantages and amusements, be they
ever so innocent, of the larger and more populous towns.
Pretences of this sort are nothing, when they come in competition _with_
the decency and utility of being where we ought to be, and among those
whom we ought to serve; _with_ the obligation that lies upon us to
make ourselves acquainted with the spiritual and temporal wants of our
people, and, as far as we can, to relieve them; _with_ the precious
opportunities, which a personal residence affords, of knowing their
characters, and of suiting our publick and private applications to them;
_of_ watching over their lives, and contributing to reform or improve
them; _of_ guarding them against the attempts of those who lie in wait
to pervert their minds, and indispose them to our Communion; _with_ the
heart-felt satisfaction of being beloved by our flocks, or of meriting,
at least, to be so; of knowing, in short, that we discharge our duty
towards them; and, while we approve ourselves faithful ministers of the
Church in which we serve, are promoting the noblest ends which a mortal
can propose to himself, The salvation of souls, and the honour and
interest of our divine Religion.
These considerations are so animating, that they cannot but make a deep
impression upon every serious mind; and are so obvious at the same time,
that just to have mentioned them to you must be quite sufficient.
I return, therefore, to the duty of those who, on several accounts, may
very reasonably excuse themselves from a constant personal residence. And
with regard to such of you as may be in this situation, I must,
II. In the second place, recommend it to you, in most particular manner,
that you be careful in looking out for proper persons to supply your
place, and that you faithfully co-operate with me in appointing none but
_regular_, _well-qualified_, and _exemplary Curates_.
By REGULAR Curates, I mean such as lie under no legal disabilities, and
have received episcopal ordination. You will perhaps think it strange
that these cautions should be thought necessary. But in our licentious
times there are those who will presume to offer themselves to you to be
employed as Curates, although they have incurred the public censure of
their superiors, or have not perhaps been admitted into holy Orders.
You will be careful, therefore, before you allow any one to officiate
for you, though for a short time, and on a pressing occasion, to inform
yourself of his general character, and to inspect his Letters of Orders.
But, if you mean to take him for your settled Curate, you must do a
great deal more. You must send him with a _Title_ and _Testimonial_ to
be examined and allowed by me. And then I shall have it in my power,
not only to prevent your being imposed upon by _irregular_ persons,
but to see that you take for your assistants only such as are in all
respects WELL QUALIFIED: including under this term _a competent degree of
knowledge for the service of the Cure to which they are nominated; a good
report of their moral and religious conduct by credible and respectable
witnesses; and a willing conformity to the discipline and doctrine of the
Church of England_.
With these qualifications, it is to be presumed that your Curates will
represent you not unworthily, and will instruct and edify your people
as you yourselves would endeavour to do, if you lived amongst them. And
the rather, as both you and I are concerned _to take care, as much as
possible, that whosoever is admitted to serve any Cure_ DO RESIDE IN THE
PARISH WHERE HE IS TO SERVE: _especially in livings that are able to
support a resident Curate; and, where that cannot be done, that he do
reside at least_ SO NEAR TO THE PLACE, _that he may conveniently perform
all the duties both in the Church and Parish_[30].
Still, it is not enough that an officiating Minister, whether principal
or substitute, be of no ill fame, and under no disability, nay that he
possess the _qualifications_ and the _means_ of discharging his duty.
It is further expected of all who are commissioned to minister in holy
things, and therefore of Curates as well as others, that they execute
their important trusts with fidelity and zeal, that they be EXEMPLARY in
their whole conduct and conversation.
To merit the application of this term to himself, a Clergyman will not
only perform the duties of his Church with becoming seriousness, and
with exact punctuality, but he will be ready at fit seasons to advise
or exhort, to comfort or rebuke, as occasion requires, such of his
parishioners, whether in sickness or health, as may stand in need of his
charitable assistance. He will spend much of his leisure in reading and
meditation, particularly in the study of the sacred Scriptures, that he
may adorn and purify his mind, and qualify himself the better for his
spiritual ministrations. He will even take care that his very amusements
be inoffensive, and not pursued with an eagerness or constancy that may
give occasion for censure or misconstruction. He will be so far from
drawing upon himself the imputation of any gross vice (which it would
be dreadful for a minister of the Gospel to deserve), that he will not
be suspected of levity or dissipation; _but_, as the Canon directs,
_will always be doing the things which shall appertain to honesty, and
endeavouring to profit the Church of God; having always in mind that the
ministers of religion ought to excell all others in purity of life, and
should be examples to the people of good and Christian living_[31].
Such is the conduct which the Church requires of those whom you employ in
the care of your parishes. I hope therefore I shall not be thought too
severe, if I give a particular attention to the appointing and licensing
of Curates, and if I expect of the beneficed Clergy that they chearfully
and heartily concur with me in this necessary circumspection.
To this end, and that the Church may be served with reputable and useful
ministers, I must,
III. Further make it my earnest request (and this is the _last_
particular I have at present to give in charge to you), that you take
especial care _what persons you recommend to me on all occasions_.
It is my duty, and if it were not, it would be my inclination, to rely
much on your advice in all things; much more, to lay the greatest stress
on your opinion and sentiments, when presented to me under your hands in
the solemn way of a Testimonial. No consideration, therefore, I hope will
ever prevail with you, no bias of acquaintance, neighbourhood, civility,
or compassion (for I shall never suspect my brethren of any worse
motive), to give the credit of your testimony to any person whatever that
is unworthy of it, whether for the purpose of obtaining holy Orders, or
my License to a Cure, or Institution to a Benefice. The most scrupulous
good faith must be observed in all these cases; or it will be impossible
for me to prevent those scandals, which an unqualified Clergy will be
sure to give to the world, and the infinite mischiefs they do to Religion.
Whenever you set your hand to a testimonial, consider, I beseech you,
that the honour of the Church is concerned in what you are doing; that
the edification of the people, the integrity of their lives and purity
of their faith, the salvation, in short, of their souls, depends on
your signature. When such momentous interests as these are at stake,
inattention is something worse than _neglect_, and the easiness of
good-nature the greatest _cruelty_.
And now, my reverend brethren, by observing these few plain directions—by
residing on your benefices when you can, and by improving that residence
to its proper uses—or, when you cannot reside yourselves, by employing
only resident and respectable Curates—and, lastly, by a scrupulous use
of your credit with me in recommending none but fit persons for the
several departments of the Ministry.—By complying, I say, with my earnest
request, in these several instances, you will render the government of
this Diocese easy and pleasant to me. I reckon so much on your kindness
to me as to believe that _this_ consideration will be some inducement to
you. But there are _others_ of more importance. For you will consult your
_own_ honour, and that of your _Order_: You will rejoice the hearts of
your _friends_, and stop the mouths of your _enemies_.
I said, _of your enemies_; for enemies you will always have, so long as
there are bad men. And, while we endeavour to lessen the number of these,
it should be our utmost care that none but _such_ be ill-affected towards
us. God forbid that the friends of virtue and religion should have so
much as a pretence to speak or think ill of us! They cannot have this
pretence, but through our own fault. Be we therefore strictly observant
of our duty: Let us be seen, where the world will naturally look for us,
in our proper places, intent on our proper business; and acting in our
proper characters; and we shall infallibly secure the esteem of _good_
men, and till it please God to touch and convert their hearts, we may
defy the malice of _bad_ ones.
The truth is, my reverend brethren, it depends very much on ourselves,
whether the world shall conceive well or ill of us. Licentious and
unbelieving as that world is, a learned and prudent and pious Clergyman
will force respect from it. The more it may be inclined to blame, the
greater must be our diligence and circumspection. And to animate myself
and you to this care, is the whole end and purpose of this friendly
address to you.
It only remains that _I pray_, with the holy Apostle, _that we may abound
in knowledge and in all judgment; that we may approve things that are
excellent; that we may be sincere and without offence till the day of
Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Him
to the glory and praise of God_[32].
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
_The Use and Abuse of Reason in Matters
of Religion_:
A
CHARGE
OF THE
BISHOP OF WORCESTER
TO THE
CLERGY OF HIS DIOCESE.
DELIVERED IN THE YEAR 1785.
A CHARGE, &c.
REVEREND BRETHREN,
Without the use of Reason in Religion, we are liable to be imposed upon
by others. With the immoderate or indiscreet use of it, we impose upon
ourselves. Both extremes are to be carefully avoided: but the _latter_,
being that into which we are most in danger of falling in these times,
will possibly deserve your first and principal attention.
Indeed the great Apostle of the Gentiles, foreseeing the mischiefs which
the pride of human reason would produce in the Church of Christ, gave
a timely warning to the Roman converts, _not to be wise in their own
conceits_[33]. And whoever considers the history of the Church from that
time to this, will find that nothing has been so injurious to it as the
affectation of being wise _above_, or _beside_, what is written; I mean,
in opposing our own sense of things to the authority of Scripture, or
(which is the commoner, because something the modester way of the two)
in forcing it out of the sacred text by a licentious interpretation. In
either way, we idolize our own understandings; and are guilty of great
irreverence towards the word of God.
It infinitely concerns the preachers of the Gospel to stand clear of
these imputations; and therefore it may not be unsuitable to the occasion
of our present meeting, if I set before you what I take to be the whole
office of REASON on the subject of revealed Religion; what it has to do,
and what it should forbear to attempt; how far it may and should go, and
where it ought to stop; and lastly, how important it is for a Christian
teacher, and indeed for every Christian man, to confine his curiosity
within those bounds.
I. The first and principal office of Reason on this subject is to see
whether Christianity be a divine Religion; in other words, whether the
Scriptures, especially those of the New Testament, which contain the
religion of Christians, be written by inspiration, or have no higher
authority than the compositions of mere fallible men.
Now, for this purpose, you will collect and examine the numerous proofs,
_external_ and _internal_, which have been alledged as the proper grounds
of assent to the truth of Christianity: The proof EXTERNAL; first, from
_Prophecy_, involving in it an incredible number of probabilities,
some less striking than others, but all of them of some moment in your
deliberation; secondly, from _Miracles_, said to have been purposely
wrought to attest the truth of Christianity; recorded by persons of the
best character, who themselves performed there miracles, or saw them
performed, or had received the accounts of them immediately from the
workers and eye-witnesses of them; and not questioned, as far as we know,
by any persons of that time, or for some ages afterwards. In the next
place, you will consider the INTERNAL PROOF, from the history and genius,
from the claims and views and pretensions of this Religion.
Under this _last_ head, you will particularly attend to the promises said
to have been made by Jesus to his disciples; and to the manner in which
those promises appear to have been made good: the promise of inspiration
to the Apostles, and the evidence they afterwards gave of their being
actually so inspired.
Above all, you will carefully inspect those books which contain the
account of these and other momentous things, as well as the doctrines of
Christianity itself; and you will see whether the _facts_ they relate
be, any of them, contradicted by authentick history, or the _doctrines_
they deliver be repugnant to the first and clearest principles of human
knowledge. You will next inquire whether these books, containing nothing
but what is credibly or supposeably true, were indeed written by the
persons whose names they bear, and not by persons of later times, or by
persons of that time, whose authority is more questionable. You will,
further, consider what _degree_ of inspiration these writings claim
to themselves, and whether their claims have, in any instance, been
discredited and confuted. You will, lastly, take into your account the
_event_ of things, and will reflect how far the success of so great
an undertaking has corresponded to the supposition of its having been
divinely directed; if, in short, you can any way account for what you
know and see to be clear and evident _fact_ on any other supposition.
Such, I think, is the outline of what must be thought the duty of a
reasonable inquirer into the pretensions of Christianity. To fill up
this sketch would require a volume: but you see from these hints that
here is room enough for the exercise of the understanding, for the full
display, indeed, of its best faculties. If Christianity, which invites,
will stand the test of this inquiry, you cannot complain that Reason has
not enough to do, or that your reception of it, as a divine revelation,
is not founded on reason. Only, let me caution you against coming hastily
to a conclusion from a slight or summary view of the particulars here
mentioned. You must have the patience to evolve them all; to weigh the
moment of each taken separately, and to decide at length on the united
force of these arguments, when brought to bear on the _single_ point to
which you apply them, the DIVINE AUTHORITY of your religion.
To grasp all these considerations in one view will require the utmost
effort of the strongest mind: And, when you have done this, you will
remember that very much (so widely extended and so numerous are the
presumptions on this subject) has probably, nay, has certainly, escaped
your best attention.
However, on these grounds, I will now suppose that a serious man, who
would be, and is qualified to be, a believer on conviction, has fully
satisfied himself that Christianity is true, and that the Scriptures, in
which the whole of that religion is contained, are of divine authority.
II. A second and very momentous use of Reason will then be, To scrutinize
these Scriptures themselves, now admitted to be divine; that is, to
investigate their true sense and meaning. For, whatever their authority
be, as they were written for the use of men, they must be studied, and
can only be understood, as other writings are, by applying to them the
usual and approved rules of human criticism.
I have already supposed, that you have seen enough of these Scriptures to
be satisfied of their containing no contradictions to the clear intuitive
principles of human knowledge. For this satisfaction must precede the
general conclusion, that the Scriptures are divinely revealed; all truth
being consistent with itself, and it being impossible that any evidence
for the truth of revelation should be stronger than that of Intuition.
Still, it remains to inquire of doctrines taught in these books, and
apparently, as to the general sense of them, not inadmissible, what is
their precise and accurate interpretation.
And here, besides the use of languages, antiquities, history, and such
other helps as are necessary to the right understanding of all ancient
books, you will have ample scope for the exercise of your sagacity in
studying the character of the sacred writers, the genius and views of
each, with the peculiarities of their style and method; in tracing
the connexion of their ideas, the pertinence and coherence of their
reasonings; in comparing the same writer with himself, or different
writers with each other; in explaining the briefer and darker passages
by what is delivered more at large and more perspicuously elsewhere; in
apprehending the harmony of their general scheme, and the consistency of
what they teach on any particular subject.
In all these ways, and if there be any other, your Reason may be and
should be employed with all the attention of which ye are capable. And
when this task is now performed, and you have settled it in your own
minds what the true genuine doctrines of Christianity are; what our
religion teaches of divine things, and what it prescribes to us in moral
matters; What more remains to be done? Clearly, but this—To BELIEVE, AND
TO LIVE, according to its direction.
But, instead of acquiescing in this natural and just conclusion, the
curiosity of the human mind is ready to engage us in new and endless
labours. “_The wise in their own conceits_ will examine this Religion,
and see if it be REASONABLE: for surely nothing can proceed from Heaven
but the purest and brightest reason.”
Here, _first_, they perplex themselves and others, by the use of an
ambiguous term: for, by _reasonable_ is meant, either what is _not
contrary_ to the clearest principles of reason, or what is _clearly
explicable_, in all respects, by those principles. In the _former_ sense,
it must be maintained that Christianity is a _reasonable_ Religion, and
that no such contrariety to reason is to be found in it. In the _latter_
sense, it may be true that Christianity is _not reasonable_, I mean,
that the reasons on which it is founded are not always apparent to us:
but then this sense of the word is not pertinent to the case in hand;
and we may as well pretend that the constitution of the natural world is
_unreasonable_, as that the system of Revelation is so, because we are
in the same ignorance, for the most part, of the grounds and reasons on
which either fabrick is erected.
In the _next_ place, supposing that, by intense pains, and a greater
sagacity than ordinary, we are enabled to see, or guess at least, in some
instances, on what principles of reason the great scheme of revelation
or some of its doctrines at least are founded, what do we get by the
discovery? Only, the addition of a little speculative knowledge, which
does not make us at all _wiser_ to salvation, than we were before, and
possibly not _so wise_; since _knowledge_, we know, _puffeth up_, and
_God giveth grace to the humble_.
But, _lastly_, how do we arrive at this supposed pre-eminence of wisdom?
Generally, by forcing the word of God to speak _our_ sense of it, and not
his; by taking advantage of some difficult texts, and by wresting many
plain ones; by making every thing bend, in short, to our presumptuous
fancies and preconceived opinions.
You see, then, what my meaning is—“That the EVIDENCE of Christianity, and
not its _rationale_ (which, however justly conceived and ably executed,
cannot extend so far as curious men require, because Reason itself is so
limited); I say then that the _evidence_ of our religion is the proper
object of inquiry;” and “that the _Scriptures_ are to be admitted in that
sense which they obviously bear, on a fair unforced construction of them,
although that sense appear strange to us, or be, perhaps, inexplicable;”
in a word, that the AUTHORITY and RIGHT INTERPRETATION of Scripture
are what we ought to look after, and not the REASONABLENESS of what it
teaches.
THE TRUTH is (for I would now, in conclusion, point out to you the
mischievous _effects_ of this curious theology, which has so much engaged
the minds of Christians), the truth, I say, is, That we know not what we
do, when we take heaven, as it were, to task, and examine a confessedly
divine Revelation by the twilight of our Reason.
1. One effect is (and can there be a more dreadful one?) that this
inquisitive humour, thus leads directly to _Infidelity_, and even
_Atheism_. For _the wise in their own conceits_, not being able to clear
up many parts of the divine dispensations, whether of nature or grace,
to their satisfaction, hastily conclude that there _is_ no fitness
or wisdom, where they _see_ none, and make their inapprehension an
argument for their rejection of both. A perverse conduct, indeed! but so
common, that I doubt whether there be any _other_ so fruitful source of
irreligion. But
2. When the mischief does not proceed to this extreme, still it is no
small evil, that heresies arise, and must for ever arise, among believers
themselves, from this way of subjecting the word of God to the scrutiny
of our reason. For this faculty, being a different thing, under the same
name, in every pretender to it, and, in its most improved state, being
naturally incapable, where the revelation itself is silent or obscure,
of deciding on what is fit and right in the divine counsels, must needs
lead to as many different views and conclusions, as there are capacities
and fancies of curious men. And, as every man’s reason is infallible to
himself, because his _own_ reason, his zeal in the propagation of what
he calls _truth_, will keep pace with his presumption, till all is noise
and dissonance and discord; till peace and charity forsake the world;
till Religion herself disappears; and what is left to usurp her name and
place is only an art, or rather a fit, of disputation. Then consider