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1811.]

Review of Bidlake's Discourses at the Bampton Lecture.

lake seems disposed to undertake, is not that they preach on moral topics, but that the morality which they do preach is not coextensive with the demands of Christianity, is not built on a Christian foundation, is not made to flow from Christian motives, and is not sufficiently enforced by Christian sanctions. What is the morality which Christianity enjoins? The mortification of the whole body of sin; the crucifixion of the flesh with all its affections and lusts; deadness to the world and worldly affections; the renew al of the whole man after the image of God; the sanctification of body and soul; devotedness of the heart to God; a sober, righteous, and godly life; supreme love to God, producing fervent love to man, a scrupulous adherence to all the commandments of God, and a conscientious fulfilment of every relative duty; genuine humility and lowliness of mind, which, renouncing all idea of merit, ascribes not only salvation, but every motion to good, and every restraint from evil, to divine grace. Let a minister preach such a morality as this, the morality of the Bible; let him erect it on the basis of faith in the redemption purchased by Christ Jesus; let him shew it to be the work only of the Holy Spirit, obtained in answer to prayer; let him urge his hearers to it by considerations drawn from the mercy of God and the love of Christ; let him enforce it by spreading all the treasures of heaven and the miseries of hell before their eyes; and then let him see whether any of those who now object to his moral preaching will continue to Till then, he surely has no just cause to complain of those who complain of him, that the morality which he exhibits is not the morality of the Bible. But we do not mean to insinuate that the preacher should do all that we have described in any one sermon. No: let him, proceeding on this general system, take even any single point of social or relative duty, and let him enforce it with a CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 116.

do so.

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due recollection of the large and comprehensive requisitions of which it only forms a part; of the state of the necessity of the grace of the man as a redeemed sinner; and of Holy Spirit, without which we cannot think even a good thought; and be regarded as acting fully up to we will venture to say, that he will the dignity of the preacher and the faith of the Christian. But if, instead of this, in framing his discourse he forgets, or seems to forget, that helpless being, lying under the disman is naturally a depraved and pleasure of the Almighty, and requiring conversion of the heart to God, pardon of sin, and sanctification of soul;-if, losing sight of the true nature and extent of Christian morality, as exhibited in Scripture, he places before his hearers a lax, from its motives and from its ends, scanty, defective morality, disjoined standing on no solid basis, and armed with no influential sanctions; then, we say, he must not be surprised if read their Bibles, should complain men, who care for their souls and of such moral topics as beneath the dignity of the preacher and the faith of the Christian."

cles and Prophecies," and contains The fifth Lecture is "on Miramany of the ordinary common-places the best sermon in the volume, on these subjects. We think this although even here we meet with particular expressions which might justly be objected to.

rected against the errors of enthusiThe remaining Lectures are di asts and fanatics, and their misinterpretation of the Articles. The persons whom the preacher has in the clergy who are usually desigview we conceive to be that part of nated by the title of evangelical, and that part of the laity who adopt the his describing them, at p. 161, as same sentiments. This we infer from sitting at the table of the Lord with us, &c. In this department of the lecturer's labours, as might be expected, he frequently puts off the divine and puts on the poet. A great

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part of his last three sermons is pure fiction. We are far from denying that there are enthusiasts in the world: we ourselves have not been backward in exposing their errors. But Dr. Bidlake has clearly either never met with any of them; or if he has, he has taken no pains to ascertain their character and opinions. He draws from the imagination, not from the life. Could he find none of the writings of these enthusiasts to give him information; no friend to help him, who had ever talked with any of them? Even then, though he might have had less occasion to tax his inventive powers, he would still have been incompetent to the task he has undertaken. As it is, he really seems to know nothing of the matter.

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Let us look at these fanatics or enthusiasts, as delineated in our author's effusions. "As some are disposed to believe nothing, these pro fess implicitly to receive every thing." (We question greatly whether they will receive his dictums). They" are believers by intuition. They ask for no evidence." (It is somewhat fortunate for Dr. Bidlake that they do not: for he would find it very difficult to answer such a demand in this instance)." They reject reason as useless, or even profane ; and trust only to certain inward and equivocal feelings." They act only from an external though imaginary impulse," p. 153. In the spirit of presumption, the enthusiast claims salvation as his right." (This enthusiast is clearly not a Calvinist, an asserter of the doctrine of free unmerited grace: he must be of the Socinian school). The Protestant fanatic "constantly decries virtue and morality, and represents it as even odious in the sight of God," p. 167. "Remorse and repentance make no part of his creed,"ib. And yet Dr. B. represents him, at p. 157, as "describing his conversion as originating from dejection of spirit," "a dread of reprobation," and a sense of his bondage to Satan. "Transgressions," by them, "are called by the name of trials," p. 167: and he inti

mates (p. 172) that they "inveigh against practical yirtue; perpetually stigmatizing good works with oppro brious epithets." Two more quo tations, and we have done with Dr. Bidlake's account of the enthusiasts,

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It would be harsh to say, that enthusias tic principles are hypocritical; but it must be confessed, that they are calculated to encourage hypocrisy. They assimilate to deceitful dispositions; and if they do not find a man a deceiver, not seld om make him so. They promote a superficial righteousness They substitute a nominal for a real religion. cal cure of the soul. They do not probe the They produce an imperfect instead of a radi depths of the wound. But sin must be renounced altogether, or faith will be unavail ing; and grace cannot act on the soul which is not purified*.” p. 204.

"The supreme Being, who should be approached with humility, and with a deep and sincere conviction of our unworthiness; that supreme Being is addressed by enthusiasts in a manner which denotes confidence rather than contrition, unholy presumption rather

than devout awe." p. 207.

Now it will be evident at once, to every intelligent reader, that much of this, and this is but a specimen of what we might have extracted, is the mere flight of Dr. Bidlake's imagination, if he means that it should apply to the evangelical clergymen of the Church of England, or to those of the laity who embrace their sentiments; or, indeed, to any large number of persons out of bed, lam. If all this be not his own inven tion, he ought to produce the sermon or the book on which he grounds his charges.

If he has made them at random, without good proof of their truth, he certainly will be to blame. If he has not, he can name the men, at least the books, which circulate such abominable doctrines. If he is afraid to name them himself, let him point them out privately to us, and we engage to drag them into light, and expose them in their true colours. He is bound, for his own credit's sake, to do this: he can only justi fy his assertions by producing the proof on which they are founded.

*This is new divinity. We had thought, till now, that it must be grace which is to make the soul pure.

1811.] Review of Bidlake's Discourses at the Bampton Lecture.

But would any one believe that in the midst of these, and many more such strong expressions of vituperation, poured forth with singular liberality against fanatics and enthusiasts indiscriminately, we have the following most extraordinary declamation in favour of enthusiasm. "Enthusiasm is often a laudable ardour, which elevates the soul, and serves to raise it to excellence. It is dignified, sentimental, generous, and disinterested. Fanaticism, on the contrary, is base, gloomy, deceitful, sel'fish, and inexorable. Enthusiasm is the friend of virtue, the stimilus of youth, and the strength of manhood. Without enthusiasm action will be languid, and feeling cold. Fanaticism is the incentive to error,

and narrows every virtue; nay, even converts goodness into vice, religion into bigotry, and mercy into persecution. Enthusiasm dares much for the good of mankind, and sacrifices self-interest for the salvation of others. Fanaticism sharpens the dagger of the assassin, and exults in the thousands and tens of thousands it has slain. Enthusiasm

may be tempered with gentleness, and softened by mercy. But fanaticism is incapable of kindness or compunction. Fanaticism, with unconverted Paul, believes that it does good to persecute. Fanaticism, the demon of heathen temples, dictated the severe persecution of the first Christians: it presided over all the cruelties of bigoted Rome; lit the fire of the blessed martyrs; overturned king doms and altars, and arts and sciences; and has deluged the earth with blood and rapine

and devastation. Enthusiasm is indeed an extreme of passion; but without some share of this there can be little excellence, either moral or intellectual; but fanaticism is the destruction of all that is good or great."

pp. 159, 160. The same strange contradiction, the same unaccountable inconsistency, so pervades the three last lectures, that it would be vain to attempt any thing like a review of them. In making such an attempt, we should labour under this disadvantage, that Dr. Bidlake has uttered so many opinions which diametrically oppose each other, that we should often be at a loss to ascertain what were his real sentiments, and must content ourselves with pointing out his inconsistency with himself; a point which is already sufficiently established. When, with all this versatility and unfixedness of sentiment,

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however, Dr. B. attempts to fix the true meaning of those articles of our church which respect justification, faith, good works, and predestination, we shall not be thought to violate the courtesy due to him, when we venture to say, that he has chosen a subject too large for his grasp. If asked for some proof of his incompetency to unravel the intricacies of controversial theology, and to settle disputed points of faith, we could easily overwhelm our readers with proofs. We will spare them, however, and produce only one more from the mass. "Good works," say the articles,

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necessarily out of a true and lively
are pleasing to God, and do spring
faith, insomuch that by them a
lively faith may as evidently be
fruit." Dr. Bidlake, after quoting
known as a tree discerned by the
these words, adds, "This similitude
is very natural and exact.
thusiasts pretend, that as works are
said to be the fruits of faith, there-
fore they must follow of course.
Now the articles of our church never
assert this," p. 199.
do spring necessarily out of a true
"Good works
and lively faith," say the articles :
follow of course," say the enthusi-
"works are the fruits of faith, and
dull that we should have thought
asts. For our own parts, we are so
in the apprehension of every living
these to be identical propositions,
man, had not Dr. B. told us the con-
trary and, with all due deference
mon sense of the thing to his asser-
to him, we must still prefer the com-
tion. After this proof of Dr. Bid-
lake's reasoning powers, it will not
him through the whole of his mazy
be expected that we should follow
wanderings. There are, however,
some incidental observations of so
ourselves bound to notice them.
very singular a kind, that we feel

Doctor Bidlake,
"To make long prayers," says
been at all times the characteristic
"6 seems to have
practice of zealots as well as de-
ceivers."" Long prayers are the sub-
stitute for practical charity: much
speaking for negligence of duty. It
is a weak but very prevailing notion,
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that God will be pleased with incessant supplication," p. 163. Now to say nothing of the prayers of the Church of England, which are none of the shortest, but which Dr. Bidlake seems here to condemn in the mass without mercy, as a substitute, not for the performance, but for the negligence of duty; how will he reconcile the above positions to the apostolic injunctions, "pray without ceasing," "continue in prayer," "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, &c.?" What will he make of our Lord's parable spoken to this end, "that men ought always to pray and not to faint?" What of our Lord's example, "who went into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God?" What of Anna, who "served God with fastings and prayers night and day?" What of a thousand other passages of Scripture, all tending to the same point?

We doubt not that many of the young men who heard this lecture delivered, would feel much gratified by the kind of countenance which they would consider it as giving to their own neglect of prayer; and the more so, as we have looked in vain for any passage of a contrary tendency to counteract the mischievous effect of that under consideration. Surely it would have been the part of a Christian divine, anxious for the souls of his hearers, to have rather pressed on them the duty of earnest and unceasing prayer, than to have said so much to discredit the practice. We do not mean to attribute any intention of this kind to Dr. Bidlake; but the injury he may do is not on that account lessened. And he ought unquestionably to have been guarded, by his sense of the immense importance of prayer, against the possibility of being understood to depreciate its value. He certainly appears to us, by such observations as these, to have been serving the cause of infidelity, instead of counteracting it.

"Blind enthusiasm renounces the offerings of good works as a kind of affront to the Saviour," p. 167. And

does not Dr. Bidlake? Again, "To place any trust in the practice of our duty to God, and our neighbour, is esteemed not only censurable, but even a sign of condemnation; and the poor wretch, who is thus taught to distrust his good actions, loses his virtue in his new religion," p. 168. We doubt, however, whether these are Dr. Bidlake's real sentiments, for at p. 172, we find him, with his usual happy inconsistency, arguing that the church "teaches us, in an express article, not to trust in our works." But if we are mistaken in this judgment of charity, we can only say that his are not the senti ments of the Church of England, or of the Bible. What the articles say, Dr. Bidlake has told us. In addition to this, what says the liturgy, "Grant that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy." "O Lord God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do, mercifully grant, &c." "We do not presume to come to this thy table, Omerciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies." And in the service for the visitation of the sick, we have much that is to the same effect for example, "And forasmuch as he putteth his full trust only in thy mercy, &c." "The Almighty Lord, who is a most strong tower to all them that put their trust in him-make thee to know and feel that there is none other name uoder heaven, given to man, in whom, and through whom, thou mayest receive health and salvation, but only in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Again, we are made to pray in the prayer "for persons troubled in mind or in conscience," that the troubled person "may neither cast away his confidence in thee, nor place it any where but in thee.”* If we turn to

* We recommend the perusal of the whole of this prayer to Dr. Bidlake. He will find from it that many of the features which he ascribes to fanatics, are in truth lineaments of those children of the church whom that compassionate mother cherishes and nourishes with the most assiduous tenderness,

the Scriptures, the passages to the same effect are innumerable. “Trust ye in the Lord for ever." "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." "Cursed is the man that trusteth in man." "Blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God," See also Philip. iii. 3. 8, 9, and many other parallel passages. But it is time that we should conclude this review, already too long. We shall not therefore stop to remark on the style of the author; that we shall leave to the judgment of our readers. Our differences with Dr. Bidlake are of a much more serious kind than could arise from any faults of style. They chiefly respect his facts and his reasonings, neither of which appear to be entitled to the praise of correctness. Where he could have obtained many of his facts, we have failed in all our efforts to form even a probable conjecture; though doubtless he himself has his authorities in petto, which we trust that, for his own sake, he will in due time produce. As for his argumentations, we fear that he

must answer for them in person. We cannot believe that any system of logic taught at Oxford, much as some of our brother critics have said respecting the erroneous systems in vogue there, can have so little affinity with all the received maxims of right reasoning as to have produced all the effects we here witness.

Dr. Bidlake has reiterated the ten thousandth time repeated charge against certain persons, that they falsely accuse the orthodox clergy of not preaching the Gospel. But would not Dr. Bidlake have more satisfactorily repelled such an accusation, from himself at least, by giving us a consistent, scriptural, view of that Gospel, its nature and effects, than by any countercharge, however vehement. That there are

particular passages in these sermons, worthy of a better association we freely admit; but they serve only to make the contrast with other parts the more glaring. And we greatly fear that while Dr. Bidlake continues thus to write, he must be content to have his claim to be considered as preaching the Gospel questioned by many of the most intelligent Christians in the land.

LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE, &c. &c.

GREAT BRITAIN.

In the press: A Series of Letters to a Friend, on the Evidences, Doctrines, and Duties of the Christian Religion; designed chiefly for young Persons; in 2 vols. 12mo. by Dr. Gregory, of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich;—A second volume of Sermons by the Rev. Dr. Brichan, and a new edition of the first;-And Lives of John Seldon, Esq. aud Archbishop Usher, in one volume 8vo. with notices of the English literary characters with whom they were connected, by Dr. Aikin.

Mr. William Jones, author of an Essay on the Life and Writings of Mr. Abraham Booth, has issued proposals for publishing by subscription, in one large octavo volume, "The History of the Evangelical Churches of Piedmont, commonly called the Waldenses and Albigenses."

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