ITS PERFECT SUFFICIENCY. 39 savingly, by the teachings of the Holy Spirit to those, and those only, who are "the faithful and chosen, and called." Thus in a variety of ways it was and is "delivered;" and this implies that it was graciously communicated as a precious and invaluable gift, to be gratefully received-and, as an important trust to the. Church of Christ, to be improved, communicated, contended for, and sacredly preserved. For all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work." 66 Secondly. Mark its perfect sufficiency. It was once delivered to the saints. Once," (αжα) (for all succeeding times, as the term in the original denotes,) and this intimates its perfect sufficiency and completeness. The canon of scripture is incapable of addition, improvement, or alteration. Bishop Horsley, speaking of the perfect sufficiency of the sacred scriptures, says, "The most illiterate christian, if he can but read the English Bible, and will take the pains to read it prayerfully, will not only attain at that practical knowledge which is necessary to salvation, but, by God's blessing, will become learned in every thing relating to his religion in such a degree that he will not be liable to be 40 66 HUMAN ADDITIONS TO THE FAITH." misled either by the refined arguments, or by the false assertions of those who engraft their own opinions upon the word of God." So perfect is the faith " once delivered," that we are not to expect any other, or a fresh revelation of the mind and will of God. But the Puseyite and popish clergy tell us (for in many of their opinions they are quite as one) that there is the written and the unwritten word of God, and that by the latter the former is to be explained and understood; thus insinuating the incompleteness and insufficiency of the volume of inspired truth. But woe will be to the man, or men, who shall attempt to add to or take away from "the faith once delivered to the saints." Yet it may be boldly asked, do not those attempt. to add to the faith who, in this our day, would have us join Tradition's doubtful communications, or the ancient "fathers" foolish fallacies, to the certain declarations of the word of God? And again, do not they take away from the grandeur and supreme authority of the Bible, who tell us, in their Ninety Tracts, that as to "the faith," in order to understand it, we are not exclusively to ask, "What saith the Scriptures ?" and to exercise the inalienable right of private judgment, but they say to us, in reply to that question, "Hear the Church." It is thus that they make the 66 THE FAITH."-ITS DEPOSITORY. 41 commandment of God of none effect by their tradition.* Thirdly. Once more observe, the hallowed depository of the faith. For it was once delivered; but to whom? To "the saints." And this shows they are to be regarded as the conservators of the faith. Unto them were committed * Bishop Jeremy Taylor says, "The way of the ancient and primitive church was to expound the Scriptures [not by tradition, but] by the Scriptures." "The attempt to set up catholic tradition and the teaching of the Church as a joint rule of faith, directly brings in what the apostle terms another gospel."-See Bishop of Calcutta's Sermons on the Sufficiency of Scripture as a rule of Faith. "When Christianity was fully established, and the canon of Scripture completed and recognised, a fresh current, not of apostolic, but of human tradition, originating in the primitive times, began to flow, and at first almost imperceptibly, corrupting and perverting the pure doctrines of the apostles, as taught by themselves and recorded in their writings, ('the only sure and authoritative tradition,' as Irenaeus justly styles it,) overspread the face of the church.". "After ages of darkness the providence of God interposed for the rescue of apostolic and scriptural truth, by the blessed Reformation. The principle upon which that great event was founded was an appeal from tradition to the testimony of the holy scriptures."-See the Dean of Sarum's Charge, October, 1842. 42 66 the oracles of God. And by the saints has been preserved in the Church of Christ this precious communication, and through successive ages has been handed down in the scriptures of divine truth—in the simplicity of New-Testament worship; and in the ordinances of religion and the means of grace, "the faith" which was once delivered to the saints. Genuine saints have always prized the faith, practised the faith, preserved the faith, and protected and propagated the faith. But all this they could not have done if they had not obeyed the apostolic injunction, " contend earnestly for the faith." And this faith, which has a holy God for its author and object, and holy doctrines for its creed and substance, and holy practices for its fruits and evidences, cannot, in the very nature of things, be" delivered to," or possessed by any others than holy characters, and these are "saints." Can it be supposed, then, that a holy God ever delivered his system of truth, "the faith," to be defended by such licentious characters as King Henry the Eighth, Charles the Second, or our late George the Fourth? And yet these and many other such like unholy characters have, as pretended Heads of the Church, put upon their armorial bearings this preposterous title-" Dei gratia, Defensor Fidei," which is, being interpreted, "By the grace of God, Defender of TRACTARIAN RESTRICTIONS. 43 the Faith." Arrogant claim! Unfounded assertion! Nor was "the faith," ever yet, exclusively delivered to any one particular order of men in the Church, as the priesthood of the Romish hierarchy, and the party who propagate the fallacy of the pretended apostolical succession scheme arrogantly assume. Hence the injustice of the papists who would keep the Bible from the common people, and hence the wickedness, too, of the Puseyistic clergy, who inculcate the propriety of keeping in the back ground, from the view of sinners, some of the grand and glorious doctrines of our holy religion. The Vicar of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, and the author of the notorious tract, No. 90, the Rev. John Henry Newman, B.D., in his "History of the Arians," thus writes:-" Even to the last," says Mr. N., the catechumens were granted nothing beyond a formal and general account of the articles of the Christian faith, the exact and fully-developed doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, and, still more, the doctrine of the atonement as once made upon the cross, and commemorated and appropriated in the Eucharist, these being the exclusive possession of the serious and practised christian." And from these false data he infers the propriety of not preaching the gospel fully and freely to |