66 "magistrate hath authority, and it is his duty, to take "order that unity and peace be preserved in the church; "that the truth of God be kept pure and entire ; "that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline pre"vented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God 66 duly settled, administered and observed; for the bet"ter effecting whereof, he hath power to call synods, "to be present at them, and to provide that whatso"ever is transacted in them be according to the mind "of God."* It had also been declared, in these standards, as the import of Scripture, that the church ought to be "furnished with all Gospel officers and ordinances countenanced and maintained by the civil "magistrate."+ To these declarations, taken in their broadest sense, the original Seceders in their Testimony made no objection. "On the contrary," (says Dr M'Crie, one of the most eminent of their representatives in the present day,) "the whole doctrine "contained in the Confession of Faith, and Larger "Catechism, was expressly approved and homologat"ed." Accordingly, the same respectable author has proved decisively, from the writings of many of the original Seceders, that, as individuals, and in their state of secession, they still remained unshaken in their ad 66 * Confession of Faith, chap. xxiii. sect. 3. + See Larger Catechism. "Statement of the difference" between the original Seceders and the new Testimony and other Acts of the General Associate Synod, p. 91. herence to the great principles of an establishment, as maintained in the standards of the church from which they had separated.* From these circumstances, it might, at least, have been hoped that the subject in question was not one about which the peace of the Church of Scotland was to be very soon disturbed. Indeed, no considerable body of men, maintaining opposite opinions respecting it, have withdrawn from the communion of the National Church in this part of the United Kingdom, since the time to which we have referred. But some of the late or existing representatives of those original Seceders, whose conduct we have traced as entitling them to such respect, have not thought it unworthy of the name they bear to take a zealous part in opposition to those principles which the founders of their own church had in this case maintained; and the tone of discussion, assumed by one of these gentlemen,-though likely to defeat its own purpose,-leaves us in no doubt about either the result of the controversy to which some look forward, or the means which they are willing to employ for the accomplishment of their object. The author in question does not conclude his lucubrations without distinctly threatening the civil government of the country. "If it fairly engage" (says he)" in "the contest, on this side”—the side of establishments -" its existence is obviously staked on the issue, and "that issue can hardly be long doubtful. The voluntary churches, with their friends, or those who 66 "Statement of the difference," &c. pp. 91-97. 66 "would inevitably be their friends in such a conflict as we refer to, amount, we are persuaded, to full two"thirds of the whole population; and besides the apparent equity of their claims, and the moral and re"ligious improvements they wish to introduce, they "hold out to the country the reversion of all the ec"clesiastical livings in the empire as the reward of "success. Their spirit too is as determined as their "numbers are formidable." "In our "country indeed (adds he) the employment of the "sword is out of the question. The great majority "of our soldiers and sailors belong to that very class of "which our voluntary churches are chiefly composed."* Such language cannot be misunderstood by those to whom it seems to be addressed; but to them it can give no disturbance; nor is it possible that others can be provoked by it to any reply but that of calm and dispassionate argument. 66 * Ballantyne's Comparison of Established and Dissenting "Churches," pp. 310-313. It is painful to advert to such language as proceeding from one who, so far as concerns this world, is no longer in "the land "of the living." It is hoped that Mr Ballantyne now enjoys the reward of much faithful service to his Heavenly Master, which had no connection with this or any other controversy. But this consideration will not supersede the necessity of adverting, even more particularly, to some foul aspersions which he has unfortunately cast on the clergy of the Church of Scotland. If his character and talents be rated as high by the public, as they appear to be by some of his surviving friends, it is only an additional reason why such misrepresentations cannot be allowed to pass without notice. CHAPTER I. ON THE DIVINE AUTHORITY FOR ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. SOME authors have been willing to rest the vindication of ecclesiastical establishments almost exclusively on the ground of public expediency; and I have no hesitation in saying that, though it were not in our power to plead any other and higher authority, the vindication of such establishments would be triumphant. But it does not follow that, knowing them to be countenanced and supported by Divine authority, we ought either to be neglectful of this argument or to leave it in the back-ground. If it were not to be presented in that prominent view to which it is entitled, some might be inclined to suppose that it was abandoned as untenable; and we should certainly deny ourselves, not only the strongest ground, separately considered, upon which any cause can be maintained, but also an important advantage arising from it in the subsequent part of the argument. It may be fairly pleaded that the light of nature, or the great principles of reason and conscience, which God hath implanted in man, direct us to respect and maintain ecclesiastical establishments as conducive to His honour in the world. If the light of nature call us to regard ourselves as the creatures of God, indebted to him and dependent on him for all things, it should certainly direct us to offer unto him religious worship and homage ;-and, if so, is it possible that it should not direct us, on fit and proper occasions, to present our worship and homage in such a way as may admit of every individual deriving countenance and encouragement from the example of his brethren around him? Or is it possible that the individuals who constitute a nation,-connected as they are by so many endearing and salutary ties,-should not feel it incumbent on them to provide for the worship of God being maintained among them in their public and national capacity? Our duty in this respect to the great Being who made us is rendered evident in a way which wise men are not accustomed to disregard or treat lightly in any other case ;-there has been a general and practical acknowledgment of it on the part of mankind from the beginning. Notwithstanding the corruption and degeneracy of the human race, and the idolatry into which they were thereby seduced, they never lost sight of their obligation-as communities or in their collective capacity-to provide for the worship of that Being, or those imaginary beings, in whom they supposed themselves to live and move. In the more en B |