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confirm, if they do not undoubtedly esta- | the Oxford Tract Writers has really been, blish, the same supposition.

"Let it for a moment be assumed as true, and then we shall feel ourselves to be thrown upon a careful observance of the rule-a rule given to us in the Scriptures-to judge of miraculous pretensions always by their accordance with the first and great truths of theology; or their tendency to subvert those truths, or to wean and seduce the hearts of men from the worship and love of God.

"We, then, appeal to the tendency, or drift, and ulterior consequence of the miracles in question. If in fact, and when regarded in the calmest and most comprehensive manner, such miracles have constantly operated to debauch the religious sentiments of mankind-if they have confirmed idolatrous practices-if they have enhanced that infatuation which has hurried men into the degrading worship of subordinate divinities;-we then boldly say that--whether natural or preternatural, such miracles are not from God; but from 'the Enemy.'

“Lct us, then, with all possible indulgence and candour, review the system or scheme of martyr worship, which those miracles established. And let not this worship be hastily condemned, on a narrow adduction of evidence :-let us not judge of it as to its theological quality and tendency, until we have reviewed it in its course through long periods of time, -let us take in a cycle of fifteen hundred years.

"In one word, then, let the conscientious reader say, whether the practice of frequenting shrines, and of praying to the martyrs, and of importuning them for favours, common and supernaturalwhether this practice, precisely such as we find it described and recommended by the great writers and bishops of the Nicene church, has tended to preserve the purity and spirituality of that worship, which should be rendered to God; or whether it has had the directly contrary effect, and has been the PRINCIPAL MEANS, from the date of the council of Nice to the present moment, of perpetuating a worship which has all the customary qualities, external and internal, of polytheism and idolatry?"

PROSPECTS OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. (Extracted from the same Work.) The author insists, that the object of

to establish astern hierarchical despotism, founded on principles loftier and more profound and more spiritual, than those of the Romish tyranny; and among other things to restore the saint-worship and shrine-services of" primitive catholicity;" after which he writes as follows:

"But it is said, the traitorous attempt has already failed by the incautious haste of its authors. Alas! it has failed, only to extend itself in a more insidious manner. The fatal machine has indeed exploded; but the fragments have covered the land, carrying with them a fire that smoulders in a corner of almost every parish church. Principles essentially anti-Protestant, and which work directly counter to the Reformation, and which quash effectively, though silently, all evangelic feeling, are entertained (it is too evident) by very many who still cordially assent to the Twenty-second Article, and who would reject with indignation any obtrusive form of the ancient polytheistic superstition.

"The revivers of Church principles will be content, for a season, with this their tacit triumph. They well know, that the leaven will work in its time; and that even if the Protestant prejudices,' of the men of this generation should forbid the immediate success of their machinations, their more docile sons-schooled by themselves, will eagerly listen to 'sound teaching.' It may be so;—and should the yet faithful Protestant clergy continue to be silent, presuming that the 'Oxford heresy' will quickly fall into oblivion, it probably will. But are we, then, so absurd as to imagine, that the people of this country are likely to be gulled by the frauds and impieties of martyr-worship? No :-this cloud shall never again darken the skies of England,-THE PEOPLE Will not be so fooled. What, then, is the danger which may reasonably be apprehended?

"It is this-That the clergy, seduced by the lure of Church principles, should silently surrender the PROTESTANT Episcopal church to the growing influence of its insidious enemies, who, favoured but a little more, will hurry it on to its overthrow, in the company of Rome, when the idols of the nations' shall fall, to be seen no more."

A Sermon,

BY THE REV. THOMAS BINNEY.

PREACHED AT THE WEIGH-HOUSE CHAPEL, FISH STREET HILL,
ON SUNDAY EVENING, DEC. 26, 1841.

"The eleventh hour."-Matthew xx. 6.

God may send down His Spirit with our words, and that some true and seasonable thing' may be said, that may be blessed to the souls of many.

WITH most of us, this is very nearly the last public service of the year. With some, there may be public services yet before them; perhaps the most of us will not attend them. With respect to all of us, it is the last Sabbath service: the In the first place, as to the force and closing hour of those "first days of the meaning of this phrase: the day, you week," appropriated to public devotion know, is supposed to be divided into and public instruction, a long series of twelve hours; when the eleventh strikes, which we have enjoyed, all having voices the day is about to die; and this is transof love and mercy, warning and instruc-ferred to life. An aged man, in the course tion. They are all just about to close of nature, is looked upon as having arall the series of this year; presently they rived at "the eleventh hour." People rewill all be gone, with their account to gard him in that light, whether he reGod-their account of the manner in gards himself in that light or not. And which they have been received. And yet it is wonderful, to observe how difgone perhaps, as to some of you, (if it ficult it is to get even the aged to realise should not be thought too violent a figure the fact, that with respect to them "the and an expression,) wounded and bleed- | eleventh hour" has come; they are far ing, like the servants that the lord of the more apt to cast in their minds and to vineyard sent for the fruits, who were recollect the names of all their acquaintdespitefully used wounded and bleed- ances, who have lived some years longer ing, and crying to God against you, who than they,--dwelling very frequently upon have thus abused what came from God, as such instances, rather than rememberan expression of God's love and mercy, ing the far greater number, that have and has been sent back again with this not seen the years to which their age answer of contempt.

amounts.

We are in the last hour of the Sabbath But not only so: in the language services of the year: "the eleventh of Scripture, beautiful and expressive, hour." Or should I say the twelfth?" the sun" may "go down while it is yet The eleventh has struck, and the twelfth day;" the night may come before the is passing on, and the moment when all meridian. An individual may not be old, but he may be sick and dying; and then we speak of its being "the eleventh hour" with him," the eleventh hour," even though with respect to his age and

shall close is just upon us.

Let me try to make two or three observations upon this to-night; and lift up your hearts, brethren, with mine, that

VOL. XIV.

D

strength naturally, he may be but in the But preparation for death, looking at it blush of the dawn, or advancing onwards morally-spiritually, is a very different in the rise of the day.

thing. And that is the business of very different hours than "the eleventh." It should be thought of long before, deeply felt long before, and set about as the great business of all the hours preceding the eleventh; their proper business, but not the proper business of the eleventh itself.

Now with respect to the impression that is made upon the mind by this figure, and the feeling associated with it by most people: the idea is, that at "the eleventh hour," whenever that may be, the individual feels and believes, and his friends feel and believe with him, that death is inevitable, that life is closing, Now with respect to this parable, in and that it is time to be religious. And which the words occur, that I have just though people do not say so, they feel it, read it cannot apply to the case of any that excuses and apologies may be found of you, if with your privileges, your relifor neglecting religion before. Nay, there gious advantages, the Gospel in your is a sort of impression, as if religion was hands, the Lord's Sabbaths, all these not exactly the business-was not posi- blessings, you are to go on neglecting tively and pointedly the business of the them all, shutting your ears to these vatime preceding this, but is now empha-rious calls and offers of mercy, and then tically the business; as if the particular expect at "the eleventh hour" you can message of the eleventh hour were, that just come and be of the class of the lathe man is now to prepare for death, and to make his peace with God, and thus to be ready calmly and tranquilly to leave life. And so there come religious books -serious conversation-the open Bible the minister to be sent for-prayer to be made-perhaps the sacrament to be received; and the time of sickness extended, giving opportunity for all this, looked upon as matter of great advantage. And then the man will die-will die feeling as if he had been highly favoured, as if all was right, his peace made with God. He dies; and "the eleventh hour," that found him negligent, is to leave him saved and blessed.

I fear, impressions of this sort are ruining many. Suppose we just make an observation or two to-night, to lead you to another sort of feeling-to lead you to take another view.

bourers here mentioned, and that all will be right. The parable was not intended to teach any such thing; and you abuse it, if you permit it to lull your minds into any such impression. I doubt not, that Christ's intention in it had respect to the calling of the Gentiles long after the Jews had been called, and thus the extension of revelation-the extension of the Gospel with its privileges and offers of mercy. If you are to take it and apply it to yourselves, I think you will find, that it would seem to take off the blame from you for not having gone into the vineyard before" the eleventh hour." We have no intimation that these men were "in the market-place" before; at all events, the master did not come and call them till the eleventh hour; there was no offer of the Gospel to them till then; but is that your case? Why, you have been in the vineyard-you have been in it all your lives; you have been called upon to do the work of it; you have been surrounded by all its benefits and blessings; and you are not

I do not think, that the proper business of "the eleventh hour" is to prepare for death. Its proper business may be to prepare to die; just for a man to collect his thoughts, (as it were) to trim himself and prepare for the act of dying. to suppose that you may calmly wait

about, as if no man had called you, as if when instead of this, the man has the im nothing had been offered, as if you had pression that the thing is no longer uncernever been told to go into the vineyard or tain, but that there is a fearful and terrible to do the work in it. Certainly not. certainty-that the actual certainty is that Take what would really be the parallel life is just about to terminate, why, then case to yours; suppose one of these men whatever his feelings and however strong had been in the vineyard, wasting its his impressions, his friends never can be produce, neglecting what he knew and sure but that it is just the effect of terror felt and professed to be his duty, altoge- and agitation and alarm because of the ther negligent of what was pressing upon near approach of the Master, and anxihim as a positive and hourly obligation, ety to be doing something when He shall and then at the last hour were to make arrive, that shall appear to be preparation great bustle and haste, to endeavour to for His coming, but involving altogether pass with the master, when he should another class of feelings from that, which come at the end of the day and reckon would lead a man to be devoted to God, with his servants. You feel at once, when the hour is uncertain and as yet that that would not do. But I am very unlikely. much afraid, that a great number of you are just living under a deception like that. And I think it is very dangerous, that you should imagine that "the eleventh hour" can come to be to you what is represented in this parable; as if just in that one hour every thing could be done, and done as easily as it seems to have been done here by those that were called and sent into the vineyard.

Look, now, at the nature of the case: with respect to the different sorts of feeling, the different motives and impressions on a man's mind, previous to "the eleventh hour," and at "the eleventh hour." The great trial that God is putting to you is this: while you have health, and the blessings and privileges that surround you, and this for a long series of years, the test comes-' Now, when My coming is quite uncertain, when all the probabilities are in favour of My not coming for a long time, when that is the probability with respect to your condition of health and state of circumstances, let me see if you love My Word, let Me see if you love Me, if you listen to Me, and if you will do this with the view of that life which is before you, and on which you calculate, being devoted to My service and to My work.' But at "the eleventh hour,"

There is the parable of the ten virgins; and the call that the bridegroom was coming, may be looked at as parallel to "the eleventh hour"-the cry in their case, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him." Now the proper business of that hour was, just to be ready for the act of meeting the bridegroom, and of going in with the bridegroom; but the actual and real preparation for the thing was to have been made before. That was the business at the beginning of the day; that was the having the oil with them. Five of them had neglected this; and therefore when "the eleventh hour" came, and when the moment was that that they were called just to the act of meeting the bridegroom, half of them had not done the previous thing-had not attended to that which was actually and really the preparation for His appearing. The proper business at the moment when the cry was made, was not to get the oil; that ought to have been done before. When the cry was made, the proper business was just the trimming of the lamps with the oil that had before been prepared, that they might be ready to go in with the bridegroom.

I wish we could get this impressed upon our hearts. I know that many of

you are going on, deliberately procrastinating, and putting off the real business of life. You are presuming upon some warning, some illness, some hours or weeks of indisposition and retirement, when you will be able to have your minister and your Christian friends, and when you think the whole business can be done and you can prepare for death, instead of having your religion and your faith to be living in the vineyard and doing the Lord's work, and just to be calmly ready for the act of dying whenever the time shall

come.

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Perhaps it will be felt, and may be said, that this is very discouraging; that representations like these are very uncomfort able. I have nothing to do with that; the matter is not what is comfortable, but what is true, not what is most for your pleasure, but what is most for your edification. It might be very pleasant, to tell you-'Oh! I have no doubt you will be called; you need not be uneasy yet; many are called at the eleventh hour; you "the Lord's hidden ones,' may be among and you may be called yet' and so you might go on, and you would be damned. It might be very comfortable to talk thus; but that is not the question. It might be very comfortable, to get you persuaded, that we have the power by a priestly act, in your last sickness, to absolve you from your sins. It might be very comfortable, to persuade you that we have the power of hanging about your neck or putting into your hand an amulet or charm, the relic of a saint or a piece of the true Cross, and that this will preserve and sustain you. It might be very comfortable to get you persuaded, that there was a process of purgation hereafter, and that though you did die in a very doubtful state, yet still there was hope of a purification beyond. It might be still more comfortable, to tell you and to persuade you that there is no hell at all; to tell you, that you have nothing to fear about your souls. The

question is not what is comfortable, but what is true.

The fact is, that this feeling of yours, leading you to depend so much upon "the eleventh hour," and to throw all the great business forward upon that, in the hope that you will have time and feeling and composure and opportunity of doing it then, arises from an utter mistake as to the real nature of religion-the real happiness of it-the actual harmony that there is between it and our affections and faculties. Instead of the proper view that you ought to take of your duty to God, and of the nature of the blessings of that Gospel which is offered, it seems all to go upon the idea-' Religion is a thing, which I would willingly avoid, if I could; the service of God is a thing, which is not very pleasant, which I must submit to, but which I will not submit to until I can do nothing else; I will try to follow out my own way and my own feeling, until I must (I must, I suppose, for the sake of my own interest,) give my attention to these things, and then I will.' That is all founded upon a mistake, with respect to your own nature, your own real moral nature, and the effect religion would have upon you, and the proper business of life, which is to occupy every hour, fitting and preparing us for actually meeting death. It may be thought perhaps, that this is limiting the grace of God. Now I do not wish to do that. I do not say, that even one of you may not at "the eleventh hour" have your heart broken by true repentance; that you may not be brought to a real acceptance of Christ; that you may not really obtain forgiveness of your sins. God forbid that I should say so. I do not say, that a man may not,at "the eleventh hour," even after he has been attending for a long life (every Sunday of it perhaps,) on the preaching of the Gospel, and neglecting it, really exercise true repentance, and obtain mercy at "the eleventh hour." But I mean to say, that that is not the

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