[Answer.] To examine themselves, whether they have scriptural evidence of being born again

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of the Spirit;" whether they are living a life of true" repentance towards God," and of " faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;" have a thankful remembrance of his death; are walking in all his commandments, and in love to his disciples, and in charity with all men.'

And now, my Lord, I beg to express my humble hope, that no attempt will be made to vindicate the continued future use of the Manual I have thus briefly examined, in its present form, on the ground of the religious excellences of the venerable persons with whom it originated, or of the sanction which it has since received, during a period of nearly three centuries, from their successors in the English Church. For, surely, my Lord, the simple questions to be decided are, whether the Catechism does or does not teach the doctrine of the New Testament concerning Baptism and the Lord's Supper; and whether, in other important respects, it faithfully represents the inspired testimony of that volume. From that testimony no appeal can be made. Whatever relates to divine truth, it is plain, can only be decided by divine truth. He who appeals from the Creator to his creatures, shows himself to be defective at once, in religious reverence, and in sound judgment. If the Church is really the Spouse of Christ, she ought to be obedient to her own Husband in all things.

Some members of the Church of England may naturally feel a repugnance, perhaps not quite compatible with uncompromising regard to truth, to admit that the Reformers who were concerned in the original preparation of the Catechism, and the subsequent revision of it, have inserted therein any thing materially contrary to the Word of God. This repugnance, however, may reasonably abate when they consider the extent to which Romish prejudices then prevailed in this kingdom, and that those good men, the Reformers, although right in the main, had not themselves perfectly cast off the slough of Romanism. A similar repugnance to admit the serious charges against the Catechism may also be excited by the fact that their successors, during the abovementioned period, although possessing greater advantages and placed in more favourable circumstances, did not rectify its errors. The repugnance arising from this cause also may probably abate in some minds, when it is remembered, that the life and light of scriptural CHRISTIANITY continued, from the time of the Reformation, lamentably to decline in the Church of England; towards which declension many causes conspired, and, doubtless, the death-inflicting doctrines of its Catechism among the rest.

Indeed, my Lord, it appears to be the solemn and imperative duty of the members of the Church of England sincerely to repent of their past negligence, that this particular work of reform, in a

matter affecting the eternal interests of so large a proportion of the nation, of its youth in particular, has been so long delayed. And I trust they will now lose no time and spare no effort to effectuate this most desirable and important object: I mean, either a purely scriptural revision and enlargement of the present Catechism, or a new Catechism, based upon the plain declarations of the Word of God, and comprehending all that is essential in the doctrines and precepts thereof to eternal salvation. Were I, however, permitted to offer a suggestion, I would recommend, at least, two Catechisms; the first adapted to children, and the other to young persons. Were it determined, in the proper quarter, to carry into effect this incalculably momentous object, it cannot reasonably be doubted, that those to whom the execution thereof should be committed would consider it wise and desirable, on every account, to collect together the various Catechisms at present used in the several Protestant communions on the Continent, as well as in those of Great Britain and Ireland, and to compare them carefully with the plain statements of christian doctrine contained in the New Testament; as well as with other parts of the Word of God.

The individuals on whom it is advisable that such task should be devolved, ought, of course, to be men of sound judgment, wisdom, and learning; of eminent, fervent, and venerable piety; men who habitually, by the Spirit, hold fellowship "with

the Father and the Son;" of profound humility; of enlightened and experimental acquaintance with the Word of God; who read and study it, in humble dependance on the guidance of the Holy Spirit; men of genuine love to Christ and all his true disciples; men who have no sympathy with a conventional or worldly Christianity; who live not in the spirit, and walk not after the course of this world; men who are inflexibly attached to the religion of the New Testament, as God has given it; who would not dare to wrest the Scriptures to serve a purpose, and who feel a reverent awe of the solemn denunciations of the Apocalypse; which were, perhaps, placed on the margin of the Sacred Canon, that they might stand as guards against the profane temerity of those who would transfer to the authority of men, what exclusively and unalienably belongs to the supreme authority of God.

As to the points which it would be desirable to introduce into the proposed Catechisms, I would respectfully take the further liberty to suggest that the following be not omitted, and that they may be conveyed in language strictly scriptural, and suited to the understandings of children and young persons, viz. the fall and consequent depravity of man; the absolute necessity for the restoration of the holy image of God in the soul; the agency and means by which this blessing is imparted; the grounds on which the sincere and penitent believer receives forgiveness of sin from, and justification

and acceptance with God; a faithful statement of the scriptural evidences of the christian character, and experience, particularly in relation to supreme love to Him; union to Christ by faith, affectionate and grateful devotedness to his service; uncompromising and uniform obedience to his precepts, in humble and constant dependance on the promised aid of the Holy Spirit; in the exercise of prayer, diligent reading of the Scriptures, and meditation thereon, and in the use of all other means of grace-together with explicit statements of the nature, design, uses, and benefits of the christian institutes of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, in exact accordance with the representations given of these two sacred Rites in the New Testament.

If, before I close, I may be allowed, consistently with courtesy, in a Letter addressed to your Grace, to allude to myself, I would say what I am able to affirm with the strictest regard to truth, that in writing it I have been influenced by no sectarian or party motives; by no hostile feeling towards the Church of England; by no aversion to what I regard as the genuine doctrines of her Articles, Homilies, and Liturgy; but by a sincere and upright design to promote her real efficiency and prosperity; to prevent the inculcation, as scriptural truth, of what I am firmly persuaded is directly opposed to and subversive of it; to counteract the efforts of false teachers within the pale of the English Church, and to disseminate among