two treatises, one on "the Christian Priesthood" the other on the Dignity of the Episcopal order;" he contends, that the "Pastoral Office" is a priesthood; and that the sacrament is a lifting up of sacrifice; or the lifting up of the atonement in a semi-popish sense. To confirm this, he brings forward a vast mass of learning from the Fathers; but he gives no definite sense in which we are to understand how pastors offer sacrifice in the sacrament; indeed it is a specious piece of learned mysticism, calculated to confuse and mislead. We can only answer him in a summary way :

1. Christ only can offer meritorious sacrifice, and plead his atonement as our great high priest.

2. Believers only can present it in faith, so as personally and savingly to receive its benefits; in this sense, every believer is a king and a priest.

3. How then can pastors officially offer it, without obtruding into the office of Christ, or the personal acts of believers. They can in no way lift up Christ but doctrinally, as "Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness" as an object of faith, that "whosoever believeth in him, might not perish." So that the work of the "Pastoral Office" is reconciling men to God, not God to men; Christ is the only and alone saviour that can reconcile men to God.

Priestcraft is now generally applied to priests of false religions and to anti-christian priests, who must (in spite of every kindly feeling) be called priestcraft, which is manifest :

:

1. By their juggling, or assuming mysterious and divine powers and rights; as the power of transubstantiating the elements of bread and wine; the power of unconditional absolution and benediction; power over the fate of departed spirits, &c.

2. Tyranny and cruelty, which is exercised over the minds, bodies, property, and liberty of any who dare to break their chains. What a dark and bloody page does the history of priestcraft present.

3. Ambition and mercenary aims, seen in their titles, robes, personal aggrandisements and kingly commerce; with them godliness is gain, and worldly pomp is official dignity.

4. By lowering down the standard of truth; and making the broad way as the way to heaven. By elevating superstition until it becomes rank idolatry. In short as the "Pastoral Office" is the most elevated and beneficial under heaven, so priestcraft is the most oppressive and pestilential out of the bottomless pit.

We shall conclude with a few remarks from Mr. Wesley. "How dangerous and deadly is priestcraft. What if the prophets prophecy deceit? If they cause the people to err from the way? What shall be done, if they point out as the way to eternal life, what is indeed the way to eternal death; and exhort others to walk as they do themselves, in the broad, not in the narrow way? How terrible is this when the ambassadors of God turn agents for the devil! When they who should teach men the way to

heaven, do in fact teach them the way to hell! These are like the locusts of Egypt, which eat up the residue that had escaped and remained after the hail; they devour even the remnant of men, that had escaped and were not destroyed by ill example. Beware' therefore, saith Christ, ' of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' The true way to heaven is that of lowliness, mourning, meekness, holy desire, love of God and our neighbour, doing good, and suffering evil for Christ's sake.

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They are false apostles, who teach the way to heaven any other way than this; how much more do they fall under that, who teach the very opposite; the way of pride, levity, of passion, of worldly desires, of loving pleasure more than God, of unkindness to our neighbour, of unconcern for good works, and suffering no evil no persecution for righteousness' sake.

"False prophets are traitors, both to God and man. These are the first-born of Satan, the eldest sons of Apollyon the destroyer; these are far above the ordinary rank of cut-throats, for they murder the souls of men. They are continually peopling the realms of night; and whenever they follow the poor souls they have destroyed 'hell shall be moved from beneath, to meet them at their coming.' Beware of false prophets, i. e. teachers or pastors. Beware, O beware, for they be 'blind leaders of the blind.'

"O!

ye false prophets, how long will ye lie in the name of God; saying, God hath spoken, and God hath not

spoken by you? How long will ye pervert the right ways of the Lord; putting darkness for light, and light for darkness? How long will ye teach the way of death, and call it the way of life? How long will ye deliver over to Satan the souls whom ye profess to bring to God? For ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men; ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Or them that have gone scarce one step in the ways of God, you devilishly caution against going too far. O! wherefore do ye this; what profit is there in their blood, when they go down into the pit? Miserable profit to you! They shall perish in their iniquity, but their blood will God require at your hands! Have you deceived others until you are deceived yourselves also? Who hath required this at your hand, to teach a way which ye never knew? Are you given up to such strong delusions that ye not only teach, but also believe a lie."

CHAPTER VI.

THE SCRIPTURAL AND APOSTOLICAL CHARACTER OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE AMONG THE WESLEYANS.

"After men became christians, much of their time was spent in prayers and devotion; in religious meetings; in celebrating the eucharist; in conferences; in exhortations; in preachings; and in an affectionate intercourse with one another, and correspondence with other societies. Perhaps their mode of life, in its form and habit was not very unlike the UNITAS FRATRUM of the modern Methodists."-PALEY.

THAT the visible church should become corrupt is foretold in scripture. While the church was despised, rejected, and persecuted, she was surrounded as by a wall of fire, from the corrupting breath of the world; and from the influx of hypocrites, formalists, and worldlings, with which she was afterwards (when connected with worldly pomp and greatness,) inundated.

It is not very astonishing, all things considered, that the church should lose her first love; but it is very wonderful that through the mystery of iniquity she should become so corrupt, as to be the very antithesis of the true church;

See 2 Thess. i. 3--12. Rev. xvii. 3--9.