iv Christianity, and of what was esteemed by One, who was perfectly competent to judge, its best Establishment, the Church of ENGLAND. In the present publication I consider myself as a fellow-labourer with You in the same design, and tracing the path You have trod before, but at great distance and with unequal paces. When, by His MAJESTY'S goodness, I was raised to that station of eminence in the Church, to which You had been first named, and which, on account of the infirmity of your health, You had desired to decline, it was honour enough for Me on such an occasion to have been thought of next to You: And I know of no better rule by which to govern my conduct, so as not to discredit the Royal Hand which conferred on me so signal and unmerited a favour, than in cases of difficulty to put the question to myself, How You would probably have acted in the same situation. You see, Sir, I still look up to You, as I have been wont, both as my Superior and my Example. That I may long reap the benefit of your advice and friendship, and that such a measure of health and strength may be continued to You, as may enable you to pass the evening of your days with comfort, and enjoy the blessings of the life you love, is the cordial wish of, DEAR SIR, Your very affectionate and faithful Servant, Dartmouth Street, Westminster, 12th May, 1786. S. GLOUCESTER. PREFACE BY THE EDITOR. "When I consider how light a matter very often subjects the best “established characters to the suspicions of posterity, posterity, "often as malignant to virtue as the age that saw it was en"vious of its glory; and how ready a remote age is to catch at "a low revived slander, which the times that brought it forth saw "despised and forgotten almost in its birth; I cannot but think "it a matter that deserves attention."— Letter to the Editor of the Letters on the Spirit of Patriotism, &c. by Bishop WARBURSee his Works, Vol. vii. p. 547. TON. THE HE Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Durham, which is subjoined to the present Volume, was printed and published in the year 1751, by the learned Prelate, whose name it bears; and, together with the SERMONS and ANALOGY of the same Writer, both too well known to need a more particular description, completes the collection of his Works. It has long been considered a matter of Curiosity on account of its Scarceness; and it is equally curious on other accounts, its Subject, and the Calumny to which it gave occasion, of representing the Author as addicted to Superstition, as inclined to Popery, and as dying in the communion of the Church of Rome. The improved Edi tion of the Biographia Britannica, now publishing under the care of Dr. Kippis, having unavoidably brought this calumny again into notice; it may not be unseasonable to offer a few reflections in this place, by way of obviating any impressions that may hence arise, to the disadvantage of so great a character as that of the late Bishop BUTLER; referring those, who desire a more particular account of his Life, to the third Volume of the same entertaining work, printed in 1784. Art. BUTLER, (Joseph.) I. The principal design of the Bishop, in his Charge, is to exhort his Clergy, to "do their part "towards reviving a practical Sense of Reli 66 gion amongst the people committed to their "care;" and, as one way of effecting this, "to "instruct them in the Importance of External Religion," or the usefulness of Outward Observances in promoting Inware Piety. Now from the compound nature of Man, consisting of two parts, the Body and the Mind, together with the influence which these are found to have on one another, it follows, that the Religious Regards of such a creature ought to be so framed as to be in some way properly accommodated to both. A Religion which is purely spiritual, stripped of every thing that may affect the senses, and considered only as a divine philosophy of the mind, if it do not mount up into Enthusiasm, as has frequently been the case, often sinks, after a few short fervours, into Indifference: an abstracted invisible object, like that which Natural Religion offers, ceases to move or interest the heart; and something further is wanting to bring it nearer, and render it more present to our view, than merely an intellectual contemplation. On the other hand, when, in order to remedy this inconvenience, recourse is had to Instituted Forms and Ritual Injunctions; there is always danger lest men be tempted to rest entirely on these, and persuade themselves that a painful attention to such observances will atone for the want of genuine Piety and Virtue. Yet surely there is a way of steering safely between these two Extrémes; of so consulting both the parts of our Constitution, that the Body and the Mind may concur in rendering our religious services acceptable to God, and at the same time useful to ourselves. And what way can this be, but precisely that which is recommended in the Charge; such a cultivation of Outward as well as Inward Religion, that from both may result, what is the point chiefly to be laboured, and at all events to be secured, a correspondent Temper and Behaviour; or, in other words, such an Application of the Forms of Godliness as may be subservient in promoting the Power and Spirit of it? No man who believes the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and understands what he believes, but must know, that External Religion is as much enjoined, and constitutes as real a part of Revelation, as that which is Internal. The many Ceremonies in use among the Jews, in consequence of a divine command; the Baptism of Water, as an emblem of moral purity; the eating and drinking of Bread and Wine, as symbols and representations of the body and blood of Christ, required of Christians; are proofs of this. On comparing these two parts of Religion together, one, it is immediately seen, is of much greater importance than the other; and, whenever they happen to interfere, is always to be preferred: But does it follow from hence, that therefore that other is of little or no importance, and, in cases where there is no competition, may entirely be neglected? Or rather is not the legitimate conclusion directly the reverse, that nothing is to be looked upon as of little importance, which is of any use at all in preserving upon our minds a sense of the Divine Authority, which recalls to our remembrance the obligations we are under, and helps to keep us, as the Scripture expresses it, in the fear of the Lord all the day long*? If, to adopt the instance mentioned in the Charge, the sight of a CHURCH should remind a man of some sentiment of Piety; if, from the view of a material building dedicated to the service of God, he should be led to regard himself, his own Body, as a living Temple of the Holy Ghost, and therefore, no more than the other, to be profaned or desecrated by any thing that defileth or is impure, could it be truly said of such a one that he was Superstitious, or mistook the means of Religion for the end? If, to use another, and what has been thought a more obnoxious instance, taken from the Bishop's practice, a Cross, erected in a place of Public Worship, should cause us to reflect on Him who died on a cross for our salvation, and on the necessity of our own dying to sin§, and of crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts||; would any worse consequences follow from Prov. xxiii. 17. + 1 Cor. vi. 19. See Note [A], at the end of this Preface. |