THOUGHTS/ON/THE MINISTERIAL COMMISSION.RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED TO THE CLERGY.&hrule;I Am but one of yourselves,--a Presbyter; and therefore I con-ceal my name, lest I should take too much on myself by speakingin my own person.  Yet speak I must; for the times are veryevil, yet no one speaks against them.Is this not so?  Do not we "look one upon another," yet per-form nothing?  Do we not all confess the peril into which theChurch is come, yet sit still each in his own retirement, as ifmountains and seas cut off brother from brother?  Thereforesuffer me, while I try to draw you forth from those pleasantretreats, which it has been our blessedness hitherto to enjoy, tocontemplate the condition and prospects of our Holy Mother in apractical way; so that one and all may unlearn that idle habit,which has grown upon us, of owning the state of things to bebad, yet doing nothing to remedy it.Consider a moment.  Is it fair, is it dutiful, to suffer ourBishops to stand the brunt of the battle without doing our partto support them?  Upon them comes "the care of all theChurches."  This cannot be helped:  indeed it is their glory.Not one of us would wish in the least to deprive them of theduties, the toils, the responsibilities of their high Office.  And,black event as it would be fore the country, yet, (as far as theyare concerned,) we could not wish them a more blessed termina-tion of their course, that the spoiling of their goods, and mar-tyrdom.To them then we willingly and affectionately relinquish theirhigh privileges and honours; we encroach not upon the rights ofthe SUCCESSORS OF THE APOSTLES; we touch not their swordand crosier.  Yet surely we may be their shield-bearers in thebattle without offence; and by our voice and deeds be to themwhat Luke and Timothy were to St. Paul.Now then let me come at once to the subject which leads me toaddress you.  Should the Government and Country so far forgettheir GOD as to cast off the Church, to deprive it of its temporalhonours and substance, =on what= will you rest the claim of respectand attention which you make upon your flocks?  Hitherto youhave been upheld by your birth, your education, your wealth,your connexions; should these secular advantages cease, on whatmust CHRIST'S Ministers depend?  Is not this a serious practicalquestion?  We know how miserable is the state of religiousbodies not supported by the State.  Look at the Dissenters on allsides of you, and you will see at once that their Ministers, de-<page 2>pending simply upon the people, become the =creatures= of thepeople.  Are you content that this should be your case?  Alas!can a greater evil befall Christians, than for their teachers to beguided by them, instead of guiding?  How can we "hold fastthe form of sound words," and "keep that which is committedto our trust," if our influence is to depend simply on our popu-larity?  Is it not our very office to =oppose= the world?  can we thenallow ourselves to =court= it?  to preach smooth things and pro-phesy deceits?  to make the way of life easy to the rich and indo-lent, and to bribe the humbler classes by excitements and strongintoxicating doctrine?  Surely it must not be so;--and thequestion recurs, on =what= are we to rest our authority, when theState deserts us?CHRIST has not left His Church without claim of its own uponthe attention of men.  Surely not.  Hard Master He cannot be,to bid us oppose the world, yet give us no credentials for sodoing.  There are some who rest their divine mission on theirown unsupported assertion; other, who rest it upon their popu-larity; others, on their success; and others, who rest it upontheir temporal distinctions.  This last case has, perhaps, beentoo much our own; I fear we have neglected the real ground onwhich our authority is built,--OUR APOSTOLICAL DESCENT.We have been born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,nor of the will of man, but of GOD.  The LORD JESUS CHRIST gaveHis SPIRIT to His Apostles; they in turn laid their hands onthose who should succeed them; and these again on others; andso the sacred gift has been handed down to our present Bishops,who have appointed us as their assistants, and in some senserepresentatives.Now every one of us believes this.  I know that some will atfirst deny they do; still they do believe it.  Only, it is not suffi-ciently practically impressed on their minds.  They =do= believeit; for it is the doctrine of the Ordination Service, which theyhave recognised as truth in the most solemn season of their lives.In order, then, not to prove, but to remind and impress, I entreatyour attention to the words when you were made Ministersof CHRIST'S Church.The office of Deacon was thus committed to you:  "Take thouauthority to execute the office of Deacon in the Church of GODcommitted unto thee:  In the name," &c.And the priesthood thus:"Receive the HOLY GHOST, for the office and work of a Priest,in the Church of GOD, now committed unto thee by the imposi-tion of our hands.  Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are for-given; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained.And be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of GOD, and ofHis Holy Sacraments:  In the name," &c.These, I say, were words spoken to us, and received by us,when we were brought nearer to GOD than at any other time of<page 3>our lives.  I know the grace of ordination is contained in thelaying on of hands, not in any form of words;--yet in our owncase, (as has ever been usual in the Church,) words of blessinghave accompanied the act.  Thus we have confessed before GODour belief, that through the Bishop who ordained us, we receivedthe HOLY GHOST, the power to bind and to loose, to administerthe Sacraments, and to preach.  Now =how= is he able to givethese great gifts?  =Whence= is his right?  Are these words idle,(which would be taking GOD'S name in vain,) or do they expressmerely a wish, (which surely is very far below their meaning,) ordo they not rather indicate that the Speaker is conveying a gift?Surely they can mean nothing short of this.  But whence, I ask,his right to do so?  Has he any right, except as having receivedthe power from those who consecrated him to be a Bishop?  Hecould not give what he had never received.  It is plain then thathe but =transmits;= and that the Christian Ministry is a =succes-sion.=  And if we trace back the power of ordination from handto hand, of course we shall come to the Apostles at last.  Weknow we do, as a plain historical fact; and therefore all we, whohave been ordained Clergy, in the very form of our ordinationacknowledged the doctrine of the APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION.And for the same reason, we must necessarily consider none tobe =really= ordained who have not =thus= been ordained.  For if or-dination is a divine ordinace, how dare we use it?  Therefore allwho use it, all of =us,= must consider it necessary.  As well mightwe pretend the Sacraments are not necessary to Salvation, whilewe make use of the offices of the Liturgy; for when GODappoints means of grace, they are =the= means.I do not see how any one can escape from this plain view ofthe subject, except, (as I have already hinted,) by declaring, thatthe words do not mean all that they say.  But only reflect whata most unseemly time for random words is that, in which Minis-ters are set apart for their office.  Do we not adopt a Liturgy,=in order to= hinder inconsiderate idle language, and shall we, inthe most sacred of all services, write down, subscribe, and useagain and again forms of speech, which have not been weighed,and cannot be taken strictly?Therefore, my dear Brethren, act up to your professions.  Letit not be said that you have neglected a gift; for if you have theSpirit of the Apostles on you, surely this =is= a great gift.  "Stirup the gift of GOD which is in you."  Make much of it.  Showyour value of it.  Keep it before your minds as an honourablebadge, far higher than that secular respectability, or cultivation,or polish, or learning, or rank, which give you a hearing withthe many.  Tell =them= of your gift.  The times will soon driveyou to do this, if you mean to be still any thing.  But wait notfor the times.  do not be compelled, by the world's forsakingyou, to recur as if unwillingly to the high source of your autho-<page 4>rity.  Speak out now, before you are forced, both as glorying inyour privilege, and to ensure your rightful honour from yourpeople.  A notion has gone abroad, that they can take away yourpower.  They think they have given and can take it away.They think it lies in the Church property, and they know thatthey have politically the power to confiscate that property.  Theyhave been deluded into a notion that present palpable usefulness,produceable results, acceptableness to your flocks, that these andsuch like are the test of your Divine commission.  Enlightenthem in this matter.  Exalt our Holy Fathers, the Bishops, asthe Representatives of the Apostles, and the Angels of theChurches; and magnify your office, as being ordained by themto take part in their Ministry.But, if you will not adopt my view of the subject, which Ioffer to you, not doubtingly, yet (I hope) respectfully, at allevents, CHOOSE YOUR SIDE.  To remain neuter much longer willbe itself to take part.  =Choose= your side; since side your shortlymust, with one or other party, even though you do nothing.Fear to be of those, whose line is decided for them by chancecircumstances, and who may perchance find themselves with theenemies of CHRIST, while they think but to remove themselvesfrom worldly politics.  Such abstinence is impossible in troubloustimes.  HE THAT IS NOT WITH ME, IS AGAINST ME, AND HE THATGATHERETH NOT WITH ME SCATTERETH ABROAD.[SIXTH EDITION]&hrule;These Tracts are continued in Numbers, and sold at the priceof 2d. for each sheet, or 7 s. for 50 copies.LONDON : PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON,ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD AND WATERLOO PLACE.1840&hrule;GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London..