through Jesus Christ, unto all that repent and believe the Gospel, and continue stedfast in the truth unto the end; for "God willeth not that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Our business on earth is with the conditions of salvation; enough for us to know, that, whilst sincerely engaged, by God's grace, in the faithful performance of these, our "labour will not be in vain in the Lord."

I would conclude these remarks with the following instructive passage from Bishop Hall's "Via Media."

"Well may the schools pick hence matter enough for their theological problems. Let our care be to study and preach Christ, and Him crucified; to work the souls of men to faith, repentance, piety, justice, charity, temperance, and all other heavenly virtues, that they may find cordial testimonies in themselves of the happy predestination to life, and their infallible interest in the precious blood of their Redeemer; let us beat down those sins in them which make them obnoxious to everlasting damnation, and strip them of all comfortable assurances of the favour of God; let us not indiscreetly spend our time and pains in distracting their thoughts with those scholastic disquisitions, whereof the knowledge or ignorance makes nothing to Heaven. The way to blessedness is not so short, that we should find leisure to make outroads into needless and unpro

fitable speculations. Never treatise could be more necessary, in this curious and querulous age, than de paucitate credendorum. The infinite subdivisions of those points which we advance to the honor of being the objects of our belief, confound our thoughts, and mar our peace. Peaceable discourse may have much latitude; but matter of faith should have narrow bounds. If, in this, other men will abound in their own sense, always let unity of spirit be held in the bond of peace. By the dear bonds of brotherhood; by our love to our common mother the Church; by our holy care, and zeal of the prosperous success of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus; let us all compose our hearts to peace, and rest ourselves on those common truths, which sober minds shall find abundantly sufficient, whether for our knowledge or salvation 1.

APPENDIX.

(A.)

Cùm homo sapere cœperit, non illud sacramentum repetet, sed intelliget, ejusque veritati consonâ etiam voluntate coaptabitur. Hoc quamdiù non potest, valebit sacramentum ad ejus tutelam, adversùs contrarias potestates; et tantum valebit, ut si ante rationis usum ex hâc vitâ emigraverit, per ipsum sacramentum, commendante Ecclesiæ caritate, ab illâ condemnatione quæ per unum hominem intravit in mundum, Christiano adjutorio liberatur.-St. Augustini Epist. xcviii. Tom. ii. p. 268.—See the Rubric of our own Church at the end of the Office for the Ministration of Public Baptism.

Α

CHARGE

ADDRESSED TO THE

CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE

OF

BARBADOS AND THE LEEWARD ISLANDS,

AND DELIVERED IN THE ISLANDS OF

BARBADOS, ANTIGUA, AND ST. CHRISTOPHER,

IN THE YEAR

1834.