that they leave the Church of England because her standard is more pure and high, more truly spiritual and Scriptural, than they desire to attain unto, or have persevering diligence to seek and realize! Oh! if all those sincere and zealous persons, who so rashly and unadvisedly have left our Church, had only persevered in humble prayers, and earnest endeavours to fulfil the duties of their station, the duties they owed to their venerable Mother, and their Brethren within her pale, how much more surely and fully might they have secured every object, which a really wise and earnest Christian could desire! How much more bright and glorious might have been the state and prospects of our Country at this period, and of the whole Church of Christ within her!-taking that expression in its widest sense, as including all who, under any denomination, profess and call themselves Christians. I tremble to think what pious persons have to answer for, when they leave that Church, whose foundations have been so eminently laid in the blood of her Martyrs, and which has been so peculiarly careful to

Q

maintain the bonds of sweet and holy fellowship with the primitive Churches of Christ, while she entered the fullest and clearest protest against Anti-Christian heresies, superstitions, and idolatries.

I bless the Lord, my dear Sister, that I have been led into this correspondence with you, for I have found it good for my own soul. I bless the Lord for the hope and assurance that it has been made in some measure useful and profitable to you, and has tended to remove any of those difficulties and perplexities which had so long harassed your mind. And how can I better conclude than with one of the prayers of our Church, in which I am sure you will most cordially unite with me, with earnest desires that it may be abundantly answered, in the establishment of those who are wavering and unsettled, and in the return of many to her bosom, who have too long suffered themselves to be ranked among her adversaries.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace; give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divi

sions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly Union and Concord, that as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one Hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart, and of one soul, united in one holy bond of Truth and Peace, of Faith and Charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.'

With many earnest prayers that you and yours may be enabled to hold communion in life and death, in time and eternity, with the Fathers, Reformers and Martyrs, and all the faithful members of the Church of England, I remain, my dear Sister,

Yours faithfully and affectionately,

in our common Lord and Saviour, A. S. THELWALL.

P. S. On looking over the letters which I have received from you, since this long epistle was commenced, I gladly take the opportunity of adding a few remarks to prevent miscon

struction or misapprehension of what I have written.

And first I would say, my dear Sister, that I desire always to keep in remembrance, that, earnestly and decidedly as I have written in the defence of the Church of England, it is one thing to insist on the fundamental soulsaving Truths of the Gospel, and another to contend about the Form and Government and Discipline of the Visible Church and sorry should I be, if at any time I seemed even to exalt matters of Ecclesiastical Polity, above those great and essential Doctrines upon which all the Protestant Churches are agreed. When called upon by circumstances to write respecting the former, I write as one fully persuaded in my own mind, and under the impression, that that which is really the best form of Ecclesiastical Government and Discipline, will eventually, and on the whole, be found most subservient to the diffusion of soul-saving Truth, and to the edification of immortal souls in the knowledge and love of it; but I trust I never forget that everything which belongs to the externals of Religion

should always be considered and maintained in subservience to that which is inward and spiritual.

as to

And because I have, I trust, always endeavoured, not only to find out and embrace the whole Truth, but also to observe the proper order and dependence of its various parts, I have never been unwilling to hold communion with those who, differing from me externals, were yet fully agreed with me as to that which is inward and vital; nor have I ever found any difficulty in so doing. I can say, from the very bottom of my heart, 66 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." (Eph. vi. 24.)— however they may differ from me, and however wrong I may see them to be, in regard to points not absolutely vital and essential. And it always seemed to me that, if I were fully satisfied of the excellence and strength of my position as a member of the Church of England, it would be most unreasonable not to bear with others, who hold a position weaker and more questionable: for this would be nothing better than to call myself strong, and act as