"Of the Pentateuch did he not declare, that it cannot be circulated without some chance of misconception among the illiterate;' of the Prophets, that their style and subject preclude them from being indiscriminately offered to the vulgar of any age or country, for their meditation and instruction;' that many of the Psalms are in direct contradiction to the more sublime and elevated precepts of the christian Lawgiver;' that the Epistles were not designed, because they are evidently not calculated for general diffusion;' and that 'out of sixty-six books, not above seven in the Old Testament, nor above eleven in the New, appear to be calculated for the study or comprehension of the unlearned?" The Bishop has not, as far as we know, recanted. Can we wonder then at his subscription to a volume of Unitarian sermons? But how unlike is such conduct, how dissimilar are such opinions, from those of good Bishop Horsley. "It is God's will," writes that eminent divine, "that all men should come to a knowledge of the original dignity of our Saviour's person, of the mystery of his incarnation, of the nature of his eternal priesthood, of the value of his atonement, the efficacy of his intercession." And again, "EVERY SENTENCE OF THE BIBLE IS FROM GOD, AND EVERY MAN IS INTERESTED IN THE MEANING of it." On the Bishop of Norwich's liberalism, we have no such certain data to found an opinion, and can only therefore suppose it to be a "carrying out" of those ultra principles which are shadowed forth in his well-known Charge. That the question should rest here is impossible; we shall, however, abstain from further comment, till the result of the proceedings of the clergy throughout England, and the ulterior measures to be grounded upon their memorial, are ascertained. THE BISHOP OF NORWICH'S QUESTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR DEACONS' ORDERS. FIRST DAY'S EXAMINATION. WRITE a short sermon on the following text:-" And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds." QUESTIONS IN EVIDENCE AND DOCTRINE. 1. By what internal proofs would you support the divine origin of the Scriptures? 2. Several passages, Latin and Greek, to be translated into English. 3. What is the language of our Articles respecting tradition? Support this by scripture proof. 4. Expand the sketch of the progress of revelation, given in the opening of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 5. Support by scripture proof the necessary connexion between faithand good works. 6. What are the words of the Articles respecting original sin and free will? Explain the principal theories which have arisen among Christians respecting these points. 7. Establish by scripture proofs the divinity of our Lord. Show also the necessity of his incarnation to the completeness of his mission. 8. What are meant by the fruits of the Spirit? Establish by texts the personality of the Holy Spirit. 9. Explain the word Sacrament. Show that their number does not exceed two. State your mode of opposing the ordinary errors concerning them, and of insisting on their necessity to salvation. SECOND DAY. CRITICAL AND LITURGICAL QUESTIONS. 1. A quotation from the Fathers to be translated into Latin prose. 2. Explain the following words: οὔσια, ὑπόστασις, ὁμοούσια, Processio and Stationes. 3. Translate into Greek (or Hebrew) the following words and expressions-salvation, persecution, the children of wrath, the mercy of God, the gold of Arabia, joy cometh in the morning, is there not a cause? 4. Which of the Fathers are most valuable as commentators on the Scriptures? 5. Give an outline of the service of baptism in our Liturgy. When was that for persons of riper years introduced? 6. What are the duties especially prescribed to a Deacon? Explain the word. 7. Sketch the history of the English Bible, and the versions of Rheims and Douay, and name principal ancient ones. 8. What changes have been made in the number of the Articles? State briefly their authors, sources, classes, and the proceedings connected with their establishment. SCRIPTURAL AND HISTORICAL QUESTIONS. 1. Give an outline of the Books of Deuteronomy and Numbers. Mention the principal Judges in chronological order. 2. Sketch briefly the life of Solomon, mentioning the extent of his dominions (with his foreign and commercial relations,) and his writings. 3. To what subjects do the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zechariah relate? What are the characteristics of these books? Mention the most remarkable prophecies of Malachi. 4. With what objects, and in what order do you suppose the four Gospels to have been written? 5. What is recorded, and what is traditionally reported, of the life, actions, and character of St. Peter? 6. What were the notions of the Apostles, during our Lord's lifetime, regarding his character and mission? Quote passages. 7. Who were Polycarp and Ignatius? times of Cyprian. Give an account of the life and 8. Give some account of the councils of Nice, Constantinople, and Trent. 9. How were the following persons historically connected with the Reformation-More, Fisher, Bradford, Cranmer, Hooper, Cardinal Pole, Jewel, Parker, Bucer? THIRD DAY. Greek Testament and vivá voce questions before the Bishop and Chaplain. J. H. Hobart, D.D...... N. Y... A. V. Griswold, D.D.... East'n. S. Car.. J. Kemp, D.D............ Md. Moss and Hinchcliffe...... Seabury, White, and Madison New York... 1792... 1816 Provoost and Claggett Provoost and Bass........... Claggett and Jarvis ... Ditto 1797... 1803 New Haven. 1797... 1813 Trent, N. J.1801... 1816 Claggett, Jarvis, and Moore... New York... 1804... 1804 Ditto ... Ditto Provoost and Jarvis Ditto...... 1811... 1830 Ditto Ditto...... Jarvis and Hobart Philadelphia 1812... 18 17 Hobart, Griswold, and Dehon.... Ditto Hobart and Moore............... N. Brunsw.. 1814... 1827 Hobart and Kemp................ Philadelphia 1815... 1832 N. Bowen, D.D.......... S. Car..... Ditto......Hobart, Kemp, and Croes Twenty-six were consecrated by Bishop White, who held the Episcopal dignity, with credit to himself and great advantage to the Episcopal Church in America, nearly half a century! ON STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE RUBRIC. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. SIR, It has often struck me that the deviations from the Rubric, which are by no means unfrequent, are totally inconsistent with that clerical obedience which we owe to the Ordinary; and I make no doubt that if pointed out, the orthodox clergy, at least, will see the propriety of adhering to the very letter of the Rubric. I do not here allude to the unjustifiable omission of certain portions of the offices at the caprice, I cannot call it discretion, of the officiating minister; nor to the modification, as certain individuals call it, of what may give offence to the tender consciences of Dissenters, such as the Church Catechism, and the doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration. The details to which I allude, although of minor importance, being those of discipline, contravene, nevertheless, the "Act for Uniformity of Common Prayer;" and thus give occasion to our enemies to scoff, and declare that they do not differ more from us, than we do from one another. Permit me, then, to point out a few of these deviations. This impropriety is equally observable at the close of the service, where the blessing is postponed, whilst the choir sing a hymn. The organ may play with propriety on the entrance of the Minister robed into the desk, and when the office of the Church is finished, but not before. It has been asked, what authority have we for omitting the Prayer "for the whole state of Christ's Church militant here on earth," after Morning Prayer, on Sunday? And what injunction exists as to giving out the day of the month, and the Psalms, and the Collect? We answer, none. Custom has rendered them, to a certain extent, proper; but they may be omitted, unless commanded by the Ordinary, at the discretion of the Minister. And laymen who go to church in the character of censors, to cavil at the Minister, or criticise the performance of divine service, had better stop at home. Such are a few of the most striking deviations from the Rubric; to which might be added the admission of parents, or persons who have not received the Sacrament, or even been confirmed, as sponsors at baptism, and the non-admission of bodies into the church at funerals, without additional fees. Nor must I omit the form of publication of banns, which is seldom done in the same precise words by any two individuals. The proper form, according to the canons and decretals of several Bishops, is, "I publish the Banns of Marriage between A. B. and C. D., also between E. F. and G. H., &c. &c. This is the first, second, or third time of asking. If any of you know cause or just impediment, why these parties should not be severally joined together in Holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it." Now some omit the word severally, which, according to Dr. Johnson, means, "distinctly, separately." Others use respectively, which the same authority pronounces to mean, "particularly, relatively," and is evidently incorrect. What I propose, therefore, is, that in this case the word severally be inserted in the Rubric, as authority for all ministers, and calculated to promote uniformity, the grand feature in the Established Church. Should these remarks appear worthy notice, and elicit any communications upon the subject from your numerous subscribers, your insertion of them will oblige yours, D. D. CHRIST COLLEGE, CAMB. STUDY OF THE HEBREW AND ARABIC LANGUAGES. THE Hebrew and Arabic are kindred both in words and in grammar, both lexically and grammatically. In an Arabic translation of the Pentateuch, about one half of the words are Hebrew, with the same radical letters. One writer enumerates more than three hundred names of the most common objects in nature, which are the same in both, without by any means exhausting the list. The roots in both languages are generally dissyllabic, lying in the verb rather than in the noun. The two languages abound in guttural sounds. The oblique cases of pronouns are appended to the verb, the noun, and to particles. The verb has but two tenses. The gender is only twofold. The cases are designated by means of prepositions. The genitive is expressed by a change in the first noun, not in the second. The noun and the verb do not admit of being compounded. There is a certain simplicity in the syntax, and the diction is, in the highest degree, un periodic. In the Hebrew Lexicon commonly used, almost every Hebrew root has a corresponding Arabic one, with the same radicals, and generally with the same signification. In promoting, therefore, the study of Hebrew, we are taking a most direct means to spread the glorious Gospel of Christ, not only where the Arabic is the dominant language, but wherever Islamism has penetrated (probably a population of upwards of two hundred millions). A thorough knowledge of Hebrew will remove at least one half of the difficulty of acquiring the Arabic. It will introduce us to the same modes. |