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The Episcopal Pastoral Letter.


To the Clergy and Members of the Irofesant Epis-


copal Church in the United States of America
| BRETHREN:-Since our last Pastoral Letter 10 you,
our Heavenly Father has fit, in his my sterious
! providence, to take from us two Of our number,
| our venerable presiding brother OF the Eastern
Diocese, and the no less highly esteemed Bishop Of
Virginia


| Very worthy persons having succeeded in their
respective Dioceses, the tears which their deaths
occasioned were, in measure, dispersed by the
hand OF Divine Mercy, which often strikes but TO
heal.


The association of States which had composed
| the Eastern Diocese, over which the Right Rev.
Alexander V. Griswold presided has, by his dea ath
| been dissolved, and three others consecrated to
take the pastoral charge OF separate portions Of the
burn. over Massachusetts j. P. X. Henshaw, over
Rhode, Island; and Carlton Chase, over New
Hampshire.


| Thus The spirit of heaviness at the loss Of our
Senior Bishop, has been exchanged for the "gar.
ment Of praises" and the same may be truly said of
Virginia. ''In the place OF Mourning for good
Bishop Moore, the oil of JOY has frightened the
to rejoice In the consecration Of the Rev Dr. Jonn
Johns to be the Assistant Bishop, and the elevation
| OF the Right Rev. William Meade, d. d to be the
Bishop OF that Diocese. Two other Bishops have
been consecrated during this Convention, viz: the
Rev. Nicholas H. Cobbs, to fill the Episcopate OF
Alabama, and Cicero Stephen Hawks, that of Mis-
souri; Thus are we comfcrted IN announcing to
| you the decease OF our beloved brother preates
As with Elijah and Elisha Of old, the mantles of
| those whom God hath taken to himself we trust
| haye fallen on others whom he hath left with u.s.
| Brethren-ln the pastoral letter Of the House OF
| Bishops, issued Ammo Domini, 1885, from the pen
OF good Bishop White, IT is thus recorded
" II has been the practice OF the Bishops, that in
each OF their trennial addresses, they have taken
occasion to call your attention to some point or
points characteristic Of our Church, and attention
| to which Is especially invited III existing crcum-
| stances"


The points to which the present House Of Bsh-
ops, under existing circumstances would most res
pecfully invite your attention, are such, as we
trust, will tend to settle and strengthen your minds
on the true principles OF our holy religion, viz:
Fdi in Christ, as distinct from merit in man, nd
obedience to the will OF God, as evidence Of the
truth of that faith.


| Thus guarding you from the errors Of Rome on
the one hand, and those OF the Antinomlans and
Solohdians on the other. In short, it shall be
aim TO show you that "Christ is the end Of the law
tor righteousness 10 every one that beeveth," and
that III ye will enter into life ye must keep the
| commandments"
Nothing is more characteristic ofour church than
| these scrlptural truths. The law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ
st John, 4. y; And again, "The Scripture
foreseeing that God wOnld justify the heaihen
| through faith, preached before the Gospel unto
Abrahamn-Gaf. iii. 8.
"The Covenant" made with Abraham, called
here 'The Gospel" or good tidings, was not " a





| serted. 1t was covenant Of grace, mercy and
truth, through faith in Jesus Christ, whose " day
Abraham saw and rejoiced." 1t was Gospel CO.
venant which the ceremonial law could not dlsaI-
nul Four hundred years passed between this Cos
| pei covenant with Abraham and the setting forth
| OF the law given by Moses. Therefore," saith
the Apostle, - the law given by Moses, could not
make the promise OF salvation through the Mes
slah OF none effect" II remained in the Apostles
days the same in the days Of Abraham, and it
remains the same now as then. II was and Is a
Il. l.
through the atonement Of the Son Of God. The
| only difference between Abraham and ourselves,
ls in that he looked forward, and we, in point Of
time, look backward. He TO the SAVIOR then afar
| vlour, who hath come, now eighteen hundred
years and more, to suffer once Tor all upon the
cross for the sins of men. He in the dawn, we in
the evening Of the day Of grace.


the kingdom OF heaven everlasting life, signfed
by the appelation of that better country" (and
the earthly Canaan as type Of it,) Was distinct
| thing from that which was added afterwards by
/ reason OF transgresslon."


just as distinct from each other were these, az
the frm foundation rock Is distinct from any frai
| temporary superstructure. The Jewish ceremonial
law although Itself built on the promise of the Mes
sab, was trail in itself, and served only tempo
rary purpose. II consisted Of types and aegories,
alludng solely to the Messiah and fulfilled in him
The Apostle, speaking OF Abraham, said, .The
| promise that he should be heir OF the world was
| aot given to Abraham and his seed through the


law, but through the righteousness OF faith. For, il


they which are OF the law be heirs, faith is made
| void, and the promise Of none effect."~


Let II here be asked: On what was this "faith'
| based but on the promise of the atonement to bt


made through then future Redeemer? Ia faith al
| hrm as the promise was sure, that God would Ger


taInly fulfil the same in his good time; the same
,aIth IN His word was firm, that God would raise


Isaac from the.dead the momen mt after he was slain


In this tremendous transaction, abraham saw
Chrisl's day and rejolced" "God will provide him.
..if ..,b Iar, r. fat nks
mind, he saw this "Lamb Of God" "slain from
The foundation OF the world" and looking on the
promise, that il he slew his son Isaac, God would
raise him Instantly from the dead: In hlm ne saw


and the Life" Yea-in this transaction Abraham
saw Jesus Christ overcoming death, mans greatest
| enemy, and his greatest punishment; he saw him
rise from the dead for the justification OF all who
-hould believe on his name In this sense 'she re-
| ceved his son Isaac In fgure" OF Christ risen
from the dead.


The Jews were blind to this blaze Of divine truth
| They shut their eyes to It's divine instruction.
/ They "loved darkness rather than light, because
| their deeds were evil. "The chief cornerstone,
elect and precious, the builders refused" Utterly
rejecting him their true Shiloh, the sum and sub
stance Of all their religion, they fell back on the
trail fabrics OF their ceremonial law, declared by
| the Apostle to be only " shadows" types" Of
l good things to come" and to be fulfilled in Christ
From this source, from one fountain head,
were all the religious errors Of the Jewish faith
derived. They valnly supposed that their sacrll,
ces atoned tor sin, by inherent and appointed vir


tue And it is remarkable that In this respect they
are initiated 80 closely by the members Of the Re-
| mlsh communion who affirm that their sacrifice
| IN the mass atones for sin. Nothing can be more
evident than that they are both in deadly error,
both blind TO this everlasting truth, viz: that God
never accepted anysacrifce, ,ofierlng or atonemenl
| tor sin but that which wasl made by the. Messiah,
his Son Jesus Christ, once for all, on the cross
A truth SO plain that II is matter OF wonder that
any who know the scriptures should be ignorant ol
il, and at the same time truth so necessary, that
Al religion is vain without It. The ordinances Of
God, before the coming OF his Son, adumbrafed


,or the most part, not gospel ordinances, but the
Saviour himself upon the cross; and gospel ordl-
| nances commemorate the same Saviour; both re-
ceiving their plenitude in Christ Jesus. The for
mer in the morning the latter IN the evening OF
the day of grace both being shadows on the dial