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Tous las autres exemplaires originaux sont filmis en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboies suivants apparaitra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre ffilmte A des taux de reduction diff^rents. Loraque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est filmd A partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^ithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 r-^ \ f§ ^i'm ♦t*)^ •AGAINST POPERY, // PART I. TIIR 'CONrAININO AN INTRODUCTION ON TR-E €hara€ter and €renius or THR momiL^ CATHOLIC iTELICMOll^, AND THE SUBSTANCE OF A LETIER TO THE CoitjiMsgattoii of St. James' Chnrclfy'^oronto,!!. €« OCCASIONED BY THE HON. J. ELMS LEY'S PUBLrCATION OFTHB BISHOP OF STRASBOURG'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE 6th CHAI*TER0F ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL. BY JOHN STRACHAN, D.D.L.L.D. Archdeacon of York, &c. &c. AUO Additional Obscrratioiia on the Sacrament of tke £^vd^>^ v.:H*»r' -,;;!;^i<«r • •jirr.*' ' r -■ THB POOF BKAKTS nUBSSS^VATIVB AU^INIT POPER¥ PART I. COX'TilKIKO ilN INTRODUCTION ON THB €^haracter and Genius OF THlt ROIEAN CATHOI.IG JtEl.IGIOIV, AX» Till SUBSTANCE OF A LETTER TO THE Congregatioii of St. James' ClsMjrcb^ tToronto, U. C occ^sioxEP 9r THE HON. J. EL&ISLEVS PUBLICATION ' or mil BISHOP OF STRASBOURG'S OBSERVATIONS ON Tlli: 6th chapter of ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL. BY JOHN STRACHAN, D.D.L.L.D. Archdeicon of York, &c. &c. AUBO AAMtlmtmrnl Obaerrmtlwii* ok 1M» Sacrajntent et Uie Lord^s !^ 1 '. I Supper omA T; HlmUu&tEattoB. " Take he*A to yourselves, th«t your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside and serve otiier Gods, and worship tl>em." Mosrs. *• Stand fast therefore in the libbrtt wherewith Chriit has mnde u* var.B, and be no. eutaiigled again with the tockof bondaob." St. PauLi. SToiouto: PRINTED AND FL'JJLISHED BY G. P. BLLL, (-'OURIBR OPPICR, MARKET HOUSE. . I » ;? k .i*r r i>N THE CHARACTER AWD GEI¥IU« OF IHK Ro.n.§jy c^tuoijIc REi^iGiojy, Much ingenuity has been displayed, and much learning mis-employed, in discovering and defending the dogmas of the *« True Church ;" tomes of controversial theology have been exhausted upon the subject, and the enquirer, whose soul's health was interested in the question, has been either deterred from enquiry, by its magnitude, and compelled to swallow the opiate of implicit faith, or else, perplexed and doubting, to trust, without examination, to guides who surpassed him only in the substitution of blind assurance for honest hesitation; and in having acquired learning — useless and misused. If not more learned than our fathers, we seem to know the value of time a little better; common sense has broken the cobwebs in. which learned sophistry had involved the religious interests of Man ; and we trust that the time is not far distant, when all those dogmas that have so degraded the human understanding, and the Christian religion, will be substituted for a conscientious adherence to scriptural truths At that time— a time which assuredly will come, though its arrival may be delayed — at that time when the idols of a corrupt' ed Christianity^ like those of paganism, will " be given to the moles and to the bats;" when the Baal and Nebo of a spurious faith, however the professors may terra it, will bow down and stoop, and the Dagon of this world's devices will fall before the ark of the revealed word — at that time, men will look back with astonishment upon the devices which they invented, and the systems to which they enslaved themselves ; thoy will look with the intenseness of the shipwrecked mariner upon the u rocks nnci shoals ^vhich had well nin^ii proved their destruction; and will rep^ard with amazement and humiliation, the human* erected ediflces, under whose roofs they had sheltered them- wives from the piercinfif light of God's word. Among those edifices that founded on the seven hills has not been the H distin^ished — its walls have been consolidated by time, ana \\% front adorned with the spoHs of reason; its portentous shadow has darkened long past ages, and its deep recesses have wit- nessed and concealed the artifices of human otfhning, and the heavings of human ambition, mingled with the tears of real pfehitence, and the bursts of agonized contrition. It is not enough to account for the thraldom with which the See of Rome has so long pressed down even powerful and straggling minds, to ring with sceptical flippancy, the changes upon ignorance, and priestcraft, and remorse. It has been sjiid, by divine authority, that " offences must come,'* oc- eiicc in |)ri>af(f life, find shelter under the relaxed rubes of Jslainism, and oneb has reckoned its converts by tboui^ands, but they are still con^ lined and local — the one was indip^enous in As?ia. and ne^cr flourished in Europe; the absurdities of Hindoo supcrbtitioii offend the taste €ven of those who patronize under another name, its "processions or penances, and the deserts of Arabia are the birtb-placo and limit of Mahomedanism. Not so with Popery — it not only finds in human nature a powerful and ef- fective ally, but when that human nature has been varied and transmuted, this system has changed with it— retaining* the same name, and aimin^^ at the same power, it has Proteus.like altered its shape and its dimensions, and on the coast of Coro- mandel, at the court c ' -ekin, under the mildness of an Italian or the rigors of a British sky, it presents far different features and characters, while its identity is preserved by the same compromising applicability to human mature, and the same in- satiable thirst for domination. Look at tl^is system as it pervades Spain and Italy, revelling in the uncontroled power which has been conferred on it; look at it In Great Britain assuming the decorum of moderation, and professing to be the advocate for the rights of man ; look at it iu Ireland since the time of the reformation, actuating and inciting her deluded fp'.lovrers to acts of violence and rebellion, when she can do it with safety, and stretching the broad shield of her infallibility to cover crimes that are shocking to humanity ; see it in this country,through the instrumentality of a miserable apos- tacy, striving to erect its head, coalescing alternately with the infidel who denies the sacred scriptures, and the politician who abuses those of its professors who make them their rule of faith, and gnide unto salvation. Compare her in these different situa- tions and say if the power she hns obtained is more remarkable than the ■pliability which she has manifested. In the dark ages she had her miracles and wonders to amaze and terrify the credulous ; in enlightened periods she has learning and soy^Ii; try tp ponfound ; for the devout she has solitude and K;edii*U""ii *, for Iho timid |iLirftntory and penance; for the profllgnte indiil. genees and absolution- tho Inquisitive sho balUes or satistica with her scliolastic distinctions and divisions ; and to the indo- lent or tho ignorant she extends her dogma of implicit faith. Is her pcjiitcnt fearful of a sin, yet desirous of its enjoyment ? ^ho propounds to him by the mouth of her casuists that tho opinion of one Doctor may render an opinion probable,— and what opinion, however erroneous, has not been defended by Some one Doctor? Is her penitent addicted to a course of incorrect living ? she compensates for such by other acts, ueigii- ing against each other good deeds and evil. Is h(» iniperAu.'t in his repentance ? she has hor doctrines of attrition to soothu him. Docs ho die in terror? she consoles him with the tem- porary sufferings of Purgatory. Does he shrink from the fear of eternal punishment ? she presents her pastors to the tremb- ling wretch, who offer to take his salvntiou on themselves, and to submit to the wrath of God in his place. For tho gloomy, she provid*^s fastings, and macerations, and scourges,— to tho gay, she presents processions, and festivals, and jubilees,— tho serious she sets to work in the learned labours of her mysteries ; und the fanatical she employs in forming a new, or reforming a worn-out order — cheering them with the distant prospect of beatilication, A system so admirably adapted to human nature, which can thus vary with the varying character of its subject, ^,nd can confer ou every change the stamp of infallibility, must jijive succeeded. 'I'he magnitude of its claims confounded tho enquirer into their foundation ; the compromising morality of the system enlisted on its side the advocate, and the slave of tho world; the deep tone of piety which marks many of its sei- vices, gratified the feelings of the devout : the ambitious found it a useful ally — the profligate a gentle censor— the enthusiast an incentive to his visions — and the learned an approver of his labours. Wide spread as has been the dominion which the Church of Rome has exercised on the minds of men, it has been, we con- ceive, the res-lit of this adaptation to their characters, their cir- ^•umstances, their virtues and their vices. And while the mu VI Hendin^ nature of Protestantism disclaims an alliance with the principles to which Romanism owes its triumphs — a compliance with these principles decorates in India the Roman priest with the insignia of the Brahmin, and in Rome confers the majesty and assumption of empire on " the servant of the servants of God.'* Many have wondered that in a system so apparently at variance with the details of Scripture, so much genuine piety should be found as marks the characters of the Pascals, the Arnolds, the Fenelons, and the Quesnels. The question is not, . on our principle, difficult of solution. The system would have been imperfect if it did not possess attractions for such spirits — aliments fur such minds. Abstracted from the world and supe- rior to its attractions, deeply spiritualized and devoted to the service of God, they neutralized by scriptural nourishment much of the poison of the church under which they lived ; and for the grosser parts of her system found in them»elves a re- pellant principle which prevented them dwelling on them so as to confute or desert tht*ra. Be it remembered too that such men living in communion with God, have never found favour with the See of Rome. The condemnation of Fenelori has marked the extent to which a mind like his can yield to usurped autho- rity, the agitations produced by the Bid Unigenitus which condemned Quesnel have liot yet subsided ; and with the con- demnation of the Jansenists much of the real piety of the Church of Rome was expelled from her communion. Let it be remem- bered too that the system which is so spiritualized by the piety of Fenelon and the deep convictions of Pascal, at that very moment was extending the sword to the ruthless dragoons of Louis XI V — breaking every tie which can bind society together in the revocation of the edict of Nantz, and fostering the per- nicious practice and precepts of the morality of the Jesuits. It should be remembered that it is not the effect which such minds as these have on the system that should be regarded as the cri- terion, but the ♦effect which the syst-.»(i has upon such minds, and upon the general mjiss of munkiiij. The slavish snpcrjiti- tion of one man, and the slavish submiz-sion of the other, ouij- ,>rove the imposing weight of opinioii ajid respect which could Vll eiithral such minds; while in (he deg^radod stnfeof the peasan. tty of f reland— in the patrons, stations, and holy wells, we may see the natural result of the tendencies, when uncounteracted by education or scriptural knowledge. It may be said that Protestantism presents different aspects in different ranks, and it is partially true *, but the effect of it on the poorer classes is to raise, not to de|Efrade them - to disen- thral their minds, and not to rivet their chains. The very exer- tion of intellect and employment of mind, which are the charac- teristics of Protestantism, have a tendency to produce this effect. The gospel preached to the poor raises their intellec- tual as well as moral character, and the mere bible taught peasant will frequently astonish the enquirer — not more by the correctness of his deportment than the justness of his views, and the sobriety of his opinions. It is thus Protestantism is distinguished from Popery as a system ; it is, indeed, fitted for all classes and all situations, but it is so, because with scriptu-* ral power, it reduces all classes to one awfuj level, and brijitrs in all flesh guilty before God. Borrowing nothing from the world ; it recognizes no dilierence in its ranks ; it has no compromise of morality for the rich^ and no commutation of penance with repentance, for the poor; it ha> no absolution which may smooth the pillow of the terrified sinner; and no purgatory interposing its temporary punishments to prevent guilt looking into hell. The same lesson which is read to the rich, is read to the poor; the same effect, if any be produced, must be produced on both; and the only lesson which she presents to both, is, repenlnnce toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, Protestantism is adapted to all classes and circumstances, by the transmuting efficacy of its spirit; by the energy with which it overcomes the world t Popery adapts itself to the shifting positions of numan nature ; finds its strength in the weakness of its subjects; and instead of levelling the distinctions of life, provides a religion and u system for each. If a Protestant ol the Church of England be que. jned as VlU to his boliof, he points to the Scripture as l\\e ?olo foundation of bis fjiith, and to the articles and homilies, as the inter. pretalJon which ho assigns to it. If the same question bet put to a Roman Catholic who had just before been boasting of the unify of his Church, of the universality of its communion, of the sameness of its doctrine and discipline, he refers you to the Council of Trent, which frequently determines nothing, and which is received or rejected as sovereign and people please — to catech^^ms which, if we believe Dr. Doyle's oath, are altered sit the printer's will — to divines who have no authority^ and to canons which have no promulgation. Does he refer to the creed of Pope Pins? that very formulary directs you for the arti- cles of fiiith to canons and rules which no Roman Catholic can enumerate or perhaps discover. Does he direct you to coun- cils? their best divines differ on the subject of these councils, and receive or reject them as they please. Does he appeal to the note and comment which authority has affixed to their tvr- sion of the Scriptures ? you find the text has no authority, and speaks by no ecclesiastical voice, and that these notes contra^ diet each other, and their very prelates do not venture to medi« ate between the contending parties* Such happy indistinct* ness does the creed of this Church possess, that if you press on them the decrees of Councils and the uniform practice of the Church, you are reminded of one distinction ; if the meaning of the words in their common signification be understood, you are then reminded of another. Their very prayers cannot be said without a mental reservation. Miracles are put forward by their divines as criterions of faith, and yet are allowed to be disbelieved ; and the happy ambiguity, with which Trent has invested all the obnoxious doctrines, is fully equalled by the coolness with which their most learned Prelate informs the assembled Legislature of the British Empire, that " the infalli- bility of the Pope is a very difficult question, but if the com- niiltee would study the folio of Mclchior Canoy they will know what he thought about the subject."* Such is the fugitive nature of this Church, that neither In doctrine nor in discipline • S*»e Dr. Doyle's examination before tlie House of rx>rds, on which 8om« valuable observatioug hic made in '' The Digest of Evidence.'' IX cm you fix its certainly ; and its infallibility leemi of luch a happy kind, that by evading examination it escapes detection.- This diversity of character it is easy to trace to first princi- ples ; the system of the Roman Catholic charch is the result of the gradual accumulation of faith and ceremony, under the influence of time and circumstance ; it is not he transcript o' the Divine mind exhibited in one harmonious code, but a mass which has been formed by circumstance, and fashioned by ac* fcident, according as necessity or fortune might seem to direct. Hence, governed by men, keenly alive to their own interests, the church took advantage of every bccnrrence, which would iseem to add to its fortune or its power. The claimed infallibility —while it permitted the church to be stationary, denied the jpossibility of its retrogadlng, and every fresH assumption adding to the former, took its station beside them with all tho dignity of time. The policy which accommodated itself to situation and circumstance, converted political concessions into general precedents ; and the course which was pursued, in order to gain the support of the wordly-minded, or to terrify the weakness of the timid, became the inerustation of a church whose boast is to be ** semper eadem."* Like the British Constitution, it is the effect of the gradual operation of time ; Ibut that operation which has secured stability to human laws by a perpetual reference to first principles, has indeed given stabi- lity, but it Is the stability of error, to the additions which man has made to the Scriptural code. Protestantism, being the mero recurrence to Sciriptiiral principles, partakes of their uncompro* inising character ; uninfluenced by circumstances, unaltered by Situation, it upholds the one standard of the divine decrees, nor permits any thing connected with this world to add or diminish thereto. ** The one resembles," to use Bacon's beautiful image, ** the gradual work of man proving its mortality by its progres- isive formation, the other bearing on its nnifo :m front the stamp of the Divine mind.^' We cannot conclude these hasty observations on the pecu- liarities of Popery, as a system, without professing our perfect B tfoiiviction that very many of thoi« \*'ho Iiava lived and dfed iinder its influence liave experienced and manifested the deepest piety and the warmest devotion. We are convinced that thera ure many who yield themselves to the dictates of an infallible church through the influence of genuine humility, and who re^" fuse to examine for themselves, not because the truth would be distasteful or abhorrent, but because they conceive their only duty io be implicit submission. There is no one acquainted with human nature but must know how difficult it is to shake of! the impressions 6f early life, to unlearn the opinions with which wo Lave been once principled, and to break through those mazes of error in which years have involved us ; and when to this diffi- culiy is added the still keener blow which is felt by the affec- tions rather than the intt^Ucct— the rending asunder of the ties which nature and society have produced, and the sad hostility which a conscientious following out of scriptural examination is calculated to produce. We confess when we consider all this, that we are not surprised at the pertinacity with which many Individuals cling to the often refuted errors of Popery, We would not wish to be understood in these remarks that wa have applied them to any individuals, — we speak of the system which we conceive blunts or misdirects the beneficial tenden- cies of the human heart — associates with itself the worst and most terrestrial substitutes— form for substance, and penanbd for rep§ntance. York, Utpeii Canada, 1st January, 18S4. TO THE CONGREGATION OF ST. J\MES' CHURCH. My Dear Brethrkn: After the Honorable John Elmslf.y returned froni England, his attendance at church, which had been usually verj regular, was observed to be unfrequent; and after a little time altogether ceased. Rumours were afloat thi;t he had deserted the faith of his fathers, and conformed to the Roman Catholic Church. As he had never spoken to me on the subject, 1 felt unwilling to notice such rumours, although, to external appear-^ ance, they were not without foundation ; for having known no instance of such conversion in this Province, it seemed scarcely credible, that a person who had been carefully educated, to ma- ture age, in the doctrines of the Protestant Church, should have suddenly abandoned them, and attached himself to the Roiiaaii Catholic persuasion ; but yet there seemed to be grounds for apprehension. Sometimes I thought thiit my duty required of me to call upon him, and expostulate with him on his absence from public worship. At other times I considered that if ho were sincerely in doubt, he would make his difficulties known to me ; this I felt to be his duty, and what X was entitled to expect. While thus contemplating the matter in my own mind, I rece;*r'd from Mr. Elmsley the following letter, with the liishop of Strasbourg's observations on the ai&th Chapter of St. John's 'Gofcpel : York, October 7th, 1833. ^ My Dear Sir: " In enclosing you the copy of a pamphlet, the publication of which in this country I have been at some pains and expence to effect, I trust yon will pardon the libtjity I take in begging for it your most attentive consideration, in order to my being favour- ed, at your leisure, with your opinion of the important subject of its i)ages, and also of the manner in which the argument 19 sustained. "- ' *• It is an extract from the work of a very able and pious Ca-*' tholic Prelate, a brief memoir of whose life is prefixed to the work by the London publisher. The view Uken. by the author in this most essential point in controversy between Catholics and ProtestantSj is to me quite new. 1 have perused, I believe, iit tlic lust (i:'.y. •' r*.') Iiir my lli' li is nn-at. iiuiccd, and my blond is drink indeed. «• .lO. (If liiiu ciitelii my flesh und diialuilh my blood, Uwellclh in me, and I in liitn " ;-7. Ah the living: Fatlw^r hath f^ont me, and I live by the Father } RO h« that ealeth nie, even he hliall live by me. *'.'>S. Ihirt is that breml wbicli came down from heaven: not a« yo»tr fftth(?Ts did eat niiuina, and uie dead : he lliat ealeth of this bread bhall Uv« for ever. " f>i). These things suld he in the Kyn,-i;;ogne, as he tany;ht in Capernnnm. '• f)(). 1! Many therelore of his disciides, when they heard (his, said, ihi* is a ii;ird ^HyinJr, who ean hear il? " (il. Wlion Jesns knew in himself that his Uisciples mnrnuued at it, ha said OHIO them , Dolli this olfond yon ? " b'2. /I /tut, and if ye bhall sec the Son of man ascend np where he wn« before ? " 6;i It is the Spirit that qniekeiieth ; the flesh profitelh nothing : lh« words that I npeiik onto yon, f/ai/ aies|/nit, and t/ui/iur life. '• 61. Bill there are some of you that believe not. For .lesna knew froia the be^innititr who they were that believed not, and who should lietray him. " 6."). And lie said, therelore said I r.nto yon, That no man can eome unto me, except it were niven unto him of my Fathrr. " 6lj. *[[ From that (iiiu many of hi;i disciples went back, find walked no more with him. " fiy. 'ihen Jesni^ said unto the twehe, Will ye also go away .' •' <)H. Thrn Simon IVter answered liim. Lord, to wh-m shall we go ? ifeoil haat the wouls of eternal lilV', " Ci). And we believe, and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the livinjf (iod, *• 70. .Jesus answered them, Have not 1 chosen you twelve, and one of you IS a devil ? , " 71 . Up spake of Judas Tscariot, the son of Simon ; for he it was that should bi tray him, being one of the twelve, .^^ In (he history and refutation of the doctrine of transubstan* tiation, given in tiie second section, I purposely re.=erved lor special consideration, what our Lord says in the Isixlh Chapter of St. John's Gospel, because the Bishop of Strasbourg seems to think that the strongest argument lor the real pre.sence is derived from that portion of Scripture, in this opinion the learned Prelate has the misfortune to dilfer, as will afterwards appear, with the most ancient Fathers ot the primitive Church, as well as with the most able X)ivines belonging to his own ; and when we place St, Ignatius, Clement of Alexandria, Ter- tullian, Athanasius, Cyril, Augustine, Pope Gelasius, and Facundus, in opposition to the liishcp of Straslj-ourg, thelatter stands, as an author, in a position by no moans enviable. On reading the sixth chapter of St. John, you will find, that our Saviour, after feeding the the thousand, was under the neces. sity of withdrawing himself from the multitude, a« they wer« going to take him by force to make hira a King; believing, C is » I m , \i\» (li;riei|ile:i iset tjuil for Capernaum, and uhile they were tosied I;ojj^ue, they wero unahle to eon(i;in thtir i.s(onish»u<'nt, and exclaimed — *• Rahbi, when earnest ti:ou hither ?" Jesus knowinof i\w\r spirit an' there- fore as this discourse; certainly is, it was Jiot inlroduced hy any formal preparation. Jesus had escaj)ed from (h(? peofile when they wished to make him a King ; he had passed over the sea of Tiberias to Capernaum ; some of the more active and forward of the multitud(! hiid followed him, on account of the miracle of the loaves, and from carnal, not spiritual motives. This jjave rise, in a way quite natural, to the remarkable conversation re- corded by St John ; as in his discourse with the woman of Samaria, our Lord took occasion, from her dravving the water, to pursue his conversation under the allegfory of water; so,-on this occasion he carries it en under the all< gory of eatinjji^ and drinking^. He calls the doctrine of the CJospel bread and wine, because Christianity rests on the great doctrines of the incarna- tion and death of Christ, which are here called higllesh and blood. Therefore Jesus speaks of the belief of these tliinjis under the phrase of eating his ilesh and drinking his blood, by which' itiod they were to become immortal and partakers of his glor)'. The metaphor of expressing spiritual food by meat and drink, used by our Lord, through the whole ot this chapter, is familiar to eastern nations, and occurs fn tjuejitly in Scripture. Thus Solomon represents wisdom as inviting men, s;iying, " Come *\ eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which 1 have mini:led." Isaiah exclaims, " Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and j'our labour for that which satisfieth not; hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good^ nnd lot yr»nr »o'»l Helliflit in f.itiios.-i." And our Lord in '..if cliuptcr fxliorl.s tliw ,f<«vvs5 not tolaljoiir for tlu» nioiit th.i^ pt^r ishotii, but. for that meat ul»i«'lj endun'th lor rv<»r. Diit uliy, it may l*<» uHkcd, siiould tliis allcfrorioal or lio^uralivo modo ot in- etnicdon h.ivo Ijcrn adopUsl hy (!l)ri.^t, nti tlio njor(< natural way would \ui\o hvicii to deliver liirf doctrines in exprcMs* terms, as in somocasrs ho has actually done; wliatuccd olanotlwr lanjfunoQ to convoy tlio natne trulh ? To tlii.-* I ansvvor, that tho mora natural inclhod to the .Iouh was tlj(; (i^jurativy or alh^jrorical, such boinfj tho charact-r of tlu'ir nurucrous ritos, au I of l\n$ jifroator [)arl of their Scripturo, in which tho Diviuo communi- cations arc not literal, Init convoyed in (ypos,Hvtnl)olj; and m«la- phors. — Vor tho Mosaic d.sponsad.ii uas not: " niueh a rovola- fion ns n deposit of tiutlid to bo rovealod : tlio form in u'hicli Ihcse truths arodopositod boiniif calcul.itod rather to mould raon's ininda i'or their n>ceptioii, than positively to teuc'h thoiii.— It M'as the CJospel whicdi was to btinijf thorn to lip^ht. Hence th© Christian's view of tho deetrinos ot his religion is by this modti «f expression connected with its |)roo.''^: our Loid, therefore, by conformiufr his plan of teachino; (o the spirit of the Jewisb Scriptures, reminded them of tho charactor of these Scripturos, which were so coaiposed that tho indocile and uncandid seeing might not see, and hearinri~, though they did eat manna, died in the wilderness. Our L(»rd tiien addt', " I am the bread of life; he that Cometh to ine fchall never hunj^er, and he thatbelievethon me shall never thirst ; 1 came down tVom Leaven to s^ave (he world, and this is tho Fat'-er's will tiiat hath sent me, that of all which he hath p,i n i^r^ 1 should looSv? none, but raise it up at the lasf day." Our Lord'.s Jl(iuruti\e manner of expressin^if himself throijo^h the whole of this discourse, is particularly manifested in this quotation ; had he not been speaking' ppiritcidly, il would h.n.ve been absurd to promise that Ills disciples s!»ould not hunreTice and distinction between the teaching of Christ and the teaching of the apostles ; n dis- tinction which has b(^on too much overlooked by divine?, and which the Bishop of Strasbourg does not notice, although it would have furnished him with a much better exposition of our Saviour's meaning in this chapter than that which he has adopt- ed, and explained in a far more satisfactory manner the serious questions which he proceeds lo pvopound.— Our Saviour came rather to be the subject of Christianity than the author of it. — He did not baptize, though baptism was the rite of admission into his religion ; he preached not to the Cientiles, although the most distinguishing feature of the new dispensation, was its extension to all mankind. He established no Church during his abode on earth, and left no written laws behind him, but as the subject of Christianity, he appears God manifested in the flesh, and in th^t character accomplished our redemption by his mysterious death and sufferings. As the teacher of mankind, he instructs them in a way by which they might attain to the r)ivine favour, thus made accessible to all. In the f rst stage of Christianity, it was impossible for our Lord to explain more clearly than he did, many things respecting his birth, his tran- scendant dignity, his last sufterings, his triumph over death and the grave, and his ascension up into heaven ; and this enables us to account for the diiBcnlty of explaining many of hi? allu- sions and dark sayings, without the aid of farther revelation. — There is, however, one thing which he never fails to demand, that is, faith in his words and testimony. This be requires of all those on whom he performed miracles; for as he made faith necessary to that eternal salvation which he came to offer, it seemed fitting, that temporal deliverance should in like manner be offered with the same condition, if we suppose the latter to he intended as a type of the former. Our Lord explains fre- quently to the multitude, and always to his disciples, every- thing in as far as the progress of events would admit; and on the present occasion, his address to the people is not more dark and mysterious, than the incidents to which it alluded rendered necessary. If therefore hints aiid allusions were often given by our Lord, which partook more of the obscurity of prophecy than the explanation of a new truth, it was because many of the Christian doctrines could neither be as yet clearly commu- nicated nor comprehended, as they depended upon events which had not taken place. The great doctrine of the atonement for 22 example, which \ras not fully .iccoraplished till our Lord's as- cension, his resurrection from th« dead, &c. were not designed lo be publicly understood till the illumination caused by the descent of t!ie Holy Ghost. Even the twelve, thouj^Ii common- ly allowed an explanation, were as much in the dark rospecting some of the main truths of Christi.inUy till the coming of the Holy Ghost, as the multitude around (hem. To speak therefore of our Lord's careful exordium, his opening Lims^'l''by halves and de- grees, is altogether erroneous. When our Lord suys lo his disci- ple- it is expedient to you that J go au-ay,he plainly indicates that the office of making Christians bolonirit of God, all forms of religion are dead and worthless : lie declares, that by believing his doctrine, trusting in his promises, and meditating on his instructions, they would spiritually eat his flesh itnd drink his blood. It is therefore not wonderful that a discourse containing such hijrh and mysterious things should astonish ol— 'iord's audience, since it contradicts their dearest prejudices, for though instruc- tion had frequently been spoken of as the food of the soul, yet no prophet or servant of God from the beginning of the world, had spoken of himself as the bread of life. This discourse at Capernaum, happened about a year before our Lord's institution of the Eucharist, and many of the most able divines, both ancient and modem, contend that it has no relation to that ordinance, but merely to spiritual feeding in general ; others maintain that the connexion is intimate, and that our Saviour's expressions on this occasion appear a sort of preparation for the appointment of the last Supper. The argU"» ments on both sides are exceedingly strong, and I am inclined to believe, that though this discourse more immediately refers to the atonement, and the benefits we derive from it by faith, yet it may be justly considered a prophetic intimation of the advantages to be derived from the participation of the Lord's ^ 24 Supper. The sacrifice of CUrist and the Holy Sftcrament hav« •U(.-h a relationship, that the mention of the one may naturuily suggest the other. In speakinaf of the olFerin«>; of his body, Christ, we may well f5U|)p(».se, ! tary passion of Christ, and their partaking thereof, which is feed- ing upon his flesh and blood, is their life. Thi& is the basis of the Gospel ; we must be reconciled to God, by the death of his Son, before we have a just claim or title to any thing besides. Therefore the foundation of all our spiritual privileges, is our having a part in that reconciliation, and which, according to St. John, in this Chapter, is eating and drinking his flesh and blood, or as St. Paul tells the Hebrews, eating of the altar: the result, fruit or effect of our thus eating his crucified body, is a right to be fellow heirs with his body glorified, for if we are raado partakers of his death, we shall also be made partakers of his resurrection. On this is founded our mystical union with Christ's glorified body, which neither supposes nor infers local presence ; for all the members of Christ, however distant in place, are thus mystically united with Christ, and with each other. The sum of the doctrine of this Chapter is not confined to oral or spiritual manducation in the Eucharist, but also ex- pends to spiritual manducation at large. The feeding on Christ's death and passion, at the price of our redemption and salvation, confers a spiritual, or mystical union with Cbrisfs human nature, and by that with his Godhead, to which his humanity is joined in an unity of person ; but as this spiritual manducation belongs also to the Eucharist, our Lord's expres- sions are not foreign to the ordinance, but have such a relation to it as the inward thing signified has to the sign. 3rd. Ott'r Lord's conversation in the Synagogue at Caper-< naum was not more mysterious than that which he held with Nicodemus respecting the new birth ; but when the latter wiis explained, as referring figuratively to baptism, or the washing of water upon the outward man, and sanctification of the spirit in the inner man, it became plain and easy of comprehension. When, therefore, our Lord says, " I am the living bread which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; arid the bread that I shall give him is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world :" it is the same as if he bad said, I am the^bread of life whom God hath sent into the world, to dir^^ct and bring you into the way of everlasting life. With this bread, the manna of which you boast that your fathers eat in the wilderness, is not to be compared, for tbo manna preserved them not from temporal death. But whoso- ever eateth of this bread, by believing on me, erabraceth my ^actrin«) and perievcring in obedienca to vay cumraaudmeuti, D 20 fJiall bfl kq)t and nonii*lierd.'' Bread therefore it is, and yet the body of the Lord ; and wine it is, and yet the blood of Christ. At the same time, this bread and wine so blessed and declared to be Christ's body and blood, became moro than a bare representation or figure. They are, as our Church, taught by Scripture, declares in her twenty-fifth article of religion, an effectual sign in virtue and effect, though not in substance the thing which they represent. It is the bread and wine quickened by the Spirit, who is the giver of life. That Divine person, who rendered effectual to our spiritual health and soul's salvation, ail that our Redeemer had done and suffered for us, and by the means of his own appointment. The fcame almighty word which gave bread its natural virtue to nourish the body, by his blessing in the first institution of food, gives the sacramental bread its supernatural virtue in this divine institution for the strengthening and refreshing of our souls in the spiritual life, and for the resurrection of our bodies to life eternal ; for says our gracious Lord, " He that eateth my fiesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal 'Ife; and I will raise him up at the last day." This appears to have been the doctrine of the Christian Church, for more than six centuries, nnd was scarcely in any degree obscured till very corrupt and ignorant ages followed; nor was it ever totally lost, even in the Western Church, though nearly choked for a time by the prevailing growth of transabstanliation ; yet in the face of anti- quity, and that of Scripture, sense and reason, the Bishop of Strasbourg proceeds, with amusing gravity, to rebuke the Pro- testants for adopting his new doctrine ; and this at the very moment that he had seen our Lord telling the Jews, who understood his words as Roman Catholics now do, " It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Thus we have a plain and convincing intimation that Christ spoke of eating his flesh and drinking bis blood in a figurative and spiritual manner, and that eating of his flesh, as the carnal Jews understood, and as modern Roman Catholics understand, would profit nothing. Here I pause from following the Bishop, till I make good my assertion made in the beginning of this section, that he stands in opposition, in his explanation of St. John, to the most celebrated Fathers of the Church. St. Ignatius, the disciple of St. John the Evangelist, and who had lain in the bosom of that apostle, as the aposile had m th« bofora of Christ, and who mutt have received the sen** ■•i'l 1 I 50 HmJ vneaningf of (bu chapter Crom the holj penman himseifi •peaking to the Rphesians, desires them to make haste together to one place, in one common faith, in one Jesus Chriiit, breaking one loaf, which is the medicine of immortality, and our anti- dote against death. Although this father does not quote this chapter, he had it in his eye when he says in another place, '* I delight not in corraptible food, nor in the entertainments of this world. The bread of God is what I covet— heavenly bread — bread of life, namely, the flesh of Jesus Christ the Son of God ; and I am athirst for the drink of God, namely, his blood, which is a feast of love that fnileth not, and life everlasting/' Clemens of Alexandria, who tlourished about 102, speaking of the Eucharist, says, *' Our Lord, in the Gospel according to St. John, has otherwise introduced it under symbols, saying, '* £at my flesh and drink my blood,* allegorically signifying the true and clear liquor of faith and of the promise, by both which the Church, like man, com- pacted of many members, is watered and nourished, and is made up or compounded of both— of faith as; the body, and of hope as the soul, like as our Lord of flesh and biood.^' Terlullian. speaking of oar Saviour's discourse at Ca- pernaum, *' ThQUgb," be says, ** the flesh proflteth nothing, yet the sense is to be governed by the subject matter ; for because they thought it a hard and intolerable saying*, as if he had intended really to give them his flesh to eat; therefore he promised that it is the spirit that quickeneth, and then sub ■ joined, that the flesh proflteth nothing, namely, towards quick- ening; therefore, as he makes the word quickener, because the word is spirit and life, be calls the same his flesh, as the word was made flesh, which consequently is to be hungered after for the sake of life, to be devoured by the ear, to be chewed hy the understanding, and digested by faith.'' Origin says, ** Christ's flesh is meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed, because he teedeth all mankind with the flesh and blood of his word, as with pure meat and drink." Athanasius says, *• Th» words which Christ spake at Capernaum, are not carnal but spiritual, for how could bis body have sufficed for meat, that it should be made the food of the whole world." Cyril, of Jerusalem, observes, ♦* that Christ, once discoursing with the Jews said, ' except ye eat the flesh,' &c. ; but they, not uiuierstandiug the things that were spoken; or in a spiritual manner, but supposing that he exhorted them to eat fle&h (like cannibals) were scandalised, and went back from him." St. Augustine says, ** Why preparest thou teeth and stom-» aeh? Believe, and thou hast eaten, for to betiere in him is to 31 fnt tbo living- Ijrrnd/' Ag;ain in hie tract on At. Jolm, h» 9»y*t ** To believe in him is to eat the livin^r bread ; he that believe* eats, because he is inwardly repienished.*^ Again he introduces Christ as sayings, '< Understand what I say in a spiritual manner ; yon are not to eat that boy the Jews, Locnuyo found in th«^ Scriptures and knov^n in thrir wcliools; Itut <'atinj? his flrsh nnd drinking his blood, literally understood, gavo them oirencw hecauso prohibited by the law of iMobes, und repugnuut to the cuKtoius of civilized nations. Our Lord, on this apostney, to try the fnlth of the twelve, Baid,in ii moving and allectionuti^ manner, " Will ye also go away?'' IJehold how many have forsaken me, will ye follow their example? What are your thoughts and purposes ? Then Simon Peter answered him, ** Lord, to whom shall wo go ? thou hast tho words of eternal life, and we believe, and are sure that thou art that Christ, tho Son of the living God." These words of St. Peter are of great importance to the right explica- tion of the context : he and the other Apostles had continued with our Saviour from the first ; they had been witnesses daily of his miracles; they hud beheld his Divine countenance, that mild and God-liko face, tempered by human limitations ; they had seen his pure unspotted innocence— his heavenly deport- ment — his conversation, so wise, condescending and sublime, connecting the present with the future, earth with heaven, and therefore with entire conviction they exclaimed, '* Yes, we be- lieve and know that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." Nor do we understand thy wov.'^ in the carnal and absurd sense which these men hiive given tluun, for we perceive that thou speakest of those doctrines and revelations by which we are to be guided to eternal life. This declaration, which is fully ira- plied in tho words of St. I^eter, proves beyond controversy, that the Apostles believed our Lords conversation in a spiritual and not in a carnal sense, for their answer to our Lords appeal is the same as if they had said : Thou jvrt the true bread of life, tho promised Messiah so long looked for — the eternal Son of the living God, who earnest down from heaven. Hence the faith required by the Gospel is the submission of the heart to the reception of J3ivine truth, much more than any peculiar capacity for understanding abstruse doctrine ; and when men are willing to receive instruction, it will always be supplied them in a sulBcient degree for securing the great object of religion, the salvation of their souls. Here lay the distinction between the disciples who remained and those who forsook our Saviour: neither of them understood or could understand th« full import of Christ's words, for his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, had not yet taken place ; but one part ga^^e the Saviour their full confidence, and tho other was self-suflicient and averse to spiritual things. And here it is right to observe, Uiat we stand on the vantage ground— Christ hath risen from the i n 34 dead and ascended into hv\iven ; the Holy Ghost has come and announced that he is the Messiah, by the most astonishing; manifestations, and these proofs of bis divinity mnst bring cer- tain conviction to every well ordered mind. With such accu- mnlatian of proofs in fa\rir of the sense which we give to our Savfour's discourse, the A jostles, the Fathers, &c., it is rather too much for the Bishop ol Strasbourg to call upon us to give up our dearest hopes because we do not adopt his carnal inter- pretation. Christianity is a spiritual worship, and its object is to bring men to a nearer conformity to God ; for this purpose, it elevates tiieir views above temporal things, and qualifies them for a higher state of exisstenc-e; but to maintain that the Mords of our Saviour in tLa Synagogue at Capernaum are literal, not spiritual, is so self-evide^ t a misapprehension of the nature and design of the Gospol, as to be almost incredible , jand is iii fact an extravagance more difTicult to ret oncile to the mind, than even the apostacy of the Jews when they heard and were offended at them. One has hardly patience with the Bishop of Stratsbourg wL>en he says, " That if the Jews were sKocked and scandalized when Jesus said, I will give you my flesh to e<^t, when he was upon earth, and before their eyes, bow much ntoie will yop be scandalized when you shall see his body go up to heaven and disappear from your sight ? If this mandncation apppears to you incredible, now that you see my body, how much more will it appear to you when you see it no more ? This doctrine was therefore such, that after his resurrection it would represent more difficulties to be understood than it did before ; and from th^s I conclude that bis doctrine was not such as the reformed attribute to him/* Kow this mode of reasoning is singularly weak. The hard saying at which the Jews were ofliended, was the monstrous, and as they conceived, the savage doctrine of eating his lle^h and, drinking his blood, which, notwithstanding our Lord's explana- tion, they persevered in, believing in a literal sense And yet tbe Roman Catholic Church, with astonishiiJg perverseness, adopts the very belief for which the Jews were reproved, and without their excuse ; for the spiritual nature of Christ's king- dom is now most clearly revealed, and leaves not the semblance of argument from Scripture, Fenseor reason, for the Bishop of Strasbourg's opinion. His Lordship endeavours to fortify his opinion by giving a sen^e to the G3rd verse, at variance with its evident meaning; for he ajiplies the words flesh and spirit in a manner tolully unconnected with the context : " it is the spirit that quickfnetn, the flesh proliteth nothing: — as if our Lord had said the flesh, that is, the seniles or corrupt reason of man, proliteth nothing towards the discovery or belief of what he tiud an>:ounced -, that is, the leality of the mivnducation on which 35 he has so ranch insisted, of which he here declares that (re can. net judgo by the flesh or by a carnal reason which profitetb nothing, and that it could neither be discerned nor tielieved, except by the quickening Spirit, that is, by the grace and light of God.'^ Now this gloss makes the carnal man display his carnality by adopting the spiritual interpretation of our Lord's expressions ; while the spiritual man displays hie spirituality by jjreferring the carnal interpretation, Such a paraphrase appears to me a very extraordinary description of the two states of the carnal man and spiritual man, and is not sanctioned by any authority. The true meaning has already been given, that what he had said aboat .ating his flesh was to bo understood in a spiritual, not in a carnal sense. The words which I speak, says Christ, convey to men the power of the Spirit, for the flesh of itself profiteth not at a!! to the end that I propose, namely, giving you eternal life. Thus understood, there is a consistent and regular connexion with what goes before. Perhaps still more singular is the interpretation by the B'shop of the 65th verse : " Therefore said I unto you, that no mm can come onto Die, except it were given unto him by my Fathei," which he ex pounds to mean, ^^ the need of an assistance, a partLular grace from Heaven for believing the manducation contended for.'^ Now such a sense is totally inconsistent with the text which evidently implies what our Saviour had alread}' declared ** that no man can savingly believe in me, unless my Father draw him by bis Spirit, and give him strength and grace to enable him to come unto me in ?.J,spiritaal manner for everlast. ing life," Let us now look back and glauv^ie at our examination of this Chapter : — 1st. Jesus Christ nses in this discourse metaphorical lan- guage, as was his custom, find urges strong motivt^b t:. convince his hearers of the obligations they were under to beliove in his words. The depth and solemnity of the observations are very remarkable, and revelations are made in language not a little mysterious, of some of the leading doctrines of Christ!, inity. — Why such were not at the time more clearly commiinicated is abundantly accounted for, by the distinction noticed between the teaching of Christ and the teaching of his Apostles. 2nd. When our Lord speaks of feeding his Church With his flesh and blood, his language was so strong that the disciples murmured, and the Jews indignantly asked, "■ Fow can this man give ui his flesh to eat ?" It appears from the tenor of the narrative, that both Jews and disciples understood him literally, but Christ hastens to correct this mistake, and teaches them to 36 imdeiflfatid him fSj^uratlvely. Thosfl wholbelieved received his oxplaaation, bat the perverse heeded him not. Yet althoagh our Saviour interprets his Inn^aa^e figarativel}', the Bisiiop of ^trasbourjr, like the obstinate Jews, maintaiDR that his lang^uap^e is literal, thus plaeingf himself in direct contradiction to Christ's declaration recorded in Holy Scripture. 3. The figurative exposition of our Saviour'^ Ian»uag'^ in this Chapter, £»s well as the institution of the Eucharist, is in perfect accordance with the whole Scripture, but the literal exposition is in direct contradiction. The Bishop's doctrine is, " that in the celebration of the Eucharist, the Priest offHiH up the literal body and blood of Christ to God, as the true nnd ^jroper expiatory sacrifice for the quick and the dead." Christ therefore, according to this doctrine, is repeatedly offered ; but in Ho'y Writ, we are positively assured, that Christ was offer- ed only once— Heb. 9 ch. & 28 v. Heb. 10 ch. «Sr 10 v. 1 Peter 3ch. &18 V. The term once, is in direct opfosition to the term repeatedly. According to Scripture, Christ is once offered, but according to the Bishop of Strasbourji^ and his Church, ChriEt is repeatedly offered ; hence fhe Holy Scrips tures and the Roman Catholic Church are placed in direcjt variance with each other. 4th. After onr Lord's explanation, St. Peter clearly per- ceives, that he had been speaking figuratively, and says, *' Thou hast the words of eternal life.'* Hid he thought that Christ had spoken literally of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, ho would naturally have said, Lord, it is a hard saying, yet bcf cause thou has said it we belit/e; strengthen thou our unbe- lief. The Apostle however speaks very differently : " Lord, to whom shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life;"*' as if he had said. We are resolved to remain with thee, for thou art the true bread of life. But had ouk* Lord left them in their mistake in believing his words literal and not figurative, it would only have been in accordance with his conduct on other occasions, when dealing with hardened and obstinate sinners. For example, he said, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again;'' and though the Jews did certainly misunderstand him, because he spake of the temple of his body, yet he makes no attempt (o set them right. 5th, The summary of his argument, drawn up by the Bish<^»p, display:* much weakness, with not a little ^surance. The first three paragraphs are taken up with shewing that the Jews understood our Lord to mean a real manducatian. In the fourt'i paragraph be i;f^serts, with astonishing cooiuess, that oLif Lord had also the reality in view, becauss) he does not correct E* 37 them, totallj for^ettingf or misapplyin^'the 66rd verse, in which Christ expressly condemns their carnal meaning, and declares his words to be figurative. The fifth and sixth paragraphs, after noticing the otFence taken by the disciples, asserts that our Lord does not soften the expressions which had alienated his hearers, although the very contrary is the fact; for Christ clearly intimates, that his flesh is his life, which he was to give for the life of the world ; and eating his flesh and drinking his blood, is believing on him, Christ crucified, the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. In the remaining paragraphs, tht) Bishop gives a perverse interpretation to the Chapter, and makes our Lord to say the very opposite of what he did say,— • that he announced the reality of the manducation, and reproach- ed the disciples for thei/ unbelief, because they considered the manducation impossible, and that we are in the same condem- nation. The Bishop farther states, that Jesus declares that no one can receive this manducation, if he has not received grace from the Father. Now the discourse proves the reverse of all this, and most clearly shews that the Jews did understand a real manducation, and were so scandalised, that either they did »ot listen to or give credit to Christ's correction of their error, which clearly intimated that the manducation to which he alluded was spiritual, and therefore so must the food be spirit, ual, and consequently it cculd not be his natural flesh. But the Apostles, atteL ', ug to his explanation, remained stedfast in their confidence, though not yet acquainted with the true nature of his doctrine, which was afterwards to be more fully revealed. It is impossible to follow the Bishop through what he means as his i-umraary., without remarking the dif[Tculties he has lO en- counter in so interpreting the Chapter, as to support the error of transubstantiation. instead of the sublime truths which our Lord brings forwarr '^s far as they could then be revealed, the Bishop seeks to confine our vision to the mere belief in a carnal manducation, and to efi*ect this purpose he is compelled to per- V ert and misinterpret the clearest expressions. 6th. A great part of the Pamphlet is taken up with exhort- ing Protestants lo turn to what his Lordship deems the true faith respecting the body and blood of Christ ; with what sue* cess may be anticipated, when the whole of the discourse at Capernaum is in direct opposition to transubstantiation, a doc* triue which we have proved unknown in the primitive Church, and which receives no countenance from the more early fathers; nay, it has been shown that these eminent men interpret our Lord's expressions in this Chapter figuratively, and not literally, i»o that they stand in direct opposition to the Bishop. In truth, his Lordship's doctrine outrages our senses, and appears to those w|^o i)av« not had their minds prejudiced in its favour * # Mi .- i 1 38 from infancy, altogfether incredible ; nor is it too mneh (o assert tliat no man of common nnderstandingf can ever be brought to believe the doctrine of transabstantiation, if pro- posed to him after he has attained the years of discretion. Thus have we gone through the Sixth Chapter of bt. John, from which the Bishop of Strasbourg endeavours to draw the strongest argument for the real physical presence of the body and blood of Christ, in the consecrated elements of bread and wine ; and we have, it is hoped, fully proved that our Lord spealcs throughout spiritually, though the images and illustrations, as was his custom, are taken from the things immediately around him or familiar to his hearers. The discourse is indeed highly epir'.f nal, as might have been anticipated from the very nature of the Christian religion, which is essentially spiritual, and seeks 'o beget in us heavenly dispositions, and to bring us nearer and nearer to the char i?' of God. But enough has been said to justify me in conclur that the Bishop of Strasbourgh has totally failed in his ar^. lent ; it therefore becomes rather ludi«> crous in his Lordship to exhort us to beware of the danger we are in, — the danger is certainly not with ns, but with his Lord- ship, and all persons of his belief. We arrange osrselves with the Apostles, and his Lordship takes part with the unbelieving Jews. We listen to Jesus Christ, who is still in the midst of us, and continues to speak the same language to us — we hear him, and surrender ourselves, in deep humility, to his will ; while the Bishop of Strasbourg perverts or misinterprets the words of our Saviour, and stands in the situation of those, who teach for doctrines the commandments of men. I CONCLUSION. It is hoped that my object, in this and the preceding Sections, which has been to furnish a competent knowledge of the true nature of the Eucharist as it appears from the Scripture, and was understood by the Apostles and first Christians, and to remove the perplexing error of trans ubstantiation, with which it has for many ages been deformed, has been attained. While doing this, I have satisfactorily shewn, that it is the most merciful and beautiful institution that God ever vouchsafed to man ; and that it ought not to surprise us that its celebration stood forth as the o^ost prominent part of the worship of the Primitive Church : h indeed no where appears that our Saviour himself ordained any other for his disciples, but the commemo- ration of his own death in this floly Sacrament. ^ v » < 39 PrayeF ill a duty of nafnral as well as of revi^aled religion $ but the celebration of the £ucharist, with its attendant duties, preaching- the doctrine of the Apostles, fellowship among the Siiints, and the public prayers, is peculiar to Christianity, and was the known stated and constant worship of our Lord's di&« cities and their followers ; and with reason, for the death of Christ is the most wonderful and beneficial event that marks the annals of time, and of all others the most deserving to be the chief subject of our praise to God. Now praise, offered in a proper manner, is justly esteemed the most rational and ex. cellent part of Divine worship, consequently, a participation of the Eucbnrist, in faith and sincerity, is the most acceptable service we can pay to our Creator and Redeemer. The Eucharist has been considered by the pious of all ages a feast upon a sacrifice ; and with equal propriety may it be proclaimed a festival in honour of Divine mercy to mankind ; for where shall we find a manifestation of God's unspeakable love to our fallen race like that of sending Jesus Christ into the world to save us from destruction. Conscious, as every reflecting man must be, of having failed in bis duty, and of his need of some testimony of the forgiving grace and compassion of Him, against whose law our transgres. eions have been committed, the communion comes as balm to the soul. W'3 recognise it to be a feast in honour of the pro- mised and pledged exercise of God's forgiveness, and as the most grateful of all services which can be performed by man. There is no worship so worthy of the benevolence and conde. scension of God to institute, nor any that ought to be so wel- comed in songs of thanksgivings by the universal voice of all the inhulMtants of the earth ; for as all are guilty of sin, and bear always about them doubts and fears, the most blessed assuredly of all sounds is that announced in the Holy Eucharist, which presents God ~ccepting our Lord's sacrifice for sin, pitying our guilt, and removing our iniquities. It is indeed the business of the Gospel to announce forgiveness of sins, peace with God, expiation by the blood of Christ, and eternal life to fallen but pardoned sinners. These are the messages which its heralds are commissioned to proclaim to the children of every kindred, language and people : and if it be true that the feet of those are beautiful who speed their way into all lands proclaiming unto the inhabitants of the earth, Behold your God, how much more ought the moral history of that greatest of all the messengers of divine mercy to be kept in remembrance, whose very appearance in our nature was the highest of all pledges that Gjd *^ had indeed pitched his tabernacle with men«" and that he would dwell with them upon earth. I 1^ i 'sl 40 Tho Eucharist, thus deemed a feast In honour of Divin« mercy published mid ratified to the whole human race, is a conception of tho institution particularly pleasing and lovely, and niters a most appropriate termination to this essay, on Hi true meaning, character and importance. In this respect it is felt to be tho most attractive and delightful of all festivals ; blotting out our sins, removing our doubts and fears, breathing into our souls peace and reconciliation, restoring our tarnished honour, and fortifying our minds with the most glorious hopes of soon enjoying' that more intimate communion with our Saviour in his everlasting kingdom; of which tho Eucharist in thii life is so touching and perfect a representation. FROM THE CHRISTIAN GUARDIAN. The Christian Guardian of the 5th innt. makes the following excellenfe obsorvatiuns on the preceiling subject, viz. on the 6th Chapter of St. Johni which to some will appear very touching, and to almost all, a eeuBible good commetit. — ., II. '♦ Our next enquiry is what is meant by the terms, ' I am the true bread whirh came down frcii^ heaven. My fleah is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed, ^^xcept ye eat of the floeh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. He that eateth my flesh and arinki>th my blood shall live for ever.' The ( Komanists) Catholic understands them to mean, (as in their articles of faith) and the Bishop of Strhshouigh contendrt tliat tliey mean a real mantlucation of the flesh, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, into which each sacramentiil wafer of bread is with unaltered form, and to the senses, unattended properties, really and substantially rbanged. The Bishop of Strasbourg therefore contends that our Lord's dis- course with the Jews is to he understood in the strictest literal sense. Let us try this rule of interpretation by one or two out of many examples that might he selected. " Our Lord says, (verse 26,) ' Labour (or seek) not/or the meat that per- ishpth ' This is tinequivocal, and if the Bishop's rule is a good one, it is positively unlawful for us lo seek bread or any rhing that perisheth. which may perhaps include U. A'. R>ghts, Protestant Church Pews, and every thing of an earthly nature, a doctrine to which we helieve MR. ELMSLEY himself is not even j/et converted ill •• Again our Lord says, (verse 5') ' If any man eat ot this H-ead, he shall live FoiiKVKa.' Have not Pi)pes and Priests and their flocks, from age to age (accordinu: to the Roman Catholic Church) eaten of this bread? And have they nut died already ? Rither therefore the Bishop's rule of interpreUitioai i>i- his Uoctiiue, must be false.'' (This is tni it/ unequivocal! ! J : ^^ ? -T^^ ON TUB SACZIAMEITT OF THE XiOXUD'S SUPPER, ANB TRAIVSUBSTANTIAI'IOIV. ** Tims fijiith the Lord, Tljey arfi vanity and thf» wotik or rHnons : in th<* tiin»* ol" their visitation ihcy tiimll perish. Stand ye (liiereforej in the xvayB and see, and ask for t tie old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall tind rest lur yuur souls." JuutaiiAH. Thrrr is no argument which the adherent to the See of Rome is s«» fond of urging — no weapon on whose temper he so mach relies, as on the undisputed claims of his Church to spiritual sovereignly. Half ignorant himself, and halt relying on the ignorance of others, he boldly asserts his absurd pretensions ; and when he declares, that for every other religious denotnina^ lion, a period of their first ap{)earance can be marked out; but that the beginnings of (his) tlie Church are lost in antiquity, he ifancies that he establishes the supretxiacy he would claim. The reasoning is false, and the facts are incorrect. In the naked abstraction of the arpcutnent the same plea would have been valid against the Law of Moses, as contradistinguished from the Patriarchal faith ; against the mission of the Redeemer as superseding the Mosaic dispensation ; against the early Chris- fians as opposing the fables of Paganism, invested as ci* pies to the end of tLe world. It h of the nature of a feast, and f»'«ra the hour of the day in which it was first observed, it is called the " Lord's Supper," The materials of the feast were dimply bread and wine, ahJ were used to represent spiritual blesfiinjfs. Hence the Apostle Paul says, Ist Gor. x. 10, " The cup of Ijlessinpf which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not the com- munion of the body of Christ ?" From this it is evident that the symbols which were used by tbe Apostles in ordeNo repre- sent the spiritual blessings which are derired from the breaking of the body, and the shedding of the blood of Christ, Hvete plain bread and \rlne. By eating the bread and drinking the wine his people in iheir social capacity, according to his appoint- ment, shew forth his death ; and in the exercise of faith, over the symbols of his broken body and shed blood, they really en- joy the benelit of his d'^ath, in the as:Mr Saviour—** this is my body," " tliis is niy blood,"'— ineaninR* this represent.^ wy body, this represents my blood ; if the l.-iRgnag^ in whidi hr was 8|'t ali'Pv. had no other mode of expres.^ion. as ivas the case with that iiKt'd br our Uedcjmer.^— See the 2nd S««iion, pa;;e 54. ©f lUi AtchdcattJU of 43 •jnib«I» or reprMMjtaiioiii of Chrl«f« cruwfled body and blood, w«re offerod lo God hs the great and acceptable iucri fice *ftlj« Christian Church. The Bishop or Priest continued his prayer, and entreated the Almighty Father to sen«l upon the bread and wine the Holy Spirit to ■anctify and bless them, and to roakw I them Christ's spiritual life-giving body in power and virtue, Ihat to all the faithful they might be ^HTeetoal to all spiritual purposes. The officiating Bishop or Priest then received tb<# Eucharist in both kinds himself, and proceeded to deliver it ia both kinds to the people. In these days the utmost simplicity prevailed ; to have reserved any part of the Eucharist for tho Ministers alone, or for any one privileged class of believers, would have been to manifest a violation of that great principio of equality recognized by the Gospel, that ia the sight of Go^i there is no respect of persons. The communion of the body and blood of Christ was deemed a privilege of the most preciouj* kind, to which every convert was entitled ; and bo far was tiid Church from throwing any impediment in the wav, that she earnestly and affectionately invited all her members to partuko of this holy Sacrament ; and it was long thought to be incon- sistent with the Christian profession to be otherwise than a iTe^ulur commuuicaipit. ,*' Nearly fifty of tlie n(iost ancient Liturgies have been collect- ^, among which we find one which has been attributed to St. James, our Lorc^'s brother, and which was assuredly constantly used in the very first age in the Church of Jerusalem. Thii Liturgy may be justly considered one of the most precious monuments of Ecclesiastical antiquity; and its strict conformitj with the account giien by S,t. Cyiril of his service, is a demon, strative proof that jt has como down to us in all its original purity and simplicity. Now, however much these numerous Liturgies difTer in other things, they agree with that of St. James, and with each other, in tbeir manner pf consecrating^ the elements^ and in their distribution. i " 1st. The words of our Saviour's institution, containing tb« Priest's authority to celebrate the solemn office, and his setting apart the elements, as the representatives of his body and blood, broken and shed for the sins of the world, by pronouncing over them the words of Christ i « This is my body,' * this is my blood.' 2nd. A solemn oblation or offering of these instituted memorials, in sacrifice to God the Father, commemorative of his Son's death and passion. 3rd. Prayer for God's acceptance and blessing upon them by his fJoly Spirjf, sanctifying them fhrQHgfa bhs Divine power, so as to make them the spirittifl <4 life-fl[ivin|f body and blooil of C'hrihf, and tb« means of ronroy- injj; to the well-di.spo.s(>d nMM'ivcr all tlio IxMieniK purcbasod bj our Lorcr* sucrilice fur muukiiid, {xirdun, grace, and utcriittl " In accordancft with Ihe nnpipnt Liturgies and Eucharistic orrvices of the Church universal in its primitive times, are the sentiments of the Christian authors of tho.4e agfe?, commonly called the Fathers. These form u cloud of witnesses to the commemorative sacrifice representative, and yet eiricacious, und communicative of the blefsinpi* obtained for us by Christ's body and blood. This Holy Siicrament, says Irena^us, (quoting one out of many) consists of two parts, an earthly and an heavenly, — bread and wino from the earth, but the body and blood of Christ in spirit, power and heavenly efficacy. Far indeed were the Fathers from imuffining any change in the breiid and wine, but only In their qualitios, by the sanctifying power of the Divine Spirit, for so the blesseJ author of the high and heavenly mystery had tanght them. '• It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh proiiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, are spirit, and they are life."" Thus we have seen, and it deserves our particular attention, that in all the forms of administering the Eucharist handeu down from the first ages, the most harmonious concurrence prevaib-d, and that the three important points noticed above, were invariably intro" duced in the same order. Nor did the 'Church of Rome, then a highly respected Church, for purity as well as station, differ (nor for many ages afterj from the Church of Jerusalem or other Churches in the celebration of the Kucharist; all of them arranged the service in the same order, and gave to the words the same interpretation. We have further the unanimous tes- timony of ail the ancient Fathers and early writers of the Chris- tian Church from the very beginning, and for many ages downward, that this is the true and real import of our Lord's command, and that their manner of administering the Eucha- rist is the only way in which it ought to be administered From all this th*» fullest conviction arises, that such is our Saviour's gracious will and his last and dying command. Anti- quity, universality and consent, all concurring in this just inter- pretation of Scriptural truth, and in the adtiiinistration of the Lord's Supper, in both kinds to communicants. This universal testimony of the Church cannot deceive us: that which was taught and practised in all Christian Churches, for the first four centuries, must be of apostolical authority. And indeed with- out this testimony of the Church, it is impossible to prove the canon of the New Testament, or to establish the authority of the books which it contains; and surely there can be no tesli* mony so satiifuctory in ascvitaining the nature and desig'n of 4d the Holy Eiiclmriiit, ai that of the primitive Church. To her we are Indebted (or the authenticity of the records of the initi- tution, and to her we must look for rightly understanding thd mind and will of the Apostles, from whom she received the records of our Lord, and by whoso doctrines and practice she Wtt« instructed iu their true meaainjjr/* This doctrine was too simple and too epiritnal for the Church of Home, when she be^nn to give hoed to seducing spirits, and when she bccnmo herself the fj^roat seductress of the world called Christian. *' Hut the Spirit of God does not always contend with the spirit of man. The mental darkness, the natural progress of error, the credulity of superstition, and the urtitice of desi^rning^ men, multiplied corruptions in the Church, niid produced a firm belief in the most incredible thiiij^s. Uat neither the veneration for reliques, the prayers for t*"-) dead, and the invocation of saints, are to be compared, unscriptural as they are, to the victory obtained over the common undcratuud- ing of man in establibhing- Traniaubatuntialion.'" Havinp^ lost sipfht of the desipfn of representing the death of Christ by the elements of bread and wine, sAe directed her at- tention to the turnings of the eleaionts into the very body and blood (corporeally) of Christ hiniselt. Nor did she stop here, — bydeg^rees she rohe to the climax of absurdity, and maintain ed that the whole subiitance of the bread, after the Priest had pronounced the words of consecration, was converted not only into the body and blood, but also into the soul and divinity of Jesus Christ; and the eame with repfard to the wine, which doctrine was conlinned by the Council of Treat in the roiiow<« in<; words : — *• Tf fltiy one kIihII dony tint in the tntrt Holy Facrament of tlit» Diirliniist lliero aio rontaiuid truly, «»»d ipally, and siilist.iiuially, the body and blood, t.igPlIior vvitli tlie soul i able." "Supposing,"' says Archbishop Tillotson, *Mhis doc- trine had been delivered in 8cri[)ture, in the very same words that it is decreed in the Council of Trent, by what clearer evi- dence could any man provo to me that such words were in the Bible, than I could prove to him than that the bread and wine, after consecration, are bread and wine still ? He could but appeal to my eyes to prove such words to be in the iiible, and with the same reason and justice might I appeal to several of his senses to prove to hiro^ tiiat the brci^d and wiue, after cousecratipn, are bread and wine still.'* ** It is a sufficient confutation," says the venerable the Arch- deacon of York,*' of the doctrine of transubstaiitiation, that it contradicts our senses ; since we see and taste titut the bread and wine after the consecration, and when we actually receive them, still continue to be bread and wine, without any change or alter- ation whatever. Moreover, it overthrows the very iiature of a Sacrament, by supposing that what we eat and drink to be the thing signified, and not the sign. In line, transubstantiation has no foundation in truth, but without reason or necessity, puts an absurd and jmpo^ible sense upon the words of our Saviour ; ' This is my body,' * this is my blood,' by which it is no more proved, than the words, • J his cup of the New Testament,' 47 pro\T tltnt Hi^ mnteriMl cop nhich \rai used in (be SacrAmfrvt, HAS subptnntinlly ehaiipfefi into (he Ne\r lVi(ninen(. And no morn than tboie t(>x(8 whicb nfllrm God (o ha\o eyof nnd cnm and hand^, prove that be really bns them. It oontrndictii four of the five sense*, and undermines the foundation of all cer- tainty. Had the Apostles preached transulj^tantiiitiou and the renuiiff.'ingr of our eenaea, roiraclos would have alForded no evidence of the truth of the (jospel, for that wbicli d(>pendK vpon the certainty of sense as miracles do, cannot prove that which is contrary to sonse. Now miracles, wliich are (be best and highest external proof of Christianity, oppose transubstantia. (ion as a part ot the Christian doctrine, unless we are prepared to disbelieve our senses, upon the evidence of which uU niira. cles rest. A man cannot believe a miracle without relyinfif upon his senses, nor can he believe transubs(antia(ion without renouncinf^ them. The main evidence and confirmation of the Christian doctrines, viz miracles, is resolved into the testimony of our senses, but such evidence is against transubstantiation, for as it renounces the senses, miracles can give it no conlir. matiun ; for (hat which depends upon the cer(ain(y of sense, m miracles cer(ainly do, can be no coinpe(ent argument to prov« that which is contrary to t^ense^as tiansabstaiitiatiuu evidently is." Again, ** 1 can never believe transubsfantiatioh, since it im- plies that our senses, employed on proper and familiair object:), are so much deceived as to destroy all dependence upon them. I never can believe that our Saviour taught his disciples, before his death, not to believe in their own senses, which he must hava done if he taught them transuhstandation, and that the very first thing he did after he was risen from the dead, should be to ask them quite the contrary, by'appealing to th« certainty ot sense for the proof of his resurrection. 1 never can believe a doctrine which strikes at the identity of Christ, which St. John grounds upon the evidence of the senses— that they had heard, seen, looked upon and hiiudled, ol the word of lrt'<*. 1 never can believe a doctrine that strikes at the certainty of what St. Luke calls inlairfble prools o( the resurrection, which were noim others than th.it which the senses afforded ; that strikes at th(i ascension which took place publicly, for no other end than (hat the sorrowing Church might have a sensible and intelligiblo foundation for her trust in him, who is exalted to be a Princo and a Saviour. I cannot believe tran^ubbtantiation, unless ( enn believe that truth can contradict and destroy itself. To conclude, if any can receive a doctrine so unscriptural in itselt, and so dangerous in its consequences as transubstnntiation, they ter. For if in any of these there be any dofect, viz. due Matter, Form, with attention and PricHtly Ui-ders in the celebration, there is no Sacrament con^ fc( ciate '• DE DEFECTIBUS PANIS.— Of defects in the bread. Ist, If the bread be not of wheat, or if the Avheat be mixed with such quantity of grain, of any otlier speciea, that it doth not remain wheaten bread, or if it l)e in any way corrupted, it doth not make a Sacrament. 2nd, If it be made with rose or other distilled water, 'lis doubtful if it malce a Sacrament. *« DE DEFECT [BUS VINI.— Of the the defects of the wine. Ifthewin® be quite sour or putrid, or be made with Intter or unripe grapes ; or if it ba niixed with water so as to spoil the witie, no Sacrament is accomplished. *' If, after the'consecration of the bread, inon of the wine, a defect of either species be discovered, the other beina;