BX
5149
C7M83
Confirmation
KV. VnANCIS MORST. M.A.
Il,*«'
I % f/>S&
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
Confirniation :
WHAT IT IS, AND WHAT IT REQUIRES.
in liinc ^UUrrssre;
REV. FRANCIS MORSE, :\I.A,
Canon of Lincoln^ Vua: of St. Mary, NottingJuuti,
and late Huhean Lecturer,
PublisljrU iinUer tj)t Direction cf \%t Tract (Committee.
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©ottfirmation.
I.
WHAT CONFIRMATION IS.
Jeremiah 1. 5.
"They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces
thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves
to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not
be forgotten."
HESE striking words were written
to picture out the starting of the
Israelites on their return from
captivity in Babylon to their
homes in Jerusalem. That return and
the prophetic words which tell of it are
also pictures of Christian times and of the
coming of penitent and earnest souls to
seek and find their rest in Jesus Christ
A 2
140
4 Confii'inatioji.
their Saviour. Jeremiah's words are thus
exactly applicable to those who are now
seeking Confirmation. Their faces are
Zionward. They are asking the way to
Jesus their Lord, their rest, and their home,
and resolving to join themselves to Him in
a perpetual Covenant that shall never be
forgotten. I place these words, therefore,
at the head of these addresses in the hope
that from their beauty they may strike the
eye, and possibly touch the heart, of some
one who may open the Book.
The subject of this first address is Con-
firmation itself, what it is, what reasons
lead us to practise it, and what duties
follow it.
I. What is Confirmation }
It is a rite of the Church in which those
persons, mostly those young persons, who
have been baptized, and are now come to
years of discretion and are religiously
disposed, come forward, after careful in-
struction, for the double purpose of *' con-
firmiing" and "being confirmed"; that is,
Of confirming tJicinselves their baptismal
promises ; and of being confirmed by God
in their baptismal privileges.
Each one of them for himself confirms
his own baptismal promises in the words
]V/iat Coufinnatioii Is. 5
he has to say aloud — " I do" — in answer to
the Bishop's question,
"Do ye here, in the presence of God,
and of this congregation, renew the solemn
promise and vow that was made in your
name at your Baptism; ratifying and con-
firming the same in your own persons, and
acknowledging yourselves bound to believe,
and to do, all those things which your
Godfathers and Godmothers then under-
took for you?"
And they all, one by one, have the
visible sign and seal of God's favour and
gracious goodness towards them, to coiifirnt
them in their baptismal privileges, when
after prayer the Bishop lays his hand on
each one and says : " Defend, O Lord, this
Thy Child with Thy heavenly grace that he
may continue Thine for ever ; and daily
increase in Thy Holy Spirit more and more
until he come unto Thine everlasting king-
dom."
Thus in a double sense the rite is called
Confinnation, expressing alike what ive con-
firm and what God confirnis.
It is also called '' The laying on of Jiandsy
The laying on of hands is an ancient
Scriptural custom used to indicate the ^'con-
veyance of blessing from God''
Thus when Jacob would bless the two
6 Confirmation,
sons of Joseph, he laid his hands upon each
of them and said : " God, before whom my
Fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the
God which fed me all my life long unto
this day, the Angel which redeemed me
from all evil, bless the lads." Gen. xlviii.
15, 16.
Our Lord Himself followed this example,
for in blessing little children, "He took
them up in His arms, laid His hands upon
them and blessed them." Mark x. 16.
And the Apostles in the conveyance of
the miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost were
accustomed to do the same, as in the case
of Peter and John at Samaria. " Who,
when they were come down, prayed for
them that they might receive the Holy
Ghost. Then laid they their hands upon
them, and they received the Holy Ghost."
Acts viii. 15, 17.
Thus, then, from each of the names,
whether ** Confirmation" or "Laying on of
hands," we gather this to be the meaning of
this ordinance ; it is a rite of the Church in
which baptized persons confirm their bap-
tismal vows, and are confirmed in their
baptismal privileges ; are separated unto,
and are blessed of, God
Confirmation is also called by the Church
of Rome a Sacrament. But it is not a
JV/ial Coifinimtion Is. 7
Sacrament according to our definition of
the word Sacrament, because though an
outward sign and an inward grace belong
to it, it was not appointed by Christ Him-
self
II. This brings us to our second question,
" Why, then, does our Church practise
this rite of Confirmation ?"
She does so —
I. "Because," as is expressed in the Ser-
vice, it is "after the example of the Holy
Apostles."
** We make our humble supplications
unto Thee" — so runs the Bishop's prayer — •
" for these Thy servants, upon whom (after
the example of Thy Holy Apostles) we have
now laid our hands, to certify them, by this
sign, of Thy favour and gracious goodness
towards them."
This example is recorded in the follow-
ing passages —
{a) "Then Philip went down to the city
of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
" And the people with one accord gave
heed unto those things which Philip spake,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he
did.
" For unclean spirits, crying with loud
voice, came out of many that were pos-
8 Confirmation.
sessed with them : and many taken with
palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
" And there was great joy in that city."
" But when they believed Philip preaching
the things concerning the kingdom of God,
and the name of Jesus Christ, they were
baptized, both men and women."
" Now when the apostles which were at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received
the word of God, they sent unto them Peter
and John: who, when they were come
down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost :" . . .
"Then laid they their hands on them,
and they received the Holy Ghost." Acts
viii. 5—9, 12, 14, 15, 17.^
Observe, — they heard the preaching of
the Gospel of Christ, they saw the miracles,
they believed themselves and were baptised.
Then the Apostles came, laid their hands
upon them with prayer, and they received the
Holy Ghost. After this example, whenj^^?^
have been instructed in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, and become believers in Him, and
have been baptized, — for these, in whatever
order they come, are the essential prepara-
tives for Confirmation, — then the Bishop,
like the Apostles, comes and with prayer
lays his hands upon you, to assure you
of God's gracious goodness to bestow
JV/iaf Confiniiaiion Is. 9
upon you the i^ift of the Holy Ghost ; and
that gift, not the less real, because, not now
in His miraculous, but only in His ordinary,
influence of Christian graces and powers.
{b) There is a similar statement, with re-
ference to the Ephesians, in a subsequent
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.
"It came to pass, that, while Apollos was
at Corinth, Paul having passed through the
upper coasts came to Ephesus : and find-
ing certain disciples, he said unto them,
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
believed ? And they said unto him. We
have not so much as heard whether there
be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto
them, Unto what then were ye baptized ?
And they said. Unto John's baptism.
Then said Paul, John verily baptized with
the baptism of repentance, saying unto
the people, that they should believe on
Him which should come after him, that is,
on Christ Jesus. When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands
upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them;
and they spake with tongues, and pro-
phesied." Acts xix. I — 7.
(<r) The doctrine of " laying on of hands,"
which from its position can hardly be
interpreted of any other than this of what
10 Confirmation.
we call Confirmation, is mentioned in
the Epistle to the Hebrews among the
" foundations of the doctrine of Christ."
" Therefore leaving the principles of the
doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto per-
fection ; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of resurrec-
tion of the dead, and of eternal judgment."
Heb. vi. I, 2.
2. The Church of England practises the
rite of Confirmation also, because, as the
sixtieth Canon of the Church expresses it,
— "It has been a solemn, ancient, and
laudable custom in the Church of God,
continued from the apostles' times, that
all bishops should lay their hands upon
children baptized and instructed in the
catechism of the Christian religion, praying
over them and blessing them, which is
called Confirmation."
3. She practises it, thirdly, because it
gives a definite opportunity at a most impor-
tant season of life, for the decided choice,
and public confession, of Jesus Christ. It
is thus the natural complement of Infant
Baptism, the spiritual coming of age, when
the young Christian, not only *'with the
heart believeth unto righteousness," but
lV//rrf Coiifinuation Is. 1 1
" uitli the mouth makcth confession unto
salvation." Rom. x. lo.
I should like to ask any one who objects
to Confirmation whether he could devise
anythin^^ more sensible than this ; anything
better adapted to the need ; anything more
likely to fix a young person in his faith, and
to secure him, as he enters upon active life,
for the Lord's service.
A Covenant, to which God in Holy
Scripture gives him an invitation and a
right, has been made for him at his Baptism.
But now he has come to years when he
can understand it, and he must consent to it
of his own will, and with his own mouth, or
it can now be no longer of avail to him.
But when shall he do so? We know he
may do it at any time. But what may be
done at any time is commonly done at no
time, especially if it is anything we shrink
from. And all men, young ones especially,
shrink from decision in religion, shrink
particularly from any public profession of
such decision.
Just at this time, then, when one is wish-
ing, but not quite daring, to confess Christ
openly and in public, he needs to be
invited and encouraged; he needs the affec-
tionate friendship, and the gentle pressure
of those older than himself; he needs the
1 2 Confirmation.
sympathy of numbers ; he needs above all
some definitely fixed time, and place, and
way, which, when once decided for him,
makes his effort easier.
And just at this time In his experience,
comes the repeated notice of an approach-
ing Confirmation, a call in itself Sunday
after Sunday from God to his conscience ;
and then parents speak of it; and friends
speak of it; and the clergyman speaks of
it, in private as in public.
And so a little help here and a little
there encourages one and another to come
forward as a candidate ; and then under
earnest and affectionate instruction many
make up their minds that it would be a
very happy thing to be brave Christians,
and so when the day comes they solemnly
pledge themselves to be such, amidst the
prayers of the Congregation, and in the
face of all men.
It is urged, I am well aware, against
Confirmation, that some come to it ill-pre-
pared, and so take harm rather than good
from it themselves, and bring scandal
rather than honour to the Christian name.
Alas, this is the case in all Christian
ordinances.
Some come, we know, to the Lord's
Supper and eat and drink unworthily
II 7/(7 1 Coufin)iatio]i Is. 13
to their own condemnation. But are we
therefore to cease administering the Lord's
Supper, which is so great a blessing to
those who worthily partake of it ? Some
come to church for other purposes than
prayer and praise. Are we therefore to
close the churches altogether, even to those
^\•ho come to pray and to praise "^
We are not to give up means of grace
because some abuse them. We take all
pains to teach and examine our candidates
for Confirmation ; but we cannot read all
hearts, or all, indeed, of any heart. We
must leave that to God alone. But there
are no means of grace which God more
blesses than Confirmation, and if some
abuse it, many have reason to thank God
for it all the days of their life, and will
have throughout all the ages of eternity.
III. What then is required of persons to
be confirmed .^
1. That they have been baptized, that
they have come to }'ears of discretion, and
that they know, and understand, the Church
Catechism.
2. That they have used their privileges,
and made their Baptism a reality; that
they are penitent, trusting, striving souls,
and so, indeed, may be in every sense
14 Confirmation.
pronounced "regenerate," as they are in
the Confirmation Service ; and that thus of
their own will they come forward, asking
for this further privilege.
3. That they make special preparation of
heart and mind for this solemn rite, obey-
ing God's Word, which bids us "Prepare
to meet thy God" (Amos iv. 12); and
trusting in His promise, which assures
us " Thou meetest those that remember
Thee in Thy ways " (Isa. Ixiv. 5).
And now let me ask any one in whose
hands this book may be placed, who has
not yet made any decided stand for Christ
and His religion, who comes to church it
may be and is interested and perhaps
attracted to wish for, though not yet to
take some further steps towards a religious
life — Do you think you will ever have a
better opportunity than this, of the approach-
ing Confirmation, for stopping in a career
of thoughtlessness, with which indeed you
are not satisfied, and turning heart and
soul to live for God ? Here is at hand a
definitely fixed opportunity. Here is a
time-hallowed ordinance after the example
of the Apostles. Here are sympathising
companions daring, as I hope you will dare,
to confess and not to be ashamed of
Christ. Everything conspires to help you,
JV/hJl Confirmation Is. 1 5
and never again will it be so easy for you
as now. Like those spoken of by Jeremiah,
in the words at the head of this address,
your faces are Zionward or you would not
have read thus far. You are inquiring the
way thither, or you would not be thus
patiently bearing with my attempt to show
it you. Will }'ou go on with the words and
say now, one to another, brother to sister,
friend to friend, "Come" now "and let 7is
join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual
covenant that shall not be forgotten .?"
Oh, if you have any such desire, as you
love your life do not let it be quenched. It
comes from God's Holy Spirit striving with
your soul: do not bid Him be silent. Let
your clergyman at once have your name as
a candidate. All depends upon speedy
and decided action ; once having made the
resolve, once having pledged yourself to
God, you will find the next steps com-
paratively easy.
Let me give you an example from a
soldier's life. When the great Duke of
Wellington was a very young man and had
just entered the army, he was quartered at
Dublin, and was spending his life in idle-
ness and gaiety amidst the attractions of
that city. Suddenly there came an order
for his regiment to go to India. Young
1 6 Confirmation.
Wellesley was altogether disconcerted at
the thought of having to give up his en-
joyments in the best of Irish society. His
first thought was to sell out. His second
and his better thought was to consult an
older friend whom he happily had near
him in the Duke of Richmond. The Duke
said, " Go home and think well over the
whole question, and come to me again
to-morrow." He went home. He thought
of it all night. He came back again and
said, "I will go to India; and I will be a
soldier yet."
Are you, in your best days, thus living a
life of thoughtlessness, of pleasure, if not of
sin } And as you now read the order from
the King to go forth and fight your Lord's
battles, in a land far off from such occu-
pation, are you saddened, vexed, inclined
to evade the order } Follow the great
soldier's example, for you too are a soldier.
Go and be alone with God. Think well
over, on your knees, what will be the conse-
quence of putting off His order now; what
will be the result of now yielding to it ; and
then and there, God helping you, resolve,
and let your Confirmation tell out to the
world your resolution,
*T will go where Christ my Lord is
bidding me, I will be Christ's .soldier yet."
II.
PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.
St. John X. 4.
"And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He
goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him."
NE of the most attractive views
of Confirmation is that in which
it represents Christ's putting forth
His own into action. He comes
by invitations, and sermons, and earnest
teachings, to arouse those who are lying
Hke sheep inactive in the fold, and to
thrust them forth into the open confession
and active service of their Lord. It requires
some pressure upon their hearts and con-
sciences to effect this; and so much is
exactly expressed in the words of St. John
before us. *' When He putteth forth " is
1 8 ■ Cofifinnaiion.
rather " When he tkriistct'- forth." There
is a certain amount oi gentle force used.
The sheep is so nuich at ease and at home
in the fold that it is unwilling, unless pressed,
to rise and go out. But it is good for
Christ's sheep that the\- should be thus
aroused and thrust out into active Christian
life. They are " His own.'" and He will do
what is best for them. He will thrust out
His own. But observe what He will also
do at the same time for their encourage-
ment and protection.
He i.'i!l ^0 ccfcr: thc'.n Hi/usclf. This is
the picture, and this is the thought, with
which I ^^•ould attract an\- one who is
thinking oi being contirmed.
The Lord is pressing }-ou into His active
sen-ice in the world ; but He would have
}-ou start with a clear sense oi your privi-
leges. You are His own. and He is going
before }-ou.
This is the first thought expressed in the
Church Catechism, the leading points of
which I am now proposing to examine with
t-liose who are candidates for Confirmation.
It begins by setting forth \X\^ prhilegcs of a
Christian. For notice the two first questions
and answers. They are as follows : "What
is your name 1 " " X. or ^l." " Who gave
\-ou this name.^"' "]\h' Godt'athers and God-
Privileges of Christians. 19
mothers in my Baptism ; wherein I was made
a member of Christ, the child of God, and
an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven."
The Christian is in right and title "a
member of Christ, the child of God, and an
inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." He
is one of Christ's own.
The teaching of the Church is thus at
one with the words of Christ. In sending
forth her young disciples into the world
she would send them forth with a full sense
of their privileges as Christ's own, His
members, God's children, heirs of Heaven,
joint-heirs with Him who is leading them
there.
I desire —
1. To compare with Holy Scripture, and
to illustrate, this statement of the Church
Catechism concerning our privileges as
being Christ's own.
2. To dwell on these privileges as en-
couragements to come forth at the Saviour's
bidding and to follow Him.
The statement is this, which is put into
each of our mouths, in answer to the
question, "Who gave you this name.'^" —
"My Godfathers and my Godmothers in my
Baptism ; wherein I was made a member ot
Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor
of the kingdom of heaven."
I^. 2
20 Confirmation.
Each of these expressions denoting our
relation to Christ and to God is taken from
Holy Scripture and is there connected with
Baptism.
That thus we become members (limbs,
that is, in a spiritual sense) of Christ's body
is thus stated; "By one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body," *' for the body is
not one member, but many." " Now ye
are the body of Christ, and members in
particular." i Cor xii. 13, 14, 27.
That thus, likewise, becoming members
of Christ the Son of God, we become the
children of God, is with equal clearness
announced : " Ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many
of you as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ." Gal. iii. 26, 27.
And for the last expression, "inheritors
of the kingdom of heaven," we have the
terse and striking words of St. Paul, " If
children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint
heirs with Christ." Rom. viii. 17.
All these privileges flow out of the one
great gift of the Holy Ghost, of the gift of
whom at Baptism St. Peter speaks in these
strong words; "Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Privileges of Christians. 21
For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even
as many as the Lord our God shall call."
Acts ii. 38, 39.
Thus the language of the Catechism is the
language of Holy Scripture on the subject
of Christian privileges being made ours in
Baptism.
But this needs explanation,lest we presume
on privileges ^'7'^;/, if I may so say, but not
takcfi. Baptism is a Sacrament, or solemn
covenant between God and man. The
force and efficacy of Sacraments is perhaps
better expressed in a sentence from one of
the Homilies than elsewhere. " In Sacra-
ments," it is there written, " God embraces
us, and offers Himself to be embraced by us."
Thus the Baptism of infants is exactly
parallel to our Lord's taking little children
in His arms (St. Mark x. 16), embracing
them, and offering Himself to be embraced
by them. If they are but little infants they
can only passively receive Him ; but as
soon as they are old enough they can either
take hold of Him and hold Him, or shake
themselves from His embrace and leave
Him. And if, when we, who have been
embraced by Him as infants in our Bap-
tism, become old enough to understand
Christ's gift of Himself to us, we do not
22 Confirmation.
ourselves take it making our will in receiving
one with His will in giving, then His gift
not being taken can avail us nothing.
This is expressed by St. John in such
words as the following :
"As many as received Him, to them gave
He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name : which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God" (St. John i. 12, 13).
** He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life : and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath
of God abideth on him " (St. John iii. 36).
"He that hath the Son hath life ; and
he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life" (i John v. 12).
That these privileges, however, of which
we have been speaking, have been really
taken by, as well as given to, the duly
prepared candidate for Confirmation, is
assumed in one of the prayers, the first in
the Confirmation Service, which begins thus :
"Almighty and everlasting God, who
hast vouchsafed to regenerate these Thy
servants by Water and the Holy Ghost, and
hast given unto them forgiveness of all
their sins ; strengthen them, we beseech
Thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost the
Privileges of Christians. 23
Comforter, and daily increase in them Thy
manifold gifts of grace ..."
These truths may be put in another way.
Baptism is a solemn covenant signed and
sealed of God, and made with each in-
dividual who is baptized. It is the ap-
pointment of Christ Himself to assure us
of our adoption by God. "Go ye" (He
said) " and make Christians of all nations "
(by) '* baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost" (St. Matt, xxviii. 19).
Let us look at a similar case in transac-
tions between man and man. Suppose I
say to you, " I give you my house." That,
like the promises of forgiveness and accep-
tance in Holy Scripture, puts it in your
power to accept and appropriate the gift
if you will. But that does not convey it
to you. For the purpose of conveyance,
and for making it legally and actually, and
to your own conviction, yours, you need a
deed of conveyance duly signed and sealed
by him who has the right of conveying it
to you. Baptism is like such a deed of
conveyance of God's adoption, signed and
sealed by Christ Himself, who alone has
power to convey it to you.
Now suppose, further, that you have thus
by a deed of conveyance obtained rightful
24 Cotifirmaiion.
possession of my house thus offered you,
but that, neglectful of its value, you do not
take actual possession of it ; suppose that
you neither live in it, nor let it, but leave it,
as of no value, to itself. You know the
consequences. It will become a ruin itself,
and a disgrace, rather than a valuable pos-
session, to you. It will still be yours indeed,
and you can take up its rights and uses, all
injured, however, by your neglect, and
needing much trouble to restore, if you de-
termine to do so ; but such as it has become
and is now through your neglect it will
not cover your head nor give you shelter.
You cannot rest in it at night nor start
from it by day refreshed for your daily toil.
And such is the position of the man to
whom by Baptism has been conveyed the
privileges of being made a member of
Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor
of the kingdom of heaven ; but who has
never of his own will, and by his own faith,
actually taken possession of them and used
them. They are his indeed by right, yet
being only possessed but not occupied by
him are useless to him, nay are a disgrace
and condemnation to him. They tell out
indeed God's love to him, but they tell also
his unthankfulness to God. They do not
shelter, but leave him shelterless.
Privileges of Chris tia?is. 25
He has a name that he lives, but is dead
(Rev. iii. i).
But it is very different with those who
actually take God's gifts of grace, who not
only have been embraced by God in Christ,
but have accepted His offer and have
embraced and are embracing Him, They
are in all reality alike of title and pos-
session, " Members of Christ, the children
of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of
heaven." They are put forth as such into
the world's conflicts by the Lord Jesus
Christ their Saviour, but when He putteth
them forth He goeth before them Himself.
(2). Let us dwell upon these privileges
themselves, thus endowed with which you
are now being called by your Lord to come
forth into life's conflicts, with sin, the world,
and the devil.
You are " a member of Christ.'' Consider
what that means. It expresses the condi-
tion of one who is spiritually as much a
part of Christ's body, as physically your
hand or your foot is part of your body.
You know the intimate connection which
your hand, for instance, has with your
body. Its life depends upon its connection
with the living body ; separated from it,
it is a dead thing. It is protected by it ;
all the body is engaged for the protection
26 Conjirmatioji.
of every limb ; all its wisdom and power is
exercised to save even your little finger
from harm. You spare no pains to protect
it from injury, and to heal it if injured.
Would you lose it ? Would you let it be
cut off ? Never, if you could help it ; never
so long as it were possible to save it. All
means and efforts would be exhausted
first.
See in all this a picture of your privileges
as a " member of Christ." You live on
Him ; without Him you can do nothing ;
you are kept safe by Him ; all His power
and His love are engaged for your salva-
tion. However feeble and insignificant
you may be in yourself, He will spare no
pains to save you to the uttermost. Give
you up ! How can He give you up while
your salvation is possible } Does He not
love you with a love so lasting that it is an
everlasting love } Does He not love you
with a love so deep that when you were a
sinner He died for you } You are His
own, and where He puts you forth He
goes before you. Who then can harm
you 1
Are you, trusting in this your Saviour,
and yet afraid to confess Him, afraid to
meet the world as His disciple } Think,
then, of being " a member of Christ."
Privileges of Christians. 27
Consider how you love, cherish, protect,
your own members however feeble. And
see the cheering picture of the way in which
the Lord Jesus Christ loves, cherishes, pro-
tects you.
Only remember, that whilst you thus
protect your members, you expect them to
obey you. Your will is law immediately
to them. You wish the hand to open, the
foot to walk ; the one opens, the other
walks at once if sound in health.
And what you expect from your mem-
bers Christ expects from His. And they
give it Him as readily, if they too are
spiritually sound and in health. He wishes,
and it is done.
But further. If you are a member of
Christ, then as in Christ, as spiritually part
of His body, you are also " the child
of God." And God is now calling you
forth out of the crowd to confess Him, and
to be confessed by Him as His own, as a
member of His body, nay as His child.
And how truly and how beautifully does
this image assure us of the truth of our
Saviour's words, **When He putteth forth
His own He goeth before them." Did
you ever see a loving father thrusting his
little son into a trying and difficult place
without taking him by the hand and leading
28 Confirmation,
him ? Never ! he feels for his child's every
fear ; he is anxious about his child's every
danger; the danger is his as well as his
child's ; sympathy makes the two one.
And thus it is that the Lord God
Almighty, infinite in power, and infinite in
love, is calling you to come forward and
confess Him, and Jesus Christ, whom He
has sent ; He is speaking loudly to your
conscience as one who would thrust you
out of an indolent Christianity, into bold
and active service for Him. Are you
afraid thus to come forward ? Do you
shrink from the sneers of your fellows ?
Do you fear lest the demands should be
too much for you? and are you saying,
" Not yet, not yet ; perhaps another year?"
Look up, then, and see whose hand it is
that is stretched out to take yours if you
will venture it. It is the Hand of God
Himself, of God Himself your Father.
And yet further. " If children, then
heirs." If you are members of Christ, if
you are therefore also children of God,
then are you also " inheritors of the king-
dom of heaven."
And it is as heirs of heaven too that the
Lord is calling you to come out from the
world for Him. You, then, who still being
young have not hardened your hearts
Privileges of CJiristians. 29
against God ; who have not yet forgotten
the impressions of your mother's early
teaching ; who, though possibly inclining
towards the world, do yet keep some hold
of your Saviour's words, remember who
and what you are. You are heirs of a
kingdom, and that kingdom the king-
dom of heaven. Will you be content to
live as if this world were all "i as if its
prizes were the highest, and its joys the
sweetest you could possibly attain to "i
Will you be content to forget eternity, to
forego everlasting life, to deem a place beside
the throne of Christ an object not worthy
of your ambition .'' That is what you do
if you neglect the call of God to a higher
and more earnest life, year after year, and
Hve calling yourselves Christians, but taking
no step forward to prove yourselves such.
Again, let me remind you that when the
Lord putteth forth His own sheep He
goeth before them. He has gone the way
of an heir of God to the throne, and that
way the way of conflict, of work, of self-
denial, of battling for His Father's honour,
and suffering for His brethren's salvation.
" No cross, no crown," says the Christian
proverb. " If we suffer with Him, we shall
reign with Him," writes the apostle of
the Lord. The easy self-complacent life,
30 Confirmation.
half of pleasure, half of business, with little
or no room for religion, is not the way to
heaven, and will not take you there. The
Lord is come to thrust you forth out of
this into the path of life. He has led by
His life, He is leading now by His Spirit.
Will you try to follow Him }
I have endeavoured thus to set before
you the Christian's privileges: the first
thought suggested by the angels when
Christ was born, ''good tidings of great
joy" (St. Luke ii. lo) ; the first uttered by
our Lord in His first great Sermon on the
Mount, ''Blessed " (St. Matt. v. 2—12) ; the
first teaching of the Church to her children
when she names them as " members of
Christ, children of God, and heirs of
heaven."
These privileges are God's free gifts,
given to us at the beginning — not our wages,
earned at the end — of our Christian life.
We are bidden to believe in, and start
as possessed of, them, while we look unto
Christ, our Leader and our Lord, going on
before us in the way. It is an attractive
thought this that we should ever keep in
mind. And we have a special help towards
its remembrance in our Christian name.
That name was given us at our Baptism,
wherein we were made Christians ; and
P^'ivilcges of CJi7'istians. 31
whenever we are called by it, we are called
as Christians with Christian privileges to
Christian life. Happy they who hearing
it hear God's call as well as man's. Man's
call indeed it may be to some earthly
occupation — God's call also it is to do it,
whatever it may be, for Him, and in His
Name, as "members of Christ, the children
of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of
heaven."
III.
RENUNCIATION.
Gen. xii. i.
** Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, unto a land that I will show
thee."
T has been truly said that into
whatever profession a man enters
he must give up something. If
he becomes a soldier, he must give
up home and personal choice and liberty,
and come and go as he is commanded. If
he would be a man of learning, he must give
up sleep and rise early and late take rest,
that he may devote his time to reading.
And if he becomes a Christian, he must also
give up something, you may be sure, as a
Soldier and a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
The approaching Confirmation is calling
many to give themselves up to God. We
Reiinnciation. 33
liavc every claim upon us to yield to such a
call, and every encouragement. The Lord
Himself has sealed us as His own in our
Baptism; and He has promised to go
before us in every difficulty to which He
thrusts us forth.
The words which I have placed at the
head of this address are God's call to Abram,
expressing what he must give up to become
the "Father of the faithful," and the
" Friend of God/'
" Get thee out of thy country," God said
to him, "and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, into a land that I will
show thee."
His home and his country were amongst
those who knew not God, but they were
his home, his country, and his life, all with
which he was familiar and all which he
loved ; yet he was bidden to give them all
up and venture himself upon God. And
he did so.
My subject in this address is concerning
those things which you are called upon as
Christians to give up at God's call to you ;
namely, what was promised for you at your
Baptism that you would give up, and what
you yourselves at your Confirmation will
shortly promise for yourselves to give up
for ever. And although they are not house
C
34 Confirmation.
and home and friends, yet very often they
are so mixed up with what we love and
whafc we possess, that it is as hard to give
them up as country and kindred and home
themselves.
What is it, then, that we are called upon
to renounce f The answer in the Catechism
is as follows : *' The devil and all his works,
the pomps and vanity of this wicked world,
and all the sinful lusts of the flesh."
To renounce these is to say " No " to
them, when they tempt us as they did even
our Saviour ; ** not to follow or be led by
them," as our Baptismal Service expresses
it, but '* to fight manfully against them,"
and so " to continue Christ's faithful soldiers
and servants unto our lives' end."
Now when these enemies of ours are
thus expressed, and stand before us in
their rough naked aspect, we are shocked
at the idea of being so debased and
fallen from our high estate as God's
children as to be ever overcome by them.
But they present themselves in so many
and in such insinuating forms, that having,
by our fall, a bias away from God, we all
yield in a measure to some of their attacks,
and unless we realise our danger and resist
them manfully with all the help we can
obtain we shall certainly be overcome by
Renunciation, 35
them. But we need not be overcome. It
is in the power of our will with the help of
God's Holy Spirit to overcome them all
He has called us, as He called Abram, to
come away from them to the land which
He will show us. He has bidden us in the
words of His Apostle, ''Let not sin reign
in your mortal body, that ye should obey
it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your
members as instruments of unrighteousness
unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God,
as those that are alive from the dead, and
your members as instruments of righteous-
ness unto God." And promised us likewise,
" For sifi shall not have dominion over you ;
for ye are not under the law but under
grace" (Rom. vi. 12, 13, 14).
I. What then are the works of the devil
which we are commanded to renounce }
They are all shown, at least in outline,
in the first appearance of the devil in
Holy Scripture, at the Temptation in the
Garden.
I. The yf;^^^ is, ''distrust of God!' God
had shown His love to Adam and Eve
in creating them, and giving them one
another for their happiness and all else
that they could desire in the enjoyment of
Himself and Hijs creatures. And then
36 Confinnation.
Satan comes and tries to give them hard
thoughts of God ; to persuade them that
He is neither loving nor true, but unloving
in keeping from them some of the fruit in
the garden, and untrue in threatening what
He did not mean to perform. The serpent
said unto the woman, " Yea, hath God said.
Ye shall not e<it of every tree of the garden ? "
(Gen. iii. i). And again, "Ye shall not
surely die" (Gen. iii. 4).
There is nothing in which the same
tempter is more successful now. God is
Love. God is Truth. But how often is
each of these suggestions against His Love
alike and His Truth made, and, alas ! how
often is it listened to ! The Bible, from one
end to the other, presses upon us to rest in
God's Love, to be sure of it, and, come
what may, to trust it. But men, neverthe-
less, are continually suspicious of Him,
have hard rather than loving thoughts of
Him, and shrink from venturing their souls
upon Him even though Christ has died for
them.
On the other hand the Bible undoubtedly
contains denunciations of impenitentsinners,
that they "shall surely die," and that
their deaths shall involve them in terrible
punishment for their sins ; and yet, when-
ever they wish to sin, they listen to the
Renunciation. 37
voice, " Ye shall not surely die." " These
threatenings are not true. God does not
mean them. You may risk the chance."
And so they sin.
2. Another class of the devil's special
works is lying, in all its kinds and varieties.
It was a lie, and he knew it when he said,
*' Thou shalt not surely die," and it was a
malicious lie, for its object was to ruin the
happiness and destroy the life of man.
Hence our Lord says of him, " He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode
not in the truth, because there is no truth
in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speak-
eth of his own : for he is a liar, and the
father of it" (St. John viii. 44).
All that is false in word or deed, being
hateful to God, who is absolute truth, is
hateful to Him, and must be renounced
if we would dwell with Him. But the
tempter succeeds in this art of temptation
now, too, as ever. He persuades either
that there is no harm, or too little harm to
be thought of, in lying ; that it must be
done, that you can't prosper, you can't get
on either in society or in business without
a certain amount of it ; that all do it, and
that what all do must have some reason for
it. And so men glide into it, get used to it,
get hardened to it, live in it, and die in it,
38 Confirmation.
as if it were a mere nothing, and as if God
had not said, "All liars shall have their
portion in the lake which burneth with fire
and brimstone" (Rev. xxi. 8).
3. Closely connected with this, and often,
as in the passage before us from Genesis,
expressed by Satan and his followers in
lying, come other works of his ; malice,
for instance, hatred, tmkindness, all that is
unlike that Charity, which " suffereth long,
and is kind ; envieth not ; seeketh not her
own ; is not easily provoked ; thinketh no
evil ; beareth all things" (i Cor. xiii. 4, 5, 7).
You must give up all unkindness, and
practice all love, even towards those you
do not like, even towards those who dislike
and are unkind to you, if you would re-
nounce the works of the devil.
4. There is also among the devil's works,
manifest in his daring accusations, in this
passage, of God, and in his still more auda-
cious attempt to persuade our Lord Himself
to sin (St. Matt. iv. i — 12), that which St.
Paul calls peculiarly the property of the
devil— " Pride " (i Tim. iii. 6). Self-
importance, self satisfaction, self in fact
in all forms, a high estimate of one's own
rights, and an independence of God ; pride^
which the wise man truly says, "was not
made for man," though man often rather
Renunciation. 39
applauds it as high spirit than condemns
it as unbecoming spirit, and the very oppo-
site of that meekness which our Saviour
pronounces blessed.
5. And there is also the peculiar work
above all others of the tempter, that I mean
of trying, as in the case of Adam and Eve,
to make others sin, the leading them into
temptation, the inducing them either for
your own selfish pleasure, or for com-
panionship sake, or for the very love of evil,
to sin with you — a horrible sin, of which
our Lord has spoken in these very solemn
words, "Whoso shall offend one of these
little ones that believe in Me (that is, cause
them to stumble and sin), it were better for
him that a millstone were hanged about
his neck, and that he were drowned in the
depths of the sea " (St. Matt, xviii. 6).
Now, " to renounce these works of the
devil," means to believe that he is a reality
and that these are his works, and then once
for all in principle, and day by day in
actual practice as each temptation arises,
resolutely to say "No" to it. "No. I
am a member of Christ, the child of God,
I will not, I dare not, I cannot do this."
And for this it is needful and it is enough
the moment you feel the temptation arising
to pray for God's Holy Spirit to help you
40 Cofifirj/iation.
to resist it ; for of that help, and of its
efficacy we have the sufficient promise in
the words, " Resist the devil and he will
flee from you ; draw nigh to God and He
will draw nigh to you " (St. James iv. 7).
11. The second great foe or class of foes
whom we are to renounce is called " the
pomps and vanity of this wicked world."
*' Love not the world " (wrote St. John,
I Epist. ii. 15), " neither the things that are
in the world. If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him." All
must know that there are many things in
the world which have a tendency either to
arrest the affections and turn them away, or
to engross them and keep them away, from
Christ. It may be a mere toy, it may be
any other pleasure, it may be business, it
may be science or art, it may be dress and
appearance, it may be and very constantly
is what is called " public opinion," with
its censure we so dread, and its applause
we so desire ; but whatever it is in things
seen which prevents our giving our affec-
tions to things not seen ; whatever it is in
persons or things about us, in our friends
or foes, in our amusements, occupations,
what we desire, and what we dread, here,
which attracts our thoughts more than the
RciiHuciatioiL 41
Lord Jesus Christ, His Love, His service,
and His reward, tJiat is to us among " the
pomps and vanity of this wicked world,"
the mere outward appearance and empty
name and semblance of good, which we
must renounce lest it occupy our hearts
and keep out the real and the good.
" No man can serve two masters : for
either he will hate the one, and love the
other ; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon " (St. Matt. vi. 24).
We must examine ourselves and find
out in each case what oar temptation of
this kind is. That there is such a reality,
and that it is a temptation to each one of
us we may be very sure.
HI. Our third enemy to be renounced
is what the Catechism calls " the sinful
lusts of the flesh."
A *' lust " is a desire. And the desires
of the flesh are not altogether sinful.
We are only called upon to renounce
them when they are sinful, and so far as
they are sinful. They are sinful when
they are in excess, when they are out of
place, when they become masters rather
than servants. Thus, for instance, hunger
and thirst are lusts of the flesh, but it is no
42 Confirmation.
sin to eat and to drink. It only becomes
sin when the one or the other is done in
excess. And so with other lusts. They
have their purpose. God has implanted
them in us. But they are to be kept
under control, otherwise they soon make
slaves of us. Hence St. Paul writes of
himself, " I keep under my body and bring
it into subjection ; lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway" (i Cor. ix. 27).
Look at a terrible contrast to this in the
drunkard. The thirst for drink drives him
as a very slave whither it wills. He feels
as if he could not resist it. He vows, re-
solves, promises, and breaks all at its
bidding. There are other sinful lusts of
the flesh. Listen to Jesus Christ and to
St. Paul, and pray for a pure heart to
keep their words, " Ye have heard," said
our Saviour, ** that it was said by them of
old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery :
but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh
on a woman to lust after her, hath com-
mitted adultery with her already in his
heart (St. Matt. v. 27, 28).
'' The works of the flesh," writes St. Paul,
" are manifest, which are these ; adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emu-
Renunciation. 43
lations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such Hke ; of the which I tell yoa
before, as I have also told you in time
past, that they which do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. v.
19,20, 21).
The best way to escape these tempta-
tions when they beset you, is to flee from
them. Be as shocked as Joseph was when
tempted. " How can I do this great wicked-
ness and sin against God } " (Gen. xxxix. 9),
and act as he did ; flee from the very pre-
sence of such sins into the presence of God,
and let the thought of them be driven away
by thoughts of Him.
You are called to do so because you are
called to be Christ's own, members of
Christ, the children of God, and heirs of
heaven.
Shall a member of Christ take this body
of his which is one with Christ and make it
one with an harlot }
Shall a child of God, made to be like
God, and to enjoy God, be satisfied with
the vain and fleeting things of this world,
and sacrifice heaven for earth, eternity for
a day }
Shall an inheritor of the kingdom of
heaven, the king's son, the king's heir,
44 Confirmation.
forfeit his inheritance, and lose his throne
at the suggestion of the tempter, the lying
suggestion that his Father is not to be
trusted for the future, and that he had
better make the most he can of pleasure
for the present ? God forbid.
But times occur when a man cannot so
easily flee from temptation, tied as he is
still and bound by the chain of his former
habits. What then shall he do 1 Dare to
defy it.
There is a grand story in ancient Roman
history, perhaps the grandest story upon
record, which may lend us an illustration
and urge us on to confidence in contest
with our enemy.
*' Marius, the man who rose from the
ranks to be seven times Consul at Rome,
was in a dungeon, and a slave was sent in
to put him to death. Here stood then face
to face the two extremities of forlorn hu-
manity, its vanward and Its rereward man,
a Roman Consul and an abject slave. But
the Consul now was In chains, and the slave
for the moment seemed the arbiter of his
fate. By what marvel then did Marius re-
instate himself in his natural prerogative,
and In the twinkling of an eye wrench
from the assassin the power which circum-
stances had placed within his grasp t
ReiuDiciation. 45
Standing" like a rock before him he smote
him with his eye and said, * Dost thou, man,
dare to kill Caius Marius ? ' and the wretch,
quaking under the voice, sank gently to the
ground, turned round upon his hands and
feet, and crawling out of the prison left
Marius standing as stedfast and immovable
as the Capitol of Rome itself."
Sin comes in like that crouching slave at
Satan's bidding, because in your old nature
you are bound with the chains of evil ten-
dencies. How shall you drive it from your
presence } Not, indeed, as Marius, merely
by the supremacy of your own natural
mind, but by the mighty supremacy of
Christ's indwelling Spirit. Stand as a rock
on Christ the Rock. Look the sin in its
cringing face and say, " Dost tJioic dare to
kill a vicinber of Christ, the Child of God,
and an in heritor oiih^ kingdom of Heaven V
Thus ''resist the devil, and he will flee from
you ; " thus, " let not sin reign in your
mortal body . . . and it shall not have
dominion over you, for you are not under
the law but under grace."
I began this subject with an allusion to
the call of Abraham to renounce his country
and his friends. Let me return to it for a
close. In calling Abram away from his
46 Confirmation.
home, God called him to a land he knew
not, but which God promised to show him.
He calls you similarly to a land you know
not, but which He will show you. The
joy of being Christ's indeed, and knowing
it ; the joy of being loved by, and of loving,
Him ; the joy of seeking to honour Him
on earth, with the hope of being honoured
by Him in Heaven ; the joy of being able
to say with St. Paul, '* To me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. i. 21), all
this is a. land which possibly you do not
know yet, but God will show it you.
With such a prospect and such a title as
you have to it you may well be persuaded,
like Abram, at once to arise and seek it,
leaving all other attractions behind you.
And the example of God's call to Abram
puts the need of this immediate action
before you all in a striking manner ; and
speaks not only to those who may have
fallen into such sins as I have been speak-
ing of and the Catechism sets before us,
but all who are living in danger of them, at
least in their more subtle, if not in their
grosser forms. And who then is not in
danger } God's call to us is not only to
give up actual sin, but all that may lead to
it, and henceforth to walk with God as the
friends of God. Happy they that do so ;
Renunciatiofi. 47
for escaping the sins they will escape the
worst of the sorrows of the world ; and
giving- up the love of the things of time,
they will have all their hearts open for the
love of the things of eternity.
IV.
FAITH.
St. John xiv, I.
" Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe
in God, believe also in Me."
^UR religion requires of us that we
live above the world, in it, but not
of it. But we can only rise thus
above ourselves and our natural
sphere by the help of some one who is
above us and our sphere. This our God
offers to do for us : and the faculty by
which we suffer Him to do so, and with
which we clasp His proffered hand, is " our
Faith " ; our power of seeing the unseen,
of accepting, and relying upon Him.
When therefore we are taught that, as
the " children of God," we must give up
•'the world," and have our "conversation
in heaven," and we ask, " How is this
Faith. 49
possible?" the reply is in our Saviour's
words, " If thou canst believe, all things
are possible to him that believeth" (St.
Mark ix. 23). Accordingly, in our Church's
instruction to her children after she has
taught them what they must renounce, viz.,
"the devil, the world, and the flesh," she
goes on to teach them what they must
believe, in the Creed, the chief instruction
of which she sums up in the following
words : —
" First, I learn to believe in God the
Father, who hath made me and all the
world ;
Secondly, in God the Son, who hath
redeemed me and all mankind ;
Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, who
sanctifieth me and all the elect people of
God."
In this address I attempt to illustrate —
(I.) What Christian faith is. (II.) What
Christian faith does.
I. Firstly, then, what is Christian faith }
I. The religious faculty which we call
faith is in its simplest form " taking God
at His word " ; believing, as on rational
grounds we are bound to believe, that
the Bible contains the " Word of God,"
and accepting it, with all its wonderful
D
50 Confirmation.
revelations to us, as true and containing
all things needful for our salvation.
We have a simple and beautiful illustra-
tion of such faith in the case of the noble-
man recorded by St. John, who entreated
the Lord to come down at once to his house
ere his child died. " Go thy way," was our
Lord's reply, " thy son liveth." " And the
man believed the word that Jesus had
spoken unto him, and he went his way "
(St. John iv. 50). He took the Lord at
His word, though that word announced a
miracle of mercy. Like Abraham, "he
staggered not at the promise of God
through unbelief ; but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God ; and being fully
persuaded that what He had promised, He
was able also to perform " (Rom. iv. 20, 21).
This is the intellectual side of faith.
2. It has also a moral side. Indeed, it
is a moral, or rather a spiritual, habit, the
soul's rest in the Almightiness and love of
God.
" Abraham," we read, who was the father
of the faithful, "believed in the Lord, and
He counted it to him for righteousness "
(Genesis xv. 6).
" He believed in God." It is said that
no English word can fully express all that
is attempted to be expressed in " believed "
Faith. 5 1
here. "He supported himself; he built
himself up ; he reposed in the strength of
God as a child in its mother's arms " (such
seems the force of the root of the Hebrew-
word). Yes, in the strength of God, whom
he did not see, more than in the bright
lights of heaven, or the claims of tribe and
kindred which w^ere always before him.
Taking God at His word ; and resting
on Him as a child in its mother's arms —
these tw^o thoughts give us the idea of
religious faith.
But we are seeking for Christian faith,
which is a step higher.
You will have noticed that the faith I am
speaking of as religious faith is faith in a
Person ; not merely faith in a statement, or
theory, or conclusion, but faith in a Person,
and that Person God. Now the strength of
faith in a person will vary very much
according to our knowledge of that person.
A son would have faith in his father, though
he had lived away from him in India all
his life, and he had never seen him since
his childhood, simply because he was his
father ; but he would have much clearer and
stronger faith in him if he had been with
him, and if he had all along received from
him the kindness of a father. Our Saviour,
therefore, to sustain His disciples by inten-
D 2
52 Confirmation.
sifying their faith in God, said to them when
about to leave them, " Ye beHeve in God,
believe also in Me!' For He was God mani-
fested to them, dwelling with them, so that,
as He shortly afterwards expressed it. " He
that hath seen Me hath seen the Father "
(St. John xiv. 9). And as He here identifies
the Godhead of the Father with His own,
so a few verses later He identifies His own
Godhead with that of the Holy Spirit ; for
He speaks of the coming of the Spirit as
the coming of another Self, as the coming
of His own Self. ''If ye love me, keep
the commandments. And I will pray the
Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter . . . even the Spirit of truth.
I will not leave you comfortless. I will
come to you " (15, 16, 17, 18).
Hence the Persons our faith is trained to
rest upon are : God the Father, who made
us ; God the Son, who redeemed us ; God
the Holy Ghost, who sanctifies us. And
this is revealed to us to assist our faith. For
our relation to God, or, at all events, our
acting in accordance with our relation to
God, depends upon our knowing what He
is to lis ; not what He is in Himself, but
what He is to us. What He is in Himself
we do not, perhaps cannot, know. What
He is to us is what we need to know, and
Faith, 53
what all men can and may know. It is not
necessary for men to know what the sun in
the heavens is ; but it is necessary for them
to know what the sunshine is, that is, what
the sun is to thcvi ; what its rays will do,
and what its light effect. And thus it is
not needful for us to know and understand
the essence of the Godhead, the mysterious
Trinity in unity — what He is in Himself.
But what is needful for us to know is
what He is to us : and He is revealed to
us
As the Father, who made us and all the
world. *' In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth."
" So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God created He him, male
and female created He them " (Genesis i.
I, 27).
As the Son, who redeemed us and all
mankind, thus setting us free from penalty
and bondage. *' Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us" (Gal. iii. 13).
As the Holy Ghost, who sanctifies us,
thus helping us to be holy and good. "The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek-
ness, temperance" (Gal. v. 22, 23).
God manifested in Jesus Christ is not as
54 Confirmation.
a Father who has Hved away from us,
unseen and unknown all our life, but as one
with whom we have lived and been familiar
from our childhood to the present day.
And God revealed to us as Creator, Re-
deemer and Sanctifier, He is to us all we
need. In the Father as our Creator, He
meets man's first great inquiry, "Who am
I, and whence do I come ?"
In Jesus Christ as our Redeemer He
meets man's first great want, of pardon as
sinful man.
And in the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier
He meets man's constant great need, of
strength and holiness as weak and erring
man.
We may well have faith in such a God.
Faith in God thus revealed is Christian
faith.
II. And now I come to the question as
to " What Christian faith does."
I. It sets us right with God. It puts us
back into the right relation to Him. By
sin we had got wrong. He was made angry
with us, and we became suspicious of Him.
The only possible thing that man can do
to have this put right is to take God at His
word, and rest in Him. He has promised
for Christ's sake to accept us again on these
Faith. 55
conditions, and to treat us as again " all
right with Him." '' Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through
Jcsiis Christ our Lord'' (Rom. v. i).
** Behold, a woman in the city, which was
a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at
meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an
alabaster box of ointment, and stood at
His feet behind Him weeping, and began
to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe
them with the hairs of her head, and kissed
His feet, and anointed them with the oint-
ment."
What brought her there ?
Hear our Lord's own answer : " He said
to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee ;
go in peace" (St. Luke vii. 37, 38, 50).
2. Faith keeps us right with God.
By it we work acceptably to God. " With-
out faith it is impossible to please Him ;
for he that cometh to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. xi.
6).
And thus, for example, " By faith Moses,
when he was come to years, refused to be
called the Son of Pharaoh's daughter ;
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the
people of God than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season ; esteeming the reproach
56 Confirmation.
of Christ greater riches than the treasures
in Egypt : for he had respect unto the
recompence of the reward. By faith he
forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the
king : for he endured, as seeing Him who
is invisible" (Heb. xi. 24 — 28).
By it we are kept unto the end and
actually and completely saved. '' Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to His abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance incor-
ruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are
kept by the power of God tJirongh faith
unto salvation " (i Pet. i. 3, 4, 5).
It is no wonder that much is made of our
faith when it works all this ; no wonder
that our Church makes much of the Creed
when salvation is thus revealed as hanging
upon our faith.
And now with this explanation of faith
and its influence in Christian life, I should
like to call your attention to the way in
which it is commended to us by our services
in church.
I. You never go to church without saying
the Creed. Why is this ? Is it a prayer }
FaitJi. 37
No. Is it a passage of Holy Scripture ?
No. Is it a hymn of praise ? No, nor yet
that exactly. Why, then, do we say it in
all our services ?
Consider what the Christian Church is.
It is a society. And every society has its
symbol — its code of rules. And the code of
rules of the Christian Society is not " What
we are bound to do ? " but the groundwork
of that — " What we are bound to believe."
Upon the walls where any other society
meets or in the books of its associations,
you find written its Rules. In the hearts
and on the lips of the Society of Christians
you have its Faith. For Christendom is
not held together by a code of laws, nor
by a ritual, but by its faith. Christianity
is "The faith." And therefore it is that
standing up as if to declare what we stand
and walk by, we sing, or say —
" I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus
Christ His only Son our Lord . . .
... I believe in the Holy Ghost ..."
It is the public profession of the founda-
tion of our religion.
2. There is a peculiarity in the expres-
sions of the Creed. In rehearsing it we
speak in language different to that of all the
rest of the service. When we pray, we say,
58 Confirinatio7t.
" Our Father." When we praise, we say,
" We praise Thee, O God." When we
recite the Creed, we say, " / beheve."
Faith, which is the most intimate con-
nection of the soul with God, is a personal
work. No one can believe for another. In
the Creed you speak for yourself and your-
self alone, to God, before all the world,
" I BELIEVE."
And indeed it is a very solemn thing
thus to say the Creed. At best we can
hardly close such a profession so publicly
made without adding in our hearts the
words of the distressed father in the Gospel,
" Lord, I believe ; help Thou mine unbelief "
(St. Mark ix. 24).
I spoke at the beginning of this address of
having to live above this world though walk-
ing in it ; of the need of having some hand
from heaven to lift us up above ourselves ;
and of this our faith being that faculty by
which we surrender ourselves to be taken
hold of by God, and by which we ourselves
take hold of Him. A common scene on
earth may picture it out to us. A loving
father is leading his little son along a rough
and dirty way. He holds his willing hand
fast in his loving grasp. He lifts him over
the rough, carries him through the wet,
Faith. 59
places. The way is wearisome and long,
but the child is with his father, and he cares
little for all else. His father's presence, his
father's voice, his father's love lift him
above all. He looks to his father, not to
the way, and is gladdened with his smile,
not wearied with its toil. He is above it,
for he is with his father, and they are going
home. Look up and see the everlasting
arm of your loving Father stretched out in
Christ and His Spirit to pardon, strengthen,
lead, and carry you. Lean your weight on
it, for it is " underneath you," and let it lift
you up above the common ways of life, in
nearness to the very heart of God. When
difficulties arise and perplexities come, and
the way seems dark and long, say, " I
believe in God the Father, my Father. He
made me. He will keep me. He will do
what is best for me." I will leave myself in
His hands."
When sin accuses, and conscience backs
the accusation, and you know not what to
do, say, " I believe in God the Son, my
Redeemer. He. died for me. He lives for
me. He is able to save me to the utter-
most, and He will save mc."
When you are wearied, and depressed,
and weak, and unfit for work, hardly able
to say " I believe " at all ; think then of
6o Co7ifirmation,
the blessed Comforter, the Holy Ghost the
Comforter, and try to say, pray for grace
to say, *' I believe in God the Holy Ghost
my Comforter. He has strengthened. He
will strengthen me. I look to Him. I will
trust yet and not be afraid."
You may trust. And that trust will
sustain and lift you up, and make you brave
and strong to work. For it will make God's
strength yours, and in His strength you
will be strong indeed. You may say as one
has beautifully said —
" I know not the way I am going".
But well do I know my Guide,
With a childlike trust I give my hand
To the mighty Friend by my side.
"The only thing that I say to Him,
As He takes it is, * Hold me fast.
Suffer me not to lose my way.
And bring me home at last.'
*' As when some helpless wanderer.
Alone in an unknown land.
Tells the guide his destined place of rest.
And leaves all else in his hand ;
" 'Tis home, 'tis home we wish to reach.
He who guides may choose the way.
Little we heed the path we take.
If nearer home each day."
V.
OBEDIENCE.
St. Matthew xxii. 37 — 40.
"Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great com-
mandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
i-^^OLLOWING the instruction of our
I ^Sj Church to the young in the Cate-
ii^^ chism in order to prepare them
for Confirmation, I have endea-
voured to illustrate and enforce her Vvords
as they explain —
1. What they are, — " Members of Christ,
the children of God, and inheritors of the
kingdom of 'heaven."
2. What they must as such give up, —
" The devil and all his works, the pomps
and vanity of this wicked world, and all
the sinful lusts of the flesh."
62 Confirmation.
3. What they must beHeve in, — " God
the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Ghost."
And now we come to what they must
do, — " Keep God's holy will and Command-
ments, and walk in the same all the days of
their life."
These commandments, expressing our
duty towards God and towards man, are
the subject of this address.
Our Lord sums them all up in the words,
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind." And, " Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself" And the Cate-
chism explains them in words of matchless
force and simplicity in "The Duty towards
God " and " The Duty towards our neigh-
bour."
But before I enter upon the command-
ments themselves I must dwell for a few
minutes upon the preface to them. It
brings before us again what we are so apt to
forget, though we so much need to remem-
ber it — the right motive for Christian life. It
is stated in the words with which the Lord
commenced the giving of the Law —
" I am the Lord, thy God, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage." And then im-
Obedience. 63
mediately follows, " Thou slialt have no
other gods before Me" (Exodus xx. 2, 3).
Observe, then, the reason and the motive
given by God to the Israelites for keeping
His Law.
It was because He was " the Lord," the
one ever-existing Jehovah ; it was because
He was " their God," their own God, all that
is conceivable of good to them ; it was
because He had proved this by a special
act of most wonderful deliverance, " which
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage." It was because
of all this, that out of thankfulness for all
they owed Him, they should endeavour to
please Him by keeping His commandments.
And observe the motive by which God
would induce tis also to serve Him, is the
same exactly in principle, though it is in
itself much stronger. It is the substance of
which that was the shadow. It is indeed
now as then, because He is " the Lord," and
has an absolute right to our service ; it is
because He is our God, a God of infinite
goodness revealed to us in Jesus Christ ;
and it is because He has, by the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ, redeemed us from the bond-
age of sin and death, that we are called
upon to obey and serve Him.
64 Confirmation.
"Ye are not your own," writes St. Paul,
" for ye are bought with a price : therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's " (i Cor. vi. 19, 20).
The same motive which at the beginning
of the Catechism is pressed upon us to in-
duce us to renounce sin, viz., that we are
** members of Christ, the children of God,
and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven,"
is here repeated to induce us to do good,
viz., because Christ has purchased us for
Himself by His own blood to do Him
service.
Consider then what service we are to
render to God, and what to our neighbour,
that is our fellow man, whenever we are
thrown in the way with him, because we
are God's children, Christ's members, re-
deemed by His blood, and assisted by His
Spirit for His service. You know the com-
mandments. There is abundance, of course,
in each one of them for separate treatment,
but there may be also an advantage in
treating them altogether.
They have a simple division into the first
and second tables, what our Saviour calls
the first and the second commandment ;
the first four commandments relating to
our duty to God, the last six relating to
our dutv to man.
Obedience. 65
Firstly then as regards those which tell
us the particulars of our duty towards God.
1. The first coinniandment relates to our
choosing and serving, and so " having " as
God, only the true God, who is revealed to
us as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He
is really our God, TJiat is really our God,
which of all persons or things we love most ;
and therefore above all other persons or
things, above friends, money, pleasure, even
life itself, we are to love Him,
"With all our heart, and all our mind,
and all our soul, and all our strength."
Thus —
" Thou shalt have none other gods but
Mc."
" Me " indeed thou shalt have, but none
other.
2. The second commandment relates not
so much to the worship of the l7'iie God,
already commanded in the first, as to the
ivay in which He is to be worshipped. If
the first commands you to worship only
the true God, the second commands you to
worship Him in the only true way, that is
not by means of any image or likeness of
Him, but as " He is a Spirit, in spirit and
in truth." St. John iv. 24.
" Thou shalt not make to thyself any
graven image, nor the likeness of anything
66 Coufinnaiiott.
that is in heaven above, or in the earth
beneath. . . . Thou shalt not bow down to
them nor worship them " No ! but
on the contrary. Thou shalt worship Him,
as revealed in Jesus Christ, and give Him
thanks, and put your whole trust in Him,
and call upon Him. What is condemned
in this commandment is the worship of the
true God in a wrong way ; what is therefore
commanded is the worship of Him in the
right way, with spiritual worship through
one only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus
Christ our Lord.
3. The third commandment touches that
by which God is known and revealed to
us, His name. It condemns all profaneness
in common conversation, especially in the
thoughtless use of any of His names ; and
also all carelessness in worship when God's
Name is in people's mouths, but not in
their hearts. It also condemns all irreve-
rent treatment of God's Holy Word, which
is in a true sense His Name as being that
which tells us who He is, and what He is
to us.
Thus in its true spirit it commands that
alike in conversation and in worship we
treat His great and holy Name with
reverence, and study His Holy Word with
prayer.
Obedience. 67
" Thou shalt not take the Name of the
Lord thy God in vain," is the letter of what
this Law forbids. "Thou shalt honour Mis
holy Name and \\\s Word " is the spirit of
what it commands.
Perhaps you have been struck with the
words with which this commandment, and
this only, concludes,
" For the Lord will not hold him guiltless
that taketh His Name in vain."
God foresaw what has but too surely
come to pass, that men would think the
violation of this commandment a trifle.
They use God's Name merely to adorn
their oaths, or to add emphasis to their
assertions, in the mere wantonness of pro-
fane irreverence ; and if spoken to on the
subject ask in astonishment, " What harm
have I done in that .? " What harm } why
you are habituating yourself to a practice
which is destructive of all reverence. You
are harming all around you by your ex-
ample, and doing yourself such harm, that
whatever you may think, God has expressly
and solemnly warned you that He " will
not hold such guiltless."
4. The fourth commandment, which bids
us work on six days and rest on one in the
week, has thus these words only left for its
explanation in "the duty towards God " ot
E 2
68 Confirmation.
the Catechism, but you will admit that
they are very expressive words, *' and to
serve Him truly all the days of my lite " ;
that is *'to serve Him by true and honest
work for six days, as well as by true and
religious rest for one day in each week.
"This," our Saviour says, all this re-
lating to our duty towards God, " is the
first and great commandment."
He adds, ** And the second is like unto it,"
that is in its principle, " Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself." This brings
us to the second table. And as each
commandment of the first table requires
for its fulfilment that **we love God with
all our heart and soul, and mind and
strength," so each commandment of the
second table requires that **we love our
neighbour as ourself." Our Lord has given
us a practical explanation of this in His
words, "All things whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you, do ye even so to
them." St. Matt. vii. 12. And in "the duty
towards our neighbour " this is adopted and
added as an explanation of the command,
" My duty towards my neighbour is to love
him as myself, and to do to all men, as I
would they should do unto Me."
H. Now just apply this principle of doing
Obedience. v'5SE)a
to another as, it circumstances were chang'eCT;
you would desire him to do to you, and see
how it explains and enforces each of the
six last commandments.
5. The fifth commandment is concern-
ing the duty of parents, and all who stand
in the relation of parents, such as rulers,
teachers, pastors, to children, and such as
stand in the relation of children, to them.
Are you then children ? Behave to your
parents as you would wish them, if your
children, to behave to you. Should you
ever become parents, act to your children
as you would wish them, if your parents, to
act to you.
6. The sixth commandment forbids mur-
der. It is explained as commanding " to
hurt nobody by deed," " to bear no malice
nor hatred in your heart." You do not like
any one to bear malice towards, or to hurt
you. You are vexed at the thought of any
one's feeling unkindly towards you. Take
care then that you do not vex another by
hurting, or even by feeling unkindly towards,
him. Love even your enemies.
7. The seventh forbids adultery, or as
our Lord explains it, the mere look with the
thought of any such sin. (St. Matt. v. 28.)
Take care you never cast such a look upon
another. Keep your body, if you would
•JO Confirmation.
keep this commandment, and keep yourself,
heart as well as body, " in temperance,
soberness, and chastity." Be " pure in
heart." Abstain from impure books and
thoughts and words.
8. The eighth is '* Thou shalt not steal."
Now you sorely complain if any one is dis-
honest in any way to you. Be then as
honest to all others, in all transactions, as
you would have them honest to you.
" True and honest in all your dealings,"
this will be the principle of your life:
** keeping your hands from picking and
stealing," this will be its action in all
particulars.
9. The ninth, ** Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbour," enjoins
truthfulness. " To keep your tongue from
evil speaking, and slandering"; "to hurt
nobody by word," but to be charitable in all
you say as well as in all you do.
Consider but one moment how you wish
people to speak of you. Speak of them in
the same spirit ; and you will never, as
long as you live, say another unkind or
untrue word.
10. The tenth and last commandment
enjoins "contented industry," "not to covet
nor desire other men's goods," not to
desire gain by their loss as in betting and
Obedience. 7 1
gambling, but to learn and labour truly to
get }'Our own living.
Even in this commandment which ex-
pressly concerns the inner and unseen man,
the thoughts and desires of the heart, the
same principle holds good. You would
not like, if you knew it, and it is wonderful
how even men's thoughts do let themselves
be known, that others should be coveting
and desiring to possess themselves of your
property. Take care then to treat them,
even in your desires, as you wish to be
treated by them. Do not covet what is
theirs. " Be content with such things as
you have ; for He hath said I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee." Heb. xiii. 5.
And He is enough for man.
Thus true it is that the words of our
Saviour, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself," covers the whole of the second
table of the commandments ; and hence
St. Paul writes, " Owe no man anything
but to love one another ; for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law. For this,
Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt
not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt
not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet ;
and if there be any other commandment, it
is briefly comprehended in this saying,
namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
72 Co nfij'i nation .
thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neigh-
bour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the
law." Rom. xiii. 8 — ii.
III. I have spoken of the motive we have
to keep the comm-andments, namely, the
fact that Christ has redeemed us ; and of the
commandments themselves. I should like
to add something about the object of these
commandments. Why has God given us
commands } Why does He bid us keep
them if we love Him, and if we believe
that we are His } Is it His mere arbitrary
will } Does He lay upon us these restric-
tions simply because He can command, and
we must obey } God is Love, and what-
ever He does for us He does in love to us.
When He gives laws He gives them in love.
Their object is our happiness.
Which of these commandments could we
spare 1 Could we do as well, or could we
do at all, without honour to parents, or
kindness to one another, or temperance, or
chastity, or honesty, or faithfulness, or con-
tent .'* Remove any one of them and you
break yp the happiness of society. If all
men obeyed these commandments how
happy the world would be. If we obeyed
them how happy we should be. The one
thing which makes us truly miserable, the
Obedience. 73
one thinfT only which is intolerable in its
burden, is " Sin, the transgression of the
IV. Mark then this step further in our
Church's guidance on this subject.
The commandments are read every
Sunday morning in church. One by one,
in all their clear and piercing simplicity,
are these words of God read out aloud to
tell us what we shall Jiot do : " Thou shalt
not," '' Thou shalt not," " Thou shalt not."
And they are not the least solemn and im-
pressive part of our very impressive service.
They have before now, one or other of them,
struck home to the sinner's conscience, and
sent him away convinced that he was fight-
ing against God.
But we are not left by our Church thus
to dwell upon our transgressions and sins
without guidance as to what we shall do
with them, or without hope as to how we
shall overcome them. As the sound of
each command of God ceases to ring in our
ears, we are instructed to respond, and com-
monly in penitential tones, with the lan-
guage of confession and of prayer. Scarcely
has the word of God's minister closed with
"Thou shalt not kill." "Thou shalt not
commit adultery," " Thou shalt not steal,"
74 Confirmation,
&c., &c., than God's people with one voice
reply, " Lord have mercy upon us, and in-
cline our hearts to keep this law." We
pray for mercy, because in the past, as we
acknowledge, we have broken the command-
ment ; we pray for the inclination of our
hearts by God that in the future we may
break it no m,ore.
And we know, for it is with that thought
that the commandments were ushered in,
we know that He will hear such prayer,
because He is our God, because He has re-
deemed us, and we are His children. A
penitent child never cries in vain to a loving
father. And '* if any man sin, we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous ; and He is the propitiation for
our sins." i John ii. i, 2.
If our covenant with God in Christ
were thus defined by Him, " Keep the com-
mandments, and so become My children and
\ive," we could have no hope ; for we have
not kept the commandments, and we can
win no life by keeping them. But since
God rather expressed it thus, " Ye are my
children, live as my children and keep the
commandments;" we thank God for the
life He has given us in Christ ; we praise
Him for His adopting love, we try to please
Him by keeping His commandments, and
Obedience. 75
when we fail, as fail we often do, we go and
tell Him, and ask His forgiveness for the
past, and His help for the future.
" Lord have mercy upon us, and incline
our hearts to keep this law." " Lord have
mercy upon us, and write all these Thy laws
in our hearts, we beseech Thee."
^M
mmmmmm^mm^<\
^K^^^^^
VI.
PRAYER.
St. Luke xi. i.
" Lord, teach us to pray.'
HEN we dwell upon the Command-
ments of God as interpreted by
our Saviour, and think of all they
forbid and all they enjoin, we feel
the truth of what the Church in her Cate-
chism puts into her teacher's lips, namely,
that we cannot keep these commandments
without God's special grace.
Many persons, perhaps most, give up
at once the attempt to keep them. They
say it is impossible to keep them ; that
nobody ever does keep them, and that it is
of no use trying to do so. And so while
they retain the name, and flatter them-
selves that they retain the hope, of Chris-
tians, they abandon the reality.
Prayer. 77
But others, believing that they are indeed
the children of God and inheritors of the
kingdom of heaven, with much thankful-
ness for all that Christ has done for them,
and with some trust in all that He may yet
do for them, determine honestly and heartily
that they will walk in God's command-
ments and keep them as nearly as they can.
And the first outpouring of their hearts
as they enter upon such a life is that of
prayer. " Lord help me ; Lord give me
Thy grace to serve Thee."
Such a state of mind is, in our days,
frequently met with a variety of objections.
" What is the use of prayer t " it is said,
" How can it affect God } " " Do you sup-
pose He will alter the laws of the universe
to help you 1 " " Why then should you
waste your time in praying at all } "
L Then, let us reply to this question,
Why are we to pray t
I. Because it is part of our very nature
to do so. Prayer to some one stronger
than ourselves is one of our instincts. In
sudden danger, when the real man speaks
out, it is ever, ** God help me." In deep
distress, when the soul has no other com-
fort, it is constrained to ask for it of God.
This is seen outside the pale of Chris-
yS ConfirviatioiL
tianity as well as within it. Thus Chunder
Sen, an Indian Deist, writing of his
struggles, says, " Feeble in body, feeble in
mind, feeble still in spirit, how could I stand
in the face of enemies outside and enemies
within contending for the mastery of my
soul ? In deep agony I consulted my soul,
and my soul said in language exceedingly
simple and impressive, ' Pray, and pray, if
you want salvation ; none but God can
save sinners.' "
A Christian scholar, fully alive to all
the difficulties of the question, the late
Mr. Conington, thus expresses, in kindred
language, the answer of Ids soul : ** My own
belief is, that in personal matters whatever
is worth serious anxiety is worth making a
subject of prayer ; that praying is a better
attitude towards the future than fretting."
2. We are to pray not only because our
nature requires it, but because God com-
mands it. I suppose I might say with
truth that our nature requiring it is one
way, and perhaps the strongest way, of
God's commanding it. But there is another
way in which He commands it, and that is
in His Word. He has bidden us ''Pray
ivithout ceasing'' (i Thess. v. 17).
Of course, if we do not believe in the
Bible as the revelation of God's will, we
Prayer. 79
shall not be moved by any commands it
may put forth. But if we do, such positive
injunctions as this are enough to silence
all objections to prayer. An unbeliever
may say indeed, " I cannot see the use of
prayer " ; but your reply, satisfactory to you
if not to him, is this: *' It is God's com-
mand. I do not pretend to solve all mys-
teries, but I trust God rather than you.
I choose to follow the teaching of the Bible
rather than your objection. Even if the
words were only St. Paul's, I think St. Paul
a wiser and a better man than you, and I
sJiall pray!'
3. We are to pray because Jesus Christ,
our example, prayed.
"It came to pass," writes St. Luke, *'in
those days that He went out into a moun-
tain to pray, and continued all night in
prayer to God " (St. Luke vi. 12).
We believe Him to be the perfect man
and the Very God ; and He, in His man-
hood, to do His work as man and to set us
a perfect example, spent more time in
prayer than any other man we read of.
Prayer was a reality to Him, and so were
God's answers. *' I know," He said, **that
Thou hearest me always " (St. John xi.
42).
" More things are wrought by prayer
8o Confirmation.
than this world dreams of." But not more
than He dreamt of. He knew its power,
its efficacy, and its comfort, and therefore
He prayed, and so must you.
n. Then, " What is prayer t "
1. It is first of all simply telling God all
that is in your heart, in the childlike con-
fidence that He will hear, attend, and do
what is best for you. Thus Martha and
Mary sent and told Jesus of their brother's
sickness in t'nese words : " Lord, behold
he whom Thou lovest is sick" (St. John
xi. 3). This was surely praying Him to
come and help. Just so St. Paul bids us
" Be careful for nothing ; but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanks-
giving, let your requests be made known
unto God " (Phil. iv. 6).
And this exactly meets what we know by
experience to be the cravings of our hearts.
It bids us tell out all our care to God, and
assures us of relief, if in no other way, at
least in the sense of knowing that He will
either remove the trouble, or strengthen us
to bear it.
2. Then, again, prayer is asking for de-
finite gifts of God to ourselves and others.
There cannot be a better illustration of this
than these requests of the Lord's Prayer :
Prayer. 8 1
" Give us this day our daily bread, and for-
give us our trespasses," &c., &c.
These are the simple plain petitions
which Christ Himself has taught us. If we
may ask thus at all, we may ask thus for
anything which concerns our good. And
He has promised an answer. " Ask and it
shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
(St. Matt. vii. 7.)
And this is what may be done at any
and at every hour of the day, whenever a
temptation arises, or a danger meets us in
our path. We can then and there call to
mind the presence of God. We can reve-
rently place ourselves before Him ; and
waiting there a few moments to remember
who He is, and what we are, we can fer-
vently pray Him to help us as He knows
to be best for us. And such prayer will
not be in vain. But what can and should
thus be done on every occasion of need,
should be more fully done with reference
to all the needs of our life and circum-
stances at least every morning and evening
as they come. Neither work nor weariness
should ever be allowed to break through this
habit ; for if you once begin to put off your
]M-aycrs, depend upon it you have taken the
first step to put off your religion altogether.
F
82 Confirmation.
3. Further, tJianksgiving is an essential of
prayer. In the passage just quoted from the
Epistle to the Philippians, '* with thanks-
giving" is an emphatic addition, " in every-
thing by prayer and supplication zvith
thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God." We cannot approach
God at all without a deep sense of thank-
fulness for what he has done for us ; " for
our creation, preservation, and all the bless-
ings of this life, but, above all, for His
inestimable love in the redemption of the
world by our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ."
Judge as far as the analogy will carry
you from yourselves. What would you
think of a beggar, or even of your own
child, who came to you continually asking,
but never thanking, in whose manner and
expression there was a constant complain-
ing of want, but little or no expression of
gratitude 1 It would not be a pleasure to
you to encourage such a spirit. And God
would have us kept in all the brightness of
thankful spirits. Thankfulness is a very
joyous condition ; and God wills to have
His children live " in love, and joy, and
peace."
4. Once more, an essential part of prayer
is adoration, not asking for anything nor
Prayer. Zt^
thanking for anything-, but "adoring, wor-
shipping, praising God, for what He is in
Himself." It is the natural outburst of
the Christian's heart. We have beautiful
illustrations of it in the hymns of our Com-
munion Service, in which from age to age
the Church has expressed its feelings —
*' Therefore, with angels and archangels,
and with all the company of heaven, we
laud and magnify Thy glorious name, ever-
more praising Thee, and saying, * Holy
holy, holy. Lord God of hosts, heaven and
earth are full of Thy glory : glory be to
Thee, O Lord most high.' "
" Glory be to God on high, and on earth
peace, good will towards men. We praise
Thee, we bless Thee, we glorify Thee, we
give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory,
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the
Father Almighty."
in. And now we come to the forvt
which our prayers should take ; and we
have it given us by our Lord Himself,
who taught his disciples "after this man-
ner " to " pray " when Pie gave them the
Lord's Prayer ; not, that is, necessarily or
exclusively in these words, but after the
form and in the order and spirit of them.
" Our Father, which art in heaven . . . ."
F 2
84 Confirmation.
In this, the Lord's Prayer, you should
observe how every word lays down a prin-
ciple of prayer. The first word, for in-
stance, " Our," bids us pray not as indi-
viduals only, but as members of a society ;
not for ourselves only, but for others. The
next word, " Father," " Our Father," assures
of the loving character of Him whom we
approach in Christ, and encourages us, as
we enter upon our petitions, to believe they
will be granted ; for " if we, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto our
children, how much more shall our Father
which is in heaven give good things to
them that ask him ? " (St. Matt. vii. 1 1.)
The words which complete this address,
*' which art in heaven," lift up our thoughts
above this world, remind us that we are
approaching the Lord of heaven as of
earth, though that Lord in infinite com-
passion is our Father. '' Our Father, which
art in heaven." As " the desire " in the
Catechism expresses it : "I desire my Lord
God, ozir Heavenly Father " — {fuijie indeed,
though 02trs also) — " who is the giver of
all goodness, to send His grace unto vie
and to all people."
We pass on to the petitions, and are
struck first with this, that all the earlier
ones relate to the advancement of God's
Prayer. 85
f^lory. Before we may venture to ask
for any of our temporal wants, we are to
implore God to give us His grace, that
we and all others *' may worship Him, serve
Him, and obey Him as we ought to do."
" Hallowed " by me and by all others " be
Thy name." " Thy kingdom come " — Thy-
self be King in my heart and the heart of all
mankind. " Thy wdll," as angels do it in
heaven, " be done " by me and by all on
earth.
After thus praying for God's glory we are
encouraged to go on and ask as simply
for "all things that be needful both for
our souls and bodies," daily food, daily
forgiveness, daily deliverance from all
evil. " After this manner " our Saviour
would teach us to tell to our God in
detail, one by one, all the special needs
which each one has ; for whatsoever is
of sufficient importance to interest us is
of sufficient importance to interest Him
for us.
And then the whole concludes with the
grand ascription of all power and glory to
Him, so that, whereas w^e began with the
recognition of the love of our Father, and
of His willingness to hear, we conclude
with the proclamation of the Majesty of
our God, and of His power to help us.
86 Confirmation.
" For thine is the kingdom, and the power^
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."
IV. To this our Lord's form of prayer
I would add next His remark on praying
in fait Ji.
"What things soever," he said, "ye de-
sire when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them and ye shall have them " (St. Mark
xi. 24).
St. James gives similar directions. " If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering "
(St. James i. 5, 6).
We have a very striking illustration of
what this faith in prayer should be in the
story of Jacob wrestling with the angel of
God, with the Son of God Himself while
anticipating for a season the human form
which now he has put on, never to be laid
aside again.
" And Jacob was left alone, and there
wrestled a man with him until the breaking
of the day."
"And he said. Let me go, for the day
breaketh." And he said, "I will not let
thee go except Thou bless me" (Genesis
xxxii. 24, 26).
Prayer. Sy
With reverence we may say it, and God
would have us say it, " I will not let Thee
go except Thou bless me."
It was exactly in this spirit of importu-
nate faith that the woman of Canaan
pleaded with our Lord, and would take no
denial for mercy to her afflicted daughter.
His silence did not silence her. His an-
swer, worse than silence, did not make
her hold her peace or cease to cry unto
Him or cease to believe in Him. She
went on unmoved by what seemed the
most bitter rebuke. She acknowledged
herself a very dog, and yet drew conso-
lation and argument even from that. " It
is not meet," He said, " to take the chil-
dren's bread and cast it to dogs." " Truth,
Lord," she replied, " and yet the dogs eat
of the crumbs that fall from their master's
table." Then said He, "O woman, great
is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou
wilt" (St. Matt. XV. 21—29).
It is most likely that St. Paul had this
same story of Jacob's wrestling in his mind
when he described by this very word to
the Colossians his own prayers and those
of Epaphras (Coloss. i. 29, iv. 12).
You can tell whether the faith with which
you pray is at all like this which is thus
described ; whether your prayers are in
88 Confirmation.
any sense a wrestling with God, or whether
they are rather mere utterances of words to
which you never think of looking for an
answer. " I am bound to acknowledge,"
wrote a noble Christian, the late Sir F.
Buxton, " I am bound to acknowledge that
I have always found that my prayers have
been heard and answered. Not that I have
in every instance — although in almost every
instance I have — received what I asked
for ; nor do I expect or wish it. I always
qualify my petitions by adding, provided
that what I ask for is for my real good,
and according to the will of my Lord.
With this qualification I submit my wants
and wishes in all things small and great
to God. I understand literally the injunc-
tion, * Be careful for nothing, but in every-
thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God ' ; and I cannot but notice
how amply these prayers have been met."
This, remember, was one of a noble
band of men who won over the House of
Commons and the people of Great Britain
to banish slavery from the empire, and to
declare that henceforth no subject of the
Queen should ever be anything but free.
He did nothing and spoke nothing without
casting himself on God in prayer.
Prayer. 89
I am speaking to many young men and
young women, who are about to commence
at their Confirmation the profession of a
Christian Hfe. I have tried to say many
things to you, but above all let me say,
"Pray." As you rise in the morning, as
you go to bed at night, ** Pray." As you
go along the streets or roads to your
work, and as you come home, " Pray."
When you feel an evil thought rising in
your heart, " Pray." When you are con-
scious of a wicked desire stealing over you,
"Pray." Are you entering upon a business
or a situation } " Pray." Are you making
an intimate friend ? ** Pray." Are you
thrown with those who are doing you
harm } " Pray.'' In all things and at all
times seek God's guidance. " Pray without
ceasing."
It need not occupy much of your time,
though you ought always to secure some
time for it ; a word or an exclamation, a
sigh or a secret wish will often express
it. For God is very near, and His ear is
quick of hearing, and His hand close by to
help. Nay, *' before we call He answers, and
while we yet speak He hears our prayer."
At all events we know of one prayer that
has been fully answered. " Lord, teach us
to pray," was the disciples' prayer, the
90
Confirmation,
prayer of the Church of God represented
by them. He taught them, and has taught
us by them. We know how to pray, and
we know what priceless blessings are pro-
mised to our prayers. Which then shall
be written in our history : He was a man
of prayer t or. He was a prayerless man }
VII.
SACRAMENTS.
1. — "THE OUTWARD AND VISIBLE SIGN."
N these addresses preparatory to
Confirmation, I have dwelt upon
the leading points of our holy
religion. Following the order of
the Church Catechism, I have considered,
" What a Christian is " ; *' What he must
give up " ; " What he must believe " ;
"What he must do"; "How he must
pray." I pass on to those means of grace
which combine all these subjects in their
teaching, I mean the Sacraments.
God in His mercy teaches us not only
through the ear, but through the eye, and
92 Confirmation.
not merely by verbal promises, but by
sealed covenants. These latter we call
Sacraments ; of which there are but two,
Baptism and the Supper of the Lord,
which come under our Church's definition
of a Sacrament.
This definition is as follows : By the
word Sacrament we mean " an outward
and visible sign of an inward and spiritual
grace given unto us, ordained by Christ
Himself, as a means whereby we receive
the same, and a pledge to assure us there-
of."
I propose to consider this definition.
Observe then there are three things
essential to a Sacrament as we understand
that word.
1. There must be an outward sign.
2. There must be an inward grace, of
which this outward sign is the sign, the
means, and the pledge.
3. There must be the appointment of
Christ Himself to make the outward sign
the means and the pledge of our receiving
the inward grace.
The two first, the outward and the in-
ward, the outward and visible sign, and
the inward and spiritual grace, are the two
parts of the Sacrament itself.
Sacraments. 93
The third, namely Christ's appointment,
IS that which unites them and makes them
of efficacy.
First, then, with reference to these two
parts, let us consider the outward as a sign
of the inward.
It is so difficult for us to realise the spi-
ritual, to be assured that we possess and
have that which we cannot touch, or taste,
or see, or realise, with any of our outward
senses, that God helps us to such an
assurance by outward symbols, stamped
and authenticated by Himself.
Such an outward sign, if it were ordained
to be a sign or symbol of an inward
reality, we should expect to be something
as like to that reality as in the nature of
the case it is possible for it to be ; some-
thing that would naturally point to it, and
picture it out, and so in itself be a sort of
parable of it, and a parable simple and
easy for all men to understand.
Such outward signs are admirably pro-
vided for the purpose in the water of
Baptism, and the Bread and Wine of the
Lord's Supper. What is the use of water
outwardly applied to the body } Is it not
to wash away all filth 1 What is the spi-
ritual meaning of Baptism } Is it not the
94 Confirmation.
washing away of sin ? " Arise," said Ana-
nias to Saul, " and be baptized, and wash
away thy sins, calling on the name of the
Lord." Acts xxii. 16.
There is a remarkable Greek inscription
round the font in St. Mary's Church, Not-
tingham, copied, I believe, from an ancient
Greek church, remarkable in thisthatwhich-
ever way you read its letters they make the
same words,
vf^ov avo\x.-\]\xara firj fxofav oyj/iv.
It expresses both the outward and inward
of what is ordained to take place there.
" Wash your sins, not your face only."
Could any outward and visible thing be
a more suggestive sign of the forgiving and
cleansing away of our sin than washing
by water ?
The Bread and Wine of the Lord's
Supper are as simple and suggestive. What
is the use of bread and wine ? Is it not
to feed, sustain, strengthen, refresh us ?
And what are the spiritual benefits of
the Lord's Supper ? Are they not the
strengthening and refreshing of our souls ?
These signs then are in their simplicity
and in their adaptation to the purpose for
which they are ordained, the best possible.
They are ordained as si^yis of grace ;
Sacramejits. 95
" outward and visible signs of inward and
spiritual grace." What is Grace? God's
mercy given gratis ; given without our
having done anything to deserve it. And
this mercy which God gives gratis is, first
of all, the mercy of forgiveness to the
sinner, and then the mercy of strength and
refreshment to the forgiven.
That God does for Christ's sake give
this mercy gratis — the mercy of forgive-
ness, and the mercy of refreshment, to
those who are rightly disposed to receive
it — is the very key-note of the Gospel, the
glad tidings of great joy to all who will
believe and accept it. It is proclaimed
from the first to the last page of the New
Testament in every variety of language ;
and it is stamped as on a visible deed of
conveyance, easy to read, and simple to be
understood of all, in the Sacraments of
Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.
II. And this brings us to the second
point we have to consider, namely the
ordaining of these signs as means and
pledges by Christ Himself.
Of course no outward thing like water,
or bread, or wine, can of itself convey to
us anything more than in its own nature it'
contains. But if appointed to do so, if
g6 Co?tfirmatwn,
ordained by Christ Himself to be a channel
of His gifts, it is impossible for us to say
that it cannot.
We may not be able to understand how
outward things are able to become means
or channels for the conveyance of spiritual
things ; but in fact all spiritual things are
conveyed to us through the instrumentality
of outward ones. The written word is
something outward ; the spoken word is
something outward ; the warnings alike
and the promises, the arguments and rea-
sonings v/hich excite our interest in spiritual
things, convince us of their reality, and
incline us to receive them, are all outzvard ;
and if not visible to the eye are intelligible
to one or other of the senses of the man.
And Christ has ordained the water of
Baptism and the Bread and Wine of the
Lord's Supper, which in themselves are
nothing more than water, and bread and
wine, to be the means of conveying grace,
and a pledge that it is conveyed to those
who rightly receive them. Of course what-
ever is such a means and pledge can only
be so when ordained by Him who is Himself
the fountain of grace, and has the power
to convey it.
The gas pipes in our churches and houses
are the means of conveying light to us.
Sacraments. 97
They are not such by any power of their
own to produce light, but only by special
provision when they are connected with the
gasometer on the owa hand and the burners
on the other ; they are only a means of
light by virtue of their being ordained to
be so by those who have power over the
gas. And the water of Baptism and the
bread and wine of the Lord's Supper only
become means of grace to us by being
ordained for such a purpose by Christ Him-
self, who is the Lord of all grace.
Again, the deed of conveyance oi an estate
is a means of making over an estate from
one person to another, because the law of
the land has so appointed it. It is not the
estate itself, but it represents it and con-
veys it. And thus by the appointment of
Christ Himself the water in Baptism conveys
to the penitent believer the washing away
of his sins ; and the bread and wine in the
Lord's Supper become to him in effect all
that is meant by the words, " the Body and
Blood of Christ." What that is we shall
see in the next address.
There may be in such means of convey-
ing grace much more than we can explain
or understand. But if we may assume
that grace usually is conveyed to us by
natural rather than supernatural means,
G
98 Cojifirniation.
and enters our souls by the ordinary rather
than by any extraordinary channels ; then
repentance is that which prepares us for
its reception, and faith that which actually
receives it : and Sacraments are means of
grace in' that they manifestly set forth
Christ crucified among us and given to us,
thus exciting repentance, quickening faith,
and intensifying all means and capabilities
of receiving the grace which God at all
times and in all ways is ever waiting to
pour out upon us.
But we speak of the " outward and vis-
ible sign " in the Sacraments as being not
only " the means of grace," but ** a pledge
to assure us thereof."
A pledge is something visible that we can
look at, and by doing so assure ourselves
of the reality of that which it pledges.
Such a pledge is a marriage ring. It is
a token and assurance of the reality of the
marriage. No woman looking at her mar-
riage ring could entertain a doubt of her
marriage.
We want to be assured of God's love to,
and union with, us in Christ ; for we are
very suspicious. Sin makes us suspicious
and doubtful even of His love. We often
have such questionings as these : " Did the
Son of God really become incarnate t " " Did
Sacrai/iOifs. 99
He really die in the fiesli ? " *' Did He die
for me ?" " May I really appropriate Him,
His merits, His work, Himself crucified and
risen, to myself, as my salvation ? "
Here, then, in the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper is the very assuring token
and pledge which we need. Here is a simpkt
institution which has come down from our
Saviour's own time, and by His own ap-
pointment. Here is the bread broken, the
picture of the broken body of Christ. Here
is the wine poured out, the symbol of His
shed blood. And here is God's ministei
acting in God's name, singling out each
one and saying, " The Body of our Lord
Jesus Christ which was given for thee pre-
serve thy body and soul unto everlasting
life ; take and eat this in remembrance that
Christ died for thee, and feed on Him in
thy heart by faith with thanksgiving."
It is a pledge than which none can be
stronger, to assure us that Christ has be-
come incarnate, that Christ's body was
broken, Christ's blood poured out for us,
for each one of us, for thee and for me.
There is another answer in the Church
Catechism to which in this place I wish to
call attention. The question is, *' What is
the outward part in the Lord's Supper .-' "
and the answer, ** Bread and Wine, which
G 2
I oo Confirmation .
the Lord hath commanded to be re-
ceived."
This command is recorded by St. Mat-
thew xxvi. 26 — 29 ; St. Mark xiv. 22 — 25 ;
St. Luke xxii. 19, 20, and St. Paul, i Cor.
xi. 23—34.
But why does our Church call special
attention to this command with reference
to the ontzvard sign of the bread and wine .-^
Clearly to meet the objections of those
who think that they can do without Sacra-
ments. There are some, we know, who
spiritualise all these commands, and believe
they can feed upon Christ and live in union
with Him better without the outward sign
than with it. And there are others who
for various reasons shrink from coming to
the Lord's Supper, though as far as men
can judge, they are in other respects living
Christian lives. Let them all remember
that " The Lord hath commanded the bread
and wine to be received." And do you,
especially, who ?.re just going to be con-
firmed remember it, and begin at once, and
as long as you live maintain the habit of
being regular communicants. Your Confir-
mation is the step that leads you on to Com-
munion, and if you do not take that step now
you will never have so happy an opportunity
as long as you live. The Lord has com-
Sacraments. lOi
manded it ; and the King's command is
enough for a loyal subject's guidance ; His
serious entreaty should be more than
enough for a loving Christian's obedience.
If you have difficulties, take means to
overcome those difficuities. They are not
insuperable. If sin prevents you, give up
your sin ; it is far better surely to do so
than to give up your soul or your Saviour.
If scruples are in your way and you cannot
quiet your conscience, go to your clergy-
man and let him help you. At all events
be determined, for the Lord has com-
manded it, and difficulties and objections
will disappear.
^^[^^^^^^^
^^M?^^^^^
^^^^^^^^I^S
VIII.
SACRAMENTS.
IL— "THE INWARD AND SPIRITUAL GRACE.
SACRAMENT is defined by our
Church to be **an outward and
I visible sign of an inward and
spiritual grace given unto us,
ordained by Christ Himself, as a means
whereby we receive the same, and a pledge
to assure us thereof"
In the last address I dwelt upon the
" outward sign," and its appointment by
Christ to be a means of conveying to us the
inward grace, and a pledge to assure us of
its conveyance. I now come to consider
the other part of the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, "the inward and spiritual
grace given unto us."
Sacraments. 103
This is a subject on which there have
been many disputes, but our Church Cate-
chism has put the whole gist of the matter
in a few words ; and we shall be saved much
difficulty if we simply adhere to that ex-
planation. There are two questions and
answers upon the subject.
1. What is the inward part or thing sig-
nified in the Lord's Supper.^
"The Body and Blood of Christ, which
are verily and indeed taken and received by
the faithful in the Lord's Supper."
2. What are the benefits whereof we are
partakers thereby }
" The strengthening and refreshing of our
souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as
our bodies are by the Bread and W^ine."
L Now, first of all, let me ask you to
keep clearly in mind that what is here
spoken of as " the Body and Blood of
Christ " has been previously declared to be
something *' inward and spiritual."
A Sacrament is " an outward and visible
sign of an inward and spiritual grace . . . . "
Well, the outward and visible sign is
" Bread and Wine," that which we can see
and feel and take in our hands, and feed our
bodies with : " the inward and spiritual
grace " that which we cannot see, and can
1 04 Cojifirmation .
only receive, and feed our souls upon by
faith, is *' the Body and Blood of Christ."
But in what sense, then, can " Body and
Blood," which properly describe "outward
and visible " things, be used to express only
'' inward and spiritual " ones ? And further,
why does our Church add that this " Body
and Blood of Christ" are verily and indeed
taken and received by the faithful, when
they are taken not literally but in a spiritual
sense ?
I think that if you carefully consider the
words you will see that none other could so
well, so briefly, so pointedly, so fully, convey
their meaning.
The question is not so much what the
" Body and Blood of Christ " are in them-
selves, but what they are to us. What do
they represent, what in the Lord's Supper
do they convey to us ?
The words, ** The Body and Blood of
Christ" represent to us that the Eternal
Son of God took our flesh upon Him and
became possessed of a Body ; that he lived
as man in this Body, and died as man,
shedding His Blood upon the Cross; and
the offer of the Body and Blood of Christ
to us represents the offer of all that by
His Incarnation, His Life, His Death,
His Resurrection, and Ascension, He has
Saa'ameiits. 105
wrought out for us. It is the offer of Him-
self, all that He is, and all that He has
done, to us. Could any other words tell
us all this so well ?
And if we further ask why our Church
expresses it so strongly as to say that " the
Body and Blood of Christ are verily and
indeed taken and received by the faithful in
the Lord's Supper/' the answer and the
explanation is, that this is the highest
and truest meaning of "the Body and Blood
of Christ" for us. Just as our Saviour Him-
self said, "My flesh is meat indeed'' (John
vi. 55), and *' I am the trne (or very) vine"
(John XV. i), so our Church says, "The
Body and Blood of Christ are verily and
indeed taken and received by the faithful,"
that is, in their highest and truest sense. If
His actual Body, His very flesh and blood
were eaten and drunk by us, that would
not be so real and true a reception of
Christ, if indeed it would be a reception at
all, as is this. It might be a literal recep-
tion of His body, but it would not be a
spiritual reception of Himself, ''verily and
indeed taken.'' The spirit is only fed, can
only be fed, by what a spirit can receive
with its understanding, affections, and con-
science. A spirit cannot feed on actual
flesh and blood.
io6 Confirmation.
Our Church evidently assumes that some
food, and that food of the highest spiritual
kind, is received by the faithfid in the
Lord's Supper; and so does our Saviour
Himself. For if He had intended by it no
more than a bare commemoration, it would
have been enough for Him to say " Eat this
bread broken," " Drink this wine poured
out, in remembrance of Me" : there could
have been no further need to add in that
strong emphatic manner, " This is My
Body; This is My Blood." And though
these words cannot mean the actual
"Body and Blood" of the Lord which
hung upon the cross eighteen hundred
years ago, yet we must give them as high
a meaning as the nature of the case admits
of. They are His Body and Blood in
spiritual effect and use to us. They repre-
sent and convey Him, living and dying
for us, to our souls, enlightening our under-
standing, attracting our affections, satisfy-
ing our conscience.
n. This comes out even more clearly in
the next question and answer.
"What are the benefits whereof we are
partakers thereby t "
" The strengthening and refreshing of our
SOULS by the Body and Blood of Christ,
Sacramatts. 107
as our bodies are " (strengthened) " by the
Bread and Wine."
The benefits are, then, " the strengthen-
ing and refreshing of our souls" But souls
require spiritual food for their refreshment.
And this spiritual food is here called " the
Body and Blood of Christ."
Be sure there is no magic in this. The
soul of man does not get fed of God by
a man merely coming to His table and
receiving a morsel of bread and a drop of
wine. Feeding is a reality to the soul as to
the body. The soul, like the body, has its
food, its faculty for receiving it, its power
of assimilating it to itself It has, too, its
hunger and its thirst, without which it will
not care for its food.
Let us try to realise the soul feeding at
the Lord's Supper, and see how it comes to
pass.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was
ordained, we are told, '* For the continual
remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of
Christ, and of the benefits which we receive
thereby."
This, then, is the great thought for our
souls to contemplate as we approach the
Holy Table, — " the sacrifice of the death of
Christ," — not merely "the death of Christ,"
but **the full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice.
loS Cofifirmation.
oblation, and satisfaction, which He then
made for the sins of the whole world,
whereby alone we obtain remission of our
sins, and are made partakers of the kingdom
of heaven."
This great thought is vividly presented
to us in our Service. The Bread is broken
before our eyes ; the Wine poured out.
" Before our eyes Jesus Christ is evidently
set forth, crucified among us ; " and we are
invited to eat of His Sacrifice. We may
think of this at all times ; we must now,
when it is as it were all present as on Calvary
again. And what reflections are likely to
arise while the Bread and Wine are thus
before our eyes, and while these words are
being sounded in our ears 1 —
"Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
who of Thy tender mercy didst give Thine
only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon
the Cross for our redemption ; who made
there (by His one oblation of Himself once
offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacri-
fice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins
of the whole world ; and did institute, and
in His holy Gospel command us to continue,
a perpetual memory of that His precious
death, until His coming again ; Hear us,
O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech
Thee, and grant that we receiving these Thy
Sacra})ie}its. 109
creatures of bread and wine, according to
Thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy
institution, in remembrance of His death
and passion, may be partakers of His most
blessed Body and Blood : who, in the same
night that He was betrayed, took bread ;
and, when He had given thanks. He brake
it, and gave it to His disciples, saying,
Take, eat, this is My Body, which is given
for you ; do this in remembrance of Me.
Likewise after Supper he took the Cup,
and, when He had given thanks, He gave
it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this ; foi
this is My Blood of the New Testament,
which is shed for you and for many for the
remission of sins: Do this, as oft as ye shall
drink it, in remembrance of Me."
What reflections, I say, are likely to
arise in our minds as we see the Bread and
Wine, or hear these words ? Something
surely of this kind —
" The Eternal Son of God, very God of
very God, made man, living, dying, dying
a slave's death upon the cross ; those tender
hands pierced with rough nails, that fore-
head of Piim who is God Himself, all torn
and bleeding from that mock crown of
thorns ; He Himself, His whole soul and
body, shaken to His very centre, and ex-
claiming, ' My God, My God, why hast
1 10 Confin/iahon.
Thou forsaken Me ?' And all this, too, for
sinners, ' God commending His love unto
us, that while we were sinners Christ died
for us ;' yet while we were yet sinners. We
then, / then, had a share in that horrible
tragedy ; I, by my sins, helped to press
that crown upon His head, to fasten those
nails into His feet and hands; aye, and I,
too, by virtue only of the same fact that I
am a sinner, have an interest in the glorious
issue of that event — He died/6'r sijiners''
There is some food for thought there,
something to put the soul in its proper state
of penitence before the cross, something, too,
to arouse and call out its faith — that He
who, at such a cost, made a sacrifice for the
sins of the whole world, made therefore a
sacrifice for me. For if He died for all He
died for me. Oh, that I could be sure of
this. Oh, that I could receive the benefit of
this. Oh, that I could appropriate and
make my own this sacrifice, this Body and
]51ood of Christ.
This is the arising of a spiritual appetite
for Him ; a hunger which He Himself has
promised shall be satisfied.
What follows in our Service } There
comes to the penitent's ears the constant
repetition of those striking words : " The
Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was
"S lie ra?;ir fits. I 1 1
^ivcn for thee, the blood of our Lord Jesus
Clirist which was shed for thee, preserve
thy body and soul unto everlasting life."
He looks up. He sees the Minister of God
giving by God's command, " the bread and
the wine " to each one, one by one, as he
repeats the words. He hears exactly what
he craves, the offer of "Christ's Body and
Christ's Blood," made one by one to indi-
viduals. He is helped to believe that if it
is for this one and for that one it is cer-
tainly also for ///;;/; and he, too, takes it by
faith and feeds thereby, he believes, on
Christ. He is strengthened and refreshed
by the Body and Blood of Christ as his
body is by the bread and wine. The body
receives the refreshment it needs and can
receive, and in the way it can receive it,
bread and wine. The soul receives the
refreshment it needs and can receive,
spiritual refreshment ; and in the way it
can receive it, by faith.
What sort of spiritual refreshment does
the faithful connnunicant thus receive }
He is in doubt whether he may claim
Christ as his very own. Here Christ is
offered to him as if he were the only soul
in the v'orld, and offered in a way to inspire
confidence and give rest. He is in fear lest
being so sinful he may not hope for pardon.
1 1 2 Confirmation.
Here Christ is set forth as a sacrifice for the
sins of the world, as dying a propitiation
for all sinners, and therefore a sacrifice
for Jiis sins, a propitiation for Jiim a sinner.
He is alone, and therefore weak indeed in
his conflicts with sin ; here, and by this
means and in this way, Christ comes to him,
and dwells in him, he becomes one with
Christ, and Christ one with him. He is in
low spirits, wanting the peace and the joy
which a Christian should have, not able to
realise Christ as near, hardly able to realise
Him as his Saviour at all. Here is the
assurance of His being very near, even in
his very soul, to cheer, refresh, and comfort
him.
Thus the benefits of the Lord's Supper
are "the strengthening and refreshing of
our souls by the Body and Blood of
Christ, as our bodies are by the bread and
wine."
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper sets
before us the reception of Christ into our
souls under the image of eating and drink-
ing. I need hardly say that we do not eat
or drink heartily unless we are hungry
and thirsty ; what we need, then, when we
are coming to the Lord's Supper is hunger
and thirst after Christ, and that not merely
to obtain His forgiveness, but to be trans-
Sacraments. 113
formed into His likeness. This is the
higliest longing that man can have, and
man is by his true nature so great that
without satisfaction of this he cannot be
satisfied at all. All other things are nothing
in comparison. A world is not enough
for us when we really hunger and thirst
after God, desiring to be like Him, and
thus as pure and good and noble as man
can be, and so to enjoy God. But who
shall give us this hunger } How shall this
thirst be excited } Of course it is God's
gift ; but God gives by certain laws. How,
for instance, do we obtain an appetite for
daily food .'* Not merely by thinking of
it, or by wishing for it, but by heartily
doing the work appointed us without think-
ing of the appetite at all. In due time it
comes.
Are you a Christian, then, and yet have
little hunger after Christ } Well, do at least,
and do as well as you can, the first Christian
works that come in your path of duty.
Begin your day with fervent prayer, and go
about your daily work as a Christian trying
to act in all your dealings as for Christ.
Maintain this course if you can for a day
You will soon feel your need of Christ's
pardon, of Christ's help, of Christ Him-
self, of all He is, and all He may be, to
H
114
Sacraments.
your soul. You will hunger and thirst
after Him : and hunger and thirst look for
ways of satisfying themselves ; and spiritual
hunger and thirst will find their satisfaction
only in " the Body and Blood of Christ."
IX.
SELF-EXAMINATION.
I Cor. xi. 28.
** Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat
of that bread and drink of that cup."
T is a very common saying indeed,
and it is felt even more commonly
than it is said, that ** Every one
wants looking after." Men appoint
overlookers in their places of work, but they
overlook their overlookers themselves. They
keep, it may be, their own accounts ; but
they submit them from time to time to an
accountant, to be sure that they have cor-
rectly kept them. They have confidence,
perhaps, in all upon their premises, and be-
lieve that all is conducted in their house
with honesty ; but they take stock of their
goods every year at least, to prove by actual
examination how their affairs stand. For
II 2
I T 6 Confirmation.
they do not doubt but that if any man
neglected to examine the state of his busi-
ness, kept no accounts, took no stock, it
would very soon go wrong; errors and mis-
takes would creep in, dishonesty would be
encouraged, little losses would lead to great
ones, and suddenly, when the man thought
himself in the midst of prosperity, he would
find himself utterly ruined.
Is it not to be expected that that over-
looking which is so necessary in all our
earthly concerns, should be even more
necessary in our spiritual ones ? If our
goods need examining, do not ive our-
selves ? And yet this superintendence, this
overlooking, is hardly thought of. It is
the advice of the wise man, says Cole-
ridge in his Aids to Reflection : ''Dwell
at home," that is with yourself, but the
greater part of mankind cannot be per-
suaded even to visit themselves sometimes.
And yet to do so, is one of the highest
faculties we have. Self-superintendence!
That any thing should overlook itself! It
is a paradox indeed, very hard to under-
stand ; but yet most truly has it been said — -
** Unless above himself he can
Erect himself, how mean a thing is man."
The words of St. Paul before us bid us thus
Self-Exaviination. 117
examine ourselves, watch ourselves, and
report to ourselves where we are, and how
we are going on.
The occasion on which St. Paul here
especially commands Self-Examination is
that of coming to the Lord's Supper; and
I close this set of addresses on the Confir-
mation subjects with this, the last sentence
of our Church's instruction in the Catechism
on the subject.
"What is required of them who come to
the Lord's Supper.?"
"To examine themselves, whether they
repent them truly of their former sins,
steadfastly purposing to lead a new life ;
have a lively faith in God's mercy through
Christ with a thankful remembrance of His
death, and be in charity with all men."
This is a very wide subject. To examine
oneself as to any one "subtle bosom sin";
to keep one's mind at it, not to shirk the
disagreeable discovery, but to track one's
sin home, and there to face it, and with
it all uncovered to face God, would be
enough, and more than enough, if fully de-
scribed and illustrated, for the time allotted
to one of these addresses. But I must en-
deavour to combine some general with some
particular instruction in this matter.
St. Paul, I have said, connects the duty
1 1 8 Confirmation^
of self-examination with the Lord's Supper,
and it is well indeed to have some special
time set apart for a duty which otherwise
we are inclined, from time to time, to put
off. He has, however, another very strong
remark upon it. '' Examine yourselves,"
he writes, " whether ye be in the faith ;
prove your own selves. Know ye not your
own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you,
except ye be reprobates V 2 Cor. xiii. 5.
I. The words of the Church's instruction
in the Catechism will guide us very much
in this inquiry. She bids us examine our-
selves on three points, which form the essen-
tials of Christian character : —
I. "Whether we repent us truly of our
former sins, steadfastly purposing to lead
a new life."
Recollect that "sins" includes not only
what you have done that you ought not to
have done, but what you have left undone
that you ought to have done; and recollect
also that your best service is altogether due
to Almighty God — and what a swarm of
words that you might have spoken, and
deeds that you might have done; of desires
ill desired, of words ill spoken, of deeds
ill done, arise and thicken in your view !
Let us suppose ourselves entering upon
Self- Examination. 119
this investigation. Those who have the
opportunity will go to their own rooms and
shut the door, securing a time when they
can be alone with their God. Those who
cannot have such privacy must try and
make such opportunity by an effort, as they
walk along the streets, or in the country,
or where it should be possible for all, in
the ever open church of their parish. Let
us then and there try to shut out all other
sights and all other thoughts but those of
our own souls and of our Saviour God.
Let us, if possible, fall on our knees ; let
us, with humbled souls, pray — "Almighty
God, unto whom all hearts be open, all
desires known, and from whom no secrets
are hid — Thou God who seest me, who
art about my path, and about my bed,
and spiest out all my ways — show me m)^-
self, help me to see myself as Thou seest
me, and to know my sins as Thou know^est
them, and to be sorry for them as Thou
wouldest have me be sorry, in whose pre-
sence there is joy over one sinner that re-
pcnteth." Then in the Lord's own presence,
and asking His help, let us compare com-
mandment after commandment, as ex-
plained in "The Duty towards God," and the
" Duty towards our neighbour," with our
own life, till we face our most besetting sin
120 Confirmation.
be it what it may — perhaps of ungodliness
and irreverence, perhaps of want of love, per-
haps of intemperance, perhaps of dishonesty,
or untruthfulness, perhaps of indolence and
selfishness. Let us uncover it and look it
well in the face ; let us take away the ex-
cuses we are ever making for it. Let us
hear God speak, and conscience speak ; and
then let us ask, '* Do I truly repent of this,
as of all other sins .'' Do I steadfastly pur-
pose to give it up and lead a new life .''
We ca7i tell this.
2. Let us go on to the next point of
examination, whether we "have a lively
faith in God's mercy, through Christ, with
a thankful remembrance of His death."
If we have little or no repentance, we
may be sure we shall equally have little
or no faith. If sin is not a burden to us,
if we are not anxious about it, if we do
not fear to distress our Saviour by dis-
obedience, we shall not be anxious to rest
on Him and cling to Him by faith. But if
we are " steadfastly purposing to lead a new
life," the very suggestion that we may " have
a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ"
is encouraging. The command to examine
ourselves, whether we have such faith, is a
strong inducement to us to have it. For
it amounts to this, " Those who are best able
Self-Exaniijiation. 121
to teach me evidently expect this of me ;
then God in His mercy, I am sure, wills
me thus to trust Him." Wherefore half
trembling, yet half trusting-, I will say, "Lord,
1 believe, help Thou mine unbelief." Thus,
step by step, the examination of ourselves
leads us to bless God with our hearts for
what He has done for us in Christ, and to
trust Him wuth a lively trust for what He
may yet do to save us. And I think we
can tell this too, namely, whether we have
taken and cast our souls for life and for
death on Jesus Christ, and are resting on
Him for pardon, peace, strength, and eternal
life.
3. The third point of Christian character
which we are to test is, " Whether we be
in charity with all men"; forgiving and
loving as we hope to be forgiven and loved.
This is a question, too, that we surely can
decide. But we niust be quite honest with
ourselves, or we shall not decide aright. I
have heard it said, "Oh, yes, I forgive; but
I cannot forget. I cannot ever again have
anything to do with such a person." But
if any one compares the expression in the
Lord's Prayer, *' Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive them that trespass against
us " with this measure of forgiveness, he
will see that it is no forgiveness at all.
122 Confirmation.
Conceive what it would be to us if God
said, " I forgive them, but will never again
have anything to do with them."
II. But further, self-examination is not
only for the beginning of Christian life, nor
only when w^e approach the Lord's Supper
for the first time or at any time, but
for every stage of Christian life, indeed for
every day of Christian life, to ascertain and
be clearly conscious how we are going on.
We are all too much in the habit of
taking things for granted in matters of
religion ; and even when we have really
turned to God we are in the same danger.
We are then inclined to take for granted that
all will be well for ever, and so to neglect
the watchfulness which then as much as ever
is required of us, for we shall certainly go
back if we do not go forward in religion as in
all else. Men are not satisfied in business
to know that they have got a competency :
they want to get more each year, and to
know that they have got it, and they take
effectual means to know it. They are
interested in the matter, and their steps
are definitely marked and their progress
definitely known.
But vagueness, indefiniteness, want of
clear knowledge, and absence of clearly-
Self-Examination. 123
marked steps of progress, are common
faults of Christians. And they will hardly
be removed but by definite and regular
self-examination upon definite besetting
sins, or definitely clear but half-neglected
or feebly-performed duties.
Let us consider one or two instances.
There is no Christian probably who does
not recognise the duty of private prayer
and study of the Holy Scriptures. And
yet I am convinced that God, who knows
all things, could call up from amongst
almost any congregation many an one with
a fair Christian reputation, many a com-
municant even, whose private prayers and
whose study of the Holy Scriptures are
very brief, very shallow, often omitted
altogether, and never very earnest.
This results partly from indolence, and
self-indulgence, partly from a want of taste
for the Holy Scriptures, brought on very
often by exciting rather than useful read-
ing. It is felt to be too great an effort to
rise early enough in the morning to
secure the first and best half-hour for com-
munion with God. As the day goes on
business or pleasure thrusts everything
else out ; and at night the mind and the
body also are too wearied for what needs
fixed and earnest attention. Here then
124 Confirmation.
is a habit of indolence to be overcome, a
habit of devotion to be acquired. From
week to week and from day to day you
may test and examine yourself, whether
you are overcoming the one, whether you
are putting on the other. You have often
been overcome ; are you overcoming now .-^
Or, to take another instance, all of us
know, who ever try to pray, how very
hard it is to pray really. Our public
worship, what is it } We listen to the sing-
ing, we follow some of the prayers ; but
continually we catch our thoughts wander-
ing far away ; we are thinking of anything
but God and His love, and his readiness
to help us : yesterday's occupation, to-
morrow's hope, our friends, our homes,
anything, no matter how trifling, has ar-
rested and occupied our hearts. Do we
acquiesce in this } We know it takes
place. Do we review it at night } Do we
humble ourselves for it, and strive to over-
come it, and make records of our conquests
or our failures } If our self-superintendence
is a reality, we shall do so, and we shall
grow in the spirit of devotion. Our thoughts
will wander less ; our hearts will be less
cold. Or, at all events, we shall be clearly
conscious, reminded continually by our-
selves, that we pray as ill and as little as
Self -Examination. 1 2 5
ever, that we are going backwards, and are
in danger. So we shall make new efforts.
Or, to take a different kind of example,
we are bound to be in charity with all
nicii. A large part of that charity has its
sphere at home : it is shown in loving-
temper, in kind manner, in gentle words
to all there, from father to son, husband
to wife, mother to daughter, sister to sister ;
and a vast deal of the happiness of the
home depends upon it. Now Christian
people do not always show this sweet
loving charity at home ; and they are
sometimes conscious of it. Here again is
a definite part of oneself to overlook with
the possibility of marking definite improve-
ment. Self-examination will call up the
remembrance of each day's temptations to
unkindness, and each day's resistance or
yielding to it. And the record of self-
examination will show whether we are
overcoming this sin or whether it is over-
coming us.
Unless we make our self-examination
thus definite and practical, it will be of
little use to us, and indeed, I am confident,
it will be little used by us. It is one of
those hard, unpleasant duties which a man
will not do unless he is in real earnest about
it. There is nothing which the heart is
126 Confirmation.
more inclined to shirk. It requires, as you
well know who have tried it, all a man*s
determination to keep to it. The thoughts
will wander, the mind will plead its inability
for the work, and he only will do it who is
determined to have it done, and who in
that determination casts himself in faith on
God and cries, " Search me, O God, and
know my heart ; try me and know my
thoughts, and see if there be any wicked-
ness in me, and lead me in the way ever-
lasting" (Ps. cxxxix. 24).
THE END.
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