1^ V
pi0lg Spirit iit i^t §0!trg 0f ®^rist.
EIGHT LECTURES
PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,
IN THE FEAR 1868.
ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, M. A.
Canon of Salisbury.
BY GEORGE MOBERLY, D.C.L.
FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF WINCHESTER COLLEGE ;
NOW LORD BISHOP OF SALISBURY.
SECOND edition:
JAMES PARKER AND CO.
1870.
LOAN STACK
OXFORD:
BY T. COMBE, M.A., E. B. GARDNER, E. P. HALL, AND H. LATHAM, M.A.
PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.
IS70
EXTRACT
FROM THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
OF THE LATE
REV. JOHN BAMPTON,
CANON Of SALISBURY.
" I give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to the
" Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of
" Oxford for ever, to have and to hold all and singular the
" said Lands or Estates upon trust, and to the intents and
*' purjioses hereinafter mentioned ; that is to say, I will and
" appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ox-
" ford for the time being shall take and receive all the rents,
" issues, and profits thereof, and (after all taxes, reparations,
" and necessary deductions made) that he pay all the re-
" njainder to the endowment of eight Divinity Lecture Ser-
" mons, to be established for ever in the said University, and
" to be performed in the manner following :
" I direct and appoint, that, upon the first Tuesday in
" Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads
" of Colleges only, and by no others, in the room adjoining
" to the Printing-House, between the hours of ten in the
" morning and two in the afternoon, to preach eight Divinity
" Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. Mary's in
" Oxford, between the commencement of the last month in
" Lent Term, and the end of the third week in Act Term.
OO'J
vi Extract from Canon Banipton^s Will.
" Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity Lecture
" Sermons shall be preached on either of the following Sub-
'* jects — to confirm and establish the Christian Faith, and to
" confute all heretics and schismatics —upon the divine au-
" thority of the holy ScrijDtures — upon the authority of the
" writings of the primitive Fathers, as to the faith and prac-
" tice of the primitive Church — upon the Divinity of our
" Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — upon the Divinity of the
" Holy Ghost — upon the Articles of the Christian Faith, as
" comprehended in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.
"Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Divinity
" Lecture Sermons shall be always printed, within two
" months after they are preached ; and one copy shall be
" given to the Chancellor of the University, and one copy
" to the Head of every College, and one copy to the Mayor
" of the city of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the Bod-
" leian Library ; and the expense of printing them shall be
" paid out of the revenue of the Laud or Estates given for
" establishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons ; and the
" Preacher shall not be paid, nor be entitled to the revenue,
" before they are printed. ,
" Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be quali-
" fied to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, unless he hath
" taken the degree of Master of Arts at least, in one of the
" two Universities of Oxford or Cambridge j and that the
" same person shall never preach the Divinity Lecture Ser-
" mons twice."
TO
THE REV. THE HEADS OF COLLEGES
IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,
THESE LEOTUEES,
PREACHED BY THEIR APPOINTMENT, ARE RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATED.
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2007 witii funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
littp://www.arcliive.org/details/administrationofOOmobericli
PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION.
In publishing a Second Edition of these Lectures,
I am anxious to say a few words of Preface which may
tend to explain some points in them which I cannot
but fear have been somewhat misunderstood.
I do not attempt to explain more fully or to defend
more completely the main thesis of the Lectures^
namely, the maintenance of the twofold theory of the
Collective and the Personal Priesthood, or_, which is the
same thing put into a different shape, the Compatibility
of the Plenary Powers of the Universal Church dating
from the great Pentecost, with the Organic or Repre-
sentative Powers of the Priesthood, dating from the
gift of the Holy Spirit by the breath of Christ, as
recorded in the twentieth chapter of St. John.
Well aware as I am that the subject is most im-
perfectly and superficially discussed in the Lectures,
I must yet leave it as it stands, believing the view
which 1 have taken to be just and true in the main,
and if just and true, certainly important, particularly
at this time and in regard to the present circumstances
and needs of the Church.
But those circumstances bring one point of the theory
into very particular and exceptional prominence, — I mean
the position and authority of lay-people in Church
X Preface.
Councils ; and I feel very anxious to state more pre-
cisely than has been stated in the Lectures the view
which I have intended to take.
I have no idea that the lay-people ever had a dis-
tinctly consultative, still less a decisive, voice in Church
Synods. The learned argument of Mr. Joyce in his
recent letter to the Bishop of Derry establishes, what
I never doubted, the contrary. It has been no part
of my object to insinuate the opposite to his conclu-
sions ; but I have endeavoured, beginning at the be-
ginning, and tracing the course of Church proceedings
synthetically, to shew that the lay element, anciently
recognized as real, even in respect of matters of faith,
was gradually, in the course of ages, shut out more
and more, until the theory, propounded in its breadth
by Archbishop Manning, of an exclusive revelation to
the clergy ^ united to their centre'' the Bishop of Rome,
became the recognized view of the Ultramontane party
in the Church.
It has been generally held by theologians (excepting
always those of the high Roman School) that the retro-
spective acceptance of the whole Church, including
lay-people as well as clergy, is necessary in order to
give Conciliar decrees their full CEcumenical character
and weight. This view, — the view of Gerson, and his
friends at Constance, and of the Gallican Church, — of
Archbishop Laud, and the Anglican High Church,
of ' Janus^ in modern Catholic Germany, involves the
truth for which I desire to contend ; and borrowing
the sentiment of my dear friend the late Rev. John
Keble, I venture to say that if the assent of the lay-
people is thus necessary even in the highest of all
instances, the settlement of the faith, it is matter not
of principle, but of convenience and wisdom to decide
at what point, and in what proportion, this Christian
counsel shall be listened to and acknowledged.
Preface. xi
My argument in the Fourth Lecture goes no further
than this. I have urged, and I feel very deeply the
importance of the view, that the full co-operation of the
laity of the Church, — not as matter of benevolence or
bounty, but as matter of debt and duty, is not more abso-
lutely necessary in practice, than it is indispensable in
theory to the full powers and efficacy of the Church.
It formed no part of xnj p'^i^^ — indeed, it was impos-
sible in so short a sketch to deal with such things, — to
suggest when, or where, or in what proportion the lay
element should mingle with the clerical in synod or
council.
No doubt, since the publication of the Lectures, the
march of events has exhibited in a very marked way the
opposite danger ; and we are now called upon, not so
much to prove the propriety of admitting the lay
element into some proportion of counsel, as to protest
against its swallowing up and overwhelming the clerical
by mere superiority of numbers and social weight.
God forbid that any words of mine should seem to
sanction or assist so fatal a danger. If the encroach-
ment of sacerdotalism is full of evil on the one hand, the
tyranny of lay usurpation is certainly not less to be
dreaded on the other.
Our brethren in Ireland are called upon to deal mth
the practical questions arising out of this subject very
suddenly, and under circumstances of great difficulty
and discouragement. May the Holy Spirit of God
direct and sanctify their counsels, so that the grace and
wisdom of the whole body, clerical and lay, may be
united in due proportion to guide and govern its anxious
course, suddenly deprived, as it has been, of the orderly
but somewhat enervating direction of State control.
What that due proportion is, and by what means it
is to be established, it is not for me to define ; but I
will venture to say, looking to the theory as well as to
xii Preface,
the earliest practice of the Church of Christ, that while
the office of teaching helougs specially to the ordained
clergy, g*iving them the ^ prerogative ' voice in matters of
faith, the authority, even in those great things, belongs
in such sort to the universal body, as that the lay people
too, in their place and degree, have the right and duty
of sanctioning (and therefore, of course, of refusing to
sanction) the determinations of the ordained clergy ;
while in other subjects, more or less secular, their in-
fluence and counsel is of the greatest importance and
necessity.
That they should be freely elected by the members of
the Church ; that they should themselves be not mem-
bers only, but communicants ; that they should have
authority, real in all cases, but graduated according to
the nature of the cases ; that they should, at least when
required, vote separately in their own order, — all these
seem to be of the nature of principles, secondary no
doubt to the main principle, but fundamental and neces-
sary. Into further detail it is not my plan or duty to
enter. The great and pressing object, — painfully press-
ing and immediate in Ireland, hardly less pressing
though less immediate in England, is that the Church
should prepare itself to act as an united body, gathering
together its entire corporate strength, clerical and lay
alike, in due proportion, so as to be ready, whether
established or unestablished, to work with the full
powers of the Holy Spirit who, dwelling in the Church
as the soul dwells in the body, giveth to every man
severally as He willeth.
Salisbury, Dec. 22, 186;},
CONTENTS.
LECTURE I.
The Gradual Development of the Doctrine of the Holy
Spirit.
Revelation i. 4, 5.
Grace he unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and
which was, and which is to come ; and from the
seven Spirits which are before His throne ; and from
Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and tlw first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the
earth ........ Page i
LECTURE IL
The Spirit-bearing Church with its Divinely constituted
Organs.
St. .Tohn i. 32, 33.
And John bear record, saying, I saw the Spirit de-
scending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
Him, And I knew Him not : but He that sent me
to bajytize tvith water, the same said unto me. Upon
whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and re-
maining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with
the Holy Ghost . . . . . . -33
xiv Contents.
LECTURE III.
The Teaching and Authority of the Apostles.
I Corinthians iii. 21-23.
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are
yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cej^has, or the
world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to
corns; all are yours ; and ye are Chrisis ; and Christ
is God's 62
LECTURE IV.
The Ecclesiastical, or Post-apostolic Teaching of the
Church.
1 Timothy iii. 1 5.
The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of
the truth ........ 94
LECTURE V.
Holy Baptism.
St. Matthew xxviii. 18-20.
And Je^s came and spake unto them^ saying. All power
is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye there-
fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, amd of the Holy Ghost :
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
com^manded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world . . . . .128
Contents. xv
LECTURE VI.
The Holy Communion.
I COEINTHIANS X. 1 7.
For we being many are one hread, and one body : for we
are all partakers of that one bread . . . -159
LECTURE VIL
Ordination and Absolution.
St. Luke xii. 41, 42.
Then Peter said unto Uim, Lord^ speakest Thou this
parable unto us, or even to all ? And the Lord said.
Who then is that faithful and wise steward, Ivhom his
lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them
their portion of meat in due season ? . . .192
LECTURE VIIL
The Personal Priesthood.
I COEINTHIANS xii. 1 3.
For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, wlietlier we be bond
or free ; and Jiave been all made to drink into one
Spirit 225
LECTURE I.
THE GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOCTRINE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Grace he unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and
which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his
throne ; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the
first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. —
Rev. i. 4, 5.
/""iOD, tlie object of human worship, the Creator and
Governor of the worlds, and the Author and Giver
of all good, is naturally conceived of by the human
understanding as One.
Whether we regard the religion of the nations exterior
to the chosen people as derived from primitive know-
ledge, or in any way evolved by human thought from
man's natural instinct, or by his argument from the
observation of nature, alike the religious conviction at
which he originally, essentially, and naturally arrives,
is that the supreme God is One. Primitive knowledge
of course can know but of one, and the philosophy of
B
K
2 Oneness of God. [lect.
causes stops irrationally short of its own necessary con-
clusion if it fails to reach one. Even the existence
of evil, embarrassing as it is to the natural religionist,
is, in itself, rather a difficulty to be accounted for than
any kind of counter-argument or disproof of the Oneness
of God.
Poljrfcheism is the corruption — it may probably have
begun by being the fanciful deduction — from Mono-
theism. Even in the classical Polytheism there is a
deep central Monotheism which underlies the whole
fanciful system of gods many and lords many. Un-
identified into distinct doctrine, more or less lost sight
of amid the names^ natures^ and offices assigned to
separate deities — God, as distinct from Jupiter, Apollo^
or Minerva — God, the Maker, Disposer^ and Governor
of all things^ the Being whose Utterance is Fate, is an
idea^ half seen as it were, and so to say, looking out
from curtains,, yet not unfamiliar to the minds of the
great writers of antiquity,
God in His Unity^ One God, and none other equal
or co-ordinate with Him^ is the basis of all real religion^
natural or revealed.
If religion is to rule and govern the whole heart of
man_, so that no part nor portion of his complex being
is to lack its due relation to God and heaven ; if, again,
true religion can be but one to all men, so that all
men ought to bear one only relation, of worship, love,
and obedience to Him, — there cannot be conceived to
i.] The First Age : the Father. 3
be any plurality, any diversity in God the object of that
universal worship, love, and obedience. If the allegiance
be one and utterly the same that is required from all
men in all their nature, the object of that allegiance
must be utterly one. The moment that the mind con-
ceives more than a single object of religious allegiance,
the allegiance itself is shattered, the aim divided ; it
becomes a duty to serve two masters ; the entire conse-
cration of the heart to God is made impossible.
That which we thus regard as the basis of all true
worship whatever, was also, as a matter of history, the
beginning of the worship of the True God in that choseu
portion of mankind among whom the traditions of ori-
ginal religion were retained, and to whom the subsequent
revelations of God^s truth and will were made.
It has pleased God to make Himself known among
them in three ages.
The first age of Divine knowledge and worship, be-
ginning at the creation of man, may be understood to
have extended up to the coming of Christ. If a more
exact date be required, it may be found in the birth
of the Baptist*, or his preaching (^ the Law and the
Prophets were until John, since then the kingdom of
God is preached b'), or in the Incarnation of our Lord,
or His Crucifixion, or His Resurrection, or His Ascen-
* 'Apx'^ "^ov evayyfXlov 'Irjffov XpitTTov, Tlov tov ©eoO iyevfTo
'laafj/rjs fiami^wv /c.t.A. St. Mark i. 1.
«> St. Luke xvi. 16.
B 2
4 The First Age: the Father. [lect.
sion, or in the descent of the Holy Ghost^ or rather, in
all these dates together — for inchoate in the first of
them^ and growing more complete in each that succeeds,
it was not finally estahlished till the last of them was
fulfilled.
One God— 'The Lord thy God, O Israel, is One God'
— One God amid the gods many and lords many whom
the nations had devised and were bowing down to, was
the God of Adam, of Seth, of Enoch, of Noah, of Mel-
chizedech — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the
' I am ' of Moses and Aaron, the memorial, the boast,
and the defence of the nation that was called by His
Name.
To believe in One God, eternal, self-being, almighty,
to trust in His love and providence, to pray to Him
for help and forgiveness, to obey His laws, to keep His
commandments, to submit in resignation and conformity
to His will, to refrain from all idea of dividing the
worship and duty, of right His, to any other being,
whether as rival or mediator — this drawn out into
moral details by the traditional law of primitive religion,
and into a multitude of ceremonial details by the Law
of Moses, may be understood as the summary of all
religion during the first age. The object of religion
was the one, undivided, undistinguished Godhead. True
religion, whether more or less enlightened by immediate
direction from heaven, consisted in the due relation of
man to that one, undistinguished, undivided Godhead.
I.] Indications of the Second Age. 5
It is conceivable that this simple knowledge^ and with
it this simple worship of God in His absolute and un-
distinguished unity, might have been all that man in
his life on earth might have needed, if he had remained
in his original uprightness, and had never fallen. That
which sufficed for unfallen Adam might probably have
sufficed for all his unfallen progeny.
It is a deep and just thought that as the fall of man
necessitated the separate operation of the Three Persons
of the most holy Trinity to restore him to the favour
of God and salvation, so the doctrine of the most holy
Trinity, first in its anticipations supporting the hopeful
faith of patriarchs, and afterwards in its full develop-
ment, became also the basis — more than the basis, the
summary — of all Divine revelation, in the faith of which
mankind should obtain that favour and that salvation c.
Accordingly, from the very time of the fall of man,
there begin to appear in the records of inspiration in-
dications, dim indeed, casual as it were and indistinct,
which read by the light of after-knowledge, are seen to
indicate the future development of the unity of the
Godhead into more than a single Person.
These nevertheless were for the most part (perhaps it
may be truly said altogether) understood by those to
whom they were addressed, perhaps by those by whose
lips they were spoken, without any such meaning. If,
for example, Moses wrote ' God said, let us make man
c Vide Note A.
6 Gradual Indications of [lect.
in our own image'*/ we cannot suppose that either Moses
or the Jews divined the deep and naturally undiscover-
able meaning in them, which the Christian revelation
illuminating makes visible to our eyes.
In like manner, if it is recorded that three [men]
stood by Abraham at his tent door ^, and that he bowed
himself toward the door, and said, ^ My Lord, if now I
have found favour in Thy sight, pass not away I pray
Thee from Thy servant ' — although the Patriarch's
words, spoken no doubt by the Spirit of God, indicated
a truth which they did not declare, of Three in One,
yet we may not imagine that either Abraham who spoke
them, or the Jews who read them, conceived accurately
the profound meaning of the words which his tongue
was thus guided to utter.
Gradually however, as the great promise of a Re-
deemer came to be more fully given, particulars were
added by prophet after prophet which brought out with
more and more clearness— at least to our eyes, looking
back upon the words, and reading them by the light
of our own knowledge — the idea of a distinction of
Persons in the sacred unity of God.
' The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on My right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool^.' No
doubt the Jews had not thought out the problem, 'If
David call Him Lord, how is He then his Son ? ' yet
there lay the Divine doctrine all but apparent, like
d Gen. i. 26. e Ibid, xviii. 2. f Pa. ex. 1 ; St. Matt. xxii. 45.
ij the Second Age: the Son. 7
a diamond in a mine, waiting only for the ray from
heaven to make it reflect the Divine truth with un-
mistaken brightness.
The Child to be born^ whose Name should be called
'Wonderful^ Counsellor, the Mighty God_, the Ever-
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace ^ ' — the ' Son of the
Virgin whose Name should be called Immanuel^ which
being interpreted is, God with us ^ ' — the ^ Rod out of
the stem of Jesse V on whom the sevenfold Spirit of
Jehovah should abide — the Branch of righteousness to
grow up unto David, who should bear the name of
Jehovah our Righteousness'', He whom the Angels of
God should worship, whose throne is for ever and ever,
who in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of His hands'; — the
Person, I say, whom these and many, other such pas-
sages of the Prophets designated in such terms, must
needs, we might have thought, have been looked forward
to (had not the veil lain upon the hearts of the people
and their teachers) as God, and yet not as utterly iden-
tical, or to be confused with the Divine Father.
All these sayings however, clear as they seem in the
retrospect, assuredly did not, even if they conceivably
could have done so, set clearly before the minds of
the Jews that which they speak with unquestionable
distinctness to ours. Nor when the actual fulfilment
K Isa. ix. 6, h Ibid. vii. U. i Ibid. xi. 1, 2.
k Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. i Heb. i. 6, 8, 10.
8 The Second Age: the Son. [LECT.
began, and the Son of God, having" taken man's nature
upon Him in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, of her
substance, came among men, the anciently predicted
Immanuel, did the doctrine of God in more than a
single Person present itself to the possessors of the
ancient Scriptures as one for which they were at all
prepared by the study of the prophecies. It is true
of course that they wished and hoped for a temporal
Messiah, and it is correspondingly true that the low
estate and personal meekness of the Messiah when
He came set them upon blaspheming, and at last
putting to death, the Son of Man, who seemed to dis-
appoint those hopes and wishes. But independently
of all this, sayings such as 'I and My Father are
One ; ' ' My Father worketh hitherto, and I work ; '
' Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man coming in the
clouds of Heaven ; ' ' The Son of Man which is in
Heaven ; ' * What and if ye shall see the Son of Man
ascend up where He was before ; ' ' Say ye of Him
whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the
world. Thou blasphemest, because I said I am the Son
of God;' 'The Father is in Me, and I in Him"';'—
certainly did not strike on the minds of the hearers as
being what they were prepared by the prophecies to hear
from the lips of any one, whoever he might be, and of
whatever dignity or power.
m St. John x. 30, v. 17 J St. Matt. xxvi. 64 ; St. John iii, 13, vi. 62,
X. 34, xvii, 21.
I.] The Second Age : the Son. 9
No ; the truth seems to be this : — Till the second
age of the development of the doctrine of God had
actually taken place; nay more, till the Lord Himself
was on the point of leaving the earth in the fleshy and
spoke the words which alone, so far as I know, contain
in a collected form the doctrine of the separate Persons
in the Godhead — ^ Baptizing them into the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost "/
and till the actual descent of the Holy Ghost on the
day of Pentecost, bringing all things to the Apostles'*
minds which the Lord had said unto them, taught them
the meaning of these things and thereby guided them
into all truth, — none knew fully, not even the Apostles
themselves (as we may judge from a multitude of in-
stances both of their conduct and their sayings even to
the last), that God had revealed Himself to them in
another Person, and that He with whom they had
companied in those years when He went in and out
among them, was the Eternal Son, by whom all things
were made, of one substance, power, and eternity with
the Father, true Jehovah.
It is beside my present purpose to enter more fully
into the consideration of this, which I have called the
second age of the development of the doctrine of God
— the age of Immanuel, God among men. It was
necessary that Christ should be born, and suffer, and
rise again from the dead the third day°. It was neces-
n St. Matt, xxviii. 9. o St. Luke xxiv. 26, 46.
10 The Second Age : the Son. [lect.
sary that He should not only give us the pattern of sin-
less obedience and perfect holiness, but that He should
also bear our sins in His own body on the tree, giving
His life a ransom for many^ reconciling God to sinners
by reconciling sinners to GodP, blotting out upon the
Cross the handwriting that was against us q, the fatal
indictment of our guilt. It was necessary. And God
forbid that in our pride of shallow reasoning we should
attempt to question the necessity of that Divine Sacri-
fice, or its efiicacy for our salvation ! If the atonement
of Christ for sin, the purchase of the souls and bodies
of men by His Blood shed upon the Cross, be not the
truth, the very truth, of God, then is the Church of God
mistaken from the beginning; nor is there any word
or record of God safe from the arts of those who would
elevate their own philosophy into the ultimate criterion
of all truth, and the only reasonable rule of all belief.
As it was with the gradual announcements of the
second age of the Divine development, so was it also
with the third. Not in the same number indeed, nor
with anything like the same fulness and distinctness, as
in the case of the Person of the Son of God, but still
neither unfrequently nor indistinctly when we come to
look back upon them, the being of a third Person in the
holy Godhead and the offices of the Holy Spirit had
been indicated in the ancient Scriptures.
p 1 St. Peter ii. 24 ; St. Matt. xx. 28 ; Kom. v. 6-11.
1 Col. ii. 14.
I.] Indications of tlie Third Age. ir
All expressions — and there are many such — signify-
ing a plurality in God_, still more such as give indi-
cation of three, may be taken as instances of the first
kind. Some of these I have already referred to. When,
again, we read that the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters ; that God by His Spirit garnished
the heavens '* ; that the hosts of heaven were made by
the breath or spirit of His mouth; that the Lord God
and His Spirit sent the Prophet Isaiah ^ ; that the Spirit
of the Lord departed from Saul t ; that God put His
Holy Spirit in Moses; that the Israelites rebelled and
grieved the Holy Spirit " ; that the Lord's Spirit should
not always strive with men^; that it should come to
pass afterwards that God should pour His Spirit upon
the seed of Jacob y; that He should pour out His Spirit
upon all flesh, so that their sons and their daughters
should prophesy; and that upon the servants and the
handmaids He should pour out His Spirit''; — when, I
say, we read expressions like these, and you well know
how numerous they are in the Old Testament, while we
acknowledge that the Jews understood them of God
Himself, without conceiving the least idea of any dis-
tinction of Persons in the single Godhead, yet neither
is it to be denied that such expressions read by the light
of subsequent revelation do reflect the sacred Truth of
' Gen. i. 2; Job xxvi. 13. « Isa. xlviii. 16.
t 1 Sam. xvi. 14. " Isa. Ixiii. 10, 11. " Gen. vi 3.
y Isa. xliv. 3. ^ Joel ii. 28.
12 Indications of the [LECT.
God^ and show how from the beginning' the develop-
ment of the great doctrine of the three Persons in the
one Godhead, has been gradual and uniform.
"^ The indications of the third age, the age of the Holy-
Spirit, occur more frequently and more decisively from
the early part of our Lord^s own history, and in the first
three Gospels. They begin with the conception and
birth of Christ : ' The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee :
therefore also the Holy Thing that shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God*;^ *Fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost ^/ The preaching of the
Baptist brings forcibly out the great contrast between
his baptizing and the Lord^s. 'I indeed baptize you
with water; but One mightier than I cometh, the
latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose : He
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire ^/
The separate personality of the Holy Spirit comes out
with great clearness in the narrative of the Lord's
baptism, giving indication at the same time of a future
dispensation of the Spirit : ' Upon whom thou shalt see
the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same
is He which baptizeth witE~the Holy Ghost <l/ His
dignity, again, as well as His personality, is remarkably
shown in the contrast taken by the Lord between the
a St. Luke i. 35. i> St. Matt. i. 20.
c St. Luke iii. 16. d gt. John i. 33.
L] Third Age: the Holy Ghost, 13
degrees of sin incurred by blasphemy against the Son of
Man and blasphemy against the Holy Ghost ®.
The commentary of St. John on the Lord^s promise of
the rivers of living water '', given on the great day of the
Feast of Tabernacles, is very much to my present point.
For they show how words of the Lord in which no express
mention is made of the Holy Spirit — ' He that believeth
on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water ^ — together with the whole
set of passages of the Old Testament which are to be
adduced as explaining the words S ('as the Scripture
hath said'), when interpreted by the inspired Apostle,
are found to have meant nothing less than the un-
questionable declaration of the coming dispensation of
the Holy Spirit. ' This spake He of the Spirit, which
they that believe on Him should receive ; for the Holy
Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not
yet glorified.' And in the first commission of the
Twelve, in words however which belong also to their
ultimate mission as apostles into all the world, they are
bidden to take no thought when they are delivered up,
how or what they shall speak, ' for it shall be given you
in that same hour, what ye shall speak. For it is not ye
that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speak-
eth in you^'
e St. Matt. xii. 32. f St. John vii. 39.
K Isa. xii. 3, xxxv. 6, 7, xliii. 19, xliv. 3 ; Joel ii. 28 ; Zech. xii. ] 0,
xiv. 8. Cf. St. John iv. 14. ^ St. Matt. x. 20.
14 The Third Age : the Holy Ghost. [lect.
But all the previous intimations of the coming dis-
pensation of the Holy Spirit are of minor importance in
comparison with the full outpouring of information upon
the subject given by our Lord Himself in that solemn
discourse held on the eve of the Crucifixion, and recorded
in the thirteenth and following chapters of St. John.
It is not needful to quote at length such well-known
words : let it suffice to say summarily that the Lord
promises another Paraclete besides Himself, to comfort
them when He is gone; that in the coming of that
Paraclete, both the Father and the Son should dwell
with and in the people of God, and that, so truly and
closely that they might be said to see the Lord again in
that indwelling, that He should teach them all things,
even things to come, and bring all things to their re-
membrance whatsoever He had said unto them ; that
He should convict the world of sin, and fully teach them
the great topics of righteousness and judgment, and that
His own departure in the flesh was absolutely needful
before this Paraclete could come, or ^ that day' of peace,
of comfort, and enlightenment dawn upon the inherit-
ance of God i.
With these preliminary announcements and prepara-
tions, after the Apostles had waited, in great uncer-
tainty as it would seem, respecting the nature of that
'power from on high,^ and ' the promise of the Father,^
for ten days since the Lord^s Ascension into heaven, the
i St. John xiv. 16, 19, 23, 26, xvi. 7, 8.
I.] The Third Age: the Holy Ghost. 15
Holy Ghost descended on the great day of Pentecost.
A sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind, an
appearance of separate tongues, like as of fire, which sat
upon each of them, and they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost.
At that moment, the third age of the development of
God for the restoration of the world finally began ; never
to come to an end or to be superseded upon the earth till
the restitution of all things, when the Son of Man should
come again in the clouds of Heaven, in like manner as
the disciples had recently seen Him go into Heaven.
This third age crowns, but in no respect supersedes,
the other two. God the Father is still the Creator, the
great object of all true worship, the beginning of all
things, the Father of Christians (being the Father of
Christ), the Giver of the Holy Ghost. The Son is still
our only Redeemer, our Lord, and our God. Though
absent from us in the flesh for our good. He is still ever
present with us. He walketh among us, and in our
churches ; when we meet, two or three, to pray in His
name. He is in the midst of us. He is in our poor, in
our sick, and in our suffering people. If any despise or
persecute even His little ones, it is He who is despised
and persecuted. He is with us even unto the end of the
world.
But the most immediate, characteristic, and peculiar
presence of God among us in this the third age, is His
presence in the Holy Spirit.
1 6 The Age of the Holy Ghost. [lect.
The Holy Spirit dwelt in the Redeemer Himself with-
out measure or degree, sanctifying and making holy in
the most perfect manner the Man Christ Jesus. Of that
fulness the Lord breathed upon the Apostles even be-
fore the Ascension. When on the day of Pentecost the
Holy Spirit came down in the fuller and more peculiar
manner that characterizes His presence in the Church,
the Church received the full gift which her Lord had
partially bestowed upon her before; and in that pre-
sence she retained His presence also. Thenceforward,
the Spirit sanctifying the Church at large and the se-
parate members of it_, Christ walked in the Church, and
the separate members became Christ-bearing; Christ
being formed in themJ, according to the language of
St. Paul in the Epistle to the Galatiahs, by the Holy
Spirit.
Thenceforward, I say, the Holy Spirit dwelt in the
Church of Christ, dwelling in the separate souls of
Christian people. Great words these, brethren, and
very wonderful words ! — which, though they be the
expression of the ordinary belief of Christians ever so
slightly learned in the mysteries of the Christian faith,
contain in them the germ of all the deep questions on
the subject of God and man which have perplexed, and
will no doubt continue to perplex, tbe minds of men till
the end of time.
That God should create at all, and make a world —
J Gal. iv. 19.
I.] ExU'eme Mystery of tJie Doctrine. ij
obvious and undeniable as is the fact that He has done
so — is a truth in which lie embedded all the endless
controversies of the relation which the absolute bears to
the finite.
That God who is a Spirit, should yet be three in
Person, of whom one should be in some specific sense
the Holy Spirit, is a mystery purely of Revelation, and
therefore one which, when once stated in such terms as
are made known to us, we can no further explain or
elucidate.
That God who is a Spirit, almighty, original, eternal,
should have created other spirits, as of angels and men,
and created them free agents — agents capable of free
obedience or free transgression — agents capable of coun-
teracting His will, and doing what He would fain have
not done, — is a mystery of natural religion and philo-
sophy so profound as altogether to baffle, as it seems to
me, all attempt to fathom or comprehend its marvellous-
ness. It is the very wonder of omnipotence. If we could
comprehend it as clearly as we necessarily and by the
force of reason and instinct accept and believe it, we
should have mastered in their very germ the endless
questions of foreknowledge and freedom, predestination
and free-will, which are not so properly questions of
Revelation, as corollaries of the one great question,
How it can be that the Supreme Spirit, unfettered by
any conditions, or laws, or principles, save those of
goodness and truth, which are part of His own essential
1 8 Mystery of the creation [lect.
Being", can have created other beings, to be (under what-
ever conditions, laws^ and principles) beings possessed of
a freedom given and created by Himself^ and yet in its
exercise independent of Himself, beings capable of think-
ing and doing that which He would fain they did not do,
and introducing evil into His world.
With most of these questions we have at present no
concern. It is suiEcient to have indicated where their
sources lie. But in the last of them our present interest
is nearer; for many of the points on which we shall
have to speak in connexion with the subject of the
administration of the Holy Spirit in the Church of
Christ, become, I will not say more easy, but less liable
to unnecessary and irrelevant difficulty, if we endeavour
to fix our thoughts for a while on the original mystery
— the mystery of the Omnipotent and Omnipresent
Spirit creating subordinate spirits, localized in space,
limited in capacities and powers, in the midst of all
the conditions arising from their forming a part in a
great and multifarious world, and free — free to obey, or
disobey, to act out their Creator's design and will in
creating them, or to run counter to it.
Let us think for a few moments of ourselves. I feel
that whatever be the precise nature or powers of that
which I call my spirit, it lives in this body. Though
it be ever so diverse in its own kind from the nature
of the body, yet strictly and absolutely within it it
has its present necessary abode. From the body as
t] of agents free to sin. 19
from a centre^ with the body as with an instrument,
it sees, thinks, energizes. So subtle is the union which
it has with the body, that I cannot by any delicacy of
anatomy or self-inspection trace the frontier line at
which actions in which body and spirit are both engaged
pass from the one to the other. With the health of my
body, my spirit is light, vigorous, lively ; with the decay
or sickness of my body, the functions of my spirit are
languid and feeble, and unequal to their usual activity.
My body is in all points such as other bodies are. It
has no freedom. The blood which circulates in my
veins, circulates by a force and under a law independent
of my knowledge and will, and only recently discovered
by my kind. The food that I eat, the motions of which
my limbs are capable, the growth that I have reached,
all the details of my bodily being, are part of the great
irrational and imfree system of things which I see round
about me in heaven and earth, in mineral, in plant, in
animal, according to their various kinds. But within
this body — where I know not, and how I know not —
there dwells a being of a totally different kind and
dignity from this outward frame which I call my body.
Affected by the body, confined in the body, acting with
the body so closely and subtilly that I cannot with any
minute accuracy distinguish their operations, this spirit
that is within me is a wonderful — the most wonderful —
creation of the God of heaven and earth. I can do
what no plant, nor mineral, nor animal, however great
c %
20 Mystery of the creation [lect.
their so-called powers of instinct, can do. I can sin.
I can rebel. I can fly in the face of the God that made
me. There dwells in my body a free being — decayed,
I am informed, and degenerate from the type in which
God made my first father, and, as I feelingly know,
much more inclined to sin than to obedience, to evil
than to good, yet not so far altered from that primal
type as to be otherwise than a free being, — sharing,
therein, the kind of angels, sharing, if it may be said
with reverence, the kind of God, — free, within limits,
no doubt, and surrounded by all sorts of impassable
and inevitable conditions, but free, God, the Omni-
potent Spirit, who made me, who surrounds me with all
the manifold conditions of my being, who is Himself
round me, near me, watching me, trying me, does not
naturally nor ordinarily interfere with my freedom. He
might fill me with Himself. He might supersede all
the powers and the powers of choice which He has given
me. He might so far occupy with His operation my
still uncoerced will, making my free soul beat so abso-
lutely true to airs divine as that there should be only
the possibility, not the likelihood, scarcely the danger,
of its running counter to His own most good and holy
will. How near to this perfection of a free creature He
made our first parents I know not. Certainly I suppose
that they in yielding to temptation departed more grossly,
more sinfully, more wantonly from their naturally high
and pure estate than their decayed descendants do when
I.] of agents free to sin, 2 1
in their unfeebled and degenerate state tliey yield to
the like temptations; — just as I imagine there never
could be conceived to be any sin so utterly sinful and
shocking as that of the rebel angels. But whatever was
the primal condition of our first parents, and the re-
lation in which their free spirits stood to the almighty
creating Spirit who made them and pronounced them
' very good/ there can be no doubt that from the fall
of man, and as regards the descendants of Adam, the
state of things has been materially and grievously
changed. The free spirits of men, visited as we know
occasionally, and as we may suppose not unfrequently,
by the influence of the Almighty Spirit, so as to think
thoughts above their own thoughts, and speak words
above their own words, were still in the main left to
themselves. The temptations to which they were ex-
posed had become heavier, nearer, more numerous by
far than before. The strength was less. The simple
directness of the will was warped. The free, created
spirit fell continually. No longer harmonizing in all
its movements with the almighty creating Spirit, it in-
curred extreme corruption of sin ; and the habits of sin,
growing on from father to son, pervaded large tracts of
humankind with an awful degeneracy from which the
spirit of man himself could in no wise rescue or restore
itself.
It seems to me to be important to keep asunder in
thought the natural energies of the spirit of man from
22 Decayed state of created [LECT,
the supernatural energies produced by the direct infusion
or influence of the Holy Spirit of God. Difficult as it
isj or impossible in particular cases to distinguish them,
yet in reality they are different, and in thought may
easily be kept unconfused. The free, created spirit of
man, the wonderful work of God, has its own powers ;
and these, differing greatly in different individuals, are
sometimes capable of extraordinary efforts, which never-
theless lie altogether within the scope of the natural
powers of humankind. It seems to me to be a mere
rhetorical confusion, capable however of leading to very
mischievous consequences, to regard the intellectual
achievements of great men, as of Homer, of Milton, or
of Newton, as aught but natural achievements, or to
attribute them in any strict sense to the infusion, or
inspiration, or whatever other word be preferred, of the
Holy Spirit of God.
However, it is, I suppose, to be believed, that the
decayed moral nature of man after the Fall was saved
by some interposition on the part of the Creator from
exhibiting the full effects of corruption. It is difficult
to reconcile the extreme and hideous sin which reigned
far and wide in the heathen world with the high
thoughts of moralists and poets, and the conscience of
good and the loftier feelings which here and there we
become aware of in the conduct and sentiments of in-
dividuals, unless we believe that while the decay was
very great indeed, and the deffection from the original
I.] spirits since the Fall. 23
state of good, the merciful Creator, who among the
Jews was preparing a restoration for the whole race,
was upholding, beyond their nature, the heathen nations
also from sinking, like the evil spirits, to a depth of
debasement which should be too low to be restored.
However this may be, there can be no doubt that
even in the first age, as I have called it, of the develop-
ment of the doctrine of God, when He was hitherto
known among men only as the single creating Spirit,
it pleased Him, in some way not natural but super-
natural, to infuse into the spirits of some men a light
or power which was not their own, nor part nor conse-
quence of their own originally-bestowed faculties, but
God^s. The holy men of old in the Jewish Church,
speaking as they were moved by the Holy Ghost '^, not
improbably sibyls and priests of the heathens, uttering
unconsciously words not their own, passed over the
limits of the natural powers of their kind, and with more
or less of unconsciousness gave utterance to that which
was put into their mouths by the almighty Spirit who
created them, and at other times left them to the natural
operation of their own powers.
Now what I wish particularly to observe at this point
of my argument is, that the uninfluenced freedom of
the spirit of a man is a considerably more difficult
thought than that such spirit should receive from the
almighty creating Spirit help, or influence, or direction.
k 2 St. Pet. i. 21.
24 Credibility of Divine help [lect.
It is more hard to conceive that the created spirit of
a man^ particularly in its decayed and degenerate state,
when the imaginations of his heart are only evil con-
tinually, should be absolutely left to the free working
of its own natural powers, than that the Creator- Spirit
should in some way occupy, enlighten, strengthen,
straighten it. His work it is, even in its decay. He
designs and wills its restoration. He is round it, with
it, entirely conscious of its inmost secrets. He can, if
He will, pervade it wholly. If He will. He can by
a mere act of power replace or recreate it in its pristine
perfection. Surely supernatural aid from the Creating
Spirit is not a thought which ought to be considered
a strange, still less an incredible one. On the contrary,
looking, as we are looking, at the original relation of
the creating and created spirits, it would seem to be
a very credible and likely thing that, beyond and above
the natural powers of the kind, God should ' inspire ■*
some or many of them, according to His will, in such
ways as might tend to keep the race to which He was
continually adding multitudes of fresh souls, all debased
and at enmity with Himself, from falling utterly and
hopelessly away, and so should prepare the restoration
which in His infinite mercy He had always designed.
But while we speak of the Divine Spirit, omnipotent
and omnipresent, as able to impart of His own powers,
strength, light, knowledge not their own into the free
spirits of men whom He created, whereby He may more
I.] to degenerated spirits. 25
or less completely occupy them^ dwell in them, and fill
them with Himself, let it not be supposed for a moment
that any portion of such power belongs to any created
spirits whatever, whether obedient and retaining still
their first estate •, or disobedient and fallen. No angel
nor devil has any gift of ubiquity. If any created spirit
be in one place, he is not in another. If he is busy pro-
tecting or endangering the soul of one, he is not with
another. Moreover, no created spirit can penetrate, or
enter into, or fill, or possess by actual indwelKng the
spirit of a man. The good spirits derive their holiness
from the Holy Spirit. As to the evil spirits, from
whom all such aid has been wholly withdrawn, and
who are thereby left to the unmitigated badness and
misery of free spirits in rebellion, we know indeed
that they have been allowed to dwell in the bodies of
men, as Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, inflaming
desires, suggesting thoughts, creating opportunities and
offering excuses for sin. But the free spirit of a man is
not liable to direct invasion or occupation by any created
spirit whatever ™. It may, no doubt, enslave itself. It
may yield and yield till it is in no sense its own master
any longer. The evil spirit may thus have mastered it
and reduced it to hopeless captivity. Yet even then, in
this consummation of the victory of evil, it is a victory
from without. The free spirit has put on bondage.
But the Holy, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Spirit of the
1 Vide Note B, m Vide Note C.
26 Creator-Spirit alone ubiquitous, omnipotent, [lect.
Most High God can if He will, and as He will, inspire
and sanctify, or occupy and utterly fill the spirits of all,
men and angels, whom He has created. If He be in one
Spirit, He is not less in another. If it be true that He
is still, in these days, far from the spirits of the heathen,
or dealing with them only in occasional visitations as
with the heathen in the days before Christ, He is not
the less dwelling in the Church and the members of the
Church, not less in the souls of the departed just than
in those who are still fighting in His strength the battle
of God against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
And this we believe that the Holy Spirit of God
doeth, in this the third age of the development of the
doctrine of God, to the Church of God in general, and
to the separate souls of Christian men and women. We
believe that as He dwelt in Christ without measure, so,
but in measure. He dwelleth in the souls of Christian
people, whereby they are no longer in the simple natural
state in which they were born, but in a new and super-
natural state. What the powers and what the privileges
are of this new state, and how they are communicated
to Christ^s people, I propose to discuss in the succeeding
discourses. Suffice it for the present to say, that in this
indwelling, and in all the great things that belong to it,
consists the operation whereby mankind, lost in Adam,
are to be restored in Christ. Innocent and unfallen,
man only knew the Father. What other revelations
might have been designed for him, and when and how
I.] upward course of the knowledge of God. 27
to be made^ we know not. It was in the course of his
restoration from the state of loss and ruin that he came
to know of the other holy Persons^ and of their separate
action on his behalf. ^ The upward course of the know-
ledge of God/ says the great St. Basil_, ^ begins from the
One Spirit, and through the One Son, reaches to the
One Father. And reversely, the downward course of
goodness, and the natural order of sanctification, and
the kingly dignity, beginning from the Father, reaches
through the Son, to the Spirit °.'
Thus has God, who before the Fall was at one with
His human children, filling them with His Holy Spirit,
and keeping them in all innocent goodness, so that their
will was altogether at one with His will, since the Fall
gradually brought them near to Himself, bringing there-
by Himself near to them ; — in the first age their distant
Father, accepting their worship through priests, giving
to His chosen people, and perhaps to others, occasional
indications of His will, keeping mankind from total ruin
and the condition of devils, sustaining hopes more and
less distinct of a restoration to be wrought afterwards ;
— in the second age, their Brother, their Friend, their
Example, their Atoning Sacrifice, their Risen Lord and
King ; — in the third age, their close, inward, heart-
sanctifying Inmate, the source of all Divine strength,
and all acceptable service. And so, restored and sanc-
tified man returns by gradual ascent upward to the
n Vide Note D.
2S Upward course of the knowledge of God. [lect.
Father. ' For,' as St. Basil says again, * receiving the
gifts, we first meet Him who distributeth them [the
Spirit] : next we apprehend Him who sent Him [the
Son] ; and so we lift our thought to the first Fountain
and Cause of all good things^ [the Father] o.
I forbear all attempt to speculate on the mysterious
language of the Holy Scriptures respecting the seven-
fold nature of the Holy Spirit, so remarkably foreshown
in the golden candlestick of the seven lamps in the
tabernacle Pj in the prophecies of Isaiah and Zeehariah,
and referred to over and over again in the Book of the
Revelation of St. John, indicating^ as it might seem, yet
some further mystery — to be revealed, it may be, here-
after — in the being of God. Nor will I endeavour to
come to any clear understanding of the manner or way
in which we may conceive the Holy Omnipotent Spirit
to act upon the free subordinate spirits which He has
created. What is the precise meaning, for example,
of being born of the Spirit, I suppose we cannot dis-
cover ; nor is it important to enquire. We can under-
stand with sufficient clearness what would be the con-
dition of a free subordinate spirit left absolutely to the
workings of its own will. We can understand how, if
the will be warped, or evil, it might sink down into
utter and unlimited ruin and despite of God. On the
o Vide Note E.
p Exod. XXV. 31, 37 ; Isa. xi. 2 ; Zech. iv. 2 ; Rev. i. 4^ iii. 1,
iv. 5, V. 6.
I.] General conceptions of spiritual help. 29
other hand^ we can conceive^ sufficiently at least for our
purpose, that God may, if He will, repair it anew in its
original goodness and strength; or how, short of this,
He may, if He will, fortify it with powers not its own
in its feebleness and danger ; that He may do so in
degrees varying from the faintest whispers of good, the
slightest and most occasional help, to the fullest occu-
pation and, so to speak, repletion with Himself, making
man not less man, but as it were Divine q. We can
sufficiently understand the difference between such help
as is occasional and uncovenanted, and such as is per-
manent and promised. Nor is there any difficulty in
conceiving that help given in the permanent and pro-
mised way may be gradually taken away if misused and
neglected, and so, the Divine and supernatural element
once infused into the spirit of man, gradually and totally
withdrawn. And such general conceptions will suffice
to enable us to understand practically the expressions of
Holy Scripture, when we read of the birth of the Spirit,
being filled with the Spirit, speaking by the Spirit, the
Spirit speaking in men, grieving or quenching the
Spirit, or the Spirit not always striving with man.
The operations of the Holy Spirit, whether in the
Church at large or in the separate hearts of Christians,
are secret, invisible, and at least ordinarily undistinguish-
able by any inward consciousness from the natural work-
ing of the mind of man. But lest that which is thus
1 2 St. Pet. i. 4.
30 Outward assurances of spiritual help. [lect.
invisible should for that reason be disbelieved^ or coun-
terfeitedj or in any of the various ways in which human
incredulity or human enthusiasm might do it wrong,
abused to the injury of man, it has pleased God to bind
His invisible operations to outward and visible methods,
which give assurance of that of which otherwise we
might be uncertain. The great channel whereby the
invisible Spirit is communicated to men is the Holy
Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, visible, to
be recognized of all men, a city set upon a hill. The
assurance of the first gift of the invisible Spirit to the
separate human spirit, is to be seen in the water and the
sacred words which by Christ's institution convey and
accompany the birth of the Spirit. The assurance of
the life and growth of the Holy Spirit, of the con-
tinuing love and favour of God, and of our being very
members incorporate in the body of Christ which is the
blessed company of all faithful people, is in the faithful
partaking of the blessed eucharistic bread and wine,
which communicate the spiritual food of the body and
blood of Christ, and unite us more closely than anything
else on earth with God. The proof that we are not
under delusion in believing ourselves thus helped by the
invisible Spirit, and gradually drawing nearer to God
and heaven, is to be found in the fruits of the Spirit, in
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance'*. So mercifully is the
' Gal. V. 22.
I.] Plan of tJu Lectures. 31
viewless operation of the Spirit, invisible to others^ un-
felt in ourselves,, bound to things which we can hear and
see, and surelj know, in order that the humble spirit of
a Christian man, walking before God in patient and
orderly ways^ may receive the blessed assurance that
by the working of God he is being drawn up to high
and heavenly things^ and gradually becoming more
assimilated to the likeness of his Lord.
I propose in the ensuing Lectures to trace in some
degree the administration of the Holy Spirit in the body
of Christj to trace it from the unmeasured fulness with
the Holy Spirit dwelling in Christ Himself to the
measured and divided sufficiency with which the same
gift was imparted to the Apostles and through them to
the Church at large.
It will be my object to show that, compatibly with the
existence by successive ordination of persons expressly
empowered to administer the life-giving and life-sup-
porting rites of the Church, the real and ultimate pos-
sessor of all the power and privilege, under Christ, is
the Church itself; the Church entire; not apostles, not
bishops, not clergy alone ; but the entire body of Christ,
comprising apostles, bishops, clergy, and lay-people, —
all in their respective places contributing, and bound to
contribute, to the great work of diffusing more widely,
and deepening where it is diffused, the living energy of
the Holy Spirit, so far as it is given to human agency to
aid in diffusing and deepening it.
32 Plan of the Lectures.
It is obvious that so great a subject must necessarily
be dealt with in a very slight and superficial way in the
course of eight Lectures, and I am painfully aware that
what is necessarily and in itself slight and superficial
will be still more so in my hands. But I have wished
to descend upon various great questions of Church con-
stitution and administration from the height of a great
principle ; and for this purpose a superficial and some-
what hasty view may not be without advantage. Many
great things are more capable thus of being seen in their
mutual relation to each other, than if the details of each
were more thoroughly searched into.
I shall endeavour^ if it please God, in the next Lec-
ture to speak of the general doctrine of the Spirit-bear-
ing Church with its divinely constituted and ordained
organs, that is to say the Priesthood. The two follow-
ing Lectures will deal with the subject of apostolical and
ecclesiastical teaching and authority. Then will follow
three Lectures on the two Sacraments of the Gospel and
the two great sacramentals, Ordination and Absolution.
The concluding Lecture will be devoted to the subject
of the Personal Priesthood, by which every member of
Christ is permitted to draw near to the Father, and pre-
sent himself in his body and soul a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God for Christ^s sake, rendering there-
by his own rational and intelligent service.
LECTURE IL
THE SPIRIT-BEARING CHURCH WITH ITS DIVINELY
CONSTITUTED ORGANS.
And John hare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: hut
He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me. Upon
whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him^
the same is He which haptizeth with the Holy Ghost. — St. John i,
32, 33-
T^HE event recorded by St. John the Evangelist in
these two verses forms, I apprehend, an epoch of
the greatest possible importance in the history of the
Church of God.
With the proper relation of being borne by the second
and third Persons of the Holy Trinity to one another
in their own eternal and equal Godhead, we have at
present no concern. Nor is it of any importance to
our present discussion to speculate upon the degree or
manner in which the Holy Spirit dwelt in and with the
Man Christ Jesus for His own sanctification while He
^grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and the grace of
D
34 TJu Holy Spirit given without [lect.
God was upon Him %^ from His conception in the womb
of tlie Blessed Virgin Mother till the day of His
baptism in the river Jordan. But when that baptism
was completely done ^, and the Lord had gone np out
of the water,, having fulfilled all righteousness « by
accepting the ministrations of the Baptist, the descent
of the Holy Spirit as here recorded^ and His remaining
upon the Lord, seem to mark the precise commence-
ment of that with which I am more immediately
concerned) the administration of the Holy Spirit for
the restoration of mankind. The visible descent of the
dove not only designated, but empowered also, the
Man Christ Jesus to be in all time to His Church the
sole baptizer with the Holy Ghost ^j the one and single
Source through whom, by such channels and media as
He should choose and empower, the Holy Spirit should
pass in an orderly and covenanted way for the sanctifi-
cation and salvation of men.
In like manner, when we read, two chapters later in
St. John^s Gospel, that God giveth not His Holy Spirit
by measure [unto Christ] e, and that He consequently
speaketh the words of God, we are, no doubt, to under-
stand that in the Man Christ Jesus, ^ whom God hath
sent,^ the Holy Spirit dwelleth, not as in other men,
divided severally according to the will of God, but
a St. Luke ii. 40. t, vide Note F.
c St. Matt. iii. 15. * St. John i. 33.
e St. John iii. 34.
II.] measure to Christ, for men. 35
entirely, absolutely, without separation of office or
distinction of gift. Not only did His human spirit
altogether conspire and agree according to its human
powers with the Holy Spirit, but it was also made to
be so much greater in capacity than that of other men,
so superhuman in ability to receive, to entertain, and
to impart, that no gift, no power, no fulness, nor large-
ness of divine and spiritual influence can be conceived
but such as He possessed in the most unlimited and
complete abundance, and could bestow on others. Out
of His fulness have all we received. The gift was in
Him entire. He had the spring, the fountain, the very
source of the welling waters of the Holy Spirit of
God.
This gift of the Holy Spirit was, no doubt, imparted
thus to the Man Christ Jesus for our sake. Blending
with the fulness of His own personal sanctification, it
was yet not identical with it. He needed it not for
Himself, we may be sure. It was given to supply
these ' differences of administration ^ ' which all proceed
from the same Lord. It was to be communicated
from Himself to His people. But this communication
was not to take place instantly and at once. It was
necessary that He should first live for a while in the
flesh upon the earth, teaching, preparing, and fulfilling
prophecy, proving Himself, by all the wonderful works
that He did?, to be the expected Messiah, the hope
I 1 Cor. xii. 5. « Vide Note G.
D %
S6 Given by Christ to the [lect.
of Israel. It was necessary that He should transact
on the earth all the work of His glorification — the
glorification as of the corn of wheat which dies and
is buried before it rises to its new and multiplied life ^.
It was necessary that He should give His life upon
the cross a ransom for many, and rising from the
dead after preaching to the spirits in prison,, should
be exalted to His Father's right hand in heaven.
Then, when all this was duly done, and the glorifi-
cation of the Lord consummated by His ascension in
the flesh, everything preliminary to the full efiusion
of the Holy Spirit was completed. Ten days more of
solemn waiting, and then at length, in visible form as
of divided tongues of fire, and with the sound of a
mighty rushing wind, He descended on the great day
of Pentecost. It was from the Father that the dove
had come forth and remained upon the head of the
Son on the banks of Jordan. It was by the Son that
the tongues of fire were sent down which sat upon the
head of twelve in one of the chambers, if it be so,
of the Temple of Jerusalem. I say, brethren, upon
the head of twelve ; for though I am aware that
many of the greatest ancient writers speak of the
tongues as one hundred and twenty, the number of
the disciples who were together at the election of
St. Matthias, yet even these appear to acknowledge at
other times that, for the purpose of succession and
h St. John xii. 23, 24.
II.] Twelve Apostles at Pentecost. 37
derived authority^ the gift was in the apostles alone.
So_, for instance, St. Augustine, who at other times
speaks confidently of there having been a hundred and
twenty tongues, says, ' He thoroughly bathed the apo-
stles with the spring of living light, so that they
afterwards, like twelve rays of the sun, and as many
torches of truth, should illuminate the whole world,
and inebriated, should fill it with new wine, and should
water the thirsty hearts of the nations i/ I wish,
therefore, to be understood, not as denying that the
number of those on whom the tongues rested exceeded
twelve — though I confess that I doubt it — but as
meaning that on twelve, and twelve only, they rested
in such sort as to make them the patriarchs of the
family of Christ, the channels for the communication
of the graces of the Holy Spirit, in His orderly and
covenanted methods, to the sons of men.
In this great event, then, the Holy Spirit, who had
dwelt without measure in the Lord Himself, was by
Him imparted to twelve men, in order to be imparted
to others. The Twelve were become, for purposes of
spiritual administration, the living and life -giving
Church. They were become the Spirit -bearing and
Spirit-transmitting body of Christ; He in them, and
they in Him ; one in the oneness of the Holy Spirit,
in some sort, as He was one with the Father. All
the great things said in the seventeenth chapter of
i Vide Note H.
SS The Twelve became the Church. [lect.
St. John were now fully true of them. They, in their
spiritual being and aspect,, were not of this world —
that is, they did not owe their origin to this world —
even as their Lord was not of this world.
It seems to me to be important to dwell for a short
time on this point — I mean the condition of the Twelve
during the short time that elapsed before they began
to teach or baptize or bring others into the communion
of the body of Christ. In them, conjointly, dwelt for
the present the fulness of the Holy Spirit, in so far
forth as He was given jfrom Christ to be transmitted
for the sanctification of mankind. Personal graces,
administrative graces, all the diversities of gifts to be
given in many divisions to men in the Church through
human agency, were to issue from that great gift
which, hitherto undivided, except to twelve holders,
rested for such transmission upon them alone. As in
the case of the miraculous feeding of the multitudes
of four or five thousand J the Lord gave to the disciples,
and the disciples to the multitude, so the gifts which
were to sanctify the innumerable company of the mem-
bers of the body of Christ in all future ages should
flow down from one single source through twelve
channels. Governors and governed, teachers and taught,
graces inward and graces outward — all Christians
should derive the orderly communication of the cove-
nanted indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the
J St. Matt. xix. 19, xv. 36.
II.] Position of the Twelve. 39
agency of these twelve men on whom the tongues sat^
like as of fire, on that great day.
As I must not be understood to deny that the gift of
Pentecost was extended^ except for purposes of trans-
mission and derivation_, to others besides the apostles,
so neither do I mean to signify that the gift bestowed
on the apostles at Pentecost was the first and only aid
of the Holy Spirit which they had received. On the
contrary, during all the time of their companionship
with the Lord from their first believing, they always
undoubtedly possessed — ' pro modulo tamen et mensura/
to adopt the words of St. Jerome speaking on this very
point ^ — the gift of the Holy Spirit. Without Him they
could not have believed originally. By Him they had
wrought miracles. By Him they had confessed Christ,
and clung to Him under the pressure of difficulties of
doctrine of no slight magnitude — ^ Lord, to whom shall
we go ? ' — and not wholly deserted Him, even when for
a while they forsook Him and fled in the moment of
extreme danger in the Garden of Gethsemane. More-
over the breath of the Lord, as recorded in the twentieth
of St. John^, had been a further and most signal step in
that ' profectus apostolicus ' of the same St. Jerome, the
growth and progress of the apostles, before the last
great effusion gave them the real ' baptism of the Holy
Ghost,^ which, completing their own graces, enabled
k St. Hieron. Epist. cxx. ad Hedibiam, vol. i. pp. 835, 836.
1 St. John XX. 22.
40 Three aspects of the Twelve. [LECT.
them to become the channel divinely appointed for
diffusing those graces to other men.
And not to the apostles only is it to be believed that
occasional and partial gifts of the Holy Spirit were given
before Pentecost"^. We cannot doubt that to the same
Holy Spirit we must attribute all that is good in angels
or men, all the special influences by which holy men
spake at any time as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost, all the imperfect yet hopeful feeling after God, if
haply they might find Him, among the heathen, all
the zeal of God which St. Paul acknowledges even in
the midst of error and blindness among the Jews, all the
willingness and eagerness to receive the message of sal-
vation, when once it was preached, whether in Jews or
Gentiles.
But all this, true as it is, does not in any degree
interfere with the statement which I have ventured to
lay broadly down — namely, that the covenanted graces
of the Holy Spirit, those of which Christian men were
orderly to drink in the body of Christ, those which were
to issue from the great gift of Pentecost, were all for the
present moment centred, under Christ, in the Twelve.
If then we were to endeavour to speak with exactness
respecting the position held by the Twelve, we seem to
be able to distinguish three several aspects in which they
are to be regarded as recipients of the Holy Spirit.
First, as Christian men, receiving the inward sanctify-
m Vide Note I.
II.] Baptism of tJte Twelve. 41
ing graces, the like of whicli all Christians partake of in
the body of Christ. These graces, which in the case of
ordinary Christians, inchoate and nncovenanted before
baptism, have their covenanted beginning in baptism the
sacrament of the heavenly birth of water and of the Holy
Spirit, began to the Twelve in a manner exceptional and
diflPerent from that in which they begin to Christians in
general, as the beginning of a series must always be
different from the continuance of it. None can point
definitely to the time at which the apostles were bap-
tized. Perhaps the truest answer to the question when
were thej^ baptized would be to say that in the ordinary
sense and regular manner they were never baptized at
all. Yet in saying this, there are two or three points
that should not be forgotten. First, that they surely
received John's baptism, that is, they were solemnly
washed with water as persons repenting of sin, and look-
ing forward to receive forgiveness in Christ; secondly,
that the Lord Himself said to Peter, ' He that hath been
bathed, needeth not save to wash his feet"/ and although
the main scope of these words was no doubt referrible to
the times in which the Gospel should be fully preached,
and the 'bath' regularly received as the outward means
and pledge of the new birth, yet we can hardly suppose
that they had no personal application to the apostle to
whom they were spoken at the very moment when he
sought to decline the washing of his feet by the Lord's
n St. John xiii. 20.
42 Baptism of tJie Twelve. [lect.
hands. Indeed, St. Augustine ° and Thomas Aquinas
conclude from this verse that the apostles had certainly
received the bath of regeneration from the hands of the
Lord Himself. And thirdly, that they were expressly
told by the Lord immediately before the Ascension
that 'not many days hence p' they should be baptized
with the Holy Ghost^ and that, in terms which by the
contrast with John^s baptism seem unquestionably to
denote Chris t^s baptism properly so called. Putting all
these things together, it seems most in accordance with
the language of Holy Scripture to conclude that either
the fulness of the gift of Pentecost superseded the ^ bath^
of water indispensable in all other cases, or more probably
that, superadded to the bath of Jordan, and completing
and crowning the gradual increase of that ' apostolic
growth^ of which St. Jerome speaks, it filled up the
sacrament, and completed to those who, being them-
selves the first could not receive it by the agency of
any other men, the administered birth of water and the
Spirit. Certainly in all other cases, even in so remark-
able instances as those of Cornelius the first Gentile con-
vert, and Saul the persecutor, separated as he was from
his mother's womb to be an apostle q, and called by
the miraculous appearance and voice of the Lord Himself
on the road to Damascus, the water could not be, and
was not, dispensed with. ' Can any man forbid the
water/ {to vbcap) asked St. Peter at Csesarea, ' that these
o Vide Note J. p Acts i. 5. i Gal. i. 15 ; Eom. i. 1.
II.] Baptism of tJie Twelve. 43
should not be baptized, which have received the Holy
Ghost as well as we^?' 'Arise, and be baptized, and
wash away thy sins, calling on the Name of the Lord^,'
said Ananias, sent by God to restore the sight of the
trembling and astonished persecutor and called apostle,
and to admit him to the full sacrament of Holy
Baptism.
But whatever were the baptism, or the equivalent of
baptism, in the case of the apostles, there can be no
doubt that they received all those ordinaiy graces which
to other Christian people have their covenanted be-
ginning in baptism, and are continued and cherished by
the use of prayer and the other means of obtaining he
help of the Holy Spirit. Whatever they were besides, they
were Christian men as we are — planted into the body of
their Lord, looking forward therein to their divine in-
heritance, liable to sin, requiring the continual help and
support of the Spirit, unassured of final safety until the
day when death coming upon them in the stedfastness
of their repentance and faith should ' bind them fast '
for ever
*To the bright shore of love*.'
This first. And secondly, they were Christian men
holding personally extraordinary gifts for external ser-
vice, such as the gift of tongues, and others of a like
' Acts X. 47. s Acts xxii. 16.
* Christian Year — Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
44 The Twelve immediately [lect.
kind. Probably they were endowed with these in dif-
ferent measures and degrees, — perhaps each of tliem
with some more than with others ; perhaps all in a higher
degree than other gifted Christians, — yet were these not
different in kind from those which were given to others,
for the edifying of the Body of Christ — gifts given
according to the will of the Spirit to every man to profit
withal. And eminently among these high gifts was the
inward vision of the revealed truth of God, divinely
qualifying them to be the sacred prophets of that truth
to all generations of mankind.
And, thirdly, they had what no other men ever had,
or could have after them— the full gift of the Holy
Spirit for diffusion by the use of outward means among
the countless multitudes of Christian people who should
come after them. 'As out of the twelve patriarchs,^
says Hooker, ' issued the whole multitude of Israel
according to the flesh,'' so ' according to the mystery of
heavenly birth our Lord^s apostles we all acknowledge
to be the patriarchs of the whole Church".'' They
were, for the time, the Church ; not members only, not
governors or teachers only — others in all time should be
these — but comprising in themselves, as in the first
reservoir from the sacred spring, all membership, and
all governorship, the whole of which in all subsequent
generations of the Church should trace its descent, so
« Eccl. Polity, Bk. V. ch. Ixxvii.
II.] begin to baptize others. 45
far as it should be legitimate, through them to the Holy
Spirit of Christ Himself.
No sooner, however, had the Twelve received the
power from on high for which they had been bidden by
the Lord to tarry in the city of Jerusalem ^, than they
began to impart of it to others. Perhaps we may not un-
duly generalize here, and drawing a Christian universal
from this particular, say that the true fire of the Holy
Spirit can never be present in any man without its
setting him instantly upon endeavouring to diffiise that
light and heat to others beside himself. However, on
that very morning they began to baptize, and baptizing,
whether by their own unassisted hands or no, not fewer
than two hundred and fifty people apiece between nine
o'clock in the forenoon and night, had already exhibited
the beginning of that irrepressible growth of the sacred
body of Christ, which should cause it to resemble the
grain of mustard-seed in its enlargement, and the mul-
tiplication of the buried corn of wheat. To the three
thousand men and women that day planted into the
body of Christ the Holy Spirit was given. One and all
they received the ordinary graces of Holy Baptism, the
birth of water and the Holy Ghost. Nothing was want-
ing to them, in order to the making of their calling and
election sure, except to keep, to strengthen, to cherish
and increase in their hearts the Divine grace which,
together with the means of cherishing and increasing it,
^ Acts i. 3.
46 The Church on the Evening of Pentecost, [lect.
was already theirs. Thus began — to be continued to
the whole multitude of Christian people in every age of
the Church — the transmitted graces of personal holiness
and acceptableness in Christ, the precious personal graces^
by means of which men and women planted into Christ
are to reach salvation.
If then what I have said be true, and on the morning
of the first great Whit Sunday the Twelve constituted
the Church_, so as to have become, so to speak, the bod}'-
of Christ visible upon the earth, how stood the case on
the evening of that same day, when now three thousand
men and women were already baptized y_, and so had
been made to drink into that one Spirit whose presence
constitutes and binds into one that great and sacred
"Body? And how stood the case when the Lord went
on to add daily, as we read, to the Church such as were
in process of salvatiin, and multitudes of men and
women, to the number of many thousands more, were
brought into the body z ?
It seems to me to be very important indeed to en-
deavour to realize the state of things, in respect, I mean,
of the divine and spiritual powers and privileges of the
body, which was necessarily brought about by this
change.
There can, I suppose, be no doubt that in the lan-
guage of Holy Scripture it is the Church, entire and
complete, not any class, or rank, or caste of persons
y Acts ii. 41, 47. = Acts iv. 4, v. 14, vi. 7.
II.] The Church the successor of Christ. 47
within it J which is spoken of as the Spirit-bearing body
of Christ, the successor of Christy the holder of power
and privilege in Christy — nay, even as Christ Himself
upon the earth.
^ As the body of a man is one and hath many mem-
bers, and all the members of that one body, though they
be many ' and have various offices of duty and degrees
of strength and honour, 'are one body^ so also is Christ a.'
No person can, I suppose, have any doubt that this great
saying applies to the Church at large^ not to the apostles
or clergy within the Church only, but to the entire
Church, including all its members whether clerical or
lay. In like manner we believe, with St. Cyprian and
St. Augustine ^, that when Christ promised to St. Peter
the keys of the kingdom of heaven c^ He promised them
to the Church at large, whose faith and whose unity
St. Peter on that occasion represented. We believe that
in the case of the admission of a child or a converted
heathen into the body of Christ by Holy Baptism, it is
the Church at large, the common parent of Christians **,
who bears as a mother the newly made member of
the body. We believe that in Holy Communion it is
the whole Church, the body of Christ, which commemo-
rates the life-giving sacrifice of the Lord, feeding its
unity and its holiness by feeding on the meat indeed and
the drink indeed of His spiritual body and blood ®. We
a 1 Cor. xii. 12. b Vide Note K. «= St. Matt. xiv. 18.
d Gal. vi. 26. « 1 Cor. x. 17, xi. 2G ; St. John vi. 55.
48 A divine succession within tJte Church, [lect.
believe that in absolution it is the Churches peace that is
given; that in excommunication the sentence is to be
pronounced upon such as, when their sin has been told
to the Church, refuse to hear the Church f. If a council
makes decrees in matters of faith, it does so not as over-
ruling the Church, nor as issuing laws of faith to the
Church upon its own authority, but as representing
more or less faithfully the entire Church, and speaking
in its name, so that its decrees are really binding in
exact proportion to that faithfulness. All these things
speak plainly to the great truth that in the Church in
its entireness, in all its members, not in some only,
dwells the fulness of the Holy Spirit, and so the ulti-
mate authority which nothing but the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit can give. If an ordinary parish priest
teaches his people, he still speaks as the parson, that is, as
bearing in his small sphere the person g of the Church.
This is one great half of the truth, never to be for-
gotten. But all this is entirely compatible with that
other not less important half, namely, that there exists
in this Spirit-bearing body a divinely descended priest-
hood, who, ordained by imposition of hands in due
succession from the apostles, are divinely authorized to
represent the entire Church in these various functions,
reserving some of them entirely in their own hands to
administer, yet even in these wielding powers which are
ultimately the powers of the whole body, and in others
f St. Matt, xviii. 17. s Gerens personam Ecclesiae.
II.] A representative Priesthood. 49
asking, in various degrees^ the joint action of other
members of the body besides themselves.
It is not necessary in order to constitute a true re-
presentation either that the representatives should be
selected and empowered in the first place by universal
choice and delegation, or that they should require, in
order to be continued in their representative position^
any renewal of reference to the universal will. It is
however, I imagine, essential to a faithful representation,
considering that the representatives are only men, and
therefore liable to the infirmities of human feeling and
passion, that the whole body should in some manner
and degree that should be real, however small, have
a certain amount of power to act; that it should not
be absolutely and entirely excluded, I do not say from
any participation in the actual administration of such
powers, but at least from contributing its sanction (and
if its sanction, then by obvious consequence its possible
refusal of sanction) in such ways and degrees as to con-
stitute a reality however subordinate, or indirect, . or
retrospective, even in the highest and most sacred in-
stances of the exercise of such powers. And herein the
view which I have stated differs from that of the Roman
Catholic writers, who, admitting the representative
character of the clergy, and carrying it further, so as
to maintain the virtual representation of the whole
Church in the single person of the Bishop of Rome,
do really destroy in fact what they acknowledge in
50 A represejitative Priesthood. [LECT.
terms, while they entirely disallow that amount of real
participation which appears to be absolutely essential
to any real representation at all^. This then is the
position which I desire to take, and this is indeed the
very thesis which it is my purpose to illustrate in these
Lectures — namely^ that while on the one hand the
Spirit-bearing Church in all its members is the ultimate
possessor of every sort of divine power and privilege
in and under Christ the Head^ so that the persons who
exercise spiritual office and authority within it are, in
strictness of speech^ real representatives of the body
of which they are thus made to be the organs, — on the
other hand it is most true, and most earnestly to be
maintained, that they also hold by direct descent from
the apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit, conferred in
the apostolic laying on of hands, which gift empowers^
enables, and authorizes them, as nothing else can do,
to discharge those offices and exercise those powers
which thus in the name and on the behalf of the whole
Church they discharge and execute towards the separate
members of it.
It is obvious, I trust, that I am speaking now^ not
of the personal graces bestowed upon the single souls
of Christians for their separate growth in holiness, but
of the official graces, if I may so call them, which,
inherent in the whole body, are exercised within it
representatively by the clergy.
h Vide Note L.
II.] A representative Priesthood, 51
Perhaps it is necessary^ in order to distinguish these
things clearly from one another, to add a few more
words of explanation.
We believe, then, that there are ministered to every
person once made a member of the body of Christ
personal graces of inestimable value, whereby he has
within him the birth of the Holy Ghost, the privilege of
sonship, arid the right of personal prayer and unimpeded
access to the throne of the mercy of God, so that even
if he were alone in the world it would be possible for
him (though, no doubt, in his isolation deprived of many
great blessings and comforts in the Church) yet to make
his divine calling and election sure in Christ to the end.
But each individual person needs for his perfection to
come, in a multitude of ways, under the operation of the
collective graces, so to call them, which dwell in the
Church of God as such, beyond and above those personal
ones which dwell in himself and in all his brethren and
neighbours in the Church together. For the body of
Christ is not a mere aggregate of sanctified individuals.
Consisting as it does of all the members, yet it is more
than all the members together. It possesses gifts which
are not merely the united gifts of the aggregated mem-
bers, but gifts of the body as such. The individuals
only derive their life from the life of the body. They
do not draw the life of their baptism from the minister-
ing priest or from their godparents. The Church is
their mother in Christ, and the priest and the godparents
E 2
52 A representative Priesthood. [LECT.
are in their respective offices representatives of the
Church, as the Church is the representative of her Lord.
It is with the Church, and the separate Christians who
compose the Church, as it is with the natural body to
which St. Paul so often compares them. It is not the
life that is in the hand, the life that is in the eye^ the
life that is in the ear, which, together with the life of all
the other members, make up the life which is in the
body. On the contrary, it is the life which is in the
body which is the principle of the life that is in each
and all of them. If the body should die, they die of
course, and all together. They cannot club together
their derivative lives, and make a joint-stock of life to
supersede, or be equivalent to, or outlive the life that
is in the body. And extremely parallel to the case of
the members of the natural body, is that of the members
of the Body of Christ. They have, no doubt, a life in
them which once derived from the life of the body is
truly their own, and not dependent, so far as regards
themselves and the absolute necessities of their own
personal salvation, upon the life that is in others ; yet
even for their own perfection it is in many ways ne-
cessary that graces different from those which are de-
termined to the growth of individuals should dwell
among them, while for the continuance of the succession
of Christian people in other generations, and for the
performance of such works upon individuals as they
need for their full perfection, it is necessary that some
II.] A represetitative Priesthood. 53
persons should be qualified by express qualification to
exercise upon them those powers which ultimately reside
in the body at large, so as to be the organs of the body
for these purposes, the channels of those graces which
may be called collective rather than personal, official
rather than directly sanctifying.
But returning to what is my more immediate subject,
the official graces or powers, I repeat that the holders of
them are, when properly regarded, to be considered as
divinely descended representatives, exercising within the
body the powers which essentially and ultimately belong
to the body itself at large.
I must repeat that these two things are not in any
degree inconsistent in themselves, or incompatible with
one another; and that no reason whatever is to be
alleged, drawn from the nature of the case, why a true
representation of others should not be intrusted to an
hereditary or long descended class of holders, or why
a succession of men inheriting authority for the purpose
from such a long descent, sufficiently authorized in its
beginning and its subsequent steps, should not at the
same time be true representatives of the whole body to
which they belong. If the case were one of merely
human institution, such as the civil polity of a state,
there would, no doubt, be a great likelihood of their
being found to be practically incompatible ; for the
hereditary holders of power might very probably forget
their representative character altogether, and those whom
54 ■ Divine descent and trne [lect.
they claimed to represent might come to find that their
mind and wish, however universal and undouhted, was
entirely ignored and lost sight of by their so-called re-
presentatives. Usurpation and tyranny gradually grow-
ing up would probably issue in their natural consequence
of revolution and disunion. Yet even in this case the
evil would not be really inherent in the nature of the
case, but in the passions of men.
That such ill consequences may occur even in the case
of the Church is, alas ! only too clearly proved by the
course of its history. Usurpation has, in that case, also
proved to be the fruitful source of every sort of division
and disunion.
But the Church has within it the secret of restoration.
The primitive constitution of the Church, fairly studied
and obediently followed, would seem to point out, if
men would honestly and faithfully adopt it, the true
remedy. In the recognition of the due relation of the
separate members of the Spirit-bearing body to each
other, and of the whole to Christ, lies the rule which
is to reconcile in all time interests, so to call them,
and actions which might otherwise be liable to conflict.
The powers of all are derived, none are original. The
Holy Spirit is alike the source of all, and the primitive
usage and practice of the Church of Christ seem to
assign to all the true and perfectly intelligible limits
of their respective authority. There is assuredly re-
served to the Church at large, at least in its primitive
II.] representation not incompatible. 55
constitution^ authority to remonstrate and to overrule
tyrannical pretensions on tbe part of those who hold
the official powers^ as the holders of these official
powers have also the right in their respective places
and degrees to rebuke and repress the extravagances
of individual fancy^ or of congregational caprice and
self-will.
If either of these two essential principles of the
constitution of the Church should be omitted or for-
gotten (as indeed each has been woefully forgotten in
some portion of the Church), extreme evil cannot fail
to be the consequence. If the holders of ministerial
office and power come to be regarded merely as repre-
sentatives of their brethren, deriving all authority to
exercise their functions from the express or implied
delegation of the multitude in each successive generation
— which is, I presume, more or less the extreme Pro-
testant view — one of two consequences can hardly fail
to follow : either there will *be a mere Congregationalism,
in which every community, either great or small (and
communities will gradually, by the continued operation
of the same cause, become smaller and smaller), will
feel itself at liberty to elect and depose its ministers,
to determine without appeal upon the truth for itself,
and to institute laws and rites of worship according to
its own judgment — a consequence which would involve
innumerable varieties of teaching and practice, and
divisions and subdivisions without end — or, if it were
56 Both principles essential. [lect.
attempted to set up any central and general authority,
it would be impossible to establish, or, if it were im-
pugned, to prove, the universal consent on which alone
it could be intelligibly based, and extremely difficult
to displace it, if, in consequence of its becoming cor-
rupt or tyrannical, or for any other adequate reason,
that universal consent, once given, should be withheld
or changed. The case would not be very unlike the
instances with which we are familiar in political life,
of irresponsible power based upon a factitious universal
suffrage. On the other hand, if the holders of such
offices were to be regarded merely as descendants and
inheritors of powers originally confined to twelve men,
and subsequently handed down from them by direct and
exclusive succession to themselves, I do not see how
they could be regarded otherwise as a body, than a
separate, irresponsible, supreme company, as compared
with the mass of lay Christians. They would be, not
indeed by blood, but by clear separation and difference,
a caste in the Church, in whom would absolutely reside
all the power, all the knowledge, all the prerogatives
of authority of all kinds, while the large mass of men
and women who constituted the immense numerical
majority in the Church would have no duty but to
listen, submit, and obey — no voice in counsel, no share
in power, no right of judging, criticising, or objecting.
In short, on this theory the clergy would be the real
Church, and the lay-people simply dumb recipients of
II.] TJu real life is in the body. 57
whatever the clerisy — that is the Church — chose to lay
upon them. But in the joint and true theory, both
these inconveniences are avoided. The powers inherited
by the whole body are determined for administration
to such as, holding by direct succession from the apo-
stles, receive not the personal designation only, but
the personal grace and empowerment also by the gift
of the Holy Spirit conveyed by the imposition of
apostolic hands, which authorizes and enables them to
exercise upon the members of the ' body various sorts
of authority which are really inherent in the body itself.
They are for public purposes the organs of the body's
life ; but the great life itself, the great deposit of the
spiritual life, remains in the body at large. There is
the true inheritor of Christ, the real agent which, in-
stinct with the Holy Ghost, mighty in numbers, mighty
in diverse gifts, mighty in faith, mighty in holiness,
irresistible and all-powerful if it were as perfect as it
might be in holiness, still more irresistible and all-
powerful if it were at full and entire unity in itself —
unity of doctrine, unity of love, and unity of action —
contains in itself the real principle of absolute con-
quest and mastery over the whole world. The analogy
so much presented to us in Holy Scripture, of the
natural body of a man, can hardly, as it seems to me,
be pressed too far in its strong and close bearing upon
my present point. One vitality diffused over the whole,
special organs for special services of general and in-
58 Analogy of tJie natural body. [lect.
dispensable use^ all needful for each_, each needful for
all; — does not tlie likeness seem to fit in every par-
ticular^ shewing by an example of which every one of
us is fully capable of judging how ^ the whole ^ spiritual
'body fitly framed together and compacted by means
of every joint of the supply, according to the working
in the measure of each several part^ maketh the growth
of the body unto the building up of itself in love ^ ? '
The strength and health of the whole natural body is
needed to enable each separate member and limb, each
bodily organ and faculty, to discharge its own proper
functions successfully ; and yet no one of these separate
members or organs derives its own peculiar functions
nor the power to exercise them in the first place from
that strength and health. The nervous sensibility help-
ful to the eye as the organ of sight, or to the ear as
the organ of hearing, or to the other organs for the
discharge of their respective offices, is diff'used over the
whole body; yet not only do these organs not derive
their peculiar powers from that diffused sensibility, but
if the organs themselves be from any cause inoperative^
no such diffused sensibility can restore them. The body
is absolutely blind if the eye cannot see,, and entirely
deaf if the ear cannot hear. The case appears to be
closely, I might say singularly, parallel to that of the
spiritual body, and may very justly, as it does most
forcibly^ illustrate the case of a priesthood, strictly
i Eph. iv. 16.
II,] Occasional diffictdties. 59
representative in its own proper being, yet receiving-
personal designation and powers, not by original deri-
vation from the body which it represents, or continual
reference to it, but by perpetual succession from a divine
source and spring of authorizing grace.
No doubt very many practical questions of no slight
importance and difficulty may arise under peculiar cir-
cumstances. It may happen that the succession requi-
site for the due transmission, and so for the full
inheritance of the priestly powers, may by various
accidents be broken. Casual occurrences, like that of
the throwing of the survivors of the crew of the
' Bounty' upon Pitcairn^s Island, or political compli-
cations like those which led to the discontinuance of
the episcopate in Protestant Germany, may cause either
the inevitable interruption or the practical stoppage
of functions which we believe to be essential to the full
and perfect constitution of the body. Yet even in such
cases as these, the analogy of the natural body does
not fail to suggest the true solution of the difficulty.
The whole body with its diffused vital sensibility, the
whole body with its large and manifold powers, can
do a great deal, if not to supply, at least to compen-
sate for the loss — the temporary loss or deficiency of
power in a single organ. We know how much more
acute and sensitive than is ordinarily natural to them
some of our senses are wont to become when others
are for a long time interrupted in theiV exercise ; how
6o Compensation for imperfect [lect.
keen^ for instance, hearing and touch are wont to
become to those who have been very long deprived of
the nse of sight or are born blind. We know how
abnormal the sensitive powers which pervade the whole
body sometimes become in their acuteness in cases of
natural or artificial somnambulism. Yet surprising as
these powers are in the way of helpfulness or partial
compensation when any special organ is long inactive
or originally deficient,, yet they cannot either restore
the organ itself in its decay or be a full substitute for
it if it be wanting. If the eye cannot see^ circuitous
methods may, no doubt^ be adopted which may be more
or less successful in conveying to the brain some idea
of those impressions which sight would have imparted
at once; yet these neither are nor can be the same,
nor nearly equivalent to the ideas of real sight. And
exactly so it may probably be with the organs of the
spiritual body. The life that is in all the members
may suflftce in some degree to supply something that in
particular places is wanting, and under special circum-
stances may ofier a practical substitute for the inter-
rupted graces which should have flowed down in orderly
succession from the ordaining apostles^ so that we may
well believe that personal life in the Spirit may still
be maintained even there and then; and yet it is
necessary for the perfect condition even of the personal
life, at least to future generations, that the locally or
partially interrupted succession should be restored as
II.] or deficient oi'gaiis. 6i
soon and as completely as possible. Not all the nervous
power and health of all the rest of the natural body
can make an eye, nor enable the man who is blind, to
see; nor can all the lay people together either be or
make a priest.
It only now remains to endeavour to trace, through
the main ordinances of the Christian Church, the joint
operation of these co-ordinate and closely related powers.
Each has, in its turn in the course of the history of the
Church, been greatly obscured ; each is, by many Christ-
ian people, still held with such narrow and one-sided
strength as to exclude practically, if not theoretically,
the other. But in the maintenance of both — the real
and effective maintenance of both, in their respective
places, and with their respective authority — lie the
strength, the weight, the stability, and the effectiveness
of the Church in every part of its divine work. And
so it must needs be, if, as we believe, both alike are
the gift of the Holy Spirit of God, in whom alone man
can hope to affect the soul of man, or help or guide,
in any the least degree, himself or his brethren forward
on the road that leads to holiness and salvation.
LECTURE III.
THE TEACHING AND AUTHORITY OF THE
APOSTLES.
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yotir's; whether
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things
present, or things to come; all are your's; and ye are Christ's; and
Christ is God's. — I Corinthians iii. 21-23.
TT is the peculiarity of the Christian religion, as con^
trasted with all other systems which have at various
times claimed the religious respect of men, that it is
based on certain truths exterior to man, the belief of
which is necessary as a qualification for the admission
in the first place^ and afterwards for the continuance
of men in the brotherhood and privileges of the Christian
body. These truths are of two kinds : firsts abstract
truths^ as of the nature of God ; and secondly, concrete
truths^ or facts^ as of His doings towards men in the
course of their history. The former class comprises
those truths which, though unassisted reason might in
some degree have discovered or guessed at them, as at
the being and attributes of God, yet require the en-
The Christian religion based upon revealed Truth. 6^,
lightening and informing help of God in order to become
fully and correctly known. The latter class comprises
those which, though as facts which have been transacted
on the earth thej' belong to a great degree to the class
of things to be witnessed by historical and human
evidence, are yet much blended with the former class
in respect of all those particulars which give them re-
ligious significance and import. Of the former kind is
the truth of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, in all its
details ; of the latter are the facts of the Crucifixion and
the Resurrection^ which have their peculiar religious
importance in the divine greatness and dignity of Him
who suffered and rose again.
These truths are, according to the Christian scheme,
not only to be generally recognized by Christian men,
but are to be closely, faithfully, and, if I may so say,
affectionately, believed and accepted by each several one
of them. Such distinct personal belief of them is one
of the necessary qualifications for participating in the
blessings of the Christian religion. It is not enough to
adhere and to worship ; but a rational and intelligent
belief in these truths (proportionate, no doubt, in point
of intellectual fulness and accuracy to a man^s oppor-
tunities and capacity of forming it), is requisite for
every individual Christian. Such faith is one of the
necessary cords or links of the great union which is
allowed to bind man to God in Christ.
It being thus essential to the existence and continu-
64 Christian religion based upon revealed Truth, [lect.
ance of the Christian Church that these truths and facts
should be certainly known and correctly believed by
every individual partaking in the life of the Church,
and it being also clear that the nature of these truths
and the significance of these facts require a divine aid
and help — ^that is, the aid of the Holy Spirit of God —
in order to their being correctly known and believed by
Christian people, it follows to enquire what methods it
has pleased God to institute for this purpose, and by
what provision of means His saving truths are to be
brought home and assured to the faithful conscience
of believers in every age of the Church.
We believe that one very signal and special gift con-
ferred on the twelve apostles in the descent of the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost, was the knowledge of
all truth, according to the promise made to them by
the Lord in the sixteenth chapter of St. John^s Gospel %
whereby they individually and collectively became, first
possessors, and secondly, as possessors, imparters of the
divine truths to the Church and to the world. In them,
we believe, and in them at first alone, resided that
divinely communicated knowledge which should prove
sufficient, as knowledge, for the salvation of men. We
are not told in what way it was made known to their
minds, whether in words, or in vision, or in any other
objective way, or whether it was that the actual infusion
or presence of the Holy Spirit in their spirits lifted them
a St. John xvi. 13.
III.] Manner of the revelation to tJie Apostles. 65
subjectively, so to speak, to an elevation of remembrance
and understanding of the words whicb the Lord had
spoken to them, of sight, judgment, or of knowledge in
matters of sacred truth, greater and higher than could
have been attained by the natural powers of man. There
are passages of Holy Scripture which would seem to
suggest each of these methods. Perhaps the idea most
expressly suggested by the language of St. John is that
of guidance^, and by guidance I suppose we may un-
derstand, not the superseding of their own powers so
much as the enabling and directing them— the presence
of the Holy Spirit in the spirit of men, not only point-
ing the way, but also strengthening and enabling them
by divine help, so as to make their own spirits capable
of discerning the way of sacred truth.
It is not necessary to attribute to them any larger
measure of such knowledge, or any different kind of
it than might, in God's wisdom, suffice to effect the
purpose for which it was given. The nature and the
extent, and along with the extent the limit of their
divine knowledge, may well be understood from those
words of St. John, in which he tells us why some only
of the signs which Jesus did are recorded in his Gospel :
* Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of
His disciples, which are not written in this book : but
these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might
b Vide Note M.
66 Manner of tJte revelation [lect.
have life through His Name*^/ A like limit, fixed
in reference to a like object, we may, I suppose, under-
stand to have bounded the divinely-imparted knowledge
of the apostles. That which should suffice for the full
life of the Church, that which should furnish the full
matter of necessary faith, that which' should be enough
when faithfully believed to bring all mankind to sal-
vation in Christ, they possessed, we cannot doubt, abun-
dantly; and with it they had. the duty, and with the
duty the power, of making it known by word of mouth
and by pen, while they lived and laboured personally
upon the earth, and of transmitting it afterwards by
adequate though not identical ways to the generations
that should come after them, even to the end of the
world.
It is also, I suppose, not improbable (according to the
analogy of the free and, if I may so call it, the arbitrary
efiusion of the Spirit, who giveth to every man severally
as He will d) that there may have been diversities, pos-
sibly not insignificant ones, in the communication of the
great gift to the Twelve. He who ' at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets <^,^ may not improbably have given to
one of the Twelve a fuller participation of some one gift
and less of another, whilst another of the same company
may have had the latter gift in a higher degree, and the
former in a lower one. There may have been equality
c St. John XX. 30, 31. ^ i Cor. xii. 11. « Heb. i. 1.
III.] to the Apostles. 6y
ill diversity, or there may possibly have been inequality.
Certainly, though we know nothing of all this, yet it
cannot be denied that the general analogy of divine gifts
as witnessed in the inspiration of ancient prophets, and
in the language and imagery of parables, would lead us
to expect that such was probably the case.
But even if the actual gift were supposed to be abso-
lutely equal, or identical to all the Twelve, we must not
forget that there certainly were diversities, and these in
all probability of no inconsiderable magnitude and con-
sequence in the men themselves — diversities of character,
of temper, of natural ability, strength and weakness, and
the like ; and these, certainly not annulled by the pre-
sence of the divine gift, would of necessity have had the
effect of modifying the use and application, and so, prac-
tically, it may be said, the possession of it so far as
regards the communication of it to other men, even if
it were supposed to be in itself entirely identical to
them all.
Now when we put these things together — when, I
mean, we consider that the great gift of the Holy Spirit
was thus possessed by twelve men ; that it was possessed
by them with such limitations in respect of the object
for which it was given; that it was probably possessed
by them in different degrees of fulness, or at least 'with
diversities of detail ; that it was certainly possessed in
combination with different natural powers and characters
by each ; that it was possessed by men who not only
F %
68 Consequent necessity of [lect.
could not read each others hearts, but also had their
own independent mind and thought blended more or less
undistinguishably with it, — ^when, I say, we consider all
these things, and endeavour to give them the weight
which they undoubtedly ought to carry, it seems plain
that they not only suggest the idea of the inter-
change of counsel, of comparison of mind and mutual
support and advice among the holders of the great
divided gift, but shew such mutual counsel to have been
essential to them in theory and indispensable in practice.
The conciliar action of the Church seems to follow as an
inevitable consequence from the fact of the twelvefold
division of the tongues of fire upon the heads of twelve
equal men at Pentecost.
And it is to be very particularly observed that the
apostles, though singly possessed of this great gift, did
uniformly act and speak with full acknowledgment of
such necessity. On the occasion of the first very serious
question, involving in a high degree both doctrine and
discipline, which arose in the infant Church — the ques-
tion whether it was to be held necessary that Gentile
converts should be circumcised — that is to say, whether
every person, whether born a Jew or no, should pass
through Judaism as through an indispensable portal into
the Church — the apostles and elders assembled together
in council ^ for to consider of this matter ^.' Now let us
reflect upon the signal significancy of this fact as going
f Acts XV. 6.
III.] mutual counsel and support. 69
far towards determining the original basis of the con-
stitution of the Church in respect of the possession of
divine truth and authority. Who are they who assemble
'to consider ■* respecting this great and vital question,
this question which is eminently one in which both
sacred truth and divine authority of discipline are so
much engaged ? — the apostles and the elders. What
need, I ask, to assemble, if the voice of one apostle
singly — what need to call the elders into council, if the
voice of the Twelve jointly — was to be esteemed in such
sort the actual voice of the Holy Spirit, as that none
others could either confirm or gainsay it ? ' And when
there had been much disputing^ (debating, examining,
inquiring, 7roA.Xijs (n/fTyTrjo-eoos yevo^ivqs — which undoubt-
edly indicates the possibility, at least, of different views
and opinions, and that on the part not of apostles only,
but elders also), St. Peter rose, — ^not to allege his own
personal or Apostolic authority as final on the subject,
but to argue^ on common grounds which all could appre-
ciate, and to explain his own forwardness by speaking
on the ground of his having been selected by God to be
the one by whose mouth the word of the Gospel was
first preached to the Gentiles. And when, after the
narrative of the successful mission of St. Paul and
St. Barnabas, St. James, referring to the argument of
St. Peter, and confirming it by quotation from the
prophet Amos, had pronounced the conciliar decree>
they did not hesitate, in the name of the apostles and
yo Exeinplified in tJie Council of Jerusalem, [lect.
elders and brethren^ to say that ' it seemed good to the
Holy Ghost, and to us/ not to lay upon the Gentile
converts the burden, with which some, even in the days
of apostolic inspiration, were desirous to load them s.
Surely it ought to be never forgotten how in this the
greatest instance of all, — greatest because it was the
first, because the subject was one of fundamental con-
sequence, and because of the probable presence of
the whole Twelve in the council, — how, I say> per-
sonal privilege and class power within the body, even
of the apostles themselves, merge in the privilege and
power of the entire body. No one apostle claims, even
for a single moment, to be the single depositary of divine
truth, nor to be commissioned to know and teach it
independently of the fraternal and parallel gifts of the
whole apostolic college. Nor does the whole apostolic
college consider and determine the question alone. Not
even so ; but now that the divine gift which was once
in themselves alone, has by their agency been imparted
beyond themselves to many others, at once the counsel
of the others, according to their degree and position,
becomes requisite in order to give to decree or doctrine
the plenary authority of the Holy Ghost, who dwelleth
in the whole body. The decree of Jerusalem does not
issue from one apostle as from a monarch, nor from the
college of the apostles as from an oligarchy, but from
the apostles and elders and brethren, as from a great
« Acts XV. 28.
III.] Apostles' authority in teaching and governing. 71
constitutional body which must all speak^ according to
its position and degree^ before the full voice of the Holy
Spirit can be held to have spoken through its empowered
human organs with authority unquestionable.
Thus the divine knowledge of each apostle, and by
consequence his authority in teaching (for be it ob-
served that knowledge and authority in matters of this
kind are practically identical), is seen to have two
important and different characteristics. It is derived
directly from the gift of God : but though so derived,
it is not independent of the support, counsel, and
brotherly unanimity of the others, in their degree, in
whom any part of that great gift of God also resides.
It is authoritative, and suflBcient in itself for unhesi-
tating and efficient teaching ; but for plenary and uni-
versal power it demands the consentient agreement, not
of the other apostles only, but of the whole body of the
Church at large. So, from the first, a direct descent of
special gifts is seen to be compatible with a wide diffu-
sion of ultimate authority, and the first recipients of
divine light are not recipients of divine light only, but
representatives also of the body, in which, through
their own agency, the divine light has been diffused.
The narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, and the
indications of others of their acts contained in the
Epistles, seem to bear out this statement in both its
parts with perfect fulness. In the first nine chapters
of the book of Acts, the apostles are represented as
72 Illustrated by the case of [lect.
acting, singly or jointly as the ease may be, but every-
where with full authority, unopposed and unquestioned,
in all that they do. St. Peter and St. John at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and before the kinsmen
of the high priest ; St. Peter in the matter of Ananias
and Sapphira ; all the Twelve in the case of the or-
dination of the deacons ; St. Peter and St. John in the
laying on of hands at Samaria; all the Twelve in the
acknowledgment of St. Paul when introduced by Bar-
nabas ; St. Peter at Lydda and Joppa, — in all these
instances, as I say, the Twelve, singly or jointly as the
case might be, acted with authority unopposed and
unquestioned in the first years of the Church.
When however the great case of Cornelius the cen-
turion had occurred at Csesarea, and St. Peter (strangely,
as we might think, needing — even after the words of
the Lord in the tenth of St. John, and the twenty-
eighth of St. Matthew, and the enlightenment of the
day of Pentecost — the further instruction of a mira-
culous vision^) had ventured, on the strength of the
visible eifusion of the Holy Spirit, to baptize Cornelius
and his kinsmen and near friends, the great and novel
act stirred, as we read, the Church in Jerusalem greatly.
' The apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard
that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that
were of the circumcision contended with him ^' Is not
b St. John X. 16 ; St. Matt, xxviii. 19 ; St. Mark xvi. 15. ' Acts xi. 1.
III.] Cornelius at Ccesarea. 73
the mere fact, of their contendiDg with him — an apostle,
and the first of the apostles — full of significance ? Who
were the contenders ? Hardly, we can suppose, apostles ;
more probably some of the brethren ; some perhaps of
the great company of the priests who had recently sub-
mitted to the faith. Any way, there were found those
who publicly withstood the leading apostle in the great-
est and most signal step yet taken in the history of the
Church. How then did St. Peter reply ? Did he allege
his own single inspired authority ? Did he ask a
rescript from the other eleven, still apparently unscat-
tered, laying down the inspired law from the apostolic
college ? Far from it. He rehearsed the whole matter
from the beginning. He laid before the apostles and
brethren the grounds of his conduct. He satisfied them
of its propriety by argument ; so that ^ when they heard
these things they held their peace and glorified God,
saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life ^.'
I consider that these cases establish beyond question
the points which I am now urging : first, that in their
acts and in their oral teaching the apostles, separately
or jointly, acted and spoke with an authority w^hich was
complete, ample, and unquestioned ; but secondly, that
for absolute and plenary power — for such power as
belongs to the undoubted utterances of the Holy Ghost
by the mouth of man — they needed the universal con-
J' Acts xi. 18.
74 Their authority in writings. [lect.
sent and agreement of all those in whom, according to
their various degrees^ the Holy Spirit^ the only source of
divine truth, resided.
The apostles however did not only teach orally, with
such powers as I have described, but some of them also
wrote books, and the body of their writings, together
with three books written by apostolic men, not apostles,
constitute a most important portion of the sacred teach-
ing which the inheriting Church possesses. How then
do the principles which have been hitherto laid down
bear upon these writings, and what aspect do they give
to the great controversies which have agitated the
Church of late years, respecting their divine character
and authority ?
Let us consider.
If an apostle, travelling alone, preached the word
of God orally in some heathen town, as in Corinth,
Philippi, or Ephesus, we have already seen that his
words were authoritative as coming from one of those
upon whom either the Holy Spirit had rested at Pente-
cost, or had been specially given since, for the teaching
and conversion of the world : yet that at the same time
they were not so finally authoritative as not to be con-
ceivably capable of error (witness the case of St. Peter
and St. Barnabas at Antioch) nor to be absolutely in-
dependent of the joint and confirming authority of the
other apostles and of the Church at large (witness, as
I have already quoted, the history of the Council of
III.] Infallibility of writings. "j^
Jerusalem, and the language of St. Paul in the Epistle
to the Galatians^). If then_, after having left such a
town, the apostle should write a letter, whether of
doctrine, encouragement, or additional advice and coun-
sel to those whom his preaching had converted to Christ,
is there, in the nature of the case, any reason to suppose
that his written words differed in point of authority
from his spoken ones ? or that any infallibility, so to
call it, attaches in any especial way to his writings
beyond what attached to everything that he did or
said ?
And here, brethren, bear with me while I venture
to protest against the use of the words ' infallible ' and
^infallibility^ in such an application altogether. It
seems to me to be mere confusion of thought to attribute
infallibility to books or statements, or propositions in
words of any kind. I understand what is meant when
I am told that a Gospel by St. John or an Epistle by
St. Paul is certainly true and authoritative, because the
apostles were infallible; but I can attach no meaning
at all to the words that the Gospel or Epistle are them-
selves infallible. They are true or not true, authoritative
or not authoritative. But ^ infallibility ^ seems to me to
be a word without meaning as applied to them. Infalli-
bility, in any intelligible sense, is surely a quality oi per-
sons. Persons may be said to be infallible who are in such
sort possessed of the truth as to be incapable of being
1 Gal. ii. 2.
7<5 Infallibility of writings. [lect.
deceived themselves^ or of deceiving others ; so that
they may be consulted without possible risk of error
arising from them : but a book,, an answer, a propo-
sition or statement in words^ surely cannot in any in-
telligible sense be called infallible. It is^ as I said,
true or untrue, authoritative or not authoritative. I
cannot see how it can be more. No doubt it may be
held to be true because written or spoken by a person
who is infallible, and so, by an impropriety of speech,
be said to be infallible itself; but if this be, as I sup-
pose it is, the only meaning with which the word is
applied to the books of Holy Scripture, the impropriety
is surely one which requires to be pointed out and to be
guarded against. We are, then, driven, back upon the
^ infallibility^ of the men themselves, and this is a point
respecting which we are not wholly devoid of grounds
for forming some judgment.
It may seem a slight thing to make this observation,
but I hardly think that it is really without importance.
For in truth this unfortunate word ^ infallible^ is in
these controversies apt to be so lightly and incorrectly
used, as to import a new and very perplexing element
of obscurity and difficulty into a subject already suffi-
ciently difficult in itself. Nor indeed do I see how
the cause of truth would suffer, on any side or in any
way, if we should be content to refrain from the use of
it altogether "^.
m Yide Note N.
III.] TJteir authority in writings 77
But to return. Is it^ I ask, possible to assign to the
letters of an apostle,, written as I have supposed, any
authority different in kind or greater in degree than
that which we assign to his spoken words ? I confess
that I cannot imagine it to be possible. It is surely
conceivable, a priori, that written words of an apostle
may have been liable to the same extent of possible
perverseness and error to which his spoken words and
actions may have been liable. It is also conceivable that
an apostle might have communicated his written words
as well as his oral teaching to his brethren, lest at any
time he should write or have written in vain ^. Do we
seem in any, even in the smallest degree, to depreciate
or lessen the value of the apostolic writings by such
sayings as these ? Nay, brethren, I verily believe that
we establish and uphold it, and set it on a basis which
is quite unassailable by such attacks as it has recently
been exposed to : for we shew that while the authority
of these writings rests first upon the real apostolic
authority of the single apostle, commissioned, enlight-
ened, and empowered to teach, yet still a man, with his
own character and circumstances, and one of several
others as much commissioned, enlightened, and em-
powered as himself, — it rests secondly and ultimately
upon the recognizing confirmation and acceptance of
the whole Spirit-bearing body, whose seal finally sanc-
tions, and gives plenary confirmation and authority to
" Vide Note 0.
78 shewn by the hypothesis [lect.
all that is therein written, recognizing it as the very
voice of the Holy Spirit, and therefore absolutely true
and absolutely authoritative. The authority in the mat-
ter of teaching, like all other authority in the body of
Christ, is twofold in its source and in its kind : first
personal, then universal j first sufficient, then plenary ;
first unresisted, then irresistible.
If it were possible to imagine the discovery of an
original letter ^ by St. Paul or St. John or any other
of the Twelve, a discovery which should leave no doubt
whatever of its genuineness as being the real writing
of the apostle, it would of course come to Christian
people with all the weight that necessarily belongs to
the writing of one of the inspired apostles, one of the
original pillars of the Church; and such weight we
should acknowledge a priori, before we had opened
a page of the book or read a line of its contents.
But I apprehend that we have St. PauFs own authority
for saying that we — that is, the members of the Church
of Christ, both lay and clerical — must exercise a distinct
and undoubted judgment upon the book and its con-
tents when once we have opened it and read them.
' Though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach
any other gospel unto you than (or beyond) that which
we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As
we said before, so say I now again. If any one preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received,
o Vide Note P.
III.] of a newly discovered Epistle. 79
let him be accursed p/ Observe the repetition, brethren,
— which is indeed not by any means a mere repetition,
but a fuller and completer statement, adding another
most important particular to what had been said before.
The apostle does not only say, ^ any other gospel than
that which we have preached' Had he stopped there,
he might have seemed to set the authority of Christian
teaching altogether and exclusively upon the personal
preaching of the apostles, — ^but he adds, ^ than that ye
have received' Surely it cannot be denied that he here
invokes the Christian judgment of the members of the
Church in general to pronounce upon the identity of
any teaching supposed to be new with that which the
apostles have authoritatively taught, and which the
Church at large is conscious of having received. He
sets up the validity and authority of Christian teaching
upon two pillars which are not identical. It must, in
order to be accepted as true and authoritative, har-
monize with what the apostles have taught the Church,
and what the Church knows that she has received. In
other words, St. Paul must be understood, I apprehend,
to recognize in respect to the all-important subject of
Christian truth the very same two co-ordinate principles
which I have endeavoured to maintain — the Divine
descent of gifts determined to their special holders, and
the great supporting, upholding authority of the uni-
versal body, of which these specially endowed men are
P Gal. i. 8, 9.
So Twofold authority of [lect.
the representatives. Precisely the same inference is to
be drawn from the language of St. John in his First
General Epistle. ^ These things have I written unto
you^' he says, ^concerning them that seduce you. But
the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth
in you, and ye need not that any man teach you :
but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught
you, ye shall abide in Him<i.' It can hardly be denied
that St. John here, in an epistle addressed to the whole
Church, attributes to all whom he addresses the pos-
session of divinely imparted truth, founded upon a
previous teaching, and now fully theirs by the anointing
of the Holy Spirit, in which possession of truth they
all, in the strength of that anointing, are to take care
to abide. And all this, it will be observed, belongs to
the age in which the apostles were still living, and
teaching upon the earth.
As to the actual writings of the apostles themselves,
therefore, it seems to me to be a clear case that their
authority, when carefully looked into, will be seen to
rest upon two separate and distinct grounds. First,
such as may be termed a priori, if I may so de-
scribe them, inasmuch as they are the writings of
men specially and personally endued with the gift of
the Holy Grhost for the teaching of the world. And
this, in their case, might well be considered to be
q 1 St. John ii. 26, 27.
III.] the Apostolic writings. 8 1
sufficient even if it were alone ; for it might be reason-
ably and very forcibly argued that, even if there were
a conceivable liability of error in the oral communi-
cations of men who, though assisted by the Holy Spirit,
were yet of like passions as ourselves, their written and
enduring words might well be expected to be kept free
from the possibility of incurring any such danger. But
it is not alone; for in strong and, as it seems to me,
incontrovertible confirmation of this a priori ground
for accepting the apostolic writings as the utterances
of the Holy Spirit, we have the full and unquestioning
recognition of the fact by the whole Spirit -bearing
Church of their own and succeeding ages. If the
former or a priori argument established almost beyond
the reach of question that whatever the apostles wrote
for the teaching of the Churches was reasonably to be
held to be Divine, the latter or a posteriori argument
proves that these special writings are Divine as a matter
of fact, and that all that they contain is absolutely true,
and lacking in no point the full and entire authority
of the Holy Spirit, under whose guidance and direction
they were written.
I have hitherto spoken only of the actual writings
of the apostles themselves; but the view which I am
urging comes out with considerably greater force and
clearness when we turn to the three books of the New
Testament which were not written by apostles — the
Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke, and the history of
G
82 The authority of the writings [lect.
the Acts. Whence do these books derive the authority
which the Church has always assigned to them ? What
grounds have we for believing that they come to us
with the same Divine weight which we attribute to
the apostolic books?
We shall probably be told that St. Mark was the
disciple and interpreter of St. Peter_, and St. Luke the
companion of St. Paul. And both these facts are
established upon good evidence^ and possess no incon-
siderable significance in the argument. But are they
sufficient to carry the conclusion we require ? I own
that I greatly dread the thinness of the logic which
would rest so important a doctrine upon such slender
grounds. If, even in the case of the apostles them-
selveSj we have not rested the final weight of the
authority of their writings upon their own separate and
personal infallibility, how is it possible to strain the
same argument to prove the Divio e authority of writers
— an authority that we believe to extend to every single
fact that they record, and every single word that they
have written — of whom we do not know with any
certainty whatever how much or how little they com-
municated with those apostles whose names are quoted
to supply authority to their narratives? No, surely;
while these facts, fairly proved, go far enough to
establish for these books a strong a priori claim to
reverence and respect, the real ground on which we
must ultimately base their Divine character, and there-
III.] of St. Mark and St. Luke. 83
fore their absolute authority, must be that they were
recognized as such by the early Church. In respect
of the really apostolic books the a priori argument may
seem to be so strong, even at this distant date^ as to
balance, if not to outweigh, the a posteriori recognition.
But in regard to these books the a priori argument is
comparatively so feeble as to throw out into especial
prominence and force the importance of the a posteriori
recognition or seal of the Church. This is the case
still more strongly in the case of the two books of
St. Luke than in that of St. Mark, not only because
there is more express evidence of tradition for con-
necting St. Peter — an actual companion of the Lord —
with the Gospel of St. Mark than St. Paul with the
writings of St. Luke, but also because St. Luke in
the preface to the Gospel seems to refer the authority
of his narrative altogether to a different source. What
that authority is, and how the preface to St. Luke^s
Gospel is to be interpreted, I will not detain you now
by examining"*. Suffice it for the present to say that
the ordinary interpretation of it seems to me to be
very superficial and incorrect, and that, so far as I can
judge, it appears when duly examined rather to put
St. Luke into the position of one of the eyewitnesses
of the facts which he relates, than to disclaim that
position for him.
But however this may be — whether St. Luke^s autho-
' Vide Note Q.
84 Gradual growth and recognition [lect.
rity be derived from tlie eyewitness of others, or, as I
rather believe him to signify, from his own, alike the
a priori grounds on which the two books which he has
contributed to the body of the New Testament are
esteemed divine and therefore incontrovertible, whatever
and however strong they once were, must be considered
to have almost wholly perished by lapse of time and the
consequent loss of information respecting them. Con-
sequently little, if anything, now remains to us on
which we can ground the strong and assured certainty
which we feel upon the point, except the uniform and
consentient testimony of the ancient Church, which in its
Spirit-bearing multitude of all ranks and degrees, pro-
nounced it to be a true and authoritative record of the
evangelical history. Divine, and one which might not be
in any respect questioned or gainsayed.
Considerations such as these which I have suggested,
appear to me, brethren, to be helpful as enabling us to
put the Scriptures of the New Testament into their
proper position of relation to the general knowledge and
teaching of the apostolic age, and so indirectly to supply
the true answers to a multitude of embarrassing ques-
tions and difficulties which otherwise appear to be ex-
tremely hard of solution. For these writings, no other-
wise than the oral teachings of the apostles, form an
integral part of that great inheritance of the Church,
which the Church from the early days has recognized,
acknowledged, and submitted to, as the divine and
III.] of the books of the New Testament. 85
authoritative teaching of the Holy Spirit. They had
their place in the first age^ as confirming and supple-
menting the oral teaching, and I suppose that it is not
difficult to understand the feeling with which a man
might have expressed a preference for the oral over the
written teaching in words like those of Papias : ' If ever
any one came who had kept company with the elders, I
used to ask him the words of the elders, what Andrew
or Peter said, or Philip, or Thomas, or James, or John,
or Matthew, or any other of the Lord^s disciples. For I
did not think that the things written in books did me
so much good as those that came from the living and
abiding voice ^/ And it is not to be forgotten that the
living tradition of the first age must, in the nature of
things, have retained a very large number indeed of
memories — memories of words, acts, even of looks
and gestures of the Lord — of infinite interest to those
who heard them from the lips of living witnesses, the
total disappearance of which from the inherited treasure
of the Church gives no inconsiderable addition of weight
to the written record, which, after all that is lost, still,
by God^s merciful providence, contains enough to enable
us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and believing, to have life through His Name.
But by degrees, under the same wonderful super-
intending providence of God, these writings, of which
« Papias ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. iii. 39. p. 222. Vide Routh's Reliq.
Sacrae, vol. i. p. 39.
86 Advantages of that gradual [lect.
the greater part were, so to speak, occasional, and re-
ferring to the particular needs and circumstances of
particular Churches, began to shew themselves as a
connected body. One Gospel, whether with the con-
sciousness of the writer, or no, supplemented another.
Doctrines taught, or referred to, or omitted in one
Epistle, were found to have their confirmation, or expla-
nation, or completion, in another ; until at last, and by
degrees, the Church came to recognize what neither the
inspired authors themselves, nor the Church which had
received them as Divine, had before known, that they
all formed parts of a Divine whole, and that while indi-
vidual writers, under the help and direction of the Holy
Spirit of God, had been compiling narratives or writing
letters according to the separate needs which they had
themselves felt, the Holy Spirit of God had been un-
awares preparing a vast code of truth and doctrine which
should become the full and undeniable written law of the
Church to all future ages.
It might, as I just now said, be possible for individual
Christians to prefer the orally delivered recollections of
the apostles to written books. It was more than possible
for the Church in the days when these writings were
still incomplete, some of them still of uncertain autho-
rity, and some (by their being addressed to single
Churches, or even individual Christians) still not uni-
versally known, to rest more upon the still strong and
unquestioned tradition of oral teaching, than upon the
III.] growth and recognition. Sy
gradually accumulating and gathering strength of
written books ; but as the Book of God by degrees
gained its completeness, and the Church recognized
in it not only the authority of its several portions, but
also the entireness and self-supplemented character of
the whole, the enduring nature of writings as distin-
guished from oral tradition necessarily and universally
gave to ' The Book'' the first place in point of authority,
as the source of the teaching of the later ages. Not but
that even then and always the words of the book were
to be explained, its doctrines gathered and interpreted,
and its omissions (for omissions there still were) supplied
by the strong and ever-descending stream of traditional
teaching, which formed, as it were, a mighty code of
the common law of the inheriting Church.
The very occasional character of the separate portions
of the book, and its varied authorship, gave it a new and
very peculiar value. For from its occasional character
the interior life of Churches, the temptations to which
the early converts were liable, the sins which they com-
mitted, and a multitude of particulars relating to their
condition and its dangers, and the modes also in which
the apostles dealt with special cases, mingling authority
with persuasion, and tempering severity by gentleness,
came out with a clearness and force which could hardly
have been otherwise given ; and from the varied author-
ship of the books, all reflecting in the clearest way the
mental and moral peculiarities of their respective writers,
88 The argument so completed [lect.
we see how different schools, so to call them, of mind
and thought (as of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John),
under the shaping and governing influence of the Holy
Spirit of God, are all made capable of combining in one
harmonious record of faith and love.
In like manner the views which I have stated appear
to me to suggest indirectly the true answers to many
perplexing and embarrassing questions which otherwise
would seem to be very difficult to answer. For if it
be true that the Church in the first ages decided these
books to be Divine, partly on a^ priori grounds, that is,
upon arguments founded on the sanctity, or means of
information, or proved possession of Divine help in the
writers, or the like, a considerable part of which have, in
the course of ages, necessarily perished; and partly on
what I may call a posteriori grounds, that is to say, be-
cause they recognized in the books themselves the very
truth of the holy Gospel given to the Church, and there-
fore yielded entire and devout acceptance and submission
not to their general truth and divineness only, but to the
very words, yes and to the very order of the words, in
which that truth is conveyed ; and if they who thus put
the seal of such universal acceptance and submission,
constituted the entire body of the Church in their gene-
ration, in the several members of which according to
their various degrees and duties resided the fulness of
the Holy Spirit, the only source of all Divine knowledge,
—•we seem not only to have full and adequate grounds
III.] escapes ma7iy difficulties. 89
for considering' their authority estahlished^ but also to
escape the necessity of going into very many perplexing
questions which we could not avoid if the whole proof
of the divineness of the books lay upon us^ and we had
in every generation to prove it anew with constantly
decreasing means of investigation and knowledge.
We do not need, for example, any theory of in-
spiration. It is quite beside the mark that we should
speculate as to the degree or manner or nature of the
influence which the Holy Spirit saw fit to exercise upon
the writers^ minds. The primitive Church neither con-
structed nor transmitted any theory of the kind.
We do not require any subtle analysis to enable us to
distinguish the Divine from the human elements, both
confessedly present in the composition. The primitive
Church neither denied the fact, nor attempted to search
into it.
We do not care to ask or answer questions about
verbal inspiration. The primitive Church was content
to recognize the books as the utterance of the Holy
Spirit, to be absolutely submitted to and acknowledged
as Divine and true.
If questions like these were ever such as could be
reasonably enquired into, or possibly answered, they are
simply anachronisms now. The case is necessarily and
very importantly altered in respect of the grounds of
our belief by mere lapse of time. If we have lost on the
one side much, very much indeed, of what I have called
90 It was the special work of the [lect.
the « priori grounds on which, the authority of the books
was once rested, we have gained proportionally on the
other. We seem to stand on a ground that is higher,
and one which makes us independent of various ques-
tions like these which I have alluded to. It is sufficient
for usj — it must he sufficient for us, — that the books have
been pronounced by those who alone had the means, and
therefore the power and duty to pronounce upon them,
to be utterly true, authoritative, and Divine. They
have upon them the seal of God in the Church, and they
neither need nor can possibly have more. Not only is
the time altogether passed by when we could have
cross-examined evidence, or searched to the bottom the
validity of the arguments on which the books were thus
recognized, but also God did actually give to that age
the duty of doing all this, and the means of doing it
rightly, and He has withheld from us both the duty and
the means. It was their precise work to pronounce with
spiritual discrimination upon the writings which claimed
to be Divine. They have pronounced ; — some they have
declared apocryphal; some they have with one voice,
sometimes after longer or shorter delay, pronounced
canonical. The seal of God in the Church is upon them,
and they neither need nor can possibly have more.
Criticism may, no doubt, discover difficulties in them —
apparent discrepancies, apparent errors of this sort or
that. We can but reply, that we do not know. We have
not the knowledge necessary either to convict them of
III.] first ages to judge of the books. 91
error or^ at least in very many cases^ to acquit them of
it ; and let it be observed that when any man claims to
convict them of error, he is in fact claiming to possess
a complete knowledge of the whole case^ which he cer-
tainly has notj and which he cannot possibly have. If
we had lived in those ages we should have known and
should have been able to explain or reconcile many
things which now seem difficulties to us, but now the
knowledge requisite for reconciling them has perished.
But this we know, that these books, their ti-uth, autho-
rity, and divineness, are guaranteed to us by the Holy
Spirit in the body of Christ from the earliest times, and
that if that guarantee is capable of deceiving us, then
there is no point of Christian truth or Christian hope on
which we can rely.
I do not know, brethren, how far I have succeeded in
making my meaning clear. I have wished and intended
to exemplify in this the first and greatest instance of all
— the teaching and authority of the apostles themselves
— the general principle which I laid down in the earlier
Lectures, namely, that not even in these twelve holy
men themselves, highly exalted as they were above all
other sons of men, as privileged to become the very
channels by which it pleased God to communicate the
covenanted graces of the Holy Spirit to those who came
after them, did the sacred gifts reside in such sort as to
exclude from the real participation of ultimate power and
authority the whole of the Spirit-bearing body of Christ
92 The argument of the Lectures [lect.
in all its members^ in their due proportion; so that,
whether they taught orally, or compiled narratives in
Writing of what they had seen and heard, or addressed
letters to their converts, or whether they acted as fathers
and governors in Christ either of the particular Churches
which they planted, or of larger portions of the Church,
or of the Church at large, they did all with a general
acknowledgment, to be plainly gathered from their con-
duct and their language, that they were but the organic,
representative voice of t!ie Spirit-bearing body, per-
sonally authorized and empowered by personal conse-
cration of the Holy Spirit Himself to teach and govern
all, in the name of all, and with the authority of all.
No one can be more conscious than I am, brethren,
of the extreme slightness and imperfection of the way in
which I have dealt with this subject. But you will, I
trust, readily understand that I have meant my words
to be suggestive only. I have wished to illustrate a
very large theme by bringing it under the scope of
a still larger principle, and for this purpose a slight and
imperfect sketch is not without some advantage. To my
own mind there appears to be some weight in the con-
siderations I have urged. They seem to connect them-
selves intelligibly, and I think not unsatisfactorily with
a great system of Church doctrine and authority ; and
to offer some help towards setting various incidental
questions of no slight difficulty and importance upon a
clear and sound basis.
III.] intended as suggestive only. 93
Such as they are^ I commend them, brethren^ to your
candid thought^ earnestly hoping that nothing that I
have said may infringe in any degree on either of the
two great pillars of Christian truth and authority, the
Divine descent of apostolic authority on the one hand, or
the plenary possession of every sort of Divine power for
the restoration of mankind in the whole Spirit-bearing
body on the other.
LECTURE IV.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL, OR POST-APOSTOLIC
TEACHING OF THE CHURCH.
The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. —
I Timothy iii. 15.
T17E considered in the last Lecture the subject of the
teaching of the Church in the days of the apostles
themselves, and endeavoured to point out, however
briefly and imperfectly, that alike in oral and written
teaching, even the individual holders of the great gift
of the enlightening Spirit taught with a general ac-
knowledgment that not in themselves singly, nor even
in themselves conjointly, apart from the body, but in
the whole community of believers, which is the body
of Christ, dwelt that fulness of the Holy Spirit which
alone could give the plenary and final authority of
absolute and undeniable truth to Christian teaching.
It will be observed that herein is our first great
example of the general theory stated in an earlier
Difficult to draw an exact line, 95
Lecture : I mean the distinction to be taken and con-
tinually observed between the ultimate possession of
spiritual power and authority, and the organic instru-
mentality provided to administer it. It will be observed
that while the ultimate possession is with the Church
at large, the representative organs of the Church derive
their personal authority to teach and their right to be
esteemed representatives of the Church in that regard,
not from any act of election or empowerment done by
the whole Church, but directly from the gift of God,
which first constituted the apostles themselves and then
those to whom they delivered the succession of the like
authority, the teachers of the teaching Church, the
tongue as of fire of the believing body, the legitimate
and divinely authorized and empowered proclaimers to
the Church and to the world of the mercies of God in
Christ, and of the restoration of mankind to His love,
and the hope of heaven.
I proceed, for the purpose of further illustrating this
same great principle, to consider the post-apostolical or
ecclesiastical teaching of the Church; and I would
observe in the first place how impossible it is to draw
a strong and definite line which shall divide exactly the
apostolical from the ecclesiastical teaching. It is very
worthy of particular remark how very early the ecclesi-
astical or corporate character and powers of the Church
begin to exhibit themselves, and how soon the personal
supremacy, so to call it, of apostles separately, and of
96 Argument from the old age of St. John. [lect.
the apostolic body in general,, is seen to give place and
merge itself in the orderly system which^ by the over-
ruling providence of God, was destined to last on, and
to keep the Church together in its unity of faith and
discipline through all the subsequent ages. I have
already noticed the very remarkable absence of authori-
tative assertion on the part of the apostles (even though
it is probable that all the Twelve were present together)
at the Council of Jerusalem, and in the matter of the
baptism of Cornelius the centurion at Csesarea. Other
indications of the same kind are to be found in various
other parts of the early apostolic history as drawn from
the Acts and the Epistles. But, passing over these, I
would call particular attention as to a very striking and
less obvious instance of the same thing, to the old age of
St. John the beloved apostle. It appears to me to be
very instructive indeed to observe the total, and I may
almost say the surprising absence of any such authori-
tative assertion on the part of St. John, left behind for
so many years, the sole survivor, as we believe, of the
Twelve, certainly the sole survivor in the Churches
adjacent to Europe. And this fact, which would have
been very instructive if he had been any one of the
least distinguished among the Twelve yet surviving all
the rest for many years, becomes greatly more so when
we remember how eminent he was among them all as
the beloved apostle, as the one who had lain on the
Lord^s breast at the last supper, as one of the sons
IV.] Argument from tJte old age of St. John, 97
of thunder, as one of the two who should indeed drink
of the Lord^s cup and be baptized with the Lord's
baptism, and as the one who should in some sense tarry
till the Lord should come. If it be true that St. Peter
was in some sense the first in order of the apostles, yet
in many chief respects St. John stands out among the
Twelve in a position as great and as highly honoured
as any ^. Nothing can be more beautiful, nor, in respect
of the point which we are now considering, more in-
structive, than the gentle, loving old age of St. John
during his last years at Ephesus. We might have
expected that the whole Christian world, west and east,
would have besieged him with questions of all sorts,
with difficulties of doctrine and practice, with new per-
plexities continually emerging with the increased spread
of the Church, and the complications arising from it,
and have looked to receive from the lips of the last
of the apostles — the only remaining one of those on
whose head the Holy Spirit had rested in visible form
on the great day of Pentecost — final and authoritative
decision of them all. But instead of anything of this
kind, the aged apostle is represented to us in the most
trustworthy legends of his later life, as passing his old
age in the utmost quietness of ' calm decay and peace
divine,^ as teaching the young, reclaiming the fallen,
and with his dying words exhorting his children to
love one another. Not a word is heard of supremacy,
a Vide Note R.
H
98 And from the silence of history [lect.
nor of any lapse to the sole survivor of the Twelve of
any exclusive authority which might be conceived to
have devolved upon the last of those on whom the
tongues of Pentecost had rested. The Church in all
the world had by this time been based upon its true
and lasting foundations. Even Ephesus had its bishop,
whom he recognizes even while he delivers in the letter
of Christ contained in the Apocalypse the warning of
the Holy Ghost to him and to his Church. And so the
old man gently and simply passes away, his work
sweetly, gently, lovingly done ; leaving behind him the
now firmly organized and established Church in well-
nigh all the known world, the body of Christ with all
its universal life and all its necessary organs, full of
the Holy Ghost, to remain till the end of time, suffi-
ciently furnished with all the graces and powers where-
with it is to operate throughout its whole history in
the regeneration and salvation of mankind. There
seems to me to be a very strong argument in the long
old age of St. John as the sole survivor of the Twelve,
in favour of the Church system both in its general
outline and in its details; and be it remembered how
definitely that outline and those details are given in
the letters of Ignatius and Polycarp, the latter of whom
may, not impossibly, have been the actual bishop of
the Church of Smyrna addressed in the Book of the
Revelation.
The apostles then had done their work. The space
JV.] respecting the other Apostles. 99
of time which intei-v^ned between the death of the two
sons of Zebedee (how remarkably they drank the Lord^s
cup, and shared His baptism, and as it were sat on
His right hand and on His left in their deaths !) was
probably not less than fifty years. In this time they
had delivered the faith to the keeping of the Church ;
and they passed away one by one with what may well
seem a strange silence of authoritative tradition re-
specting their separate works and sufferings. Consider
how little we really know of the lives and labours of
those among them of whom we know most — even of
St. James the Greater, St. James the Less, and
St. Peter — while of the greater number of the rest we
really know nothing. And yet we cannot doubt that
each one of them passed through years of laborious
work, and of sufferings very notorious in their own
time ; so that St. Paul could say that God had seemed
to set forth the apostles last, as it were appointed
unto death, for that they were made a spectacle unto
the world, and to angels, and to men^, and that they
mostly ended their course by martyrdom. But in spite
of all that precious work — so precious that the wall of
the city of God, as seen in the vision of St. John^, had
twelve foundations, and in them the names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb — how deep is the silence
of history respecting it ! It seems to me that the
inference to be drawn from that silence is very closely
^ 1 Cor. iv. 9. c Rev. xxi. 14.
H %
100 And from the silence of history [lect.
akin to that which I have already drawn from the
gentle and long protracted old age of St. John, and
that both give great additional confirmation to what
has been said as to the way in which the apostolical
authority and powers, under the good providence of
God, merged themselves early and completely in the
ecclesiastical.
The apostles died, some sooner, some later ; but the
Holy Spirit of Pentecost lived on in the Body to which
they, under God, had been the means of communicating
spiritual life. And in the continuing presence of the
Holy Spirit the faith lived on unchecked and unim-
paired, though the first great preachers of it were
gradually taken to their rest. ' And that faith so
preached/ to adopt the words of St. Irenseus, ^ the
Church, though scattered in all the world, diligently
guards, as inhabiting one single house. Alike she
believes these things, as having one soul and the same
heart, and with harmonious voice preaches and teaches
them, and hands them down as having a single mouth.
For the languages of the world are various, but the
power of the tradition is one and the same, and neither
have the Churches in Germany believed otherwise, or
delivered otherwise, nor those in Spain, nor among the
Gauls, nor in the East, nor in Egypt, nor in Libya, nor
those that are planted in the middle of the world. But
as the sun, the creature of God, is one and the same in
all the world, so everywhere doth the preaching of the
IV.] respecting the oiJur Apostles. loi
truth shine and enhghten all men who desire to come to
the knowledge of the truth <'/
Thus the Church had entered upon its inheritance.
The sacred revealed truth faithfully handed down from
the original sources^ and maintained by the working of
the Divine Spirit of God in the hearts of succeeding
generations, was to be the inalienable possession of the
organized body of Christ upon the earth ; not to be
added to, not to be changed, not to be diminished ; to
admit of no developments in doctrine altering or mul-
tiplying its essential characteristics, nor of any com-
promises of the original revelation to suit the fastidious
criticism or pseudo-liberality of other times; a definite
body of Divine dogmatic truth entrusted by God to the
Spirit-bearing body to be His appointed means in regard
to faith, for bringing mankind to salvation in Christ.
It was entrusted, I say, to the organized body ; and
by that expression I mean that while the possession
of it, the ultimate and absolute possession of it, was
in the whole body — in the bishops and clergy, in
the faithful lay-people, in all without exception or exclu-
sion, — yet according to their various degrees — who
shared the Divine gift in which alone it had its being or
existence, yet that such widely and orderly diffused pos-
session was entirely compatible with the successive
empowerment by divinely descended ordination, of
special persons to be the organs of the body in the
4 Vide Note S.
102 The Church was now i7t full [lect.
particular office of publicly uttering and declaring it.
In other words, tlie truth resided as a possession in
the universal body. The divinely authorized tongue for
its proclamation was the ordained clergy.
Not but that from the first it was the duty, as it was
also the practice;, of others besides the ordained teachers
to spread the sacred truth which they, not less than the
ordained teachers themselves, believed and lived upon.
So they which were scattered abroad in the persecution
that followed upon the death of Stephen (and they are
expressly said to be 'all') went everywhere spreading
the good tidings of the Word. They surely could not
refrain from making known to others the Gospel which
their own souls had welcomed, nor was there, nor could
there ever be, any need to withhold it till some specially
commissioned preacher should arrive to give it author-
ized utterance. So Aquila and Priscilla took unto
them ApoUos, who, himself unordained, spake and
taught diligently the things of the Lord, and expounded
unto him the way of God more perfectly. So we read ®
in ancient Church historians that Frumentius and
^desius, two young men who had no external call or
commission to preach the Gospel, being carried captive
to India, converted the nation and settled several
Churches among them ; and again, ' that the Iberians
were first converted by a captive woman who made the
king and queen of the nation preachers of the Gospel
e Vide Note T.
IV.] possession of its powers. 103
to their people/ And so in all Christian ages have
pious lay-people, by private exhortation, by instruction
as parents, as friends, as teachers, and where the case
required, by more public methods^, contributed to spread
and keep alive among others that of which they as well
as the clergy were in full possession ; not by any means
usurping the special office of the ordained teachers, but
supplementing it in manifold ways which the actual
voice of the ordained teachers could not reach. So again
when learning became diffused, and the clergy were no
longer the sole possessors of it, lay-people, by published
books, by oral counsel and other such means, began to
take larger and more influential part in the great work
of keeping up and spreading the great inheritance of
Gospel truth which belonged no less to them than to
the clergy, whose commissioned and empowered duty of
teaching they desired not in any degree to invade by such
proceedings, but to assist and further it. The list of
laymen who, from Hermas and Justin Martyr to the
present generation, have written in support or illustra-
tion of Christian doctrine, is a very long and a very
noble one, far too long to introduce in this place. And
I will venture to say that these writers have furnished
a very precious support, and one that could be ill dis-
pensed with, to the cause of truth. The greater freeness
of mind which ky-people have brought to the subject,
even if it has occasionally been tinged with error, has
f Vide Note U.
104 TJie necessary contributions of lay [lect,
enriched it. The greater intermixture of other know-
ledge, and the habits of mind engendered by other
pursuits,, have supported and strengthened it. The
earnest adhesion of men who have not been bred to the
profession (so to call it) of teachers has been no incon-
siderable safeguard against the danger, by no means an
unreal one, of confounding the priesthood with the
Church, the organs with the body, and coming to con-
sider the possession of the truth as the exclusive privi-
lege, and, as it were, the vested interest of its authorized
teachers. Indeed, I will venture to say broadly, that
there is no department of learning or knowledge in
which lay-people making real progress and advancement,
and publishing the result of their studies for the benefit
of others, are not doing clear and manifest, though
indirect service to the truth of God. "Whether they
pursue science with a clear, bold, unhesitating step,
extending the limits of human knowledge of the ways
and works of God, I hail their progress as a distinct and
unquestionable contribution to that store which brings
man nearer to an intelligent and lofty appreciation of
the greatness of Him who is to be read as undoubtedly,
though in a different page of His works, in nature
as in grace. Or if they dive into history and the an-
tiquities of the human race, equally and alike undoubt-
edly — at least so long as their progress is real and not
of guess — do they strengthen the foundations of that
religion whose roots lie so deep in history, and which is
IV.] people in furthering the truth. 105
never so intelligently believed as by those who can
appreciate history^ who know the value of ages, and can
estimate the gradual unfolding of the designs of God in
the long tale of the fate and fortunes of mankind upon
the earth. Or, if they pursue philosophy, mental or
political, or in any other real way reach farther and see
more truly the essential methods whereby the real good
and prosperity of mankind are increased — alike, I boldly
say, that there is no department of human knowledge in
which real progress — real, sound, true, and ascertained
•progress — can be anything but a real help to divine
truth. It may be indirect, it may be distant. Those
who pursue it may possibly not know what is the ulti-
mate effect of what they do. They may perhaps not
intend, nor wish to further any such effect. Those who
more immediately study theological truth may possibly
dread their words, and feel disposed to discourage their
studies. But both alike are surely narrow and mistaken
in their supposed antagonism. The only possible an-
tagonism is when the one misinterprets or over-interprets
some of the outlying and unessential expressions of the
truth, and the other is in the state of guess. For God
is alike the Author of the natural and moral world, and
of the Gospel ; and every true step by which the know-
ledge of any is advanced, is, in its ultimate consequence,
a step in the wider, deeper, and truer knowledge of all.
The laws of nature are but the uniformity of the doings
of the creating and governing God in His world of
io6 The ministry of teaching [lect.
nature. The laws which govern the wellbeing and pros-
perity of men in their political and economical relations,
are but the principles which He has laid down for these
purposes^ gradually ascertained by men, and purged
from the disturbing effects of selfishness and self-will.
The truths of theology, perfectly compatible and en-
tirely harmonious with these, are the supernatural helps
whereby the spirit of man is trained in its aspect to-
wards God, and its progress to the eternal kingdom.
Far be it from a theologian to imagine that true science
and true philosophy, pursued to the utmost limits of
human powers, can be other than a real help to religious
knowledge. Far be it from a Christian philosopher to
doubt that however far he may be enabled to extend the
borders of real knowledge in any department, there still
needs the sacred cultivation of the immortal spirit in
the revealed truths of God, in and by the Church, the
body of Christ, the faithful reliance on the atoning blood
of the Redeemer, and the cherished life of the Holy
Spirit of sanctification in the heart of regenerated man.
But while we grant — nay, not only grant, but main-
tain that the gift of divine truth is so given to the
Church in general, as that all, whether they be clerical
or lay, have their respective share in the possession of it,
so as to live upon it themselves, to illustrate and spread
it in their own sphere, and to be able to render to others
the reason of the faith that is in them, it is equally true
and undeniable that to the ordained ministry, and to
IV.] intrusted to the ordained Clergy. 107
them alone^ belongs the special duty of the public
preaching and teaching of it. From the very first days
it has been perfectly clear that God has given such a
ministry of teachings — that the apostles, and bishops
after them, appointed such teachers by ordination given
with imposition of hands, and that teachers claiming to
teach without such mission and authority were not to be
listened to. ' How then shall they call on him in whom
they have not believed?^ asks St. Paul of the Romans,
' and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have
not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent ? as it
is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of
good things g.^ And his words addressed to Timothy,
Bishop of Ephesus, teach with the utmost plainness the
same lesson on the other side, when, speaking of future
evil days, he says that ^ the time will come when men
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears ; and they shall turn away their ears from
the truth V
By such imposition of hands the Apostle Paul ordained
elders in every Church ^, and elders so ordained he bade
to take heed to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
had made them overseers, to feed — no doubt with the
& Rom. X. 14, 15. h 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4.
I Acts iv. 23 : xx. 28.
lo8 Ministry intrusted to ordained Clergy, [lect.
food of holy truth— the Church of God which He hath
purchased with His own blood. What St. Paul did he
directed Timothy to do likewise J^ to lay hands, not
suddenly^ nor without adequate time of trial, on other
men for the ministry of the Gospel. And Titus in like
manner he bade to ordain elders — presbyters, teaching
priests — in every city^. The point is too clear for
argument. The universal Church has always considered
the imposition of hands by the successors of the apostles
as essential to ordination, and ordination essential to
those who are to be the public and authorized teachers
of the Christian truth.
To the ordained clergy then belongs, especially and
peculiarly, by the divine descent of commission and
power, the special office of teaching and preaching that
sacred doctrine and truth of God of which the Church
of God at large is the strong and sure foundation and
pillar. It belongs to them, one by one, as separate
teachers, each bearing the person or character of the
Church in his own sphere; and it belongs to them
jointly, and under due authority, in matters of counsel
and mutual help. Representatives they are only and
always, not lords, nor irresponsible authorities. Gra-
duated into a great system, patriarchs, metropolitans,
bishops, priests (and deacons, if they be thereto licensed
by episcopal authority) — they are the voice of the Church
for the public teaching of the truth of God.
3 1 Tim. V. 22. ^ Titus i. 5.
IV.] Mention of eardy councils. 1 09
From this constitution flowed directly^ as an inevit-
able consequence, the system of councils, which, rooting
itself as has been already observed, in the age of the
personal presence of the Twelve, became, when they
were taken away, the normal and constantly adopted
practice of the Church in the ages which followed.
The first post-apostolic synods of which we have any
express mention, are recorded by an anonymous author
quoted in the fifth book of the history of Eusebius, as
held about the years 160-170 against the heresy of
Montanus ; ' For the faithful in Asia,^ he says, ' having
come together often, and in many places in Asia, and
having examined the new doctrines, and having declared
them profane, and having disapproved of the heresy, so
at last they were driven out of the Church, and excluded
from communion.^ And TertuUian, in the same century,
testifies to the constant practice of holding councils ' per
Graecias^ from all the Churches, ' by which both certain
deeper questions are handled for the general benefit, and
the representation of the whole Christian name is cele-
brated with great veneration '.^ Eusebius also tells us of
various synods of bishops held in the second century on
the subject of the time of holding Easter — in Palestine
under Theophilus of Csesarea and Narcissus of Jerusalem,
in Rome under Victor, in Pontus under Palmas, in Gaul
under Irenseus and others °*.
^ Vide Note V. ™ SwoSot St? koI avyKpoTrjans iiriaKoiruu
ijrl Tavrhy iyivovro. Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. v. 23.
no Influence of the lay -people [lect.
The third century is chiefly remarkable for the Council
of Carthage under Cyprian on the subject of re-baptizing
such as had received heretical baptism. In the early
years of the fourth century councils held in various parts
of the Christian world, at Eliberis, at Aries, at Ancyra,
at Neo-Csesarea, at Laodicea are immediately followed
by the great ecumenical council of Nicsea, by the fifth
canon of which regular synodical assemblies are ordered
to be held in every province twice a year.
Thus the corporate principle was recognized in all the
Church from the beginning, — that corporate principle
which, based upon the fact of a diffused life in all the
Church, is directly opposed to the idea of a fixed loca^
centre, or a single human head. According to this
principle the whole spiritual life that is in the Church
must, in its various degrees and methods, conspire and
unite before any decision upon controverted truth can be
held to be absolutely final and authoritative. The
principle is entirely compatible with the existence of
subordination and variety of position in the Church, and
with very great corresponding difference in the weight
and value of opinion in persons holding such various
positions ; but nevertheless it excludes none who partake
in the life from partaking also in the possession of the
powers which are the necessary incident and consequence
of that life.
But what place, it must be asked, had lay-people in
the councils, and so^ in questions of doctrine and disci-
IV.] in tJu early Church. in
•
pline in the Church? Is it not quite plain and clear.
from the long history of such meetings in later days,
that the consultative voice as well as the preaching voice
of the Church remained with the bishops almost exclu-
sively, only occasional notice being given even of the
presence of presbyters, as in the first Council of Toledo,
of Eliberis, and a few others ? And again, if the prin-
ciples which I have ventured to lay down in these
Lectures be really sound and true, is their voice in
consultation and counsel really to be silenced and pass
for nothing ? Can it be, if the ultimate possession of
the truth be indeed the privilege of the entire body, that
so large a majority of the members of the entire body
should be devoid of all participation in pronouncing
what that truth is, or that the organs for declaring it
should be held to be also the sole authorities for deter-
mining it ?
It is a question of very great importance in itself;
and in reference to modern times and occasions it is one
of the very highest consequence : and over and over
again, brethren, I must beg you to remember that I can
but touch these great questions in the slightest way, and
can only hope to suggest thoughts which really require
very much more extended investigation than I can give
to them.
The reading of the text in Acts xv. 23° is so uncertain
on critical grounds that we cannot safely infer from the
n Vide Note W.
112 Influence of the lay-people [lecT.
mention of ^the brethren' in the letter of the Church
that lay-brethren took any part in the decision of the
Council of Jerusalem. True; but neither can we with
any certainty deny the fact of their having done so.
Indeed the presence of that reading at a time when
certainly the tendency of things in the Church had
begun to confine all government more and more exclu-
sively to the clergy^ may seem to throw the balance of
critical weight rather in favour of these words. There
surely has been no time since the fifth century in which
we can imagine such a reading to have been voluntarily
introduced into the text. However^ whether the words
* the brethren^ stand in the letter or no^ the resolution,
to send it was come to by ' the apostles and elders with
the whole Church/ and it was sent after they had been
'assembled with one accord;^ ^so as to show/ says
Chrysostom, ^that it is not done in a tyrannical way,
that all take part in the resolution, and that they wrote
the letter with careful consideration*'.'
The slight notices of councils in the second century by
no means tend to establish the absolute exclusion of lay-
people from them. According to the writer (perhaps
Apollinarius of Hierapolis) quoted by Eusebius, Hhe
faithful' came together in Asia to condemn the heresy
of Montanus ; and TertuUian, speaking of frequent coun-
cils, uses the expression '^ repraesentatio totius nominis
Christiani/ and neither the words of Eusebius or Ter-
o Vide Note X.
rv".] in the early Church. 113
tullian distinctly exclude, to say the least of them, any
class of the members of the body of Christ.
The language of TertuUian too, in other places, re-
specting the inherent power of lay-people in their place
in the Church in other respects, strongly confirmatory
of the idea that he would not have regarded their voice
as altogether powerless in matters of Christian counsel
and joint decree p.
From TertuUian we pass to Cyprian, who never passed
a day without reading the writings of TertuUian, ever
asking for them with the words 'Give me my master q/
No person who reads the Epistles of Cyprian can be
ignorant how constantly he recognizes the share of the
'plebs Christiana^ in the essential powers of the body of
the Church ^. Take for example the following passages :
* For this thing is agreeable to the modesty, and disci-
pline, and life of us all, that the bishops assembling with
the clergy in the presence also of the standing (that is,
the not lapsed) laity, to whom also themselves respect
is to be paid for their faith and fear, we may be able to
settle everything by the sacredness of united counsel?' —
*To that which our fellow-presbyters have written, I
have not been able to write back anything alone, since I
have resolved from the beginning of my episcopate to do
nothing of my own private opinion without your counsel
(the letter is addressed to the priests and deacons) and
P Vide Note Y. « S. Hieron. de Viris lllustribus, c. 53.
' Vide Note Z.
1 14 Influence of the lay-people [LECT.
without the consent of the lay-people/ Nay^, the clergy
of Rome^ in writing* back in reply to Cyprian, allege the
same thing : ' In so important an affair,'' they say, ' the
same thing approves itself to us which you have already
dealt with, namely that the peace of the Church (that is,
the restoration of the lapsed) must be deferred; and
that then a communication of counsels being made with
the bishops, priests, deacons, and standing lay-people,
the case of the lapsed be dealt with/ His practice in
council was correspondent with these views. The record
of the Council of Carthage begins thus : ' Very many
bishops having assembled at Carthage on the Kalends
of September from the province of Africa, Numidia,
Mauritania, with the priests and deacons, a very great
part of the lay-people being also present.' In like
manner at the Council of Eliberis in the year 305, we
read : * When the holy and religious bishops had taken
their seats in the church of Eliberis .... and likewise
the elders^ (whose names are also given), 'all sitting
down, while the deacons and all the people stood by, the
Bishop spoke.' And in the first Council of Toledo in
the year 398 : ^The bishops assembling, the presbyters
sitting with them, the deacons standing by, and the others
who were present at the council being collected.'
The presence of laity in councils is but rarely heard of
in later times ; but we read of it in some of our own
Anglo-Saxon councils. In the Council of Pisa pro-
fessors and doctors of theology were admitted to vote.
IV.] in the early Church. I15
and in the great Council of Constance doctors and
canonists and others not in holy orders were admitted
to a full share in consultation against the strenuous
efforts of the Papal party, chiefly through the arguments
of John Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris,
and the Cardinal of Cambray ^
If, bearing these things in mind, we endeavour to
estimate the degree of influence exercised in primitive
times by the laity on the counsels and decisions of the
Church, we shall, I think, perceive that it was by no
means small or insignificant. They had an unquestioned
voice in the selection of the bishops, and even, as there
is reason to suppose, of the presbyters ; so that even
those who sat in council were the men whom they had
concurred in choosing. They were present, often if
not always, in the same sort of position as the ordained
deacons at the consultations and debates of councils.
Their acquiescence and approbation were implied in
their silent presence. No doubt the instance of St. Cy-
prian is the most striking one as applicable to my point
to be found in Christian antiquity, but his principle and
practice are distinctly acknowledged by the Roman
clergy, and by the occasional indications that appear
even through the deepening and gradually systematized
sacerdotalism of later times.
That such influence gradually diminished there can,
of course, be no doubt. It is a striking indication of
s Latin Christianity, viii. 257 ; Fleury, vol. xxi. p. 226.
I 2
Ii6 Evils of its gradual decline. [lect.
the early diminution of it tliat there are two canons of
the Council of Laodicea expressly depriving ^the mul-
titude^ of any voice in the election of bishops or priests^
plainly showing, as is observed by the Greek commen-
tator Zonaras, that they had possessed that privilege
before *.
Gradually the influence of the laity, as telling in any
direct and legitimate way upon the counsels of the
Church, diminished till it expired altogether. It is
melancholy to read the struggles for reformation, the
hopes, the good intentions of many, and the repeated
disappointments of the age before Luther, while good
men were doing their best to purify the Church from
the terrible evils which had become inveterate in it.
The history of the Councils of Constance and of Basle "
is the history of good intentions, and often of bright
hopes, fighting up in vain against a system which was
too strong for them, — ^the sacerdotal system, the Roman
system, the system which at this day some who were
once our friends would fain press upon us, as they have
accepted it themselves, in its corrupt and terrible sim-
plicity, — a system that refused to be reformed from
within, and was only driven into intenser and completer
exclusiveness when reform took the shape of rebellion,
and western Europe, in its most thoughtful and intel-
ligent nations, incurred the ban of excommunication
from the patriarchate of Rome. I suppose that no candid
t Vide Note AA. " Vide Note BB.
IV.] Evils of its gradual decline. wj
reader of the history of the fifteenth century can doubt
that if the councils of Christendom had been constantly
conducted on the principles laid down in the Letters of
Cyprian^ the Church might have been saved the me-
lancholy rent and separation of the next century ; and
I venture to think that the Erastianism which exists in
the Church of England, and the fettered condition of
the clergy under the control of a lay parliament, not
necessarily even Christian, is but a natural reaction from
the loss of a primitive principle, which would, if it had
been duly developed according to the necessities of the
Church and the greatly increased fitness of many of the
lay-people, by education, learning, piety, and practice of
life and business to partake in its consultations, and
with the deepened sense of responsibility which such
participation would naturally have produced, have con-
tributed to give an immense increase of strength and
freeness of union and power to all its movements, and
have placed it in a position much more in accordance
with its true spiritual constitution.
It is no doubt easy, if we assume as a first principle
that the practice of the Church in its middle centuries
is in these respects altogether right and apostolical, to
frame retrospectively a fair-sounding argument to ac-
cou7it for the same practice not being found in the re-
cords of the earlier ages. But endeavouring to take the
other line, and trace synthetically the working of the
Church from the Acts of the Apostles onwards in respect
il8 No infallibility in the Priesthood. [lect.
of its conciliar action, and its theory of the possession
of divine truth, I find myself entirely at a loss to dis-
cover the beginning of the doctrine that the truth was
in such sort delivered to the bishops, as that they alone
(or even along with the presbyters) have the absolute
and final right to consult or judge respecting it. I
cannot find the beginning in the records of the ancient
Church of that doctrine which in its extreme form
teaches that ^ the pastoral ministry ^ as a body cannot
err, because the Holy Spirit, who is indissolubly united
to the mystical body, is eminently and above all united
to the hierarchy and body of its pastors,^ or that ^ the
episcopate nrdted to its centre is, in all ages, divinely
sustained and divinely assisted to perpetuate and to
enunciate the original revelation/ That such indwelling
of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ is the very
truth of God, I thankfully and from the bottom of my
heart acknowledge. That by a divine succession of
authority and empowerment the priesthood are made to
be the organs for imparting to the separate members
of the body the efiicacy of those powers which, by the
presence of the Holy Spirit in the whole body, are those
of the whole body, I fully and entirely believe. That
the bishops are the chief governors of the Church ; that
to them belongs the highest and principal authority;
that for the sake of that honour and authority, and for
many reasons of convenience and necessity, bishops
V Vide Note CC.
IV.] Example of St. Cyprian. 119
should often meet alone^ and their voice and judgment
suffice to rule in questions of such kinds, all this I grant
most freely and unhesitatingly ; but I cannot consent to
transfer absolutely to those who are rulers, because they
are divinely appointed representatives of the Church,
the possession, in such sort, of the truth, as that it
should not be possessed by the whole Spirit-bearing
body, capable in its various degrees of knowing, assent-
ing to (and if of assenting to, then conceivably of dif-
fering from) the conclusions of those to whom the
preaching voice, and the prerogative of place and priority
in consultation and judgment unquestionably belong.
And as for the episcopate being united to its centre,
that is, to the Pope of Rome, and as such holding these
exclusive powers of alone being possessed of the truth of
God, such teaching* seems to me but as the ingenious
completion of an edifice of cards, built up by a thin
logic in defiance of the most certain facts of history,
and the most undoubted doctrine of the great writers of
the primitive Church.
It is also no doubt right to represent, as is often
represented, the conduct of St. Cyprian as that of a man
raised by God in very stormy times to hold together,
by the grace, wisdom, and love which God gave him,
the conflicting elements in the Church. I ask no more.
For there is no real wisdom except it be in truth, and
other times are stormy, possibly not less stormy and
dangerous than were those of the African Church in the
120 Example of St. Cyprian [lect.
age of Cyprian. We do not doubt that that great saint
held a very high and eminent position, and that his
episcopal powers were very great, so that even if he had
acted alone, his acts would have been both wisely done,
and done with sufficient authority ; yet even then they
would have been subject to the silent review of brother
bishops and presbyters, and the silent approving ac-
quiescence of the whole body of believers. And it is
in the fact of that silent review, and of that silent ap-
proving acquiescence, that the ' wisdom ^ of the course
which he took is to be seen. He was so meek and wise
as to ascertain beforehand that he moved with the full
consent and approval of his clergy and people, and
while no doubt a bishop so acting may win so far upon
the minds of men as that his own mind may be im-
pressed upon all, it is also not impossible that he himself
may receive suggestions, and derive not only much
additional weight from such consultation, but perhaps
a larger wisdom also than his own mind without that
aid might supply.
The present age, and the circumstances of the Church
of England, appear to me to make it of singular im-
portance, and at the same time to offer a singularly
favourable opportunity, to develope these principles anew
in practice. A colonial diocese of the Church of Eng-
land seems to afford a state of things rarely occurring
among us at least for many ages past, in which it is
not only possible to act out these principles in their
IV.] applicable to Colonial Churches. 121
integrity^ but also in which it is nearly impossible with-
out them to hope for any permanent or widely extended
effects upon colonial populations. Here at home, sur-
rounded as we are by a multitude of conditions, the
result of centuries of political and ecclesiastical action of
every various kind, hampered by difficulties too many
and too intricate to allow any considerable hope of
setting things upon a primitive basis, a bishop, sup-
ported on the one hand by secular law, and interfered
with on the other much more than he is supported by
it, works, as it were, in chains, and must be content to
confine himself to such personal labours, excessive indeed
from the magnitude of dioceses, as the system which we
have inherited from former ages allows him. But there
is no reason why a colonial bishop, freed as he has been
by recent judicial decisions from the embarrassments of
his brethren at home, should not be as Cyprian, should
not speak as Cyprian, should not act as Cyprian. Surely
the noble language of the African martyr may well and
wisely be the language of such a man, sent to take the
oversight of a great colony, with few, or possibly no
other bishops near him, each supported by his body of
scattered clergy, and thrown back by his very isolation
and freedom upon first principles. ' From the very be-
ginning of my episcopate I resolved to do nothing with-
out the counsel of my presbyters and deacons, and
without the consent of my lay-people, ... to whom also
themselves respect is to be paid for their faith and fear.
122 The ultimate assent of the whole Church [lect.
that we may be able to settle everything by the sacred-
ness of united counsel x/ I will not venture to speak of
the details of such things,, nor to do more than allude to
the success which has attended such efforts in one ini-
portant colonial province ; but I will venture to affirm
that unless a colonial bishop so supports himself and his
clergy by the real, proportionate aid and consent of the
lay members of his flock — men often of very large in-
telligence and experience, of knowledg'e and practice
in life, and sometimes of sound and deep theological
reading, any way baptized and Spirit-bearing members
of the Church, and, as such, partakers in their degree in
the single source of all spiritual power — he deprives
himself of one of the best hopes of lasting and wide
influence, of free and powerful and united action, and
endangers the loss of a great amount of sympathy and
practical help which he cannot spare or supply other-
wise, and which may very possibly and very naturally
turn to opposition and dismemberment. For there is a
very strong and a very fatal reaction in these things.
But however completely any actual participation by
lay-people in consultations of council or synod has
disappeared in the later ages of the Church, it has
never been wholly forgotten that their subsequent
acquiescence and approval is requisite to give to the
decrees of councils their final and complete authority.
Take for example the language of Abp. Laud in the
* Vide Note DD.
IV.] always held to he essential. 123
conference with Fisher the Jesuit y. He holds that
all the power that any council can have it derives
wholly from the catholic and universal body of the
Church, and of the clergy in the Church whose repre-
sentative it is. And, debating the question whether
the representing body hath all the power, strength,
and privilege that the represented hath, he concludes
that the representing body may err, while the repre-
sented may still, in virtue of those members who know
the truth, continue to hold it inviolate. In like manner,
urging that the whole Catholic Church militant pos-
sesses an absolute freedom from all liability of error in
the prime foundations of faith, he maintains that this
power is not communicable to any council which repre-
sents it. In support of these views he quotes the
Chancellor Gerson, who, at the Council of Constance,
urged over and over again that the power of the Church
resided in the universal Church, of which the decrees
of a general council, provided it represented it faith-
fully, formed its one and authorized expression ; so that
those things only are to be held necessary to be believed
for salvation which councils teach with the universal
consent of the entire Church given implicitly or ex-
plicitly, actually or by interpretation. He also quotes
Ockam, the ' Locke,^ as he has been well called, ' of the
middle ages, in his common sense philosophy and in
y Vide Note EE.
1 24 Universal consent alone final. [lect.
the singleminded worship of truth ^/ who, speaking of
the possibility of errors in a general council^ says that
when they occurred they would be got rid of by means
of the multitude of wiser and better men not present
at the council^ to whom also the multitude of simple
Christians would more readily attach themselves. To
this may be added the words of Cardinal Cambray at
r\ Constance: ' Many earlier councils^ considered general,
^ have, as we read, committed errors. For, according to
/^^^ certain great doctors, a general council may err, not
only in fact, but also in law, and what is more, in the
Awj/ faith. For this privilege of inability to err in the faith
' belongs only to the universal Church.^
And what again is this but the language of St. Basil ?
' Where spiritual men/ he says, ' take the lead in coun-
cils, and the Lord^s people follow them in harmonious
accordance of mind, who will doubt that such counsel
has taken place by the communication of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who poured forth His blood for the
Churches a?'
But how widely different is all this from the com-
pleted Eoman theory of which I just now quoted the
most recent expression !
This majestic consent, this absolutely universal ad-
hesion, it is which gives to the three great creeds of
the universal Church, and to the decrees of the four
=! Milman, Hist, of Lat. Christianity, viii, 157.
0- Vide Note FF,
IV.] Evils of lay counsel becoming indirect. 125
first great councils, their fuU^ final, and irresistible
authority. The want of this universal consent weakens
in various degrees the decisions of smaller and less
weighty bodies — of divided national, provincial, or dio-
cesan synods. All these have their own respective and
proportionate weight, as part of a great system. As
in the case of subordinate courts of law, their judgments
are binding as far as regards the matters which come
under their cognizance, until appeal to a higher court
overrules their authority; so in the case of the lower
and lesser assemblies of the Church, the power is com-
plete and sufficient to rule the immediate cases on which
they pronounce, and within the sphere to which the
authority belongs, but all is subordinate to the higher
and more final authority of the universal Church. The
whole system of ordered and organized councils testifies
to the great and sacred principle that in the whole
Church, which is the body of Christ, in all its members
collectively, in the due proportion of their separate
parts and offices, dwells the ultimate authority which
Christ has left behind Him upon the earth for recog-
nising and conserving His truth, and administering it
to His people within the Church, and to the world
outside of it.
And I cannot but think that the causes which have
operated to exclude the lay- people from the direct
participation which, in their degree, they might seem
to have the right of claiming in the consultations of
126 Loss of responsibility in tJie lay-people, [lect.
the Churcli, have operated also in a most baneful way
to diminish their sense of responsibility in respect of
Church truth, and of Church work in these later ages,
and of their own position in regard to both. While
they have been ineffectual in excluding them from
indirect power — a power working with great and often
very injurious effect even in the most sacred things —
they have put them into a position which is at once
more or less antagonistic to the clergy, and which
has seemed to set them free from the responsibility
which is really and inalienably theirs. And this, if it
be so, is not only a heavy loss, but a terrible evil. It
is a loss of sympathy, of union, and of strength, greater
than can be measured. It has been productive of di-
vision, opposition, even of hostility more than can be told.
Above all, it has led men to forget that though they
may not have been entrusted with the specially organic
offices of the body of Christ, yet they too in their
respective places, are members of that sacred body, and
that they are by that membership bound to contribute,
according to the grace given to them, to every action
of that holy corporate life through which their own
personal life in Christ has been received, and in which
it must be maintained. My present observations bear
particularly on the office of spreading and upholding
the truth. Who can venture to set a limit to the
powers of the lay-people if, studying the inherited
truth of God with honest and faithful hearts, they
IV.] Loss of responsibility in the lay -people. 127
helped in their place and degree,, and not beyond it —
in parish, in diocese, in synod, in parliament, in respect
of education at home, in respect of spreading the Gospel
abroad — to uphold, to vindicate, and in their lives and
conversations to illustrate and offer a practical com-
mentary upon that sacred truth which as a possession
and as a trust is not less theirs than the preaching of
it belongs especially to the ordained clergy ? And none,
I suppose, can doubt that responsibility is in all cases
co-extensive with power, and that of every talent which
God has given. He will demand the exercise.
LECTURE V.
HOLY BAPTISM.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto
Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world, — St. Matthew xxviii. 18-20.
TN obedience to this parting command of their holy
Lord and Saviour, the very first action of the Spirit-
bearing Church_, and that begun within, we may believe,
little more than an hour after the actual descent of
the informing Spirit on the morning of the great Pente-
cost, was to baptize. Three thousand people were added
to the Church that day.
It was the first act in time, as it was the first in
importance. For baptism, the sacrament of the diffusion
or enlargement of the Church the body of Christ, is
the assured beginning of the Divine life in each several
man, the seal of the covenant of grace to his soul, the
Instances of Baptism. 129
assurance that he is made to be a son of the covenanted
love of God, and an heir of the kingdom of heaven,
being made a member of the body of Christ, a branch
of the living Vine which is Christ, a spiritual stone
of the sacred temple of the Holy Ghost, wherein Christ
dwelleth.
However, I have not to speak so much, at least for
the present, of the nature of the sacred gift as it is
received by the soul of a grown man in his own explicit
faith, or by the soul of an infant in the implicit faith
of others, as of the methods by which, and the authority
under which this sacred gift is administered.
The New Testament gives us considerable information
on these points.
Assuming, as we may perhaps not unreasonably do,
that the apostles alone baptized on the day of Pentecost
itself, what was the case in the other instances of
baptism recorded in the Acts of the Apostles ?
The first cases mentioned are those of the men and
women of Samaria, of Simon Magus, and of the Ethio-
pian eunuch baptized by Philip the deacon, as recorded
in the eighth chapter ». It seems to me to be an
observable fact that in all these early and signal cases,
the administrator should have been a deacon ; for though
no doubt the deacons were from the first ' not ministers
of meats and drinks only, but servants of the Church
a Acts viii. 12, 13, 38.
K
130 TJte cases of Baptism [lect.
of God''/ yet were they never regarded as sharers of
sacerdotal power or authority.
The next case is that of Saul the persecutor, struck
down near the gate of Damascus by the Divine light,
and voice of Christ, and baptized by ^ a certain disciple,
a devout man according to the law, having a good
report of all the Jews that dwelt there ^'Z Was Ananias
a priest ? none can tell. His name never occurs again
in history or Epistle. And yet he was personally
chosen for the high and singular honour of baptizing
the only apostle whose baptism is recorded in the sacred
history, the great Apostle of the Gentiles. It has been
well observed that there is a great significancy in the
obscurity of the person selected for this great duty.
For it shows how truly, I might say how jealously, the
Lord, though ordaining the use of outward means and
doing His own great work through human agents, yet
guards His ordinance against the danger of being
thought to owe anything whatever to the greatness or
holiness of the human agent by whom the visible office
which yet He makes indispensable, is discharged.
The next case is that of Cornelius and his friends at
Csesarea, where again I observe that St. Peter did not
b Ae? Se Kol Tous Sta/cJf ouy, oi/tos iuv(rTr]piwu 'irjaov Xpiarov Kara irdvTa
rp6iT0V Traffiv apiffKdiv' ov yap ^pafidrccv Koi irorwv etVlv SiaKSi^oi, a\\*
4KK\rj(rla5 (deov uTTTjpeTof Seov ovv avrovs (pvXdcraeaOai ret iyKX-fifiara us
irvp. S. Ignatius ad Trail. § 2.
c Acts ix. 18, xxii. 16.
v.] recorded in the New Testainent. 131
baptize with his own hands^ but commanded certain
others^ — no doubt those brethren of the circumcision
from Joppa which believed — ^to be the actual adminis-
trators of the sacrament.
Of the various instances of baptism recorded more
or less incidentally in the narrative of St. PauFs diiffer-
ent journeys^ there is not much to say^ except that the
Apostle^s language in the First Epistle to the Corinth-
ians e forms a suggestive commentary upon them^ where
he thanks God that with his own hand he only bap-
tized Crispus and Gains and the household of Stephanas
among all the converts at Corinth, lest any should say
that he had baptized in his own name, or in any way
allowed his own authority or influence to be supposed
to contribute 1 the gift which duly administered by
man, is wholly and entirely the gift of God. We may,
I suppose, conclude that the Apostle^s practice in other
Churches was like his conduct at Corinth, and for like
reasons.
Of the practice in the Church in the ages immediately
subsequent to that of the apostles, we may say in
general, that it was agreed that the supreme human
authority for administering holy baptism was that of
the bishop, the successor of the apostles, and that from
him priests first, and afterwards deacons, received com-
mission to baptize ; yet that the commission of deacons
was not, in the first ages, either so universal or so
d Acts X. 48. e l Cor. i. 14.
132 The ministers of Baptism [lect.
universally recognized either as that of priests, or as it
afterwards became^.
But though this was the undoubted practice, there
is sufficient evidence to show that the early Church
did not regard the power of baptizing in the bishop,
and by his commission, as a matter of necessary doc-
trine, but as one of ecclesiastical order and propriety,
according to the words of Tertullian : ' The right of
giving baptism belongs to the chief priest, that is, the
bishop ; then to the priests and deacons, yet not with-
out the authority of the bishop, on account of the honour
of the Church ; for when that is safe, peace is safe s/
That laymen were not authorized to baptize is quite
clear, for there are express prohibitions of such practice
to bfe found. But, on the other hand, besides that
express prohibitions are some evidence of a claim actual
or possible, it is also clear that the ground of such
prohibition lay not in the doctrine, but in the ecclesias-
tical discipline of the Church. This is plain from the
sequel of the just-quoted passage of Tertullian, * for
otherwise,^ he says, ^ laymen also have the right of bap-
tizing. For what is equally received may equally be
given. Likewise baptism, equally regarded as of God,
can be administered by all ; but how much more is the
discipline of modesty incumbent on laymen, since these
things belong to their superiors, not to usurp the duty
f Bingham's Scholastical History of Lay Baptism, Pt. i. ch. i. § 4, 5.
K Vide Note GG.
v.] in the early Church. 133
of the episcopal office reserved to bishops.^ Add to
this the decree of the Council of Eliberis^ in the year
305, that ' when persons are upon distant voyages, or
if a church is not near^ any faithful man who has his
own baptism entire^ and is not twice married^ may
baptize a catechumen in extremity of sickness ; so that,
if he survive, he bring him to the bishop, that by the
imposition of hands he may be completed ^Z It was
the well-known subsequent usage of the Church to
admit, not indeed the propriety (except in extreme
necessity) but the validity of lay baptism. Thus the
point, which alone at the present moment I desire to
urge, becomes clear — namely, that while, as a matter
of ecclesiastical order and discipline, the authorized
administration of holy baptism proceeding from epis-
copal authority was delegated to priests, and by degrees
universally to deacons, it was yet acknowledged as
a matter of Christian doctrine that the Holy Spirit so
dwelt in all the members of the body of Christ, that
spiritual life could be imparted, however irregularly,
and (except in cases of extreme necessity) unjustifiably,
by means of any, and that baptism so given, needed only
the recognition and completion of the Church by means
of episcopal imposition of hands, in order to be in all
respects as regards the recipients, entire and perfect.
There is no need to say more upon this part of the
subject. It is plain that the usage of the Church
h Vide Note HH.
134 Lay -baptism only in necessity. [lect.
restricted the ordinary administration of baptism to
the ordained clergy, yet not so absolutely as to forbid
altogether its being administered by lay people in cases
of extreme necessity, nor, of course, to disallow of its
validity when so administered.
Passing over then the intermediate times as throwing
no special light in addition to that of the earlier days
upon the subject on which we are engaged, let me
invite you, brethren, to consider for a short time the
actual scene of the public baptism of an infant in the
Church of England, such as we are all happily familiar
with, in order to come to a just view, not indeed of
the nature of the gift bestowed upon the child baptized,
but of the human action not without which we under-
stand that sacred gift to be given.
I will venture then to say that there meet at the
scene of such holy baptism, the two parents (to speak,
I trust, with no irreverent boldness) of the divine birth
of the Holy Ghost in the infantas soul.
First, there is assuredly the sacred presence of God ; —
specifically of God the Son, of Him who was designated
and empowered by the Holy Ghost at Jordan to be the
Baptizer with the Holy Ghost, the Father of the new
birth of the soul.
But Christ the great High Priest, invisibly present
and doing His own divine spiritual work invisibly, acts
visibly through His visible representatives, and His
great representative upon earth is the priestly Church, —
v.] • The Father of the new birth. 135
and she^ representing her Lord_, performs the visible and
outward acts to which is attached^ by the mercy of God^
the communication of the Divine Fatherhood.
And the priestly Church herself is, in the actual
scene which we have before us, represented by the duly
ordained priest or deacon, as the case may be, who has
been empowered by rightfully descended authority and
commission to be the personal administrator of the water
and the words, which by the Lord^s institution visibly
convey, as means and pledge, the death unto sin and
the new birth unto righteousness.
The ordained clergyman therefore being the personal
representative in the present case of the Church, which
in point of priestliness is one with her Lord, is to be
regarded as the human channel, as far as man may
be said to be so, of the Divine Fatherhood of the new
birth.
Now at this point I desire to make a special obser-
vation.
We know from St. John's Gospel^ that the Baptist
at the time of the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ
in Jordan, received, from the sight of the dove which
descended from heaven and lighted upon the head of
the Lord after He rose from the water, some very special
and particular information respecting Him.
What then was this information ? It could not have
been information as to who the Lord was, as a matter
i St. John i. 33.
136 What tJie Baptist learned from tfie Dove. [lect.
of acquaintance and knowledge; for not only was
He his cousin in the fleshy hut also we know from
St. Matthew^s Gospel that he had recognised Him when
he first saw Him coming to his haptism.
Nor does it seem to have heen information respecting
His greatness and office ; for the mother of the Baptist
had known this before He was born, and the Baptist
himself, confessing that he himself had need to be
baptized of the Lord, would fain have shrunk from
the seeming presumption of baptizing one so immea-
surably his superior.
What then did the Baptist learn from the dove, which
he did not know already ?
Let me answer in the words of St. Augustine : ' The
Holy Spirit saith not He is the Lord : He saith not
He is Christ : He saith not He is God : He saith not
He is Jesus : He saith not, He is He which was born
of the Virgin Mary, later than thou, yet before thee:
He saith not this, for John knew this already. But
what then did he not know ? That the Lord Himself
intended to keep and reserve to Himself, whether pre-
sent on the earth, or absent in heaven in His body,
and present in His majesty that so great power of
baptism : — that He purposed to reserve to Himself the
power of baptism, lest Paul should say " my baptism "
or Peter should say ^' my baptism.''"' See then, observe
the expressions of the apostles. No apostle ever said
^^my baptism/^ Though the Gospel was the same
v.] Christ sole Baptizer with the Holy Ghost. 137
Gospel of them all, yet you do find that they said
" my Gospel ; " but you never find that they said ^^ my
baptism ^" '
This was then the information which the Baptist
received from the descent of the dove : — that his holy
Cousin, the Man marked from His mother's womb as
the Son of the Highest, to whom the Lord God should
give the throne of His father David to reign over the
house of Jacob for ever, so that of His kingdom there
should be no end, — was to be the Baptizer in all the
world with the Holy Ghost^ was to keep in His own
hands^ however He might see fit to delegate to men
the ordinary ministration of the outward part of holy
baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost thereby conveyed.
He and He only^ by the special prerogative of the Holy
Spirit, should absolutely retain, as with a sacred jealousy,
the great inward gift as His own. He and He only
in all the world should baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Brethren, when I read the long controversy between
the African and Boman Churches on the subject of
schismatical baptism, issuing after much debate and
difierence in the decrees of the Councils of Aries and
Nicsea, and the establishment (gradual indeed, but at
last universal) of the doctrine that whensoever and by
whomsoever the water and the sacred baptismal words
are administered to a person before unbaptized, there
the gift of the new birth of the Spirit is in such sort
ic Vide Note II.
138 Christ sole Baptizer with tJu Holy Ghost, [lect.
given that the sacrament^ though needing the recog-
nition and confirmation of the Church, may not on any
account be iterated as if the former administration had
been a nullity, — I feel very forcibly reminded of the
words of the holy Baptist, and the witness of the dove.
Christ alone baptizeth with the Holy Ghost ; and jea-
lously, as it were, and absolutely, He retains this sacred
power to Himself, and gives the gift where He will.
No doubt for ordinary administration He entrusted it
to His Church when He bade His apostles go teach
and baptize all nations into the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And no
doubt the apostles, for order and honour^s sake — ^to
adopt the expressions already quoted from TertuUian —
entrusted the administration of it to their ordained
successors, but the Lord^s prerogative is not limited,
nor the freeness of His divine gift bounded by the
orderly methods of His own institution : and while we
do not doubt but earnestly believe that whosoever is
by the orderly ministration of the clergy duly washed
with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, is partaker of the divine and
inward birth which Christ giveth, we must hold our
peace, like the apostles and brethren in Judea on a not
dissimilar occasion *, and glorify God, saying then doth
Christ exercise His own prerogative beyond our ordinary
means, and attacheth His own sacred gift of the birth
1 Acts xi. 18.
v.] The Church the mother of Christians. 139
of the Holy Ghost, even to ministrations which are not
ours.
But to return to the point from which I digressed.
There meet then at the ordinary scene of baptism, first,
the Father of the new birth, Christ, represented by the
priestly Church, herself represented on each separate
occasion by her own duly ordained and commissioned
minister ; and secondly, the bearing mother. And here
again the mother, the Church, appears by her repre-
sentatives, who are in this case the sponsors.
That which the mother brings is, first, faith. The
infant, incapable by age of coming in faith of his own,
comes in borrowed faith. But from whom is his faith
borrowed? Is it from his natural parents? Yes, no
doubt, in part, if they be good and faithful. But what
if they be evil and unfaithful ? Is it then from his
sponsors ? Yes, again, if they be good and faithful.
But no man can say for certain that they are so ; and
God forbid that the spiritual life of the poor child should
be thought to be dependent on so frail and uncertain a
support as their faith ! Nay, it is upon the faith of the
Church of Christ, whom the sponsors on the special
occasion and for the special purpose represent. Hear
again St. Augustine on this point ™ : ' Little children
are presented to receive spiritual grace not so much by
those in whose hands they are carried, though it is done
by them also if they be themselves good and faithful, as
°» Vide Note J J.
140 TJie Church brings faith. LECT/
by the whole society of good and faithful people. For
they are rightly understood to be presented by all those
who approve of their being presented^ by whose holy
and undivided love they are assisted towards the par-
taking of the Holy Spirit. So the whole Church, the
mother, who is in all the saints^ doeth this thing. The
whole Church beareth all, the whole Church beareth
each.^ Hear again the words of St. Bernard to the
same effect ° : ^ Let no man say to me that he hath not
faith to whom his mother lendeth hers^ wrapping it up
for him in a sacrament till he become able to perceive it
unwrapped up and clear by his own proper understand-
ing and assent. What ? Is the cloak so short that
it cannot cover them both ? Great is the faith of the
Church. Is it less than that of the Canaanitish woman
which we certainly know to have been sufficient both for
her daughter and herself? For she heard the words^
" O woman,, great is thy faith \ be it unto thee even as
thou hast asked.''"' Is it less than the faith of those
who, letting down the paralytic through the tiles, ob-
tained for him at once health of the soul and of the
body ? For you read that " when He saw their faith^
He said to the sick of the palsy. Be of good cheer, my
son, thy sins are forgiven thee /' and again a little after,
'^ take up thy bed and walk.^^ He who belie veth these
things will readily be persuaded that the Church is right
in presunaing not only the safety of such infants as are
n Vide Note KK.
v.] The First Book of Edward the Sixth. 141
baptized in her faith,, but also the crown of martyrdom
for infants slain for Christ/
I would here call your attention, brethren, for a few
minutes to the introductory portion of the Office for the
Publick Baptism of Infants in the First Book of Edward
the Sixth, as throwing light upon the subject of which
I am speaking, and elucidating in some degree part of
our present Service.
You may remember that in that Office the godfathers
and godmothers, and the people with the children, are
ordered to be ready at the church door ; and there the
introductory part of the Service is to be performed, that
is to say, down to that place where the officiating priest
desires the people faithfully and devoutly to give thanks
to God, and say the prayer which the Lord Himself
taught, and in declaration of their faith to recite the
articles contained in the Creed. Then when they have
said the Creed openly, the priest is directed to add also
the prayer (which we still retain, though its significancy
is now somewhat concealed), in which we thank God
that He has called us to the knowledge of His grace,
and faith in Him.
Now all this portion of the Service belongs to what in
earlier times was the Office for the Admission of Cate-
chumens, which was used as much for infants as for
adults.
St. Augustine teaches us" — and we find the same doc-
° Vide Note LL.
142 The introductory part of the Office, [lect.
trine in St. Cyril of Jerusalem — that it is wlien persons
are admitted catechumens that they are to be regarded
as conceived in the womb of the holy Church, their
spiritual mother. The cross marked upon their forehead,
the salt of the sacrifice put into their mouths, the dili-
gent teaching and catechizing, — all this, he tells us,
should be looked upon as the support of the child while
yet in his mother^s womb, and unborn.
When then the due time comes for the spiritual birth,
the catechumen being now, in his own faith if he is an
adult, or in that of the Church if he is an infant, suffi-
ciently fitted to receive it, he is brought by the sponso-
rial company to the church door, — and then, as I said,
and not till then, the priest, after various prayers and
exhortations, having heard them jointly say the Lord's
Prayer and the Creed, and thanking God for their
common faith so testified, takes the oldest child by the
hand, and leads him, the others following, to the font
for the actual celebration of the sacrament.
It was a significant practice, which we find ordered in
Pope Gregory^s Sacramentary P, that such children as
were old enough to stand, should set their foot upon
their sponsor^s foot, to indicate that they came for the
present in the strength of borrowed faith, and rested
upon it.
Observe now how all this arrangement of baptism, a
little lost sight of in the construction of our present Ser-
p Vide Note MM.
v.] TJie mother promises to breed up. 143
vicGj throws light upon what I have said of the parent-
age of the new birth. The clergyman^ representing the
fatherhood^ meets the sponsorial company with the
children at the church door, and having ascertained
their purpose, before giving them admission instructs
them, and requires them to say openly the Lord^s
Prayer and the Creed. This done, he has ascertained
that they are duly qualified to act as representatives of
the Church the mother, and then he proceeds to the font
to begin the actual administration. It seems to me like
an instinct of a half-forgotten meaning that has led in
very recent times to the practice, now become very pre-
valent, of repeating this thanksgiving after the minister.
I know not whether it is a revived practice, but I can
find no trace of it. It seems to show that the people
have a kind of sense that it is not the godfathers and
godmothers only, but they too in whose presence the
child is baptized, and in them the whole Church of
Christ, in whose faith the child is admitted by the Lord
to receive the blessing which is exclusively His, the
baptism with the Holy Ghost.
2. But secondly the mother brings the promise of
breeding the children up in the faith and fear of God, so
as to enable them, by all the means which God has put
into her power, to lead the rest of their lives according
to that blessed beginning. She undertakes that nothing
shall be wanting to them of all the graces of which she is
the authorized and empowered channel, whereby they may
144 T^J^^ sponsors stand for the Church [lect.
grow in the faith and obedience of Christ, and realize at
the last that immortal inheritance, of which the right
and title have in the sacrament of baptism been effec-
tually conveyed to them. It is true that she delegates
to three at least of her faithful people the express and
special duty of attending to this spiritual growth, and
taking all the requisite means for promoting it in the
case of each single child. But she by no means dis-
charges herself of the obligation, which (for fear lest that
which is the duty of all should run the risk of being
neglected by not being specially assigned to any) she
puts into the hands of the sponsors. On the contrary,
in the exhortation which she addresses to them, she puts
into words her own obligation, and her own acknow-
ledgment of it, while she enjoins them to fulfil it. It is
commonly said that the sponsors stand for the child in
baptism. And it is very true. They lend him feet to
walk, and lips to utter, and an intelligent and faithful
heart to undertake what he is still too ^oung to under-
take for hindself. But it is not less true, though less
often said and remembered, that they stand for the
Church, and take upon themselves personally that which
the Church has already undertaken by bringing them to
baptism, and presenting them to God to receive the
spiritual blessing.
And here I would fain make one or two observations,
brethren, of the nature of corollaries from what I have
said : — first, that while three is the number of sponsors
v.] which is not wholly discharged. 145
now fixed by the Churchy that number is to be regarded
as a minimum. There is no reason whatever why there
should not be more than three. On the contrary^ if
more will enter into the same solemn contract, — a con-
tract, be it observed, sacredly made with the Church as
well as with the infant, it cannot be otherwise than good
and well ; provided always that the increase of the num-
ber do not operate to dilute the obligation, and so to
neutralize in any degree the very benefit which the in-
stitution of special sponsors was designed to produce.
And secondly, though the sponsors be of course per-
sonally charged with the undertaking of which I speak,
yet is the Church at large by no means wholly dis-
charged from the obligation of it. Therefore the supply
of Church schools, and the support of them, and in like
manner the supply and support of churches, and of all
the outward means necessary for the maintenance and
growth of the spiritual life given in Holy Baptism, is
not to be regarded as a matter of Christian bounty or
benevolence on the part of Christian people at large, but
as a distinct obligation which may not be disowned, —
an obligation as binding in its nature upon them as the
breeding of children with food and raiment and all
things necessary to make them good citizens is obli-
gatory upon the natural parents. The spiritual mother
can no more discharge herself of all that is necessary for
the spiritual growth of him, whom, by bearing she has
undertaken to breed up for his Spiritual Father, than
146 Heatheft infants not to be baptized [lect.
tlie natural parents can discliarge themselves of the cor-
responding obligation in respect of the natural breeding
of their own naturally born child. I venture to think
that our appeals to our people for the means of building
and supporting churches and schools, and all other
things necessary for such spiritual growth on the part
of those whom we have baptized, would come with
greater weight, because with more perfect truth and
justice, if, instead of appealing only to compassionate
feeling and sympathy, we urged the debt, the obligation,
the binding undertaking by which we, in common with
the whole Church, had bound ourselves in taking infants
to be baptized, and asking for them that seed of im-
mortal life which absolutely requires human tendence,
constant, affectionate, and faithful, in order to keep it
alive, nay, to prevent its becoming rather an aggra-
vation of sin and evil, than a help towards God and
Heaven.
And this observation seems to suggest a further ques-
tion, how far it is proper in heathen countries to ad-
minister holy baptism to infants, as it were, broad-cast,
without some adequate undertaking on the part of the
Church; the universal mother, to breed the baptized
child n the faith and fear of God. I am not speaking
merely of the absence of sponsors. They, even in a
Christian land, are sometimes dispensed with, as in the
case of serious and imminently dangerous sickness ; for
then the Church dispenses with her delegates under the
v.] without the mother's undertaking. 147
pressure of circumstances^ and is to be understood to
appear in person, until the circumstances of the case
admitj if the child recovers^ of the due delegation being
completed. If the child dies, the faith of the Church
herself, without delegation, is that in which the due
maternal parentage of the child is sufficiently assured.
But in a heathen country the case is materially different.
There it is undoubtedly necessary that something equi-
valent to a distinct undertaking on the part of the
Church should accompany the due administration of the
sacrament. The children are themselves devoid of that
inchoate right to baptism which may be argued from
St. PauFs words in the seventh chapter of the First
Epistle to the Corinthians respecting children of one
Christian parent. I confess that when I read of single
missionaries baptizing infants in such lands, without
adequate provision being made for the continuance of
the mission itself, or for the breeding up of the children
in the faith and fear of Christ, I feel considerable doubt
not only of the wisdom, but of the rightfulness also of
the proceeding. And herein is one special topic of com-
fort in the establishment of colonial and missionary
bishoprics. When a bishop is in charge, having assur-
ance of succession, and the Church in all its organiza-
tion is planted in any territory, then with his sanction
and authority the single missionary need have no doubt
or hesitation. He may baptize freely. But the bishop,
that is the Church, and that again is all the body of
L %
148 TJie whole Church engaged in Baptism [lect.
Christian people, must surely understand that in giving
such sanction and authority they have undertaken the
full weight of the mother^s duty — that they are respon-
sible to Godj the Father of the new birth, for all the
careful and tender breeding which the child needs — that
they have in fact undertaken, as a debt and obligation
which they cannot in conscience decline or repudiate^ to
bring those children up to the estate of Christian men,
and to do all that is in their power to keep the seed
of spiritual life, so given, strong and growing in their
hearts.
Thus, brethren, it has been my object to show how
the whole Spirit-bearing Church, the body of Christ, is
engaged in the administration of the sacrament of Holy
Baptism, and therein of the first and chief imparting,
through human means and channels, of the Divine and
spiritual life : represented, in so far forth as she is one '
with Christ, the Father of the new birth, by the ordained
minister ; represented again, as she is the spiritual
mother of Christians in whose faith the children are
received, and to whose responsible parental care they are
entrusted, by the sponsorial company, three at least, who
bring them to the font, and there receive her own trust,
delegated to them. And this essential and necessary
presence of the Church fully exemplified in the ordinary
scene of one of our common parochial baptisms, is to be
understood in all the less perfect and more exceptional
cases of baptism which various accidental circumstances
v.] and proportionately responsible. 149
may cause to be less fully and accurately performed.
If the sponsors are absent^ as in the case of private
baptism in extreme necessity, the Church is still vir-
tually present, and the deficiency is to be supplied as
soon as the opportunity occurs for supplying it. If the
Church herself is absent, as in the case in which the
matter and the words of baptism have been used by one
who is not of her body, though the fatherhood may not
be doubted, yet till the mother's recognition, and with
her recognition her assumption of the responsibility
which it involves, we may not believe that the entire
work, as God has instituted it, has been fully done, or
that the new birth, in all its blessed completeness, has
really been given.
None, I trust, will so far misunderstand my meaning
as to suppose that in arguing that the work of Holy
Baptism is the work of the whole Church, I intend in
the slightest degree to lose sight of the different offices
of different men in the Church, or to encourage the
smallest usurpation by any upon the peculiar duties and
privileges of others. Nothing can be farther from my
thought or meaning. But I have wished to show in
this instance, as I hope to do in others also, that the real
work is the work not of separate officials, but of the
entire body j that, while each retains his own place, and
exerts himself to the utmost of his Christian powers in
his own sphere without intruding upon the sphere of
others, the whole strength and spiritual vigour of the
150 TJte new birth a reality. [lect.
whole body tells upon every separate act of spiritual
power and office that is duly exercised. And I trust
that it will be perceived that as the whole strength and
spiritual vigour of the whole spirit-bearing body is ne-
cessary in order to give the full Divine efficacy to every
such act, so the responsibility lies, similarly, although
not equally in degree, upon every member of that body.
The responsibility is not less wide than the power ; and
if the power is, as I believe it to be, the power of all,
the responsibility also undoubtedly is the responsibility
of all.
I will not attempt to speculate in any degree upon
the nature of the change which takes place in the soul
of man in baptism. Suffice it for the present to say the
whole language of Holy Scripture respecting it repre-
sents it as one different, not in degree only, but in kind,
from the various occasional aids and helps of the Holy
Spirit, given to other men at other times, and given to
the same man preparatory to baptism itself. Whatever
may be the real meaning of being born of water and of
the Holy Spirit, the expression must mean something
not less definite, nor less real, and infinitely more im-
portant than the natural birth to natural life. Yet, as
actual realities, they are parallel one to the other. The
one, to adopt the words of St. Augustine^, is of the earth,
the other is of heaven ; the one is of the flesh, the other
is of the spirit; the one is of mortality, the other of
q Vide Note NN.
v.] // is the beginning of a real life. 1 5 1
eternity; the one is of man and woman, the other is of
God and the Church. And as the earth is to the heaven,
as the flesh is to the blessed Spirit, as mortality, is to
eternity _, and as the union of man and woman is to the
mystical union that is betwixt Christ and His Church,
so is the natural birth compared with the heavenly birth
which is wrought of God in the sacrament of Holy Bap-
tism. The natural birth makes us children of Adam,
earthy, as of the earth. The spiritual birth makes us to
bear the likeness of another Father, which is the Lord
from heaven. Each is alike real, each can alike be given
once, and only once. ' As the birth of the womb cannot
be repeated,'' says the same St. Augustine, ^ so cannot
baptism.^ Once born, we are alive, or dead. Once re-
born, we are saved in Christ, or we are lost for ever.
The spark may be feeble, may be latent, may give
neither light that man can see nor warmth that he can
feel. But so long as it is not totally and absolutely
extinct — and it is not mere ignorance that extinguishes
it, but deliberate, wilful, and continual impenitence in
sin — so long the breath of the Holy Spirit may relume
that which the Holy Spirit first gave, which is indeed
the Holy Spirit Himself in the newly born soul.
Given then, according to the now wellnigh universal
practice of the Church, in early infancy, the new birth
conferred in Holy Baptism is the first spark and germ
of Divine life, of everlasting union with Christ, of life in
the Holy Spirit, of reconcilement with God, of assured
152 The Church breeds up her infants [lecT.
immortality in bliss both of body and soul. But it is
the beginning only. It is the principle, the seed, the
spark. Sufficient no doubt for the salvation of the
infant, if as an infant he dies with his soul unstained by
the further commission of actual sins of his own. But
the same measure of regeneration or sanctification which
sufficeth children or infants dying before they come to
the use of reason, will no more suffice such as attain to
years of discretion, as Dr. Thomas Jackson well says'",
than their childish apparel or clothes will continue to
suffice them when they grow to be men.
And the Church of Christ which obediently and faith-
fully took her part along with her Lord in the regenera-
tion or new birth of her infants, charges herself with
their breeding up in the days when the gradually open-
ing mind, imperceptibly in its beginnings, doth also
gradually open the avenues of sin, and disclosing the
needs of the naturally corrupted soul, requires the daily
strengthening of that sacred principle of life which is
now by the gift of God divinely bound up with it.
The Christian mother when she teaches her baptized
infant to lisp his first words of prayer at her knee, and
fills his early thoughts with the holy food of good
hymns, and, so far and so soon as he is capable of
receiving them, the sacred words of Christ, is not only
following the tender instinct of maternal love made more
tender by her own earnest faith, but is also doing in
r Vide Note 00.
v.] first by the agency of the natural parents. 155
her place the work that belongs especially and personally
to her as one of the members of the body of Christ.
The child she teaches is much more to her than the child
of her own sanctified love and the offspring of her own
womb. He is an heir of heaven lent by God to her
Christian love. He is a greater than Moses given by
the King of kings to his own natural mother to nurse
for Him^ and to breed him up with the earliest measures
of Christian love and habit for His sake.
The Christian father^ when,, as his child grows older,
the growing powers of mind, and the increasing strength
and range of temptation require stronger discipline and
maturer food — what again is his place, but that of one
entrusted by God and the Church of God with the
further training of a growing member of the body of
Christ, who, for his Lord^'s sake who has bought him,
and whose he is, must be bent to love the ways of holi-
ness and devotion in which he is to walk when he is
grown ? The lesson of obedience, the lesson of dili-
gence, the lesson of love, the lesson of ordered temper,
the lesson of modesty, the lesson of unselfishness — all
these, the natural lessons of sweet youth, are put into
the parents^ hands to teach — lessons of the Church, and
lessons of God — in the early days of home, when God
and the Church have given back their regenerated little
one to those whose natural love, heightened and sancti-
fied by their own participation in the graces of the Holy
Spirit of God, supplies the true method, and the most
154 By means of the sponsors, and otJiers. [lect.
effective channel by which the infant life may begin to
be matured towards the more robust strength of Chris-
tian youth.
And if any part of the parental office be delegated
to other teachers^ to tutors or schoolmasters,, still the
essential view of their position is that they are ministers
in their place and office of the Church of God, taking
their due part in that which she has undertaken to do
by all the best means in her power.
And so, gradually, not forgetting the special office of
the sponsors to take care that their godchild be taught,
so soon as he is able to learn, the articles of the Christian
Faith, the great formula of Christian prayer, and the
summary of Christian morals, the Creed, the Lord's
Prayer and the Ten Commandments, he is to be trained
up in preparation for that day when by the wise care of
the Church, modifying in some degree her ancient prac-
tice in order to meet the wellnigh universal prevalence
of infant baptism, he is old enough to come in his own
intelligent faith, with his own earnest prayer, and with
his own firm and resolved promise of obedience to receive
the seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost in apostolic con-
firmation.
And then, once more, by means of her sacredly em-
powered organs, the Church completes, in a manner
fitting their maturer age, the work in which she took
her sacred part in their first unconscious childhood. Not
indeed as though that work were imperfectly done, or
v.] Apostolic Confirmation. 155
only half done at the first. For we do not doubt that
the gift^ the great gift, the spark, the true germ of the
life of the Spirit, was effectually imparted at the font,
and that it has grown continually under the gentle in-
fluences which suited infancy in the carefully bred child
since that time. All that was the milk of the babes,
learning to know^ the Father, which is the special
learning, according to the beloved apostle, of the
children. But we know that in the first days of the
Church it was held requisite for those who were bap-
tized that they should receive the sacred seal from the
apostles^ hands as the baptized men of Samaria received
it from those of Peter and John.
No doubt our confirmation so far differs from that of
the apostolic age that we do not look for the extraor-
dinary gifts which the confirmed of that time enjoyed.
But neither do we believe that the imparting of these
extraordinary gifts constituted the sole, or the most
important part of the blessing which the imposition of
apostolic hands conveyed to the baptized in the first
days. That, we doubt not, was as temporary as the
extraordinary gifts themselves were temporary ; nor
would such temporary blessing have been sufiicient to
account for the position assigned to laying on of hands
in the Epistle to the Hebrews *, as one of the doctrines
of the 'foundation' of Christian teaching. But when
this, in the Providence of God was withdrawn, there
8 1 St. John ii. 13. t Heb. vi. 2.
156 Blessings to be expected [lect.
remained still the rich eifusion of the blessed ordinary
gifts^ now greatly needed by the young man who is to
be strong in the Lord to overcome " the wicked one^ —
those blessed sevenfold gifts ^, the Spirit of Divine
wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of mutual counsel
and communicated strength, the Spirit of the inward
knowledge of God and true godliness, — and in them and
above them all, the Spirit of God^s most holy fear,
keeping wisdom and understanding, keeping counsel
and strength, keeping knowledge itself and true
godliness, holy, humble, self-distrusting, and reverent
in the sight and in the presence of the most holy
Lord God. ' None expects now,' says St. Augustine 7,
' that they on whom the hands are laid for the receiving
of the Holy Ghost, should at once begin to speak with
tongues. But invisibly and secretly we understand that
the love of God is breathed into their hearts throug-h
the bond of peace, so that they may be able to say, the
love of God is poured forth in our hearts through the
Holy Ghost that is given to us.^
No doubt, brethren, none expects in these later days
the visible effects of the gift of the Holy Spirit in
apostolic confirmation ; but do I pass the bounds of
reasonable exposition in venturing to suggest that as
the special extraordinary gifts of the first age have
" 1 St. John ii. 13, 14.
* Isaiah xi. 2. Cf. the Collect in the Confirmation Service.
y Vide Note PP.
v.] in Apostolic Confirmation. 157
their corresponding ordinary graces still ; — as the super-
natural gift of tongues now merges in the natural apti-
tude and laborious acquisition of languages ; as the
extraordinary gifts of healing in the patiently won skill
of medicine, the supernatural gift of interpretation in
the careful study of Holy Scripture and the doctors of
the Church, and the Divine gift of prophecy in the stu-
diously acquired skill of preaching, so we may hope that
God's children coming to apostolic confirmation may
look for special grace upon their special Christian call-
ing, and the missionary amid the heathen islands, the
physician, the preacher, — yes, and all others who design
to devote themselves in Christ to this or that life of
Christian usefulness in the Church, may be strength-
ened for their express work by the express gift which
is not less real and less divine, though it be invisible,
than it was in the days when its effect was imme-
diately exhibited to the eyes and ears of the wondering
people.
With confirmation, the infant life is matured into the
manly life. The early measures of Christian training
are to be supposed to have done their work. The child
in Christ has been taught to know the Father. Hence-
forward, he who was a child in the Church is become a
man. The fulness of the grace of Christ is his. He is
included among the invited guests of the holy altar.
Thenceforward he must go on his way in the strength
of the meat indeed and the drink indeed which Christ
iS8 Apostolic Confirmation.
has given for the strength and refreshment of His
people's souls ; to be strong, to have the word of God
abiding in him, to overcome the wicked one, to do the
Lord's battle in the Spirit's strength, and to reach the
Lord's crown through whatever labours and whatever
length of years the Lord may appoint for him.
LECTURE VI.
THE HOLY COMMUNION.
For we being many are one bread, and one body : for we are all partakers
of that one bread. — I Corinthians x. 17.
rpHE sacrament of Holy Baptism, which was the
subject of the last Lecture, completed in apostolic
confirmation, diffuses and spreads widely the gift of
spiritual life where it was not before. Whether given
to a converted heathen, or to the newly-born child of
Christian parents, alike it adds another to the Christian
name, and as it thus continually widens and enlarges
that name, spreading it over larger multitudes, extend-
ing it into new regions, and bestowing it upon new
nations of mankind, it might possibly seem to tend
to enfeeble and relax the union between those who
belong to it. A family consisting of many millions,
designed to include all nations, of every age and colour
and degree of civilization, living on from generation to
generation under every various change and phase of
circumstance and history, might seem to be destined,
by its mere magnitude and duration, to fall inevitably
i6o The Sacrameni of Unity. [lect.
into danger of disunion,, unless some further provision
were made for its continued cohesion and unity, both
laterally, so to speak, and from age to age.
We believe that precise provision to be among the
many blessings which we derive from the other of the
two great sacraments of the Gospel, the Holy Com-
munion of the body and blood of Christ. If the sacra-
ment of Baptism may be called the sacrament of
diffusion, the Holy Communion is the sacrament of
unity ; the binding, uniting rite, which, while it testi-
fies to spiritual union, also produces it; which, while
it sanctifies the separate souls of the faithful communi-
cants, sanctifies them also in the union of their sacred
Christian brotherhood; which feeds the individuals
through the general body, and feeds the general body
again through the sanctification of individuals. Hence
it is, says St. Augustine »/ that the apostle Paul, setting
before us this bread saith, we being many are one
bread and one body. O sacrament of holiness ! O sign
of unity ! O bond of love ! He who desires to live,
has where to live, has whence to live. Let him ap-
proach, let him believe, let him be incorporated that
he may be made alive. Let him not shrink from the
framework of the members, let him not be a corrupt
member to be cut off, nor a distorted one to be ashamed
of; let him be a fair one, a fitting one, a sound one;
let him cling to the body, let him have life in Him
a Vide Note QQ.
VI.] TJu Centre of Unity. i6i
who is God of God, let him now labour on earth that
he may afterwards reign in heaven/
Thus it is that the altar of Holy Communion is
the perpetual centre of the unity of the Church. Not
localized in Rome, not virtually inherent in a single
bishop, — in parish, in diocese, in province, the altar of
Holy Communion is set up in all the Church as the
centre to all the Christian people within that parish,
diocese, or province, to which they must seek as to the
central source of continued blessing, personal and general,
the true ubiquitous centre of that unity of the entire body
from which their own personal graces first began, and
upon which they must, in great measure, still depend.
For the Holy Eucharist is essentially one. Wherever
it is duly celebrated in all the earth ; however frequent,
however wide asunder in point of time the single cele-
brations may be, yet in all places and in all times, it
is essentially the same actb. ^Be ye earnest there-
fore,^ says St. Ignatius, ^to use one Eucharist. For
there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one
cup for the union of His blood ^'.^ 'It is no other
sacrifice, but the same sacrifice,^ says St. Chrysostom,
' that we always ofier, or rather memorial of the sacrifice
that we perform ^! It is one both in itself, as being
wherever it is offered the same offering of Christ's
sacramental body and blood, as being sanctified by one
b Lyra Innocentium, Continual Services, p. 317.
•= St. Ignatius ad Philadelph. A. Jaeobson, p, 422.
* St. Chrysostom, xvii. Horn, in Ep. ad Hebraeos.
M
l62 Holy Communion knits the Church [lect.
and the same Spirit, and as the offerers are one^ all
being in their various degree and position, in their
various ages and countries^ members of the one body
of their Lord. At all times and in all places it is the
one Church,, which by the one Spirit, offers to God the
one sacred commemoration of the one most holy sacrifice.
Thus^ as I said^ the sacrament of the Holy Com-
munion stands contrasted with that of Holy Baptism.
Baptism diffuses life, Holy Communion knits it, and
keeps it together. Baptism might conceivably be fol-
lowed by the division of the possessors of life. For
though the life too be in its origin one, and one in its
holy being, as it is the effluence and energy of the one
Spirit, yet exercised and managed, so to speak, by the
multitudes who separately possess it, it might possibly
be found compatible w^ith all sorts of exterior disunion
and discord. But those who might thus be disunited
Holy Communion continually reunites by the holiest
and most sacred of bonds. Baptism constantly adds
members to the extremities, as it were, of the existing
body ; Holy Communion makes the one life-blood to
flow throughout it, full of strength and Divine force,
supporting and refreshing the life that is in it all,
penetrating to its furthest and minutest portions, so
that the whole body by joints and bands having the
Divine nourishment ministered, and knit together, in-
creaseth with the increase of God^. Briefly, Baptism
e Col. ii. 19; Eph. iv. 16.
VL] by tJie spiritual presence of Christ. 163
is the sacrament of diffusion; the Holy Eucharist is
the sacrament of perpetual re-union in and with Christ.
That Divine nourishment is the body and blood of
Christ. It is hardly possible, brethren, in these days
of division and disputation on all the most sacred articles
of the faith to pass by, quite without notice, the extreme
diversity of opinion of Churches and doctors on this
most sacred, and in its general terms unquestioned doc-
trine ; but it suits little with my purpose to dwell upon
such diversities at any length. I will therefore only
say that the ancient doctrine of the Church, and, as I
read it, the unquestionable doctrine of the Church of
England, is that the spiritual presence of the body and
blood of our Lord in the Holy Communion is true^
and real. I do not see how we can consent, as with
Hooker and Waterland, to limit authoritatively that
presence to the heart of the receiver; for the words of
the institution (and these are cases in which we are
rigidly and absolutely bound to the exact words of the
revelation) — the words, I say, of the Lord in the insti-
tution — seem to forbid such a gloss.
I said that this is a case in which we are rigidly and
absolutely bound to the exact words of the revelation.
f I have omitted the word ' objective,' which in the first edition stood
in this place, on the ground whether the grace of the Holy Eucharist
come to our souls by and through the elements or no, alike it is
objective, as coming to us from without ourselves, and having existence
independently of our own thought. Everybody holds the Presence to
be 'objective' except the merest Zuinglian.
M %
164 Consuhstantiation a theory. [lect.
Let it be observed in confirmation of this statement
that not only the three Evangelists, narrating as his-
torians the events of that sacred evening, give uniform
testimony as to the holy words ^ of the Lord in the in-
stitution,, but that in the revelation made to St. Paul
(a revelation plainly, in that instance, made in words)
the holy words of Christ are the same. Thus reported,
and thus specially revealed, the holy words must be
understood to convey exactly, neither more nor less, that
which they say ; and that which they say on this sacred
mystery is precisely, neither more nor less, that vvhich
God has told, and that which man knows.
If then we are asked, as the question is not unfre-
quently asked among us. How then do we distinguish
the doctrine of such real and true presence from
the Lutheran tenet of consuhstantiation ? It seems to
be a just and sufficient answer to say that consuh-
stantiation, like transubstantiation, is a theory of the
manner of the presence, whereas the Church only knows
the presence as a fact, respecting the manner and mode
and extent of which she is not informed. The body
and blood of Christ are present, not corporeally (for that
we know from our Lord^s words in the conclusion of
the discourse recorded in the sixth of St. John h) but
spiritually, in and with the elements. We know no
K Tovr6 i(TTi TO (j-cDjUa fj.ov. Ft. Luke xxii. 19; St. Mark xiv. 22;
St. Matt. xxvi. 26. tovt6 /jlov ia-rl rh acoixa. 1 Cor. xi. 24.
h St. John vi. 63.
VI.] All we know is the fact. 165
more. We need not suppose that they are further
present than in reference to the use for which they are
appointed, that is, that men should be partakers of them
to the strengthening- and refreshing of their souls, and
that the Church, the body of Christ, should thereby be
maintained in its Divine unity and holiness ; but whether
the change is of this particular sort or of that, at what
moment it takes place, and all such other unrevealed
particulars relating to it, we know not, and consider it
presumptuous in our uninformed state to speculate.
No doubt some of the ancients, as for example St.
Chrysostom in the treatise on the Priesthood, use very
strong and remarkable language on this part of the
subject. I venture to think that as we should not have
scrupled to use similar language if we had lived before
the Roman theory of transubstantiation had been ela-
borated into all its train of evil and superstitious conse-
quences, so would he in all probability have guarded his
expressions had he been writing in later days, when that
philosophical theory had been invented and made to take
the place of the simple doctrine of the real presence of
the body and blood of Christ in the sacred elements.
Under the outward and visible form of bread and
wine we believe that the body and blood of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ are given, taken, and received j
and we believe that that divine food, according to the
sacred teaching of our own Liturgy in this respect,
imparts to every one of those who receive it with true
1 66 Blessings of Commimion to the receiver. [LECT.
penitent heart and lively faith^ these nine inestimable
blessings : — the spiritual eating of the flesh of Christ,
and drinking of His blood ; the dwelling in Christ, and
Christ in him; the being one with Christ and Christ
with him ; the cleansing of his body by the body of
Christ ; the washing of his soul by the blood of Christ ;
the assurance of the favour and goodness of God towards
him ; the assurance of his being still a member incor-
porate in the mystical body of Christ ; the assurance of
his continued heirship, through hope, of the everlasting
kingdom ; the preservation of his body and soul to ever-
lasting life ^
So to the single souls of penitent and faithful re-
ceivers ; so wonderfully, so divinely, with such unspeak-
able comfort, support and strength. But not to the
single souls of such receivers only, nor for the inde-
pendent and merely personal growth of the spiritual life
within them only, do we believe that divine food to be
effectual j but that to the whole of the sacred mystical
body of which they are severally members, strength, and
holiness, and unity, and every sort of blessing is therein
ministered.
Shall I ask whether the feast which they there cele-
brate is or is not a sacrifice ? Brethren, bear with me
while I venture to say that I am not very careful, so far
as I can judge, to answer the question. Indeed it
appears to me to be little more than a question of
i Vide Note KR.
VI.] A Commemoration of the Sacrifice. 167
words, which bears upon no important issue. The feast
is what it is ; and whether that is or is not what con-
stitutes a sacrifice must depend altogether upon the
precise meaning attached to the word ' sacrifice/ and the
definition given to it. There surely are good and in-
nocent senses in which it may well and rightly be so
called, — there surely is a sense, the highest, — that in
which the actual offering of the Lord^s body and blood
upon the altar of the Cross was once offered, the only
full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satis-
faction for the sins of the whole world, — in which we
may not dare so to call it. It is perhaps conceivable
that in the eyes of Him who from His seat in. eternity
looks upon the things of time, as the Lamb was once
slain from the foundation of the world J, so the great
sacrifice and all its sacred commemorations, its types
faithfully celebrated before, its commemorations faith-
fully celebrated after, may be wholly and absolutely one,
the one work of Christ in Himself and His people. I
know not ; but we whose stand-point is in the things
of time, cannot speak so. We could not, without the
express word of Holy Writ, have spoken of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. To us there is
before and after. To us our blessed Lord came, and
died, and rose, and ascended at definite dates in this
series of things. We must not confound time and
eternity, nor our doings with the Lord's doings. It
J Rev. xiii. 8.
l68 Two things necessary to the Sacrament, [lect.
may sound humble, but I believe it is really presump-
tuous to do so. I know not wby we should not rest
content to speak in the language of St. Chrysostom,
which I have already quoted, and to call the holy feast
which we celebrate our GvaCa, or 'AimfjLvrjrris ttjs Qvcrtas,
— our sacrifice, or recollection of the sacrifice.
This great act — sacrifice if you will — this communion
of the spiritual body and blood of our Saviour Jesus
Christ, this inter- communion of the whole body of
Christ militant on earth and resting in Paradise, — is
necessarily, whensoever it is celebrated, the act of the
whole body, even though in each several instance a few
only are the actual partakers in it.
In order to constitute its complete character according
to the divine pattern of its institution, it absolutely
requires two things. First, there must be the conse-
cration of the elements by the priest, the organ of the
priestly Church, empowered by sacred ordinance to do
that solemn and indispensable portion of the joint act
which none else may presume to exercise or intrude
upon. For it is no common nor ordinary work which
he has to do. It is no light thing that by the acts that
he organically does, and the words which he organically
utters, the spiritual presence of the Lord is so brought
down upon the elements of bread and wine as that to
the faithful they become verily and indeed, however
invisibly and mysteriously, the body and blood of Christ.
Through him, in this his great priestly work, the whole
VI.] First y the consecrating priest. 169
spiritual life and force whicli is in the priestly Church,
operates as in its highest function. It is only through
the sacred gift that is in him by the laying on of
apostolic hands, with the laying on of the hands of the
presbytery, that he may venture or presume to do it.
This is assuredly the first thing. While the Church, in
respect of Holy Baptism, has recognized the fact that
though for purposes of honour and order it is right to
confine the ordinary and authorized administration of
the sacrament to the clergy, yet the gift is not so
exclusively in their hands as not to be imparted in any
degree by lay people in her communion, or even, if the
sacred words and the water are used, by the hands of
those who are outside of her communion altogether,
there has never been a question of the absolute confine-
ment of the power of consecrating the bread and wine
to their mysterious eflficacy of becoming to the faithful
and to the Church of the faithful the body and blood
of the Lord, to the ordained clergy. When I say there
has never been a question on this point, I must be
understood to mean among Church writers, and in the
Church — from St. Ignatius to St. Bernard, from St.
Bernard to the days in which the tyranny of perfected
sacerdotalism produced its unhappy, but not unnatural
eflfect in the disowning of all divine descent of special
priesthood in the Church together. It is needless to
quote passages. It is the absolutely universal doctrine
of Church writers of every age that to the priesthood
1 70 Secondly, the people [lect.
alone belongs tlie power of consecrating the elements
to become to the faithful the body and blood of Christ.
They have been made by personal authorization and
empowerment^ the only capable organs for this purpose
of the priestliness which,, as I have repeatedly said, in-
heres ultimately in the whole priestly Church, which is
priestly as being the body of the One and only Priest,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the other part of the sacred act is not less
essential. The Church in its people must be there to
receive, in repentance, in faith, and in charity, what
by her priest she consecrates and offers. Their part
is as necessary to constitute and complete the sacrament
as his. It is of the very essence of the rite that it is a
KOLVMvCa, a communion. ^ The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ?
The bread which we break, is it not the communion
of the body of Christ k?^ The sacrificial portion, if I
may so call it, of the sacrament has no being nor exist-
ence without the other portion, the communion. The
communion is null and void of all its special spiritual
blessing without the sacrifice. They are not two things.
They are one thing only. The rite may not be prac-
tically divided or split up into two parts as though some
men did exclusively perform the one part and some the
other. All, in their separate places and degrees, do all.
The people, rendering the sacrifice of praise and thanks-
^ 1 Cor. X. 16.
VI.] communicating in faith. 171
giving, offering, as priests themselves ^^ their spirits,
souls, and bodies, as a rational, holy, and lively sacrifice
to God ; partaking in the grace, made more and more
to be helpful as channels of the diffused Spirit ; respond-
ing to the words of the consecrating priest; supporting
and confirming them by their audibly expressed assent ;
in their hands and in their mouths receiving the sacred
elements; in faith discerning the Lord's broken and
life-giving body, — all these are necessary to the com-
pleteness of the great joint act which the Church of
God, not the priest alone, performeth. The priest, him-
self a penitent, himself one communicant among many,
saying"^ to himself and for himself the words of con-
fession, absolution and comfort which he says to and
for his brethren — the mouthpiece, if I may so speak, and
organ of the Church, that is, of his brethren and of
himself, in the special and exalted act of consecration, —
in all these together in their several positions and duties
the Holy Church doeth, hath done, and shall continue
to do this great thing, obeyeth her Lord by doing it in
sacred remembrance of Him, — declareth, publisheth, pro-
claimeth to heaven and earth, to angels and to men, the
saving sacrifice of the Lord's death until He come again
in judgment '^.
Any person who will read the ancient order of con-
secration as it is described in the Apostolical Consti-
1 Vide Note SS. "» Vide Note TT.
° -Tiiv Qo.va.TQV Tuv Kvplov KUTayyeWiTf. 1 Cor. xi. 26.
1 72 The necessary part [lect.
tiitions (it is extracted at length in the fifth book of
Bingham^s Antiquities) will, I think, see that what I
have said agrees very completely with the doctrine and
practice of the primitive Church. *Let the deacons
bring the gifts (the elements) to the bishop to the altar.
Then let the chief priest having, along with the pres-
byters, prayed secretly to himself, being clad in a bright
vestment, and standing at the altar, after making the
trophy of the Cross with his hand on his forehead, say,
" The grace of Almighty God, and the love of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy
Ghost, be with you all.'^ And let the people answer
with one voice, '' And with thy spirit.''^ Then let the
chief priest say, " Lift up your hearts,'''' and all repeat,
" We lift them up unto the Lord.^^ And the chief
priest, " Let us thank the Lord ; ''■' and let the people
answer, " It is meet and right so to do.''"'^ The same
is the case with the ancient Liturgies of St. Mark and
St. James ". Not only is there the repeated interchange
of mutual prayer between the consecrating priest and
the people, ^ The Lord be with you '' — ' And with thy
spirit ' (it occurs nine times in the Liturgy of St. Mark,
and nine times in that of St. James), but also the
' Amen^ of the people is repeatedly interposed in the
midst of the solemn words of consecration. So in the
Liturgy of St. James, the priest prays, ' Send down the
same most Holy Ghost, Lord, upon us, and upon these
o Vide Note UU.
VI.] taken by the people. 173
holy and proposed gifts ; that, coming upon them with
His holy and good and glorious presence. He may hallow
and make this bread the holy body of Thy Christ/ And
the people answer, *^Amen/ *And this cup the pre-
cious blood of Thy Christ/ And the people answer,
* Amen p/ Now, brethren, I beg that you will listen to
the way in which St. Chrysostom comments upon this,
and other such like cases, lest I should be thought to
strain the inferences unduly which I desire to draw
from them. ' Great,^ he says, ^ is the power of the
congregation, that is, of the Churches. Consider how
great is the power of the congregation. The prayer of
the Church released Peter from his chains, and opened
the mouth of Paul. Their suffrage decorates in no trifling
degree those who aspire to spiritual authorities. For
this cause he that is about to ordain invites their prayers
at that time, and they join their suffrages, and utter the
cries which we who are initiated know. For it is not
right to publish everything in the presence of the un-
initiated. Sometimes there is no difference between the
priest and the man who is beneath the priest, as for
instance when we enjoy the tremendous mysteries; for
we are alike thought worthy of the same blessings.
Not, as in the ancient covenant, the priest ate some
things and the people others, and it was not permitted
to the people to partake of what the priest partook.
But it is not so now. But one and the same body is
p Vide Note VV.
174 Recognised in ancient [lect,
offered to all, and one and the same cup. Again, in
the most tremendous myteries the priest prayeth for the
people, and the people prayeth for the priest. For
these words " And with thy spirit/^ are nothing else
than this. Again, the giving of thanks is common
to both. For the priest does not even give thanks
alone, but the whole people does so also. For he first
receives their answer, and when they have agreed that
it is meet and right so to do, then he begins the thanks-
giving. And why dost thou wonder if the people some-
times join their voice with the priest? Do they not
utter those sacred hymns along with the very Cherubim,
and the heavenly powers? Now all this I have said,
that each several one of the people too may be sober ;
in order that we may learn that we are all one single
body, differing from one another only so far as some
members differ from other members ; and that we may
not throw all upon the priests, but that we ourselves
also may have care for the whole Church, as for our
common body. For this both brings greater safety,
and helps you to greater progress in virtue ^/ It seems
plain from these words that while St. Chrysostom as-
signed to the consecrating priest his own special ofiice
and duty, not to be infringed upon or usurped by others,
he regarded the communicating people too as adding
an indispensable element, in their presence and their
prayers, to the holy and mysterious rite of sacred com-
1 Vide Note WW.
VI.] Church writers. 175
munion, and urged upon them the high responsibility
which such share in the holy office necessarily involved.
To the same general effect with these words of St. Chry-
sostom, but with still more remarkably distinct ex-
pression, is a passage in a homily by an ancient abbot,
a disciple and friend of St. Bernard, printed in his works :
' Dearest brethren/ he says, ^ such ought we to be who
consecrate the body of Christ, when we sacrifice, eating it
after consecration.' Observe these words. ^ When we
offer to you the same body for the health of your body
and soul. Such also ought ye to be, when ye receive
the holy sacrament from our hands, knowing that he
who receives the body of Christ unworthily, and drinks
His blood unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to
himself. Nor indeed ought we to believe that the
above-mentioned virtues are necessary to the priest only,
as though he alone consecrates and sacrifices the body
of Christ. He doth not sacrifice alone; he doth not
consecrate alone. But the whole congregation of the
faithful which standeth by consecrateth along with
Him, sacrificeth along with Him. Nor doth the car-
penter alone build the house; but one brings laths,
another timber, another beams and other things to the
work. The bystanders therefore are bound to contribute
somewhat of their own as the priest also doth, firm faith,
pure prayers, pious devotion '".^
It may no doubt be said with truth, that passages
-^ Vide Note XX.
1/6 The Eucharist a joint act [lect.
like this are rarely to be found in the writings of the
ancients. They are more generally occupied in dwelling
upon the awful sanctity of the holy feast itself, and
of the wonderful loftiness of the power transmitted to
the clergy of being the voice and organ of the holy
Church % of holding the keys of the sacrament^ of
holding a dignity higher than that of angels, inasmuch
as in their hands the bread and wine are spiritually
changed into the most holy body and blood of the Only-
begotten Son of God_, — than of that which it is my
more especial object to illustrate, the part namely which
the faithful people take in the same office. But as I
have already observed in respect of another part of my
subject, even single and occasional passages are sufficient
to testify to the existence and recognition of a doctrine
which none deny, which excites no opposition, but which
for one reason or another does not happen to come
often to the surface. And I would add that in the more
ancient form of the canon of the Mass* itself, in the
Commemoration of the Living stood the words, 'Re-
member all those who stand round, who offer unto Thee
this sacrifice of praise, for themselves, and all theirs.'
Indeed these words stand there still, though they now
run thus — ^For wliom we offer;' or, ' Who offer unto Thee'
Thus the Church, the bride of Christ, continually per-
forms this her most solemn act of union with her Re-
deemer. Thus she offers in all the world, and to the
s Vide Note YY. * Vide Note ZZ.
VI.] of the whole Churchy priest and people. i 'j'j
end of time will continue to offer, the remembrance^ the
memorial of Him who is her life, and who therein giveth
Himself to be the food as well of her corporate being
as of that of each one of her separate members. Thus
she publisheth, and will continue to publish, to men and
angels, the glorious fact and divine efficacy of her Lord's
death until His coming again — meeting in all her faith-
ful people at the single altar of her common worship,
offering herself an united sacrifice ", and binding herself
together in all her faithful living and all her faithful
dead, by the same sacred act which unites her in such
close and mystical union with her Lord. But she does
it, not by her priests only, though to them appertains
inalienably and incommunicably the lofty right and
office of uttering the words which consecrate to their
sacred and mystical efficacy the elements of bread and
wine which she offers. No : she does it by the joint and
duly proportioned agency, by the obedient and faithful
co-operation of all her members, the people uttering the
great 'Amen' which ratifies and completes even the
sacred words of the consecrating priest, and partaking
in the holy bread and wine which become, in the spirit,
not in the flesh, the very body and blood of the Lord by
this their joint act of commemoration and faithful de-
votion and sacrifice. Pardon me, brethren, if I seem to
dwell perhaps with somewhat needless repetition upon
these statements. For they seem to me to be not less
u Vide Note AAA.
178 Private Masses an mfringement [LECT.
important than they are^ as I think, true to the holy
doctrine of the primitive Church, before it began to be
disfigured by false philosophy in respect of the manner
of the divine presence in the Holy Eucharist, and by
the gradual usurpation of a strong sacerdotalism which
naturally if not necessarily culminates in such a system
as that of Rome, upon the originally common though
duly proportioned and subordinated rights of all the
members of the Spirit-bearing body of Christ.
You well know with what uniform and consentient
agreement the fathers of the English Reformation dis-
allowed, as a thing never known of nor permitted
amongst the fathers of the primitive Church, the prac-
tice of private Masses, which had grown up into a vast
mass of corruption and superstition in the preceding
ages V : and yet, if the sacrifice is complete and entire by
the single action of the sacrificing priest, I know not
how private Masses should be otherwise than things
good and holy, and of precious efficacy towards the
Christian benefit, and spiritual rejoicing of all the faith-
ful members of the body of Christ. No well-instructed
Christian denies, I imagine, that such is the efficacy of
the duly celebrated feast of the Holy Communion. How
then should we be able to doubt that if the single action
of the priest sufficed to perform the sacrifice, it were
good for the Church of quick and dead that Masses by
the hundred or by the thousand should be perpetually
V Bingham, bk. xv. ch. 4.
VI.] of the triLe theory of the Sacrame7it. 179
celebrated by every ordained priest, though he were
alone^ consecrating and offering from morning till nighty
and from night till morning ? If the single action of
the priest did really offer continually, entirely, undoubt-
edly, the blessed sacrifice of the Lord^s body and blood_,
renewing, continuing, repeating it as often as it was
done, how could we doubt that the holy work ought to
be going on without intermission and alwaj's, as much,
as often, and as fast as it could possibly be done ? Will
any one rejoin upon me that it is hardly a less difficulty
to suppose that the same benefits ensue upon the re-
peated administration, of the Holy Communion, if three
at least, according to the rubric of the Church of Eng-
land, communicate with the priest, than if he celebrates
alone ? I answer confidently that the more times such
Holy Communion is duly celebrated the better ; the
better for the communicating individuals, the better for
the Church ; — yes, the better for the whole body of
Christ's Church, whether still militant in the flesh upon
the earth, or already passed away from earth to its rest
in the Paradise of God. ' Duly celebrated,' I say ; and
by ^ duly,' I mean with suflScient care and thoughtful-
ness of preparation, as directed by St. Paul, on the part
of the receivers, and with all the deliberate and faithful
reverence on the part of priest and people which so
solemn and holy a thing demands. To celebrate without
such sacred preparation and reverence, whether the
celebration be rare or frequent, is surely to incur the
N %
i8o Presence of non-commimicants [lecT/
fearful risk of unworthy receiving, and thus to trans-
form good into evil, and the greatest of blessings into
a curse and a judgment. And if the reception or cele-
bration be very frequent there is of course the more
danger of such preparation and reverence being omitted.
But of due, reverent, and real celebrations — celebrations
in which priest and people alike in their several position
and duty join to render to God, in repentance, faith, and
charity, in all reverence and thankfulness, this most
sacred act of Christian worship, which unites them more
closely than anything else that is conceivable with their
dear Redeemer, and, in His sacred body, with one
another, — of such reverent, due, and real celebrations,
I say confidently, and I do not think that any well-
instructed Christian will gainsay it, there cannot pos-
sibly be too many. How many, is no doubt a matter of
Church discretion and order ; but the limit is to be set
not with reference to any possible excess of frequency,
but with reference to the danger of imperfect reverence
and preparation.
The observations which I have made upon the primi-
tive doctrine of Holy Communion, as excluding the
Roman practice of private Masses, appear to me to tell
with not less force against the recently introduced usage
in some churches of the Anglican communion, of per-
sons of adult age, and confirmed, who are therefore
capable of communicating, remaining in the Church
during the time of the celebration, and witnessing with-
VI.] improper on the same grounds. i8i
out partaking" of the sacrament. Is it supposed that
this is a primitive practice ? Is it not certain that
St. Chrysostom speaks of it in the severest terms when
adopted^ apparently as a new thing, among the careless
and imperfectly instructed Churchmen of Constantinople
in his own days ? And if other denunciations of it are
seldom found in the writings of other ancient fathers, is
not the true explanation of the absence of such denun-
ciations to be found in the fact that such an usage was
absolutely unknown and unthought of in the early
Church ? And does it not militate directly against the
very fundamental idea of the commemorative sacrifice as
the great and solemn offering on the part of the whole
Church that men should thus, not refrain only, but ex-
hibit, in a sort of presumption of will- worship, the fact
of their determination to refrain from communion ? Is
it not in fact a part of the natural result, — of the logical
consequence of the Eomish doctrine, which regards the
entire sacrifice as completed by the sacrificing priest
singly and alone, and ignores the necessary though sub-
ordinate part which the Church in her faithful people
contributes to the joint act? The only possible place
which a faithful lay Christian, or, I would add, a priest
not celebrating, can rightly have when the Holy Eucha-
rist is celebrated, is the place of a communicant. If
there be reasons and causes personal to himself why he
should not on the particular occasion communicate, the
same reasonable causes require his absence from the cele-
1 83 Stick practice objected to by St. Chrysostom. [LECT.
bration. ^ I say not these things/ says St. Chrysostom,
' in order that ye should partake anyhow (aTrAcoj), but
that ye should make yourselves worthy. Art thou not
worthy of the sacrifice, nor of the participation ? Then
neither art thou worthy of the prayers. Thou hearest
the crier, who standeth and saith, Depart all ye who are
in penance. All that do not partake are in penance.
If thou art one of those who are in penance, thou must
not partake ; for whosoever doth not partake is one of
those who are in penance. Consider,'' he goes on to say,
'consider, I beseech you. The King's table is spread,
angels are ministering at the table, the King Himself is
present ; and dost thou stand gaping by ? He speaketh
these words to all who shamelessly and boldly stand by.
For every one who refuseth to partake of the mysteries
doth stand shamelessly and boldly by. Tell me, if
any man invited to a feast should wash his hands,
and sit down, and be ready for the board, and then re-
fuse to partake, does he not insult the giver of the invi-
tation ? Were it not better that such an one should not
be present at all? In such a way thou didst present
thyself Thou didst sing the hymn ; amid all the rest
thou didst acknowledge thyself to be one of the worthy,
by not having withdrawn along with the unworthy.
How is it then that thou didst remain, and yet par-
takest not of the table ^?' It is indeed very possible
that there is this great difference between the conduct
'^ Vide Note BBB.
VI.] Communion the gi^eatest act of devotion. 183
of those whom St. Chrjsostom refers to, and of those
who do the like in the present day, that while in the
former case it may have heen merely a fashion of care-
lessness and neglect, it is in the latter the effect of
theory, and intended as reverence. But I do not see
that the argument is the less applicable to the one case
than to the other, even if this be so, while the theory
exemplified in the modern practice is precisely that
against which it is my particular purpose to object.
Such then I believe to be the position which the holy
sacrament of the Lord^s Supper holds in the system of
the rites of the Church, and such, speaking generally
and in the way of a sketch, is its efficacy in respect of
the administration of the Holy Spirit in the body of
Christ. The usage of the modern Church, dissociating
apostolic confirmation from the now wellnigh universal
practice of infant baptism, and requiring therefore from
the persons confirmed, now of age to make their own
profession, the personal vow of repentance and faith,
has correspondingly postponed the reception of Holy
Communion to the same age. It is well. Not in-
tending to utter a syllable in disparagement of the
ancient practice of infant communion, we may say that,
as now ordered, personal self-examination, personal con-
fession, explicit personal faith, express Christian charity
and love, go to the altar now with every worthy re-
ceiver.
It is the greatest act of personal devotion — the de-
184 Communion the greatest act of faith, [lect.
votion of ourselves in body_, soul^ and spirit to God.
We do therein actually offer and present, according to
the good words of our Liturgy, ourselves, our souls and
bodies, to be a reasonable — that is, an intelligent — holy,
and lively sacrifice to Him. We withhold nothing.
Sins past have been confessed. Whether by the action
of our separate and real priestliness, or, if our souls
have needed it, by the intervention of God^s ordained
priest, we have received the assurance of their being
forgiven. The little gift we severally give, while it is
the firstfruits of much else to be Christianly given, and
the pledge that all we have shall be Christianly spent,
is the special token before God that no brother hath
aught against us, that we are in reconcilement, in love
and charity with all men. We render ourselves up —
every time we communicate we render ourselves up
again — to do the will of God in all our lives wholly,
unhesitatingly, unreservedly.
It is the greatest act of faith. To worship, to pray,
to praise God, to confess sin, to ask for pardon and
help, all these, good and holy and necessary as they
are, are but the natural expressions of a pious soul,
conscious of weakness and sin, and of the presence and
goodness of God. But he who, bowing himself down
in faith at the altar of God, partakes of the consecrated
bread and wine as spiritually and divinely, and to his
soul, the body and blood of his Redeemer and Lord,
what mystery is there of Christian revelation and belief
VI.] . It is the greatest of prayers. 185
that he does not therein and thereby acknowledge and
proclaim ? The mercy and love of the Father^ the con-
descension of the eternal Son, His incarnation, the
shedding of His blood upon the cross as a ransom for
many, His resurrection-triumph over Satan and the
grave, His ascension into heaven. His mission of the
other Paraclete, His return in judgment. His mysterious
presence in the Church, the dispensation of the Holy
Spirit, His sanctifying grace in the body of Christ, and
in every faithful member of that body ; — he, I say, who
in faith bows himself down to eat of that bread and
drink of that cup as verily and indeed the body and
blood of Christ to the strengthening and refreshing of
his soul, doth as it were visibly and really set his seal to
the holy creed of God in all its life-giving particulars.
And it is the greatest of prayers. While other
prayers have their own times of occasion, and their
own topics of petition, this great prayer supports,
strengthens, gives spiritual fervency and sacred eifect
to them all. In it the Christian soul has drawn most
near, has, so to say, touched most close the ascended
Lord, and all the offices of more ordinary worship and
service are the holier and the more effectual for that
mysterious contact.
It is, no doubt, the most precious and efficacious of
all the means whereby the grace of the Holy Spirit is
imparted to each separate Christian soul planted into
the body of Christ by holy baptism, for except we eat
1 86 It furnishes the only [lect.
the flesh of the Sou of Man, and drink His blood,, we
have no life in us. And this is the aspect of it with
which we are most familiar in practical and parochial
teaching, and in books of devotion. But this, great as
it is, and vital, is but one side of its sacred meaning
and power. The other side is not less true and real ;
and I will venture to say not less important, though
less frequently urged and insisted upon in sermons and
devotional writings. I mean the witness that it gives,
and the sacred bond that it furnishes to that mystical
union of believers in the body of Christ, which Christ
Himself in the last solemn prayer recorded before the
Crucifixion so earnestly prayed for, which has the pro-
mise of so great and peculiar blessing, and which is
made by Himself to be the witness to the world of
His own Divine mission y. In these days of division
and separation, when not only national churches are
disjoined from one another, but every parish in our
own Christian country is so divided against itself in
matters of religion that Dissent numbers wellnigh as
many, if not in some cases quite as many, adherents
as the true and apostolical Church of God in the land,
it seems to be a matter of the most primary and
pressing importance to press upon men^s minds this
aspect of the holy and mysterious efficacy of the blessed
communion. It has been, I think, the weakness and
deficiency of the Church of England in the revival of
y St. John xvii. 21.
VI.] true bond of union. 187
earnestness which ensued^ more or less, upon the preach-
ing of Wesley and Whitfield, that it has preached
religion chiefly in that subjective manner, if I may so
term it, which they and their followers adopted. To
preach the Gospel was to present the atonement of
Christ to the fervid faith of sinners. To preach spirit-
ually was to refer everything that could conceivably be
good or acceptable to God absolutely to the workings
of God in the soul. To preach faith was to discounte-
nance the preaching of repentance and holiness as such,
to keep out of sight, or at least in a very secondary
position, external means and helps of grace, and to
teach men that they must be saved by abandoning,
and utterly disclaiming all idea of being or becoming
good, really good, themselves. Now a scheme of doc-
trine like this, though indeed it contains a great deal
that is most true and precious in its own place, if it
be balanced and strengthened with other truth, and is
faulty rather in its omissions than in its actual state-
ments, has this obvious and melancholy tendency in it,
that it directly operates to scatter the one Church of
God, and to break up the precious unity of the body
of Christ into a multitude of independent believers,
following their own ways, selecting their own teachers and
tenets, and seeking heaven by the light of their own eyes
and in the security of their own personal convictions.
If this be the true and entire preaching of the Gospel,
I do not know what I have to say to the Dissenter
1 88 It furnishes the only [lect.
who deserts his parish church, and goes to the meeting-
house. He feels himself to be edified by what he hears
there. He hears what he considers to be the Gospel.
He is convinced that he has been at a definite time
and with distinct consciousness converted by the Holy
Spirit, and having been so perceptibly converted is
saved for ever. He tells me that he has faith in Christ,
and that he prays. I know that he is often a man of
exemplary life and apparent piety. How can I urge
him to leave his chapel, and to come to church? I
confess that upon the principles which seem to me to
have pervaded a good deal of the preaching of the
Church of England, I feel very powerless to answer
such a question satisfactorily. I cannot put it upon
State authority, even if State authority did not break
down under me. Church authority he wholly declines
to recognize, and without his recognition of it, it were
idle to talk of it.
I know of no essential bond of Divine unity so great,
so holy, so binding as that which is provided for all the
faithful members of the body of Christ in the Holy
Communion. In that one altar where the Church by
her joint and holy offering, remembers and publishes the
sacred death of her Lord until He cometh again, there,
and from thence the Church is one. Meeting at that
one altar set up by the authority of the Church in
ancient days, and ministered at by men who have re-
ceived the divinely descended power to consecrate the
VI.] true bo7id of union. 189
elements of bread and wine to become to the faithful the
body and blood of Christy the members of the Church,
separately and severally priests of God as members of
the one Priest, renew and confirm their own separate
and individual priesthood, testify to the oneness of the
Priesthood which they all share, drink afresh of the
fountain of their common life, go back refreshed and
strengthened to exercise before God upon themselves,
and in the various ways in which it is given to them to
exercise it upon others, the office of their own personal
priesthood, maintain and publish to heaven and earth
the unity of the body by partaking, in repentance, faith
and charity, in that which alone keeps the body alive
and holy before God, the sacred communion with Christ,
and with each other.
Herein is, assuredly, the true remedy for that thin
religionism which has been widely prevalent among us,
and which, while holding more or less firmly the main
articles of the Creed, threatens to make religion little
more than a personal sentiment, ignoring almost wholly
the Divine institution of the Church of God, the body of
His Christ.
God forbid that I should doubt that there may be, —
nay, that their is^ a deep, secret unity in Christ, which
it is not given to us either to fathom, or to limit — that
souls of men rendering themselves up to God in Christ,
in sincere faith and devotion, even though they be dis-
joined and separate in respect of outward communion,
IQO There may be a deeper union ^ [lect.
may yet^ in the unseen unity of the Holy Spirit belong
to the sacred body of their Lord^ and inherit^ in Him, the
kingdom which He has purchased for them by His most
precious sacrifice. No doubt it may be so ; and amidst
all the rents and schisms of our divided Christendom —
yes, and the lesser divisions which set house against
house^ and man against man even in our own country —
it is the one topic of comfort which we store in our
heart of hearts to cheer us in the miserable strife of
tongues, never, alas ! so keen, or liable to be so bitter as
when engaged upon the holiest and most divine subjects.
But it is the very characteristic of the divine scheme of
Christ's religion that the deep, inward, spiritual agencies,
those which alone are really and in themselves efficacious
in the regeneration, the growth, and the salvation of the
souls of men, have their outward and appointed signs and
tokens, whereby we are bidden to win, and whereby alone
we may be assured that we do win, the secret and in-
visible graces in which w^e live before God. The regene-
rating Spirit may no doubt seize, if He will, upon the
hitherto unregenerate spirit of a man, and give him with-
out human aid or interference the sacred new birth which
brings salvation, — yet, unless we have risen, and been
baptized, and washed away our sins in the consecrated
elemental water, we may not presume that that myste-
rious change has passed upon our souls, even as we must
not doubt the fact that it has done so when that outward
rite has been duly done. And even so is the case with
VI.] but we may not presume upon it. 191
the other sacrament of the Gospel. There may be, as I
said, a deep invisible unity, wherein the souls of men,
divided on earth even to the utmost extent of persecu-
tion on the one hand, and suffering on the other, may
yet (so that in their hearts they cling to God in Christ)
be bound together in the Spirit; yes^ and fed myste-
riously with the sacred spiritual body and blood of the
Redeemer which is the food of Divine life : yet none may
presume upon such a doctrine, comforting though it be,
nor venture to assure himself that he is himself a sharer
in that secret bond, so as to be a member incorporate
in the mystical body of Christ, which is the blessed
company of all faithful people, unless he derive that
assurance from the use of those outward means to which
Christ has given the mysterious power of conveying it,
and which he has made the pledge to our souls that it is
conveyed.
LECTURE VII.
ORDINATION AND ABSOLUTION.
Then Peter said unto Him, Lord, speakest Thou this parable unto us, or
even to all 9 And the Lord said. Who then is that faithful and wise
steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give
them their portion of meat in due season! — St. Luke xii. 41, 42.
nnHERE is one question which has not as yet been
expressly discussed in these Lectures^ but which
underlies all that has been said^ and which must be no
longer deferred^ although the discussion of it must
necessarily be very short and summary. The question
is this : How far are we to understand the various
things which our Lord spoke, sometimes to His dis-
ciples, and sometimes more expressly to His apostles,
as said to the Church in general, though addressed to
them representatively, or as said to them personally,
and so to their personal successors in the specially apo-
stolic position and the authority which belongs to it ?
In short, I desire to ask in general very much the same
VII.] To whom were the words spoken f 193
question which was asked by St. Peter in the text
respecting the parable of the servants waiting for their
Lord when He should return from the wedding. Spake
He all these gracious words unto the apostles only, and
so to the bishops and clergy, or spake He them even
to all?
I need hardly say, after what I have urged in the
previous Lectures, that I adopt the latter of these alter-
natives, and believe (and indeed the whole force of the
view I have taken depends in great measure upon that
conclusion) that when the Lord speaks to the disciples,
or the Twelve, He generally, if not always, speaks to
them as representing the Church. In a certain way
no doubt He speaks to them personally as the appointed
and empowered representatives of the Church, but not in
such sense personally as to exclude at any time, or in any
instance, the idea of a real and true representation.
But it seems necessary not to assume this conclusion
silently, but to face the question directly, however short
and incomplete must necessarily be the consideration
which I can give to it.
And I would say that so far as my reading of ancient
writers enables me to speak, I find a singular absence
of uniformity of language in them respecting it ; and
that, not only in one writer as compared with another,
but in the same writer in different parts of his own
writings. At one time words seem to be interpreted
of the apostles and their special successors only, while
o
194 To whom are the words of Christ spoken, [lect.
at another there is plain acknowledgment that the
whole body of the Church is not to be excluded from
the application. In truth, so far as I know, the precise
question which I have asked does not seem in ^general
to present itself in the express and distinct shape in
which I feel it necessary for the purpose of my argu-
ment to regard it. In like manner we have been for
many years in the habit of reminding one another that
the Church embraces the lay-people as well as the
clergy, and of complaining of the injurious expression
of ' going into the Church^ when used for ' taking Holy
Orders;^ yet, so far as I know, none has pressed the
truth which underlies this just complaint to its full
consequences, nor given a connected view of the Church,
the body, in its relations to the clergy, the empowered
organs of the authority and powers of the body.
When we open St. Matthew's Gospel the question
presents itself to us at once. The Lord begins to
preach*, in the same language as the Baptist, * Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.^ He calls the
two sons of Jonas (who had already believed) to leave
their fishing, and to follow Him. He also calls the
two sons of Zebedee ; and so far as the narrative of
St. Matthew goes^ He calls no more at that time.
Great multitudes follow Him from a very wide circuit
of country. Seeing the multitudes He goeth apart into
a mountain, and His disciples came unto Him^. He
» St. Matt. iv. 17, 18, 21, 25. ^ St. Matt. v. 1.
VII.] to tJie Apostles or to the Church? 195
opens His mouth,, and teaclies them in the Sermon on
the Mount. This discourse then is expressly addressed
to 'the disciples/ of whom we already know from
St. Matthew the names of four only. We do not, I
presume, douht that whether the number of those who
actually heard this discourse with their ears were few
or many, yet that it was spoken in anticipation of the
days in which the Church should be fully founded, and
spoken with reference to the whole Church. Who were
to be the salt of the earth? the apostles? Yes; pri-
marily, no doubt, the apostles; yet surely not exclu-
sively. The clergy? Yes, chiefly, no doubt; to the
extent that they keep the pureness of doctrine and life
which help to keep truth and holiness alive among the
people. Which is the city set on an hill? Is it the
governors and teachers of the Church, or is it the
Church herself, the city of God, the new Jerusalem
which the glory of God doth lighten, and the Lamb
is the light thereof? In like manner the Christian
interpretation of the commandments, the rule and re-
ward of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, and the more
scattered precepts of the seventh chapter, are undoubt-
edly the inheritance of the whole Church of Christ,
even though it be possible that they may have been
actually uttered in the hearing of a comparatively small
audience.
That which I have said of the Sermon on the Mount
applies with equal force to a very large proportion of
o %
196 Are the words of Christ addressed [lect.
our Lord^s discourses^ respecting wliich^ whether they
were spoken to few or to many, none have ever doubted
that they belong in their ultimate application to all.
But there are some discourses which appear to be of
a more directly personal kind, such as those of the six-
teenth of St. Matthew, in which the Lord speaking to
St. Peter promised to him the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and the power to bind and to loose ^, and of
the eighteenth of the same Gospel, where the same
words, at least so far as regards the power of binding
and loosing, are repeated respecting the Church ^. How
far then are we, as a matter of interpretation, to explain
the former of these discourses as applying to St. Peter
only, or the latter of them as applying only to the
Twelve? On the first of these questions I might refer*
to passage after passage from the works of St. Augus-
tine in which he explains the words of our Lord to
St. Peter, as said, not to himself personally, but to the
Church represented in his person. Such is the follow-
ing: ^For the sake of that character of the Church
which he alone ' (because the confession was uttered by
him alone) ^was then bearing he earned to hear the
words, ^'to thee will I give the keys of the kingdom
of heaven ^" For it was no single man that received
these keys, but the unity of the Church received them.
Herein therefore is the excellence of Peter declared,
c St. Matt. xvi. X6. ^ ibid, xviii. 18.
e Vide Note CCC.
vil] to the Apostles or to the Church f 197
that he bore the figure of the universality and unity
of the Church, when it was said to him_, " I deliver to
thee that which indeed was delivered to all/^ For
that ye may know that the Church received the keys
of the kingdom of heaven, listen to what the Lord said
in another place to all His apostles : " Receive ye the
Holy Spirit/^ and immediately after, '^ Whose soever
sins ye remit, they shall be remitted to him, and whose
soever sins ye shall retain, they shall be retained/'
This belongs to the keys of which it was said, ^^ What-
soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven." But this then He said to Peter.
But that thou mayest know that Peter then was bearing
the character of the universal Church, listen to what
is said to himself, and what to all faithful saints, ''If
thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him : and if
he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against
thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day
turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive
him." It is the dove that binds, the dove that looses.
It is the building on the rock that binds and that
looses.'
' It is enquired,^ says Cornelius k Lapide, commenting
on this great passage of the eighteenth of St. Matthew,
* what the word " Church^^ here signifies. St. Jerome,
St. Anselm, and St. Gregory understand by it the as-
sembly and multitude of the faithful, as though Christ
198 To the Apostles representatively^ [lect..
intended that sucli a man should be convicted in their
presence, in order to be brought to shame, and so
amended. Zuinglius and the Innovators greedily adopt
this, in order to sanction the democratic and popular
government of the Church, and to flatter the people.
But St. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius and others
understand throughout by the word ^'^ Church/^ the
pastors and prelates of the Church, who either separately,
or in synod and council represent the Church, as the
magistrate represents the republic, and the king the
kingdom."* I do not know why the views sanctioned on
either side by such great names should be held to be
inconsistent with each other. It is surely possible that
the real power may be the power of the whole body, the
Church of God at large, and yet that the organs for
its use and administration may be those who by a Divine
descent of ordination have been empowered for that
precise office and duty. To such extent is this principle
of the representative application in our Lord^s words
acknowledged in ancient writers, even in such passages
as seem to have the most obviously personal character,
that St. Augustine ^ interprets the predictions which the
Lord addressed to St. Peter and St. John in the twenty-
first of St. John^s Gospel as by no means exclusively
applicable to themselves, but as designed to belong to
the Church at large in its two aspects of activity and
contemplation.
« Vide Note DDD.
VII.] to tJie whole Church really. 199
If then^ returning' to the question as at first proposed,
we ask whether words like these are to be understood as
spoken to the apostles and their ordained successors
only, or even unto all the Church, I venture to reply in
terms borrowed in the way of paraphrase from those in
which the Lord replied to St. Peter in the text. The
words are spoken unto all : but they also are spoken
unto you. You are stewards amid and over the house-
hold : servants among many fellow-servants, having the
special duty of giving them their meat in due season :
trusted with special offices for the transmission of Divine
grace for your own support and theirs in spiritual life,
and encouraged by the promise of especial and higher
reward if at His coming He find you so doing: — but
yet not so separate or disjoined from them as to be
otherwise than members in the very same body, needing
for yourselves the very same food which they need,
penitents yourselves as well as priests, just as they too
are, in their own place and degree, priests as well as
penitents.
Of the official powers which in the name of the
Church at large the apostles exercised in their life-time,
there is one which they left, so far as the sacred history
and the early Christian writers give us information,
absolutely and altogether in the hands of their proper
successors, the bishops : I mean ordination by imposition
of hands. It is possible that the imposition of hands in
confirmation may have been practically confined to the
200 Ordination by imposition of hands, [lect.
bishops, according to the passage which I have already-
quoted from St. Jerome, as a matter of honour and pre-
cedency rather than of principle and necessity. But
the imposition of hands which consecrates bishops to
their high office, and that which confers the Christian
priesthood, have been regarded at all times as the in-
alienable office and honour of the episcopate.
With respect to the consecration of bishops it is suffi-
cient to quote the second Canon of the fourth Council
of Carthage : ' When a bishop is ordained, let two
bishops place and hold the book of the Gospels over his
head ; and whilst one offers over him the prayer of
blessing, let all the other bishops who are present touch
his head with their hands s.'
As to the ordination of priests, St. Paul exhorting
Timothy reminds him of the gift that is in him by the
laying on of his hands ^, and with the laying on of the
hands of the presbytery, and therein gives the formula,
so to speak, of apostolic ordination for all times, which
has ever been dutifully followed. The practice cannot
be more plainly shewn than in the next canon of the
same council just referred to. ' When a priest is or-
dained, while the bishop blesses him and holds his hands
upon his head, let all the priests also who are present
hold their hands upon his head, near to the hand of the
bishop.''
What then was the action, or was there any, of the
K Vide Note EEE. ^ 2 Tim. i. 6 ; 1 Tim. iv. 14.
VII.] What part had lay -people in Ordination? 201
rest of the Churchy in respect of this great rite of or-
dination ? Granted that the ordaining authority rested
altogether with the bishops^ not however without the
concurring aid of the presbyters^ did the lay-people con-
tribute any part or portion towards this most important
act?
It cannot be denied that they had a very real share
first in the selection of the persons who were to receive
ordination, whether as bishops or priests. No doubt
St. Paul is not recorded to have been assisted by any
popular choice in appointing Timothy to Ephesus or
Titus to Crete ; but even in the Acts of the Apostles
the general principle of specific consent on the part of
the multitude of the Church is sufficiently clear from
the story of the selection of St. Matthias and of the
seven deacons. No doubt again St. Clement i of Rome,
in the very age of the apostles, says of them that
'preaching throughout the countries and the cities,
they constituted those who were the first-fruits thereof,
having proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and
deacons of those who believe.^ Yet the same writer, not
many lines after, speaks of those who were so ordained
as having been appointed by them, or by other men
of great mark in succession to them, along with 'the
joint acclamation of the whole Church.^ But it will
suffice on this point to quote the words of Cyprian ^ :
* The lay-people who obey the Lord's precepts, and fear
i Vide Note FFF. k Vide Note GGG.
202 The part of the lay-people [lect.
the Lordj ought to separate themselves from a simier
who is set over them, and not mingle in the sacrifices of
a sacrilegious priest, inasmuch as they chiefly have the
power either of choosing those who are worthy, or re-
fusing those who are unworthy. Which very thing we
see descends from divine authority, namely, that the
priest he chosen in the presence of the laity under the
eyes of all, and he approved as fit hy the puhlic judg-
ment and testimony : — Which thing is observed, ac-
cording to the divine rules in the Acts of the Apostles,
when Peter speaks to the multitude about ordaining one
into the place of Judas the apostle. Peter rose, it says,
in the midst of the disciples, hut the multitude was
collected together. Nor only in the ordinations of
bishops and priests do we remark that the apostles ob-
served this practice, but in those of deacons also, respect-
ing which it is written in their Acts : '^ the twelve
called together the whole multitude of the disciples, and
spake unto them.^^ Wherefore that order which is ob-
served among us and in almost all provinces, from the
divine tradition and the apostolic practice, is to be
diligently observed and maintained^ namely, that for
the proper celebration of ordinations, the neighbouring
bishops of the same province come together to that
multitude over which a bishop is to be ordained, and
that a bishop be chosen in the presence of that multitude
which knows the life of each individual most perfectly,
and has thoroughly seen the actions of each from his
VII.] in respect of Ordination. 203
daily behaviour/ It is quite clear that in the primitive
ages the voice of the lay-people in the choice, and their
'acclamation' and assent in the ordination of clergy,
whether bishops or priests, were by no means dis-
regarded. Their testimony and their approbation were
distinctly asked for, not silently assumed and taken for
granted. Thus they had a real and substantial weight
— a weight so real as to give them a real share in the
responsibility of the choice. It would seem to be alike
a corruption of the primitive practice to confine such
choice absolutely to the clergy, whether bishop or pope,
or to let it fall altogether into the hands of a lay-govern-
ment. Both are of the nature of usurpations, — but the
second has been a reaction from the first.
To the bishops then, as the personal successors of the
apostles, belonged the right of laying hands, together
with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, upon
persons to be ordained to the holy ofiice and function
of the priesthood. While the whole body took its own
part in the choice of fit persons for ordination, and was
called upon for the acclamatory ' Amen/ and the whole
clerisy joined, subordinately, in the actual ceremony,
the ordaining hands were those of the bishops, and of
the bishops only. Nothing, as it seems to me, can shew
more plainly the coi-porate character combined with the
divinely descended administration of the powers of the
Spirit-bearing Church than the whole of the primitive
practice in this most important matter of ordination.
204 Evils arising from the loss of it. [lect.
That we have lost, lost unspeakably, by losing the full
sympathy, assistance, co-operation, and consequent joint-
responsibility of the lay-people in respect of ordination,
is, alas ! only too clear. I will not now speak of the
subject of their aid in selection, further than to allude
to the immense accession of strength and influence
which could not fail to be imparted to all church work,
if the spiritual men whose duty it was to take the lead
in such work were themselves deliberately chosen by
careful, earnest, prayerful selection on the part of all
those 1, clergy and laymen, whom they were to be called
to govern, and if thus the action of the whole Church in
its Spirit-bearing strength might be made to tell upon
the choice of fit men as pastors for the charge of the
separate portions of the flock. But who can think of
the large amount of earnestness and piety, of energetic
zeal for God, which has gradually broken away from the
outward unity of the Church in this country, bringing
division, opposition, unkindness, and extreme danger of
mistaken teaching of all kinds, without reflecting sadly
upon the narrowness which has surely on our side helped
to make the breach and to keep it open ; and without
most earnest prayer that God will of His great mercy
give us all such heavenly wisdom and charity as may
teach us how to gather again into the one fold those
who love the Lord in sincerity; to avail ourselves of
many real gifts in men who are now separated from us,
» Vide Note HHH.
VII.] Power of Absolution. 205
and so to enable us to speak with that one heart and one
voice to the world by which the world is to know and
accept the divine mission of the Redeemer ?
No doubt it does not belong to my special subject to
dwell upon such thoughts now; but I cannot refrain
from expressing my own belief that as by the gradual
elimination of the lay share and the lay responsibility in
the various actions of the body of Christ, the evil we so
deeply lament has been in part caused, so by the re-
storation of ancient practice under the great primitive
principle, that melancholy evil might in some degree be
remedied. That the special priestly powers descend by
due imposition of hands from the apostles, and may not
be invaded without sacrilege, we hold fast as one of the
chief pillars of the constitution of the Church of Christ ;
but saving this, there is immense scope, as there is
boundless need, for the action of earnest men, if with
wise and charitable and loving hearts, with large united
counsel, we would address ourselves to the task of
winning them to an orderly share in the great work
which we all have in common.
There is one other important branch of the subject
which it is necessary to touch upon, however briefly and
lightly, before we leave the general topic of the adminis-
tration of the collective powers of the spirit-bearing
body of Christ. I mean Absolution.
The origin of this power, so far as it can in any degree
or in any sense be exercised by man, is of course to be
2o6 The double promise answers [lect.
sought in the gift of Christ bestowed upon .the apostles
by the Lord on the day of the resurrection,, as recorded
in the twentieth chapter of St. John^s Gospel^ when
' He breathed on them, and said, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted
unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are
retained "i/ This power so given, the Lord had pro-
mised twice before : once, as written in the sixteenth
chapter of St. Matthew, when in answer to the great
confession of St. Peter He had said, ^ Thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven °.' At which time we understand
Him to have spoken to St. Peter as the representative of
the Twelve ; and again, in the eighteenth chapter of
St. Matthew ", when giving direction as to what His
followers should do when brother sinned against brother.
He repeated the same words respecting the Church in
general which he had already spoken to St. Peter, and
in him to the Twelve.
Let it be observed here what a close parallelism there
is between the double promise and the double fulfilment.
As the Lord gave the same promise first to the Twelve
«» St. John XX. 22. « St. Matt. xvi. 18, 19.
« Ibid, xviii. 18.
VII.] to the double gift. 207
represented by St. Peter, and then to the Church in
general, so when the Holy Spirit was given was the
actual gift as double as the promise had been before.
First to the Twelve, the breath of the Lord Himself
gave it as recorded in the twentieth chapter of St. John ;
and then again on the great day of Pentecost, the actual
descent of the Holy Spirit gave it to the Twelve as re-
presenting the whole body of believers.
From this observation we seem to find a clue to the
somewhat difficult question which has perplexed inter-
preters of Holy Scripture of all times ; the relation, I
mean, which the gift of the resurrection-day bears to
the gift of the day of Pentecost. For while it seems
diflficult on the one hand to suppose that words so plain
as those used by our Lord in the twentieth chapter of
St. John imparted no real gift, 'insomuch that,' as
Hooker says, ' it were absurd to imagine that our Sa-
viour did both to the ear, and also to the very eye ex-
press a real donation, and yet they at that time receive
nothing,' yet on the other hand it is very difficult to
distinguish as separate gifts the power to remit and
retain sins of the resurrection-day, and the power to
baptize for the remission of sins which was undoubtedly
given at Pentecost; besides that we believe that all
other methods whereby sins are forgiven spring and
issue from the covenanted remission, promised, upon the
due use of the means of obtaining it, in holy baptism.
And to this again is to be added the general force of the
2o8 Tlie gift given at two times. [lect.
statement that the Holy Ghost was not given till Jesus
was glorified in the Ascension p, and that He might not
send the other Paraclete before He Himself was gone
away in the flesh. From the consideration of this dif-
ficulty several of the ancients, as Theophylact, Euthy-
mius, Aquinas, conclude that the apostles did not actually
receive the Holy Ghost upon that former occasion, but
were made capable of receiving it. But may not the
interpretation which I have indicated give sufiicient
explanation of the difficulty? The gift on the resur-
rection-day designated, for all time, the personal ad-
ministrators of that power from on high which was to
be actually given to the whole Spirit-bearing body at
Pentecost. The gift on the resurrection-day marked,
empowered, and distinguished for perpetual succession
those who were to be the organs and representatives of
the whole Church in regard to these high powers, when
the Holy Spirit who conveyeth the powers should be
actually given. There is no need to suppose that the
distinction lies in the powers, as though some were
given at one time and some at another, and so it were
necessary to find some difference between them. The
two givings, like the two promises in St. Matthew's
Gospel, were really givings of the same gift; but the
one marked and empowered, and by an antepast of grace
sanctified the organs or channels, through the agency of
which the actual powers which the other gave should be,
P St. John vii. 39 ; xvi. 7.
VII.] What is the power thereby given ? 209
in orderly communication, administered to mankind 1.
If I may borrow an illustration from the narrative of
the miracle of the giving of sight to the blind man as
recorded in the eighth chapter of St. Mark, it is as
though on the former occasion the eye, not without a
certain amount of visual power, had been created as an
organ, and on the latter the body were put in full pos-
session of its mighty collective life, and the brain won
the divine skill of transforming all that organic power
into real and perfect sight.
What then do we understand to be the continuing
power which these sacred words bestowed upon the
apostles first, and still bestow upon those who by due
ordination succeed to their place ? If it be true, as I
have suggested, that they designated and empowered, in
the first instance, the personal organs of that plenary
authority which, fifty days later, was poured in its
fulness upon the whole Church, what do we believe to
be the still living effect which they have upon those
whom the apostles by imposition of their hands put into
their own place before they died, and those who still by
the perpetual succession of the same rite, hold the same
proportionate position in the body of Christ ?
There can be no doubt that all covenanted remission
of sins given in any way through the agency of man in
the Church of Christ, has its root and beginning, to the
receiver, in holy baptism. This I presume is the mean-
q Acts i. 8,
p
210 Ministerial absolution entrusted [lect.
ing of the clause in the Nicene Creed, ' I believe one
baptism for the remission of sins/ The efficacy of re-
pentance, the effect of absolution, the pardon involved in
the growth of grace in general, and in the communion
of the body and blood of Christ in particular, and if
there be any other means whereby sins are forgiven, all
have their origin in the great gift of holy baptism,
which is the imparting of present, and the covenant of
all future forgiveness.
It might have been thought that the gift of the
twentieth chapter of St. John would have confined the
whole subject of the remission of sins, so far, I mean^ as
human agency might be employed in it, absolutely to
the apostles, and their personal successors ; that so bap-
tism^ with all its covenanted consequences, and all the
subsequent methods^ should have been given into their
hands exclusively to administer to the people. And no
doubt the theory of the relation borne by the clergy to
the body of Christ would have been more systematically
perfect if this had been the case. But as has been shewn
in a former Lecture, the prerogative of God's mercy
infringes upon the strictness of the theory, and it has
been ascertained to be His will that the use of elemental
water with the sacred words^ by whomsoever adminis-
tered, suffice to bring into the fold and flock of God any
soul of man_, at least to such extent as that the germ of
spiritual life_, though not the fulness of spiritual living,
should be given thereby. We thankfully acknowledge
VII.] to the Apostles and their successors. 211
the gracious truth. But with this exception the general
theory remains complete. Even in baptism the general
order of the Church confines the usual and orderly ad-
ministration of the Sacrament to the clergy, while to
the bishops alone is given the power of completing by
laying on of hands the irregular and imperfect gift
when given by lay or other unauthorized agency. But
all the other methods of divine forgiveness, subsequent
to that of baptism, in so far forth as they are conveyed
through human agency to those who are by baptism
made capable of receiving them, are, without exception,
delivered to the clergy, bishops and priests, under the
original charter of the words of the Lord, sealed by His
most holy breath, to be conveyed to His people.
Putting aside then, until the next Lecture, the whole
subject of self-examination and repentance, that is to say
the privileges of the Personal Priesthood, whereby every
baptized man has his own separate right of access to the
Father through Christ, we may observe in general that
the ministry of absolution is correlative to the ministry
of discipline, that loosing answers to binding, and that
sin either public and notorious so as to offend the con-
gregation, or so weighty and grievous, though secret,
as to burthen and distress the conscience beyond its
own unassisted power of obtaining peace, requires the
aid of the collective powers of the Spirit-bearing Church
in order to give it that correction first, and after due
repentance that assured peace and restoration to the
P 2
2 1 2 The pozver inherent in the whole body. [lECT.
favour of God which such sin had greatly endangered.
These collective powers it is the special privilege of the
priesthood to administer, and I own myself at a loss
to understand how any person who helieves in the con-
tinual presence, even to the end of the world, of Christ
with His Church, and hy consequence, the perpetual
maintenance of the powers with which He originally
endowed the Church, can douht the fact that it is so.
This is the meaning of that precept of St. James,
^ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for
another, that ye may be healed ^.^ For in the body of
Christ in general there is a power of healing different
from that which is in each separate member of that
body, and able to supplement and fill up its deficiencies.
This is at least part — the chief part — of the meaning of
that TToSay vLyj/aaOat ^, that washing of one another''s feet,
which even they require who have been wholly bathed
in the bath of baptism. ' For whereas,^ says St. Au-
gustine, ' as long as we live in the midst of human
things the earth is necessarily trodden : so our very
human affections, without which we cannot live in this
mortal state, are as feet. But if we thus confess our
sins^ He who washed His disciples^ feet forgiveth us our
sins, down to the feet wherewith we walk upon the
earth *.^
Inherent then in the whole body, as one of the main
' St. James v. 16. « St. John xiii. 10.
t Vide Note III.
VII.] Case of the incestuous Corinthian. 213
incidents of its collective priestliness, and administered
by those who hold by due succession under the sacred
breath of Christ as breathed upon the twelve, this
great power is plainly twofold, according to the words
of the Lord who gave it. The power of binding or
of retaining sins, and the power of loosing or remitting
them.
In respect of the former of these kinds of power,
besides that the words of Christ in the eighteenth
chapter of St. Matthew promise it distinctly to the
Church in general, and not to a separate class within
the Church, the single case of discipline recorded with
particulars in the New Testament — I mean the case of
the incestuous sin spoken of in the two Epistles to the
Corinthians" — seems to shew beyond question where
such power resided, and in what manner it was to be
exercised. ' For I verily,^ says St. Paul, ' being absent
in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as
though I were present, concerning him that hath so
done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the
power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an
one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.^ See
here the authority of excommunication. The power
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the authority of the apostle,
the assembly of the Corinthian Church. It was a
« ICor. V. 3-5:2 Cor. ii. 5.
a 14 The' Absolution in tJte Daily Service, [lect.
public scandal, a case in vvhicli the Church of Corinth
should have mourned, that he that did this deed might
be removed from among them. And again, when the
Corinthians obeyed the apostle, and the offender was
excommunicated, St. Paul repeats in other terms a like
statement of the authority under which the act of for-
giveness or absolution was done : ' sufficient to such a
man is this punishment which was inflicted by the more
part of you ^.^ ' To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive
also, for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven
anything for your sakes forgave I it in the person of
Christ.-' See here again the course of authority : the
person of Christ in whom alone is the real spring and
source of power, the enjoining apostle, the punishment
inflicted and the comfort given, — not apparently una-
nimously, but by the greater part of the Christians of
Corinth.
In like manner the power of loosing or remitting
sins, ultimately residing, under Christ, in the Church,
and entrusted to those for administration who are au-
thorized by divine descent of ordination to exercise it,
is given to help to peace and recovery of grace those
who, by public sentence or by the secret consciousness
of sin, feel the face of God averted from their souls, and
crave the aid which He has mercifully given for their
restoration.
In the ordinary offices of public prayer, where many
^ 'iKavhv T<f TOiovTcp 7] eTnTi/jila t] tnrh rwv ir\€i6vu)V. 2 Cor. ii. 6.
VII.] hi the Commnniofi Service, 215
Christians unite their voices in general confession, each
articulating", so to speak, the general tones and language
of the confession-prayer with his own personal conscience
of sin and sorrow, the voice of priestly absolution con-
tinually falls as an unfailing and gentle dew from heaven,
freshening the hearts that are laying their griefs before
the Lord, while it adds to the comfort of their personal
priestliness the further assurance of pardon, wherewith
the collective priestliness of the whole Church of God is
authorized to support. Uphold, and strengthen their
peace.
Moreover, inasmuch as the saci*ament of the Lord's
Supper is^ as has already been explained, the sacrament
of the complete restoration of the separate members of
the body^ operating to the perfect re-union of the whole
body, it follows that in that sacrament, in the preparation
for it beforehand, and in the actual administration of it,
the most special and characteristic exercise of that power
is to be found. Those who are in notorious sin, whereby
the congregation is offended, are to be repelled from
communion, and not re-admitted to it until restored by
due absolution upon repentance; and those who are in
such distress of mind from the burthen of secret sin as to
feel themselves unfit to communicate, and really, though
without the knowledge of others, outside for the present
of the pale of God^s people, are by the ministry of God^s
Holy Word to receive from the priest the benefit of
absolution, together with ghostly counsel and advice,
2i6 In the Visitation Service. [LECT,
to the quieting of their conscience, and avoiding of all
scruple and doubtfulness. So before : and in the actual
scene of Holy Communion again, but with stronger and
clearer voice now than in the daily prayers, the accents
of the priestly Church uttered through her priestly organ,
assure with authoritative comfort those who turn to God
with hearty repentance and true faith, of God^s unfailing
promise of the forgiveness of their sins.
And, in the time of heavy and dangerous sickness —
in the time when death seems to be impending, when
the conscience is likely to be burthened with weighty
matters lightly regarded, perhaps hardly remembered at
all in the days of health and strength, when bodily and
mental powers are enfeebled, and the heart is tempted to
sink down and despair under the prospect of appearing
immediately in the presence of the most holy God with
all its sins upon it, — is the blessed comfort of the solemn
confession to God in the presence of His priest, and the
tender administration of God's Holy Word and promise,
crowned by the audible words of authorized and express
absolution, not to be refused to the afflicted and dying
sinner, humbly and heartily desiring it. O let no shrink-
ing from the honest and faithful use of the divinely de-
scended powers that come to the Church and to her
priest from the holy words and breath of Christ, — let no
base fears of worldly objection or scorn lead a priest of
God to grudge to his dying brother the clear, outspoken,
ringing words of holy absolution, which the Church has
VII.] The power is the same in all. 2 1 7
put into his mouthy which the sad sinner humbly and
heartily craves, which his faithful full confession has
earned ! Do not mock the dying patient by reminding
him that he too is a physician. Do not cheat the broken-
hearted penitent by telling him that he is a priest him-
self. God has provided an express comfort for him in
his extremity of distress. God has given to you, and to
none but you, the very anodyne for his poor soul's pain.
You are cruel, you are faithless, you are untrue to your
holy calling and duty, if, out of fear of man, you shrink
from using it.
Nor let it be supposed that in this last case the priest
is claiming to exercise any other powers than those which
he exercises in the more ordinary cases of the absolutions
in tlie Daily Service, and in the Communion Office. No
doubt the words in which he is directed in the Prayer-
book to pronounce the sentence of forgiveness are dif-
ferent — perceptibly and markedly different — in the three
cases. But the difference arises not from any difference
in his own power, but from the difference in the circum-
stances under which the same identical power is exer-
cised. In the Daily Service he is speaking to a mixed
congregation, consisting of he knows not whom. To
them, as having just united their voices with his own in
confession to tlie throne of the heavenly grace, he, stand-
ing up in the power of his holy office while they kneel,
pronounces the sentence of God^s assured absolution and
remission of sins to such as ' truly repent and unfeign-
2i8 All are to be understood [lect.
edly believe His holy Gospel/ In the Communion
Office, where none are (or ought to be) present and taking
part^ except such as ought to have given their names
at least some time the day before, and by their presence
profess to repent truly and earnestly of their sins, to be
in love and charity with their neighbours, and to intend
to lead a new life of holiness and obedience, the priest's
words of absolution take a stronger tone. Speaking with
the authority which God has given to him, he addresses
them expressly to the people present. That which in the
former case had sounded only like a general statement of
forgiveness on God's part to the penitent and faithful,
is now not put any longer in the mere form of a state-
ment, but in that of a conveyance directed expressly to
the persons actually present in the Church. In the Vi-
sitation Service, where the penitent is one only, and he
very sick, and probably with death in prospect, where he
feels his conscience troubled with weighty matters, where
he has made special confession of his sins to Almighty
God in the priest's hearing, so that the priest verily and
with good ground believes that he has poured out the
secrets of his heart in full and unreserved sorrow for his
sins, there, — on his own humble and hearty desire, the
priest is bidden to speak without further reservation the
sentence of absolution, free and full, which the divine
succession that dates from the sacred breath and the holy
words of Christ Himself, to which I have so often re-
ferred, empower him to pronounce. But all the three
VII.] as throwing light upon each other. 219
absolutions of the Prayer-book are to be understood as
throwing mutual light upon each other. As^ on the one
hand, the power claimed and exercised in the last and
most strongly worded of them is not less truly present
in the second and in the first, so that both in the Com-
munion Office and the daily prayers the more general
methods of statement by the priest of God's forgiveness
wheresoever repentance and faith are present, do actually
convey to any who have made their confession in such
real repentance and true faith the actual and undoubted
sentence of delegated absolution not less certainly nor
less strongly than the stronger form of the Visitation
Service, so, on the other hand, the strong form of the
Visitation Service is to be interpreted by the sober and
general statements of the other absolutions; and the
priest's words are not to be understood further than as
the more clear and unreserved expression of that dele-
gated authority whereby he is empowered to carry home
to the trembling and anxious soul of the single penitent
to whom he speaks, the blessed truth that God in whom
alone resides any conceivable power to forgive the sins of
His creatures, doth truly pardon and absolve him, as ' He
pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and
unfeignedly believe His holy Gospel.'
But while we desire to vindicate, as an undoubted
power of the priesthood, the divinely descended authority
of pronouncing the sentence of sacred absolution upon
true repentance, it is never to be forgotten that it is in
220 Ministerial absolution [lect.
the very essential nature of that power to be remedial,
helpful, and, if I may so call it, supplemental. The first
and foremost doctrine of the Gospel on the subject of the
forgiveness of sins is surely this, — that as it is certainly
given freely and fully in holy baptism to all such as
receive that sacrament in true repentance and faith, so
after baptism it is no less freely and fully promised to
all those who continually turn in like repentance and
faith back again to God. This we must lay down with
the most unreserved and unhesitating confidence as one
of the very first principles of the divine doctrine of the
Gospel. ' For if we confess our sins, God is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.' But it is of the great and tender mercy
of God also that, knowing the frailty of man and his
liability to heavy and continual sin, and knowing too the
weakness of his heart, and the self-distrusting feebleness
of the conscience, very often as little able to support
itself as a broken reed when really awakened to the full
sense of its guilt and danger. He has added to this
gracious scheme of restoration what I have called the
remedial and supplementary institution whereby the
collective priestliness of the universal body may operate
to support and supply the otherwise failing and imper-
fect strength of the single guilty and desponding Chris-
tian. But it is of the utmost importance to keep in
mind this its remedial and supplementary character. It
is not to be in any degree a substitute for conscience.
VII.] helpful and subsidiary. 221
It is not to be in any degree a substitute for personal
strength, for self-direction, for personal communion with
God in prayer, for living in the conscious sight and pre-
sence of the Holy Spirit, who face to face with the soul,
and deeply penetrating its most inward and profound
secrets, searcheth, and is ready and willing to strengthen
and sanctify it, if it will be strengthened and sanctified,
with a power which needs no help nor aid nor addition
of any conceivable kind.
And I cannot doubt that the practice of continual
confession to a priest^ and the craving for continual
absolution at his hands — much more the habit of seek-
ing constant ' direction,' as it is called, of conscience
from him, has a distinctly enfeebling effect upon the
personal strength with which a Christian ought to
learn to walk before God, and to order his own steps
according to His law. It is with things spiritual as it
is with things natural in this respect. To lean unduly
upon helps, to depend for guidance upon other men
further than is absolutely necessary, is to betray the
personal powers which God designed that we should cul-
tivate, and to lose the precious lessons which such culti-
vation is. intended to teach us. Add to which that the
same practice has a dangerous tendency to \a eaken the
sense of the Holy Spirit's presence in the heart, and
the awful consciousness of the searching and unerring
scrutiny with which He sees and knows and balances
with the most exact and unfailing rightfulness, the very
222 Caution requisite in the use [lect.
truth of man's secret beings the reality of his repentance,
the depth of his devotion^ the real nature and heinousness
of his sin. For man cannot look into the heart of man ;
nor can man convey to man in words, except in the
roughest and most imperfect way_, the actual reality, the
full true reality of the consciousness that is within him.
Words are too strong sometimes, sometimes too weak,
always inadequate ; they leave untold great tracts of
consciousness, and the more they are multiplied in the
attempt to tell them, are apt to leave them untold all
the more. The impressions which words convey are un-
certain, fallacious — now too weak, now too strong, now
mistaken, always uncertain. But He with whom we
have to do, the Word of God, and His Spirit, is living,
and powerful, ' and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart 7.' He needeth
no words. He maketh no mistakes. Everything is
utterly manifest in His sight. To Him the heart may
learn (and happy is the heart that so learns !) to open
its grief with the certainty of the tenderest sympathy,
with the certainty of the divinest appreciation, with the
fulness of outpouring and confidence that belongs to
those who know that when their heart condemns them,
God, and God only, is greater than their heart, and
knoweth all things^.
y Heb. iv. 12. ^ 1 St. John iii. 20.
VII.] of ministerial absolution. 223
This in caution ; in what I believe to be wise and
necessary caution. To the baptized the offices of the
personal priesthood in the way of repentance and forgive-
ness come first, those of the collective priesthood are
secondary and subsidiary. It is a fault in theory^ as it
is dangerous in practice, to elevate them, or to run the
risk of elevating them, into the first place. No doubt
it is a question of degree. The line has to be drawn
somewhere. It is in the Christian faithfulness — the brave
Christian faithfulness of the penitent, and the Christian
wisdom of the priest — to draw it with a very grave
reserve, a reserve doubly necessary in a case where dis-
use, and much past corruption, and the obvious liability
of various kinds of danger, and I will add, the scanti-
ness of special and particular directions from authority,
embarrass the exercise of a real, and in its own place, a
most precious and sacred power.
And thus, brethren, I have endeavoured to trace the
operation of the two great principles which I have laid
down through the main ordinances of the Gospel, de-
siring to show that in them all, while the ultimate
spiritual power and authority, so far as it is entrusted to
man at all, resides in the universal Church, the body of
Christ, the administration of it is put into the hands of
a special priesthood, representative and organic, em-
powered by divine descent of ordination to exercise the
various priestly functions upon themselves and their
brethren. I have spoken very shortly upon each point,
224 Summary of the view taken.
from the necessity of the case : and plainly ; for if I
may not speak plainly, I must not speak at all. If the
principles that I have laid down are sound and true^
they certainly are not unimportant. To your candid and
thoughtful consideration I commend them.
It only now remains to speak of the personal priest-
hood of every single Christian — that blessed and sacred
right of access, whereby each baptized member of the
body of Christ is free to approach his merciful Father
which is in heaven, in the strength of the Holy Spirit,
and with the sacred assurance of the Divine love and
favour won for him by the blood of Christ.
LECTURE VIII.
THE PERSONAL PRIESTHOOD.
For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or
Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made to drink
into one Spirit. — i Cor. xii. 13.
npHUS far I have spoken of the exterior administration
of the Holy Spirit of God to the souls of men, through
the operation of the Church, the body of Christ. There
is no occasion to recapitulate at present the view which
I have taken, which must be abundantly familiar to
those who have heard the preceding Lectures. I believe
that view to be sound and true ; and though I cannot
pretend to find it either laid down as a thesis, or stated
in its completeness by ancient writers, yet I venture to
think that in all its main and essential particulars, it
will be found to pervade the writers of the ancient
fathers, and to be present as a basis of doctrine in the
sober theology of the chief writers of the Church of
England. I also believe the view which I have
Q
226 TJte view taken acknowledges [lect.
taken to be one capable of leading to results by no
means few or unimportant, if it should be adopted in its
breadth and fulness. For it seems to recognise the
justice and the place in the Christian scheme of a great
number of points held with much force as characteristic
by various Christian bodies, while it rejects such as,
though held with equal force by those bodies, have been
regarded by other Christians as their characteristic
errors ; and that, not in the way of an eclectic or arbi-
trary piecing of heterogeneous materials, but in the way
of consistent and clear consequence from an intelligent,
and, I hope, not unfounded theory. With the Roman
Catholics it acknowledges the peculiar powers of the
priesthood, and claims for them exclusively the adminis-
trative functions which are derived from the long de-
scent of the Holy Spirit, ever since the breath and words
of Christ first imparted it to the Twelve on the resur-
rection day. With the school of the late Dr. Arnold, it
altogether admits and insists upon the personal priest-
hood of every baptized member of the body of Christ,
and, by consequence, his unimpeded access, in all the
offices of personal devotion, to the grace and favour of
God for Christ's sake. But it adds to both that which
both greatly need, the full confession of the other part
of the great twofold truth, which each in its turn has
lost, holding that the inherent priestliness of the whole
body helps, in a way that cannot be dispensed with, the
official priestliness of the organic priesthood^ and that
VIII.] much truth in other systems. 227
the organic priesthood, in various departments of its
exercise, is requisite, as to produce, so also to maintain
and keep up in its full strength and under its deep
occasional needs, the priestliness of each single member
of the entire body. With the whole Church of God of
ancient, and, I may add, of modern times, it acknow-
ledges the absolute authority of Holy Scripture, down
to the smallest details of what is written ; but it lays
itself open to no critical attacks as to the methods, or
degrees, or limits of Divine inspiration in the sacred
writers, being content to believe that in an historical
religion, the continuity of which extends over wellnigh
four thousand years, and of which every part and portion
is essentially necessary to all the rest, it is a sound as
well as an inevitable conclusion, that God has given to
each age the specific duty of determining those points
which it alone has the means of determining, and that
thus every single part of the whole connected scheme or
fabric becomes a real evidence and a satisfactory proof
of all the rest. So, having received the books of Holy
Writ as a sacred inheritance from those ages which alone
had the duty, because they alone had the means, of form-
ing a judgment upon their authority, we may on this
view decline to examine and re-examine for ever ques-
tions which have been settled, and respecting which the
greater part of the evidence which once existed^ has in
the course of things, that is, in the providence of God,
perished.
228 It might lead to some [lect.
1 also venture to think that, if both sides of the great
twofold truth which it has been my wish to put for-
ward were fully realized in their respective and united
strength, they might be found to help in throwing light
upon many questions of no slight importance and diffi-
culty which are now pressing upon the Church. For
example, the extremely urgent question of winning back
into the full communion and brotherhood of the Church
the Wesleyan body, — men who by no professed difference
of doctrine, nor, apparently^ by any insuperable difference
in respect of discipline, — with great gifts of earnestness
and influence, have slid away from us, against their
founder's earnest desire and repeatedly expressed warn-
ing, — might seem to be not wholly incapable of solution,
if we took deeply into our hearts the mighty scope for
every sort of various action in the Church, which the
full doctrine of the general priestliness of all the mem-
bers of the body of Christ brings prominently into view.
In like manner, the whole subject of non-established
Churches, as in the colonies, — a subject daily growing in
importance, and imperatively requiring some well-con-
sidered and deeply- digested method of uniform settle-
ment, is never seen in so true a light as when both parts
of the twofold truth which I have insisted upon, are
fairly and fully recognised. The isolation and quasi-
despotic action of the single bishop, or of several bishops
together, very feeble as it can hardly fail to be, if he or
they be regarded as the only holders of sacred spiritual
VIII.] not unimportant conclusions. 229
authority, is at once changed into an infinitely greater,
because truer and more truly founded power, if it be
backed and supported by the full momentum of the
priestly Church or Churches over which they rule. Even
the more difficult and complicated questions which arise
in respect of Churches established by law^ gain a reflex
light from the practical exhibition of principles in such
Churches as are by the condition of the circumstances so
placed as to be able to act them freely and fully out.
We have now to consider, in conclusion, the personal
priesthood, so to call it, of every single Christian man,
whereby (putting out of sight for the present the graces
which are continually ministered to him by the agencies
of others) he, singly and alone, in the dignity of his own
real and personal priestliness, has direct and unimpeded
access to God^ now become his loving Father in Christ.
It is necessary at this point to consider with some
attention what information is given to us in Holy Scrip-
ture respecting the origin and beginning of the work of
God in its secret dealings with the heart of man, in
order that we may trace in some degree the distinct
threads, if I may so speak, of Divine grace — that of the
inward and personal, and secret operations of the Holy
Spirit in the soul on the one hand, and that which be-
longs to exterior and appointed methods of sacramental
and covenanted efficacy on the other. Both, according
to the Divine scheme of religion, are necessary to the
full Christian perfection of each member of the body of
230 The izvo distinct threads of grace. [lect.
Christ. But they are not identical, and they must not
be confounded. Neither can be spared in the examina-
tion of the true history of the Christian soul, without
the risk of serious evil arising* from the omission.
' Whence is it,' asks St. Basil the Great, in that most
precious Treatise on the Holy Spirit, ' that we are Chris-
tians ? Through faith^ every one would answer. And
how is it that we are saved ? No doubt, by having
been born again through the grace of baptism. For
from what other source can it be ? ' ^ Faith and baptism,
the two means of salvation, are of like nature with one
another^ and not to be divided. For faith is perfected
by baptism, and baptism is founded upon faith, and
each is effected by the same Divine names. For as we
believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
so also are we baptized into the Name of the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The confession going
before leadeth the way to salvation^ and baptism follow-
ing after setteth the seal to our assent *.'
Weighty words these^ and capable, if they be care-
fully considered, of furnishing a clue to lead us through
the intricacy of the subject on which we speak.
For what is this precedent faith, which thus going
before leadeth the way unto salvation, upon which bap-
tism following after thus setteth the seal ? It is surely
a personal, secret, inward growth, begun when first the
soul of man, touched inwardly by the illuminating and
a Vide Note KKK.
VIIL] Precedent faith. 231
sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost^ turns ^ itself, and
is turned towards the acceptance and love of Divine
truth, and culminating in that fulness of assured con-
viction which is ready to receive the impression of the
seal of God in the outwardly administered sacrament
of Holy Baptism.
No doubt the whole world is in such sort full of the
operation of the Holy Spirit of God, that all that is
in any degree good or holy, or tending to goodness or
holiness in created things, is derived from that single
source. We do not doubt that the holy angels them-
selves depend for all their stability, their order, their
foreknowledge, their powers of acceptable duty and
praise, upon His gift. In the power and by the gift
of the Holy Spirit, our first father, like the rest of the
visible creation, was made very good. And all that
remained of good after the Fall among his descendants,
whether in the favoured race of Abraham the friend of
God, or in the heathen nations, came in like manner
from the free overflowing mercy of God in the Holy
Spirit.
All this in general : but this would not have brought
men to God in Christ, nor have sufficed to begin the
b ' wondrous chain ! where aye entwine
Our human wills, a tender thread,
With the strong will Divine !
We run as we are led.'
Miscellaneous Poems by the Bev. John Keble.
232 Precedent faith [lect.
actual movement of their hearts in the direction of
faith, properly so called, without some intervention of
express human teaching. (For ' how shall they believe
in Him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall
the}^ hear without a preacher?^) So wonderfully even
in its inmost operations the work of God is blended
with the work of men, and needs its joint action.
When then, in the merciful providence of God, the
due preacher is sent with the message of the Gospel —
that message which, revealing the depth and enormity
of human sin by the greatness of the sacrifice required
for its forgiveness, reveals also the infinite love of Him
who is at once the Priest and the Victim, the Mediator
and the Judge — why is it that that message falls upon
various hearts with so very different power, and re-
ceives so different welcome ? Why is it that one heart,
recognising its own sinfulness and inability of help,
clings with the warmest, most intense and earnest
clinging to the tidings of the crucified Lord, while
others, commonly the most, either scorn it, or at least
give it little heed, and pass it by?
No doubt, as in other and more general ways, the
uncovenanted overflowings of the Holy Spirit have
never altogether deserted the fallen race of man, so it
has been also in this more especial and definite instance.
As it was by the Holy Spirit that the voice of the
preacher was sent to cry aloud in the wilderness of
ignorance and sin, so was it also by the unseen ope-
viil] the gift of the Holy Spirit. 233
ration of that same Holy Spirit that the hearts of men
turned and opened themselves, like the heart of Lydia
the seller of purple of Thyatira, to believe and welcome
the blessed words of the GospeP. Not necessarily at
once^ not necessarily with any outward observation, not
necessarily with any direct or visible connexion with
the preacher's words, the Holy Spirit of the Most High
God doth sow in the hearts of men that secret seed of
Divine faith, which, not yet assured of increase, nor
of the means of increase, and liable to be overpowered
by all sorts of alien and poisonous growths, feeble, in-
secure, perhaps temporary only, is yet the beginning of
that personal faith, that sacred confession of and from
the heart, which, according to the words of St. Basil,
leadeth the way unto salvation.
I speak for the present of adult baptism only, as
exhibiting the theory of Divine grace in its simplest
and most intelligible form; and so speaking, I venture
to say that there must be in each single soul of man
a secret, original, separate springing of Divine grace,
constituting the first beginning of that personal faith,
which, as it first leads the way to salvation, so lives on,
with whatever increase and addition and help and as-
surance to be afterwards given, and forms the necessary
basis of the personal priesthood of each single Christian,
and, as it were, the ground and capacity of life in his
soul.
« Acts xvi. 14.
234 Ii^ the case of Adult [lect.
So, I say, in respect to the simpler and more readily
intelligible case of adult baptism : but how stands the
case in respect to persons baptized in infancy, when
vicarious faith is for the time accepted in place of
personal faith, and the outwardly administered grace
begins before the child is old enough to be capable of
any personal or conscious turning to God in Christ ?
For vicarious faith is not the same thing as personal
faith, nor equivalent to personal faith, except in the
case of infants dying in infancy; and personal, con-
scious, and willing faith is, at least in all other cases,
that which leadeth the way to salvation.
No doubt the Holy Spirit of grace, imparted through
the outward administration of water and the holy
words, is so surely present with every baptized child, as
to enable him, in proportion to his growth of mind,
to listen and take in, with that loving childish heart,
which is of itself of the nature of Divine and Christian
faith, the early measures of sacred doctrine taught by
his mother^s lips : and many, no doubt, there are in
every Christian country in whom the two threads, as
I have called them, of Divine grace have been so un-
distinguishably blent and interwoven in all their lives,
that there has never been a time, since the blessed
birth of the font, when, frail and uncertain and tottering
as they have felt their faith and obedience to be, they
have been otherwise than growing under the joint
and sacred influence of inwardly cultivated and out-
VIII.] and of Infant Baptism. 235
wardly axjcepted grace. But this, though, the due, and
I firmly believe, by no means an unusual, or other than
an usual case, is very far indeed from being an universal
one ; and, alas ! we know only too well that there are
multitudes in whom, though vicarious faith has been
allowed to admit them to the holy sacramental and
outwardly administered gifts of Divine grace, yet, so
far as man can judge, there has not sprung up, under
the action of the inwardly operating Spirit of God,
that personal and sacred faith, that conscious willing
faith which leadeth unto salvation, which assimilates
the blessed exterior gifts of grace, and which is abso-
lutely necessary to form the basis of the high position
of personal priesthood in Christ. They need a true,
real, inward conversion of the soul. They need a real
personal beginning of active, however secret and in-
visible, vitality in the soul by the action of the Holy
Spirit. They need a real personal beginning, conscious
and willing, of that spiritual virtue of holy faith within
them which leadeth the way unto salvation. I do not
know whether I have succeeded in making my mean-
ing clear ; and this is a point on which I would fain not
be misunderstood. I mean to distinguish three separate
cases : — the first, the simplest, where in the conversion
of persons of mature age, the faith that leads the way
to salvation springs in the heart first, secretly, divinely,
and is after a time so far matured as to receive the seal
of holy baptism ; the second, the happiest, where vica-
236 Three cases distinguished. [lect.
rious faith is accepted for an infant child, and the in-
dispensable personal faith grows up, regularly and
sweetly strengthening, under the perpetual dew of the
graces which descend upon it through all the exterior
ministrations of Christ's Church ; the thirds the most
anxious, where vicarious faith has been equally accepted
for the child in unconscious infancy, but the signs of
personal faith, the indications of the working of the
Holy Spirit in the heart, the marks of the activity of
the new nature bestowed by the new birth are, alas !
not to be recognised. To such as these the conversion
of the soul — a real, inward; secret turning of the soul
to God in Christ (I do not speak of the fictitious con-
versions, the foolish excitements which afflict our poor
country parishes, scattering away all sober reverence,
engendering all kinds of presumption and conceit) —
a real, inward, secret turning of the soul to God in
Christ, the secret w^ork of the Holy Spirit, is absolutely
needful.
For the outwardly administered gift has been given,
and it has been received. The spark and germ of
divine life is there : of that life which can only be
begun once, and which, if once extinct, absolutely ex-
tinct, knows no means *^ of restoration. No doubt it
may be latent long, and to human eyes completely
latent, and yet by no means lost. It may give no
visible indication whatever of its presence for many
^ Heb. vi. 4-8.
VIIL] Preaching of conversion. l^il
years, and yet not really have expired ; dormant indeed,
yet real still, awaiting the hope of revival in the spring-
ing up of real faith and repentance. ' Now,^ says St.
Basil (meaning by the word *now^ this present life),
' even though the Holy Spirit is not wholly mingled
with the unworthy, yet doth He appear to be present
in a certain manner with those who have been once
sealed, awaiting their salvation by means of repentance.
But then' — that is, when the next world is come, and
the unworthy have not repented — ' He will be altogether
cut away from the soul that has profaned His grace ®.'
And therefore I hail the preaching of conversion as
a great need of these unspiritual times ; not such a
preaching as should in any degree depreciate the blessed
gift of Holy Baptism, God forbid ! nor such as should
lead any one to doubt the exceeding happiness of such
as from the blessing of Christian homes, and early
imbibing of the rich gifts which belong to the infant
child of God, have never known the dreariness of feeling
exiled, the dry heart which cannot pray, the feeling
of scornful doubt and unbelief: but such a preaching
of conversion as might by the blessing of God be not
unhelpful towards wakening up the beginnings of that
personal faith and repentance — that conscious and will-
ing faith and repentance — which, alike in the baptized
and those who are not yet baptized, leadeth the way
unto salvation. For how shall the corporate blessings
« Vide Note LLL.
238 The preaching of conversion [lect.
of the Church of God produce their effect upon a heart
which, though duly baptized in vicarious faith, has never
learned by its own faith and repentance to digest and,
as it were, assimilate them ? Is it not plain that every
blessing of Holy Communion, the blessing of joint
prayer, the blessing of priestly absolution — every bless-
ing that flows down upon the single member from the
vitality of the whole body — must depend for its effect
upon the existence of an inward liveliness of faith in
that single member ? As the sap will not flow from the
healthiest tree into a branch which by decay has become
incapable of receiving it, so will not the choicest graces
which are imparted to the separate members of the life-
giving body, reach the soul which is not by its own
proper faith and intended holiness in a fit condition
to receive and entertain them. As again, a branch
grafted into another tree, cannot convey the rich sap
which is to make it swell into bud and flower, and
enable it to ripen fruit, unless it have a certain amount
of original life, as well as a capacity of receiving further
and borrowed life within itself, so neither can the mem-
ber, grafted into the body of our Lord Jesus Christ,
taste and convey the graces of the body, unless he have
such personal life of faith in himself as shall enable him
to receive and assimilate those graces. His own faith
must needs discern the Lord^s body in Holy Communion,
or else to him, for any blessing to be derived from it,
it is not the Lord^s body. His own faith must give
VIII.] after the gift of Baptism. 239
sincerity and filial sorrow to his confession, fervency
and real outpouring of heart to his prayers, reality and
strength to his repentance, or else the voice of the
united prayers of the Church is to him but as the
tinkling of cymbals, and the utterances of priestly ab-
solution but as drops which, while they sink deeply and
with divine power into the rich and good soil of a
neighbour's heart, run off from his as from the hard
rock without the slightest benefit or fertilizing effect.
But besides such personal sincerity and faith as will
enable a Christian man to receive and entertain the
graces which flow richly down upon him from the body
of Christ, through its authorized channels, and by the
agency of its appointed organs, he also possesses a dis-
tinct priesthood of his own, which, while it forms part
of that great and universal priesthood of which I have
already often spoken, is for himself his full and sufficient
right of admission and access to the presence and mercy
of God in Christ.
In the power of this priesthood he may cultivate a
true and perfect faith — faith of his own, faith which is
acceptable to the Father for Christ's sake. I speak of
faith now in the sense of that deep and self-abandoning
reliance in which a man trusts himself, in body and
soul, and in all that he loves^ in his present interests
and future hopes, altogether and perfectly to God. In
the solitude of his own soul, where none may approach
save the Holy Omnipresent Spirit of Godj who seeth and
240 The power of the personal priesthood [lect.
knoweth every movement and wish, and winding of his
thought, he may by the unfailing" help of that Holy
Spirit learn to anchor himself in trust unfeigned and
complete upon the love and mercy of God in Christ.
He may learn to find a divine power in his faith, of
strength sufficient to support him under any degree of
earthly trouble or sorrow, giving him cheerfulness, calm-
ness, and a lofty sense of the Divine presence in the
utmost decay of outward fortune, in the severest and
most afflicting dispensations of pain and sickness, even
lasting on to the very last spark of consciousness, and
the very gates of the grave. It is his own. It is the
gift of God to the separate soul of His child in Christ.
He possesses it alone. It is a treasure greater than
anything else upon the earth. It is heaven in anticipa-
tion. It maketh the great and glorious things that are
hoped for to be substantial to his soul, and evident
though they are not seen.
In the sight and power of his own personal priesthood
he has a right to the Holy Scriptures. They are un-
doubtedly, inalienably his. They are his to study, to read,
to mark, to learn, and to digest them inwardly ; so that
from their light he may have a lantern for his path, and
be ready at all times to render unto any that shall ask
him a reason for the faith that is in him ; and from the
comfort and patient continuance in them- he may con-
stantly embrace and hold fast in his soul the blessed
hope of everlasting life. It is a cruel injustice, and a
VIII.] in Faithy and Holy Scripture. 241
miserable overthrow of the fundamental principles of
the doctrine of the Church of God, the Spirit-bearing
body of Christ, which would, withhold, — which has
withheld, and, alas ! would still withhold — the life-giving
word of God in Holy Scripture from the possession and
study of any part or portion of the people of God. If
any be ignorant, so as to be in danger of perverting or
misusing the great gift of the open Bible, he is to be
taught, that so his love may abound ever more and more
in knowledge and all perception, that so he may discern
the things that are more excellent, and thereby become
sincere and without oifence in the day of Christ. But
to withhold from him the open Bible, the very written
charter of his inheritance, is to deprive him of the very
means — at least of one of the very greatest of the means
— whereby he is to learn to do the good service in the'
Church of God which is due from every baptized mem-
ber of the body. They are his to ponder, to learn by
heart, to know with the fullest intimacy, to hide within
his heart that he may have them at call to help him that
he may not sin ^ ; to have them in his house, to teach
them to his children, to repeat them when he lieth down
to rest, to repeat them when he lieth sleepless on his
bed, when he waketh from his sleep, when he walketh
by the way, when he sitteth down, and when he riseth
up. They are sacredly, inalienably, for ever his ; his as
assuredly as the very air which he breathes, which is
f Ps. cxix.ll : Deut. xi. 18-21.
242 'In possessing doctrine. [lect.
hardly more essential to his natural life than they are to
his spiritual.
And together with the Holy Scripture, the divine
rule of faith is his : for he has inherited it by the very
right and title of his new birth — I mean the sacred
doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ^,
the holy triple Name of God into which he was baptized,
that good Name that was called over him at the font,
that sacred Name which is the sum of creeds.
His it is to believe, to hold fast, to study with all the
helps of various knowledge that he can command ; to
understand more and more profoundly ; to keep undefiled
from the various tendencies of corruption that may
assail it, — from injurious gloss, from unauthorized ad-
dition or subtraction threatening its clear and dogmatic
purity and completeness, whencesoever they may come.
It is not indeed his special calling, if he be a layman, to
preach, or to be a public teacher of it. But his clear
and well-trained Christian understanding is the due
support of the teaching clergy, a support which they can
ill spare : and for his own hearths food, and for the
benefit of his children, and of those who in various ways
come under his influence, his own sound and well-
grounded faith in the objective and dogmatic truth of
Godj with which he and all the other members of the
Spirit-bearing body are entrusted ^, is of a value which
8 St. Matt, xxviii. 19 ; St. James ii. 7.
'^ Kom. iii. 2.
VIII.] In repentance and confession. 243
cannot be exaggerated^ while the absence of it is a heavy
and dangerous loss.
In the power of his own personal priesthood he may go
before God in repentance and hearty confession of sin ;
laying his conscience bare before God, and weeping over
sins — which no man knows, it may be, nor necessarily
need know — whether they be sins of secret thought by
which he has dishonoured God in the deep of his inner
soul, or sins of word, or overt sins of deed and act, in the
only presence of his loving and merciful Father which is
in heaven. And in so doing he may entirely assure
himself, that as certainly as his Father knoweth already
all the details and aggravations of those sins, before he
utters them in word, or mourns over them in heart, so
certainly He loveth to see His son in Christ prostrate
himself, with all the burthen of his soul, in filial confes-
sion at his feet. He has a right in Christ to the abso-
lute assurance of forgiveness, in so far as he knows and
feels, and does not deceive himself in knowing and feel-
ing, that his repentance is real, and his confession
earnest and true. He doth not need that any man
should necessarily come 'between God and his own
priestly soul, in order to win, or in any way to obtain
for him the pardon and the peace which are promised to
faithful confession ; ' For if we confess our sins. He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness i.'
i 1 St. John i. 9.
244 I'^^ prayers, both personal [lect.
In the power of his own personal priesthood he may
enter into his closet, and when he has shut to the door,
he may fall on his knees and pray to his Father which is
in secret, and his Father which seeth in secret will surely
not fail to give him for Christ^s sake such answer to his
prayers as will be best for him to receive ^'. The promise
is absolutely without exception, as it is without reserva-
tion or stint : ' Ask and ye shall have, seek and ye shall
find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every
one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth,
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened ^' He doth
not indeed of necessity receive the precise boon which he
may have asked, for it may be for his greater good that
such particular requests may be refused ; but as long as
he asks as his Lord asked, with the perpetual reservation,
' Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt "^,' so long
he may be sure that he will be as certainly heard as his
Lord was heard, who knew that the Father heareth Him
always ", and whose prayer, though literally unfulfilled,
was yet heard in that He feared o. In this priestly
power of prayer (and prayer is one of the chiefly charac-
teristic oflSces of priesthood) .the child may pray at his
mother's knee, the boy in the midst of the very real and
very critical temptations of school-life, the young man in
the searching trials which beset both body and mind in
the days of the freshness of the powers of both, the man
I' St. Matt. vi. 6. 1 Ibid. vii. 7-12. tn ibid. xxvi. 39.
n St. John xi. 42, o Heb. v. 7.
VIII.] and intercessory. 245
in the secrecy of his chamber, in the midst of the stern
realities of his life, the old man with grey hairs and
feeble limbs, and with the daily nearing prospect of the
grave before his eyes — one and all admitted with the
freest, most loving and welcome access to the Father,
who regardeth them all with good will and favour for
His own dear Son's sake, one and all accepted in the
beloved.
And as he may pray for himself, so may he make au-
thorized and effective intercessions for others. ' Pray for
one another that ye may be healed. The effectual fer-
vent prayer of a righteous man,' whether that righteous
man be clerical or lay, ' availeth *inuch ;' or, as we may
render the forcible words of St. James more closely, *very
strong is the praying of a righteous man in its work-
ing ^*.' It is a real and great power, a very energetic
and active power, though science knows not of it, nor
so-called philosophers believe in its existence. The
father, praying for his family in all the various trials of
their lives ; the Christian mother for her boys and girls
as they grow old enough to encounter the inevitable
onset of all kinds of temptation ; children, dutiful and
loving Christian children for their parents and for each
other ; all in their various relations of life beseeching the
grace and blessing of God for those with whom they are
connected, whether as above them and with some respon-
sibility of government over them, or as below them and
P -noXv Iffxvfi Sej/cjs SiKaiov hepyov/JLivrj. St. James v. IC.
246 Great power of intercession. [lect,
bound to render them obedience and duty ; friends
mutually asking the prayers of friends, and paying* back
the kindly intercession by like earnest prayers of their
own ; Christian men and women faithfully asking for
the guiding grace of God upon the governors of the
state in which they live, and upon all that bear rule and
office and stewardship in the Church ; — there is a won-
derful power, a mighty unseen network of holy interces-
sory prayer, a vast invisible force of incalculable strength
at work in all this, which affects in infinitely various
ways the well-being of men and women in their inward
and in their outward lives, which touches the fortunes
of nations more deeply and really than the triumphs of
successful generals or the crafty wisdom of statesmen,
which brings down the rich and varied blessing of God
in ways which no thought can trace nor imagination
limit, upon the complicated and wonderfully interwoven
system of things that surrounds us, and of which we
form our part.
All this, and much more than can be specified, is his,
because of his personal priestliness ; and the secret origin
of all this heavenly power, the real and only source of it,
is in the undoubted presence of the almighty Spirit of
God in his separate soul, as he is a member of the Spirit-
bearing body of Christ. The single soul of the Chris-
tian man duly planted into the divine body, is a temple of
God, or shall I call it, a chamber of the temple of God q
upon the earth, wherein His sacred presence dwelleth.
q Vide Note MMM.
VIII.] Presence of the Spirit the source of power. 247
That single soul is, morning, noon and night, in the
hours of sleep and of wakefulness, whether conscious of
the presence and willing to encounter it, or unconscious
of it and desirous to hide away its shame and guilt, face
to face with the almighty Spirit of God. As Christ
walketh in the midst of His great temple, built up of
lively spiritual stones, so is each single stone instinct
with that living Spirit, and the Christian man, whoso-
ever and wheresoever he be, and whatsoever he doeth,
cannot, if he would, flee from the almighty presence »".
Not watched from without, but known from within ; not
occasionally seen and noticed, and sometimes over-
looked ; nor coerced nor overpowered ; nor forced to
believe or pray, or repent, but brought near to God, —
provided that with conscious willingness of soul he be
earnest to be so brought near, — with a wonderful near-
ness, while in the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son
both love him, and come unto him, and make their abode
with him s.
And the struggles, and the yearnings, and the efforts
after good and holiness in that Christian man are indeed
the strugglings and the yearnings and the longings of
the Holy Spirit that is within him. The faith in his
heart, in the strength of which he puts his whole trust
and confidence in God in Christ, the devout study and
inward digesting of Holy Scripture, the secret sacred
meditation upon the holy mysteries of the revelation of
«• Rom. viii.* 9. « St. John xiv. 23.
248 The Spirit maketh intercession. [lect.
the Name of God, the heart-deep confessions, the true
outpoured prayers, whether personal or intercessory, are
but the details of that g-reat inward activity and work
wherein the conscious and willing- spirit of a man, sanc-
tified, lifted, ennobled, glorified, if I may say so, by the
indwelling' Spirit of the most hig-h God, is continually
rising to a nearness and closeness to God which is itself
the essence and perfection of the priestly condition. Won
for him by the great sacrifice of the cross, brought home
to himself through the agency of the organized body of
Christ, the Church, yet so won and brought home to
him, it is absolutely his. The Spirit of God itself from
his heart maketh intercession for him * with groanings
too profound, too divine, too infinitely various, mingled,
subtle, and delicate to be capable of any adequate utter-
ance in human words. And He that searcheth the heart
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, that He maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
So worketh on the earth that ' other Paraclete "/ the
blessed Spirit, who in the absence of the Lord of the
Church in the flesh has been sent down to abide in the
Church, to comfort, to instruct, to help and to sanctify
the souls of His servants.
And that which thus the Paraclete upon the earth,
the Paraclete in the souls of men, suggests, quickens,
and keeps alive with a holy and divine activity, the
Paraclete in heaven — He who sitteth at the right hand
t Rom. viii. 26. « St. John xiv. 16.
VIII.] The two Paracletes. 249
of God to make intercession for us"^ — perpetually pre-
sents, in His own most holy Name and in the virtue
and efficacy of His own most holy sacrifice, before His
Father. Each is truly Comforter y, truly Advocate.
But if driven by the poverty of our language to dis-
tinguish, and so in some sort to divide, these offices,
we may say that the Paraclete- Advocate in heaven, that
is, our Lord Jesus Christ, knows no other prayers, nor
acknowledges no other yearnings of the soul, nor pre-
sents no other petitions before His Father's throne than
such as are the utterances of the Paraclete- Comforter
upon earth. It is all one work of love, grace, and
blessing. It is God^s work for man, in man, and in
some sort by means of man — a work in which redemp-
tion and sanctification and salvation, though, no doubt,
taking place in orderly series, and not to be confounded
with one another, yet all are blent in one in the eternal
counsels of God, and all make one great loving divine
work, which restores poor lost man to God, and replaces
him in the heaven of his original inheritance.
God forbid that I should be so far misunderstood as
to be thought, from anything that I have said to-day,
to wish to put out of sight, or in any degree whatever
to undervalue, the vast increase and added fulness of
blessing which, even in the exercise of all these per-
sonal powers, the single Christian receives from the
constant flow of the graces of the general body. Those
« 1 St. John ii. 1. y Vide Note NNN.
250 Personal and collective priesthood combined, [lect.
who have heard the earlier Lectures of this course will
not doubt the wonderful and divine efficacy which I
have desired to attribute to the Holy Communion of
the body and blood of Christ, which, as Holy Baptism
is the first spring and source of the personal priesthood,
is the perpetual brooS: by the wayside 2, the rock that
follows the people of God in their wandering through
the wilderness of life, the constantly accompanying flow
of grace and union with Christ, by which the personal
priesthood is supplied, invigorated^ and increased. Nor
will they doubt that I wish to represent as most helpful
and real the divine power of the absolution duly pro-
nounced by the ordained priest, holding authority to
declare the Churches peace, by descent from the or-
daining breath of Christ, whether uttered in the more
general forms that are suitable to the larger gatherings
of men in daily prayer, or to the more special cases
of Holy Communion, or Visitation of the Sick; nor
that I desire to acknowledge the wonderful efiect of
joint prayers^ when two or three being gathered to-
gether in the name of Christ, He is assuredly in the
midst of them^_, and His presence carries with it the
unfailing assurance of the hearing and answering of
their prayers.
No : it is in the breadth and fulness of all these
things together that the real greatness of the estate
of a Christian consists; and it is not until we begin
' Ps. ex. 7 ; 1 Cor. x. 4. » St. Matt, xviii. 19, 20.
VIII.] Priest and layman alike before God. 251
to see them together in their combination and close
mutual relation that we can begin to conceive with
any adequate justice the greatness — and with the great-
ness the immense responsibilities — of the man who is
planted by the grace of God into the body of Christ,
and therein is made to partake of the wonderful riches
of the grace of the Holy Spirit of God so given.
And observe that as we are now regarding them,
priest and layman are the same. When a man is in
his closet, when he is on his knees before God, his soul
open, willingly, consciously, unreservedly opened to his
Maker's eyes, all outer differences, of priest or layman,
or whatever else they be, have fallen off for the time
from him. No exterior differences go with him into
the close, immediate presence of the Holy Trinity.
Member of Christ — be his outer duties of one rank or
office, or of another, man or woman, bond or free,
greater than the greatest, as men esteem greatness, or
less than the least, — he is only now God's own redeemed
child in Christ, in whose heart the Holy Spirit dwells,
from whose heart the Holy Spirit cries, with whom the
loving Father and the Son make their abode.
On him descends all the dew from heaven won by
innumerable prayers — the prayers of dear friends, or of
strangers in the flesh who pray for all faithful servants
of the Lord in all churches of the world. On him
falls with much and well-founded comfort the voice of
priestly blessing. On him rest, with much assuring
252 Is this teaching true? [lect.
and strengthening power, the continual accents of
ministerial absolution, proclaiming and conveying the
audible pardon of the most high God for daily repented
and confessed sin. For him, as for all the sacred bro-
therhood of believers, day by day, in some portion or
other of the Church on which the sun never sets, the
Church goes before God to offer the one commemoration
of the one sacrifice, of which he in his place never fails
to take his own due and appointed part.
• For the dread offering, all day long,
All prayer, all duty blends.
The Eucharist of God's dear Son,
Like Him, undying,
Is mighty, worlds and hearts in one
For ever tying ^.'
Brethren, is all this true ? Is all that I have been
sapng, lofty as it sounds, the simple, honest, real truth
of God ? or is it only heated fancy — talk to be endured
by sensible men, though with some impatience, on a
Sunday, but unpractical ; that is to say, when it comes
to be reduced to the sobriety of real and actual life,
not true ?
I know that it is very unlike the reality of our
common modern life. Put it all into sharp contrast
with the smart and glittering literature of our common
modern life, with brilliant essay or article in review,
gazette, or newspaper, and it jars — I know it jars —
utterly and irreconcileably with them. I grant — I
^ Cf. Lyra Innocentium, Continual Services.
VIII.] It jars with modern ideas. 253
sadly grant — that both cannot be true together. If
all that be the truth of God; if the real state of
Christian men, their duty, their condition, their respon-
sibility, be really such as day after day, and week and
month after week and month, we see them represented,
then perhaps a Church which shall choose its own
doctrines and not be particular about any — a State,
ruling the Church in things pertaining to its inner
life, while it comprises within itself elements most alien
to the body of Christ, and professes merely to be the
representative of an ' advanced civilization ; ^ sacraments
held unimportant, spiritual realities derided, Church
authority regarded as priestcraft, Holy Scripture eva-
cuated of all its sacredness; — all this, and such as
this, may be the development of the Christian revelation
suited to an age of proud intellectual pretension, the
religious inheritance of these later days, these dark days
which seem to be coming upon us, these anxious days
in which our children are to live.
But if the doctrines which I have endeavoured in
some degree to set before you be indeed such as are not
imaginary but true, if it be the very truth of God that
the Holy Spirit dwells, as a soul dwells in a body, in
the mystical framework of the body of Christ, diffusing
throughout it powers of life, powers of authority, powers
of strong mutual support, powers of unlimited personal
holiness and perfection — and at the same time author-
izing, empowering, and sanctifying men, organs of the
254 li seems to be important [lect.
universal body and representatives of it, to do the
blessed offices of the collective priesthood to the souls
of the single priests — if the estate of Christian men in
the Church of God be really such as I have tried
faithfully to represent it — do we not need, one and all,
to rise to a much loftier and truer, and more soul-
subduing sense of our condition, and of the mighty
responsibilities which that condition involves? One
and all — clergy and laity — clergy much, and laity, I
will say, much more. For it is the very bane of the
imperfect and one-sided form of doctrine to which we
have, I think, been too much accustomed, to sever these
things from one another ; and both sides have suffered,
the clergy much, but the laity much more, by the sever-
ance. For the responsibility which indeed belongs to
all alike in their respective places and degrees, is thrown,
as if it were a professional burthen, or privilege, or
interest, or craft, upon the clergy ; and so the lay-people
are tauo-ht to think themselves free — outside of the
sacred framework of the Spirit-bearing Church, and
therefore outside (except so far as out of their own free
bounty and personal activity they volunteer to do work
not their own) of all the gracious and spiritual labours
of that Spirit-bearing Church — forgetting that according
to the words of the apostle, ^ all the body by joints and
bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together,
must increase with the increase of God ^.'
c Col. ii. 19. Cf. Eph. iv. 26.
VIII.] if held in its completeness. 255
It has been in the endeavour to set these things upon
what seemed to be a sound, because the true basis of
Church doctrine, that I have traced the course of the
argument of these Lectures. I have thought for many
years past that the particular danger of the times was
aggravated, in no small degree, by the one-sidedness of
the views which religious men take of the constitution
and powers of the Church, and that the consequence has
been a great and most mischievous releasing, in their
own minds and the minds of others, of the lay-people
from their due share in these powers, and the very serious
responsibility of using them. And I have thought that
if it were possible in any degree to suggest to men's
minds the deeper and truer doctrine of the collective
priesthood of the entire body of Christ, with its diffused
responsibility, as compatible with the personal priesthood
of each separate member of the body, and in a multitude
of ways essential to its being and well-being and helpful
and subsidiary to its exercise, such doctrine might, by the
blessing of God, tend to check the occasional extrava-
gance of one-sided doctrine on either side, and fall in
helpfully to aid the settlement of various important
questions, which,, as the life of the Church developes
itself under new and ever- varying conditions, and in one
country after another, are continually arising and press-
ing for solution upon intelligible and well-established
principles.
I believe that I have spoken, I am sure that I have
256 Joint responsibility of all the members of Christ.
intended to speak, no otherwise than according to the
rule of the primitive truth, and in accordance with the
doctrine of the Church of England. In that doctrine —
not legally pared down to the harest and nudest letter of
the Thirty-nine Articles, not diluted to a saltless savour
by the neutralization of everything specific and definite
in the long-descended creed of the Church — in that
doctrine held in its completeness, in its depth, in its
mysterious loftiness, in its Divine richness — ^held with
entire and real devotion and earnestness of body, soul
and spirit, the single spirit of each several Christian man
and woman acknowledging, and by grace acting up to
the deep responsibility of their own real personal priest-
hood in the midst of the great collective priesthood of
the whole body of Christ, I verily believe that the
strength of the future Church of England, and I will
add, the welfare of England herself as a nation blessed
by Almighty God, depends.
NOTES.
NOTES.
NOTE A, p. 5.
' AUOD ergo salvS cooperatione inseparabilis Deitatis, quse-
dam Pater, qusedam Filius, qusedam propria Spiritus Sanc-
tus exsequitur, nostras redemtionis dispositio, nostras salutis
est ratio. Si enim homo ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei
factus in suae honore naturae mansisset, nee diabolica fraude
deceptus a lege sibi posita per concupiscentiam deviasset,
creator mundi creatura non fieret ; neque aut sempiternus
temporal] tatem subiret, aut sequalis Deo Patri Filius Deus
formam servi et similitudinem carnis peccati assumeret. Sed
quia invidia diaboli mors introivit in orbem terrarum, et
aliter solvi captivitas humana non potuit nisi caussam nos-
tram ille susciperet, qui sine majestatis suae damno et verus
homo fieret, et solus peccati contagium non haberet, divisit
sibi opus nostrse reparationis misericordia Trinitatis ; ut Pater
propitiaretur, Filius propitiaret, Spiritus Sanctus igniret.
Oportebat enim ut etiam salvandi aliquid pro se agerent, et
conversis ad Redemtorem cordibus ab inimici dominatione
discederent.' — S. Leo Magnus, Serm. III. de Pentecoste, vol. i.
P- 310-
S 2
26o NOTES B-D.
NOTE B, p. 25.
T5>v fxev ovv aWoav €Kd(XTr) dvvdfieav iv TrepiyparrTa t6it(o Tvy-
xdveiv TremcTTCVTaL' 6 yap ra KopvrjXia iiricrras ayyekos ovk tju cV
ravra Koi napa t« ^iXiinra, ov8e 6 dno tov OvcriacrTrjplov rw Za^a--
pia diaXeyofifvos Kara top ovtov Kaipbv kcu iv ovpav& ttjv olKciav
(TTda-iv €7r\r]pov. To p,evTOi, Jlvevfia Sfiov re iv *A^^aKov[i ivfpyelvj
Kai €V ^avtfjX iiri rrjs Ba^vKavias TreTriarevrat, Koi iv rw Karap-
pdKTj] eivai ixera 'lepeptiov, koI ficrd 'U^CKirjk em tov Xo^dp. —
S. Basil. JDe Sp. /S. § 24. vol. iii. p. 64. Of. S. Hieron. In
Lihro Didymi de Spiritu Sancto, § 6. vol. ii. p. 112.
NOTE C, p. 25.
' Multse Scripturse sunt, quae sine ambiguitate convincant,
alterius eum a cunctis conditionibus esse naturae. Quidam
etiam Spiritu Sancto pleni esse dicuntur : nemo autem sive
in Scripturis, sive in consuetudine, plenus creatura dicitur.
Neque enim aut Scriptura sibi hoc vindicat, aut sermo com-
munis, ut dicas plenum esse quempiam angelo, throno, domi-
natione : soli quippe Divinse naturae convenit hie sermo ....
*Angeli autem prsesentia, sive alicujus alterius excellentis
naturae quae facta est, non implet mentem atque sensum :
quia et ipsa aliunde completur.' — S. Hieron. De Sp. S. § 8,
p. 115.
NOTE D, p. 27.
H Toiwv 6b6s TTjs Qeoyvmcrias eVrlv dno tov ivbs UvevfiaTos, 8ia
TOV ivos Ylov inl tov eva Ilarepa. Kai dvdnaXiv, t} (jivaiKr) dya-
66tt}s, Koi 6 KaTCL (f)vo-LV dyia(rp,6s, Koi to ^aa-iKiKov d^ia)p.a e*c UuTpos,
NOTES E-G. 26 r
bia Tov Movoyevovs eVi to Hvcvfia dirjKei. Ovtq> koi al vrroarda-cis
ofioKoyovvrai, koL to evare^es doyfxa t^s fiovapx^ias ov biairiimi. —
S. ^2iBi\. De Sp. S. §18.
NOTE E, p. 28.
Ov iir]V enftbrj Trpwrov ivTovOa tov UvevfiaTOs 6 ^Anoa-ToXos eVe/x-
vr]a6r], Kal BevTfpov tov Ylov, koI TpiTOV tov Qcov koi Ilarpos, ^8t]
Xpr) KaOokov vop.i^eiv dpTe(rTpd<f)dai ttjv tol^lv. ^Atto yap Ttjs T}p,€T€pas
ar)(e(T(a)s Tr)V dpxrjv eXajSei/* CTreLdrj vnoBexop-evoL to. dS>pa irpSiTOV
evTvyxdvopev t<5 diavepoPTi' eiTa evvoovpev tov dnocTTeCKavTa' eha
dvdyopep Trjv iv6vpr)cnv eVi ttjv Tnjyfjv koX aiTiav tcou dyaOav. —
S. Basil. Be. Sp. S. ^ 16.
NOTE F, p. 34.
On the completeness of the Lord's baptism before the
descent of the rfoly Spirit, and the consequent disjunction
of Baptism and Confirmation as separate rites, see Ham-
mond's treatise De Confirmatione contrci DaHmwrn, c. vi.
sec. iii. vii.
NOTE G, p. 35.
Most earnestly should I wish to recommend to theological
students the work of the late Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Lyall,
entitled Propcedia Prophetica. It is unfortunate that neither
the title of the book, nor, I must add, the style in which it
is written, is such as to introduce the argument so favour-
ably as might be desired. But the argument itself is of the
greatest justice and value. I do not know where else to
262 NOTE a.
find the real argumentative weight of the Lord's miracles
stated in so forcible, and I will add so original a way. I
extract a very striking and characteristic passage : —
' But Hume proceeds to state another case, and one more
incredible than that which we have here considered. " Sup-
pose," says he, " that all the historians who treat of England
should agree that on the ist of January, 1600, Queen
Elizabeth died ; that before and after her death she was seen
by her physicians, and her whole court, as is usual with per-
sons of her rank ; that her successor was acknowledged and
proclaimed by the Parliament ; and that, after having been
interred a month, she again appeared, resumed the throne,
and governed England for three years : I must confess that
I should be surprised at the concurrence of so many odd
circumstances, but should not have the least inclination to
believe so miraculous an event. I should not doubt of her
pretended death, and of those other public circumstances that
followed it : I should only assert it to have been pretended,
and that it neither was nor could be real. You would in
vain object to me the difficulty and almost impossibility of
deceiving the world in an affair of such consequence ; the
wisdom and solid justice of that renowned queen ; with the
little or no advantage she could gain from so poor an artifice.
All this might astonish me, but I still would reply, that the
knavery and folly of men are such common phenomena, that
I should rather believe the most extraordinary events to
arise fi'om their concurrence, than admit of so signal a vio-
lation of the laws of nature."
' I incline to think that Hume has rightly expressed what,
in the circumstances he has stated, would be the conclusion
of most persons of sound understanding. But let us try
what would be the effect, if we connect the events which he
NOTE G. 263
has stated with a supposed antecedent expectation among
mankind.
' And first let us amend the case, as here imagined. Queen
Elizabeth is supposed dying in her bed, privately, surrounded
by her physicians and court, that is by her friends and de-
pendents. But instead of Queen Elizabeth let us substitute
the name of Charles the First, whose head was cut off before
thousands of spectators, and whose executioners were his
bitter enemies, or at least men who had a direct interest in
his death. This alteration of the circumstances of the case
will bring it nearer to the one which, not improbably, was in
Hume's mind at the time of writing. Moreover, it renders
the fact to all appearance more unequivocally miraculous,
and therefore, no doubt, more impossible in itself, and more
difficult to consider as having really happened.
' The case being thus assumed, let us suppose mankind in
general in the year 1648, though otherwise enlightened and
highly civilized, yet in the matter of religion to have been
immersed in ignorance as dark as that which prevailed
throughout the world in the days of Augustus. Suppose,
further, that one nation there was very numerous in itself,
and individuals of which were to be found in almost all parts
of the world, professing a purer form of religion, among
whom a rooted opinion was well known to prevail, that in
the very generation we are speaking of, a revelation would
be made to mankind by God, the effect of which would be
to subvert idolatry in the world, and to introduce a new
religion in which the worship of the one true God would
form the leading feature. Let us suppose, finally, that when
the surrounding people had enquired what was to be the sign
by which the arrival of this epoch was to be known, they
had received for answer that, when the time arrived, man-
264 NOTES H, I.
kind would know it by the King of England being put to
deatb by the public executioner, and afterwards rising from
the grave and resuming his throne.
* The question now is, whether, if this fact had happened,
or (which is nearly the same thing for all the purposes of the
argument) if all mankind had believed it to have happened ;
and if, dating from this belief of mankind, paganism had
immediately begun to stagger, and had thence rapidly de-
clined, and the worship of the alone true God had imme-
diately begun to spread itself, by a simultaneous dispersion
oyer all the nations of the world, so as to have become in the
course of two or three generations the predominant faith : —
the question, I say, is whether, in these circumstances, Hume
would think " the knavery and folly of mankind " the most
probable explanation of the phenomena 1 For my part I
feel inclined to think that in such a case as is here supposed,
the most sceptical reasoner that ever lived would look about
him for some very different solution, and whether he found it
or not, could at least understand why mankind in general
should have been content to receive the facts as marked by
the hand of God.' — Propcedia Prophetica, part ii. chap. i.
p. 150.
NOTE H, p. 37.
' Apostolos suos vivae lucis fonte perfudit, ut ipsi post-
modum universum mundum tanquam duodecim solis radii,
ac totidem lampades veritatis illuminent, et inebriati novo
vino repleant, atque irrigent sitientia corda populorum.' —
S. August. Serm. 185. de Tempore.
NOTE I, p. 40.
* Non ambigamus, quod cum in die Pentecostes discipulos
NOTES J, K. 265
Domini Spiritus Sanctus implevit, non fuit inchoatio mune-
ris, sed adjectio largitatis ; quoniam et Patriarchse, et Pro-
phetse, et Sacerdotes, et omnes Sancti, qui prioribus fuere tem-
poribus, ejusdem sunt Spiritus sanctificatione vegetati,' &c. —
S. Leo, Serm. II. de Pentecoste.
NOTE J, p. 42.
*Ex hoc autem quod hie dicitur intelligitur quod jam
Petrus baptizatus fuerat : intelligimus enim ejus discipulos
per quos baptizabat, jam fuisse baptizatos, sive baptismo
Joannis, sicut nonnuUi arbitrantur, sive, quod magis credibile
est, baptismo Christi. Neque enim renuit ministerium bap-
tizandi, ut haberet baptizatos servos per quos cseteros bapti-
zaret, qui non defuit humilitatis ministerio quando eis pedes
lavit.' — S. August. Ep. ad Seleucianum. Cf. Tractat. in Joh.
Evang. cap. xv. vol. iii. pt. ii. p. 408.
*Sed quidam dicunt, quod baptizati erant solum bap-
tismate Joannis : quod non videtur verum, quia sic non
erant loti : nam baptisma Joannis non mundabat interius
a culpa, Et ideo dicendum quod baptizati erant baptismo
Christi, secundum Augustinum. Et si objicis quod Christus-
non baptizabat sed discipuli ejus, ut dicitur suprk iv., dico
quod non baptizabat turbas, sed discipulos suos sibi familiares
et domesticos baptizavit.' — Thomas Aquinas, In S. Joann.
cap. xiii.
NOTE K, p. 47.
* Loquitur Dominus ad Petrum : Ego tibi dico, inquit, quia
tu es Petrus, et super istam petram sedificabo Ecclesiam
meam, et portse inferorum non vincent cam. Et tibi dabo
claves regni ccelorum, et quae ligaveris super terram erunt
266 NOTE L.
ligata et in coelis : et qusecunque solveris super terram, erunt
soluta et in coelis. Et iterum eidem post Resurrectionem
suam dicit, Pasce oves meas. Super unum sedificat Eccle-
siam suam. Et quamvis apostolis omnibus parem po-
testatem tribuat ac dicat, Sicut misit me Pater, et ego
mitto vos, accipite Spiritum sanctum : si cui remiseritis pec-
cata, remittentur illi : si cui tenueritis, tenebuntur : tamen
ut unitatem manifestaret, unitatis ejusdem originem ab uno
incipientem sud auctoritate disposuit. Hoc erant utique et
ceteri Apostoli quod fuit Petrus, pari consortio prsediti et
honoris et potestatis : sed exordium ab unitate proficiscitur,
ut Ecclesia una monstretur.' — S. Cyprianus, De Unitate
Ecclesice, p. 107. Cf. Ep. Ixxiii. Cyprianus Jubaiano, p. 201 ;
Ixxv. Firmilianus Cypriano, p. 225, &c.
Compare also S. August. De Doctrind Christiand, § 18;
Enchiridion de Fide et Charitate, 6^ ; Ee A gone Christiano,
§ 30 ; Sermo 29 j. in Nat. Apost, Petri et Pauli.
NOTE L, p. 50.
The writers on the Roman Catholic side undoubtedly
acknowledge the general principle of representation, at least
in terms ; but the fact entirely disappears in the way in
which the principle is dealt with practically.
'Episcopi sunt Ecclesia repraesentative, ut nostri loquun-
tur/ says Bellarmine : ' quilibet enim Episcopus gerit per-
sonam suae ecclesise particularis, et proinde omnes Episcopi
gerunt personam totius Ecclesiae.' — Ee Condi. Auctoritate^
iii. 14.
Again : ' Dico igitur concilium illud non posse errare quod
NOTE L. 267
absolute est generale, et Ecclesiam universalem perfect^ re-
prsesentat. Ejusmodi autem Concilium non est antequam
adest sententia summi Pontificis. Nam Episcopi ceteri re-
prsesentant quidam corpus Ecclesiae, et quod illi faciunt
corpus Ecclesiae facere censetur. Ac legati Papse non ita
reprsesentant caput Ecclesiae, i. e. ipsum Papam, ut quod ipsi
faciunt absolute censeatur fecisse Papam : alioquin nulla
requireretur confirmatio. Sed solum reprsesentant Ponti-
ficem tanquam vicarii, et internuncii ipsius, qui ad ipsum
referre debeant cum oriuntur dubia, et sententiam ejus ex-
spectare et exsequi. Itaque tale Concilium cum non reprae-
sentat absolute auctoritatem capitis, non nisi imperfect^
totam Ecclesiam repraesentat.' — Lib. ii. c. 11.
The idea of representation, thus in terms recognized and in
fact annulled by the older Roman Catholic writers, hardly
finds any place in the still more thorough-going Ultramon-
tanism of Archbishop Manning. ' The pastoral authority, or
the Episcopate, together with the priesthood and the other
orders, constitute an organized body, divinely ordained to
guard the deposit of the Faith. The voice of that body, not
as of many individuals, but as a body, is the voice of the Holy
Ghost. The pastoral ministry as a body cannot err, because
the Holy Spirit, who is indissolubly united to the mystical
body, is eminently and above all united to the hierarchy, and
body of its pastors. The Episcopate united to its centre
is, in all ages, divinely sustained and divinely assisted to per-
petuate and to enunciate the original revelation.*
Very faint indeed in statements like these is the remaining
recognition (if it can be called any recognition at all) of the
'mystical body' at large.
268 NOTE M.
NOTE M, p. 65.
St. John xvi. 13 : to Uvevfia ttjs aXrjBeias 6br]yr}(r€i Vfxas els
iraa-av ttjv aXfjSeiap. The Vulgate renders roughly ' docebit vos
omnem veritatem.' Maldonat well says, * Deducere in omnem
veritatem non significat quoquo modo veritatem omnem do-
cere, sed ita docere quasi magister discipulum manu ducat
viamque illi accommodate ad ejus ingenium veritatis osten-
dat : ut non omnia simul, non ordine prsepostero, priusque
difficiliora, deinde quae faciliora sunt tradens, sed contr^
faciliora prius, mox difficiliora, suo quidque tempore, prout
proficit, prout potest capere. Hoc est obrjyrja-ei.^ (Cf. Acts viii-
31 ; Rev. vii. 17 ; Ps. xxiv. 5, &c.) Certainly the idea con-
tained in the word seems to be that of a guide or teacher ;
not of one to supersede, or act instead of another, but of one
who will point the road, and so lead a willing follower, as I
have said in the text : — indicating that the help of the Holy
Spirit does not consist in superseding the natural powers of a
man, but guiding ^ and leading them, so that they may them-
selves see and follow the way of divine truth.
The thought of the Uvevfia Sdiryovv of the sixteenth chapter
seems to connect itself with that of the Lord in the four-
teenth chapter, saying iyd) elfxi tj 686s, rj aKr)d€iay koI rj ^corj — a
passage the difficulty of which I have never seen fully ex-
plained. It is easy to say eloquent things about it, as very
beautiful passages are quoted from St. Ambrose, St. Augustin,
and St. Bernard ; but the real question remains unsolved,
why the Lord adds ' the truth, and the life,' and what these
words, so added, signify. The following remarks may help to
throw some little light upon them.
» On the Divinenesa of the guidance, see S. Basil. De. Sp. 8. c. xix.
NOTE M. 269
The Lord had said, ' Whither I go ye know, and the way^
ye know.' Thomas replied, *We know not whither thou
goest, and how can we know the way V
Thus far it seems clear that the Lord speaks of two things
only : a point to which He was going, and a way by which
that point is to be reached.
The Apostles, it appears, ought to have understood both,
but, speaking by the lips of Thomas, they acknowledge that
they do not know the first, and therefore cannot know the
second.
What then was the first 1 It is plain from the conclusion
of the sixth verse. It is the Father.
What then was the second 1 It is Christ. Christ is the
Way. ' No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.'
Thus far all is plain ; and we may say with Maldonat, ' Si
Christus minus fuisset in respondendo liberalis, minus nobis
in hujus loci interpretatione laborandum esset.'
Why then does He add to the plain answer, 'I am the
Way,' the further words, ' the Truth and the Life ' ]
It seems to me to be no answer to this question to shew
from other passages (e. g. Col. ii. 3 ; St. John vi. 37 ;
V. 21 ; xvii. 3) that Christ is indeed both 'the Truth and
the Life.'
Is it not possible that these words may be, so to speak,
epexegetic of the first words, as though He said, 'Eyo) elfii
T} 686s, ej/xl yap t) aXrjBeia, Koi rj ((orj 1 I am the Way, that is the
answer to St. Thomas's question ; the Way to the Father.
For (or, inasmuch as) I am the Truth and the Life. I am
the Way to the Father, for planted in Me, and guided therein
^ Let it be observed that the Lord does not mean the way by which
He is going Himself, but the way by which they are to go in order that
where He is there they may be also (ver. 3).
270 NOTE N.
by My Holy Spirit, My people are led into all truth, and
therein have the earnest of life. * Sanctified through the
Truth/ that is, I apprehend, led by the Uvevfxa o^rjyovv to know
and acknowledge all Divine truth, and to act it out in holiness
of life and conduct, Christians are in possession of Divine
Life. Thus it is that I am the Way to the Father.
I do not understand the Lord to say ' I am three things,
the Way, the Truth, and the Life/ as if they were co-or-
dinate : but rather ' I am the Way,' — so, answering St.
Thomas, ' being both the Truth, and the Life.'
NOTE N, p. 76.
The distinction taken in the text as to the right and
wrong use of the words ' infallible' and ' infallibility' may
seem trifling, and of little real use. But the more I read
controversies relating to the Church, and especially such as
regard the claim of authority in teaching set up by the
Church of Rome, the more I feel convinced that it really is
not without some importance, and that good may be done
by calling attention to it.
* Infallibility' I suppose to signify such a sure and certain
possession of truth as to render the possessor incapable of
error; and 'infallible' as an adjective to be applicable to
such persons, if there be such, as cannot either deceive, or
be deceived, qui nequefalli neque fallere possunt.
Infallibility then is a widely different thing from au-
thority in pronouncing upon truth, or correctness in the
decision pronounced.
Infallibility cannot be said of writings, decisions, judg-
ments. If it exists at all, it must be a quality of persons.
Infallibility cannot admit of degrees. The possessor of it
KOTE N". 271
must be capable of being identified as possessing it before-
hand (I mean before his writings, decisions, judgments,
are delivered), and not recognised afterwards or inferred
from the correctness, even if that correctness should be
supposed to be uniform and invariable, of those decisions
or judgments.
Is ' infallibility' rightly attributed to the Church 1 Granted
that it has the promise of being guided into all truth,
granted also that the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it (from which it is legitimately argued that it shall never
wholly fall into error, but there shall always be witnesses
of the truth, keeping it alive in the Church), do these
privileges amount to what is rightly called infallibility ?
I apprehend not, though I confess that we have sometimes
been in the habit of expressing ourselves as though it
did so.
They constitute a security against universal error. They
also constitute an assurance of the general maintenance of
truth. But this is widely different from the possession of
truth in certain identified persons rendering them incapable
of being deceived or of deceiving, so that they may be con-
sulted beforehand with a divine certainty of receiving from
them the answer which is the utterance of the Holy Ghost,
which alone can constitute any (legitimately so called) in-
fallibility.
The Roman writers tell us broadly, and insist upon it,
that the decrees of General Councils are infallible. Now
not to urge that Cardinal Bellarmine, who lays this down
with the utmost confidence, adds the strange proviso, ' nisi
manifestissimb constet intolerabilem errorem committic/ I
complain that it ought to be proved beforehand, that such
« Lib. ii. de Cone. c. 8.
272 NOTE K".
and such persons meeting together under such and such
circumstances are necessarily possessed of the Holy Spirit,
either all, or the more part of them, in such a high way
as that the Council in general is therefore incapable of being
deceived, or of deceiving. A thesis which few, I imagine,
in the face of the history of Councils, and human nature,
would undertake to support. But Archbishop Manning,
whose logic does not condescend to take account of fact or
history, lays down the same doctrine with equal breadth :
*,The decrees of General Councils are undoubtedly the voice
of the Holy Ghost, both because they are the organs of
the active infallibility of the Church, and because they have
the pledge of a special Divine assistance according to the
needs of the Church and of the Faith.' Orgcms of the active
infallibility of the Church ? I seem to comprehend. Because
the Church has the promise of being saved from falling
totally into error, so that there shall always be those who
shall possess and maintain the truth, therefore the Church
may in some sense be said to be infallible. But this is a sort
of ' passive' infallibility, a dead infallibility, useless for prac-
tical purposes. It must be converted into an * active^ in-
fallibility which can cope with emergent questions, and settle
them without the possibility of error or mistake.
But, in the first place, I deny that it is any infallibility
at all, properly so called, even in a passive sense ; and
secondly, I maintain that it is utterly, incapable of being
converted into an active infallibility. And thirdly, even if
these considerations should be thought insufficient, I demand
to have it shewn what the conditions are under which per-
sons meeting together in Council can be proved beforehand
(and I specially insist upon the word ' beforehand,' as neces-
sary in order to distinguish infallibility as the assured proof
NOTE K 273
of correctness, from infallibility as the inferred conclusion
from correctness) to be so thoroughly, universally, and in-
dubitably filled with the Holy Spirit that their decrees, not
yet given, shall be absolutely incapable of error. And this is
a demand essential to the satisfying of the case, which I
do not think that my old friend the Archbishop will con-
descend to reply to.
But the Archbishop further lays down Hhat the Defini-
tions and Decrees of Pontiffs speaking ex cathedra, or as the
Head of the Church and to the whole Church, whether by
Bull, or Apostolic Letters, or Encyclical, or Brief, to many
or one person, undoubtedly emanate from a Divine assistance,
and are infallible.'
Putting aside the impropriety of attributing the 'infalli-
bility' to the decrees, rather than to the Pope pronouncing
the decrees, we seem to have here an approach to what we
want. 'The Bishop of Kome, then, is the person who,
whenever he speaks as Head of the Church and to the whole
Church, whether to one person or to many, is so assisted by
the Holy Spirit as that he is incapable of deceiving or being
deceived d '
' The infallibility of the Head of the Church extends to
the whole matter of revelation, that is, to the Divine truth
and the Divine law, and to all those facts or truths which
are in contact with faith and morals. The definitions of
the Church include truths of the natural order, and the
revelation of supernatural truth is in contact with natural
ethics, politics, and philosophy. So again the judgments
of Pontiffs in matters which affect the welfare of the whole
Church, such as the condemnation of propositions. In all
d I do not know how to reconcile these two clauses printed in italics.
T
274 NOTE N.
declarations that such propositions are, as the case may be,
heretical, or savouring of heresy, or erroneous, or scandalous,
or offensive to pious ears or the like, the assistance of the
Holy Spirit certainly preserves the Pontiffs from error; and
such judgments are infallible, and demand interior assent
from all e '
I thought we were going to find what we were in search
of — a person, so possessed of truth, that it was absolutely
certain beforehand, that in whatever he should say, he was
incapable of being deceived or deceiving. But no : even
on the highest Roman theory, I find no such person. The
Bishop of Rome is not held even by his most ardent fol-
lowers to be in any such possession of truth. He may be,
even according to their own divines, ignorant, perverse,
heretical. We, reading history with our eyes open, may
add, vicious, sensual, impious, stained with every sort of
notorious sin, a man like John XIII, or XVIII, or XXII,
like Boniface VIII, or Alexander VI.
He may be all this : but when he speaks ' ex cathedrd'
and upon any of the forementioned subjects, then, and then
only, he is speaking by the Holy Ghost and is infallible.
I find it difficult in the face of this audacious claim, —
unheard of for the first thousand years of the Church, and
then maintained in defiance of all Christian history, on the
strength of the misinterpretation of two or three passages
of Holy Scripture,— to remember that I am speaking only
on the logical use and abuse of the words 'infallible' and
' infallibility,' and that I must put aside all idea of arguing
against the substance of the Roman theory, even to the
extent of urging how Pope Honorius I, ex cathedrd, adopted
« Archb'.shop Manning, pp. 83, 84.
NOTE K 275
the heresy of the Monothelites ; and how Pope Alexander III,
ex cathedrd, condemned Peter Lombard of heresy respecting
the human nature of the Lord, while thirty-six years after,
Pope Innocent III, equally ex cathedrd, reversed the sentence
and condemned his accusers.
Putting aside all this however, and a thousand other
instances of usurpation and wrong in matters political, moral,
and physical on the part of the Popes, I wish to point out
that even this audacious claim is not a claim of infallibility
in any such sense as to warrant the application of the word
infallible to the Pope, or to carry any of the consequences
which follow readily enough when the application is once
assumed and granted.
To be notoriously, obviously, and confessedly a mere
fallible man, and under certain circumstances and conditions
very difficult to be certainly defined, and in respect to certain
subjects equally difficult of definition, to be assured of freedom
from error, — this, though a claim utterly baseless and de-
ceptive, does not constitute infallibility in any proper sense
of the term. There is no possession of truth, claimed, or to
be inferred. If the claim made were well founded, all that
it would shew is that in certain utterances, so many and
no more, the Bishop of Rome had been made a mouthpiece
of the Holy Spirit, and consequently, not that he was in-
fallible, but that these utterances, so many and no more,
were divine.
But infallibility is a very convenient word. Once jump
to the conclusion that the Pope is infallible, and the con-
ditions and circumstances under which exemption from error
is (however falsely) claimed for certain Papal utterances are
forgotten, and the convenient phrase remains, to justify,
beyond denial on the part of those who have admitted it,
T 2
276 NOTE 0.
innumerable acts of usurpation and aggression with which it
really has no sort of connection.
A very convenient word indeed ; and a very comfortable
word to those who shelter themselves in Eome. But there
is a worm in the gourd, so that its shelter is not worth much
to those who will take any account of logic or of the facts of
notorious history.
The fact is that we have all been using the words 'in-
fallible' and ' infallibility' in a very loose and inaccurate way,
confounding them on the one hand with assured exemption
from total error, and the general possession of truth, and on
the other with authority in decrees, and truth in doctrines.
What I wish to point out is the desirableness of using the
words accurately. I apprehend that if only used accurately,
they will be very rarely used at all. Certainly the loose and
random use of them is altogether in the interest of Rome,
which has never been slow in taking advantage of it.
NOTE 0, p. 77.
'Ex iis commentatoribus quos habemus, Lucam videtur
Marcion elegisse quem csederet. Porro Lucas non apostolus
sed apostolicus, non magister, sed discipulus ; utique magistro
minor, certe tauto posterior, quanto posterioris apostoli sec-
tator, Pauli sine dubio : ut si sub ipsius Pauli nomine
Evangelium Marcion intuHsset, non sufficeret ad fidem sin-
gularitas instrumenti, destituta patrocinio antecessorum. Exi-
geretur enim id quoque Evangelium quod Paulus invenit, cui
fidem dedit, cui mox suum congruere gestiit. Si quidem
propterea Hierosolymam ascendit ad cognoscendos apostolos
et consultandos, ne forte in vacuum cucurrisset, id est, ne non
NOTE P. 277
secundum illos credidisset, et non secundum illos evangeli-
zaret.' — Tertull. Adv. Marcionem, lib. iv. c. 2.
It is true that Tertullian (alone, so far as I know, of
ancient interpreters of this passage of the Epistle to the
Galatians) indicates his opinion that St. Paul felt some un-
certainty of the soundness of his teaching until his com-
munication with the Apostles at Jerusalem. For the purpose
of my argument I have no need of any such idea. On
the contrary, I believe St. Paul's personal authority to have
been abundantly suflScient to teach without hesitation, mis-
giving, or need of support. It is enough for me that for
the satisfaction of the converts (Iva 8i8d^a) tovs ravra vivoirrcvov-
ras oTi ovK els Kevov rpix^, Chrysost., V. Ellicott and Lightfoot
in loco) he found it wise and desirable to ascertain and to
be able to declare the uniformity of his teaching with that
of the older Apostles. ' Ipse Apostolus Paulus,' says
St. Augustine, ' post ascensionem Domini de coelo vocatus,
si non inveniret in carne Apostolos, quibus communicando
Evangelium ejusdem societatis esse appareret, Ecclesia illi
omnino non crederet.'
NOTE P, p. 78.
The supposition of the text is precisely that of Tertullian
in the passage quoted at length in the preceding note, and
the conclusion drawn is in effect identical with that which
he draws. The ' single document,' even supposing its genu-
ineness absolutely undoubted, would not suffice to rule the
faith of the Church, if it were devoid of the support of
those that went before it — the preceding Apostles, and their
writings. For just as St. Paul, whether for his own satis-
faction or that of his converts, went up to Jerusalem /xjyTrtos
278 NOTE Q.
els Kfvov Tpexrj rj eBpafie, SO for the satisfaction of the Church,
his (supposed) writing must be ascertained to be in accord-
ance with the Apostolic faith and writings which the Church
already possesses.
NOTE Q, p. 83.
On the Preface to St. Luke's Gospel.
It has been commonly assumed by interpreters of St. Luke's
Gospel that in his Preface he attributes the authority of his
narrative to 'eye-witnesses and ministers of the word' in
such a manner as to disclaim, and exclude altogether, the
idea of his having been an eye-witness himself of the events
which he records.
This interpretation of the Preface is a very universal one.
It has, I suppose, arisen from the supposed contrast of the
two clauses eVetST/Trfp TToXXoi, — eSo^e KafMOL : — and it seems to
be held, somewhat inconsistently as it seems to me, even
by writers who at other times attribute the authority of the
Evangelist to the dictation of St. Paul, who received his
own information from revelation.
I am disposed, however^ to doubt this interpretation, for
the following reasons : —
I. It seems to put St. Luke into a position considerably
lower and less authoritative than that which the Church has
always assigned to him. It makes him say, 'Since many
men have tried their hand at constructing a narrative, so will
I,' — a parallelism which, whatever be the meaning of the
words rraprjKoXovdrjKOTi avtodev Tcaaiv aKpi^as, is surely hardly
consistent with the position of an inspired Evangelist, whose
words the Church of Christ has always accepted as dictated
by the Holy Spirit of God.
NOTE Q. 279
2. If the words ■n-aprjKoXovdrjKOTi avcodev naaiu UKpi^ws mean
that he has examined, and by diligent search ascertained,
the accuracy of the narrative which he delivers (and this,
I suppose, must be the meaning of the words on the usual
interpretation), he plainly disclaims both the information of
St. Paul and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He simply
puts himself on a level with the other naiTators whom he
unquestionably means to put into the background, and to
allege nothing but his own industry and care in examining
authorities as the ground of the superiority of his own
narration as compared with theirs.
If however the words of the Preface undoubtedly mean
what this interpretation conveys, then, however inconvenient
and inconsistent with our preconceived notions the conse-
quences may prove, there is no help for it. The words are
undoubted. There is no difference of reading of the least
importance in them, and we must put up with any inferences
which they legitimately bear.
But I venture to except to this interpretation. It seems
to me to proceed upon a somewhat hasty and superficial view
of St. Luke's words.
First, I take quite a different view of the logic of the
passage, as will appear from the following considerations.
'H/xfis I apprehend means the Church.
Ta neTrXrjpoipoprjiieva iv rjplv I suppose to mean the events
of the life of the Lord, His miracles, and His discourses,
as they are most surely believed by the members of the
Church.
Ka^cbs napedoaav rjfxiv k.t.X. These words I understand to
assign the grounds on which the Church {f)ixeU) assuredly
believes all these things.
Now all this is preliminary in point of logic to anything
28o NOTE Q.
said about unauthorized narrators, or St. Luke's own authority
as preferable to theirs. He seems thus far to say, ' We, the
Church, are in possession of a large number of facts recorded
respecting the life and discourses of our Lord, by those who
were during His lifetime upon the earth His companions,
who saw His deeds, heard His words, and in various ways
ministered unto Him.'
Now then we proceed to the persons who have without
adequate authority attempted to narrate these things.
' Many writers have tried their hands to draw up in order
consecutive narratives of these things.' But, I suppose we
may add, they had not sufficient warrant. They took them
at second-hand. They were not eye-witnesses themselves.
They merely 'tried their hand' at such narratives, and I
fear that you, Theophilus, instructed and catechized as you
have been in these things, may derive not confirmation in
the truth, but mischief and error from their compilations.
'Therefore I' {TraprjKoXovdrjKas &c., whatever these words
may mean) ' will teach you better, and in such a way that
you may receive confirmatory instruction (tva iinyvSis) on the
subjects in which you have been already catechized.'
Thus it appears to me that the Evangelist, instead of
excluding himself from the class of eye-witnesses in these
words, rather puts himself (not indeed directly, but by im-
plication) among them. He seems to say. Eye-witnesses
have taught the Church, so I will teach you. Or, to put
the same thing in another way: Unauthorized narrators,
not eye-witnesses, have darkened the message which eye-
witnesses have delivered, so I, better informed than they,
will teach you more correctly.
Thus it seems to me that, according to the logic of the
passage, St. Luke, regarding Theophilus as one of the Church
NOTE Q. 281
(^fieis) who requires accurate instruction in addition to his
previous training in the history of the life of the Lord, puts
himself by implication into the category of those who can
give that accurate and trustworthy information, that is, the
eye-witnesses.
Leaving then the logic of the passage, let us now look
more closely into the words in which St. Luke confessedly
assigns the ground of his own authority, represented as
greater and more to be trusted than that of the pseudo-
evangelists.
IlapriKoXovOrjKOTt avmOev nacriv aKpi^as. What is the meaning
ot TraprjKoXovdrjKOTil The following is the article upon napa-
KoXovdeco from Liddell and Scott's Lexicon, 4th edition : —
' UapaKoXovOeco, f. rja-o), to go heside or near, follow close or
on ilie heels, nvi Ar. Eccl. 725, Plat., etc. : to follow close, dog
one's steps, Dem. 519. 12., 537. 2 ; ovs <tv ^(bvras pev, S> Kiva-
809, KoXaKeva)v TraprjKoXovdeis Id. 28 1. 22 : of rules, to hold good
throughout, tt. dt oXrjs t^s imnKTJs Xen. Eq. 8. 14 : tt. xpovois to
follow all the times and dates, to trace accurately, Nicom. ap.
Ath. 291 B ; so TT. Tois Trpdypaaiv c| apx^s Dem. 285. 2 2.
' II. metaph. to follow with one's thoughts, i. e. to under-
stand, Totff TTpdypxKTi Dem. 285. 21 ; rols 8i<aLois Dcmad. 178.
32, etc. ; Ttpoa-ix^iv vovv kolX nap. cvpa6a>5 Aeschin. 16. 9 ; so
esp. as Stoical term, usu. absol. ; they also said iavrm irapa-
KoXovOelv on... to understand that..., Epict. 2. 26, 3; also
c. part.. Id. 4. 5, 21.'
And it may be taken as a full account of the classical
usage of the verb, except that in the passage of Demosthenes
Be Oorond, there twice referred to under different senses,
it seems to me to have more precisely the meaning of having
personally accompanied the events, than of having followed
them in thought and understood them. Let the reader
282 NOTE Q.
judge. *AXX' cos eoiKev, €K€7vos 6 Kaipos, Koi rj rjjxepa eKeivT] ov
fiovov evvovv koI nXoixriov livBpa iKokei, dWa Koi naprjKoXovdrjKOTa
Tois irpdypacnv i^ ^pxv^y '^"'' avWeXoyLapevov dp6a)s t'lvo^ eveKa ravr
enpaTTev 6 ^lKlttttos, koL tL ^ovkop-evos.
However, the more important question is, What is the
meaning of the verb in the later or Alexandrian Greek 1
And in answer to this question I would quote a passage
from the fragments of Papias preserved by Eusebius f : Ei Se
TTov Kai naprjKoXovdrjKois tis tols TTpea^vTepois Z'KOoij — ' if it
chanced that some person who had been present with the
elders (the Apostles) came ; ' and another of Eusebius him-
self, commenting upon their words : Kai 6 vvv be rjpiv 8r]Xov-
ficvos UaTTias tovs pev t5>v 'Attoo-toXcoi/ Xoyovs irapa tcop avrois
naprjKoXovdTjKOTcop opoXoyel napeiXTjipevai. And there is a pas-
sage of Josephus s which is so very clear and strong to my
present purpose that I must quote it at length : ^avXot de
Tives avOpconoi dia^dXKeiv pov rrjv laropiav eTriKe^^ciprjKacriVf oicnrep
iv (r)(6Xfj p.€ipaKi(jav yvp.vacrpa TrpoKeladai vopL^ovres. Karrjyopias
irapabo^ov Koi dia^oXrjs. biov eKelvo yiyuoxTKeiv on 8(2 tov aXXois
Trapdbocnv npd^ecov dX7]6i.vS>p vmo-xvovpevov, avrov inLa-rao-daL ravras
TrpoTcpov aKpi^oJs, fj Trapr^KoXovO-qKora tols yeyovocnv, rf irapa rav
ilhoTcov irvvOavop.cvov. OTrep eyco pdXicrTa rrepl dp(j)OTepas vopi^ay
TTenoLrjKevat ras TrpaypaTelas. rfjv piv yap dp-)(aioXoyiav^...Tov be
TToXep.ov TTjV ia-Toplav eypayjra, rroXXiop pep avrov pyos irpd^ecop,
nXeia-TCDP be avTOTrrrjs yepopepos.
Here we have the two sources of knowledge expressly dis-
tinguished from one another, personal witness, and derived
information ; and any person who reads the whole passage
contained in the previous chapters will see how definitely
the writer means to declare by the words TraprjKoXovdrjKOTa rots
yeyovoarip his own personal witness of the events he relates,
f Hist. Ecd. iii. 39. s Contra Apionem, lib. i. c. 10.
NOTE Q. 283
When then to all this we add the fact that there is an
ancient tradition that St. Luke was one of the Seventy, or,
at least, a personal disciple of the Lord, I confess that it
appears to me to be a somewhat hasty reading of the Preface
which leads interpreters to conclude, with well-nigh one
voice, that St. Luke expressly disclaims in it the authority of
having seen with his own eyes any of the events which he
records.
The only passages which I can find in which it is stated
that St. Luke was of the number of the Seventy are the
following.
In the dialogue of Adamantius (probably not the same as
Origen) : E. rroVouy Zax^v 6 Xpia-Tos dnoa-ToXovs ; A. TTparovs
direa-reikev i^, /cat ftera ravra o^' evayyeKia-aadai. MdpKos ovv
KCLi AovKcis €K Tcav o/3' oirres, IlauXo) to) dnoaToXa evayyeXicravTO. —
Pseudo -Origen, Be rectd in Deuinfde.
I do not find it in Theophylact himself, who on the con-
trary says, 'Ek tovtov hr]\ov on ovk rjv 6 Aovkos dn dpx^js fiaOrjTrjS,
dXK* varepoxpovos. But in the Synopsis of St. Luke attributed
to Dorotheus we read, AovKUi 6 Qelos, 'Avrioxevs /xcV ^v, larpbs
be, Koi T^v 6^0) <TO(\>iav noKvs' ov fxrjv dWa Koi rrjv ^E^paiKriv rrai-
beiav i^rja-KTjo-aTo, Tois'lfpoa-oXvp.ois e7n(f}oiTr}(Tas, ore 8r) koi 6 Kvpios
f}p.a>v edidaaKfv' &crT€ (^aal rives eva Koi dvrov yevecrdaL tS>v e/3§o-
p.j]KovTa 'Attoo-toXwi'. — 0}:)era Tlieoiiihyl. vol. i. p. 266.
'ATTco-reiXf 8e kcu aXXou? e^doprjKovradvo KTjpvTreiP, e'l cov rjarav ot
CTrra, of enl tSjv xVP^^ Teraypevoi' pcra tovtovs de tovs iirra, Koi
MardaLOU tov npo avroav, MdpKov, AovmVy Bapvd^av /cat 'AttcXX^i/,
Fov(f)ov, ^iyepa Koi roi/s Xoittovs rSiV ij3doiir)KovTa8vo. — Epipha-
nius, lib. i. j . 50.
€7reibr]Tep ttoXXoi iircx^i-PW^^' ^^^ Tivas p.€P iirixciprjTas ^tiiiJ,
^■qpX de TOVS nep\ KrjpivSov, Kai Mrjpivdov, Kai tovs dWovs' ftra ri
<br](Ti ; e'do^e Kdp,o\ Ka6e^i]s TraprjKoXovOrjKOTi avcuBev toIs auroTrraiy,
284 NOTE R.
Koi VTrrjpeTais tov \6yov yevoixevois, ypdylrai aroiy KpaTiare Ged^iXf. —
Ibid. lib. ii. p. 428.
* Primum quidem Christo adhsesit, et ab eo pietatis semina
suscepit. Postea vero Paulo diii conjunctus, maximeque
familiaris effectus est, ac discipulus ejus, comesque, itineris,
quemadmodum et Marcus Petro cseterorum principi. Dicunt
autem quidam, et maxime Origenes, quod Marcus et Lucas
ante Dominicam passionem inter septuaginta discipulos con-
numerati sunt.' — Euthymius, ^x Frce/atione.
NOTE R, p. 97.
' Nemo tamen istos insignes Apostolos separet. Et in eo
quod significabat Petrus, ambo erant ; et in eo quod signifi-
cabat Joannes, ambo futuri erant. Significando sequebatur
iste, manebat ille : credendo autem ambo mala prsesentia
hujus miserise tolerabant, ambo futura bona illius beatitu-
dinis expectabant. Nee ipsi soli, sed universa hoc facit sancta
Ecclesia sponsa Cbristi, ab istis tentationibus eruenda, in ill^
felicitate servanda. Quas duas vitas Petrus et Johannes
figuraverunt singuli singulas ; verum et in hac temporaliter
ambulaverunt ambo per fidem, et ilia in seternum fruentur
ambo per speciem. Omnibus igitur Sanctis ad Christi corpus
inseparabiliter pertinentibus, propter hujus vitse procellocis-
simae gubernaculum, ad Uganda et solvenda peccata claves
regni coelorum primus apostolorum Petrus accepit, eisdemque
omnibus Sanctis propter vitse illius secretissimse quietissimum
sinum, super pectus Christi Johannes Evangelista discubuit.
Quoniam nee iste solus sed universa Ecclesia ligat, solvitque
peccata : nee ille in principio Verbum Deum apud Deum, et
cetera de Christi divinitate ..... de fonte Dominici pec-
toris solus bibit.* — S. August. In Joh. Ev. c. 21. Tr. cxxiv.
NOTES S-U. 285
NOTE S, p. loi.
TovTo TO KTjpvyfxa napeiKijcjivia, Koi ravrqv ttjp mcTTiv, w? 7rpo€(f)a~
fiev, rj ^EKK\r)(rla, Kalnep eV oX(o rat Koapa biea-nappevrj, fTripeXcog
(fiv\d(T(Tei, as eva oXkov oiKoxKra' koi opoicos TnaTcvei tovtois, as piav
y^vxhv, Kcu TTjv avTTjv €)(ovcra Kapbiav, kcli (Tvp^atvois ravTa KT]pv(ra-€i
KOI 8ibd(rK€i, KOI Trapadldaxriv, as ev oro/xa k€ktt]P€vtj, koi yap ai
Kara rbv Kocrpov didXeKTOt dvopoiai, aXX' rj hvvapis rrjs Trapadocrecog
pia Koi r} avrrj^ Koi ovt€ al iv Teppaviais Ibpvpivai ^'E.KKk-qcriai oKKoiS
7re7n(rTevKa(riv rj aXXcoy napabiboaaiv, ovt€ iv reus I^rjpiaLs, ovre cV
KeXroty, ovre Kara ras dvaroKaSt ovre iv AlyvTrra, ovre iv Ai^vrjy
ovre al Kara pi(ra tov Koo-pov Ibpvpivai' aXX' axruep 6 ^Xios, ro
KTiapa TOV Qeov ets Ka\ 6 avros' ovTca Ka\ to Krjpvypa rrjs dXrjdelas
navTaxrj (f)aivfc, Ka\ <f)oiTi^ct ndvras dvBpatTovs tovs ^ovXopevovs els
imyvaxTiv dXr)6eias iXOelv. — S. Irenseus, c. Rcereses, I. x. p. 49.
NOTE T, p. 102.
This passage is from Bingham's Antiquities, Bk. I. c. v.
§ 5, quoted from Ruffinus, lib. i. c. ix., and Socrates, lib. i.
c. xix. XX.
NOTE U, p. 103.
Of. Condi. Carthaginense IV, sive Statuta Ecclesioe Anti-
quae. Canon xcviii. : ' Laicus prsesentibus clericis, nisi ipsis
jubentibus, docere non audeat.' Cf. also Eusebius, lib. vi.
cap. xix. : *'EX6av COpiyevrjs) eVi naXaiarivrjs, iv Kaio-apeia Tas
SiaTpi^ds inoielTo' ev6a Ka\ hiaXeyeaOai, Tas re Betas epprjveveiv
ypa(f)ds ewl rod koivov rrjs iKKXrjaias oi rfjbe imaKOTTOi, Kairoi rrjs
TOV Trpecr^vrepiov x^iporovias ovbeira rervxrjKora avrov rf^tovv.
Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus of Ceesarea,
286 NOTE ON p. 103.
defended this against the objection of Demetrius (who urged
on TovTO ovbe ttotc r]Kov(r6r], to napovTav eina-KOTraiv XaUovs ofiikelv)
by saying that it was not so : "Ottov yovif evpia-Kovrai ol eTriTrj-
beroL TTpos TO ax^eXeiJ/ tovs dbe\(fiovs Koi TvapaKoKovvTai tw Xaw
ofxiKe^v i'TTo Tcov ayicov iiriarKOTTcov ; and alleging several instances
to the point.
NOTE ON p. 103.
' The list of laymen who have written in support or
illustration,' &c.
I should have wished, if it had been in my power, to draw
up a tolerably complete list of laymen who by their writings,
more or less directly or indirectly theological, have contri-
buted to the illustration and defence of Christian truth. But
the task is a much more difficult one than I had antici-
pated, and I must be content to make such a scattered and
imperfect list as from the comparatively small means within
my reach I can.
For the early ages we have the lists of St. Jerome and
Gennadius. I have assumed that the writers who in these
lists are not expressly called bishops or priests, were laymen,
as the WTiters certainly seem to intend to make the distinc-
tion accurately. I have however omitted such as I found
reason to suppose were really ordained, though their ordina-
tion was not expressed, and introduced such as, though cer-
tainly ordained, were not ordained till late in life, and after
they had become known as writers ; such, for instance, as
Origen, and Macarius the elder.
As to the monks, they were in the early ages, as a rule,
laymen. ' Ainsi/ says Fleury, speaking of the clerical Canons
set up by Chrodegang of Metz in the seventh century, '■ voila
KOTE ON p. 103. 287
deux sortes de religieux, les uns clercs, les autres laiques ;
car les moines I'etoient pour la plupart :' and even in the
ninth century, he says, * il paroit qu'il y avoit peu de pretres
entre le moines.' — Hist. Eccl. Discourse viii. No. 2. p. 9. See
also Guizot, Civilisation en France, Leyon xiv.
After the lists of St. Jerome and Gennadius, I have felt at
a great loss, ])artly from the long blanks which I cannot
supply, and partly, when the age of the Reformation comes,
from the multitude of writers, chiefly German, of whom I
cannot ascertain with certainty whether they were in Holy
Orders or no. I have therefore been content to select a few
great names from Italy, Germany, and France, of whom there
is no doubt, and to fill the English list somewhat more fully.
But here too is a difficulty ; for several of the writers can
hardly be said to have written upon theological subjects,
though the current of their thoughts and their influence were
strongly in the direction of religion. On these grounds I
have not scrupled to add the names of Bacon, Selden, Wotton,
and others, as of writers who undoubtedly contributed, and
several of them in a very high degree, to the advancement
and support of religion in their own days.
Hermas — 'Cujus Apostolus Paulus ad Roraanos scribens
meminit, asserunt auctorera esse libri qui appellatur
Pastor, et apud quasdam Graecise Ecclesias jam pub-
licb legitur.' — S. Hieron. De Vir. Illust. c. x.
Aristides — 'Atheniensis Philosophus eloquentissimus, et sub
pristino habitu discipulus Christi, volumen nostri dog-
matis rationem continens...Hadriano Principi dedit.'
C. XX.
Agrippa — ' Vir valdb doctus adversum viginti quatuor Basi-
lidis hferetici volumina fortissime disseruit.' c. xxi.
Heges'ppus — 'Vicinus Apostolicorum temporum, et omnes
288 NOTE ON p. 103.
d passione Domini, usque ad suam aetatem, Ecclesias-
ticorum actuum texens historias, multaque ad utili-
tatem legentium pertinentia hinc inde congregans,
quinque libros composuit.' c. xxii. Of. Routli, Reliq.
i. 189; Euseb. Hist. Uccl. iv. 22 ; Lightfoot, Up. to
the Gal. 268, &c.
Justinus (Martyr) — ' Philosoplius habitu quoque Philosopho-
rum incedens...pro religione Christi plurimum labo-
ravit,' &c. c. xxiii.
Musanus — ' Non ignobilis inter eos qui de ecclesiastico dog-
mate seripserunt.' c. xxxi.
Modestus — ' Adversum Marcionem scripsit librum, qui usque
hodie perseverat.' c. xxxii.
Pantcenus — ' Stoicse sectae Philosophus . . . Hujus multi qui-
dem in S. Scripturam extant commentarii.' c. xxxvi.
Cf. Routb, i. 337.
Bhodon — ' Genere Asianus, a Tatiano Romse in Scripturis
eruditus, edidit plurima.' c. xxxvii. Cf. Routh, i. 346.
Miltiades — * Adversus Montanum, Priscam, Maximillamque
scripsit volumen prsecipuum.' c. xxxix.
Apollonius — ' Vir disertissimus, scripsit adversus Monta-
num/ &c. c. xl. Cf. Routh, ii. 53. ' Hunc Ephesi-
orum antistitem fuisse asserit auctor Frcedestinatij De
Hceret. cap. xxvi. nescio quam vere.'
Apollonius (alter) — ' Romanse urbis Senator... insigne volu-
men composuit.' c. xlii.
Maximus — ' Famosam quaestionem insigni volumine venti-
lavit, unde malum, et quod materia a Deo facta sit.'
c. xlvii. Cf. Routh, i. 423.
Candidus — ' In Hexaemeron pulcherrimos tractatus edidit.'
c. xlviii.
Appion—'- In Hexaemeron tractatus fecit.' c. xlix.
NOTE ON p. 103. 289
Sextus — ' Librum de Resurrectione scripsit.' c. 1.
Arabianus — 'Edidit qusedam opuscula ad Christianum dogma
pertinentia.' c. li.
Judas — * De 70 apud Danielem hebdomadibus plenissimd
disputavit.' c. lii.
Origenes — Ordained, after many writings, in his forty -third
year.
Tryphon — ' Origenis auditor, ad quern nonnullse ejus extant
Epistolae in Scripturis, eruditissimus fuit.' c. Ivii.
Minucius Felix — 'Romse insignis causidicus scripsit Dialo-
gum Christiani et Ethnici disputantium qui Octavius
inscribitur.' c. Iviii.
Gains — ' Disputationem adversum Proculum, Montani secta-
torem, valdb insignem habuit.' c. lix. Cf. Routh,
ii. 2.
Arnohius — ' Florentissimb Rhetoricam docuit, scripsitque ad-
versum gentes quae vulgb extant volumina.' c. Ixxix.
Firmianus qui et Lactantius — 'Arnobii discipulus. . . ad scri-
bendum se contulit.' c. Ixx. (Divince Institutiones,
De ird Dei, &c.)
Antonius — ' Monachus . . . misit Egyptiac^ ad diversa mona-
steria Apostolici sensus sermonisque Epistolas septem.'
c. Ixxxviii.
*Holy Macarius and great Antony.'
George Herbert — The Chv/rch Militant.
Cf. S. August. Confess, viii. 11.
Victorinus — ' Romse Rhetoricam docuit, et in extremi senec-
tute Christi se tradens fidei scripsit adversus Arium
libros, . . . et Commentarios in Apostolum.' c. ci.
Didymus A lexandrinus — ' Captus a parva setate oculis,
plura opera et nobilia conscripsit.' c. cix.
Aquilius Severus — ' Composuit volumen,' &c. c. cxi.
u
290 NOTE ON p. 103.
Ambrosius Ahocandrinus — ' Scripsit adversum Apollinarium
voliimen.' c. cxxvi.
Dexter — ' Clarus apud sseculum, et Christi fidei deditus fertur
omnimodam historiam texuisse.' c. cxxxii.
Sophronius — ' Vir apprime eruditus . . . insignem librum com-
posuit.' c. cxxxiv.
Pachomius — ' Monachus vir tarn in docendo quam in signa
faciendo Apostolicse gratise et fundator ^gypti coeno-
biorum . . . scripsit Regulam utrique generi monacho-
rum aptam quam angelo dictante perceperat.' Liber
Gennadii de Viris Illustrihus, c. vii.
Oresiesis — ' Monaclms ... vir in Sanctis Scripturis ad perfec-
tum instructus, composuit librum divino conditum
sale,' &c. c. ix.
Macarius — ' Monachus ille ^gyptius, signis et virtutibus
clarus unam tantum ad juniores professionis suse
scripsit Epistolam,' c. x. Took priest's orders when
forty years old.
Evagrius — ' Monachus . . . scripsit multa monachis necessaria.'
c. xi.
Prudentius — 'Vir sseculari literatura insignis composuit hiTTo-
Xaiou de toto veteri et novo Testament© personis ex-
ceptis.' c. xiii.
Commodianus — ' Factus Christianus . . . scripsit mediocri ser-
mone librum ad versus Paganos.' c. xv.
Tichonius Afer — 'In divinis Uteris eruditus. . . scripsit de
bello intestino, &c. Composuit et Regulas ad investi-
gandam et inveniendam intelligentiam Scripturarum
septem/ &c. c. xviii. De Tichonio saepius ab Augus-
tino laudato videsis Indices in Augustini opera.
Bachiarius — ' Vir Christianse philosophise . . . edidisse dicitur
grata opuscula/ &c. c. xxiv.
NOTE ON p. 103. 291
Isaac — * Scripsit de Sanctae Trinitatis tribus personis, et In-
carnatione Domini librum.' c. xxvi.
Ursinus — ' Monachus scripsit adversus eos qui rebaptizandos
haereticos decernunt.' c. xxvii.
Helvidius — ' Scripsit . . . librum.' c. xxxii. Cf. Ligbtfoot, £Jp.
to the Galatians, 248 sq.
Evagrius — ^ Alter scripsit altercationem Simonis Judsei, et
Theophili Christiani.' c. 1.
Victorinus — * Khetor Massiliensis . . . commentatus est in Ge-
nesim.' c. Ix.
Syagrius — ' Scripsit de fide.' c. Ixv.
Paulinus — ' Composuit de initio Quadragesimse.' c. Ixviii.
Cyrus — ' Arte medicus, ex pbilosopbo monacbus . . . scripsit
adversus Nestorium.' c. Ixxxi.
Victorius — ' Calculator scrupulosus . . . composuit Paschalem
censum/ &c. c. Ixxxviii.
Boethius, born 475. I must not assume too confidently tbat
be was a Christian — vide Smith's Diet, of Biography.
But besides the De Consolatione, works De Sanctd
Trinitate, Utrum Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus
suhstantialiter jprcedicantur, and others are attributed
to him. Dante puts him in Paradise, and he has
been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
Ccedmon, died about 680. The Saxon bard of Wliitby, who
paraphrased the Book of Genesis and other parts of
Holy Scripture.
King Alfred, 849 — 901. Translator of Bede, and Boethius,
the Pastoral of Gregory I, &c.
Dante A lighieri, 126 5 — 1 3 2 1 .
Laurentius Valla, 1406 — 1457. ^otcB in Novum Testa-
mentum.
Pico Mirandola, 1463 — 1494.
U 2
292 NOTE ON p. 103.
Michael A ngelo, 1475 — 1564.
Eeuchlin, 1455 — 1522.
Ludovicus Vims, 1492 — 1540.
Scaliger, J. J., 1540 — 1609.
J)rusius,John, 1550 — 1616.
Heinsius, Daniel, 1580 — 1665. Eocercitationes Sacrce in
Novum Testamentum.
Salmasius, 1588 — 1653.
CrTotius, Hugo, 1583 — 1645.
Casaubon, Isaac, i^^g — 1614.
Descartes, 1596 — 1650.
Pascal, Blaise, 1623 — 1662.
d'Andilly,Arnauld, brother of the great Arnauld, 1 588 — 167 4.
Confessions of St. Augustine — Lives of the Fathers,
&c.
Nicole, Pierre, 1625 — 1695. Perpetuite de la foi. (Took
Holy Orders late.)
Corneille, Pierre, the elder, 1606 — 1684. Translated the De
Imitatione Christi.
Tillemont, 1637 — 1698. Took Holy Orders at forty years of
age.
Ra/iine, 1639 — 1699.
Leibnitz, 1646 — 1716.
King Henry VIII. De Septem Sacramentis, contra Martinwm
Luther, Hceresiarcham. (Thence the title of De-
fender of the Faith, by Brief of Leo X, anno 152 1.)
More, Sir Thos., 1480 — 1534. Responsio ad convida M.
Lutheri congesta in Henricum Regem Anglice — De
religione Utopiensium.
Cheke, Sir John, 1514 — 1557. ^^ Superstitione, addressed
to Henry VIII. Tutor to Edward YI.
Spenser, Edmund , about 1553 — 1598. *Our sage and
NOTE V. 293
serious poet, Spenser, whom I dare be known to
think a better teacher than Scotus or Aquinas.' —
Milton, Areopagitica.
Xing James I.
Bacon, Lord, 1561 — 1626.
Selden, John, 1584 — 1654.
Twysden, Sir Roger, 1597 — 1672.
Milton, John, 1608 — 1674.
Hale, Sir Matthew, 1609 — 1676.
Brown, Sir Thomas, 1605 — 1682.
Bunyan, John, 1628 — 1688.
Boyle, Robert, 1626 — 1691.
Locke, John, 1632 — 1704.
Newton, Sir Isaac, 1642 — 1726.
Davies, Sir John, 1570 — 1626.
Savile, Sir Henry, 1549 — 1622. Editor of Chrysostom.
Brooke, Fulk Greville, Lord, 1554— 1628.
Wotton, Sir Henry, 1568 — 1639.
Walton, Isaac, 1593 — 1683.
Falkland, Lord, 16 10 — 1643.
Nelson, Robert, 1656 — 17 15.
Addison, Joseph, 1672 — 1719.
Lyttelton, George, Lord, 1709 — 1773.
Southey, Robert.
Coleridge, S. T.
Wordsworth, William.
Knox, Alexander.
Macbride, John David.
NOTE V, p. 109.
TS)V yap Kara ttjv ^Kcrlav Tntrrayv TToWaKLS Koi noWaxrj ttjs 'Aarias
(Is TOVTO (TVPeXBoPTCOV, KOI TOVS 'ITpO(T<\>dTOVS \6yOVS €^€Ta<rdvTOi)V Koi
294 NOTES W, X.
^e^TjKovs drroiprjvdvTcov, Koi dirodoKLjxacrdvTcov rrjv aipeaiv^ ovtco drj ttjs
re €KKKr](rias e^edxrdrjo-av Koi ttjs Koivcovias €LpxOr](rai/. — JSx Anonym,
apvd Eusebium, v. i6.
' Aguntur prseterea per Grsecias ilia certis in locis concilia
ex universis Ecclesiis, per quse et altiora quseque in commune
tractantur, et ipsa repraesentatio totius nominis Christiani
magna veneratione celebratur.' — Tertull. De Jejuniis, xiii.
p. 552.
NOTE W, p. III.
The uncial Codices A. B. C. (and it may be added «)
read koi oi Trpeo-jSurepoi dbeXcjioi, the reading adopted by Lach-
mann. Tischendorf in his 7th edition read (with E. G. H.
and the majority of cursive MSS.) koI ol ddeXcjioi. It is to
be observed that the corrector of i^ marked C. introduces
the words koL ol, as a correction, before dd€\(l)oi. It is ob-
served by Scrivener (Introduction to the Collation, p. xxiii.)
'that one object of this corrector was to assimilate the
Codex to MSS. more in vogue in his time.' Now as his
time is supposed to have been about the seventh century,
the force of the argument suggested at the foot of p. 11 1
seems to come out with some clearness.
NOTE X, p. 112.
Eira XoiTTOv koivop to 86yixa yiyverai' Tore edo^e rots 'AttootoXois-,
Koi 7r/3ea-/3vrepots, aiiv o\r] t^ c/ckXt/o-w, k.t.X. ypdyj/'avres 8id p^etpo?
avT&v rdSe' "Opa avrovs ov^ dnXSis ravra vonoOerovvTas' coare de
d^idmcTTOv yeveadai Boyfia TrefiTTOvcn tovs nap avTcov, koi Lva dvv-
iroTTTOi Sicriv oi Trepi TlavKov \017r6v ebo^ev ■qplv yevop-evots opo-
dvpxibbv, eKke^apevois avdpas, k.t.X. cootc 6eT^at, oti ov TvpavviKas,
OTi Tracrt tovto Soxet, on pcTO. iTnaKeyJAeais TavTa ypd(f)ov(Tiv. —
S. Chrysost. In Acta Apost. Hom. xxxiii. vol. ix. p. 254.
NOTES Y, Z. 295
NOTE Y, p. 113.
* Nonne et laid sacerdotes sum us 1 Script urn est, Regnum
quoque nos et sacerdotes Deo et Patri suo fecit. Differen-
tiam inter Ordinem et Plebem constituit Ecclesiae auctoritas,
et honor per ordinis consessum sanctificatur adeo ubi Eccle-
siastici ordinis non est consessus, et offers, et tinguis, et
sacerdos es tibi solus. Sed ubi tres, ecclesia est, licet laici.'
— Be Exhort. Oastitatis, vii. p. 522.
' Dandi quidem (Baptismum) habet jus summus Sacerdos,
qui est Episcopus : dehinc Presbyteri et Diaconi, non tamen
sine Episcopi auctoritate, propter Ecclesise honorem, quo
salvo salva pax est. Alioquin etiam laicis jus est : quod enim
ex aequo accipitur, ex aequo dari potest : nisi Episcopi jam,
aut Presbyteri, aut Diaconi vocantur, discentes. Domini
sermo non debet abscondi ab ullo,' &c. — Be Baj^tismo, xvii.
p. 230.
NOTE Z, p. 113.
'Ad id vero quod scripserunt mihi compresbyteri nostri
Donatus et Fortunatus, Novatus et Gordius, solus rescribere
nihil potui : quando a primordio Episcopatus mei statuerim
nihil sine consilio vestro, et sine consensu plebis, mea pri-
vatim senteutia gerere.' — S. Cypr. Ep. xiv. Presbyteris et
Diaconis (p. 33).
' Cui rei non potui me solum judicem dare, cum multi adhuc
de clero absentes sint, nee locum suum vel serb repetendum
putaverunt, et haec singulorum tractanda sit et limanda
plenius ratio, non tantum cum CoUegis meis, sed et cum plebe
ipsa universa : expensa enim moderatione libranda et pro-
nuncianda res est, quae in posterum circ^ ministros Eeclesiae
296 NOTE Z.
constituat exemplum.' — Ep. xxxiv. Preshyteris et Diaconibus
(p. 68). Cf. Ep. lix. Cornelio (p. 137).
'Fecerunt ad nos de quibusdam beati Martyres literas,
petentes examinari desideria sua : cum pace nobis omnibus a
Domino prius data, ad Ecclesiani regredi cceperimus, examina-
buntur singula prsesentibus et judicantibus vobis.' — Ep. xvii.
Fratribus in Plebe consistentihus (p. 39). Cf. Ep. xliii. and
xliv. (p. 85).
' Hoc enim et verecundise et disciplinse et vitse ipsi omnium
nostrum convenit : ut Prsepositi cum Clero convenientes,
prsesente et stantium plebe, quibus et ipsis pro fide et timore
suo honor habendus est, disponere omnia consilii communis
religione possimus.' — Ep. xix. Preshyteris et Diaconibus (p.
42).
On this point the Roman clergy thus reply : ' Quanquam
nobis in tam ingenti negotio placeat, quod et tu ipse tractasti
prius : Ecclesise pacem sustinendam : (i. e. that the restora-
tion of the lapsed must be deferred :) deinde, sic collatione
consiliorum cum Episcopis, Preshyteris, Diaconis, Confes-
soribus, pariter ac stantibus laicis facta, lapsorum tractare
rationem.' — Ep. xxx. Gypriano Papm Presbyteri et Diaconi
Romm consistentes (p. 59).
It is to be observed that St. Cyprian (Ep. Iv. Antoniano
fratri, p. 102) quotes this passage with emphasis: 'Quod
etiam Romam ad Clerum tunc adhuc sine Episcopo agentem,
et ad Confessores Maximum Presbyterum, et ceteros in
custodia constitutos, nunc in Ecclesia cum Cornelio junctos,
plenissime scripsi. Quod me scripsisse de eorum rescriptis
poteris noscere. Nam in Epistola sua ita posuerunt.' (He
then cites the words above quoted.)
It is worth adding that Pope Cornelius, elected just after
this letter of the Roman clergy was written, 'Factus est
NOTES AA, BB. 297
Episcopus de Dei et Christi ejus judicio, de Clericorum poene
omnium testimonio, de Plebis quae tunc affuit sufiragio, et de
Sacerdotum antiquorum et bonorum virorum collegio/ &c. —
Ep. Iv.
NOTE AA, p. 116.
Canon 12. JJepi tov tovs imcrKonovs Kpiaei twv firjrpoTToKiTwp
Kcu Ta)v irepi^ iTn(TK6na>v KaOio-TadOai els rrju iKKKr}(Tia(TTiKr]V apxf}Vf
ovras €K TToWov dcboKipacrpevovs ev re rw Xoyco rrjs 7ri(TT€(os, Koi rrj
TOV evdeos Xdyou TroXiTei'a.
Canon 13. Uepi tov pfj toIs o)(Xois imTpiTreiv tus eKKoyas Trotel-
aOai t5)v peWovTcov KaO'ioTaaQai, els iepaTelov.
BAA2AM12N. Kai otto tov irapovTos Kavovos TrapioTaTat oTi ov
fiovov eniaKOTToi to naXatop e-^T](\>i^ovTo vnb tS)v o\KcoVi dWa koi
lepels, OTvep eKaiXvOrf.
ZGNAPA2. Ov povov eTria-Koircov eKkoyrjv oi ox^oi Troielv eKcaXv-
6r](rav, aXX' ovBe lepels eKkeyecrOai 7rapex(oprj6r]a-av. — Concilia^ Bp.
Beveridge.
On the subject of the popular share in election of Bishops,
see Beveridge's note on the fourth Canon of the first Nicene
Council (vol. ii p. 97, notes). It is also to be particularly ob-
served, in illustration of the gradual exclusion of the laity from
Church authority, how this canon of the first Nicene Council,
decreeing the presence of all the Bishops of the province at
the election of a Bishop, is quoted in the second Nicene
Council, and interpreted as excluding the lay people from all
share in such election.
NOTE BB, p. 116.
It seems to me to be important in studying the history of
the Reformation, to remember that the real practical settle-
ment of the great question whether the Church should reform
298 NOTE BB.
itself, and reproduce within its own body and by peaceful
means the primitive state of religion, or, by refusing all legi-
timate reformation, incur the terrible risks of violent dis-
ruption, and all the untold losses which such disruption
involves, took place not in the sixteenth century, but in
the fifteenth. The Councils of Constance and Basle did
really determine that the Roman theory, with all its terrible
abuses, should be maintained in greater and more exclusive
completeness than ever, and that nothing less than an earth-
quake should liberate any considerable portion of mankind
from its tyranny. At Trent there was no longer any
question, nor hope. The points were all practically settled.
The conclusions were foregone and inevitable. The Tri-
dentine Bishops only put into system the details of the
great victory which had been really won in the previous
century.
But when Christendom was summoned to meet at Con-
stance in 1 4 14, there really did seem to be some prospect of
that real reformation for which the whole Christian world
cried out with one voice. The Western Church was indeed
at that moment corrupt in many most important ways, cor-
rupted in doctrine, terribly corrupted in morals, full of evil
in the corrupt state of the monastic institutions, but nothing
had yet been done to make these corruptions indelible, or to
prevent the possibility, however great may have been the
difficulty, of restoring the Church to a primitive model. The
state of the Western Church at that moment may be compared
to that of the Eastern at the present : needing much reform
in many most important ways, but hitherto uncommitted,
hitherto unpledged to maintain unbroken and for ever the
very system under which the evils had grown, and with which
they were indissolubly united.
NOTE BB. ■ 299
The state of the Papacy seemed to offer a singular oppor-
tunity. Peter di Luna (Benedict XIII), Angelo Corario
(Gregory XII), and Balthasar Cossa (John XXIII), all claimed
the Popedom. The first two had been deposed by the
Council of Pisa, and the third (pirate, tyrant, adulterer,
extortioner, violator of nuns) was a man whose detestable
and notorious wickedness made it impossible for a Council
composed not of creatures of the Roman Court, but of the
learned men of Europe, assembled in open consultation, to
maintain him in his high position.
Chief among the learned men who took part in the Council
were Peter d'Ailly, the Cardinal of Cambray, and his still
more illustrious pupil and successor in the Chancellorship of
the University of Paris, John Gerson, whose writings, and
speeches in favour of reform at the Council of Pisa (1409),
had produced a singularly deep and extensive effect. By
their efforts (see extracts from the Schedules of the Cardinals
of Cambray and St. Mark in Gieseler, iv. 290) others besides
Bishops and Abbots, — Doctors, Canonists, even Ambassadors
of the great countries of Europe, and Deputies of the Free
Cities, took part in the Council.
Nothing could exceed the force, and eloquence, and it may
be added, the effect upon the Council, of the leaders of the
reform. The sermons and speeches of Peter d'Ailly and
Gerson are to be read at length in the collections of Von der
Hardt. Their sentiments were in almost every point (I
except of course the indefeasible supremacy which they assign
to the Bishop of Home) such as the chief divines of the
Church of England have held. It may be worth while to
quote a remarkable passage from Gerson's Opus de modis
uniendi, ac reformandi Ecclesiam in Concilio Universali as
illustrating the view taken in these lectures : ' Catholica,
300 NOTE BB.
Universalis Ecclesia ex variis membris unum corpus consti-
tuentibus est conjuncta et nominata. Cujus corporis, Univer-
salis Ecclesise, caput Christus solus est. Coeteri vero, ut
Papa, Cardinales, et Prselati, Clerici, Eeges et Principes ac
plebeii sunt membra insequaliter disposita. Nee istius Ec-
clesise Papa potest dici nee debet caput, sed solum vicarius
Christi, ejus vicem gerens in terris, dum tamen clavis non
erret. Et in hac Ecclesia, et in ejus fide omnis homo potest
salvari etiamsi in toto mundo aliquis Papa non posset reperiri.
Hsec Ecclesia de lege currenti nunquam errare potuit, nun-
quam deficere, nunquam scbisma passa est, nunquam hseresi
maculata est, nunquam falli aut fallere potuit, nunquam pec-
cavit. In ista etiam omnes fideles, in quantum fideles sunt,
unum sunt in Cbristo. . . . Alia vero vocatur Ecclesia Aposto-
lica particularis et privata, in catholica Ecclesia inclusa, ex
Papa, Cardinalibus, Episcopis, Prselatis, et viris Ecclesiasticis
compaginata. . . . Et hsec errare potest, et potuit falli et fallere,
schisma et hseresin habere, etiam potest deficere. Et haec longi
minoris auctoritatis videtur esse universali Ecclesia : — et est
quasi instrumentalis et operativa clavium universalis Ecclesice,
et executiva potestatis ligandi et solvendi ejusdem.' Vid.
Gieseler, p. 286.
But the Roman power, with its immense hold upon Christ-
endom, was only in abeyance, and no sooner had the Council
in conjunction with the Cardinals (for thirty delegates of the
Council took part in the election with twenty-three Cardinals)
elected a Pope (Martin V) of respectable character upon
whom the various parties could unite, than all hopes of
reform were suddenly and absolutely at an end. 'On the
day after his election Pope Martin publislied a Brief con-
firming all the regulations established by his predecessors,
even John XXIII. All the old grievances. Reservations,
NOTE BB. 301
Expectancies, Vacancies, Confirmations of Bishops, Dispen-
sations, Exemptions, Commendams, Annates, Tenths, In-
dulgences, might seem to be adopted as the unrepealable law
of the Church. The form was not less dictatorial than the
substance of the decree. It was an act of the Pope, not of
the Council. It was throughout the Pope who enacted and
ordained : it was the absolute resumption of the whole power
of reformation, so far at least as the Papal Court, into his
own hands. Whatever he might hereafter concede to the
Church in general, or to the separate nations of Christendom,
was a boon on his part, not a right on theirs. . . . The Council
had given its sanction, its terrible sanction, to the immuta-
bility of the whole dominant creed of Christendom, and to the
complete, indefeasible hierarchical system.' — Latin Chris-
tianity, vol. vi. pp. 65, 71 ; see also note on p. 65.
But while the Council of Constance had thus given its
entire weight to the Roman system of doctrine and discipline,
and vindicated it by the death at the stake of Huss and
Jerome of Prague, it did not tranquillize Germany, or mate-
rially abate the cry for reform which still resounded in every
country beyond the Alps ; and the wonderful successes of
the Hussites in the Bohemian war, as they first led to the
assembling of the Council of Basle in 14 31, so drove the
assembled Fathers ' to take more serious views of the absolute
and inevitable necessity of reformation in the Church.' But
again the hopes of Christendom, less keenly excited after the
bitter disappointment of Constance, were frustrated. The
internal divisions of the Bohemians, and at last their total
overthrow in the battle of Lepan \ removed the great and
pressing urgency which had led to the revival of the subject
of reformation ; and the transfer by Pope Eugenius of the
•> May 30, 1434. — Latin Christianity, vol. vi. p. 101.
302 NOTE CC.
seat of the Council from Basle to Ferrara and Florence, and
the futile efforts under which it continued its sessions at
Basle, put an end to whatever prospects there might have been
of a large and searching and real Reformation, in which the
rights of clergy and laity should alike be fully recognized, and
the Church replaced upon a primitive basis. Thenceforward
it was clear that the Papal system was to be upheld in every
particular, justified in theory, and maintained with the most
perfect exclusiveness in practice ; and that, by consequence,
sooner or later, at least half of the Western Church must be
finally lost to the obedience and communion of Rome.
NOTE CC, p. 1 1 8.
So speaks Archbishop Manning in his recent volume on
the temporal mission of the Holy Ghost : —
'This office of enunciating and proposing the faith is
accomplished through the human lips of the pastors of the
Church. The pastoral authority, or the episcopate, together
with the priesthood and the other orders, constitute an
organized body, divinely ordained to guard the deposit of
the Faith. The voice of that body, not as so many indi-
viduals, but as a body, is the voice of the Holy Ghost.
The pastoral ministry as a body cannot err, because the
Holy Spirit, who is indissolubly united to the mystical body,
is eminently and above all united to the hierarchy and body
of its pastors. The episcopate united to its centre is, in
all ages, divinely sustained and divinely assisted to perpetuate
and to enunciate the original revelation.'
This is, no doubt, the language which, unheard and un-
dreamed of in the early ages of the Church, became the
authorized language of strong Ultramontanism from the fif-
NOTES DD, EE. 303
teenth century downwards : rejected as it is by ancient his-
tory and the distinct language of the primitive Fathers,
rejected by the Gallican Church of Gerson and Bossuet,
rejected by the universal voice of Protestant Christendom.
That the clergy are the commissioned organs for declaring
the truth of the Gospel, I have sufficiently declared in the
body of the Lectures ; but that ' the episcopate united to
its centre,' the Pope of Rome, is so divinely sustained and
assisted, as to be able to claim the voice of the Holy Ghost
for that which they teach, I absolutely deny to be the truth
as taught in Holy Scripture and primitive antiquity. I
verily believe that in that claim lies the npioTov ^cvdos of
debased Christianity, and the real essential cause of the
miserable schisms and divisions which afflict the Church.
NOTE DD, p. 122.
See several of the most striking passages of St. Cyprian to
this point extracted in Note Z, upon p. 113.
NOTE EE, p. 123.
'First, then, I consider whether all the power that an
(Ecumenical Council hath to determine, and all the assistance
it hath not to err in that determination, it hath it not all
from the catholic universal body of the Church and clergy
in the Church, whose representative it is 1 And it seems
it Iiath : for the government of the Church being not mon-
archical, but as Christ is the head, this principle is inviolable
in nature : every body collective that represents, receives
power and privileges from the body which is represented ;
else a representation might have force without the thing
304 NOTE EE.
it represents, which cannot be. So there is no power in
the Council, no assistance to it, but what is in and to the
Church. But yet then it may be questioned, whether the
representing body hath all the power, strength, and privilege
which the represented hath 1 And suppose it hath all the
legal power, yet it hath not all the natural, either of strength
or wisdom that the whole hath. Now, because the repre-
sentative hath power from the whole — and the main body
can meet no other way — therefore the acts, laws, and decrees
of the representative, be it ecclesiastical or civil, are binding
in their strength. But they are not so certain and free
from error as is that wisdom which resides in the whole :
for in assemblies merely civil or ecclesiastical, all the able
and sufficient men cannot be in the body that represents.
And it is as possible so many able and sufficient men for
some particular business may be left out, as that they which
are in may miss or misapply that reason and ground upon
which the determination is principally to rest. Here, for
want of a clear view of this ground, the representative body
errs ; whereas the represented, by virtue of those members
which saw and knew the ground, may hold the principle
inviolated.
' Secondly, I consider, that since it is thus in nature and
in civil bodies, if it be not so in ecclesiastical too, some
reason must be given why ; " for that body also consists of
men ; " those men, neither all equal in their perfections of
knowledge and judgment, whether acquired by industry, or
rooted in nature, or infused by God ; — not all equal, nor
any one of them perfect and absolute, or freed from passion
and human infirmities. Nor doth their meeting together
make them infallible in all things ; though the act which
is hammered out by many together must in reason be per-
NO^E EE. 305
fecter than that which is but the child of one man's sufficiency.
If then a general Council have no ground of not erring
from the men or the meeting, either it must not be at all,
or it must be by some assistance and power upon them when
they are so met together; and this, if it be less than the
assistance of the Holy Ghost, it cannot make them secure
against error.
' Thirdly, I consider, that the assistance of the Holy Ghost
is without error. That is no question ; and as little there
is, that a Council hath it. But the doubt that troubles is.
Whether all the assistance of the Holy Ghost be afforded in
such a high manner, as to cause all the definitions of a
Council in matters fundamental in the faith, and in remote
deductions from it, to be alike infallible ? Now the Roman-
ists, to prove there is "infallible assistance," produce some
places of Scripture ; but no one of them infers, much less
enforces an infallibility.'
The writer then proceeds to examine the texts John xvi.
13, John xiv. 16, Matt, xxviii. 20, Matt. xvi. 18, Luke xxii.
32, Matt, xviii. 20, Acts xv. 28, and speaks of them in
general thus : —
' And for all the places together, weigh them with indif-
ferency, and either they speak of the Church, including the
Apostles, as all of them do, — and then all grant the voice
of the Church is God's voice, divine and infallible ; — or else
they are general, unlimited, and appliable to private assem-
blies as well as general Councils, which none grant to be
infallible but some mad enthusiasts ; — or else they are limited
not simply unto " all truth," but " all necessary to salvation,"
in which I shall easily grant a general Council cannot err,
suffering itself to be led by this Spirit of truth in the
Scripture, and not taking upon it to lead both the Scripture
X
3o6 NOTES FF, GG.
and the Spirit. For suppose these places, or any other,
did promise assistance, even to infallibility, yet they granted
it not to every general Council, but to the Catholic body of
the Church itself j and if it be in the whole Church prin-
cipally, then is it in a general Council but by consequence,
as the Council represents the whole. And that which belongs
to a thing by consequent, doth not otherwise nor longer
belong to it than it consents and cleaves to that upon which
it is a consequent, and therefore a general Council hath not
this assistance but as it keeps to the whole Church and
spouse of Christ, whose it is to hear His word and determine
by it. And therefore if a general Council will go out of
the Church's way, it may easily go without the Church's
truth.' — Laud, Conference with Fisher, sect, xxxiii. pp. 252,
266, Anglo-Catholic Library.
NOTE FF, p. 124.
Kai Trap' ivos evXa^ovs Koi bevrepov yevofievov epyov tiKrjpoijiopci
^fxas T^ avfi^ovXia tov Hvevparos yiyveadai. "Orav yap prjdep ^
av6pa>Tnvov 7rp6 6(jidaKpS)v Keip,evov, prjbe arKona oiKeias aTroXaixrecos
irpos ras ivepyeias oppSxriv oi ocrioi, dXX* ort evdpearov rm Bern
TTpoBepevoij 8tj\ov on Kvpios itrnv 6 ras Kapbias avrav Karevdvucov.
"Onov de avBpes rrvevpartKoi t5>v ^ovXevparcop Kardpxovaiv, enerai
de TovTois \a6s Kvpiov iv (Tvp(j)coviq t^s yvcufirjs, ris d/x0i/3aXei jx^
ovxi 777 Koivavia Toii Kvpiov rjpSiv *lT]a'ov Xptorov, tov to alpa avTov
vnep Twv iKKkr}(na)V cKx^avTOi, ttjv ^ov\f)V yeyev^aOai j — S. Basil.
Ep. 229, vol. iii. p. 510.
NOTE GG, p. 132.
*Superest ad concludendam materiolam, de observatione
quoque dandi et accipiendi baptismum commonefacere.
NOTES HH, 11. 307
Dandi quidem habet jus summus Sacerdos, qui est Episcopus,
dehinc Presbyteri et Diaconi, non tamen sine Episcopi aucto-
ritate propter Ecclesise honorem, quo salvo salva pax est.
Alioquin etiam laicis jus est : quod enim ex sequo accipitur,
ex sequo dari potest, nisi Episcopi jam aut Presbyteri aut
Diaconi vocantur discentes. Domini sermo non debet ab-
scondi ab ullo. Proinde et baptismus, seque Dei census, ab
omnibus exerceri potest : sed quanto magis laicis disciplina
verecundise et modestiae incumbit ? Cum ea majoribus com-
petant, ne sibi adsumant dicatum Episcopis officium Episco-
patus.' — TertuU. Be Baptismo, c. xvii. p. 230.
NOTE HH, p. 133.
' XJt in necessitate et fideles haptizent. — Loco i peregrd na-
vigantes, aut si ecclesia proximo^ non fuerit, posse fidelem,
qui lavacrum suum integrum habet nee sit bigamus, baptizare
in necessitate infirmitatis positum catechumenum, ita ut si
supervixerit ad episcopum eum perducat, ut per manus impo-
sitionem perfici ^ possit.' — Goncil. Eliheritanum, xxxviii.
NOTE II, p. 137.
The passage in St. Augustine (Tract, v. In Joh. Evang.
c. i.) is a long one. The following extracts will sufficiently
exhibit the writer's meaning : —
'■ Potuit Dominus Jesus Christus, si vellet, dare potestatem
alicui servo suo, ut daret baptismum suum tanquam vice
su^, et transferre a se baptizandi potestatem, et constituere in
> deest ap. Mansi. ^ in proximo M. * proficere M.
X 2
3o8 NOTE JJ.
aliquo serVo suo, et tantam vim dare baptismo translate in
servum quantam vim habeat baptismus datus a Domino.
Hoc noluit ideo, ut in illo spes esset baptizatorum a quo se
baptizatos agnoscerent. Noluit ergo servum ponere spem in
servo.
' Hoc autem Johannes non noverat in Domino. Quia
Dominus erat, noverat : quia ab ipso debebat bapti^ari, no-
verat : et confessus est quia Veritas erat ille, et ille verax
missus a veritate : hoc noverat. Sed quid in eo non nove-
rat] Quia sibi retenturus erat baptismatis sui potestatem,
et non eam transmissurus, et translaturus in aliquem servum :
sed sive baptizaret in ministerio servus bonus, sive baptizaret
in ministerio servus mains, non sciret se ille qui baptizaretur
baptizari nisi ab illo qui sibi tenuit baptizandi potestatem.
' Non ait, ipse est Dominus ; non ait, ipse est Christus ;
non ait, ipse est Deus ; non ait, ipse est Jesus ; non ait, ipse
est qui natus de virgine Maria, posterior te, prior te : non
ait hoc, jam hoc enim noverat Johannes. Sed quid non
noverat 1 Tantam potestatem baptismi ipsum Dominum
habiturum et sibi retenturum, sive prsesentem in terra, sive
absentem corpore in coelo et prsesentem maj estate, sibi reten-
turum baptismi potestatem : ne Paulus diceret, Baptismus
mens, ne Petrus diceret, Baptismus mens. Ideo videte, in-
tendite voces Apostolorum. Nemo Apostolorum dixit, Bap-
tismus mens. Quamvis unum omnium esset Evangelium,
tamen invenis dixisse, Evangelium meum ; non invenis dix-
isse, Baptisma meum.' — Pt. ii. vol. iii. p. 325.
NOTE JJ, p. 139.
* Nee illud te moveat, quod quidam non e^ fide ad baptis-
mum percipiendum parvulos ferunt, ut gratia spiritali ad
NOTE KK. 30^
yitam regenerentur seternam, sed quod eos putant hoc reme-
dio temporalem retinere vel recipere sanitatem. Non enim
propterea illi non regenerantur, quia non ab istis hac inten-
tione ofFeruntur. Celebrantur enim per eos necessaria mi-
nisteria, et verba sacramentorum, sine quibus consecrari par-
vulus non potest. Spiritus autem ille sanctus qui habitat in
Sanctis, ex quibus una ilia columba deargentata caritatis igne
conflatur, agit quod agit per servitutem, aliquando non solum
simpliciter ignorantium verum etiam damnabiliter indigno-
rum. OfFeruntur quippe parvuli ad percipiendam spiritalem
gratiam non tam ab eis quorum gestantur manibus (quamvis
et ab ipsis si et ipsi boni et fideles sint) quam ab universa
societate sanctorum atque fidelium, Ab omnibus namque
offerri recth intelliguntur, quibus placet quod ofFeruntur, et
quorum sancta atque individua caritate ad communicationem
sancti Spiritus adjuyantur. Tota hoc ergo mater Ecclesia,
quae in Sanctis est, facit : quia tota omnes, tota singulos parit.'
— S. August. Ad Boni/acium, Ep. xcviii. vol. ii. p. 266.
NOTE KK, p. 140.
* Nemo mihi dicat quia non habet fidem cui mater im-
pertit suam, involvens illi in sacramento, quousque idoneus
fiat proprio non tantum sensu, sed et assensu, evolutam pu-
ramque percipere. Numquid breve pallium est ut non possit
ambos cooperire 1 Magna est Ecclesise fides. Numquid
minor fide Canansese mulieris, quam constat et filise sufficere
potuisse, et sibi 1 Ideo audivit, mulier, magna est fides
tua ! sit tihi sicut petisti. Numquid minor fide illorum, qui
paralyticum per tegulas dimittentes, animse illi simul et cor-
poris obtinuere salutem ? Denique habes. Quorum fidem ut
vidit, ait paralytico, Confide, fili, remittuntur tibi peccata. Et
310 NOTES LL, MM.
paulo post : Tolle grahatum tuum et amhula. Qui hoc credit,
facile huic persuadebitur merito Ecclesiam prsesumere non
solum, parvulis baptizatis in sua fide salutera, sed etiam inter-
fectis pro Christo infantibus coronam martyrii.' — S. Bernard,
In Gomtica, Serm. Ixvi.
NOTE LL, p. 141.
^Dum per sacratissimum crucis signum vos suscepit in
utero sancta mater Ecclesia, quae sicut et fratres vestros cum
summa Isetitid spiritaliter pariet, nova proles futura tantse
matris, quo usque per lavacrum sanctum regenerates verae
luci restituat, congruis alimentis eos quos portat pascat in
utero et ad diem partus sui Isetos Iseta perducat : quoniam
non tenetur hac sententid Evse quae in tristitia et gemitu
parit filios, nee ipsos gaudentes, sed potius flentes.... Omnia
sacramenta quae acta sunt et aguntur in vobis per ministerium
servorum Dei, exorcismis, orationibus, canticis spiritalibus, in-
sufflationibus, cilicio, inclinatione cervicum, humilitate pedum,
pavor ipse omni securitate appetendus, hsec omnia, ut dixi,
escse sunt quse vos reficiunt in utero, vel renatos ex baptismo
hilares vos mater exhibeat Christo.' — Be Symholo ad Cate-
chumenoa, vi. pp. 575, 555 ; cf. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Introd.
Lecture, § 13.
NOTE MM, p. 142.
'■ Et infantes quidem in brachiis dextris tenentur : majores
vero pedem ponunt super pedem patrini sui.' — Ex S. Gregorii
Lihro Sacramentorum, p. 74-
The note on the word ' Patrini ' in the Benedictine Edition
is as follows : ' Patrini sunt qui offerunt baptizandos eosque
baptizatos de sacro fonte suscipiunt, Gallic^ parreins. Con-
cilium sextum Arelatense, can. 9, et patroni eos quos ds
NOTES NN, 00. .31.1
lavacri fonte suscipiunt, &c. Capitulum Herardi Turonensis
Archiep. cap. 27, ut patres et patrini filios suos etfilidlos eru-
diomt et enutriant. Qui et dicti sunt susceptores Jesse Am-
branensis Episc. epist citata et signent ipsos infcmtes in/ronti-
hus eorum susceptores viri vel foemince, id est, patrini vel
matrince. Dicuntur et sponsores. Tertullianus lib. de Bap-
tismo : quid enim necesse sponsores etia/ni periculo ingeri.
S. Dionysius, cap. 2 et 7, Eccl. Hierar. appellat avahoxovs^ i.e.
susceptores.'
NOTE NN, p. 150.
' Cum ergo sint duge nativitates, ille (sc. Nicodemus) unam
intelligebat. Una est de terra, alia de coelo : una est de
carne, alia de Spiritu : una est de mortalitate, alia de seter-
nitate: una est de masculo et foemina, alia de Deo et Ecclesit.
Sed ipsae duse singulae sunt : nee ilia potest repeti, nee ilia.'
— S. August. Tract, xi. In J oh, Evang. c. 3. vol. iii. pt. ii.
p. 378.
NOTE 00, p. 152.
* He that affirms them (infants) to be truly regenerated or
sanctified in their infancy must yield to us in this : that such
children or infants as have been formerly regenerated in a
measure sufficient to their salvation outgrow this measure of
regeneration or sanctification after they come to the use of
reason, or years of discretion, as they do their apparel or
clothes which were fit for them whilst they were infants.
And no question but the old man, after we come to the use
of reason, grows stronger and stronger in all of us, until we
abate his strength, and mortify his members by the Spirit.' —
Dr. T. Jackson, vol. iii. p. 10 1. (bk. x. c. xxvii.)
It is much to be regretted that the works of this writer are
312 NOTE PP.
so imperfectly indexed. Owing to this, and to the somewhat
desultory nature of the argument, they are not nearly so
accessible for purposes of reference as they deserve to be. I
remember well that many years ago Southey repeatedly re-
commended me to read the writings of Dr. Jackson as a
model of vigorous and genuine English, both in sentiment
and style.
NOTE PP, p. 156.
The passage quoted in the text is from St. Augustine,
De Baptismo, lib. iii. c. 16.
* Primis temporibus cadebat super credentes Spiritus
Sanctus ; et loquebantur Unguis quas non didicerant, quo-
modo Spiritus dabat eis pronunciare. Signa erant tempori
opportuna. Oportebat enim ita significari omnibus Unguis
Spiritum Sanctum quia Evangelium Dei per omnes linguas
cursurum erat toto orbe terrarum. Significatum est illud et
transiit. Numquid modo quibus imponitur manus ut acci-
piant Spiritum Sanctum, hoc expectatur ut Unguis loquantur ?
Aut quando imposuimus manum istis infantibus, attendit
unusquisque vestrum utrum Unguis loquerentur, et cum
videret eos Unguis non loqui, ita perverso corde aliquis
vestrum fuit ut diceret, non acceperunt isti Spiritum Sanc-
tum ; nam si accepissent. Unguis loquerentur, quemadmodum
tunc factum est? — Unde cognoscit quisque accessisse in
Spiritum Sanctum "? interroget cor suum : si diligit Patrem,
manet Spiritus Dei in illo. Non potest esse dilectio sine
Spiritu Dei : quia Paulus clamat, Caritas Dei diffusa est in
cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanctum, qui datus est nobis.'
See also a beautiful passage on the Holy Ghost regarded as
the Soul of the Body of the Church, in the 267th Sermon
on the day of Pentecost, vol. v. p. 1090,
NOTES QQ, RR. 313
NOTE QQ, p. 160.
'Inde est quod exponens nobis Apostolus Paulus hunc
panem, Unus panis, inquit, unum corpus multi sumus. O
sacramentum pietatis, signum unitatis, vinculum cari-
tatis ! Qui vult vivere, habet ubi vivat, habet undo vivat.
Accedat, credat, incorporetur ut vivificetur. Non abhorreat
a compage membrorum, non sit putre membrum quod re-
secari mereatur ; non sit distortum de quo erubescatur ;
sit pulchrum, sit aptum, sit sanum : hsereat corpori : vivat
Deo de Deo : nunc laboret in terra ut postea regnet in coelo.' —
S.August. Tract, xxvi. In Joh. Evang. c. 6. vol. iii. pt. ii. 499.
NOTE RR, p. 166.
I have often thought it would be useful to embody the
mention of these blessings, as given in the Prayer-book,
into a prayer, to be used either before communicating, or
during the waiting-time in the actual service when there
are many communicants. It might be iii some such form
as this : —
O Lord God Almighty, Who hast given Thine Only-
begotten Son, not only to die for us, but also to be our
spiritual food and sustenance in the Holy Communion,
grant to me grace so to approach Thy blessed feast, that
I may spiritually eat the Flesh of Christ, and drink His
Blood ; that thereby Christ may dwell in me and I in
Christ ; that I may be made one with Christ and Christ
with me. Cleanse my sinful body by His glorious Body ;
wash my soul by His most precious Blood. Grant me the
sacred assurance that Thou still hast favour and goodness
towards me ; that I am still, sinful and miserable as I have
been, a very member incorporate in the mystical Body of
314 NOTES SS, TT.
Christ, which is the blessed company of all faithful people ;
that I am still an heir through hope of Thine everlasting
kingdom. And, merciful Lord God, grant that thus par-
taking of the Body and Blood of my Lord with all the
Church, my body and my soul may be preserved to ever-
lasting life, in Him and through Him Who alone is Life and
Eesurrection and Salvation, our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen.
NOTE SS, p. 171.
' Hoc est sacrificium Christianorum, multi unum corpus
in Christo. Quod etiam sacramento altaris fidelibus noto
frequentat Ecclesia ubi ei demonstratur quod in ea re quam
offert, ipsa ofFeratur.' — S. Aug. De Civ. Dei, x. 7. vol. vii.
p. 243.
^Apxicpei/s cKaaros iavTov yiyverai, diroa-cfxxTrcov ras ivTOS KUKias
Koi doK&v del Trapeardvat ra Qea, Koi Kara ndcrav npa^iv Koi pr]criv
ovTO) (ppiTTtov, CDS 6 dpp^tepfvs orav Oelco dvaiaaTrjpico Trapiararai. —
Theophyl. Ad Rom. xii. i.
NOTE TT, p. 171.
There appears to be considerable diversity in the form
of words used by priests in delivering, so to speak, the
elements in Holy Communion to themselves. Some supply
the first person throughout instead of the second, and say
* The Body (or the Blood) of our Lord Jesus Christ which
was given (or shed) for me, preserve my body and soul
unto everlasting life. I take and eat this in remembrance
that Christ died for me, and feed on Him in my heart by
faith with thanksgiving.' * I drink this in remembrance that
Christ's blood was shed for me, and am thankful.'
NOTE TT. 315
In this, which is, I believe, the most usual practice, there
is one signal inconvenience ; namely, that the priest professes
actually to do in his own case, what in the case of all others
he desires to be done. The feeding in the heart by faith,
and the thankfulness which he solemnly urges upon others,
he declares that he himself performs.
I will not argue whether it is right or wrong for a person
so to profess and declare about himself. I will only urge
that the change of person involves something very different
and much more considerable than a mere change of person,
and whatever that difference may be, it has no right to be
imported where it has no place.
Feeling this inconvenience, some priests omit the latter
clause in each case, and retaining the first person in the
former one, stop short with the clause of prayer, without
proceeding to that of solemn exhortation.
It appears to me that something is lost by the omis-
sion, while there is also a clear lack of authority for mak-
ing it.
For my own part, I can see no difficulty whatever in
making use of the words precisely as they stand. The
priest is not celebrant only, but he is communicant also,
and it is not only right, but very useful and necessary too,
that he should act and speak as keeping in mind both these
facts. Indeed the whole service requires him to keep them
both in mind. The absolutions are spoken just as much,
and upon precisely the same terms to himself, as to the
congregation. His, no doubt, is the voice, the organic voice,
to speak the will of God, and to pronounce the words of
delegated power ; but in no other point does he differ from
all the rest to whom the words are spoken. Even ih^form
is not otherwise than analogous to the language of Holy
/
3i6 NOTE UU.
Scripture, as in the Psalms, ' Praise thou the Lord, my
soul, and all that is within me praise His holy name.'
The same consideration may be applied to the posture in
which the celebrant administers to himself. There seems
to be no reason why he should not stcmd to say the words
of administration, and ^meekly hneeV to receive the ele-
ments.
NOTE UU, p. 172.
Ort avTos 6 Kvpios Koi 6 Qebs Koi Tra/ijSao-iXevs rificov *lr](Tovs
6 Xpia-Tos Tjj wkt\ f] irapehlhov iavrov vnep tZv dfiaprimv rjp.a>v,
Koi TOP vnep Travrcov vylria-raTov Bdvarov o-apKij crvvavaKKiBeis p-era
tS>v dyicov Koi dxpavrayv icai dpapcav avrov )(eip5>v, dvaffKe^ras eis
TOP 1810V Trarepa, Beov he rjpoiv koi Beov rcov oXcop, €vxopt(TTr)cra9,
€vX.oyr](Tas, ayida-as, Kkdcras BiedcoKe rois dyiois Koi paKapiois avrov
liaBrjrais, koI dnoa-ToXois cIttodv ^iKCJimvas] Xa/3eTf, (jidyere.
*0 AiaKovos. *EKreiVaTe.
'O ^Upevs iK(j)o)VQ>Sf
TovTO ydp icTTi to a-apd pov to wep vp5>v Kkmpevov^ kolI hiabibo-
fievov els a(f)€(nv apapricov.
*0 Aaos. *Apr]v.
*0 'lepevs \eyei cTrevxdpevos,
'Cla-avTOis koi to Trorrjpiov peTO. to denrv^a-ai Xa^oav, koL Kepda-as
i^ olvov Koi vdaTos, dva^Xeyj/as els top ovpapbp Trpbs ae top thiop
irarepa, Qeop 8e fjpwp, Koi Qeop Tap oKcop evxapco-rfjcras, evXoyrja-as,
TrXrio-as irvevpaTos ayiov, pcTehoiKe to7s ayiois Koi paKapiois avTOv
paBrjTOLS Koi dirooToKois elirap ^eK(f)a>P(os^ nieTe e^ avrov irdpres.
'O AidKovos. ^Ert eKreipare.
*0 'Jepei/s €K(f)a>pa)S,
Tovro ydp eVrt ro atpd pov to rfjs KaiP^s BiadrjKris, rb vnep vpSiv
mi iroXKav iitxyvopepov. koi biahibopepov ets Hcj^ea-ip dpapricop.
KOTE VV. 317
*0 Aaos. 'Afirjv.
Ex Liturgid I), Marci, Liturg. Oriental. Renaudot,
vol. i. p. 155. Cf. for St. James's Liturgy, Re-
naudot, vol. ii. p. 33.
NOTE VV, p. 173.
See for a very full illustration of the statement in the
text Mr. Neale's translation of the Liturgies of St. Mark,
&c., and the Appendix I of the short formulae of Institution
as they occur in every extant liturgy. The following extract
is from that of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Copto- Jacobite), of
which Mr. Neale says, ' St. Cyril's is one of the most valuable
of the second class of Liturgies (Hierosolymitan, assimilated
to the Alexandrian). From its singular resemblance to, and
in some respects its even more singular departure from that
of St. Mark, it is very probably the real composition, or rather
edition, of the Saint whose name it bears.'
For Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord God, the Saviour
and Universal King Jesus Christ, in that night in which
He gave Himself up that He might suffer for our sins,
before the death which by His own free-will He undertook
for us all.
People. We believe.
Friest. He took bread into His holy, immaculate, pure,
blessed, and quickening hands, and looked up to heaven,
to Thee His God and Father, and the Lord of all, and gave
thanks.
People. Amen.
Priest. And blessed it.
People. Amen.
3i8 NOTE WW.
Priest. And sanctified it, and brake it, and gave it to
His holy Disciples and pure Apostles, saying : Take, eat
ye all of it : Foil this is My Body which shall be
BEOKEN FOE YOU, AND FOE MANY SHALL BE GIVEN FOE THE
EEMissiON OF SINS : do this in remembrance of Me.
People. Amen.
Priest. In like manner also He mingled the Chalice after
supper with wine and water, and gave thanks.
People. Amen.
Priest. And blessed it.
People. Amen.
Priest. And sanctified it.
People. Amen.
Priest. And tasted it, and gave it to His glorious holy
Disciples and Apostles, saying, Take, drink ye all of it,
This is My Blood of the New Testament which foe
you is poueed foeth, and foe many shall be given to
THE EEMISSION OF SINS : do this in remembrance of Me.
People. Amen.
Priest. For as often as ye shall eat of this Bread, and
drink of this Chalice, ye announce My Death, and confess
My Eesurrection, and keep My memory till I come.
People. We announce Thy Death, Lord, and we confess
Thy Resurrection.
NOTE WW, p. 174.
M.iyaX'q rj bvvafxis rrjs avvoSov, rjyovv t5)V iKKkrjaiciv. 'Skottcl
TTas fxeyoKr] r)V rj bvvayns ttjs (rvvoboV rj ttjs €Kic\r]aias (VXV
TOP Uerpov diro tS>v deafiav eXvae, tov UavXov to (TTOfxa avioi^ev'
f) TovTcav ^rj(})os, ovx ws €Tvx€ kuI tovs em tcls irvevfiaTiKas dpxas
ipXOfievovs KoraKoa-fieZ Staroi tovto koi 6 fieXkav ;^eipoToi'eri/,
/cat Tas fKeipav evxas KoKel tots, koL avTol €7rf^T](f)i^ovTaif Koi
NOTE XX. 319
iin^oaxnv dnep la-acnv ol ficuvrjfxevoi. ov yap 8f} Bcyns em t5>v
dfivrjTcov €KKa\v7rT€LV airavTa. eari be ottov ov dieorrjKev 6 Upevs
Tov dp)(op,evov' oiop orav divokaveiv berj tS)V <f>piKTS}v p.v(rTr]pi(op'
oixoicos yap Trdvres d^iovfieOa tSdv avrav. ov Kaddncp im ttJ9
TraXaids ra fiev 6 lepevs ^aOie, to. 8e 6 dp^ofievos' Koi 3epis ovk
rjv T<5 Xaw perex^i-v o)V fierei^ev 6 iepevs' aXX ov vvv' aKKa Trdcriv
ev (T<i)[xa TTpoKfirat,, Koi TTOTrjpiov eV Ka\ iv tclis evxals de ttoXv
TOV \a6v tdoi Tiff av crvveia-cfiepovTa ctt' avTcov TrdXtv rav
(fipiKcodeo-TaTav p.v(TTr}pLa>v iirevxerai 6 iepevs r<5 Xaw, irrevx^rai
be 6 Xaos tw iepel. to yap ficTO. tov nvevfiaTos (Tov, ov8ev akXo
earlv rj tovto. to. t^s evxaptarias irdXiv Koivd. ovBe yap tKelvos
evxcipia-Tel p-ouos, dWa Ka\ 6 Xaos airas. npoTcpov yap avTav
Xa^ibv (j)(ovrjVy etVa crvvTidepevcav oti d^iuts Kol diKaicos tovto yiyveTai,
t6t€ apx^Tai Trjs evxapiarias. Ka\ tl Oavpd^eis eiirov p,€Ta tov
lepecos 6 Xaos ^^eyyerat, OTrotrye /cm peT avTav Ta>v Xcpov^ip.^
Ka\ Ta>v avG) Svi/a/xecov, Koiv^ tovs Upovs iKiivovs vpvovs dvanep,Tr€i j
TavTa de fioi trairra cKeiva etprjraif Iva cKaaros koi tS)V dpxop^pav
vr](f)r}, Iva p.d6a)pev oti (rapA eapev a-rravTes ev, ToaavTrjv exovTes npos
oXXjjXovs dia(f)opdv, oa-rjv p.eXr) npos /xcX?;, Ka\ prj to rrdv em tovs
iepeas pnrroap.ev, aKXa Koi auroi, dcnrep koivov (rapaToSy Trjs eKKXija-ias
&7rdaT]s ovTco cjipovTi^apev' tovto yap Ka\ d(r(j>aX€i.av nXeiova, Kai
vplv e7ri8iSa)(7t pei^ova KaTaaKevd^eiv npos dpeTrjV. — S. Chrysost.
Horn, xviii. in 2 Ep. ad Cor. vol. x. p. 568.
NOTE XX, p. 175.
*Fratres carissimi, tales oportet nos esse cum corpus
Christi consecramus, cum consecratum mam,dttcantes, sacri-
ficamus, cum vobis idem corpus in salutem corporis et animse
porrigimus. Tales etiam vos oportet esse, cum sacrum Sacra-
mentum de manibus nostris accipitis, scientes quod qui corpus
Christi indigne accipit, et sanguinem ejus indignl bibit, ju-
dicium sibi manducat et bibit. Neque enim credere debemus
320 NOTE YY.
quod soli sacerdoti supradictse virtutes sint necessarise, quasi
solus consecret, et sacrificet corpus Christi. Non solus
sacrificat, non solus consecrat, sed totus conventus fidelium
qui adstat, cum illo consecrat, cum illo sacrificat. Nee solus
ligni faber facit domum ; sed alius virgas, alius ligna, alius
trabes &c. comportat. Debent itaque adstantes habere de
suo, sicut et sacerdos, fidem firmam, orationem puram, de-
votionem piam.' — Guerrici Abbatis, De Purific, B. Marice,
Serm. v. (apud Opera S. Bernardij vol. ii. p. 960.)
Guerricus, from whose Sermons this remarkable passage
is extracted, was a pupil and friend of St. Bernard. He is
twice mentioned in his letters (Ep. 89, 90) : ' Si de fratre
Guerrico desideras, immo quia desideras scire, sic currit non
quasi in incertum, sic pugnat non quasi aerem verberans.
Sed quoniam scit neque pugnantis esse, neque currentis, sed
miserentis Dei ; ipsum rogat a te orari pro se, quatenus qui
jam donavit ei et pugnare et currere, det et vincere et per-
venire.' He became Abbot of ' Igniacum ' in the diocese of
Rheims in the year 11 38, and died in 1157.
* Plane quam sanse verbis doctrinse fuerit, luculentissimi
atque disertissimi et ver^ spirituales Sermones ejus, quos in
solemnitatibus prsecipuis in conventibus Fratrum fecit, et
a Cantore ejusdem Ecclesise excepti sunt, manifesto decla-
rant.'
'Porro ignitum eloquium Domini vehementer quod in
sermonibus illis invenitur, ita movet, afiicit et accendit le-
gentem, ut durissimus corde sit, qui non ex eorum lectione
compunctus ad meliora proficere studeat.' — Preface to the
Sermons of Guerricus.
NOTE YY, p. 176.
' Attende igitur, ut prsedixi, et semper in mente habe, jugi
NOTES ZZ, AAA. 32!
memoria retine gratiam tibi singulariter a Deo collatam,
quam nee Angelis prsestitit, nee ceteris hominibus concessit.
Panis enim in manibus tuis in corpus unigeniti Filii Dei
transubstantiatur : vinum in sanctissimum sanguinem D. N.
Jesu Christi tua benedictione convertitur. Multum ardent
Seraphim sanctae Trinitati prae ceteris cunctis spiritibus loco
et caritate conjuncti. . . . Non tamen hoc privilegio prsenitent
ut Corpus vel Sanguinem Redemptoris nostri in subjects
creatura sanctificent, &c.
' Ipsi enim (sacerdotes) habent claves hujus sacramenti, ipsi
sunt veri mediatores inter Deum et hominem, ipsi sunt vox
et organum sanctae Ecclesise, ipsi offerunt Deo plebis pre-
cationes et referunt propitiationes.' — S. Bernard, Instructio
Sacerdotis, c. ix. xii. vol. ii. pp. 531, 535.
NOTE ZZ, p. 176.
This statement is borrowed from the note of the Bene-
dictine editor of St. Bernard, who writing upon this passage
of Guerricus, after declaring (what we do not doubt) that
the priest is the only right and adequate minister for the
consecration of the Eucharist, adds, ' Quanquam dici potest,
adstantes etiam suo modo sacrificium offerre et conficere per
sacerdotem et cum sacerdote, qui populi mediator est et
minister. Unde in canone Missse oHm ita legebatur, et
omnium circumstantium, qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrificium
laudis, quibus verbis hsec inserta sunt, pro quihus tibi offeri-
mus, vel qui tibi offerunt J — Notoe in S. Bernard, vol. i.
p. cxviii.
NOTE AAA, p. 177.
Koivavia rov (rafiaros tov Xpiarov eariv' tlmv' avri tov, Sxrittp
322 NOTES BBB, CCC.
fKclvo TO (rcofia rjuarai ra Xpicrra ovra Koi rnxels avra dia tov aprov
rovrov ivovyaOa. — Theophyl. ad i Cor. x. i6.
Koivcovia Xeyerai re Koi ecrriv aKi]6a>s dia to Koivcovelv r)fias 8t*
avTTJs Tw XpuTTa, Koi jxcTcx^iv avTov T7]S aapKds T€ koi Qcottjtos*
Koiva>v€LV de koi evovaSat dkXrjkois 8i' avTrjs' errei yap i^ ivo^ aprov
fierakaix^dvofiev ol Travres h acofia Xpicrrov koi ev aip.a koi aX\rj\a>v
fiehj yiyvoficBa, av(Ta-a>p.oi XpiCTTov xP'?/*"'"*Co'""fS- — Joann. Da-
mascen. Orihod. Fidei, lib. iv. c. xiv.
NOTE BBB, p. 182.
Tavra ovx tva hiiKoiS iieri-xrfT^ Xcyo), aXX' Iva d^lovs eavTovs
KaTa(rK€vd^r)T€. OvK et 7^9 Bvaias a^ios, ovde t^s jieTaXTj-^eas',
ovKOvu ov^e Trjs ^vx^js' aKoveig icTTonTOs tov KTjpVKOs, Koi XeyovTOS,
oaoL iv fi€Tavoia drreXOeTe TrdvTes. "Ocroi fjbrj fxeTexovcri, iv fxcTavoig.
€io"iV. el t5)v iv fxeTavoia ci, fieraa-x^'iv ovk 6(j)€i\€is. 6 yap fMrj
fierexcoy, Ta>v iv /jieTavota iaTiv.
SKOTTet, TrapaKaXco' Tpdne^a irdpeari ^aa-iKiKf), ayyeXoi biaKovov-
p,fV0L Tjj Tpani^rj^ avTos irdpecrTiv 6 ^aa-ikevs, Ka\ (tv €(TTT]Kas x«o-/^g>-
fievos ; . . .TTcis yap 6 fifj perexoiv tS)V p,vcrTr]pia>v^ dvaiaxwros Ka\
irafims coTT^KWff. ...EiTre fxoi, el ris fls icma<nv KKrjdeis, Tas ;(eTpas
viyjraiTO, Ka\ KaraKKiBelr}, koi €roip.os yevoiTo Trpos ttjv Tpdne^av, ura
[ifj jxeTexoi, ovx ^^P^C^'' "^ov KaKiaavra ; ov ^cXtiov tov tolovtov [xrjde
7rapayevea-6ai ; ovtco Brj Ka\ (tv irapayeyovas' rov vpvov Tjcras, p-CTo,
Trdvrav apoXoyrjcras eivai twv d^lav, tw prj pera tcov dva^icdv dva-
K€xoiipTjK€vaL' TTcos epeivas, Kal ov peTex^is r^y Tpane^Tjs ; — S. Cliry-
sost. In Ep. ad Ephes. c. i. Horn. iii. (xi. p. 23). The whole
passage Is well worth consulting.
NOTE CCC, p. 196.
'Propter ipsam personam, quam totius Ecclesise solus
gestabat audire meruit, Tihi dabo claves regni ccelorum.
NOTE DDD. 323
Has enim claves non homo unus, sed unitas accepit Ecclesise.
Hinc ergo Petri excellentia praedicatur, quia ipsius universi-
tatis et unitatis Ecclesiae figuram gessit, quando ei dictum
est, Tibi trado, quod omnibus traditum est. Nam ut nove-
ritis Ecclesiam accepisse claves regni coelorum, audite in alio
loco quid Dominus dicat omnibus Apostolis suis, Accipite
Spiritum sanctum : et continuo, Si cui dimiseritis peccata,
dimittentur ei, et si cui tenueritis, tenehuntur. Hoc ad claves
pertinet, de quibus dictum est, Quce solveritis in terrd, soluta
erunt et in ccelo ; et quce ligaveritis in terrd, ligata erunt et
in ccdo. Sed hoc Petro dixit. Ut scias quia Petrus uni-
versae Ecclesise personam tunc gerebat, audi quid ipsi dicatur,
quid omnibus fidelibus Sanctis : Si peccaverit in te frater
tuus, &c. Columba ligat, columba solvit ; sedificium supra
petram ligat et solvit.' — S. August. Serm. ccxcy. In Natali
Apost. Petri et Fauli, (v. 1194).
NOTE DDD, p. 198.
I would fain extract the whole of the beautiful passage
in which St. Augustine expands the thought here referred
to. The following is the conclusion of it: —
*Nemo tamen istos insignes Apostolos separet. Et in eo
quod significabat Petrus ambo erant ; et in eo quod signifi-
cabat Johannes, ambo futuri erant. Significando sequebatur
iste, manebat ille : credendo autem ambo mala prsesentia
hujus miserise tolerabant, ambo futura bona illius beatitudinis
exspectabant. Nee ipsi soli, sed universa hoc facit sancta
Ecclesia sponsa Christi, ab istis tentationibus eruenda, in
ilia felicitate servanda. Quas duas vitas Petrus et Johannes
figuraverunt, singuli singulas : verum et in hac temporaliter
ambulaverunt ambo per fidem, et illd in seternum fruentur
Y 2
324 NOTE EEE.
ambo per speciem. Omnibus igitur Sanctis ad Christi corpus
inseparabiliter pertinentibus, propter hujus vitse procello-
sissimse gubernaculum, ad liganda et solvenda peccata claves
regni coelorum primus Apostolorum Petrus accepit, eisdemque
omnibus Sanctis propter vitse illius secretissimse quietissimum
sinum, super pectus Christi Johannes Evangelista discubuit.
Quoniam nee iste solus, sed universa Ecclesia ligat solvitque
peccata; nee ille in principio Verbum Deum apud Deum,
et cetera de Christi divinitate et de totius Divinitatis Trini-
tate atque Unitate sublimia, quae in illo regno facie ad faciem
contemplanda nunc autem donee veniat Dominus, in speculo
atque in senigmate contuenda sunt, quae prsedicando ruebant
de fonte Dominici pectoris solus bibit ; sed ipse Dominus
ipsum Evangelium pro su^ cujusque capacitate omnibus suis
bibendum toto terrarum orbe difFudit.' — S. August. Tractat.
cxxiv. In J oh. Evang. c. 21 (vol. iii. pt. ii. p. 824).
NOTE EEE, p. 200.
Ex Canone /. ' Cum in his omnibus examinatus inventus
fuerit plene instructus, cum consensu clericorum et laicorum,
et conventu totius provincisB episcoporum maximeque metro-
politani vel auctoritate vel prsesidentia ordinetur episcopus,'
&c.
Canon II. ' Episcopus cum ordinatur, duo episcopi ponant
et teneant Evangeliorum codicem super caput et cervicem
ejus, et uno super eum fundente benedictionem reliqui omnes
episcopi qui adsunt manibus suis caput ejus tangant.'
Canon III. ' Presbyter cum ordinatur, episcopo eum bene-
dicente et manum super caput ejus tenente, etiam omnes
presbyteri qui prsesentes sunt manus suas juxta manum
episcopi super caput illius teneant.' — Condi. Carthag. IV,
sive Statuta Ecclesice Antiquce Concilia, ed. Bruns. p. 141.
NOTES FFF, GGG. 325
NOTE FFF, p. 201.
Kat ol 'ATTooToXot rjiiwv eyvoicrav 8ia tov Kvpiov rjfjiaiv *lr](rov
XpitTTOv, OTL epis ecTTM inX tov ovoparos rrjs enicTKOTrrjs. Aia ravrqv
ovp Tr]v alriav Trpoyvcocnv €tX7^<^oreff reXeiav, KaTeaTrjcrav tovs npoei-
prjp,evovs, Koi pera^v eirivoprju deboiKacriy oncos iav Koiprjdaxriv dia-
Be^covrai erepoi dedoKipaapevci avbpes rfju XcLTOvpyiav avTcov. Tovs
ovv Karao-TadevTas vtt eKelvcov, rj pera^if v(ji erepcov eWoyipoiv
dvdpoov, (ruvevBoKr)(rd(TT]s ttjs €KK\r)aias rrd(rr)s, k.t.X. — Clem. Rom.
Ad Corinthios, c. xliv. (ed. Jacobson, p. 163, where cf. Wot-
ton's note).
NOTE GGG, p. 201.
' Propter quod plebs obsequens prseceptis Dominicis, et
Deum metuens, a peccatore prseposito separare se debet, nee
se ad sacrilegi sacerdotis sacrificia miscere : quando ipsa
maxim^ habeat potestatem vel eligendi dignos sacerdotes vel
indignos recusandi. Quod et ipsum videmus de divinS auc-
toritate descendere, ut sacerdos plebe prsesente sub omnium
oculis deligatur, et dignus atque idoneus publico judicio ac
testimonio comprobetur Quod postea secundum divina
magisteria observatur in Actis Apostolorum ; quando de
ordinando in locum Judse Apostolo Petrus ad plebem loqui-
tur. Surrexit, inquit, Petrus in medio discentium ; fuit
autem turba in uno. Nee hoc in Episcoporum tantum et
sacerdotum, sed in Diaconorum ordinationibus observasse
Apostolos animadvertimus, de quo et ipso in Actis eorum
scriptum est : Et convocaverunt, inquit, illi duodecim totam
plebem discipulorum, et dixerunt eis. Quod utique idcirco
tarn diligenter et caute convocata plebe tota gerebatur, ne
326 NOTE HHH.
quis ad altaris ministerium, vel ad sacerdotalem locum indig-
nus obreperet Propter quod diligenter de traditione di-
vina, et Apostolica observatione servandum est et tenendum
quod apud nos quoque, et fere per provincias universas
tenetur, ut ad ordinationes rite celebrandas, ad eam plebem,
cui prsepositus ordinatur, Episcopi ejusdem Provinciae prox-
imi quique conveniant, et Episcopus deligatur plebe praesente
quae singulorum vitam plenissime novit, et uniuscujusque ^
actum de ejus conversatione perspexit.' — S. Cyprian. Ep. Ixvii.
p. 1 7 1 {Eesponsum Synodicum Ecclesice Africance ad fratres
Hispanos in causd Basilidis et Martialis).
NOTE HHH, p. 204.
The practice of the Episcopal Church in the United States,
and now happily introduced in some of our own Colonial
Dioceses, in respect of the election of Bishops, seems to
approach more nearly than that of any other portion of the
Catholic Church to the primitive model described by Cyprian,
as observed * fere per universas Provincias.' On this subject,
I may be allowed to extract an important passage from a
letter addressed to me by my valued friend, the Bishop of
New York : —
^ Our Diocesan Synods or Conventions consist of the Clergy
having duly recognized duty, and of a representation of the
Laity. There may be three from each Parish. The two
orders, on common occasions, vote together ; but if a vote by
orders be called for, each Parish has but one lay vote. The
lay members of the Parish, if there be two or three, must
NOTE HHH. 327
agree or lose their vote. If there be three, two would decide
their vote. These lay deputies may be chosen in the Parish
by the Vestry, or by the Congregation, — almost always by
the former.
'In the election of a Bishop, the two orders vote sepa-
rately, and must of course concur. In this Diocese they vote
at the same time, in different parts of the same Church. In
some Dioceses the Clergy Yote first, retiring for the purpose,
and they must by a majority nominate a Presbyter before the
Laity vote at all ; and then they confirm or not the nomina-
tion. In one or more of our Dioceses, a majority of two-
thirds is required to elect.
' Our General Convention cousists of two Houses : the
House of Bishops, and the House of Clerical and Lay
Deputies. The lower House consists of four clerical and
four lay Deputies from each Diocese, whether large or small ;
and these Deputies (clerical and lay) are chosen by the Dio-
cesan Conventions, and their election requires a concurrence
of Clergy and Laity.
* Then in each Diocese there is a Standing Committee, four
Clergy and four Laymen, elected annually. It is a Council
of advice to the Bishop. All candidates for Orders must
present papers to the Standing Committee, and are recom-
mended by that Committee to the Bishop, first, in order to
be admitted to candidateship, and secondly, at the end of
three years, in order to be ordained. In case of death, or
disability of the Bishop, the Standing Committee in each
Diocese is " the Ecclesiastical Authority " for the time, for
all purposes except strictly episcopal acts.
* Then it must be added that in our voluntary system the
Laity in the Vestries call the Clergy to the charge of the
Parish. The Bishop may nominate or recommend, and will
328 NOTE HHH.
usually have much influence, but the final call is from the
Vestry. And the Laity pay the minister, as well as supply
means for all religious and charitable objects.
*Here, then, we see that —
' I. The Laity call the minister, and pay him. — We have
very few endowments.
' 2 . The Laity in the Diocesan Convention have a veto in
the election of a Bishop, and on all canons, resolutions, &c.
' 3. The Laity in the Standing Committee have a voice in
all admissions to the ministry ; and in all cases where the
Bishop asks for advice, in legal questions, &c.
' 4. The Laity in General Convention have a veto in the
election of Missionary Bishops to the Missionary Dioceses
(the House of Bishops in these cases first nominating), and
also a veto on all canons, changes in the Prayer-book, division
of Dioceses, and other work of the General Convention.
'Both the Diocesan and General Conventions include a
large number of the ablest Laymen in the country, and these
Laymen have always proved themselves cautious and con-
servative in their action, the great majority of them earnest
and sound in their Church feelings and principles. Some-
times when the House of Bishops has acted a little hastily
(especially formerly, when it was a smaller body ; now it has
upwards of forty members), the lower House, with its larger
numbers and slower action, and with its able Laymen, has
arrested the erroneous action.'
I cannot refrain from illustrating the above by the follow-
ing extracts from the Journal of the Special Convention of
the Diocese of Vermont on the occasion of the election of a
Bishop to succeed the late deeply-regretted Bishop Hopkins.
NOTE HHH. 329
' St. Paul's Church,
Burlington, March 11, 1868.
'This being the place and the time appointed for the
meeting of the Special Convention of the Protestant Epi-
scopal Church in the Diocese of Vermont, the Clergy and
Laity met at ten o'clock a.m.
* The Convention was called to order by the Eev. Josiah
SwETT, D.D., President of the Standing Committee ; Thomas
H. Canfield, of Burlington, Secretary.
' The Secretary then read the Summons of the Standing
Committee calling this Convention, which was as follows : —
'DIOCESE OF VERMONT.
' At a meeting of the Standing Committee of this Diocese,
held on the 15th day of January, 1868, it was, on motion,
^Resolved, That a special Convention of this Diocese be
called, as provided in the Canons of the Church, to meet in
St. Paul's Church, Burlington, on the 1 ith day of March
next, at 10 o'clock a.m., to elect a Bishop for the Diocese, in
the place of the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hopkins, D.D.,
LL.D., D.C.L. Oxon., deceased, and to devise means for his
support.
* Tlierefore, I, the President of the Standing Committee, do
hereby summon a Special Convention of this Diocese, to meet
at the time and place aforesaid ; first, to elect a Bishop ; and
secondly, to provide for the support of the same.
'JOSIAH SWETT.
' Underhill, January 16, 1868.
' Eighteen Clergymen being present, and twenty-five
Parishes represented by the Laity.
'A quorum, according to the Canons, was found to be
330 NOTE HHH.
present, and the President then announced that the Conven-
tion was duly organized. ^ * *
'On motion of the Rev. Mr. Smith, the Convention ad-
journed, for the purpose of attending Divine Service, to meet
at three o'clock p.m., to-day.
' Morning Prayers were offered by the Rev. Malcolm
Douglass, Rector of St. Paul's Church, Windsor, assisted by
the Rev. J. Newton Fairbanks, Rector of St. Thomas's
Church, Brandon.
' The Sermon before the Convention was then preached by
the Rev. Albert H. Bailey, D.D., Rector of Grace Church,
Sheldon, from St. Matthew xxviii. 20 : "Zo, lam with you
alway, even unto the end of the world^'' * * *
' On motion of Dr. Hicks,
' Resolved, That this Convention do now proceed to the
election of a Bishop for the Diocese of Vermont.
' After singing the last four verses of the 99th selection of
Psalms, some minutes were spent in silent prayer.
' The President then conducted the public devotions of the
Convention in the use of the Lord's Prayer and appropriate
Collects*
'■ Mr. Richardson was called to the Chair while the Presi-
dent and Clergy retired to an adjoining room for consulta-
tion, and agreeing upon the nomination of a suitable person
for Bishop of Vermont.
' On motion of Mr. Walker,
' Resolved, That each Lay Delegate when proceeding to the
election shall deposit a ballot for the person of his choice.
' Upon the return of the Clergy, the President resumed
the Chair, and informed the Convention that the Clergy had
proceeded to vote by ballot for a suitable person to be elected
Bishop of the Diocese, and that they had unanimously made
NOTE HHH. 331
choice of the Rev. William Henry Augustus Bissell, D.D.,
Rector of Trinity Church, Geneva, of the Diocese of Western
New York, and he now in behalf of the Clergy, whose
duty it is as required by the Canon to m^ke a nomination,
does hereby nominate to the Convention, William Henry
Augustus Bissell, D.D., for Bishop of the Diocese of
Vermont.
' The President then called upon the Laity to prepare their
ballots according to the Canons, Messrs. Nichols and Hobart
being appointed tellers.
* The ballots having been forwarded and counted, the Rev.
William Henry Augustus Bissell, D.D., was found to
have received upon the second ballotting, fifty-one out of the
fifty-six votes cast, whereupon the President announced to
the Convention that the nomination of the Clergy was con-
curred in as required by the Canons.
* On motion of Mr. Nichols,
^Resolved, That the Rev. William Henry Augustus
Bissell, D.D., be, and he hereby is declared to be, duly
elected Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
Diocese of Vermont.
'Which was adopted unanimously. The President then
announced that the Rev. William Henry Augustus Bissell,
D.D., having received the requisite number of votes of the
Clerical and Lay Delegates of this Convention, as required
by the Canons, was, and is hereby declared to be, duly elected
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of
Vermont. The whole Convention then arose and joined in
singing the Gloria in Excelsis.
' The Canonical Testimonial in favour of the Consecration
of the Bishop elect was then read and signed by all the mem-
bers of the Convention, of which the following is a copy : —
332 NOTE HHH.
'DIOCESE OF VERMONT.
* Testimony from the Members of the Convention.
'We, whose names are underwritten, fully sensible how
important it is that the sacred Office of a Bishop should not
be unworthily conferred, and firmly persuaded that it is our
duty to bear testimony, on this solemn occasion, without par-
tiality or affection, do, in the presence of Almighty God,
testify that the Rev. William Henby Augustus Bissell,
D.D., Rector of Trinity Church, Geneva, of the Diocese of
Western New York, is not, so far as we are informed, justly
liable to evil report, either for error in religion, or for vicious -
ness of life ; and that we do not know or believe there is any
impediment, on account of which he ought not to be conse-
crated to that holy Office,
' We do, moreover, jointly and severally declare, that we do
in our conscience believe him to be of such sufficiency in good
learning, such soundness in the faith, and of such virtuous
and pure manners and godly conversation, that he is apt
and meet to exercise the Office of a Bishop, to the honour of
God and the edifying of His Church, and to be a wholesome
example to the flock of Christ.'
Signed by eighteen clergy and fifty-eight laymen. * -jt *
' The Secretary then affixed to the Testimonial his certifi-
cate, which is as follows : —
'DIOCESE OF VERMONT.
' Testimony from the Secretary of the Convention.
' I, Thos. H. Canfield, Secretary of the Convention of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Vermont,
do hereby certify that at a special Convention of the said
NOTE HHH. 333
Diocese, summoned as the Canon directs, and held in St.
Paul's Church, Burlington, on the eleventh day of March,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-eight, the Rev. William Henry Augustus Bissell,
D.D., Rector of Trinity Church, Geneva, of the Diocese of
Western New York, was duly and canonically elected to the
Office of Bishop of the aforesaid Diocese of Vermont ; and
that he was announced and declared to be thus elected by
the President of the Convention, the Rev. Josiah Swett,
D.D.
'Attest, 'THOS. H. CANFIELD,
^ Burlington^ March ii, 1868. ^Secretary.
' On motion of the Rev. Mr. Batchelder,
* Resolved, That the Rev. Josiah Swett, D^D., President of
this Convention, the Rev. Malcolm Douglass, and Thos. H.
Canfield, Secretary of the Convention, be appointed a Com-
mittee to inform the Rev. Dr. Bissell of his election to the
Episcopate of the Diocese of Vermont.
'On motion of the Rev. Mr. Bliss, it was ordered that
the Journal of this Convention, together with the Sermon of
Rev. Dr. Bailey, be printed with the Journal of the Annual
Diocesan Convention, to be held at Montpelier in June next.
* The minutes of the proceedings of the Convention were
then read and approved.
' On motion of the Rev. Mr. Hale,
^Resolved, That after the usual religious services, the
Convention adjourn sine die.
' When after singing the Fortieth Hymn, and prayers and
benediction by the President, the Convention adjourned.
'JOSIAH SWETT,
' President of tlie Convention.
' Thos. H. Canfield, Secretary.'
334 NOTES Til— LLL.
NOTE III, p. 212.
' Homo in baptismo totus abluitur, non prseter pedes, seel
totus omnino : veruntamen cum in rebus humanis postea
vivitur, utique terra calcatur. Ipsi igitur humani affecfus
sine quibus in hac mortalitate non vivitur, quasi pedes
sunt. ... Si autem confitemur peccata nostra, qui pedes disci-
pulorum lavit, nobis peccata dimittit usque ad pedes quibus
conversamur in terra.' — S. August. Tractat. Ivi. In Joh.
Evang.
NOTE KKK, p. 230.
XptOTtavot tt66€V rjfieis ; Aia rrjs Trtorecoff, ttus tis av cXnoi.
Sco^o/xe^a drj, riva rp&irov ; 'AvayevvqBivres drjKovoTi bia ti]S iv t«
^aTTTia-fiaTi ^apfoff. 7r66ev yap aXXodev; — S. Basil. De Sp. S.
C. X. p. 29.
ni'oTts be Koi ^dTTTia-fia, bvo rpoiroi rrjs crtoTrjpLas, (rvix(pve'is akXr]-
"kois Koi dbiaiperot. Hiaris fxev yap reXeiovrai bia jSaTrrtV/iaros,
^dimcrpxi be BefieXiovTat bia rrjs TrioTfcos Ka\ bia rav avrav ouofxarcov
eKarepa TrkrjpovTai, 'fis yap moTevoixev els Harepa Ka\ Ylbu Koi
ayiov Ilvevixa, ovtco Ka\ ^aivTi^oyLeOa els to ovofia tov Harpos, Kot tov
Ylov, Koi TOV dylov UvevfiaTos. Ka\ Trpodyei fiev rj ofioXoyla Trpos
r^v (TioTTjpiav elcrdyovca' enaKoKovOe^ be to ^dnTicrfxa eTrtcr^payi^oy
^fiav TTjv crvyKaTdOeaiv . — Ibid. C. xii. p. 32.
NOTE LLL, p. 237.
Nvj/ p.ev yap, el kol fxr] dvaKCKpaTai to7s dva^iois aXX' ovv Trapelvai
boKel ira>s to7s dna^ e(r(f)payio-fievois, Trjv eK Trjs eino-Tpo(})TJs o-ciTTjpiav
avT&v dvapevov. Tore be e^ o\ov Trjs ^e^rjXaado-rjs avTOv TrjV X^P*"
ylrvxrjs diroTfir]6rj(reTai. — S. Basil. De Sp. S. C. xvi. p. 47.
NOTES MMM, NNK 335
NOTE MMM, p. 246.
I may perhaps be allowed, in illustration of the expression
in the text, to quote a passage from a former work of my
own : —
' Thus much only the Scriptures seem to unfold respecting
these two sacred Presences ' (the Presence of the Second and
Third Persons of the Holy Trinity in the Church), Hhat
the Holy Ghost dwells in the hearts of separate baptized
Christians; that Christ dwells in the community of the
Church ; that the bodies of Christians are, one by one, tem-
ples of the Holy Ghost, but that all together are the Temple
of Christ ; that each Christian is a separate stone instinct
with the Holy Spirit, but that all together make up Christ's
Temple ; that where several have been duly gathered into
the Sacred Name (not without the water and the renewing
of the Holy Ghost), there is Christ in the midst of them.' — -
Sayings of the Great Forty Bay 8^ ii. p. 84.
NOTE NNN, p. 249.
Had the translators of the Bible in King James's reign
foreseen the extent to which their work would have become
the great standard of the English language in future times,
they might perhaps have ventured on introducing occasionally
a new word where no English one existed to supply the full
meaning of the original, or to change the meaning of one
already in use. It might have been a very bold thing to
use the ' soul ' to express the Greek ^vxr]-> in both its senses
(I mean as signifying both the immaterial, immortal part
of man's nature, as distinguished from the mortal body = the
immortal soul, and the specifically called ^^xh^ which (equally
33<5 NOTE NNN.
immaterial) is contradistinguished from the nvevfxa or spirit,
and is occupied with the desires and interests of this mortal
life), but we should in all probability have become accustomed
to such an usage, and been spared the extreme inconvenience
which results from having to translate >/^x^ ^7 ^^^ word
'life,' as is the case now in a great number of places in
the Gospels, — eminently in Matt. x. 39 ; xvi. 25 ; Luke xiv.
26 ; John X. II, &c. ; xii. 25 So too with the word rrapd-
kKtjtos. From the fact of its being translated ' Comforter '
in the Gospel and ' Advocate ' in St. John's Epistle a great
doctrine is obscured, and English readers have to be informed,
as of a new thing, that the word is the same in the original
language, and that both the words by which it is translated
are really applicable in both books to both the Holy Persons
to whom they appear to be applied separately. Had the
translators ventured to keep the word ' Paraclete,' introducing
a new word into the language to signify a new combination
of ideas, this inconvenience would have been avoided.
I might make the same observation with respect to the
word dLadrjKT], which, translated almost indifferently by the
words ' covenant ' and * testament ' (see especially the strange
way in which these words are interchanged in the ninth and
tenth chapters of the Hebrews), and capable from its con-
nexion with 8iaTL6r)fiL of being translated equally well by the
word 'dispensation' (cf. Luke xxii. 29; Acts iii. 25; Heb.
viii. 10; x. 16), produces a perpetual difficulty in interpre-
tation, while the English reader is left to discover for himself
that it is but a single word in the original which is rendered
in so various, and apparently irreconcileable ways.
The word irapaKkr^Tos may be regarded (i) as a word of
classical Greek, in which case it means (see Liddell and
Scott's Lexicon) one called in; an advocate, called in to
NOTE NNN". 337
speak, or plead, as before a magistrate. In the passage of
St. John's Epistle this is clearly its leading meaning, and,
if it were not for the other passages which combine another
shade of meaning with this, there would be no fault to find
with the word ' Advocate ' as the translation of it.
(2) But it is also a word which is modified by the later
use of the Alexandrian Greek. UapaKaXeo) is used in the New
Testament in the two senses of ' to beseech ' and ' to comfort/
(It never occurs in St. John's Gospel.) The two senses
occur in close juxtaposition in Acts xvi. 39 and 40. Of
these two senses the first is much the most common ; the
second is used, almost exclusively, in the passive voice.
(Matt. v. 4 ; Luke xvi. 25 ; Acts xx. 12.) In the LXX it
is used in the active (TrapaKokelTe, TrapaKaXeiTe tou \a6v fiov, Xc-yci
6 Qeos. Upeis XaXrjo-are els rrjv Kapblav 'Upovadkrjpf TvapaKakiarare
avrrjp, k.t.X. Isa. xl. I, 2 j cf. Ps. cxix. 50 j Gen. xxxvii. 35,
&c.) ; so also in those remarkable verses (2 Cor. i. 3 — 7) in
which the idea of * comfort ' is in various shapes repeated not
less than ten times in four verses.
TlapaKkriais occurs twenty-nine times in the New Testament,
twenty-one times in the sense of ' comfort ; ' cf. Nahum iii.
7j Isa. Ivii. 18. IlapaKXrjTcop is used in the Book of Job
for a comforter ('YTroXa/Scbv Se 'la)/3 Xeyei, 'AKr}Koa roiavra ttoXXo,
irapaKXrjTopes KaKav jravTes, Job Xvi. 2). So also 7rapaKaXci)v,
2 Sam. X. 3 : cf. Ps. Ixix. 20; Eccl. iv. i ; Lam. i. 9, 16 ;
Isa. li. 12.
The word irapdKXrjTos is quoted from Philo in Grinfield's
Editio Hellenistica ; but in the classical sense as an advocate
only.
Thus the word Fa/raclete may be understood to have the
sense of ' one called in ' (I suppose that the fundamental form
must be passive) in order to plead, to exhort, and to comfort.
z
338 NOTE NNN.
' Hinc patet,' as is well said by Corn, a Lap., * quod Christus
quoque fuerit apostolorum et fidelium Paracletus ; id est
primb advocatus, intercessor, orator, juxt^ illud Pauli'
(Johannis 1) 'Advocatum hahemus apvd Dewrn Patrem, Jeswm
Christum, ait S. Aug. Secundb, exhortator, incitator, im-
pulsor: Tertib, consolator, ut vertit Syrus: hsec tria enim
significat Grsecum irapdKKrjTos. Sed abiens Christus misit
alium Paracletum, so. Spiritum Sanctum, qui in his tribus
Christo successit. Ipse enim primb est advocatus fidelium,
quia postulat pro nobis gemitibus enarrabilibuSf Rom. viii. 26.
Ipse pariter est noster exhortator et consolator, qu8B duo hie
(sc. Joh. xiv. 6) maximb spectat Christus, q. d. Ego hue usque
vos, discipuli mei, docui, rexi, consolatus sum, ac proinde
ob instantem meum discessum contristamini ; sed animos
erigite, et confidite. Ego enim mei loco vobis submittam
alium Paracletum, qui vos non ad modicum tempus, ut ego,
sed tota vestra vitd, doceat, incitet, consoletur, et protegat.'
'■oc<«J)Cffv>s>-
^
^
SELECTION
FROM
Tf 1 3fWlM65|.TI®l:S
OF
MESSRS. JAS. PARKER AND CO,
BEOAD-STREET, OXPOED,
AND 377, STKAND, LONDON.
OXFORD,
1869.
^
r5;«. c.
CONTENTS.
SCEIPTITEE Commentaries
PA&l
. 3
Ecclesiastical History
. &
The Prayer-book .
. ■ r
Doctrinal Theology
. 8
Parish Work
. ^
Devotional Works
. 10
Oxford Editions of Devotional Works
. la
Biographies
.
. la
Church Poetry
.
. 14
Sermons .
.
. 16
Headings for the Christian Seasons
. IS
Historical Tales .
. 19
Architectural Topography
. 21
Architecture and Archaeology
. 22
Archaeology
. 24
Oxford Pocket Classics .
. 25
Educational Works
. 30
Miscellaneous
. '32
8CRIPTURJS COMMENTARIES, ^e.
The Minor Prophets;
With a Commentary Explanatory and Practical, and Introdnc-
■ tions to the Several Books. By E. B. Ptjset, D.D., Regius
Professor of Hebrew, and Canon of Christ Church. 4to.,
sewed, 5s. each Part.
Part I. contains Hosea — Joel, Inteoduction.
Part II. Joel, Inteodijction — Amos vi. 6.
Part III. Amos vi. 6 to end— OBADLiH — Jonah— MiCAH i. 12.
Part IV. In the Press.
Daniel the Prophet.
Nine Lectures delivered in the Divinity School, Oxford. With
a Short Preface in Answer to Dr. Rowland Williams. By
E. B. PusET, D.D., Regius Professor of Hebrew, and Canon
of Christ Church. Fifth Thousand. 8vo., 10s. 6d.
The Prophecies of Isaiah.
Their Authenticity and Messianic Interpretation Vindicated, in
a Course of Sermons preached before the University of Oxford.
By the Rev. R. Payne Smith, D.D., Regius Professor of
Divinity. 8vo., cloth, 10s. 6d.
A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms
(Prayer-book Version), chiefly grounded on the Fathers. For
the use of Families. 2 vols., Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 10s. 6d.
The Catena Aurea.
A Commentary on the Four Gospels, collected out of the Works
of the Fathers by S. Thomas Aquinas. Uniform with the
Library of the Fathers. Complete in 8 vols., cloth, £2 2s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO., OXFORD AND LONDON.
4 SCRIPTUBB COMMENTARIES, Sfc.
A Plain Commentary on the Four Holy-
Gospels,
Intended chiefly for Devotional Reading. By the Rev. J. W.
BUEGON, M.A., Vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford. Cheap Edition.
5 vols., Fcap. 8vo., £1 Is.
The Psalter and the Gospel.
The Life, Sufferings, and Triumph of our Blessed Lord, revealed
in the Book of Psalms. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 2s.
A New Catena on St. Paul's Epistles to
the Ephesians and Philippians.
A Practical and Exegetical Commentary. Edited by the late
Rev. Heney Newland. 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
Ephesians, separately, Svo., 4s. ; Philippians, separately,
Svo., 3s. 6d.
Reflections in a Lent Reading of the Epistle
to the Romans.
By the late Rev. C. Maeeiott. Fcap. Svo., cloth, 3s.
A Short Summary of the Evidences for
the Bible.
By the Rev. T. S. Ackland, M.A., late Fellow of Clare Hall,
Cambridge ; Incumbent of Pollington cum Balne, Yorkshire.
24mo., cloth, 3s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.
:ECCLBSIA8TICAL SISTORY, Sfc
A History of the Church,
From the Edict of Milan, A.D. 313, to the Council of Chalcedon,
A.D. 451. By William Beight, D.D., Regius Professor of
Ecclesiastical History, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford.
Second Edition. Post 8vo., 10s. 6d.
The Age of the Martyrs ;
Or, The First Three Centuries of the Work of the Church of
our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. By John David
Jenkins, B.D., Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford; Canon
of Pieter Maritzhurg. Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s.
The Councils of the Church,
From the Council of Jerusalem, A.D. 51, to the Council of
Constantinople, A.D. 381; chiefly as to their Constitution,
but also as to their Objects and History. By E. B. PUSEY,
D.D. Svo., cloth, 10s. 6d.
The Ecclesiastical History of the First
Three Centuries,
From the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the year 313. By the
late Rev. Dr. Bueton. Fourth Edition. 8vo., cloth, 12s.
A Brief History of the Christian Church,
From the First Century to the Reformation. By the Rev.
J, S. Babtlett. Fcap. Svo., cloth, 2s. 6d.
A History of the so-called Jansenist
Church of Holland ;
With a Sketch of its Earlier Annals, and some Account of the
Brothers of the Common Life. By the late Rev. J. M. Keale,
Warden of SackviUe College. 8vo., cloth, 5s.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
6 HCCLBSIASTICAL HISTORY, Sfc.
A History of the English Church,
From its Foundation to the Reign of Queen Mary. Addressed to
the Young. By M. C. S. Crown 8vo., cloth, 5s.
A History of the Church of England,
To the Revolution of 1688. By the late Rev. J. B. S. Cae-
WITHEN, B.D. A new Edition, edited by the late Rev.
W. R. Beowell, M.A. 2 vols., Fcap., cloth, 12s.
St. Paul in Britain;
Or, The Origin of British as Opposed to Papal Christianity.
By the Rev. R. W. Moegan. Crown 8vo., cloth, 3s.
Scotland and the Scottish Church.
By the Rev. H. Caswall, M.A., Vicar of Figheldean, Wilts. ;
Author of " America and the American Church," &c. Fcap.
8vo., cloth, 2s. 6d.
The Sufferings of the Clergy during the
Great Rebellion.
By the Rev. John Walkee, M.A., sometime of Exeter College,
Oxford, and Rector of St. Mary Major, Exeter. Epitomised
by the Author of "The Annals of England." Fcap. Svo.
cloth, 5s.
German Theology during the Thirty- Years'
War.
The Life and Correspondence of George Calixtus, Lutheran
Abbot of Konigslutter, and Professor Primarius in the Uni-
versity of Helmstadt. By the Rev. W. C. DowpiNG, M.A.
Post Svo., cloth, 8s. 6d.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
TSjE pmatue-jbook.
The Principles of Divine Service ;
Or, An Inquiry concerning the True Manner of Understand-
ing and Using the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer,
and for the Administration of the Holy Communion in the
English Church. By the Rev. Philip Feeeman, M.A., Vicar
of Thorverton, and Archdeacon of Exeter, &c. 2 vols. 8vo.,
cloth, £1 4s. 6d.
A History of the Book of Common Prayer,
And other Authorized Books, from the Reformation; and an
Attempt to ascertain how the Rubrics, Canons, and Customs
of the Church have been understood and observed from the
same time ; with an Account of the State of Religion in Eng-
land from 1640 to 1660. By the Rev. Thomas Lathbuet,
M.A. Second Edition, with an Index. 8vo., cloth, 10s. 6d.
[Catechetical Lessons on the Book of Common Prayer.
Designed to aid the Clergy in Public Catechising. By the Rev.
Dr. Fbancis Hessey, Incumbent of St. Barnabas, Kensington,
Author of " Catechetical Notes on the Parables and Miracles.'*
Illustrating the Prayer-book, from its Title-page to the end
of the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 6s.
An Explanation of the Thirty-Nine Articles.
With an Epistle Dedicatory to the Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D. By
A. P. FoEBES, D.C.L., Bishop of Brechin. Post Sva, 2 vols.,
cloth, 19s. 6d. Separately, Vol. I. 7s. 6d. ; Vol. II. 12s.
A Short Explanation of the Nicene Creed,
For the Use of Persons beginning the Study of Tlieology. By
A. P. FoEBES, D.C.L., Bishop of Brechin. Second Edition,
Crown Svo., cloth, 6s.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
8 DOCTRINAL TEJEOLOGY.
The Administration of the Holy Spirit
In the Bodt of Cheist. Eight Lectures preached before the
University of Oxford in the Year 1868, on the Foundation of
the late Rev. John Bampton, M.A., Canon of Salisbury. By
the Right Rev. the Loed Bishop oe Salisbtjet. Second
JEdition in the Press.
On Eucharistical Adoration.
By the late Rev. John Keble, M.A., Vicar of Hursley. — With
CONSIDERATIONS SUGGESTED BY A LATE PAS-
TORAL LETTER (1858) ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE
MOST HOLY EUCHARIST. A Cheap Edition, 24nio.,
sewed, 2s.
A few copies remain of the 8vo. Edition, cloth, 6s., uniformly
with Mr. Keble's other Theological Works.
The Doctrine of the Real Presence,
As contained in the Fathers from the death of St. John the
Evangelist to the Fourth General Council, vindicated, in
Notes on a Sermon, " The Presence of Christ in the Holy
Eucharist." By E. B. Pusey, D.D. 8vo., cloth, 12s.
Cur Dens Homo, or Why God was made Man ;
By St. Anselm, sometime Archbishop of Canterbury'. Trans-
lated into English, with an Introduction, &c. Second Edition.
Fcap. Svo., 2s. 6d.
FOR OXFORD EXAMINATIONS
UNDER THE NEW THEOLOGICAL STATUTE.
Tlie Canons, I *• Aurelius Angustinns,
The Definitions of the Catholic Faith Episcopvs Hipponensis
and Canons of Discipline of the ' * ' »
First Four General Councils of the \ De Catechizandis Rudibus, de Fide
Universal Church. In Greek and
English. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 2s. 6d.
Dc Fide et Symbolo :
Documenta quaedam nee non Ali-
quorum SS. Patrum Tractatus.
Edidit Cakolus A. Heuetley,
S.T.P., Dom. MargaretsB Prae-
lector, et ^dis Christi Canonicus.
Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 4s. 6d,
Reruni qua> non videntur, de Uti-
litate Credendi. In Usum Junio-
rum. Edidit C. Marriott, S.T.B.,
olim Coll. Oriel. Socius. A New
Edition, Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6d.
Others will shortly he issued.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
PAHISH WORK.
The Church and School :
Or, Hints on Clerical Life. By Heney WALrOED Bellaies,
M.A., One of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. Crown
8vo., cloth, price 5s.
A Manual of Pastoral Visitation,
Intended for the Use of the Clergy in their Visitation of the
Sick and Afflicted. By A Paeish Peiest. Dedicated, by
permission, to His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin. Crown
8vo., limp cloth, price 3s. 6d. ; roan, 4s.
The Catechist's Manual;
With an Introduction by Samuel, Loed Bishop of Oxpoed.
Fourth Thousand. Crown 8vo., cloth, 5s.
Addresses to the Candidates for Ordination on the
duestions in the Ordination Service.
By Samuel, Loed Bishop op Oxfoed, Chancellor of the
Most Noble Order of the Gartei-, and Lord High Almoner
to Her Majesty the Queen. Fifth Thousand. Crown Svo.,
clpth, 6s.
The Cure of Souls.
By the Rev. G. Aeden, M.A., Rector of Winterborne-Came, and
Author of "Breviates from Holy Scripture," &c. Fcap.
cloth, 2s. 6d.
The Church Catechism Explained,
With a view to the Correction of Error in Religion and Vicious-
ness in Life. By the Rev. Edwaed Cheeee, M.A., Per-
petual Curate of Little Drayton, Salop. New Edition. Fcap.,
cloth, 2s. 6d.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
10 DEVOTIONAL WORKS.
DAILY STEPS TO^WARDS HEAVEN.
A small pocket volume containing a few Peactical TnoraHTS
on the Gospel Histoey, with Texts for every Day in the
Year, commencing with Advent. Sixteenth Edition. Bound
in roan, 2s. 6d. ; morocco, 4s. 6d.
Large Type Edition, square Crown 8vo., cloth, 5s.
THE EVERY-DAY COMPANION.
By the Rev. W. H. Ridley, M.A., Rector of Hambleden, Bucks.
Fcap, 8vo., cloth, 3s.
Fart I. Advent to Whitsuntide. Separately, 2s.'
Part II. Whitsuntide to Advent. Separately, Is. 6d.
PRAYERS FOR MARRIED PERSONS.
From Various Sources, chiefly from the Ancient Liturgies.
Selected and Edited by Chaeles Waed, M.A., Rector of
Maulden. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. 24mo.,
in red and black, toned paper, cloth, gilt edges, 4s. 6d.
EVENING ^SVORDS.
Brief Meditations on the Introductory Portion of Our Lord's
last Discourse with His Disciples. On toned paper, 16 mo.,
limp cloth, price 2s.
THOUGHTS DURING SICKNESS.
By the Author of " The Doctrine of the Cross," and " Devotions
for the Sick Room." Second Edition, price 2s. 6d.
OF THE IMITATION OF CHRIST.
Pour Books. By Thomas a Kempis. Small 4to., printed on
thick toned paper, with red border-lines, mediaeval title-pages
to the various sections, and ornamental initials to the chap-
ters, vignettes, &c. Third Thousand. Antique cloth, price 12s.
FORMS OF PRAISE AND PRAYER,
In the Manner of Offices. For Private Use. Edited by the
Hon. and Rev. W. H. Lyttelton, M.A., Rector of Hagley.
Crown 8vo.,^toned paper, limp cloth, 3s. 6d. ; roan, 4s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
DEVOTIONAL WORKS.
11
Earl Nelson's Family Prayers.
With Responsions and Variations for the Different Seasons,
for General Use. Separately, Paper Covers, 3d. each; with
the Psalter, cloth, 9d.
Also the Calendar of Lessons; a Course of Reading for the
Christian Year, for Private or Family Use. Cloth, 6d.
The Family Prayers, with the Psalter and a Calendar of Lessons,
for the Use of the Master. Cloth, Is. Fourth revised Edition.
A Large Type Edition, 24mo., Is. 6d.
LiTURGIA Domestica:
Services for every Morning and Evening in the Week. Third
Edition. 18mo., 2s. Or in two Parts, Is. each.
Bellairs' Prayers for Christian
Households.
New Edition. 8s. per 100 copies.
For the Lord's Supper.
DEVOTIONS BEFORE
AND AFTER HOLY COM-
MUNION: With Peefa-
TOET Notice by I. K. Second
Edition, printed in red and
black, on toned paper, large
32mo., cloth, 2s.
An edition is also printed with
the Service, cloth, 2s. 6d.
THE OLD WEEK'S PRE-
PARATION. Cloth, 2s.
SPIRITUAL COMMU-
NION, (From Pateick and
Wilson). 4d.
LAKE'S OFFICIUM
EUCHARISTICUM. New
Edition. Cloth, red edges,
Is. 6d.
BP. WILSON ON THE
LORD'S SUPPER. Cloth,
Is.; sewed, 6d.
An Edition with Rubrics, &c.,
cloth, 2s.
DEVOTIONS FOR
HOLY COMMUNION
FROM HORST. 18mo., Is.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
12 OXFORD EDITIONS OF DEVOTIONAL WORKS.
©xforU ((EtJtttons of ©e&ottonal TOorfe.
Fca^. Svo., cMejiy printed in Red and Black, on Toned Pa^er.
Asidrewes' ]>eTotions.
DEVOTIONS. By the Riglit Rev.
Lancelot Anbrewes. Trans-
lated fix)m the Greek and Latin,
and arranged anew. Cloth, 5s.
Tlie Imitation of CJirist.
FOUR BOOKS. By Thomas a
Kempts. a new Edition, re-
vised. Cloth, 48.
liana's ©evotions.
THE PRIVATE DEVOTION^S of
Dr. William Laud, Archbishop
of Canterbury, and Martyr. An-
tique cloth, 5s.
Spinckes' I>eTotion8.
TRUE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
MAN'S COMPANION IN THE
CLOSET. By Nathaniel
Spikckes. Floriated borders,
antique cloth, 4s.
Sattom's JSeciitations.
GODLY MEDITATIONS UPON
THE MOST HOLY SACRA-
MENT OF THE LORD'S SUP-
PER. By Christopher Sutton,
D.D., late Prebend of Westmin-
ster. A new Edition. Antique
cloth, 5s.
Taylor's « olden drove.
THE GOLDEN GROVE : A Choice
Manual, containing what is to
be Believed, Practised, and De-
sired or Prayed for. By Bishop
Jekbmy TAYI.OK. Antique cloth,
88. 6d.
Taylor's Holy liiving.
THE RULE AND EXERCISES
OF HOLY LIVING. By Bishop
Jeremy Taylor. Ant. cloth, 4s.
Taylor's Holy I>ying.
THE RULE AND EXERCISES^
OF HOLY DYING. By Bishop
Jeremy Taylor. Ant. cloth, 4s.
IVilson's Sacra Privata.
THE PRIVATE MEDITATIONS,
DEVOTIONS, and PRAYERS
of the Right Rev. T. Wilson,
D.D., Lord Bishop of Sodor and
Man. Now first printed entire.
Cloth, 4s.
Ancient Collects.
ANCIENT COLLECTS AND
OTHER PRAYERS, Selected
for Devotional Use from va-
rious Rituals, with an Appendix
on the Collects in the Prayer-
book. By William Bright,
M.A. Third Edition. Antique
cloth, 5s.
]>evout Communicant.
THE DEVOUT COMMUNI-
CANT, exemplified in his Be-
haviour before, at, and after the
Sacrament of the Lord's Sup-
per : Practically suited to all the
Parts of that Solemn Ordinance.
7th Edition, revised. Edited by
Rev. G. Moultrie. Fcap. 8vo.,
toned paper, red lines, aiit.cl.,4fi.
EIKHN BA2IAIKH.
THE PORTRAITURE OF HIS
SACRED MAJliSTY KING
CHARLES I. in hie Solitudes
and Sufferings. Cloth, 5s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
BIO&EAFSmS, 4-c. IS
^ memmv of the teu» $(xhn ^eble, m.^.,
Late Vicar of Hursley. By the Right Hon. Sir J. T. Coleridge,
D.C.L. Third Edition, with Corrections and Additions. Post
8ro., on toned paper, in cloth, 10s. 6d.
*Fhe ^ife (xi the tight Uevevend fnilxev ia
^(xd, Thomas Wilson, |F*t.,
Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man. Compiled, chiefly from Original
Documents, by the late Rev. John Keble, M.A., Vicar of
Hursley. In Two Parts, 8vo., cloth, 21s.
Memmv of Joshua Watson/
Edited by Edward CnrETOif, Archdeacon of Cleveland. New
Edition, Crown 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
^iie of tohn Jirmstrong:, l>,|}.,
Late Lord Eishop of Grahamstown. By the Rev. T. T. Caetee,
M.A., Rector of Clewer. With an Introduction by Samuel,
LoED Bishop of Oxeoed. Third Edition. Fcap.Svo., with
Portrait, cloth, 7s. 6d.
*Fhe hiie anxl ^ontjeniporaneous ^hnvch ^is-
torij of Jintonio 4e Itominis,
Archbishop of Spalatro, which included the Kingdoms of
Dalmatia and Croatia; afterwards Dean of Windsor, Master
of the Savoy, and Rector of West Ilsley in the Church of
England, in the reign of James I. By the late Hekey NeW-
XAJfD, D.D., Dean of Ferns. Svo., cloth, 7s.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
U CEURCH POETRY.
The €hnstian fear.
Thoughts in Yerse for the Sundays and Holydays
throughout the Tear.
Foolscap Octavo Edition, cloth, 7s. 6d.
Facsimile of the First Edition, Fcap. 8vo., boards, 7s. 6d.
18mo. Edition, cloth, 6s.
32mo. Edition, cloth, 3s. 6d.
Cheap Edition, cloth. Is. 6d. ; bound, 2s.
^ i^oncoMance to the i^hristian fear.
Fcap. In the Press,
l-^tjra Junoeentium.
Thoughts in Verse on Christian Children, their "Ways
and their Privileges.
Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
Cheap Edition, cloth. Is. 6d.
The Jfsalter, or f salms of Uamd :
In English Verse. By the Rev. J. Keble, M.A., Vicar of
Hursley. Fourth Edition. Fcap., cloth, Qs.
^isoeUaneous I'oems
By the Rev. J. Keble, M.A., Vicar of Hursley. With Preface
by G. M. Second Edition. Fcap., cloth, 6s.
The ^ompilete ^oetieal Wor^s
Of the Rev. John Keble, M.A., late Vicar of Hursley. Uniform
in size and binding. Four vols., Fcap., cloth lettered, 27s.
Vol. I. The Cheistian Yeae.
7s. 6d.
Vol. II. Lyea Innocentium.
7s. 6d.
Vol. III. The Psaltee in
ENaLiSH Veese. 6s.
Vol. IV. MiSCELLANEOTJS
Poems. 6s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.
CHURCH POBTRY. 15
By the late Eev. ISAAC WILLIAMS.
THE CATHEDRAL. 32mo., with Engravings, 4s. 6d. ; Fcap.
8vo., 7s. 6d.
THOUGHTS IN PAST YEARS. 32mo., cloth, 4s. 6d.
THE BAPTISTERY; or, The Way of Eternal Life. With
Thu-ty-four Plates from Boetius a Bolsweet. A new Edi-
tion, revised by the Author. 2 vols., Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 14s.
Cheap Edition, without Plates, 32uio., cloth, 3s. 6d.
THE CHRISTIAN SCHOLAR. Fcap. 8vo., 10s. 6d. ; 32mo.,
cloth, 4s. 6d.
THE SEVEN DAYS; or. The Old and New Creation. Fcap.
8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
liHornittg Thoughts*
By a Cleegtman. Suggested by the Second Lessons for the
Daily Morning Service throughout the Year. 2 vols. Fcap.
8vo., cloth, 5s. each.
3Jijmns (xn the f;^itanu»
By A. C. Fcap. 8vo., on toned paper, cloth, 3s.
The ^^levJeland J?salter»
The Book of Psalms in English Verse, and in Measures suited
for Sacred Music. By E. Chtteton, M.A., Archdeacon of
Cleveland. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
The iS'hiljd's Christian year.
Hymns for every Sunday and Holyday throughout
the Tear.
Cheap Edition, 18mo., cloth. Is.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
16 SERMONS.
Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop of Oxford.
Sermons preached before the University of Oxford: Second
Series, from 1847 to 1862. By Samuel, Lord Bishop op
OxFOED, Lord High Almoner to the Queen, Chancellor of the
Most Noble Order of the Garter. Svo., cloth, 10s. 6d.
Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D.
Paeochial Seemons. From Advent to Whitsuntide. Vol. I,
Fifth Edition. Svo., cloth, 6s.
Paeochial Seemons. Vol. II. Fourth Edition. Svo., cloth, 6s,
EiETETS" Shoet Addeesses during a Ketreat of the Companions
of the Love of Jesus, engaged in Perpetual Intercession for
the Conversion of Sinners. Svo., cloth, Ss. 6d.
Nine Seemons, preached before the University of Oxford, A.D.
1843—1855. 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
Paeochial Seemons preached and printed on Various Occa'
sions, Svo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop of
Salisbury.
The Administeation op the Holy Spieit in the Body of
Cheist. Eight Lectures preached before the University of
Oxford in the Year 1868, on the Foundation of the late Rev.
John Bampton, M.A., Canon of Salisbury. Second Edition,
in the Press.
Seemons on the Beatitudes, with others mostly preached
before the University of Oxford; to which is added a Preface
relating to the recent volume of "Essays and Reviews."
Neio Edition in the Press.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
SUBMONS, 11
Rev. E. Monro.
IlIilTSTEATiONS OF Faith. Eight Plain Sermons: — Abel;
Enoch ; Noah ; Abraham ; Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph ; Moses ;
The Walls of Jericho ; Conclusions. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 2s. 6d.
Plain Sermons on the Book of Common Prayer. Fcap. Svo.,.
cloth, OS.
Historical and Practical Sermons on the Sufferings and Resur-
rection of our Lord. 2 vols., Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 10s.
Sermons on New Testament Characters. Fcap. 8vo., 4s.
Lenten Sermons at Oxford.
The Series for 1867. 8vo.,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
The Series for 1868. 8vo.,
cloth, 5s.
The Series for 1869. 8vo.,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
■^The Series for 1859. Fcap.
8vo., cloth, 5s.
The Series for 1863. 8vo.,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
^The Series for 1865. 8vo.,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
The Series for 1866. 8vo.,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
Rev. C. a. Heurtley.
The Foem or Sound Woeds: Helps towards holding it fast;
Seven Sermons preached before the University of Oxford on.
some important points of Faith and Practice. By Chaeles A.
HEFETiiEY, D.D., Margaret Professor of Divinity, and Canon
of Christ Church. 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
Rev. Canon Gregory.
Seemons on the Pooeee Classes of London, preached before
the University of Oxford. By Robeet Geegoet, M.A., of
Corpus Christ! College ; Canon of St. Paul's, and Vicar of
St. Mary the Less, Lambeth. 8vo., 5s.
Rt. Rev. J. Armstrong, D.D.
Paeochial Seemons. By the late Lord Bishop of Grahams-
town. Fifth Edition. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 5s.
Seemons on the Fasts and Festivals. Third Edition. Fcap.
Svo., cloth, 5s.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
18 HEADINGS FOH TEE CHRISTIAN SEASONS.
Tracts for the Christian Seasons.
PiEST Series. Edited by John Aemsteong-, D.D., late Lord
Bishop of Grahamstown. 4 vols, complete, Fcap. 8vo., cloth,
price 12s.
Second Series. Edited by John- Aemsteong, D.D., late Lord
Bishop of Grahamstown. 4 a'oIs. complete, Fcap. Svo., cloth,
price 10s.
Third Series. Edited by the Rev. James Russell Wood-
ford, M. A., "Vicar of Leeds, late Vicar of Kempsford, Glouces-
tershire. 4 vols, complete, Fcap. Svo., cloth, price 14s.
Sermons for the Christian Seasons.
First Series. Edited by John Arsisteong, D.D., late Lord
Bisliop of Grahamstown. 4 vols., Fcap. Svo., cloth, price 16s.
Second Series. Edited by the Rev. John Barrow, D.D., late
Principal of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. 4 vols., Fcap. Svo.,
cloth, price 16s.
Short Sermons for Family
Reading,
Following the Course of the Christian Seasons. First Series.
By the Rev. J. W. BuEGON, M.A., Vicar of St. Mary-the-
Virgin's, Oxford. ^ 2 vols., Fcap. Svo., clotli, price 8s.
Second Series. 2 vols. Fcap. Svo., cloth, price Ss.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
SISTORICAL TAJjUS. 19
A SKRIKS OF
TALES ILLUSTRATING CHURCH HISTORY.
Each of the following: separately. Price One Shilling:.
ENGLAND— THE EARLY PERIOD.
1. The Cave in the Hills ; or, Csecilius Viriathus. A Tale of
the Early British Church during the time of the Romans in England
(A.D. 300).
5. WUd Scenes amongst the Celts. The Penitent. A Tale of
Cornwall (a,d. 410). And The Fugitive. A Tale of the missionary
labours of St. Columba (a.d. 590).
14, The AUelnia Battle j or, Pelagianism in Britain (a.d. 428).
7. TheEivals. A Tale of the Anglo-Saxon Chnrch, and the arrival
of St. Augustine (a.d. 594).
10. The Black Danes. A Tale of the Invasion of the Danes
(A.D. 870).
The Set of Five Tales in One Volume, clothy 6s.
ENGLAND— THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD.
21. The Forsaken ) or, The Times of St. Dnnstan. A Tale illus-
trating some of the episodes in the life of that prelate (a.d. 960) .
18. Anhrey de L'Orne ; or, The Times of St. Anselm. A Tale
illustrating the corruption of the Church (a.d. 1100).
24. Walter the Armourer ; or, The Interdict. A Tale of the times
of King John (a.d. 1208).
16. Alice of Fobbing ; or, The Times of Jack Straw and Wat Tyler.
A Tale illustrating the times of Kichard II. and the rise of the
Lollards (a.d. 1381).
27. Agnes Martin j or, The Fall of Cardinal Wolsey. A Tale illns-
trating the times immediately preceding the Reformation (a.d. 1529).
The Set of Five Tales in One Volume, cloth, 5*.
AMERICA AND OUR COLONIES.
3, The Chief's Daughter j or. The Settlers in Virginia (a.d. 1606).
8. The Convert of Massachusetts. A Tale of the early history
of the Episcopal Church in America (a.d. 1721).
20. Wolfingham ; or. The Convict Settler of Jervis Bay, A Tale
of the Church in the Convict Settlements of Australia (a.d. 1800).
25. The Catechumens of the Coromandel Coast. A Tale of Indian
missionary life (a.d. 1812).
28. Rose and Minnie j or, The Loyalists. A Tale illustrating the
Canadian Rebellion (a.d. 1837).
The Set of Five Tales in One Volume, cloth, 6s,
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
20 BISTORICAL TALES— {continued).
FRANCE AND SPAIN.
2. The Exiles of the Gehenna: A Journal written during the Decian
Persecution (a.d, 250).
22. The Dove of Tahenna ! A Tale of the Mahommedan Persecution
in Spain (A.D. 830). And The Rescue : A Tale of the Moorish Con-
quest of Spain.
23. Larache : A Tale of the Attack upon the Moors hy the Por-
tuguese (A.D. 1450).
29. Dores de G-ualdim: A Tale of the Eevolution in Portugal
(A.D. 1610).
The Four Tales hound in one Volume, Zs.
EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE.
26. The Daughters of Pola ! A Tale of the Persecution of Diocletian
(A.D. 303).
11. The Conversion of St. Vladimir ; or, The Martyrs of Kief:
A Tals of the Early Russian Church (a.d. 988).
17. The Northern Light : A Talc of Iceland and Greenland
(A.D. 1060).
13. The Cross in Sweden) or, The Days of King Ingi the Grood
(A.D. 1078).
6. The Lazar-House of Leros : A Tale of the Eastern Church
(A.D. 1662).
The Five Tales hound in One Volume. 5s.
ASIA AND AFRICA.
19. Lucia's Marriage; or, The Lions of Wady-Araha: A Tale of
the Decian Persecution (a.d. 250).
9. The Quay of the Dioscuri ! A History of Nicene Times. Written
in Greek by Macarius, Merchant of Tunni' s and Palamjdes : and now
Translated from two Alexandrian Manuscripts (a.d. 319).
4. The Lily of Tiflis : A Sketch from Georgian Church History
(A.D. 750).
12. The Sea-Tigers : A Tale of Medieval Uestorianism (a.d. 1250).
15. The Bride of Eamcuttah : A Tale of the Jesuit Mission to
the East Indies in the Sixteenth Century (a.d. 1570).
The Set of Five Tales in One Volume, cloth, 5s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
ARCEITECTUEAL TOPOGRAPHY, 21
ENGLISH COUNTIES.
OE, AIS" ARCHITECTURAL ACCOUN'T OE
EVERY CHURCH IjST
Bedpoedshiee, 2s. 6d. 1 Cambeidgeshire, 4s.
Beee:shiee, 2s. 6d. i Htjntingdonshiee, 2s. 6d.
BUCKINGHAMSniEE, 2s. 6d. I OXFOEDSHIEE, 2s. 6d.
Suffolk, with Engravings, 7s. 6d.
Its Dedication. — Supposed date of Erection or Alteration. — Ob-
jects of Interest in or near. — Notices of Fonts. — Glass, Furniture,
— and other details. — Also Lists of Dated Examples, Works re-
lating to the County, &c.
N.B. Each Church has been personally surveyed for the oc^
tasion hy some competent antiquary.
ENGLISH CATHEDRALS.
THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OE THREE
ENGLISH CATHEDRALS. By Professor Willis, M.A.,
F.E.S., &c. Woodcuts and Plans. 8vo., 12s.
Separately .
Canteebuey, 10s. 6d. Yoek, 2s. 6d.
CHESTER.
THE MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE OE CHES-
TER. By John Heney Paekee, M.A., F.S.A. With an
Historical Introduction by the Rev. Feaxcis Geosyenoe.
Illustrated by Engravings. 8vo., cloth, 5s.
DOVER.
THE CHURCH AND FORTRESS OE DOVER
CASTLE. By the Rev. John Puckle, M.A., Vicar of St.
Mary's, Dover; Rural Dean. With Illustrations from the
Author's Drawings. Medium 8vo., cloth, 7s. 6d.
NORTHAMPTON.
ARCHITECTURAL NOTICES of the CHURCHES
in the ARCHDEACONRY of NORTHAMPTON. With
numerous illustrations on Wood and Steel. Royal 8vo.,
cloth, £1 Is.
»■ .1 — '
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
22 ARCHITECTURE AND ARCE^OLOGY.
A CONCISE GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED JN GRECIAN,
ROMAN, ITALIAN, AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.
By JOHN HENRY PARKER, M.A., E.S.A.
A New Edition, revised. Tcap. 8vo., with 470 Illustrations, in
ornamental cloth, price 7s. 6d.
The "Abridgment of the Glossary of Architecture" met with a rapid
sale some years ago, since which time it has remained out of print. It is
npw reprinted with very numerous additions and alterations.
^xchM^cixvcnl Manual.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.
By JOHN HENRY PARKER, M.A., E.S.A.
Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged, with 180 Illustrations,
and a Glossarial Index. Fcap. Svo., in ornamental cloth,
price 5s.
AK ATTEMPT TO DISCEIMINATE THE STYLES
OF ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND, from the Con-
QTTEST TO THE Refoemation : with a Sketch of the Grecian
and Roman Orders. By the late THOMAS RICKMAN,
^ F.S.A. Sixth Edition, with considerable Additions, chiefly
Historical, by JOHN HENRY PARKER, M.A., F.S.A., and"
numerous Illustrations. Mediiun 8vo., cloth, price 21s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
AUCSITECTURJS AND ARCHEOLOGY. 23
MEDIiEVAL GLASS PAINTING.
AIS" INQUIEY INTO THE DIFFERENCE OF
STYLE OBSERVABLE IN ANCIENT GLASS PAINT-
INGS, especially in England, with Hints on Glass Painting,
by the late Chaeles Winston. With Corrections and Addi-
tions by the Author. A New JEdition. 2 vols.. Medium 8vo.,
with numerous coloured Engravings, cloth, £1 lis. 6d.
MEDL3EVAL BRASSES.
A MANUAL OF MONUMENTAL BRASSES. Com-
prising an Introduction to the Study of these Memorials, and
a List of those remaining in the British Isles. With Two
Hundred Illustrations. By the Rev. Hekbeet Haines, M.A.,
of Exeter College, Oxford. 2 vols., 8vo., price 21s.
MEDLffiVAL IRONWORK.
SERRURERIE DU MOYEN-AGE,
Par Raymond Boedeaux.
Forty Lithographic Plates, by G. Bouet, and numerous Woodcuts.
Small 4to., cloth, 20s.
MEDLffiVAL ARMOUR.
ANCIENT AEMOUE AND WEAPONS IN
EUROPE. By John Hewitt, Member of the Archaeological
Institute of Great Britain. The work complete, from the Iron
Period of the Northern Nations to the Seventeenth Century.
3 vols., 8vo., £2 10s.
MEDLaSVAL SKETCH-BOOK.
FACSIMILE OF THE SKETCH-BOOK OF WILAES
DE HONECORT, an aechitect of the thieteenth cen-
tury. With Commentaries and Descriptions by MM. Lasstjs
and QuiCHERAT. Translated and Edited, with many additional
Articles and Notes, by the Rev. Robert Willis, M.A.,F.R.S.,
Jacksonian Professor at Cambridge, &c. With 64 Facsimiles,
10 Illustrative Plates, and 43 Woodcuts. Royal 4to., cloth,
£2 10s. The JEnglish letterpress separate, for tlie purchasers
of the French edition, 4to., 15s.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
24 ARCHEOLOGY.
The Antiquities of Rome.
THE AECHITECTUEAL ANTIQUITIES OP
KOME. By JOHN HENRY PARKER, M.A., F.S.A.
Medium 8vo. Illustrated by Plans, Wood Engravings, &c.
\In the Press.
Arehseologieal Handbook.
THE ENGLISH ARCHAEOLOGIST'S HANDBOOK.
By HENRY GODWIN, F.S.A. This Work contains a
Summary of the Materials which are available for the Inves-
tigation of the Monuments of this Country, arranged chiefly
under their several successive Periods, from the earliest times
to the fifteenth century, — together with Tables of Datee,
Kings, &c,, List of Coins, Cathedrals, Castles, Monasteries, &c.
Crown 8vo., cloth, price 7s. 6d.
Mediaeval Sculpture.
A SERIES OE MANUALS OE GOTHIC ORNA-
MENT. Price Is. each. No. 1. Stone Caeving ; 2. Mould-
ings : 3. Surface Oenament.
Westminster Abbey.
GLEANINGS EROM WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
By Geoege Gilbert Scott, R.A., F.S.A. With Appendices
supplying Fm*ther Particulars, and completing the History of
the Abbey Buildings, by Several Writers. Second Edition,
enlarged, containing many new Illustrations hy O. Jewitt and
others. Medium 8vo., price 15s., cloth, gilt top.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
OXFOED rOGKJET CLASSICS.
25
A SERIES OF GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS
FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS.
GREEK POETS.
iEscliylus .
Aristophanes. 2 vols.
Euripides. 3 vols.
— — Tragoedise Sex
Sophocles
Homeri Ilias
Odyssea
GREEK PROSE WRITERS
Aristotelis Ethica .
Demosthenes de Corona, et
^schines in Ctesiphontem
Herodotus. 2 vols.
Thucydides. 2 vols.
Xenophontis Memorabilia
Anabasis
Cloth.
s. d.
3
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
OXFORD JPOCKET CLASSICS.
LATIN POETS.
Cloth.
s. d.
Horatius ",
• • • •
2
Juvenalis et Persius
1 6
Lucanus
.
2 6
Lucretius .
.
2
Plisedrus
•
14
Virgilius .
.
2 G
LATIN PROSE WRITERS
'Ca^saris Ccrmmentarii, cum Supplementis Auli Hirtii
et aliorum ....
' " Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Cicero De Officiis, de Senectute, et de Amicitia
Ciceronis Tusc. Disp. Lib. V.
Ciceronis Orationes Selecta^, in the Press.
Cornelius Nepos ....
Livius. 4 vols. ....
Sallustius .....
Tacitus. 2 vols. ....
ii
2
6
1
6
2
2
1
4
G
2
5
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
OXFORD POCKET CLASSICS.
27
TEXTS WITH SHORT NOTES.
Uniform witt tlie Series of " Oxford Pocket Classics.
GEEEK WEITEE.S. TEXTS AND NOTES.
SOPHOCLES.
Cloth.
s, d.
Ajax {Text and Notes)
1
Electra „ . . . .
1
(Edipus Rex „ ...
1
(Edipus Coloneus „ . . .
. 1
Antigone „
1
Philoctetes „
1
TracliinisB „ ...
. 1
The Notes only, in one vol., cloth, 3s.
^ESCHYLUS.
Persae {Text and Notes)
Prometheus Vinctus „ .
Septem Contra Thebas „ .
Agamemnon „ .
Choephorse „ •
Eumenides „ .
Supplices „ .
The Notes only, in one vol, cloth, 3s. 6d
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
28
TEXTS WITH NOTES.
EURIPIDES.
Cloth.
s. d.
Hecuba {Text and Notes)
1
Medea „ ...
1
Orestes „ ...
1
Hippolytus „
. 1
Plioenissse „ ...
1
Alcestis „ ...
1
The above Notes only, in one vol., cloth, 3s
Bacclise „ . . . .
1
ARISTOPHANES.
The Knights {Text and Notes)
1 a
Acharnians „ . . .
. 1
The Birds „ . . .
1
The ¥rogs, in preparation.
HOMERUS.
Ilias, Lib. I. — ^vi. {Text and Notes)
2
DEMOSTHENES.
De Corona {Text and Notes)
Olynthiac Orations „
Philippic Orations, in the Press.
2
1
^^SCHINES.
In Ctesiphontem {Text and Notes)
2
JAMES PARKER AND CO.
OXFORD POCKET CLASSICS.
29
LATIN WKITERS. TEXTS AM NOTES
VIRGILIUS.
Cloth.
s. d,
1
2
1
Bucolica {Text and Notes) .
Georgica „ . . .
^neidos, Lib. i.— in. „ .
•
HORATIUS.
Carmina, &c. {Text and Notes)
Satirae * „ . .
Epistolce et Ars Poetica „
The Notes only, in one vol., cloth,
2s.
.
2
1
1
PH^EDRUS.
Fabulffi {Text and Notes) . . . .10
LIVIUS.
Lib. XXI. — XXIV. {Text and Notes) sewed, 4s. ; cloth 4 6
SALLUSTIUS.
Jugurtha {Text and Notes)
Catilina „
M. T. CICERO.
Pro Milone {Text and Notes)
Li Catilinam. „
Pro Lege Manilia, and Pro Archia
De Senectute and De Amicitia
In Q. Caecilium — Divinatioj
In Verrem Actio Prima
EpistolsB Selectse
Orationes Philippicae
CAESAR.
Lib. I. — III. {Text and Notes) . . .10
CORNELIUS NEPOS,
Lives {Text and Notes) . . . .16
Other ^portions oj' several of the above-named Authors are
in ^preparation.
6
G
6
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
30 EDUCATIONAL WORKS.
JELP'S aEEEK GEAMMAK.— A arammar of the Greek
Language, chiefly from the text of Eaphael Kiihner. By
WM. EDW. JELF, B.D., late Student and Censor of Ch. Ch.
Fourth Edition, with Additions and Corrections. 2 vols.,
8vo., £1 10s.
This Grammar is in general use at Oxford, Camhridge, Dublin, and
Durham; at Eton, King's College, London, and most other public schools.
MADVIG'S LATIN GEAMMAE.— A Latin Grammar
for the Use of Schools. By PROFESSOR MADVIG, with
Additions by the Author. Translated by the Rev. G. WOODS,
M.A. Uniform with Jelf's " Greek Grammar." Fifth Edi-
tion. 8vo., cloth, 128.
Competent authorities pronounce this work to be the very best Latin
Grammar yet published in England. This new Edition contains an
Index to the Authors quoted.
LAWS OP THE GEEEK ACCENTS. By JOHN GEIP-
FITHS, M.A. Thirteenth Edition. 16mo., 6d.
TWELVE ETOIMENTAET EULES for Latin Prose
Composition. By Edwaed Mooee, B.D. 16mo., 6d.
POETAEUM SCENIOOEUM GEHCOEUM, JBschyU,
Sophoclis, Euripidis, et Aristophanis, Fabulse, Superstites,
et Perditarum Fragmenta. Ex recognitione GUIL. DIN-
DORFII. Editio quinta. One Vol., Royal 8vo., cloth, 21s.
THUOTDIDES, with Notes, cMefly Historical and Geo-
graphical. By the late T. ARNOLD, D.D. With Indices
by the Rev. R. P. G. TIDDEMAN. Seventh Edition. 3 vols.,
8vo., cloth lettered, £1 16s.
JAMES PARKER AND CO.,
i:dvcational works. m.
Uniform ivitJi the Oxford Pocket Classics.
THE LIVES OF THE MOST EMINENT ENGLISH
POETS; WITH CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR
WORKS. By SAMUEL JOHNSON. 3 vols., 24mo., cloth,
3s. 6d. each.
CHOICE EXTEACTS EEOM MODERN PEENCH
AUTHORS, for the use of Schools. [In the Fress.
ANNALS OF ENGLAND. An Epitome of Englisli His-
tory. From Cotemporary Writers, the Rolls of Parliament,
and other Public Records. 3 vols., Fcap. 8vo., with Illus-
trations, cloth, 15s. Recommended hy the ^Examiners in the
School of Modern Sistory at Oxford.
Vol. I. From, the Roman Era to the Death of Richard II.
Vol. II, From, the Accession of the Hottse of Lancaster to Cluirles I,
Vol. III. From the Commonwealth to the Death of Queen Anne.
The Volumes separately, 5*. each.
THE NEW SCHOOL-HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. By
the Author of " The Annals of England." 8vo., with Maps,
dotb, 5s.
EEASMI COLLOQUIA SELECTA: Arranged for Trans-
lation and Re-translation j adapted for the Use of Boys who
have begun the Latin Syntax. By Edwabd C. Lowe, D.D.,
Bead Master of S. John's Middle School, Hurstpierpoint.
Fcap. 8vo., strong binding, 3s.
POETA LATINA: A Selection from Latin Authors,
for Translation and Re-translation ; arranged in a Progressive
Course, as an Introduction to the Latin Tongue. By Edwaed
C. Lowe, D.D., Head Master of Hurstpierpoint School;
Editor of Erasmus' "Colloquies." Fcap. 8vo., strongly
hound, 3s.
H KAINH AiAeHKH. The Greek Testament with
English Notes. By the Rev. EDWARD BURTON, D.D.,
sonietime Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of
Oxford. Sixth Edition, with Index. 8vo., cloth, 10s. 6d.
OXFORD, AND 377, STRAND, LONDON.
%
32 MISCELLANEOUS.
CORNISH BALLADS.
THE COENISH BALLADS Xl^J) OTHER POEMS
of the Rev. R. S. Hawkee. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 5s.
FUGITIVE POEMS.
EUGITIYE POEMS, relating to Subjects connected
with Natural History and Physical Science, Archaeology, &c.
Selected by the late Charles DArBENY, M.D., F.R.S., Pro-
fessor of Botany and of Rural Economy in the University of
Oxford, &c. Fcap. 8vo., cloth, 5s.
THE ENGLISH CAVALIERS.
LAYS OF THE ENGLISH CAVALIEES. By
John J. Daniell, Perpetual Curate of Langley Fitzurse,
Wilts. Small 4to., printed on toned paper, with Frontispiece
and Vignette, ornamental cloth extra, gilt edges, 6s.
HOMER'S ODYSSEY.
A NEARLY LITERAL TRANSLATION OF
HOMER'S ODYSSEY into ACCENTUATED DRAMATIC
VERSE. By the Rev. Lovelace Bigge-Withee, M.A.
Large fcap. 8vo., toned paper, cloth, 10s. 6d.
SHAKSPEARE'S JULIUS CiESAR.
GULIELMI SHAKSPERII JULIUS CJESAR.
Latine reddidit Heneicus Denison, Col. Om. An. apud
Oxon. Olim Socius. Second Edition. 8vo., with red border
lines, cloth, 6s.
THE PSALTER.
THE PSALTER, or Canticles and Psalms of David,
Pointed for Chanting, upon a New Principle ; with Explana-
. tions and Directions. By the late Stephen Elvet, Mus.
Doc, Oi'ganist and Choragus to the University of Oxford.
Fifth Edition, 8vo., cloth, 5s.
JAMPS PARKER AND CO., OXFORD AND LONDON.