m m w '!>! I ;'uiiii It !.'':'^ IS : i m ) M.^s, llil ,|S' />, THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 2^ SHOREY'S BOOK STORE 815.3rd AVE. '^'^ATTLE, <- WASH. ®- -® DOUBLE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH: BT TH3 REV. WM. INGE-AHAM KIP, M. A. AUTHOH. or " THE LENTSN FAST •^at tw3U<^ /$r^'^ 4^ r.4 It may be as well, then, old and trite as the subject is, to say a few words on some of those features of our Church, which bear at once A DOUBLE vriTyEss against Rome on the one hand, or mere Protestant congregations on the other. Ren. F. W. Faber. NEW-YORK : D. APPLETON & CO., 200 BROADWAY. PHILADELPHIA : GEO. S. APPLETOxN, 148 CHESNUT-ST. MDCCCXLIII. ®- -® ® ■ (S Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by WM- IKGHAHAM KIP, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tiie Southern District of New-York. ® ' ■ -•- • —^ ® ® K U c^ ® TO THE CONGREGATION OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, IN THE CITT OP ALBANT, E^tst arcturcs, OBiaiNALlT WBITTEN FOB THEIB I N S T B TJ C T I O ST , AND NOW PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST. ARE INSCRIBED, BY THEIR AFFECTIONATE RECTOR, THE AUTHOR. ® ® ®___ — ® One only way to life ; One Faith, delivered once for all ; One holy Band, endow'd with Heaven's high call ; One earnest, endless strife ; — This is the Church tli' Eternal fiam'd of old. Smooth open ways, good store ; A creed for every clime and age. By Mammon's touch new moulded o'er and o'er : No Cross, no war to wage ; This is the Church our earth-dimmed eyes behold. But ways must have an end. Creeds undergo the trial-flame, Nor with th' impure the saints forever blend, Heaven's glory with our shame : — Think on that home, and choose 'twixt soft and bold. Lyra Jlpostolica. ^ ® -® PREFACE. The circumstances under which this Volume was written, are briefly these. The last winter, it is well known, was a season of strange excitement among the different denominations throughout our land. At such a time — as the best safeguard against this injurious influence — the writer thought it well, to deliver to the people of his charge, a course of Lectures, plainly setting forth the distinctive princi- ples of the Church. They were continued through ten successive Sunday evenings ; and he had reason to believe that the effect produced was beneficial. The Lectures were originally prepared without the most distant idea of publication. Having, however, been requested by the Vestry, as well as by others in whose judgment he is accustomed to rely, to furnish the series for the Press, the writer did not feel himself at liberty to decline. He has, therefore, availed himself of what hours of leisure 2* ® ® -^ he could find amidst the engrossing cares of Parish duty, to expand some parts of the course, and to add the necessary references. The result of his attempt is seen in this volume. He believes that this work will be found to differ somewhat in its plan, from most of those on the claims of our Church, which are intended for popular reading. They are generally written with reference merely to the Protestant denominations around us. The public mind, however, has lately taken a new direction, and the doctrines of the Church of Rome have again become a subject of discussion. The writer has therefore endeavored to draw the line between these tAvo extremes — showing that the Church bears her double wit- ness against them both — and points out a middle path as the one of truth and safety. And the prin- ciple by which he has been guided in all cases, is that laid down by Tertullian, " Whatever is first, is ime ; whatever is more recent, is spurious."* To account for the tone in which some parts * " Perseque adversus universns hcereses jam hinc prieju- dicatum sit; id esse veruni, quodcurique primuni ; id esse adulterum, quodcunqiie posterius." — Tertull. adv.Prax., § ii. Opei-. p. 405. ® — ® ® ® PREFACE, 7 are written — for instance, the close of the Lecture on " The moral training of the Church" — he must ask the reader to bear in mind, the high state of religious excitement which was at that time pre- vailing on every side, and the strange excesses to which it naturally gave birth. These passages have been suffered to remain, because another win- ter may again produce the same delusions in the denominations around us. On the solemn subject of his religious interests, man seems determined not to profit by the experience of the past, but year after year courts the fever, forgetful of the chill by which it is invariably followed. The prevalence in this country of a peculiar form of error, also occasioned the delivery of a separate Lecture devoted to an exposition of " the Church's view of Baptism." In the fourth cen- tury, Pelagius, after travelling over the greater part of Christendom., could record as the result of his observations, that " he had never heard even any impious heretic, who asserted, that infants are not to be baptized." Such, however, is unfortunately not the case in our day. A numerous body of those " who profess and call themselves Chris- ® 8 PKEFACE. tians," have fallen into this heresy, and it has become necessary to show plainly, how untenable are their doctrines when tested by Scripture and the voice of Catholic antiquity. The writer cannot expect, in bringing forward so many disputed points, but that his readers will take exception to some of his statements. He trusts, however, that the views advanced will be found to be in accordance with the teaching of the great body of divines of the Church of Eng- land. In the old path which they marked out, we should all endeavor to walk — and the caution at this time is particularly necessary. The revival of an attention to Church principles which has lately taken place, will in some cases drive the unstable and the imaginative to an extreme bordering on Romanism. This danger, therefore, we must shun ; seeking with care the well defined line which separates Catholic truths from Roman falla- cies. And if these Lectures shall aid any inquirer in forming his opinions, and avoiding the errors by which we are surrounded, the writer will feel that his labor has not been in vain. Festival of St. James., ridcccxliii. ® ® ® ■® LAUS DEO. CONTENTS. Page I. Introductory. Necessity for knowing tlie reasons why we are Cliurch- nien . 15 II. Episcopacy proTcd from Scripture 51 Id. Episcopacy proved iVom History 97 IV. Antiquity of forms of Prayer 145 V. History of our Liturgy 181 VI. Tlie Cluircli'3 View of Baptism 233 VII. The moral training of the Church 275 VIII. Popular objections against the Church 307 IX. The Church in all ages the Keeper of the Truth .... 353 X. Conclusion. The Catholic Cliurcliman 383 ®- ® ® — ® Man is a creature of extremes. The middle path is generally the wise path ; but there are few wise enough to find it. Because Papists have made too much of some things, Piotestants have made too little of them. The Papists treat man as all sense ; and, therefore, some Protestants would treat him as all spirit. Because one party has exalted the Viigin Mary to a Di- vinity, the other can scarcely think of that "most highly favored among women" with common respect. The Papist puts the Apocrypha into his Canon ; the Protestant will scarcely regard it as an ancient record. The Popish Heresy, human merit in Justification, drove Luther on the other side into the most unwarrantable and unscriptural statements of that doc- trine. The Papists consider Grace as inseparable from the participation of the Sacraments — the Protestants too often lose sight of them as instituted means of conveying Grace. Cecil's Remains. -® ® @ NECESSITY FOR KXOWING THE REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. Mother ! I am sometimes told, By the wanderers in the dark, Fleeing from thine ancient fold, I must seek some newer ark. ****** Rather those who turn away Let me seek with love to win, Till Christ's scatter'd sheep astray To thy fold are gathered in. Rev. B. D. Winslow, ' To the Chvrcfu'' ®- -® ®- •® :!^&^,i NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. In all the varied history of the Church, the most beautiful picture is that which is presented by the unity of her early days. The watchwords of a party were then unheard over the earth. No discordant tones arose, to break the delightful harmony which prevailed. No warring sects distracted the attention of the inquirer after the Truth, or pointed to an hun- dred different paths in which he was invited to walk. With one voice all declared themselves heirs of the same hopes, and alike numbered with the faithful. " By the operation of the Holy Ghost, all Christians were so joined together, in unity of spirit, and in the bond of peace, that, with one heart, they desired the prosperity of the Holy Apostolic Church, and, with one mouth, professed the faith once delivered to the saints."^ a From a prayer in the office of Institution. ®- -® (5) ® 16 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE The Church then stood before our race, the sole messenger of glad tidings to the world — the only city of refuge, beyond whose shelter there was no salvation for mankind. On widely distant shores, and in many a strange tongue, the voice of prayer was uplifted, yet always its spirit was the same. " From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same," — everywhere over the wide earth — there was " one Lord, one faith, one baptism." All " continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." There was, therefore, nothing else to which the penitent could turn, but the one Catholic, Apostolic Church. Centuries have gone by since these bright days of the Church passed away ; yet, still the hope of their return sustains her children amid the toils and self- denial of the way. For this their souls are waiting "more than they that watch for the morning." For this they labor. For this they strive to make her principles known in the world — to reclaim the wan- derers from her fold — and to convince them, that there indeed they will find rest for their souls. And it is in the attempt to do my humble share in this work, and to mingle my exertions also with that tide of influence which is put forth on every side of us, that I have met you this evening, to commence a course of lectures on the distinctive principles of the Church. The field which opens before us is a wide one, but the re- marks which I shall offer, on the present occasion, will be merely introductory. ®— ® ® ® REASONS AV'HV WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 17 You will naturally ask the question — why I have chosen this way to advance the interests of our faith, and aid the final coming of the reign of peace? Why — with so many topics opening before us on the pages of God's word, which ultimately concern man's eternal safety — I pass them by, to dwell upon forms of Church government? Why — when the apostate and the lost are perishing on the right hand and on the left — instead of sounding forth to them the solemn warning, to turn unto the Lord and live — instead of preaching that great Atonement which must be their only hope — I take up subjects, which to many would appear only of secondary interest ? In answer to these inquiries I can only say, that I am fully aware of the unspeakable importance of these themes. You, too, I trust, can bear me witness, that when I have stood before you, week after week, for nearly six years, in the ministrations of this sanc- tuary, it has ever been my object to lead you through the sorrows of a broken and contrite heart, to that peace and joy which are to be found only at the Cross of our Lord. It has been my earnest prayer, that never might I lose sight of that maxim of the Apostle which regulated his preaching, and which he declared so explicitly in the words : " For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." But every truth which God has revealed must be important, and should hold its pro- per place in the instructions of the pulpit. Under the Jewish law, no commands which He had given ® (5) ® ® 18 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE were thought too inconsiderable to receive their strict attention. Even the " paying tithes of mint, anise, and cummin," our Saviour declared they "ought not to leave undone." Who, then, can say, that the question, What form of government did our Lord prescribe for His Church ? is one which does not de- serve our earnest investigation 1 There is indeed " a time to speak," as well as " a time to be silent" — a time to warn the sinner that he flee from the wrath to come, or to call the Christian to press on- ward in his course — and a time to proclaim to those around us, the rules of outward order which charac- terize our Church. There must indeed be a symme- try i^ our teaching. " He," says Bishop Mcllvane, " is a poor husbandman, who spends so much time upon the tilling of the ground, that his enclosures are forgotten ; or who thinks that because the fence is not the grain, therefore it may take care of itself So would that be a very defective ministry, and would prove at last, should it be generally prevalent, a ruin- ous ministry to all abiding fruits of righteousness, which, for the sake of more attention to inward and spiritual religion, should despise or neglect the care- ful maintenance, in their right claim of reverence and obedience, of those outward things of Church ordinance and order, which are just as necessary to the abiding of spiritual religion in the world, as the human body is to the abiding of the human soul." Neither, indeed, are these single and isolated facts, standing by themselves. They ® ® ® ■ ® REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 19 have their influence on the whole circle of our religious duties. And since all truths are linked together, the reception of any one may be the means of pouring light into the mind, and inducing us to go on step by step, until " the Truth shall make us free." While, therefore, " the time is short " in which our warfare is to be waged, it is surely well for us at once to decide, in what arena the conflict must be fought. To this duty then I am called, by the very vows which bound me to the altar. Among the earliest charges inculcated upon the ministry, even by an Apostle, was the duty of declaring to their people " all the counsel of God," because thus only could they be " pure from the blood of all men." Yes, brethren ! " all the counsel of God" — not merely a few great and cardinal doctrines — those of repentance and faiih — but every thing which forms a part of our common Christianity. How, then, can he be fulfilling this requisition, who omits any truth which can exert an influence upon the Christian life and conduct ? Would the ancient Jewish priest have discharged his duty to the people, if, when commanded to instruct them in the law, he had spent all his time in directing their attention to that coming Messiah, who was then revealed in prophecy ? No, his business was to teach them also the rites of the ceremonial law — to show why they were severed from the surrounding nations — and to recall the history and explain the object of that splendid ritual with which they wor- ®- ® ® . ® 20 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE shipped. And this is the wide duty of the Christian priest in our day. He must also unfold before you the government and polity of that Church which his Master founded, when as the earliest Herald of the faith, He preached among the villages of Judea, and which He then constituted to be in all ages " the pillar and ground of the truth."" Again — in our ordination service, the question put by the Bishop to one about to be admitted to the holy order of Priests is — " Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away from the Church all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's word?" — to which he replies — "I will, the Lord being my helper." And the exhortation also is given — " See that ye never cease your labor, your care and diligence, until ye have done all that lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and that ripeness and perfection of age in Christ, that there be no place left among you, either for error in religion, or for viciousness in life." How then can he be innocent, who beholds what he regards as errors rife around him, and yet warns not the people of his charge against their influence — who suffers them to live on year after year, attending the services of the Church, yet liable to be " tossed to and fro, and car- ried about with every wind of doctrine," because they b 1 Tim. iii. 15. ® ® ® — ^ ® REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 21 are without any definite knowledge of the reasons why they should be Churchmen ? Such then are the motives which have induced me to address you on these subjects. They are points which for the last three centuries have exercised the intellect and pens of some of the most gifted in each generation. There is no room therefore for any at- tempts at originality, but all that we can now do is to go forth, and reap here and there, with what judg- ment we may, in the wide fields which the learned of former days have cultivated. "Other men labored, and we have entered into their labors." In the eluci- dation too of each single topic which I can bring be- fore you in the narrow compass of these lectures, volumes have been written. But how few compara- tively will turn to the hoarded wisdom of the past — the works of those who were giants in the intellectual warfare of older days — and search for themselves in the rich mines which have been thus bequeathed to us? The very magnitude of the materials which are offered to their view, causes them often to turn away in despair, while to a simple statement of the argument they will listen readily. Many too need to have their attention first awakened, and their interest excited, before they will commence the examination. My endeavor therefore shall be, merely to open this sub- ject before you, in the hope that afterwards, from the hints and suggestions given, you will feel inclined yourselves to prosecute the study of this important argument. 2 @ ® ® ® 22 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE And now, brethren, a few words with regard to the spirit in which I propose to conduct this inquiry. It is with no feeling of unkindness or opposition to those who differ from us on these topics. Born and educated in a denomination which discards the dis- tinctive features of the Church, the recollections of youth are not easily forgotten, nor the ties of relation- ship which bind me to those who reject, as a corrup- tion of the dark ages, the claims of our ancient Apos- tolic ministry, and almost regard as heresy the way in which we worship our God. But if compelled • from principle to decline uniting with their commun- ion, and to differ from them on doctrines which the Church holds to be most important, I would still speak of them only in the spirit of love. In setting before you therefore most distinctly the points on which we are at variance, and protesting against what we believe to be a departure from the Scriptural standard, it shall still be done with no other feeling than that of deep regret that thus the followers of the same Lord can disagree. Remembering, with the ex- cellent Hooker, that " there will come a time, when three words uttered with charity and meekness shall receive a far more blessed reward, than three thou- sand volumes written with disdainful sharpness of wit,"" he who now addresses you would desire in this, as in all other things, not to record a single line, " which dying, he would wish to blot." c Preface to Eccles. Polity, Sect. 2. f God must of necessity be extraordinary; its regular continu- ance, ordinary. So with the course of Providence in all its branches. What is now an ordinary Provi- dence, was once an extraordinary. What began with miracle, is continued by laws of familiar nature. And so it is with the ministry of the Gospel. What was created by the direct ordination of God, is pro- pagated and continued by the authorized ordination of ® — ® ® ® EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 91 men. Its ' seed is in itself, after its kind,' and at every step of the succession it is precisely the same ministry and just as much of God, sanctioned by His authority, and sustained by His power, as if it had been received from the laying on of the hands of Christ Himself And so with the office of the Apostles. It was the promise of Christ, the Lord, that it should continue to the end of the world. It is not more sure that sun and moon, seed-time and har- vest will continue to the end of the world ; and though its succession be now in the hands of very feeble and fallible men — of men unspeakably inferior to the Apostles in every personal and official qualification ; yea, though many Iscariots be found under its awful responsibilities, the integrity of the office, as essen- tially identical with that of the Apostles, is in no wise affected." ' Here then is a brief view of the argument for Epis- copacy, as derived from Scripture. We contend, indeed, that the whole tenor of the Acts and the Epis- tles sustains the fiict of there being three orders in the ministry, and a degree of authority committed to those of the first rank — whether you call them Apos- tles or Bishops, is immaterial — which those of the other two grades did not possess. Thus then the early Church was constituted. Our Lord left not His flock without its Chief-Shepherds. While ordi- nary priests and teachers were appointed, there were X Bishop Mcllvane's Sermon, at the Consecration of Bishop Polk, p. 17. ® ® ® ® 92 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROBI SCRIPTURE, also leaders in "the sacramental host of God's elect." And in that day the office of a Bishop was often but a passport to the flames and the stake. It obliged those who bore it to stand in the very first rank^ where trials were to be encountered, and to endure a double portion of painful sacrifices. They were to be " examples of suffering, affliction,, and of patience." And nobly did they fulfil the hig^h duties imposed upon them, treading in the footsteps of their Master, even to prison and to death. The blood of her mar- tyred Bishops was the seed of the Church. They were the first marks at which the enemy aimed, and there- fore the record, of their cruel sufferings contains often the history of those early persecutions which fell upon the fold. In bearing the Cross loftily before the Christian host, they were worthy successors of those Apostles whose office they had inherited. When, therefore, these had passed away, bequeath- ing their authority to others, have we a right to set it aside, as no longer binding 1 If the Episcopal form of government was thus established in Apostolic days, can we depart from it 1 Are we not justified in cleaving to it, and insisting on it, as it has been handed down to us for eighteen centuries ? Yes — nothing can change the order of the ministry but a new and direct revelation from Heaven. It can be done by no hu- man authority. We are contented then not to try experiments in things which God hath settled. The well-worn path is before us, and we will not wander from it. If the Rechabites were blessed, because ® : ® ® i I r -D C in Europe, 88 millions, ) -.^^ -n' The Church of Rome, ? ^ f-.i no ll i 116 mill s. ' ( out 01 Lurope, 28 " ) The Greek Church, 70 " Tiie Protestant Churches, - . - - 42 " Total, 228 " Now, out of the 42 millions of Protestants, we may safely set down one half as belonging to these branches of the Church — such as the Church in England and its colonies, Denmark, this country, and among the Moravians — which acknowledge Episcopal government. This leaves, therefore, 21 millions of Dissenters, out of 228 millions — less than one- tenth. I (S) ® ® EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 137 she is in every clime and on every shore. ^ The Church of Rome, amidst all the corruptions she has admitted, has in this point remained steadfast to an- cient truth. The many millions of the Greek Church, spread through the East, have never doubted it, while the decayed Oriental Churches of Syria, Asia Minor, and Ethiopia, have even in their fallen state found in their government, the sole preservative for the little spark of life which yet remains. Only a small portion of the Christian world therefore dissents.'' g " The Cliurch of England, in the preface to the Ordi- nation Services, has these express words : ' It is evident unto ail men diligently reading the Holy Scripture and ancient authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these orders of Ministers in Christ's Church — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, c." (xxvi. 5-11.) Such also is the prayer he was to use, when offering his third year's tithes — " Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, &-c." (v. 12-15.) With equal accuracy is prescribed the form of depre- cation, to be uttered by the elders of a city near ment of this song, and also by Bishop Lowth. Pralect 19. Tliey show the ditlerent intervals at which the chorus proba- bly came in. ® ® ® (5) ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 149 which a murder had been committed, in protesting i their own innocence — " Our hands have not shed this blood ; neither have our eyes seen it. Be merci- ful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed; and lay not innocent blood to thy people of Israel's charge." (xxi. v. 7.) Thus, by examining the ancient books of the law, we could show that provision was made for every portion of their regular services. And on extraordinary oc- casions it is evident that something was in like man- ner written for their use, to meet the exigency. Such was the case with the prayer of Solomon at the dedi- cation of the Temple, a copy of which was preserved among the records of the nation. " The regular construction of the whole prayer, the formal division of the subject, together with the continued series and almost poetical arrangement of the versicles in the original, scarcely seem compatible with extempora- neous devotion, and obviously suggest the idea of previous composition.'"^ But let us look at the usual worship of the Temple, and of what did it consist ? From the minute ac- counts of the Hebrew Rabbis which have come down to us, we learn that it was composed of the Sacrifices, Liturgical Compositions, and Psalms.® But it is evident, that the Psalms are nothing but f Sinclair's Dissertation, p. 8. g The reader will find the whole service, with its prayers and arrangement of Psalms, accurately given by Liglitfoot, in his Temple Service, ch. 7, p. 59. ® ® ® ® 150 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. forms of prayer, and are in most cases direct and solemn addresses to the Supreme Being. In this way they were used in the Jewish Church, and we can often learn from their titles alone, that they were appointed to be recited by the congregation on parti- cular days. This collection was probably first ar- ranged definitely by King David, who added so much, as to gain for himself the title of " the sweet singer of Israel." It was afterwards remodelled by Heze- kiah, of whom it is said — " Moreover, Hezekiah the king, and the princes, commanded the Levites to sing praises unto the Lord, ivith the ivords of David and of Asaph the seer ; and they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worship- ped.'"' The last changes in the Psalmody of the nation were made by Ezra, after the captivity. Did then the adoption of these devotional services lead to mere formality ? If so, why is not the same effect produced upon those who now can address the Deity in metrical hymns, yet whose scruples prevent them from using a form if it be in prose ?' h 2 Chron. xxis. 30. i " Unless it can be proved that the fault and evil which is essential to a form in prose, is entirely removed if the substance of the obnoxious form be expressed in metre and chime — Crito freely will rehearse Forms of prayer and praise in verse : Why should Crito tlien suppose Forms are sinful when in prose ? ® — ® ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 151 But this is not all. We have direct evidence that at various periods during the existence of the Jewish nation, their prophets and holy men com- posed prayers to be used in their public worship. Thus, after the return from Babylon, Ezra prepared eighteen collects, for confession, supplication, thanks- giving, and intercession. These, under the title of Ezra's Benedictions, are still found in the Prayer Books of the Jews. Maimonides, a learned Rabbi, says — " Ezra composed these eighteen forms of prayer which were enjoined by the great council : that every man might have them in his mouth, and be perfect in them, and that thereby the prayers of the rude and ignorant might be as complete as those of a more eloquent tongue." And then, after stating the custom which prevailed, that the people should say " Amen " at the conclusion, he adds — " This is only in those cases where the people are not perfect in the prayers, and cannot say the same by heart ; for they who can repeat the prayers, do not discharge their duty as they ought, in case they themselves do not pray with the public minister. "J These prayers have all been translated by Dr. Prideaux, and are to be found in his Connection of Scripture History} Rlust my form be deemed a crime Merely for tlie want of rhyme ?" JVeicton's Apologia, p. 14. j Maimon. apud Sold, in Eutycli. Alex. p. 43. k Part 1, book vi. p. 375. ® — ® ® _- — ___ . . -® 152 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. And so it was also in the worship of the Syna- gogue. The service there clifTered somewhat from that of the Temple, for no sacrifices were offered up. It consisted of three parts : prayers, reading of the Scriptures, and preaching from them. Here also the prayers were by stated forms, the most solemn and ancient of which were the prayers of Ezra.' To these — as we learn from Justin Martyr — they added, just before the destruction of Jerusalem, a nineteenth collect, praying against the new sect of the Nazarenes, whom they denominated apostates and heretics.'" In addition, as we are informed by Jewish writers, their Ritual provided for all those occurrences which mark the changes in domestic life — for those solem- nities of their religion which were performed at home — for times of joy and sorrow — for the Passover — the marriage and the burial." And many of these had been handed down from a remote antiquity. The Samaritan Chronicle speaks of a book of prayers used by the Jews at their sacrifices, " from the time of their legate Moses until that day;"" and Josephus asserts, that at the period in which he lived, the sect of the Essenes made use of prayers " received traditionally from their fathers."'' Nor has the lapse of eighteen centuries entirely changed their customs. Could you 1 Bingham's Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii. cliap. 5, sect. 4. m Dial, cum Tryph. p. 335. n Sinclair's Dissertation, p. 10. o Ibid. p. 11. p De Bcllo Jud. lib. ii. chap. 12. ®— ® ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 153 now meet with the feeble, dispersed remnant of Israel, scattered as they are throughout all the world, yet everywhere cleaving to their forefathers' rites — could you see them in their private services, or when on the Seventh Day they have gathered in their Synagogues — you would hear the same words of the Hebrew Psalter chanted forth, and the same ancient prayers of their Liturgy offered up, with which two thousand years ago their fathers worshipped, in the days of their pride and power.'' We perceive then how fully estab- lished under the Old Dispensation, and how entirely authorized by God — nay, especially commanded by Ilim — was the use of forms of prayer. If, then, these were enjoined upon the Jew, is it wrong in the Chris- tian in this way to worship the same God 1 But the Old Dispensation, we are answered, was a day of rites and ceremonies — a day when the human mind was in bondage, " subject to ordinances." We are directed to look to the coming of our Lord for that spiritual freedom which was then bestowed upon the world. He was indeed our Great Exemplar, and we may well mark His course, as He travelled on in His earthly pilgrimage, and in all respects humbly walk in His footsteps. Can we then gather any thing from His life to aid us in this investigation ? We can ; and therefore we set forth the argument, that the use of forms of prayer in public worshij) was sanctioned q See the Prayers of the Jews as they are now used, translated in Horncs Introd. to Scrip, v. iii. p. 250-3. ® ® ® ® 154 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. hy our Lord lohile on earth, both by precept and ex- ample. We have already shown you, that the worship of the Jews, both in the Temple and the Synagogue, was according to a prescribed Liturgy. And yet our Lord always attended these services, and scrupulously joined in their public devotions. On all the great Feasts He went up to Jerusalem with His disciples, while Sabbath after Sabbath He appeared so regular- ly in the Synagogue, that His watchful enemies, while seeking every occasion to charge Him with opposition to the Law, never brought forward the accusation of neglecting their appointed worship. But had there been any thing wrong in the manner in which this was performed — had the Liturgical Service been merely a corruption introduced by the Scribes and Pharisees — would He, think you, have been backward in denouncing the innovation, and restoring the ser- vice to its ancient simplicity ? No, brethren, had there been coldness or formality in this custom, the same zeal which led our Master to drive from the Temple " the money changers and those that sold doves," would have impelled Him also to rebuke the priests for the want of spirituality in their worship. But he did not : on the contrary He fully counte- nanced it, and therefore it cannot be wrong or inex- pedient. In that solemn hour, too, when the Paschal Supper was just closing, and our Lord " sang a hymn" with His disciples, before He went forth to the last scene ® ® ® ® I ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 155 j of His trial and agony, we know from the voice of j tradition and the concurrence of all antiquity, that he \ adopted, as was natural, the particular form always j made use of by the Jews at the end of the Passover. It was called the Great Hallrl, or hymn of praise, and consisted of Psalms cxv. to cxviii. inclusive." So was it also amid the fearful sufferings of the Cross. When His human nature was, as it were, crushed by the sor- rows heaped upon Him, the words which seemed natur- ally to rise to His lips, were those of the Psalter. The r Lightfoot's Temple Service, c. xiii. Ja/m's Bib. Arcli- aeologij, p. 449. Home's Introd. to Scrip, vol. iii. p. 306. Dr. Adam Clark, in his Commentary on Matt. xxvi. 30, makes it begin with Ps. cxiii. He says, " As to the Hymn itself, we know from the universal consent of Jewish antiquity, that it was composed of Psalms cxiii. to cxviii., termed by the Jews Hallel These six Psalms were always sung at every Paschal solemnity." Jacob Abbott, in his Corner-Stone, ends his description of the last Passover with a pathetic appeal to St. John. " ' And when they had sung a hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives.' What could have been their hymn ? Its senti- ments and feelings, they who can appreciate the occasion, may perhaps conceive, but what were its words .'* Beloved disciple! why didst thou not record them? They should have been sung in every nation, and language, and clime. We should have fixed them in our hearts, and taught them to our children, and when we came together, to commemorate our Redeemer's sufferings, we should never have separated without singing his parting hymn." (p. 219.) A very slight knowledge of Jewish antiquities might have pointed out to Mr. Abbott what was probably the form which I he wishes to have so extensively adopted. ® ® ® ® 156 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. inquiry — " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ?" is the commencement of the 22d Psalm ; and the words which last He uttered- — " Into thy hands I commend my Spirit" — compose the 5th verse of the 31st Psalm. Thus, in the language of the divines of Leyden — " Christ, while suspended from the Cross, used that golden form of prayer, which David as His prototype had composed."' Another strong proof of our Lord's sanction is de- rived from that model of devotion which He Himself gave to His disciples. John the Baptist had taught his followers to pray by a set form, and the little household of believers who had gathered around our Master, and composed the Early Church, requested Him also to do the same. Their petition was — " Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." And what did He answer ? Did He tell them, in all cases to trust to the passing feelings of the moment, and to shun as coldness every thing which was not extemporaneous 1 No ; He at once prescribed that form now known by the name of the Lord's Prayer, and which the Church has since in all ages continued to use in her worship. It is a most striking fact, too, that every single sentence in this prayer is taken from the Jewish Liturgies, with which the disciples were already familiar."^ " So far," saysGrotius, " was s Sinclair's Dissertation, p. 12. t Abundant proof of this can be found in Lightfoot (on Matt. ix. 9-13) and the works of several other learned men. ® ® ® . ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 157 the Lord Himself of the Christian Church from all affectation of unnecessary novelty." What stronger confirmation then could He give of His approval ? And should we not be contented to follow in the steps of our Divine Master — to worship as He did — and in accordance with the example which He sets, to " hold fast the form of sound words," when we approach our God? Our next argument is derived from the uniform practice of the Primitive Church. The early disci- ples followed the example of the Jewish Church, which their Lord had thus sanctioned, and adopted forms of prayer suited to the wants of the Church under the new Dispensation. In the fourth chapter of the Acts, is an Apostolic form of Prayer. It was delivered on the return of Peter and John from the Jewish council, when in the assembly of their brethren they " reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them." We are told, " when they heard that, they lifted up their voices to God with Mr. Gregory has collected the expressions out of the differ- ent Jewish Euchologies, and tlius translated tliem : — " Our Father, which art in Heaven, be gracious unto us ! O Lord our God, hallowed by thy name, and let the remem- brance of Thee be glorified in Heaven above, and upon earth here below. Let thy kingdom reign over us, now and for over. The holy men of old said, remit and forgive unto all men whatsoever they have done against me. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil thing. For thine is the kingdom, and thou shalt reign in glory for ever, and for evermore." Home's Introd. to Scrip, v. iii. p. 296. 8 ® — — ® ® — ® 158 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. one accord," and in (what Bishop Jebb calls) "this noble supplicatory hymn, poured forth at once by the whole Christian people," they returned thanks for the past, and begged strength for the future. We give the same distinguished writer's version of the parallelisms — " 1. O Lord, thou art the God, Who did'st make Heaven and Earth ; And the sea, and all things that are in them ; Who, by the mouth of thy servant David, did'st say : 2. " Why did the heathen rage. And the people imagine vain things, The Kings of the earth stand up. And the rulers combine together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed ?" 3. For of a truth there have combined Against thine holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed. Both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, With the heathen, and the peoples of Israel, To do whatsoever things thy hand^ And thy counsel predetermined to be done. 4. And now. Lord, look down upon their threatenings, And give unto thy servants, With all boldness, to speak thy word : While thou art stretching forth thine hand for healing. And while signs and wonders are performed, Through the name of thine holy child Jesus. The manner in which this prayer was uttered — the whole people " lifting up their voices to God with u Jebb's Sacred Literature, p. 132-142. ® ■ — @ ® __® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 159 one accord " — together with the regular poetical measure in which it is written — prove, we think, that it must have been a pre-composed form, with which all were familiar. To use again the words of Bishop Jebb — " The same sacred vein of poetry animates the whole, and yet, amidst all this poetic fervor, we may discern much technical nicety of construction." The view, therefore, taken of it by Mr. Chapin is one which would commend itself to the reason of any person not biassed by prejudice. " The occasion upon which the use of this prayer is recorded, was the extraordinary escape of Peter and John from, the hands of the Jews. And yet, there is no allusion to the circumstance. It is just such a prayer as they would be likely to use on every occasion of meeting together ; one that would be applicable to their case, at all times. Hence, as this general prayer was used upon an especial occasion, it is but reasonable to in- fer, that it had been pre-composed, and formed a part of their daily worship."" Occasionally in the Epistles we find an incidental allusion to their service, which strengthens the view we have given. Thus the Colossians are directed " to teach and admonish one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." These, of course, must have been previously prepared. And St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, mentions the custom of saying Amen, at the close of the prayer. (1 Cor. xiv. V Prim. Church, p. 130. ® ® ® ® 160 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 16.) This, Justin Martyr, in the middle of the se- cond century says, was the universal practice of the Church." We now turn to the Primitive Church in the age immediately following that of the Apostles. The form most frequently used was the Lord's prayer, en- deared to them by so many associations connecting it with Him from whose lips they first learned its holy words. Tertullian calls it, " not only a rule pre- scribing the method and matter of Prayer, but a form to be used in the words in which Christ de- livered it, and to be added to all other prayers as the foundation of a superstructure.'"' St. Chrysostom in two volumes of his works — the third and the fifth — makes the declaration more than twenty times, " that the Lord's prayer was a common form in use among them by the express command of Christ." And St. Augustine, in his Retractations, confirms this, assert- ing that " the whole Church will continue to use it to the end of the world. "^ " Evident is it, beyond dispute" — says the learned Bingham — " that the whole Primitive Church con- stantly used it in all her holy offices, out of conscious- ness and regard to Christ's command For there was no considerable Divine office, in the cele- bration of which this prayer did not always make a solemn part."^ This was the case in Baptism, when w Apol. i. c. 87. X De Orat. cap. 9. y Lib. i. cap. 19. z Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii. chap. 7, sect. 2. ® ® ® __® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 161 each person was enjoined to repeat it as soon as the rite was administered. " Immediately after this" — say the Apostolical Constitutions — " let him stand and pray the prayer which the Lord hath taught us."- And St. Chrysostom in like manner informs us, that as soon as he leaves the water, " he says these words, ' Our Father which art in Heaven, 6lc.' "^ This was done in the same manner at the celebration of the Eucharist. St. Cyril says — " After the oblation pray- er, we say that prayer which our Saviour delivered to His disciples, calling God our Father with a pure conscience, and saying, ' Our Father which art in Heaven.'"" And St. Augustine informs us — "The whole Church concludes the prayer of benediction and sanctification with the Lord's prayer."'' It also made a part of their daily Morning and Evening Prayers, distinct from the Communion office,' as well as of the private devotions of individuals. Thus St. Chrysostom says — "Christ, to induce us to unanimity and charity, enjoins us to make common prayer, and obliges the whole Church, as if it were but one person, to say, ' Our Father,' and ' Give us this day our daily bread,' &c., always using a word of the plural number, and commanding every one, whether he pray alone by himself, or in company with others, still to make prayer for his brethren.'" Therefore it had the a Lib. vii. cap. 44. b Horn. 6, in Coloss. c Catcch. Myst. v. p. 298. d Epist. 59, ad Paulin. e Bing. Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii. ciiap. 7, sect. 4. f Com. in Ps. cxii. ® ® ® ® 162 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. name of Oratio Qnotidiana, the Christian's daily prayer, and was used alike by heretics and schisma- tics, as by the Catholics.^ We have so particularly brought forward the use of this prayer in the early ages, not only as showing the attachment of Christians to it as a form, but also because it will be evident from an examination of the passages quoted, that it often thus formed one portion of a pre-composed service. There were indeed cer- tain forms which were in all Churches substantially the same, and were used in connection with the ordinary Liturgy. These were, the form for Bap- tism'' — that for the consecration of the Eucharist' — and the Doxologies.^ This, Bingham has most fully shown. A\\(\. the reason for uniformity in these par- ticular services is evident. They included the grand cardinal points of our faith, and therefore, while they agreed, there was- — to use Bingham's own words — " but one form of worship throughout the whole Church, as to what concerned the substfince of Christian worship." With respect to the other parts of the Liturgy — the ordinary prayers — it is evident that each Bishop was at liberty to form his own in what method and words he thought proper, only keeping to the analogy of faith and sound doctrine. Thus, we are told that g Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii. ch. 7, sect. 7. h Ibid. lib. xi. ch. 3, and ch. 7. See also Chapin's Prim. Church, p. 127. i Ibid. lib. Kv. ch.3. j. Ibid. lib. xiv. ch. 2. ® ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 163 St. Basil, among other good services which he did for the Church at Ca^sarea, while he was but a Pres- byter in it, composed forms of prayer, which by the consent and authority of the Bishop, Eusebius, were regularly used there. And this is thought by many to be the first draught of that Liturgy which bears his name to this day. The Church of Neo-Cassarea in Pontus, where St. Basil was born, had a Liturgy peculiar to itself, of which he speaks in one of his Epistles. St. Chrysostom's Liturgy, which he com- posed for the Church of Constantinople, differed from these. The Ambrosian, Roman, and African forms, all varied in some particulars.'' When also any new Church was founded, it did not feel itself obliged to follow, except in spirit, the model and words of the Church from which it came, but altered the old Liturgy to suit its own peculiar circumstances and condition, in the same way that we adapted the Liturgy of the Church in England to our situation in this country. Of this, the historian Sozomen gives an example in the instance of Maiuma, in Palestine, which once belonged to the diocese of Gaza. For, as soon as it was erected into a distinct Episcopal See, it was no longer obliged to observe precisely^t|ic rules and forms of the Church of Gaza, but had, as he particularly remarks, a calendar for the festivals of its own martyrs, and commemorations of the Bishops and Presbyters who had lived among them.' k Ibid. lib. iii. cli. 6. 1 Ibid. lib. xiii. ch. 5. ® — — : ® « — — — — ® 164 ANTIQUITY OP FORMS OF PRAYER. . After, however, a Liturgy was adopted in each Church, and so modeled in minor points as to meet its peculiar wants, we have reason to believe that it remained with but little alteration. Mr. Palmer says — "That each Church preserved continually the same Liturgy is certain. It is impossible to peruse the notices supplied by the Fathers, without perceiv- ing that the baptized Christians were supposed to be familiar with every part of the service ; and con- tinual allusions are made to various particulars as well known, which it would be impossible to explain, except by referring to the Liturgies still extant. The order of the parts was always preserved, the same rites and ceremonies continually repeated, the same ideas and language without material variation, trans- mitted from generation to generation. The people always knew the precise points at which they were to repeat their responses, chant their sacred hymn, or join in the well known prayer.'"" We can give an example of this by a comparison of the works of Justin Martyr and Cyril of Jerusalem. The former in the middle of the second century gives an account of the order of worship in the Syrian Churches in his day." The latter, 150 years later, describes the solemn Liturgy which was celebrated after the dis- missal of the Catechumens." These two writers lived in different parts of the Patriarchate of Antioch, but it is evident they are referring to a Liturgy essen- m Antiq. of English Ritual, v. i. p. 9. n Apol. i. p. 96. o Cyr. Op. 296. ® ■ ■ -® ® — — ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 1G5 tially the same, and which, during the interval of time which separated them, had not substantially changed. It is that which we now have under the name of the Liturgy of St. James. From the prevalence of this spirit of hostility to change, we should naturally expect that after the lapse of some centuries, a substantial uniformity would be found in the ritual of the different Churches. And such is the case. All the Primitive Liturgies may plainly be reduced to four, which were un- doubtedly the original forms from which they were modeled. These are, first, the Oriental Liturgy, which prevailed through the entire East, and was ascribed by tradition to St. James. Second, the Liturgy of St. Peter, which was used through Italy, Sicily, and the North of Africa. Third, *S^^. Mark's Liturgy, adopted by the Christians throughout Egypt, Ethiopia, and the neighboring countries on the Mediterranean Sea. And fourth, ^S"^. Juhii's Liturgy, which prevailed through Gaul, Spain, and the exarchate of Ephesus, until the fifth century. Now, upon examining these, we find that the princi- pal ideas are the same. The principal rites are identical, and there is a general uniformity of ar- rangement among them all. These facts prove, therefore, that at a distant antiquity they must have had a common origin, or been at least written by men who shared in the same feelings ; while there is also sufficient diversity to show the remoteness of 8* ® — ® ® ® 166 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. the period at which they had their rise."" Their use was indeed so extensive in those ages when p We here give the arrangement. The striking lesem- blance to our Communion Service will be at once perceived — ^■- St. Peter's Liturgy. Italy, Sicily, and Africa. 1. Lift up your hearts, &c. 2. Therefore with Angels, &c. 3. Prayer for the Church militant. 4. Consecration Prayer. 5. Commemoration of our Lord's words. 6. The Oblation. 7. Prayers for the dead. 8. Breaking of bread. 9. The Lord's Prayer. 10. The kiss of peace. 11. Communion. St. James' Liturgy. Oriental. 10. The kiss of peace. 1. Lift up your hearts, &lc 2. Therefore with Angels, tfcc. 5. Commemoration of our Lord's words. 6. The Oblation. 4 Consecration Prayer 3. Prayer for the Church militant. 7. Prayers for the dead. 9. The Lord's Prayer. 8. Breaking of bread. 11. Communion. St. Mark's Liturgy. Egypt and Ethiopia. 19. The kiss of peace. 1. Lift up your hearts, &c. 3. Prayer for the Church militant 7. Prayers for the dead. 2. Therefore with Angels, &c. 5. Commemoration of our Lord's words. 6. The Oblation. 4. Consecration Prayer. St. John's Liturgy. Gaul, Spain, and Ephcsus. 3. Prayer for the Church militant. 7. Prayers for the dead. 10. The kiss of peace. 1. Lift up your hearts, &c. 2. Therefore with Angels, &c. 5. Commemoration of our Lord's words. 6 The Oblation. 4. Consecration Prayer. ®- -® ; ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 1 G7 Bishops were most independent, that it is difficult to assign their origin to a lower period than the Apostolic age. " The liberty," says Mr. Palmer, 8. Breaking of bread. 8. Breaking of bread. 9. Tiie Lord's Prayer. 9. The Lord's Prayer. 11. Communion. 11. Communion. The order in our Chureli is somewhat different : — 3. Prayer for the Ciiurch 8. Breaking of bread, militant. 6. The Oblation. 1. Lift up your hearts &c. 4. Consecration Prayer. 2. Therefore with Angels, 11. Communion. &c 9. The Lord's Prayer. 5. Commemoration of our Lord's words. For the benefit of those who ore not familiar with this subject, we would remark, that the Prayers for the Dead in the Primitive Liturgies bear no resemblantfe whatever to those now used in the Romish Church, They were rather an affectionate remembrance of those who had slept in the faith, — "a commemoration of the departed faithful," as Mr. Palmer calls them — and were in these words — " We com- mend unto Thy mercy, O Lord, all other Thy servants, which are departed hence from us with the sign of faith, and now do rest in the sleep of peace : grant unto them, we beseech Tiiee, Thy mercy and everlasting peace ; and that, at the day of the general resurrection, we, and all they which be of the mystical body of Thy Son, may altogether be set at His right hand, and hear that His most joyful voice, ' Come unto me, O ye that be blessed of my Father, and possess the kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world ?' Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate." ® ® ® . _® 168 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. " which every Christian Church plainly had and ex- ercised, in the way of improving its formularies, con- firms the antiquity of the four great Liturgies ; for where this liberty existed, it could have been scarcely any thing else but reverence for the Apostolical source from which the original Liturgies were derived, that prevented an infinite variety of formularies, and preserved the substantial uniformity which we find to have prevailed in vast districts of the Primitive Church.'"' They form, therefore, four distinct chan- nels, by which the faith and practice of the early Church have been handed down to us. To one of these indeed — the Liturgy of St. James — we can assign a very great antiquity, from the manner in which it has been kept separate from all others. Nearly fourteen centuries ago, at the Council of Chalcedon, which met a. d. 451, a sect of Christians, called Monophysites, were anathema- tized for heresy. Since that time they have been of course entirely separated from the orthodox, and no communion subsisted between the two parties. For a time they each had their establishments in the dif- ferent dioceses, and their own patriarch in the Metro- politan City. At the time of the Mahometan invasion, the orthodox were driven out, and the Monophy- sites, patronized by the invaders, remained in undis- turbed possession of their sees, and represented the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. At this day the q Antiq. of English Ritual, v. i. p. 8. ® ■ '-^ ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 169 members of this sect are still scattered through Judea, Mesopotamia, Syria, and the southern part of Asia Minor, and use a Liturgy in the Syriac Language, which they ascribe to St. James. The singular fact about this Liturgy is, that a great part of it coincides, expression for expression, with the Greek Liturgy used by the orthodox Church at Jerusalem, so that one must evidently be a translation of the other/ When then was this done ? It must have been prior to the Council of Chalcedon, for since that time these two parties have shunned each other. This coincidence, therefore, between their most solemn religious rites, proves their services to be at least more than 1400 years old. Such, then, is the authority we have for this prac- tice, from the custom of the Jewish Church — the sanction and example of our Lord — and its universal prevalence in the early Church. " No doubt" — says Hooker — " from God it hath proceeded, and by us it must be acknowledged, as a work of singular care and providence, that the Church hath evermore held a prescript form of prayer ; although not in all things everywhere the same, yet for the most part retaining still the same analogy. So that if the Liturgies of all the ancient Churches throughout the world be com- pared among themselves, it may be easily perceived they had all one original mould, and that the public prayers of the people of God in Churches throughly r Tile Anli<[iiity of the Existing Liturgies, Oxford, 1838. ® '■ — ® - ® 170 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OP PRAYER. settled, did never use to be voluntary dictates proceed- ing from any man's extemporal wit."' It would not indeed be possible, during the whole course of the 1500 years which preceded the Reformation, to find any Church, the public worship of which was conduct- ed without a prescribed form. Not only the ancient Greek and Latin Churches, but all the other Christian societies in Europe, Asia, and Africa, conformed to this rule. The Abyssinians, and Egyptians — the Jacobites, Maronites, and Nestorians of Asia — and the Christians of St. Thomas in India' — all had their Liturgies. Strictly considered, all public prayer is a form to s Eccles. Polity, hb. v. sect. 25. t Dr. Buchanan, speaking about these Indian Christians, says — " They have the Bible and a Scriptxiral Liturgy ; and these will save a Church in the worst of times. And as there were but few copies of the Bible among the Syrians, (for every copy was transcribed with the pen,) it is highly prob- able that, if they had not enjoyed the advantage of the daily prayers, and daily portions of Scripture in their Liturgy, there would have been, in the revolution of ages, no vestige of Christianity left among them In a nation like ours, overflowing with knowledge, men are not always in circum- stances to perceive the value of a Scriptural Liturgy. When Christians are well taught, they think they want something better. But the young and the ignorant, who form a great pro- portion of the community, are edified by a little plain instruc- tion, frequently repeated. A small Church or sect may do without a form for a while. But a national Liturgy is that which preserves a relic of the true faith among the people in a large Empire, when the priests leave their Articles and their Confessions of Faith." Researches in Jlsia, p. 80. ® — ® ® _ ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 171 those who unite with the speaker. Whether his peti- tions have been previously composed, or arise from the impulse of the moment, it is the same to his hear- ers. His extemporaneous prayer must be to them a form of prayer. We come then to the simple ques- tion — whether it is better to have this arranged before- hand, or to trust to the passing feelings of him who happens to be the minister? As far as the spiritual benefit of the hearers is concerned, we should say, that the former would be the wiser course. Other- wise, the effect produced will be that so admirably described by an eminent prelate of the Church of England — "If there should be nothing absurd or un- becoming in the prayers, yet the audience must first endeavor to understand the words ; and then they must weigh and consider the sense and meaning ; and then they must deliberate whether such requests are proper for persons in their condition, before they can lawfully join in them ; and by that time the minister is passed on to some other subject, which requires the like attention and consideration ; and so their curiosity may be raised, and they may exercise their judgment, but there can scarce be any room left for devotion."'^ Equally important is the influence of a Liturgy upon a Church collectively. It preserves its orthodoxy un- impaired. Without a prescribed form of prayer, each individual teacher is left to inculcate such doctrines as best suit his own private viev/s. He may preach u Bishop Newton's Sermons, vol. ii. ® ® ® o 172 ANTIQUITY OF FORaiS OF PRAYER. error, and then pray in accordance with it. There is no standard to which his people can at all times di- rect their attention, and judge of his doctrines. He may become a disbeliever in one of the cardinal arti- cles of the Christian faith, but if he omit all mention of it, both in his sermons and prayers, it may not be brought before the attention of his people for years, and thus insensibly, yet gradually, they fall into his errors. Such, however, can never be the case, where there is a Liturgy like that of our Church. Let one who ministers at our altars become heretical, and he cannot lead his people with him. He may for a time preach his views, but each prayer he reads in the service will contradict him, and proclaim most une- quivocally that he is faithless to the Church. Thus he will be placed in a false position, until at last he is com- pelled to go out from us, showing that he is not of us. Now see how this has always been exemplified. What religious society without a Liturgy, has ever subsisted for any length of time, and yet not wandered from its early faith ? Look at those on the continent of Europe, which, after the Reformation, while they abandoned the Apostolical ministry, give up the ancient Liturgy also. To what result have those in Germany been led ? Why, we see them wandering in all the mazes of rationalism, each year tending downward to a darker, more hopeless infidelity.' What is the faith V Henry Dvviglit tlius describes tlieir progress — " The genuineness and siutiienticity of the Old Testament was first ® -® ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 173 which now prevails at Geneva, where once John Cal- vin inculcated his stern and rigid creed ? There, all is changed, and in place of the strictness of his views, we have the latitude and coldness of those who scoff at the Divinity of our Lord." We are compelled then attacked, and outwork after outwork was gained, until ail belief in it as a revelation, was almost literally exploded from Germany. The Epistles of the New Testament were after- wards assailed with the same weapons. The inspiration of one writer after another ceased to be believed, until by an almost equally large proportion of the theologians, they were also viewed as unworthy of regard, except so far as they con- tain a beautiful system of morality, and so far as they are historically interesting from their instrumentality in spread- ing Christianity. At a subsequent period, the Gospels were attacked in a similar manner. The character of Christ was soon generally believed, by the clergy, to have no more claim to our respect than those of Plato and Aristotle, unless from the greater purity of his example and his code of morals, and from his exhibition of powers of intellect, which most of them would have probably admitted to be much superior to those of the Greek philosophers So universal was this disbelief, that there were not, in the year 1808, as one of the most distinguished orthodox professors informed me, five cler- gymen, who dared to come forth and declare themselves to the world, as belonging to the orthodox party." Travels in Ger- many in 182.5-6. See, too, Hugh James Rose's ' State of Protestantism in Germany.' w Dr. Sprague of Albany says — "The Protestant Church of Geneva has greatly departed from the faith of the early reformers. Most of their present ministers are unquestion- ably Unitarians of the German School, though it is believed there are a few whose religious views are, in the main, evan- gelical. Here, as in most places in France, I understand ® ® (^ — -® 174 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. to regard the reformation on the continent, as a thing that has passed away. " Lutheranism and Calvinism are indeed now little more than matters of history ; for the feeble and lifeless relics which they have left be- hind, and which still bear their name, are but painful memorials of systems whose imperfections and faults, whatever they might be, were dignified by a holy ardor and zeal for God and for God's revelation. Now, when the confessions of faith for which Luther, and Zuinglius, and Calvin would have laid down their lives, are throw^n aside as obsolete, or subscribed with salvos and declarations which render the act of sub- scription a mere mockery ; how can we recognize the existence of their faith ? Overrun by the auda- cious impiety of Neologism, an infidelity which cloaks itself under the name of Christianity in order to inflict a more grievous wound on faith, or sunk into the deadly slumbers of Socinian and Arian apostacy, Lutheranism, and Calvinism, as religious systems, seem to have nearly perished in the countries where they arose." ^ So it is, too, among the dissenters in England, and the same pulpits in which, during the last century, their ablest divines preached, are now held by Socini- ans.^ And is not this the case in our ow'n land, there is very little that charity herself can believe to be vital piety." Letters from Europe in 1828. X Palmer's Treatise on the Church, v. i. p. 358. y The most fearful picture we have seen of the English Dissenters is given by two of tlieir own authors, Bogue and © ® ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 175 where even the descendants of the New England puritans have abandoned their faith, and substituted in its place the most fearful heresies, " denying the Lord that bought them ?" There is reason, therefore, for that exclamation, uttered by Buchanan, the apostle Bennct. They say — " Many, wlio drank the cup of Arian- ism first, and then of Socinianism to tlie very dregs, ceased to be members of the dissenting congregation By the operation of these causes, many a Presbyterian congregation dwindled from a giant into a dwarf. Aged people who re- member their respectable condition in the metropolis, at the commencement of this period, must be convinced, that heresy has acted like an enchantress in silently, by her fatal spells, accomplishing their destruction. They are, in general, now but the shadow of what they formerly were, and many of them have ceased to exist. Devonshire, the cradle of Arian- ism, has been the grave of the Arian dissenters, and there is not left in that populous county, a twentieth part of the Presbyterians which were to be found at her birth. More than twenty of their meeting-houses, it is said, have been shut up, and in those which remain open, there are to be seen the skeletons only of congregations which were full and flourishing before error had banished prosperity." *" Like the devouring pestilence, Arianism and Socinian- ism have, with few exceptions, carried desolation with them into every congregation, where they have obtained an en- trance ; and some scores more of their meeting-houses would have been shut up, but for the pious benevolence of persons of a different creed, in the former generation. By their en- dowments, many of the Presbyterian ministers have been enabled to retain their office, and to preach to what deserves not the name of a congregation." History of Dissenters, vol. iv. p. 319. ® — (s) ® ® 176 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. of the East — " Woe to the declining Church which hath not a Gospel Liturgy ]'"■ But where could this melancholy history be written of any who adhered faithfully to a prescribed form in their public devotions? Take our own Church, for example. Investigate the doctrines which are em- bodied in her formularies, and you will find that they are now what they were eighteen centuries ago. Faithless and unworthy men have indeed at times been the teachers of the Church, but their errors passed away with them, and the great body of her members, by looking to the Liturgy for instruction, still held to their steadfastness. Its holy language, bearing the impress, and breathing forth the spirit of the purest days, is stamped upon the memory of each one of her true children, and wrought into the very texture of his mind. Her beautiful services, adapted to every change and circumstance of life, from the cradle to the grave, speak to his heart with a power, which no extemporaneous prayer can have. In these words his fathers have worshipped. These prayers, perhaps, have trembled upon the lips of some whom he has loved, but who long since have passed away to their reward. By the chain of association they unite him to the departed. They recall them to his memory, and thus, by means of these petitions, he lives again in scenes which have long since gone. Oh, solemnly and sweetly do these words and these z Researches in Asia, p. 80. ® (2) ® ® ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 177 services come home to the Churchman's heart ! He would not part with them — so rich in hallowed re- collections — for all the eloquence that modern wisdom could devise. He clings to them through life, and trusts that the last sound which shall fall upon his dying ear, will be that solemn prayer by which the Church commends the departing spirit to the mercy of its God.* Thus it is, that a thousand remembrances gather around our time-honored Ritual and commend it to our affection. We have seen, that in this manner the followers of our Master worshipped, even in the Apostolic age. When, therefore, we are called to abandon it, and adopt in its place the extemporaneous effusions of man in our public worship, may we not reply in the words of Scripture — " We have no such custom, neither the Churches of God?" We will not fear to walk in our Lord's footsteps, and to follow those ancient confessors and martyrs, who, in the earliest, purest days of our faith, amidst sufferings and trials won their way to Heaven. Did they lack spirrtuality, or find their devotion cramped and nar- rowed down by the words of a Liturgy ? Has the a Wlien George Herbert was on his death-bed, he said to Mr. Duncon, wlio had come to visit him — " Sir, I see by your habit tiiat you are a priest, and desire you to pray with me." Which being granted, Mr. Duncon asked him — "What prayers .'" To which Mr. Herbert's answer was — " O, sir, the prayers of my mother, the Church of England : no other prayers are equal to them." Walton's Lives, p. 339. ® ® ® -® 178 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. whole Christian Church been in a grievous error on this subject, until within the last three hundred years ? No, brethren ; and the best we can do in our feebleness is, to tread in the old paths, and to " hold fast to the form of sound words" which was used " in our fathers' days, and in the old time before them." Our venerable Liturgy speaks to us in the language of God's own word. Let us strive to imbibe its holy spirit, and we shall need no better preparation for. death. And when at last the worship of the earthly sanctuary is over, we shall be admitted to join in that service which the redeemed in glory use, as ever, day without night, they circle the throne rejoicing, and raise the lofty anthem — " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." ®- -® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. Mine is no solitary choice, See here the seal of saints impress'd; The prayer of millions swells my voice, The mind of ages fills my breast. The Liturgy. ® — ® ®- ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. ® The sixteenth century opened upon a scene un- equalled in the history of the world. The power of the Church of Rome was dominant through Europe. The opposition of the Albigenses had been extin- guished in their blood, and all was apparently peace in Western Christendom. The institution of the Orders of St. Francis and St. Dominic had added a new element of strength to the Romish See. The members of these fraternities wandered through every land, mingling with the mighty masses of the great city, or diligently in each lonely valley seeking out "the few sheep in the wilderness," and every- where they were the sworn servants of the Vatican — ready to teach its doctrines, and to do its bidding. The Pontiffs acted in the spirit of their loftiest pre- tensions, deposing princes, and bestowing kingdoms at their will, yet everywhere they seemed to be obeyed. 9 ® (S) ® 182 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. But this universal peace was hollow and decep- tive. A day of awakening for the human mind was at hand. Learning had begun to come down from its high places, to enlighten the multitude. The re- mains of that literature, which ages before had called forth the plaudits of assembled Greece, or awakened the genius of Rome's noblest orators, was again taken down from the dusty shelves of monasteries ; and thus " in this setting part of Time," a new audi- ence was created to listen to the strains of Homer, or to muse over the glorious reveries of Plato. By this means the intellect of man was quickened into action, and reason once more asserted its claims. The moral sense, too, of that generation was outraged by the sight of a pontiff like Julius, emulating the fame of a warrior, and embroiling kingdoms in his mad ambi- tion ; or one like Leo, passing life in an unbroken dream of graceful voluptuousness, and scoffing at the mysteries of our faith as long-since refuted fables. Beneath this quiet surface, therefore, the public mind was stirred up to its lowest depths. A restless, eager spirit of inquiry was abroad. The question, " What is truth ?" was earnestly asked. A craving after spiritual freedom and purity was deeply felt. The successor of St. Peter stood upon a volcano, though the landscape was smiling around him, and he per- ceived not the beginning of its heavings. Is it wonderful, then, when the storm at last came, and the human intellect burst the fetters by which Rome would bind it down, that a scene of wild con- ® ® ® -(3) HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 183 fusion ensued ? Was it not natural, that men should pass at once to the opposite extreme, and rejoicing in their newly acquired freedom, indulge in the strang- est eccentricities ? It was ; and therefore we are prepared to behold in that, an age " emulous of change" — an age whose motto was — " old things have passed away — all things have become new." In less than fifty years from the first controversy be- tween Luther and Tetzel, Protestantism had attained to its highest ascendency on the Continent. For the first time the love of novelty could be indulged, and this liberty was used to the utmost. The first half of the sixteenth century was the age of experiments, the fruits of which, in weal or woe, this generation has inherited. Among other changes made — as we showed you in the last lecture — was that which related to the manner of public worship. Those societies which had abandoned the Church with her Apostolic ministry, in many cases gave up her ancient Ritual also, and trusted to have their de- votions led by the extemporaneous effusions of those who might minister to them.'' a The early Reformers tliemselves were often too clear- sighted not to perceive the evil of this step, but it was taken by their followers, and, in truth, naturally grew out of the state of feeling we have described. We will give some of their recorded opinions in favor of a Liturgy. " For so much as concerneth the form of prayer and ecclesiastical rites, I much approve that it be determined so that it may not be lawful for the ministers in their adminis- tration to vary from it; as well to help the simplicity and un- ® ■ ® ® (?) 184 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. In this respect, as in all others in this great crisis of her history, the Church in England was enabled to act more wisely. As she had retained the Apostolic ministry which had been handed down for 1500 years, so she preserved her Ritual, only throwing out those things which were not primitive, but were corrup- tions which had gradually crept in during the dark- ness of the few preceding centuries. Thus our ser- skilfulness of some, as that the uniformity of all the several congregations may better appear; and, finally, that the desul- tory and capricious lightness of such as aifect novelties may be encountered and stopped." Calvin s Letter to Protector Somerset. " We account it grievous to contemn all those holy Churches, which from the times of the Apostles, and of the primitive Church, unto this day, have celebrated the public worship of God out of prescribed forms — wherefore, we blame the over-nice singularity of those men who would cast out all prescribed forms from divine worship." Letter from the Walachrian Chassis of Zealand to the Assembly of Divines in London, 1646. " Any one may satisfy himself, from a view of all the particulars, that in the ancient Church, the whole of divine worship was administered by prescribed forms. The ques- tion is, whether every minister should have liberty of ob- truding private prayers, which he lias himself composed, with which no one else is acquainted, and to which the Church is unaccustomed, instead of forms matured with grave deliberation by the servants of Christ, revised by the higher officers of the Church, and approved by the Synod. This liberty we do not grant." Preface to the Agenda or Book of Common Prayer in the Reformed Churches of Poland and Lithuania. Dated at Thorn, A. D. 1636. ® ■ ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 185 vice was merely restored to its ancient purity. Each view, therefore, which we gain of the true state of feeling in those times of excitement and change, deepens our gratitude to that kind Providence which so plainly led our Mother Church " in the way where- in she should go," — overruled every thing for good — and prepared her to be in all ages " the Witness and Keeper" of the Truth. This evening, then, we will endeavor to go back to the early ages of the Church, and show you the origin of our Liturgy — the different changes through which it passed, as it was gradually compiled in the course of centuries, until it finally assumed the form in which it now is in our Prayer Book. It will surely be interesting to us as Churchmen, to know from whence came this precious legacy, which, while it ministers to the spirituality of those who now unite in its services, has performed also the same holy office for many generations of the saints who have gone before us. There is another object, also, to be an- swered by this investigation. We are often told, that the Church in England, from which our own is de- rived, was founded by the Romish Church, and has merely seceded from her, while our Prayer Book is nothing but an alteration of the Romish Breviary. I trust, that the historical inquiries into which we shall be led in this Lecture, will demonstrate to your satis- faction, that neither of these charges is correct — that the British Church existed, pure and independent, centuries before the Bishop of Rome had any author- ®- — — ®- i 186 HISTORY OP OUR LITURGY. ity in that land, and that her Ritual is derived from the Primitive Liturgies v^^hich were in existence during those early ages, in which corruption had not yet begun to invade the Church of Rome. Let us look, then, at the origin of the Church in that island. Is she indebted to Rome for her exist- ence ? So far from this being the case, we know that the Christian faith was professed in Britain, even in the Apostles' days, and when the Church of Rome her- self was but in the feebleness of her infancy. While the Pantheon was yet filled with its multitude of gods, and day by day there ascended the smoke of sacrifice to the Capitoline Jupiter — when Christianity in Rome was only recognized as " a pernicious superstition,'"' the adherents of which were doomed to the fire and the stake, even then, the name of Christ was honored on the banks of the Thames, and prayers went up to Him in the strange tongue of those on whom Cicero poured his contempt when he wrote to Atticus," and who formed the subject of his jest with Trebatius, as he warned him against a horde of Celtic barbarians.'' This fact is fully proved by the testimony of ancient writers. Gildas, a native of Britain, and Abbot of Bangor, speaking of the birth of our Lord in the days of Tiberius, and the fatal victory of the Romans over Boadicea, which took place about the middle of the reign of Nero, says — " In the mean time" — that is, b Tacitus, Annal. xv. 44. c Ep. ad Att. iv. 16. d Ep. Fam. vii. 7, 11. ~® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 187 in the interval between these two events — " Christ, the true Sun, afforded his rays — that is, the know- ledge of his precepts — to this island, shivering with icy cold.'" Eusebius, in his third book of Evangeli- cal Demonstration, when showing that the Apostles " preached their doctrine in the remotest cities and countries," adds particularly, " that some passed over the ocean, inl rug naXov^ivaq BqixxaviKuq vrjaovg, to those which are called the British islands."^ Ter- tullian, A. D. 190, says — " There are places in Bri- tain inaccessible to the Roman arms, which were sub- dued to Christ."= Origen, A. D. 230, writes — " When did Britain, before the coming of Christ, unite in the worship of one God ?'"' and again, " The power of God our Saviour is ever with them in Bri- tain, who are divided from our world."' And, to give one more authority, St. Chrysostom says — " The British Islands, situated beyond our sea, and lying in the very ocean, have felt the power of the word, for even there churches are built and altars erected. "J The unvarying tradition of the early Church points out the Apostle Paul as the one by whom the doctrines of the Cross were preached in that land. c Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. p. 4. According to Usher, (Brit. Eccles. Antiq. p. 278,) Gildas wrote his liistory about A. D. 564. To this Du Pin agrees, (Eccles. Hist. Cent, vi.) and also Collier, (Eccles. Hist. lib. i. p. 61.) f Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. p. 37. g Adv. Jud. c. 7. li In Ezek. Rom. iv. i Luke c. i. ; Rom. vi. j Tom. vi. p. 635. ® ® ® ® 188 HISTORY OP OUR LITURGY. Clemens Romanus and Jerome speak of his travel- ling " to the utmost bounds of the West " — of his " preaching as far as the extremity of the earth" — and "preaching the Gospel in the western parts" — expressions which Stillingfleet has fully shown from other writers were always used in that age with re- ference to the British isles.'' He has also classified the evidence on this subject by showing — 1st. From St. Paul's circumstances, that he had leisure and op- portunity enough to have gone to Britain. 2d. From the circumstances of Britain, there was encourage- ment and invitation enough for him to have gone. 3d. From the circumstances of the rest of the Apostles, that he was the most likely to have gone of any. The most direct proof on this point, however, is derived from an assertion by Theo- doret, which shows the belief in his day. He says — " Our fishermen and publicans, and he icTio teas a tent-maker, carried the Evangelical precepts to all nations ; not only to those who lived under the Roman jurisdiction, but also to the Scythians, and the Hunns ; besides to the Indians, Britains, and Germans."' We have, therefore, no hesitation in agreeing with the learned Camden, when he says — " From these authorities it follows, not only that the Gospel was preached in Britain in the times of the Apostles, but that St. Paul himself was the preacher of it."'" k Orig. Brit, p. 39. 1 Theod. lib. ix. m Britannia, Intro, p. 86. ® ^ ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 189 Such then is the historical evidence of the early establishment of the Church, in that island, and in every succeeding age we can clearly trace its pro- gress. The old historian Bede tells us of Kings who gloried in the Cross, and sought to aid its tri- umphs, while it is to this cause we must ascribe the gradual dying out of the superstition of the Druids, which after the second century of Christianity is no longer to be met with in the history of the country. Neither did her remote situation shield this Church from the rage of persecution, but in the reign of Dio- cletian she was called to give up also her witnesses for the truth. There, too, " the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." Foremost in that glorious band who " counted not their lives dear unto themselves," the annals of that day tell us of St. Alban, whose name still remains in the scene of his simple faith, when more than fifteen centuries have passed away. Her Bishops were present and assisting at the council of Aries, convened in 314 by the Emperor Constantine from all the Western Churches, to take cognizance of the Donatist con- troversy." Again, in the year 325, we find the n Tlieir subscriptions stand in this way — Eborius Episcopiis, de civitate Eboracensi Provincia Britannia. Restitutus Episcopus, de civitate Londinen.si. AiiELSics Episcopus, de civitate colonia Londinensium. The Diocese of tiiis last Bishop has been the subject of much dispute, since it is evidently a mistake as it here stands. Archbishop Ussher supposes it to be Cair-Colun, (Prim. 60, 9* (5) ( ® ® 190 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. British Bishops at the council of Nice ; also in 347 at Sardica ; and in 359 at the Synod of Ariminum, 195,) which means the city of Chester Selden (in Eutch. 118) and Sir H. Spelman {Cone. i. p. 39) both refer it to the Old Colony of Camalodunum. The supposition of Stilling- fleet {Orig. Brit. 77) is, that he was from the third province of Britannia Secunda, where was a colony of the Eleventh Legion Therefore, this Bishop Adelsius came ex Civit. Col. Leg. 11, which an ignorant transcriber might easily turn to ex Civit. Col. Londin. Stillingfleet also says, " There being but three bishops present at the council of Aries, is so far from being an argument that there were no more in Britain, that it is rather an argument to the contratry, since it was the custom to send but one or two out of a province where they were most numerous." (p. 78.) This is confirmed by the Emperor's summons to Chrestus, Bishop of Syracuse, which is the only imperial summons to this council extant, (Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. x. cap. 5,) and which Baronius be- lieves was in the same form with the rest. In this summons, Chrestus is required to come out of that province and bring two priests with him. And St. Hilary, in speaking of the councils in his day, says — " That one or two Bishops were sent for out of a Province." (Collier's Eccles. Hist. v. i. p. 26.) It is worth while to observe the conduct of this council to the Bishop of Rome, who was not present, that we may see how little in that day they dreamed of his supremacy. They send their decrees to him only " to make them more public." They call him "Dear Brother," and express their regret that he had not been there, as they would have been glad of his vote and company. Or, as it is in the Latin — " Et utinam, Fratcr Dilectissime, ad hoc tantum Spectaculum interesses, et te pariter nobiscum judicante, cojtus noster majore latitia exultasset." {Collier, v. i. p. 28, and Stilling- ficeVs Orig. Brit. p. 86.) ® — ^® ® -® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 191 where Bishops from all parts of the West had as- sembled." This, then, is the first historical fact to which I would call your attention. You perceive that the British Church was not derived originally from that of Rome. She subsisted entirely independent of the Church in Italy until the close of the sixth century, bound to her only by friendship and amity, as she was to all other Churches throughout the world. She owed no subjection to any foreign power, nor is there a record of any Romish Ecclesiastic in that island until the year 506.^ What, then, during these six centuries was the Liturgy used in our Mother Church ? We mentioned to you in the last Lecture, that there were still exist- There were also present vpith the British Bishops, Sacer- dos, a Presbyter, and Arminius, a Deacon of the Church, o Collier's Eccl. Hist. v. i. p. 28, 37. p It was a Church ancient and glorious many hundred years before Popery began, being planted by the hands of the Apostles, as some affirm upon no improbable conjecture ; but we are assured from history, very near those days And this British Church was renowned throughout the world, flourishing under Bishops and a glorious priesthood, till about the seventh century ; when the Bishop of Rome claiming a supremacy over other Bishops, the Church of Rome claimed the same over other Churches, and from the precedence of an elder sister leapt into the authority of a parent Under her corruj)tions, this Churcli, like her other sisters, sate down a contented captive many hun- dred years, till the great release of the Reformation." Bisse on " The beauty of holiness in the Common Prayer," p. 11,12. ^ g) ® (i) 192 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. ing four Great Liturgies, which had come down to us from Primitive times, and were the original sources from which all others were derived. These were called after the names of St. James, St. John, St. Peter, and St. Mark, and from their origin in the first age of our faith, were of course similar in their general features. The Liturgy of St. John was used not only in the East by the Ephesian Church, but also in Western Europe, and from the Galilean Church the Christians in Britain received it. Such, at all events, was the testimony of tradition among those by whom it had been adopted. The ancient author, whose tract has been published by Spelman, and who is allowed by all critics to have written not later than the beginning of the eighth century, thus positively affirms it — " John the Evangelist first chanted the Galilean course; then afterwards, the blessed Polycarp, disciple of St. John ; then after- wards, thirdly, Irenaeus, who was Bishop of Lyons in Gaul, chanted the same course in Gaul.'"^ The Church of Rome during this period was using the Liturgy of St. Peter, which varied in some parti- culars from that of St. John, which the Western Church had adopted. We learn this from the inter- rogation which St. Augustine addressed to Pope Gregory, at the close of the sixth century. He asked — " Why the customs of Churches are different, when their faith is the same, and one custom of Liturgy prevails in the Church of Rome, another in q Spelman, Concilia, torn. i. p. 176. ® — — ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 193 those of Gaul?'" And again, in his effort to bring the British Church under the dominion of Rome, he addressed her Bishops in the following terms — " In many respects you act in a manner contrary to our customs, and indeed to those of the universal Church ; and yet, if you will obey me in these three things, to celebrate Easter at the proper time ; to perform the office of Baptism, in which we are born again to God, according to the custom of the Holy Roman and Apostolical Church ; and with us to preach the Word of God to the English nation ; we will tolerate all your other customs, though contrary to our own.'" It is evident, therefore, that in her early day the British Church did not receive her Ritual from Rome. When, then, first commenced the intercourse be- tween these two Churches ? It was in the year 596 that Gregory, Bishop of Rome, carried into execution a plan he had long cherished of sending missionaries to aid in the conversion of the Saxons. For this pur- pose St. Augustine was selected with forty monks from his own monastery at Rome. Taking with him interpreters from France, he landed at the island of Thanct with his company, in the month of August of that year. He found the Church in Britain regularly established, although weakened by the opposition of r Bede, Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. 27. s Ibid. lib. ii. c. 2. Collier in his Eccles. Hist. lib. i. p. 49 — 51, has given the points of difference between the Roman Ritual, and that of the Gallican and Anglican Churches. ® ® ® ® 194 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. the Pagan Saxons, who had in some parts of the country driven out her Bishops and caused them to take refuge in Wales ; " for the Saxons," as the old English Chronicles tell us, " left not the face of Christianity, wherever they did prevail.'" The wor- ship of the Church was, as we have shown, with their own ancient Liturgy, while their Episcopal organi- zation is proved by the correspondence which took place between Augustine and Gregory. When Au- gustine, in asking instructions, inquires — " How he ought to manage with respect to the Bishops of Brit- ain ?" the Pope replied, " As to the Bishops of Brit- ain, he put them all under his jurisdiction."" From whence he derived his right thus to give Augustine authority over an independent Church, it would be difficult to show. In accordance with these directions, when firmly established in the island, Augustine invited the British Bishops to a conference. The meeting took place on the banks of the Severn, at a place long afterwards call- ed Augustine's Oak. There were seven English Bish- ops present, — probably from St.David's, Llandaff, Llan- badarn, Bangor, St. Asaph, Somerset, and Cornwall — besides the most learned men from Bangor -Iscoed, with Dinoth, their abbot.' No efforts of Augustine however could induce them to submit to the jurisdic- tion of Rome. His proposals were at once rejected, t Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. p. 366. u Collier's Eccles. Hist. 1. ii. p. 68. V Bede, 1. ii. c. 2. ® ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 195 and the reply of Dinoth, which is still preserved, gives most fully the views of his Church. Speaking in the name of his brethren, he said — "That the British Churches owe the deference of brotherly kindness and charity to the Church of God, and to the Pope of Rome, and to all Christians. But other obedience than this, they did not know to be due to him, whom they called Pope : and for their parts, they were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Caerleon upon Usk, who, under God, was their spiritual overseer and director."" Thus it was that the free spirit of our old Mother Church spake out. But power was on the side of Rome, and all the weight of her influence was put forth to bring the Church in that distant island under subjection. The Saxons, too, weakened her ranks by their assaults, and on one occasion 1200 priests and monks were slaugh- tered together, when they had posted themselves on an eminence near the field of battle to pray for the success of their countrymen.'' Often therefore must the members of that stricken and suffering Church have been forced to recall as prophetic, the parting threat which Augustine had addressed to them at the w Collier tells us, (Eccles. Hist. 1. ii. p. 76,) that this pas- sage, first published by Spelman, (Concilia, v. i. p. 108, 109,) was copied by him " from an old manuscript, which had also been transcribed from an older." The Romanists have at- tacked its genuineness, but the reader will see their arguments and objections answered, in Collier, as above, StiUingflcefs Grig. Brit. p. 371, and Bingham's Antiq. Ecc. ii. 9. X Bede, i. ii. c. 2. ® (^ ® ® 196 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. close of his conference — " I foresee that if you will not have peace with brethren, you will have war with foes; and if you will not preach the way of life to the English, you will suffer deadly vengeance at their hands." Yet even thus depressed — with the savage cruelty of the Pagans on the one side, and the oppo- sition of their Christian brethren on the other — the old British Church struggled on, maintaining her rightful and dignified position, and only yielding at last, when reduced by the strong arm of secular force. It took therefore five centuries of conflict to compel her into submission to the Romish See, nor was it until the Norman conquest that the authority of the Pope can be considered as firmly settled.'' y " There doth not appear much of tlie Pope's power in this realm before the Conquest. But the Pope having favored and supported King William I. in liis invasion of this king- dom, took that opportunity of enlarging his encroachments, and in this King's reign began to send his legates hither ; and prevailed with Henry I. to give up tlie donation of Bishoprics ; and in the time of King Stephen gained the prerogative of appeals ; and in the time of Henry II. exempted all clerks from the secular power. " And not long after this, by a general excommunication of kings and people for several years, because they would not suffer an Archbishop to be imposed upon them, King John was reduced to such straits, that he was obliged to sur- render his kingdoms to the Pope, and to receive them again, to hold of him at a rent of a thousand marks. " And in the following reign of Henry III., partly from the profit of our best Church benefices, which were generally given to Italians and others residing at the Court of Rome, ® — ————— g, 9 ; HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 197 Then for four centuries and a half, the same dark- ness which had settled upon the rest of Western Christendom, seemed to have gathered over Britain also. The spirit of Popery everywhere prevailed, and the Church of England was bowed down at the feet of a foreign Bishop. Yet the breath and pulse of life had not yet ceased. Scattered through the land during all these years were those who saw her fall, and mourned over it in secret. Occasionally too they spake out, and boldly bore witness against this cor- ruption, although it was at the peril of their lives. The page of Ecclesiastical History in this way records the names of Grostete — whose best encomium is that exulting exclamation of Pope Innocent, on hearing of his death, " I rejoice, and let every true son of the Church rejoice with me, that my great enemy is re- moved" — and Fitzralph, and Wiclif, who in succes- sion entered their protest againts the evils of Romish dominion. These were men, who knew the right, and having solemnly counted the cost, shrunk not from an open conflict with the crushing power of Rome. Alone — uncheered by the loud voice of popu- lar sympathy — supported only by the purity of their intentions and the goodness of their cause, they and partly by the taxes imposed by the Pope, there went yearly out of the kingdom, seventy thousand pounds — an immense sum in those days." Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, v. iii. p. 108. Such was the gradual progress of Papal encroachments in England. It will be observed, that the reign of William the Conqueror commenced in 1066, and that of Henry VIII. in 1509. The period between embraces only 443 years. ® ® ® ® 198 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. stepped forth from their cloistered retirement, and endured " the dust and heat" of this battle which was waged for the best interests of man. For them, per- secution had no perils by which it could terrify, but receiving the torch of truth from each other's hands, they bore it steadily onward, and thus acted as the heralds of the coming Reformation.'' Thus it was, z " It would be easy to show, that during this whole period there were leading men in the English Church who made bold stand not only against the usurpations, but also against the corruptions of the Romish Church. Even Arch- bishop Dunstan, in many things subservient to the Pope, did not hesitate to set at defiance the Papal mandate, when he deemed it unjust or improper, A. D. 961. And Alfric Puttock, Archbishop of York, from 1023 to 1050, openly impugned the doctrine of transubstantiation. In his ' Sermon to be spoken to the people at Easter, before they receive the holy housel,' (communion,) he teaches doctrines that would now be con- sidered orthodox by sound theologians. In the next century, Gilbert Foliath, consecrated Bishop of Hereford, 1148, trans- lated to London, 11G3, died 1187, set at defiance the Papal authority, and though twice excommunicated by the Pope, paid no regard to the thunders of the Vatican. Cotemporary with Foliath, was Ormin the poet, whose works present us with the purest English, and the purest doctrines of that age. The next century was rendered famous by Robert Grostete, or Greathead, Bishop of Lincoln, from 1234 to 1258. In 1247, a demand was made by the Pope for 6000 marks, (about £50,000,) and he had the courage to refuse to levy it until he had the sense of the nation upon it. He visited Rome, and protested against its corruptions, before the Pope and Cardinals. After his return, the Pope again tried his courage by collating an Italian youth to a vacant Canonry in the Cathedral of Lincoln. But Grostete was inflexible. He ® -® ^ ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 199 that the faith had ever some to witness for it in that land. But the Church, even with these seeds of truth within her breast — these germs of future purity and life — like the Pilgrims in their Progress to the Celestial City, slumbered on the Enchanted ground. For a time she bowed to the witchery of that spell which Rome had cast over her, and suffered her senses to be overpowered by the incantations of that oppressor who had led her into captivity. But at length, the hour of her redemption came, and a voice broke in upon her, crying, " Sleep no more." Then her dream was dispelled, and shaking from her gar- ments the dust of ages, she came forth in her ancient strength. She had discerned a vision of the Truth, which, while it made her free, enabled her also to pro- claim spiritual freedom to the world. You perceive, then, how groundless is the charge, that the Church of England, and of course our own Church, are only seceders from that of Rome. The whole statement of the case is briefly this — that the Italian Bisliops invaded the British branch of the Catholic or Universal Church, which after a long struggle was for a time reduced to submission, yet ultimately her rights were recovered, and this foreign set at nought the Pope's commands, for wliich lie was ex- communicated. But the thunderbolt fell harmless at his feet, and he died in peaceful possession of his See. Other exam- ples of a similar nature occur, but these are amply sufficient to show that many of the clergy asserted that in their w^rit- ings to which they assented in their legislative capacities." Ckapin's Prim. Church, p. 380. ® ® ® ® 200 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. jurisdiction thrown off. Successive councils of the Church had declared the independence of each par- ticular branch, and the Bishops of Rome therefore had no authority in that island. The sixth canon of the Council of Nice, A. D. 325, commanded that the "ancient customs should prevail," and the "privi- leges of Churches be preserved." In like manner, the Council of Ephesus, A. D. 430, forbade Bishops to assume jurisdiction over provinces, which had not from the beginning been subject to their predecessors. It enjoined on all who might have taken such prov- inces an immediate restitution, and decreed " that cvei'i/ province should preserve pure and inviolate the rights which it had from the beginning; that" — as the Council added, with a degree of prophetic wis- dom — "the Canons of the Fathers may not be trans- gressed, nor the pride of worldly dominion enter, under the pretence of the sacred ministry."^ At that time the Church in Britain was independent of the Roman patriarch ; what right, then, had he afterwards to as- sume and enforce jurisdiction? Mr. Dodsworth has thus briefly summed up the whole question — " I re- peat, what is so essential in these days for every Churchman to remember, that the Church of Eng- land NEVER SEPARATED FROM THE ChURCH OF RoME. It was originally an independent Church ; founded, not by emissaries from Rome, but at a period not far removed from Apostolic times, and perhaps even by a Palmer's Orig. Liturgicte, v. ii. p. 263. ® ® ® . ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 201 an Apostle himself. .... It was not till the period of the Conquest, in the middle of the eleventh century, that Rome assumed any thing like an ascendency over our Church, and then it was not without a long and arduous struggle that she established it. So that the real fact of the case is this ; — that out of eighteen CENTURIES, during which the Church of England has existed, somewhat less than four centuries and a HALF were passed under the usurped domination of the See of Rome : so great is the absurdity, and pal- pable ignorance of historical facts, evinced by those who represent the Church of England as a separated branch from the Romish communion."" b Discourses on Romanism and Dissent, p. 168. Dr. Hook, of Leeds, Chaplain to the Queen, in a sermon preached in the Chapel Royal, also thus finely illustrates this point — " About two years ago the very Cliapel in which we arc now assembled, was repaired, certain disfigurements removed, certain improvements made ; would it not be absurd on that account to contend that it is no longer the Chapel Royal r Would it not be still more absurd if some one were to build a new Chapel in the neighborhood, imitating closely what this Chapel was five years ago, and carefully piling up all the dust and rubbish which was at that time swept from hence, and then pronounce that, not this, to be the ancient Chapel of the Sovereigns of England? The absurdity is at once apparent ; but this is precisely what has been done by the Roman Catholic or Papist. The present Church of Eng- land is the old Catholic Church of England, reformed in the reigns of Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth, of certain supersti- tious errors ; it is the same Church which came down from our British and Saxon ancestors, and, as such, it possesses ^ — ® ® ___ , ® 202 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. Now among the changes which took place during this long period of bondage, the ancient and primi- tive Liturgy of the English Church suffered also, for the overshadowing power of Rome was too great to allow the continuance in use of this precious legacy from former ages. It necessarily became more and more assimilated to that of Italy. The tide of Romish priests was poured in from the continent — their Bish- ops gradually usurped the Sees of the English prelates — foreign rites and ceremonies were taught to the people — new doctrines, such as the worship of saints, the adoration of the Cross, transubstantiation, indul- gences, and purgatory, were introduced — and thus these corruptions, which their invaders had brought with them, were gradually ingrafted upon the Ritual of the British Church. At length that uniformity was produced which it is ever the object of Rome to attain, and so the Liturgy remained until the reign of Henry VIII. At this time the spirit of Reformation commenced in England, and the Church, having first thrown off her allegiance to the Romish See, proceeded to purify its original endowments, which were never, as ignorant per- sons foolishly suppose, taken from one Church and given to another. The Church remained the same after it was re- formed as it was before, just as a man remains the same man after he has washed his face, as he was before ; just as Naa- man, the leper, remained the same Naaman after he was cured of his leprosy, as he was before." I ® @ ® . — — ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 203 her service, and restore it to its ancient form." This however was not done hastily. Time was taken, and each step made the subject of careful deliberation, and profound learning called in to aid, and a thorough investigation of the past resorted to, during every stage of the compilation. The questions were often asked — " What is to be retained, because it is Scrip- tural, Primitive, and Catholic ?" and — " What is to be stricken out, because it is modern and Romish?" Their own ancient existing missals, the " Uses," and other ritual books of York, Sarum, Hereford, Bangor, and Lincoln,*^ were sought out, and also the Primi- c It may be well here to notice a usual objection, that Henry VIII. commenced the Reformation and separated from Rome, to serve his own licentious passions. But has this any thing to do with the question ? Does not God often make " the wrath of man to praise Him ?" In this instance, we behold Him bringing good out of evil, raising up holy men to complete in purity what was begun in passion, and thus even the vices of an unholy king were made to minister to the success of His Church. The trutli of a cause, and the personal characters of its promoters, are very different con- siderations. Some of the Jewish kings, whom God employ- ed as reformers, to restore His worship — Jehu, for example, (2 Kings X. 29) — were by no means saints. Constantino established Christianity in the Roman Empire, and Napoleon restored it in France. Yet who cavils at either of tlicse great changes, on account of the want of personal sanctity in their authors .'' d These were, in the main, transcripts of the Sacramen- tary of St. Gregory of the sixth century, and of course free from those corruptions of the Romish Church which were — @ ® ® 204 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY- tive Oriental forms of worship examined, and from these materials, the service was restored to its origi- nal purity, and that Ritual composed which is now our Book of Common Prayer. More than 120 years, however, passed — from the year 1537, in the reign of Henry VIII., to the year 1662, in the reign of Charles II. — while this work was going through its successive steps, and gradually maturing to the form in which we now have it. Twice indeed it was inter- rupted — once by the reign of Queen Mary, who of course endeavored to restore the Roman Ritual, and again by the rule of the Puritans, when all ancient forms were rejected, as the remains of Popery — but during the remainder of this period, it was a subject of frequent study with the Prelates of the English Church, assisted by the learned of the land, to return to a purer mode of worship. The first step was in the reign of Henry VIII., when a committee, appointed for that purpose, translated certain portions of the Service into English, which were published under the title of " The Institution of most objectionable, as they were prior to the adoption of these errors. As each Bishop had the power of altering the particular Liturgy of his own Church, in process of time dif- ferent customs arose, and several became so established as to receive the names of their respective Churches. Thus grad- ually the "Uses," or "Customs" of York, Sarum, Here- ford, &c., came to be distinguished from each other. (^Palm- er's Orig. Lit. V. 1, p. 186.) An examination of these Uses will therefore often show the faith of the English Church in the seventh century. ® ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 205 a Christian Man." It was known also by the name of " The Bishop's Book." Six years afterwards, this was revised and republished under the title of " A necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Christian Man." Again, in 154.5, the King's Primer was pub- lished.* e These works have all been reprinted in England dur- ing the last few years. To show the gradual progress of feeling during the reign of Henry VIII. we will give the contents of these three Books. I. The Institution of a Christian Man. "This book, called The Institution of a Christian Man, containeth four special parts, whereof The first part containeth the Exposition of the Creed, called the Apostles' Creed. The second part containeth the Exposition or Declara- tion of the Seven Sacraments, viz., JMatrimony, Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Eucharist, Orders, Extreme Unction. The third part containeth the Exposition of the Ten Commandments. The fourth part containeth the Exposition of the Pater Noster and the Ave, with the Articles of Justification and Purgatory." II. A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Chris- tain Man. The Declaration of Faith. The Articles of our Belief, called the Creed. The Seven Sacraments. The Ten Commandments of Almighty God. Our Lord's Prayer, called the Pater Noster. Tiic Salutation of the Angel, called the Ave Maria. An Article of Free Will. 10 ® ® (S) ® 206 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. In the reign of Edward VI. when the ancient cus- tom of administering the Communion in both kinds was restored, it was of course found necessary to have a Service giving the true view of this Sacrament. The King therefore appointed " certain Bishops and other learned Divines, to draw an office in English to be used for that purpose ; which being finished, was called, The Communion."^ In May, 1548, the greatest step in this series of changes was taken. The same Bishops and Divines were again selected by the King " to draw up a general public office in English, in the room of the Latin mass-book." This having been done, and the whole Liturgy with its public offices having been compiled, it was confirmed by Parliament, in the latter end of the same year, and set An Article of Justification. An Article of Good Works. Of Prayer for souls departed. III. The Primer, set forth by tlie King's Majesty, and his Clergy, to be taught, learned and read ; and none other to be used throughout all his dominions, 1545. The Calendar The Compline. The King's Highness Injunc- The Seven Psalms. tion. The Litany. The Prayer of our Lord. The Dirge. The Salutation of the Angel. The Commendations. The Creed, or Articles of The Psalms of the Passions. Faith. The Passion of our Lord. TheTen Commandments. Certain godly prayers for sun- The Matins. dry purposes. The Even Song. f Strype's Mem. Ecclcs. v. ii. part. i. p. 96. ® ■ ® _ ® HISTORY OP OUR LITURGY. 207 forth under the title of, " The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments, and otlier Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Eng- land." Upon this Strype remarks — " The rule they went by in this work was, the having an eye and re- spect unto the most sincere and pure Christian re- ligion taught by the Holy Scriptures, and also to the usage of the Primitive Church As for the work itself, as it is said to be done by one uniform agreement, so also ' by the aid of the Holy Ghost,' such was the high and venerable esteem then had of it."° A few slight alterations having been made in 1552, together with some useful additions, such as the Introductory Sentences, Exhortations, Confession and Absolution, and the forms for ordination of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, it was again confirmed by Par- liament, and this is the book known by the name of " The Second Book of Edward VI." Under Elizabeth and James I. Committees were at different times appointed to see what further revi- sion of the Prayer Book was expedient. The changes however were trifling, generally referring merely to the form of expression, except the insertion of some prayers for Thanksgiving, and a few (Questions and Answers in the Catechism. At last, in the reign of Charles II., the final altera- tions were made. Some of the Collects were re- modeled, the Epistles and Gospels were taken from King James' translation of the Bible, the office for g Ibid. p. 135. ©- ® ® 208 HISTORY OF OUK LITURGY. the Baptism of adults, together with a few prayers for particular occasions, were added, and thus the Prayer Book was finally adopted as it is now used by the Church in England. Thus it is that we have given the History of our Liturgy, from its rise in Primitive times, down to its present form in our Mother Church abroad. You perceive therefore that it is no modern production, nor is it a set of forms which grew up amid the cor- ruptions of the Middle Ages.'' It is a Ritual which, in all its principal features, can be traced back to the Apostolic age. And so close is this resemblance, that in very many parts it extends even to the expres- sions and the words. h Ingram, in bis True Character of the Church of England, thus shows that our Prayer Book is older than the Roman Missal now used — " Our Common Prayer was compiled in 1548, received a revision in 1552, and was established in its present form in 1569. Whereas the Roman Missal was drawn up by certain fathers chosen for that purpose towards the close of the Council of Trent in 1.562, and was not sanctioned and promulgated until 1.570 by a bull of Pope Pius V. bear- ing date the 12th of January in that year. It is therefore impossible that the later Roman could have been the source whence the earlier English Ritual was derived. The Re- formed Church of England might, with much greater appear- ance of reason, charge the Italian Church with having copied from her Liturgy all that is Scriptural and Primitive in the Roman 3Tass Book. But the fact is, both Churches had one common fountain from which to draw ; namely. Scripture and Primitive usage. The Church of Rome chose to corrupt the pure waters of this fountain." — p. 95. ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 209 To effect this, was the avowed object of the Eng- lish Reformers. Unlike those on the Continent, they made no attempt to found a new Church, nor did they desire to introduce a new order of worship. They knew that " the old was better," and therefore their work was simply one of Restoration. Thus, in the answer of the Council to the Princess Mary, after- wards Queen, when she wished Mass performed in her house, they say — " That the Christian faith pro- fessed is the same in substance as before .... that the English Reformation had recovered the worship to the directions of Scripture, and the usage of the Primitive Church.'''' And Bishop Collier adds — " That part of the letter which relates to religion, was penned in all likelihood by Cranmer and Ridley, who were then of the Privy Council." When again, in the reign of Queen Mary, Archbishop Cranmer drew up " A Manifesto in Defence of the Reformation," he has the same appeal to antiquity. He says, " And with the Queen's leave he offers to justify the Eng- lish Communion Service, both from the authority of the Scriptures, and the practice of the Primitive Church. And on the other side, that the Mass is not only without foundation in both these respects, but likewise discovers a plain contradiction to antiquity. He will maintain the Reformation made in the late reign, with respect to Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship, to be more orthodox and defensible, i Collier's Eccl. Hist. v. ii. p. 311. ® ® ®__ ® 210 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. more agreeable to the true standard, and Primitive plan, than the belief and practice of the Church of Rome."^ In the same way, Queen Elizabeth, in re- ply to the Roman Catholic Princes on the Continent, who desired favor to be shown to the Romish Bishops, gives as a reason why they should conform to the Established Church, that " there was no new faith propagated in England : no new religion set up, but that which was commanded by our Saviour, practised hy the Primitive Church, and approved by the Fa- thers of the best antiquity."'^ When therefore the Prayer Book was published in its present form, it was recommended to the Clergy and Laity in these words — " Here you have an order of Prayer, and for the read- ing of Scripture, much agreeable to the mind and pur- poses of the oldfathers.^'^ In the " Act of Uniformity," the Parliament of England declared that thus they received it, and it was authorized as " A very godly Book, agreeable to the word of God and the Primitive Church, very comfortable to all good people, desiring to live in Christian conversation.'"" We have thus brought before you the History of our Liturgy, through all ages, from Primitive times until it assumed its present form, that you may see how much it retains the spirit and even the words derived from the days of ancient purity. To impress j Ibid. p. 347. k Ibid. p. 436. 1 Preface to the Prayer Book. m Collier's Eccl. Hist. v. ii. p. 320. ® ® ® _ ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 211 this however still more — to show how fully we have the sanction of antiquity for our manner of worship — we will briefly take up the principal parts of our Ritual, and state their derivation. With respect to the Communion Service, we showed in the last Lecture, when referring to the four Original Liturgies, how entirely our form for the administration of this solemn Sacrament is taken from them. It was the object of the compilers of our Prayer Book — says Wheatley — " out of them all to ex- tract an oflice for themselves ; and which indeed they performed with so exact a judgment and happy suc- cess, that it is hard to determine, whether they more endeavored the advancement of doctrine, or the imi- tation of pure antiquity."" For example, all these ancient Liturgies have a prayer answering in sub- stance to ours, " For the whole state of Christ's Church Militant." All contain that portion begin- ning, " Lift up your hearts," with the responses which follow, as well as that noble anthem, " Therefore with angels and archangels." In each one of them also we find, the commemoration of our Lord's words — the Breaking of Bread — the Oblation — the Prayer of consecration — the adminrstration of the Elements — and the Lord's Prayer. Other parts of this service, although not taken from these four Primitive Liturgies, are still of great antiquity. Thus, the Offertory has been received in n On Common Prayer, p. 274. ® ■ ® ®— ® 212 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. the English Church since the end of the sixth cen- tury. It is found indeed in Rituals of that period, although it may have been used long before." The Exhortation also has its parallel in the ancient Litur- gies. In that of Antioch particularly, which was used for a great length of time by the Syrian Monophosites, there is a similar address from the deacon to the peo- ple, which in its position in the service corresponds with our Exhortation. This, if not of greater antiquity than the separation of the orthodox and Monophosites in A. D. 451, cannot be much later than that event.^ A form of Confession was common in the ancient Churches, and in the Liturgy of Jerusalem it occupies exactly this place in the service. There is also ex- tant a Sacramentary of the time of Charlemagne, which contains one in substance similar to our own.** The same antiquity may be claimed for the Absolution, which follows. The ThanTcsgiving after Coinmunion may be traced in several early Liturgies, particularly that of Caesarea, which is more than 1500 years old, that of Antioch, and the Alexandrian Liturgy of Basil.'' The date of the Gloria in Excelsis has never been accurately fixed. By some it has been ascribed to Telesphorus, Bishop of Rome, A. D. 150 ; by others to Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers in the fourth century. We know however that it is more than 1500 years old in ihfr Eastern Church, and the Church of Eng- land has used it either at the beginning or end of the o Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. ii. p. 73. p Ibid. p. 100. ■q Ibid. p. lOG. r Ibid. p. 156. (^ ® ® _ ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 213 Liturgy for above 1200 years.' The Benediction is found in some form in all ancient services, and the one with which our service concludes is a judicious enlargement of that which was used in the English Church before the year GOO.' In the same way, did our limits permit, we could go through the Babtismal Service, and point out the origin of its different parts. Some of these — like the vows of renunciation and the profession of faith — are of primitive antiquity, while the remainder can generally be found in the ancient Manuals of Scdisbury and York, or in manuscripts which were used more than nine hundred years ago." Let us turn to the Psalter. The manner of read- ing or singing the Psalms responsively, as we now do, prevailed in very ancient times. We showed in the last Lecture that thus the Song of Moses was used, after the passage of the Red Sea, when the people sang, " and Miriam and all the women an- swered them." In this way, too, we know that many of the Psalms of David were chanted forth in the ser- vice of the Temple. Such, for instance, was Psalm cxxxvi., where the first part of each verse was sung by the Lcvites, while the chorus, " For his mercy endur- eth forever," was the response of the people. From them the early followers of our Lord inherit- ed these hymns of praise, and ever since the times of the Apostles the recitation of Psalms has everywhere s Ibid. p. 159. t Ibid. p. 161. u Ibid. p. 173. 10* ® (i) ® _ ® 214 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. formed a principal part of the service of the Church." Thus the Roman Governor, Pliny, A. D. 110, states that the Christians " met on a certain stated day, and sung by turns, {invicem,) a hymn to Christ, as God."" St. Jerome, in describing the devotions of Christians in Egypt, says, " then the Psalms are sung, and the Scriptures are read ;" and thus Cassian represents it, that the Psalms were used before the lessons." In the same way, St. Basil tells us, this part of the ser- V Thus St. Chrysostom says — " Christians exercise them- selves in David's Psahns oftener than in any part of the Old or New Testament. Moses, the great lawgiver, who saw God face to face, and wrote of the creation of the world, is scarcely read through once a year. The Holy Gospels, where Christ's miracles are preached, where God converses with man, where devils are cast out, lepers are cleansed, and the blind restored to sight, where death is destroyed, where is the food of immortality, the Holy Sacraments, the words of life, holy precepts, precious promises ; these we read over once or twice a week. What shall I say of blessed Paul, the preacher of Christ ? His Epistles we read twice in the week. We get them not by heart, but attend to them while they are reading. But as to David's Psalms, the grace of the Holy Spirit has so ordered it, that they are repeated night and day. In the vigils of the Church, the first, the midst, the last, are David's Psalms. In the morning, David's Psalms are sought for, and the first, the midst, and the last, is David. At funeral solemnities, tlie first, the midst, and the last, is David. In private houses, the first, the midst, and the last, is David. Many that know not a letter, can say David's Psalms by heart." Horn. vi. de Pocn. w Pliny, Ep^ 97. X Bingham Orig. Eccles. lib. xiv. c. 1. sect. 1. (5) ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 215 vice was performed in his day, alternately. " After the confession, the people rise from prayer, and pro- ceed to Psalmody, dividing themselves into two parts, and singing by turns. "^ The Psalms, too, were always read or sung, as now among us, standing. Thus Cassian, speaking of the Egyptian Christians, says, that when "by rea- son of their continual fastings and labor day and night, they were unable to stand all the time, while twelve Psalms were reading yet at the last Psalm they all stood up, and repeated it alternately, adding the Gloria Patri at the end." And we have also the testimony of St. Augustine, who spefiks of Psalmody as an act of devotion, which all the people performed standing in the Church.' Cassian, it will be remarked, in the above quotation, refers to the Gloria Patri being added to the last Psalm. Such was the custom of the Eastern Church. In the Western Church, the practice was different, and it was used at the end of every Psalm." Such is also the antiquity of our rule of reading Lessons from Scripture in each service. It was de- rived from the Jewish Church, where the law was divided into sections, one of which was read on every Sabbath day, so that the whole was completed in a year ; and on each of these occasions some portion of y Wheatley on Common Prayer, p. 134. z Bingiiani, lib. xiv. c. 1. sect 14. a Ibid, sect 8. ^ _@ ® (S) 216 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. the prophets was added also.'' To this St. James re- ferred when lie said, " Moses was read in the Syna- gogue every Sabbath day," (Acts xv. 21,) and in the thirteenth chapter mention is made of the same cus- tom, where we are told that St. Paul addressed the people in the synagogue, " after the reading of the law and the prophets." (v. 15.) The Christian Church, therefore, naturally con- tinued this admirable rule, by which week after week her members are systematically instructed in the word of God. Thus, Justin Martyr in the second century says, " It was the custom in his time to read lessons out of the Prophets and Apostles in the As- sembly of the faithful."" And Cassian tells us — " It was the constant custom of all Christians throughout Egypt, to have two lessons, one out of the Old Tes- tament, and another out of the New, read immediately after the Psalms ; a practice so ancient, that it cannot be known whether it was founded upon any human institution. "'^ Tertullian, at the end of the second century, speaks of the reading of Scriptures in the Church, and in one place especially, he tells us that the law and the prophets were read in Africa before the Epistles and Gospels.^ The early fathers, in their sermons which have come down to us, frequently b Home's Introd. to Scrip, v. iii. p. 244, where the read- er will find a table of the different sections from the haw and the Prophets, as used by the Jews throughout the year. c Apol.i. cap. 87. d Wheatley, p. 141. e Tertull. de Pra^script, c. 36. ® ■ ■ ® I g) HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 217 allude to the lessons for the day. Thus St. Basil, in one of his Homilies on Baptism, takes notice of three of the lessons that were read that day, besides the Psalms, one of which was from Isaiah, another from Acts, and a third from Matthew.*^ St. Augustine in like manner refers to four lessons which had been read on a particular occasion, one out of Moses, an- other out of Isaiah, a third out of the Gospel, and the last out of the Epistles ?' There were also proper Lessons selected for the different seasons of the Ec- clesiastical year ; as during the Festival of Easter, for four days successively the History of Christ's Res- urrection was read out of the four Gospels, and on the day of His Passion they read the narrative of His suf- ferings as related by St. Matthew.'' You perceive, then, the great antiquity of this portion of the service, and how faithfully in this respect we follow the ex- ample of the early Church. The Litany next claims our attention. We can trace this kind of prayer back to the third century, in the Eastern Churches. It was introduced into the Western Church during the fifth century. The peti- tions in our Litany are of very gre^t antiquity in the English Church. " Mabillon has printed a Litany of the Church of England, written probably in the eighth century, which contains a large portion of that which we repeat at the present day, and which pre- f Bingham, lib. xiv. cliap. 3, sect. 2. g Ibid. h Ibid. sect. 3 i Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. i. p. 287. ®- ® ® ___ — ® 218 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. serves exactly the same form of petition and response which is still retained. The still more ancient Lita- nies of the Abbey of Fulda, of the Ambrosian Missal, and of Gelasius, Patriarch of Rome, together with the Diaconica or Irenica of the Liturgies and Offices of the Churches of Constantinople, Csesarea, Antioch, Jerusalem, &c., which all preserve the form of the Litany ; all these ancient formularies contgiin very much the same petitions as the English Litany,"' Look now at the Collects for each day. The origin of this word is doubtful, so great is the antiquity of its use. By some Ritualists, these prayers are said to derive their name from the priest, thus, as it were, collecting the devotions of the people, and offering them at once.' By others, it is asserted they took their rise from the collecting of the people, as was usual in the early times of Christianity, on fast days, and especially during a season of public calamity, for devotion in one of the Churches. When the clergy and the people had assembled at the place appointed, the Bishop, or the Priest who was to officiate, recited over the collected multitude a short prayer, which, from the circumstance, was denominated the Collect or gathering prayer.'' We have Cassian's testimony that in his time — that is, in the fourth century — Col- lects were recited amongst the Psalms and lessons of morning and evening prayer, by the Egyptians ; and Athanasius, in several places, alludes to the existence j Bingham's Orig. Eccles. lib. xix. ch. 1. sect. 4 k Rock's Hierurgia, vol. i. p. 91. ® ® -® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGV. 219 of the same practice in his time.' It has been thought by some writers on this subject, tliat the Collects were framed by St. Jerome.'" They were certainly arranged by Gelasius, Patriarch of Rome, in A. D. 494, and afterwards by Gregory the Great, A. D. 590, in whose Sacramentary many of them are now found. As he however only collected them, they are much older than his day. Yet it will be perceived, that even this revision of them dates back more than 1200 years." 1 Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. i. p. 310. m Wheatley, p. 212. n As it may interesting to Churchmen to see the date of each Collect, and the changes tlirough which it has passed, we have copied tlie following tables from Shepherd's Eluci- dation of the Prayer of the Church of England, p. 301-5. PART I. Consisting of such Collects as were retained from ancient Liturgies at the Reformation. Collects for 4 Sunday in Advent. St. John's day. Tlie Epipliany. 1, 2, and 3 Sun. after Epipii. 5 Epiphany. Septuagesima. Sexagesima. 2, 3, 4, G Sunday in Lent. 6 Sunday in Lent. Whence taken. In some old offices for the first Sunday in Advent. St. Greg. Sacr. and Gothic Liturg. St. Greg. Sacr. The same, and St. Ambros. Liturg. St. Greg. Sacr. The same. Tlie same. The same. Tlie same ; but in St. Ambros. Liturg. for Good Friday. ®- -® ® ® 220 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. Let US now examine the selection of the Epistle and Gospel for each day, which follow these collects. Good Friday, the three Col- lects. Easter Day. 3 Sunday after Easter, 5 Sunday after Easter. Ascension Day. Whitsunday. 1 Sunday after Trinity. The 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, in, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, after Trinity. The Purification. St. Michael's Day. They arc in all offices with little variation ; but they are left out of the Brevia- ries of Pius V. and Clem. VIII. St. Greg. Sacr. and a Collect almost the same in the Gallic Liturgy. St. Greg. Sacr. St. Ambros. Liturg. St. Greg. Sacr. The same. The same. The same. This, in some old Offices, is called the second after Pentecost; in others, the first after the octaves of Pentecost. Are all in St. Greg Sacr. The same. The same. The reader will observe, that the greater part of this class of Collects, is found in Gregory's Sacramentary, which was composed before the year 600. All of these, therefore, are at least 1200 years old, and many of them are much older. For Gregory did not originally form the offices. He only collected and improved them. To waive all other proof of this, we have his own testimony, given in vindication of his conduct. ' I have followed,' says he, ' a practice common in the Greek Church, and have altered some old Collects, ®- ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 221 " It is certain" — says Wlieatly — *' that they were very anciently appropriated to the days whereon we now and added some new and useful ones.' But the generality of tbc Collects in his Sacramentary he compiled from Litur- gies which in his time were esteemed ancient. PART II. Consisting of Collects taken from ancient models, hut con- siderably altered ajid improved by our Reformers, and the Ilcviciccrs of the Liturgy. Collects for Time of Improvement. How it stood before. St. Stephen's Beginning add. Grant us, O Lord, to learn Day. 1662. to love our enemies, «&c. 4 Sunday after End improved Grant to us the health of Epiph. 1662. body and soul, that all those things which we sufler for sin, &c. 4 Sunday after Improved 1662. Who makest the minds of Easter. all faithful people to be of one will, &c. Sunday after A little varied This had been of old the Ascension. 1549. Collect for Ascension Day, on which our ven- erable Bede repeated it, as he was dying. 2 Sunday after The order in- Lord, make us to have a Trin. verted 1662. perpetual fear and love of Thy holy name, for thou never failest, «&;c. 8 Sunday after Beginning im- Whose providence is never Trin. proved 1662. deceived, &c. 11 Sunday after Improved 1662. That we, running to thy Trin. promises, may be made partakers of thy heaven- ly treasures, &c. ®- ® ® ~ -^ — — ® 222 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. read them ; since they were not only of general use throughout the whole Western Church, but are also 18 Sunday after Improved 1662. To avoid the infections of Trin. the devil, &c. 19 Sunday after Improved 1662. That the working of thy Trin. mercy may in all things, «fcc. St. Paul's Da)^ Improved 1.559 In the Breviaries a new and 1662. prayer was added, men- tioning St. Paul's inter- cession ; in the year 1549 the old prayer alone out of Greg. Sacr. was restored, which had our walking after his exam- ple only, which was a little varied in the year 1662. The Annuncia- Improved 1549. The Breviaries had put in ton. a new prayer about the B. Virgin's intercession, which was cast out in 1549, and the form in St. Greg. Sacr. restored. St. Philip and Improved 1662. As thou hast taught St. James. Philip and the other Apostles, «&c. St. Bartholo- Improved 1662. To preach that which he mew. taught, &c., was altered, because there is no writ- ing of his extant. TrinitySunday. This Collect is no older than the Sacramentary ascribed to Alcuinus. The old Ollices have ® ® ® cs> HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 223 commented upon in the Homilies of several ancient Fathers, which are said to have been preached upon those very days to which these portions of Scripture are now affixed. So that they have most of them be- anothcr Collect for it, and call it the Octave of Pentecost. PART III. Consisting of such Collects as are composed anew, and substi- tuted in the jjlacc of those ichick, containing either false or superstitious doctrines, zcere on this account rejected. Collects for 1 Sunday in Advent. 2 Sunday in Advent. 3 Sunday in Advent. Christmas Day. Circumcision. 6 Sunday after Epiphany. Q,uinquagesinia. Ash Wednesday. 1 Sunday in Lent. Easter Even. Easter Sunday. 1 Sunday after Easter. 2 Sunday after Easter. St. Andrew's Day. Composed in First Book of Edward VI., 549. The same time. 1662. 1549. Tlic same time. 1662. Before this time they repeated the collect for the fifth Sunday. 1549. The same time. The same time. 1662. No collect for it ever before then. The first sentence (1 Cor. v. 7) was added 1662. 1549. Then it was used on Easter Tuesday, and in 1662 was fixed for this Sunday. 1549. 1552. Second Book of Edward VI. ®- ■® ® ___— ® 224 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. longed to the same Sundays and Holy Days we now use them on, for above 1200 years."" We are told by Mr. Palmer that, in the early ages of the Church, the Epistle was generally called " the Apostle." In this way St. Augustine often speaks of it, and in the Sacramentary of Gregory the Great, it is said, " the Apostle follows," meaning the Epistle of the Apostle is then read. Almost all the lessons now read as Epistles, have been used in the Church of England for many ages. They appear in English Liturgies before the invasion of William the Con- queror. We know, indeed, that they are generally as old as the time of Augustine, A. D. 595. In his day a Psalm was sung between the Epistle and Gospel. Thus, in one sermon he says — " We have heard the Apostle, we have heard the Psalm, we have heard the Gospel; all the divine lessons agree." In another sermon he says — " We have heard the first lesson from the Apostle, .... then we have sung a St. Thomas' Day. St. Matthias. St. Mark. St. Barnabas. St. John Baptist. St. Peter. )■ All composed anew in 1540. St. James. St. Matthew. St. Luke. St. Simon and St. Jude. All Saints. o On Common Prayer, p. 213. ®— — ■ — — ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 225 Psalm, . . . after this, came the lesson fromtke Gos- pel ; these three lessons we will discourse upon, as far as time permits."^ There is a curious thought in Al- cuin — an English writer, who lived about A. D. 780 — that this arrangement of the Church is " not without a spiritual meaning. For in causing the writings of God's envoys to be recited previous to the lecture of the Gospel, the Church appears to imitate the example of Jesus Christ, who deputed some among his dis- ciples to go before Ilim into those quarters which he was about to honor with a visit.'"^ You perceive in these quotations the reference made to the Gospel also. Even in the manner in which it is read, our Church continues to follow the example of the early ages. It was a general custom for all the people to stand up, and when it was an- nounced, they uttered the ascription of praise — " Glory be to Thee, O Lord." Thus, the author of an ancient Homily, sometimes ascribed to St. Chrysos- tom, asserts — " When the Deacon goes about to read the Gospel, we all presently rise up, and say, ' Glory be to Thee, O Lord.' '" We know, indeed, that this custom of rising is certainly as old as the days of St. Chrysostom ; for he speaks of it in one of his Homilies on St. Matthew — " If the letters of a king are read in the theatre with great silence, much more ought p Orig. Lit. V. ii. p. 42—7. q Alcuinus de Divin. Offic. (quoted in Rock's Hicrurgia, v. i.p. 95.) r Bing. Orig. Ecclcs. lib. xiv. ch. 3, sect. 10. ® ■ — —I ® ® 226 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. we to compose ourselves, and stand up with attentive ears, when the letters, not of an earthly king, but of the Lord of angels are read to us."^ In the same way the Author of the Constitutions, says — " When the Gospel is read, let the Presbyters and Deacons, and all the people stand with profound silence.'" These, then, are the principal parts of our Service, and you perceive not only their great antiquity, but also how carefully the Church now adheres to the rites and customs of early days. From the manner in which our Liturgy was arranged by the English reformers, you can see the object they had in view in the great work to which they were called, and the spirit in which it was accomplished. They wished, simply to purify their Church and Ritual from the cor- ruptions of the Middle Ages, and to have them both conformed in every respect to the pattern of primitive times. In this respect they differed widely from those on the Continent. There, antiquity was disregarded — the Church, with her ministry and Ritual, entirely abandoned — and instead of a Reformation, the result was a Revolution.'' Casaubon, therefore, paid but a s Horn. i. in Matt. t Constit. lib. ii. cap. 57. 11 " Thus, when the infatuate Council, named of Trent, Clogg'd up the Catholic course of the true Faith, Troubling the stream of pure antiquity, And the wide channel in its bosom took Crude novelties, scarce known as that of old ; Then many a schism overleaped the banks, Gencvese, Lutheran, Scotch diversities. Our Church, though straiten'dsore 'tween craggy walls, ® ' ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY, 227 merited tribute to our Church, when he wrote — " Si me conjectura non fallit, totius reformationis pars in- tegerrima est in Anglia : ubi, cum studio veritatis, viget studium antiquitatis." It remains to say but a few words with regard to the difference between the Prayer Book as used in Enghmd and in this country. At the close of that revolution which politically separated us from Eng- land, the Church also in this land was, of course, severed from that to which she had been " indebted, under God, for her first foundation, and a long con- tinuance of nursing care and protection.'" When, therefore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by other English prelates, had consecrated three Bishops for this country, that we might have the Apostolical succession among ourselves," it became necessary Kept her true course, unchanging and the same ; Known by that ancient clearness, pure and free, With which she sprung from 'neatli tlie throne of God." Thoughts on Past Years, p. 274. V Preface to the Prayer Book. w The Right Rev. Wm. White, D.D., of Pennsylvania, and the RightRev. Sam. Provost, D.D., of New York, conse- crated in the Chapel of the Archiepiscopal Palace at Lambeth, in England, on Sunday, Feb. 4tli, 1787, by the Most Rev. John Moore, Archbisliop of Canterbury, assisted by the Archbishop of York, and the Bishops of Bath and Wells, and Peter- borough. The Right Rev. James Madison, D.D., of Virginia, consecrated in the same place, on Sunday, Sept. 19th, 1790, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London and Rochester. ^ The Right Rev. Samuel Seabury, D.D., of Connecticut, ® — ® ® @ 228 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. also to make some trifling alterations in the Prayer Book, to adapt it to the circumstances of the Church. These changes were made, and these only ; for, as it is expressed in the Preface to that volume — " This Church is far from intending to depart from the Church in England in any essential point of doctrine, discipline, or worship, or further than local circum- stances require." Our early Bishops, looking to the Church from which their own derived her existence, wished that every one should trace the Mother's linea- ments in the features of the child. Thus, then, the Prayer Book was finally arranged, and so we trust it will remain through all ages of our Church here, until her earthly warfare is accomplished, and this service gives place to the anthems of Heaven. And now, in conclusion, let me ask — have we not reason to bless God for this " form of sound words," which has thus come down to us from a distant anti- quity ? May we not say of the Church — " Her clothing is of wrought gold V Our Ritual contains not the sentiments or thoughts of any one man — or even any one generation of men — but embodies the spirit and the devotion of Universal Catholic Christen- dom, in its earliest, purest day. It is tinged with no party views. It is not intended to speak the language of any one small section of believers, but it seeks to bring us before the throne of God in the same spirit had been previously consecrated in Aberdeen, Scotland, Nov. 14th, 1784, by tlie Bishop of Aberdeen, with his coadjutor, and the Bishop of Ross and 3Ioray, assisting. ® ® ® ® HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 229 with which His children were accustomed to approach Him, when warring sects were unknown, and but one united Church was spread everywhere over the earth. Oh, are there not, then, solemn recollections and glorious memories connected with the Liturgy by which now we worship ? Is it not something, to realize that in our devotions we are not dependent on the feelings of a mortal like ourselves, for the direc- tion which our thoughts shall take, but that the prayers we utter bear the stamp and breathe the spirit of Apostolic days ? Does not this Ritual come to us with new power when we think, that age after age its solemn, elevating voice has been heard in the Church — that it is now what it was, when Christianity itself, in the dawn of early youth, was contending even for existence with a Pagan world ? Yes — when I stand at this altar, to minister in that holy rite by which with bread and wine we commerriorate our Lord's death, I remember that seventeen centuries ago these emblems were consecrated, with almost the same words, in the distant East where our faith had its birth, and through Northern Africa, where once hundreds of Bishops sat in the councils of the Church. There also that noble ascription — " Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of Heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name" — was uplifted in many a strange tongue, as men thus professed their faith even at the peril of their lives. And now it has descended to us, as a chain which binds us to them in holy fellowship. The same 11 ®^ ® ® _ g) 230 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. anthems which you sing, have been sounded forth from ancient confessors and martyrs, as they went joyfully to the stake, and been the last accents heard from their lips as the flames gathered around them/ Countless generations of the saints — the dead who slept in Christ a thousand years ago — have worshipped in the very prayers which now you use, and had their souls thus trained up for Heaven. Therefore it is, that as each age passed by, this Ritual has gone down with a richer freight of hallowed associations and blessings to the generation which succeeded, until we in our turn have inherited it. We wish, therefore, nothing better. We are willing to tread in the footsteps of the holy dead who have gone before us. We will worship in their words, and trust that at the end we shall share in their reward. We will feel, too, that the noblest legacy we can leave to those who shall come after us, is this form of sound words — so full — so complete, that we may well say in the words of Dr. South — " There is no prayer ne- cessary, that is not in the Liturgy, but one ; which is this : that God would vouchsafe to continue the Liturgy itself, in use and honor, and veneration, in this Church forever." X " Their bodies were quickly wrapped in flame ; they shouted Te Dcum laudamus. Soon their voices were stifled — and their aslies alone remained." Death of Esch and Voes, the first martxjrs of the Reformation^ at Brussels, 1525. The venerable Bede, as he was dying, repeated the Collect for the day, which was the Festival of our Lord's Ascension. Malms. \. i. c.'i. ® ® ® — -® THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF INFANT BAPTISM. Blest be the Church, that watching o'er the needs Of infancy, provides a timely shower. Whose virtue changes to a Christian Flower A giowth from sinful nature's bed of weeds ! — FitUest beneath the sacred roof proceeds The ministration ; while parental Love Looks on, and grace descendeth from above. As the high service pledges now, now pleads. JVordsworth^s Ecclesiastical Sonnets, XV. ® — ® ® ■ ® VI. THE CHURCH'S VIEW OE INEANT BAPTISM. Human language could not frame a question which would appeal with greater force to the parents' heart, than that simple inquiry which Elisha addressed to the woman of Shunem — " Is it well with the child V"- It is asking after the welfare of one around whom their warmest affections are clustering, with all the strength of a father's love, and the undying steadfast- ness of a mother's tenderness. The infant, even in the first months of its helpless innocence, is already exerting a powerful influence over many hearts. How many bosoms — alike of childhood and of age — are filled with its love ! How many countenances, as they cluster around it, light up with gladness at its smiles ! How does its presence spread happiness through its home ! Thus early do the threads of its influence go out, and entwine about the hearts of those to whom Providence hath committed its keep- a 2 Kings iv. 26. ®- -® ® __ . ® 234 THE church's view ing. How powerfully, then, do the warmest feelings of our nature respond at once to the question — " Is it well with the child ?" But expressive as is this inquiry when applied to the temporal welfare of your child, what an added emphasis does it have, when we carry it still farther, and refer the question to that child's spiritual hopes ! There it is, in the feebleness of wailing infancy — ap- parently so frail, that its existence, like that of the delicate flower, might suddenly be nipped even by the rude winds of Heaven — and realizing the descrip- tion which Job gives of our nature, that its " founda- tion is in the dust, and it is crushed before the moth." Yet that frail creature is a candidate for immortality, and no power in the universe can end the existence which has now been breathed into it. Disease or violence may reduce to insensibility that tender frame, but it will only be transferring its life to another sphere of being. That weak and powerless body is the prison-house of a spirit, which must live long after the material universe has passed away, and which through all the wasteless ages of its immortality, must be rejoicing in bliss ineffable, or else mingling its wail with the despairing cry of those to whom " hope never comes, That comes to all."') To the thoughtful mind, then, what solemn reflec- tions gather around the unconscious infant ! How b Paradise Lost, Book i. c. 66. ® ® ®— — ■ (s) OF INFANT BAPTISM. 235 Strange the contrasts suggested, between what it is and what it shall be ! How lofty the speculations in which we may indulge, on the destiny which awaits it in this world, and in that which is to come ! But with what intense interest should these emo- tions come home to the hearts of those who are in- trusted with the guidance of that child ! They are to give the first impulse and direction to that immor- tal being. They are to allure it on to Heaven, or else suffer it to be lost forever. They are to impress upon its infant mind, those earliest lessons which are to give tone and character to its expanding faculties. On them, then, in a great measure it depends, whether that infant is to be hereafter a saint in glory, or through eternity, undone — a castaway. What force, therefore, is there in the question — " Is it well with the child?" It is asking, whether you have done all that is in your power to lead it forward in the way of life ? Neither is this an inquiry which is without meaning until your child is old enough to be benefited by your instructions. You have a spiritual duty to perform in its behalf, even before the hours arrive when its unfolding mind«allovvs it to profit by your teaching. Long ere that time has come, you may place it within the fold of Christ, and by the waters of baptism dedi- cate it to Him forever. This is your earliest duty, and until it is fulfilled, you have neglected the first step in seeking the welfare of your child. In address- ing you then this evening, on the Church's view of ® ® ® __ ® 236 THE church's view Infant Baptism, I would endeavor, by God's bless- ing, to impress upon you the necessity of bringing your children forward, " that they may be baptized with water and the Holy Ghost, and received into Christ's holy Church, and be made living members of the same."" The first point, then, to be considered is — the au- tliority for infant baptism. This rite is rejected by some, as you are well aware, on the ground that it is not expressly commanded in Scripture. The futility of this objection will at once be seen, if we remember how many other duties we perform, which are not even mentioned in the word of God. That volume is in- tended to be merely the outline for our guidance, and it would be impossible, within its narrow limits, to specify each particular act incumbent upon us If we take this ground, that the authority for each rite and custom must be drawn only from the Inspired Volume, we must refuse to admit females to the cele- bration of the Lord's Supper, because there is no in- stance recorded in the New Testament of their hav- ing received it, and decline any longer to observe as holy the first day of the week instead of the seventh, because we can find no express conjinand enjoining the change. We turn, therefore, to the practice of the Primitive Church, and as we find that the early followers of our Lord observed both these customs, we have no hesitation in following their example. c Address in the Baptismal Service. ® — — ® ® — ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 237 And for a reason precisely similar, we feel constrain- ed to admit infants to the waters of baptism. But although this rite is not expressly inculcated in Scripture, yet we think there are many intimations in the New Testament which are clearly in its favor. We find that, when the heads of families were con- verted to Christianity by the Apostles, they were not only themselves baptized, but also their households with them. Thus it is stated, that " Lydia and her household'" — " the jailer and cxll his .... with all his house"" — and " the household of Stephanas'"^ — were baptized by St. Paul. Now, is it probable that these households were all composed of none but adults — that there were no children belonging to them? If, indeed, we examine in the original the meaning of the word, (oiy.os,) rendered "house" and " household" in our version of Scripture, we shall find that the term has a comprehensiveness, extend- ing to children, and sometimes to even more remote descendants.^ And this interpretation is strength- ened by the fact, that in the Syriac version of the New Testament, which was completed early in the second century, if not before,'' this word is in every d Acts xvi. 15. e Acts xvi. 33, 34. f 1 Cor. i. 16. g " niKuv, 'family,' including every age and sex, and of course, infants. So Ignatius Epist. p. 21, cited by Wolf: diTxa^oftin Toii otKovi rtov dScXifioiv fxov aiv yvvai^i Kai tckvois. Bloomjield's Greek Test. 1 Cor. i. 16. h " This version (the Syriac) is confessedly of the high- est antiquity, and there is every reason to believe that it was 11* ® • ® ® ® I 238 THE church's view case rendered " children ;" thus — " Lydia and her children" — "the jailer with all his children" — and " the children of Stephanas." The Church therefore in that age must surely have believed, that children were baptized by the Apostles. This indeed was only the enjoyment of that grace which St. Peter de- clared to the Jews they were to inherit. " For the promise" — said he — " is unto you, and to your chil- dren" And this too was but in accordance with the con- duct of our Lord while on earth. He seems to have loved the little ones of His flock, and to have receiv- ed them into His peculiar favor. On one occasion, we are told, " He took a child, and set him in the midst of them ; and when He had taken him in His arms, he said unto them. Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me." And when, again. His disciples would have prevented those who brought little children to Him, our Lord rebuked them, and " was much displeased," saying, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and for- bid them not ; for of such is the Kingdom of God." And may not the phrase, " Kingdom of God," refer to the Militant Church here, as well as to the Church tri- umphant in Heaven? St. Mark also adds — "And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them." Among, too, the last exhortations which he gave to His Apostle Peter, made, if not in the first century, at least in the beginning of the second century." Home's Introd. to Scrip, v. ii. p. 203. I ® ' ® (J) _„ ^ ~ ■ — ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 239 was the injunction — " Feed my lambs." Is it proba- ble, then, with this affection for the little ones of the flock, that He would debar them from entrance into His Church — that He would bid them stand without the shelter of the fold, and not participate in the benefits it affords ? No — such a course would be but little in accordance with that character, under which the prophet Isaiah foretold Him, when he de- scribed Him as the good Shepherd, who should " gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom." Neither can any thing be argued — as is often done — from the command to His disciples, which seems to render faith a necessary antecedent to baptism — " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be damned." This refers to the adults who then listened to the word, and who, of course, as the Gospel was in that genera- tion new in the world, had never before had an oppor- tunity of being baptized, and therefore in their maturer years were obliged to submit to that rite, when they became proselytes to Christianity. It is by no means an evidence that faith was in every case an indispen- sable requisite for baptism. This argument, indeed, would prove entirely too much. If the first half of the verse — " he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved " — debars infants from baptism for want of faith, then the last half — " he that believeth not, shall be damned" — would exclude them from heaven, for the same reason. The Church, therefore, in her Baptis- ® ^ ® ® 240 THE church's view mal Service, after that portion of St. Mark's Gospel has been read, which gives the narrative of our Lord's love for little children, directs the following exhorta- tion to be made — " Beloved, ye hear in this Gospel the words of our Saviour Christ, that He commanded the children to be brought unto Him ; how He blam- ed those who would have kept them from Him ; how He exhorteth all men to follow their innocency. Ye perceive how, by His outward gesture and deed, He declared His good will toward them ; for He embrac- ed them in His arms, He laid His hands upon them, and blessed them. Doubt ye not, therefore, but ear- nestly believe, that He will likewise favorably receive this present infant ; that He will embrace him with the arms of His mercy ; that He will give unto him the blessing of eternal life, and make him partaker of His everlasting Kingdom. Wherefore, we being thus persuaded of the good will of our Heavenly Father toward this infant, declared by His Son Jesus Christ ; and nothing doubting, but that He favorably alloweth this charitable work of ours, in bringing this infant to this holy baptism ; let us faithfully and de- voutly give thanks unto Him." And I rejoice, brethren, that it is so. I thank Heaven that the Church takes this wide and expanded view of the loving-kindness of Him, in whose steps she directs us to walk. Were she unfaithful to her high trust, in this particular, I could not minister at her altars, or coldly repel from her fold those who most need her nurture. I could not preach the chilling ®— ■ ® ® _® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 241 doctrines of a creed, which proclaims to be unworthy of admission into the Church on earth, those little ones, with regard to whom our Lord has expressly said — " of such is the Kingdom of God." Again — a direct argument in favor of infant baptism is derived from the fact, that baptism has taken the place of circumcision. The Christian dispensation — as I have already remarked to you in a former Lecture — is only a continuation — a fuller development of the Jewish. It is the same Church, but expanded into a nobler form.' While, therefore, the most perfect parallel can be drawn between the two, among other particulars, we find circumcision as an initiatory rite laid aside, and baptism adopted in its place. We should expect, therefore, to find the latter in every respect answering to the former. And so it does. When an adult became a proselyte from idolatry to Judaism, God commanded him to be cir- cumcised ; and when a heathen in this age, in the maturity of his years listens for the first time to the news of the Gospel, and bows his heart to its sway, he in the same way is baptized, in token of his alle- giance. But, by the express direction of God, infants were also admitted by circumcision into the Jewish Church ; why, then, can they not by baptism be re- ceived into the Christian fold ? If they are unworthy in the latter case, why were they not in the former? If they are to be debarred now, because they are in- capable of understanding their obligations, and be- i Sec Lecture II. ® ® ® ® 242 THE church's view lieving in God, surely they were equally incapable of doing so under the Mosaic Economy. No, brethren, believe it not, that the little ones of the flock are to be excluded. The Church is the same in all ages, and so are the general principles by which she is regulated. And now, as in the ancient days, " the promise is to you, and to your children. "J j This argument might be strengthened by a more par- ticular reference to Jewish customs. Baptism, under the Christian dispensation, was not a new rite, for it had long been practised among the Jews. Our Lord merely retained it, at the same time investing it with a new authority and meaning. When John, therefore, commenced baptizing, the Pharisees and Scribes did not ask him the meaning of this rite, but simply, by what authority he administered it. " Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet.'"' (John i. 25.) Every proselyte among the Jews was circumcised, bap- tized, and obliged to ofier a sacrifice. Thus, Maimonides says — " In all ages, when a Gentile is willing to enter into the Covenant, and gather himself under the wings of the Majesty of God, and take upon him the yoke of the Law, he must be circumcised, and baptized, and bring a sacrifice ; or, if it be a woman, be baptized and bring a sacrifice." In such cases, their children, even if infants, were baptized with them. This was done in the presence of three persons, called the Court, or the House of Judgment, who acted as witnesses ; and from this Jewish practice the Christian Church has derived the custom of having the same number of sponsors at the Baptism of each child. Thus, in the Gemara Babylon, we find this declaration — " They are wont to baptize such a Proselyte in infancy, upon the profession of the House of Judgment ; for this is for his good." Upon which passage there is the following gloss — " ' They are ® ■ ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 243 There is another argument on this subject which is most conclusive. It is the fact, that even in the first age of the Church — from the Apostles' days — infant baptism has been practised. We learn this, in a great measure, incidentally from the early writers. We do not find this rite explicitly set forth and com- manded by them, because it was unnecessary to do so ; for in that age no one doubted its obligation. Yet the allusions to it are such as with any reasona- ble mind place the matter beyond a doubt. For instance — Justin Martyr, who was born near the close of the first century, in speaking of Chris- wont to baptize.' Because none is made a Proselyte without circumcision and Baptism. ' Upon tlie profession of the House of Judgment.' That is, the three men who have the care of iiis Baptism, according to the law of the baptism of Proselytes, which requires three men, who do so become to him a father, and he is by them made a Proselyte." Again, " He is no Proselyte, unless he is circumcised and baptized, and if he be not baptized, he remains a Gentile." Again, Maimonides says — "A Proselyte that is under age, they arc wont to baptize upon tiie profession of the Court; because this is for his good." And — " An Israelite that takes a little Heathen child, or that finds a Heathen infant, and baptizes him for a proselyte, behold he is a proselyte." The works of Lightfoot, Selden, and Wall, abound with similar extracts from Jewish writers, proving their custom of baptizing infants. But did our Lord anywhere rebuke his countrymen for it ^ Did He denounce it as a vain form and superstition .' If He did not, is it not rather late in the day for uninspired teachers to begin this work, or to stigmatize, as " a remnant of Popery," a custom which has existed for 3500 years .' ® ® ®^— ® 244 THE church's view tians cotemporary with himself, says that " there were among Christians in his time many persons of both sexes, some sixty, some seventy years old, who had been mar/e disciples to Christ from their infancy, and continued virgins or uncorrupted all their lives.'"' Now in what way, we ask, could infants be made disciples of Christ, except by baptism ? And as Justin wrote this Apology about the year 148,' those of whom he speaks as baptized sixty or seventy years before, in their infancy, must have been persons bap- tized in the first age, while some of the Apostles were living. This rite must, therefore, have been administered with their concurrence and sanction. Again — such is also the testimony of Irenaeus, who was born during the days of the Apostles, in the year 97,'" and trained up under St. Polycarp, "the angel of the Church in Smyrna," who had himself been a disciple of St. John. He speaks of baptism as "regeneration,"" and mentions among those who k Apol. ii. p. 62. 1 Bingham's Orig. Eccles. lib. xi. ch. 4, sect. 7. m Cave's Hist. Liter, vol. i. p. 41. n To show the sense in vi^hich the word "regeneration" has always been used in the Church, we give the following passage from Bishop Hobart's writings — " When the Church- man, in the language of Scripture, of primitive antiquity, and of the Articles and Liturgy of his Church, calls baptism regeneration, he does not employ the term in its popular signification among many Protestants, to denote the divine influences upon the soul in its sanctification and renovation, in abolishing the body of sin, and raising up the graces and virtues of the new man. The term ® — ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 245 are thus regenerated to God, " infants and little ones, and children, and youths, and elder persons."" Clemens of Alexandria, who was born about the middle of the second century, wrote a work intended to instruct young Christians in the practical duties of their faith. In the course of this, he reproves them for the devices engraved on their seals, for which purpose they sometimes used images taken from the ancient idolatry, and at the same time suggests some figures more Christian in their character. Thus, he says — " If any one be a fisherman, let him think of an Apostle, and the children talcen out of the loatcrP^ If, then, Clemens could thus exhort them to select the representation of an Apostle baptizing infants, regeneration is used by liim in its original^ and appropriate, and technical acceptation, to denote the translation of the baptized person from that state in which, as destitute of any covenanted title to salvation he is styled ' tlie child of wrath,' into that state which, as it proffers to him in all cases the covenanted mercy and grace of God, and in the exercise of repentance and faith actually conveys to him these bless- ings, is styled a 'state of salvation.' (Catechism of the Church.) It must be obvious, that the sacramental com- mencement of the spiritual life in the regeneration of bap- tism, and the subsequent sanctification of the principles, the powers, and affections of the new man, by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, are distinct acts and operations ; the former leading to the latter, which, without it, is wholly inefficacious to salvation ; on the contrary, increases the condemnation of the despiser of the gifts and calling of God." Charge to the Clergy of JVetc- York in 1819. o Adv. Hajres.lib. ii. ch. 39. p Pffidogog. lib.iii.ch. 11. ® ® ® . ® 246 THE church's view does it not prove that he believed the Apostles did administer that rite even to those of that tender age, and that such in his time was the practice of the Church ? Origen, who was born in the second century — had been trained up from infancy by Christian parents — visited in his travels most of the Churches in the world — and gained the reputation of being the most learned man of his age — records his testimony most unequivocally in behalf of infant baptism. His lan- guage is — " Let it be considered, what is the reason why the Baptism of the Church, which is given for remission of sins, is, by the usage of the Church, given to infants also ; whereas, if there were nothing in infants which needed forgiveness and mercy, the grace of Baptism would seem to be to them super- fluous.'"! Again, he says — " Infants are baptized for the remission of sins. Of what sins, or at what time have they sinned ? Or how can there be in infants any reason for the Laver, unless according to that sense of which we have spoken a little before, viz. — ' No one is free from pollution, although his life upon the earth has been but one day V And because by the Sacrament of Baptism native pollution is re- moved, therefore infants also are baptized."" And again — " The Church received from the Apos- tles a tradition to give Baptism also to infants. For they to whom the Divine mysteries were com- q Homil. viii. in Levit.ch. 12. r Horn, in Luc. c. 14. ® ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 247 mitted, knew that there is in all persons the natural pollution of sin, which should be washed away by water and the Spirit, and on account of which, also, the body itself is called the body of sin.'" We would appeal then to your reason ; who is most likely to have been correct on this point, Origen — who lived before the memory of the Apostles had faded from the Church — or those who, 1500 years after their day, for the first time discovered that in- fant baptism should not be administered? St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in Africa, who was born about the middle of the fourth century, bears the same testimony. His words are — " And if any one do ask for Divine authority in this matter — though that which the icliole Church practises, and which has not been instituted by councils, btit ivas ever in use, is very reasonably believed to be no other than a thing delivered by authority of the Apostles — yet we may besides take a true estimate how much the Sacrament does avail infants, by the Circumci- sion which God's former people received.'" " We affirm, that the Holy Spirit dwells in bap- tized infants, though they know it not ; for after the same manner they know Him not, though He be in them, as they know not their own soul. The reason whereof, which they cannot yet make use of, is in them as a spark raked up, which will kindle as they grow in years."" s Com. in Rom. lib. 5. t De Bap. lib. iv. c. 23. u Epist. 57, ad Dardanum. ® ® ® ® 248 THE church's view In another place, referring to the Pelagians, he says — " They grant that infants must he baptized, as not being able to oppose the authority of the whole Church, which was doubtless delivered hy our Lord and his Apostles.'"' " Original sin is so plain by the Scriptures, and that it is forgiven to infonts in the Laver of Regen- eration, is so confirmed by the antiquity and authority of the Catholic faith, and so notoriously the practice of the Church, that whatsoever is contrary to this cannot be true."" " The custom of our mother, the Church, in baptizing infants, must not be disregarded, nor con- sidered needless, nor believed to be other than a tradi- tion of the Apostles.'"' St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, who was born A.D. 340, in speaking of the miracle by which Elijah divided the river Jordan, and caused the waters to flow backwards to their source, (2 Kings xi.) says — " It signified the Sacrament of the Laver of Salvation, which was afterwards to be instituted, by which those infants that are baptized are reformed back again from a state of wickedness, to the primitive state of their nature."*' " No person comes to the kingdom of Heaven but by the Sacrament of Baptism. For * unless a person be born again of water and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' V De Peccat. c. 26. w Contra Pelag. Lib. iii. c. 10. X De Gen. ad lit. lib. 10. y Comm. lib. i. in St. c. Luc. 1. ® -® ® @ OF INFANT BAPTISM. 249 You see He excepts no person, not an infant, not one that is hindered by any unavoidable accident."^ St. Chrysostom, the eloquent Bishop of Constan- tinople, who was also born about the middle of the fourth century, says — " And those that are baptized, some of them were children when they received it.'"^ Again, when referring to the Jewish Circumci- sion, and the age of eight days at which it was admin- istered, he says — " But our Circumcision — I mean the grace of Baptism — has no determinate time as that had ; but one that is in the very beginning of his age, or one that is in the middle of it, or one that is in his old age, may receive this circumcision made without hands, in which there is no trouble to be undergone, but to throw off the load of sins, and re- ceive pardon for all foregoing offences.'"' In the same way, his cotemporary, Theodoret the historian, a Syrian Bishop, speaking of Baptism as conveying forgiveness of past sins, says — "If it had no other effect than that, what need we baptize infants, that have not tasted ofsin?"° Such, then, is the unvarying testimony of the Primitive Church, on this important doctrine. And the view we have given is strengthened by the dis- cussions which in those ages took place on this sub- ject, since in none of them do we ever find a doubt suggested as to the lawfulness of infant baptism, z De Abraham Patriarch, lib. ii. c. 11. a Horn. 23, in Acta Apost. b Horn. 40, in Gen. c Haeretic. Fabular. lib. v. de Bapt. ®— — ■ ® ® _ — ® 250 THE church's view The controversy was always on some collateral point. The earliest of these is by Tertullian in the begin- ning of the third century, a writer whose strange speculations led him on from one step to another, until at last he fell into heresy and openly became a Montanist. Believing that the rite of Baptism at any period of life entirely washed away all sin, he proposed that it should be delayed as long as possible, even if it could be done, to a person's last hour, that thus the collected iniquities of a lifetime might at once be swept away. He acknowledges, however, that the custom of the Church has always been otherwise ; a fact which is sufficiently proved by the very nature of his argument. He is plainly contending in behalf of an innovation. His words are — " For according to every one's condition, and disposition, and also their age, the delaying of Baptism is more advanta- geous, especially in the case of little children. For what need is there that the godfathers should be brought into danger? Because they may either fail of their promises by death, or they may be deceived by a child's proving of wicked disposition What need their innocent age make such haste to the forgiveness of sins.'"* " The way of Tertullian's arguing upon this point " — says Bingham — " shows plainly, that he was for introducing a new practice ; that therefore it was the custom of the Church in his time to give Baptism to infants, as well as to adult persons."' d De Bap. c. 18. e Oiig. Ecclcs. lib. xi. ch. iv. sect. 10. ® ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 251 But in giving this advice about delay, he himself confines it to cases, where there was no danger or apprehension of death. For otherwise, he pleads strongly for the necessity of immediate baptism, both from those words of our Lord — " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God " — and also from that general corruption of original sin, which infects infants as much as adults/ The only other ancient writer who varied somewhat from the general opinion of the Church was St. Gre- gory Nazianzen, Bishop of Constantinople, in the latter part of the fourth century. He did not carry his wish for innovation as far as Tertullian, for he did not desire Baptism to be postponed until persons had reached years of maturity, but only until they were three years old, that they might gain at least, some little glimmering of religious truth. He agrees with Tertullian, however, in declaring that all who are in any danger should be at once baptized, lest any die without that sacrament. With regard to those in whose case nothing like this is apprehended, his language is — " As for others, I give my opinion that they should stay three years or thereabouts, when they are capable to hear and answer some of the holy words ; and though they do not perfectly understand them, yet they form them ; and that you then sanctify them in soul and body with the great sacrament of initiation. "= Here again we see, that f Dc anima, cap. 40 — Dc Bapt. cap. 13. g Do Bap. Orat.40. ® ® ® —(g) 252 THE church's view he was pleading against the ancient, uniform practice of the Church. Such, too, is the evidence we may draw from the first discussion of this subject before a public council of the Church. This was the Council of Carthage, A. D. 253, where 66 Bishops were assembled, whose proceedings we learn from St. Cyprian. No one had then the hardihood to inquire, whether infant baptism ought to be administered or not ; but Fidus, the Bishop of a country diocese, proposed to the Council the question — " Whether infants ought to be baptized before they were eight days old ?" — since this was the age for circumcision in the Jewish Church. But the Council unanimously decided, that there was no oc- casion for this delay, but infants might be baptized at any time. And in their Synodical Epistle to Fidus, the following unequivocal language is used — " As to the case of infants, whereas you judge ' that they must not be baptized within two or three days after they are born, and that the rule of circumcision is to be observed, so that none should be baptized and sanctified before the eighth day after he is born,' we were all in our assembly ' of the contrary opinion. For, as for what you thought fitting to be done, there was not one that was of your mind, but all of us, on the contrary, judged that the grace and mercy of God, [i. e., as conveyed through Baptism,] is to be denied to no person that is born." " And, therefore, dearest brother, this was our sentence in the Council, that no one ought to be hindered by us ® ® ® — — ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 253 from Baptism and the Grace of God, who is merciful and kind and affectionate to all." The result, then, to which history brings us is this — that during the first 1100 years of the existence of the Christian Church, no society of men, or even single individual of whom we have any record, denied the lawfulness of infant baptism. Tlie first direct opposition to this rite arose about the year 1120, in the midst of the darkness which had overspread the greater part of Europe, and the wild fanaticism and fearful perversions of the truth to which it gave birth. At this' time, an obscure sect founded by Peter de Bruys — some of whose opinions were afterwards adopted by the Albigenses and Waldenses — declared against the baptism of infants, because they believed them to be incapable of salvation.'' This doctrine, however, was received by but few, and became extinct in 1147, after the death of de Bruys and his immediate followers. It was not until about 1522 that this heresy ob- tained any permanent footing. At the time of the Reformation, when the human mind, bursting from its long thraldom, naturally abused its newly acquired liberty — when it rioted in a thousand fantastic forms, enabling each one to form his creed according to the peculiar caprices of his own heart — when, antiquity and authority being disregarded, an hundred sects arose, each differing from the Church in some one particular which it insisted upon as essential — then it h Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. v. ii. p. 309. I 12 ® ® -® 254 THE CHURCH S VIEW was, that Infant Baptism was set aside, and a small and inconsiderable party announced to the Christian world, that for 1500 years the whole Church had been in grievous error. The preacher of this new doc- trine was Munzer, in 1521, who having excited his followers to insurrection and civil war, was finally defeated and executed. It was not until 1534 that the sect of the Anabaptists became regularly organ- ized as a distinct religious society. In this year, headed by John Boccold, a journeyman tailor, whom they had named their king, and incited to the most impious extravagances by John Matthias, a baker, who claimed to be a prophet, they captured the city of Munster, and attempted to establish a kingdom to be called the New Zion.' The city being re-captured in the following year, and their forces dispersed, some escaped to England, and then for the first time these doctrines began to spread in that land. This, then, is the view which history gives us, of the rise of those who deny to infants the rite of Baptism. And who, with this account before him, could hesitate for a moment to decide whether or not it should be administered 1 On the one side is the united testimony of the Catholic Church as it comes down through eighteen centuries, and on the other are the loud clamors of a sect which three centuries ago just struggled into being, and whose cradle was rocked by the wild heavings of ignorance and fanati- i Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. v. iii. p. 65. ® ® (S) ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 255 cism.' We may, in this respect, as in every other, cleave to the faith of Apostles and Martyrs who lived j It is well known that Roger Williams was the founder of the sect of the Baptists in this country. Who, then, gave him his commission ? An answer to this question is found in the following extract from the "History of the Baptist Church in Providence." " Being settled in this place, whicli, from the kindness of God to them, they called Providence, Mr. Williams, and tliose with him, considered the importance of Gospel union, and were desirous of forming themselves into a Church ; but met with considerable obstruction. They were convinced of the nature and design of believers' bap- tism by immersion, but from a variety of circumstances had hitherto been prevented from submersion. To obtain a suitable administrator was a matter of consequence. At length the candidates for communion nominated and appointed Ezekiel Holliman, a man of gifts and piety, to baptize Mr. Williams, and who in return baptized Mr. Holliman and the other ten." It is now a principle for which none contend more strenu- ously than the Baptists, that Scriptural and valid baptism can- not be administered by any one who is himself unbaptized. Yet of these twelve persons, who thus baptized each other, not one had previously been immersed, and of course on Baptist principles, they were unbaptized. What right, then, had tliey to admit into the visible fold of Clirist, or to "form themselves into a Church.'" And are not the Baptists in this country, on their own confession, now destitute of any kind of valid baptism.' We have never yet seen a satisfac- tory answer to this question. It was brought forward in the Banner of the Cross, April 1, 1843, but those to whom it was addressed seemed not to be anxious to have any inquiry into their origin in this country, or to reply to the demand — " By what authority docst thou these things .' and who gave thee ® ® ® — ■ ■ ® 256 THE church's view when the memory of their Lord's instructions was still fresh on the earth ; or we may turn aside from the old paths, to embrace every novelty which courts our notice. We may repose on the wisdom and ex- ample of the many generations which have gone be- fore us ; or we may unsettle our faith by yielding to the varied teaching of those, whose creed arose when the human intellect was let loose from its old re- straints, and in the first moments of its delirium, scarcely knew what to believe. The next point to be considered is — the benefit to be derived from Baptism. We hear the question often asked — "What use is it to the infant?" I an- swer — " Much every way." In the Catechism of the Church it is defined to be, " an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us." We have already seen in what lofty terms the Primi- tive writers always refer to it, and how St. Augustine speaks of the Spirit which then rests upon the heart this authority ?" The Missouri Baptist, however, with more candor than its associates, thus apologizes for the manner in which these unhaptized laymen mutually dipped each other — " Under other circumstances they loould gladly have availed themselves of a regular administrator of the ordinance ; but situated as they were, .... they naturally and 2cisely con- cludedthat He who requireth this service will not annex con- ditions incompatible with their obedience, and, of course, will accept of their right intention in the performance." May not this presumption be met with the question addressed by Jeho- vah to some of old — " Who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts.'" (See the Banner of the Cross, April 22.) » '■ ® (i) (S) OF INFANT BAPTISM. 257 of the unconscious infant, as " a spark which will kindle as he grows in years." And this is in strict accordance with the view given in Scripture, where it is mentioned in direct connection with the influ- ences of the Holy Spirit. Thus our Lord speaks of a person as being " baptized with water and the Spirit." One of the Fathers of our Church — Bishop Seabury — therefore thus sums up this point — " As to the benefits of Baptism, they are remission of sins, regen- eration or adoption into the family of God, the pres- ence of the Holy Spirit, the resurrection of the body, and everlasting life. That these benefits are annexed to baptism, the Holy Scriptures give ample testimony. ' Repent' — said Peter to the multitude inquiring what they should do — ' and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' In the same language Ananias addresses Saul — ' And now, why tarriest thou ? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.' That we are regenerate and born, or adopted into the family or Church of God by Baptism, Christ declared to Nicodemus when he said — ' Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.' The Kingdom of God is the Church of God — the same Church both in this world and the next, (for God has but one Church, the body of Christ.) By Baptism we are made mem- bers of this Church ; and if we continue faithful members till death, shall in it obtain a happy resur- ®- -® ® ■ — ® 258 THE church's view rection, and everlasting life — shall continue members of it to all eternity." Therefore it is, that in our service Ave use petitions like these, before the Baptism — " We beseech Thee, for Thine infinite mercy, that Thou wilt mercifully look upon this child : wash him, and sanctify him with the Holy Ghost" — " We call upon Thee for this infant, that he, coming to Thy holy baptism, may receive remission of sin by spiritual regeneration" — " Give Thy Holy Spirit to this infant, that he may be born again, and be made an heir of everlasting salvation" — " Sanctify this water to the mystical washing away of sin, and grant that this child, now to be baptized therein, may receive the fulness of Thy grace." And after the rite is administered, we say — " We yield Thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for Thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into Thy holy Church." Such is the plain and unequivocal teaching of the Church, as displayed in her formularies. And unless this truth is allowed, that the Spirit is given in Baptism, that rite becomes nothing but a mere empty ceremony. Now look for a moment at the two most common objections to this view. The first is — " that infants cannot receive the influences of the Spirit at so ten- der an age." But who can pretend thus accurately to draw the line, or to assert at what period it first becomes possible for the image of God to be stamped ® ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 259 upon an immortal soul ? Who can declare the man- ner in which the Father of spirits acts upon our spirits, or the rules by which lie is guided ? We are told that John the Baptist was "filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb ;" why then is not an infant as capable of receiving spiritual bless- ings now, as it was eighteen centuries ago? The other objection is — " that the child, as it ad- vances in years, often gives no evidence of these spiritual influences." We reply — that this is no proof that grace was not imparted to it in Baptism. May it not be given at that time, but when not sub- sequently nourished by the proper means, become as it were dormant, and even be quenched ? Baptism is the child's spiritual birth into the Church of Christ, but unless, through the unceasing care of parents, it is nurtured and trained up in the fear of the Lord, it may soon impair and weaken the benefit to be derived from this introduction into the fold. It is precisely so in the natural world. The fact that the child is born into it, is no proof that it shall certainly live and grow. If neglected, and the proper means are not used to increase its strength, it assuredly will die. And in the same way the spiritual life which it gain- ed at baptism, may, by neglect and the commission of sin, soon decay, until, as its faculties unfold, it be- comes more and more of the earth, earthly. Yet for all this, who can gainsay the truth, that Baptism is a high and holy privilege ? If it place benefits within the reach of those who receive it, and impart to the ® ® ®- 260 THE church's view soul the first principles of vital, spiritual life, have we not reason to rejoice that God thus permits us to dedicate our children to Him 1 We believe, there- fore, there is as much truth as beauty in the passage in which one of the religious poets of England des- cribes this touching rite — "In due time A day of solemn ceremonial comes ; When they, who for this minor hold in trust Rights that transcend the highest heritage Of mere humanity, present their charge At the baptismal font. And when the pure And consecrating element hath cleansed The original stain, the child is there received Into the second ark, Christ's Church, with trust That he, from wrath redeemed, therein shall float Over the billows of this troublesome world To the fair land of everlasting life."'' The third point in connection with this subject, which I would bring before you, is — the manner in which this rite should be administered. The Church regards as a lawful mode of Baptism, either Immer- sion — Affusion, or pouring — and Aspersion, or sprink- ling. In each of these ways she declares it to be equally valid. If therefore the consciences of any of her members are scrupulous on this point, her minis- ters can administer this sacrament in the way they may select. The Church has decided that the 7nan- ner is indifferent, for three reasons. The first is, because the word Baptizo [^umi^w) k Wordsworth's Excursion, Book V. ® — — (s) OF INFANT BAPTISM. 2G1 which we translate baptize, and which our Lord used when he gave the command — " Go, teach all nations, baptizing (/JaTrr/sorrfc) them" — does not, necessarily, mean to immerse. On the contrary, in many cases, to translate it in this way would entirely destroy its meaning. The same is true with regard to Bapto, (iSuTTTb)) from which it its derived.' We will give 1 As it is agreed on all liands, that the native Greeks are the best authority for the meaning of their own language, we shall refer the question to them. We give therefore the defi- nitions of these words, only from the native Greek Lexicog- raphers. The oldest native Greek Lexicographer is Hesychius, who lived in the fourth century of the Christian Era. He gives only the root Bapto; and the only meaning he gives the word is antleo, " to draw or pump water." Next in order comes SuiDAS, a native Greek, who wrote in the tenth cen- tury. He gives only the derivative, Baptizo, and defines it by pluno, " to wash." Passing over the intermediate Greek Lexicographers, we come down to the present century, at the beginning of which, we find Gases, a learned Greek, who with great labor and pains compiled a large and valu- able Lexicon of the ancient Greek language. His book, in three volumes quarto, is a work deservedly held in high esti- mation by all, and is generally used by native Greeks. The following are his definitions of Bapto, and Baptizo. Bapto. Brecho, to wet, moisten, bedew. Pluno, to icash, (viz., clothes.) Gemizo, to fill. Buthizo, to dip. Antleo, to draio, to pump ivater. Baptizo. Brecho, to icet, moisten, bedew. Pluno, to wash. 11* ® — ^ ® — — ® 262 THE church's view a single example of this result with each of these words. In the Septuagint — the Greek translation of the Old Testament — Daniel iv. 30, in the description of the judgment which fell upon Nebuchadnezzar, when he was " driven forth from the abodes of men, and did eat grass as oxen," it is stated that " his body was wet (i^i^qv) with the dew of Heaven." Here the word certainly means nothing but to icet, or to moist- en. And we would ask, which sounds most in ac- cordance with common sense, to say — " his body was sprinkled with the dew of Heaven" — or, " his body was immersed with the dew of Heaven ?" Again — in the New Testament, John the Baptist predicting the coming of our Lord, says — " He shall baptize (^ajniasi) you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Now, translate this — " He shall immerse you with the Holy Ghost and with fire" — and we at once perceive the absurdity. But the prophet Joel, when referring to this same event, (as St. Peter declares, " this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel," Acts ii 16,) says — " I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." This prophecy, therefore, was first fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost Leuo, to icash, to bathe. Antleo, to draw, to pump water. These are the definitions of a native Greek, and are en- titled to the highest deference, both for his learning, and his ecclesiastical connections. Chapins Primitite Church, p. 43, 44. ® ® ® ® I OF INFANT BAPTISM, 263 descended and rested on the Apostles, and afterwards when it was given to tlie Gentiles also ; and we are told — "they of the circumcision were astonished, be- cause the gift of the Holy Ghost was jjoured out upon the Gentiles also." This is the only direct reference in the New Testament to the mode in which baptism of any kind was performed, and it certainly argues nothing in favor of immersion.'" A second reason for this decision of the Church is — because it is not in accordance with our Lord's custom, to enjoin upon His disciples any duty or rite which cannot be universally put in practice. Were immersion, therefore, absolutely necessary, you per- ceive that in some situations and climates, it would be impossible to receive it. Suppose, for instance, that a person should be lying on a bed of sickness, with life waning away, yet feeling the earnest desire before death comes, to be admitted into the Church of Christ. That privilege must, in this case, be denied him. He must die an alien from the fold, if we be- lieve that our Lord has appointed but one form in which the Sacrament of Baptism is valid. But all m It is of course impossible in this brief lecture to enter into any particular discussion of tlie moaning of these terms. The reader will find, liowever,in Chwpin s Primitive Church, a critical examination of all the places both in the Old and New Testaments, in which the words Bapto and Baptizo are used, (p. 44 — 52.) The result is, that out of ticenty-threc cases in which Bapto occurs, it has the sense of immersion but tioice ; and that in seventy places where Baptizo \s found, there is not one where it means to immerse. ® ® ® ® 264 THE church's view His commands, on the contrary, bear the stamp of universality. The Holy Communion of His body and blood can be administered in all climates, and to any one, however enfeebled by sickness, and so we believe can baptism. Our Lord never directs any thing which it would be impossible to obey. The third reason is — because affusion and sprink- ling have been both practiced and recognized as valid in all ages of the Church. It is not probable, that John the Baptist, when "there went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan," administered this rite by immersion, for time would scarcely have been found, to allow so slow a process to be so often repeated to these multitudes. Many, too, must have come there unprovided with proper garments for this purpose. And these same objections will apply against immersion being the form used in any of those cases, in which, under the preaching of the Apostles, large numbers at once submitted to the faith. Rivers and lakes could not always have been at hand, nor a sufficiency of water have been easily obtained." n "After the preaching of St. Peter, it is stated that 3000 were baptized, and that these were added to the Church in one day. Now the immersion of 3000 persons in so short a time, carries with it so great an air of improbability, that we must be excused, if we suspect that some more rapid mode was adopted for their baptism. Reflect upon this one mo- ment : — Peter's sermon began ('as we are told) after the third hour of the day ; that is, nine o'clock in the morning. ® ® ® OF INFAi\T BAPTISM. 265 The probability seems to be tliat all three methods were practised in the Early Church. In the hot countries of the East, where men went lightly clad, and bathing was often used, it was natural that im- mersion should frequently be the manner of baptism. As, however, the faith extended into the colder cli- mates of the North and West, affusion and sprinkling were more generally resorted to, as agreeing better with local circumstances. Thus St. Cyprian, even when he declares against the validity of heretical Baptism, defends that performed by sprinkling. " For the contagion of sin" — says he — " was not washed His addresses occupied a considerable time; for, besides the sketch given in the Acts, it is said that ' with many more words he exhorted them' — which are not recorded. Now, it was not until after all this, that the Baptisms began, — and the time remaining to the evening, could scarcely have been more than eight hours. Dividing, therefore, the 3000 persons, there would be 375 to receive baptism in each of those eight hours — a number so great that it is ditlicult to imagine how they could possibly have been immersed. " But again ; in the case of the jailer at Philippi, we have an instance of a whole family, suddenly baptized, and this, too, at midnight. The whole matter was transacted in a very limited time, and we cannot, without violence, bring ourselves to believe in the reality of such a thing, as the instant arousing from slumber of a whole family, ana the immediate plunging of them in the cold element of baptism ; to say nothing of the improbability of there being on the spot, and at the time, a sufficiency of pure water, and suita- ble vessels to meet the emergency." Staunton's Church Dictionary, Art. "Immersion." ® -fcr^ i (S) — ® 266 THE church's view away as the filth of the body is, by a carnal and secular washing. There was no need of a lake or other such like helps to wash and cleanse it." And he proves the lawfulness of aspersion from Ezekiel xxxvi. 25 — " I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean."" The manner was conformed to the climate, and the situation of the recipient. The mistake in all this matter is, that men have not distinguished what is essential from what is non- essential. The essentials in baptism are — the proper person to administer it — the use of water — and the name of the Trinity in which it is applied." Other things may be regulated by circumstances. The case is precisely the same with the Eucharist. This, at its first institution by our Lord, was administered in a very different way from what it now is ; but we have discriminated, and retained what is essential. And why not do so with Baptism ? To make the mode of Baptism the distinctive feature of a sect, is as reason- able as it would be, now to form a new party in the Christian world, to be called " the Communionists," who should sever themselves from the Catholic Church on the ground, that the Communion is not administered in a valid manner, unless received precisely as it was by the Apostles of our Lord, reclining on couches o Epist. 76. p " It cannot appear tliat the child was baptized witli water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (which arc essential parts of baptism)." Rubric at the end of Form for private baptism of children. ® ® ^ @ OF INFANT BAPTISM. 267 around a table, and in an upper chamber. The fact that the whole Christian Church for eighteen cen- turies had believed differently, would, in this age of new discoveries, be a matter of no importance. There is, however, a much more summary way of disposing of the question. Suppose we were to allow, that in the early Church in the East, immersion was always used, does it prove that the Church is now bound to continue it ? Certainly not. There is nothing in this manner essential to the existence of the Sacrament. This is merely a practice, resting on no express command, and involving no doctrine or point of faith. The only difference about the manner is, whether this or one of the other two Avays is most significant of spiritual purification. It is one of those things which the Church has a right to alter and adopt to the changing circumstances of the world. And the Church general has long since adopted aspersion as the mode of baptism. A striking in- stance of this same power of altering the manner in which rites are administered, is furnished by the history of the Passover. The Jews, at first, by the express command of God, were to receive this, " with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand," as those who eat in haste. But when settled in their own land, they seem to have totally changed the mode — to have added many new rites to it — aad to have partaken of it, reclining on couches. Yet our Lord sanctioned ® ® ® ® 268 THE church's view this by His example. And has not the Christian Church this same power ? Such is precisely the view given by Bishop Bur- net, when discussing Art. XX., " The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies." He even gives this very case of Baptism, as one of his illustrations. His words are — "In matters that are merely ritual, the state of mankind in different climates and ages is apt to vary : and the same thing that in one scene of human nature may look grave, and seem fit for any society, may in another age look light, and dissipate men's thoughts. It is also evident there is not a sys- tem of rules given in the New Testament about all these : and yet a due method in them is necessary to maintain the order and decency that become divine things. This seems to be a part of the Gospel liberty, that it is not a ' law of ordinances ;' these things being left to be varied according to the diversities of man- kind Though a kiss of peace, and an order of deaconesses, were the practices of the Apostolical time ; yet when the one gave occasion to raillery and the other to scandal, all the world was, and still is, satisfied with the reasons of letting both fall." After speaking of the changes made by the Jewish Church in their rites, he says — " Jf then such a liberty was allowed in so limited a religion, it seems highly suita- ble to the sublimer state of Christian liberty, that there should be rooaa left for such appointments or alterations as the different state of times and places should require. In hotter countries, for instance, ®— ■ ■ ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM. 2G9 there is no danger in dipping ; but if it is otherwise in colder climates, then, since ' mercy is better than even sacrifice,' a more sparing use may be made of water ; aspersion may answer the true end of baptism." It is of course to be observed, that these changes can only be made in things merely ritual, and by the authority of the Catholic Church. The last point which we would briefly bring for- ward is — the place in which the Sacrament of Bap- tism should be administered. This is declared by our regulations to be in the Church. The Rubric states that " the Godfathers and Godmothers, and the peo- ple with the children, must be ready at the font, either immediately after the last lesson at Morning Prayer, or else immediately after the last lesson at Evening Prayer, as the minister at his discretion, shall appoint." And the minister is also enjoined, to warn the people, " that without great cause and necessity, they procure not their children to be bap- tized at home in their houses." And this surely is right — that here at the Font, in the house of God, these solemn vows should be made, which devote your children to the Lord. Thus is it shown, that we are all one body, united by a common tie when we enter our Muster's temple — that here at least, before His altar, all worldly distinc- tions are unknown. " If baptisms always took place on Sundays or holydays, and in the public service, and at every poor child's baptism the rich did not sit in their pews, as if it did not concern them and were ® ^ ®__ o 270 THE church's view a weariness, but rose, and knelt, and joined in the service with readiness and fervency ; experience in certain places has shown that a good feeling has been generated among the poor, far beyond what seemed likely from such a trifle ; and of course a more right feeling would be produced among the rich, who in such cases are far more deficient in it than the poor."'' The severity of the climate, however, sickness, or other causes which cannot be enumerated, may often furnish that " great cause and necessity" which will justify the minister in performing this service in private. Yet, in such cases, you will perceive at once that it should be private. The administration of this solemn Sacrament is surely not a time for gathering together your worldly friends, and giving loose to festivity and mirth. When the young immortal is signed with the sign of the Cross, and the influences of the Spirit are invoked to uphold it in its future life, is it the time or place for frivolity and amuse- ment? When solemn words are spoken, and the pomps and vanities of this sinful earth are renounced, shall worldliness in that hour have gathered there to hold its carnival 1 Should there thus be furnished at the very moment, a practical denial of all the lips are uttering? Should this be made merely an excuse for excitement and gayety? No, brethren, whatever else you may do, at least bring not the Sacraments of the Church into your homes, except with awed and chast- q Faber's " Churchman's Politics," p. 44. ® ® ® ® OF INFANT BAPTISM, 271 ened feelings. The humble prayer and the heartfelt petition for grace to fulfil your fearful responsibilities, might well befit a scene like this — not the light jest or the empty laugh. Remember, with whom you are dealing in that rite — that He is not mocked — that He marks the feelings with which you kneel before Him — and that this service concerns the eternal well-being of a young spirit, which is thus setting out for im- mortal life. We have thus, my brethren, endeavored to bring before you in the narrow limits of this single Lecture, a subject which might well fill a volume. You will perceive, however, even from these brief observations, the spiritual force of the question — "Is it well with the child 1" If it be still uncleansed by the waters of baptism, I tell you, it is not well with it. It is an " alien from the commonwealth of Israel," and a stranger to the Christian Church. Are you willing that thus it should remain ? Shall that being around whom your fondest affections are clustering, be sent forth into a stormy and sinful world, without being fortified by the aid of God's Spirit — feeling as if no obligation was resting on him — and cut off from all union with that holy fellowship, which comprehends the just on earth and the angels in Heaven ? Are you willing, that through i/ou?- remissness that link should be wanting which binds him to the throne of the Eternal? Who can tell the momentous results which may ensue from his being thus debarred ? Separated from the nursing care of the Church whose ® _____ ® ® ® 272 THE church's view of infant baptism. object is, to have her children first in infancy brought within her fold — then in maturer years confirmed in this grace — and thus by regular steps advanced to partake of the communion of their Lord's death — he may feel himself enabled to live without restraint or care for these things. Thus, the world claims him as its own, and the claim is allowed. He yields to temptation — resigns himself to its embrace — lives in sin, and dies without hope. And when at length he has risen from his lowly grave, only to find himself a partaker in " the resurrection of damnation," and you and he meet once more before the last, dread tribunal, as you stand up to receive your sentence, perchance from the ranks of the lost there may start forth one, whom in speechless dismay you recognize as him whom you have nurtured on earth ; and as he points to you, the author of his being, his familiar tones thrill in your ear, when he shrieks forth to the Judge — " This, this, O Lord, is he, through whose remiss- ness I must inherit the horrors of the second death. Through his neglect it happened, that I was not numbered with Thy Church, or baptized with Thy Spirit, ere the cares of life gathered around me, and now, I am a castaway — undone forever." ® — ® ® — — ® THE MORAL TRAINING OF THE CHURCH. I love the Church — the Holy Church, 'I'hal o'er our life presides. The Birth, the Bridul, and the Grave, And many an Iiour hesides ! Be mine, through life, to live in her, And when the Lord shall call, To die in her — the Spouse of Christ, The Mother of us all. Rev. A. C. Coze. ® ■ — ® ®- ® V V V VII. THE MORAL TRAINING- OF THE CHURCH. Our faith appeals to the heart as much as to the intellect. Its object is, not to inculcate a set of ab- stract truths, but to render us " meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Among the changes and trials of this lower world, we are to exercise our hope and patience — the grace of God being our strength — the prizes of eternity, the re- wards to which we look forward. Thus, as this life wears away, we shall feel that in our spiritual warfare we are going on from " conquering to conquer" — mas- tering the evil of our nature — and, by self-denial and self-discipline, fitting ourselves hereafter to mingle with the children of immortality. Each year Avill wit- ness some new advance in the divine life — some new ac- quisition in holiness, until, as our sun declines towards the West, we can calmly watch its setting, being confident that the night of death which gathers around us, shall soon give place to a glorious awakening. It is to produce this result that the whole system -® ® ® 276 THE MORAL TRAINING of the Church is intended. She would educate the soul for Eternity. She is indeed the Churchman's guide through life — at once his instructor and his own familiar friend, who meets him, at every change and turn, with words of warning and of comfort, and thus systematically and unceasingly exerts her influ- ence to prepare him for that rest which awaits the just in the Paradise of God. This then is the moral TRAINING OF THE Church, with regard to which I would this evening address you. I wish to show, that no emergency can happen to us in this world, for which the Church has not provided — no possible condition of life, from the cradle to the grave, which she has not anticipated, or where she is found want- ing in her power to convey spiritual aid. Thus it is, that we are enabled to attain that privilege, for which the kingly Poet of Israel longed — " to dwell in the houge of the Lord all the days of our life, to behold theV beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his tem- ple.'" Let us begin then with the infant, whose reason and senses are just unfolding to a perception of the world it has entered, and what course does the Church pursue? Does she disregard or scorn that feeble being, as it passes through the months of wailing in- fancy and the years of helpless childhood ? Does she repel it from her fold, telling it to live on, " an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger from he covenants of promise," until the fresh dew of life I s gone, and the beauty of its early years departed ? « ® ® ® OF THE CHURCH. 277 Does she refuse to notice that young immortal, until in maturer years it can apply for admission at her gates, coming fresh from the world as a heathen would do, who had not till then heard the news of redeeming love? Does she proclaim, that by nature that being, about whom your warmest affections are gathered, is born in sin, yet without offering any remedy to blot out the stain ? Such is by no means the Church's want of care for little children. She claims them even from their birth, and gathers them at once into her fold, that from the first the promises of the Gospel may be pledged to them, and they share in those rich blessings which are offered to her mem- bers. The first Rubric in our Prayer Book which relates to the infant, is one for the guidance of the minister of the Parish, directing him " often to admonish the peo- ple, that they defer not the baptism of their children . . . . . unless upon a great and reasonable cause." As the children of the Israelites at eight days old were made members of the Jewish Church, and thus entitled to the covenant promises which God had made to the nation, so are your children by baptism to be received into the fold of the Christian Church. When, there- fore, the child is presented before the altar, the appeal is made to those present — " I beseech you to call upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of His bounteous mercy, He will grant to this child that which by nature he cannot have ; that he may be baptized with water and the Holy Ghost, and 13 ® ® ® _ ® 278 THE MORAL TRAINING received into Christ's Holy Church, and be made a living member of the same." And this is done. The water is poured forth — the sign of the Cross^ is impressed upon the forehead a Among the rRfinemcnts of modern wisdom is a dread of the Sign of the Cross. Are we ashamed of it .' Have we forgotten the example of St. Paul, and ceased to "glory in the cross of Jesus Christ.'" Such was not by any means the view of the Primitive Christians. Tertullian, in the second century testifies, that on all occasions they used this sign. {Deo Coron. Mil it. c. iii.) It was made upon those persons who were admitted as Catechumens, (Bing. Orig. Eccles. lib. X. c. i. sec. 3., and c. ii. sec. 8,) and signed upon tlieir fore- heads at the time of baptism. (Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. ii. p. 190.) Thus they would manifest — St. Augustine says — " that so far are tliey from blushing at the Cross, they do not con- ceal this instrument of redemption, but carry it on their brows." (hi Psalm cxli.) It was this spirit which induced our forefathers everywhere to set up the sign of the Cross — in their Churches — tlieir houses — by the way-side — and at the fountain — that as the weary traveller stopped to drink, he might have before him the emblem of the Crucified. There may sometimes have been superstition mingled with this, but was not even super- stition better than the refined indifference of our day .' In a treatise on the Ten Commandments, entitled " Dives et Pau- per," and printed at Westminster by Wynken de Worde, A. D. 1496, the real and pious object of erecting the Cross by the road-side is thus expressively assigned — " For tliis reason ben Crosses by ye waye,that whan folke passynge see the Cross- es, they sholdc thynke on Hym that deyed on ye Crosse, and worsliyppe Hym above all thynge." But we are told, " it is Popish." Are we then to give up every Primitive practice which the Romish Church has re- ® ■ ® ® ® OF THE CHURCH. 279 of that unconscious being, " in token tliat hereafter he shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ tained ? If so, we shall soon bo worse off than our dissent- ing brethren. The Church of England in one of her canons thus vindicates her retention of this sign — " Following the steps of our most worthy King, because he therein followeth the rules of the Scripture, and the prac- tice of the Primitive Church, we do commend to all true mem- bers of the Church of England these our directions and observations ensuing : the honor and dignity of the name of the Cross begat a reverend estimation even in the Apostles' time, (for aught that is known to the contrary,) of the sign of the Cross, which the Christians shortly after used in all their actions. The use of this sign in Baptism xcas held by the Primitive Church, as well by the Greeks as the Latins, with one consent and great applause. This continual and general use of the sign of the Cross is evident by the testimonies of the ancient fathers. " It must be confessed, that in process of time, the sign of the Cross was greatly abused in the Church of Rome. But THE ABUSE OF A THING DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE LAWFUL USE OF IT. Nay, so far was it from the purpose of the Church of England to forsake and reject the Churches of Italy, France, Spain, Germany, or any such like Churches in all things which they held and practised, that, as the Apology of the Church of England confesseth, it doth with reverence retain those ceremonies which do neither endamage the Church of God, nor offend the minds of sober men ; and only departeth from them in those particular points, wherein they were fallen both from themselves in their ancient integrity, and from the Jipostolical Ch^irches which 2ccre their first founders. " The sign of the Cross in Baptism being thus purged from all Popish superstitions and error, and reduced in the ® — ® ® ® 280 THE MORAL TRAINING crucified, and manfully to fight under His banner, against sin, the world, and the devil ; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end." Thus he becomes a member of the visible Church. Her responsibilities are resting on him — her blessings belong to him. "A few cahn words of faith and prayer, A few bright drops of holy dew, Have worked a wonder there Earth's charmers never knew. For tliere the holy Cross was sign'd. And the young soldier duly sworn. With true and fearless mind. To serve the Virgin-born."'' The Church in this way offers to take your chil- dren, and by her spiritual influences to educate them for the Lord. While you wouhi be compelled to Church of England to the primary institution of it, upon those rules of doctrine concerning things indifferent, which are consonant to the word of God, and the judgments of all the ancient fathers, we hold it the part of every private man, both minister and other, reverently to retain the true use of it prescribed by public authority." Canon xxx. Let us then continue to glory in the Cross. Let it be ele- vated on our Churches, to show a heedless world the object of those consecrated buildings. Surely, this emblem of our common faith — glittering in the sunshine, and immovable in the storm — is more appropriate on our pinnacles and spires, than the light vane, turning to every point of the compass, as if to teach, that the minds of those who worship below are "carried about with every wind of doctrine." b Keble's Christian Year. ® ® ® _ (8) OF THE CHURCH. 281 send them out to encounter the snares of a sinful world, unaided by Divine Grace, she steps forward, and like Pharaoh's daughter, rescues them from this death, adopts them for her own, and then gives them back to you, to nurse for her sake. Thus it is that she obeys that injunction of her Lord, when He said — " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." And when he declared again — " Whoso- ever shall receive one such little child in my name, re- ceiveth me." She knows, that He not only gives great encouragement, but also promises a reward to those who thus dedicate their children to Him. She knows, too, that this solemn sacrament is not merely an out- ward form, but also " a visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, given unto us." Therefore it is, that in Scripture when Baptism by water is mentioned, the influences of the Holy Ghost are so often connect- ed w'ith it." She trusts, then, that Divine Grace does descend upon that young candidate for immor- tality — that the germs of holiness are implanted there — which may afterwards, as the faculties expand, and life goes on, be cherished into confirmed godliness. Thus she commences life with the children commit- ted to her care."* c Matt. iii. 11, John iii. 5, Eph. v. 26, Titus iii. 4 — 7, 1 Pet. iii. 21, 1 John v. 6—8. d " In ancient times men had Holy Baptism continually in their thoughts. They could scarcely speak or write on any religious subject without the discourse turning on Baptism at ® ® ® . 282 THE MORAL TRAINING Now look at the second step. The Church still keeps her hold upon that child, and, as its reason strengthens, has provided her Catechism with which its training is to be commenced. She does not send it forth to feed in " strange pastures," or to attempt, last. Children were educated simply as baptized children. They were taught that things were right or wrong in propor- tion as they affected the Baptismal vow. Sins were consid- ered more or less heinous as they were supposed to stain Baptismal purity. Baptism was to them all in all ; because it was there they found the Cross of Christ set up." Faher on " The Prayer Book a Safeguard," p. 8. " Christian education is the education of a baptized soul. Now it is not too much to say, that there are very few of us who give this prominence to Baptism in the education of our children. The little ones tell us, that they icere made in their Baptism ' members of Christ, children of God, and in- heritors of the Kingdom of Heaven ;' and moreover they ' heartily thank God their Heavenly Father, that he hath called them to this state of salvation.' Yet we educate them as if we did not believe a word of all this. Alas ! many among us do not believe it. We bring them up as if they were one day to be Christians, not as if they were so al- ready The Church, when she educates her chil- dren in the Catechism, is ever teaching them to look hack. We, on the contrary, arc ahcays making them look forward. She gives them great thoughts, and tries to make them care- ful, jealous, and obedient, because they are Christians. We educate their minds, and inform them with high principles of action, because they may be Christians, and ought to be Christians. In a word, with the Church, Baptism is a gift and a power : with us it is a theory and a notion." Faher on " The Catechism,'" p. 13. ® ■ ^ ® (5) ___ . . . ® OF THE CHURCH. 283 in the high-ways and by-ways of this busy world, to gather that knowledge which can make it wise unto salvation. She furnishes it with aliment for the in- tellect as well as for the heart. As it was enjoined upon the Sponsors at the time of baptism, that " the infant be taught, as soon as he shall be able to learn, what a solemn vow, promise, and profession, he hath made by them," so the Church provides the means at an Ccirly day of beginning this work. He is to be " instructed in the Church Catechism set forth for that purpose." And how admirable is every portion of this little formulary ! While so short, that the young child can commit it to memory, and so simple, that its meaning can be easily explained and learned, it is at the same time so comprehensive an outline of reli- gion, that it familiarizes the mind with all its cardinal truths. Neither is there any thing dim or vague in the instruction which it imparts. All is plain and practical. The opening questions naturally lead the child to speak of its baptism — the privileges and obli- gations of which are accordingly explained. Then follow, the Articles of the Creed which it is required to believe — the Ten Commandments, which are laid down as its rule of life towards God and its neigh- bor — and the necessity of grace from on high having been inculcated, that prayer is added, which our Lord Himself gave His followers to use. The whole then concludes with a brief exposition of the nature of the two Sacraments — Baptism and the Lord's ® ^ ® ® 284 THE MORAL TRAINING Supper — the benefits to be derived from them, and the requisites necessary for their proper reception. Tell me, then, where in so small a compass can you find so admirable a view of the doctrines of our faith 1 While the doubts and questionings of contro- versy are shunned, every thing is inculcated which is necessary to inform the mind or regulate the life by the rules of holiness. In this respect, therefore, the Church has done her part ; and were parents and sponsors but faithful to their trust, the children of the fold would go forth into the world, instructed in the truth, armed against error, and prepared to repel the insidious suggestions of those who would seduce them from the right way."" Nor let the oft-repeated objection be heeded, that the doctrines of our faith are above the comprehen- sion of the young child. We believe there are none taught in our Catechism, of which a careful explana- tion will not enable the learner to gain some percep- tion, even if he do not fully grasp the meaning. And what more than this, do we " children of a larger growth," even in the maturity of our reason, under- e " What may be the cause why so much cloth so soon changcth color ? It is because it was never viret wadded, which giveth the fixation to a color, and setteth it in the cloth. " What may be the reason wliy so many, now-a-days, are carried about with every wind of doctrine, even to scour every point in the compass round about ? Surely it is be- cause they were never well catechised in the principles of religion." — Thomas Fuller. (S) — ® ® ■ ® OF THE CHURCH. 285 stand of many of the divine mysteries 1 The deep things of God seem to float dimly before our eyes — " we see through a glass, darkly " — and are obliged to wait, until in another state of being, with our faculties expanded, we " shall know, even as also we are known." Thus also is it with the child, and pre- cisely on this principle do we store its mind with many branches of human learning which at present it cannot understand. We know that these truths will be laid up in its memory, and as the intellectual powers are developed, their meaning will gradually dawn upon it. Beautifully and effectually, indeed, has a living Christian poet answered this objection — "Oh say not, dream not, heavenly notes To childish ears are vain. That tlie young mind at random floats, And cannot reach the strain. Dim or unheard, the words may fall, And yet the lieavon-taught mind May learn the sacred air, and all Tiie harmony unwind."^ Now look at the third step in this moral training. The solemn obligations resting on parents having been discharged, and the child been trained up from in- fancy " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," f KehlbS Christian Year. Tlic reader will find the sub- ject of Catechising nowhere more fully and admirably dis- cussed, than in Bishop Doane's Charge to the Convention of New Jersey, in 1836, entitled " The Cliurch's Care for Little Children." 13* ® ■ ® 286 THE MORAL TRAINING the Church calls upon him again, when he has ar- rived at years of discretion. She supposes, that the grace of God has been ripened and matured iji his heart, and that he is now prepared, openly before the world, to confess himself a disciple of the Crucified Son of God. This is done in Confirmation, when he publicly takes his Baptismal vows upon himself; and therefore the Church directs, that at this period of life — ^just when he is in the freshness of his youth, and before he has entered on the busy, active world — he shall be thus farther armed against temptation. He returns then to the chancel, where he has once been admitted by Baptism into the Church, and stand- ing up before the altar, the Bishop addresses to him the question — " Do you here, in the presence of God, and of this congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow that ye made, or that was made in your name, at your Baptism ; ratifying and confirming the same ; and acknowledging yourself bound to be- lieve and to do all those things which ye then under- took, or your sponsors then undertook for you ?" To this the candidate " audibly answers, / do." And then, after the united prayers of all have commended him to God, the Bishop lays his hands upon his head, while kneeling before him, with the appropriate peti- tion — " Defend, O Lord, this Thy servant with Thy Heavenly grace ; that he may continue thine forever, and daily increase in Thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto Thy everlasting kingdom." How solemn then is all this service ! Who can ® ■ ® ® (S) OF THE CHURCH. 287 unite in it, without having first determined most fully to devote himself to the service of God, or vi^ithout having every holy resolution quickened and strength- ened within him !' Thus it is that we have traced the young member of the Church, from his early infancy, until he stands upon the verge of manhood, and is prepared to go forth and take his part in its engrossing cares. You have seen how the Church watched over him, and gathered her restraints about his steps, training him up until the hour when he publicly professed himself one with the faithful. Now see her future care, and what, as life goes on, she has provided to strengthen him against the encroachments of worldliness. g " At that moment the question was asked, ' Do ye here' — tlie Bishop began — ' in the presence of God and this con- gregation, renew the solemn promise and vow made in your names at your baptism ?' I had separated myself from the company of candidates, and stood a little apart, looking at them. 'Do they' — I thought — 'here, where the dead in Christ are lying to rest around them ; where the eye of God is in an especial manner upon them; where their ministers are watching as those who must give account, and anxious friends are looking on even with prayers and tears — Do they come Zicre with true hearts, or dare they here to trifle.'' O let them turn back now ! I almost said, let them not lie unto God ! or rather, here, as at the foot of the Cross, let them accept the off(>red mercy of Him who waiteth to be gracious ' Of all tlic thoughts that come into one's mind in looking on that lovely congregation, the saddest was the dread that some there, perhaps, tiiough charity hoped better things of all, had come carelessly, as to an unmeaning cere- mony." Scenes in our Parish, p. 198. ® — ® ® ® 288 THE MORAL TRAINING Our thoughts naturally turn at once to the Holy Communion. Of this he is now invited to partake, if he can do so humbly, reverently, and with the wish to lead a godly life. The emblems of his Master's broken body and shed blood are placed before him, and from this Sacrament he can gather strength for his future course. Solemn indeed are the reflections which in these moments must crowd upon his mind, wafting his thoughts away from this lower world ! " With angels, and archangels, and with all the com- pany of heaven, he lauds and magnifies God's glorious name," and thus is forced to realize, that there is indeed such a bond as " the Communion of saints," uniting in one fellowship the faithful in Christ Jesus, whether they have entered into the Paradise of rest, or are still toiling on in the wilderness. And this spiritual feast is provided so frequently, that its holy influence cannot wear out by the continual contact into which he is forced with the things which are ap- pealing to his outward senses. Each month he is called to partake of it, that worldliness may have no time to gather over his soul — the affections become alienated from his God — or the solemn scenes of Calvary be strange and unaccustomed to his thoughts. Thus it is that the Church provides for man's " spir- itual food and sustenance in that Holy Sacrament, which is so divine and comfortable a thing to them who receive it worthily.'"" h In the exhortation we say — " He hath given His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, not only to die for us, but also to be (S) — '■ — ® @ OF THE CHURCH. 289 Then again, we have her constant round of ser- vices. These are regulated by no fitful devotion, but our spiritual food and sustenance in tliat Holy Sacrament." Tins then is the doctrine of our Church, that "the body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the supper, only after a, heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is faith." (Jrt. XXVIII.) The church holds therefore the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but not the doc- trine of His material presence. She teaches that the change wrought in the Elements, by their consecration, is simply a spiritual one. Mr. G. S. Faber, in his '■'■ Difficulties of Romun- ism," in speaking on tliis subject, uses the term " moral change.^' P. 44. On the other hand, the church ofRome contends, that by the consecration the bread and wine are changed in their essential qualities, so that they cease to be bread and wine, but become strictly and literally tlic material and suhstantial body and Mood of Christ. This is their doctrine of Transub- stantiation. That the doctrine of a spiritual change was that of the early church, is evident from the illustrations they use to ex- plain this subject. For example, Gregory of Nyssa says — " This altar, before which we stand, is physically mere com- mon stone, differing notliing from the stones with which our houses arc built : but, after it has been consecrated by bene- diction to the service of God, it becomes a holy table, a sanc- tified altar. In a similar manner, the eucharistic bread is originally mere common bread ; but when it has been conse- crated in the holy mystery, it becomes, and is called, the body of Christ. The same power of consecration likewise imprints a new and honorable character upon a priest, when i)y a new benediction he is separated from the laity. For he, who was previously nothing more than a common man, is ^ gj ® ® 290 THE MORAL TRAINING keep steadily in view the great principle of instruct- ing her children in the doctrines of Christianity, and gradually building them up in a knowledge of the faith. Look at her Sunday services, how they go through the whole circle of religious truth, and suddenly transformed into a teacher of religion, and into a steward of the holy mysteries. Yet this great mutation is effected without any change in his bodily form and appear- ance. Externally, he is the same that he already wasj but, internally, by an invisible and gracious operation, a mighty change is effected in his soul." {De Baptism, oper. v. iii. p. 369.) In these cases of the altar and the priest, Gregory can of course refer to no physical change. The rise of this error of transubstantiation was natural. The early fathers evinced an extreme anxiety to avoid any mode of speech which might lower the dignity of this Sacrament in the estimation of the people. They therefore often resorted to a fervid and poetical style of address dictated by the glow- ing imagination of the Greeks or Asiatics, which identified the hallowed elements with the sacrifice they represented. "Thus," says Le Bas," the impassioned eloquence of the preachers grew imperceptibly into the doctrine of the Church." {Life of Wiclif, p. 253.) To this language of rhet- oric the Romish writers now appeal, as if it had been uttered with didactic caution. And yet, in all the early fathers there is no expression stronger than that contained in one of our own hymns — " Hail, sacred feast which Jesus makes ! Rich banquet of his flesh and blood!" Would it be logical a thousand years hence, to point to this line as proof, that our church in the 19th century be- lieved in a physical change .'' Yet such is the Romish argu- ment from the early fathers. ® ■■ — ® ® ® OF THE CHURCH. 291 bring constantly before our eyes, the eventful life of our Lord, and the doctrines He came to unfold. We begin at Advent, by looking forward in anticipation of His coming, until at Christmas, " with cheerful hymns and garlands sweet," we celebrate His nativity. Then, one prominent action after another of His earthly pilgrimage passes in review, until in the sea- son of Lent we commemorate His bitter sufferings — His Passion — and death. But Good Friday goes by — the darkness which had gathered about the tomb is dispelled by " the vernal light of Easter morn," and we enter the house of God to listen to the story of our Master's joyful Resurrection. Forty days afterwards we celebrate the Festival of the Ascen- sion — then, at Whitsunday, the Pentecostal coming of the Holy Ghost — and then, on Trinity Sunday, we are called to remember that solemn mystery of the Three in One, about which men indeed can profane- ly argue, but on which angels meditate with an aw- ful reverence. " But as hitherto we have celebrated His great works, so henceforth we magnify Himself For twenty-five weeks we represent in figure what is to be hereafter. We enter into our rest, by entering in with Him who, having wrought and suffered, has opened the kingdom of Heaven to all believers. For half a year we stand still, as if occupied solely in adoring Him, and with the Seraphim crying, ' Holy, Holy, Holy,' continually.'" Now, who can go through i Newman's Sermons, Vol. VI. p. 400. ®- — -® © (s) 292 THE MORAL TRAINING this round of instruction, and thoughtfully contem- plate all these solemn truths, without being deeply impressed by the realities of our religion? Look, too, at the Church's plan of daily services, as laid down in her Calendar. She has so divided up the Word of God, that the Psalms can be read over once in each month, and during the course of each year, in her lessons, she goes once through the Old Testament, and three times through the New, except the Book of the Revelation of St. John. And at the same time, at intervals come the Saints' Days, when we are called to commemorate each of the Apostles in succession, and others of the holy dead who have passed away to glory. Thus we are shown, that to serve God truly, and to shine like lights in the world, we must follow in the steps of these His favored ser- vants, and devote our hearts and lives to His worship and service. We are taught, to live for a time with the dead — to be joined to them, as it were, in a mysterious love, realizing that though the earthly eye cannot see them, yet they are " not far from every one of us," living in a nobler existence than they ever enjoyed on earth. And even when the Church does not puhlicly celebrate this daily service, her members have still the Prayer-Book in their hands, to lead their thoughts aright, and to direct them each day to the same portions of the Word of God, that they may thus with one mind follow the Church in the lessons she prescribes, and be ever advancing in religious knowledge. She has both her Festivals of ® — ■ ® ® ® or THE CHURCH. 293 holy joy, when they are called to exult in the rich promises which are made them, and again her weekly and yearly Fasts, when they are directed to chasten their spirits, and bring their bodies into subjection, that the earthly and sin-born nature may not war against that influence in the heart, which is ever striving to lead them nearer to their God.' In this way it is that, year after year, through a lifetime, the Church appeals both to the intellect and the heart. She instructs her children through the mind and the affections. She uses devotion as the in- strument ; by her holy prayers elevating their thoughts above this passing world — sanctifying their hearts — and, by teaching them to conquer themselves, render- ing them children of the light and of the day. They must acquire the habit of prayer — not that irregular, j The following is the Church's table. of Fasts, as given in the Prayer-Book immediately after the Calendar. A TABLE OF FASTS. ASII-WEDNESDAY. GOOD-FRIDAY. Other daijs of Fasting ; on which the Church requires such a measure of Jlbstiiience, as is more especially suited to extra- ordinary Jlcts and Exercises of Devotion. 1st. The Forty days of Lent. 2d. The Enibcr-Days at the Four Seasons, being the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, the Feast of Pentecost, September 14, and December 13. 3d. The Three Rogation Days, being tlie Monday, Tues- day, and Wednesday before Holy Thursday, or the Ascen- sion of our Lord. 4th All the Fridays in the Year, cxcejrt Christmas-day. ®- ® ® ___ — ® 294 THE MORAL TRAINING varying devotion which burns around us — at one time apparently kindled to an angel's fervor, and at another, utterly dead and cold — but the flame which shines on steadily, unaffected by the dampness of this earth, and crrowincr brighter and brighter to the end. " As our Lord led persons gradually to the knowledge of the truth, by quiet teaching, by leading them to ob- serve His works, by drawing out their self-denial and engaging their confidence, so, in obedience to His command ' to make disciples of all nations,' the system of the Church is that of parental and pastoral training, and building up by practical instruction, such as catechising and the use of a constant devo- tional form." She acts on this principle — to induce her members to acquire a devotional frame of mind, by self-discipline and frequent repetition — for thus only can it be formed. But besides this regular, constant training of the Church, there are also her occasional services, which are adapted to every situation in which her children can be placed. At home or abroad — in safety or in peril — in peace or in war — she is ever at their side. Even on the wild billows of the sea, she speaks to the storm-tossed mariner in words which bring to his remembrance the quiet Church at home, and thus connect him in spirit with the little circle he has left. "Thou too art there, with thy soft inland tones, Mother of our new birth ; Tlie lonely ocean learns thy orisons, And lov^s thy sacred mirth : ® ■ -® (5) ® OF THE CHURCH. 295 When storms are high, or vvlicn the fires of war Coine lightening round our course, Tliou breath 'st a note like music from afar. Tempering rude hearts with calm angelic force."'' In every hour of joy, she is with the members of her fold, to impart a cahn and holy spirit to their happine.ss. Have mercies been vouchsafed to them ? Here are her prayers of thanksgiving, putting words into their mouths, by which in the great congregation they can pour out the overflowing gratitude of their hearts By her holy blessings she sanctifies the marriage-tie, divesting it of its worldliness, and in the name of the Triune God invokes upon those who kneel before the altar, " His spiritual benediction and grace, that they may so live together in this life, that in the world to come they may have life everlasting." Thus she follows the leadings of Scripture, where St. Paul declares this state to be " honorable in all," and even exalts it as a solemn mystery, to be an image of the union between Christ and His Church.' Neither is it for the sunshine of life only, that the Church has provided her services. Knowing that k Keblc's Christian Year. 1 Is it not in accordance with the spirit of the present day, to deprive this tie of its religious character, and to regard marriage as a mere civil contract.' Widely different from this has always been the feeling of those who have im- bibed the old, Catholic Spirit of the Church. Tertullian, in the second century asks — " How shall I siifTiciently declare the Iiappiness of that marriage which the Church makes, the oblation confirms., and the benediction seals?" (Jid Uxor em, ® ® ® 296 THE MORAL TRAINING here we are " born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward," and that God most often purifies us by the furnace of affliction, she is ready also to " weep with them that weep." An Apostle says — " Is any among you afflicted ? let him pray." And in obeying this injunction, where can we find petitions more suitable than she sets forth — so simple, yet so touch- ing ? " O merciful God, aiid Heavenly Father, who hast taught us, in Thy Holy Word, that Thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men ; look down with pity, we beseech Thee, upon the sorrows of Thy servant, for whom our prayers are desired. In Thy wisdom. Thou hast seen fit to visit him with trouble, and to bring distress upon him. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy ; sanctify Thy fatherly correction to him ; endue his soul with patience under his affliction, and with resignation to Thy blessed will ; comfort him with a sense of Thy goodness ; lift up Thy countenance upon him, and give him peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord." " Is any sick among you?" — asks the same Apos- tle — " let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him." And for this also the Church has provided. In her " Visitation of the Sick," she Jib. ii. c. 8.) And where can this service so properly be per- formed as before the altar ? "Where should ye seek Love's perfect smile, But where your prayers were learn'd erewhile, In her own native place?" ■ Kelle. ® ■ ® ® — — ■ ; ® OF TBE CHURCH. 297 marks out the course to be pursued, bringing down tlie subject of our faith to something tangible and practical — dispelling at once the dreamy reveries of modern days — and fiistening upon those points in the belief of the mind, and the conduct of the life, which present the only true evidences of preparation for Heaven. She has also " The Communion of the Sick," by which, with appropriate prayers, the Sacra- ment of the Lord's death can be administered to him who is debarred from mingling with his fellow-wor- shippers in the House of God, and in this way, he eats the bread of life, and keeps up his spiritual union with the faithful.'" And thus she is present, to sus- tain and comfort his fainting spirit, while days of suf- fering and nights of weariness are appointed him, ever being at hand with her holy words. Nor does she leave him, when life is just flickering away. In the very latest moment of existence, when the soul is trembling on the brink of eternity, she has provided that solemn prayer, by which her ministers may com- mend the departing spirit into the hands of its God. Thus, the last accents which fall upon his ear are the touching words — " O Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect, after they m " A simple altar by the bed For high Communion meetly spread, Chalice, and plate, and snowy vest. We eat and drank : then calmly blest, All mourners, one icitli dying breath. We sate and lalk'd of Jesus' death." Kehle. ® — ® ® , ® 298 THE MORAL TRAINING are delivered from their earthly prisons ; we humbly commend the soul of this Thy servant, our dear brother, into Thy hands, as into the hands of a faith- ful Creator, and most merciful Saviour ; most humbly beseeching Thee, that it may be precious in Thy sight : wash it, we pray Thee, in the blood of that Im- maculate Lamb, that was slain to take away the sins of the world ; that whatsoever defilements it may have contracted in the midst of this miserable and naughty world, through the lust of the flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, it may be pre- sented pure and without spot before Thee." Never, indeed, in time of health and strength, can the words of this prayer come home to us in all their force. To realize their full solemnity, we must hear them utter- ed in the chamber of the dying, when the spirit of the Christian is wrestling in its last conflict, and the mortal is just putting on immortality. Nor does the Church's care end here, even when the spirit is gone. She still has a voice to utter with regard to the earthly tabernacle which it once inhab- ited. She proclaims over it the holy promises of the Gospel, in the name of Him who has declared Him- self to be " the Resurrection and the Life," and then commits it to its last resting place, " earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," pointing forward the surviving relatives who have gathered around, to " the general resurrection in the last day, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; at whose second coming in glorious majesty to judge ® ® ® ® OF THE CHURCH. 299 the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead ; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in Him shall be changed, and made like unto His own glorious body ; according to the mighty working, whereby He is able to subdue all things to Himself." Such then is the system of the Church — that an- cient and Catholic system, derived by her from earlier and better days — which she has kept in her formula- ries, and which by means of her Prayer-Book is ever spread out before her children. You perceive, then, that never for an instant does she lose sight of one committed to her trust. From his Baptism to his Burial — from the cradle to the grave — she is ever at his side. She does not hazard his spiritual improve- ment on the fidelity or changing views of those, who may happen to minister at her altars, but herself marks out the plan and sketches the system by which her members are to live. Day after day — month after month — year after year — she expects to go forward, leading them ever on to nobler attainments in the divine life, and as this world gradually fades away, preparing them more fully for that which is to come. Her lesson is — " In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." Tell me then — I again ask — is not this the end which God intended his Church should answer, to train up His children for Heaven 1 And is not this the true object of our faith — by a constant struggle with ourselves, and by inward, spiritual discipline — steadily to increase the power of holiness over our ■ ® ® ■ ® 300 THE MORAL TRAINING hearts? Or, does religion consist in periodical ex- citements — in renouncing for a time all dependence on the reason, and suffering the imagination to be awakened to a perfect delirium — until we lose sight of things earthly and terrestrial ? Is the soul to pass from spiritual death to life, by one spasmodic effort, amid the whirlwind of excited passions ? Is an in- quiring, immortal being to be taught the way to Heaven, by distorted, unnatural appeals — by arraying scenes of terror before the eye, until the mind is in- capacitated from forming a calm and rational deci- sion 1 Are the holiest themes of our faith — themes on which angels can dwell with the deepest adoration — to be bandied about by ignorance and fanaticism, and lowered by every degrading association, until all reverence is gqjie? Was it thus that our Lord pro- claimed the solemn precepts of the Gospel, on the hill-sides of Judea, or in the Courts of the Temple t No, every thing with Him was elevating, lofty, and impressive. Men might quail beneath the truths He uttered, but the skeptic found nothing in His teach- ing from which he could gather new topics for scoff- ing, nor were the worldly-minded able to indulge in ribaldry and laughter. And in the same spirit would the Church impart all her instructions. Solemnly, and steadily her voice is heard, impressing upon our hearts the awak- ening lessons with which she is charged. She ap- peals to you, not for to-day only — or for this month — or this season — but she goes on unceasingly through ® ® ® ® OF THE CHURCH. 301 your lifetime. She wishes you deeply to realize the truth, that religion is not a thing for particular times and places, but a holy influence which is to be ex- erted over every part of our existence, here and here- after. Therefore it is, that " she takes to herself al- most every common action of our lives, and makes it her own by giving it a religious turn, a Church meaning. She keeps meddling with us in every stage of our lives. She comes among us in our Bap- tism, Education, Confirmation, Marriage, Sickness, and Death. She calls upon us to consecrate our worldly goods, by yielding a portion up to her. She bids us make our time minister to Eternity, by call- ing us away from a worldly use of it on her Sundays and Saints' days. She makes us put a limit even upon our natural appetites, that she may teach us, through her Fasts, obedience and self-denial, and bountiful giving of alms. Thus she strives to inter- weave herself with our most secret and common thoughts, our every-day actions, our domestic griefs and joys. She would put something spiritual into them all. She is diligent, unwearying, ungrudging as her Master, always going about doing good."" Is not this system, then, one most beautiful in all its parts, and proving what care the Church has taken of our spiritual interests ? Is there any thing here left undone, which ought to have been done — any link wanting in the chain by which she binds us to the n Faber on " The Cliurch-Catechism," p. 6. 14 ® ® ® ■ ® 302 THE MORAL TRAINING Throne of God ? No, he who is once within her fold, and yet wishes to cast aside her influence, and return to worldliness, would be obliged to make an effort, before he can succeed in bursting the bands which she hath twined about him, and breaking away from her holy restraints. Not on her therefore must be cast the blame, when any who have belonged to her, fall by the way, and thus prove that they are to have no part nor lot in the Heavenly inheritance. She has provided every thing necessary for their spiritual welfare. The waters of life are flowing be- side them, brightly and beautifully, but they will not stoop and drink. The Heavenly armor is before them, but they will not array themselves in it for the conflict. Do I address one individual, then, who has ever felt inclined to distrust the Church, and to wander elsewhere, seeking food 1 Is there one, who fears lest he cannot grow in holiness beneath her quiet round of services, who charges her with formality, and wishes to turn to some place, where he can find more excitement 1 My brother ! it is not by noise and bustle that you are to be aided in your progress to Heaven. The contest you are to wage, must be fought within — in your own heart — and from the re- sponsibility of this, nothing can relieve you. Excite- ment will only lead your thoughts away to the out- ward world of action, instead of the little inward world of meditation. It can never produce the ne- cessary moral discipline, and if you trust to it, you ® ® ® ® OF THE CHURCH. 303 will find, when the morning of the Resurrection comes, that you are without the wedding garment. Again ; let me ask such a person another ques- tion — Have you thoroughly tried this system of the Church, to see what is its effect? She has ap- pointed, as we have shown you, varied services. Have you faithfully attended all of these — Sundays and week-days — on Festivals and in Lent 1 Have you acted out that principle, by which alone her true children are guided, that nothing but an insuperable obstacle shall prevent them from being present here ? If you have not, what possible idea can you form, of the influence of her holy system ? She has also her regular Fast days, to discipline your spirit, and recall your affections from a world which is passing away. Have you observed them as you should, afflicting the soul here that it may be saved hereafter ? She has too her Holy Festivals, when, in a spirit of subdued joy, we are to come before God in thanksgiving. Have you done so, or have those solemn, consecrated days been lost, and unmarked amidst the other days of your worldly life ? Oh, if you have not, month after month sat humbly at her feet, and listened to her teaching, what right have you to allege, that she does not supply every spiritual want? She can only place her system before you, and then leave it to yourself to enjoy its benefits or not. She can min- ister only to the faithful. Come, then, and make but trial of her power. While trouble is out among the nations, and " men's ■ ® ®- -® 304 THE MORAL TRAINING OF THE CHURCH. hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth," we call you to this ancient fold, where the landmarks are still unchanged. Her strength is unabated — her grace is undiminished — and she can now pour into your heart the same full tide of joy, which she has given to the saints in the generations which have gone. Still, her prayers, and Sacraments, and holy rites remain as of old, and she stands before you, in this world a home for the lonely, and at the same time a type of that eternal and unchanging home for which she would prepare you. 1^ ®- -® ® ® POPULAR OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE CHURCH. Bide thou thy lime ! Watch with meek eyes the race of pride and crime, Sit in the gate, and be the heatlien's jest, Smiling and self-possest. O thou, to wliom is pledged a Victor's sway, Bide thou the Victor's day ! Lyra ^pontulica. ® ® ® VTII POPULAR OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE CHURCH. There are some so blinded by prejudice, that every thing connected with the distinctive principles of the Church, is the object of their special anathema. They see no beauty in her ancient, solemn services — nothing venerable in the long succession of her Bishops, as the unbroken line comes down through eighteen centuries. They understand but little of her peculiarities — they know not what is Primitive and Catholic — and they care not to inquire. The fact, that any thing which they have abandoned, has been retained by the Church, is sufficient to draw down upon it their reprobation. " Having eyes, they see not, and having ears, they hear not." They form a perfect illustration of old Fuller's description of Prynne — " So great is his antipathy against Epis- copacy, that if a Seraph himself should be a Bishop, he would either find or make some sick feathers in his wings." Now, to such persons explanations are ® -® ®_ ® 308 POPULAR OBJECTIONS useless. Words are wasted on them. They can only be left to go on, until their wilful blindness leads them into some strange extravagance, and they thus by their conduct give a new proof of what Dr. Johnson asserted, that '* fanaticism is robust ignor- ance." There are others, however, who will listen like reasonable beings. They have, perhaps, been edu- cated in entire misapprehension of the spirit which pervades the Church, and even of the object of her services. They have heard the oft-repeated calum- nies which are urged against her, yet never met with their refutation. By such persons, then, a few words of explanation will often be received in that spirit which should always characterize the sincere inquirer after truth. I propose, therefore, this evening briefly to discuss some of the common and popular objec- tions WHICH ARE URGED AGAINST THE ChURCH. Several which I shall mention, may appear to those already within the pale of the Church, as being too trivial and unimportant to be noticed. Yet they are only such as I have often myself encountered, for few subjects connected with religion are so little under- stood by the great mass of those about us, as the claims and true position of our Church. One objection employed against us is — our use of the word " Catholic." In the Apostles' Creed, which we repeat every Sunday, we declare — " I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" — and in the second Creed set down in our Prayer-Book — that called the ® ® — ^ ® AGAINST THE CHURCHi 309 Nicene, and which was adopted a. d. 325, to be ex- planatory of the first — -this confession is made still more strongly — " I believe one Catholic and Apostolic Church." Soj too, in one of the Prayers in " The Visitation of the Sick," we pray God, that " when we shall have served Him in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers . , » . in the commun- ion of the Catholic Church." Now, to many per- sons the phrase Catholic Church conveys nothing but the idea of the Church of Rome, because they have most erroneously been accustomed to distinguish the members of that particular body by the name of Catholics, although it is a title which belongs to them no more than it does to any other branch of the Christian Church. This word is derived from the Greek word Ku&ohy-oi;, which means general or universal. The Holy Catholic Church, then, means the Holy Universal Church, as existing in her different branches in all parts of the earth, and in all ages of the world. For example, this is the Greek word which is employed in the New Testament in setting forth the titles of the Epistles of St. James, St. Peter, St. Jude, and the First Epistle of St. John; because instead of beinor addressed to particular Churches — as St. Paul ad- dressed his Epistles to the Church in Corinth, or Rome, or Ephesus — these were written to all the Churches throughout the world. It might, therefore, be translated — and it would be the most literal ren- dering — " the Catholic Epistle {Ennnolri KuQohxri) 14* — — ® ©-- — — — — — ® 310 t-OPULAR OBJECTIONS of James, or Peter, or John." Instead of which, as you remember, it is translated in our version—" the General Epistle of James, and Peter, and John." In the early ages, when small heretical sects oc- casionally arose, and separated from the great body of the faithful, calling themselves by different party names, the Church instead retained the title of Catholic, to distinguish herself from them, as being that one, continuous, orthodox body, which had always existed, and to which the preservation of the truth was committed. The Catholic Church then was that which was spread throughout the world, and was destined to continue also through all ages, even unto the end of time. Her common bond was the Apostolic Ministry, and her unity on all the grand cardinal doctrines of the faith. On every shore her branches were found under their different Bishops. Thus, there was the Catholic Church of Jerusalem, that of Antioch, of Alexandria, of Rome, and that in Western Europe. They had, indeed, no single, visible earthly head, presiding over them all, but were independent of each other, in the same way that the Church in this country is now independent of the Church in England.'' Yet, although thus separated in distant a The causes which gave rise to the supremacy of the Bishops of Rome are obvious. The principal one was, the temporal dignity and wealth of that city. This gave to its Church an early pre-eminence, and placed great power in the hands of her rulers. Rome was the mistress of the wx)rld — the centre to which all eyes were directed — and this ® : ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. ^ 311 regions, and speaking divers languages, they still looked to each other, as being branches together of feeling of respect and veneration naturally extended to the Churrh there. Thns?, the Council of Chalccdon declared that Rome had obtained privileges on account of its being tlie im- perial City. (Can. xxviii.) Cyprian also assigns this reason for honoring the Roman Church : " Quoniam pro magnitudine sua debet Carthaginem Roma praecedere." (Epist. 49.) Pre- cisely the same causes now give the Bishop of London greater influence in the Christian world, than is possessed by the Bishop ofSodor and Man. In an age of darkness and super stition, it was easy for a succession of ambitious prelates gradually to e.xpand tiiis influence into a supremacy. Nothing, however, can be more conclusive than the histo rical argument against this claim of the Bishop of Rome. When Polycrates and the Bishops of Asia disagreed with Pope Victor, they seemed to pay very little regard to his opinions or his excommunications. (Euscb. Eccles. Hist. lib. V. c. 24.) Irenaeus, too, rebuked the same Pope for his arrogance. (Ibid.) St. Cyprian bestowed on the Bishop of Rome no higher title than that of brother and colJeague, and expressed the utmost disregard of Pope Stephen's judgment with regard to heretics. (Cyp. ad Pomp. 74.) The early Bishops of Rome indeed disclaimed all such authority. Gregory the Great, in the 6th Century, tells us, that " the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon were they who first oflered to his predecessors the title of Universal Bishop, which they refused to accept." (Epist. Lib. vii. Ep. 30 ) He elsewhere condemns the Patriarch of Constantinople for assuming this title, and says — " Whoever claims the Univer- sal Episcopate, is the forerunner of Anti-Christ." (Ego fidentcr dico, quod quisquis se Universalem Sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desidcrat, in elationc sua, Anti-Christum proecur- rit.) (Lib. vi. Epist. 30.) The second General Council in- ® is) ® ® 312 *** POPULAR OBJECTIONS the same vine. Beautifully, indeed, is this illustrated in the writings of one of the old Fathers — " The Church," he says, " is one, though multiplied far and wide by its naturally prolific tendency; in like man- ner as the sun has rays many, yet one light; and the tree has many boughs, yet their strength, from the root upwards, is a single property ; and when many streams flow from one head, a character of multipli- city may be developed in the copiousness of their discharge, and yet the unity of their nature must be recognized in the fountain they proceed from. Divide the ray from the sun, and the principle of unity will negative their separation ; lop the bough from the tree, it will want strength to blossom ; cut the stream from its fountain, the remnant will be dried up. Thus the Church, invested with light from the Lord, sends out her rays over the whole earth ; and yet the light is one, disseminated everywhere, with no separation of the original body : she stretches forth the rich luxuriance of her branches over all the world, and pours out her onward streams, and spreads into the distance ; yet is there one head, one source, one mother, in all the instances of her eventful fecundity.'"' deed — that of Constantinople, A. D. 381 — gave the title of " Mother of all Cliurches," not to the Church of Rome, but that of Jerusalem. PercivaVs Roman Schism, p. 32. See this subject fully discussed in Barrow on the Pope's Supreviacy — Bp Hopkins's Church of Rome compared with Prim. Church — and Palmer s Treatise on the Church, vol. ii. p. 451—493. b Cyprian, de Unit. Eccles. ® ■ — ® ® @ AGAINST THE CHURCH. 313 Such in that day was the view entertained of the Church. Her members felt, therefore, that they were one " in the fellowship of the Spirit," while with the different sects of heretics about them, they held no communion. It was in this spirit that St, Augustine defined the word Catholic. " The Catholic Church," said he, " is so called, because it is spread through- out the world."" Again, he adds, addressing certain heretics — " If your Church is Catholic, show me that it spreads its branches throughout the world ; for such is the meaning of the word Catholic."^ So also Vincentius of Lerins writes in the fifth 'century — " The Catholic or universal doctrine is that which remains the same through all ages, and will continue so till the end of the world. He is a true Catholic, who firmly adheres to the faith which he knows the Catholic Church has universally taught from the days of old."' Who then in this day are the Catholics ? We answer, those who belong to any branch of the origin- al Church, in whatever country it may exist, which has retained the Apostolic ministry, and owns its subjection to the Universal Church, rendering obedi- ence to her voice. We are members of the Catho- lic Church, for we derive our succession from Primi- tive days, and still hold in all respects to "the faith once delivered to the saints." We recognize our c Epigt.l70,ad S. Sever. d Contra Gaudent. 1. iii. c. 1. e Commonit adv. Ilaeiet. c. 25. ® — ® ® ® 314 POPULAR OBJECTIONS connection with the Universal Church, whenever we repeat the Creeds, or that declaration in the Te Deum — " The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee." Our Mother Church in England has never given up the title. " We hope" — says Hooker — " that to reform ourselves, if at any time we have done amiss, is not to sever ourselves from the Church we were of before. In the Church we were, and we are so still."'' This too is the title of the Greek Church, and of those vast and numerous Churches in the East, which, even in their low estate, have never severed themselves from the Universal Church. We ac- knowledge, too, as Catholics, the members of the Church of Rome, within the bounds of her own pro- per jurisdiction, and when she does not put forth f Ecchs. Pol. iDorfis, v. i p. 437, ed. Kehle. Mr. Pahner has collected many instances from public documents, of the continued use of the title Catholic. For example — In the order of prayer before sermons in 1535, the preacher was to "pray for the whole Catholic Church of Christ, &c. and es- pecially for the Catholic Church of this realm" and for King Henry VIII., the "supreme head of this Catholic Church of England.'' (See Burnet, v. iii. Records, n. 29.) In the act against Annates, (23 Hen. viii. c 33,) it is said, that the King and all his subjects, "as well spiritual as temporal, been as obedient, devout, Catholic, and humble children of God, and holy Church, as any people be within any realm christened." {Treatise on Church, v. i. p. 227.) The writers of tiie Church in England always speak in these terms. ® ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 315 claims which conflict with those of other branches of the Church.^ You perceive then from this expla- g There arc some writers who take the ground tliat, since the Council of Trent, the Romanists have cut them- selves offfrom the Catholic Church, and are schismatics. This opinion is supported by Jewel, Field, and others. Even Mr. Froude, who has been accused of leaning towards Romanism, says — " The Romanists [are not schismatics in England and Catholics abroad, but they] are wretched Tridentines every- where." Ilcmai7is, v. i. p. 434. We have followed, however, on this point the great body ofEnglisii divines. Hooker calls the Church of Rome "a part of the house of God, a limb of the visible church of Christ." (Worlis^ ii. 478.) And again — " We gladly acknow- ledge them to be of tiie family of Jesus Christ." (Ibid. 438.) This was the view of Laud, Hammond, Bramhall, Andrewes, Chillingworth, Tillotson, Burnet, &c. It is asserted also most clearly in the formularies of the English Church. Thus, in the "Institutions of a Christian JMan," signed in 1.537 by twenty-one Archbishops and Bishops, (among wiiom were Cranmer, Latimer, Shaxton, Bradford, May, and Cox, all warm supporters of the Reformation,) v/e find this passage — "Therefore I do believe that the Church of Rome is not, nor cannot wortiiily be called the Catholic Church, but only a particular member thereof. And I believe also that the said Church of Rome, with all the other particular Churches in the world, compacted and united together, do make and constitute but one Catholic or Church bodij." (p. 55 ) So again, the " Necessary Doctrine and Erudition," approved by the Bishops of England, in 1543, after acknowledging tlie particu- lar Churches of England, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Koinr, adds that these churches are " members of the tchole Catholic Church, and each oftiiem by himself is also worthily called a Catholic Church." (p. 248.) We think, therefore, ® — ® ® . -. ® 316 POPULAR OBJECTIONS nation, how erroneous is that popular mode of speech by which so many are accustomed to confer this title exclusively upon the members of the Romish Church. " The name Catholic belongs equally to all the mem- bers of Christ's Catholic Church, wherever dispersed and however distressed. Hence a name, which be- longs equally to all, whether oriental or occidental, cannot be correctly employed as the special, and ex- clusive, and descriptive appellation of a part only : because, when the term is thus used, the common character of Catholicism is by implication denied to every Christian, who happens not to be a member of that provincial Western Church which is in com- munion with the Bishop of Rome, and which ac- knowledges him as its chief or Patriarch.'"" that the decision of the Church in England, on this point, is clear. Leading modern writers generally take the same view. It will be found expressed in the works of Palmer, Bp. Whit- tingham, Dr. Hook, G. S. Faber, and others. The latter, even when writing against the Romanists, says- — " That the Latins constitute one of the many branches of Christ's Uni- versal Church, I am far from wishing to deny." Diff. of Romanism^ pref. xxxiii. h Faher's Difficulties of Romanistn, pref. xxxiii. The same idea is expressed by Dr. Hook, in a sermon preached before the Q,ueen, in the Chapel Royal — " You see here, by the way, the folly, (if it be not a sin, for it is calling ' evil good, and good evil,') of styling the Romish Dissenters in England, as some persons in extreme ignorance, and others perhaps with bad intentions, do, Catholics; for this insinuates, that we of the church of England are heretics, whereas you have ® ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHVKCII. 317 Let us not then misinterpret this term, or shrink from acknowledging, that we " believe in one Catho- lic and Apostolic Church." It is declaring the truth, that we are no obscure sect — no mere party in the Christian world, calling ourselves by the name of some human teacher ; but that we claim fellowship with the great fold of Christ — the communion of the faithful, not only in this generation, spread every- where throughout the earth, but also of these who, in every age which has gone, have " slept in Jesus," scon that ours, not theirs, is the true and ortliodox Church of Ciirist in this country, tiie real Caliiolic Church in and of Enghind. If tlicy disliite the name Papist, we may speak of tlieni as Romanists, or even Roman Catliolics. Roman Catho- lics they may be styled, for (thougii schismatics and dissent- ers in England) in France and England they belong to a Church true by descent, though corrupted by Roman or Popish superstitions. A bad man is still a man, and you may refuse to associate with him before he reforms ; but still you will never permit him so to style himself a man, as to imply that you yourself are not a human being." i By not adhering to this name we furnish the Roman- ists with an argument against us. Thus, Dr. Milner, speak- ing of the members of the Church in England, says — "Every time they address the God of truth, either in solemn worship or in private devotion, they are forced each of them to re- peat, ' I believe in the Catholic Church.' And yet, if I ask any of them the question, ' Are you a catholic.^' he is sure to answer me, ' No, I am a protf.stant.' Was there ever a more glaring instance of inconsistency and self-con- demnation among rational beings ?" End of Religious Con- troversy, letter xxv. ® — ® ® S) 318 POPULAR OBJECTIONS and those who shall be united " with His body, which is the Church," in all future time, even until the trump of the archangel proclaims that the war- fare of his followers is over. Again, another objection often urged against us is — the use hy our ministers of peculiar clerical gar- ments. In the English Ritual, published in 1549, directions are given on the subject of Ecelesiastical Vestures. Among these we find particular mention made of the Albe. This garment, which is noticed among the acts of the Council of Narbonne, A. D. 5S9, was very similar to the present Surplice, by which name it began to be called about the twelfth century.^ We will quote some of these Rubrics of 1549. " Upon the day and at the time appointed for the ministration of the Holy Communion, the priest that shall execute the holy ministry shall put upon him the vesture appointed for that ministration ; that is to say, a tchite albc, plain," &c. " In the saying or singing of matins and evensong, baptizing and burying, the minister, in parish churches and chapels annexed to the same, shall use a suiplcss." Follow- ing this ancient regulation of the English Church, we have adopted the custom that the priest, when he officiates in the usual services, should be clothed in a white linen surplice.'' And yet there are some so sensitive, as to make this a cause of offence. j Palmer on the Ritual, v. ii. p. 320. k The origin of this word is somewhat doubtful. Web- ster, in his Dictionary, gives its derivation as from the Latin ® — ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 319 "It is used by the Romanists" — we are told. And so it is ; but if good in itself, is this any reason for abandoning it ? Is it the object of the Christian world, to get as far as possible from the Church of Rome, without exercising any discrimination as to what is correct, and what incorrect in her rites and services? Why not then abandon the custom of singing, as a part of public worship, because vocal music is heard in her temples — or give up baptism, because that Church has retained it — or the use of any commissioned ministry whatsoever, because she has still clung to the order of the priesthood.' The question is not, whether it is a custom of the Romish Church, but whether it is sanctioned by the usage of the ancient Church, and whether it is advantageous, ^^ super pellicium, aho\ e the robe of fur." This agrees with the account given by Durandus, who, in his work on the Divine Offices, written about the year 1286, traces up the etymology of the word superpelliceum, to a custom which anciently prevailed in the Church, of wearing tunics made from the skins of such animals as the country furnished, over which was cast a white linen alb or vest, which thus receiv- ed its name, supcrpcUicr.nm, from the circumstance of its being worn above fur. Rock's Hierurgia. vol. ii. p. 661. 1 We might find a fit answer in the reply given by Cyp- rian in ancient times, to similar objections — " Q-uid ergo ? quia et honorem catliedroe sacerdotalis Novatianus usurpat, num idcirco nos cathedrjE renunciare debcnuis ? Aut quia Novatianus altare collocare, et sacrificia ofTerre Contra jus nititur ; ab altari et sacraficiis cessare nos oportet, ne paria ct similia cum illo celebrare videamur !" Epist. ad Juhaiun. de H(cret. rebapt. ® ® ® 320 POPULAR OBJECTIONS as adding solemnity to the forms of public worship 1 When on this, and other kindred points, such puerile objections are brought forward, instead of attempt- ing gravely to meet them, we feel inclined to respond with the Apostolic injunction — " Brethren, be not children in understanding ; but in understand- ing be men."'" " But the Surplice is not necessary for the wor- ship of God" — we are again told. Now suppose we should carry out this principle, and only retain what is absolutely and barely necessary ; how much would be left to us? Why, not even these consecrated tem- ples, in which we offer up our prayers, are indispen- sable. We might worship God " in spirit and in truth," in any building however humble. We might pour forth our petitions, where the dark forests were waving around us, and the Heavens above formed our only canopy ; like the ancient Christians, when in days of persecution, far away from the abodes of men, " Tliey shook the depths of the desert's gloom With their hymns of lofty cheer." But we know that the mind and the devotional feelings are reached through the outward senses, and therefore it is meet and proper, that some spot should be set apart, in which week after week we may as- semble before God. By being thus " separated from all unhallowed, worldly, and common uses," it will m 1 Cor. xiv. 20. ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 321 " fill men's minds with greater reverence for God's glorious majesty, and affect their hearts with more devotion and humility in His service."" And the same regard for the principles of association would dictate, that when the minister of the Church offici- ates in the solemn rites of the sanctuary, even his outward apparel should declare to those before whom he stands, the sacred duty in which he is engaged. Thus, the recollections of this world are broken in upon — men forget the individual, and remember only the office which he holds. Look again at the authority for the use of this garment, and the antiquity which can be pleaded in its behalf. Under the Jewish dispensation, God Himself prescribed with the utmost minuteness, the dress of all who should minister before Him in holy things. While magnificent robes were provided for the High Priest, the ordinary priests, when perform- ing service, were to wear " a white linen ephod." The Levites also, who were singers, were arrayed in white linen. And tiiis continued to be the law through all ages of the Jewish state. The early apostles being Jews, and thus trained up to see " all things done decently and in order," it was natural that under the new dispensation they should have continued to observe the ancient custom of appropriate priestly garments. This is shown by frequent allusions to the surplice in the primitive n Address in tlie form for the Consecration of a Church. ® "(S) ® 322 POPULAR OBJECTIONS writers. Thus it is said in the Apostolical Constitu- tions — " Then the High Priest standing at the altar with the presbyters, makes a private prayer by him- self, having on his zohite or bright vestment."" Pon- tius, in his account of St. Cyprian's martyrdom, says that there was by chance near him at that time " a white linen cloth, so that at his passion he seemed to have some of the ensigns of the Episcopal honor. "^ Eusebius, in his address to Paulinus, Bishop of Tyre, mentions "the sacred gown" and "the sacerdotal garments" worn by Bishops and Priests.'' It was one of the charges made against St. Athanasius, that he had imposed a tax upon the Egyptians, to raise a fund for the linen vestments of the church.' This fact is mentioned both by Athanasius himself, and by Sozomen. We observe in this, that the accusation was not, that he used such vestments in the Church, but only that he laid a tax upon the people to provide them ; which supposes them to be in ordinary use. St. Chrysostom intimates that Deacons wore this habit in their ministrations when he says, " their honor, crown, and glory, did not consist so much in their walking about the Church in a lohite and shin- ing garment, as in their power to repel unworthy communicants from the Lord's table. "^ The histo- o Lib. viii. ch. 12. p Wheatly on Common Prayer, p. 105. q Eccles. Hist. lib. x. ch. 4. r Bingiiam's Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii.cli. 8. sec. 2. s Chrys Horn. 82 in Matt. ® ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 323 rian Sozomen, when speaking of the assault made upon the Church by the enemies of St. Chrysostom, says — " The priests and deacons were beaten and driven out of the Church, as they were in the vest- mrnts of their ministration.'"- And, to give one more instance : St. Jerome in the same sentence both shows the ancient use of the dress, and reproves the needless scruples of those who oppose it — " What harm or enmity, I pray, is it against God, if a Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon, or any other of the Ecclesi- astical Order, come forth in a white vestment, when they administer the Sacraments?"" And how suitable is the color of this dress in which the priests minister at the altar ! White has in all ages been the emblem of innocence and purity. Therefore it is that when, in the book of Daniel, the Ancient of Days is represented as appearing to the prophet, we are told, that " His garment was white as snow" — when our Lord was transfigured, " His raiment was white as the light" — and when angels have appeared to men, they have always been clothed in white apparel. It declares the frame of mind in which we should appear before God — cleansed from all sin, like those whom St. John saw in vision, who had " washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." To the Lamb's wife, which is the Church, we are told, " it was granted, that she should be t Sozom. Lib. ii. cap. 21. I u Adv. Pelag. lib. i. ch. 9. torn. 2. ® _______^ __® ®— ® 334 POPULAR OBJECTIONS arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints," And more than all, by this significant emblem we are pointed forward to the glory which awaits the ransomed. " They" — declares our Lord — " shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." And again, the same Apostle says — " I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Surely then it is right, that our ministers, when publicly offering prayers to God, should retain this ancient garment, which was first prescribed by the God of Israel Himself — adopted in the Primitive Church — in all ages the emblem of devotion — and thus descending to us, consecrated by the veneration of more than three thousand years.' But a third objection urged against the Church, V It will be observed, that we have said nothing about the black gown, which is generally used by the minister while preaching. The reason of this omission is, because it is not a clerical dress. It was originally an academic dress, which is still worn in many of our colleges, and by the ® ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 325 is one much more important. It is — that the terms of admission into our fold are easy, and hut little scru- tiny exercised. Now, what is the door of admission judges of .some of our courts. There is therefore nothing about it strictly ecclesiastical. The object of this change of costume while officiating in the service is briefly tiiis The priest while at the altar or en- gaged in reading the words of the Liturgy, acts and speaks in the name of the Church, authoritatively, and is therefore clothed in the vestments of the Church. In preaching, how- ever, he is delivering his own words, not the words of the Church, and therefore does not wear her distinctive gar- ments. It was not indeed originally intended, that he should ^wi 071 a gown after the prayers, for the purpose of preaching. The gown and cassock were the ordinary daily dress of the cler- gy, even down to the middle of the last century. We learn tfrts from the works of Fielding, and several of the pictures of Hogarth. The priest is supposed therefore to be already clothed in his gown and cassock, over which is his surplice. It is only necessary, therefore, for him to take off the latter, and he is ready for preaching. This is what is referred to in Shakspcare, where he so clearly shows the manner of wear- ing both the surplice and gown. In " All's well that ends well," the clown, being obliged to do something which he dislikes, consoles himself by saying, that he " will wear the surplice of humility over the black goicn of a big heart." This is the view given in a late work — A few Thoughts on Church subjects, hij Rev. Edw. Scobell, Lo?irf., 1843. He says — " And the law ordains this distinction warily ; with a spe- cial design and good reason. As a ministering priest, a cler- gyman is the representative and voice of the Church, speak- ing in her own words, and, in the use of the Liturgy, deliver- ing her written, deliberate, unalterable doctrines; and there- 15 ® ■ ® ® 326 POPULAR OBJECTIONS into the Christian Church? We answer, of course, Baptism — for this was commanded explicitly by our Lord, as the rite of entrance into His Kingdom, for all who embraced His doctrines. " Go" — said He — " and teach — or, as it might be translated — " make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." fore she clothes him, not only with a power, but with a spe- cific dress for that solemn purpose." " But in the regular sermon, and as a regular preacher, high and holy as his employment may be, and sincerely as the Church hopes for the best, still the preacher is no longer her sacerdotal organ." In this case — Mr. S. argues — while the minister may be endeavoring to give the views and ex- positions of the Church, still he does so in his own language, and with his own thoughts. In doing this, he is liable to error, and sometimes is actually in error. " On this account it is, that the Church purposely disrobes him, in his new function, (by giving him no license to appear in them,) of those ornaments with which, in her reading desk, and at her communion table, she has invested him by authority, and suffers him to speak his own private thoughts in his own pri- vate dress; and thus it is that the preacher, (if the office be united,) when in the pulpit he ceases to be a priest, puts on no new dress for the purpose, but simply takes off the sur- plice, and remains in his original gown." P. 42. See also Lond. Quar. Review, May, 1843, p. 262. This view is confirmed by the invariable custom of the Church of Rome. There, when the same priest performs the service and preaches, before he ascends the pulpit, he takes off the peculiar vestment, {chasuble or cope,) in which he performs the rites, and assumes it again when he returns to the altar. ® ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 327 Every person, therefore, who has been baptized, is as much a member of the Church as he ever can be. The question, Whether after this he walks worthy of his high calling ? opens an entirely different subject, and one, the responsibility of which rests upon him- self, not upon the Church. But let us see whether the Church does lightly receive her members in Baptism. Take up the ques- tions proposed to one who is a candidate for that Holy Rite, and the mere reading of them will at once cause this objection to vanish. What then does she require him to believe, on entering her fold? The question addressed to him is — " Dost thou believe all the Articles of the Christian faith, as contained in the Apostles' Creed ?" Now, you well know the simple, comprehensive Creed called by this name, and which is repeated in our services every time we meet. It contains a brief summary of all the cardi- nal doctrines of our faith — of all which are to be be- lieved, as necessary to salvation. These are to be received heartily and truly — in their literal meaning, as they have always been explained and interpreted by the Church.'" w It is evident, that a person may sometimes be able to repeat the Creed, and profess his belief in its articles, while at the same time he gives his own interpretation to some of them, and philosophizes away their natural sense In this way Arius was willing to subscribe to the Apostles' Creed, while denying the true and proper divinity of our Lord. The Church therefore obviates this difficulty, by having from the ® ® ® : ® 328 POPULAR OBJECTIONS And is not this all that we can lawfully require of our members? Have we any right to force them to subscribe to minute points of abstruse theology, not fully proved from Scripture, and which are often, to say the least, questionable 1 No — the very sim- plicity of this Creed — and it has been used for this purpose in all ages of the Church — is its strong re- commendation. It can be clearly understood by all — even the unlettered and the child. Regulating essential matters, it places such restrictions on its members as prevent them from straying beyond the bounds of orthodoxy, while on the other hand, in those things which are unessential, where different minds will necessarily take different views, it leaves room for a liberal variation of opinion. Thus are avoided those endless disputes on the deep doctrines of our faith, which so often disturb the peace of those de- nominations around us, and even rend them asunder into separate bodies, while attempting in every mi- nute particular to bring all men down to one precise standard. Experience, too, has proved that this system is the best in its practical effects, to preserve purity in doc- trine. Let one come to us, who has erred from the faith — who disbelieves, for example, in the Divinity of our Lord — and by applying the test of this Creed, earliest age explained the creed in her formularies, and her members must hold it in the honest sense she does, or be counted heretics. ® ® ® AGAINST T(IE CHURCH. 329 (as interpreted by the Nicene Creed,) we debar him from the Church as a heretic. There is, therefore, as much sound orthodoxy within our ranks, as within the ranks of any of those who endeavor to enter into a more minute investigation of doctrinal belief. This however is but one requirement at Baptism, and con- cerns the intellect only. There are others, also, which refer directly to the heart and the life. Another question then is — " Dost thou renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh ; so that thou wilt not follow, nor be led by them?" To which, the answer is given — " I renounce them all ; and, by God's help, will endeavor not to follow, nor be led by them." Now, how can a more perfect vow of renun- ciation be uttered ? The individual who thus wishes to " put on Christ" — standing here before God, and in the presence of His people, looks back at a world of sin, with which heretofore he has been leagued, and then solemnly abandons it ; recording his deci- sion, that for the future he " will not follow nor be led by it." But the Church even goes farther, and puts one more question — " Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life ?" To which the re- quired answer is — " I will, by God's help." Let me ask you, therefore, to weigh these pledges, and then tell me, where is there any body of persons calling ® ® ® 330 POPULAR OBJECTIONS themselves Christians, who more strictly oblige those uniting with them to discard an evil world, and de- vote themselves to the service of God ? How futile then is this objection against us ! Again, a fourth objection often urged is — that we receive persons lightly and hastily to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Look then at our Communion Service, and see its requirements. Like those in the Baptismal vows, they also are simple, yet comprehen- sive. The priest is directed to say — " Dearly belov- ed in the Lord, ye who mind to come to the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how St. Paul exhorteth all per- sons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they presume to eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For as the benefit is great, if with a true peni- tent heart and lively faith we receive that holy sacra- ment, so is the danger great, if we receive the same unworthily. Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord ; repent ye truly for your sins past; have a lively and steadfast faith in Christ our Saviour ; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men : so shall ye be meet partakers of those holy mysteries." Can any one, then, hearing this solemn invitation, and realizing its force, come forward lightly ? Or, supposing that he should do so, is the Church to be blamed? Certainly not ; he has the requirements before him, and the responsibility rests with himself The rule then with us is this. Since all baptized ® ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 331 persons are members of the Church, we regard them as having a right to come forward to Communion, if they are giving evidence by their daily walk, of the existence of Christian character. If, however, they have been baptized in infancy, there is yet a prepara- tory step which they must take. They must first publicly assume those vows for themselves, or at least show their willingness to do so. This, as we have shown in the last lecture, takes place at Confirma- tion. And the Rubric declares — " There shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as he be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be confirmed." Is it not evident, therefore, that any one who can go through the solemn service by which he thus pub- licly assumes and ratifies his Baptismal vows, devot- ing himself willingly to the service of God, must be prepared for the Holy Communion? At all events, we can have no better security with regard to him, than this ordeal. If, therefore, after seriously weigh- ing the matter, he has passed through it, or professes to be ready to pass through it, we have no right to debar him from the Christian privilege which his Lord has provided, of partaking of His body and blood. The Church, therefore, takes the power out of the hands of her ministers, and throws the responsibility upon the individual himself She bids us explain to him this holy rite, lay the requirements before him, and then he is left to form his own decision. We may advise him, but we have no power to investigate ®- ^® ® __ ® 332 POPULAR OBJECTIONS his heart, or to penetrate into the nature of those hidden, sacred feelings, which rest between his God and himself. The only case in which we have authority to debar an individual from communion is, (as stated in the Rubric,) "if among those who come to be par- takers of the Holy Communion, the minister shall know any to be an open and notorious evil liver, or to have done any wrong to his neighbors by word or deed, so that the congregation be thereby offended ; he shall advertise him, that he presume not to come to the Lord's table, until he have openly declared himself to have repented and amended his former evil life, that the congregation may thereby be satisfied ; and that he hath recompensed the parties to which he hath done wrong; or at least declare himself to be in fiill purpose to do so, as soon as he conveniently may. The same order shall the minister use with those, betwixt whom he perceiveth malice and hatred to reign; not suffering them to be partakers of the Lord's Table, until he know them to be reconciled. And if one of the parties so at variance be content to forgive from the bottom of his heart all that the other hath trespassed against him, and to make amends for that wherein he himself hath offended ; and the other party will not be persuaded to a godly unity, but re- main still in his forwardness and malice; the minister in that case ought to admit the penitent person to the Holy Communion, and not him that is obstinate. Provided that every minister so repelling any, as is (S) — ® _ _ , o AGAINST THE CHURCH. 333 herein specified, shall be obliged to give an account of the same to the ordinary, as soon as conveniently may be." In these cases, we have of course the overt act — the outward conduct — by which to judge. There can, therefore, be no doubt on the subject, and we act with certainty in cutting off the un- worthy member. And now, is not this reasonable? If an indi- vidual has been by baptism solemnly admitted into the Church of Christ — unless he should show beyond doubt, by his outward conduct, that he is unworthy of the privilege — have I, or any one else, authority to debar him from a Sacrament which his Lord has provided to sustain and strengthen him ? After the Jews were admitted into their Church by circum- cision, was any priest gifted with power to prevent them from partaking of the Passover, until he should think him prepared? And if the baptized Christian, in addition to this, after having arrived at years of discretion, professes his willingness to stand up pub- licly before the Church in Confirmation, to take these solemn baptismal vows upon himself, and then is able also, after listening to the searching test pro- posed in our Communion service, to come forward, where is the fallible man who shall dare to read his heart, and say that he is not prepared ? By what ex- amination can we arrive at any certainty on this point? An individual may have the grace of God in his heart, and yet be unable clearly^o disclose his feelings, or embody them in language. On the other 15* . ® 334 POPULAR OBJECTIONS hand, the self-deceiver, or the wilful hypocrite, may be gifted with a volubility which shall set the most severe scrutiny at defiance. Each minister of the Church has, therefore, reason to be thankful that this power rests not in his hands, lest at the last day it might appear that in some cases he had been mis- taken, and had debarred from that spiritual feast some of the little ones of Christ's flock. We may well shrink from this responsibility, and rejoice that it is taken away from us, and placed upon the indi- viduals themselves who wish to come forward. Another objection which it may be well briefly to notice is — that the Church does not believe in what is called " a change of heart." To this we reply, that she nowhere, it is true, uses this term in her formu- laries. Neither, indeed, is it to be found in the Bible. It is not, of course, to be expected that a Liturgy framed more than a thousand years ago should now have engrafted upon its rich and beautiful ser- vices, the shifting, changing phraseology, with which the religious world around chooses in this day to ex- press its views. Her object rather is, to shun every thing modern and evanescent, and to cleave steadfastly to those old expressions which, drawn originally from the solemn language of Holy Writ, have come down generation after generation among her children, always " familiar in their mouths as household words." But that the Church requires her children to be renewed, renovated, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, as requisite for membership with her, while militant ® ® — ■ ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 335 here, or in glory hereafter, no one can doubt who has ever read her offices. She everywhere teaches the truth, that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord." She constantly seeks to draw men away from dependence on their own changing feelings, or the delusive visions of the imagination. She pre- sents before them tests of Christian character which are real and tangible, calling them to self-denial and a holy life. On this principle every page of our Prayer-Book has been framed, and we might prove it from each of her services, or from the general spirit and tenor of her prayers. We content ourselves, however, with merely quoting the collect for Ash- Wednesday — " Almighty and Everlasting God, who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent ; create, and make in us neto and contrite hearts, that we, worthily la- menting our sins, and acknowledging our wretched- ness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, per- fect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Lord." There is but one more objection which our limits will allow us to bring forward. It is — that the standard of religious feeling is low among the manbers of the Church. How this conclusion is reached, I know not ; for I cannot perceive but that they walk as con- sistently as others, who are called by a different name. It is a question, therefore, entirely intangible, and I cannot pretend to discuss the amount of religion among the members of the Church, as compared with ^. _ — . ® ® ■ ® 336 POPULAR OBJECTIONS Other religious bodies around, for God has not given me the power thus to judge the heart. Neither can I presume to forestall His final sentence, and decide on the spiritual condition of my neighbors. " For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or com- pare ourselves with some that commend themselves ; but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."" On such topics the Christian rule is — to fear every thing for ourselves, and to hope every thing for others. We would merely warn you, however, that talking about religion, is not religion itself; and that there is a wide difference between possessing an elevated degree of devotion, and being familiar with its language, and having it ever on our lips. The Church tells her members, that their daily lives must be the test — that in silence and quiet they must, by the aid of God's grace, train themselves up for Heav- en ; and not be forming erroneous conclusions with respect to others. Her direction is that which was once given by an Apostle — " Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come." In such cases, it is well to follow that proverb given by Solomon — " Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth ; a stranger, and not thine own lips." What, then, is the reputation of the Church with those whose opinion is worth heeding ? Has she " a good report of them which are without?" X 2 Cor. X. 12. ®__ __ — . — . . ® ® __ ^® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 337 We know that the storm of vituperation is constantly directed against her, yet amidst the uproar we can gather the testimony of the more thoughtful and con- siderate. Let us attempt then to do so. The Puritans of New-England — the first settlers of Massachusetts — are generally quoted, as having been arrayed in deadly hostility against the Church of England. We are told, that they were driven from their own pleas- ant homes by religious corruption and ecclesiastical tyranny ; and obliged to fly to the wilderness of this western world, that here they might worship God in purity. Was this the case? We can answer the question, by referring to the letter written by the leading men in that enterprise, '' aboord the Arbella, April 7, 1630," and signed by Gov. John Winthrop, Rich. Saltonstall, Charles Fines, Isaac Johnson, Tho. Dudley, William Coddington, Geo. Phillips, &-c., &c. As they were about to launch forth upon the deep, and direct their course for that " rock-bound coast" which was to be their future home, they once more looked back, and sent their parting farewell to the Church they were leaving. From her care they had voluntarily cut themselves off. If formerly oppressed by her, they had now nothing more to fear. What, then, were their emotions ? As they listened to the surging sea on whose bosom they were soon to be tossing, did no sound of the sweet anthems of their ancient Mother come back, and seem to mingle with the sighing of the wild winds which were sweeping around them ? Did there not flit across the eyes of ® ® ® — ® 338 POPULAR OBJECTIONS any of those stern men, a bright vision of the old Parish Church, at whose font he had been baptized — at whose altar he had received his bride — and within the shadow of whose walls his forefathers were sleep- ing? Did they not realize, that the very strength which now upheld them in their hours of darkness, had been gathered in her Courts ? Such is the in- ference we draw from their address, entitled — The humble request of his Majesties loyall Subjects, the Governour and the Company late gone for New- England ; to the rest of their Brethren in and of the Church of England. " Reverend Fathers and Brethren, .... We desire you would be pleased to take notice of the principals, and body of our Company, as those who esteeme it our honour to call the Church of England, from whence wee rise, our deare mother, and cannot part from our native countrie, where she specially resideth, without much sadness of heart, and many tears in our eyes ; ever acknowledging that such hope and part as we have obtained in the common salvation, wee have received in her bosome, and suckt it from her breasts : wee leave it not, therefore, as loathing that milk wherewith we were nourished there, but, blessing God for the parentage and education, as members of the same body, shall alwayes rejoice in her good, and unfainedly grieve for any sorrow that shall ever be- tide her, and while we have breath, syncerely desire and indeavour the continuance and abundance of her ®. ® ■® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 339 welfare, with the inlargement of her bounds in the Kingdom of Christ Jesvs So farre as God shall enable us, we will give him no rest in your behalfes ; wishing our heads and hearts may be as fountaines of tears for your everlasting welfare, when wee shall be in our poore cottages in the wilder- nesse, overshadowed with the Spirit of supplication, through the manifold necessities and tribulations which may not altogether unexpectedly, nor, we hope, unprofitably, befall us. And so, commending you to the grace of God in Christ, wee shall ever rest, " Your assured friends and Brethren. "'^ How beautiful is this testimony ! thus acknow- ledging gratefully the spiritual benefits they had re- ceived within the fold of our Mother Church — ascribing to the purity of her faith and the soundness of her instructions, the hope of everlasting life which they then enjoyed — and praying earnestly for the en- largement of her bounds. How do their words re- buke the carping spirit of too many among their descendants ! Our next witness is Dr. Adam Clarke, the author of the Commentary on the Bible, and one of the brightest lights of the Methodist connection. " I consider" — he says — " the Church of England, the purest national Church in the world. I was brought up in its bosom. I was intended for its ministry. I have been a Methodist for half a century. I have V Gov. Hutchinson's Hist, of Massachusetts, (Appcndi.x No. ],) V. i. p. 431. -® ®__ . ® 340 POPULAR OBJECTIONS been a preacher for forty-three years. And I am greatly deceived indeed, if I be not, without any abatement, a thorough member of the Church of England. Its doctrines and its sacraments, which constitute the essence of a Church, I hold conscien- tiously as it holds them. I reverence the Liturgy next to the Bible. I proclaim its doctrines and ad- minister its sacraments, not only in the same spirit in which it holds and administers them, but also in the same words or form. I also reverence its orders, and highly esteem its hierarchy, and have not a particle of a dissenter in me ; though I love and esteem all good men and able ministers, wherever I find them. But I preach, and have long preached, without any kind of Episcopal orders. My family fell into decay, and my education was left imperfect. I would greatly have preferred the hands of the Bishop, but not having gone through the regular courses, I could not claim it. Even now, at this age of comparative decrepitude, I would rejoice to have that ordination, if I might, with it, have the full liberty to preach Jesus, wherever I could find souls perishing for lack of knowledge. .... The Church has our warm attachment, and if the time should ever come, which Dieu ne plaise ! that the bodies of the various dissenters were to rise up against the Church, the vast bodies of Methodists I would not hesitate to be your light infantry.'"' I Hear also the sentiments of the celebrated Dr. I I z Christian Guardian, Dec. 1832. I ® _____ ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 341 Chalmers of Scotland — " There are many wlio look with an evil eye to the endowments of the English Church, and to the indolence of her dignitaries. But to that Church, the theological literature of our nation stands indebted for her best acquisitions. And we hold it a refreshing spectacle, at any time, that meagre Socinianism pours forth a new supply of flippancies and errors, when we behold, as we have often done, an armed champion come forth in full equipment, from some high and lettered retreat of that noble hierarchy. Nor can we grudge her the wealth of her endowments, when we think how well, under her venerable auspices, the battles of orthodoxy have been fought ; that, in this holy warfare, they are her sons and her scholars, who are ever foremost in the field, ready at all times to face the threatened mischief, and by the weight of their erudition to overthrow it.'" Similar to this is the testimony of another in the same land — " Thus much an attached Presbyterian may sincerely and readily say of the Church of England : It is a noble and venerable hierarchy. Its foundations are laid deep in the old feelings of the people. Its clergy, mingling the accomplishments of the aristocracy with the condescension of Christian pastors, rivet together the different ranks of society, as with crossing bars of iron. Its bishops have ex- hibited, many of ihem, the pomp of the prelate in beautiful unison with the spirit of Christ's meekest a Quarterly Review, Deo. 1832. ® ®- — ® 342 POPULAR OBJECTIONS martyr. Its massive learning is the bulwark of Christianity. Its exquisite Liturgy, second in divine composition only to Scripture itself, ready at all times to supply the needs of the fainting soul, and fitted, in its comprehensive devotions, aptly to embody every different individual aspiration, binds in one chain of prayer the hearts of its members, and the hearts of generation after generation. From its pulpits, no longer occupied by slumbering vs^atchmen, the true doctrines of the Cross are proclaimed, as with the sound of a trumpet. The costliest offerings for the cause of Christ are poured in generous profusion into the treasury. The zeal of the missionary, that finest token of apostolic origin, has awoke within its bosom ; and bishops are going forth, making of the crozier a pilgrim staff, in order to proclaim amongst the Gentiles the good tidings of salvation. Well might the mem- bers of any other communion excuse the generous feeling which would awake those words of holy writ, concerning her whom the best of her sons have re- joiced to call their Mother Church of England, ' Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou ex- cellest them all.' "^ And such also is the feeling of many in our own country, who, although arrayed against us, can yet acknowledge the beauty of the Church's system, and pay their proper tribute to the services she has ren- dered the world. Read, for example, the words of b A Tract for the Times, by William Penny, Advocate, of Edinburgh. ®- — -® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH, 343 Dr. Barnes of Philadelphia — the more valuable be- cause written in the midst of a controversy. " We have no war to wage with Episcopacy. We know, we deeply feel, that much may be said in favor of it, apart from the claim which has been set up for its authority from the New Testament. Its past history, in some respects, makes us weep ; in others, it is the source of sincere rejoicing and praise We associate it with the brightest and happiest days of religion, and liberty, and literature, and law. We remember that it was under the Episcopacy that the Church in England took its firm stand against the Papacy ; and that this was its form when Zion rose to light and splendor, from the dark night of ages. We remember the name of Cranmer — Cranmer, first in many respects among the Reformers ; that it was by his steady and unerring hand, that, under God, the pure Church of the Saviour was conducted through the agitating and distressing times of Henry VIII. We remember that God watched over that wonderful man ; that He gave this distinguished pre- late access to the heart of one of the most capricious, cruel, inexorable, blood-thirsty, and licentious mon- archs that has disgraced the world ; that God, for the sake of Cranmer and His Church, conducted Henry, as ' by a hook in the nose,' and made him faithful to the Archbishop of Canterbury, when faithful to none else; so that, perhaps, the only redeeming trait in the character of Henry, is his fidelity to this first British prelate under the Reformation. The world will not g) ® ® 344 POPULAR OBJECTIONS soon forget the names of Latimer, and Ridley, and Rodgers, and Bradford ; names associated in the feelings of Christians, with the long list of ancient confessors ' of whom the world was not worthy,' and who did honor to entire ages of mankind, by sealing their attachment to the Son of God on the rack, or amid the flames. Nor can we forget that we owe to Episcopacy that which fills our minds with gratitude and praise, when we look for example of consecrated talent, and elegant literature, and humble devoted piety. While men honor elevated Christian feeling ; while they revere sound learning , while they render tribute to clear and profound reasoning, they will not forget the names of Barrow and Taylor, of Tillotson, and Hooker, and Butler ; and when they think of humble, pure, sweet, heavenly piety, their minds will recur instinctively to the name of Leighton. Such names, with a host of others, do honor to the world. When we think of them, we have it not in our hearts to utter one word against a Church which has thus done honor to our race, and to our common Chris- tianity. " Such we wish Episcopacy still to be. We have always thought that there are Christian minds and hearts that would find more edification in the forms of worship in that Church, than in any other. We regard it as adapted to call forth Christian energy, that might otherwise be dormant We our- selves could live and labor, in friendliness and love, in the bosom of the Episcopal Church. While we have ® ® ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 345 an honest preference for another department of the great field of Christian action ; while providential circumstances, and the suggestions of our own hearts and minds, have conducted us to a different field of labor ; we have never doubted that many of the purest flames of devotion that rise from the earth, ascend from the altars of the Episcopal Church, and that many of the purest spirits that the earth contains minister at those altars, or breathe forth their prayers and praises in language consecrated by the use of piety for centuries."" " She [the Church] is consolidated ; well mar- shalled; under an efficient system of laws; and pre- eminently fitted for powerful action in the field of Christian warfare. We desire to see her what the Macedonian phalanx was in the ancient army ; with her dense, solid organization, with her unity of move- ment, with her power of maintaining the position which she takes, and with her eminent ability to ad- vance the cause of sacred learning, and the love of order and of law, attending or leading all other Churches in the conquests of redemption in an alienated world. We would ever rejoice to see her who was first in the field at the Reformation in Eng- land, first also in the field when the Son of God shall come to take to Himself His great power." " We remember the former services which the Episcopal Church rendered to the cause of truth, and of the world's redemption ; we remember the bright c Episcopacy Examined, pp. 89 — 91. ® ® ® 346 POPULAR OBJECTIONS and ever-living lights of truth, which her clergy and her illustrious laymen have in other times enkindled in the darkness of this world's history, and which continue to pour their pure and steady lustre on the literature, the laws, and the customs of the Christian world ; and we trust the day will never come, when our own bosoms, or the bosoms of Christians in any denomination, will cease to beat with emotions of lofty thanksgiving to the God of grace, that He rais- ed up such gifted and holy men, to meet the corrup- tions of the Papacy, and to breast the wickedness of the world."-^ Beautiful indeed are these testimonies to the purity and devotion of our venerable Church ! We point then to such acknowledgments as an appropri- ate answer to those who, unacquainted with her past history, and ignorant of the spirit which now reigns within her courts, would charge upon the members of the Church, a want of religious principle. We have thus endeavored to notice some of the prominent arguments urged against the Church. Do they not come from those who — in the words of the Apostle — " understand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm V There are other objections, also, which might be brought forward ; but the time would fail, were we to attempt to reply to every thing which ignorance or captiousness may allege. All indeed that we ask, is investigation. We know that the Church which our Lord founded, and which now d Ibid. p. 170. ® ® ® . ® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 347 comes down to us with the veneration of eighteen centuries, cannot be found wanting in any one single point which concerns man's spiritual welfare. We will trust her, therefore, in preference to any of the shifting, changing experiments which court our no- tice. From the many ages that have gone, there comes down to us the recorded experience of those who have slept in the faith — the holy dead, whose words and actions still speak to the world, urging it on to godliness — and whose spirits are now rejoicing in the Paradise of God. We question them, therefore, as to the way in which they reached their lofty stand in holiness. We ask them to point out to us the path in which we should tread. And their answer is uttered in the words of the prophet — " Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." We learn, that they were nur- tured in the bosom of our ancient Church, who re- gards all, the high and the low, as alike her children, ° e " Our Mother, the Churcli, hath never a child. To honor before the rest, And she singeth the same for mighty kings, And the veriest babe on her breast; And the Bishop goes down to his narrow bed As tlie ploughman's cliild is laid, And alike she blesseth the dark brow'd serf, And the chief in his robe arrayed. She sprinkles the drops of the bright new-birth, The same on the low and high, ® ® 348 POPULAR OBJECTIONS —that in her solemn rites and services they found all the spiritual aliment necessary for their souls, and thus were prepared for the Church in glory. Let us then profit by their example. As we travel on our way, each year convulses the religious world with a new excitement, and gives birth to some plan for leading the lost to the truth, which, in the judg- ment of erring man, is better than that practised by Apostles and Saints in primitive days — more effect- ual than that by which the early heralds of the Cross broke the power of heathenism, and Christianized the world. Those deep and searching sorrows by which the contrite heart turns to its Lord, and thus, as in a furnace of fire, purifies the whole man, are all now derided, as something formal and antiquated. In their place, new machinery is invented, which, by one sudden, violent effort, sweeps the abandoned sinner from the depth of his degradation, and ele- vates him immediately to the very heights of Mount Zion. Peace, rather than holiness, is made the end and object of their search. But oh, be not ye deceived, or believe that any thing can be substituted in place of that discipline — that holy training, which gradually, yet surely, pre- And christens their bodies with dust to dust, When earth with its earth must lie ; Oh, the poor man' s friend, is the Church of Christ, From birth to his funeral day ; She makes him the Lord's, in her surpliced arms, And singeth his burial lay." Rev. A. C. Coxe. ® ®- -® AGAINST THE CHURCH. 349 pares for Heaven, and which it is the object of the Church to effect by her constantly recurring round of services. Voices on every side are summoning you to leave the fold of the faithful. The restless and unsettled are ever pointing out new paths, and exclaiming, " Lo, here," and " Lo, there." They cry with regard to our Lord — " Behold, He is in the desert," and thus would induce you to be wanderers with them in the pathless wilderness. We say there- fore unto you, in that Master's words — " Believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders ; insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect," Not in the whirlwind and the storm is it, that faith takes root, and godliness grows up in strength. It is beneath the gentle dews of divine grace, which fall silently yet steadily, that the vine- yard is quickened into fertility. The whisperings of " the still, small voice," lead us on to peace and hap- piness. And this is pledged to the Apostolic, Catho- lic Church, and in her courts is never sought in vain by her children. ®- 16 ® ® THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. She sits — Truth's Witness in an evil world, And sore environ'd by unnumber'd foes, Willi wiles and weapons stern against her hurl'd ; The Child of Life, death's shades around her close ; The Crown of joy, amid o'erwhelming woes: Her right handholds the keys of death and life, And calm she sits in undisturb'd repose, But all around with hostile arms are rife, And Toes of oarth and hell are arming for the strife. Tlie Baptistery, ® fe) ® ® THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES THE KEEPEB OF THE TRUTH. Melancholy indeed was the view presented to the great Apostle of the Gentiles, when standing upon the Mount of Observation, he first looked forth over the world which was to be the scene of his la- bors. The greater portion of mankind were crushed "down by the iron power of Rome — a tyranny the most oppressive and degrading, which seemed to be gradually treading out every spark of generous feel- ing, and fitting the human race only to be slaves. Neither was there any thing to correct the cruelty and licentiousness which were so fearfully on the increase. For ages men had made trial of their moral strength, but seemed now to have resigned themselves to de- spair. Every prevailing system had lost what purify- ing influence it might formerly have possessed. The philosophy of Greece — perverted from all the nobler ends at which once it aimed — was only investing vice ®- -® ® . ® 354 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES with new grace, and causing the arrow to sink deeper because its point was polished. The old Paganism of Rome had begun to lose all moral hold on the mind, and now was only sustained as the religion of the Empire, and the instrument of power to its priest- hood. Even its ministers in secret scoffed at it as an imposture. " Diligently practising" — says Gib- bon — " the ceremonies of their fathers; devoutly fre- quenting the temples of the gods ; and sometimes condescending to act a part on the theatre of super- stition, they concealed the sentiments of an atheist under the sacerdotal robes."'^ In Egypt, forgetting the lessons of wisdom which in an older day were taught in the sacred groves of Memphis and Heliopo- lis, her people now bowed to deities of their own cre- ation, and worshipped the herb they eat, or the rep- tile upon which they trod. Neither did the East furnish to the Apostle any more cheering view. There was the fruitful home' and the cradle of every debasing form of idolatry. The ancient inhabitants of Palestine had bequeathed to their descendants the adoration of Astarte, the Q,ueen of Heaven, or of that spirit which, under the name of Baal, was supposed to guide the chariot of the sun ; while still more distant nations, with their innumerable gods, had collected in their worship every thing which was degrading and licentious. Even God's own people, the Jews, had shared in this i a Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. II. -(s) — . ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 355 debasement. Their religion had degenerated into formality. The purity of their earlier days had de- parted, and so marked was their wickedness, that their own historian, Josephus, bears his indignant tes- timony to their depravity.'' Such was the prospect which presented itself to St. Paul, as he looked over the moral landscape. Truly, it was " a world lying in wickedness." " The people were sitting in gross darkness." Where then was the power which could meet all this array of idolatry and vice, and mould it into pu- rity ? On what did the Apostle rely, that he was en- abled to go forth so boldly to confront it? His hopes rested on that Church — then in the feebleness of her early day — which his Lord had founded. He looked to her, as a perpetual witness against sin. He ex- pected her, with her holy institutions, to enter the dark and troubled waves, and spread over them a glory not of this world. His trust was, in " the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." Has the Church then realized these high expec- tations 1 Has she fulfilled the lofty destiny which St. Paul marked out for her t Has she, in the ages which have gone, been the Ark of truth for a fallen and apostate world ? The history of the past answers, b " Nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruit- ful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world." Antiq. lib. v. ch. 10. ® ® ® __ — _ — ___ — _____ — __ — ^ 356 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES that she has. From every page of the records of our race, there comes a testimony^ that the Church alone has been the preserver of all that is most valuable to man in time and through eternity. It is on this sub- ject then that I would address you this evening — the CHURCH, IN ALL AGES, THE KEEPER AND GUARDIAN OF THE TRUTH. From an historical view of her origin and progress, it will be evident, that in each crisis, intellectual or moral, in the existence of our race, the Church has stood forth to rescue man's best inter- ests from ruin. And she was enabled to accomplish this great work, by her strict org-anization and gov- ernment, and the union produced by the Apostolic ministry, binding together the different branches by a common tie. We might indeed say at once, that since God adopted this plan for preserving in the earth a know- ledge of our faith, it must be the best method that could be devised. The very fact that it was the choice of Infinite Wisdom, proves this point conclu- sively. But it is evident, even to the eye of human reason, that this end could probably have been effect- ed in no other way. Had the word of God, and the holy principles of His Gospel, been left to be treas- ured up only in the breast of each private individual, or to be swept about on the wild waves of popular feeling, they would long since have disappeared from the earth. The same result would have followed, had the spiritual destinies of the world been commit- ted to the care of the discordant sects which are ®— ® (V) ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 357 now around us. These, deprived of the high claims of the Apostolic Church, and standing independently of each other, unite both the nature and the weak- ness of mere voluntary associations. It is the exist- ence of the Church, which keeps the truth always before the world, which gives to religion " a local habitation and a name," and endows it with perma- nency. We shall easily perceive this, by looking back to the past history of our faith. It was the regular organ- ization of the Church — her systematic discipline, and her unity — which enabled her, in the first three cen- turies, not only to survive the violence of enemies, but even to be always the aggressor, and to advance with a steady step from conquering to conquer. It is to this, under God, that we must ascribe the triumphs she gained. Wherever the Apostles went, they left not the converts who had been gained, to confine their feelings to their own breasts — to stand isolated and alone — to use their principles only as articles of individual belief — or, in their blindness, just starting from the sleep of heathenism, to endeavor to settle a system of ecclesiastical polity for themselves. On the contrary, they formed their followers into one united body, the different parts of whicii were bound together by the closest alliance. Thus, they grew up to maturity and strength, in secret and in silence, wl'iile their enemies were scarcely aware of their in- crease. In the midst of the mighty empire of Rome, ® -® ® ® 358 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES a new kingdom quietly arose." " It came not with observation." No sound of a trumpet heralded its approach — no clang of arms marked its progress — but, like the building of the first temple, while the noise of the workmen's instruments Was not heard, the mighty fabric was fast rising up into splendor and beauty.*^ The faith stretched its ramifications through every class of society, and enlisted everywhere its prose- lytes. The degraded bondsman in his chains became " a freeman in Christ Jesus," and the inmate of palaces began to aspire after diadems whose glory was eternal, and which were to be received only when " the mortal had put on immortality." Thus, the heathen saw their temples suddenly deserted' — c "While that great body [the Roman Empire] was in- vaded by open violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion gently insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, derived new vigor from opposition, and finally erected the triumph- ant banner of the Cross on the ruins of the Capitol." Gibbon's Decline and Fall, vol. ii. p. 265. d " There was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was building." 1 Kings vi. 7. " In awful state, The temple reared its everlasting gate. No workman steel, no ponderous axes rung ! Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung." Heber's Palestine. e In the celebrated letter of C. Pliny to the Emperor Trajan, in describing the progress of Christianity, he men- ® ® -® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 359 their fellow-worshippers changed into foes — and themselves encompassed by ten thousand associa- tions, all uniting in the same discipline, and all pro- claiming irreconcilable hostility to the time-honored faith of their fathers. " It was not a foreigner who invaded them, not barbarians from the north, not a rising of slaves, nor an armament of pirates, but the enemy rose up from among themselves. The first- born in every house, ' from the first-born of Pharaoh on the throne to the first-born of the captive in the dungeon,' unaccountably found himself enlisted in the ranks of this new power, and estranged from his natural friends. Their brother, the son of their mo- ther, the wife of their bosom, the friend that was as their own soul, these were the sworn soldiers of the ' mighty army,' that ' covered the face of the whole earth.' And when they began to interrogate this enemy of Roman greatness, they found no vague profession among themselves, no varying account of themselves, no irregular and uncertain plan of action or conduct. They were all members of strictly and similarly organized societies. Every one in his own district was the subject of a new state, of which there was one visible head, and officers under him. These small kingdoms were indefinitely multiplied, each of them the fellow of the other. Wherever the Roman tions, that " the temples were almost desolate," " the sacred solemnities had been long intermitted," and "the sacrificial victims could scarce find a purchaser." See whole Letter in Wilson's Evidences, vol. i. p. 214. ® ® ® ® 360 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES Emperor travelled, there he found these seeming rivals of his power, the Bishops of the Church. '"^ Thus it was that the faith went on. It measured strength with the proud philosophy of Greece, and planted its standard in the midst of Athenian luxury and superstition. Along the shores of the Mediter- ranean, every city reared its temples, on whose lofty pinnacles the Golden Cross glittered in the sunbeams; while there rose at break of day the melody of count- less thousands singing " hymns to Christ as God,"" in those lovely valleys from whence now only "The Moslem's prayers profane Morn and eve come sounding." Spain received the Gospel gladly — Africa sent her hundreds of Christian Bishops to the councils of the Church'' — while St. Paul himself preached the faith f Newman's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 264. g " They were accustomed, on a stated day, to meet be- fore day-light, and to repeat among themselves a hymn to Christ as to a God." Plijiy's Letter to Trajan- h The argument is often advanced by those opposed to us, that from the great number of Bishops present at some of the ancient councils, it is evident they must have been only Presbyters. The error liere arises from not remembering two facts — 1st, that these regions of the world, although now thinly inhabited, then contained a dense population. — 2d, that Dioceses in that day were much smaller in geographical extent, than now. We will take Africa as an illustration of this. The Northern, or Christian portion of this continent, comprehending the six Roman Provinces, is computed by Procopius to be ninety days' journey in length, that is, 2360 ® (S ® ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTU. 3C1 in that little barbarous isle, which then was looked upon as " cut off from all the world,'" but which has miles. The breadth varied from 200 to 500 miles. It has been estimated that the population was at least eighty mil- lions, the majority of whom were nominal Christians. Now, wc know that in St. Augustine's day, there were in this compass, at least, 4G6 dioceses. (^Bing. Orig. Eccles. lib. ix. ch. 2. sect. 5.) When the Vandals e.\ilcd the whole body of the African Bishops, their number amounted to nearly 500. (Flcury, Hist. Eccles. lib. xxx. s. 7.) In addition to these, the provinces of Egypt, Lybia, and Pen- tapolis contained 100 dioceses. These dioceses averaged from 60 to 80 towns and villages, each of which contained at least one congregation, while in some of them we know there were several. There were above 500 clergy in the Church of Carthage. (Bing. lib. ix. c. 2. s. 5.) St. Augustine's Diocese of Hippo, was above 40 miles long. (Ibid.) There was a Canon of the African Councils, which says, " No Bishop shall leave his principal Cathedral, and reside in any other church of his diocese." (Ibid.) Thus implying, that there were more churches than one in each diocese. And when there were in the same diocese rival Bishops set up by the Catholics and Donatists, they were in different parts of the diocese. In this way we might go through the East, and one who had not investigated the subject, would be surprised at the strength of the Church, as shown by the number of her dioceses. In the Patriarchate of Constantinople were about 600 dioceses, varying in size. Of these, 400 were in Asia, and 200 in Europe. In the Diocese of Ca;sarea, wliich was about one hundred miles square, St. Basil, when Bishop in A. D. 375, had under him 50 Chor-episcopi, or assistant Bishops, each having under his authority many Presbyters i " Britannos orbe divisos." ® ® — ® 362 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES since sent the Church to us, and now is planting it throughout the earth. Thus it was that, in the words of an Apostle — " the Gospel was preached to every creature which is under Heaven." But the triumphs of the Church were not con- fined to the provinces. Our faith entered the Impe- rial City, and St. Paul was " ready to preach the Gospel to them that were at Rome also." It did in- deed require fortitude and devotion, to attack Pagan- ism in this its strongest hold. The obstacles which impeded its progress in other lands, were tenfold in- creased in the Capitol. The chariot-wheel of Roman greatness had gone on, levelling one kingdom after another, until all the earth had been given to its sceptre. Idolatry was there in its most splendid form, and its strongest array. Embodied in the national customs, it seemed exactly suited to the tastes and feelings of the popular mind. Its Pantheon of gods and Deacons. {Greg. Naz. Carm. De Vita, Basil. Bas. Ep. 181, 412.) In Italy were 300 dioceses ; in Spain 70 ; in France 117. In Persia alone there were 50 ; and during a persecution, A. D. 330, we learn that 23 Bishops suffered martyrdom at the same time. In one of these dioceses, 250 of the clergy were put to death with their Bishop. See Bingham, lib. ix. So easy is it, by an appeal to the records of that day, to refute the objection derived from the great number of Bish- ops. In those lands Christianity has receded, and it is esti- mated that we have lost at least 150 millions of worshippers by the returning wave of Paganism, or the strange imposture of the prophet of Mecca. ®— ■■ ® (J) __ — ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 363 appealed to the prejudices of every nation. The Court was there, wielding a despotism which scorned all opposition, and which scrupled not to shed rivers of blood in furthering its designs. The luxury, and vice, and licentiousness, which prevailed in the rest of the world, seemed but a faint reflection of that developing itself in every form in the Capitol. Here then was a task, to plant the pure faith of our Lord in the midst of all this corruption. But it was accomplished. The sacrifice was indeed a great one, for Rome through many years was purple with the blood of the children of God ; and the sands of the amphitheatre were dyed with the gore of the martyrs. But yet, the end was attained, and in a space of time shorter than the wildest hopes of the Christian could have imagined. It was but thirty years after the crucifixion, that Nero, to remove from himself the suspicion of having set fire to the city, charged it on the Christians, and proceeded to inflict upon them the most cruel torments. The historian Tacitus, when giving an account of this persecution, shows us how strong at that time must have been the Church at Rome. " The founder of that name" — he says — " was Christ, who suffered death in the reign of Tiberius, under his procurator Pontius Pilate. This pernicious superstition, thus checked for awhile, broke out again ; and spread, not only over Judea, where the evil originated, but through Rome also, whither every thing bad finds its way, and is practised. Some who confessed their sect, were ® — ^® ® — — ■ ® 364 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES first seized ; and afterwards, by their information, a vast multitude were apprehended."^ We see, then, from this statement, how great must have been the number of disciples in the city. But persecution did not stop the good cause. The faith increased, even within the precincts of the court. It forced itself into high places. It entered the palace of the Csesars ; and three centuries more beheld a Roman Emperor adopting, as his proudest badge, the Cross of the once despised Nazarene, and proclaiming Christianity to be the religion of the Empire. Then came one decree after another, smit- ing heathenism, and closing its temples, until it grad- ually withered away. It was a ruin, which Gibbon pronounces "perhaps the only example of the total extirpation of any ancient and popular superstition.'"* That splendid mythology of Greece, from which the immortal poets of old time drew their inspiration, faded utterly from the earth. The long array of di- vinities, whose names once were held in reverence, vanished even from the knowledge of the people ; until to later generations, they have " Gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were — A school-boy's tale." Thus died the antagonist of the Gospel, an enemy which, while it gathered around it all that was splen- did and alluring, was also the natural enemy of man ; for in all its creed it could point to no traces of purity j Annals, lib. xv. § 44. k Decline and Fall, chap, xxviii. (g)^ _ ...^ d) ® -(.;) THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 3G5 and holiness. Its fall, therefore, was the freedom of the world. Such, then, was the early triumph of the Church. And now, looking back upon this history, what do we perceive to have been the secret of her strength? We answer, under Providence, it was her union — the presentation of herself visibly before the world — her strict, compact, and energetic government. And if we come down a kw centuries later, to the time when the fierce barbarians from the North trampled the Roman Empire beneath their feet, we shall find, that then the perfect organization of the Church was the instrument of Heaven for the preser- vation of religion. Had it not been for the influence of her standing ministry, all traces of our faith would at once have been obliterated from the West. Look at the materials of which the population was then com- posed. Among the conquered people, the higher class- es had ceased to be either numerous or powerful ; while the lower, recently converted from polytheism, were not always the most sincere in their change, nor had their faith — which was no longer purified by persecu- tion — yet gained the requisite strength. The clergy alone occupied a commanding position, which ren- dered them the able and efficient defenders of the oppressed. They extorted respect even from their Gothic invaders. In the first confusion of conquest, they might indeed share in the indiscriminate evils of warfare, yet the rudest soldier brought with him a superstitious reverence for the priesthood, particu- 17 ® ® ® ® 366 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES larly when he found them honored, and the ceremo- nies of their worship imposing.' He soon learned to invest the ministers of this faith with a sanctity, which enabled them to wind their chains about the hearts of their conquerors, and to win them to that faith itself. The illiterate prince found himself con- fronted fearlessly by the Christian Bishop ; and the respect which he felt was soon increased by the dis- covery, that the clergy were the exclusive possessors of that learning which commands the reverence even of barbarians. When, therefore, the invaders had been thus gradually converted to the faith, the minis- ters of the Church stood between them and the con- quered, as the only connecting link — the only inter- mediate power — which gave some community of inter- est to the master and the slave. They found them- selves worshippers of the same God, gathered into the same Church, and united under the same spirit- ual supervision. Thus the Church, with her high authority, prevented the complete disorganization of all the existing relations of society. She gradually mingled up the invaders with the invaded into one people, and before the next wave of conquest came from the North, the community was in some measure prepared to breast the shock. In this way, by regulating the social system, and standing forth a perpetual witness for the truth, the Church prevented all religion being absorbed and 1 Waddington's Church History, p. 203. C-— ® — s THE KEEPER OF THE TIILTII. 367 lost, in the conflict and confusion of the times.™ But had Christianity then existed as a mere individual belief, or had its form of government been less com- plete and vigorous, it would have possessed neither the energy nor discipline necessary to maintain its hold in the midst of the deluge which rolled over it. Or, had its preservation been then committed to the keeping of warring sects, which were ever shifting and changing, both it and they would have ' been swept from the earth, like chaff before the wind. And thus it was through all the ages which fol- lowed, when a twilight gloom had gathered over the earth, even down to the dawn of the Reformation. Although the Church was existing only in a corrupted form, yet still she was in some measure discharging her duty to the world, by keeping alive the remem- brance of religion in the minds of men. The spiritual despotism of the Romish Church had indeed stretched an iron sceptre over the earth ; yet in the good pro- vidence of God, it seems to have been permitted, be- cause more efficacious than any gentler form of faith, to keep the social system in order, during an age of savage turbulence and unceasing tyranny. The Church was then the only "City of refuge" for the helpless and oppressed. The power of superstition was the only one which in that warlike age formed any efficient barrier between the nobles and their down-trodden vassals. The very claim of the Bishop ni Mihiian's Hist, of Christianity, vol. ii. p. 1G3. ® ® ® 368 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES of Rome to be the vicegerent of God on earth, while it invested him with a fearful power, perhaps enabled him also to save our race from the horrors of perpetual barbarism. Customary as it has been to speak of the Church in these centuries only in the language of denunciation, he who does so knows but little of the spirit of those times. In truth, the world has never witnessed a specta- cle more sublime than that furnished by the Church in her progress through the Middle Ages. It was a mental supremacy, which cannot but command our ad- miration, even when it devised and wielded the weapons of superstition. It was the triumph of intellect and learnincr, over ignorance and brutal force. The higher classes of Europe, at that time, were a fierce and law- less nobility, yielding to no authority but that dictated by superior strength, and regarding all beneath them as being only the helots of the soil, doomed forever to exist but as " the hewers of wood and drawers of water " to their lords. The elements of society were always at war, and often threatening to rush into a ruinous conflict. But above these wild waves of anarchy and turbulence there arose a mighty form, its foot indeed resting on the earth, but its head reach- ing to the clouds, clothed with the attributes of both worldly and spiritual power, and l^olding in its hand the enchanter's rod, which alope could awe into silence the threatening storm, or afford a timely suc- cor from external violence. The mightiest of man- kind trembled before it, while it " bound th&ir kings ® 5) . — — -_^ — ^® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 369 with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron." The Ciiurch, therefore, in that day, was the sanctuary i)f the earth. She was the ark in which, while the Hood of error was sweeping around, the truth was preserved in being for better times. Corrupt then as the Romish Church undoubtedly was, and often " hold- ing the truth in unrighteousness," her movements were still overruled by a wise providence to the fur- therance of good, and her colossal strength was en- listed to keep alive in the earth the true Church, that " the gates of hell should not prevail against it." There were indeed, at that time, innumerable ways by which, through her instrumentality, religion w-as daily brought before the people, until the degraded peasant, and the rude and warlike baron, were alike obliged to yield to her claims. In the first place, her rites and services were gorgeous, and well adapted to an illiterate age, when the heart must be reached, and the mind enlightened, through the medium of the senses. Again — the Church was the dispenser of the chari- ties of the age. Thus, that work was effectually accomplished, which is now attempted Vvith such in- adequate results, by a multitude of voluntary associa- tions — often ill-directed in their zeal — conflicting in their efforts — and bound together by no sympathy of religious principles. The pious made the Church the almoner of their bounty, and thus, among other good effects, the tie w-as strengthened which bound the people to their spiritual pastors. They came to ® ® ® __® 370 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES them for relief of their worldly necessities, as well as of their religious wants, and thus that " most excel- lent gift of charity " — one of the brightest virtues of Christianity — was inculcated upon the multitude, not only by the preaching, but also by the daily example of those who ministered at the altar. Beautiful, in- deed, is the picture which has come down to us of the crowds which morning and evening assembled around the doors of the religious houses, to have their wretchedness relieved," and sad was the day for Eng- n The Rev. J. J. Blunt — an author who surely will not be accused of any attachment to Romanism — writes thus — "As we know not, says the proverb, what the well is worth till it is dry, so was it found after the dissolution, that, with all their faults, the monasteries had been the refuge for the destitute, who were now driven to frightful extremities throughout the country, the effect of the suppression being with respect to them the same as would now follow from the sudden abolition of the poor laws ; that they had been the alms- houses, where the aged dependents of more opulent families, the decrepid servant, the decayed artificer, retired as to a home neither uncomfortable nor humiliating; that they had been the country infirmaries and dispensaries, a knowledge of medicine and of the virtues of herbs being a department of monkish learning, (as passages in the old dramatic writers sometimes indicate,) and a hospital, and perhaps a laboratory, being component parts of a monkisii establishment; that they had been foundling asylums, relieving the state of many orphan and outcast children, and ministering to their neces- sities, — God's ravens in the wilderness, (neither so black as they had been represented,) bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening ; that they had been inns for the way-faring man, who heard from afar the sound of ® ® ® _ ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 371 land's poor, when these establishments — instead of being remodeled in accordance with the rules of that purer faith, which had then dawned upon the land — were entirely suppressed by the rude iiand of violence, and their pensioners scattered abroad, to subsist by the cold charity of their countrymen, or to be driven by want into licentiousness and crime. Well may a living poet ask — " When the old must pass The threshold, vvhitlier shall they turn to find The hospitality — the alms, (alas ! Alms may be needed,) which that house bestowed ?"o the vesper bell, at once inviting him to repose and devotion, and who might sing his matins with the morning star, and go on his way rejoicing ; that they fiilled up the gap in which the public libraries have since stood, and if their inmates were not very desirous to eat of the tree of knowledge themselves, they had at least the merit . of cherishing and preserving it alive for others." Hist, of Reformation in England, p. 142. o Wordsworth's Eccles. Sonnets, No. xix. " On the whole. King Henry VIII. at did'erent times, suppressed 645 abbeys and monasteries. Ninety Colleges were demolished in seve- ral counties. Two thousand three hundred and seventy four Chantries and Free Chapels; and 110 Hospitals. The whole revenue of these establishments amounted to £161,- 100." Hume, vol. iv. p. 182. The fffuct of this change upon education alone is thus told in a single sentence by Latimer, in the middle of Ed- ward VI. 's reign — " I think there be at this day, ten thou- sand students less than were within these twenty years." Latimer's Sermons, vol. i. p. 246. At the time of their de- struction, Latimer had pleaded with Cromwell, Henry's ® ® 37^ THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES Even to this day we have witnesses to the noble spirit of self-denial which prompted the men of those generations to sacrifice all private interests to the advancement of their faith. The magnificent edi- fices scattered through every land in Europe, which were dedicated to the service of our Lord, and which succeeding ages have attempted in vain to rival, tes- tify how abundant was the liberality, and how deep the religious feeling of those, who were then the members of the Church. We may call it supersti- tion — and such it sometimes was — yet we believe that often these works were prompted by a loftier, holier feeling — that " They dreamt not of a perishable home, Who thus could build. "p Again — the penitential discipline of the Church was continually enforcing the moral precepts of our relio-ion. The superstitious crowd, who could be awed by nothing else, trembled when ihey heard the terrible denunciations of the Church ; and as the penitent stood before them in his public shame, they were im- pressed with a salutary awe, as they witnessed his minister, that some might be reserved as places of study and prayer. " Alas, my good Lord" — said he- — " shall we not see two or three in every shire changed to such a refnedy !" He pleaded however in vain, for Henry and his cotirtiers, grasping at the spoils, were deaf to every religious argument. See Sir H. Spclmaiis Hist, and Fate of Sacrilege., or tiie last part of Churtoris Early English Church. p Wordsworth's Eccles. Sonnets, No. xxxv. ® — ® ® ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 373 deep humiliation, the intensity and bitterness of hi.s remorse. No elevation of rank was so lofty as to shield the offender. Kings bowed to the spiritual authority of the Church, and were forced to realize, that when they entered her walls, they stood in the sight of the King of kings, on a level with the mean- est of their subjects. In an age when the true spirit of religion was but dimly perceived, this system must have possessed the strongest power, when exerted to advance man's moral improvement. And in these days of laxity and carelessness, would not a revival of something of this ancient and stern discipline of the Church, tend to call back also in some measure a portion of her former spirit ? The Church, too, sought unceasingly to correct the vices of the social system — to improve the spirit of society — and to interpose as peace-maker for the prevention of outrage and warfare. If indeed we closely examine the history of the past, and compare the condition of society in successive centuries, wc shall be surprised to find, how many of the glaring abuses of the Middle Ages have gradually disappeared before the increasing light of the Church, until they have been entirely extirpated. Without her influ- ence, we should now be sunk in degradation and bar- barism ; for even of that literature which has come down to us from the days of classic antiquity, the Church was the guardian, in a time when the world at large knew not the worth of these models of the past. It was in the libraries of the Monasteries that ® ® ® ® 374 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES the intellectual treasures of former ages were preserv- ed, when these were the only places of safety ; be- cause the rude noble, whose trade was war, and who felt no remorse in rifling cities and palaces, dared not lay the finger of violence on those consecrated buildings. He dreaded too much the threatenings of the Church. Such was the Church of the Middle Ages. A dark pall was indeed drawn over Western Christendom, and the human mind in the mass of men slumbered in a rest which was unbroken. But fearful as the picture was, there were still some redeeming traits. Within the courts of the Church were ever those, whose learning enlightened the age in which they lived. " There was a continual succession of indi- vidual intellects — the golden chain was never wholly broken, though the connecting links were often of baser metal. A dark cloud, like another sky, cover- ed the entire cope of Heaven ; but in this place it thinned away, and white stains of light showed a half eclipsed star behind it — in that place it was rent asunder, and a star passed across the opening in all its brightness, and then vanished.'"' In many a retired spot, too, humble piety was training up for heaven, and the Church in secret was nurturing within her fold those whose names live not in history, but whose record is now on hicrh. Mingled with the su- perstition which then prevailed, there was indeed a heartiness in their devotion — a reality for every-day q Coleridge's Literary Remains, vol. ii. p. 26. ® ^ — ® I TJIE KEEPER OF THE TRUTU. 375 life in tlieir religion — which might well shame the lukc-warm faith of modern times. Therefore it is, that even now, in these days of greater light, the thoughtful mind cannot forbear often turning back with regret, and amid the worldliness which is around us, feeling that far better was the simple, unlearned piety of former centuries. Yet these imaginings are not to be indulged. The past cannot return. " Nei- ther the churches nor the empires of the Middle Ages are to be rebuilt, however lovely many things about them were, nor the forms of that warlike Chris- tianity to be wished back again, in place of the bet- ter forms of a more primitive pattern. They were forms which primitive truths put on, and in which they then saved the world : forms which were real for awhile. But the present state of things must surely teach the ardent and the hopeful disciples of old times, that it is the primitive truths for which they have to strive, and not to do battle for the chiv- alrous, middle-age accessories of them, however gor- geous or picturesque.'" Review, however, the picture we have presented. See the lawlessness of those centuries through which the Church passed, and then tell me, which of the religious societies that have grown up around her during the last three hundred years, would have been I able to perform the work that she did — assert the i same rule over the human mind, wild and turbulent j as it then was — and thus save the faith alive? I r Faber's Churchman's Politics, p. 6. ® ® ® ® I 376 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES And look around you now — even in these times, I which boast so much of their spiritual and intellect- i ual light — and think what we should be without the i Church. The external world is continually present- i ing its fascinations — acting on the imagination — and I tempting us, in view of'*' things seen," to dismiss all re- j membrance of " the things which are unseen." Now, i to counteract this, what more efficacious than a visi- I j ble, unchanging Church, to be a witness for Christ — j to speak to us continually by her solemn services — to ' preach to a gainsaying world the great truths of Re- 1 demption — and, with a ceaseless voice, to summon it I to heed the whispers of conscience, and to think of I Eternity. Thus, the Church alike rebukes the un- godly, and inspires the fainting believer with new courage. She is a witness of the invisible world — setting forth, even in this life, that separation which j is one day to take place between the just and the un- j just. Who then can estimate the wonderful influence 1 she exerts ! From the present as well as from the past, we can gather an argument in behalf of that wis- I dom, which set forth " the Church of the Living God," to be forever " the pillar and ground of the Truth.'' This, then, is the historical view of the Church. We have spoken only of that general witness which she bears for the truth, but we might strengthen the argument, by taking up, one by one, the doctrines which our faith sets forth, and showing how, through the influence of the Church, each one is preserved alive in the memory of man. But the time would ® ® _ (5) I THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 377 ftul US, should we attempt to enter on this subject. We trust, liowever, that you have already seen how entirely this plan which has been devised to defend the faith from injury, is in accordance with Infinite Wisdom. It only remains, then, that we should com- mend tliis Church to your affections. It is now the same Church which we have followed in her progress through eighteen centuries — the same which our Lord founded, when He trod the hills of Gallilee, and taught in the villages of Judea — the same which His Apostles invited their countrymen to enter, when they first preached the news of redeeming love in the streets of Jerusalem, Checkered as her course has been with fearful vicissitudes, she has not only sur- vived, but grown and expanded. The sunshine and the calm have often been withdrawn, and the Church been obliged to make her way through the cloud and the storm. She has gone through periods dark and turbulent, as well as those enlightened and tranquil. Every habit and form of social life has in turn been tried, and at one time she has had to contend ao-ainst the corruptions of refinement, and at another, with the grossness of barbarism. Dangers have ever en- circled her, and her enemies never ceased to threaten her existence. " The Kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against her." In her early day, however the Roman Emperors might differ in temper and disposition, they always agreed in hostility to the Church. The wise Trajao, and the brutal Nero — the philosophic Antoninus, and the ® -® ® I 378 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES madman Domitian — were alike zealous in the cause of heathenism. In whatever hand the scourge might be, it alwa}'s fell upon the Christian. The noble — the pure — the young — and the aged — were flung to- gether into the same dishonored grave. One requi- sition after another Avas made upon the Church, to send forth her champions for martyrdom ; tmd the voice of wailing was ever heard in her courts, as they mourned the loss of leaders in " the Sacramental host of God's elect," who had passed into Paradise from the agonies of the stake, or whose spirits had gone upward from the fire. False friends, too, have acted as traitors in the camp of the Lord. Heresies, which deformed the faith — and schisms, which sought to divide it — have caused one party after another to separate from the ancient Church ;' and never yet has the world been able, from the lives of her mem- bers, to form a just estimate of the excellence of her doctrines. But yet, notwithstanding all, the Church survived, while, as she passed down the stream of time, she be- held one nation after another fall, and the most pow- erful empires suffer extinction. And lock at her now. Is her vitality diminished, or her " natural force abated 1" Is her strengtlf impaired by the con- s The martyr Cyprian writes — " Wo have not departed from them, but they troni us ; and since schisms and heresies are born afterwards, they left the fountain-liead and origin of truth, when they constituted different assemblages for themselves." De Unit. 256. ® ® THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 379 flicts through which she has passed ? Can you point to any evidence of the decrepitude of age ? No — she is still in the vigor of her youth. She is unchanged — or rather, she presents herself now to the gather- ing storm, with a bolder front than ever in ages that are passed. Are you then a member of this Church, which conies to you sanctioned by such weighty claims ? With every promise fulfilled to the letter — every pre- cious hope realized to the full — and enriched with the prayers of generations that have gone — she ap- peals to your hearts. Thousand.^, as you have seen, have died, rather than forfeit an interest in her bless- ings. That branch to which it is our privilege to belong, is no novelty in the world, but looks back through a long line of confessors and martyrs of the Church Catholic, to Christ Himself as her head. She teaches all the grand and cardinal doctrines of our faith. She is wanting in no single point. We invite you then — if you have not already done so — to take refuge within her walls, before God shall arise to shake terribly the earth. Come, and unite yourself with the bright array of those who have gone before, on whom is resting the Spirit of glory and of grace. They are bending down from their thrones on high — " a great cloud of witnesses" — to see wheth- er you will still sustain that Holy Church, to advance which they considered life itself as not too precious to be sacrificed. They have bequeathed to you this cause, to bear it onward as once they did. You are ® (i) ® _ ® 380 THE CHURCH, THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. standing in their places, and are the inheritors of their responsibilities. You are " baptized for the dead." And now, the host of the elect is pressing onward. Some have already passed into Canaan, over the river of death, and some are still toiling on in the wilderness. Oh, may you, when the dispersed of God's spiritual Israel are gathered into one, be found again united as members of "the general as- sembly and Church of the first born, which are writ- ten in Heavep." ® — __ (jj ® _ ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. All mny save self; — but minds that heavenward towor Aim at a wider power, Gifts on the world to shower. And this is not at once ; — by fastings gained, And trials well sustained. By pureness, righteous deeds, and toils of love. Abidance in the Truth, and zeal for God above. Lyra Apostvlica. 18 \ ® © ® __ ® X. THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. II.AViivG endeavored to bring before yon the dis- tinctive principles of the Church — those by which we are separated from the different denominations around us — the question naturally occurs, What is the prac- tical bearing of these truths? We answer — they are to be acted out in the life, and embodied in the daily walk and conversation of those who profess to be members of our Holy Apostolic Church. I know not, therefore, that I can select a more appropriate subject with which to close these Lectures, than a delineation of THE TRUE, CaTHOLIC ChuRCHMAN. The very name indeed which he bears — if he walk worthy of it — proclaims the principles by which he will be directed. He has received his title from no human teacher. He assumes the badge of no mere sect. He shares in that jealous vigilance which induced St. Paul so sternly to chide the Corin- thians, because one party said, " we are of Paul,'"' and ® ® ® ^® 384 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHBIAN. another, " we are of Apollos," and another, " we are of Cephas." And this feeling the Primitive believers bequeathed to those who came after them in the early Church. " We take not," says St. Chrysostom, " our denomination from men. We have no leaders, as the followers of Marcion, or Manichseus, or Arius."* " The Church," says Epiphanius, " was never called so much as by the name of any Apostle. We never heard of Petrians, or Paulians, or Bartholoma^ans, or Thaddaeans; but only of Christians, from Christ."'' " I honor Peter" — says another Father — " but I am not called a Petrian ; I honor Paul, but I am not called a Paulian ; I cannot bear to be named from any man, who am the creature of God."" And Bingham tells us, that when Sempronian, the Novatian heretic, demanded of Pacian the reason why Christians called themselves Catholics, he answered, that it was to distinguish them from Heretics. " Christian" — he says — "is my name, and Catholic my surname : the one is my title, the other my character or mark of distinction."' Such was the feeling of these early saints. Leaving to the sects which started up on every side, to name themselves after their leaders, they still kept to that general appellation, which was most expressive of unity and relationship to their Lord. The Churchman of this day therefore has in- a Horn. 33, in Acts. b Bing. Orig. Ecclcs. lib. i. ch. 1, sect. 6. c Greg. Naz. Orat. 31. d Orig. Eccles. lib. i. ch. 1, sect. 7. ® ■ ■ ® ® ■ — ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 3S5 herited these views, and by the name of Catholic Churchman, he expresses both his allegiance to his Divine Master, and to that Apostolic Church which He founded/ - One characteristic of the true Churchman is — that he receives with humility all the doctrines of the Church, and avows his belief in them. ' This must at once be evident. It would be an absurdity for a disciple to call himself by the name of a teacher to whose instructions he did not fully subscribe. As the Jew prided himself on being the follower of Moses, and showed his reverence for the ancient dispensation by observing all its requirements, even the most minute, so does the Churchman proclaim to the world the fact, that he is a disciple of Christ, and a member of His Holy Apostolic Church. He is ready to acknowledge his belief in all that his Master taught, either when, Himself on earth. He acted as the earliest herald of the Gospel ; or when, after His ascension, He inspired holy men to enlarge the circle of revelation, and then committed to the Churclj e " I wear the name of C!irist, my God, So name me not from man ! And my broad country Catholic, Hath neither tribe nor clan : Its rulers are an endless line, Through all the world they went, Commissioned from the Holy Hill Of Christ's sublime ascent." Rev.Jl. C Coxc. 18* ® — . ® ® ® 386 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. which He had organized, the lofty duty of being a Keeper and Witness of the Truth. Bat we are told that there is no necessity for an appeal to the Church, to learn the fundamental doc- trines of our faith — that " the Bible alone is the re- ligion of Protestants" — and we need no other inter- vention to aid us in forming our Creed, or in settling our belief Look then over the world, and see how this assertion is supported by actual experience. The first sound which strikes the ear is the din of contro- versy, as the most solemn truths which God has re- vealed, are openly questioned and denied, or bandied about among warring heretics from mouth to mouth, until the reverence even of the believer is insensibly impaired. The first sight which meets the eye, is that of the body of Christ rent asunder, and contend- ing parties using as hostile watchwords those solemn verities, to which man should have listened only with awe and reverence. The present situation of the different Protestant sects around, answers but too truly the description which Dante has given : — " Christ's host, which cost so dear to arm afresh. Beneath its ensign moves with tardy step, Tiiin are its ranks, each soldier coldly looks Upon his fellow, doubtful of his faith. "f Amidst then this changing, shifting sea of opin- ions, where is the truth 1 In what can I believe, as the certain teaching of my Lord ? The Bible is of f Paradiso, xii. ® : ® ® ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CillKCIlMAN. 387 course before me, and I may study it for myself, but the same privilege is afforded others also, and yet I behold a hundred varying sects — all holding different Creeds — and all professing to derive them from that Volume. Which then is right ? Where can I find a guide to direct me in the right path ? I can truly say, like the Ethiopian Eunuch — " How can I under- stand, except some man should guide me ?" Now, these difficulties are natural, and must be felt by every reflecting mind.^ The Church, there- fore, has provided a remedy. She does not say to her children — " each one of you may explain Scrip- ture according to your own fancy" — but she furnishes them with an interpretation. Going back to Primi- tive times — to the days of Apostles and Martyrs — she unrolls their writings, and inquires, how these men, who stood nearest to the fountain of light — who lived when the tradition of all our Lord's words and deeds had not yet faded from the earth — how they understood H^ precepts 'i She takes the ground — and surely it is a reasonable one — that doctrines \yhich have been the admitted faith of the Church from the first age down through eighteen hundred years, are probably g " We learn to prize that whicfi is not of this earth ; we long for rcvehition, which nowhere bnrns more majestically or more beautifully than in the New Testament. I feci im- pelled to open the original text — to translate for once, with upright feeling, the sacred original into mj' darling German. It is written : * In the beginning was the Word.' Here lam already at a stand ; loho will help me on ?" Goethe's Faust, p. 44. ® ® ® ® 388 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. correct, and therefore she teaches them to her chil- dren in her creeds and formularies. Here then is her rule of faith — Scripture as it ALWAYS HAS BEEN INTERPRETED BY THE ChURCH. The Church of Rome contends that there are two rules of faith, of equal authority ; that there is an un- written tradition, alike definite and alike to be re- spected with the written word of God. Thus it was asserted in a decree of the Council of Trent — " All saving truth is not contained in the Holy Scripture, but partly in the Scripture, and partly in unwritten traditions, which whosoever doth not receive untJi nice piety and reverence as he doth the Scriptures, let him be accursed."'' The clearly stated doctrine of our own Church, on the contrary is, that tradition is to be used only to interpret Scripture. " The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and author- ity in controversies of faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's word written ; neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church he a untncss and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet as it ought not to decree anything against the same, so, besides the same, ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of salvation.'" Again — the Church of Rome fetters the judg- ment, by requiring a blind, unconditional submission to those who, from time to time, occupy the place of h Sess. iv. Decret. de Can. Script. i Art. xx. ® ® ® ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 389 ecclesiastical rulers. They constitute the Church, and are to be implicitly obeyed. Thus, an appeal to Catholic antiquity, to verify her doctrines, is practi- cally forbidden, since each one must believe what the Church does now hold.^ The different denominations around us, going to the other extreme, give unbounded license to the fiincy, by an unrestricted exercise of private interpretation. Our own Church, avoiding either error, " inculcates a liberal, discriminative, yet undeviating reverence for pious antiquity : a reverence, alike sanctioned by reason, inspired by feeling, and recommended by authority." ' She adopts the rule laid down by Vincentius of Lerins, who wrote in the year 434. A brief view of his system may, therefore, be useful in illustrating the principles of the Church on this point. He sets out with inquiring how. he must decide between truth and error I His language is — " I have made frequent and earnest inquiries of a great num- ber of holy and learned men, howl might discriminate, that is, what certain and universal rule there was for discriminating between Catholic truth and heretical pravity ; and I have ever received something like the j Tlius, Dr. Hawardcn, in speaking of tlie Arians, uses this language — " If they be allowed the pica of all reformers, I mean, of appealing from, and against, the present Catholic Church, to the times past, the controversy can never be ended, until the dead speak." The True Church of Christ, vol. ii. pref. p. 9. k Appendix to Bishop Jebb's Sermons, p. 266- ® — ® ® —. ® 390 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. following answer, that whether I myself, or any other private person, wished to detect the corruptions, and avoid the snares of heretics who were springing up, and to remain sound and whole in the sound faith, there were two ways, by God's blessing, of preserving himself — first, by the authority of Scripture, next by the teaching of the Church Catholic." But, he continues — " Here some one, perhaps, will demand, since the Canon of Scripture is com- plete, and in itself more than sufficient for all things, why I need subjoin to it the authority of ecclesiasti- cal opinion ?" To this objection, his answer is — " that the very depth of Holy Scripture prevents its being taken by all men in one and the same sense, one man interpreting it in one way, one in another ; so that it seems almost possible to draw from it as many opinions as there are readers. Novatian, Pho- tinus, Sabellius, Donatus, Arius, Eunomius, and Macedonius, Apollinaris, and Priscillian, Jovianus, Pelagius, and Celestius, lastly Nestorius, each of these heretics has his own distinct interpretation of it. This is why it is so necessary, viz., in order to avoid the serious labyrinths of such various errors, to direct the line of interpretation, both as to Prophets and Apostles, according to the sense of the Church and Catholic world." Having thus most conclusively proved the neces- sity for some rule of interpretation, he proceeds to state that one which can always give us a sure direc- tion — " We must be peculiarly careful to hold that ® — ■ ^ ® ® ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 391 which hath been believed, in all places, at all TIMES, BY ALL THE FAITHFUL : QuOD UBIQUE, QUOD SEMPER, QUOD AB OMNIBUS CREDITUM EST. This is true and genuine Catholicism, as the very word means, comprehending all truths, everywhere, and truly ; and this will be ours, if we follow in our in- quiries Universality , Antiquity, and Consent. We shall follow Universality , if we confess that to be the one true faith, which is held by the Church all over the world ; Antiquity, if we in no respect recede from the tenets which were in use among our Holy Elders and Fathers; and Consent, if, in consulting antiquity itself, we attach ourselves to such decisions and opinions as were held by all, or at least by almost all, the ancient Bishops and Doctors." " What, then, will the Catholic Christian do, in a case where any branch of the Church has cut it- self off from the communion of the universal faith 1 What can he do but prefer the general body which is sound, to the diseased and infected member of it ? What if some novel contagion attempt with its plague-spots, not only a portion, but even the whole Church 1 Then he will be careful to keep close to antiquity, which is secure from the possibility of being corrupted by new errors. What, if even in antiquity itself, there be two or three men, nay, one community, or even province, discovered in error? Then he will be careful to prefer to the rashness or ignorance of the few, (if so be,) the ancient decrees, (i. e. in Council,) of the Universal Church. What if ® ® — ■ ® I 392 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. I a case arises when no such acts of the Church are ; found 1 Then he will do his best to compare and search out the opinions of the ancients ; that is, of those who, in various times and places, remaining in the faith and communion of the one Catholic Church, are the most trust-worthy authorities ; and whatever, not one or two, but all alike, with one consent, held, wrote, and taught, and that openly and perseveringly, that he will understand is to be believed without any hesitation." Having thus laid down his rules, Vin- centius adds — " By these principles, faithfully, sober- ly, and diligently observed, we shall, with no great difficulty, detect every noxious error, of all heretics, who may rise against the Church.'" Such was the rule in the fifth century, and it is one by which the Church is even now guided. " I greatly mistake" — says the Rev. G. S. Faber — "if in any one instance, the wise Reformers of the Church of England can be shown to have exercised an insulated private judgment. In fact, they possessed far too much theological learning, and far too much sound intellect, to fall into this palpable error. Omitting, then, the mere dogmatism of the Latin Church on the one hand, and the wanton exercise of illegitimate private judgment on the other hand, the practice of those venerable and profound theologians, who presided over the reformation of the Anglican Church, will teach us, that the most rational mode of determining differences is a recurrence to first princi- 1 Commonit. adv. Hsereticos. ®- — — — ® ® ® I THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 393 pies, or an appeal to that Primitive Church which was nearest to the times of the Apostles.'"" In the "Necessary Doctrine," &c., which in 1543 was adopted by the whole Church of England, we are told — " All those things which were taught by the Apostles, and have been by a whole universal consent of the Church of Christ ever sith that time taught continually, and taken always for true, ought to be received, accepted, and kept, as a perfect doc- trine apostolic."" With regard to the Articles of the Creed, Christians are commanded, " to interpret all the same things, according to the self-same sentence and interpretation which the words of Scripture do signify, and the holy approved doctors of the Church do agreeably entreat and defend." They are directed also to reject all doctrines, " which were of long time past condemned in the four holy councils."" This was the view also of Cranmer. In his Epistle to Queen Mary on the subject of the Eucharist, he says — " Herein I said I would be judged by the old Church, and which doctrine could be proved the elder, that I would stand unto."P Bishop Ridley, too, acknowledges the weight of Catholic tradition as a guide in interpretation.'' Bishop Jewel writes — " We are come, as neere as we possibly could, to the Church of the Apostles, and of the old Catholike m Difficulties of Romanism, p. 33. n Formularies of Faith, p. 221. o Ibid. p. 227. p Cranmer's Works, vol. ii., p. 113. q Jebb's Sermons, Appendi.x., p. 395. 19 ® ® ® ® 394 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. bishops and fathers : and have directed, according to their customs and ordinances, not only our doctrine, but also the sacraments, and the forme of common praier.'"^ And so the rule remains now explicitly stated in our Articles. In the XX. Article it is said — " The Church hath authority in controversies of faith ;" and afterwards, in the XXXIV. it is added — " Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly.'" r Apology, p. 156. s That this is the rule of the Church of England, and consequently of our own branch of the Church, cannot be doubted by any one who will read the records of the past, and the opinions of all the most eminent English Divines. See, for example, the Appendix to Bp. Jebb's Sermons, with the testimonies there collected; and the Rev..E. Churton's Sermon, " The Church of England, a witness and keeper of the Catholic Tradition." Did our limits allow, copious ex- tracts in support of the rule of Vincentius might be given from the following Divines and Authors : Jewell, Bilson, Hooker, Overall, Morton, Field, White, Hall, Laud, Mon- tague, Jackson, Mede, Ussher, Bramhall, Sanderson, Cosin, Hammond, Thorndike, Taylor, Hcylin, Commissioners, (to review the Prayer Book,) A. D. 1662, Pearson, Barrow, Bull, Stillingfleet, Ken, Beveridge, Patrick, Sharpe, Potter, Grabe, Brett, Hicks, Collier, Leslie, Waterland, Bingham, Jebb, and Van Mildert. A writer, indeed, who takes the ground that the Bible alone is his rule of faith, will find it impossible at the outset to prove the authority of that Book, and is, therefore, at the I ® ® ® ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 395 It is by this safe test, then, that the Church decides at once upon those countless controversies, which are rending in bitterness all who surround us. For example, let us apply this rule. We hear some denying the Divinity of our Lord — degrading Him down to a merely inspired prophet — and when we endeavor to establish the truth of his Godhead by an appeal to Scripture, they reply by rejecting our in- terpretation of its words.' What, then, is our safest mercy of any infidel who attacks him. Bishop Milner thus states this argument — " By what means have you learned what is the Canon of Scripture, that is to say, what are the books which have been written by divine inspiration ; or, indeed, how have you ascertained that any books at all have been so written .' You cannot discover either of these things by your rule, because the Scripture, as your great authority Hooker shows, (Ecdes. Pol. h.iii. sec. 8,) and Chillingworth allows, cannot bear testimony to itself. .... You have no sufficient authority for asserting, that the sacred volumes are the genuine compositions of the holy personages whose names they bear, except the tradition and living voice of the Catholic Church ; since numerous apocryphal prophecies and spurious gospels and epistles, under the same or equally ven- erable names, were circulated in the Church during its early ages Indeed, it is so clear that the Canon of Scripture is built on the tradition of the Church, that most learned Protestants, with Luther himself, have been forced to ac- knowledge it." End of Conlroversij, Letter ix. t Socinus boasted that he acknowledged no master; Sed Deum tantummodo prseceptorem habui, sacrasque literas. He accordingly denied the authority of the Fathers, Councils, and Primitive Church. {Palmer's Treatise on Church, v. ii. p. 5'J.) It is said in the life of Biddle, the founder of the ® a ® 396 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. course ? Why, we turn to the testimony of the Church. We find that through all ages the great body of the faithful have rendered those passages as we now do, and bowed in reverence to our Lord, as a Person of the Triune God. We will, therefore, be the inheritors of their faith, and with them acknow- ledge — " Truly, this was the Son of God."" English Socinians, that " he gave the Holy Scriptures a diligent reading ; and made use of no other rule to determine controversies about religion, than the Scriptures^ and of no other authentic interpreter, if a scruple arose concerning the sense of Scripture, than ?-easo7i." (Ibid. p. 64.) It would be easy to show, that those who abandon the authority of the fathers, generally end by forsaking the truth. The infidel Rationalists of Germany, who have thus disowned all ancient authority, boast that they alter their belief " as often as any nexo vieics require it." Rose's State of Protest, in Germany., p. 24. u " Doctrines received through the medium of only two or three links from the Apostles themselves, and with one consent declared by all the various Churches then in existence to have been thus received, cannot be false. Thus, for in- stance, Ireiiaeus, himself the pupil of Polycarp the disciple of St John, bears witness to the fact., that, in his time, all the Churches in the world held the doctrine of our Lord's divinity; each professing to have received it, through the medium of one or two or three links, from the Apostles ; and his testimony is corroborated by Hegesippus, who, about the middle of the second century, travelled from Asia to Rome, and found the same system of doctrine uniformly established in every Church. Facts of this description form the basis of the reasoning adopted by Irenasus and Tertullian ; and the conclusion which they deduce from it is, the moral ® ® (3) ® THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 397 Again — we hear others denying the necessity of infant baptism, and thus, in the words of our Lord, " forbidding little children to come to Him." We appeal once more to the voice of the Church. We read the history of the past. We discover that even from tlie Apostles' days, she has commanded her members thus to dedicate their children to Him who had redeemed them, and we are therefore contented to walk in the footsteps of those who have gone be- fore us. When, too, the Romanist comes to us with his exclusive claims, we make the same appeal to antiquity. We show that our doctrines are older than his, and adopt for our motto that declaration of Bishop Ridley — "I prefer the antiquity of the Primi- tive Church to the novelties of the Church of Rome.'" Thus it is that we decide on all disputes. In- stead of trusting to the feebleness of individual rea- son, we obey the command which our Lord gave when He said — " Hear the Church." We thus free ourselves from doubt. We lean upon the recorded wisdom and opinions of eighteen centuries, and feel, that if we are wrong on these points, then must the whole Church have been so through all her genera- tions. Is not this, to say the least, the safest way to impossihility of the Catholic system of theoIo opinion ofllieiii,! do not hesitate to say, — after a constant ti.se of them in my closet, and an observation of their elVect upon some of my friends, for the last six years,— that tbey aie among the >iery beat praciical sermons in the English language , that while they are free from those extravagances of opinion usually ascribed to the author of the Wth Tract, Ihey assert in the strongest manner the true doctrines of the Retormatior. in Kngland, and en force witn peculiar solemnity and eftect that holiness of life, with the means thereto, so char- acteristic ofthe Fathers of that trying age. With high respect and esteem, your friend and servaat, L.S.IVES. HARE'S PAROCHIAL SERMONS. Sermons to a Country Congregation. By Augustus William Hare, A.M., late Fellow of New College, and Rector of .Alton Barnes. One volume, royal 8vo. $2 25. *' Any one who can be pleased with delicacy of thought expressed in the most simple Ian guage— any one who can feel the charm of tiiidiiig practical duties elucidated and enforced by apt and varied illustj-ations--witl be delighted with this volume, which presents us with the workings of a pioui and highly gifted mind." — Quar. RevUw. 4 D. Appleton ^ Co.^s Catalogue of Valuable Works- THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST; Or, Hints respecting the Principles, Constitution, and Ordinances of the Catliolic Church. By Frederick Demson Maurice, M.A. Chaplain of Guy's Hospital, Professor of EngUsh Litera- ture and History, King's College, London. In one elegant oc- tavo volume of 600 pages, uniform in style with Newman's Sermons, Palmer on the Church, &c. $2 50. " Mr. Maurice*8 work le eminently fitted tu engage the attention and meet the want? of all interested in the several movements that are now taking place i.. the rehgione community : it takeb up the pretentions generally of the several Protestant denuminatioiid and of the Ko- manists, so as to commend itself in the growing interest in the controversy helween the lat- ter and their opponents. The political portion of the work contains much tiMt is attractive to a thoughtful man, of any or of no religious periuasion, in reference to the existing and pes Bible future state of our country." A MANUAL FOR COMMUNICANTS; Or the Order for Administering the Holy Communion; conveniently ar- ranged with Meditations and Prayers from Old English Divines, being the Eucharistica of Samuel Wiiberforce, M.A., Archdeacon of Surry, (adapted to the American service.) Convenient size for the pocket 37i cents— gilt edges 50 cents. •* These meditations, prayers, and expositiona, are given in the very words of the illustri- ous divines, martyrs, confessors, and doctors of the Church; and they form altogether 8uch a body of instructive matter as iu nowhere else to be found in tlie same com- pass. Though collected from various auUiors, the whole is pervaded by a unity of spirit and purpose; and we most earnebily commend the work as belter htted than any other which we know, to subserve the ends of sound editication and fervent and substantial devotion. The Aiuerican reprint has been edited by a deacon of great promise in the Church, and ia ap- propriately dedicated to the fiidhop of this diocese."— Churchman. OGILBY ON LAY-BAPTISM: An Outline on the Argument against the Validity of Lay-Baptism. By the Rev. John D. Ogilby, A.M., Professor of Ecclesiastical History. One volume 12mo., 75 cents. " We have been favoured with a copy of the above work, and lose no time in annouccins its publicaUon. From a cursory inspection of it, we take it to be a thorough, I'tarless, and Tery able discussion of the subject which it (.roposes, aiming less to excite inquiry, than to satisfy, by learned and ingenious argument, inquiries already excited.'' — Churchman. THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE OF E LECT ION: Or, an Historical Inquiry into the Ideality and Causation of Scriptural Election, as received and maintained in the Primitive Church oi Christ. By George Stanley Faber, B.D., author of " Difficulties of Romanism," " Difficulties of Infidelity," ed, including no.hing useless and omitting nothing essential: written with grace, and conceived and arranged with consummate ability. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SOCIETY IN THE BARBAROUS AND CIVILIZED STATE. An Essay towards Discovering the Origin and Course of Human Improve- ment. By W. Cooke Taylor, LL.D., &c., of Trinity College, Dublin. Handsomely printed on fine paper. 2 vols. 12mo $2 25. "The design of this work is to determine, from an examination of the various forms in which society has been found, what was the origin of civilization ; and under what circumstances those attributes of humanity which in one country become the foundation of social happiness, are in an- other perverted to the production of general misery.' CARLYLE ON HISTORY & HEROES. On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History. Six Lectures, re- ported with Emendations and Additions, by Thomas Carlyle, author of the French Revolution, Sartor Resartus, ^^^^_, /^^/i-^z-t^ THE T.TPRARY UC SOUTHS -RY FACILITY AA 000 979 539 4 111