I I 1 ^^^H ■ I ■ ■ 1 ■ ■ 1 ■ %9 1 1 ■■ 1 ■ "'""■ 1 1 « 1 ■ 1 ^^H <'t^ N I) () N : l.lil.in \ KIVINGION, rUINTI.liS, ST. John's s(}Ua|{E. PREFACE. T HAVE long been under the impression that some such small Treatise as this, — better drawn up, of course, and with more ability, — would be of very great use. There are tens of thousands in the land who admit that there is no teaching like the " Teaching of the Prayer Book," grounded as it is on God's Holy Word written in that Book of Books, which is the Bible ; — but their notions, on many points, are indistinct and unsettled, and they rather feel than see their way. Many, perhaps, look upon the Prayer Book as literally no older than the Re- formation, — whereas, in truth, a great part of its contents, — otherwise moulded and improved, shaped and altered, for better or for worse, according to the opinions of individuals,— is of fourteen and fifteen centuries' standing. It comprehends, indeed, either in w^ords or by implication, all that is valuable in those ancient records,— that is to say, the several Litur- A 2 iv ^Srefaa. gies of St. James, St. JVIark, St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, and the Clementine. The gist of this little Treatise, — quite uncontro- versional, but devotional rather, — is to point out this truth, and to show the exceeding comfort to be derived from a holy and humble-minded use of our Church's Teaching in the Book of Common Prayer. With this intent its sources, from the earliest ages, have been examined and sifted. It may be observed that in many instances the wording of these pages is simple, even to baldness, and English, (Saxon or Norman, as you will",) even to a plainness not needed. The reason is this — the Treatise itself is, in fact, but the condensed notes of a series of Sermons, delivered to a coun- try congregation — all poor, and all unlettered, — during the series of eleven years. The great ob- ject was to impress upon them the value of their Prayer Books, — and this was done, — off and on, — in the openest manner. All that was ancient, provided it was Scriptural and devout, was laid before them ; but it was done affectionately and persuasively, and unaccompanied with that pith and dryness which almost necessarily attends so condensed a state- ment as the present. Indeed, the w^hole may be in- * Those who question such Franco - Theotisc, Moeso - Go- terms may see what is said by thic, and Cimbric, dispersion Mr. Evans, in his " Bishopric of tongues. I would refer, first of Souls." See c. vi. p. 129. of all, to the lamented Rask, — Possibly I am more inclined to and then to his Translator the term Saxon-English than Thorpe, and to Bosworth's he is, and I speak from a care- Anglo-Saxon Grammar, ful study of the Anglo-Saxon, vidiously called but a bundle of notes ^ But if so, I would recommend to the attention of off-hand speakers that diligence which is necessary to make themselves masters of a subject multifarious, and that caution and judgment which is requisite in the selection of what is to the point. To write a long book is no hard matter, — to write a short one, and to the purpose, no easy one. As concerns the History of our Book of Common Prayer, it may be comprehended under six epochs : The first Book of Edward Vlth dates from 1549; the second, or the Revision, at the instigation of Bucer and others, from 1552. The third, from the Accession of Elizabeth, 1559; the fourth, from the Revision after the Hampton Court Conference, in the reign of James I., 1604 ; the fifth may be styled that of Charles I., or the Scotch Service Book, 1637 ; the sixth, or last, that of Charles II., 1662, as revised after the Savoy Conference. Within these several dates those who seek for historical information will find it. Of the four last epochs I will say nothing; of the two first the lengthenend extract from Jeremy Taylor s " Preface to the Apology for authorized and set Forms of Liturgy," which follows, contains, I think, pretty much the truth : " To the Churches of ^ The interleaved 4to Prayer the greatest use in after life, Book, as well as the interleaved and, when added to daily, is a 4to New Testament before me, fund of information for the is the handy-work of now go- composition of sermons. These ing on for twenty years. Such pages are a sample of what labour of a man's hands is of such books may contain. the Roman Communion we can say, that ours is re- formed ; to the reformed Churches we can say, that ours is orderly and decent : for we were freed from the impositions and lasting errors of a tyrannical spirit, and yet from the extravagances of a popular spirit too : our reformation was done without tumult, and yet we saw it necessary to reform ; we were zealous to cast away the old errors, but our zeal was balanced with the consideration and the results of authority : not like women or children when they are affrighted with fire in their clothes ; we shaked off the coal indeed, but not our garments, lest w^e should have exposed our Churches to that nakedness which the excellent men of our sister Churches complained to be among themselves. — And, indeed, it is no small advantage to our Liturgy, that it was the offspring of that authority, which was to be pre- scribed in matters of religion. The King and the priests, which are the ' antistites religionis,' and the preservers of both the tables joined in this work, and the people, as it was represented in parliament, were advised withal, in authorizing the form after much deliberation ; for the rule, ' Quod spectat ad omnes, ab omnibus tractari debet,' was here observed with strictness ; and then, as it had the advantages of discourse, so also of authorities, — its reason from one, and its sanction from the other, that it might be both reasonable, and sacred, and free, not only from the indiscretions, but (which is very consider- able) from the scandals of popularity. — And in this I cannot but observe the great wisdom and mercy f refare* vii of God in directing the contrivers of the Liturgy, with the spirit of zeal and j)rudence, to allay the furies and heats of the first affrightment. For when men are in danger of burning, so they leap from the flames, they consider not whither, but whence : and the first reflections of a crooked tree are not to straightness, but to a contrary incurvation : yet it pleased the Spirit of God so to temper and direct their spirits, that, in the first Liturgy of King Edward, they did rather retain something that needed further consideration, than reject anything that was certainly pious and holy; and in the second Liturgy, that they might also thoroughly reform, they did rather cast out something that might, with good profit, have remained, than not satisfy the world of their zeal to reform, of their charity in declining everything that was offensive, and the clearness of their light in discerning every semblance of error or suspicion in the Roman Church^" These words are evidently those of Christian pru- dence, and may be of great use if wisely considered now. True enough, it was necessary for the Re- formers to stop somewhere; and they did so, or there never would have been an end of alterations. Accordingly, our Church made a stand. " That only which in the Church of Rome had prevaricated ao-ainst the Word of God, or innovated against Apostolical tradition, all that was pared away :— c Works, vol. vii. p. 286. but at last she fixed, and strove no further to please the people, who never could be satisfied'^" But wisely, as I said, may the conduct of our Re- formers be considered now. There is an evident prurience and desire to press points which, however good in themselves, may not wisely be pressed. This did not they. On the contrary, they conquered by yielding, and the very concessions in the second Book of Edward VI. only tended to establish Pro- testant ground. " As if prophetically to avoid their being charged in after ages with a ' crepusculum ' of religion, a dark, ' twilight,' imperfect reformation, they joined to their own star all the shining tapers of the other Reformed Churches, calling for the advice of the most eminently learned and zealous Reformers in other kingdoms, that the light of all together might show them a clear path to walk in." Tawards, and in, that path is the " Teaching of the Prayer Book," and those who will consider the Preface to the Com- mination Service, — a Service with which Bucer was much smitten, — will not fail to note how our Church would rather make good and maintain ground pos- sessed, than advance in a direction debateable. Many things are much to he wished^ even as they were when our Compilers drew up the Services in the Prayer Book ; but ambition, though in holy things, may overleap itself ; and customs and prac- tices which have been in abeyance for long, (as, for example, Primitive Penitential Discipline,) if revived now, after ancient effects, would but be looked upon as ^ Works, vol. vii. p. 288. pnfart. ix novelties ; and things which ought to be to our health, would only turn to our harm. Better, then, are we, — on this matter, — as we are. There is, and has been, a gradual improvement and an increased desire to conform to the usages of the Church. Those who have been observant, and can look back twenty years, must confess to this. But let points of com- parative indifference be pressed in an inopportune season, and there will be a rebound. That advice of Tiberius, (for bad men oftentimes are enabled to give good worldly advice,) touching the restraining of the sumptuary laws, is altogether in point. " In- effectual coercion will but show^ our weakness ; and matters are best left where they are, w^hen a com- mand is sure to be questioned, even if not outwardly disobeyed ^" As regards ourselves, in our ministe- rial capacities, our course is clear enough, if we will but hold to it in quietness and sobriety. Hooker said right, as usual, of the ministry, " That which their office and place requireth is to show themselves patterns of reverend subjection, not authors and mas- ters of contempt towards ordinances ; the strength whereof when they seek to weaken, they do but in truth discover to the world their own imbecilities, which a great deal wiselier they might conceal V * This is only the sense of corum adtractare quod non the words of Tacitus. " Sper- obtineret : vel retentum, igno- ni sumptuariam legem," &c. miniam etinfamiam virorum in- " Sed Tiberius, saepe apud se lustrium posceret : postremo pensitato, an coerceri tarn pro- literas composuit," &c. Annal. fanae cupidines possent : num lib. iii. c. 52. coercitio plus damni in rem- ^ Eccles. Pol. book v. Ixxii. publicam ferret, quam inde- § 9. With reference to the many authorities which have been either quoted or referred to in these pages, a word or two should be said, after I have, first of all, observed, that the text, without the notes, is a Manual for all readers, and shall be reduced in size, and printed in a cheap and separate form, if found to be of use. But as respects authorities ^. Whoever shall wish to be thoroughly acquainted with the usage of the Church must be well read in Bingham, and Martene, "De Antiquis Ecclesise Ritibus." These I have constantly used, and generally without reference. Indeed, every reference specially made is for a special reason, and to enable others to look to par- ticular points. Next, I would recommend Mura- tori's " Liturgia Romana Vetus," containing the Sa- cramentaries so often referred to in . these pages, namely, the Leonine, that of Gelasius, and that of Gregory; the Missale Gothicum, Francorum et Gallicanum Vetus, together with the Sacramen- tarium Gallicanum, and the Duo antiqui Libri Ri- tuales S. Rom. Ecclesise, that is, the Ordo Romanus, first and second, with the Preface and Notes of Mabillon and Muratori '\ This is almost indispensa- ble for those who would pursue, more particularly, s In speaking of authorities, tells us that he went to Oxford I beg to speak, as a retired once a year for the use of country priest, daily occupied libraries. Beatus ille ! See p. in an extensive parish, and with 36, ed. Burton, but some few books ; possibly, ^^ Prefixed to vol. i. is Mu- however, neither ill-selected ratori's " De Rebus Liturg. nor altogedier common-place. Dissertatio." Venetiis, 1748. Nelson, in his Life of Bp. Bull, preface* xi our Collects to their original sources, and is con- stantly referred to by Mr. Palmer in his Origines Liturgicse, a work which should be in the hands of all those who are preparing for Holy Orders, together with Comber's " Scholastical History of the Primitive and General Use of Liturgies, and Stated Forms of Public and Common Prayer." His Com- panion to the Temple is also a most excellent work, and, from a very careful examination of it, I can state that his acquaintance with the Liturgies of the Greek Church is extensive and correct. But, of course, no one can speak on such a subject without having Gear's Euchologion ' at his fingers' ends, to which should be added Dr. Covel's " Account of the present Greek Church," and its " Rites and Cere- monies," by King, the one published in 1722, the other in 1772. An acquaintance with the Greek Liturgies is indispensably necessary for those who search for the originals of the West, and the above, with the "Codex Liturgicus" of Asseman, Euse- bius Renaudot's " Liturgiarum Orientalium Col- lectio," and Le Brun's " Explication de la Messe," will be found, perhaps, the best helps. The latter I have likewise referred to continually, without noting page or paragraph. Besides these, I have had at my right hand the works of Chrysostom, and Beveridge's Synodicon, Cotelerius's edition of the Patres Apostolici, and the Thesaurus of Suicer. i The edition I have used is look to. When I do refer to the Venetian one of 1730, the Renaudotius, it is to the Fans pages of which are different edit. 1710. 2 vols. 4to. from any I have chanced to xii ^Srefam I need hardly acknowledge the great assistance re- ceived from all of them. Appertaining to the Romish Church, I have used such Avorks as I had at hand. The " Missale Ro- manum," and the "Breviarium V as a matter of course; besides these, Gavanti's " Thesaurus Sacrorum Ritu- um," &c. — commentaries, that is, on the Missal and the Breviary, — together with the "Cseremoniale Epis- coporum," the "Rituale Romanum Paul. V. Pont. Max. jussu editum," and the "OrdoMissas celebrandi juxta Miss. Rom." Whatever also their worth may be. Ritu- alists must necessarily consult Durandus' andDurantus. If I accidentally quote them, the editions I use are the following — Durand. Rationale Div. OiF. Lugduni, 1612. Durantus de Ritibus Ecclesise Catholicse. Colon. Agrippinse, ] 592. For Zacaria, Bona, Hosj^inian, and Amalarius, I am indebted to others. Whereto if any object, let me answer with Archbishop Laud, when it was objected to him, that a Missal and dwers other books belongi7ig to the Roman Liturcjy were found in his study. " My Lord, 'tis true I had many, but I had more of the Greek Liturgies than the Roman : ^ See Glitch's Collectanea ^ See what Archbishop Laud Curiosa, vol. ii. p. 165, for says of him. " They shall do all the names of " Books, Vest- well to ask their own bishops ments, and Church Utensils in what acquaintance they have use in the Church of England with Durand ? For as for my- before the Reformation." The self, I was so poorly satisfied documents referred to are by with the first leaf I read in J. Lewis, minister of Margate. him, that I never meddled with There is also a Paper in Peck's him since." History of Trou- " Desiderata Curiosa," book vi. bles, &c. p. 116. ed. 1695, pp. 30—40, which should be folio. He is only referred to looked to for Canonical Hours, as a testimony for uses in his &c., together with the Place day. and Time for the Litany. prefare. xiii and I had as many of both as I could get. And I would know how we shall answer their errors if we may not have their books ? I had Liturgies all I could get, both ancient and modern. I had also the Alcoran in divers copies; if this be an argu- ment, why do they not accuse me to be a Turk "" ? " Of books nearer at hand, I have carefully read and consulted Gibson's Codex, Lyndwood's Provinciale, Hooker, L' Estrange, Sparrow, Comber, Cave's Pri- mitive Christianity, Apostolici, Ecclesiastici, and Historia Literaria, &c., Brett, Johnson, Hickes, Nicholls, with the "Additional Notes," together with his " Defence of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England," Wheatly ", &c. &c. From more recent books, likewise, I have received assist- ance, such as are Bulley's " Variations of the Com- munion and Baptismal Offices," Reeling's " Liturgise Britannicse," Fallow's " Baptismal Office Illustrated," Maskell " on the Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England °," &c. &c. And last, but not least, all of ™ Troubles and Tryal, &c. ed all along with new observa- p. 314, ed. folio. tions." " It should be remarked, in » The expressions, " Salis- passing, that almost all Ritual- bury Use, Hereford Use, the ists follow one another almost in Uses of Bangor, of York, and the same words; but this is of Lincoln," (see Prayer Book most to be noted in Wheatly, Concerning the Service of the who cannot be quoted as an Church,) are, perhaps, expres- authority (useful as his book is) sions not so altogether forgotten without great danger. How- as the last writer supposes, ever, his warning in the title- I should remark, that I have page is a sort of direction-post, only seen the " Fasciculus Pri- " The substance of every thing mus" of the " Ecclesiae Angli- Liturgical, &c. collected and canae Officia Antiqua." The reduced into one continued and following title is " Portiforii regular method, and interspers- seu Breviarii Sarisburiensis With reference to the many authorities which have been either quoted or referred to in these pages, a word or two should be said, after I have, first of all, observed, that the text, without the notes, is a Manual for all readers, and shall be reduced in size, and printed in a cheap and separate form, if found to be of use. But as respects authorities ^ Whoever shall wish to be thoroughly acquainted with the usage of the Church must be well read in Bingham, and Martene, "De Antiquis Ecclesia? Ritibus." These I have constantly used, and generally without reference. Indeed, every reference specially made is for a special reason, and to enable others to look to par- ticular points. Next, I would recommend Mura- tori's " Liturgia Romana Vetus," containing the Sa- cramentaries so often referred to in these pages, namely, the Leonine, that of Gelasius, and that of Gregory; the Missale Gothicum, Francorum et Gallicanum Vetus, together with the Sacramen- tarium Gallicanum, and the Duo antiqui Libri Ri- tuales S. Rom. Ecclesise, that is, the Ordo Romanus, first and second, with the Preface and Notes of Mabillon and Muratori '\ This is almost indispensa- ble for those who would pursue, more particularly, s In speaking of authorities, tells us that he went to Oxford I beg to speak, as a retired once a year for the use of country priest, daily occupied libraries. Beatus ille ! See p. in an extensive parish, and with 36, ed. Burton, but some few books ; possibly, ^ Prefixed to vol. i. is Mu- however, neither ill-selected ratori's '* De Rebus Liturg. nor altogether conniion-i)lace. Dissertatio." Venetiis, 1748. Nelson, in his Life of Bp. Bull, preface* xi our Collects to their original sources, and is con- stantly referred to by Mr. Palmer in his Origines Liturgicse, a work which should be in the hands of all those who are preparing for Holy Orders, together with Comber's " Scholastical History of the Primitive and General Use of Liturgies, and Stated Forms of Public and Common Prayer." His Com- panion to the Temple is also a most excellent work, and, from a very careful examination of it, I can state that his acquaintance with the Liturgies of the Greek Church is extensive and correct. But, of course, no one can speak on such a subject without having Gear's Euchologion ' at his fingers' ends, to which should be added Dr. Covel's " Account of the present Greek Church," and its " Rites and Cere- monies," by King, the one published in \7'2'2, the other in 1772. An acquaintance with the Greek Liturgies is indispensably necessary for those who search for the originals of the West, and the above, with the "Codex Liturgicus" of Asseman, Euse- bius Renaudot's " Liturgiarum Orientalium Col- lectio," and Le Brun's " Explication de la Messe," will be found, perhaps, the best helps. The latter I have likewise referred to continually, without noting page or paragraph. Besides these, I have had at my right hand the works of Chrysostom, and Beveridge's Synodicon, Cotelerius's edition of the Patres Apostolici, and the Thesaurus of Suicer. i The edition I have used is look to. When I do refer to the Venetian one of 1730, the Renaudotius, it is to the Pans pages of which are different edit. 1716. 2 vols. 4to. from any I have chanced to xii ^Srefare. I need hardly acknowledge the great assistance re- ceived from all of them. Appertaining to the Romish Church, I have used such works as I had at hand. The " Missale Ro- manum," and the "Breviarium V as a matter of course; besides these, Gavanti's " Thesaurus Sacrorum Ritu- um," &c. — commentaries, that is, on the Missal and the Breviarj, — together with the "Cseremoniale Epis- coporum," the "Rituale Romanum Paul. V. Pont. Max. jussu editum," and the "OrdoMissas celebrandi juxta Miss. Rom." Whatever also their worth may be. Ritu- alists must necessarily consult Durandus ' and Durantus. If I accidentally quote them, the editions I use are the following — Durand. Rationale Div. Off. Lugduni, 161*2. Durantus de Ritibus Ecclesioe Catholicse. Colon. Agrippinse, 1 592. For Zacaria, Bona, Hospinian, and Amalarius, I am indebted to others. Whereto if any object, let me answer with Archbishop Laud, when it was objected to him, that a Missal and divers other books belongi7ig to the Roman Liturgy were found in his study. " My Lord, 'tis true I had many, but I had more of the Greek Liturgies than the Roman : ^ See Glitch's Collectanea ^ See what Arclibishop Laud Curiosa, vol. ii. p. 165, for says of him. " They shall do all the names of " Books, Vest- well to ask their own bishops ments, and Church Utensils in what acquaintance they have use in the Church of England with Durand ? For as for my- before the Reformation." The self, I was so poorly satisfied documents referred to are by with the first leaf I read in J. Lewis, minister of Margate. him, that I never meddled with There is also a Paper in Peck's him since." History of Trou- " Desiderata Curiosa," book vi. bles, &c. p. 116. ed. 1695, pp. 30—40, which should be folio. He is only referred to looked to for Canonical Hours, as a testimony for uses in his &c., together with the Place day. and Time for the Litany. ^Srefare. xiii and I had as many of both as I could get. And I would know how we shall answer their errors if we may not have their books ? I had Liturgies all I could get, both ancient and modern. I had also the Alcoran in divers copies; if this be an argu- ment, why do they not accuse me to be a Turk "" ? " Of books nearer at hand, I have carefully read and consulted Gibson's Codex, Lyndwood's Provinciale, Hooker, L' Estrange, Sparrow, Comber, Cave's Pri- mitive Christianity, Apostolici, Ecclesiastici, and Historia Literaria, &c., Brett, Johnson, Hickes, Nicholls, with the "Additional Notes," together with his " Defence of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England," Wheatly ", &c. &c. From more recent books, likewise, I have received assist- ance, such as are Bulley's " Variations of the Com- munion and Baptismal Offices," Keeling's " Liturgiae Britannicae," Fallow's " Baptismal Office Illustrated," Maskell "on the Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England °," &c. &c. And last, but not least, all of ^ Troubles and Tryal, &c. ed all along with new observa- p. 314, ed. folio. tions." " It should be remarked, in « The expressions, " Salis- passing, that almost all Ritual- bury Use, Hereford Use, the ists follow one another almost in Uses of Bangor, of York, and the same words; but this is of Lincoln," (see Prayer Book most to be noted in Wheatly, Concerning the Service of the who cannot be quoted as an Church,) are, perhaps, expres- authority (useful as his book is) sions not so altogether forgotten without great danger. How- as the last writer supposes, ever, his warning in the title- I should remark, that I have page is a sort of direction-post, only seen the '' Fasciculus Pri- " The substance of every thing mus" of the " Ecclesiae Angli- Liturgical, &c. collected and canse Officia Antiqua." The reduced into one continued and following title is " Portiforii regular method, and interspers- seu Breviarii Sarisburiensis xiv ^Srefare^ us must be indebted to the labours of Dr. Cardwell. His " Documentary Annals of the Reformed Church of England," the " History of Conferences of the Book of Common Prayer," the " Synodalia, i. e. Col- lection of Articles of Religion," &c. are of the greatest value, as is likewise the Republication of the two Books of Edward I. I cannot do better than conclude this list of my obligations with the passage following, from the Preface of the last- mentioned publication : " There have always been, and probably will always continue, two opposite parties, who, though devotedly attached to the doc- trines of the Church, have sought for a new revision of the Liturgy; the one, as was the case at the beginning of the last century, desiring that the prayers of consecration and oblation should be re- stored, and the words ' militant here on earth' should be expunged ; the other complaining that the rights of conscience and of Christian liberty were invaded, and the means of religious usefulness curtailed. Happy is it for the Church that there has always been between these two opposite parties a much larger body of worshippers, who have used their Book of Common Prayer with undisturbed devotion, offer- ing thanks to God continually for His unspeakable gift^" annotatione perpetua illustrati, together with the Supplement, et cum Breviariis Eboracensi, ought not to be left unmention- Herefordiensi, et Romano com- ed ; nor yet the Lexicons of parati Fasciculus Primus," &c. Hoffman and Matthias Mar- Leslie, 1843. tinius. The great use to be derived ? See Preface, p. xxxv. from the pages of Du Cange, preface* xv One more observation I could wisli to make, which is rather appertaining to the dead tlian the living ; but there are many who will concur with it. It was the late Bishop Lloyd, of Oxford, who gave earnestness to the examination of the Prayer Book, as it was the late Bishop Butler, of Shrewsbury, who first gave that tone of earnestness which was followed up by Dr. Arnold, and is now the cha- racteristic of our Public Schools. Here, then, let me say, that the whole of the benefit to be derived from these pages (if any, as I hope there may be much,) is to be referred to the direction of that lamented Professor of Divinity, worthily succeeded by the no less to be lamented Dr. E. Burton. To say the truth, (as referred to in a subsequent note,) I have for many years followed Bp. Lloyd's direc- tions, and the course my Liturgical studies have taken has been much the same as Mr. Palmer's, in his Origines Liturgicse ; and it is satisfactory to add, that all the information I have been enabled to draw together is but an accumulated proof of the accuracy of that book, which 1 have just above re- commended. I may add, that my residence in Copenhagen, as Chaplain to the British Embassy, enabled me to examine the Lutheran books, whether in German, Danish, Swedish, or Icelandic ; but in none of them did I find any thing which came nigh to the Teaching contained in our own Book of Com- mon Prayer. I would conclude these Prefatory Remarks in the xvi prefare. words of Hooker. " Virtue and godliness of life are required at the hands of the Minister of God, not only in that he is to teach and to instruct the people, who for the most part are rather led away by ill example, than directed aright by the whole- some instruction of them, whose life swerveth from the rule of their own doctrine ; but also much more in regard of this other part of his function ; whether we respect the weakness of the people, apt to loath and abhor the sanctuary, when they which perform the service thereof are such as the sons of Eli were, or else consider the inclination of God Himself, who requireth the lifting up of pure hands in prayer, and hath given the words plainly to understand, that the wicked, although they cry, shall not be heard. They are no fit supplicants to seek His mercy in behalf of others, whose own unrepented sins provoke His just indignation. Let Thy Priests, therefore, O Lord, be evermore clothed with righteous- ness, that Thy Saints may thereby with more devotion rejoice and sing''." Vicarage House, West Tarring, January i2th, 1845. *• Hooker, Eccles. Pol. v. xxv. § 4. " I could retort many things, could 1 think it fit to put half so much gall into my ink, as hath made theirs black. In the mean time, I would have them remember, that we live in a Church Reformed ; not in one made neic. Now all Reformation, that is good and orderly, takes away nothing from the old, but that which is faulty and erroneous. If any thing be good, it leaves that standing. So that if these changes from the Book of England be good, 'tis no matter whence they be taken. For every line in the Mass Book, or other Popish Rituals, are not all evil and corruptions. There are many good prayers in them; nor is any thing evil in them, only because 'tis there. Nay, the less alteration is made in the Public ancient Service of the Church, the better it is ; provided that nothing superstitious or evil in itself be admitted or retained." — The History of Troubles and Trial of Willm. Laud, Ld. Archbp. of Cant. p. 113. "The mother Churches or Cathedrals, being precedents to all inferior Churches pertaining to them, do by their example of daily Prayer, and a free access at all convenient times of the day granted for men to pray to God their private particular prayers, not only approve but commend too, and invite her daughter Churches to the like most godly practice. All Eastern as well as Western Churches, out of the precmcts of the Reformation (hei'ein very unhappy) set us the like example ; and all Churches at first, by great prudence and piety of the founders and promoters, were then placed, where they might be most convenient for the parish to resort to at all times : and also to the best advantage of roads, that so travellers passing by might have an opportunity to enter them, and do the devotion to God. But now (a thing to be lamented) such a godly custom would be censured for superstition ; as the Devil, and the enemies of God never want words to traduce, when they want reason to disprove what is good and commendable; and being born to an error, have a certain hoiTor of leaving it, though no reason can possibly be picked up to retain it."— Matthew Scrivener's Course of Divmity, part ii. c. ix. p. 408. § 1. foho 1674. " Of all the helps for due performance of this Service, the greatest is that very set and standing order itself, which, framed with common advice, hath both for matter and form prescribed whatsoever is herein publicly done. No doubt from God it hath proceeded, and by us it must be acknowledged a work of his singular care and providence, that the Church hath evermore held a prescript form of Common Prayer, although not in all things every where the same, yet for the most part retaining still the same analogy. So that if the liturgies of all 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 thoroughly settled, did never use to be voluntary dictates proceeding from any man's extemporal wit."— Hooker's Eccles. Pol. book v. xxv. § 4. CONTENTS. Part I. PAGE Morning and Evening Prayer 3 Part II. Cotnmuuion, Baptismal, and other Services 47 The Communion Service 55 Baptismal Service 82 Part III. The Church Catechism J 15 Confirmation 121 The Form of Solemnization of Holy Matrimony 130 Part IV. Visitation of the Sick 143 The Communion of the Sick 157 The Burial of the Dead 159 Part V. The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth, commonly called The Churching of Women 185 A Commination, &c 196 Conclusion 213 ** ILet all tijings fie tione ttereiitlg anti in ortier." PART I. BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. THE ORDER FOR THE ;j¥lornutg anJj ®btnmg: prapei% " The Lord of his mercy grant that we may be as well inwardly as out- wardly conformable to the good orders which our religious ancestors have prescribed ! " — Jackson's Works, vol. i. p. 998. UdXiv 7r\r]TT(i)i' tovq siKr] (iovXofJisvovQ aaxtll^ovtiv, Kai fiaviag So^av \afi(idveiv, Km rrjv o'lKtiav fjn) (pvXaTTovTag rdt,iv' ovSev yap ovtwq oiKodojjiti, (jjg tvTat,ia, cjg dprjvr], ojq dycnrr], looTTsp ovv kciI rd tvavria diaXvti' ovK Iv toXq TrvtVfiaTiKolQ Se fiovov, dWd Kai kv rolg dWoig airaai TovTo Uoi Tig dv. — Chi'ysost. in Epist. i. ad Cor. Horn, xxxvii. ndv fiiv yap d,Ti irtp dv ro^swc: Koi voj-iov ijersxoi^ iv ttoKh yiyvrjTai, TrdvTa dyaOd dyrepydKfTai, twv de drdKrcov i) tujv KaKwg TrpaxO^vrujv Xvet rd TToXXd Ta)V ev Tirayiikviov dWa erepa. — Platonis N6/ioi, lib. vi. p. 780. e. " The English Prayer Book was not composed in a few years, nor by a few men ; it has descended to us with the improvements and approbation of many centuries ; and they who truly feel the calm and sublime elevation of our hymns and prayers, participate in the spirit of primitive devotion. The great majority of our formularies are actually translated from Latin and Greek rituals, which have been used for at least fourteen or fifteen hundred years in the Christian Church ; and there is scarcely a portion of our Prayer Book which cannot in some way be traced to ancient offices." — W. Palmer's Preface to Origines Liturgicee. Pref. p. ii. " The Kubricks of it were written in the blood of some of the Compilers, men famous in their generations : whose reputation and glory of martyrdom hath made it immodest for the best of men to compare themselves with them."— Jer. Taylor. 1 Corinthians xiv. 40. Let all things be done decently and in order." T^HE Apostle St. Paul, in the fulfilment of his duty, had to censure all sorts of irreverence, together with many and manifold breaches of Eccle- siastical propriety in the Corinthian Church, — as any one may see for himself who takes the pains to read the Epistle, or even the very chapter, from whence the text is taken. But a few verses above he had told them, in opposition to their indecent deport- ment, " God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches of the Saints" (v. 33) ; and here, in the text, by way of summing up, he adds, " Let all things be done decently and in order." In other words : " Let all things be done according to the custom of the Church, which is the rule of decency; and according to the orders and directions which now, and at other times, have been, or shall be, given you by me." (Hammond's Par. in loc.) And B 2 4 iHonuus anlr well is it, Christian Brethren, to draw nigh the Sanc- tuary, — the House of Prayer, — the Sacraments, — and sacramental things, with that propriety (ivayr^iiovtjjQ) which befitteth Christians, and with that order (Kara Tciltv) whicli is essentially theirs who are sub- missive in the fear of God (Eph. y. 2 J, vTroTaaao- f.ievoi) : for to such might an Apostle say, " Though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your orde?^ (vjuhjv tyiv ra^iv), and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ." To which, henceforth and for ever, should be added, by way of exhortation, " As ye have therefore re- ceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." (Col. ii. 5 — 7.) Look, Christian Brethren, to the whole teaching of the Bible, from the Book of Genesis to the sum- ming up of Scripture in the Revelation of St. John the Divine, and you will find that every thing is in 07'der, and according to God's order. Times and seasons were appointed unto Abraham, the father of the faithful, and they came. The law was given by Moses, as God commanded, and it abided its ap- pointed time, and then, though a tittle of it shall never fail, in one sense it was no more. Again, such was His order, who is the God of order ; " the pro- phets and the law prophesied until John," (Matt. xi. 13,) and then "the vision and prophecy" (Dan. ix. 24) was sealed up. Last of all, in due time, and after the order of the Almighty's predestination, Jesus Christ was born into the world,- — the eternal and everlasting Son of the Father was made man, — " the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," (Rev. xiii. 8,) made an end of sins, finished the trans- gression, made reconciliation for iniquity, brought in everlasting righteousness. " The Revelation," ob- serve, " of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to «// nations for the obedience of faith;" — (Rom.xvi. 25, 26;) even the acknowledgement of this mys- tery, nothing less than the salvation of mankind by " God manifest in the flesh," was all in due order. A time, times, and a half time ; — a period, a month, a day; — whatever God appoints, even to an hour or a minute, comes to pass exactly, and teaches us the same truth, that that is an order observed in His determinate foreknowledge, who made the worlds, and that that order is an ensample unto the crea- ture. Nothing truer than what that ancient Father, St. Chrysostom, says on this text, " Nothing doth so build u]), as good order, as peace, as love ; even as their contraries tend to pull down." Having thus given the sense of the text, and referred you to the context, I now purpose so to apply it, as that, under God's blessing, it may turn, amongst willing-hearted ones at least, to Parochial improvement. And, be assured. Christian Brethren, that when men "hear the Church," (Matt, xviii. 17,) and when, in our parishes, in accordance with her ministrations, all things are done " decently and in order," then, the continual dew of God's blessing is not wantinof, and we advance towards the fulness of Christian manhood; in a word, we "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;" (2 Pet. iii. 18;) and it scarce needs to say that the means of gi-ace rightly employed, end, full sure, in glory. On the other hand, when you 6 iMormug anli find a people careless, indifferent, and secure; when holy persons, holy things, holy actions, holy ministra- tions, are disregarded and thought light on ; when reference towards the Sanctuary is forgotten, and the life-giving Sacraments are slighted, then it is ill with that people, — they are of the earth earthy, and know nought of the glory that is to be revealed. Understand it as ye will, the saying is fraught with meaning, He that neglects to hear the Church is even as " an heathen man and a publican." (Matt. ut supra.) In the first place, Prayer, and Praise, and Thanks- giving, being as necessary to the support of our spiritual life, as the daily bread which we eat is to the support of our natural, I will speak to you a word on the " Order for Morning and Evening Prayer," prepared to our hands and consigned to our care in that all but perfect " Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, accord- ing to the use of the united Church of England and Ireland;" — a Book, second only for its faithfulness and truth to that Book of Books, CI)t 33ltllt, from whence, through the Ancient Liturgies of the Church, its contents are dmwn. To this Book, Christian Brethren, ever give heed. It is pure, it is affectionate, it is consolatory; it comprehends all that is included in the words holy, religious, pious, devout; it is easy to be understood; it is clean and contrary to the world; each and every phrase points heavenwards; its form of words is sound and with- out alloy: moreover, the prayers are neither too long nor too short; and to sum up all, in a few words, God is acknowledged as our refuge and strength; the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and the Helper of our infirmities, empowered to give to those that ask, as they ought, a oight judgment in all things; and that we may faithfully ask and effectu- ally receive, each Prayer is tendered through the only Mediator revealed unto man, through and for Jesus Christ's sake, our Blessed Lord and Saviour. But this by the way, and as a testimony of love unfeigned. Let me now return to its contents. And here observe how it still points to the Bible, as John Baptist did to Christ. The first words are Sentences of the Scriptures. Where else should he go but to that deep well, who would take with him words, and turn to the Lord, and plead to be received graciously? (See Hos. xiv. 2.) Verily, of these verses might it be most appropriately said, " The preacher sought to find out acceptable words : and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one Shepherd:" — (Eccles. xii. 10, 11.) God, that is, in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, and beseeching the creature not to do despite to the Holy Spirit! Let any one look to these Sentences, and apply them to his heart, and he will find that they contain that which is so much needed of us all, — comfort for the sorrowful penitent, a full assurance of God's mercy, caution and admonition combined with in- struction in righteousness. And to what can the attention be better directed than to points like to these? Certainly we may apply the Apostle's words and say, " Meditate upon these things," ( 1 Tim. iv. 15,) good Christian people, draw nigh in good time, that within the Church's walls ye may fulfil her intent in these Prefatory Sentences, and lift up your 8 iMorntng anli hearts unto the Lord. In this is decency, and in this is order ; for the son of Sirach said well, " Be- fore thou pravest, prepare thyself; and be not as one that tempteth the Lord." (Ecclus. xviii. 23.) We read in a well-known Ritualist, "The Jews are taught when they enter their synagogue, to stand silently awhile in the posture of prayer, before they begin their devotion; and one of their masters told his scholars, this was the way to obtain eternal life." (Comber, in loc.) To receive the truth as it is in Jesus, we must, beyond doubt, be ever in the spirit of supplications, and pray without ceasing ; and so far the saying of that ancient Jew was right. At all events, that we may be more fit to pray, these Sentences, with the Exhortation following, contain the best advice. Moreover, as I said, the words are plain, — "double," so to say, "the one against the other." (Ecclus. xlii. 24.) For example, "The Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknow- ledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness, and that we should not dissemble nor cloke them:" where, if one were in doubt about the sense of " acknowledge,'' it is explained by " confess ;" and if the unlearned hearer understood not the sense of " dissemble,'' it is interpreted by " cloke," according to that Scripture which saith, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Prov. xxviii. 13.) Next, our Confession is to be with an " humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart;" four words in succession, each enlarging or enforcing the sense of the other. After which we are told, that although it is a Christian duty " at all times humbly to ac- knowledge our sins before God, yet ought we most chiefs/ so to do, when we assemble and meet to- gether," (the second word still explaining the first,) for that very thing. So that you see in the Church Service, when all is done " decently and in order," men, after God's word, are exhorted to Confession, and, in that "general Confession, to be said of the whole Congregation, after the Minister, all kneeling," (the safest posture for a Christian soldier,) we give utterance to that sad truth that we have " erred and strayed like lost sheep," that " we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts," that " w^e have offended against" God's "holy laws." The consequences of sin original, bursting out into actual transgression, are, that there is "no health in us," that the great Physician of souls can alone heal us, and therefore the penitent in his Confession turns unto Him in whom alone are all his "fresh springs;" — to the promises of God, "declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord;" — and his suppli- cation is, that, for His sake, he may " hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life," to the glory of God the Father ! So true is it that in Him alone, whether in our natural or our spiritual state, "we live, and move, and have our being ;" that " all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do pro- ceed " from that unfathomed Fountain of all good- ness ! The best that a miserable sinner can say is, with David, " I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost: O seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments." (See Psalm cxix. 176.) And here. Christian Brethren, bear in mind that without Confession all religious service is imperfect ; yea, rather, it is no service at all, but self-delusion and a snare to souls. He that seeks peace, and whilst his hand is employed on his earthly calling has the eye turned heavenwards ; " whereinsoever he 10 iHoniing antr shall perceive himself to have offended, either by will, word, or deed, must there bewail his own sin- fulness, and confess himself to Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life." Such is the teaching of the Church, as in the Communion Office specially set forth ; and this because God is the person injured, and sin the prevarication of His laws, and it is His to pardon, even as it is His to punish. Other Confes- sion than this is not of absolute necessity, but con- ceded rather to mortal weakness by a dispensation of mercy. And then, for what has been called " Auricular Confession," it is nothing less, as one says^ but the " public, or repentance Ecclesiastical reduced to ashes. It is the relic of that excellent discipline, which was in some cases necessary, and in very many cases useful, until, by the dissolution of manners, and the extinction of charity, it became insufferable, and a bigger scandal than those which it intended to remedy." But then, as every one knows who has really felt the weight of sin, and the leaden burden of a wasted conscience, the spirits rise as faults are confessed " one to another" (James v. 16); and hence, "confession to a priest," — as the same worthy says, — " the minister of pardon and reconciliation, the curate of souls, and the guide of conscience, is of so great use and benefit to all that are heavy laden with their sins, that they who care- lessly and causelessly neglect it, are neither lovers of the peace of conscience, nor are careful for the advantages of souls." The General Confession ended, the Absolution or Remission of sins is then to be pronounced by the ^ See Jeremy Taylor's Works, vol. ix. pp. 249, 250, ed. Heber. 8vo. ©betting: draper. 1 1 priest; and it is declared, in words of comfort, that the God of the spirits of all flesh " desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live;" moreover, that He hath given "power and commandment to his ministers" (O, miracle of Divine mercy!) to pronounce words such as these in the ears of the Congregation, " He pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe His holy Gospel." The form of Absolution here is declaratory, that in the Com- munion Service petitionary, the third and last form, in the Order for the Visitation of the Sick, judiciary. The sum and substance of them all is, as I said, a dispensation of mercy to sorrow-stricken sinners; the simple fact, that " our Lord Jesus Christ hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in Him." Even as He said to his downcast disciples, after He had risen from the dead, " Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this. He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John xx. 21— -23.) It is not necessary for us. Christian Brethren, to inquire too narrowly into the powers of Absolution, any more than it is to attempt to fathom the Almighty's predestination. The rather, like the simple-hearted ones of Antioch, when they received the Apostle's letters, we too should rejoice "for the consolation" (Acts xv. 31); for surely thus on earth to be certified of the forgiveness of sins, is a doctrine "full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in them- 12 ilflormng auli selves the working- of the Spirit of Christ, mortify- ing the works of the flesh, and their earthly mem- bers, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love toward God." (Art. xvii.) And if it do so work on godly persons to be thus assured, what must be the blessedness of it to broken and contrite hearts, — to sinners saved, — brands plucked out of the lire, — to such as were the malefactor on the cross, or Manasseh, — to the spurned Magdalens of the world, or Prodigals that have come to themselves, and to a sense of their sad estate ? What else. Christian brethren, but, as it were, life from the dead ? Now, such as shall see that "all things be done decently and in order," will never fail to enter the Courts of the Lord's House in good time to make their Confession, lest, unshrived, they lose somewhat in the Absolution. Our forefathers thought much of this ; and there are elders amongst us still who stand fast, and hold to the traditions they have been taught. (2 Thess. ii. 15.) And even should they gain no more, their souls prosper, because they are unwilling to disturb their brethren assembled in the House of Prayer. The heart thus prepared, we are admitted to the great and solemn privilege of Prayer itself. The Minister kneels, and the people are commanded to do likewise, and they are to repeat after him that Prayer of Prayers, which is the Lord's Prayer. For with what should we commence but this ? With what rather than with that Prayer which flowed from His lips who had the words of eternal life ? Truly there is none like it; and He that ado})ted it from the for- (©fatnmcr Praiw. 13 mularies of the Jew, that had been tauglit of God, stamped it as Christian. And what can be said of it more than this — "The comprehensiveness of it is the admiration of the wisest, the plainness suiting still the meanest capacity ; for it is so clear that all may understand it ; so short that any may learn it ; so full, as to take in all our wants ; and so exact, as to show^ us what we should be, as well as what we should ask, and is the epitome of the Gospel." And let none think that the Church prescribes its use too often. No words so acceptable to our Father which is in heaven as those of the everlasting Son, the Only Begotten and Beloved, our Lord and Saviour''. This Prayer prayed, priest and people acknowledge the sacred truth, that it is God alone that can untie the tongue of an otherwise dumb sinner ; and this is done in that verse of Holy David's, " Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall show thy praise;" (Ps. li. 15;) after the fashion of the early Christians, who were used to sing by turns, and to answer one another, thus engaging the attention and quickening each other's devotion. " And because without God's grace we can do nothing, and because ^Comber. It is observable that Lectiones. Of the same mind in the Order for the Morning and are Beza, Grotiiis, and most the Evening Prayer, we have, learned men. Probably enough, and have not, the Doxology al- for the Greek Church ever had ternately. The following extract it in its Liturgies, as is evident is from L'Estrange : — " This from Clemens his Constitutions, Doxology, not being affixed to lib. iii. c. 18, from Chrysos- the Lord's Prayer, as St. Luke tom, Theophylact, and others, represents it to us, and being who comment upon it. And omitted in very ancient MSS. of the Latin Church as constantly St. Matthew's Gospel, learned omitted it, which is the very men conjecture, a Grcecis ad true reason why it is left out Evangelii textum ascriptum in ours, complying more with fuisse ex Liturgiis aut solenni the Western than the Eastern alioqui consuetudine, 8fC. So forms." Alliance of Divine Lucas Burgensis, in his Variae Offices, p. 98. 14 iWorning anir the devil is then most busy to hinder us, when we are most desirously bent to serve God""," we again take up the words of David, saying, " Haste thee, O God, to deliver me : make haste to help me, O Lord." (Ps. Ixx. 1.) Then follows, in the same manner, the Doxology — that hpnn, or " shorter Creed," in which the Christian confesses to the true faith, as he worships " one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity ;" — a form of sound words which withstood the Arian"^ shock, and in later times has kept the people from being turned out of the right way. Evermore may w^e be kept stedfast in this truth, and may our song of triumph be Hallelujah ! " Praise ye the Lord !" And let all the people answer with joy, saying, "The Lord's name be praised !" Of this be assured. Christian Brethren, that there is nothing like a continued Hallelujah — nothing so comely as praise ! Therefore, take your part in the holy work ; — make those responses or answers which the Holv Catholic Church throuofhout all the w^orld has been used to make. It is a duty, and it is a pri- vilege, and such as are well schooled in even such short petitions, have an answer ready at hand which shall bring to nought the craft and subtilty which either the devil or man may work against them. Recollect that the book we are speaking of is the Book of Common Prayer^ and that one and all are mainly concerned in its hallowed words. In propor- tion to our attention on this head will be the increase ^ Sparrow's Rationale, in loc. BulVs Sermons, p. 331 . ed. Biir- Reprint, p. 24. ton. Johnson, in his Holy David, ^ " They are much mistaken observes, that " those who dis- who think that this form was pute against it, do but give first set up in the Church of occasion to make men suspect Christ against the Arian heresy. that they are creeping down to It was in use in the Church of Socinianismby the back stairs." Christ from the beginning." Bp. Notes in Defence, p. 12. ®bntinci: i9raper. 15 of devotion amongst us ; whereas, when the peoj)le do not take their part, the consequence is what we have to lament in all our Churches, that is to say, listlessness and drowsiness, lack of sobriety and irreverence, the end of which usually is, irreligion and profaneness. Then, good Christian people, let your tongue be your " glory," while it may. Be of David's mind, and say, " O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready : I will sing and give praise with the best member that I have." (Ps. cviii. 1.) In that vision of Isaiah's, in the sixth chapter of his Prophecies, the Seraphims are represented as crying one unto another, and saying, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts : the whole earth is full of his glory." (Ch. vi. 3.) The Church is fain to set us a like example ; and this is done in the ninety- fifth or Invitatory Psalm, which comes next in order ; one, of all others, best fitted for the purpose, and as such, used from the earliest times, as is known to all such as are conversant with the ancient Lituroies. o And sure, " if glory and worship are before Him," if " power and honour are in his sanctuary," how can we better " ascribe unto the Lord the honour due to his name," (Ps. xcvi. 6, 8,) than in this Psalm ? No exhortation better than that which bids us heartily to rejoice in the strength of our salvation," which is Christ the Lord, and to " worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker," coming " before His presence with thanksgiving," and showing " our- selves glad in Him with Psalms !" And to this reading of the Psalms, all things " done decently and in order," w^e next proceed. How fre- quently and in what order they were read formerly it matters not to inquire. By the present " appointed order " they are read through in the Morning and 16 iMornins anii Evening Service once each month. And who shall tell the blessedness of their influence ? Who knoweth not how the poor man and he that is no scholar hath the " key of David " given unto him for his comfort, therewith to unlock hidden treasures the world knows nothing of ? On such low ly and humble worshippers in spirit and in truth the Son of David has mercy ; His they are, and Him they serve, and He guideth them with his eye. Though thousands fall at their right hand, no harm comes nigh their dwellings. Their service is perfect freedom; and though often- times bound and bent in body, they find that the Word of God there is not bound, but that they are translated into a glorious liberty. What says one ^ whose name will ever be had in honour ? — " What is there necessary for man to know which the Psalms are not able to teach? They are to beginners an easy and familiar introduction, a mighty augmenta- tion of all virtue and knowledge ia such as are entered before, a strong confirmation to the most perfect among others. Heroical magnanimity, ex- quisite justice, grave moderation, exact wisdom, re- pentance unfeigned, unweared patience, the mysteries of God, the sufferings of Christ, the terrors of wTath, the comforts of grace, the works of Providence over this w^orld, and the promised joys of that world which is to come, all good necessarily to be either known, or done, or had, this one celestial fountain yieldeth ; let there be any grief or disease incident to the soul of man, any wound or sickness named, for which there is not in this treasure-house a present, com- fortable remedy at all times ready to be found. Hereof it is that we covet to make the Psalms espe- * See Hooker's Eccles. Pol. book v. c. 38. (Bbmms 19rapn% 17 cially familiar to all. This is the very cause why we iterate the Psalms oftener than any other part of the Scriptures besides ; the cause wherefore we inure the people together with their minister, and not the minister alone, to read them as other parts of Scrip- ture he doth." Such are the Psalms and such their contents. And here it may be remarked, that none of old were admitted into Holy Orders who could not say them by heart ; nay more, this was what women and children could do, and the meanest me- chanic, bound down to daily moil and toil, sang them amidst his labours — thus beguiling the work of his hands, and sanctifying employment. Let us lay this to heart. Christian Brethren, and in the midst of the distresses that environ us, let us fall back on the re- citation, if not on the chanting of these holy strains, which have lightened man's sorrows from the time they were first written to this day. Like unto that blind man that sat at Jericho's gate begging, let us only cry out the more, when sore beset, " Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me !" (Luke xviii. 38.) It is the diligent study of such heavenly effnsions, backed by the help of God's Holy Spirit, that shall lead us onward, toward Horeb, the Mount of God, and make each, in his capacity, what David was, a man after God's own heart — compassed albeit with infirmities, and a man still. It remains but to add, that we are used to stand at the recitation of the Psalms, declaring that our souls, like our bodies, are lifted up unto the Lord ; and that after each we repeat the Doxology, as the Church hath done of ancient time; by which Christian conclusion, as one observes, " we do, as it were, fit this part of the Old Testament for the service of God, under the Gospel, and make them evangelical offices." (Sparrow.) c 18 iHonung anU Towards the conclusion of that most affecting and affectionate Epistle, the Second of Paul to Timothy, he thus bespeaks his dearly beloved son: " Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- tion, for instruction in righteousness : That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. iii. 14—17.) And for this they are read publicly in the ears of the congregation. Having made our Confession, — having received, if worthy, the Church's Absolution, — having prayed and sung praises, the people assembled in the house of prayer are deemed in a fitter state to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest, the ever- lasting truths which they contain. And so, in the very word of God, as written in His Holy Book, which is the Bible, the Church preaclieth, — in the first and most solemn sense of preaching; — as a wit- ness^. For "all other preaching is the effect of human skill and industry, and although of great benefit, yet it is but an ecclesiastical ordinance ; the law of God concerning preaching being expressed in the matter of reading the Scriptures, and hearing that word of God which is, and as it is, thus described." But let that pass. Any ways, as the Jews daily read the law, so are we called to read daily the ^ See Hooker's Eccles. Po- § iv. Of reading or hearing the lity, book v. c. xix., and the word of God, vol. iv. p. 203 beautiful remarks of Jer. Tay- — 207. lor, in his Holy Living, c. iv. efaeniusf prajier. 19 Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and we rightly pray God to " endue us \^'itli the grace of His Holy Spirit, to amend our lives according to His holy Word." Besides His command, it is the sum- mons of the Church, and they who act up to the obedience of the faith, doing what is decent and in order, are willing-hearted to comply. Such like- wise, looking upon what is read as a message to them from God, ex]3ecting to receive something shall not return home empty, it being "negligence and inadvertency that makes the Scripture so little understood, so hugely perverted, so speedily for- gotten, and so slowly practised." (Comber.) But, as I said, " the reading the lessons out of the Old as well as out of the New Testament, is in a punctual imitation of the ancient Church. The Commenta- ries of the Apostles, and writings of the Prophets, are read as time permits ^" saith Justin Martyr. A great divine^ has treated this point so fully and so well, that I shall transcribe his w^ords. Referring to some foreign Churches where the Scriptures were read " before the time of Divine Service, and with- out either choice or stint appointed by any deter- minate order;" he says, " With us the reading of Scripture in the Church is a part of our Church Liturgy, a special portion of the service, which we do to God, and not an exercise to spend the time, when one doth wait for another's coming, till the assembly of them that shall after- wards worship Him be complete. Wherefore, as the form of our public service is not voluntary, so '' See L'Estrange's " Alliance xx. The latter words are from of Divine Offices," p. 78, ed. Walafrid Strabo, and were folio. written about a.d. 842. They s Hooker, ut supra, cc. xix. are quoted at length by Keble. c2 20 i^flontins anU neither are the parts thereof left uncertain, but they are all set down in such order, and with such choice, as hath in the wisdom of the Church seemed best to concur, as well with the special occasions as with the general purpose which we have to glorify God." And then, by and by : " Let us here consider what the practice of our fathers before us hath been, and how far forth the same may be followed. We find that in ancient times there was publicly read, first the Scriptures, as namely, something out of the Books of the Prophets of God, which was of old; something out of the Apostles' writings ; and, lastly,, out of the holy Evangelists, some things which touched the person of our Lord Jesus Christ him- self. The cause of their reading first the Old Tes- tament, then the New, and always somewhat out of both, is most likely to have been that which Justin Martyr and St. Augustine observe in comparing the two Testaments. ' The Apostles,' saith the one, ' have taught us, as themselves did learn, first the precepts of the Law, and then the Gospels. For what else is the Law but the Gospel foreshowed? What other the Gospel than the Law fulfilled?' Li like sort the other, ' What the Old Testament hath, the very same the New containeth; but that which lieth there as under a shadow, is here brought forth into the open sun. Things there prefigured are here performed.' Again, * Li the Old Testament there is a close comprehension of the New, in the New an open discovery of the Old.' To be short, the method of their public readings either purposely did tend, or at least wise, doth fitly serve, 'That from smaller things the mind of the hearers may go forward to the knowledge of greater, and by degrees climb up from the lowest to the highest things.' " (Kbenmg draper. 21 Thus, and with like intent, read we the Scriptures publicly; and the ready and attentive listener'- is blessed everlastingly, and broken and contrite hearts are comforted. Evermore give ear to this Holy Book, Christian Brethren ! Follow Eli's bidding, and say " Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." ( 1 Sam. iii. 9.) Determine with yourselves, after those words in the Exodus, and say, fully purposed, " All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." (Exod. xix. 8.) So shall your help stand in the name of the Lord ; so shall his engrafted w^ord be efficacious to the salvation of your souls ! Neither, ye unlearned ones, be dismayed or trou- bled by difficulties. The great heads of your faith are plain and simple. And even if the way should not be plain, (as it must be acknowledged that there are places " hard to be understood,") yet the best pre- paration for further understanding is the " humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart." It is an ex- cellent saying, that, of Ben Sirach, " He that keepeth the law of the Lord, getteth the under- standing thereof; and the perfection of the fear of the Lord is wisdom." (Ecclus. xxi. 11.) And there is One, I ween, wiser than he, — One in whom were " hid all the treasures of w isdom and know- ledge," (Col. ii. 3,) — which said, " If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." (John vii. 17.) Mysteries, be sure, are revealed unto the meek, and they who, like the Virgin Mother, keep such things in their hearts, ^ " When the minister saith, attention ? God grant that I Here beginneth the Lesson ; may hear and understand, and say in your heart, God is going bring forth fruit an hundred- to speak to me ; shall I not fold." Bp. Wilson's Sermons, vouchsafe to hear Him with vol. i. p. 114. 22 iMorniug anti and are profound to meditate thereon, have wisdom which the greatest clerks attain not to ! In the concluding words of the Second Part of the Homily, " Of the Information for them which take offence at certain places of the Holy Scripture :" " God for his mercies' sake vouchsafe to purify our minds through faith in his Son Jesus Christ, and to instil the heavenly drops of his grace into our hard stony hearts, to supple the same, that we be not con- temners and deriders of his infallible word : but that with all humbleness of mind, and Christian reverence, we may endeavour ourselves to hear and to read His sacred Scrij^tures, and inwardly so to digest them, as shall be to the comfort of our souls, and sanctifica- tion of His Holy Name : to whom, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three Persons and one living God, be all laud, honour, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen." But to proceed. After the Lessons, morning and evening, w^e sing, or say, a hymn or psalm, and this also is done "decently and in order;" for at such a time the word of Christ should dwell in us richly and in all wisdom, and it is meet and right to teach and admonish " one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts unto the Lord." (Col. iii. 16.) And such a custom is none of modern date; — the custom, I mean, of singing an hymn; — but countenanced, after the Jewish Ritual, by our Lord and Saviour; for we read that after the institution of the Holy Supper, " when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives." (Matt, xxvi^ 30.) It were hardly necessary to make any marked distinction between psalm and hymn, as the both are fre- quently confounded. A psalm, however, might be considered fitter for recitation ; the liymn, for joyous acclamation and jubilee, and song of tri- umph. "Angels and the celestial quire," says an ancient Father, " send forth hymns, they sing not psalms." And another, " Let hymns be only the praises of God. Psalms contain all things both divine and moral, hymns 07ili/ the praises of God'." But, as I said, this is a matter of little import. To have mentioned it is enough. After the first morning Lesson, we have the choice of the " Te BeumJ' and the " Benedicite ;" after the second, of the " Benedidus^' or "Juhilater And again, in the Order for the Evening Service, after the first Lesson there is the Song of the "Blessed VirginMary^' and the " Cantate Domino T and after the second, the " Song of Spneon,'' and the '' Deus Miser eatur.'" Wherein, observe, that the old titles were retained, because when the Prayer Book was drawn up, the people were used to them, and caught the sound of the word even if they knew not the sense. So that the object of the compilers was to show that they had made no unnecessary change, only substituting the English Version for the Latin. You will ob- serve the same thing at the reading of all the Psalms. A word on each of these hymns and psalms in order as they come. And first, the " Te Deuni"' is a most excellent Confession (for such it is) of Faith, and was said to have been sung by St. Ambrose^ on the Baptism of St. Augustine. In the Greek Church ' The quotations are from J Jeremy Taylor's words are, St. Chrysostom and Clemens "Let the servant of God that Alexandrinus, and are given in will listen to me repeat it often L'Estrange's Alliance, &c., and often; for it is a piece of p. 211, c. vii. The Canon of devotion so sweetly spread out the Council of Laodicea, (Can. into the branches of heavenly xvii.) is quoted in p. 78. praise, confession of faith, and 24 i%lornutg anlr hymns were common from the first, but it was St. Ambrose who introduced them into the Latin Church; and hence the not uncommon titles of Ambrosian Hvmns, and Ambrosian Chants. The one before us, has been called, and is, a grand and powerful hymn, " containing all the mysteries of faith, and a most solemn form of thanksgiving, praise, adoration, and what not." (Sparrow.) The second Hymn, or Canticle, to be used after the First Lesson, is the " Benedicite^' in which the w^hole creation, as it were, travail eth together to praise the Lord. It is otherwise called, as is well kno^m, " The Song of the Three Children," and has been used at jMattins, as St. Athanasius informs us, from a very early date. It will very appropri- ately be used when the Lessons are read from the Prophet Daniel ; and the careful reader of his Bible Avill observe, that it is little else than a paraphrase on the cxlviiith Psalm, and well befits the lowly servants of their Lord. " O, ve holy and humble men of heart, bless ye the Lord : praise Him and magnify Him for ever!" After the vSecond Lesson comes the " Benedidus^'' or " Song of the Prophet Zacharias," as it has been called, because he was the first prophet of the New Testament, and this the first Evangelical hymn. And in what words could we better show our thanks for the holy Gospel read to us? Or else, if the above be not used, the hundredth Psalm is substituted. Either of them are to be looked devout petitions, that the like profusion of delight, to praise did never come forth since the God from all things that He time it was penned." Works, hath made, from the centre of vol. i. p. 130. And of the the earth to the top of heaven." Benedicite^ " It is a ditty that Ibid. is balsamed all over with a (©benms draper* 25 upon as Responsories to the Second Lesson, after that ancient and received custom of the Christian Church? by which Psalms and Lessons were appointed to be said alternately. (Palmer, in loc.) And the title of this Psalm, says one, " shows how well it fits this place, being styled a Psalm of Praise, and being composed for a form of Public Thanksgiving parti- cularly to be sung by course at the oblation of the peace-offering, it may very well be a form of praise to us Christians after we have heard the Gospel of peace." (Comber.) After the First Evening Lesson comes, first, the " Magnificat,'' or " Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary," — as it has been called, " one of the most expressive jubilations and rejoicings for the redemption of the world." And not unfitly has it held this place — as it had done in the English Church from the very earliest times ; for when, rather than after the read- ing of the Scriptures of the Old Testament, may we better join in that song, which declares the verifica- tion of types, the completion of prophecy, and the com- ing of that day, which Abraham saw in vision, (having his eyes opened to such blessedness,) so many gene- rations before, and was glad? (See John viii. ^Q.) When the above is not used, the ninety-eighth Psalm is to be substituted, as a Responsory Psalm, as before mentioned, and in accordance with that an- cient Canon — that is to say, the seventeenth Canon — of the Council of Laodicea. It has been re- marked that some part of the "Magnificat'' was taken from this Psalm ; and if so, it is but a varia- tion of the same hymn of praise, than which nothing is more seemly. After the Second Lesson, first is to be recited the " Song of Symeon,"— sung at Vespers from the 26 iilonniig: auU most ancient times, and still repeated at the "end of the Evening Prayer in the Patriarchate of Constan- tinople." Occasioned as it was by the manifestation of Christ in the flesh, through whom alone cometh our salvation, what can be better used in hymning of our Saviour's praise, than that song which rejoiced the spirit of the ancient worthy, who, although he had one foot in the grave, was empowered to pass the gate of death unscathed, as he took up the Lord's Christ in his arms, which should die for his sins, and rise again for his justification, — being the Resurrection and the Life ? Lastly, we have again the choice of a Responsory Psalm — the forty-seventh — where that "saving health, which holy Symeon saw and predicted should be a light to all nations, is desired to be accomplished in the conversion of all men." (Comber.) And well may we use it yet. Christian Brethren, for a dispen- sation is committed to us, and we have a great work in hand which has not time to come down to mere Avorldly notions, — nothing less than the Propagation of the Gospel still ! With hymns such as these does Holy Church vary the order of her official, and, as an ancient Ritualist remarks, " It hath been motive all sufficient to God's people in all ages, to frame their Divine Ser- vice so mosaic, — of so many pieces so commodiously disposed, — to rescue each other from tediousness, as, upon every transition and passage from one duty to another, the spirit may still reserve an appetite." (L' Estrange.) The Lessons and the Hymns concluded, we repeat the Apostles' Creed'', — minister and people standing ^ " The repetition of tlie " at every assembly was ap- Creed " in the primitive Church pointed in the Eastern Church ©bnti'ng: prapen 27 to that faith which the holy lessons tanght, and seal- ing it each with their Allien, This Creed, now sung or said, is called the Apostles' Creed, and it was commonly thought of old, that they each threw in their portion, and so comi)leted the whole, as a rule of faith, during the time that they tarried at Jerusa- lem, according to the Lord's command, awaiting the promise of the Father, — to wit, the descent of the Holy Spirit. It is not necessary to press this point, — suffice it to say that it is substantial!?/ the same with that delivered down from that day to this, — quoted by early Fathers, attested by the Bishops of the Church, and confessed to by Martyrs. Twice each day, at least, it has been the custom of the Church to repeat it, and by it she has taught her sons the w^ords of the everlasting Gospel. Those who could not read, and were little skilled in retaining what they heard read, — as is a commoner case even now than many imagine, — were less burdened by this form of sound words and by the Lord's Prayer, and tens of thousands have gone down to the grave, and have known no more than "/ believe,'' and " Our Father which art in heaven," and it has been well with them, and they have lived and shall live by their simple unhesitating faith. And whatever may be the increase of knowledge (for which we are to by Timothy, Archbishop of of die Eastern Churches, the Constantinople in the reign of Third Council of Toledo " or- the Emperor Anastasius, who, dered it to be repeated with a after having governed the em- loud voice every Lord's Day." pire twenty-seven years, died See Lord King's "Critical His- A.D. 521." Previous to this tory of the Apostles' Creed," it was only repeated on the day pp. 44 — 47. What is here said preceding Good Friday. " The refers to the Nicene or Constan- general and constant reading tinopolitan Creed ; but it led thereof seems not to have pre- the way to the adoption of what vailed in the West till almost is commonly called the " Apos- A.D. 590; when, in imitation ties' Creed." 28 iMormns anir be thankful), we do well to retain what Christian soldiers, in all ages of the world militant, have fled to for succour in time of need. Christian ! I bid thee hold to it still, considering what St. Paul says, " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Rom. X. 9.) Hear, too, a modern testimony to its w^orth and truth : " Reformers who have been en- gaged in conflict with all the prevailing systems of their age, have gone back to this old form of words, and have said that they lived to reassert the truths which they embodied. Men on sick beds, martyrs at the stake, have said that because they held it fast, they could look death in the face. And, to sink much lower, yet to say what may strike many as far more wonderful, there are many in this day, who, having asked the different philosophers of their own and of times past, what they could do in helping them to understand the world, to fight against its evils, to love their fellow-men, are ready to declare that in this child's Creed they have found the secret which these philosophers could not give them, and which, by God's grace, they shall not take away from them'." Two other Creeds the Church uses in her services, which may as well be mentioned at once, and it is to be borne in mind that she required of old, as now, the recitation of the Creed at the first initiation into ^ See " The Kingdom of my faith,' at the end of the Christ," &:c., by the Rev. F. D. Creed, God would most surely Maurice, vol. ii. p. 5, 2nd edit. increase his faith, and it would It is Bishop Wilson that says, become a sure shield against all " If every one would secretly the assaults of the devil." Ser- beg of God, in the words of mons, vol. i. p. 117. the Apostles, ' Lord, increase Cbenmg: ^9rapei% 29 her body " by Baptism, and a repetition of it publicly as often as the Sacrament of the Eucharist was ad- ministered'"." Of the " t\v o explications," then, as they have been called, " of the same Creed," the next in order, and of very early date in the English Churches, is that of St. Athanasius, which on certain feasts is to be used at the confession of our Christian faith, in the place of the one commonly called the Apostles' Creed. It is rather the substance of what Athanasius maintained, than the composition itself of that noble defender of the faith, who stood alone, almost, against the world, — in whom, as Hooker beautifully says, " there was nothing observed other than such as very well be- came a wise man to do, and a righteous to suifer ;" for he had taken that part " which had no friend but God and death, — the one a defender of his innocency, the other a finisher of all his troubles." However, the Creed that bears his name is probably to be attri- buted to Hilary, Archbishop of Aries, a. d. 430, and it is, as Luther called it, " the bulwark of the Apos- tles' Creed," and will withstand, till the end of time, all heresies, as it has done, whether Arian, Sabellian, Nestorian, or Eutychian, under whatever phases they may appear. " It hath been received," says one, " with great veneration, as a treasure of an inesti- mable price, both by the Greek and Latin Churches ; and therefore both for that authority, and for the tes- tification of our continuance in the same faith to this day, the Church rather uses this and the Nicene explanations, than any other gloss or paraphrase devised by ourselves ; which, though it were to the same effect, notwithstanding could not be of the same credit or authority." (Sparrow, from Hooker.) "^ See Pearson on die Creed, Art. i. vol. i. p. 25. 30 iMorumg antr The other confession to be mentioned is the Nieene Creed, — so called from its having been first framed at the great Council of Nice in Bithynia, a. d. 325, defining the Christian faith in opposition to the heresy of Arius, who denied the Divinity of Christ. From the words, " I believe in the Holy Ghost," was added at the second General Council, held at Con- stantinople in A. D. 38 1 , — hence called also the Con- stantinopolitan Creed ; and in it the heresy of Mace- donius w^as condemned, who oppugned the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. The words "Filiorjue''r or " and the Son,'" were a later addition, and are thought to have been inserted by a private hand in the fifth century, some say about a. d. 411 , — others later. They state an infallible truth, but unhappily were the cause of a great schism. However, as Hooker said of the Athanasian Creed, " Although these con- tentions were cause of much evil, yet some good the Church hath reaped by them, in that they occasioned the learned and sound in faith to explain such things as heresy went about to deprave." I will conclude these remarks with the account of the three several Creeds together, as summed up in a very useful little book. " The Apostles' Creed, being a short sum- mary, was liable to be misunderstood ; to remedy this evil was the purpose of the Nieene Creed, which is longer, and more precise. But as ignorance had misunderstood the Apostolic Creed, so perverseness misrepresented the Nieene ; many persons professed belief of it, while they really denied its most import- ant articles. To prevent this was the design of the Athanasian Creed, w^hich is drawn up with such pre- cision, that there cannot be the smallest doubt what " See Pearson on the Creed, Art. viii., note S vol. ii. p. 391. (Sbntms ^rapen 31 it means. In the Apostles' Creed the Apostolic doctrine is eayressed, in the Nicene it is explained, and in the Athanasian it is defended, that it may not be ewplained awai/T After the Creed, follow certain Versicles and Re- sponses ; and the Prayer of the Minister, " The Lord be with you," is answered to by the affectionate reply — for affectionate it is in the language of tlie Church, whatever may be the mind of individuals — "And with thy Spirit V A token of our mutual charity, and of that hearty good will which ought to exist between Priest and people, and a semblance, as it were, of that ancient kiss of peace which distin- guished Christian worshippers. Next comes that frequent Exhortation in ancient Liturgies, " Let us pray V' wherewith the attention of all is awakened to the words of what is called the Short or Lesser Litany, and in which each Person in the Holy and Undivided Trinity is appealed to for mercy. And this Litany is a fit preparation for the Lord's Prayer, which we now recite again, and can never recite too often. And here observe how ^ See x\rchdeacon Sinclair's and acceptable, may be with Questions illustrating the Ca- thy Spirit while thou art exer- techism, " The Creed," p. 13, cised in these spiritual services, 3rd edit. For the introduction which must be performed with of the Creed into the Liturgy, the Spirit, according to St. see Palmer's Origines Liturg. Paul." Sparrow's Rationale^ " It is said that Peter Fullo, p. 54. Patriarch of Antioch, was the i See Goar's Euchologion, first who inserted the Creed passim. The deacon's excla- into the Liturgy, about a. d. mation was etcTevwg ^ei^^Cjyitv, 471," &c. Vol. ii. p. 54. and kKTEvianpov. The words P " Which form is taken out following, in the Lesser Litany, of 2 Tim. iv. 22, and is as were the eKrevijg iKeala, as much as this — Thou art about Sparrow says, " a most pathetic to offer up prayers and spiritual petition of mercy to every per- sacrifices for us, therefore we son of the Blessed Trinity." pray likewise for thee, that He, p. 55. without whom nothing is good 32 ilornms anb anxious the Churcli is to impress upon us the so- lemnity of that Prayer. In the earlier part of the Morning and Evening Services, it is preceded by a Confession of our sins and Absolution, but here, as elsewhere, by this Short Litany. And thus are we taught " to bewail our unAvorthiness, and pray for mercy ; and then with an humble boldness to look up to heaven, and call God our Father, and beg further blessings of Him." (Sparrow.) The Lesser Litany and the Lord's Prayer said again, other interlocutory petitions follow, and Priest and people entreat for God's mercy and salvation on themselves and on their King — or Queen, as it may be, invested with royal authority — for peace, for clean hearts, and the help of God's Holy Spirit ; all of which single petitions, it is to be observed, are presently gathered together, and thrown into the form of continuous prayer, as in the Collects fol- lowing. As to the meaning of the Avord Collect, provided we attend to the matter, we need not much trouble ourselves. Possibly, before the Epistles and Gos- pels'^, it will take its sense from their collected con- tents ; otherwise, it " may seem to be denomi- nated from the collection and gathering together of the people into religious assemblies, among whom, so collected, these prayers were to be read." (Com- ber.) Or yet again, in such a form the Priest collects the devotions of the people, and offers them up to God. The first Collect for the day is always the same '^ " Collects are so called, of Scripture, especially from either because many petitions those appointed for the Epistles are contracted or collected into and Gospels of the days." L'Es- one body, or because they are trange, p. 83. Durandus, lib. iv. gathered from several portions De Oratione sen Collectd,c.xv. that is appointed for the Coinniimion ; and liere it may be remarked that most of the Collects are time- honoured, and of reverend antiquity, "composed or ordered either by St. Ambrose, Gelasius, or Gregory the Great, those holy Bishops and Fathers of the Church ; and therefore, having daily ascended up to heaven, like incense, from the hearts and mouths of so many saints in the ages since their times, they cannot but be very venerable, and relish well with us, unless our hearts and affections be of a contrary temper." (Sparrow.) And as Christ is the Altar on which all acceptable prayers are to be offered, each ends in making the supplication efficacious through Him, according to his own teaching : " Veri- ly, verily, I say unto you. Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name. He will give it you." (John xvi. 23.) And when this course is not followed, " it seems," says the Ritualist just quoted, " to be done to testify what the Scripture warrants, that although for more congruity we in the general course of our prayers go to the Father by the Son, yet that we may also invocate both the Son and the Holy Ghost, and that while we call upon one, we equally worshi]) and glorify all three together." (Ibid.) After the Collect for the day, follow the Collects for Peace, and for Grace to live well, which Collects (even as our necessities) never alter, but are daily to be said at Morning Prayer throughout the year. Both of these Collects are of great antiquity — the first having been used in the English Church above 1200 years, — the latter occurring in the Sacramen- taries of Gregory and Gelasius. The same may be said of the second and third Collects for the Evening Prayer — those, that is, for Peace, and for A id against all Perils. And who as he reads such Collects, is D 34 iWcirnuts antr not impressed with their necessity ? Who needs not that peace, — that " service of perfect freedom," which Christ died to purchase ? — whom to serve, as the w^ords literally signify, is to reign' ? Who, knowing the dangers that beset him, needs not to pray that by an almighty power he may be preserved ever- more, — so as that, as the day passes, he " fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger ?" Whose supplication should not be for that " peace which the world cannot give," — thereby to have a heart fully set to obey God's commandments, and, if so be, to pass the time of his sojourning here in rest and quiet- ness ? Whose darkness needs not to be lightened ? Who needs not to be defended, as well by night as by day, from all perils and dangers mortality is heir to ? Beautiful Collects these. Christian Brethren, and comforting as beautiful ! Truly, as one has re- cently said, giving judgment from Chair Episcopal, " The Liturgy is itself a most admirable applica- tion of God's W^ord to practice, instructing all who study it most richly, most clearly, most persuasively, in all the great duties of Christians'." After the three Collects here specified, " in Quires and places where they sing," foUow^s the Anthem. If there be no Anthem, or Psalmody, the Church proceeds Avith five other Prayers, except when the Litany is read ; in that case, the Prayer for the High Court of Parliament being added during the Ses- sion, the Order of the Morning Prayer is completed * " With such a Lord, to p. 260 ; and Bishop Reynolds serve, and to be free, are terms on Hosea, vol. iii. p. 315, not consistent only, but abso- Works, edit. 8vo. lutely equivalent." South'sSer- * Bishop of Exeter's Judg- raons, vol. i. p. 382. See also ment in Case of the Rev. Wal- How's Devout Meditations, § ter Blunt, Curate of Helston, viii ; Jebb's Protestant Kempis, &c. by the General Tlianksgivino-, tlie Prayer of St.Cliry- sostom, and the Blessing. When the Litany is not read, the Pi-ayers following are those inserted before the General Thanksgiving — that is to say, A Prayer for the King or Queen's Majesty ; A Prayer for the Royal Family ; A Prayer for the Clergy and People ; and A Collect or Prayer for all Conditions of Men. As regards the first, we are taught by God's Holy Word, that by Him kings reign and jDrosper; and the express exhortation by St. Paul is, " that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men ; for kings, and for all that are in authority ; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." (1 Tim. ii. 1, 2.) Accordingly we do so, inasmuch as He has commanded it, who is " higher than the kings of the earth" (Ps. Ixxxix. 28) ; " the blessed and only Po- tentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords!" (1 Tim. vi. 15.) And well may we so pray, for truer words there are none than those of Ben Sirach, "As the judge of the people is himself, so are his officers ; and what manner of man the ruler of the city is, such are all they that dwell therein. An unwise king destroyeth his people, but through the prudence of them that are in authority the city shall be in- habited." (Ecclus. X. 2, 3.) And here note, that when we pray our Sovereign may live long in " health and wealtl^ our thoughts run not barely on freedom from sickness, or worldly goods, but our supplication is, that there may be safety from all dangers, to- gether with plenty and prosperity and weal, both of body and soul". The next " Prayer for the Royal " So in the Litany, " In all 1 Cor. x. 24; and in like manner time of our wealth^'" i. e. weal, in the Second Collect in the well-doing, prosperity, as in Communion Service, "in z^;c«//A, D 2 36 iMormus anti Family" is so nearly allied to this, that, in fact, it entails the same Christian duty. And how beauti- ful is that petition, — " Endue them with thy Holy Spirit : Enrich them with thy heavenly grace : Prosper them with all happiness : and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom ; through Jesus Christ our Lord!" How deeply beholden are they to a people's hearty prayer ! In the " Prayer for the Clergy and People," those Sentences which beseech the Lord to " endue his ministers with righteousness," and to " bless his in- heritance," are embodied. And so our supplication is for Bishops and Curates " ; that is, in the old acceptation of the word, for all such as have the cure of souls committed to them, and for all congre- gations entrusted to their charge. And let us not be remiss in attending to this Prayer, but endeavour (as expressed in that for the Church militant here on earth ! ) " both by our life and doctrine to set forth God's true and lively Word, and rightly and duly administer His holy Sacraments," — entreating Him at the same time to grant unto the people of His " heavenly grace, that with meek heart and due reverence, they may hear and receive that holy peace, and godliness ;" and not of the Roman Parochi, says, much otherwise in Psalm Ixvi. (Hor. i. Sat. v. 46,) "And from 2, " and thou broughtest us the analogy of the office, our out into a wealthy place." It Parochi are styled Curati, Cu- is curious to observe how the rates ; from their making and words, ^' King of kings,'' &c. distributing provisions of a hea- are omitted in the American venly kind to the souls of their Prayer Books — as though the parishioners." p. 19, 2nd edit, name of king, as in ancient 1773. The modern sense of Rome, were not to be mentioned, the word Curate, as a suhordi- even in worship, and as the title nate, seems to have been intro- and prerogative of the Most duced in Charles II.'s time. High God ! See Dr. Cardwell's Documen- '^ Stavely, in his History of tary Annals, vol. ii. p. 271. Churches in England, speaking note. (0htnmg prapei* 37 Word, truly serving Him in holiness and righteous- ness all the days of their life ! " Supposing Parliament to be sitting, the Prayer for that " High Court" follows next, and is altogether consistent with the Christian man's notion of doing every thing " decently and in order;" even as in the old time, before the cross was set above the crown, he prayed that the heathen Emperor might have a " faithful senate." (Tertullian.) Nay, the very hea- then themselves prayed that the Councils of State might be successful; and sure the Christian should entreat the Lord that " all things may be so ordered and settled, upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established amongst us for all genera- tions !" And let him so pray in good heart; for "the devout Christian, whose fervent prayers do obtain God's blessing on their counsels, contributes as much to the common good by his petitions, as the most eminent patriot by his advice." (Comber.) Next comes that beautiful " Collect or Prayer for all Conditions of Men," composed and inserted here, at the last review (a.d. 1662)^ to fill up something that was wanting when the Litany was not read, — uni- versal supplication, that is, or intercession. And here, when amongst other petitions put up, "mc pray for the good estate of the Catholic Church," we pray for all y It has been attributed to Reynolds, at the revision of the Bishop Sanderson and Bishop Liturgy in the reign of Charles Gunning. Wheatly would seem, II. See Dr. Cardvvell's Con- with Dr. Bisse, to attribute it ferences, &c. p. 372. It has rather to the latter ; see p. 182. been commonly attributed to It is remarkable that this and Bishop Sanderson, but not with the General Thanksgiving are sufficient evidence. See Lath- not framed after any ancient bury's History of Convocation, Liturgy. The latter was most p. 248. probably composed by Bishop L 38 i^lornms ani true believers throughout all the world ; for " Catho- lic," as explained in the Litany, means Christ's ^'holy Church universal r not confined to one people, as was that of the Jews, but for the salvation of all that believe, east or west, north or south. After this, "A General Thanksgiving" is offered up by those who had previously declared their as- sembling together to be to " render thanks for the great benefits they had received at God's hands." And how excellent, how pure a form of devotion is this. Christian Brethren! How Scriptural, to bless the Lord of all lords " for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for His inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory ! " Assuredly, as we con- fess in the Communion Service, " It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God!" Lastly, comes the Prayer of St. Chrysostom, — the Prayer, at least, which appears in the Liturgy which bears his name, and one that has been very anciently read in the Greek Church. As to the several places it has held, it needs not to inquire. Enough for us that we do well to conclude with it, under the full assurance that our Saviour's word is true for evermore: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 20.) And we may rest assured " there are no clearer evidences of the presence of the Divine Spirit in our Prayers, than the sincere agreement and harmonious accord of our souls in the joint oblation of them, and the fervent (Sbening: draper* 39 affection that every one in particular hath ackled to them." (Comber.) And now, our Prayers prayed, we bow the head, and receive the Church's benediction, at the mouth of the Bishop, if present ; if not, at his mouth whom the Lord hath appointed to bless in his name, that is to say, the Minister officiating. Happy they ! on w hom " the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship'' of the Holy Ghost" abideth alway ! To the other Prayers and Thanksgivings, used as occasion calls, it will be hardly needful for me now to call your attention, but let me entreat you to make them your study, for there are none like. They are full of all that is holy, just, and good ! Whether you shall pray or return thanks for rain or fair w^eather, — in the time of dearth and famine, or for plenty, — in the time of war and tumults, or for peace and deliverance from our enemies, — for restor- ing public peace at home, — in the time of any common plague or sickness, or for deliverance from their scourge, — or whether you shall pray in the Ember Aveeks for those that are to be admitted into Holy Orders, " that both by their life and doctrine they may set forth God's glory, and set forward the salvation of all men, through Jesus Christ our Lord;" you shall find no forms to surpass them, or better fitted for those (as it is in that " Prayer to be said after any of the former'" ) who are " tied and bound with the 2 "Fellowship is the old o\d word fellowship, which the word, and more properly Eng- people had been used to in the lish, the word communion being daily service." Waterland's borrowed from the Latin. Our Works, vol. viii. p. 435. Liturgy being older than the ^ It may be noted, that this present English Translation of beautiful and doctrinal Prayer the New Testament, keeps the (for this reason so objected to 40 i¥liDrnmg anU chain of their sins." The Spirit of God rests npon them, and line upon line, precept upon precept, is for our good alway ! And thus have we considered the several Prayers. But to one point I have yet to call your attention, — that is, to the Litany, or General Supplication, — which, together with the Creed, commonly called that of St. Athanasius, follows, and completes, the Order for the Morning and Evening Prayer. Now a Litany is something earnest, — a general Prayer which implies our own utter Aveakness and inability, and consequently a resting upon God, — a saying, as it were, with strong crying and tears, " Spare thy people, O Lord!" (Joel ii. 17.) The intent of the Litany, — derived originally from the Greek Church — for the Western Church for a long time called such prayers Rogations, — was, in fact, for " the appeasing of God's wrath, and for the averting of public evils." (Hooker.) It was formerly accompanied with pro- cessions ; but as these, though good in their way, were abused to superstition and to riot, we retain them only in the Rogation week, when the people peram- bulate the bounds of their parishes, — and follow rather that ancient " Synod of Colen " (that is, Cologne, anno 1536), wherein it was judged better that " these and all other supplications or processions should be no where used but onlv within the walls of the House of God, the place sanctified unto prayer. And by us not only such inconveniences being remedied, but also whatsoever was otherwise amiss in form or matter," (the long invocation of Saints, for example, in the Romish Church,) " it now by the Puritans) is misplaced for the High Court of Parlia- in all our modern Prayer Books. ment. It should stand before the Prayer (Sbenins grayer. 4i remaineth a work, the absolute perfection whereof upbraideth with error, or somewhat worse, them whom in all parts it doth not satisfy''." Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, are the specified times for it to be read. On a Sunday most of the people are collected to hear it. The other days are the ancient Fast-days of the Primitive Church; the first, the day on which our Saviour was betrayed ; the other, the day of His Crucifixion. It was originally a dis- tinct Service, as may be seen by the old Rubric before the Commination, but was arranged to be as now, at the last Review, a.d. 1662. It may be con- sidered, as it has been, a sort of Introduction to the Communion. Would that, according to the Canon, (Canon xv.) it were more regularly read on all Wednesdays and Fridays, though they be not Holy- days! and that the desire were fulfilled which is thus expressed : " Whereunto we wish every house- holder dwelling within half a mile of the Church to come, or send one at least of his household, fit to join with the Minister in prayer." (Ibid.) With this summary account of it you may rest contented. But do, I entreat you. Christian Bre- thren, imbibe its spirit of prayer, entreating with its b See Hooker's Eccl. Pol. Palmer. Instead of Rogations, book 5, xli. 3. Spelman's the Greek name Litany pre- Gloss. in V. Litania. But par- vailed at length, so far even ticularly Palmer's Origines Li- as that it was applied to the turgicse, vol. i. p. 264, &c. very persons who joined m the L'Estrange's Alliance, &c. p. processions. For example, m 100. It would appear that the directions of Gregory the this sort of prayer may be Great, for the Sevenfold Litany, traced back in the Eastern on occasion of a great pesti- Church to the third century; lence, " the Litany of Clergy but there are no notices of it in are mentioned. This was the the Western Church till the origin o( the Litaiiia Septena, or fifth. The petitions as they Litania Major in the Roman stand are nearly all ancient, as Church. Palmer, ut supra, may be seen in Mabillon and p. 271. 42 iHorning aitU earnestness, — whether you look to the Invocation, the Deprecations, the Intercessions, or the Supplications. For such, observe, is the order of the Litany. First, each Person in the Holy and undivided Trinity is in- voked separately, and then we testify our unbroken faith in that everlasting truth, that these three Persons are one God, whose mercy is towards miserable sinners. Next, " it proceeds to Deprecations, or Prayers against evil; then to Petitions for good. In the Depreca- tions, as right method requires, w^e first pray against sin, then against punishment; because sin is the greatest evil. From all which we pray to be de- livered by the holy actions and passions of Christ, the only merits of all our good. The like order is observed in our Petitions for good. First, we pray for the Church Catholic, the common mother of all Christians; then for our ow^n Church, to which, next the Church Catholic, we owe the greatest ob- servance and duty : and therein, in - the first place, for the principal members of it, in w^hose welfare the Church's peace chiefly consists. After this w^e pray particularly for those sorts of men that most especially need our prayers, such, amongst others, as those whom the Law calls miserable persons." (Sparrow.) Presently, as though feelingly awake to our sad and sinful estate, we burst out into more passionate ex- pressions, earnestly beseeching the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world to hear us, falling back in tones subdued on the Lord's Prayer, entreating Him still not to deal with us after (i. e. according to) our sins, nor to reward us after our ini- quities. Then, again, the attention is roused by that ancient Exhortation, " Let us pray*"," and our ^ See the Greek Liturgies (ed. Goar) throughout, where (Sbeniug ^araj)ei% 43 Petitions are recommended, as it were Collect-wise, to God, whose mercies of old time and noble works are recorded, and help and deliverance besought through His name. The Gloria Patri, &c. follows, together with other Petitions, or Supplications, Litany-wise, and the whole is summed up with another " Let us pray," and that beautiful Collect which calls uj)on the Father, through our only Mediator and Advo- cate, " mercifully to look upon our infirmities, and for the glory of His name to turn from us all those evils which we most righteously have deserved," — to grant, moreover, " that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in His mercy, and evermore serve Him in holiness and righteous- ness, to His honour and glory!" Such, Christian Brethren, is the Litany, — a Fori^i of Prayer unrivalled in primitive and humble piety, — such the consideration of the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer as observed in our Church. To the Deacon calls to prayer Co/Zecif-z^'/se,) " the people only {^£.r)du)fxtv). In the collected answering, Amen," p. 176. prayer, however, it was rather TheHomilyof Common Prayer fivcTTiKuJc than etccpcjviog, though and Sacraments gives us good Comber is right enough as re- counsel, " No man that feareth gards our own Litany, when he to provoke the wrath of God says that " Let us pray," im- against himself, will be so bold plies that the people have not to speak of God unadvisedly, done, but are still to take their without regard of reverent un- part. Wheatly says, '' In an- derstanding, in His presence, cient Liturgies these words but he will prepare his heart often served as a mark of trans- before he presume to speak ition from one sort of prayer unto God, and therefore in our to another, viz., from what the Common Prayer the Minister Latins call Preces, to what they doth oftentimes say. Let us pray, term Orationes. The preces meaning thereby to admonish were those alternate petitions, the people, that they should which passed conjointly " (i. e. prepare their ears to hear what Litany-wise) " between the he should crave at God's hand, Priest and people : the Ora- and their hearts to consent to tiones were those that were the same, and their tongues to said by the Priest alone," (i. e. say Jmen at the end thereof." not £K-^wj'wr, but juivrTTLkioc, or p. 338, edit. 8vo. 44 iflormug anir (0bemu5 ^8raj)ei% the other Services we will proceed in the order in which they stand, and there too, believe me, we shall find that there is no teaching like that which they convey, no instruction so consonant with God's written Word. JNIeanwhile, I will conclude this portion of our subject in the words of a holy man, long dead, whose spiritual discernment, faith, and charity, were the admiration of all around him. " This is certain," says he, " that there is not any one grace, not one good thing, which either in duty, interest, or charity, we are bound to pray for, but what our Church has provided us proper prayer by which to ask them : and it is as certain, that God will hear us, and grant our petitions, ' whenever we ask any thing according to His will'^.'" So then, in the words of the text, and that our prayer may be a prevailing prayer, " Let all things be done decently and in order." d Bishop Wilson's Sermons, i. p. 103, 104. ** Uet all tf)tngs tie tione ticcentlg anti in ortrer/* PART IT. BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. Communion, asapti^mal, anlr otber J^erbiresi* 1 Corinthians xiv. 40. " Let all things be done decently and in order." "TV/TAIMONIDES, that ancient Jew to whom we are indebted for so much rehgious information appertaining to his people, informs us that the Jews have an opinion that the Prayers of the Congrega- tion are always heard, and that the foot when there, standeth right; — but that the efficacy of Private Prayer depends, more or less, on the fulfilment of Public or Common Prayer. His words are these : " Always let a man go Morning and Evening to the Synagogue, for his Prayer is not always heard but in the Synagogue : and he that dwelleth in a city where there is a Synagogue, and goeth not thither to pray with the Congregation, that is he that is called 'a bad neighbour V" ^ Quoted by Bishop Cosins. refers to the saying, Works, See Additional Notes in Ni- vol. i. p. 502. ed. Home, chols, p. 25. Beveridge also 48 Communion, Baptismal, Such was the ancient exhortation of the Jew, and the like has ever been that of the Christian Church ; and thev who have an heart exercised in o-odhness, have a desire therewith that "all thino-s be done decently and in order," after the teaching of the Church, which they hear with gladness, practising what they hear with faithfulness. And surely, Christian Brethren, the example of this peculiar people still, and once the elect of God, should weigh with us, and, as it is expressed in the Homily of the Place and Time of Prayer, — " Stir up and kindle in us the like earnest desire to resort to the Church, especially upon the holy restful days, there to do our duties, and to serve God, there to call to remembrance, how God, even of his mere mercy, and for the glory of His name's sake, worketh mio'htilv to conceive in us, health, wealth, and o-odli- ness, and mightily preserveth us from the assaults and rages of our fierce and cruel enemies, and there joyfully in the number of His faithful people, to praise and magnify the Lord's holy name*"." — To the intent that you should do so, I proceed with the consideration of our Church's Services, and may He, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and understanding, give us understanding hearts, leading us here to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and hereafter to that consummation and bliss which is in store for good and faithful servants ! Following the course of the Prayer Book, next in order come the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels. Of the Collects, something has been said before. It will be necessary, therefore, merely to say now, that they are pure and clean every word, — fraught ^ Homilies, p. 322, edit. Svo, 1822. anlr ottjtv ^nticesJ. 49 with the deepest devotion, the intensest feeling, the subHmest conceptions of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. As to their an- tiquity, it may be satisfactorily proved that many of them have been in use for full thirteen hundred years^ For so long have Saints and Martyrs, pil- grims and sojourners, rich and poor, one with an- other, repeated these words of power ! And verily, such they are, and princely too, for they have had, and have, "power with God and with men," and have prevailed ! (See Gen. xxxii. 28.) Turn them over, day by day. Christian Brethren, — con them well to your soul's health, and they shall teach you the fulness of that text which declareth, — for they be no vain words, — " The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James v. 16.) It will be enough to add, that all Romish inter- polations, intercessions, whether of the Virgin or Saints, and other needless additions, have been cast out, — and we have them now in that simple and comprehensive form in which they originally stood. The following remark of an able Ritualist will apply, at least, to many of them : " Those of the Collects retained now seem to be mostly written after the Pe- lagian Controversy arose, from the frequent petitions for Divine Grace, and from the assertions of the im- becility of human will and power." (Nicholls, in loc.) Next comes the Epistle, or, as it was more an- ciently called, and is now called in the Patriarchate ^ We are enabled to trace ii. p. 40, he remarks, '' Our them to the time of Gregory, Collects, with some exceptions, A. D. 590 ; to the Sacramen- have been used for fourteen tary ofGelasius, A. D. 494; and hundred years in the Church to the Leonian Sacramentary, of God ; and their origin lies A. D. 483. See Palmer's Ori- in the distant glory of primi- ginesLiturgicae, vol. i. pp. 117, tive Christianity." I have 118, and infra, p. 318. In vol. given the lowest date. E 50 Ccmmimion, JSapti'dmal, of Constantinople, "The Apostle." For the most part these Lessons (for so likewise were they deno- minated) are taken from the Epistles of St. Paul and the Epistles General, — occasionally, however, from the Acts of the Apostles, the Revelation, and the Prophets. And thus we retain the custom of the Church of God, which, says Tertullian, " mingled the law and the prophets with the writings of the Evangelists and Apostles." (Palmer, in loc.) But there is no need to enter into particulars as to the variety of the ancient Lessons. Better is it to re- commend to your constant attention the passages here selected by the Church. Examine them, and you will find them most choicely collected. As one well says, " they are plain and pressing exhortations to some necessary Christian duties, or rare discoveries of God's mercy, or gracious promises of pardon and assistance." (Comber.) They were intended to be practically applied, — to be influential on men's lives. And this is to be borne in mind also, that they were such passages of Holy Writ as might more easily be understood by the people, who, in days gone by, had no books to refer to. From the Priest's mouth they were to write them (by God's assistance) on their hearts, and thence to draw forth against their ghostly enemies that " sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." After the Epistle, the Gospel has followed from the earliest ages, and notice being given that it was about to be read, the people were used with one voice to exclaim, '' Glort/ he to Thee, O Lord^ T To ^ These words were in the See Additional Notes in Ni- first Liturgy of Edward VI., cholls. Both these and the after but were omitted in the second, words were inserted in the as Bishop Overall supposed by Scotch Liturgy. See Keeling, the negligence of the Printer. in loc. anlr otber *ei1)ires;. 51 these blessed words of Christ's most holy life all was reverend attention. " When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God." (Acts xi. 18.) All stood", and were still, — and soldiers even laid aside their arms ! All was peace when the Gospel of peace was read ! The world was shut out, and its busy and discordant hum was hushed for a little while! The Great Exemplar — Jesus Christ the Saviour — alone was contemplated, and that ex- ceeding beauty of His transcendent holiness, which came streaming from Him like light, " for the per- fecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ : Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. iv. 12, 13.) Under such, or such like impres- sions, was the Gospel read, and when finished, the Churches of the West could not refrain their joy, but returned their thanks for such holy tidings, say- ing. Alleluia ! or, as still retained in many of our Churches, " Thanks be to Thee, O Lord, for Thy Holy Gospel r Let it be added, that the passages selected, as in the case of the Epistles, are such as to instruct the simple, to comfort the poor and needy, to give the wise real wisdom, to " scatter the proud in the imagination of their hearts." As regards the antiquity of the Epistles and Gos- pels, — together with their use in the Communion Service, — a great deal might be said which I must now pass by ^ ; and if they were longer, in ancient days, * See Hooker's Eccles. Pol. tain words of acclamation," V. XXX. § 3, " It hath been the &c. custom of Christian men then ^ Nicholls and other Ritualists especially in token of the greater quote that Canon from the Coun- reverence to stand, to utter cer- cil of Valentia in Spain, a. d. e2 52 Communion, 33aptisJmaI, than what we now read, I will only add, that even as they now stand they have been read for a thou- sand years, so that the stones almost of our Churches, and the timber out of their walls, are alive to their sound ! It has been said that they were originally selected by St. Jerome ^ and put into the Lectionary by him; but this rests on the authority only of writers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The real truth is, (without entering into abstruse particu- lars,) that the Epistles and Gospels, with now and, then an exception, were brought over in their present order by St. Augustine, and have been used, to the salvation of men's souls, from his time to the pre- sent. In passing on to speak of the Communion Service by itself, it should be remarked that the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, for the Fasts and Festivals of the Church, (stripped as they are in our Prayer Book from the lumber of human tradition,) are all equally beautiful and consolatory, and overflowing with in- struction for a Christian man. On Festival and Fast, however, hear what Hooker says, and of the last first, as it usually ushers in the former. " No doubt but penitency is as prayer, a thing acceptable unto God, be it in public or in secret. Howbeit, as in the one, if men were wholly left to their own medi- tations in their closets, and not drawn by laws and 520, which shows them to have dine Lectiomim, post Apostolum been read in the Communion legantur. Nicholls, in loc. Service from the sixth century s See Palmer, vol. i. p. 315, at the latest; but the truth is, and vol. ii. p. 44, notes. In the they were read much earlier, as latter passage he states that that Council only professed to the tradition is doubtful, as it collect the ancient Canons. The only appears in the pages of YfoxA^ Sire, Censuimiisohser van- Micrologus, Berno, and Hugo dum ut sacrosancta Evancjelia a S. Victore, writers of the ante munerum illationem in twelfth and thirteenth centu- Missa Catechvmenornm in or- ries. anil otfter ^nbitt^. 53 orders unto the open assemblies of the Church that there they may join with others in prayer, it may be soon conjectured what Christian devotion that way would come unto in a short time : even so in the other, we are by sufficient experience taught how little it booteth to tell men of washing away their sins with tears of repentance, and so to leave them altogether unto themselves. O Lord ! what heaps of grievous transgressions have we committed, the best, the perfectest, the most righteous amongst us all, and yet clean pass them over unsorrowed for, and unrepented of, only because the Church hath forgotten utterly how to bestow her w onted times of discipline, wherein the public example of all was unto every particular person a most effectual mean to put them often in mind, and even in a manner to draw them to that which now we all quite and clean for- get, as if penitency were no part of a Christian man's duty!" In truth, "much hurt hath grown to the Church of God through a false imagination, that fasting standeth men in no stead for any spiritual respect, but only to take down the frankness of nature, and to tame the wildness of flesh : where- upon the w orld being bold to surfeit doth now blush to fast, supposing that men, when they fast, do rather bewray a disease than exercise a virtue. I much wonder what they who are thus persuaded do think, what conceit they have concerning the fasts of the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, our Lord Jesus Christ himself ^" Touching Festivals, his words again are wise words — those of a Master who well knew rightly how to divide the word of truth. "And further, h Eccles. Pol. V. Ixxii. § 13 and § 2. 54 Comntumoii, asaptisimal, by these," Christian Brethren, " be admonished." (Eccles. xii. 12.) " The sanctification of days and times is a token of that thankfuhiess, and a part of that public honour, which we owe to God for admirable benefits, where- of it doth not suffice that we keep a secret calendar, taking thereby our private occasions as we list our- selves to think how much God hath done for all men ; but the days which are chosen out to serve as public memorials of such His mercies, ought to be clothed with those outward robes of holiness, where- by their difference from other days may be made sensible." And he concludes by saying, that Festi- vals " are the splendour and outward dignity of our religion, forcible witnesses of ancient truth, provo- cations to the exercise of all piety, shadows of our endless felicity in heaven, on earth everlasting re- cords and memorials, whereby they which cannot be drawn to hearken unto that we teach, may, only by looking upon that we do, in a manner read whatso- ever we believe'." Another point is here to be observed. In the earlier ages of the Church, or ever the world was christianized, but all around was heathen, it were customary to dismiss the Catechumens'' previous to the Offertory ; and this their dismissal gave cause for the early name of " Mass\'' still retained in the * Eccles. Pol. V. Ixxi. § 1 ribv KaTrjxoviiivojv^ and " Ite, and 11. missa est." Hence the words ^ " The Catechumens were of St. Augustine, " Ecce post those converts from heathenism Sermonem Jit Missa Catechu- who were under a course of menis.'' For this reason Ni- discipline and instruction pre- cholls says, " towards the latter paratory to the reception of end of the third century the the Sacrament of Baptism." Communion Service came to Palmer, ii. p. 24. be called Missa or Mass," in ' The old form was, M>; tic loc. See Du Cange v. Missa. anlr otfter ^eiticesi. 55 Romish Church, and for a long time in our own. Of the introductory part of the Communion Service, it would appear that all which the Catechumens could attend was the reading of the Lessons, — which in- cluded Law and Gospel, — together with a shorter Litany. And it is from this custom that the Litany is still used in some places"' as a part of what has been called the Second, or Communion Service. Of course the Lord's Prayer and the Creed were not recited previous to their dismissal. But by degrees, as the blessed Gospel spread, all were allowed to be present till the actual Communion Service com- menced, and so about the eighth or ninth century the Lord's Prayer as well as the Creed preceded the Sermon. Previous to this, as, for example, in the Churches of Spain, the Nicene Creed w as said " with a loud Yoice before the Communion, that the true faith might receive the testimony of acceptance from the Communicants"." This, I need not say, holds good now^ — though without the early restrictions. €i)t €on\mnnion ^titim Let me speak to you now, Christian Brethren, of the Communion Service in itself, than which nothing more excellent, or more perfect in its kind, ever proceeded from the hand of uninspired man. It is, indeed, scriptural throughout, and, where the very " Pro quovis Ecclesiastico Offi- the Lord's Prayer and Prayer cio, quod in cedibus sacris per- for Purity. But in both Books agebatur, interdum sumUur," the Litany itself is placed after ^(._ ^f. the Communion Service. "' After the fashion of the " See Palmer, vol. ii. p. 54. Eastern Church, e. g. at Wor- He quotes the very words of cester. Vestiges remain in the the Third Council of Toledo, first Book of Edw. VL after Anno 589, Canon 2. 56 Communion, asaptidmal, words of Scripture are not used, the forms are, for the most part, derived from the early Liturgies of the Church, in existence long before human tradi- tions, Romish or others, had marred the beauty of primeval simplicity. You have often asked me what book I would recommend as a preparation for the Holy Eucharist", and you will many of you recollect how my almost constant answer has been, that I knew of none so good as the Service itself in your Prayer Books, at the same time that I have recommended or procured others, which I knew to contain sound and whole- some doctrine, rather as helpmates than supple- mentary. In truth, I know of nothing that can be added, which would not, by the mere addition, de- tract from its present worthiness. It is simple, — it is uniform, — easy to be understood, — full of warmth and unction, — a combination of all that we apprehend or lay hold of, when we speak of what is religious, pious, devout, or holy. There is no rent or schism in it at all. Yea, it is even as that our Saviour's coat "without seam, woven from the top through- out." (John xix. 23.) In it we behold "his own meritorious purple robes, his red garments from Bozra, the garments of innocency and of unity ^ ;" and if we draw nigh with faith, and take it to our comfort, — if with a true penitent heart and lively ° "Render thanks to Almighty now, above all other times, ye God for all his benefits, briefly ought to laud and praise God." comprised in the death, passion, See Homilies, the second part and resurrection of his dearly of the Sermon concerning the beloved Son. The which thing, Sacrament, p. 416. because we ought chiefly at p Bp. Reynolds's Medita- this table to solemnize, the tions on the Holy Sacrament, godly fathers named it J^e/c/^a- Works, vol. iii. p. 18. ed. ristiay that is, thanksgiving ; 8vo. as if thev should have said, anlr otijn ^tvbitt^. 57 faith we receive this Holy Sacrament, — " then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood ; then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us ; we are one with Christ, and Christ with us." And what better for a Christian man, than by the power of the Holy Ghost to be hid with Christ in God? What w^orse for any born of woman than to be divided and estranged from that His precious body and blood, which, keeping in bond the Communion of Saints, (I will speak boldly,) is life everlasting on this side the grave ! Look not upon this Holy Sacrament, Christian Brethren, as a form, or a ceremony, or a bare rite, or as " a shadow^, destitute, empty, and void of Christ." Such is not the teaching of our Church in the Prayer Book. Yea, rather, it is something real and efficacious, verily and indeed taken, a mighty channel of grace, from Baptism onwards, to the salvation of souls '^. Hear ye how a Master in Israel speaks ; — " Life being proposed unto all men as their end, they which by Baptism have laid the founda- tion, and attained the first beginning of a new life, have here their nourishment and food prescribed for continuance of life in them. Such as will live the life of God, must eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, because this is a part of that diet which if we want we cannot live. Whereas, there- fore, in our infancy we are incorporated into Christ, and by Baptism receive the grace of His Spirit, with- out any sense or feeling of the gift which God bestoweth, in the Eucharist we so receive the gift of God, that we know by grace what the grace is which God giveth us, the degrees of our own increase in holiness and virtue we see and can judge of them, '' See first part of the Homily above quoted, p. 11, 12. 58 Communion, asaptisfmal, we understand that the strenolh of our life beofan in Christ, that His flesh is meat, and His blood drink ; not by surmised imagination, but truly, even so truly that through faith we perceive in the body and blood sacramentally presented, the very taste of eternal life, the grace of the Sacrament is here as the food which we eat and drink ^" Thus then draw nigh and reason with yourselves, — lowly and reverently as Christians ought to reason, in sure and certain hope of seeing God ! Christ is the well-spring of our everlasting felicity. All our fresh springs (to use the words of David) are in Him ! Through Him, our bodies committed to the dust, baffle mortality, and flourish as an herb ! His flesh and blood, " through the dignity and worth of his Person, which offered them uj) by way of sacrifice for the life of the whole world, and doth make them still eflectual thereunto, — to us are life in particular, by being particularly received." But then, as these elements of bread and wine are made for ever the instruments of life, by virtue of His divine benedic- tion, — the conduits of life and conveyances of His Body and Blood to us, — rest assured, " this heavenly food is given for the satisfying of our empty souls, and not for the exercising of our curious and subtile wits." On the contrary, " the o^eal ' participation of Christ, and of life in his Body and Blood by means of this Sacrament,'' is a point not to be disputed by •■ Hooker's Eccl. Pol. book may be understood of nothing V. Ixvii. § 1. but a carnal and local presence, ^ " A real presence of Christ then the speech of Christ, we acknowledge, but not a ' where two or three are gather- local or physical ; for presence ed together in my name there real (that being a metaphysical am I in the midst of them,' term) is not opposed unto a cannot have any real truth in mere physical or local absence it ; because Christ is not lo- or distance; but is opposed to cally in the midst of them." a false, imaginary, fantastic Bp. Reynolds's Meditations, presence. For if real presence c. xiii. vol. iii. p. 72. ani dtfter ^eitires;. 59 Christian men who joy in the Atonement ; for curious and intricate speculations, in such a case, are little better than scandals, — stumbling-blocks, that is, and hindrances, in the way of our faith. " Let it therefore," in the concluding words of the same great Divine all along referred to, " be sufficient for me presenting myself at the Lord's table, to know what then I receive from him, without search- ing or inquiring of the manner how Christ performeth his promise ; let disputes and questions, enemies to piety, abatements of true devotion, and hitherto in this cause but over-patiently heard, let them take their rest; let curious and sharp-witted men beat their heads about what questions themselves will, the very letter of the Word of Christ giveth plain security that these mysteries do as nails fasten us to His very Cross, that by them we draw out, as touching efficacy, force, and virtue, even the blood of His gored side, in the w^ounds of our Redeemer we then dip our tongues, w^e are dyed red both within and without, our hunger is satisfied, and our thirst for ever quenched ; they are things wonderful which he feeleth, great which he seeth, and unheard of which he uttereth, whose soul is possessed of this Paschal Lamb, and made joyful in the strength of this new wine, the bread which hath in it more than the substance which our eyes behold ; this cup, hallowed with solemn benediction, availeth to the endless life and welfare both of soul and body, in that it serveth as well for a medicine to heal our infirmities, and purge our sins, as for a sacrifice of thanksgiving, with touching it sanctifieth, it enlighteneth with belief, it truly conformeth us unto the image of Jesus Christ; what these elements are in themselves it skilleth not, it is enough that to me which take them they are the body and blood of Christ, his 60 Communion, Baptismal, promise in witness hereof sufficeth, his word he knoweth which way to accomplish ; why should any cogitation possess the mind of a faithful communi- cant but this, 'O my God, thou art true; O my soul, thou art happy M '" I pass on now to the several parts of the Service, purposely omitting to speak of the Sermon, which is rather in than of " the Communion." And, first, respecting the Offertory. St. Paul, writing to his Corinthian converts, enjoins them thus : " Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." (ICor. xvi. 2.) So that it was customary from the very earliest times ; — weekly, in the first instance, as we see here, and learn from Justin Martyr"; — monthly, in other places ; and at a later date, as we collect from the Apology of Tertullian, though he may in the passage referred to be speaking possibly of other societies, and not of the Eucharistic col- lections. But it matters not. Some offered one thing, some another, and the fact is admitted. All, however, offered bread and wine, from whence the elements of the Sacrament were taken. This was done in the West after the Catechumens were dis- missed, but in the East before the Liturgy began. In our own country the Offertory was in use before the arrival of St. Augustine; and let us not now forget. Christian Brethren, in wrangling or disputing mood, how bountiful were the alms, and the oblations, and the other devotions of our pious ancestors \ What ^ These excellent words are coin on the Writings, &c. of from the end of the sixty-eighth Justin Martyr, p. 88, and Ter- chapter of that immortal work tullian Apol. c. xxxix. Dodg- above referred to. Other pas- son's Translation, vol. i. p. 81, sages hinted at are in § 2, 3, with note. 4. ed. Keble. " See Comber's Comparison, " See Apol. i. Bp. of Lin- &c. vol. iii. p. 68. mxb otlnv ^tvbitt^. 6i we do, let us not do grudgingly, or of necessity, — invidiously referring to an endowed Church, or to the poor supported by law ; but let us recollect of whom we have received all, and let us consider that charity is a sort of quit-rent of our possessions, and that it is an honour higher than the highest to be almoner of the Great King! He thought wisely who wrote thus : " Offerings or oblations are an high part of God's service and worship, taught by the light of nature and right reason ; which bids us to * honour God with our substance,' as well as with our bodies and souls ; to give a part of our goods to God as an homage or acknowledgment of His dominion over us, and that all that we have comes from God. ' Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort ? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.' 1 Chron. xxix. 14." — (Sparrow.) Then comes the Prayer for the " whole state of Christ's Church militant here on earth T which latter words are expressly designed to exclude prayer for the dead. The Prayer itself might be considered as a filling up of the form of Biddmg of Praters, en- joined by the 55th Canon, to be used by every Minister before his Sermon, Lecture, or Homily. Most of its several parts are to be found in the ancient Liturgies ; but no Liturgy has so comprehensive a form as this, combining, as it does, supplications for the Catholic Church, — for Kings and Rulers, — for Bishops and Clergy, — for the People, — for those that are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity, — and last of all, (for we do not forget our dead when buried out of our sight in the holy suburbs hard by,) the commemoration of those that 62 Communion, 33aptis"mal, have died in the Lord. And think not, Christian Brethren, that in this we hold to any notion of pur- gatory^. No ! there is but one purgatory, or means of cleansing, and that is, the blood of Christ. The rather, consider the affectionate thoughtfulness of our mother Church, who, "when the doctrine of pur- gatory had been extirpated, restored the commemo- ration of saints departed in the Liturgy, which had been omitted for many years, from caution and pious regard to the souls of her children." Thus did she wish indifferently, i.e. with truth and justice, with- out bias and without partiality, to hold to that primitive custom, which, during this dreadful and unbloody sacrifice, recited the names of those who had died for the faith of Christ ^ Thus and none other- wise shall we properly bless God's holy name for all His servants departed this life in His faith and fear ; beseeching Him to give us grace so to follow their good example, that with them we may be partakers of His heavenly kingdom ! What, then, shall we say better than this ? " As for our prayers, let us bestow them upon the living, and let them be no other when we refer to the dead, than the congra- ^' " The only purgatory where- ^ See Comber, vol. iii. p. 101. in we must trust to be saved, is The section here referred to the death and blood of Christ," was omitted in the 2nd Book &c. Third Part of the Sermon of Edw. VI., and not introduced concerning Prayer. Homilies, again till the last review in p. 313. See Mr. Palmer's ex- 1661. The words " Tremen- cellent remarks, vol. ii. pp. 93 dum hoc et incruentum sacri- — 98. For the Dypticks, " or ficium," or, r>)r (poftepav rav- two tables or leaves of board, Tr)v /cat avaifxaKTov Ovaiav, whereof one column contained will be familiar to those used the names of the living, the to the subject. See Renaudot, other the names of the dead, vol. i. pp. 9. 26. 57, &c. &c. which were rehearsed in the Elsewhere we have, Upoacpepo- Communion Service," see fxev t))v XoyiKtjv Kal dvaifxaKTov L'Estrange, pp. 181, 182; Xarpeiav ravrip'. See " Litur- Du Cange in v., and Goar, gia Divi Marci," ibid. vol. i. Euchol. p. 123. p. 145, kc. &c. auU otfter ^tv\}itt^. 63 tulations of their joys present, and the testimonies of our hope and desire of their future resurrection, and consummation of blessedness, together with all the glorious saints of heaven'*!" I say nothing as to the exact locality of the above prayer but this, viz. that custom has sometimes usurped the place of law, and in such a case the ordinary non-intervention is tantamount to acqui- escence ; and then, surely, under such circumstances, they who officiate in capacity ministerial, will scarce combine the dove's harmlessness and the serpent's wisdom, who unadvisedly hurt the consciences of weaker brethren. In the order of the Service, the two Exhortations follow next, and the last of the two, added in the 2nd Book of Edward VI., was then part of the Service itself In the early days of the Christian Church, communion being daily, or, at the farthest, weekly, there was little need for such calls; and therefore these Exhortations are more modern, — somewhat, perhaps, after the fashion of the'' Preface^,'" used in the primitive Gallican and Spanish Liturgies. But this is a matter of little consequence. My busi- ness, rather, is to call your attention to these excel- lent forms, modelled on pure antiquity, incomparably fitted to the advancement of devotion, and so worded as that he who is no scholar cannot say when they are read to him, "I am not learned." (Isa. xxix. 12.) They are, indeed, so plain. Christian Brethren, and so open to the meanest capacity, that one unused to the syllabic teaching of a humble parish priest, would be apt to say, in St. Paul's w^ords, " If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant." (1 Cor. xiv. 38.) * Bp. Hall's Works, vol. iii. ^ See Palmer, vol. ii. p. 99. p. 104. ed. folio. 64 Communion, aiaptismal. Then roll oif such a reproach. Lay these Exhorta- tions to heart. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them. Give thanks unto Almighty God, that He hath sent " His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, not only to die for us, but also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that Holy Sacrament" of His Body and of His Blood. Look well to the dignity of that Holy Mystery^ (the ancient name of this hal- lowed Supper,) and, considering the great peril of the unworthy receiving thereof, sift and winnow your hearts, and search your consciences throughly. By God's help wipe off the soil of the world, " as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down." (See 2 Kings xxi. 13.) Beware of the sin of Judas, as the Church warns you ; considering, at the same time, that, if habitually absent, you have " no life in you ;" but that if wickedly present, " the receiving of the Holy Communion doth nothing else but increase your damnation "■." A hard word, ^ As Jeremy Taylor says of 29,) which our translators ren- this word in the ninth article, der damnation, does not here " it must mean here something signify eternal condemnation, less than ordinary," vol.ix. p. but a temporal judgment and 373. And a holy man departed chastisement, in order to the (R. Anderson) observed well, prevention of eternal condemna- that " w^hen referring to eter- tion." {Serm. vol. ii. p. 188. nal condemnation, the com- Damnation, in fact, was the pilers of our Liturgy deemed it more ancient word for con- necessary to say, wdth distinct demnation. The remarkable and awful emphasis, ' From thy point is, that although the for- wrath, and from everlasting mer word occurs in the Office damnation, good Lord, deliver of 1548 and 1552, the words us ! ' " Discourses on the Com- following are found in 1st Edw. munion Office, p. 144. And, VL c. 1, Dec. 20, 1547: " Of sooth to say, he was the last the which bread whosoever man to eateth, or of the wdiich cup " Mince the sin, whosoever drinketh unworthily. And mollify damnation with eateth and drinketh condemna- a phrase." tion and judgment to himself, Tillotson remarks well enough, making no difference of the "The word Knlfta, (1 Cor. xi. Lord's Body." anlr otfter ^erbuesJ. 65 sure enough, and one at which some have stumbled, though without cause ; for it means no more than condemnation or judgment. But then. Christian Brethren, whether of the twain be used, it comes to the same thing if we remain impenitent still ; whereas, if we repent, God is merciful still, and this transgression, like others, shall be forgiven ; for Christ's precious blood, as said the martyr at the stake, was not shed for lesser sins only, but for the greatest in the whole world. Therefore, be at peace on this score, and be not frightened or deterred at a word, of which time may have softened the sound, though the penalty remain for aye, if Christ be put to an open shame, and innocent blood betrayed afresh '^. But you say you cannot draw nigh with a quiet conscience. Well then, " Confess t/our selves to Al- micjlityGodr — But we are distressed still. — Beassured, the Church, though she reprobated auricular con- fession when abused, hath still provided for your dis- tress. The minister of God's word is at hand, to whom you may open your grief, and, if needs be, receive the benefit of absolution, together with ghostly counsel and advice, to the " quieting of your conscience, and avoiding of all scruple and doubtfulness." But on this head, the Homily of Repentance will instruct you very well, and to it I refer you, quoting these words by way both of sample and interpretation : " Let us, with fear and trembling, and with a true contrite heart, use that kind of confession which God doth command in His word; and, then doubt- less, as He is faithful and righteous, He will forgive us our sins, and make us clean from all wickedness. ^ See Bp. Wilson's Sermon on Judas' sin. Luke xxii. 21. Vol. iii. p. 238. 66 Commnnicin, Baptismal, I do not sav, but that if any do find themselves troubled in conscience, they may repair to their learned curate or pastor, or to some other godly learned man, and show the trouble and doubt of their conscience to them, that they may receive at their hand the comfortable salve of God's word ; but it is against the true Christian liberty, that any man should be bound to the numbering of his sins, as it hath been used heretofore in the time of blindness and ignorance ^" Thus doth our Church rather willingly restrain than abolish the doctrine of confession. The Second Exhortation contains matter of like import, besides a most affectionate appeal to such as are negligent to come to the Holy Communion. Herein, moreover, they are besought to come, when so lovingly called and bidden by God himself to the rich- est feast, — to a table decked with all kinds of provi- sion ! Surely, none can read, or hear it read, without being moved, — none cannot but see how nearly it con- cerns himself 1 " Wherefore, most dearly beloved in Christ, take ye good heed, lest ye, withdrawing your- selves from this Holy Supper, provoke God's in- ^ See " the Second Part of necessitate medii, as necessary the Sermon of Repentance," means of pardon or remission p. 497. Bishop Overall, in of sins; and, consequently, re- Nicholl's Additional Notes, and jects it as a snare and a burden Buller's Tabular View, p. 171. groundlessly and tyrannically South's remarks, as usual, are imposed upon the Church ; and clear and trenchant. See Serm. too often and easily abused in on Isa. V. 20 : — " Does the the Romish communion, to the Church of England hold auri- basest and most flagitious cular or private confession purposes." Vol. iv. p. 212. to the priest, as an integral For the addition in the Order, part of repentance, and neces- &:c. 2Edvv. VI, see L' Estrange, sary condition of absolution ? Alliance, &c. p. 348, or at No, the Church of England the end of Dr. Cardwell's Re- denies such confession to be print. This, it is to be observed, necessary ; either necessitate was in 1548, the year before prcecepti, as enjoined by any the first liturgy of Edw. VI. law or command of God : or anU ottjtv ^tvbitt^. 67 dignation against you." Hear ye His word ; see to it ; take advice ; sin not against your own souls ; despise not your own mercies. And "if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious," (1 Pet. ii. 3,) then, draw back no more, but feed on the imperishable manna. " Eat, O friends ; drink, yea, drink abun- dantly, O beloved!" (Solomon's Song v. 1.) Next follows the Exhortation at the Communion, derived chiefly from the Greek Church, and occupy- ing the place of the ancient kiss of peace\ still re- ferred to in that paragraph which calls upon us " to be in perfect charity with all men." Like the others it is full of instruction, and to these let me repeat, I would call such as are diligently feeling their aa ay, and humbly preparing themselves to communicate with that reverential fear, which, by God's grace, shall ripen into love, as growth in grace will end in glory. Observe, however, that this Exhortation is full of caution, and it is Avell remarked, " Although it be a great satisfaction to him that ministers, to see God's table well furnished, yet because he seeks the profit of the communicants, as well as his OAvn pleasure, he not only endeavours by the former exhortation to increase their numbers, but by this to rectify their dispositions, that they may be not only many, but good." {Comber.) And it was for this that in the rubric of the 2nd Book of Edward VI. the priest was " to pause a w^hile here, to see if ^ On the Osculatorium and tended to promote that inter- Osculum Pads, see Palmer, nalcharity which the apostolical vol. ii. p. 102: " If our re- salutation of peace was meant formers omitted a name which to express." See also Du had long been connected with Cange in v., as well as under a practice that led to supersti- the word '^ Pax,'" so often con- tion, and often to idolatry, they founded with ^^ Pix,'' and Goar at least substituted in its place in Euchol. p. 115. an exhortation, which was in- F 2 68 Communion, Baptismal, anyman will withdraw himselfV' which if any did, they were to be "communed with at convenient leisure." After this comes the Invitation, and such as are fully minded and prepared to be present, are bid to draw near with faith, and take this Holy Sacrament to their comfort. But here again, because our own sins Avere the cause of Christ's sufferings, here com- memorated, once more we are to testify our repent- ance for them, and to make an " humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon our knees." And never, Christian Brethren, can such a posture be unsafe, never does hope rise higher, than when we admit that Ave have sinned and done wickedly. But having spoken at large on the subject of con- fession, I will only add that a form more befitting penitents than this is scarcely to be expressed in words. Verily, to the contrite, the remembrance of their sins is grievous, — the burden of th^m is intole- rable ! The exact form'' of this Confession is not found in the ancient Liturgies, — though the substance is. But the way of it was old and primitive, as we col- lect from St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine. It is, however, to be admitted that more anciently, the Confession of Priest and people was separate, even as it continued amongst us till the Reformation. Subsequently it has been "as with the people, so with the Priest," (Isa. xlii. 2,) — alike sinners ! Next comes the Absolution, which has always been committed to the Bishops and Presbyters of ^ See L'Estrange, Alliance, See Buller's Tabular View, p. &c. p. 342. 174, and for an account of the ^ For this, as for other parts work referred to, Preface, pp. of our Prayer Book, our com- vii., viii. Note. For other state- pilers were indebted, more or ments. Palmer, vol. ii. p. 105, less, to the " Simplex ac pia 6; and Comber's Companion, Deliheratw' of Abp. Herman. kc. vol. iii. p. 189. anlr otfttr ^erfatos. 69 the Church. And hence, the Rubric orders that the Priest {or the Bishop, being present,) shall stand 2ip, and, turning himself to the people, pronounce this Absolution ; — a gesture which clearly implies a message from God. So cautious is our Church in holding to the ancient paths ! One may remark in passing, that the earlier name seems to have been Benediction, but an excellent Ritualist tells us that in the "ancient Alexandrian Liturgy we find the Benediction before Communion termed the Absolution, and approaching to the form and substance of our own '." As resrards the Sentences of Scripture immediately following, they are the very promises on which the Absolution is founded ; — first, the words of our Lord himself ; — then, those of St. John, St. Paul, and of St. John again, — twice referred to as the " beloved disciple." Of these it needs to say no more, than that they con- tain the " very marrow of the Gospel, so overflowing with sweet and powerful comforts, that, if duly con- sidered, they will satisfy the most jealous souls, and cheer the most broken heart ; if believed and em- braced, they will utterly banish all the clouds of sorrow and despair." (Comber.) And thus much has been rather introductory to, than a part of, the Anaphora or Canon \ " We now en- ter upon," says the Ritualist so often referred to, " the most solemn part of the Liturgy, or rather that part which constituted peculiarly the Liturgy according ^ Palmer, vol. ii. p. 108, and See vol. ii. p. 45—73. Liturg. infra, p. 114. Orient. Collect., and Le Brun's ^ See Du Cange in v. Canon " Explication de la Messe," Missae. " Sunt autem Ana- vol. ii. p. 490, &c., a work con- phorae," says Renaudot, " prae- stantly used, like others, but cipua ilia pars Officii Eucha- without special references, ristici, quae ab oratione Osculi which would only tend to Pacis incipit, et usque ad gra- lengthen these notes, tiarum actionem extenditur." 70 CommunuDit, Baptismal, to the judgment of the Primitive Church. All the preceding lessons and prayers are preparatory ; it is here that the mystical or solemn prayer of thanks- giving, of blessing, and commemoration commences," which has been ever preceded by the Laud, Anthem, or Sentences, "Lift up your hearts,'' &c. Look where you will, — from the first age to the present, — from the arrival of St. Augustine on these shores till this very day, — and you will find the Sursinn Corda used ; — so that Bishop Bull said, not without a cause, " There is no Liturgy in any Church of Christ to this day but hath this form'." These Sentences said, the Eiicharistia, or Thanks- givi7ig, was proceeded with — anciently giving name to the whole Service, inasmuch as the giving of thanks made up a great part of it, reference being had like- wise to the w^ords of St. Paul himself"', and to those of his Lord and ours. It was anciently much longer'' than it is now^, — what remains,' in fact, being but the introduction to what was properly called the Eucharistia, in which the God of heaven and earth was praised and thanked for His mercies of Creation, ^ See Sermon xiii. " Com- and that work which should mon Prayer Ancient, useful specially be referred to on the and necessary," vol. i. p. 330. subject of the Communion, the ed. Burton. " The Apostolical Catech. Mystag. of Cyril, parti- Constitutions mention, " Avu) cularly Lecture v. The English Tov vovv, et "E^ojU£i/ TTjOoc Tov reader may sce it in theLibrary Kvpiop. viii. 12. Cyprian says, of the Fathers; and those who * Sacerdos ante orationem prse- possess Mr. Harvey's very use- fatione prsemissa paratfratrum ful work, Ecclesise Anglicanae mentes dicendo, Sursum corda Vindex Catholicus, will find in — respondit plebs, Hahemus it (vol. iii. p. 167 — 309) both ah Dominum.' De Orat. Dora. the passages from Justin and p. 213." Note, in loc. Cyril. Possibly Wheatly's "* 1 Cor. xi. 24,£{))^apio-r//(Tac Translation (p. 295)of£7ri iroXv tKkaae. is too straitened ; — it may "See the Clementine Con- xnean to the utmost of his power, stitutions, lib. viii. c. xii. rather than verij long. Justin Martyr. Apol. i. c. 86, antr ottjtv ^tvbitt^. 71 Providence, and Redemption. But this, it is to be observed, we still keep up, to a certain extent, when the Po'oper Prefaces are used — all of which are full of primitive and simple piety, modelled on early forms, if not the very forms themselves. Look to them well, Christian Brethren, for they will no less in- struct the ignorant than comfort the afflicted ! " It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O Lord !" And because it has been a generally received opinion in the Church Catholic, that the angelic host are present and look on and join in hymning the praises of the Heavenly King when the Eucharist is celebrated, " therefore," wish- ing not to be a whit behind the chiefest in gratitude " with Angels and Archangels, and with all the com- pany of heaven," we, too, laud and magnify Him that ought to be feared, and loved, and praised. Never, O never may we forget to do so ! " O ye holy and humble men of heart, bless ye the Lord ; praise Him and magnify Him for ever°!" The Prayer after this Seraphic Hymn, though dif- fering in words, is altogether in character with what ° This holy Hymn, called order of worship observed in Trisagion and Tersanctus, (rom the Eastern Churches before the word " Holi/ " thrice re- the times of Constantine, there peated, has been used in the is not one prayer to be found, Churches of the East and West from the beginning to the end from the times of the Apostles. of it, made either to Angel I have purposely marked the or Saint (no, not so much as word WITH in Italics, and I any such prayer as this, O Mi- would call the reader's atten- chael, O Gabriel, or O Peter, tion to what Bishop Bull says O Paul, pray for us); hut all in his eleventh Sermon. " It the prayers are directed to God is to be observed that in the in the name of his Son Jesus Clementine Liturgy (so called), Christ, as they are (God be which is by the learned on all praised) in our Liturgy.''' Vol. i. hands confessed to be very p. 286. ancient, and to contain the 72 Communion, 33apti2;mal, we find in the Liturgies of Antioch, Cnesarea, and Constantinople. And we do well to follow after Saints and righteous men in their humiliation, lest the raptures of that holy Hymn now repeated might lead us to forget, that after all we are but sinful dust and ashes, not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under the table of the Lord. Therefore, let us take this advice. " In vain should we desire in the following prayer of consecration that these ele- ments should become the body and blood of Christ, if we did not first pray that we might worthily re- ceive them. There must be a change in us, or else though Christ's natural flesh and blood were here, and we should eat and drink thereof every day, we could not partake of Christ. It is our eating with faith and penitence, love and holy purposes, that makes it to be Christ's body and blood to us : most wisely, therefore, hath the Church ordered, that be- fore we pray for the consecration of the symbols, we should desire to be consecrated ourselves p." O well is he, and happy shall he be, whose sinful body is made clean by Christ's body, and whose soul is washed through His most precious blood ! Hereupon follows the Consecration, with no un- necessary secrecy, but openly showed and declared, as the Lord of old declared His righteousness and His salvation in the sight of all men. (Ps. xcviii. 3.) " Mysteries are revealed unto the meek," (Ecclus. iii. 19,) and so it is here. " The secret things belong unto the Lord our God" still, (Deut xxix. 29,) and there is "the hiding of His power" still, (Hab. iii. P These words are Comber's, and blood is not to be sought vol. iii. p. 247, and they natu- for in the Sacrament, but in rally call to mind those of the worthy receiver of the Hooker, "The real presence Sacrament." Book v. Ixvii. of Christ's most blessed body § 6. ani otfter ^ntuesJ* 73 4,) but, as mysteriousiiess had been abused to super- stitious purposes, it seemed good that the Priest should stand before the Table, and in the first instance arrange the Bread and Wine, — with this intent, however, that with the more readiness and decency he might, before the people, both break the Bread and take the Cup in his hands. And now, as one says, " We need not ask with Isaac, ' Where is the Lamb for the burnt-offering ? ' for God hath provided His own dear Son, whose blood being already spilt, is so efficacious and all- sufficient, that there is now no need of any other but this unbloody sacrifice to be offered, and that in me- morial of that great Sin-offering which taketh away the sins of the world. And for this purpose Christ himself hath appointed these creatures of bread and wine, ordaining that because they are designed to express so great a mystery, they shall have a pecu- liar consecration." (Comber.) And how is this con- summated ? — Even as it has been in all the Litur- gies of the world from the first to these latter days, that is to say, by the words of our Saviour Jesus Christ's Holy Institution ; — for although the Minis- ters be ordained to this very thing, we are still to bear in mind, that "it is not the power of the Priest but the efficacy of the Author, which makes the ele- ments to become sacramentally the body and blood of Christ." (Ibid.) It will hardly be necessary to enter into particu- lars, but I may here observe, that in very many of the ancient Liturgies there was a Prayer for the Holy Spirit to descend on the Bread and Wine to make it Christ's Body and Blood, and hence it is found in the first Book of Edward VI ^ Primitive was vXaTTe ing was called Eux^/ oTriaQafi- tlqlrr] iroXXa. KaluTrep^oirai it' (^ioror, because the Priest left £»(o//i'r/ori»»'0ea>aytw. Goar.p. 69. anU otijtv ^tvbitt^. 8i have been used in our Church from the sixth cen- tury till now. The others, jjrimitive in form and spirit, have not been traced to their originals. Look to them. Christian Brethren, and lay them up in your hearts ; for from supplications and prayers like to these, the soul itself shall be cherished and in- vigorated, and abound with that vitality which knows no death, though the body crumble into dust, and confess its ashes ! And thus, Christian Brethren, have I called your attention to this most perfect and most beautiful service once more from this place publicly, — having entreated you privately, and from house to house, these ten years and more, so to draw nigh that " the old serpent, seeing the blood of the Lamb upon our lips, may tremble to approach us^" Other books, and good ones too, have I recommended and circu- lated amongst you, — but, let me repeat it, there is no such excellent " Preparation for the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper," as the holy and devout, and there- fore Scriptural words, of the Service in itself For the present, I will add no more than the concluding words of the first part of that Homily which calls us to the worthy receiving of the Sacrament. " Be- loved, resorting to this Table, we must pluck up all the roots of infidelity, all distrust in God's promises, that we make ourselves living members of Christ's Body. For the unbelievers and faithless cannot feed upon that precious body. Whereas the faithful have their life, their abiding in Him, their union, and, as it were, their incorporation with Him. Wherefore, ^ These are the words of Ravenna a.d. 988, and died Pietro Damiano, or Peter Da- there a.d. 1072. Bishop Wil- mien, — that holy man and de- son quotes them in his Address vout, though a Cardinal and to his Clergy, of Rome. He was born at 82 Cnmmtunon, Baptismal, let us prove and try ourselves unfeignedly, without flattering ourselves, whether w^e be plants of the fruitful olive, living branches of the true vine, mem- bers indeed of Christ's mystical body; whether God hath purified our hearts by faith, to the sincere acknowledging of His Gospel, and embracing of His mercies of Christ Jesus, so that, at this Table, we receive not only the outward Sacrament, but the spiritual thing also ; not the figure, but the truth ; not the shadow only, but the body ; not to death, but to life ; not to destruction, but to salvation ; which God grant us to do through the merits of our Lord and Saviour ; to whom be all honour and glory for ever. Amen'." Baptismal ^erbim Proceeding, as proposed, and that all things may " be done decently and in order," after the teaching of the Prayer Book, your attention is to be called next to the Sacrament of Baptism. And here again, I would remind you, that no better instruction is to be found, than in the Baptismal Services themselves, grounded as they are on the sure word of Scripture ; and for this reason it has been well and wisely ordered (though much neglected of late years, whether from the alterations of the Font's^ position, or from other untoward circumstances,) that this Sacrament of Holy Church should be administered publicly, after the second lesson at Morning or ^ Homili'es, p. 414. Fonte.' " Hence the expres- ^ In the " Book of Edward sion in Jeremy Taylor, " They VI. the words of the Rubric must be brought to Christ by were ' at the Churches doore,' the Church-doors, that is, hy altered in the 2nd at the sug- //?ei^o«^ and waters of Baptism." gestion of Bucer, to 'at the Works, vol. viii. p." 152. antr otfitr ^erbires^ 83 Evening Prayer, '' that every man present may be put in remembrance of his own profession made to God in his Baptism." I said, Christian Brethren, that it was well and wisely ordered, and I purposely said so ; because, as long as these faithful services remain as they are, they are faithful witnesses to the doctrine of Christ and of His Church, — that is to say, to the doctrine of Regeneration in Baptism, which we have received as " a Catholic verity, founded in God's word, held by the universal Church from the time of the Apostles till the days of Zuinglius and Calvin, and deliberately retained by the Fathers of the Reforma- tionV The truth is, they loved not vain disputes, but believed to their souls' health and comfort these texts of Scripture which combined and identified Regeneration and Baptism together. " Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be boni again, he cannot see the kingdom of God;" words which, when Nicodemus understood not, our Blessed Lord was graciously pleased to expound to him thus, " Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John iii. 3, 5 "\) And he that was no mean proficient in the truth as it is in Jesus, was fain to accept his Lord's own interpretation, and bade Titus, his own son, after the common faith, (this being no point for private inter- pretation or private judgment,) to put the converts in mind, that " not by works of righteousness which 1 These words are from the with his excellent rule in § 2. Preface to the 2nd edition of of the former. " I hold it Bp. Bethell's Treatise on "Bap- for a most infallible rule in ex- tismal Regeneration," — a work positions of sacred Scripture, to be recommended without that when a literal construction reserve. will stand, the farthest from the '" On these verses, see letter is commonly the worst." Hooker's Eccles. Pol. v lix. Ix. Vol. ii. p. 336. G 9 84 Communion, baptismal, we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost y (Tit. iii. 5.) Such was the understand- ing of St. Paul, and those who wrote immediately after understood these words in the same sense. They disputed not, but believed, and did, as best they might, their Lord's bidding. They too, after the Apostles, strove to make disciples of " all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matt, xxviii. 19.) Those that believed, like Candace's eunuch in the Acts, and could say, as he did, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," (Acts viii. 37,) were ad- mitted to the Holy Laver. " They are then con- ducted by us," said the early martyr Justin", " to a place where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regene- rated." Young children also, touching whom our Saviour said, "Of such is the kingdom of God," (Mark X. 14,) have ever been baptized by the Church in their infancy. Born in sin, and the children of wrath, they are thus born anew to God. And, as of old, the child of eight days was circumcised, and so concluded within the covenant of the Law, so, — when that covenant decayed, and waxed old, and vanished away, and all were made new in Christ, — little children also be- came " new creatures,'' and the stammering tongue was embraced by the arms of the everlasting Gospel, fostering and cherishing their helplessness ^ or ever " The original words are : ° So Hooker beautifully "YjTtutu aynvrai vif )//z(J»' tvQa says, " By making us His own vcwp £OTt, Kcu TooKov uyayer- possessions so soon, many ad- vi](Ttii)Q uv Koi ijixtic avT()\ ai'a- vantages which Satan might yevv)idr]i.iev,u}'uyetn'U)i'Tai. Jus- otherwise take, are prevented, tin Mart. Apol. ii. 88. ed. and which should be esteemed Thirlby. a part of no small happiness, anlr otfter Entires?. 85 they could know the merciful graciousness of the New Covenant, in which Christ is the Head, and over all, blessed for ever ! Well then, again, saith the Scriptural Article of our Church, " The Baptism of young children is, in any wise, to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ" (Art.xxvii.) ; and He that wrote thus wrote well ; — " So that whosoever doth not baptize his children whilst children, seems to me to transgress the command of God, in not initiating them into the Church, according to His precepts ^" To what has been said above, I will add three paragraphs from Hooker's immortal work, which de- serve our most serious consideration; and methinks that many who are now offended with cases of un- canonical Baptism, might receive much quiet of mind were they to re-peruse and digest his no less laborious than beautiful remarks on that, perhaps, over-mooted subject. But this by the way; — what follows is of another sort and tendency. 1. " Baptism is a Sacrament which God hath in- stituted in His Church, to the end that they which receive the same might thereby be incorporated into Christ, and so, through His most precious merit, obtain as well that saving grace of imputation, which taketh away all former guiltiness, as also that in- fused divine virtue of the Holy Ghost, which giveth to the powers of the soul their first disposition towards future newness of life." 2. " As we are not naturally men without birth, the first thing whereof we have P See Bp. Beveridge's words occasion to take notice is, how on this article, vol. ii. p. 235. much hath been done already This work, now complete, is to our great good, though alto- the very best of its kind. It gether without our knowledge." was printed at the Clarendon Eccl. Pol. V. Ixiv. § 1. Press, 18i0. 86 Communion, 33aptis;mal, so neither are we Christian men in the eye of the Church of God but by new birth, nor according to the manifest ordinary course of Diyine dispensation new born, but by the Baptism which both declareth and maketh us Christians. In which respect we justly hold it to be the door of our actual entrance into God's house, the first apparent beginning of life, a seal, perhaps, to our grace of election, before receiyed, but to our sanctification"^ here a step that hath not any before it." 3. " If Christ Himself, which giveth salvation, do require Baptism, it is not for us who look for salva- tion to sound and examine Him, whether unbaptized men may be saved, but seriously to do that which is required, and religiously to fear the danger which may grow by the want thereof. Had Christ only declared His w^ill to have all men baptized, and not acquainted us with any cause why Baptism is neces- sary, our ignorance in the reason of that He en- joineth might, perhaps, have hindered somewhat the forwardness of our obedience thereunto ; whereas, now being taught that Baptism is necessary to take away sin, now have we the fear of God in our hearts if care of delivering men's souls from sin do not move us to use all means for their Baptism ^" The Baptismal Service consists of three parts, — 1. The introduction; 2. The preparatory office; 3. The administration of the Sacrament, with the conclusion. The first of these three parts, as is well ^ Jeremy Taylor's words are saved, their restitution to God's explanatory, " Sanctification of favour, which naturally, that children is their adoption to the is, as our nature is depraved inheritance of sons, their pre- and punished, they could not sentation to Christ, their con- be." Works, vol. ii. p. 281. signation to Christ's service, The whole of this chapter is and to resurrection, their being excellent. put into a possibility of being "^ Eccl. Pol. v. Ix. § 2 — 4. anir oti)tv ^tthitt^. 87 known to those versed in Liturgical matters, is chiefly made up from the old office for making a Catechumen previous to Regeneration. An able Ritualist will explain the matter. " During the primitive ages, those persons who desired to become Christians were first received into the class of cate- chumens, and gradually instructed in the doctrines and duties of Christianity, according to the capacity of their faith and morals. But, in the course of many ages, when the Christian Church had overspread the face of the world, and infidelity had become in most places extinct, the form of admission to the class of catechumens was from a veneration to old customs, in many places conjoined to the office of Baptism, and administered at the same time Avith it to the candidates for that Sacrament, whether they were infants or not." Thus much is enough to have men- tioned relative to the Introduction. Vestiges of the old rite will easily be discerned by those who seek for it in the first Book of Edward VI., more par- ticularly when compared with the office for making a catechumen in the manuals of Salisbury and York \ Let us now advert to the several parts. First comes the question, " Hath this child been already bap- tized, or no?" of which it shall suffice to say, in the words of Hooker, " Iteration of Baptism, once given, hath been always thought a manifest contempt of that ancient apostolic aphorism, ' One Lord, one ^ On this head, see Palmer, lustrated, 1838. The words vol. ii. p. 168, &c. It may be following, from p. 4, speak for as well to add, that the use of themselves, " Proficiat de die Salisbury and Archbishop Her- in diem, ut idoneus {vel idonea) man's Baptismal Liturgy are efficiatur accedere ad gratiam reprinted in the Rev. T. M. baptismi tui." Fallow's Baptismal Offices il- 88 Cdmmunion, asaptfemal. Faith, one Baptism.' — As Christ hath died and risen from the dead but once, so the Sacrament which both extino^uisheth in Him our former sin, and be- ginneth in us a new condition of life, is by one only actual administration for ever available, according to that in the Nicene Creed, ' I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins *.' " If the answer be " No," the priest proceeds with the Introduction, or Exhortation, which is most explicit in its doctrine, declaring that " all men are conceived and born in sin, and that our Saviour Christ saith. None can enter into the kingdom of God, except he be regenerate^ and horn aneiv of water and of the Holy Ghost." Thus, in the first instance, coming to the Font, and, as it were, at the Church-door, speaks the Church plain and open doctrine on the subject of Regeneration in Baptism, and the words are spoken to the whole congregation, so that he that hath ears to hear, may, if he will, "hear the Church!" And well it is observed, that sin original " hath a thousand witnesses in every man's breast, who will but consider how miserably he is inclined in many cases against his reason, his judgment, and his resolution." {Comber.) And, let me add, that the denial of it, as in the case of Pelagius and his followers, is but a side stroke against the Atonement, and has always been fol- lowed, more or less, by the contempt of Infant Baptism ". ^ Eccles. Pol. V. Ixii. § 4. him. The appendix is most " I would observe here, that valuable, especially "A.English those who will refer to Dr. Baptismal Liturgy compared Pusey's "Scriptural Views of withthoseof the ancient Church, Holy Baptism," without preju- and Liturgies on the ancient dice, will find the very fullest model, and contrasted with information, even if on some those derived from Zuingli and points they agree to differ with Calvin:" and " b. Ancient Bap- anil otijn ^ntires^. 89 Next come two Collects, both very ancient in matter, and derived from early Liturgies, even if the first, in the order of its sentences, seem to follow, whether some more recent form derived from Luther, Niirnberg, or Archbishop Herman, and was hence adopted by our early reformers. But all this matters not ; for " what is the chaif to the wheat ? saith the Lord." (Jer. xxiii. 28.) It is with their contents that we are concerned. — Then, those that by nature are born in sin, must flee to God for help, and so it is here written, and unto Him do we direct our prayer, and look up, who saved Noah and his family in the ark, and safely led Israel, his people, through the Red Sea, figuring thereby his holy Baptism, and sanctified water for ever by the Baptism of His well- beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in the river Jordan. And our present supplication is, that He who speaks to the rock, and the waters flow, would wash this present infant, and sanctify him, with the Holy Ghost. And what, if in the world it have to endure an angry baptism, fierce collision, rude shocks, the continual contradiction of sinners, scofls, and re- bukes, and sorer temptations still '^ ? — It matters not. The ark of Christ's Church is sea-worthy. Though the weaves of this troublesome world " are mighty, tismal Rites, retained at first in tinned to do so, horis subsecivis, the Reformed English Liturgy, from that time to this, and have but excluded at the advice of found the work in question al- Bucer." I wish to pay the together to be relied on. I same testimony as he does to should add here, that Martene the value of Mr. Palmer's Ori- is full of information as regards gines Liturgicse, as well as to the Baptismal Services, and acknowledge my obligations to that Mr. Bulley's Tabular View that work from its first publica- is a very useful work, tion. When it first came out, "^ Let such as love holiness, I was sifting and examining the and cherish the memory of sources of our Liturgy at the holy-minded men, read the recommendation of the late beautiful comment of Bishop Bishop Lloyd, and I have con- Home on Psalm cvii. 23 — 32. 90 Comintinion, Baptisiiual, and rage horribly, yet the Lord who dwelleth on high is mightier," (Ps. xciii. 5,) and He will save those to the uttermost that call upon Him, though deep were shout to deep for their destruction, and the very weeds, as about Jonah's, were wrapped about their heads ! (See Jon. ii. 5.) The second Collect is equally beautiful, wherein — the child as yet (so to say) being dead in trespasses and sins — we call upon Him, who is the life of them that believe, and the resurrection of the dead, that it may be spiritually regenerated ; — " that this infant may enjoy the everlasting benediction of thy hea- venly washing," O Lord, " and may come to the eternal kingdom, w^hich Thou hast promised by Christ our Lord." Wherein observe the expression " thy heamnly washing,'' and then consider how judicious are these words of Hooker : " The grace of Baptism cometh by donation from God alone. That God hath committed the ministry of Baptism unto spe- cial men, it is for order's sake in His Church, and not to the end that their authority might give being, or add force, to the Sacrament itself^." Verily, in this case, as in others, God is the Fountain of all goodness, and if we frame our sj^eech aright we shall confess with David, " All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee." ( 1 Chron. xxix. 14.) y See Eccles. Pol. v. Ixii. glory ofthe mysteries of Christ." 19. And we do well to re- Ibid. § 10.— I may remark member what he says in a pre- that after this Prayer, in the first ceding paragraph: "Evil mi- Book of Edw. VI. the Exorcism nisters of good things are as followed, which was omitted in torches, a light to others, a the second. Mr. Bulley gives waste to none but themselves Bucer's words on the subject only ; and the foulness of their in his Tabular View, pp. 235, hands can neither any whit im- 236. pair the virtue, nor stain the mxt} otijtv ^tvbitt^. 91 Then, as of ancient time in the English Churches, follows the Gospel, and this showeth that God will be as good as His word, so that the Congregation may be content on this point. As He saith by Malachi, " I am the Lord, I change not." (Mai. iii. 6.) And, indeed, Christ will for ever, as in the time of His humiliation, accept little children. As one says, " The kingdom of grace, the Church, consisteth of children, in age or in manners, — of them, and such as they are ; and the kingdom of glory, or heaven, shall be filled with infants blessed by Christ, and with men become as little children." 'Twas Christ that "took them in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them," thereby establishing a perpetual decree " that none do presume ever after to keep them from His grace, since they are capacitated for His glory." (Comber.) The Address, or Exhortation, and the Collect fol- lowing, would seem to be of somewhat more modern date", but nothing is to be found in them but sound doctrine, such as is to be found in all the Oflfices of our Church. As respects the first, which is a sort of Postil, you will observe. Christian Brethren, that it is addressed to the Congregation at large. All are herein exhorted not to doubt, but to believe earnestly, that our Saviour Christ will now receive infants favourably, as He did when " manifest in the flesh," — that He will still embrace them with the arms of His mercy, give unto them the blessing of eter- nal life, and make them partakers of His everlasting kingdom. Under this persuasion we faithfully and devoutly give thanks, as Christians ought to do. Let us ever be well assured of this ! " Yea, a joyful and ^ They seem to be after the of Archbp. Herman. See Biil- *' Simplex ac Pia Meditatio " ley's Tabular View, p. 237. 92 Commumon, 33aptis^mal, pleasant thing it is to be thankful !" (Ps. cxlvii. 1.) David was surely right. Accordingly, in the Collect, or Thanksgiving, we do so ; and having blessed God that He hath " vouchsafed to call us to the know- ledge of His grace, and faith in Him," we entreat Him to increase and confirm it, that we go on to perfection, and " grow in grace and in the know- ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," as our hope is the present infant will, beneath the same fostering arms, when regenerate, or horn again. Wherein, note again, how the Church holds fast to the form of sound words, and her ancient doc- trine ^ And thus far the Congregation at large have been minded of their Baptismal privileges and consequent duties. But now, a word of Exhortation is sjjecially directed to the Godfathers and Godmothers, — some- time called Sponsors and Sureties, and more an- ciently still (even as now in this Parish), Gossips'", — touching whom it may suffice to say at present, that none is able to make mention, under the Christian Dispensation, of that time when they were not re- ^ Here ended the Ordo Gate- was pronounced " Gossip " in chumenorum, and in first Book Verstegan's day, instead of of Edw. VI. the annexed Rubric ^' Godsib.'' He says, "Our follows this Prayer : " Then let Christian ancestors understand- the Priest take one of the chil- ing a spiritual affinity to grow dren by the right hand, the other between the parents, and such being brought after him. And, as undertook for the child at coming into the Church toivards Baptism, called each other by the Fo?it, say, " The Lord the name of " God-sib" which vouchsafe to receive you into is as much as to say, as that His holy household, and to they were sib together, i. e. kin keep and govern you alway in together through God. And the same, that you may have the child, in like manner, called everlasting life. Amen." Then, such, his Godfather, or God- standin(j at the Font, the Priest mother." Restitution of De- was to address the Godfathers cayed Intelligence, p. 223, ed. and Godmothers, &c. &c. 1628. ^ An old Saxon word. It anD otftn* ^erbirrsi* 93 quired to make answer for the little children, who, by reason of their tender age, were not able to make answer for themselves. Reason, too, there is to believe that we derive this custom from the Jews, and that the " faithful witnesses," taken by Isaiah, " to re- cord," (Isa. viii. 2,) were none other, but had the same duties to fulfil. We, however, use not this designation. Yea rather, " it savoureth more of piety," saith Hooker, " to give them tlieir old accus- tomed name of Fathers and Mothers in God, where- by they are w^ell put in mind what affection they ought to bear towards those innocents, for whose religious education the Church accepteth them as pledges ^" Neither, again, ask we needless ques- tions, but are of their opinion who note that " in- fants receive the good things of Baptism by the faith of those who represent them, even as (the an- cients note) the centurion's servant was restored by his master's faith, the man in the palsy by the faith of those who brought him, and Lazarus, though dead, was raised by his sisters' believing." (Comber.) Any how. Christian Brethren, Judah's words unto the aged Patriarch, his father, might be advantage- ously dwelt upon by each and every Sponsor ; " I will be surety for him : of my hand shalt thou re- ^ Eccles. Pol. book v. Ixiv. bly, bind themselves to that § 5. He pointedly asks pre- whereby their estate is so as- sently after, "That which a suredly bettered ? " §6. See guardian doth in the name of Bulley, p. 238, and the pithy his guard or pupil, standeth by remarks of Jeremy Taylor: " It natural equity, forcible for his having been so ancient a con- benefit though it be done with- stitution of the Church, it were out his knowledge. And shall well if men would rather hum- we judge it a thing unreason- bly and modestly observe, than, able, or in any respect unfit, like scorners, deride it ; in that infants, by words which which they show their own others utter, should, though folly, as well as immodesty." unwittingly yet truly and forci- Works, vol. ii. p. 289. 94 Commiittion, asaptissmal, quire him ; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever." (Gen. xHii. 9.) This, I say, they will do well to consider ; for in this Exhortation they are called upon with sober seriousness, and their vow also is upon them, inasmuch as God is pleased to receive them as bondsmen for the children " that cannot discern their right hand from their left," (Jonah iv. 11,) and in their name they have to pro- mise Repentance, Faith, and Obedience. And here, let it be observed by the way, that the Baptismal Covenant from the earliest days seems to have been made by question and answer. " Whereunto St. Peter (as it may be thought) alluding, hath said, that the Baptism ' which saveth ' us is not (as legal puri- fications were) a cleansing the flesh from outward impurity, but tTrep wrrj^a, an interrogative trial of a good conscience towards God." (Hooker's Eccles. Pol. V. Ixiv. 3.) The first question has reference to the ancient rite of Renunciation, which, in the early Church, as still in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, was signifi- cant, as it also was in our own earlier Liturgy till pared to the quick by Bucer. Of old, the person to be baptized, having entered the vestibule of the Baptistery, was ordered to turn his face to the West, and thrice having said, I renounce thee, Satan^l '^ See Gear's Eiicliologion, mark is short and to the pur- e. g. p. 277. Ivai lyid^vn-qaov Ka\ pose, " It is observable that tjUTrrvffoi'aurw, i. e. T-tJ Saraj^, the party renouncing did use and note, p. 2S6, where it oc- first to turn himself to the West, curs in the Order for making a — ' Primum renunciamus ei, Catechumen. The fullest source qui in occidente est ; ' and so of information is Cyril's Cat. renounce : and then, ' Versus Myst. i., where the interesting orientem pactum inimus cum and significant rite is dwelt Sole Justitiae,' turning to the on at length. L'Estrange'sre- East there we make a cove- aitir otfter ;i>er&to£;^ 95 was to spit, in token of abomination; — as in the Eastern Church an insufflation is used still, as a sign of enmity. — Sufficient yet remains in the first Ques- tion to show the primitive usage, and the Sponsors, in the infant's name, are to renounce the devil and all his works, together with the vain pomp and glory of the world. With us, as in the Oriental Church, the Profes- sion of Faith followed the Renunciation, and this was made with faces turned to the East ^ The form used was the Creed, or the material points of it, sometimes repeated by the Sponsors after the Priest ; at others not, as is the case with us. The Profession made, it is next demanded (of the child, as in the first Book of Edward VI.) " Wilt thou be baptized in this faith ? " — an interrogatory peculiar to the Churches of the West, — and " / ivill " is to be the solemn answer. After this follows that most ancient form which re- quires obedience, — " an irrevocable promise of obedi- ence by way of solemn stipulation V — and the sum of the matter is, that the child is pledged to live as the redeemed of His Lord, and to do all such good works as God hath prepared for him to walk in, through the Son of His love, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ ! Apart from all controversy, the promises made for them by their sureties, the infants, when they come of age, are bound to perform. The Interrogatories put, and the Covenant made nant with the Sun of Righteous- fant Christian may be put in ness." Alliance, p. 235. charge of every jot and tittle of ^'Atto cvfTfjcov TT^dc aiuToX}]!', the sacred Covenant which he Tov (pioTog TO ■)(jii)pioy, are Cyril's inherits." Serm. vol. ii. p. 298. words. Catech. Mystag. i. Jer. Taylor says, " by way of Mr. Newman truly observes, anticipation," vol. ii. p. 318. " In the Office for Baptism the ^ Hooker's Eccles. Pol. v. Articles of the Creed are re- Ixiv. § 4. cited one by one, that the in- 96 Commumou, JSaptismal, and concluded, four short prayers, after ancient models, are severally offered up, for — first. The Re- generation ; second. The Sanctification ; third. The Power against his Spiritual Enemies ; and fourth, For the Child's increase in Grace ; than which, it may suffice to say, that nothing can be more holy, fervent, solemn, devout, or comforting. None pre- sent but must confess that God is in them of a truth, and that they are redolent with sanctity ! sweet as those clusters of camphire in the gardens of Engedi ! (See Cant. i. 14.) Next followed the Prayer for the Benediction and Consecration of the Water, which of old was ac- companied with much pomp and circumstance, with divers accessories also in the Roman Church, but with the signing of the Cross in earlier and purer days, — though, as we read in the Apostolical Constitutions, the Consecration of the Water was originally by Prayer only^.. In the Eastern Church it was called the Benediction of the Font, and there the prayer for the Holy Spirit to sanctify the water'' was gene- ral, and so derived to the ancient Churches of Gaul, and thence to us ; but omitted afterwards, because it was a stumbling-block to weaker consciences, as ob- served in the Communion Service. It mav be re- marked here also, that in the Eastern Church the water was consecrated each time, as 7ioiv with us, — for in the first Book of Edward VI. we followed the Roman Church, which only had it consecrated afresh s Lib. vii. c. 43. On these Lectures, vol. iii. p. '26. Library points, see Palmer, vol. ii. pp. of the Fathers. The original 183 — 186. is, uyioTiiroQ kiriKTaTai. It may ^ " Plain water," says Cyril, be added that the Cross follows " after the Invocation of the Sanctify — in the first Book of Holy Ghost, and of Christ, and Edw. VI. See end of the of the Father, gives a sanctify- Office for Private Baptism, ing power." See Catechetical anU otfter Entires;* 97 when it became unfit for use. But enough of sucli matters. Let us look to the Prayer itself. And if any ask why we sanctify the water by " the Word of God and Prayer," ( 1 Tim. iv. 5,) it is enough to answer with Basil, "We do this, as well as many other weighty things, because of the constant tradi- tion and continual practice of the Church, which is a sufficient warrant in matters so reasonable and pious as this." (Comber.) And here observe how careful the Church is to gather up every fragment appertaining to the Passion. We read in St. John that "one of the soldiers with a spear pierced" our Saviour's "side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water." (John xix. 34.) On this the Church meditates in solemn thought, and knowing that every word of God is pure and significant, she thinks there may be benefit in this, and without intermeddling with secret things, she offers up her prayer unto the " Almighty and everliving God, whose most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins, did shed out of His most precious side both water and blood'." She then repeats the words of our blessed Lord's own Institution, which many will think, in themselves, the Consecration, — specially when backed by the prayers of the Congregation. Anyways, the Church is full of hope, entreating God to grant, that the child, now to be baptized, may * The words following are vint on the Depth and Mystery not quite after this rule, but of the Roman Mass, c. xi. p. they may be referred to never- 163, 3rd edit. 1673. theless. " The Church and all " De latere in cruce penden- her children are born out of the tis, lancea percusso, Sacramen- wounds and passion of their taEcclesiae profluxerunt." Au- Saviour, as Eve was out of the gust, in Joan. Tract, open side of her husband." Bre- H 98 Communion, aiaptieimal, " receive the fulness of His grace, and ever remain in the number of His faithful and elect children, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Herein again standing to that primitive doctrine, that it is in Baptism that we are elect and chosen, — that it is the Holy Ghost which not only sanctifies the water, but all the elect people of God. Hereupon follows the Administration of the Sacra- ment itself and the naming of the child, as in the Churches of Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexan- dria^ and it is a " new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." (Rev. ii. 17.) On this solemn occasion, as did the Jews at Circum- cision, Christians name their children ; and after like fashion, he that, ere he was struck down on his way to Damascus, was called Said the Persecutor, when baptized by Ananias became Paid the Apostle. (Cf Acts ix. 18, and xiii. 9.) As that devout Ritualist says, " We derive one name together with our original guilt from our parents, which ought to humble us, and mind us of our being born in sin; but this new name we receive at the time of our Rege- neration, to admonish us of our new birth and our heavenly kindred. This Christian name was given us when we were listed under Christ's banner, and it is a badge that we belong to God ; so that as often as we hear it we should remember the vow then made in our behalf" (Comber.) Then comes the form of Baptism itself, which, after our Saviour's own command, has ever been the same in the Holy Catholic Church throughout all the '' Palmer, vol. ii. p. 188. It letter, whereas the sirname has is curious to observe how, in but a small one. It shows thus ancient written and printed do- much at least, that our fore- cuments, the Christian name fathers held right views on the continually begins with a capital subject of Christian Baptism. anti otf)tv ^tvhitt^. 99 world. On which I will only observe that Priest and People should seal it with their " Amen." As one says, "to show they believe the child to be rightly baptized, and to desire God may ratify that in heaven which we have done upon earth." (Com- ber.) I will not say anything here on the subject whether of the lawful Minister, of affusion, or im- mersion'. Yea, rather let us meditate on God's great mercies in thus making infants his own, and let us bear in mind that Baptism is " a sign of Regenera- tion, or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church ; the promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed ; Faith is con- firmed, and Grace increased, by virtue of Prayer unto God." (Art. xxvii.) Then, Christian Brethren, let us "watch and pray !" ^ In countries more to the East than ours, dipping might be (as it is) more or less used, but "in the Western Church especially, this custom was dis- continued, and aspersion only used ; so that Erasmus noted it as a piece of singularity in us English, that in his time we used mersion." L'Estrange, p. 235. Wall, on Infant Bap- tism, remarks, " The dipping of Infants must have been pretty ordinary during the former half of King James's reign, if not longer. And for sprinkling, properly called, it seems it was, at 1645, just then beginning, and used by very few. It must have begun in the disorderly times after 41." p. 472. edit. 4to. 1707. On the words " to pour water upon it," Jeremy Taylor says : " And so it is highly conve- nient in Northern countries, ac- cording to the prophecy of Isaiah (iii. 15), ' So shall He sprinkle many nations,' — ac- cording as the typical expia- tions among the Jews were usu- ally by sprinkling. And it is fairly relative to the mystery, to the sprinkling with the blood of Christ." (1 Pet. i. 2.) Works, vol. ii. p. 294. On the other hand, see what this excellent Divine says of immersion, which he evidently inclined to. Vol. xiv. pp. 55. 62 — 67. It may be noted, that in the "Forord- net Alter-Bog for Danmark," the Baptismal Service is called " Daabens Sacramente." See p. 242. ed. 1830. H 2 100 Communion, asaptisimal. Afterwards, in the first Book of Edward VI., fol- lowed the putting on of the " white vesture, com- monly called the Chrism," and the anointing, for which ceremonies there w ere two prayers, significant and beautiful. These rites, however, having been coupled with superstitious practices, were omitted in the next Book, but the name of a chnj some-child is still retained amongst us, and coupled with inno- cence, and the infant whose alb of baptism serves it as a winding-sheet, is the envy of such as call the sins of their youth to remembrance, knowing well that chrysom-pence'^ cannot purchase their release, but only the blood of Christ ! However, immediately after Baptism as now ad- ministered, the child is received " into the Congre- gation of Christ's flock, and signed with the sign of the Cross," than which there is no ancienter custom known, nor one more fraught with religious meaning unto such as are not ashamed of the Cjoss of Christ. Yea, rather, it is for us, as for those of old, an ad- monition to glory in His service, " and not to hang down our heads, as men ashamed thereof, although it procure us reproach and obloquy at the hands of this wretched world"." Full well has it been said, *" The whole history of the of Women. " The woman that " C/^mm" is curious. Our Refor- is purified, must offer lier mers clearly did not confound it Chrism and other accustomed with the Chrism-cloth, as some offerings." Jeremy Taylor have done. It is curious that speaks of " dying Chrysoms." the Chrismales Denarii (see vol. ii. p. 196. Shakespeare Du Cange in v.) were paid in does, of course : what that is this Parish during the last cen- beautiful ever escaped his tury, — at least what was the notice ? relic of the custom. See " Hooker's Eccles. Pol. v. Cowel's Law Diet, and Nares' Ixv. § 6. Whoever would be Gloss, on the words. In the fully acquainted with the tra- first Book of Edward VI. the dition of the Cross's use should Chrism was to be offered at study the whole subject in the Purification, or Cluu-ching these masterly pages. anlr ott)tv ^tvbitt^. loi " Let the world deride a crucified Lord, and Athe- ism mock at the Cross of Jesus ! We are so far from being ashamed of our faith, that we glory in no- thing more than in the Cross of Christ, and therefore we print it upon the proper seat of blushing." (Com- ber from Cyril.) Furthermore, as the ancient sol- diery were marked with the badge of their profes- sion, and took the Sacr amentum, or military oath, — so, in a sort, is it with us, and the Prayer is, that each and every member of the Church militant here on earth, may manfully fight under his Lord's ban- ner, " against sin, the world, and the devil, and con- tinue Christ's faithful soldier and servant until his life's end°." On this point I will conclude in the words of an old Divine, adding first, that the sign of the Cross is made, with us, after Baptism, wherein we show that it is not essential, but reverent rather, decent also, and in order, after Apostolic precept. Mind, then, these words : " We have been baptized and consigned with the Spirit of God, and have re- ceived the adoption of sons, and the graces of sancti- tion in our Baptisms, and had then the seed of God put into us ; and then we put on Christ ; and enter- ing into the battle, put on the whole armour of righteousness ; and therefore we may, by observing our strength, gather also our duty, and greatest ob- ligation to fight manfully that we may triumph glo- riously*'." The concluding part of the Office is much after See Bishop Reynolds on the same, never to hold in- Hosea, who, in his Notes, telhgence or correspondence gives special reference to the with any of his enemies." subject of the " Sacramentum," Works, vol. iii. p. 227. So also ormilitaryoath,andsays,"Such Bp. Wilson's Serm. vol. iii. an oath have all Christ's sol- p. 241, and Bp. Nicholson on diers taken; and do, at the the Catechism, p. 152, Reprint. Lord's Supper and in solemn p Jeremy Taylor's Works, humiliations, virtually renew vol. ii. p. 196. 102 Communicin, asaptismal, that described in the Apostolical Constitutions. And here again we are called to the ancient doc- trine, and the Congregation is minded to return thanks that the child is regenerate, and grafted into the Body of Christ's Church. The old Adam is buried in Baptism, and it has arisen from the laver of Regeneration a new man quickened in righteous- ness"^. Impressed with this sense of Scripture, what have we to do, but to pray that the child "may lead the rest of his life according to this beginning," and what Prayer better than the Lord's Prayer, which, as respects the infant, could not be used before, whereas now it may, as it is made the elect child of God, and precious in His sight who has consigned little children to the special trust of His angels. The concluding Collect is an iteration still of the same doctrine, as though it could never be too fully inculcated. And herein, by the words, "It hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit," the Church presumes that this is the case at every Baptism. " And this," says Hammond, " may prove a solemn piece of comfort to some, who sus- pect their state more than they need ; and think it is impossible that they should be in a regenerate condition, because they as yet have not found any such notable change in themselves as they see and observe in others. These men may as well be jea- lous they are not men, because they cannot remem- ber when their soul came to them. If they can ^ The words referred to are that we are haptized or Cyril's, — i^u)O7roir]0tlc kv ciKain- fied,''^ &c. p. 34. Barrow has avvri — Comber, vol. iii. p. 420, like words : " In our Baptism, Note. Hence, possibly, we read wherein justijication and a title in the third Part of the Homily to eternal life, are exhibited to of Salvation, " Om' office is not us." Theolog. Works, vol. v. to pass the time of this present p. 470. life unfruitfully and idly, after antr otijtv ^erbites. 103 find the effects of spiritual life in themselves, let them call it what they will, a religious education, or a custom of well doing, or an unacquaintedness with sin ; let them comfort themselves in their estate, and be thankful to God who visited them thus be- times ; let it never trouble them that they were not once as bad as other men, but rather acknowledge God's mercy, who hath prevented such a change, and by uniting them to Him in the cradle, hath educated, and nursed them up in familiarity with the Spirit ^" To this holy doctrine, then, let us hold fast. Christian Brethren, that we, who have been made partakers of the death of Christ, may also be partakers of His resurrection, and with the residue of His Holy Church, inherit His everlasting kingdom ! " Blessed is he," as they sang in the Eastern Church, — most assuredly, " Blessed is he whose unrighteous- ness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered ! " (Psalm xxxii. 1.) After stating that all these Prayers and Collects are after models more or less ancient, — or so fashioned as primitive piety would have framed them, — I will pass on with this observation, not unfitted to our times. Let not any unrighteously hold to preferment " for a piece of bread," when he cannot conscientiously hold to the doctrine pre- scribed by the Church with peace of conscience. To resign were honesty — to retain the patrimony of the Church under such circumstances, but worldly policy, which is none of the best, shrewd though it be and profitable, — not however for doctrine, but rather for gain ! The Service concludes with an Exhortation to the " Hammond's Works, vol. iv. p. 666. edit, folio. Sermon on Gal. vi. 15. 104 Commiution, Baptisimal, Godfathers and Godmothers, minding them of, and instructing them in, their duties, — bidding them likewise to take care that the child be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him when of due age and fitly prepared. This, it would seem, is peculiar to the English Church, — at least, a like form is to be found in the ofliices of Salisbury and York, — though perhaps the exact words may be traced in a w^ork more recent' — a fact somewhat remarkable, inasmuch as Confirmation (which originally followed immediately after Baptism, as in the Eastern Churches still,) is in the Lutheran Church not re- stricted to the Episcopate. It was so, however, in the earliest times, and is so still with us. — Pity 'tis, Christian Brethren, that Godfathers and Godmothers are not more fully alive to their duties. Were it so, the infant would surely be taught the solemn vow and profession it made in Baptism ! Were it so, it would be brought to hear Sermons, (inasmuch as faith comes by hearing,) and waiting upon the sanc- tuary the Sureties would rejoice to say, " Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me ! " (Isa. viii. 18.) And then, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, in the vulgar tongue, — that is, every man's own tongue, or lan- guage, wherein he was born (Acts ii. 6 — 8), — would be riveted on the stammering tongue, and engrafted on the heart, and the soul's health would be as much thought on as the body's weal ! O then ! let us think on these things to do them, " remembering always * See the Extract from the as in the above Office this pas- " Simplex ac Pia Deliberatio," sage referred to immediately in Bulley's Tabular View, follows the Interrogatories to p. 254. The position of the the Sponsors. Exhortation, however, differs. aitU oti)tv ^tvbitt^. 105 that Baptism doth represent unto us our profession, which is, to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like unto Him ; that as lie died and rose again for us, so should we, who are baptized, die from sin, and rise again unto righteous- ness ; continually mortifying all our evil and cor- rupt affections, and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living ! " Affixed to this Office are two notes, or corollaries, the first of which states, " It is certain by God's word, that children which are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin, are undoubtedly saved;" and it is difficult to understand how it should have been, as it was, one of the greatest grievances complained of by the Dissenters*. Our Church, however, is firm on this head, and the doctrine is repeated in the Homily of Salvation, " Infants being baptized, and dying in their infancy, are by this sacrifice washed from their sins, brought to God's favour, and made His children, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven." The second relates to scruples touching the use of the Cross, of which something has been said before, and the Thirtieth Canon is referred to as explana- tory and to take them away. And it is well said by an old Divine: "There is reason to celebrate and honour the wisdom and prudence of the Church of England, which hath in all her offices, retained but one ritual or ceremony, that is not of Divine ordi- t See Dr. Cardwell's History curious error is mentioned in of Conferences, &c., p. 382, Rennet's Register, p. 643, as Note. The passage next quoted to the omission, by mistake, is froni the first Part of the of the words, " which are bap- Sermon on Salvation, p. 25. tized." On its being pointed This Homily was undoubtedly out, tlie Lord Chancellor Hyde Cranmer's. See Works, vol. ii. " supplied them with his own p. 121. ed. Jenkyns. A very hand." 106 Communion, asaptismal, nance or Apostolical practice, and that is, ' the Cross in Baptism :' — which though it be a significant cere- mony, and of no other use, yet as it is a compliance with the practice of all ancient Churches, so it is very innocent in itself : and, being one alone, is in no regard troublesome to those, that understand her power, and her liberty, and her reason"." Certainly, we cannot doubt, but do earnestly believe, that it is well with those servants of their God who have His name sealed and written in their foreheads ! (See Rev. vii. 3, and xiv. 1.) And now, having gone regularly through the Pub- lic Baptism of Infants," I shall make a few remarks on certain points in the other two Services, — " Pri- vate Baptism," that is, and " The Baptism of such as are of Riper Years." First, as regards Private Baptism; — Observe, that it is lawful and sufficient Baptism, and not to be repeated. So that the common expression of nam- ing a child in private, unconnected, as it frequently is, with Baptism, is an ignorant and improper form of speech ; for there is but " one Baptism for the remission of sins." The receiving the child into the Congregation of Christ's flock is quite a different matter — but when this is done, the validity of Pri- vate Baptism is notified to the Congregation, and the rest of the Service adapted to the occasion. The Church, however, where the Font is, being the fit " Jeremy Taylor's Works, Hampton Court, was so abiin- vol. xiv. p. 112. Hear also dantly satisfactory to the fore- what L'Estrange says, " The man of those opponents, Dr. Church is so exceedingly ex- Reinolds, as, having once pe- press and perspicuous in her rused it, he ingenuously pro- explanation of the use thereof, fessed he would never gainsay as nothing can be desired more; that ceremony any more." See which explication being the Alliance of Divine Offices, product of the Conference at p. 240. anil otijtv Entires?* 107 place for the celebration of this Holy Sacrament, the people are to be admonished not to defer the Baptism of their children, nor without great cause or necessity to procure them to be baptized at home in their houses. It is when sickness intervenes that the Minister of the Parish, or, in his absence, an^ other lawful Minister'', \^ to christen the child, — not otherwise. It will be observed, that at the end of this Office there is an omission of the direction to admonish Sureties " that they take care to bring the children to be confirmed by the Bishop. With respect to which I will only say, that it was a Rubric in the earlier offices, but being changed to an admonition at the last Review in the " Public Baptism of In- fants," was, in all likelihood, intended to be repeated on the admission of those to the Church who had been baptized in private. "The omission of it, or of a direction about it," says Sharpe, " was probably accidental and not designed^." It only remains to add, that if there be any doubt as to the proper and essential Baptism of the child, an hypothetical form of words is enjoined, — " a very ^ It is not necessary here to opinion of Bp. Cosin was much enter on the disputed point of the same. The truth seems to Lay-Baptism. The voice of be, Factum valet, fieri non de- the Church in ordinary cases is hnit. See his Letter to Mr. clear, and the regularly ordained Cordel in Mr. Bulley's Tabular Minister is the only fit person View, p. 262, as well as Bishop to officiate. This is acknow- Fleetwood's remarks. L'Es- ledged in the Romish Church, trange, p. 241, &c. It maybe where we know that Lay-Bap- added here that the Compilers tism does take place, and it of this Office had still Archbp. may be argued, with Bp. Fleet- Herman's Work before them, wood, that none of the Rubrics and that Sharp agrees with Bp. in this Service pronounce it Fleetwood. On the Rubric, invalid, though there can be no p. 32. doubt as to what was the ani- ^ On the Rubric, p. 38. mus of the Compilers. The 108 Communion, 33apti£{mal, prudent and Christian injunction, and derived from the fifth Council of Carthage'';" — and that in the Rubric preceding, "dipjmig'' only of the chikl is pre- scribed, from which it may possibly be concluded that increased strength at such a time need not hinder that custom which w^as prior to affusion, or sprinkling. It is a matter, however, of no consequence, and is only alluded to by the way. That all be done " de- cently and in order " is the main point. " The Ministration of Baptism to such as are of Riper Years, and able to answer for themselves," w as added at the last Review ""j owing to the growth of Anabaptism and Quakerism during the grand Rebel- lion, and is still very serviceable in our Colonies when adults are to be baptized. It being a form, however, not often used with us, in the present day, notice of its being required is to be " given to the Bishop, or w^hom he shall appoint for that purpose, a w^eek before at least, by the Parents, or some other discreet persons ; so that due care may be taken for " the Candidates' " examination, whether ^ L' Estrange gives the words of Nowel on this head, p. 187, " Placuit de infantibus, quoties Note. non inveniuntur firmi testes, ^ This Office is supposed to qui eos sine controversia Bapti- have been drawn up by Dr. zatos esse dicant, sine ulla of- George Griffith, Bishop of St. fensione posse eos baptizari." Asaph. See Athenae Oxoni- AlHance, &c., p. 242. Sparrow enses, vol. iii. p. 755. ed. BHss. likewise refers to them in his " In 1662, in a Convocation of Rationale, p. 243. Concil. the Clergy, then held, he con- Carth. V. can. vi. The Rubric curred effectually in drawing here is after Archbp. Herman's up the Act of Conformity, and Book. That it was a debated making certain alterations in point, see Lord Clarendon's the Common Prayer then set Life, vol. ii. p. 132. For the out, and 'tis thought the form of question of "Dipping," Sharp baptizing those of riper years on the Rubric, p. 30. It is not, was of his composing.''' He died, however, to be supposed that 28th Nov. 1666. See also Dr. '^dipping" necessarily means Cardwell's Hist, of Conferences, immersion. See Churton's Life &c., p. 370. mib otijtv Entires?* loo they be sufficiently instructed in the principles of the Christian religion; and that they may be ex- horted to prepare themselves with Prayers and Fast- ing for the receiving of this holy Sacrament." So thoughtful is the Church on such an occasion ! Care- ful readers will note likewise, that throughout the Office the officiating person is called "the Priest," and will call to mind that Deacons at their Ordina- tion receive authority only to baptize Infants, and even that, "in the absence of the Priest''." There is no need to make too much of hints like these, — but they show how intent the compilers of the Liturgy were on the Ministrations of the Sanctuary, — on decency, and order, and reverential regard ! But there is little here to which I need call your attention, — only, then, let me entreat you to weigh well the Gospel from St. John, (our Saviour's dis- course with Nicodemus,) and the Exhortation on it, which commences thuswise : " Beloved, ye hear in this Gospel the express words of our Saviour Christ, That except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Whereby ye may perceive the great necessity of this Sacrament, ivhere it 7nay be had T — words specially to be noted, inasmuch as they declare that it is gene- rally, not absolutely, necessary to salvation, as after- wards expressed in the Catechism. God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, like His own word, is not bound, (2 Tim. ii. 9,) and He can save as it seemeth Him best, and He hath uncovenanted mercies, — but then, when it may be, we are to receive the merits of His Beloved Son in the way He hath ^ See Mr. Robertson's "How to Conform," &c., p. 177. Ap- pendix. 110 Communion, Baptis^mal, commanded, and after the obedience of Faith ; and this way, in the first instance, is by the laver of Re- generation in Baptism. To this let it be added, that the Questions in this Office are put to the persons themselves, inasmuch as they are enabled to make the requisite profession ; and although Godfathers and Godmothers are ap- pointed, it is rather to be " ready to present them at the Font," than for other purpose. It is indeed a matter of decency and order, and so to be observed, and they are, as in the Exhortation, " to put them in mind of the solemn vov^, promise, and profession made," and to call upon them to use all diligence to be rightly instructed in God's holy Word ;" — but the pith of the address is to the baptized adults them- selves ; " And as for you, who have now by Baptism put on Christ, it is your part and duty also, being made the children of God and of the light, by faith in Jesus Christ, to walk answerably to your Christian calling, and as becometh the children of light." Lay these things to heart. Christian Brethren, for al- though " it is not God's will ordinarily to bestow the grace of sacraments on any, but by the Sacraments," yet it is an awful truth that " all receive not the grace of God which receive the sacraments of His grace V And thus, having spoken at large on these excel- lent Services, which, although not mere forms of in- ^ Hooker's Eccles. Pol. v. reference to Hooker's words : Ivii. 4, 2, 3, 5. We are to bear "For of the Sacraments the in mind, " that the grace which very same is true which Solo- the worthy receiver partakes of mon's wisdom observeth in the is not from any natural or su- brazen serpent, ' He that turned pernatural quality in the Sacra- towards it was not healed by ment, but from God Himself, the thing he saw, but by Thee, the Author of the Sacraments." O Saviour of all.' " Wisd. xvi. As Bp. Nicholson observed with 7. anlr otijtv ^nbitt^. in struction, (for that were a low view of them,) yet contain more instruction than any books ever writ- ten on them, — I will conclude with certain para- graphs from Hooker, wherein he speaks of the ne- cessity of Sacraments unto the participation of Christ. And first, " Let respect be had to the duty which every Communicant doth undertake, and we may well determine concerning the use of Sacra- ments, that they serve as bonds of obedience to God, strict obligations to the mutual exercise of Christian charity, provocations to godliness, preservations from sin, memorials of the principal benefits of Christ; respect the time of their institution ; and it thereby appeareth that God hath annexed them for ever in the New Testament, as other rites were before with the old ; regard the w^eakness which is in us, they are warrants for the more security of our belief; com- pare the receivers of them with such as receive them not, and Sacraments are marks of distinction to se- parate God's own from strangers ; so that in all these respects they are found to be most necessary. But their chiefest force and virtue consisteth not herein so much as in that they are heavenly ceremonies, which God hath sanctified and ordained to be ad- ministered in His Church, first, as marks whereby to know when God doth impart the vital or saving- grace of Christ unto all that are capable thereof, and secondly, as means conditional which God require th in them unto whom He imjiarteth grace." And then, again : " This is therefore the necessity of Sacraments. That saving grace which Christ ori- ginally is, or hath for the general good of His whole Church, by Sacraments He severally deriveth into every member thereof Sacraments serve as the in- struments of God to that end and purpose ; moral 1 12 Communion, a3aptis;mal,anl» otfter^nttesi* instruments, the use whereof is in our hands, the effect in His ; for the use we have His express command- ment, for the effect His conditional promise : so that without our obedience to the one, there is of the other no apparent assurance ; as contrariwise where the signs and sacraments of His grace are not either through contempt unreceived, or received with con- tempt, we are not to doubt but that they really give what they promise, and are what they signify. For we take not Baptism, nor the Eucharist for hare re- semblances, or memorials of things absent, neither for naked signs and testimonies assuring us of grace received before, but (as they are in deed and in verity,) for means effectual whereby God, when we take the Sacraments, delivereth into our hands that grace available unto eternal life, which grace the Sacraments represent or signify." flet all tijings fie tione tiecnttlp antr in ortier/^ PART III. BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. C6e €i)xm\) Caterftfem, Confirmation, $ct< Cfte Cftunb e^Utlji^m. 1 Corinthians xiv. 40. " Let all things be done decently and in order." T PROCEED next to say a few words on what our Church, following in the steps of reverent antiquity, called " A Catechism, that is to say, An Instruction to be learned by every person before he be brought to be Confirmed by the Bishop." To which it may be added, that it was always an In- struction by word of mouth, short, in the first in- stance, and concise, according to the capacities* of little children. Catechism is in fact a Greek word, and is, so to say, an echo of words previously re- peated by the Teacher, or Catechist. In the words of an ancient Father, " Catechism is the knowledge of religion first delivered to the ignorant by the Catechist, and then by them repeated over again ^" ^ See the beautiful remarks ^ Clemens Alexandrinus calls of Hooker, " With religion it a Catechism avvro^og TraiSeia^ fareth as with other sciences," The latter words are quoted &c. Eccles. Pol. V. xviii. § 3. both by Comber and Bishop i2 116 Cbe CfturrI) Caterftis^m* Our expression of sou7idmg a person in his know- ledge has still reference to the primitive custom of the Church with respect to Catechumens, who were sifted and examined in their proficiency, after hav- ing been repeatedly instructed in the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and other points of Christian know- ledge. It was deemed of the highest importance that children should be thus prepared and imbued with godliness ; and as the Jews in every village had their Instructor of Babes, (to whom possibly St. Paul may allude, Rom. ii. 20.) so the early Christians, in every Church, herein following their example, were careful to have their Catechist, — such as were Clemens and Origen at Alexandria, and Cyril at Jerusalem, whose Catechetical lectures are still ex- tant, and models for Catechists "" to follow, allowances being made for times and seasons, and place and country. As one excellently says, '' Such echoes and sounds ought to be observed accurately by all Catechists, who are not to teach for doctrine their own conceptions, but to sound into the ears of others what they have heard, and nothing but what they have heard ; to wit, the certain words of their Master and His Disciples first sounded in the Gospel*^." Andrewes, Kar/y^^^^C kaTiv one again. And such is the £Tn(TT})iJ.rj deoaefitiac to~iq dirt'i- repetition which is required of juotg ri^i] Trapa^ode'iara vtto kut- the right and true k"arr/)(ou^£i'o*, 7j)(r/rou, Koi TrciXiv diro^odt'iaa young Catechized Christians : vtt' avTuJv. The words of An- and those places are called drewes in his Introduction, Karrix^'^Q that give the whole verse containing the use and benefit or word again." p. 4, ed. 1675. of Catechizing, are as follow : folio. Bishop Nicholson's "In /carr^)^£a»is included an ite- words are much the same, ration, and from //x^'^ we have ^ That is, in a course of Ca- our word ec/^o. 'Hx£w is in- techetical Lectures, " when," as deed to sound the last syllable, Hooker says, *' we make it a and such sounders happily kind of preaching." Eccl. Pol. there are enough ; but KaTr]^i(o v. xviii. 3. is to sound in the whole, after ^ These words are from Bp. Cfte €inm\) Caterftfem* 117 You will read, in the sixth part of the " Homily against Wilful Rebellion," that very few of the simple people w^ere taught so much even (w^hen Rome bore dominion in this land) as "the Lord's Prayer, the Articles of the Faith, and the Ten Commandments, otherwise than in Latin, which they understood not'';" in other words, they were uncatechized. So that it is not written without a cause, — " The inter- mission of this duty, in succeeding times, was one of the causes w^hich occasioned and perpetuated the ignorance and errors of what are truly called the dark ages ; and when at last, after ten centuries, light began to daw n, the Council of Trent, to pre- vent the diffusion of it, strictly prohibited the read- ing of the Scriptures in the vernacular tongue, and forbade the use of all Catechisms, and expositions even of the Apostles' Creed, and Ten Command- ments. Genuine learning, however, and true re- ligion, could not for ever be suppressed ; and when they revived together in the sixteenth century, the importance of early instruction by Catechetical forms was again acknowledged ; and Erasmus, and Luther, and Melancthon, and Calvin, and others, wrote Cate- chisms ?' Nicholson, whose " Exposition ner of Jeremy Taylor in school- of the Catechism of the Church keeping, during those thnes of of England" is perhaps the trouble. He died Feb. 5th, best. It has been reprinted in 1671, and his Epitaph was writ- the Library of Anglo-Catholic ten by Bishop Bull. Theology. It should be ob- ^ See p. 543. served that, like Wheatly, he ^ See Churton's Life of Alex- has used all words that suited, ander Nowel, § vii. pp. 151 — without special reference. Some 197. No better work can be few are noticed in the new edi- referred to. On the question tion, but even Hooker is occa- as to whether Nowel was the sionally passed over without a author of this Catechism, see reference. He was Bishop of p. 184 and notes. What is said Gloucester, but perhaps is most in the text relative to the pro- easily remembered as the part- hibition of Catechisms, would 118 €i)t CJ)iirrI) €nUtl)i^nu And it would seem, that if Luther delighted in catechizing more than in any other of his works, our Cranmer ^ did none the less, and took care that little children should be well provided with wholesome doctrine in a short form of words, as may be seen in the first Book of Edward VI., where our present Catechism appears, much as it is now, save only the Doctrine of the Sacraments, which was rather added, or reduced into a more compendious form from pre- viously existing sources, than composed ^ by Bishop Overall, after the Conference at Hampton Court. With these additions, and as we have it now, it is exactly fitted to its proper use. As Wheatly ex- presses himself in the collected judgment of others : "It excels all Catechisms that ever were in the world; being so short, that the youngest children may learn it by heart ; and yet so full, that it con- tains all things necessary to be known in order to salvation." Look well to it. Christian Brethren, and see that your children know it thoroughly, for therein will they find how their vows are upon them, — their Duty to God and man '\ — the ends of seem to relate only to heretical does Mr. Bulley, in his Tabu- ones ; that is, to all hut Romish lar View, p. xvi. " This com- ones. See note, and then cf. position was from the pen of Comber, vol. iii. p. 446, where Dr. Overall, Dean of St. Paul's, he speaks of the praise of cate- and remains a lasting monument chizing as delivered at Trent. to the memory of that learned Concil. Trident. Sess. 24. c. 7. andgoodman." See L' Estrange, s Not spoken of as a Com- p. 257. But Churton is, no poser of Catechisms, but care- doubt, right, ful they should be used. He ^ It has been conjectured, possibly, however, translated that " Bp. Goodrich drew up that of Justus Jonas. See Pre- these admirable summaries of face to " Cranmer's Catechism," our Duty to God and our neigh- by E. Burton. Clar. Press, 1829. hour, which he caused to be ^ On this point, see Chur- inscribed, where they still re- ton's Life of Nowel, p. 186. main, on a part of the Episcopal L'Estrange attributes the com- Palace at Ely." Churton, p. positionof it to Bp. Overall, as 155, and Appendix, p. 401. €i)t €i)xntf) entttWm. 119 Prayer excellently explained in the " Desire" — and the power of the Sacraments declared to be, what verily and indeed they are — the power of God unto salvation, through Christ! So that one may ask, with a great Divine, "Can any man, living in the Church, allege any tolerable cause why he should be ignorant of his Catechism, — a thing so short and plain, and yet so full as to all things necessary to be believed or practised by a Christian, that common sense and common industry may make any one a master of it?" (South, vol. ii. 368.) But without dwelling on its excellency in particulars, let me repeat what a most competent judge has stated with respect to its teaching as regards the Lord's Supper ^ which is indeed a sample of the whole : " We have every thing necessary to be known con- cerning it, briefly but fully set down in our Church Catechism : so briefly, that a child may learn it all ; and yet so fully, that the greatest scholar upon earth need know no more, in order to his worthy receiv- ing this holy Sacrament." Again, " If any be igno- rant" of certain points, "it is but turning to the Catechism in the Common Prayer Book, and there they may find them; as they may all things else that are requisite for them, either to know or be- He was one of the Compilers turn est rei sacrse signum, &c. of Edward VI. 's Liturgy. The St. Austin. And in this large Catechism, there, (in the Order sense the ancients apply it to of Confirmation,) ends with the twenty several things. But be- Desire. cause some were instituted by ^ Any who may wish further our Saviour as the proper badges remarks on such expressions of our Christian profession, and as ^^ generally necessary,'' and effectual signs of grace, and *' verily and indeed taken,'' will God's good will towards us, find the matter simply put by they alone by our Church are Jer. Taylor, Works, vol. x. owned for proper Sacraments, p. 438, and ix. p. 424, 5. Of which defineth a Sacrament to a " Sacrament," L'Estrange's be. An outward," &c. Alliance, words are clear: "Sacramen- p. 230. 120 Cfte Cfturri) Caterftis^m. lieve, or do, or desire, that they may be saved." And as regards the answer to the last question : — " Which words are so plain, that they cannot be made plainer; and yet so full, that they contain all that can be truly and pertinently said upon the subject. If ye read all the books that have been written, and all the directions that are there given about your ^^re- paration to the Lord's Supper, you will find a great many more words ; but all that are to the purpose amount to no more than what is here said '." Truly doth our Church teach here, what the Holy Catholic Church hath taught throughout all the world ! Truly doth she acknowledge also the baptized to be sanctified of the Holy Ghost, and the elect people of God "" ! Happily in the present day there is no reason to complain of the want of pains taken by the Ministry in the instruction of the people. For this every sinew is stretched, every nerve braced, even till we are overwrought. Let not, then, the people forget their duties — let them se7id their children to be catechized — in the words of that wise and ancient Rubric, let "all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Dames, cause their children, servants, and appren- tices, (which have not learned their Catechism,) to come to the Church at the time appointed, and obediently to hear, and be ordered by the Curate, until such time as they have learned all that is here appointed for them to learn." I press not the words literally. Christian Brethren ; the equitable sense of them is all that is needed, which declares as well as requires that much forgotten truth, that masters of ^ Bp. Beveridge, " Of Fre- is an excellent Manual, quent Communion." Works, "^ See Jackson's Works on vol. i. pp. 579, 580. His this head, vol. iii. p. 470. *' Church Catechism explained" folio. Conftrmaticiiu 121 families are answerable, in a sort, for the religion of their households ! But where, indeed, as one well asks, " Where is that care to read God's word, and to teach it to our children and servants, and to per- form the duties of devotion, both at Church and in our own houses, that was practised in former times "?" Let us roll off this reproach, if it be true, so that the children may be brought better prepared for their ° Confinnation* The Title of this Office runs thus: "The Order of Confirmation, or Laying on of Hands upon those that are baptized, and come to years of discretion," with special reference to St. Paul's words, which tell of the " doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands," as first principles of the school of Christ (Heb. vi. 2) ; and until the Restoration, this Office and the Catechism were printed as one, the latter being inserted between the Rubric relating to Con- firmation, and the order for administration for it. And here, as in other her services, the teaching of our Church is after ancient models, and full of in- struction. To the several parts of this Office, I will presently call your attention, having observed, first, ° Abp. Sharpe's Sermons, "If this duty be neglected, we vol. iv. p. 220. may preach our lungs out if we ° Bp. Hall observes, in his will, but with little effect ; Peace-maker, § xxiii. that it when we have spent all our was King James's observation, wind upon the ears of our peo- " that the reason why so many pie, their hearts will be still apt of ours were perverted to po- to be carried away with every pish superstition was, for that Wind of Doctrine:' Works, vol. the people were not well ground- iii. p. 582, 3. ed. folio. Bp. ed by due catechizing in the Wilson, I recollect, has some- principles of Christian Reli- where much the same words, gion;" and he concludes with and so has Jer. Taylor ; Works, this quaint remark of his own : vol. xi. p. 293. 122 Confinnatioiu that it was anciently, as well as still, a rite which the Bishop only was empowered to fulfil; for you may observe, that when Philip went down to Samaria's city, and preached Christ unto them, on their be- lieving, they were baptized. Phihp, however, was but a Deacon, and so we find that something w^as wanting to make them perfect. Accordingly St. Luke tells us, " When the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the w^ord of God, they sent unto them Peter and John : who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost : (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them ; only they were bap- tized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." (Acts viii. 14—17.) Thus the matter stands, and, in the stead of dwelling on disputed points, I will read to you some sober words of Hooker p, who says, " The ancient custom of the Church was, after they had baptized, to add there- unto imposition of hands, with effectual prayer for the illumination of God's most Holy S23irit, to con- firm and perfect that which the grace of the same Spirit had already begun in Baptism." It w^as held, in fact, to be an "ordinance Apostolic, always profit- able in God's Church, although not always accom- panied wdth equal largeness of those external effects which gave it countenance at the first." And so, "The Fathers every where impute unto it that gift or grace of the Holy Ghost, not which maketh us first Christian men, but when we are made such, assisteth us in all virtue, armeth us against tempta- tion and sin." And how need we scruple to say, that herein we " maintain a distinction of the Holy ^ See Eccles. Pol. v. Ixvi. i. 4, &c. Conflrmatioiu 123 Ghost, bestowed upon Christ's Apostles before His ascension into heaven, and augmented upon them afterwards — a distinction oi grace infused into Chris- tian men by degrees, planted in them at the first by- Baptism, after cherished, watered, and (be it spoken without offence) strengthened as by other virtuous offices, which piety and true religion teacheth, even so by this very special benediction whereof we speak, the Rite or Ceremony of Confirmation ''." As before hinted, Confirmation in earlier times immediately followed Baptism ; and the Bishops of the Church were present, as usually they were, at those solemn times of initiation — the vigils of Easter, Pentecost, and the Epiphany. Afterwards, as Chris- tianity spread, Bishops were not always at hand, and so by degrees (unnecessary now to detail at length) the rite came to be deferred, as with us. In the Eastern Church, however, another alternative was devised, and Presbyters were permitted to confirm, as they do until this day; with whom also that ancient custom of the Anointing or Chrism is re- tained, giving name to their office ^ With us it was ^ L'Estrange's words are : — almost the sole practice." Alli- " This ceremony was considered ance of Div. Offices, p. 252. by the Apostles and succeeding Hooker's beautiful passage on Fathers as the completory and this head will not be easily sur- close of Baptism ; not that Bap- passed. See ut supra, § 7. tism was ineffectual without it, ^ Goar's words on those of but as an assistant to it ; and, the Ritual — XP*^^ ^''^ (ja-Kxia- therefore, Confirmation in per- Qiv-a -J ay'no fxvpu) — are these, sons adult immediately sue- " Ex totius ejusdem portionis ceeded the very act of baptizing orientalis fide, quae septem and dipping. And if the Pri- admittit sacramenta, secundum, mitive Church hold herself ob- in hac unctione constituit; quod- liged to preserve it upon the que nobis Confirmatio, ipsi score of Apostolical usage, and non alia quam ■^(jiiafxaToc, ») to render it unto such as were ay iov fxvpov voce exprimitur." of full growth, much more rea- Eucholog. p. 300, &'c. Jer. son have we to continue it, Taylor entitles his Treatise with whom Paedo-Baptism is \piaiQ TeXeiwTiKij, with refer- 124 Confirmation* formerly used in Baptism, and may be seen in the first Book of Edward VI. Any how, it may be traced to very ancient times, to the end of the second or third century, and is mentioned by Tertul- lian and Origen, and was intended to represent the grace of the Holy Spirit then conferred, " an Unction from the Holy One." (1 John ii. 20.) It is enough, however, to have hinted at these points, and I will only add, that Confirmation was formerly admi- nistered at an earlier age amongst us than it is now, as early indeed as at the age of five, which mis'ht be collected from that Rubric at the end of the Catechism : " Every one shall have a Godfather or Godmother, as a Witness of their Confirmation V' a ceremony which the Parochial Clergy now fulfil by their presence, and consequent testimony, if needed. It has been said by one who knew the Lord's will and did it by His help, that " it hath been the lot of this sacred rite to fall into ill hands, and to be foully wronged by a double extreme ; the one of excess, the other of defect ^" As regards the both, we have reason to thank God the reproach is rolled ence to the supposed words of Baptism, but that of Confirma- St. Dionysius. It is a very tion [iv^ov and ^^ia^a. L'E- beautiful work, and pious as strange should likewise be con- beautiful. His words on this suited, p. 259, &:c. point are : "St. Dionysius calls ^ Sparrow notes, referring to Baptism 7>/»'t£(L)avri)&6£oyoj'iac the Decretals, " the Godfather reXtiwatv, the perfection of the may be the same that was at Divine birth ; and yet the bap- Baptism, but in most places the tized person must receive other custom is to have another." mysteries, which are more sig- See Rationale, p. 246, and nally perfective : 7/ rov fxvpov L'Estrange, p. 261. Likewise XpiaiQ reXiUDTiKii' confirmation Comber, vol. iii. p. 457. is yet more perfective, and is ^ The allusion is to Bishop properly the perfection of Hall's beautiful Treatise, his Baptism." Vol. xi. p. 230. It Xeipode^ria. See Works, vol. should be added, that tXawi- iii. p. 877, ed. folio, was the name for the oil in Confirmation 125 off. We do not neglect, neither do we deteriorate the office ; yea, rather, we think, with Hooker, tliat the former " small regard hereunto hath done harm in the Church of God," and that the print of those evils which grew through neglect still remains be- hind ; like the scar, it tells where the wound was. On the other hand, however, we err not on the side of excess ; we neither think it to be, nor call it, a Sacrament ; as it is not, as our Article expresses it, of like nature with the Sacraments of Bai)tism and the Lord's Supper ; neither again hath it any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God, (Art. xxx.) which is to us a difference specific. " That it is an excel- lent and divine ordinance to purposes spiritual ; that it comes from God, and ministers in our way to God ; that is all we are concerned to inquire after " :" ad- mitting it, after the doctrine of the ancients, to be still "a sacramental complement," and bearing in mind that very clear and forcible instruction which is given us on this head in the Homily of Common Prayer and Sacraments, where the sense of the word Sacrament, its wider sense, I mean, being admitted; and the Visitation of the Sick and the Confirmation of children being mentioned ; it goes on to declare, that "no man ought to take these for Sacraments, in such signification and meaning as the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ; but either for godly states of life, necessary to Christ's Church, " These words are Jeremy may be attributed to anything Taylor's, vol. xi. p. 234. The whereby an holy thing is signi- next are Hooker's, quoting Je- fied," p. 330. They appHed rome, ut supra, § 6. The that title, says L'Estrange, "to words of the Homily are in all things of mysterious import p. 331. ed. 1822, and it is said in a large construction," p. 251. above, that, after the ancient See also Bingham, book xii. 1, writers, " in a general accepta- § 4. tion, the name of a Sacrament 126 Conflrmatiom and therefore worthy to be set forth by public action and solemnity, by the ministry of the Church, or else judged to be such ordinances as may make for the instruction, comfort, and edification of Christ's Church." And with these remarks I shall pass on to the Service itself. The Office commences with an address, which is peculiar probably to the rite of Confirmation in the English Church, and, as I said before, was formerly a part of the Rubric. It is in itself clear and in- structive, and states our Church's will, that none "hereafter shall be confirmed but such as can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Com- mandments," the more ancient requisites, "and can answer also to such other questions as in the short Catechism are contained." And this order is stated to be convenient, that children being now come to years of discretion, may take upon them their own vows. Not much unlike to which, say the Ritualists, " is that custom of the Jews, of bringing their chil- dren before the congregation at thirteen years old, when they have learned the Law and the Mischna, and their daily j^rayers, whereupon they are declared sons of the precept, and are henceforth to answer for their own sins "." The address read, the Bishop puts that imposing question, the substance of which is, Whether the Candidates do, in the presence of God and the con- gregation, " renew the solemn promise and vow that ^ See Comber, vol. iii. p. ingenious run before the com- 458. He had previously ob- mand,' " p. 438. See that very served on the Catechism, "And curious book, Stehelin's Tradi- whereas our Saviour came up tions of the Jews, vol. ii. p. to this catechizing at twelve 244, where the expression is, years old, it was because of his from Buxtorf, " Son of the pregnancy, according to that Commandment." saying of tlie Rabbins, * The Confirmatiom 127 was made in their name at their Baptism, ratifying and confirming the same in their own persons?" The answer required is, I do''; one of the most awful ones we ever made during the course of our natural lives. So that the Bishop well proceeds to say, in the Versicle following, thereby warning all present, but specially the Candidates, of human in- ability and human weakness, "Our help is in the name of the Lord !" The other Versicles and Re- sponses are after the pious usage of the Church, and it was with these that the ancient Office of Salisbury began. Then follows the Prayer for the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit, adapted to the office of old from the words of Isaiah (xi. 2) ; and a most beautiful Prayer it is, and of so early a date as to be traced from the Liturgy of the Greek Church ^ to the Sa- cramentary of Gelasius, whence it was derived to the English Ritual, and has been used in it for above twelve hundred years. It will be hardly necessary to observe how the Doctrine of the Church is there inculcated, and how the Almighty God is be- sought to daily increase in His servants, regenerate hy Water and the Holy Ghost, His manifold gifts of grace. After this comes one of the most ancient cere- monies in the world, observed by patriarchs, prophets, priests, and kings, the imposition, or laying on of hands, with the invocation of the Holy Spirit. " Defend, O Lord, this Thy child with Thy heavenly grace, that he may continue Thine for ever, and daily increase y Hence on the Apost. Con- z See the original in Goar's stit. lib. iii. c. xvii. to jjLvpov, Euchologion, p. 290. Offic. (3el3aiio(ng rrJQ ofioXoyiaQ. The Sancti Baptismatis. In the distinction here between iJivpov Greek it is truly soul-stirring ! and ekaiov is clearly marked. 128 Confirmaticin. in Thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come to Thy everlasting kingdom." Thus it stands now, dif- fering considerably from the form in the first Book of Edw. VI., which, one says, " looks like the ruins of a famous structure, whose super-edifice is demolished, though any one may see it was formed in relation to Confirmatory Chrism, and Unction ^" Be this as it may, our Reformers, alive to the superstitious use of Chrismation ^ in the Romish Church, determined to cut ofT all cause of offence ; and for this reason they fashioned the words as they now" stand. I will only remark further, that when it is said the Bishop shall " lay his hand upon the head of every one severally," we follow not the ancient order of the Romish Church, but the rituals of Alexandria and Chaldsea, wherein there is a general Prayer for the Holy Spirit, and then a particular benediction. The imposition of hands is followed by the Ver- sicle and Response, and Lord's Prayer, which was inserted at the last review, no office being complete in all its parts without it. INIoreover, " it has long been customary, in the Patriarchate of Antioch, for the people to recite the Lord's Prayer after Con- firmation has been admitted ^" Of the Collect following, the same Ritualist remarks, that it is of very ancient date in the Church of England, inas- much as it is to be found in the Ritual of Salisbury, " and in a manuscript pontifical of Egbert, Arch- bishop of York, in the middle of the eighth century." ^ L'Estrange, p. 259. The pendances, as the Cross, the Greek Lit. has simply S^paylc Chrisme, the Stripe, the Fillet, f'wpfdg U.pev fxaroc ay lov. Goar's and the rest, as aiming only at Euchol. p. 291. the original simplicity of that •^ Bp. Hall speaks of" having religious ceremony," p. 883, removed away all the trash of ut supra, superstitious and frivolous ap- ^ Palmer, ii. 205. Confirmation. I2i) Part of the words, " Let thy fatherly hand, we be- seech Thee, ever be over them," &;c., are to be traced to the Greek Church '', and it cannot be denied that the whole of it is altogether befitting such as would fain be led " in the knowledge and obedience of" God's holy word, " that in the end they may obtain everlasting life, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Of the last Collect, adopted here from the end of the Communion Service, it is enough to say that it is added, because " the ancients believed Confirma- tion was a preservative to both body and soul ; so that after it we may fitly pray, that God may direct, sanctify, and govern both our souls and bodies, so that we may not stray from His commandments \" The Service concludes with a Blessing and with a Rubric derived from the ancient Manuals of Salis- bury and York. " And surely," in the words of Bishop Hall, " the Church of England which (to her eternal praise and honour be it spoken) hath ever been studiously careful to maintain all Apostolical con- stitutions and practices, above all her reformed Sisters, hath not failed to hold out this Holy Ordi- nance, and to recommend it in the most ancient, simple, and inoffensive form to all her obedient children. Neither do we find that the present times (though too full of distraction and quarrel) have ever declared any opposition to, or dislike of, that never-interrupted, never- disallowed institution ; so as we have just reason to think, that it both should and doth continue in its full right and vigour." It is, said a kindred spirit, " a great in- ^ It is referred toby Comber, x^'P" '^"^ '"'''" ^P«7-a|^i»'' f^- ^-J- andistobefoimdmthe"Abkitio ^Comber, vol. iii. p. 4/3, post Sanctum Baptisma." See from Cyril. Catech. Mystag. Goar, p. 304, "E/Tidef avT

pai avrdu ey eXeeai Tuv avy)(0)C)ri6}iiai avrS ttciv fcai oiK-LOfio'ig aov, &C. &c. Tv\r]H}xf.\r]iia is repeated no less § Jackson, ut supra, vol. iii. than five times in full. See p. 269, 270. Comber, who seems to have goodness to His servant "grieved with sickness," — to " sanctify His fatherly correction," to this intent, that the sense of vreakness may add strength to faith and seriousness to repentance, so that, whether recovery take place or no, all may be well, " through Jesus Christ our Lord." It needs not to say any- thing of the alterations in it made at the last Re- view ; but I may add, that the substance of it, here a w^ord and there a word, will be detected by careful readers of the Euchologion. Then comes the Exhortation "after this form, or other like;" so that, although the prayers are all prescribed, this is left at the Priest's discretion. As it is expressed in the sixty-seventh Canon, the Mi- nister, or Curate, shall resort unto the Sick, " to instruct and comfort them in their distress, accord- ing to the order of the Communion Book, if he be no preacher ; or if he be a preacher, then as he shall think most needful and convenient." Anyways, a latitude is admitted, though perhaps he was not far wrong who said of this Exhortation, that the Priest "can hardly be thought to make a better ^" The real value of the permission granted is in cases of long and chronic sickness ; for although, under such circumstances, the daily Prayer and the Litany, with reading of Holy Scripture, may be enough, yet it often falls out that other word of exhortation is wanted, and herein is provided for by the wisdom of our Church. It may not be amiss to say, that the greater part of the Exhortation here referred to is ^ This remark is Bp Spar- cannot fail to be delighted and row's in his Rationale, p. 242. instructed with the book. It Those who may not altogether is a question whether or not assent to what is said in c. iv. stated forms of prayer are of Evans' Bishopric of Souls, not enjoined by the Act of *' The Visitation of the Sick," Uniformity. L 2 148 Sk'isiitation of tbe ^irfe. to be found also in the Homilies, in the second part of the Sermon against the fear of Death. Of the contents it will be enough to remark, that they are holy all, and drawn from every source', specially the Bible, which instructs a sinner how to see the error of his ways, and to prepare to meet his God. And, sooth to say, many have been brought to repentance on the bed of languishing, who never would have repented in health and strength, but whose weal rather would have worked their woe. And that old heathen's J saying is found to be true also: "Disease is the body's hindrance, but to good resolutions of amendment it is none." God overruleth it to Him- self, and turneth what a man would hold to be poi- son into an antidote. One word on the latter part ; where observe that we follow an ancient council, which asks, not about illumination or feelings, but "whether the sick man hold the right faith and belief?" One by one, the Articles of the Creed *" are propounded to the sick ; and if the answer be from the heart, " All this I steadfastly believe," it is well with him ; and if he humbly and heartily desire it (special confession ^ made), the Priest shall absolve him. And well is it said, "This is the Christians' watchword, distinguishing them from Jews, Turks, Pagans, and heretics, all which he renounce th who professeth this faith. AA^hen we were listed under ^ Comber refers to the Coun- vol. ii. p. 299. cil of Nantes, " held above 800 ^ " A thing that the world," years ago," both as regards said Bp. Cosins, " looks not the chief points, and particu- after now, as if Confession and larly the rehearsal of the Arti- Absolution were some strange cles of the Creed. See vol. iv. superstitious things among us, pp. 239. 277. which yet the Church has taken J voaoQ a^jiaroQ kara' kixrcohiov, care to preserve, and especially irpoaipiffeojQ ^e oh. kav jxri avrtj to be preparatives for death." OiXr]. Epict. Enchirid. c. xiii. Sermons, p. 28, vol. i. Reprint. See Newman's Sermons, WMtation of tin ^itk. 149 Christ's banner, this was our badge; and now that our warfare is accomplished, and we hope to receive our reward, we must produce our cognizance, to show we are ever true to our first engagement." (Comber.) It may be observed in passing, that the several Rubrics which follow, all containing excellent and practical directions, are, in the Manual of Salisbury, embodied into the form of an address. Of these, however, I shall not speak in particular, but advise those wdio are in health to turn to them for instruc- tion. I turn rather to the " special confession" enjoined in certain cases, to the Absolution itself, and the Collect following. And of the first, enough probably was said in the Communion Service ; or if not said, implied. It may be added here, that although public humiliation was the more common in the early Church, yet cases miofht and did occur where it was better that the particulars of sins committed should not be divulged. Conscience, however, must be cleared ; for guilt, like murder, will out. And hence arose, to avoid scan- dal, though it afterwards led to it, the office of Penitentiary, or Confessor, in every diocese; and these assigned the Penance requisite, without the declaration of the fact. Somewhat of this sort seems to have given rise to Private, or Special Confession, which, to a certain degree, must exist in every well- regulated Church ; and our business surely is, not to turn it to evil and selfish and wicked ends, as has been the case with Auricular Confession ; but to see that it be a comfort and a solace to the we^ry and heavy laden, to the penitent and contrite of heart, who look to spiritual men for restoration (Gal. vi. 1 ) in their ministerial capacity, and think they see a 150 S^isitation of tftt Mtk. refuge from the storm that buffets them in these words of St. James : " Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James v. 16.) I have purposely stated the matter in this light, firmly and fully impressed, however, with this truth, fitter for comfort than disputation, that "Our Lord Jesus Christ hath left power to His Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in Him," and that this power, sometimes called the " Power of the Keys"V' is consigned to the Office Ministerial ; and further, that, by Christ's authority committed to the Priest, he is enabled to say, (not of or by him- self, but in Christ's stead,) '' I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And that this is the sense intended to be impressed upon us in this "Order for the Visitation of the Sick" is clear from the Collect following, where further forgiveness is im- plored of the God of all mercies, in such words as these : " Open Thine eye of mercy upon this Thy servant, who most earnestly desireth pardon Imid for- giveness ;" and again in the concluding clauses : " Im- pute not unto him his former sins, but strengthen him with Thy Blessed Spirit ; and when Thou art pleased to take him hence, take him into Thy favoicr, through the merits of Thy most dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lordr Expressions such as these seem deter- minate. So that if some there are who would ab- solve not at all, and others who assume to themselves ™ See Dr. Edward Burton's omitted in the American Prayer Treatise so called, p. G8. He Book, and that in the Morning specially refers to this Collect. Prayer, or in the Communion, It may be noted, by the way, substituted for it. that the Absolution here is WMUtion ot ti)t Mtk. J5i an absolute power, after the fashion of the Romish Church ", " the Church of England, as the primitive Catholic Church was wont, goes a middle way, and neither absolves any absolutely, by her own power, nor yet denies to absolve in Christ's name those who are truly penitent and desire it ;" at the same time it is stamped on the forefront of her Service, that " the absolution is only ministerially conveyed by the Priest, but the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in whose name it is pronounced, do join in the con- firmation thereof"." Well said that humble-minded Bishop of Man, — the much-remembered Wilson, — " This is a certain truth. That the grace of God ever- more accompanies the ministrations of His servants, and attends His own ordinances, if there be nothing to hinder it on the part of those that expect benefit by the use of them. And therefore it is no small comfort and advantage, (how much soever it has been slighted,) for such as are under afflictions of mind, to have the judgment of God's minister upon their cases, and the benefit of Absolution ; for though none but God, the Searcher of hearts, can pronounce this sentence, Thi/ sins are forgiven thee, yet His ministers, who have carefully studied His Holy Word, " South's remarks in his to the opinion that it should not Sermon on John iii. 21, are be used. See vol. ii. p. 357. quite to the purpose. See In a subsequent page he speaks vol. ii. p. 168, 169, " the abso- of its great advantage in other lution pronounced by a priest, cases, for when used " we de- whether Papist or Protestant, part with our Father's blessing, is not a certain, infallible ground, we die in the actual communion to give the person so absolved of the Church, we hear the confidence towards God," &c. sentence of God applied after ° See Comber, vol. iv. pp. the manner of men, and the 309. 312. Jeremy Taylor has promise of pardon 'made sub- some striking remarks as to the stantiate, material, present, and use of the indicative form of operative upon our spirits," Absolution in case of penitents &c. p. 367- after a vicious life. He inclines 152 Visitation of tl)t M(k. can assure sinners of God's pardon, and can pro- nounce a righteous sentence upon what appears ; — Avhich sentence a penitent may depend on to his great peace and comfort, provided he knows he has been sincere in discovering his malady, and in fol- lowing the advice of his spiritual guided." It may be observed here, that the Collect which has called forth these remarks is of the greatest antiquity. It is, in fact, " the original absolution which has been given to dying penitents for more than 1300 years in the Western Churches, and was used long before the present indicative form was introduced''." It occurs in the Sacramentary of Gelasius, a.d. 494 ; and the wording of it, almost all, as I observed of a preceding form, may be picked out of the Greek prayers in the Euchologion. He whose conscience was accused, and who could hardly look up by reason of his sin, that sin being covered and imputed no more, but being set dow^n to the account of the cross, nailed and filed on its saving wood, like a bill paid, had needs be joyful. " Is any merry? let him sing psalms" (James v. 13). And hence, after the Absolution, the Minister is ordered to say the Lxxist Psalm, fitted altogether for the occasion, and the one which has been used from time immemorial in the Churches of the East and West. The latter verses, it will be observed, are omitted, and this possibly because the grave and gate of death being not yet passed, it were not so pertinent literally to say, " Thou broughtest me from the deep of the earth again." As one says, " it sup- poses the afflicted person already delivered and re- stored to a prosperous estate, which is not so suit- able to the case of a languishing man." (Comber.) P Sermons, vol. iv. p. 46. "^ Palmer, vol. ii. p. 226. Wfeitation of ti)t ^irfe. 153 The whole service concludes with a triple Bless- ing — " a threefold cord" in sickness, which " is not quickly broken" (Eccles. iv. 12), however much the Slanderer of the brethren, which is the Devil, may desire at such a time to clutch the Christian man s soul. The Manuals of the Eastern and Western Church all conclude this Service, as we do, with Benediction. The two former would seem peculiar to our own, and date from the First Book of Ed- ward VI. ; the latter blessing, adopted in a Christian sense from the Law", has been used here or else- where in every Church since Christianity has blessed the sons of men. Evermore pour doAvn upon us, O Lord, the continual dew of Thy blessing ! In the First Book of Edward VI., prior to the Blessing last mentioned, came what was called, not Extreme Unction, but the Anointing; a very an- cient custom in the Church, but no Sacrament, (as the Romish Church maintains,) Cajetan^ himself being judge. In the second Book of Edward VI. it was omitted at the suggestion of Bucer, and Avisely so. It would seem, indeed, that it was only retained in the first, lest something should seem wanting when the Reformation was new. It was no requi- ^ See Numb. vi. 22 — 27. It sanctify us many years ;' to is on these that Bishop Wilson show how sensible they were beautifully remarks: "And of the benefit of receiving God's then, that the people might not blessing by his ministers." Ser- imagine this to be only an mons, vol. iv. p. 198. empty ceremony, without any ** See his words on James v. real effect, God assured them, 14. " Nee ex verbis nee ex that when the priest thus effectu verba hsec loquuntur de blessed them in his name, that sacramentali unctione extremal He will bless them accord- unctionis ; sed magis de unc- ing to the blessing pronounced tione quam institiwt Dominus over them. And in the ancient Jesus in Evangelio, a discipu- prayers of the Greek Church, lis exercendam in segrotis," &-c. the people answered, ' The &'c. p. 419. Ed. 1571. Lord keep you, Sir, to bless and 154 Wi^itntion of tt)t ^icfe. site, clearly, for the Rubric states that the ceremony was to be indulged' in only if the sick person desire to be anointed. The truth is, it was a symbolical representation of a gift which the Church once enjoyed, as it did that of miracles. But, the House complete, the scaffolding was taken down. It pleased God, for the time to come, to work by ordinary means, even as now He doth. And so, without the gifts of healing, the Spirit helps our infirmities, and that Blood which was for the healing of the nations is efficacious still, and other material anointing need we not. We have " an Unction from the Holy One," as St. John saith, (1 John ii. 20,) and, in sick- ness and in health, it is to us that which we need, verily and truly, " the oil of gladness" (Psalm xlv. 8). It only remains to note, that four beautiful Prayers were appended to the Office at the last Review" : the first, for a Sick Child ; the second, for a Sick Person when there appeareth small hope of recovery ; the third, for a Sick Person at the point of departure ; and the fourth, for Persons troubled in mind or in conscience. And truly. Christian Brethren, such as shall study this office well when in health, will scarce be troubled otherwise than by such trouble as is incident to mortality ; and as it is a good lesson for t See Wheatley on diis head, dian the time of Felix IV. Bi- who draws largely from other shop of Rome, amio 528." Vol. som-ces, p. 464. Hey on Art. iv. p. 195. XXV. § 7. Jeremy Taylor, no " Dr. Cardwell in his History doubt, said pretty correctly : of Conferences, &'c. only says " The fathers of the council of with other Ritualists, " In the Trent first disputed, and after Visitation of the Sick, the their manner at last agreed, that words ' if he humbly and hearti- extreme unction was constituted ly desire it,' were added to the by Christ." Works, vol. iv. p. Rubric respecting Absolution ; 326. Comber calls it, " Their the Benediction also, and the novel Sacrament of Extreme Prayers that followed, appear Unction, which can be derived now for the first time." p. 382. no higher (as they now use it,) Wfeitation of tin ipTTu\\oJv avT- p. 11. ed. 1G12 ; after which he iit,u)Q akkijji' ! runs out into all sorts of tri- 157 CI)e Communion of tfte ^icfe* On this last Rite of Holy Church to the living a few words will suffice. And first it is to be noted, that the Holy Church throughout the world has ordered the Communion to be administered to the Sick^ The only alleged difference with us is that the elements are allowed to be consecrated in pri- vate ^ It has been proved, however, that this cus- tom is no modern one; and even if it were, that application of an ancient Scripture by our blessed Lord and Saviour is applicable here : " I will have mercy and not sacrifice" (Matt. xii. 7). He deviseth means that those sick on the bed of languishing, and unable to worship in the congregations, " be not ex- pelled from Him" (2 Sam. xiv. 14). An upper room or a cave of the earth, a dorture or a palace, an oratory or a cathedral, are all one when the heart is ready. Therefore, it is our Church's will, that in cases of urgent sickness, " having a convenient place in the sick man s house, with all things necessary so prepared, that the Curate may reverently minister ; he shall there celebrate the Holy Communion, be- ^ The xiiith Canon of the )»' ava-KavGiv aov, Kvpte, titude are imposed upon. Bucer oTTCVTravTecoidyioifTovaiaTrav- and Others may have been too ovTai, avcnravffoy kul ti)p \l^vxw fond of resorting to the knife, but TOvhv\ov(jov,oTi fx6vogv7rdpxei-Q they did so with charitable in- (piXavdpojTfog. Ibid. tent and healing. " Immedica- So beautiful is it, and so bile vulnus Ense recidendum beautiful are many of the others, est!" that one passes over in them ' See Canon Ixxxviii. asurial of tt)t Stair. i63 that Christian Burial woukl be required for those who died under such circumstances, and that a higher degree of discipline was purposed than, in practice, we have ever reached. The words do, in fact, declare, that the Office is only for those within the pale of the Church ; and the denial of Burial within the sacred precincts, in consecrated ground, and with Christian rites, like other punishments, (for punishment, in a sort, it is, though it reach not to the dead,) is intended to prevent sin, and discourage all thoughtlessness, irreligion, and desperate profane- ness. Therefore (purposely passing by painful and controverted points) let Christian Baptism be well looked to ; let what excommunication once was be thought on, and let the original intention of the Church be considered, inasmuch as it was no un- charitable act on her part to reject suicides from the holy suburbs, but rather to " terrify all from committing so detestable and desperate a sin, as is the wilful destroying of God's image, the casting away their own souls, as well as their opportunities of repentance." (Comber.) What may or what may not be insanity, does not fall within the scope of these remarks to discuss. In all our Services the remarks of these pages look rather to the minis- terial capacity of the Clergy. ^ The next Rubric prescribes what " the Priest and Clerks meeting the corpse at the entrance of the church-yard "", and going before it, either into the ™ It does not fall within my Christians the honour which is limits to say anything of our vakied in behalf of the dead is, cemeteries, (resting or sleeping that thej^ be buried in holy places, Koifjdrai' QinyfTKEiv /.d) ground, that is, in appointed Xiye TovQ dyadovi:') but I can- cemeteries, in places of reli- not refrain giving these words gion ; there where the field of of Jeremy Taylor : " Among God is sown with the seed of M 2 164 Burial of t\)t IBeatr. Church or towards the grave, shall say, or sing " "^ — a custom as old as the Apostolical Constitutions, and observed in all the Rituals of the Eastern and West- ern Churches. And even yet, in more secluded and solitary spots, amongst our mountains, and in their lowly valleys °, the distance of the way is beguiled by the funeral hymn, beyond and in addition to what is prescribed ; the remnant of an ancient custom, and innocent, where all is designed rather, as St. Augustine saith, for the comfort of the living, than for the benefit of the dead, whose warfare is accom- plished, and their doom already sealed, whether for weal or woe p. The three first Sentences, or Anthems, more pro- perly, are excellently placed, and two of them, the two first, have been used in some part of the English Office from a very early date \ as may be seen from the Manual of Salisbury. But to take them in the resurrection, that their bodies mity of our customs. KaiElfxEv also may be among the Chris- erotfiaeltTLv airavTaraToveEoSiov tians, with whom their hope and — ap^oi^iOa \pa\\eiy — mi upov- their portion is, and shall be reg to \ei\pavov ciTrepyofxtda elg for ever." Works, vol. iv. p. ruv vaov, TrpoTropevo/ierioy rioy 567. See the whole of Bing- iepiu)y. — "Oray Se eXdioaiv iv ham's 23rd Book, &c. &c. j^aw, to jxev \ei\pavov diroTiQeTai °^ For the Greek Church. iv rw vdpdrjKi k. t. k. i. e. the See Goar, p. 424. The words Vestibule, Porch. See note, p. following, taken disjointedly 435. from the Rubric, show theproxi- ° " This scarcely spoken, and those holy strains Not ceasing, forth appeared in view a band Of rustic persons, from behind the hut. Bearing a coffin in the midst, with which They shaped their course along the sloping side Of that small valley, singing as they moved : A sober company and few ; the men Bare headed, and all decently attired." Wordsworth's Excursion. The Solitary. p Quoted by Durandus, lib. vii. c. 35, § 3G. ^ Several times quoted in the Euchol. and referred to by Durandus, ut supra. 3Surial ot tfte Beair* 165 order. The first is from St. John's Gospel, and was spoken by our blessed Lord on His way to La- zarus' grave, where He that was the Resurrection and the Life, Himself wept ! And it is, Christian Brethren, an appeal to our Faith. For if we do verily believe in Him who " died for our sins, and rose again for our justification," though the crust, and shell, and scaffolding of these our bodies decay, confess their ashes, and crumble into dust ; the soul, in a sense which shall comprehend the Resurrection of the Body, shall be received into everlasting bliss. The next sentence is from the Book of Job, and does but inculcate the same facts '. Whether or not, recent investigations add vastly to the faithful record we read in this holy Book, is yet to be ascer- tained'; but anyways the record is true, and the book was anciently used specially in this Office, out of which no less than nine lessons were taken, the present being the eighth. As regards the last two sentences, it will be sufficient to remark, that they imply acquiescence in God's will, patience and thanksgiving. And sure, it appertaineth unto Chris- tians to be "patient in tribulation," having an eye unto those joys which are to be revealed, unseen though they be in their glorious fulness, and such as mortal ear hath not heard. And then for thanks- giving, it implies a heart chastened and subdued, yea, crushed, contrite, worn down, as " fitches beaten out with a staff, and cummin with a rod" (Isa. xxviii. 27), to say, on the departure of those be- loved, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken ■■ Mr. Greswell, on the Bu- the nartfe of the Christian de- rial Service, says of this sen- parted. Vol. i. p. 215. tence, that it is, "as it were, a ^ The allusion is to the Had- voice from the coffin." The ramiitic Inscriptions. See Fors- minister, so to say, speaking in ter's Hist. Geography of Arabia. 166 asiinal of tfie ffieali^ away ; blessed be the name of the Lord !" Such let our resignation be, such our thanksgiving ! The Church entered, the Service proceeds with Psalmody, as was anciently the custom in the Greek Church, and also in the Churches of the West, and this, under the impression that the death of the righteous is not properly a cause for sorrow, but rather for joy, inasmuch as God, who loved them, and whom they too loved, has taken them to Him- self. And truly, as one saith, " were the happiness of the next world as closely apprehended as the felicities of this, it were a martyrdom to live'." In the First Book of Edward VI. the Psalms were different (the 116th, 139th, 146th), and with the Lesson and Suffrages which followed were to be said in the Church, either before or after the Burial of the corpse. From some cause or other, these were omitted in the next book, and none other were in- serted till the last Review, when the present ones, — in every way most appropriate, — were made choice of. They are the 39th and the 90th. The former — more commonly read at the funeral of a young person, when both are not read, — was composed by David as a sort of elegy on the death of " the young man Absalom ;" the latter, usually read when one of more advanced years is buried, was the sorrowful, but meek and patient effiision of Moses, on the death of that vast and mixed multitude which fell in the wilderness, leaving their carcasses there by reason of their disobedience. God of His great mercy spare us ! let us not be confounded and lost in the wilderness of this world, which lieth in wicked- ^ Sir Thomas Browne's Hydriotaphia, c. iv. vol. iii. p. 486. Burial of tbe ffleaU* 167 ness ! May He " so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom* !" Then folio weth the Lesson, taken out of the fifteenth chapter of the former Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. And herein, in their choice, like the well-instructed scribe, our Compilers have brought forth from the treasury of the Bible things new and old (Matt. xiii. 52). First, the Psalms; then, the comforting Lesson from the New Testament, than which there is no fuller account of the Resurrection unto life in the Scripture of truth. And, indeed. Christian Brethren, he who shall not be moved by such words as are contained in it can scarce be born of woman — can have no full and proper sense of Baptism for the dead — of that Baptism in which he was buried, in hopes of the Resurrection from the dead^ So thoroughly were men of old impressed with the blessed hopes and realities expressed in this chapter, that they called it St. Paul's Gospel, and a part or parts of it have been used in the Rituals of the Western Church for many ages past. It may be added here, " that it was anciently read in the celebration of the Eucharist, which formerly took place in England, as in other Western Churches, * It will be observed that shall be no resurrection of the we cautiously retain the Gloria dead, what will they do, or Patri, which the Roman Church what profit and advantage will did not, thinking it too joyful they have, who embrace Chris- for the occasion. Durand. lib. tianity, and are baptized from vii. c. XXXV. the persuasion of the Resurrec- " This is, in all probability, tion? How foohsh and ridicu- the true sense of the passage, lous is it for them to be bap- which should be compared with tized from the consideration of Rom. vi. 3, 4. Lord King ob- the resurrection, that they may serves, it " is a place of Scrip- arise amongst the number of ture capable of many interpre- the just, if the dead shall not tations ; but yet, I think, this rise at all." Crit. Hist, of explication may be naturally the Apostles' Creed, p. 392. given thereof, viz. If there 3rd Edit. 168 33unal of tf)e Beali. at this time ; and although the English Church has not continued the custom, but adopted the practice of the Church of Constantinople, the importance of this part of Scripture has caused it to be used as the proper Lesson on the present occasion \" It mav be observed here, that in the First Book of Edward VI. the Psalms and the Lesson were followed by certain SuiFrages (after the Lesser Litany and Lord's Prayer), in behalf of the deceased, together wdth a Prayer (since remodelled) in which the like point was more evidently glanced at. All this was omitted in the Second Book, and the disputed matter left in abey- ance. But enough has been said on this head before. Those who seek for further information will find it in the additional notes subjoined to the edition of the Prayer-Book by Dr. Nicholls. Our business is to redeem the time, and so to live that we may die the death of the righteous, and be saved by the only Purgatory we know of, which is Christ's blood poured out ! If the corpse has been carried into the Church, and if the grave be not there, (which in ordinary cases it should not be,) the mourners, preceded by the Priest, advance towards it from the sacred walls. And when they come to the grave, whilst prepara- tions are making for the corpse to be laid into the "^ See Pahiier, Vol. ii. p. 234, did read one Epistle out of it, who adds, what maybe seen beginning at v. 51 (Durand. vii. in Goar, p. 430, that in the c. xxxv.); and our Sahsbury Church of Constantinople they office hath taken one little por- read part of the fourth chapter tion out of it, beginning at v. of St. Paul's Epistle to the 20. But our judicious reformers Thessalonians and a Gospel thought not fit to mangle it ; from St. John. This, it will be beginning therefore with v. 20, observed, is not forgotten by they continue it to the end of us in one of the subsequent the chapter, being a most ex- prayers. Comber observed, act and methodical discourse." "the Western Church of old Vol. iv. p. 409. Burial nf tf)t Beaft. leo earth, sundiy Anthems are sung, after the custom of the Eastern and Western Churches. The Sentences, nearly as they now stand, may be seen hi the ancient Books of Salisbury; and the greater part may be picked out, word by word (as I have had occasion to observe more than once,) from the pages of the Euchologion, which, although mingled with super- stitious usages, it must be acknowledged are very beautiful. However, in the place of the ancient long and last farewell, and of the funeral wail pecu- liar to more eastern climes, but which has spread far west, and is (in a degree) retained where the forms of the Eastern Church had once a stronger hold, — as, for example, in Ireland, — instead of this, and sprinklings of holy water, and the blessings of the grave, and so forth, the Anthems alluded to follow. The first is easily recognized as taken from the Book of Job (xiv. 1, 2), and never, sure, can there be a time when the words will fall upon our ears with sound more solemn. Verily, the spectacle of mor- tality laid bare before us, and on the grave's edge, declareth how man " fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay !" Easily told is their number who have not cause to say with the aged Patriarch, " Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been." (Gen. xlvii. 9.) Anyways, " The days of man are but as grass, for he flourisheth as a flower of the field. For as soon as the wind goeth over it, it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more." (Psalm ciii. 15, 16.) But, God be thanked ! the faithful mourners, when they look into the grave, look beyond it and through it ; and even if they do not, with the proto-martyr Stephen, " see the heaven opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts vii. 56), they know 170 asunal of ti)t jaeaU. and are fully assured that so it is, — that " the Lord hath prepared His seat in heaven." (Psalm ciii. VJ.) The second Anthem is an admonition to the living, and true enough, as the corpse is now on the sides of the pit, " even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end." (Wisd. v. 13.) And, besides, so weak is each one mortal born, that he falls almost as the leaves do, before every temptation, and has no help but in his God. But, then, sin has separated between him and his God, and for that his sin, God is justly displeased. Whence then his hope on this trying occasion ? Only from Scripture, in which, as of old, so for ever, God alone is set forth as the God of mercies and forgivenesses. His mercy endureth for ever, and, like His love, is stronger than death, triumphed ^ over and led cap- tive by Christ. Of whom else may we seek for succour ? Under this impression we despair not, but in the next Anthem redouble our supplications to the God of our health and salvation. To the Holy and Un- divided Trinity do we cry for help, and entreat of Him, (who tasted of death for every creature, and knew, to us the unknown % sufferings of the cross,) that He would " not deliver us into the bitter pains of eternal death." y The words of Theophylact are set down in His Passion, on 1 Cor. XV. 55, are most ex- and by all and by every one pressive: 'Q^ffavelyevdiJ.evaiEojv of them, called for mercy, do TCI TTpayfjiaTa, evdovaia koI etti- after all shut up all with this viKLov l3oa, fcai aXaXciC^i, oloi^tl ALayvuxTTwyKOTnovKaiijaadnou neijjiiiM rJ Qavdru kTZEfJL^aivbyv. k\ir](rov koL aioaov i]fidg. By Oper. ii. 231. b. Thine unknown sorrows and ^ " To very good purpose it sufferings, felt by Thee, but not was that the ancient Fathers of distinctly known to vis, have the Greek Church in their Li- mercy upon us and save us !" turgy, after they have recounted Bp. Andrewes, Second Sermon, all the particular pains, as they Of the Passion. asurial oi tijt Beatr* 171 The last petition is but, as it were, a reiterated cry unto Him who knoweth all our desire, and from whom our groaning is not hid (Ps. xxxviii. 9) ; who knoweth the secrets of our hearts, and understandeth our thoughts long before. (Ps. cxxxix. I.) And because " there is a certain hour or critical time in which God suffers the powers of darkness to afflict those that are dearest to Him''," we entreat our holy and merciful Saviour, the most worthy Judge eternal, that He suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death to fall from Him ! After these anthems the interment follows, much in the same order as in the ancient Rituals of the Eastern and Western Churches, but in Siform pecu- liar, as would seem, to our own. In the First Book of Edward VI., the Priest was to cast earth upon the corpse, but in the second it was to be as now, that is, while the earth shall be cast upon the body dj/ some standing hy, the Priest shall say, " Foras- much," &c. And these are the words which seem to be peculiar to the English Church, as is remarked by the author of the Origines Liturgicse, for " we find that most other Rituals of the East and West ap- point some Psalm or Anthem to be sung or said while the body is placed in the tomb ; but the same ^ See South's Serm. on St. man Hymn of Luther, com- Luke's words, xxii. 53 : " But posed as a kind of poetical pa- this is your hour, and the power raphrase upon another very of darkness;" and Latimer's ancient one in the Office of the Bidding Prayer, in his Sermon Romish Church. The words preached at Stamford, p. 91, of Luther, in the latter part of ed. iv. 1575. Black letter. this Hymn, are : Heiliger The original of this last Herre Gott, heiliger starker anthem has been pointed out Gotii, heiliger barmhertziger by Abp. Lawrence, in a note to Heyland, du eweiger Gott, lass his Bampton Lectures. "The uns nicht entfallen von des passage in which they are rechten Glaubens Trost." See found, was taken from a Ger- p. 448. 172 asunal of tf)e SeaU^ form nearly has been used in the English Church for many ages, though anciently it followed after the body was covered with earth, and not while the earth was placed upon it ^" Be this as it may, the form is strikingly beautiful and aifecting, and even if the old salutation, or kiss, imparted to the dead be no more, we do not forget that our brother or sister departed is still dea7' to us. We omit only what savours of practice superstitious. And now as regards the soul, — that God has taken ; it is the dod^ only of the departed we are concerned about, and this we reverently commit to the earth. They, the dead, are but gone before ; and we, the living, must shortly follows We shall go to them, but they shall not return to us. (2 Sam. xii. 23.) Again, it is but a deposit we render unto earth, and all is to be rendered up again ; yea, every atom of human dust. The sea is to give up the dead w^hich are in it — death and hell are to deliver Up the dead which are in them. (Rev. xx. 13.) They be debtors all to the living God, and when He that is the Resurrection and the Life shall speak His word of power, they must acknowledge themselves tribu- taries, and hasten to obey. But, may be, one will ask, how can the Church say, We commit the body to the earth indiscriminately, " in sure and certain '' Palmer, vol. ii. p. 235. the text, had taken place pre- The Greek Rubric may be seen viously. See p. 431. Aewre in Goar, p. 333. Kat ovTiOQ Tektwaiov dairaafjioi' ^ai/ier, apavTEQ TO \ei\payov cnrepxoiJieda dhXcpol, t(o dayviri, k. t, k. on elg Tov ra'oov, k. t. I. Kat which see the note, p.' 436. rlderat to Xti-^avov kv rw /x) //- Comber quotes Dionys. Areop. l-iaTi. 'O ^£ upEVQ (ipaQ x^^^ ^nd Durandus, to the same in- fiETct TOV TTTvov, (TTavpoEicajQ tcnt. Sec vol. iv. p. 439. No ETTippiTrTEL ETTai'd) TOV XELipciuov custom was morc general amoug Xiyioi', Toil Kvpiov rj yr^, Kat to heathens or Christians, and can TrXtjpojua av-Tjc, k. t. L The scarcely be said to be extinct Kiss of Peace, alluded to in now. astinal of tfte fieaU. 173 hope of the resurrection to eternal life ?" To which it is answered, that in the first instance the Burial Service was never intended to be read over those who had been notorious ill-livers, and had died with- out signs of repentance. Or, perhaps, the Church is hopeful, and not inconsiderately so % after the fashion of a man, who listens neither to reason or to revela- tion, and is confident. All of w^hich is well enough as an apology. But the real truth is, the expression here is general, and the '' Resurrection to eternal life implies, that " many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to righte- ousness, as the stars for ever and ever." (Dan. xii. 2, 3.) But, further than this, our Office is ministerial, and we should have counted the cost, and weighed objections, or ever we undertook, as subalterns in the Church Militant, to obey her orders. We be no judges, but servants : " no judges of particular men's final estate, only knowing and firmly believing there is a resurrection to eternal life, whereof they shall be partakers, whom God shall judge worthy of it ; we take care of the bodies of Christians as being ignorant which are prepared for the better part ; yet, in charity, hoping the best of all that die in the ^ Some will call to mind the ence to the party deceased, but great historian's remark. To import the faith of the congre- ss TrXfor finvXiiasL Kplvorreg gation then present, in the d(7n(pe~i i) 7rpovoi(jL ci(T(pa\e~i, elu)- article of the Resurrection, and dureg oi arOjowTrot, ov jj-ev ktvi- that their own bodies shall rise OvfxovtTiv, eX-rri^L dTrepiaKiirrcD again to eternal life, as is evi- licovai, o U fxri TrpuaieyTcii, Xo- dent fty the words, 'shall change yKTjJKo avTOKparopL huidelaOai. our vile bodies,' where the Thucyd. iv. 108. plural excludes the restraint to ^ " These words have not, as a singular number." L'Estrange, some mistake, peculiar refer- p. 302. 174 Btinal of tl)t Sralr. peace of the Church." (Comber.) The Anthem fol- lowing declares this, in which we rejoice for the consolation, and for that heavenly voice which bade the exile that was at the isle that is called Patmos, write, " From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." This anthem has been read of old time in the Western Church ; and sure it is ex- cellently placed " before the succeeding Collects, to give a just reason wdiy therein we do not pray for the dead, but for our own selves ; because there is God's own word to assure us they have no further need of our prayers now : our charity obliges us to hope they died in the Lord ; and if so, they are blessed already, and we cannot, with any sense, pray they may attain that w^hich they actually enjoy already." (Comber.) They rest from their labours ^ The contest is over, and, if deserving, they are crowned. Whatever be the intermediate state of bliss between death and the Resurrection, that is theirs. Our Church defines nothing on a point where all is indefinite in Scripture, but simply implies, that wherever Abraham's bosom is, there are the dead that die in the Lord, in expectation of the trumpet that shall sound, and Christ's return in His glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and dead ! But although they rest from their labours, we are in the midst of ours, and are toiling still in the midst of vexation of spirit often times — always begirt with sorrow, more or less — continually harassed by tempta- tion. Therefore we fall again to prayers, saying that lesser Litany which should ever be at our hps' ends, and that holiest and best of Prayers, which our blessed Lord taught His Disciples, omitting the ^ See what is said in c. xii. on the Order for the Burial of of Mr. Greswell's Commentary the Dead, vol. ii. p, 100, &c. astirial of ti)t StaU. 175 Doxology, because here, on this mournful occasion, our language is rather that of supplication than of praise. The two concluding Prayers, or the Prayer and Collect, with the Blessing, seem to have been composed for the First and Second Books of Ed- ward VI., — at least, any ancient models have not been discovered. The second remains just as at first; the first was altered in the Second Book, and has been altered since into its present form. A word or two on each. As regards the first, the Preface to it is to be found "in the Manual of Salisbury, and in some very ancient monuments of the Western Church" (Palmer), in which we give thanks for that life after death which is theirs assuredly who depart hence in the Lord. " For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living ; for all live unto Him." (Luke xx. 38.) And more yet. Li His presence, wherein is the fulness of joy, " the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity." For, as in prophetic song, "the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah xxxv. 10.) Then, again, our Prayer takes a more particular turn, and we give hearty thanks unto God that it hath pleased Him to deliver this our sick brother or sister " out of the miseries of this sinful world ;" in which we imitate the devotions of holy men of old, and in the stead of the frequent Hallelujahs of the Eastern Church^, which were songs of triumph over death's ^ See Eiicliologion, passim. 176 asunal of tf)e IBtali. destruction and the grave's defeat, we offer up our eucharistic hymn of thanksgiving, beseeching the good Lord, that it may " please Him, of His gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of His elect, and to hasten His kingdom ;" to bring to an end, that is, this scene of trial — this mysterious probation, and to fill up with blessed souls the man- sions of eternity, as intended in His counsels of old, foreordained before the world began. And because till His kingdom be hastened and come, all below is in a state of imperfection, and those beneath the altar ever cry out, saying, " How long, O Lord, holy and true?" (Rev. vi. 10), and none gone before without us can be perfect (Heb. xi. 40) ; therefore w^e pray " that we and all those that are departed in the true faith of God's holy name may have our perfect consummation and bliss in His eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Last comes " The Colled^' so called, probably, be- cause it is more general in its character, whereas a Prayer, like the former, is more special. The name of Collect, again (as has been observed), " through- out our Liturgy, is never given to a thanksgiving, but the first of these two prayers, besides being a petition, is a thanksgiving^." This, however, is of no consequence. It appertains rather to observe, that the present Form is directed to the comfort generally of the congregation present, usually con- sisting of relations and friends. These are reminded (in prayer to the " merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ") that "whosoever believeth shall s Mr. W. Gresweli, ut su- the celebration of the Com- pra, vol. ii. p. 198. But miinion at the time, p. 498, Wheatly probably assigns the from Bp. Overall's notes ap- truer cause of the name here, pended to Nicholls, p. 64. as following the old Introit in 33unal of t\)t fieali. 177 live, though he die ; and whosoever liveth, and be- lieveth in Him," that is the Resurrection and the Life, " shall not die eternally." After which those verses of St. Paul's to his Thessalonian converts (before alluded to as being used in this Office by the Eastern and Western Church) are referred to. " I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others, which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." (1 Thess. iv. 13, 14.) Wherein it is to be noted how the Apostle speaks of death, for he calls it sleep \ as though death were a term scarce applica- ble to Christ's departed ones. Not dead, but gone before, were rather to be said of those who have died in the Lord. Such is the tenor and such the drift of this Collect, to which certainly no one could object, were it not that here, once again, the Church of our Fathers seems over charitably inclined, when she expresses, without reservation, the hope that all present may rest in Christ, as doth the brother or sister now dead, and committed to the earth. Whereas, how often must this hope be faint, or hard upon despair, or none at all ? What was said before in reply to such objections is applicable here. To which may be added, that if the Office for the Burial of the Dead were to be altered at each man's discre- tion, and each were to judge his brother, instead of ^ The lines of Pmdentius are Hoc provida Christicola- simply beautiful : I'um Quidnam sibi saxa cavata ? , Pietas studet, utpote credens Quid pulcra volunt monu- Fore protinus omnia viva, menta ? Quae nunc gelidus sopor ur- Res quod nisi creditur illis guet. Non mortua, sed data somno. Hi/mn. x. Exequiar. 53, &c. N 178 Burial of tl)e Btali^ acting obediently in his ministerial capacity, there can be little doubt but that more heartburnings and severer cases of conscience would arise than are now painfully to be met with, — as, indeed, they are. How- ever, to hope against hope hath more faith than irreligion ; and amongst the other characteristics of Christian charity this, too, is set down — it " believeth all things, hopeth all things^ (1 Cor. xiii. 7.) In conclu- sion, " If it be alleged that evil men will hereby be encouraged to continue in their sins, I answer, that the whole office confutes that vain conceit (which only promises happiness to the pious), and particu- larly the very clause preceding this doth plainly obviate this misconstruction, by moving every by- stander to pray that he may be raised up from the death of sin here, without which the Church declares he cannot hope for a happy death or a joyftil resur- rection. And if it be well observed, we suppose the party deceased to have had his share in the work of grace before he obtained a portion in glory, and accordingly we pray for the first as to ourselves, before we presume to ask the latter'." The Office, as it now stands, concludes with the Blessing, which was added at the last Review. But formerly, in the First Book of Edward VI., there was the Rubric which follows — " The Celebration of the Holy Communion, when there is a Burial of the Dead." Psalm xHi. was there appointed for the In- troit, together with a Collect — (the last Collect in our present Service), — an Epistle and Gospel ; — the former from 1 Thess. iv. 13 — 18, the other from John vi. 37—40. As regards the celebration of the Eucharist at this time it must be admitted that the custom is an ' Comber, vol. iv. p. 467. Burial of tt)t BeaU. 179 ancient one, and observed when the funeral, or " Coimimidation' of any one, (such was the technical word,) was in the morning. When in the afternoon, as may be seen from the Council of Carthage', it was to be omitted. But it is not necessary to dwell long on this head ; suffice it to say that the Western Rituals seem all, more or less, to acknowledge the administration of the Eucharist at this time; and that particular instances are recorded for Africa by St. Augustine, who dw^ells affectionately on his mother Monica's funeral. Such was the case like- wise in Italy, at the funeral of St. Ambrose, who was buried on Easter-day in the morning, after the Divine Sacrament had been administered. St. Am- brose himself had consecrated the Holy Mysteries at the funeral of Valentinian ; and, to add no more, Eusebius records the like to have taken place at the funeral of Constantino. However, " it was not usual in the East, where the Liturgy is not per- formed at funerals even to the present day." (Pal- mer.) As respects the particular prayers used at the solemn Commemoration of the dead, we have fortu- nately a form extant in the Apostolical Constitu- tions, which shows, as Bingham says, " that there was no relation to Purgatory in those prayers, but quite the contrary, namely, a supposition that the soul of the deceased was going to a place of rest and happiness in Abraham's bosom \" It may be added, ^ The Greek may be seen in was /uovaig £vx"^c kTeXeadeiv. Beveridgii Synodicon, vol. i. These canons which form the p. 567, and note, vol. ii. p. 206. " Codex Ecclesiae Afncan^e, The xhvth Canon requires the date from a.d 419. Beveridge, Eucharist to be taken fasting ; ^ ibid, p. 202. In theCodex, &c so that in case a funeral, whe- of Justellus the Canon referred ther of Bishops or others, took to is xh. See p. 121, ed. 1615. place in the evening, the order ' See Book xxn. c. m. ^ 13: N 2 180 33urial of tijt laeatr. that the after-custom of giving the Holy Eucharist to the dead, together with the kiss of peace at that time, was of more recent date, and of superstitious origin. Superstitious likewise in time became the celebra- tion of the Holy Communion at the Burial of the Dead, of which it will be enough to say in the words of one of our oldest and best Ritualists : " In- nocent was this rite while it preserved its first intention ; but degenerating from its original purity, by Masses and Dirges, sung for the souls of the dead, wisely was it done of our second Reformers to re- move, not only the evils themselves of such hetero- dox opinions, but even the occasions of them also, viz., the Communion used at Burials'^ T Such, Christian Brethren, in its several parts, is this beautiful OflSce, and were it, together with that the passage of the Constitu- tions is in lib. viii. c. 41. Of that other custom alluded to in the text, see infra, § 14 ; and for burying the Eucharist with the Dead, that vast treasury of Martene, de Antiquis Eccles. Rit. lib. iii. c. xii. p. 367- 1 cannot help repeating over again that Bingham and Mar- tene are constantly referred to. '" L'Estrange. What he says of Elizabeth's Latin Version is in all probability correct. " Which being so evident as to matter of fact, it may seem a wonder, why in the Liturgy established in Parhament, and translated into Latin, 2nd Eliz., and this done by Regal autho- rity, this Communion Order is postliminated into that Burial Office;' &c. p. 303. The rea- son he assigns, as before, with respect to the Reservation of the Elements, p. 300, is that '' the Universities and Colleges to which this translation was di- rected, being men of more dis- cerning spirits, better might they be trusted with this Office, which it was expected they would consider in its true principles, separated from the foggy me- dium of ignorance and supersti- tion," p. 394. The following words from the Seventh Ser- mon preached by Maister Laty- mer before King Edward are worth quoting. " In the pri- mitive Church, in places, when theyr frendes were dead, they used to come together to the Holy Communion. What ! to remedy them that were dead ? No, no, a straw, it was not in- stituted for no such purpose. But then they would call to re- membrance God's goodness, His Passion that He suffered for us, wherein they comforted much theyr fayth." p. 89. ed. 1575. Black letter. astirial of tfie fieair. i8i for the Visitation of the Sick, wisely considered and turned to when we were well, it would be a sure way of setting our houses in order, and of preparing to meet our God ! So true is that saying of His holy Prophet of old, " Thou meetest him that re- joice th and worketh righteousness, those that re- member Thee in Thy ways." (Isa. Ixiv. 5.) And this can never be done too early ; for youth and age are alike liable to dissolution, and the taking down of these tabernacles is never very far from any one of us. " It remains," says one, " that we who are alive should so live, and by the actions of religion attend the coming of the Day of the Lord, that we neither be surprised nor leave our duties imperfect, nor our sins uncancelled, nor our persons unreconciled, nor God unappeased ; but that, when we descend to our graves, we may rest in the bosom of our Lord, till the mansions be prepared, where we shall sing and feast eternally. Amen"." n Jeremy Taylor — " Of the makes innocent, who deal so Contingencies and Treating our with men in this world, that Dead," Works, vol. iv. p. 472. they are not afraid to meet Sir T. Brown beautifully says, them in the next ; who, when " The greater part must be they die, make no commotion content to be, as though they amongst the dead, and are not had not been, and to be found touched with that poetical taunt in the register of God and not of Isaiah, xiv. 16." Hydro- in the record of man." And, taphia. Works, vol. in. pp. 492 "Happy they whom privacy — 496. net all things U tione tiecentlg anti in ortier/' PART V. BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. THE THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER CHILDBIRTH, COMMONLY CALLED mt €i)\ml)m ol miomm, AND €i)t Commination, ^r* THE THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER CHILDBIRTH, COMMONLY CALLED Cfte €f)\xvtlms of Wiomtiu 1 Corinthians xiv. 40. " Let all things be done decently and in order." TN the First Book of Edward VI. this Office was called "The Order of the Purification of Women ^" wherein, though unfettered by the cere- monial of the Jewish Law, we reverently have an eye to that moral part of it, which, like its Divine Author, changes not, but is the same " yesterday, to-day, and for ever." The lamb " for a burnt- oiFering, and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin-offering," — or, in the case of poverty, "two tur- tles, or two young pigeons" (Lev. xii. 6 — 8), — sacri- fices of this sort are not required at our hands, being ceremonial and material ; — but the sacrifice of praise and thanksgii^ing, under such circum- *" The former word was Pw- VI., where the Rubric was rijication, worthily expunged altered to its present form, by our second Reformers ;" i. e. L'Estrange, p. 32G. in the Second Book of Edward 186 Cf)f Cftuirftms of WUnmu stances, is ever to be offered, as it has been from the earliest ages of the Church, by those who pro- fess and call themselves Christian mothers, bent on o'odliness, and mindful of the resurrection from those pangs which were nigh unto death and proxi- mate to the gate of the grave ! " The holy Virgin Mother, according to the Law of Moses, at the expiration of a certain time, came to the temple to be purified. Although, in her sacred parturition, she had contracted no legal im- purity, yet she exposed herself to the public opinion and common reputation of an ordinary condition ; and still amongst all generations, she is, in all cir- cumstances, accounted blessed, and her reputation no tittle altered, save only, that it is made the more sacred by this testimony of her humility. But this we are taught from the consequence of this instance ; that if an end, principally designed in any duty, should be supplied otherwise in any particular per- son, the duty is nevertheless to be observed ; and then the obedience and public order is reason enough for the observation, though the proper end of its designation be w^anting in the single person." These remarks of a well known divine are much to the purpose here, when the proper end of this Office is looked to — that is to say, devout thankfulness to the Almighty God. And let it be added, for example's sake to Christian women, who are not unholy and sequestered from the house of God according to the ancient Levitical Law (as Hooker expresses it), — let it here be added, that the " holy Virgin Mother, from these acts, (of which, in signification, she had no need, because she sinned not in the conception, nor was impure in the production,) expressed other virtues besides obedience ; such as were humble €i)t Cftmtfting of Wioinm. 187 thoughts of herself, devotion and reverence to pubHc sanctions, religion, and. charity, which were like the pure leaves of the whitest lily, but to represent the beauties of her innocence, but were veiled and sha- dowed by that Sacramental of the Mosaic law^" We may wisely consider all this, and give God thanks. And it is our duty so to do, because, as children are successively born into the world, the number of the elect is being filled up, and the king- dom we pray for hastened. As regards the antiquity of this Rite I need not enter into any lengthened particulars. Suffice it to say that it is lost in the distance of primitive ages, and no man is able to say when women after child- birth did not return thanks. We find the Office in the Euchologion"^, where it has been for ages, and, in fact, in all the Western Rituals as well as in those of the East. Our own Office, nearly as it now stands, occurs in the ancient Manuals of Salisbury ; and it is to be recollected that one of the questions put by St. Augustine to Pope Gregory was, " How long it was to be before the woman, after child-birth, should come to be Churched ? " which evidently shows that it was then customary in the British Church ; and, ^ See Jer. Taylor's " Consi- KXtjaiacrdfj j/ul: on the sense derations upon the Presentation of the word Purification, and of Jesus in the Temple." Works, how it is not with us a legal, vol. ii. p. 99, and Hooker's Ec- but a Christian Rite, cf. note, cles. Pol. book v. Ixxiv. p. 269. For the " Dionysii ^ In the Greek Church this Alexandrini Canones," so often Office is called Evxn ek yv- referred to, see Beveridgii Sy- va.~iKa Xex^, fJ-^^a ji Yifiepag, i. e. nodicon, vol. ii. p. 4, canon ii. after forty days, when the mo- Ilepl ^e twv kv a(j)eSpu> yvvai- ther was to come to the Church kCjv, el irpocrfjKev avrag ovtcj with the child in person. See hiaicei/j.£yaQ elc tov oIkov tlaii- Goar, p. 267. Our name of vat tov Qeov k. t. i. It may be Churching is to be seen in the seen also in Routh's Reliquiae prefixed Rubric — ivrt tm tK- Sacrse. 188 Cfte Cftmrfting of eHoimiu as it has been likewise observed, the very words of the answer made, seem to imply some known rite or form of returning thanks ^ But, to turn to the Office itself, wherein the first Rubric is to be noted, which says that the woman is to come, at the usual time after delivery, into the Church decently apparelled, and to kneel down in some convenient place, as hath been accustomed. The usual time in this country has been about a month; but no time is specified ; because the period of a woman's weakness cannot be foreseen, and she is not called upon to return thanks for a blessing be- fore it is received. Her punishment, however, is not to be counted as a crime ; neither is she, " in respect of any unholiness forbidden entrance into the Church, although her abstaining from public assemblies, and her abode in separation for a time, be most convenient." (Hooker.) Come when she may she is to be received, as may be seen from the old Rubric in the Salisbury Manual above referred to^ It is next observed that she is to come de- cently apparelled, — but the apparel is left to her own discretion, " the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit" being the matter of real import. Formerly, as is well known, the woman came veiled ; than which, says Hooker, in reply to certain cavillers more merry ^ See Johnson's Eccles. Laws, ' Enter into the temple of God, DCi. viii. Question of Aiigustin. that thou niayest receive eter- * It is given by Wheatly, nal life and endure through all p. 503. The original is like- ages. Amen." In the first wise quoted by Keble in his Book of Edward VI. the wo- Notes on Hooker, where he man was to kneel nigh unto the observes also, — as Comber quire door ; — by the second, does, — that " the Service at nigh unto the place where the that time was read at the Table standeth. The Rubric Church-door, and after it the was altered to its present form Priest took her hand, and led at the last Review, her into the Church, saying, CI)e Cfturtftmg: of WIRomm. 189 than wise, "there could be nothing devised for such a time more grave and decent." Certainly, as re- gards Rebekah, it is not in Scripture turned to her reproof that " she took a veil and covered herself" (Gen. xxiv. 65) ; and when St. Paul has occasion to speak on the subject, he alludes to the veil rather as a token of reverence and submission than of immo- desty. (See 1 Cor. xi. 10.) Lastly, as regards the convenient place, this formerly was the Altar, as may easily be collected from the documents of our Church. I will only write down here the Answer of the Bishops to the exceptions of the Ministers at the Savoy Conference. " It is fit that the woman performing especial service of thanksgiving should have a special place for it, where she may be per- spicuous to the whole Congregation, and near the holy Table in regard of the offering she is there to make. They need not fear Popery in this, since in the Church of Rome she is to kneel at the Church- door V It is remarkable that the more common cus- tom now of Churching women from the desk was regarded as Puritanical in the sixteenth and seven- ^ See Dr. Cardwell's Hist. there set down ; he hath ap- of Conferences, &c., p. 362. pointed them to keep their own The Puritanical innovation is seats ; and, contrary to the glanced at by Bishop Montague order appointed, useth some in his Articles of Inquiry, p. 78, part of the prayer, standing in Reprint, and in Strype's Life his seat, appointed for public and Acts of Archbp. Whitgift, prayer." Vol. i. p. 279. As the following complaint is laid respects the time, Sparrow ob- against " the Parson of East- serves, in his Rationale, " This wick," May, 1584. " Also, Service is to be done betwixt whereas by order the woman the first and second Service, as that Cometh to Church to give I have learnt by some Bishops' her thanks after childbirth, by inquiries at their visitation ; the order of the Book, should sit reason, perhaps, is because by nigh to the Communion table, this means it is no interruption and the Minister to stand by of either of these Offices," her, to use the form of prayer p. 291. 190 Cfte CI)urri)mg of Wioimih teenth centuries. But this, perhaps, is at present the more accustomed place, and the Ordinary seldom in- terferes. After these introductory Rubrics comes the Pre- face, which till the last Review was left to the dis- cretion of the Priest, the words being, " And the Priest, standing by her, shall say these words, or such like, as the case shall require." None can deny that it is pertinent and enough ; and one may say, with a well-known Ritualist, that even this short office is not without a suitable introduction ; and if it be "a general defect in all other liturgies, that they have no prefaces to introduce the several offices, and to 2)repare the parties concerned to do their duties with understanding," yet it is the peculiar care of this our " Church to instruct us how to do every duty, as well as to assist us in the doing thereof: hence the daily prayers begin with an Ex- hortation, so doth the celebration of the Communion, Baptism, Confirmation, and all the rest." (Comber.) Well are we all instructed ; and if we will not re- ceive instruction, the fault is all our own. " But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant." ( 1 Cor. xiv. 38.) Next come the Psalms, without which Thanks- giving were imperfect. In the First Book of Ed- ward VI. there was but one, the 131st, which, toge- ther mth the I'iSth, is still used in the Roman Office ; but these, it may be, are hardly so suitable as the present ones, that is to say, the 116th and the 127th. The first was written either after sickness healed or danger escaped, and, by change of person, is not unfitly to be applied to the case of a woman who comes to o^ive her thanks. The latter verses are omitted, not being so applicable on the present €i)t CI)urd)mg of aaaomeiu i9i occasion. And as the first Psalm praises God for the deliverance of the mother, so the second is a thanksgiving for the birth of the child, and altoge- gether seasonable, when the child is living. And well is it said, " Except the Lord bestow children upon us, and so build the house^, and propagate the family, their labour is but lost, and all their endea- vours vain that attempt to build it without his bless- ing; for either they shall never have any children, or none to live with them ; so that we will acknow- ledge this prop which is prepared to support our house, (against we that are the present pillars of it fail,) is purely the gift of God." (Comber's Paraphrase.) The Psalm itself is one of the " Psalms of Degrees," as they are called; and it was one of those sung aloud by the Levites, in commemoration of God's mercy for the return from the captivity. It is remarkable, by the way, that no Psalm appears to have been sung in this office by the Eastern Church ^ After the Psalms, the Priest calls upon the whole congregation, saying, " Let us pray ;" and the prepa- ration for the Lord's Prayer, which we never omit, is the Lesser Litany. As regards the Lord's Prayer, 8 Hammond's note in loc. by these words : " / will raise should by all means be referred up thy seed after thee, which to: "To huild, (from whence shall he of this son." 1 Chron. is the name p a son), is to xvii. 10, 11. Hence in Euri- procreate and bring up children, pides, we find, UalSag, epv/xa by which houses, i. e. families, ^w'/iact. Medea, v. 584. And are built up, begun, supported, elsewhere, SruAoi yap oiicojy and continued," &c. The sim- tlfrl iralhg apcTereg. Iphig. plest illustration is that from the in Taur. v. 57. Chronicles, where the Lord, by ^^ Wheadey's inference, that his prophet Nathan, saith luito the Woman should repeat the David ; " Furthermore I tell Psalm after the Priest, is no thee, that the Lord will build doubt correct, p. 508, — but she thee an house," which is ex- is not ordered to do so. plained in the verse following, 192 €i)t Cf)uiri)ms of OTomen. it is common in this place to the Eastern and Western Church ; but in this, we of the Church of England are particular, in that we have added the Doxology, because the present is an Office of Thanks- giving. This was done at the last Review. In the First Book of Edward VI., as well as in the Second, the termination following will be observed : ''Answer. But deliver us from evil. AmenV Of this, L'E- strange gives the explanation following : " It hath long been inquired, why all the residue of the Dominical Prayer being rehearsed in one continual course in some parts of our Liturgy, there is a break at this last petition, which is returned by way of response. In satisfaction to which doubt, the consi- deration of the Prayer of former times will contri- bute very much. The manner, you must under- stand, was then for the Priest who did officiate to rehearse it, as our Office directeth ; and this last petition was not returned by the People, but by the Quire or Chorus, and that with an elevated voice. The design whereof was to give notice to the i)eople, that the Lord's Prayer was drawing to an end, that they might be more ready to affi^rd their Amen. For the Service being all in Latin, a tongue un- known to them, all their business at Church was only to join in the close of Ame7i ; and for this they had no other queue to direct them than the loud pronunciation of the foregoing member of the Chorus. In the Lord's Prayer, But deliver us from evil was their directory; in other prayers, in scBCula scbcuIo- ^ " The reason thereof is enim fiierat invitatus, cum Sa- given by Hugo de Sancto Vic- cerdos ante orationem Domi- tore (de Offic. Eccl. lib. ii. nicam diceret, oremus." See c. 39.) Hoc septimum Clio- Bp. Cosins in Nicholls' Addi- rus succinit, in quo se orasse tional Notes, p. 66. cum Sacerdote ostendit ; ad hoc €i)t €i)xivt\ms oi aaiiDmen. 193 rum, or pei^ omnia scBcula sceculorum^r It will be hardly necessary to observe, that this ancient custom of the undersong is retained in the verses and the response which follow ; in which, indeed, the custom is more particularly marked than in any other part of the Prayer-Book. Last of all follows a Prayer, which, like the verses and response, is to be traced to the Manual of Salis- bury, and of which it needs no more to say than this, that it is most appropriate, holy, and devout. For w^hat can be more in unison w^ith the teaching of our Church, which we have thus at length consi- dered, than the petition offered up to our most mer- ciful Father, that the woman churched " may both faithfully live, and walk according to His will in this life present, and also may be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord ?" Verily all this is no less comforting and consol- ing than decent and in order, and befitting the prayers of the faithful ! Surely, if the Office in the Greek Church is longer, it is not more to the purpose. Pro- per words in proper places are the characteristic of our own. All is after Hannah's song in thankfulness : " The Lord killeth and maketh alive ; He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up." ( 1 Sam. ii. 6.) ^ See Alliance of Divine cum lector sive hieropsaltes Offices, p. 327. See likewise versum Psalmi cecinisset, po- Sparrow's Rationale on the sub- pulus extremam versus clausu- ject of the ancient term, Wk^o- lam simul cum eo concineret. TtXtvTLa, p. 289, &c. Reprint. Docet id Clemens in lib. xx. The words of Eusebius, Hist. Apost. Constit. c. 57. ubi vide Eccles. lib. ii. c. 17, exactly quod notavit Joannes Cotele- represent the usage, 'Ej/oc /xera rius." The words referred to pvdfjiov KocTfiiiog E7n\pa\\oPTug, are : 'Am ^vo U yevo^ii'tov 01 Xonroi icad' ricrv^iciv 'ciKpo- avayvojfffxaTOjv, erepog tiq tovq WfltVOl, TU)V VIXVU)V TO. UKpOTE- TOV Aa/3t^ XpaWirU) Vfil'OVC, XevTia avv€t,rixov(Tiv' on which Kai 6 Xaog ra atcpoarixi-o. vwo- Valesius remarks : " Fuit hie -^aWfrw. Vol. i. p. 262. mos veterum Christianorum, ut 194 Cfte Cfturtftmg oi 2i2Homen. The last Rubric stood thus in the First Book of Edward VI. : " The woman that is purified must offer her chrism, and other accustomed offerings," &c. It was altered to its present form at the next Review, and it had reference to the Rubric at the end of the Public Office of Baptism, which ran thus: "The Minister shall command that Chrisms be brought to the Church, and delivered to the Priests after the accustomed manner, at the purifica- tion of the mother of every child." Of the Chrism, or Chrysom, or White Garment put upon the Child at its Baptism, in token of innocency, I have spoken before ; and it is only mentioned again here, (the use of the Alb ^ having passed away,) to show^ how the present fee to the Minister seems to have been grounded on the presentation at this time made. Amongst other the Interpretations and further Con- siderations of the Archbishop and Bishops on Queen Elizabeth's Injunction, a.d. 1559, the following is to be met with : " Item, to avoid contention, let the curate have the value of the chrisom ; not under the value of four pence, and above as they can agree, and as the state of the parents may require "\" It may be noted here, in passing, that the demand of ^ Hence the other name for were laid up in the churches, the Utas, Octave, Low-Sunday, to be produced against any or the First Sunday after Easter, that should hereafter deny i. e. " Dominica in albis," or, their profession. If the child rather, post albas (scilicet de- died before the woman was positas), as some old rituals churched, the chrysom was not call it, because those that were offered. Hence that beautiful baptized on Easter eve wore, expression of Jeremy Taylor, seven days after, white gar- " So innocent, that their albs of ments, called Chrysoms, signs Baptism served them for their of the purity which they re- winding sheet!" — it being custo- ceived in Baptism, which white mary, in that case, to use them clothes they this day put off." in place of a shroud. Sparrow, p. 143. The intent '" Dr. Cardwell's Documen- of this custom, it is said, was tary Annals, vol. i. p. 206. this. The albs, or chrysoms, Cfte Cfturrftms of SUomem 195 a Baptismal Fee, in any place, is illegal. I willingly quote the words of the Bishop of Ripon in his late charge. "The practice has, perhaps, originated in the performance of the Office of the Churching of Women, in behalf of the mother, at the period of her infant's admission into the Church of Christ, and the fee lawfully due for the former, and at first merely miscalled the Baptismal Fee, has afterwards been demanded, even when the parent did not pre- sent herself to return thanks for her safe deliver- ance °." Let me add, likewise, (from the additional notes in Nicholls on the Common Prayer,) that if the woman be unmarried, "the Form of Thanks- giving shall not be said for her, except she hath, either before her childbirth, done her penance for her fault ; or shall then do it at her coming to be churched, by appointment of the Ordinary. Arch- bishop Grindal's Art. for Cant. Prov. 1576." The Rubric concludes by adding : " If there be a Com- munion, it is convenient that she receive the Holy Communion," which is according to the very ancient use of the Greek Church ". And, as one well ob- serves, " To receive the Sacrament while the sense of God's goodness and her own engagement is so fresh upon her, is the likehest means in the world to make her remember this blessing long, apply it right, and effectually to profit by it ; wherefore let it never be omitted on this occasion!" Pity this thoughtful consideration has passed us by ! I shall conclude these remarks with the words of " Charge of the Bishop of are :—KaddpLffov ciTro 7ra(TT)g Ripon, Sept. 1, 1844, p. 25. Of afxaprlag ml diro -^f^vTog pvirov. Oblations : — " small and petit -Kpoaepx^ixivriv tt} ayi^ aov payments, which yet are a part etcKXrjtrlc^/iva dKaTaKpirwgd^Kodji of the minister's right."— See /ixeraffxetv rwv ay/wv aov fivff- Hooker, ut supra, § 4. rrjpicjv. Goar, p. 267. The words in the Prayer 2 196 91 Cnmmmation, ^c. Hooker and L'Estrange. The former says: "The fruit of marriage is birth, and the companion of birth travail ; the grief whereof being so extreme, and the danger ahvays so great, dare we open our mouths against the things that are holy, and pre- sume to censure it as a fault in the Church of Christ, that women after their deliverance do publicly show their thankful minds unto God?" The latter : "When Holy Scripture is concerned most graphically to describe sorrow superlative, and at the height, Jt assimilateth it to that of a icoman in travail If this sorrow be so excessive, how great must the joy be to be delivered from that sorrow ? Commensurate certainly, and of adequate proportion ; and no less must the duties of thankfulness be to the Benefactor and the Donor of that recovery ; whence a necessity of Thanksgiving of Women after Child-hirth p." g Commination, $cu - The last of our Occasional Services is " A Commi- nation against Sinners, with certain Prayers to be used divers times in the year." This was its title in the Second Book of Edward VI., in lieu of that in the First, "The First Day of Lent, commonly called Ash Wednesday." Neither, however, was sufficiently explanatory; and, therefore, at the last Review, the Commination was explained to be, the " Denouncing of God's anger and judgment against sinners, with certain Prayers, to be used on the First Day of Lent, and at other times, as the Ordi- nary shall appoint." The Office is now, one may say, restricted to Ash Wednesday, so seldom has the Ordinary appointed it otherwise. Use, in some sort, is the criterion of an office as it is of language. P Hooker, ut supra, § 1. L'Estrange, p. 325. a Commmation, $ct. 197 However, " the divers times in the year," made men- tion of in the Second Book of Edward VI., was not disregarded by Archbishop Grindal, who, in the Visitation of his Province, in 1576, appointed it to be used three times in the year, " viz. upon one of the three Sundays next before Easter, one of the two Sundays next before Pentecost, and one of the two Sundays next before Christmas ^" Of the Fasts of the Church, something was said before in conjunction with her Festivals. Of this solemn Service it will be enough, by way of intro- duction, to use the words of Hooker: ''Again, be- sides our private offences, which ought not thus loosely to be overslipped, suppose we the body and corporation of the Church so just, that at no time it needeth to show itself openly cast down in regard of those faults and transgressions which, though they do not properly belong unto any one, had, notwith- standing, a special sacrifice appointed for them in the law of Moses, and being common to the whole society which containeth all, must needs so far con- cern every man in particular, as at some time in solemn manner to require acknowledgment with more than daily and ordinary testification of grief? There could not hereunto a fitter preamble be de- vised than that memorable Commination set down in the Book of Common Prayer, if our practice in the rest were suitable. The head already so well drawn, doth but wish a proportionable body. And by the preface to that very part of the English Liturgy, it may appear how at first setting down ?>ik>^r>>;ra K ^!22P^;^^^W^'^^