*«- ■<^••• c < < • «ol: « • < C «• r 4r i-r ( i. . You will observe how strongly this is put, how forcibly it is reiterated in scripture, that we were re- conciled to God by the death of His Son, that we were redeemed by His Blood, made nigh by the Blood of Christ. And in treating of the Eucharist sacrificially, we must, if w^e would act on the principles of the Church of England, bring the fact prominently for- ward, that there upon the cross, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, by His one oblation of Himself once offered, made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacri- fice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. At the reformation of our Church, three hun- dred years ago, the statement of this article of our faith was introduced, parenthetically forced, as it were, into the prayer of consecration, as a kind of warning against a pernicious tenet of the Church of Rome upon this point. And in treating of this subject, since the Church of Rome still retains her false doctrine, we must, however unwilling to touch in the slightest de- gree upon controversy, just in passing, observe that the Church of England now protests against the notion that there is any repetition or continuation of that one fresh, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, in the Holy Eucharist. The Romish Divines have taken occasion from the name of sacrifice given to the Eucharist, to tell us of a fresh immolation and death ; to attach to it an efficacy of its own and an independent merit, an efficacy and * Isaiah liii. 5—10. 1 Pet. ii. 24. Heb. ix. 27. 15 merit independent of the one meritorious sacrifice of the Cross ; to make men place therein a confidence which cannot but be superstitious, whenever it refers not o the Cross of Christ. And now you see why they ad- here so firmly to their false doctrine of transubstan- tiation ; they, in their error, represent themselves as offering up the Son of God substantially and really to the Father. And since they imagine that they do this by offering the consecrated bread and wine, they must maintain that the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the veiy substance of our Lord Jesus Christ. " This kind of oblation," says Bishop Ridley, " standeth upon transubstantiation." And on this account it was that our Refoimers were ready to die at the stake rather than admit an error fraught with such a^-ful consequences, which indeed virtually sets aside the Cross of Christ. It was not with them, as it has been with modern puritans and infidels, a mere question as to the mode of Christ's presence in the Holy Communion : they did not deny the reality of His presence, which would do away with the reality of the sacrament ; what they denied was the particular notion of transubstantiation, not on account of any difficulty in believing it, but on account of its virtually setting aside and superseding the fun- damental fact of our religion, the one full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction of the Cross. Both Romanists and Reformers perceived this ; on this doctrine really depends that doctrine of the Mass, in which it is supposed that the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is repeated ; to deny the doc- trine of transubstantiation was virtually, then, to deny the chief peculiarity of the modem Church of Rome, and therefore the Romanists made the acceptance of their figment of transubstantiation a test, for refusing to take which, they sentenced their victims to death : 16 the Reformers of the Church of England admitted the soundness of the reasoning, and therefore, rather than take the test, they died. The chief reference to the sacrifice of the cross be- longs, according to the right doctrine, to the sacra- mental part of the Eucharist. The sacrifice of the cross is exhibited and represented before God and men, under the symbols of the bread and wine ; and the bread and wine being duly consecrated, become to the worthy communicants, to all intents and pui-poses, virtually and intei'pretatively, the Body and Blood of that precious Lamb of God who was once, and once for all, ofiered upon the cross ; and by partaking of them we become partakers of the one atoning Sacrifice. The grand sacrifice once offered is dispensed and com- municated to individual believers in the Eucharist, by and through the consecrated symbols : but it is not repeated. Hence the Eucharist is regarded as a Feast upon that great sacrifice. But while the Scriptures and the Fathers are, like our own Church, strong upon this point, they as fre- quently speak of other Sacrifices which Christians present as their oivn Sacrifices, the best they can give to God. It is a christian privilege to approach God with boldness, to offer Him gifts, and to know that what we humbly offer with faithful and grateful hearts He will graciously vouchsafe to accept. God gives us a property in certain things ; what He has given He permits us to regard as our own, and out of what is, in this sense, our own, He permits us to make offerings to Him. Through the one atoning Sacrifice, the death of God our Saviour upon the cross, God is recon- ciled to man, and man, when justified by his faith in Christ, may draw nigh unto God as to a reconciled Father, who will accept gifts at our hands, not because He needs any thing at the hands of His creatures, but 17 because He is pleased by this token of gratitude on the part of His children. As ive are pleased by marks of attention and aifection on the part of our little ones, so is God well pleased by every indication of love evinced by His babes in Christ. Out of Christ it were presumption to approach God with any such intent : but through Christ we are permitted to bring our gifts, and in offering any thing to God we offer a sacrifice. Let us proceed to consider, then, what our sacrifices under the gospel are. And here I must premise that the gospel is a spiritual dispensation, and every thing we do must have a spiritual reference. Let us take for example alms-deeds as our first way of making a sacrifice to God : a sacrifice is something we do or give to God : Christ our God hath declared that what we do to the poor and alSicted in His name, He will regard as done unto Himself ; therefore, the giving of alms is a sacrifice. On this principle, in writing to the Philippians, St. Paul, refering to true liberality towards himself, says, " I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well- pleasing to God.'"'S= " To do good and to communicate forget not," saith the same Apostle to the Hebrews, adding, "for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."! It was said even to Cornelius, " Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God."| It is not the money which is the sacrifice ; the money expended in almsgiving, is only the outward and visible sign by which the benevolent feeling is expres- sed : for money given to the poor grudgingly or of necessity, money for instance, such as the law of the land may require of us for the support of paupers, * Phil. iv. 10. + Heb. xiii. 10. 18 could never be regarded by any one in this point of view. It must be a freewill offering ; and although, where the benevolent feeling is, benevolent actions must be the result, we do not always conclude that, because a poor person is relieved, there must be gener- ous feeling in him that administers the relief — other motives may give rise to the action. The real offering, then, to God is internal, spiritual : He accepts the deed, when the deed is done from the benevolent sen- timent, which benevolent sentiment is the real offering. And thus we see how in one way, at least, we can offer sacrifices acceptable to God, From the Book of Revelation we learn that through the intercession of Christ, the prayers of the saints go up as an odour before God, the prayers of the saints ascend before God as the smoke of the incense. !| Ac- cording to the Prophecy of Malachi, "From the rising up of the sun even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered to my name ^vith a pure offering. "§ All these are sacrificial terms, and denote, that, over and above the fact that prayer is the means by which we tell to our Heavenly Father our wants and ask for redress, — prayer is to be regarded in the light of a sacrifice. This is morq^apparent in praise and thanksgiving; for prayer has reference to ourselves, but praise and thanksgiving is a direct offering to God. Therefore saith the Apostle, "let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fmit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."- Under this head comes our text particularly, although I apply it to the whole subject, " Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus 1) Rev. V. 8. § Malachi i. 2. * Heb. xiii. 15. 19 Christ :" he is alluding here to the continual offering up of praise, which is the great employment of the Church. Again, the dedication of a contrite heart, sanctified by grace, is another offering which God will accept, for, in reference to the new covenant especially, the Holy Ghost saith, " The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise, "f Another Gospel sacrifice is the sacrifice of ourselves, our souls and bodies, " I beseech you," saith St. Paul to the Romans, " that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept- able unto God, which is your reasonable service. |" Without entering further into detail, you see what we can do if we would offer sacrifices to God, — and all these sacrifices the communicant offers, when he takes part in the semce of the Holy Eucharist. Alms are presented to God for the use of His poor : and as God is about to feast His people at His oa^ti table, by con- veying an inward and spiritual grace through the out- ward and visible signs, an oblation is made to Him of bread and wine, to be consecrated for this pui'pose : these are visible indications on the part of the Church, of the readiness of God's people to do all that is re- quisite and necessary, as far as in them lies, for the relief of the distressed, and the establishment of true religion. We offer also our praises and thanksgi^'ings, pleading the merits of Christ our Saviour ; and the priest, standing at the altar, in our name, offers our ser\'ices to Almighty God, throughout the whole office, in effect, and in one place in these most solemn words ; " And here," — even at Thy table, thus becoming an altar, — " here we offer and present unto Thee, Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto Thee." + Psalm xli. 17. t Romans xii.l. 20 Well then may a service which combines all kinds of Christian sacrifices be denominated, as it was in the first ages of tlie church, and still is, the great sacrifice of the Christian Church. But we may proceed yet further; it is the sacrifice of faith, and hope, and self- humiliation in commemorating the great sacrifice of the cross, and resting entirely upon it for all its effi- cacy : it is also the offering up by your pastor of true converts and sincere penitents, brought to God by his instrumentality, — a most aflecting thought, on which St. Paul dwells more than once.=^ It is this — but it is more than this ; "for we," saith the Apostle, in refer- ence to this holy ordinance, '•' being many, are one bread and one body ; for we are all partakers of that one bread.'' The blessed Eucharist, therefore, is not merely the offering to God of this or that individual person, is not merely the offering to God of one single congregation ; it is the presenting to God, as prepared to do, or to endure whatever He may see fit to appoint, the whole mystical body of Christ, Christ and His mem- bers ; the Church militant and the Church triumphant, with their divine Head. Thou, God, we seem to say, didst give thine only begotten Son for the salvation of the world; out of the world He has gathered His Church ; and behold, the whole Church, visible and in- visible, militant and triumphant, -with Christ the Head of the Church, in that He is man as well as God, standeth before the throne of glor\% ready, like the hosts of heaven, to do Thy will. Thou hast sacrificed Thy- self for us. Thou hast given us grace to make an offer- ing to Thee, — behold it, even all we have and all we are. How glorious, how sublime ; how overwhelmingly grand is the view thus taken of the distinguishing rite of Christian worship I ♦ Romans xv. 16 ; Philipp. ii. 17 ; compare Isaiah Ivi, 20. 21 The one sacrifice of our God, once made upon the cross, gratefully commemorated, and in a figure ex- hibited before God, and men, and angels, as our only hope of salvation ; that one sacrifice applied to faithful hearts, so that they themselves may have grace to offer their spiritual sacrifices ; and the whole service a peace- offering, a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the King of kings and Lord of lords. But what the Church is to be and do as a whole, each member of the Church is to be and to do in him- self, — as the Church, the mystical body of Christ, is devoted to God, so must each component part of that body be ; or in the blessings vouchsafed to the body he can have no share. Observe — unless you bear your part in this service, in the Holy Communion, you disobey Christ, and disobedient christians forfeit the grace they once re- ceived ; and yet in this sen^ice you cannot really take a part, unless you are prepared to offer yourself, your soul, and your body, a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto God. The almost christian may not he indeed approach this holy ordinance, — but will the almost christian be saved at the last day ? Answer this question at home and on your knees. But you are unworthy to offer any sacrifice to God? And who is not unworthy? we can only receive this Holy Sacrament worthily by acknowledging, as we do in the communion office, that we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under the Lord's table. We must not confound our being unworthy to approach the Lord, with our receiving the Holy Communion unworthily ; for the two things are quite distinct. When we speak of receiving unworthily, we refer to the motive with which we receive, the object which we have in view. We are to receive the Holy Communion in obedience to our Lord's command, and 22 in order to obtain a spiritual blessing. If we approach the holy ordinance without regard to the divine com- mandment, and with a worldly, instead of a spiritual object, then we receive unworthily. Some years ago, it was necessary for every person holding office under the government, to be professedly" a member of the Church of England : made a member of the Church at Baptism, he could only prove that' he continued to be a member of the same, by his receiving the holy communion : to be a communicant, therefore, was a necessary qualification for office. We can easily imagine what might take place under such circum- stances, viz : — that men "with infidel hearts, neither caring for Christ's commandment, nor seeking a spirit- ual gift, would come to the holy communion, merely to qualify themselves for some worldly appointment. — This was to receive unworthily. In some places, the alms collected at the offertory are distributed among the communicants immediately after the service. We can here again imagine poor persons to attend, not out of respect to the command, or with a view to the divine blessing, but to have a share in the alms : — this too would be to receive un- worthily. A parent sometimes urges a son to receive the blessed Sacrament : that son is living in the habit of some linown sin, but to oblige his parent, presents himself at the altar, his object being not to seek the grace, to the reception of which his sin is an impediment, but to win his parent's favour, or to prevent his sup- posing that he is guilty of an offence which he desires to conceal : this again would be to receive unworthily. These illustrations will serve to shew what is meant by receiving unworthily, and will enable you to see that no one who, having been baptized into Christ, tnily repents and unfeignedly believes the holy gospel, can 23 receive unworthily, however conscious of unworthi- ness he may be, — if he has recourse to the Holy Eucharist in obedience to Christ's commandment and to seek a blessing to his soul. What is requisite in every one is, first that he shall have been admitted into Christ's Church, by holy Baptism ; for this ordinance, the blessed Eucharist, belongs exclusively to christians : secondly, that he believes all the articles of the christian faith; and thirdly, that he is leading a moral life. Without faith we cannot receive the blessing, and an immoral life would repel the blessing when offered : without faith we are as a man would be, to whom food is offered when in the paroxism of disease, he is unable to {j open his mouth to receive it ; if leading an immoral life, we should be, as a man whose diseased stomach would nauseate the viands presented to it, however wholesome in themselves. It is necessary to mention this, since people sometimes are induced to disobey their Saviour, because they conceive that some qualifications relating to their internal feelings are necessary. Fervent and glowing feelings are a blessing, and, when accompanied by consistent conduct, a blessing direct from God : but even to His most favoured servants, God does not at all times vouchsafe the blessing of fervour : and though fervour be a blessing much to be desired, it is never to be used as the test of our religious condition. We are to judge of our spiritual state by our works. Are we morally connect ? If you make any molten image to worship it, according to what is stated in the Com- mination Service, you are cursed, and therefore you are not in a condition to communicate; the same is to be said of him who curseth father or mother, or who removeth his neighbour's land-mark; of him who maketh the blind to go out of his way, or perverteth the 24 judgment of the stranger, the fatherless, and widow ; of him who smiteth his neighbour secretly, or com- mitteth adultery ; -who taketh reward to slay the inno- cent, or putteth his trust in man, and taketh man for his defence, and in his heart goeth from the Lord. All these curses relate, you will observe, to moral of- fences ; and who are they whom the express words of the Church warns not to come to the Holy Communion ? *' If any of you be a blasphemer of God, an hinderer or slanderer of His word, an adulterer, or be in malice or envy, or any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins, or else come not to that holy table." If you are blasphemers or adulterers, or in envy, hatred, or malice, or any other grievous crime, you cannot love the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore you cannot, on a principle of love, obey his Command- ment, and consequently you cannot properly receive the Holy Sacrament, and it is better not to receive it at all. But if you are not blasphemers nor adulterers, if you are not living in envy, hatred, malice, or any other grievous crime ; then what hinders you from keeping the commandment of God, the last affection- ate injunction of your God, just before He laid down His life upon the cross for your sins ? If you are seeking to avoid other sins, seek to avoid this sin also, for " Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."^ All fears on the part of baptized persons, who are not leading immoral lives, are very sinful; all such fears as Chall prevent them from doing what their Saviour has required them to do, — for such fears indicate a want of faith. Will you not trust that Blessed Person who said, "This do in remembrance of me ?" Do you think that the Lord Jesus who died for your sins, would * James ii. 10. 25 institute an ordinance and command its observance, not to a chosen few, but to all his followers, if there were danger to your souls in obeying ? Your souls are in danger for not obeying, — in obedience there is safety. " It is a solemn thing to receive the Holy Sacrament," you will say, and God forbid that any should partake of the ordinance without admitting that it is a most solemn thing. Cherish this feeling ; it is a right feeling ; but if the thought of its being a solemn thing be carried so far as to prevent your obeying your Saviour and your God, then, that thought of yours, that it is a solemn thing, becomes a sinful thought, and must be overcome. A religious scruple, however, founded on a right feeling of reverence and fear to offend, if it be indulg- ed so as to weaken the veiling spirit of obedience, becomes sinful. It is a solemn thing to receive the Holy Communion, but the ordinance was appointed by a loving Saviour, — and that same Saviour, perfect man as well as perfect God, who died for your sins, rose again for your justification, and is even now at the right hand of Power interceding for you. You are unworthy, but you are believers in Him ; and by your faith you are justified, when with honest and true hearts you draw near to your heavenly Father in this or in any other ordinance. You are doing what only holy creatures are qualified to do ; you are conscious that there is sin even in your holy things ; but you are believers in Christ, and therefore God will impute holiness to you. Your faith will be accounted for righteousness. You shall be for Christ's sake ac- counted righteous, that, approaching God through the appointed means, you may partake more largely of the Spirit of Christ, and so in the Lord become really righteous. It is thus that justification by faith, pro- 26 perly understood, is intended to prepare the way for sanctification. Be this, then, the position of our souls, when we draw nigh unto God in the holy sacrament, — I am unworthy to do this great thing, but by my faith I continue to be what I was made at my baptism, a living member of Christ; and to me, as such, draw- ing nigh unto God, God will Himself draw nigh, per- mitting me to act in this regard, as if I were already what I am gradually becoming, a righteous creature, and imparting to me the grace, which in this blessed sacrament I seek, in such a degree as my soul is pre- pared to receive it. Cling by faith to Jesus, and then fear not. He who instituted this ordinance, He, the loving Saviour, the God made man to be our Mediator, He the same yes- terday, to-day, and for ever, ever liveth to make inter- cession for us, — He who gave the commandment This do in rememhrance of me, dwelleth in us, except we be reprobates. He is a God at hand, not a God afar off; and He will protect us, and guide us, and guard us, and bless us, wherever, and under whatever circum- stances we seek to obey Him ; He will come to us through His Sacrament, and when we are one with Him, we may offer a sacrifice acceptable to God, our- selves, our souls, and our bodies, all we have and all we are. T. HAERISON, PRINTER, LEEDS. WORKS BY THE REV. DR. HOOK, VICAR OF LEEDS. PUBLISHED BY THOMAS HARRISON, LEEDS, F. & J. KIVINGTON, LONDON; Parker, Oxford; Deiglitons anrl Kiug, Cambridge; and all Booksellers. Just Published, SI ©Jjurri) Sirtl'onarp. Fifth Editiox, with many additional Articles, and carefully revised throughout. Price 10s. AN ECCLESIASTICAL BIOGRAPHY, containing the Lives of Ancient Fathers and Modern Divmes, interspersed with Notices of Heretics and Schismatics, forming a brief History of the Chiu'ch in eveiy Age. Vol. I. 6s. 6d., Vol. II. 6s. clotli boards. Vol. III. will be completed in March, 1847. PASTORAL ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE PREPARING FOR CONFIRMATION. Price Id. each, 7s. Gd. per 100; or U. each, neatly done up in cloth. SHE LOVED MUCH ; AND THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT. Two Sermons; with a Preface on the late Schisms. Price Is. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND VINDICATED AGAINST ROMANISM AND ULTRA-PROTESTANTISM: in Sermons, Preached and Published on Various occasions. Price 4s. 6d. THE CROSS OF CHRIST ; or Meditations en the Death and Passion of our Blessed Lord and Saviouk. Edited by Walter Farquhah Hook, D.D. Price 3s. cloth. 2nd Edition. THE LAST DAYS OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY. A Course of Lectures delivered during Passion Week. Foolscap 8vo., boards, 6s. Fourth Edition. FIVE SERMONS, preached before the University of Oxford. Third Edition. Foolscap 8vo., 3s. PRIVATE PRAYERS. Fourth Edition. FAMILY PRAYERS. The object of this publication is to adapt to the purposes of Family Prayer, the Morning tmd Evening Services of the Church > ' ;» ■■■'■: > > ^5> 7» - > 0.3i9^ ■>^^^ ^>:>%> >: 5.v^>. ;»:»a Jia :3^ 3t> m>. %*.*>- ^ J^ 73k; .A r^^'