AN INQUIRY INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE, THEIR
MUTUAL CONNECTION, AND COMBINED USE,
WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

AN INQUIRY INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE, THEIR
MUTUAL CONNECTION, AND COMBINED USE,
WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE
CHURCH OF ENGLAND,

EIGHT SERMONS
PREACHED BEFORE
THE UNIVERSITY OE OXFORD,
AT THE
BAMPTON LECTURE
FOE THE YEAR MDCCCXLIV.

RICHARD WILLIAM JELF, D.D.,
CAMON OF CHKIST CHTJECH,
AND PEINCIPAI OF KING's COLLEGE, LOKDON :
FOKMEBLT FELLOW OF OBIEL COLLEGE.

OXFORD,
JOHN HENRY PARKER;
LONDON, F. AND J. RIVINGTON.
M DCCC XLIV.

OXFORD :
PRINTKD BY I. SHRIMPTON.

EXTRACT

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

OF THE LATE

REV. JOHN BAMPTON,
CANON OF SALISBURY.

 "I give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to
" the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University
" of Oxford for ever, to have and to hold all and singular
" the said Lands or Estates upon trust, and to the intents
" and purposes hereinafter mentioned ; that is to say, I
" will and appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the Uni-
" versity of Oxford for the time being shall take and receive
" all the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and (after all
" taxes, reparations, and necessary deductions made) that
" he pay all the remainder to the endowment of eight
" Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be established for ever in
" the said University, and to be performed in the manner
" following :
" I direct and appoint, that, upon the first Tuesday in
" Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads
" of Colleges only, and by no others, in the room adjoining
" to the Printing-House, between the hours of ten in the
" morning, and two in the afternoon, to preach eight Di-
" vinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. Mary's
" in Oxford, between the commencement of the last month
" in Lent Term, and the end of the third week in Act
" Term.

VI EXTKACT FROM CANON BAMPTON S WILL.
"Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity
" Lecture Sermons shall be preached upon either of the
" following subjects — to confirm and establish the Christian
" Faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics — upon
" the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures— upon the
" authority of the writings of the primitive Fathers, as to
'¦ the faith and practice of the primitive Church — upon the
" Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — upon
" the Divinity of the Holy Ghost — upon the Articles of
" the Christian Faith, as comprehended in the Apostles'
" and Nicene Creeds.
" Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Divinity
" Lecture Sermons shall be always printed within two
" months after they are preached, and one copy shall be
" given to the Chancellor of the University, and one copy
" to the Head of every College, and one copy to the Mayor
" of the city of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the
" Bodleian Library; and the expense of printing them
" shall be paid out of the revenue of the Land or Estates
" given for establishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons ;
" and the Preacher shall not be paid, nor be entitled to
" the revenue, before they are printed.
"Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be
" qualified to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, un-
" less he hath taken the degree of Master of Arts at least,
" in one of the two Universities of Oxford or Cambridge ;
" and that the same person shall never preach the Divinity
" Lecture Sermons twice."

P REE ACE.

The subject of the following Lectures was sug
gested to the Author by a near and dear relative,
to whom, as well as to other judicious friends, he is
also indebted for many valuable hints during the
prosecution of the work. Though fully aware of
the difficulty and delicacy of the task, and of the
inadequacy of his own powers, he was induced to
undertake it, by the consideration, that, so far as
he is aware, no systematic work upon the " Means
of Grace," as a whole, is to be found in our lan
guage, and that, as even in the best of our devo
tional books, the full consistent use of these
divinely-appointed instruments has not been suffi
ciently enforced, many popular errors have become
current in consequence. And now that his task is
concluded, he is comforted by the hope, that what
has thus been imperfectly attempted towards sup
plying the deficiency, may be one day followed up
by some one more competent to the vastness of the
design. Deeply impressed with the conviction not only
that many theological errors owe their origin to
inadequate conceptions of these momentous truths,

vili PREFACE.

but that the course of Christian virtue, and the
growth of the Divine life in the soul, are likewise
practically hindered by the partial application of
God's own gifts, the writer would earnestly entreat,
that the work may be read with the same unity of
design according to which it was composed. The
subjects of the several Lectures admit, indeed, of
being considered separately each apart from the
rest ; but as sure as God is one, these helps to
holiness were intended not to be divorced, but to
lend each other mutual support and light ; and,
inasmuch as, though made up of several parts, they
yet constitute one whole in the economy of God's
grace, so is it as unphilosophical as it is perilous,
to put asunder in theology what He has joined in
fact. Accordingly, the Lectures are so arranged as
to represent the mutual coherence existing between
the several Means of Grace ; the link which con
nects them all, being shewn to be the Baptismal
Life. The treatment of these " means," with especial
reference to the branch of Christ's Church of which
we are members, was forced upon the Author by
the circumstances of our times. The days are upon
us, when every religious system is being sifted " as
wheat." It is doubtless good for us, that we are so
tried ; it will shake us from the slumbers of indiffe-
rentism ; it will remind us that there is a right or
a wrong in every thing; it will help us to distinguish
our friends from our enemies, internal as well as

PREFACE.

external ; above all, it will bring the Church upon
her knees, as the only attitude beseeming a Mother,
who, for our sins, is traduced, scoffed at, and
hated by her own children, even while they cling
to her breasts ; it will drive her, in humiliation and
in prayer, to repent of, and to amend, her deficien
cies ; to make her practice commensurate with her
theory. And yet, be it said humbly and reveren
tially, amidst " the trouble, and rebuke, and blas
phemy," with which she is assailed, there are even
now growing indications that the Spirit of God is
abiding within our Church ; that she is yet destined
to be a fruitful mother of children ; that, even for
the " dry and thirsty land, where no water is," she
is yet an appointed channel of the floods of God's
grace. And if, in endeavouring to justify these hopes,
the Author has been unable in the following pages
to avoid controversy, he would yet hope that he has
not treated the subject in a controversial spirit, that
he has not allowed zeal for God's service to degene
rate into " wrath, anger, and clamour." He has
noticed error, indeed, wherever he found it, on the
right hand or upon the left, whether in the shape of
Romanism or of Dissent ; but the Roman Catholic
and the Christian Dissenter he regards unfeignedly
with charity and hope.
In conclusion, he would entreat the reader to
ponder the words of a writer, who was quite suffi
ciently alive to the genuine Ideal of a Church, and

X PREFACE.
who is much oftener quoted than understood : "In
fine, if any thing may have been defective or amiss
in that order which the Church of England esta-
blisheth, it is but justice to compare it in gross
with both extremes which it avoideth^" ....
" So necessary is it for me to continue in the
resolution of my non-age ; as being convinced, on a
new inquiry, that the means of salvation are more
sufficient, more agreeable for substance to the
Scriptures, expounded by the original practice of
the whole Church (though perhaps not for form)
in that mean, than in either extreme^."
Ch. Ch., Oct. 1, 1844.
" Thorndike (Conclusion of Epilogue), p. 423.
^ Ibid. pp. 421, 422.

CONTENTS. LECTURE L
2 ST. PETEB I. 2—4.

Introduction, Subject stated. A connected Inquiry into the " Means
of Grace." The existence of such means assumed as an indispensable
part of the Christian Scheme. The proper means of grace are those of
Divine appointment, and revealed as such. Distinction between these
divinely-appointed means and natural means of spiritual improvement ;
and between the instrumental means of grace, and the meritorious
means of salvation. Other preliminary cautions and distinctions. Defi
nition of the term " Means of Grace." Means divided into, I. Means
of primary origination ; II. Means secondary and subsidiary.
I. The primary means comprise not only the two Sacraments, but
other instruments, such as the Church, Prayer, Scripture, &c. To
whom are the means accessible ? in a proper sense, to those only within
the Covenant ; that is (as the Covenant is entered by Baptism) to those
who are baptized. Holy Baptism, then, is the initiatory means of grace.
The grace to which Baptism is a means is Regeneration. P. 1 — 43.

LECTURE IL
EPHES. IV. 13—16.

Primary means continued.
The means of furthering the baptismal life. Fellowship with the
Church one of such means. The Church under its different aspects,

Xll CONTENTS.
visible and invisible, militant, expectant, triumphant. The proper
subject before us is the visible Church. The characteristics of a true
particular Church : Truth : Unity of essence with the Catholic Church,
and at least virtual union with other true particular Churches: Un
interrupted succession and continuity of essence between the past, pre
sent, and future generations of its members, from the Apostles down
wards. The Church of England a true particular Church. From her
middle position liable to two opposite objections from Romanists and
Latitudinarians respectively. Her unbroken continuity and coherence
with the ancient Apostolic Church ; yet her purification from the cor
ruptions of the channel, so far as it was corrupted, through which she
partly derived her privileges as a branch of the true Church. P. 45 — 85.

LECTURE III.
ST. JOHN XX. 21—23.

Primary means continued.
The Divinely-commissioned Ministry one of the means of grace.
The Apostles were, in their generation, ministerial means of grace, by
virtue of the commission given indifferently to them all. These minis
terial privileges (ordinary) were inherited by the Apostles' ordinary suc
cessors. This was antecedently probable : and is proved (with respect
both to \h.e general principle, and to the particular form of succession)
by Scripture and by the history of the Church. View taken by the
Church of England. Consequences which have resulted to communi
ties which have lost the Episcopal succession. The Clergy are a means
of grace; 1st, generally, by the various methods by which, as stewards
of God's mysteries, they publish and apply the promises of the Gospel ;
2ndly, particularly by their power to pronounce Absolution. Obvious
limitations to this power. Absolution conditional and relative to the
recipient's state, yet real. The Church possesses the correlative power
of censure. Concluding cautions ; Holy Orders not a Sacrament, yet
still an instrument of grace. Reverence due to the office of the Clergy,
distinguished fioin Sacerdotalism. P. 87—123.

CONTENTS. Xlll
LECTURE IV.
ST. LUKE XI. 13.

Primary means continued.
Prayer considered as one of the means of grace. Difficulties respect
ing prayer in general do not apply to prayer considered as a means of
grace, which, in a certain sense, all prayer is. The covenanted efficacy
of the Christian's prayer through Christ is relative to his baptismal
regeneration. Inward and outward worship must be combined in pri
vate as well as in social prayer. Forms of common prayer were in
early use. Prayer enters readily into combination with other means of
grace ; indeed is often implied in their essence. Deficiencies as to
common prayer, in Dissenters, in foreign Protestants, and in the
Church of Rome. How few pray as they ought. Prayer for grace to
pray, combined with fasting. Prayer is acceptable to God, only in
Christ's name and Mediation. Romish errors respecting inter-mediators,
and the worship of the Virgin Mary, and Saints. All this contrasted
with the Liturgy of the Church of England. God's merciful dealings
towards our Church. Diminution of grace proportioned to the neglect
of Prayer. P. 125—164.
LECTURE V.
2 TIMOTHY III. 14—17.

Primary means continued.
Holy Scripture read or preached one of the means of grace : an in
strument, 1st, of illumination; 2ndly, oi Holy living; these graces
apparently distinct, but really concurring, and both together constituting
education in righteousness. The corruptions respecting Holy Scripture
in the Church of Rome, as well as deficiencies amongst Dissenters,
contrasted with its use in the Church of England. The free use of the
Scriptures (rightly interpreted) shewn to be in accordance with primi
tive usage. Limitations.
Preaching : its true nature and use ; must be complete, faithful.
Scriptural : Catechetical as well as Homiletic. P. 165 — 198.

CONTENTS.
LECTURE VI.
1 COR. X. 16, 17.

Primary means concluded.
The Holy Eucharist one of the means of grace. Principle of the
two extreme theories. The Church of England holds what is Scrip
tural and true in both. Rejecting Transubstantiation, she holds the
true spiritual Presence and reception. Caution respecting the use of
metaphorical language. Defective theories on the Holy Eucharist:
The opposite errors, Transubstantiation and the Sacrifice of the Mass,
shewn to be neither Scriptural nor Catholic. Besides the doctrinal
errors of Rome, additional errors in practice, such as Private Mass,
Denial of the cup, the Priest's intention.
Transcendental nature of the grace conferred in the Holy Eucharist.
P. 199—237.
LECTURE VIL
1 COR. XIV. 26.

II. The auxiliary and subordinate means of edification : How dis
tinguished from the primary means. Their variety, extent, and differ
ence in value. Who has authority to ordain them ? The liberty and
jurisdiction, in such matters, of particular Churches is proved by the
usage of antiquity. Limitations. The difference between ordinances,
according as they are Apostolical, Catholic, or Ecclesiastical. Some
such discretion becomes even more necessary from lapse of time. Case
of the Church of England. Her right, and her mode of using it upon
certain principles. She has not exceeded her powers by denying certain
five ordinances to be Sacraments. Practical conclusions. P. 239 — 278.
LECTURE VIIL
ST. JOHN XV. 2.

The improvement of the means of gi-ace. The causes which hinder
it; either, 1st, theoretical or practical Rationalism; 2ndly, Fonnalism ;
3rdly, Partial use.

CONTENTS. XV
The result advocated in these Lectures is tlie combined and har
monious use of all the means of grace. Grounds for this conclusion.
Grace so improved, if it may not be called a means of grace, is at least
a condition accompanied with a promise; this is shewn from the Text,
and from the parable of the Talents.
The course of Christian life (in its great features uniformly fitted for
all) in the use of all the means of grace, from the font to the grave.
Conclusion. P. 279—315.

APPENDIX  P. 317-397.

SERMON I.

2 St. Peter i. 2—4.
GRACE AND PEACE BE MULTIPLIED UNTO YOU, THROUGH
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND OF JESUS OUE LOED, AC
CORDING AS HIS DIVINE POWER HATH GIVEN UNTO US
ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN UNTO LIFE AND GODLINESS,
THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM THAT HATH CALLED
US TO GLORY AND VIRTUE; WHEREBY ARE GIVEN UNTO
US EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES J THAT
BY THESE YE MIGHT BE PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE
NATURE, HAVING ESCAPED THE CORRUPTION THAT IS IN
THE WORLD THROUGH LUST.
In this prayer of St. Peter, in behalf of those
to whom his second Epistle is addressed, two
facts are evidently presupposed ; first, that the
objects of it had already attained, in some
measure, to a state of grace and peace ; and
secondly, that their condition admitted in
definitely of advance and improvement. If
they had not as yet attained such a condi
tion, the Apostle would surely have prayed
not for its increase, but for its attainment;
if the grace acquired did not admit of in
crease, he would have prayed, not that it

2 INTRODUCTORY. [sERM.
should be multiplied, but that it should be
preserved and continued. And this conclusion
is confirmed both by what precedes the text,
and by what follows it. On the one hand,
these disciples had already, according to the
superscription of the Epistle, " obtained like
precious faith with us [the Apostles] through
the righteousness of God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ " ;" God's " divine power had
given to them all things that pertain unto
life and godliness^:" on the other, in the
passage immediately following the text, they
are instructed to " add to their faith virtue ;
and to virtue kno\yledge ; and to knowledge
temperance ; and to temperance patience ;
and to patience godliness ; and to godliness
brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kind
ness charity"." That is, they were to ad
vance step by step in the heavenward path
of grace, from one spiritual acquisition to
another, till they reached the highest emi
nence of all, the perfect love of God and man.
But it is further evident, that the Apostle in
tends to point out a connexion between their
present privileges and their future possible
attainments : the former, indeed, are repre
sented as means to the latter. " All things that
^ 2 St. Peter i. 1. ^ Ibid. v. 3. ^2 St. Peter i. 5—7.

1-j

INTRODUCTORY.

pertain unto life and godliness are given unto
us," are already within our grasp ; and they
are means "whereby are given unto us ex
ceeding great and precious promises ;" and
these " great and precious promises," again,
are also means whereby we may be "par
takers of the Divine nature." Now to be
made " partakers of the Divine nature" is
utterly beyond our unassisted power ; it can
only be given to us supernaturally by the
Holy Ghost : life and immortality and Divine
glory, and the renewed image of Christ in
our souls, can be imparted by "the Lord
and Giver of life" alone. The "exceeding
great and precious promises," then, which
are alleged as the instruments of this sur
passing glory, can only mean the gifts and
graces of God's Holy Spirit, even " the pro
mise of the Father** ;" and, as these great and
precious promises, these gifts and graces, are
said to be the result and issue of " all things
that pertain unto life and godliness," then
these last words imply whatever is conducive
to the life of God in the soul of man — all the
methods of sanctification ; and thus they may
be taken as an exact equivalent to the term
" means of grace."
* Acts i. 4.
B 2

4i THE SUBJECT PROPOSED. [sERM.
I have thought it expedient thus far to open
this remarkable passage, because it seems
exactly to correspond to the design contem
plated in the present course of Lectures.
Amongst the subjects specified in the foun
der's will, " the Divinity of the Holy Ghost"
occupies a prominent place. The direct proof
of that fundamental article it will not be my
object to furnish ; but I would humbly trust,
that by the aid of the same Holy Spirit, the
result of our inquiries may be in some degree
an illustration, and a practical confirmation of
its truth. No inquiry, indeed, appears more
adapted to the exigencies of the present time,
none more likely, under the Divine blessing, at
once to silence the gains ay er, to awaken the
careless, to win over those who are still aliens
to the Church, to gratify the cravings and
soothe the misgivings of those who are already
walking, in faith and obedience, within her
holy precincts, than an endeavour, could it only
be adequately conducted, to elucidate the na
ture and connexion of the ordinary methods
by which "the Lord and Giver of life" exerts
His gracious influences to guide and strengthen
us in the path of Christian holiness.
The object, therefore, which, in humble
reliance upon Him " whose strength is

I.J THE SUBJECT PROPOSED. 5
made perfect in weakness," I shall propose
in the ensuing Lectures, will be a connected
inquiry into the means of grace. And,
in the execution of this design, it will first
be necessary to consider shortly what we
are to understand by the term "means of
grace," what is their nature and extent, and
for whom the privilege of enjoying them
is designed. Secondly, I shall have ta shew
more in detail that the means of grace taken
separately, are, for the sake of Jesus Christ,
actually and specifically made conducive,
through the Eternal Spirit, to the salva
tion of the Christian man, and that in ac
cordance with God's express promise in holy
writ; that each has, by Divine appointment
or sanction, its peculiar province in the work
of our sanctification — has it, I mean, even ac
cording to our finite views of Divine things ;
and that each may be enjoyed within the
bosom of our own Church in as full a mea
sure, to say the least, as in any other Chris
tian community. The consideration of these
particulars will occupy several of the succeed
ing Lectures. Lastly, and as the conclusion
of the whole, it will be my purpose to estabhsh
the momentous truth, that, as each taken sepa
rately has its pecuhar use, and as no single

6 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
one, " where it may be had," can be safely
neglected, so our true duty and privilege lies
in the employment of them all, in connexion
one with another, in treating them not as iso
lated parts of the Christian scheme, but as
combined into one harmonious remedial system
appointed by God's infinite mercy in Christ,
for the recovery, the progress, and perfection
of His people; one concentrated manifestation
of the operations of God's Holy Spirit, each
mutually strengthening and illustrating the
others, and all conspiring in the Divine work
of educating us for heaven.
It may be necessary to premise, that it will
form no part of the present design to confute
the a priori objection which would deny the
existence of any means of grace whatever —
which would bid us look, as a matter of
ordinary experience, for the sensible illapse
of the Holy Spirit, independent of all ap
pointed means, and irrespective of human
efforts and prayers^. The sect which pro
fesses to hold this opinion formally (if sect it
can be called, which, by the hypothesis of its
unhappy creed, has excluded itself from the
Christian family) is at the present day, both
" I say ordinary experience, for no one can deny the axiom,
" Gratia non obligatur mediis."

I.] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 7
in numbers and influence, inconsiderable ;
and the opinion is overborne and refuted,
not only by the whole tenor, indeed by the
very existence of the holy volume (itself
emphatically called instrumentum : ) not only
by the constitution and the uninterrupted
witness of the Apostolic Church of all ages,
but by the concurrent belief and practice
of all Christians of every sect and denomi
nation, indeed by the inconsistencies of the
gainsay ers themselves in spite of their theory ;
nay, by the instinctive and traditionary usages
of the very heathens ; and no wonder, since
it is opposed to the instincts of nature, and to
the whole analogy of the moral and physical
constitution of man.
Unanimous, however, as is the testimony
borne to the existence of some means of grace,
there is scarcely less diversity in the opinions
of Christendom respecting the means them
selves. Indeed it may be said with truth, that
the main controversies which have agitated the
Christian world, at least in later times, have
mostly had their origin in this source : it is in
respect to the means of grace that most of the
corruptions which have crept into the Church,
have exerted their most fatal influence. Error
has originated, either in resting in the means

8 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
to the virtual forgetfulness of the end, or in
the neglect of the qualifications of the recipients
(such as faith and repentance) ; or in the undue
exaltation of one of the means above others ;
or in the addition or substitution of ordinances
which have no pretensions to the name ; or
in the arbitrary curtailment in the number of
those which are genuine means ; or in the
practical disuse and renunciation of them all.
And we may surely add, that one character
istic of a pure and sound branch of Christ's
Church in its perfect state, that in which
it differs from the various forms of error,
is that the genuine means of grace, in all
their fulness and integrity, may be therein
freely enjoyed by all its members, in pro
portion to their several wants and capacities.
And now, in venturing forth upon this
troubled ocean of past and present con
troversy, let it not be supposed that I am
insensible to the shoals and rocks on either
side which will beset my course; still less
that I am bent upon making discoveries in the
regions of Divine truth. Next to your prayers
(of which I would earnestly entreat the bene
fit), the only hope there is, by God's assistance,
of a safe and useful issue to my undertaking,
lies in my anxious desire to be permitted with

I.] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 9
you, under the guidance of our Church, " to
stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the good way," that
we may "walk therein, and find rest for"
our " souls ^"
The meaning of the word "grace" when
used in this connexion, need not detain us
long; the result of numerous passages in
Scripture leads inevitably to the conclusion,
generally admitted without dispute, " that
grace is the supernatural assistance of God's
Holy Spirit, conveyed to the souls of the faith
ful, really, but in a manner wholly inscrutable
to our finite understandings ; that its office is
to illuminate, to sanctify, and to comfort ; that
its presence is ordinarily apprehended by
faith, not by sensible perceptions ; that it
operates either "by putting into our minds
good desires," or " by enabling us to bring
the same to good effect;" that it is alike in
dispensable to the conversion of the sinner,
and to the perfection (in whatever degree
attainable) of God's holiest servants ; that,
as respects our merits, it is wholly gratuit
ous, and that it is purchased by, and con
sequent exclusively upon, the meritorious suf
ferings and the exaltation of our blessed Lord.
f Jer. vi. 16.

10 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
Finally, we are permitted to speak of grace not
only as of an operation, but as a personal pre
sence ; not only as of an influence exerted over
our spiritual nature, but as an actual indwelling
of God's Holy Spirit, the third Person of the
adorable Trinity, within our hearts and souls ^.
Such then being our scriptural idea of
" grace," it is proposed to inquire " what
are the means of attaining it." Now, the
object to be attained being of a spiritual
and transcendental kind, passing all human
understanding, it at once results from the
nature of such privileges, compared with the
nature of the being for whose benefit they are
intended, that the acquisition of these preter
natural gifts is in no sense within the natural
capacities of man : it is utterly out of man's
power to imagine or devise of himself any
means whatever of approaching God, still
more of becoming " a partaker of the Divine
nature." As is the gift, so must be the means
also by which it is imparted, wholly of Divine
appointment, the free gift of God. On His
good pleasure it must depend whether any,
and if any, what medium of communication
shall be created between " the high and lofty
s John xiv. 17 ; 1 Cor. vi. 15 ; ibid, verse 19 ; 1 Cor. iii. 16,
17 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16 ; Rom. viii. 11 ; 2 Tim. i. 14.

!¦] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 11
One that inhabiteth eternity ^" and the dust
and ashes of which He is graciously pleased
to be mindful. From these considerations we
may infer, that not every thing is a proper
means of grace, which to our finite under
standings may appear so ; and that whatever
God has appointed and promulgated, however
antecedently unlikely, as the channel of His
Divine Presence, must be unhesitatingly ac
cepted and believed. We cannot be absolutely
certain, in regard to any given ordinance, that
it is a means of grace, (that is, a means to
Christian sanctification by the aid of the Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of Christ), unless it has
been revealed to us, as such, in God's written
word ; but if it has been so revealed, with a
special promise that it shall be conducive to
that end, then we are infallibly safe in adopt
ing it with a view to our sanctification. We
may take, as an obvious instance, the ordi
nance of Prayer. Of this it might be reason
ably presumed, prior to the Scriptural proof,
that it may be one of the means of grace. As
a mode of communing with God, it might
well be deemed an exercise spiritualizing and
edifying to man. But to the Christian the
value of prayer rests upon much higher
^ Isaiah ivii. 15.

12 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
ground than the highest degree of ante
cedent probability : it rests upon the pro
mise of the God of Truth Himself. We are
assured by our blessed Lord's express decla
ration, that our "heavenly Father will give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask himV
Henceforth prayer is to be regarded, not as
a probable means of improvement and comfort,
but, to those who use it aright, an infallible
and covenanted means of Christian grace.
To! this test of God's promise I propose to
bring each of the particulars which will be
embraced in the present inquiry ; and to such
ordinances as satisfy this test a due promi
nence will be given. Without some such
criterion we could not an-ive at any definite
notions of the true means of grace ; as it would
be possible under that title to comprehend, in
a certain sense, whatever in any way con
tributes to influence our moral character
beneficially, in the circumstances of our
worldly position, in the visible order of God's
Providence, or even in the heavens as they
" declare the glory of God J."
Far be it from me, on the other hand, in
endeavouring to give a due and distinctive
pre-eminence to the pecuhar instruments of
i St. Lukexi. 13. J Psalm xix.l.

I.] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 13
Christian sanctification, which the Gospel
discovers and enforces, to derogate from
those subordinate, yet still Divine, means of
moral and spiritual improvement, by which,
in the natural course of His dealings with
His creatures, God would bring all men to
Himself. The use of those secondary helps to
virtue has not passed away under the Gospel;
but much rather a strength and direction and
sanctity is given them, such as they did not
possess under the less perfect dispensations,
in which they formed the principal, if not
the only, methods of spiritual improvement.
Whatever tends to loosen our hold upon
visible things, to open to us the realities of
the unseen world, to teach us that we are
" as the flower of the field''," that we are
" strangers and pilgrims upon the earth V and
that "here we have no continuing city™;"
affliction, and pain, and sickness, and the loss
of friends ; " the contradiction of sinners,"
" the thorn in the flesh"," nay temptation
itself; may appear to us as " the mes
sengers of Satan to buffet us," or as the swift
ministers of God's wrath; but they may be
made, when rightly used, even in the fulness
k Psalm ciii. 15. ' Heb. xi. 13.
¦" Heb. xiii. 14. " 2 Cor. xii. 7.

14 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [SERM.
of Christian hght, the ambassadors of Christ,
the harbingers of peace. Even to us, then, they
are means of improvement, means of turning
us to God and to His covenanted mercies,
and forerunners, it may be, of the " means
of grace ;" but they are forerunners, or com
panions ; they are collateral, subsidiary, coin
cident means, yet they are not "means of
grace" themselves. They are common to the
Christian with all mankind ; they are like the
sun which "riseth on the evil and on the
good," like the rain that is " sent on the just
and on the unjust"," the common inheritance
of all; whereas the "means of grace" are as
that peculiar light which shined upon the
people of God's covenant in the land of
Goshen amidst the " darkness which might
be felf ;" as the dew which descended upon
the fleece of Gideon, when it was " dry upon
all the earth beside i."
We must distinguish, again, between the
channels or instrumental means of grace, the
subject of which we have to treat, and the
meritorious means of our salvation with which
they are in common acceptation too often
confounded. The only meritorious means by
" St. Matt. V. 45. P Exod. x. 21.
1 Judg. vi. 37.

I-] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 15
which we have been once for all redeemed
and saved, and are day by day delivered, are
the mysteries of Christ's humihation and
glory ; the mystery of His holy Incarnation,
His holy Nativity and Circumcision, His Bap
tism, Fasting and Temptation; His Agony
and bloody Sweat ; His Cross and Passion ;
His precious Death and Burial ; His glorious
Resurrection and Ascension. In the name of
these we invocate His aid, and by their means
we are delivered. It is from these primary
means of our redemption alone that the
means of grace derive their sanctifying effi
cacy: the "coming of the Holy Ghost" at
Pentecost was, in some mysterious manner,
made dependent upon our Lord's departure
from His disciples', and the descent of the
Holy Spirit into the believer's heart flows
likewise, in various channels, from the as
cended Redeemer, from Him " who led cap
tivity captive and received gifts for men,
.... that the Lord God might dwell among
them^" The same act of redeeming love,
which purchased for us the gifts, ordained
and sanctified the channels through which
those gifts should be conveyed to our use*.
' St. John xvi. 7. ' Psalm Ixviii. 18; Eph. iv. 7.
' Eph. iv. 11—13; 1 Cor. xii. 28—31.

16 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
The ofiice, then, which we would assign to
the means of grace, is so far from derogating
from Christ's alone merits, that it is only
another illustration and consequence of that
one central truth.
Let me also at the outset guard myself
against the imputation, to which the nature
of the subject might otherwise expose me, as
if, because I have to treat of means, I were
disposed to lay greater stress upon them than
upon the end to which they are ordained.
The use, indeed, to which these means are
subservient, and the Divine presence which,
in a certain sense, they most of them more or
less imply, do hallow them relatively, and im
part to them something of a Divine character.
But they have no absolute, or intrinsic, or
physical efficacy independent of the holy
purpose which they serve; they have no
character as if they were " true coefficients
with God"," or as causes in any proper sense ;
they have no permanency beyond the present
life, but shall vanish away, when the graces
which they have been the instruments of im
planting and nurturing, shall be evermore
growing into a greater ripeness of angelic
" Hooker, Append, to book v., first published by Mr. Keble,
vol. ii. p. 554.

!•] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 17
virtue in heaven. The only question con
cerning them which we have to ask now, as
it is the great question which we shall have
to answer in the day of judgment, is whether
they are turned to account. " The fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem
perance'';" and whatever means have not
actually ripened, or at least sown and nur
tured, these Christian graces, are so far forth
mere earthly and carnal elements, the water
which cleanseth not, the bread which satis-
fieth not, the letter that killeth, dead and
cold forms, visible signs of possible effects, but
really inefficacious because unaccompanied by
"the effectual working of" God's "power''."
Before we proceed, it is advisable to notice
one more preliminary objection, which,
arising from indistinctness of thought, is the
origin of much misconception, and has led
many to the neglect of these means. It may
be said, that faith is the mean by which
grace, in common with all the other privileges
of Christ's redemption, is made available to
our use ; and so may be called the " means of
grace." And assuredly in a certain sense
this is true. Faith, as a living, active, fruit-
V Gal. V. 22. "^ Eph. iii. 7.

18 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
ful principle, which in its full development is
itself the highest result of graced is likewise
a necessary pre-existing condition to the first
reception of Divine grace, and an indispen
sable accompaniment to its continuance and
growth in the soul. It is therefore the con
ditional means ; or rather the condition than
the means ; the hand by which we lay hold
on the blessings offered to us through the
agency of appointed instruments ; but it no
more supersedes those instruments, than the
predisposing capacity of good ground to re
ceive the moisture necessary to its fertility,
supersedes the agency of rain or dew, or the
channels which convey to it the fertihzing
stream. Both are ordinarily necessary, the
one to convey or procure, the other to receive
the goodness of heaven. And, by thus dis
tinguishing between them, we may under
stand the tenet of our Church respecting one
of those means, (as we might extend its
application to them all,) " the mean whereby
the body of Christ is received and eaten in
the Supper is faith';" whilst we hold with
her, at the same time, that there are outward
and visible signs, and means, and instruments,
by which regeneration, and the Body and
y Gal. V. 22. ^ Art. xxviii.

I.] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 19
Blood of Christ, and the divers influences and
operations of the Holy Ghost, are ordinarily
communicated to the inner man.
In the observations thus premised for the
sake of caution and distinctness, will be found
many of the elements, out of which a defini
tion of our subject-matter may now be con
structed. In their highest and proper sense,
"the means of grace" maybe defined to be
" instruments, channels, or media, by the use
of which, in inseparable dependence upon our
blessed Lord's merits, the sanctifying pre
sence and influences of the Holy Ghost are
ordinarily procured to the elect people of God,
being by the mean of faith received; and which
are made ef&cacious, and known to be so, by
virtue of God's own appointment and promise
to that effect." This definition is proposed,
not as one likely to be satisfactory to all
minds, but as limiting the sense in which I
intend to use the word in these Lectures,
when applied to what may be called ordi
nances of primary origination and authority.
Other ordinances, however, there are, to which
in a secondary degree the name may be given,
such as are to be deemed instruments of grace
in some sort, partly because they are subsi
diary to the means properly so called, partly
c 2

20 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [SERM.
because they derive their origin, though not
from direct Divine appointment, yet mediately
from God's sanction signified through His
Church. The remainder of this Lecture and
the five following ones, will be devoted to
those particulars which come strictly within
the definition : to those of derivative autho
rity, as being of subordinate importance, only
one of the limited number of discourses will
be assigned; but, in the conclusion of the
whole, occasion will be taken to point out
the use even of these in the formation of the
Christian character.
The definition just given will be found to
embrace not only the two Sacraments of the
Gospel, but other ordinances also; inferior,
doubtless, in some respects, to those primary
and necessary means of grace, and yet partak
ing, in some measure, of a common character
with them. God forbid, that I should say aught
in depreciation of those two holiest mysteries,
the depth and fulness of which what mortal
tongue can utter } But it is not to confound
things so distinct, it is no derogation to their
divine pre-eminence, to say, that they have
something in common with other ordinances,
however indefinitely subordinate to them in
value. Let the above definition be compared

!•] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 21
with the definition of a sacrament as laid
down in the Church Catechism, and the diffe
rence between the two. Baptism and the Lord's
Supper, and all other means of grace what
ever, will be at once perceived. Both classes
of ordinances, indeed, are means, divinely
appointed and revealed means ; but the water
of Baptism, and the bread and wine, are
means in a higher and more direct sense, and
directly and federally instrumental to a higher
and more heavenly end, to a more vital grace ;
the one to our regeneration and all its con
sequences, the other to the true reception of
the Body and Blood of Christ. They are
signs also of the awful mysteries which are
wrought, by their intervention, in the worthy
receiver, signs at once indicative and opera
tive of a certain definite relation of resem
blance between the means and the end^;
they are pledges that we are verily and indeed
* For instance ; there is a relation of resemblance between
the cleansing properties of water, and the purification of the soul
in Baptism ; and again, a similar resemblance between the strength
ening and refreshing qualities of bread Emd wine, and the nutri
ment of the Heavenly Food. In the other principal means no
such relation of resemblance will be found. In prayer, for instance,
the relation between the means and the end is as between a peti
tion asked and a petition granted. The Scriptures, again, by
being heard or read, suggest and convey to our minds holy
thoughts and truths.

22 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
partakers of the thing signified. The rest of
the principal means of grace, on the other
hand, are neither signs nor pledges ; they are
simply means appointed, methods for attain
ing grace ; all concurring in the great work
of our sanctification ; all supplemental to, and
waiting upon, the two Sacraments ; and all, as
coming from God, hallowed perhaps by some
thing of a sacramental character, and yet
falling far short of being proper Sacraments
themselves. The question now arises, who are the per
sons, for whose use these privileges are in
tended. From the answer to this question
the transition will be easy to the great intro
ductory means of grace.
It may be said in a certain sense, that no
portion of mankind is excluded altogether
from an actual share in some of these privi
leges, or from the possible enjoyment of the
whole. As Christ died for all, for the redemp
tion of all mankind, and yet we know that
all mankind are not actually saved ; so it may
be true, that the fruits of that redemption, the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, and consequently the
means of grace, are possibly accessible to all ;
in abeyance, indeed, for multitudes, so long as

I.j INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 23
the order of God's Providence, and the sinful
ness of man, and Schism, and the feebleness of
the Church, and indifference to missionary ex
ertion, shall delay the coming of Christ's king
dom, and the accomplishment of the number
of His elect ; yet still a land of promise, how
ever distant and dimly seen, to the scattered
and alienated tribes of the Lord's inheritance.
" God our Saviour" " will have all men to be
saved, and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth ^:" and if so, then He will in His
own good time provide the means for their
arriving at " the knowledge of God, and
of Jesus our Lord";" or rather, will bring
actually existing means within their reach.
One mean, indeed, there is always at hand
for the most benighted heathen. The same
Spirit which vouchsafed to teach Cornelius
the use of prayer, may likewise so far en
lighten an indefinite number of those who,
" having not the law, are a law unto them
selves ^;" and thus from the darkest shades of
heathenism, the alms and prayers of many a
one may be ascending " for a memorial before
God^;" and, unknown to man, may be the
means of drawing towards that people the
" 1 Tim. ii. 4. ¦•• 2 St. Peter i. 2.
^ Rom. ii. 14. '' Acts x. 4.

24 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [SERM.
divinely-commissioned aid of the Apostohc
Church. And when the appointed time is
arrived for the actual calling of God, then
there are instruments provided, specifically
adapted to the wants of the returning nations ;
the holy volume, and the preaching of the
word, both entrusted to the stewardship of
the Church and her duly authorised ambassa
dors ; all preparatory to eventual admission
into the covenant, by which the promises of
God are made over to the actual heirs of
salvation. While, however, we acknowledge with
thankfulness the partial influence of God's
Holy Spirit even amongst the heathen ;
whilst we recognize the Divine instruments
prepared for their conversion ; we may yet,
with perfect consistency, distinguish between
the spiritual aid accorded to them, and the
full measure of grace enjoyed by Christians ;
between means used as instruments of con
version, and the same or similar means
applied to the perfecting of the saints. It is
not every kind of Divine help which can be
called Christian grace; uncovenanted assist
ance at least must differ from the covenanted
presence of the Holy Ghost, in degree if not in
kind. No one would say that the heathen,

I.] INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 25
as such, is in a state of grace ; for if he were,
what would be the benefit of his becoming a
Christian ? It is observable, that the word
" grace" in Holy Scripture, when used in the
sense of Divine assistance, is almost exclu
sively applied to those actually within the
covenant; it may, very rarely, be extended
to those within the sphere of the covenant's
attraction, to those who are being drawn to
the Christian faith, to the heathens, not as
heathens, but as catechumens ; but the term
is never applied to those who are not, either
actually or prospectively, heirs of the salva
tion which is by Christ Jesus. Thus the
Apostolical benediction, in the text and else
where, is limited to those who are already
Christians. "Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you," that is, unto such as "have at
tained like precious faith with" the Apostles*;
or, as in the first Epistle, "to the elect, ac
cording to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit
unto obedience, and the sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ^." The introductory prayer,
again, of St. Paul for grace and peace is in
variably for actual Christians, as that " to all
that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be
f 2 St. Peter i. 1. s 1 St. Peter i. 2.

26 A CONNECTED INQUIRY [sERM.
saints'^; " or " unto the Church of God which
is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in
Christ Jesus, called to be saints'; " or " unto
the Churches of GalatiaJ;" or "to the saints
which are at Ephesus'';" or "to the saints in
Christ Jesus which are at Philippi^; " and in
like manner in his benediction to the rest.
Without denying, therefore, that uncove
nanted assistance, both preventive and co-ope
rative, may, for the unknown Saviour's sake,
be vouchsafed even to those who, like Corne
lius, are still " strangers from the covenants
of promise""," we are authorized in restricting
the full meaning of the word "grace" to
those, whom the Scripture designates as the
actual children of God, the living " temple of
the Holy Ghost." It is only at the moment
of their admission into the covenant that even
catechumens become entitled to the inherit
ance of grace.
But, if Christian "grace" itself, in this
federal sense, is thus restricted to the use of
the " children of grace," a corresponding re
striction is imphed as to the " means." To say
that any given end is unattainable, is equiva
lent to saying that there are no means. In
^ Rom. i. 7. '1 Cor. i. 2. J Gal. i. 2.
^ Eph. i. 1. 1 Phil. i. 1. m Eph. ii. 12.

I.J INTO THE MEANS OF GRACE. 27
whatever degree then Christian grace is un
attainable to the unregenerate, in that degree
also are the ordinary means of grace inopera
tive for them. If Christian grace is only con
ditionally attainable, then the means are in
abeyance till such time as the condition is
fulfilled. This may appear an obvious con
clusion ; but, if it is true, it is fraught with
most momentous consequences ; for then, the
very same usages or instruments, which are
to the Christian amongst the proper and
effectual means of grace, wear a very differ
ent aspect as they regard the unbeliever.
Useful even for him they may be, awakening,
instructive, preparatory to his calling; but
they are not efficacious in the same sense, or
in the same degree ; they want as yet the full
covenanted efficacy for his spiritual neces
sities, they are at best but faint reflections of
the helps and privileges reserved for Chris
tian men. The prayer of the heathen, for in
stance, no one will suppose equal in value to
the Christian's prayer offered to the Father,
who has adopted him, in the name and for
the sake of Christ. The Scriptures them
selves also, which are the very breath of the
Christian's life, may be much less salutary
and nutritious for those who are still breath-

28 THE INITIATORY [sERM.
ing the impure atmosphere of "the natural
man;" they may and do require some pre
liminary process, before they can be made
properly available to his use. Nay, we must
go farther and say, that even such as are
drawing near in faith to Christ, even cate
chumens themselves, enjoy but a foretaste of
their coming privileges. With respect to one
of those means, the Holy Eucharist, the fact
is indisputable. So far is the catechumen from
being allowed to be a partaker of " these holy
mysteries," that his very presence during their
celebration has in most ages of the Church
been looked upon as a sacrilegious profana
tion. So deeply, indeed, was this felt in
primitive times, that, although the candidates
for Holy Baptism were permitted to be pre
sent at some of the prayers, they were not
privileged to join in them ; they were on the
threshold, or in the outer courts of the temple;
their view of the holy land was bounded by
the horizon of mount Pisgah; it was the
typical river Jordan alone which separated
them from their promised inheritance; but
till that was passed, they were not permitted
to enter in as actual heirs. Indeed it is upon
record, that the use even of the Lord's Prayer
was denied them, upon this express ground.

I.J MEANS OP GRACE. 29
that no one was entitled to call God his
Father, until he had been made His child by
adoption and grace".
Who, then, we may now ask, are the heirs
of this rich inheritance ? Who have a title to
the acquisition of holiness here, to the hopes
of glory hereafter ? Who, but the children of
God ? For, " if children then heirs ; heirs of
God, and joint heirs with Christ"." The
relation of heirship is made dependent upon
the condition of sonship. But all are " by
nature the children of wrath p ;" and the child
of wrath cannot be at the same time the child
of God. Light and darkness are not more
opposite than grace and wrath. There must
be, therefore, a change from the one state
to the other, from darkness to light, from
bondage to liberty, from the accursed re
lationship of Satan and the sonship of Belial,
to the glorious privileges of the sons of God.
What, then, is the appointed instrument
whereby, "in them that receive it rightly S"
the Holy Ghost first works this change, puts
off the old man in us, makes us new crea
tures ? To this question there is but one
answer in every authoritative document
" Theodoret. Hseret. Fab. lib. v. c. 28. Cyprian, de Orat.
Dominica. ¦> Rom. viii. 17. p Eph. ii. 3. i Art. xxvii.

30 THE INITIATORY [SERM.
which has come down to us. Whether we
search the Scriptures, or whether we inquire
of the Universal Church, or of that particular
branch of it which is our own immediate
guide, one and the same answer will be re
turned. According to all these authorities'", it
was " in Baptism that we were made members
of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of
the kingdom of heaven."
But, if the enjoyment of grace, in its proper
scriptural sense, is for the members of Christ
alone, and if it is by Baptism that we are
made His members, then Baptism is not only
a means to its own proper grace, but also a
means initiatory and introductive to all the
other means. A certain something is then
imparted to us, which makes us capable of
grace in a different sense to any privilege en
joyed before. First in order therefore, the
doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration requires
our attention, on account not only of its in
trinsic importance, but also of the conse
quences which it involves. Being established.

' By this word "authorities," as well as by the expression
" authoritative document" in the preceding page, it is not intended
to speak of the Holy Scriptures and our formularies as possessing
authority of the same kind. Yet they are each respectively evi
dences, though differing in kind and degree.

I.J MEANS OF GRACE. 31
it will evidence a consistency and coherence
in the whole economy of Divine grace, which
would disappear if it were overthrown. A
brief consideration of this subject, therefore,
will form an appropriate conclusion to this
the introductory Lecture.
And first, let us ascertain distinctly what
we mean by the term Baptismal Regenera
tion. Now there are two different senses in
which the term "regeneration" is employed;
and, according as the one or the other is
admitted, opinions will differ respecting the
effects of Holy Baptism ^ By some divines
Regeneration is understood to mean "a change
of the heart of man, and, by consequence, of
his whole character * ;" " a change of the
whole man in every part and faculty thereof,
from a state of sinful nature to a state
of supernatural grace''." Understood in this
sense, the term has never been applied to de
scribe the immediate effects of Baptism. The
other and the orthodox sense is, " a release
from a state of condemnation, a reconcilia
tion to God, adoption as His children ; a death
unto sin, and (as the very term implies) a new
birth unto righteousness, and, by consequence,
^ Abp. Whateley's Logic, p. 304. ' Dwight.
" Bishop Hopkins.

32 THE INITIATORY [SERM.
a change of relation and capacity from the
natural state of wrath to the spiritual inherit
ance of grace." This is the sense in which
from the very beginning the term regenera
tion has been associated with Baptism. If
this distinction could be borne in mind, the
two contending parties might approximate
towards a harmony of opinion. As it is, they
are too often contending about different
things under the same name. According to
the one view, regeneration is holiness, per
fect, final, indefectible ; growth completed ;
the full corn in the ear; the stature of the
full-grown man : according to the other, it is
a principle of life as distinguished from
growth; inchoate holiness, admitting of de
grees, of increase, of decay, of renewal, of ex
tinction; the seed sown for future increase;
the spiritual infancy of the babe in Christ ; the
first step in grace, by no means excluding that
high degree of attainment which the other
sense of the word supposes, but much rather
implying it ; preliminary, and introductory to
it, as to its highest ultimate end. The initia
tory change of relation and capacity first quali
fies and enables us for that highest consum
mation of grace, a total change of the heart,
towards which the "new creature" advances

I.J MEANS OF GRACE. 33
by walking " in newness of life''," having his
" fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting
life^." The question, therefore, is this, Whether
regeneration, in this latter sense of an ini
tiatory grace, is, or is not, the grace con
ferred in Baptism ?
Let it be remembered, that this question
is a question of fact, to be determined like
other facts by an appeal to evidence. But
then the fact in question is a spiritual matter,
a deep mystery ; and therefore the antecedent
probability or improbability is irrelevant, as
it is in other mysteries, such as the Atone
ment, or the Incarnation of our Lord. It is
easy to say, as Nicodemus did on this very
subject, " How can these things be^ ?" It is
the office of faith to accept, upon sufficient
evidence, all such mysteries, though they are,
or even because they are, contrary to our ante
cedent expectations. And yet in the present
case there is something far from discordant
with the analogies of every-day life. So far
as we may argue from temporal matters to
spiritual, there is nothing more unreasonable
in supposing Regeneration to be conveyed in
Baptism, than in supposing the title to some
^ Rom. vi. 4. 1 Rom. vi. 22. " St. John iii. 9.
D

34 THE INITIATORY [sERM.
temporal estate to be vested in some given
person by a legal conveyance. There is no
necessary original connexion between water
and the Spirit ; neither is there any necessary
connexion between an estate and the instru
ment of conveyance. Yet the law, in the
latter case, makes the possession of the pne
dependent upon the existence of the other ;
and in the former, God's express covenant
has united water and the Spirit, as jointly
concurring in the process of Regeneration ;
and therefore there is no more antecedent
reason (or rather there is much less) for
doubting of the reality of the spiritual gift,
than there is for cavilling at the effect of
the legal instrument. Antecedent objections
to the new birth in Baptism can proceed only
from rationalism, as the product of reason
falsely so called.
Recurring therefore to evidence, it will ap
pear that there is a prescription in favour of
the doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration, of
more than fifteen centuries; a prescription
absolutely uninterrupted and indefeasible ^
In all that long period, embracing the most
flourishing and pure state of the Church, as
well as its gradual deterioration and corrup-
^ See the Appendix.

I-J MEANS OP GRACE. 35
tion, not one authority can be alleged in sup
port of any other opinion ; the testimony is
absolutely unanimous ; it is witnessed not
here and there by a single writer, but by
every one who writes upon the subject at all ;
not by one Church only, or by one age, but
by every Church in every succeeding genera
tion ; it is witnessed not directly only, or of
set purpose, but indirectly, and as it were
undesignedly ; not in mere oratorical declama
tion, but in set treatises of didactic theology.
The very word "regenerate" is constantly
applied as absolutely convertible and identical
with the word " baptized''." Now, whatever
authority one may be inclined to attribute to
the Fathers and the primitive Church, one
cannot get rid of their testimony to this fact,
any more than one can of their witness to the
successive belief in the genuineness and au
thenticity of the holy volume, as a fact. They
may be thought right, or wrong, in holding
it ; but that they did hold it, is an incon
trovertible historical fact.
And if now we proceed to inquire, upon
what grounds the tenet was so universally
'¦ Compare the Latin edition of our ninth Article with the
English, where "renatis" is translated as equivalent to the word
" baptized."
D 2

36

THE INITIATORY [sERM.

maintained, we shall find that it is explicitly
declared in many passages of Scripture. The
very same texts, from which modern advo
cates of the doctrine draw their arguments
in its support, were employed by the early
writers to the same purpose. They beheved,
as we do, that the conversation of our Lord
with Nicodemus pointed to the necessity of
water-baptism as a means of new birth by
the Spirit" ; that the " washing (or laver) of
regeneration" by which, "according to his
mercy," God "saved us ^" was nothing less
than the baptismal Font. They taught, as we
do, that the water with which the bodies
of those were washed, whose "hearts were
sprinkled from an evil conscience"," is the
water of Baptism, cleansing off the impurities
of the natural man, and imparting a new and
holy principle of life to the new creature.
They held that the " old man with his deeds,"
the first life of those naturally engendered
of Adam, was superseded by a new begin-
" Hooker, (commenting on St. John iii. 5), E. P., vol. ii. p. 263.
" To hide the general consent of antiquity agreeing in the literal
interpretation, they cunningly affirm that ' certain have taken these
words as meant of material water, when they knew, that of all the
ancients there is not one to be named, that ever did otherwise
expound or allege the place, than as implying external Baptism
&c." See also Wall on Infant Baptism, ch. x. 3; ch. vi. 1.
^ Titus iii. 5. « Heb. x. 22.

I.J MEANS OF GRACE. 37
ning of life in holy Baptism; that the use
of water was not only typical, but effective,
of a death unto sin ; that rising out of the
water was a resurrection to holiness ; that
we were " buried with" Christ " in baptism,
wherein also" we "are risen with him, through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the deadV Nay, there were
not wanting those who interpreted the words
in the text "that ye might be partakers of
the Divine nature," of inchoate restoration of
God's image in His adopted sons through the
medium of the great initiatory Sacrament^.
Such are the Scriptural grounds, with many
more, which time forbids me to enumerate,
upon which the Church has in all ages rested
the proof of this great article of belief; a
proof which must appear absolutely irre
sistible to those " who have ears to hear."
It is not without good grounds, therefore,
but rather with the full plenitude of assurance,
that our own branch of Christ's Church has
given a prominent place to this doctrine in
her formularies''. What else could be expected
f Coloss. ii. 12. s See the Appendix.
•" See " General View of the Doctrine of Regeneration in Bap
tism," by Christ. Bethell, D.D., Lord Bp. of Bangor, chap. vi.
pp. 77 — 91 . 2nd ed. The whole of that valuable treatise deserves
the most attentive perusal. Yet even still more to be recom-

38 THE INITIATORY [SBRM.
from that Church, which to a due apprecia
tion of the weight of Christian antiquity,
unites an unconditional rehance upon Scrip
ture as her one supreme, paramount, and
infallible guide.? What is there to surprise
us, if a Church founded upon these principles
instructs the very babes in Christ, that they
are " made in Baptism members of Christ,
the children of God, and inheritors of the
kingdom of heaven ?" that the inward and
spiritual grace, of which water and the words
of institution are the outward means, is "a
death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteous
ness I" How could she do otherwise, in all her
Offices for Baptism, than seize the very mo
ment in which the Baptism is consummated,
to remind the by-standers that the babe in
Christ is now regenerate. Upon what other,
except Scriptural grounds, does she make the
very Collect in which she commemorates the
Nativity of our Lord, a vehicle for acknow
ledging the new nativity of those for whom
that Divine and Holy Child opened the "foun
tain for sin and for uncleanness','' as of those
who are " regenerate and made God's children
mended is an article by the late Mr. Davison, first inserted in
the Quarterly Review, vol. xv. p. 476; and since republished in
his Works. See the Appendix.
* Zech. xiii. 1.

I.J MEANS OF GRACE. 39
by adoption and grace'' ?" More unequivocal
assertions of the Church's doctrine it is im
possible to frame; and it is difficult to see,
by what evasion any member, still more any
Minister, of her communion, can elude their
force.

If, then, a new birth is the gift bestowed
upon the baptized person, then Baptism is
the beginning of a new life; a life of cove
nant in the place of a life of nature. But a
branch of that covenant is a title to continued
sanctification of the Spirit ; and, if the Spirit
works by "means," then those means also
are by covenant made accessible to the new
creature. The life of Baptism is the begin
ning of the life of grace. Our hearts and
bodies are become the temple of the Holy
Ghost; and, so long as they continue so, we
are capable of profiting unto eternal life by
the diversities of the operations of His grace.
The life implanted is but a beginning, ad
mitting of unlimited increase or of eventual
extinction; and therefore requiring constant
assistance, and that by whatever means God
may have appointed for its daily renewal. And
^ Collect for the Nativity of our Lord.

40 THE INITIATORY [sERM.
thus the laver of regeneration is not only a
means of grace in itself, but is farther a means
initiatory to the other means of holiness. To
use the schoolmen's illustration, it is janua
Sacramentorum^ ; or, in St. Augustine's more
correct language, ^awwa Ecclesice, porta gratia"^.

It has already been implied, but let it again
be carefully stated, that Baptismal regenera
tion is very far from including spiritual per
fection, or any thing decisive as to the ulti
mate fate of the baptized ; it is for most men,
on the contrary, as the very name imports,
but a spiritual infancy, distinct from, though
it does predispose to and assist, that later de
velopment which, supposing Baptism to be
survived, is subsequently necessary to every
person, who has received it. The relation of
sonship by no means implies filial love and
obedience ; although love, to its being filial,
presupposes that relation, or something analo
gous to it. And assuredly, wherever there
is unfilial disobedience, there is either a total
forfeiture, or a proportionate suspension or
diminution, of filial privileges. We deny not,
' Gabr. Biel, Lect. 81.
™ St. Augustine, quoted by Barrow, Power of the Keys.

I.J MEANS OF GRACE. 41
therefore, that for every one who sins after
Baptism, (and what regenerate man sinneth
not ?) the only hope of salvation in Christ is
in his degree the renovation, or what in cases
of deadly sin may be even called a fresh con
version, of the alienated or hardened heart. It
was a grievous sinner who used the words,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and be
fore thee, and am no more worthy to be called
thy son"." He was not worthy of the name,
but he was still a son ; he called him father,
whom he had so grievously offended. And
it was because he was a son that his father
pitied him " while he was yet a great way
off °." A change of heart, therefore, by God's
grace, — or, in other words, repentance and
turning himself to God, — is indispensable
to the recovery of the prodigal son. And
thus (to use an illustration of the ancients),
" Repentance in Christ is a second fragment of
the wreck, to save such as are shipwrecked
after Baptism, either in their holy faith, or
their holy life."

On the whole, the opinion of our Church,
upon the grounds just stated, having been so
" St. Luke XV. 18, 19. <> St. Luke xv. 20.

42 THE INITIATORY [sERM.
unequivocally expressed, it would be a be
trayal of the preacher's trust, to shrink from
connecting all the "means of grace" with
this great initiatory Sacrament. The life thus
imparted seems to be a state of transition
between earth and heaven; a life to be im
proved, awakened, sanctified, rendered im
mortal by God's Holy Spirit here in a state
of grace, with a view to its rising again in
unclouded purity in a state of glory. Ac
cordingly, we may venture in the ensuing
Lectures to consider it as the connecting
link between the several means of grace.
May God give grace to all His children to
perceive the nature and value of their mys
tical birthright, to "make" their "calling
and election sure^ !"
It is easy, indeed, for modern rationalism
to throw doubts upon this great primary
truth ; it is hard to receive so great a mys
tery. That a little water upon the body, with
a few words, should be the instrument for
affecting, perhaps to all eternity, the inner
man, the invisible soul ! that a change of
relation should be wrought internally, and
that yet perhaps, during a long life, the
effects of the change should never be visible
P 2 St. Peter i. 10.

I.J MEANS OP GRACE. 43
upon the surface, and that the life of God
should remain hidden, as if it had never
been, till it comes to be extinguished in the
" fire which is not quenched i !" all this is
awful, strange, past finding out; — and yet,
on that very account, being, as it is, a scrip
tural truth, its very mysteriousness makes it
a matter of belief. There would be nothing
strange, there would be no exercise for faith,
if every baptized person, without exception,
having the life of God within him, so lived as
to shew it accordingly ; if no heir of heaven
were capable of being disinherited. But to
believe that a seed may exist, and yet be
invisible, dormant, inactive, unfruitful; that,
as the taste of the forbidden fruit, a compara
tive trifle, brought in wrath and death, and
engendered the sin of " the natural man," so
a little water, with words of ineffable import,
brings in " grace and peace," and a share in
" the Divine nature ;" — to believe, as our
Church teaches us out of Scripture, this is
faith, because the object of it is invisible,
and yet infallibly true.
1 St. Markix. 43.

SEJRMON II.

Eph. iv. 13—16.
.... 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 FUL
NESS OF CHRIST: THAT WE HENCEFORTH BE NO MORE
CHILDREN, TOSSED TO AND FRO, AND CARRIED ABOUT
WITH EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, BY THE SLEIGHT OF
MEN, AND CUNNING CRAFTINESS, WHEREBY THEY LIE IN
WAIT TO deceive; BUT SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE,
MAY GROW UP INTO HIM IN ALL THINGS, WHICH IS THE
HEAD, EVEN CHRIST : FROM WHOM THE WHOLE BODY
FITLY JOINED TOGETHER AND COMPACTED BY THAT
WHICH EVERY JOINT SUPPLIETH, ACCORDING TO THE
EFFECTUAL WORKING IN THE MEASURE OF EVERY PART,
MAKETH INCREASE OF THE BODY UNTO THE EDIFYING OF
ITSELF IN LOVE.
The life which is begun in holy Baptism, it
is the office of the other means of grace to
continue, to rekindle, to nurture, and to bring
to maturity. The perfection of the Christian
character is the full development of this life.
At the moment of Baptism we begin to " be
partakers of the Divine nature^" because we
become thereby the children of God. Hence-
=> 2 St. Peter i. 4.

46 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [stlRM.
forth the great object of our existence as in
dividuals is to perfect this Divine image; to
grow in likeness to the Divine Being, until our
spirits become conformed to His Spirit, and
even our vile bodies (already "the members of
Christ"" and "the temple of the Holy Ghost"")
be transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ
"that" they "may be fashioned like unto His
glorious body''." Now growth of every kind is
a work of degrees, a continuous process of in
sensible increase in the constituent parts of the
growing subject. The " perfect man" is only
the infant gradually developed, the same men
tal and corporeal organization in an advanced
state of being. And so it is likewise with
spiritual growth. The saint in glory is the
last permanent development of the " babe in
Christ." And accordingly, in the prosecu
tion of our design, we must proceed to con
sider, what are the ordinary methods by
which this development is brought about.
The primary grace of holy Baptism is, as
we have seen, a new birth, the putting off the
^ " Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of Christ ?"
—1 Cor. vi. 15.
"= '¦¦ What ? know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost?"— 1 Cor. vi. 19.
¦1 Phil. iii. 21.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 47
old man and putting on the new. There is,
therefore, an immediate change of relation in
the baptized person, even if he could be indi
vidually considered. What, if there be no in
terval between the font and the grave ? what,
if the convert, in full faith and repentance, or
the unconscious infant, should die, immediately
after his entrance into the Baptismal cove
nant .'' Yet, in his death, how differently is
he circumstanced from what he was before
the waters of Baptism passed over his soul !
He was born and was living in a state of
condemnation ; he dies in a state of grace ;
and he is numbered at once, without farther
struggle, amongst " the spirits of just men
made perfect"."
Supposing, on the other hand, that the
life of "the child of God" is continued upon
earth, a new series of relations and privileges
is opened to our view. He is now no longer to
be considered merely as an individual, standing
in spiritual isolation during his sojourn in the
world, and only ultimately to be absorbed into
Christ's invisible family; but as already a living
member of a great visible body, that portion of
Christ's body, which is visible upon earth.
= Heb. xii. 23.

48 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
The same act which made him " the child of
God," made him also " a member of Christ ;"
and as Christ "is the Head of the body, the
ChurchV which is made up of Him and His
members, thus the new member was by that
act incorporated through Christ into the
Church. The one process is simultaneous
with the other, inseparable except in thought
and in reference to the effects. It is Baptism
which applies the forgiveness of sins, and
filial adoption, to the individual soul ; this is
one operation of grace : it is Baptism which
engrafts each of us into Christ's mystical
Body^, and so makes us partakers of the
richness, which, flowing from Christ the
true Vine, diffuses itself through the several
branches : and thus incorporation into the
Church, that is, incorporation into Christ, or,
(to use the awful language of St. Paul) our
being " members of his body, of his flesh, and
of his bones V must be to the sound member,
a source of grace, or rather an inestimable
grace itself.
This incorporation, then, being a mystical
and invisible operation of God's Holy Spirit,
whatever is subservient to its continuance and
f Col. i. 18. • 6 1 Cor. xii. 13.
•> Eph. V. 30.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 49
growth, as Baptism was to its beginning, is
one of the means of grace. Now the means
which Christ has appointed to this end is His
visible Church upon earth ; and it is by a true
adherence to that outward fellowship that we
severally continue " very members incorporate
of" His " mystical body." But actual personal
fellowship with the whole visible Church is
physically impossible ; we can only be in
immediate visible communion with certain of
its portions. We were received, upon our
Baptism, into a particular congregation, as
the representative of some particular branch
of Christ's Church in the name of the whole;
and with that particular branch (assuming
it to be a true and living one) it is our
duty and our privilege to communicate, al
ways in reference to the unity of the body
of which it forms a part. This is the very
constitution of the Church, as developed in
Scripture. Thus we read of the Churches of
Judsea, of Samaria, of Galilee, the Church at
Jerusalem, at Antioch, at Ephesus, being the
immediate channels of grace to the single
Christians dwelling in those places, yet them
selves only subordinate members of the gene
ral and universal Church. It is in this sense,
then, that we must understand the visible
E

50 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
Church, as respects individuals, to be one of
the means of grace.
And now in accordance with our plan it is
time to inquire, whether it be revealed in
Scripture that the Church, to those in visible
union with it, is one of the divinely appointed
means of grace. And to this question the text
alone is amply sufficient to supply an answer.
It may be shewn to comprehend the visible
Church as the means, and continued incorpo
ration into Christ's mystical body as the end.
And first, that the visible Church w^as to be
the medium of communion with Christ is
implied in the very nature of the case. The
Apostle, a member of the visible Church,
addressing his living disciples the Ephesians,
is instructing them in regard to the con
nexion between their present state and their
future attainments. They were already mem
bers of the imperfect Church which was in
process of edification or building up for the
very purpose of coming " unto a perfect
man." It was with this very design that
Christ " gave some Apostles ; and some pro
phets ; and some evangelists ; and some pas
tors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 51
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." This part of our proposition, therefore,
may be looked upon as sufficiently proved.
Secondly, the nature of the grace conferred
will be perceived on a closer inspection of the
words. It has been well observed, that the
Epistle to the Ephesians discovers the most
profound insight into the great mysteries of
Divine truth ; and certainly there appears in
the passage before us a deep mystical import,
wherein appears to be shadowed forth, as
a mystery though a reality, a mutual and
reciprocal communication of grace between
the several living members of Christ's body,
that grace being derived from the Head.
According to the Apostle's explicit words, —
and there -seems a studied endeavour to ex
press himself clearly, — there is something
supplied towards the general edification by
" every joint' ;" it is* by " the effectual
working in the measure of every" (single)
"partV that "the whole body" "maketh
increase of the body unto the edifying itself
• Compare Col. ii. 19. See Hammond in loc.
J 'Epos cKaarov fitpovs.
E 2

52 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
in love," — "the whole body fitly joined to
gether and compacted by "every joint of
the supply'"' (for so it is to be rendered hte-
rally); "every joint," that is, (as it would
seem,) contributing to the general supply of
grace. If by " every joint" be meant that
principle or mechanism of union and arti
culation by which particular Churches are
joined to the Church Catholic, the single
constituent parts of those members or limbs
being individual Christians, the analogy would
appear still more complete. They all con
tribute to the whole body, each in its several
degree, some addition of strength derived
from Christ ; and from the whole body thus
recruited, or rather from Christ through the
whole body thus reciprocally edified, all the
"members" in particular derive health and
strength : in other words, Christ is the
source of life and grace ; and- particular
Churches, with their members, are made,
severally and collectively, means and channels
of grace, co-operating with Christ unto mutual
edification. To suppose that, in the Apostle's
view, the whole body could grow in grace,
and that too by the growing in grace of every
* ''ETrixopTjyias. Comp. Phil. i. 19. iTrixoprjytai tov Hvevfiaros 'Irjcrov
Xptarov.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 53
single member, and yet that individual mem
bers would not be benefited by the spiritual
prosperity of all and each, would be as un
reasonable as to suppose, that the hand could
contribute to the general well-being of the
whole natural body, and yet the foot, or the
arm, or the hand itself, could derive no
benefit from the improvement. The Apostle
says expressly, that the body itself is grow
ing, growing by the means of the increase of
its several parts ; and, therefore, in the grow
ing holiness of the whole body, the growing
sanctification of each living member by the
same means is implicitly signified.
It would be easy to cite other passages
to the same effect, under the same or different
imagery. I need only adduce one. " Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God, and are built
upon the foundation of the Apostles and
Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner-stone ; in whom all the building
fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple of the Lord; in whom ye also are
builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit'." I Eph. ii. 19—22.

54 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
It may of course be objected, that the lan
guage employed is figurative : and doubtless,
as in all mysteries, to which in the nature
of things there are no adequate proper terms,
the truth is conveyed under a figure ; and
therefore there is the more need of caution in
the interpretation, not to affix too literal a
meaning to the words, and yet not to explain
them away. The analogy of the body, for
instance, we must not press too far, any more
than that of the building ; we must carefully
guard against the notion of any animal,
organic, material incorporation, lest we should
turn union with the Church virtually into a
form of Pantheism. And yet, after making
every allowance for the figurative language,
there must lie hidden under the image some
analogous truth and reality. A body made
up of spiritual members in active living union
and intercourse with Christ in glory, must
be a spiritual society ; the members, though
spiritual, must be really existing members,
really living and working, really deriving
strength from Christ, really, communicating
spiritual benefits to each other, really growing
in grace together; all coming "in the unity
of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man ;" that is, really approach-

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OP GRACE. 55
ing by faith and charity to the perfection
designed for them ; all this not the less
real, because mystical and spiritual. The
nature and extent of all these relations and
privileges it is not for us to attempt to fathom.
It is sufficient for our purpose to recognise, in
our communion with the visible Church, a
true spiritual relation, without which the
whole and every part would not be what they
are, an emanation from our blessed Lord's
personal glory and holiness communicated
by His Spirit to the whole company of re
deemed souls, a real appointed " means of
grace." And here a few words may be necessary
respecting the composition of that society of
which we are members. The Church of
Christ, according to the idea given of it in
Holy Scripture, may be described in gene
ral terms as " a corporate society, for spi
ritual purposes, sanctified by Christ's per
petual presence, endowed by its Divine
Founder and Head with spiritual privileges,
and with a mystical life, which is the aggre
gate life of all the living souls comprised in its
communion." As things are at present, this
society, which in its essence is one and indivi-

56 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
sible", may be considered as if it were divided
temporarily into two great branches, the actual
and ever-growing militant Church . still in
earth, and what might perhaps be termed the
Church expectant'', consisting of those who
have departed this life in God's faith and fear,
"whose warfare is accomplished," and who are
waiting till the final consummation of all things
for their full reward : both these branches
together, the one in its entire body, the other
in the persons of its true members, consti
tuting the Church at present invisible ; both
ultimately to be absorbed into, and glorified in,
the Church triumphant. The degree, or the
manner, of union between these two branches,
it is beyond our present powers to compre
hend ; and still more so, how far the living
man, who is a true member of the Church on
earth, is linked with the Church departed.
But that a union does exist, in some true
and peculiar sense, is implied in that passage
of St. Paul, speaking to Christian men still in
¦" S. August, in Ps. ivi. (vol. iv. p. 530. ed. Bened. 1691.) quoted
by Dr. Christopher Wordsworth in p. 5. of his valuable work,
" Theophilus Anglicanus." — " Corpus Christi est Ecclesia, non ista
aut ilia sed toto orbe diffusa, nee ea quse nunc est in hominibus
qui priEsentem vitam agunt, sed ad earn pertinentibus etiam his
qui fuerunt ante nos, et his qui futuri sunt post nos usque ad
finem sseculi." " Rev. vi. 10, 11.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 57
the fiesh : " But ye are come" unto Mount
Sion, and unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innume
rable company of angels, to the general as
sembly and Church of the first-born, which
are written in heaven, and to God the Judge
of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new
covenant^." And, this being so, whether any,
and what degree of, influence may be ordinarily
derived through Christ from this invisible
company to their brethren still warring upon
earth, as it has no where been distinctly re
vealed, so it is not for us presumptuously to
conjecture; especially since it has been the wis
dom of our Church, while she acknowledges
the general facf^, to discourage speculation as
to the particulars. Beyond this fact, that God
has " knit together" His " elect in one commu
nion and fellowship in the mystical body of"
His "Son, Christ our Lord," and that by virtue
of that fellowship a sympathy probably exists,
inscrutable to man, between the several parts
of that body in earth and in heaven "^j there is
0 npo<rf\Ti\idaTe. P Heb. xii. 22.
1 See the Collect for All Saints' Day.
' " This communion of the saints in heaven and earth, upon the
mvstical union of Christ their head, being fundamental and eternal,
what acts or external operations it produceth is not so certain.

58 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
no sufficient evidence to warrant our assigning
to this union between the two worlds a place
amongst the means of grace, as available to
our personal use. Indeed, experience has
shewn, that incautious speculation in this
matter leads naturally to dangerous error.
Yet the very thought of such an union, if
entertained with caution and diffidence, may
doubtless be to some minds edifying and im
proving. Fellow- citizenship with the saints,
the consciousness of having with " the spirits
of just men made perfect" common interests,
and a common ultimate resting-place and
home ; the assurance that a part of our own
spiritual body is already made perfect, per
fectly and indissolubly united to Christ ; the
That we communicate with them in hope of that happiness which
they actually enjoy, is evident ; that we have the Spirit of God
given us as an earnest, and so a part of their felicity, is certain.
But what they do in heaven in relation to us particularly con
sidered, or what we ought to perform in reference to them in
heaven, besides a reverential respect and study of imitation, is not
revealed to us in the Scriptiires, nor can be concluded by neces
sary deduction from any principles of Christianity. They which
first found this part of the Article in the Creed, and delivered
their exposition unto us, have made no greater enlargement of
this communion as to the saints in heaven, than the society of
hope, esteem, and imitation on our side, of desires and supplica
tions on their side : and what is now taught by the Church of
Rome is, as unwarrantable, so a novitious interpretation." Bishop
Pearson on the Creed, Art. IX. " The Communion of Saints,"
vol. i. p. 601. Dr. Burton's ed. 1833.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 59
recollection and the imitation of their heavenly
virtues ; all these are doubtless real motives,
and therefore real privileges, by which the
Holy Ghost, who pervades every part of the
whole Church, is drawing us towards heaven.
But, whatever sympathy may be supposed
to exist between these two portions of
Christ's Church, our immediate source of
sanctification through the Spirit is to be
sought in our communion with the visible
Church, that is, with some one of its true
branches. And here, whatever appeared
vague and dim in the notions of a union with
souls departed, becomes more clear, definite,
and intelligible. It is still indeed an object
of faith, because that with which we are spi
ritually brought into union is the invisible
spiritual life of the whole external perishable
body, the "life of Christ" temporarily hidden
under flesh and blood ; — known to men only
imperfectly by outward tokens, but in itself
distinguishable by God alone. And yet,
though invisible, its effects seem in some de
gree appreciable. For, if it is true that grace
is a consequence of union with the visible
Church, then we are at no loss to discover
some at least of the channels by which that

60 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
grace is conveyed. We need only instance the
united prayers and praises of all Christendom
for one and all ; the common use of the same
means; the Communion of the Body and
Blood of Christ, implying and working our
communion with each other ^; the faith, and
obedience, and charity, the Divine light and
knowledge, with which our souls come, as it
were, into contact in spiritual intercourse
with the brethren. It is impossible to live in a
constant interchange of thoughts, in uninter
rupted sympathy, with even one soul, habitu
ally directed by the Holy Ghost, without be
coming wiser, better, holier : how much more,
then, when our intercourse, and our influence,
and our prayers, in reciprocal connexion,
are extended, actually or virtually, to whole
multitudes of faithful men !
How different from this Scriptural view of
the Church and of Church communion, how
cold and lifeless in comparison, is that abstrac
tion to which some would reduce the Church ;
how different, too, is that mere human device,
which so often usurps the name ! The Church
of the Holy Scriptures is not, as some would
persuade us, an association between pious per-
' 1 Cor. X. 17.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OTP GRACE. 61
sons for the promotion of a religious life by
example and encouragement ; an association
voluntarily assembled, and as easily divisible
into its several component parts ; not a mere
body corporate and ecclesiastical, considered
in its collective capacity only for the purposes
of classification and government ; not a mere
congregational assemblage of units ; but a real,
though spiritual, body (the type of which is
one individual man) ; one united body, made
up of souls mystically knit together under
and with Christ, in a true mutual dependence,
unanimity, and coherence, with each other;
feeling, rejoicing, suffering, growing together ;
" and whether one member suffer, all the
members suffer with it; or one member be
honoured, all the members rejoice with it."
What unspeakable comfort is there for each
of us in the individual application which the
words immediately following suggest and en
courage ; " Now ye are the body of Christ,
and members in particular'."
Thus far we have been considering a living
union with the visible Church as in itself a
means of grace. And surely, if our privileges
consisted only in this mystical fellowship, we
' 1 Cor. xii. 26.

62 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
should have abundant reason for abiding under
the shadow of the sanctuary. And this will
become still more evident, when we consider
the relation which this baptismal union with
Christ in His Church bears to each of the re
maining means of grace, as a common element,
and the connecting link between them all.
Every method of sanctification, which each
Christian man employs for himself, is em
ployed by him not as an isolated being, but
as a member of the one body in Christ. He
may appear to be acting independently, but he
cannot shake off the dependence which he has
once undertaken ; he cannot suffer spiritually
without exciting a sympathy in the body ; he
cannot sin without shaming and offending the
Church ; he cannot grow in grace without
contributing, with or without his own con
sciousness, to the spiritual weU-being and
development of the whole.
But the Church on earth is not only to
those who are truly united with her a means
of grace; not only an element in each pro
cess of sanctification ; she is also a means
leading directly to many of the means by
which grace is to be attained. She is her
self " a witness and a keeper of Holy

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 63
Writ";" she is the authorized channel of
the two holy Sacraments of the Gospel ; she
furnishes a body of men, whom the Holy
Ghost calls from within her to be the ap
pointed ordinary stewards and dispensers of
these Sacraments, and of God's holy Word ;
to whom also the direction of public worship
is entrusted, together with the power of the
Keys. She provides also many of those
subordinate instruments, and exercises, and
usages, which, if not means of grace in the
proper sense of having Christ's express pro
mise, are yet, in their degree, real, though
secondary and derivative, helps to holiness''.
So that her influence extends to the whole
range of the Christian life. The babe in
Christ, of which she hath travailed in birth,
and which hath been born to her in holy
Baptism, is entitled to be nursed in her lap,
and fed with her milk, and to be " satisfied
with the breasts of her consolations y." It is
her office to fold his hands in prayer ; to lead
him, through the ignorance and dangers of
youth, up to spiritual manhood ; to warn, cor
rect, recal him to " the path of life ;" to sanc
tify his sorrows and his joys ; to comfort his
" Art. XX. ¦* See Lecture vii.
y Isaiah Ixvi. 11.

64 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
last moments on the bed of death ; to lay him
in the dust " in sure and certain hope of the
resurrection to eternal hfe." These are the
privileges, and nothing less than these, to
which every faithful member of Christ's
visible body has a covenanted and indefeasi
ble title.
My beloved brethren, this whole com
munion is a deep mystery ; and which of the
means of grace is not so ? but it is neverthe
less Scriptural and true. It has never as yet
been fully realized upon earth ; indeed, it is
in many hearts utterly forgotten. " To us
belongeth confusion of face," that the present
aspect of religion amongst us falls so far short
of the ideal perfection set before us. God give
us grace on our parts to realize the truth more
and more within the bosom of our own be
loved mother, the Church of this land, in all
the faithfulness and integrity with which she,
on her part, as a Church, is ready to dispense
the means of grace.
And here the question arises. What it is
which constitutes any particular religious
community (our own, for instance) a true
and living member of the one body of Christ ?

II'J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 65
And it is a question of the utmost importance ;
for if it be indeed true that, speaking gene
rally, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are dis
pensed through the Church, any mistake
upon this point may go near to be fatal to
our salvation. A short discussion, therefore,
of this question appears necessary in this
place. First ^, then, one great indispensable cha
racteristic of a true Church, as a channel of
grace, is its " speaking the truth in love ;"
that is, its adherence to the substance of the
faith, with a charitable allowance for a differ
ence of opinion in non-essentials. If this
be any where wanting, if the Scriptural
Faith of the Catholic Church speak one
language, and the particular Confession of
Faith speak another; if truth be not the
main ingredient in all the teaching, and in

^ It may be thought, that a prominent place should be given to
holiness — and assuredly the holiness of a particular Church, which
is the sum of the hoUness of its individual members, is of course
one of the principal notes in the sight of God ; but in the eyes of
man it must be a very uncertain criterion, even negatively. Elijah
was mistaken when he thought that he only was left ; for even
then the Lord said, " Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel,
all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth
which hath not kissed him." 1 Kings xix. 18; Rom. xi. 4.
F

66 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
all worship, and in a,ll ordinances " ; then the
congregation itself, as well as its teachers,
is but as salt which " has lost its savour ;" and
" wherewith shall it be salted ?" What though
such a body may claim to be lineally descended
from the Apostohc Church.? " If" they "were
Abraham's children," they "would do the
works of Abraham'';" if they were of the
body, they would be found "speaking the
truth in love." What is a Church with
out grace ? and how can grace consist with
out truth ? Christ is the truth. It is im
possible to separate the Divine Person from
that which is the essence of His nature.
Either truth is present with Christ, or Christ
is absent also ; and if, " where two or three
are gathered together," Christ be absent,
where is grace ? We are speaking now of the
substance of the truth, as held authoritatively
by any Church. The errors of individuals,
disclaimed or discountenanced by a Church's
official acts ; nay, even some errors of her
own, — circumstantial variations, mistakes in
matters non-essential or indifferent, even some
^ The words, akrjdevovres iu ayaTrrj, seem to imply much more
than, " speaking the truth in love ;" they would rather authorize
the largest application of truth ; and might perhaps be translated,
" acting upon the principles of truth."
¦^ St. John viii. 39.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 67
unauthorized additions to the genuine and ori
ginal deposit, — may dim the lustre of truth,
may even virtually endanger her existence ;
and yet may be consistent with the actual
preservation of many fundamental verities ;
and so, as there may be a portion of truth,
there may be a corresponding proportion of
grace, even in a partially corrupted Church.
The Church, then, which has the largest share
of truth, will be enabled to impart the largest
measure of the gifts and graces of God's
Holy Spirit. In this sense, whatever tends
to keep truth alive and active in a Church,
becomes a means of grace. The Creeds them
selves are a portion of our inheritance ; and,
so often as they are faithfully repeated, while
they impress on the mind and affections the
great verities to which they witness, they
further the grace of illumination, and con
tribute to a holy and religious life, since
faith, of which they are the concentrated
expression, is that which " worketh by
love." But although truth of doctrine, that is,
the true faith, must ever occupy a most
prominent place in the notes of the Church,
yet there are two other elements of unity
intimately connected with this characteristic :
F 2

68 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
the one, the right and due administration of
the Sacraments ; the other, the true constitu
tion of the ministry of the Church.
The doctrine respecting the Sacraments is
an integral part of Christian truth ; their due
administration is that doctrine reduced to
practice. And this due administration, rightly
understood, implies a full obedience to Christ's
ordinance and institution, as in other re
spects, so also in respect to whatever order
of Ministry He may have appointed to be
the stewards of His mysteries". Not to
anticipate the fuUer statement which will be
offered on these subjects in a future Lecture,
it may be sufficient here to remark, that any
deviation from Christ's ordinance must at
least tend to weaken the bond of life-giving
union between the offending congregation
and the one body in which the Sacraments
are the great covenanted means of grace. It
'^ The opinion of our own Church is sufficiently clear ; for al
though, in her nineteenth Article, she contents herself vdth defining
" the visible Church of Christ" to be " a congregation of faithful
men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the
Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in
all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same;" yet the
question as to what, with respect to the persons officiating, is "due
ministering," is determined by her in the twenty-third Article, and
in the thirty-sixth, illustrated by the Ordinal of 1552, and by the
Preface to her present Form of Making, Ordaining, and Conse
crating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 69
is not to disobedience, but to obedience, that
grace is promised.
In a word, therefore, one test of a Church's
vitality is adherence to " the truth as it is in
Jesus," — the true doctrine, the true Sacra
ments, the true Ministry; for, as all these
points may be proved to be in accordance
with His word and will, such an adherence
is nothing more than " holding the Head,
from which all the body, by joints and bands
having nourishment ministered and knit to
gether, increaseth with the increase of
God''." But it will be asked. Is not visible com
munion with other particular Churches also
conducive to the well-being of each parti
cular branch "i Unquestionably it is. Yet
there are those in the present day, who seem
to think avowed division, if not a sign of
health, at least a means of preserving it ; who
reckon that emulation between rival Churches
both argues and furthers the existence and
the increase of life in each. Not so the voice
of the Universal Church ; not so the Apostles;
and above all, not so our Blessed Lord Him
self. It is needless to enumerate the proofs.
" Col. ii. 19.

70 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
We may rest satisfied with the text. And
surely the want of this communion is a loss
to the whole Christian world. Every par
ticular Church is thereby crippled and
paralyzed. The Roman branch of the
Church is as much weakened by her schis-
matical visible separation from the Greek
branch and the English branch, as this
last is by her involuntary though necessary
severance from Rome. So long as we are
not each and all of us, as Christians and as
Churches, living together in "the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God," so far are we from coming " to a
perfect man."
Yet sincerely as we must deprecate the
existence of any schism, and deeply as we
must deplore the existing divisions, let us en
deavour to estimate the amount of the present
disunion at its real value.
Two Churches, which hold one and the
self-same truth as a whole, cannot but sub
stantially agree together. They may, or they
may not, be aware of this mutual agreement,
as the Greek Church, till of late, was kept in
ignorance of the coincidence in many points
between their own body and the Church of
England : jealousies, or accident, or an over-

II.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 71
appreciation of minor differences, may keep
two Churches asunder, may make them deaf
to the intrinsic harmony which really blends
their voices, and yet the harmony may exist
unheard : though not in visible union together,
yet they may be unconsciously joined in unity
of essence. And thus there may be, unseen,
a real sympathy between two such bodies,
accidentally separated ; and each may be
weakened or strengthened by the other's use
or abuse of the means of grace. The whole
of Christendom, made up of the aggregate
of many such bodies, substantially agreeing
but accidentally disunited, is, by the force
of that agreement, and to that extent, vir
tually one. Better were it, doubtless, if
there were no divisions, unspeakably better;
if the whole "multitude of them that be
lieved" were, as " of one heart and of one
souP," so also " of one language and of one
speech V How would the grace of separate
saints, how would the grace bestowed upon
the several Churches, be accumulated, and
multiplied, and mutually strengthened, " ac
cording to the effectual working in every
part," if the whole body were visibly and con
sciously, as well as really and mystically,
^ Acts iv. 32. f Gen. xi. 1.

72 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
united; one in circumstances as well as in
essentials ; making common cause, and warring
in one compact army, instead of wasting their
strength in single and desultory conflict,
against the powers of darkness, banded
together as those evil powers are under a
single head, in one confederacy of lust and
wickedness ;— an army of Christ and His
grace, against Satan and his angels, and " the
corruption which is in the world through
lusts." But if unity between the Churches is a
means of grace, how great is the responsibility
ofthose who cause divisions ! What do they
but hinder grace ? " Whereas there is among
you envying and strife and division, are ye not
carnal '' ?" and can " the carnal mind" be con
ducive to grace ? can it be part of the spiritual
body of Christ ? If we except divisions origi
nating in positive heresy, the worst schisms
which have torn the seamless coat of our
crucified Lord, have arisen either in matters in
different, as the shape or colour of a vestment,
or else in matters beside or beyond the faith,
in additions, unscriptural and uncatholic, to
the real faith, such as the twelve articles of
Pope Pius IV., enforced, as terms of com-
8 2 St. Peter i. 4. "1 Cor. iii. 4.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 73
munion, with the same rigour as would be suit
able to the maintenance of the Nicene Creed.
It is they who demand such an abandonment of
truth, who are the real authors of the schism'.
Let it be our parts to " speak the truth"
indeed, but to speak it " in love ;" to con
sider union infinitely desirable, however ap
parently hopeless ; yet to prefer whatever of
unity in essentials may subsist amongst
bodies outwardly disunited, to open union in
false doctrine and idolatry and superstition ;
for union in such errors is, in fact, a schism
from Christ and His grace. Sooner than sub
mit to union upon such terms, or at that cost,
it is our duty to remain isolated still, repent
ing of and amending our owm sins and de
ficiencies, making full and consistent use of
the blessed privileges held out to us by our
own branch of the Church, and waiting for
the mercy of God to call our erring brethren
to a reformation of their faith and worship,
that they may " repent and do the first
works'' ;" and in the mean time to console
and strengthen ourselves with whatever de-

' Be it remembered also, that it was the Romish party who
committed the first overt act of separation, after twelve years of
peaceful conformity to the purified ritual of our Church.
^ Rev. ii. 5.

74 PELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
gree of unity may be found in a common origin,
in the identity of our one Divine constitution,
in " one Lord, one faith, one baptism'," as
upon the one Rock, which is the common
foundation of all the Churches, whatever may
be the superstructure which each of them
supports. The last characteristic which need be men
tioned of a true Church, regarded as a means of
grace, is an uninterrupted succession of faith
ful men within her own communion, from its
first origin, and, through that origin, from the
original Apostolic Church of Christ, that is,
from Christ Himself. Christ's Body, the Body
of Him who is Alpha and Omega, is, and ever
has been, and will always continue. One ; one
in the beginning and to the end. And to this
one body He has promised His perpetual
presence, inasmuch as He promised it to the
Apostolic college, from whom all Churches
originate'". It would be perfectly nugatory
to call that one, (one at all times, having
" Christ with it alway,") which has had, as
a whole, several different beginnings ; which
has at any time wholly failed, and been broken
off, and has required to be renewed ; or to
' Eph. iv. 5. " St. Matt, xxviii. 20.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 75
call that always one, the different visible por
tions of which have had sundry independent
origins ; for if their first beginnings were
respectively separate, then there was a time
when they did not belong to the one
body ; and if so, when and how were they
grafted in ? The unity of the Church, then,
implies a continuity of essence ; something anal
ogous, perhaps, to what is called the personal
identity of any single human being ; an anal
ogy in accordance with the very letter of the
text. It is a well-known fact in physiology,
that within a certain number of years every
particle of the same animal body is changed ;
and yet no one doubts that the man, upon
whom these changes have passed, is one and
the same person. Analogous changes have
taken place in the visible substance of the
Church. No one can doubt that the term "one
body" applied to the Apostles and to all faith
ful men in the Apostolic generation. The
question is, by what process each particular
Church is so identified with that remote
age, as to be likewise entitled to a share in
the privileges and in the name. The Apostles,
then, and all that generation, passed away.
But the immediate disciples of the Apostles
were not all of one age. Those of riper

76 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
years were, each in his appointed turn, called
away to their reward ; but, before their de
parture, those who bore rule among them
had committed the same doctrine, and the
same initiatory rite, and the same means
of grace, — the Scriptures, and the primitive
Baptismal Creed, and the simple Apostolic
Liturgy, and obedience to the same spiritual
Rulers — " to faithful men, that they might be
able to teach others also"." The children of be
lievers, as they multiplied, were baptized and
admitted into the congregation ; new converts
were added to the Church ; they again grew,
multiplied, and transmitted their privileges in
turn. In the mean time, that second genera
tion, the age of Apostolic men, had passed
away, cut off, it may be, by successive per
secutions, but shedding their blood as the
seed of the Church. And so it has been
going on from age to age. The line of the
succession is absolutely unbroken; it has
branched off into divers ramifications, but it
is from the same parent stem, the Catholic
Church, from the same Root, even Christ.
Each succeeding age inherited the privileges
of their progenitors in Christ : they did not
renew and re-invent them, they received them
" 2 Tim. ii. 2.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 11
as heirs. Let us remark too, once more, that
the instrument by which this spiritual succes
sion has been kept up is Holy Baptism. The
first, or natural, birth supplies the successive
generations of mankind ; the second, or spiri
tual, the generations of Christians. How
truly has the Holy Font, as the great initia
tory means of perpetuating the means of
grace, been made, for whole generations no
less than for single souls, the "fountain
opened," from age to age, "for sin and for
uncleanness !" It has been as some mighty
river, flowing ever onwards, receiving and
embodying into its own waters every tribu
tary stream, bringing down perpetual contri
butions to the great ocean of the Invisible
Church in heaven.
It will be observed, that the succession we
are here speaking of, as one means of grace,
is not the Apostolical succession of ministers.
That also will be considered in its place, as
being a channel of grace, as well as a very
important element and note of the unity and
successive identity of the Church". But we
are now speaking of a succession, (distinguish
able from ministerial succession, at least in
" See Lecture iii.

78 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [SERM.
thought,) in the whole substance of the Church
at large, by virtue of which the present gene
ration of believers in each particular Church,
is identified and united with the Apostles
and their generation, through the unbroken
links of the intermediate visible Church. We
are not arguing now for the indefectibility of
the Church ; that is a question which is prin
cipally important, as it respects the future.
With respect to the past, it is a matter of
history, that the Church of Christ never has
failed ; that the succession of " the unity of
the faith and of the knowledge of the Son
of God" has ever continued unbroken; and
that those who are grafted into the several
branches, are the hereditary receivers of the
grace which was first committed to the Apo
stles themselves. If any break has at any
time occurred, it is for the enemies of the
faith to point it out. We may confidently
challenge them to the attempt.

Against our own branch of the Catholic
Church, indeed, lying as she does between the
two extremes, two very opposite objections
have been made ; which cannot both be true,
and which, rightly considered, neutralize each

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 79
other P. Now, inasmuch as either of these
objections, if established, would invalidate the
whole argument, designed in these Lectures,
inasmuch as, if we do not belong to a true
Church, we either have no means of grace at
all, or have them in a very weakened and
imperfect state, a few words are necessary
upon each of those objections.
It is a common argument with the Papists,
that the Reformation was in fact the con
struction of a new religion; that we broke
off from the old Catholic Church, and founded
a Church of our own de novo : and this
calumny has been too much countenanced by
some modern Protestant controversialists, who
speak of our blessed reformers as the founders
of a pure religion. But if we look to the
authorized formularies of our Church, if we
ask those illustrious men themselves, what
they did, and what they intended, a very
different answer will be obtained. Their
language is uniform "i; that they abhor "all
heresy as the loss of salvation, as the re
jection of grace;" that they appeal to the

P See Hammond's Preface to his " View of the New Direc
tory." What he there says of the Liturgy, may be extended to
our Church in general. See the Appendix.
¦! See the Appendix.

80 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
Scriptures, and to the ancient doctors and the
primitive Catholic Church ; that all they de
sire is to bring back the Church to that model,
only clearing away the rubbish which, in
later ages, had accumulated upon the foun
dation. Again, as respects their actual work,
they did not destroy one single article, which
the first ages deemed essential. These are
questions of fact, which can only be ascer
tained by actually comparing the Church of
England with the primitive Church : and in
the course of such an inquiry it w^ould be
found, that, whilst our Church is, in all essen
tial points of doctrine and discipline. Aposto
lical and pure, the Church of Rome "hath
found out many inventions," with which she
has defaced the primitive model.
The opposite objection, again, is equally un
founded. It has been asserted by Latitudi
narians, whose purpose it is to deny the visi-
bihty of any branch of Christ's Church, and
to prove the whole body of Christ to be in
visible, that our Orders, and our Baptism,
and our essence as a Church, have been
vitiated by being derived through Rome; that,
however clear the current of truth may have
run during the earher ages, it was ultimately

II.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 81
lost in the stagnant pools of Romanism, and
that so the purity of the waters is irre
coverably sullied. The consequence of this
error to the objectors themselves is very griev
ous. They " have hewed out for themselves
cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no
water." It were uncharitable to say that they
have no truth amongst them, that they have
utterly cast away grace ; God forbid. The
Scriptures, and Prayer, and such imperfect
Ordinances as they have, are, let us hope, to
them also in their measure, and to their in
nocent offspring, means of grace. But they
have cut themselves off from the visible suc
cession of doctrine and grace, from the con
tinuity of faith within the ever-growing
Church of God. And they have by their
schism shorn the Church of much of that
strength which unity imparts.
The validity, on the other hand, of our own
inheritance is not defeated by the transmission
of our privileges, so far as they were trans
mitted, through the Church of Rome. For
though the Church of England had been, for
some ages previous to the Reformation, in
communion with Rome, and of late partially
in subjection to her usurped power, yet the
origin of the English Church, so far as it was
G

82 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
not British, was, at a date long prior to the
development of Rome's corruptions, derived
from Rome comparatively pure, not from
Rome unsound; from the Rome of Gregory I.,
not that of Gregory VII. Neither did her
subsequent communion even with degenerate
Rome, impair her inherent vitality. For, in
the first place, the validity of Christ's ordi
nances depends not on the worthiness of the
channels through which they pass, seeing that
they " be made effectual because of Christ's
institution and promise, though they be ad
ministered by evil men''." Neither, secondly,
was Rome herself utterly corrupted. In the
darkest days of Rome there never were want
ing some within her, who were walking as
children of light. And she herself, as a
Church, even in the midst of her many awful
deviations from truth, never denied the sub
stance of the faith. She overlaid the true
foundation with "wood, hay, stubble'." But
beneath the unsightly mass there was still
lying hid " one pearl of great price :" our
Reformers found it, and sold all they had, and
went and bought it. Yes ! in the Church of
Rome, the Lord's inheritance (though defiled
by strange fire, by their hill altars and their
' Art. xxvi. s 1 Cor. iii. 12.

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 83
high places) was never entirely forfeited.
The Scribes and Pharisees bore rule; but
they sat in " Moses' seat." Holy Baptism,
that seal of the covenant, was, on the whole,
duly administered; and holy Baptism implies
the Creed. The other Sacrament, mutilated,
indeed, and its efficacy endangered for most
believers, was yet enjoyed in all its fulness
by a chosen and limited class, (their very ex-
clusiveness respecting the Cup proving the
value with which they regarded it.) The
Bible was not wholly disused in their litur
gical offices, though to the unlearned hearer
its use was virtually denied. The merits of
the saints and their mediation obscured (or
rather, in their effects upon the ignorant pri
vate Christian, they superseded) the true Apo
stolic doctrine respecting the only merit, and
the only mediation ; but the Church of Rome
still acknowledged, as Articles of faith, the
efficacy of our Saviour's Blood, the sufficiency
of His merits, and the pre-eminence of His
mediation. It was the heaven- directed wis
dom of our Reformers to reject the evil, and
to choose the good; and there seems no more
reason to doubt, that the gold which they
purified is the true gold of the sanctuary — -
that we are, by God's mercy and not by our^.
G 2

84 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH [sERM.
own merit, in possession of the pure original
deposit, — than there is doubt, how far the
Jews, after Josiah's reformation, were, not
withstanding aU the intervening transgres
sions of their immediate progenitors, the
genuine descendants and heirs of faithfiil
Abraham. And now, if our Church is indeed a living
branch of the one holy Catholic Apostolic
Church, of what manner of conversation
ought we to be ? To be engrafted, as we are,
into the true Vine ; to derive our nourishment
from the only true root of holiness, Jesus
Christ; to abound in spiritual fruits; to be laid
up at last in the garner of the Lord ; all these
are " exceeding great and precious promises"
given to us freely " without money and with
out price." But they are given to us, to pro
fit withal. Whatever intrinsic value there is
in our union with the Church, its efficacy is
only drawn out, as it were, by a holy life. It
is not the being in the Church, but the living
and growing in it, which shall avail us in the
day of harvest. It is only by itself contri
buting to the sum of spiritual life, that any
particular member is made to share in the
well-being of the body. It is only grace uni-

II.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 85
formly improved which can realize and draw
down upon us perfect sanctification. It is no
partial obedience which can unite us perfectly
to the Head, even Christ ; it is " growing
up into him in all things." This, in its full
consummation, is not a means of grace only ;
it is grace itself; nay more, it is a foretaste of
heaven, to which grace is only a means and a
step ; because there is no higher object of
sanctification, than the being " built up as
living stones," into that heavenly building,
the holy Jerusalem, whose Maker and Builder
is God, built without hands, eternal in the
heavens, "built upon the foundation of the
Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief corner-stone."

SERMON III.

St. John xx. 21—23.
THEN SAID JESUS UNTO THEM AGAIN, 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 :
WHOSESOEVER SINS YE REMIT, THEY ARE REMITTED UNTO
THEM ; AND WHOSESOEVER SINS YE RETAIN, THEY ARE
RETAINED.
It may be assumed as a fact, placed be
yond the bounds of controversy amongst
Christians, that the Apostles, and other of
our Lord's personal attendants, were to the
infant Church, in the fullest sense of the word,
ministerial means of grace. We must either
deny that our Blessed Lord's kingdom was
founded by the agency of the Holy Spirit,
that is, we must dispute the plainest facts in
the history of Christianity ; or else we must
grant that the first agents employed by God
in propagating the faith, were the agents and
instruments of grace. Whatever may be
thought of their successors, they at least per-

88 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
sonally were called " the salt of the earth ;"
they were not only filled with the Holy Ghost
themselves, but became the chosen vessels of
God's mercy to the " evil and adulterous
generation," whom it was their appointed
office to seek out and to save.
If any doubt remained upon this point,
there is quite sufficient evidence in the text to
remove it. Taken in connexion with the
closing words of St. Matthew's Gospel, it con
tains the commission granted to the Apostles
by their Lord at the very point of His depar
ture from His visible Church ; a commission,
as it affected them, more comprehensive, more
momentous, more preternatural, and therefore
involving more awful responsibilities than
any other given to any human being. " He
breathed on them, and saith unto them. Re
ceive ye the Holy Ghost." Doubtless, there
fore, they did receive nothing less than the
Holy Spirit, and that in a manner peculiar to
themselves. He who " breathed into" man's
" nostrils the breath of life, and man became a
living soul," breathed upon His new creation,
of which the Apostles were the first-fruits,
and the Church was thenceforth animated by
"a quickening spirit." The gift was intended
not so much for their personal use, as for

III.j ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 89
their ministerial : their personal reception of
grace was preparatory and instrumental to
their office of dispensing it. The first clause,
" Receive ye the Holy Ghost," might have
left it uncertain whether it was for themselves
or for others ; but it is followed immediately
and limited by the words, "Whosesoever sins
ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and
whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained;"
and as these words may be shewn to imply
the various administrations of the Holy Spirit
(including Baptism, Absolution, and other
means of grace) by the hands of those whom
" the Holy Ghost" had " made overseersf,"
it is evident that their spiritual gifts were
designed, not for their own sake, but " for
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ'';" in other words, their commission
and office were means of grace.
Before we proceed, it deserves observation,
that the commission was addressed, not to
one Apostle alone or principally, and to the
others through him, but equally, and without
difference, to all who were present. True, on
an earlier occasion our Saviour had distin-
a Acts XX. 28. " Eph. iv. 12.

90 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
guished St. Peter by the promise of His
future commission. "I will give unto thee
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and
whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven"." Yet even then he was distinguished
likewise by the most awful rebuke which is
on record as proceeding from our Saviour's
lips, " Get thee behind me, Satan** ;" and
moreover the very same promise was soon
after given in like manner to the other
Apostles^. True also, he had separately re
ceived from his Lord the pastoral charge, but
it was in a manner to humiliate rather than
exalt him, inasmuch as there was a significant
allusion to the threefold denial^. In the actual
institution, however, in which not a prospec
tive hope, but a present possession, of high
spiritual powers is conveyed, our Saviour ad
dresses every one of those present in a com
mon formulary, quite inconsistent with any
notions of inequality amongst the Apostles,
Nor throughout the Scriptures is there the
smallest trace of pre-eminence in St. Peter,
but, on the contrary, many proofs of his living
<¦ St. Matt. xvi. 19. « Verse 23.
" St. Matt, xviii. 18. » St. John xxi. 15—17.

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 91
with his brother Apostles, even with " one"
apparently " born out of due season," upon a
footing of reciprocal equality^. Neither do we
find the early writers attributing to him any
such super-apostolical authority. Nor did
that holy Apostle "build upon other men's
foundation," nor, during several centuries, was
the power of those who have in later times
claimed to be his successors, intruded authori
tatively into Churches beyond their own juris
diction. But we find, on the contrary, the
several Apostles founding their respective in
dependent Churches under the One Head,
Christ; independent, that is, not in respect to
unity and communion, and their common
maintenance of "the faith once delivered to
the saints ;" but founded and governed with
out the least reference to the will of any
other Apostle ; at one with St. Peter, and the
branch of the Church committed to his care,
as well as at one with St. James or St. Paul,
and their children in Christ ; but holding of
no one saving Christ, and deriving all their life
and unity from Him alone. Facts these utterly
subversive of the papal theory, the human in
vention of later ages, which would make the
Pope, as the spiritual descendant of St. Peter,
g Gal. ii. 11.

92 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
the sole visible fountain of ministerial grace ;
a theory which has led the Antichristian adu
lation of Papists to apply to the Bishop of
Rome passages which belong only to our
Lord, such as "Of his fulness have all we
received''." If St. Peter himself had not this
privilege, how should his successors inherit
it ? even if it were granted, (which it is not,)
that those successors inherit that limited
honorary precedence in the Apostolic Col
lege, which has by some been attributed to
St. Peter, but which others, with far stronger
evidence, supported by his actual presidency
on one solemn occasion, have shewn to have
been assigned to St. James ; a primacy of
honour, though not of power and grace, which
is perfectly consistent, in fact and principle,
with the undisputed independence of the
other Apostles, each within the sphere allotted
to his own labours.
And now we must proceed to inquire,
whether the grace conveyed, by virtue of
Christ's commission, through His appointed
ministers • to His people, was to cease with
that generation, or to be perpetuated in some
analogous manner in the Church. Have the
•> Durand. Rationale.

III.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 93
clergy of the present day, and, by consequence,
all the intermediate generations of the clergy
since the Apostolic times, inherited in any
sense these ministerial privileges ? or are
they, one and all, from the beginning, to be
accounted deficient in their title as stewards
of God's mysteries ? Has God superseded
His original commission by some new instru
ment of appointment, or has He revealed some
other way by which His ministers are made
the channels of Divine grace, or has He pur
posely left His Church to the precarious su-
perintendance of self-instituted pastors ? In
short, did the significant action and the words
of our Lord convey a privilege extraordinary
and personally peculiar to the Apostles, or
one in any sense transferable and descendible
to certain, their ordinary successors, in the
ministerial office ?
In attempting to answer this question, it
appears advisable to begin by considering the
principle of ministerial succession in the ab
stract, without reference, in the first instance,
to the regular and divinely appointed /orm in
which it is actually proposed to our accept
ance ; postponing, for the present, with what
ever reluctance, the threefold division of the

94 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [SERM.
ministry, and the distinct functions appro
priated to each Order. And this, not because
there appears any ground for doubting the
antiquity and universality of that division,
and that distinctness, or the origin of both
from the institution of the inspired Apostles ;
still less, because the importance of either
can be safely undervalued : but because, the
principle of delegation and succession being
once acknowledged, men's minds would be
more free from prejudice, and better prepared
to embrace the whole truth, whatever that truth
may be.

And first, the reason of the thing, prior to
all direct proofs, might lead us to expect, that
the gifts bestowed upon the Apostles, so far
as they were separable from their power of
working miracles, would be transmitted in a
regular line of succession during the continu
ance of the Church. Their strictly miracu
lous powers, indeed, might be expected to
cease, as the necessity for their exercise
passed away. But far different was the case
with the other ministerial functions of the
Apostles : the necessity and use of their exer
cise was never to be abrogated. For what was

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 95
the command which they received ? "Go ye
and make disciples' of all nations, baptizing
them in the Name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them
to observe whatsoever I have commanded
you : and lo, I am with you alway, even to
the end of the world''." Now this command,
in the very nature of things, involved the
principle of delegation, as applicable in two
distinct points of view ; delegation contem
porary, and delegation by succession. The
words "all nations" made deleg-ation neces-
sary for that time : the words " I am with
you alway, (all the days',)" implied its necessity
during the continuance of the visible Church,
inasmuch as, although the Apostles were in
due time " to depart and to be with Christ,"
His perpetual presence, in His kingdom on
earth, in regard to the individual mortal men
whom He was addressing, could not be per
sonal, but only virtual: He promised to be
with them in the persons of others, identified
with them as heirs of their office, " all the
days," that is, till the last day of the Church's
trials should be swallowed up in eternity, in
the final consummation of all things. Even
' imdriTeia-aTe. ^ St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20.
Trdaas ras rjpepas.

96 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [SERM.
in their own generation, with all their super
natural powers, their personal discharge of the
duty every where was physically impossible ;
and stiU more so, in respect to the successive
generations in each of the converted nations.
Lapse of time, then, and distance of place, both
alike implied the ultimate necessity of the
Apostles acting by the hands of their repre
sentatives. Every where and always, some
one would be required to serve in the congre
gation, to preach the word so as to " minister
grace to the hearers ;" to convey the grace of
the two holy Sacraments ; to be the spiritual
guides, and pastors, and watchmen of their
people ; to " hold up the weak, heal the sick,
bind up the broken, bring again the outcasts,
seek the lost""." To discharge efficiently such
duties as these, a distinct order of men must
be set apart. It is conceivable, indeed, that, as
the whole body of Christians is, in a certain
sense, "a nation of priests," the function of
ministering in the congregation might, in
process of time, be open to all personally
qualified ; or that the pastor might not only
be chosen and called by his flock, but derive
his authority solely by virtue of their com-
™ The Form of ordaining or consecrating of an Archbishop or
Bishop.

III.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 97
mission. This is a conceivable theory, but not
in itself probable, and therefore, if true, re
quires to be strictly proved by facts. It was
confessedly not the practice in the Apostohc
age. It would be contrary to the whole
analogy of the Jewish Church, in which not
only a distinct class of men, but, in order to
ensure and perpetuate that distinctness, a
separate family was appointed exclusively for
the service of the sanctuary.
But if a distinct order of functionaries
might be naturally expected, it is difficult to
conceive any method of selection more likely
to conduce to the end proposed, than a suc
cession of persons inheriting and transmitting
the original commission which our Blessed
Saviour had given once for all to His Church.
Such a method was only an extension of the
same principle of delegation, as that already
shewn to have been necessarily adopted by
the Apostles, whilst living, to the wants of
succeeding generations after their departure.
We may add also, that, supposing the argu
ment of the last Lecture, respecting the suc
cession of the whole body of the Church, to
have any solid foundation, the perpetual and
parallel succession of a separate order of
pastors, in and with the Church, would be
H

98 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
perfectly analogous to, or rather a part of, the
hereditary continuity of the flock.

And now, if we turn, from antecedent proba
bility, to the voice of Scripture and the history
of the Church, we shall find our expectations
fully realized. For, first, there is not the
smallest semblance, in any part of the holy
Volume, of any other method having been
authoritatively promulgated for the institu
tion of ministers ; and, secondly, it is found,
that, in perfect accordance with the sacred
Records, in every Church throughout all the
world, the pastoral office has been confined
to persons, who, by virtue of their commis
sion, were able to trace their ministerial pedi
gree, through some one of the Apostles, up
to the grant of Christ Himself. For fifteen
hundred years, there never was a Church,
claiming to be Christian, whether heretical
or orthodox, which did not refer to the same
one source its pretensions to be, in the per
sons of its ministers, a channel of Christian
grace. Now so many examples of an insti
tution, thus uniform and universal, of which
the memory of man, as well written as tradi
tional (at least up to the date of the Reforma-

III-J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 99
tion) runneth not to the contrary, must have
had some one common origin ; and as we
find it, so early as the time of Ireneeus, recog
nized as of indispensable necessity to the
essence of a Church, what other origin can
be assigned, so likely as the one recorded in
the text, and to which, in fact, successive
generations of believers have traced it ? And
surely the very words of the text, of themselves,
import no less than this, that they were meant
to convey to the Apostles a power of autho
rizing and sending, in Christ's stead, other
labourers into the vineyard : for the very
identical mission which He had Himself re
ceived. He was graciously pleased by express
title to extend and to impart to them. " As
My Father hath sent Me, even so send I
you." What, then, was the fiinction which
our departing Saviour was exercising at the
very moment of uttering the words ? Being
about to go up into heaven. He was delegat
ing His authority to His successors, mortal
men, who would one day likewise depart out
of the world. That act with its circum
stances. His own departure, and the transient
duration of those who were the immediate re
ceivers of the Holy Ghost, throws light upon
His words. They to whom He said them,
H 2

100 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
were to do as He was doing. A power of
transmitting authority, analogous to that-
which He was exercising Himself, was ne
cessarily included in the power transmitted.
As He had the power of delegation, so, by
His own gift, had His Apostles too ; and if
they had the power of delegation, they had
also, by the same express charter of their in
stitution, a commission to hand on that power
of delegation ; and so on perpetually, whilst
the visible Church should last on earth : so
that, in each successive generation of mini
sters, the same commission having been in
turn received and imparted, the humblest
Bishop in the present day has received and
can impart it likewise : a commission the
same in kind with that received and handed
down by the Apostles, however much the in
spiration of those chosen vessels may have
exceeded the ministerial grace of these latter
days in degree.
This interpretation, again, of the text, as in
volving the principle of succession, is borne
out by the testimony of many other passages
in Scripture. It would be easy, if time per
mitted, to draw out the cumulative evidence
on this subject, which the Holy Ghost fur
nishes in the sacred Volume ; but this would

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 101
require a treatise of itself; a commentary on
the whole scope of St. Paul's Epistles to
Timothy and Titus, containing as they do
instructions applicable to all times in regard
to the pastoral office, and to its perpetuation.
We shall see that these writings, assuming
the principle we have been contending for,
contain specific provisions for handing down
the succession, and the outward method of
doing it, by the imposition of hands. Indeed
so specific is the instruction afforded, that, in
perusing these pastoral Epistles, taken in
connexion with the Acts of the Apostles, it is
hardly possible for the most prejudiced not
to observe the germ of the ministerial con
stitution. So intimately are the principle of
succession and its appointed form blended
together, that it becomes difficult to separate
them even in thought. This seems the proper
place, then, for quitting the abstract view of
the subject, and passing at once to the actual
and historical institution.
Looking at the principle involved in our
Blessed Lord's words, as actually applied,
we are naturally led to inquire, what course
the Apostles pursued after receiving this
commission. For whatever they did is the

102 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [SERM.
best practical exposition of our Lord's
meaning. It appears, then, from the Acts of the Apo
stles, that Paul and Barnabas "ordained elders
in every Church" ;" that these elders were re
cognized as empowered and required to " feed
the Church of God" in the " flock over which
the Holy Ghost had made them overseers" ;"
that they were left in charge as delegates, to
be visited occasionally by those from whom
they received their commission. In the
Epistles to Timothy we read of the spiritual
gift which was in him, and the manner of
its communication "by the putting on" of the
Apostles' " hands," as well as by " prophecy,
with the laying on of the hands of the pres
bytery;" that is, by the authoritative act
of the Apostle, with the subordinate concur
rence of the inferior order, (the germ of a
well-known usage in the rite of ordination) ;
we find also the power of delegation entrusted
in turn to Timothy himself, expressly included
in the charge to " lay hands suddenly on no
man," and to be inferred likewise from the
rules given for the choice of fit persons to be
ordained as Bishops and Deacons; and farther,
the injunction to "hold fast the form of sound
° Acts xiv. 23. " Acts xx. 28.

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 103
words, which," saith the Apostle, " thou
hast heard of me^," compared with what fol
lows in the next chapter, " Thou, therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast
heard of me" (the same expression again)
" among many witnesses, the same commit
thou to faithful men, who shall be able to
teach others also''-" Here surely is the ordi
nance of ministerial succession provided, for
no less than three generations. The same
inference is to be drawn from the commission
to Titus : " For this cause left I thee in
Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the
things that are wanting, and ordain elders in
every city, as I had appointed thee : if any be
blameless ¦¦," and have the other qualifications
which the Apostle proceeds to specify as re
quired in a Bishop.
In Holy Scripture, then, we have the
germ, already considerably developed, of that
constitution which, as we read in writers
not of canonical authority, was established
by the Apostles in every one of their
Churches. And although it may be granted
that the terms "Apostle," "Bishop," and
P 2 Tim. i. 13. 1 2 Tim. ii. 1.
r Tit. i. 5.

104 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
" Presbyter" are in Scripture used synony
mously, yet there are clear indications of a
distinction of Orders in fact : of some who
have a special authority to send, as well as of
some who act by virtue of such mission. At
all events it is very shortly after the Apo
stles' death that, passing to the early Chris
tian writers, we find the definite ordinance
both as to title and office, which has ever
since prevailed.
In the age immediately succeeding the
Apostles, the three distinct orders of Bishops,
Priests, and Deacons, were established every
where. It can be proved that thenceforth
the order of Bishops was exclusively en
trusted with the power of transmission ; that
this institution was uniform, and acknow
ledged to be the characteristic of the Apostolic
Churches, insomuch that lists have come down
to us of the succession in various lines, as
evidenced in the persons of successive Bishops,
this unity of organization leading to the in
ference of a unity of origin; that no one
was admitted to serve in the sacred ministry
who had not been canonically ordained ; and
that order was very early taken for the better
preservation of one unbroken line, by the
canon providing that every Bishop should be

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 105
consecrated by three Bishops at least'. In
these Lectures, orally delivered, it is mani
festly impossible to do justice to the historical
evidence in detail. This very brief statement
of the result is all that can be attempted, re
serving to some future occasion (for which
the provisions of the Founder's Will afford
facilities) the fuller development of the histo
rical argument*.
The view which our own Church has taken
of this matter may be ascertained from her
acknowledgment in the Prayer for the Ember
Weeks, that God has " by" His " Divine pro
vidence appointed divers orders in" His
"Church";" from her assertion in the Preface
to the Ordination Services, that " it is evident
unto all men diligently reading the Holy
Scripture and ancient Authors, that from the
Apostles' time there have been three Orders
of Ministers in Christ's Church, Bishops,
Priests, and Deacons ;" from the whole tenor
of the three Ordination Services ; and espe
cially from the fact, that, following the ancient
Churches, she has actually embodied in those
services the language of the text; that she
s See the Appendix, ' See the Appendix.
" It will be remembered that the same prayer, mutatis mutandis,
occurs in the Ordination Service.

106 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
puts into the mouth of the consecrating or
ordaining Bishop the very words which our
Saviour employs, " Receive the Holy Ghost,
for the Office and work of a Priest [or Bishop]
in the Church of God, now committed unto
thee by the imposition of our hands ; [whose
sins thou dost forgive they are forgiven, and
whose sins thou dost retain they are re
tained''.]" And this form she has maintained
in every revisal of the Book of Common
Prayer, notwithstanding the exceptions ex
pressly taken against it by the Puritans y.
It is inconceivable that she would thus deli
berately put such words from such lips into
the mouth of any human being, no matter
to what Order he belonged, unless she had
had good reason for believing that the power
of such delegation had come down to him
from Christ Himself.
And now, perhaps, enough has been said
to justify the following conclusions ; that the
true pastoral functions have been handed
down exclusively by hereditary descent from
^ The words between brackets are not repeated in the Conse
cration of a Bishop, because he has already received that commis
sion as a Priest.
y See the Appendix.

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OP GRACE. 107
our Lord; that the form in which they
have been handed down is, in its germ, to
say the least, to be found in Holy Scrip
ture; and that its establishment was so ex
tremely early, and so universal, without any
exception, as to stamp upon it the character
of an Apostolic ordinance ; that therefore a
clergy by succession is of indispensable obli
gation, as being divinely appointed, while a
clergy by Episcopal ordination is the ap
pointed form of that succession ; that a
self-instituted ministry is a dangerous deceit,
inasmuch as there is no Scriptural authority,
but every thing against it, nor any precedent
for fifteen centuries, but one unbroken pre
scription over the whole face of the Christian
world opposed to it, for any new beginning of
Orders, for any self-originated ministry — ^nay,
for any ministry other than those ordained by
Bishops ; and that, consequently, any reli
gious community, wanting the characteristic
of a succession of ministers derived originally
from Christ Himself, cannot be called a Chris
tian Church after Christ's institution, with a
covenanted title to be a channel of the means
of grace ; and that every Church, wanting the
note of an Episcopal succession, is at best
an extremely imperfect Church, varying, in

108 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
a very essential point, from the Apostolical
model. And assuredly, when we look to the con
dition of those religious communities which
have wilfully abandoned this succession, we
shall see enough to confirm our conclusions ;
in many places the true faith openly aban
doned; in others certain great articles of
faith denied and proscribed ; the Sacraments
undervalued, deprived of their sacramental
character, even sometimes discontinued ; the
Scriptures hardly at all read in the congregar
tions ; human compositions substituted ; on
all sides, divisions subdivided, error upon
error, sect upon sect. Surely the Spirit
by the Apostle foreshewed the disorders
of these latter times, open schism from the
truth, a self-originated ministry, nay, the
very shape which insubordination would ere
long assume, I mean the exaltation of pulpit
eloquence above the other, to say the very
least, not less important, functions of the pas
toral care : " The time will come, when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after
their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears';" to which the
Apostle adds the natural consequence, such
^ 2 Tim. iv. 3.

III-J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 109
as has in all such cases, sooner or later, been
reahzed in fact ; " and they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables

, a "

And here let us pause to offer our thanks
givings to Him, from whom " every good gift,
and every perfect gift cometh down," for His
inestimable mercy, in having placed a branch
of His true candlestick amongst ourselves ;
in so ordering the course of our Reformation,
that we were not severed from the unity of
Christ's body, nor cut off from the hereditary
fellowship of His Apostles. It was not our
merit, nor our foresight, nor any human de
vice, but His Almighty Providence which
overruled the mode of our purification from
Romish error. He turned the hearts of
certain Bishops, canonically ordained, from
Popery to the true Catholic Faith ; and the
gifts which they had received from real,
though erring, successors of the Apostles,
they were empowered to transmit unbroken
to an equally Apostolical ministry in a pure
Church. Amidst all our sins, notwithstand
ing our many civil convulsions, in spite of
hostility, and treachery, and calumnies, which
^ 2 Tim. iv. 4.

110 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
have only led to a more triumphant vindica
tion of the validity of our Orders, this em
blem and element of primitive unity has been
preserved to us unimpaired. And, by God's
grace, it will be preserved to us still ; since
He is giving us a growing appreciation of
its value, towards the edification and efficiency
of our Church both at home and beyond sea.

And now, having established the general
fact, that the privileges of the text are ap
plicable to ourselves, as well as to other real
branches of the Church Catholic, we have a
personal interest in determining the mean
ing of our Saviour's words, or, which is the
same thing, what the nature of the grace is,
of which Christ's appointed ministers are
made the means.
And first, the least that the words can
signify, is that in some way they are in
strumental to the forgiveness of sins. It
cannot be in their own name, or by any
intrinsic power or holiness of their own ; for
"who can forgive sins, but God only?"
It must therefore be ministerially, and in
the name and power of Christ, in the spirit

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. Ill
of what St. Paul says, " I forgive" such an
one "eV irpoacaircp XpiaTov^." There is no more
real power, or means, inherent in them to
wards the salvation of the world, than there
was in " the accursed tree," or in the nails
which fastened our Saviour to it, or in the
spear which pierced His Side. We must
guard therefore against shewing any undue
or idolatrous honour to God's ministers, as
we would against the impiety of adoring the
cross. On the other hand, whilst we confess the
Clergy to be mere instruments, their co-opera
tion, as instruments, is, by God's appoint
ment, ordinarily required to apply the general
promises of God's mercy. And so "he that
planteth and he that watereth" are " fellow-
workers together with God," who " giveth
the increase."
Secondly, he may be said to forgive sins,
and to loose the penitent, who directly con
tributes to that effect ; as he may be said to
bind sinners and to retain sins, who abstains
from applying such means as are committed
to him for their liberation. Now he contri
butes to God's work of mercy, who proclaims
that mercy, together with its conditions, to
" 2 Cor. ii. 10.

112 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
mankind; who, in God's name, opens the foun
tains of grace, and makes them accessible to
the soul, which thirsteth after righteousness ;
who not only makes the means of grace
known, but teaches how to use them, and
imparts what he teaches. But, according to
the foregoing argument, the whole " ministry
of reconciliation" is entrusted to the regularly
ordained Clergy, as, in their degree, the heirs
of the Apostles. It is their office exclusively
to publish the glad tidings with authority, to
preach the word of God, and to minister the
holy Sacraments in the congregation. He
that preaches " Christ crucified" extends the
benefits of the Sacrifice of the Cross ; he that
administers holy Baptism, does it for the
forgiveness of sins, loosing men from the
bands of Satan, and bringing them into the
liberty of the sons of God; he that admi
nisters the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
imparts ministerially the Communion of the
Body and Blood of Christ; he that layeth
hands upon fresh labourers and sendeth
them into the Lord's vineyard, multiplies the
channels and instruments through whom
these offices of mercy are extended to man
kind. And, let us add, he who neglects to
" stir up the gift of God which is in" him,

III-J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 113
or who without just cause hides the Gospel
from men, who withholds Baptism, or the
Eucharist, or the public means of grace, or
the imposition of hands, does, in effect and to
that extent, shut up the kingdom of heaven
against men. Thus, then, sins are forgiven
for Christ's sake alone, and by virtue only of
His authority ; and yet by means of the sub
ordinate instrumentality of the Word and
the Sacraments, on the one hand, and of the
stewards of His mysteries on the other. The
Word and Sacraments are, considered by
themselves, means of grace ; God's Minister is
another; yet ordinarily their combined agency
is required to the full spiritual effect; —
a reciprocal relation which clearly evinces the
good Providence of God, in securing both to
our use.
But, farther, over and above this general
power of publishing and applying the pro
mises of the Gospel, the text involves, as a
part of that office, a special authority in the
Christian priesthood to pronounce Absolution
properly so called: an authority requiring,
indeed, the utmost delicacy of discrimination
to define, but not on that account imaginary
or indefinite. It seems impossible to elude

114 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
the force of the words in their plain mean
ing as they stand : all the ancient expositors
concur in this interpretation, and our own
Church, as well as every Church from the
earliest times, has acted upon it without
hesitation. Before we go on to inquire into the nature
of this privilege, committed to earthen ves
sels for the comfort and edification of God's
people, it may be advisable to premise certain
obvious limitations, such as may serve to dis
sipate the prejudices which hinder the recep
tion of the truth.
1. Forgiveness of sins being God's prero
gative exclusively, no human being can as
sume it, except in trust for Him, nor can
rightfully use it in such a manner as to exalt
himself or promote his own worldly ambition,
its sole legitimate exercise being directed to
God's honour and glory.
2. As no delegate can lawfully exceed his
powers, or exert them in a manner contrary to
the principles upon which his master and
sovereign would himself act ; and as the Al
mighty has been pleased to limit His ovm
exercise of mercy to such subjects as are

III.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 115
qualified by faith and repentance to receive
it, we may infer that no act of ministerial
absolution can take effect, except upon the
faithful penitent.
3. Inasmuch as God alone knoweth " what
is in man," and as we no where read, that
(except in special miraculous instances) He
has delegated to man the power of knowing
man's heart, the absolving priest can never
infallibly discover, whether the seeming peni
tent before him be a hypocrite, or truly faith
ful and repentant. He can only act upon his
own judgment and discernment, aided by
God's grace, in determining the character of
the offender.
4. It results from the foregoing principles,
that, raise ministerial absolution to what im
portance we will, its effects, as known to the
Priest, can never be otherwise than more or
less conditional, amounting in some cases to
moral certainty, in others perhaps to little
more than a charitable hope.
And here, by way of illustration, I would
call your attention to the nice discrimination
observable in the practice of our own Church.
It is well known, that in the service for
Morning and Evening Prayer, in the Com-
I 2

116 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [SERM.
munion Service, and in the Office for the Visi
tation of the Sick, the forms of absolution
differ, respectively from each other. The
first seems simply declaratory; the second
chiefly precatory ; and the third at once
declaratory, precatory, and authoritative. The
reason of the difference appears to lie in
the difference of the intended recipients. In
the Common Prayer, the worshippers are mis
cellaneous, like the fish in the net of the
parable, good and bad ; the Confession too
has been general. To pronounce, therefore,
absolutely the forgiveness of sins, as equally
applicable to each particular case, would be
manifestly improper and dangerous. In the
Communion Office those only are present who
are presumed to be in a true Christian frame
of mind, longing after the Bread of life; those
who, if they were so minded, may have spe
cially opened their griefs and confessed their
sins, and who, if they have not resorted to
some " discreet and learned minister of God's
Word," may be presumed not to require it.
The Confession, too, though common to all
who are drawing near with faith, is more
earnest, self-accusing, and special. Here,
then, with the greatest propriety, the Abso
lution takes the form of confident prayer, not

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 117
unmixed with a shade of authority. In the
Visitation of the Sick, the sinner is alone ; one
whose manner of life ought to be known to his
own pastor; chastened by sickness, with death
and judgment and eternity before him ; having
unburthened his conscience, if need be, by a
special confession of his sins : in such a case,
if any where, the priest may hope to approxi
mate to the truth ; and, therefore, he is autho
rized, (if the sinner himself heartily desire it'')
premising the condition upon which he acts, to
pronounce the solemn words : " By Christ's
authority committed unto me, I absolve thee
from all thy sins, in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen^." And yet, while with our Church we ac
knowledge the effects of absolution to be coti-
ditional and relative to the inner qualifications
of the recipients, it would be an error, very
contrary to the spirit of her teaching, to ac
count the ordinance itself unreal or inopera
tive. She herself speaks of " the benefit of
absolution," to " the quieting of the con-
¦= Rubric before the Absolution in the Service for the Visita
tion of the Sick.
^ It is observable, that the Prayer immediately following this
Absolution is so worded, as to remove all idea of the Absolution
being plenary or unconditional.

118 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
science ^" The true penitent, after absolution
pronounced, is not in the same state as he
was before it : and, so long as he does not
forfeit the benefit by fresh acts of sin, he may
humbly assure his heart before God, that he is
visibly and confessedly restored to the full pri
vileges of God's grace. It is not only that the
judgment of God's Minister, if not mistaken,
will be ratified in the judgment of the last day,
— the sins bound or loosed in heaven, as
bound or loosed in earth ; but there is
surely an immediate and present result in
the official restoration of God's grace, and
of the full and fruitful enjoyment of all
the Divine ordinances. The result, too, of ab
solution lawfully bestowed, is peace ; and
peace of conscience in Christ's Atoning Blood
is grace, and that which procures it is a means
of grace. Forgiveness assured upon foregone
repentance leads to deeper penitence still;
the weight is cast off ; the race is begun anew ;
and towards the goal thus once more hoped
for, we do, in this hope, more earnestly press
forward. And therefore it is, that "peace
and grace" are so often associated in Scripture
as correlative terms ; " therefore the fruits of
" First Exhortation on giving warning for the celebration of the
Holv Communion.

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 119
righteousness" are called "peaceable;" and
therefore our Lord, with a special reference to
this inestimable gift, said "Peace be unto you"
to those who were to be the ambassadors of
peace, that they might possess what they were
to confer. Doubt we not, therefore, but
earnestly believe, that absolution exerts a real
influence upon our spiritual condition ; and,
when the message of peace falls from the lips
of the officiating priest, let us receive it as from
Him in whose name he speaks ; let us pray
to Him whom he represents, to Him who
only can forgive sins, that He would " speak
peace unto his people, and unto his saints,
that they turn not again'."
But, farther, as the Church possesses and ex
ercises the power of Absolution, so does she
possess also, by Divine right, whether she uses
it or not, the correlative power of censure and
excommunication. Under different circum
stances, it may have been in full force, or it
may have been in abeyance; it may have been
abused, used negligently, or wholly disused ;
but its existence and reality have never been
by the Church theoretically questioned. Our
own Church bears witness to the truth, in her
f Psalm Ixxxv. 8.

120 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
Commination Service, in the Rubric before
the Communion, in her Homilies, and in the
original intention and constitution of her ec
clesiastical Courts ; and however Httle hope
there may appear, in these our days, of re
storing it (either in our own Church or in
others) to its pristine form and efficiency, yet
the hearts of many are even now raised in
prayer for its restoration,' not in that corrupt
form in which the Church of Rome exhibits
it in her theory and practice of Penance, but
according to the primitive model, in simplicity
and truth.

And now, if the result of our inquiries
should appear to magnify the office of the
Ministry, very opposite indeed must be the
effect upon those who bear it. A due appre
ciation of the pastoral functions, a persuasion
of their Divine origin and of their Divine effi
cacy, lead to any feeling rather than to that
of sacerdotal pride. What deep and anxious
thoughts lie hidden beneath the letter of that
brief expression. The cure of souls ! High and
awful indeed are the privileges ! the gift un
speakable ! yet the responsibility how over
whelming ! A human being, " compassed with

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 121
infirmity," yet endowed with delegated autho
rity, to be exercised in matters so inscrutable ;
to have souls, immortal souls, entrusted to his
keeping ! to snatch them from the fire, to
train them to eternity ; or else to deliver them
up to the wolf, — to become to the souls, for
which Christ died, an instrument of reproba
tion rather than a means of grace ! And all
this, with the inevitable certainty, that, over
and above his qualities as a man, his func
tions, as God's minister, will bring him into
judgment ; that he will either, " after he has
preached to others," himself " be a castaway,"
or that by " giving attendance to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine ;" by not neglecting
" the gift that is in him," " which was given
him" by prophecy with " the laying on of the
hands of the presbytery ;" by meditating on
these things ; by giving himself wholly to
them (so that his profiting may appear unto
all men) ; by taking heed unto himself and to
the doctrine ; by continuing in them, he shall
" both save himself and those that hear him."
Finally, the conclusions at which we have
arrived are perfectly consistent with a hearty
acquiescence in the decision of our Church, by
which she excludes Holy Orders from the

122 THE DIVINELY COMMISSIONED MINISTRY [sERM.
dignity of a proper Sacrament. It is not the
name to which we object, for that is apphed
indiscriminately by the Fathers to any subject
which may possibly imply or convey a mystery :
but we dread the undue exaltation of "the
gift" of Orders under cover of an ambiguous
name ; we refuse to place it on a level with
the two holy "Sacraments of the Gospel,"
and to degrade Baptism and the holy Eucha
rist in order to " magnify the office" of those
who administer them. Knowing the corrup
tion to which this error has led the Church of
Rome, we refuse, then, to call Holy Orders "a
Sacrament ;" whilst, on the other hand, dread
ing equally the depreciation to which levellers
would reduce " the gift," we place it amongst
the sacramentals, and believe it to be a means
of grace. In a word, we regard the Clergy not
as mediators, but as media ; as the channels,
not the depositaries of grace ; as the stewards
of God's household, not as lords over His
heritage : we reverence for Christ's sake the
dispensers of the Divine mysteries in the
Font and at the Lord's Table, whilst we
abhor that impiety, which, as a consequence
of the error of transubstantiation, has led
some of the Romish hierarchy to arrogate to
themselves, or to suffer their advocates to claim

III.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 123
for them, the title of " creators of the Body
of their Creator." God of His infinite mercy
grant us grace, that we may continue to
" preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the
Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sakes." e 2 Cor. iv. 5.

SERJNiON IV.

St. Luke xi. 13.
IF YE THEN, BEING EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS
TO YOUR CHILDREN : HOW MUCH MORE SHALL YOUR
HEAVENLY FATHER GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THEM
THAT ASK HIM ?
The universal efficacy of prayer under the
Christian covenant, as it is one of those mys
teries which " the natural man receiveth not,"
so is it, in its fullest acceptation, that which,
even from the spiritually minded, requires the
largest exercise of faith. It is not that we
allow the smallest weight to the a priori
objections which Rationalists may suggest ; for
to the Christian philosopher, the antecedent
probability appears corroborative of the dis
closures of revelation. It is not that we
doubt God's mercy, goodness, or power, His
omniscience or His omnipresence; for these
are admitted as axiomatic truths, which would
lead directly to the conclusion that every
prayer is heard. Still less do we hesitate to
accept the promises of God made to us in Holy
Writ. But the seeming difficulty arises from the

126 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
comparison between those probabilities and
those promises, as we understand them, on the
one hand, and the facts of our own experience
on the other. Setting aside that large class
of petitions which refer to the necessaries of
life, and which the actual preservation of our
lives proves to have been effectual, we all of
us know experimentally that many of our
special supplications have no special answer ;
that sundry blessings which we innocently ask
for, are, for some inscrutable reason, denied.
And the enemy of mankind is ever at hand to
take advantage of such disappointments, and
to infuse such a distrust of the efficacy of
prayer as may introduce languor and coldness
into our devotions, gradually diminish their
frequency, and ultimately lead on his victims
to their total, deliberate, and habitual disuse.
Now for this apparent difficulty several
solutions might be offered. It may be, that,
instead of " lifting up holy hands," the wor
shipper is dead in trespasses and sins. It
may be, that we ask for things positively
evil, or for things unworthy of our Christian
profession; for stones or for scorpions. It
maybe, that we "ask and receive not, because"
we "ask amiss*" — we may ask without express
" St. James iv. 3 .

IV.] ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 127
reference to Christ's mediation ; we may ask
faithlessly, coldly, with a doubtful mind, with
the lips, but not from the heart. And any
one of these circumstances must vitiate the
prayer. But even supposing, for argument's
sake, that we pray with the utmost perfection
in respect to our own disposition, and to the
subject, form, and manner of our suppli
cation, yet there is one consideration quite
sufficient to account for our disappointments.
We have but to point to the stupendous and
incomprehensible plan which Divine Wisdom
is evidently accomplishing in the kingdom of
nature and in the kingdom of grace. Of the
existence of such a scheme from all eternity
Reason shews the probability, and Revelation
gives the assurance ; of its details and methods
we enjoy, even in the fulness of Christian light,
only partial and superficial glimpses ; frag
ments of an infinite system, isolated portions
of truth, without beginning and without com
pletion. And of these details each individual
man, with all his thoughts, words, actions,
and sufferings, forms a definite and component
part ; insomuch that, as every atom of matter
has its appointed place in the material world,
so each accountable creature has an appointed
(for aught we know, an essential) place in the

128 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
moral, nay, it may be in the physical, dispen
sations of God. And if so, then the interests
of the whole may depend upon the observance
of certain definite proportions between the
several component parts: that which may
appear to be a blessing for an individual, may
have an injurious or disturbing influence upon
the whole scheme of Divine goodness — and
so the individual praying, may, as a part of
the whole, derive benefit from the denial of
the prayer. And if these conclusions are
just, then, considering the infinite variety and
complication of things, and our own utter
ignorance of their several bearings upon each
other, the wonder will rather be that so many
of our petitions are granted, than that any
should be denied. For any thing that we
know, it may be as unreasonable to expect
an answer to certain petitions, as to look that
God would ordinarily " hearken unto the
voice of a man," as he did to Joshua, even to
the suspending the laws of the solar system,
as when the sun stood still upon Gibeon, and
the moon in the valley of Ajalon''.
On the other hand, although we know not
antecedently whether our requests for tem
poral blessings will be granted, neither do we
•> Josh. X. 12.

IV. J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 129
know that they will be denied. We are
equally ignorant of both alternatives ; but
this Ave do know, that, if they are expedient
for us, they will be granted to effectual fervent
prayer ; and that, though they be denied, we
are, on that very account, the more sure that
we are heard, God preparing some good things,
even in this way, for them that love Him,
" above all that" they " ask or think."
But the difficulties which may seem to be
long to the subject of prayer in general, dis
appear altogether when we consider it as a
means of grace. Our ignorance, with respect
to the real desirableness of our petitions, and
to God's hidden will concerning them, does
not extend to the spiritual assistance neces
sary for the inner man. We know, without
a shadow of doubt, that God loveth and
furthereth goodness, as His own image ; that
He willeth the perfection of His people ; that
His ultimate wiU is the universal triumph
and reign of goodness ; and that, as the end
is without any exception that Avhich is the
most expedient for every human being, and
most conducive to God's own glory, so He
will assuredly hear our aspirations after holi-
ness, and will actually enable us to do His
K

130 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
will. Because He is perfect, perfection itself,
He will assist those who are striving to be
like Him. And therefore, while we pray for
every other blessing with the qualification con
tained in St. Chrysostom's prayer, with an
express or tacit reference to God's unknown
purposes, we may in Christ's name pray for
grace unconditionally, because we are infallibly
certain that " this is the will of God, even"
our " sanctification." Prayer for grace seems,
in the nature, of things, to be a means of
attaining it.
In the inquiry, therefore, which Ave are
pursuing, there is no necessity for pausing to
examine the controverted meaning of texts
such as the following : " All things what
soever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive"." " What things soever ye
desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall haA^e them''." " And this
is the confidence that we have in him, that
if we ask any thing according to his will, he
heareth us, and if we know that he heareth
us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have
the petitions that we desired of him"." It is
a matter of faith, that, with respect to all our
<^ St. Matt. xxi. 22. a St. Mark xi. 24.
' 1 John V. 14, 15.

IV. J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 131
prayers, these promises have their relative true
fulfilment in some manner, if not correspond
ing to our expectations yet analogous to our
wants : in praying for grace sincerely, we
may look with certainty for the absolute and
indefeasible fulfilment of our petitions. Nay,
still more ; every faithful prayer, be the sub
ject matter what it may, is a means of grace,
and, as such, is heard : the special wish may
be granted or denied, yet the prayer of faith
at all events does not return empty ; it brings
with it " the peace of God," that which
garrisons^ our hearts and minds, the strength,
the consolations, the presence of the Com
forter : for nothing less than this is the import
of those gracious words, " Be careful for
nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your re
quests be made known unto God; and the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep^ your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus ^."
Reflections such as these form a suitable
introduction to the proper subject of to-day's
Lecture, the gift and mission of the Holy
Ghost in answer to prayer specially directed
f (j)povpl]<ret. 8 Phil. iv. 6, 7.
K 2

132 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
to that end. All prayer, then, of every sort,
is a means of grace. Prayer for the Holy
Spirit is pre-eminently so, by virtue of Christ's
promise in the text : " Your heavenly Father
will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him''." In these simple words what a stu
pendous truth is conveyed! The same Al
mighty Father who hath given His only Son,
will give the Holy Ghost. The Son and the
Comforter are both given, each according to
His several office in the work of mercy ; the
ever-blessed Son, to die for our sins ; the ever-
blessed Paraclete, to live with, and to be the
life of, the redeemed. And this promise is
from the same lips which did "pray the Father"
that He would "give" to His Church "another
Comforter," "even the Spirit of truth," that He
might "abide with" it "for ever'." The assur
ance of this gift, also, the great Intercessor
Himself has condescended to ground upon
analogies draA^m from the tenderest instincts of
the human heart. The same principle of love
and goodness which leads an earthly parent,
even an evil one, to "give good gifts unto" his
"children," moves our heavenly Father, yet
"how much more," to "give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him;" the same principle of
" St. Luke xi. 13. ' St. John xiv. .16, 17.

IV. J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 133
love in Him, yet how infinitely more gracious;
the same Fatherly goodness, united with infi
nite wisdom and infinite power. It is " be
cause ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father\"
And thus we are again brought round to
that fundamental truth, our adoption as chil
dren of God in the laver of regeneration. It
is because we are His children that we have a
covenanted title to be heard in prayer ; it is
the Spirit, dwelling in the regenerate, which
enables them to cry effectuaUy for the con
tinuance of His presence within them, for His
more complete, uninterrupted, and increasing
power over our whole nature ; that He may
be sent again and again into our hearts, ever
renewing the influences which sin may for a
time have intercepted, illuminating the dark
places of our souls, strengthening our remain
ing weakness, conforming us more and more
to the image of the Lord who redeemed us.
And in these our baptismal relations all the
privileges of the Christian worshipper are
ratified and sealed. As children of God, we
know that we may pray ; as inheritors of the
kingdom of heaven, we pray for its coming here
" Gal. iv. 6.

134 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
on earth into our hearts, as well as for its
final and perfect coming in the world without
end. As members of Christ, we pray not in
behalf of ourselves alone, we pray to " our
Father" for the whole family of Christ of
which we are members. Intercession for
others is as plainly a Christian duty as prayer
for ourselves ; not confined to any class of
Christians by virtue of their office, though
that office may naturally lead to its more fre
quent use, but the duty and privilege of every
member of the Church as such. True, the
priest must intercede for the people ; but so
also must the people intercede for the priest ;
even as we find St. Paul, while he is careful
to assure his disciples that he makes mention
of them in his prayers', so does he likewise
intreat their special intercessions for himself"",
and this upon the plain principle, that the
prayers of all the faithful were as effectual as
his own. In a word, the Christian's prayer,
as such, is that of one amongst many bre
thren ; he prays even for his individual and
private wants as bound up with the exigen
cies and interests of the whole body of the
Church.
1 Rom. i. 9 ; Eph. i.' 16 ; Phil. i. 4 ; I Thess. i. 2 ; Philem. 4.
^ 2 Cor. i. 1 1 ; Eph. vi. 18, 19 ; Phil. i. 19 ; Coloss. iv. 3 ;
1 Thess. v. 25 ; 2 Thess. iii. 1 ; comp. Acts xii. 5.

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 135
And, surely, a correct view of these rela
tions would furnish a sufficient answer to the
idle question, whether it be better to pray
alone, or to pray in concert with others ; it
would shew, also, the futility of the distinction
sometimes drawn between inward and out
ward religion. It is a truth, based alike on
the constitution of man's nature, and on the
constitution of the Church, that Avhat is often
called inward, or heart, religion cannot be
divorced from outward religion, without de
stroying the essence of both. Nor is it the
part of wisdom or piety to contrast devotion
in the closet with devotion in the congrega
tion. They are severally necessary to certain
specific uses ; they are jointly conducive to
one common endj even general and particular
edification. When we have shut our door,
we have not shut out the fellowship of saints :
when we go up to worship in the temple, our
individual wishes are not hindered, but fur
thered, by the co-operating supplications of our
fellow- worshippers. When all pray simul
taneously for grace, each one is more likely
to attain it in greater measure.
The use of private prayer, for instance, can
never be suspended, without the forfeiture
of inestimable privileges, without the utmost

136 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
peril to our souk. There is an enemy ever
about us, unceasingly watchful; most dan
gerous when least suspected; lurking in the
bye-places of our ordinary path in life. At a
time when we least think of it, we may be
taken at unawares ; instantaneous resistance
is our only hope of victory ; the devil will
"flee from us" if we do but "resist," and
the proper posture for lesistance is upon our
knees. We have a watchful enemy ; but we have
also a Divine Guardian ever at hand to help
our infirmities, if we Avill but invoke His aid.
The other means of grace are only contin
gently accessible ; depending, for their re
newed enjoyment, on circumstances of time
and.place and person : — prayer is ever season
able ; in all situations and under all circum
stances, so long as consciousness is preserved,
equally available for present help; rising as
incense to the throne of mercy, whether " out
of the deep," or from the whale's belly, or
from the hons' den. The prayer for grace
may be a very short one : the wish embodied
in the shortest ejaculation, when nothing more
is possible, will doubtless be accepted as surely
as a whole Litany. Would to God that men
in general would reahze to themselves the full

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 137
blessedness of private prayer ! Would that,
instead of confining its use to the set periods
of " lying down and rising up" (indispensable
as that regular service is for us all), they
would make it the perpetual companion of
their daily thoughts, pervading, ennobling,
sanctifying all ! In the most absorbing occu
pations, there are, from the very law of our
nature, many intervals of suspended labour.
In most of the employments of man, the mind
and even the tongue are unemployed; and
so, without detriment to the perishable goods
of this life, thought might be busy about the life
to come ; holy aspirations might be silently
breathed forth; and men might learn not
only that it is possible, but that it is de
lightful, to " pray Avithout ceasing," to " pray
evermore ;" " at all times to call for " God's
grace " by diligent prayer."
And yet, on the other hand, let us guard
against the delusion, that set forms, and the
utterance of prayer, can be at all times safely
dispensed with; still more, that all outward
expression is superstitious and vain. True,
we are to "worship God in spirit and in
truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship
him;" but we are to "worship" God; and
worship, in its proper sense, absolutely implies

138 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [SERM.
outward evidence. We may speak improperly,
and by analogy, of the worship of the heart ;
but the term, in its true meaning, has regard
to the body ; it signifies the employment of the
bodily organs to manifest the reverence which
is within. And thus our bended knees, our
uplifted hands, our voices, and even our tears,
are, in fitting season, but the appropriate em
blems and evidences of honour to our Father,
of fear to our Lord. Words as the signs of
realities, words intelligible to ourselves and
others, articulate and definite representatives
of inward feelings, outward acts of entreaty
and adoration — in short, the concurrence of
body and spirit in the act of prayer — as they
are demanded by our relations to God, so are
they congenial to the compound nature of
man. Body and spirit are evermore acting
and re-acting upon each other. No one will
deny the refiex action of a man's own language
upon his own thought ; nor, consequently, the
influence of prayer actually uttered, on prayer
conceived in the heart. If prayer be not
heart-felt, it is mockery; if prayer be not
uttered, it is in danger of becoming vague,
cold, and lifeless. The words of the Psalmist,
in their literal sense, may be adopted by all,
" O Lord, open thou my lips ; and my mouth

IV.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 139
shall shew forth thy praise" !" Even in pri
vate prayer it would be hazardous to trust
continuously to thought alone. The prayer of
our Lord Himself in His Agony was, in the
strictest sense of the term, private prayer.
When "he kneeled down and prayed" "he
was withdrawn from" His disciples " about a
stone's cast" ;" the chosen three were asleep,
and neither heard nor shared His supplica
tion. Yet it hath pleased the Holy Ghost
specially to reveal the very words. And if
our Lord, who is one with the Father,
" though he were a Son," yet, " in the days of
his flesh offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was
able to save him from death, and was heard
in that he feared^," what are we, that we
should presumptuously trust to the medita
tions of our hearts, unsupported and unevi-
denced by the words of our mouth ?
But further, if a definite form is advisable
in private prayer, it is indispensable in refer
ence to the common supplications offered in the
congregation. How can we be assured, that
we are "of one heart and of one mind" in wor-
" Ps. Ii. 15. " St. Luke xxii. 41.
P Heb. V. 7.

140 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
shipping God, unless we do it with one voice ?
To what purpose do we assemble in God's
" house of prayer," unless Ave " agree together
as touching" what we are to " ask" in Christ's
name ? "God is not the author of confusion, but
of peace^ ;" He loveth not variety and diver
sity, but unity and consent in all good things.
" The effectual fervent prayer of" one " righ
teous manavaileth much""; but the same prayer,
in the mouth of multitudes, in the offering of
it up "with all saints," availeth yet more.
And how can such unity be attained except
by outward expression. Left to himself, each
will mind " his own things," not " the things
of others," still less the interests of the
Avhole Church, At the same moment, with
in the same building, some will be pray
ing for the body, some for the soul. The
heart of one will be with his merchandize, of
another with his farm ; while here and there
one will be praying for grace. No one could
know, what might be the subject of his neigh
bour's petitions'; and so the very word

1 1 Cor. xiv. 33.
¦¦ St. James v. 16.
^ 1 Cor. xiv. 9. " So likewise ye. except ye utter by the
tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known, what
is spoken } for ye shall speak into the air."

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 141
" Amen," if used at all, would be a mockery,
instead of an act of consent'.
Upon these plain principles it is that the
Holy Catholic Church has sanctioned and
provided common forms of prayer, such for
mularies as all may join in, each worshipper
knowing beforehand what he is about to pray
for, instead of depending upon the contingen
cies of an extemporaneous effusion. The an
tiquity and universality of common prayers
(notwithstanding some recent exceptions,
which will be presently noticed) rest upon
unquestionable evidence. That the brethren
in all ages should assemble themselves to
gether, plainly results from our Lord's decla
ration and assurance ; " Where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them " : " that the purpose
of their meeting should be not only for " ex
horting one another," but for agreement in
prayer, and that there is some special bless
ing in such agreement, is proved by our
Lord's express promise, "I say unto you,
that if two of you shall agree'' on earth as
' 1 Cor. xiv. 1 6. The whole chapter is most instructive, as
shewing the principles upon which worship in the congregation
should be conducted.
" St. Matt, xviii. 20.
^ (nip(j)avrj<TOV(n.

142 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
touching any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which
is in Heaven y." And to what, if not to this
promise, relative as it is to the first princi
ples of the Christian Church, can we trace
the habitual meetings of the Apostles, espe
cially on the weekly festival of the Resurrec
tion ? To what end were the disciples " with
one accord in one placed" or "continuing daily
with one accord in the temple^;" to what end
did Peter and John go up " together"^ into the
temple at the hour of prayer," if not for the
express purpose of pouring out their common
supplications before the throne of grace ; an
example of which we find, when " being let
go," the same two Apostles "went to their
own company, and reported all that the chief
priests and elders had said unto them. And
when they heard that, they lifted up their
voice to God with one accord"." Nor can
any inference in favour of extempore prayer
be drawn from the fact that the Apostles'
prayer on that occasion was unpremeditated.
y St. Matt, xviii. 19.
' Acts ii. 1, opodvp-aBov inl to avro.
* Acts ii. 44, 6po6vpaS6v iv ra Upa.
^ Acts iii. 1, eVt TO avTo. Comp. 1 Cor. xiv. 18, a-wepxopevcov
vpa>v iv Ttj iKKXrjo-la, and ver. 20, avvepxopivav ovv vpS>v inl rb avro.
•= Acts iv. 23, 24.

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 143
The very unanimity of their petition proves
that they were simultaneously inspired. Be
sides, there can be no doubt that the Lord's
Prayer was in constant use amongst them ;
and what is that Divine compendium of all
our wants and wishes, but the most perfect
form of common prayer ? There is the
strongest evidence also, that, in every one
of the Apostolic Churches, a " form of sound
words" was provided by the Apostles them
selves, the main substance of Avhich was
handed down (and very early, in writing) from
age to age in their respective successions ;
with just sufficient variety of expression to
mark that they were severally delivered down
in that shape by one or more Apostles, and
not by the whole body collectively, yet with
a unity in the general scope and substance
of each and all, such as could only have
originated in an identity of principle in re
spect to faith and Avorship.
Nor must it be forgotten that there are
other ordinances, necessarily implying the
presence and consent of a whole congrega
tion, which, if they did not comprehend
prayer as a part of their essence, would at
least be furthered and improved by its con
current use. It might seem, at first, as if

144 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
the administration of the two Sacraments, as
well as the public reading and preaching of
the Word, might, if the Church were so
minded, be separated from prayer. However
shocking it would be to our habitual prepos
sessions, it is conceivable, that Baptism and
the Lord's Supper might be validly adminis
tered, in the one case by the use of water AAdth
the divinely appointed formulary, in the other
by the distribution of the elements, conse
crated by the bare recitation of our Saviour's
words of institution; in cases of emergency this
compendious form might even be excused.
But the truth is, that the spirit of pra^^er is
implied in those ordinances, if it is not an in
separable part of their essence. The faithful
and intelligent use of any of the means of
grace, presupposes a desire to obtain the Holy
Spirit. An infant is brought to the holy font,
or at least it is received and baptized by the
Church, because a desire is entertained that it
may thereby be made regenerate. He who
reads the Scriptures in faith, reads because he
is seeking for edification in the mind of the
Spirit. He who draws near with faith to the
holy table, receives God's creatures of bread
and wine sanctified by consecration, because
he hungers and thirsts after the Body and

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 145
Blood of Christ conveyed under the symbols.
In all these cases, the real spring of action is,
or ought to be, the desire of attaining grace.
Now prayer, in its essence, is a vent for the
wish of the heart. The deliberate wish be
fore God, suitably, however silently ex
pressed, is prayer in His sight, who seeth in
secret. It is no paradox, therefore, to say
that the faithful observance of grace-giving
ordinances is in itself a prayer, a prayer
embodied in action; and God will assuredly
give the Holy Spirit to " them that ask Him"
in this way, no less than to those who prefer
the request of their lips. Hence it is, that
the use of prayer, as an adjunct to those
offices, is dictated by nature as well as ap
pointed by the Church.
These observations appear to have an im
portant bearing upon the whole subject of
these Lectures, inasmuch as they frirnish
evidence of a common principle, as another
link of connexion between the several means
of grace. At present they are adduced only
to shew that, whilst those ordinances are in
force, implying as they do an outward and
visible communion, so long the use of com
mon prayer is indispensable in the house of
God.

146 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
In this place, where the use of common
prayer, as an essential ingredient in all our
institutions, is bound up with our daily asso
ciations, it is unnecessary to pursue this
branch of the subject farther. I would only
remark, if these conclusions, on which we
daily act, are indeed founded upon the in
stincts and the reasoning of man; if they
inevitably result from the very notion of
Christ's Cathohc Church; if they are sanc
tioned by the Word of God, and imphed in
the other means of grace ; if their germ can
be traced in the practice of the Apostles,
and their full development in the concurrent
usages of all, without exception, of the Apo
stolic Churches ; then what is the responsibility
and the sin of those who rob the people of this
rich and time-hallowed inheritance ! How
great is the loss to them, to whom the enjoy
ment of such a means of grace is curtailed,
or denied! Yet how many of our brethren
there are who delight to have it so ! How
few even amongst ourselves who appreciate
the value of their birthright ! It is notorious
that many who dissent from the Church ac
count it a privilege to be without any form
of common prayer ; that all consider the
sermon as the chief instrument of edifica-

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 147
tion in their assemblies. Foreign Protestant
Churches, also, have made but slender pro
vision, in this respect, for the exigencies of an
assembled congregation, although thei^e are
many indications of their adopting sounder
views ; and already in many places, without
forbidding the concurrent use of extempore
prayer, regular formularies, many of them
compiled from ancient services, have been
established by authority''. Still, under the
most favourable circumstances, it will be long
before the prejudices of the people can be
dissipated, and before they come to acknow
ledge that God's service means something
more than a portion of a hymn^ and an
edifying sermon. Let us still hope that God
will have mercy upon the Reformed Churches
* The most interesting of these Liturgies is one compiled for
the use of the Prussian chapel at Rome by the Chev, Bunsen, a
scholar eminently quahfied for the undertaking by his great gene
ral erudition, and his special acquaintance with the Liturgical
relics of Church antiquity. This remarkable form of common
prayer was not only sanctioned by the late King of Prussia,
Frederic WilUam III., but is rendered stiU more remarkable by
a short Preface from his Majesty's pen.
^ StiU it must never be forgotten, that the German Churches
are mainly indebted, for the maintenance of the true faith amongst
them, to the influence of Luther's hymns. The love of the people
for these beautiful and truly Christian compositions, has, in the
main, by God's blessing, kept up the knowledge of the Atone
ment and of kindred verities, even in parishes where there has
been a succession of Rationahstic teachers.
L 2

148 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
abroad, and that He will enable them to
"worship the Lord in the beauty of hoh-
ness :" and for our own erring countrymen let
us pray, that their eyes may be opened to the
dangers of schism, and that they may be led
back rejoicing into His house of prayer !
And now, if we turn from the Reformed
Churches, and from schismatic communities,
to unreformed Rome, we shall find that, al
though from very different motives, the prac
tical result is the same. The Church of Rome
has virtually abandoned the ancient princi
ple ; for her people can, in no true sense, be
said to enjoy the benefit of common prayer.
Imitating the policy of the imperial city, she
has imposed her own language upon her
spiritual provinces. No matter what the ver
nacular language may be, Latin is the only
authorized vehicle of the Romish formularies.
We need not suppose that the design of this
intellectual servitude was, from the first, con
sciously entertained. No doubt the Latin
language was, in earlier days, co-extensive
with the proper limits of the Roman Patri
archate, and so far its use was strictly natural
and lawful. In process of time, however,
whilst the Services continued unaltered, the
vernacular idiom of the common people gra-

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 149
dually receded from the ecclesiastical standard;
and when the deluge of barbarism overfiowed
the Roman empire, either sweeping away the
original language, or mixing its fragments
with the elements of other tongues, the con
trast between the various forms of popular
speech in divers countries, and the language
of the offices of religion, became still more
striking. Instead of remedying a disorder,
thus far involuntary, by the only method
which the practice of earlier and better times
had sanctioned, that is, by adapting the for
mularies to the understanding of the several
converted nations, the Bishops of Rome, avail
ing themselves of the predilections of Char
lemagne for the language as well as for the
hierarchy of Rome, insisted upon the people
everywhere conforming to an unintelligible
ritual. Succeeding popes saw too clearly the
advantage of this cruel policy to think of
abandoning it ; and so, in the increasing dark
ness of those days, the evil grew and was
perpetuated, not without the murmurs and
protests of wise and pious men, till at length
the fatal Council of Trent virtually stamped
the usage into law^ The consequence of
f Concil. Trident. Sess. 22. can. 9. Harduin. Concil, tom. x.
col. 129. " Si quis dixerit .... lingua tantiim vulgari missam

150 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM-
this corruption those only can appreciate who
have witnessed in foreign Churches the vacant
countenances, the utter silence, of the poor
ignorant peasants, who stand around the
officiating priest. I abstain from dwelhng on
the mournful subject the more willingly, be
cause I shall be compeUed, in the course of
this Lecture, to notice other corruptions of
worship in our erring sister. At present I
would merely call attention to the fact, that
this usage of Rome is an exception to the
practice of the whole Church ; and that not
withstanding this exception, the ordinance of
common prayer is to be every where main
tained, in conformity with the demonstrable
precedent of the purest ages of Christianity s.
The value of prayer, then, uuder whatever
aspect we may regard it, can hardly be over
rated. An instrument is offered to us, com
pendious and simple in its construction, yet
of incalculable power ; compounded simply
of the motion of the faithful heart, and of the

celebrari debere . . . anathema sit." See also caput 8, in col.
128. The word " tantum" would seem to leave an opening for
partial reformation, which has, however, never taken place,
K The reader is recommended to consult a posthumous work of
Ussher's, " Jacobi Usserii Armachani Historia Dogmatica de Scrip-
turis et Sacris Vernaculis. ed. Henr.. Wharton."

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 151
vehicle of words, conceived or uttered, yet
rising as incense from earth to heaven ;
complete in an ejaculation, yet capable of
being expanded, in all " the beauty of holi
ness," to the utmost variety of liturgical
forms ; ready for use in every emergency ; al
ways at hand, in doubt, in difficulty, in danger,
in temptation ; suited to all times and places,
accessible to all kindreds, nations, and lan
guages ; requiring in its essence no prepara
tive or auxiliary circumstances ; separable
from each of the other instruments of sancti
fication, yet indefinitely increasing in inten
sity when used in combination with them
all; adapted alike to the inner chamber of
the single worshipper, to the domestic Church
in the Christian household, or to the crowded
temple and the conspiring voice of multi
tudes ; an instrument provided and revealed
by God Himself, to bring the Divine Being
into closer union with man ! How is it then
that Ave neglect so great salvation } How is
it that so many children of God turn away
from their Father, and refuse to ask Him for
that which is indispensable, for the necessaries
of spiritual life } that of those who do ask
Him so few ask aright } that no one has
ever attained to the full perfection of prayer ?

152 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
How accessible is this blessed privilege to all !
yet by how few ever attained ! How e^-sy in
appearance, indeed, in its own essence ! yet,
for our corrupt nature, yea, and for our
regenerate faculties, how inconceivably diffi
cult it is to ask ! And yet in all these con
tradictions there is nothing to surprise us ;
they are but the inevitable phenomena of the
confiict, which Satan, the prince of corruption,
is carrying on against the Holy Ghost, the
Lord of grace and life. So long as the temple
is guarded by the indwelling Spirit, it is an
impregnable fortress against the assaults of
the evil one. Whatever therefore brings
the grace of God to aid us, is an especial
object of the enemy's attack. Hence his
unceasing efforts to depreciate and to nullify
each and all of the means of grace, and
prayer, perhaps, more unceasingly than any
other, and pr.ayer for grace most of all.
Hence wandering and unsteady thoughts, in
trusion of worldly objects into our devotions,
forgetfulness of Christ's presence in His very
house of prayer, the honouring of God with
our lips while our hearts are far from Him ;
the means for a time mechanically continued,
but their purpose lost sight of by degrees ;
the gradual abridgment of our petitions, occa-

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 153
sional postponements, lengthened interrup
tions, total neglect ; floating doubts as to the
efficacy of prayer, settled doAvn into absolute
scepticism ; scoffing at prayer, derision of all
means, denial of all grace. " An enemy hath
done this." Gradually, but surely, his work
is done. And thus the man over whom his
parents wept in hope and gladness as a child
of God, is taught to do " despite to the Spirit
of grace," to banish Him from his heart, and
to become once more a subject of Satan and
a child of wrath.
The first prayer, then, which we have to
offer, is that we may have grace to pray.
And yet our own efforts, however naturally
helpless, owing, as they do, all their strength
to the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, are,
nevertheless, absolutely needed. We must
" watch and pray, lest" we " enter into
temptation ;" but to watch, to keep the soul
awake, requires the most determined exercise
of the will of the inner man. Whatever tends
to quicken our dead desires, to kill the world
and the flesh within us, to keep under the
body, to give the ascendancy to the soul, is a
fit preparation for prayer. It is on this
account, as much as for the sake of self-dis
cipline in general, that the ordinance of fast-

154 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
ing, in obedience to our Lord's implied injunc
tion, has been instituted or observed in every
Christian Church ; not as a work of merit, not
as a test of holiness, not as a substitute for
mortification of the spirit and self-denial in
all things, still less " for strife and debate ;"
but as an instrument for bringing the body
into subjection, for mortifying the deeds of
the body, that the soul may be less subject
to its thraldom. And, if " the flesh lusteth
contrary to the Spirit," if the body, the
heathens themselves being judges, does really
weigh doAvn the soul, surely we are bound
by the dictates of reason, no less than in obe
dience to our blessed Lord, and in deference
to the express voice of the Church, to ac
knowledge this ordinance to be in a high
degree suitable to our necessities, an appointed
instrument, however subordinate, in the work
of our sanctification. And in particular,
if our prayers are cold and lifeless, we
may Avell take heed how we deem lightly
of an authorized remedy, "commended and
commanded in God's holy Word''," and
which the experience of all ages has pro
nounced to be one of the wings of prayer.
'' Homily on Fasting, sub fin.

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OP GRACE. 155
It is not, however, by our own efforts, nor
even by the use of appointed means, that our
prayers are made acceptable to God. It is
His grace alone, which enables us, and opens
our lips. It is only in the name of Christ
Jesus, for His merits alone, by virtue of
His mediation, in answer to His all-availing
Intercession, that our prayers " come up," at
any time, " as a memorial before God," With
out His name, still more, in any other name,
prayer is utterly unavailing ; — nay, it is sin.
He only is entitled to be Mediator between
God and man, who unites in His one Person the
two natures, the human and the Divine, and
who in the union of these two natures sitteth
at the right hand of the Father, As God the
Son, Avho is one with the Father, whose are
all things which the Father hath. He has an
inherent power to grant what, as perfect man,
He vouchsafes to ask'. He co-operates with
the Father in sending the Holy Ghost, As
" the man Christ Jesus," He is " not an High
Priest which cannot be touched with the feel
ing of our infirmities'' ;" " for in that he him
self hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
' " Ex hoc enim rogat quo minor est Patre ; quo vero sequalis
est, exaudit cum Patre." S. August, de Trin. 1. Bened. ed. viii.
766. ^ Heb. iv. 15.

156 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
succour them that are tempted'." Between
God in heaven and man on earth. He alone
is the Mediator, who is God and man. He
alone is the Intercessor, which "liveth and
was dead, and, behold," He " is alive for ever
more." And yet, once again ; see how this comfort
able doctrine, in which we have confidence to
approach the Father, has been depraved by
the devices of an ever-watchful ememy ; for it
is by his agency, that out of the necessity for
mediation has sprung one of the worst cor
ruptions in the Church of Rome. The thought
of mediation is natural to man ; we have an
instinctive dread of approaching the Divine
Majesty. This is the hidden principle of
much of the mythology of the heathens.
Working, then, upon this instinct of the
human heart, the enemy of mankind, not
denying at first the mediation of our Lord,
nay, even under pretext of exalting His Divine
Person, suggests that the Great Mediator is
Himself too high and holy to be immediately
approached. His Mediation too exalted for
ordinary, daily use ; hence the desire to look
around for some intermediate advocate ; and
who so proper to fill that office, as the saint
• Heb. ii. 18.

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 157
of God, he, who, having fought the good
fight, is departed and is with Christ? And
thus the adversary's purpose is attained; and
so the worshipper, in very humility, prays to
the saint, who is to mediate with our Saviour,
who mediates with the Father, who in the
Son's name sends the Holy Ghost. And thus
has Satan gained two objects; he has cor
rupted the purity and integrity of prayer by
human and unscriptural additions, and he has,
in effect, obscured the doctrine of the perfect
Manhood of Christ; for it is in quality of His
perfect Manhood, that the great Intercessor,
perfect God and perfect Man, is pleased to
be at all times accessible (we may say with
out presuxaiption personally accessible) to His
redeemed creatures ; yet who is not so acces
sible, if we dare not approach Him, or if we
seldom approach Him, without the aid of a
subordinate intermediator.
Such are the delusions which a Church,
arrogating to herself the exclusive title of
Catholic, has been found to sanction, to em
body in her liturgies, as distinguished from
the liturgies of the ancient Church, and to
enforce upon her members, under pain of
anathema, as good and pious usages con
ducive to grace. Hence in the Roman Lita-

158 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [sERM.
nies, after the invocation of the Blessed
Trinity, a multitude of saints, varying as the
occasion requires, are directly invoked to aid
the work of grace by their prayers. Hence
God is entreated by the blood of Thomas h
Becket (surely in awful parody on the invo
cation of God by the merit of that Blood
which cleanseth all sins) to grant His grace.
Hence Offices and Litanies proper to the
Blessed Virgin, as the Queen of Heaven, the
giver of grace. Hence the entreaty to that
blessed among women, that she would exert
her influence over her Son.
Can we wonder that a system so derogatory
to God's Divine Majesty, should in practice
degenerate into errors still more decidedly
anti- christian ? Congenial as it is to the
natural tendencies of the human heart, no
wonder that it has taken root and fiourished.
It is undoubtedly one of the mightiest engines
by which Popery has maintained its hold of
the poor ignorant multitude ; for Polytheism
is congenial to the natural man ; and a virtual
substitute for a modified polytheism, under the
name of Christianity, is practically introduced,
under cover of this intermediate worship of
the saints. Multitudes of worshippers in the
Roman obedience totally neglect Christ, His

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 159
merits and mediation, and rest in the medi
ation and merits of the particular patron and
local saints, looking for grace and mercy to
them finally. The whole earth has been par
titioned out amongst the various saints, or to
different modifications of the same name. The
Blessed Virgin has been dishonoured, indeed
her person multiplied by variety of titles.
But what is dishonour done to the Virgin
Mary, compared with the dishonour done to
Almighty God ? And yet it is to a Church
such as this, with virtual idolatry and saint-
worship stamped upon her rituals, that we
are invited to submit ourselves, as to the sole
depository of the means of grace. Of those
who are the victims of these errors it becomes
us, of course, to speak mildly and charitably :
but of the system itself, it is inconsistent with
zeal for God's glory, to speak otherwise than
with indignation tempered with fear.
And now, by way of contrast, though with
all humility and charity, let us briefly acknow
ledge what great things God hath done for us,
in giving us a Liturgy, at once comprehensive
and pure, intelligible in language, sublime in
thought, tender in expression, framed after
the ancient models, breathing the spirit of
Apostles and martyrs as they knelt in prayer,

160 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [SERM.
purged of medieval impurities, the ripened
fruit of a sound and living branch of Christ's
Church. Every prayer is offered up in the
only Name which can give it effect. We
make no vain distinctions between mediators
of salvation and mediators of intercession.
We have but "one Mediator between God
and men, the Man Christ Jesus ;" the same
who died for us, interposing between us and
God's wrath, the same who " ever liveth to
make intercession for us." By far the larger
proportion of our prayers are direct suppli
cations for grace to live well ; and even those
which are offered for other blessings, collate
rally imply grace as the substitute for, or as the
complement of, every good and perfect gift. In
this place it is manifestly impossible to pursue
the analysis in detail ; I would venture to re
commend it to my younger brethren, as an ex
ercise calculated to strengthen their gratitude
and faith, to make them feel with our Church,
that holy living is the end of our conversation
here, that God's grace in Christ is all in all.
No one who has not attempted it, can con
ceive the store of thoughtful piety which
this treasure-house of devotion contains ; the
depth, the fulness, the variety with which the
leading idea of grace is expressed ; the beauty

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OP GRACE. 161
of holiness which shines out in every feature
of the kneeling spouse of Christ.
And yet, that boasting may be excluded,
let us never forget to whom we owe this
inestimable treasure. It was no merit or
foresight of our own or of the Compilers ; it
was God's overruling providence, or rather
His special grace, which gave the Book of
Common Prayer to our forefathers and our
selves. At a time when just indignation at
the impurities and superfluities of the Romish
worship drove foreign Reformers into the
opposite error of purging away the gold as
well as the dross, God put it into the hearts
of the wise and holy men to whom He en
trusted the revisal of our Rituals, to set before
them the manuals of primitive devotion ; and,
with equal reverence and caution, leaving out
whatever even in them might seem to have
been the germ of later errors, and selecting
whatever could be shewn to be scriptural and
true, to compile a work free alike from inno
vation and superstition. And, by God's con
tinued mercy, the fruit of their labours we
still enjoy, handed down to us, even against
hope, amidst all our political and ecclesias
tical changes, unharmed equally by the open
M

162 PRAYER CONSIDERED AS [SERM.
attacks of our adversaries, and the compro
mising spirit of false or mistaken friends ;
nay, not only unharmed, but improved. And
may we not hope that God's blessing may
still be with it, that it may still live in the
hearts and on the lips of our latest descend
ants, and, with the Holy Scripture, of which
it is the best commentary and illustration, be
planted, as a means of grace, among the
Gentiles "from the rising of the sun even
unto the going down of the same,"
A few observations by way of corollary
may bring this Lecture to a close. As the
nature of our supplications has a direct influ
ence upon our spiritual condition, so our spi
ritual condition is a test of the sincerity and
purity of our devotions. If we do not continu
ally become in some sensible degree wiser,
better, hoher than we were, it is because we
have not received the Holy Spirit in such full
measure as we might; and, if we have not
received, it is a proof we have not asked, or
not asked in that Name, which alone gives
efficacy to the Christian's prayers. And the
same test applies with at least equal force to
Churches as such. We have seen the conse
quences which the depravation of her rituals

IV.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 163
has entailed upon the Church of Rome. We
have alluded also to the other extreme, and to
the corruptions in doctrine which have re
sulted from the neglect or curtailment of com
mon prayer. Would to God, that the test
did not in any way apply to the members of
our own Church ! But there is enough to con
vince us that we do not pray as we ought ;
that our Liturgy, spiritual and undefiled as it
is, has only a partial success, because only
partially and imperfectly employed. Hence
the alienation of large portions of our people.
Hence the cruel and needless jealousies and
strife, which distract ourselves. We are not
one, because we do not pray, with one heart
and voice, for unity. What might not our
Church become, both to herself and to Chris
tendom, if God would " pour upon" " the in
habitants of" our "Jerusalem the spirit of
grace and of supplications'" ;" if daily prayer
and praise could arise from every corner of
the land; if the assembled worshippers in
each one of our parish Churches, instead of
standing in listless inattention, as a Romish
peasant is compelled to do, would join with
one heart and one mouth in glorifying God ;
"• Zech. xii. 10.
M 2

164 PRAYER ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. [SERM. IV.
if the voice of the prostrate multitude in one
harmonious "Amen" might be, according to
what we read of in the early Church, as the
voice of thunder, or as the voice of mighty
waters beating upon the sea shore.

SERJMON V.

2 Timothy iii. 14 — 17,
BUT CONTINUE THOU IN THE THINGS WHICH THOU HAST
LEARNED AND HAST BEEN ASSURED OF, KNOWING OF
WHOM THOU HAST LEARNED THEM; AND THAT PROM 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 SCRIP
TURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, AND IS PROFIT
ABLE FOR DOCTRINE, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, FOR
INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS : THAT THE MAN OF GOD
MAY BE PERFECT, THROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL
GOOD WORKS.
Thus far we have considered the Christian
life, as imparted in Holy Baptism, united
through the Head to the whole body of life
which is in the Church, brought under the
influence of a divinely appointed Ministry,
and endowed with the power of utterance in
Prayer. In the two succeeding Lectures it
will be my duty to consider more particularly
the food appointed for the sustenance of this
spiritual life; the Word of God as "the
bread of life:" that is, first, the Holy Scrip-

166 HOLY SCRIPTURE BEAD OR PREACHED [SERM.
tures, that we may " know that man doth not
live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God ;" and
secondly, the bread of life given unto us in
that Holy Sacrament, of which our Lord
Himself spake, according to the interpreta
tion adopted by our Church% when He said,
" He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him''." And
first our attention may be directed to the
Scriptures, whether read or preached, which
will, therefore, form the subject of this day's
Lecture. Now, if we had no text to allege in direct
evidence that the Scriptures are a means of
grace, there would be the strongest antecedent
probability for thinking so, in the fact that
they are " given by inspiration of God." For
who is the agent in the work of Inspiration,
but the Holy Ghost? "Holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost"." And who is the immediate agent
in our personal sanctification, but the same
Divine Person " who spake by the Prophets ?"
The words, therefore, which express " the
" See the Order of the Administration of the Holy Communion.
•> St. John vi. 56. ¦= 2 Peter i. 21.

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 167
mind of the Spirit," when introduced into our
minds and transfused into our thoughts, must
needs colour those thoughts with a portion of
that sanctity which they have derived from
their Author. Under " the letter" which pro-
fiteth not there must be a " Spirit" which
" giveth hfe." So far forth as we think ac
cording to this " mind of the Spirit''," we
must be in some way spiritually affected. We
cannot think those thoughts, without the co
operation of Divine Grace, for " the things of
God, knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God* ;" indeed, to think those thoughts is
grace itself.
But the sanctifying character of the Holy
Scriptures does not rest on this deduction
alone. Their use as a means of grace has
been specially revealed. The text itself de
clares them to be, first, an instrument of illu
mination : secondly, an instrument of holy liv
ing. That which is to "make us wise unto
salvation" is that which gives us wisdom from
above. No one can give this wisdom but
" the Father of lights^;" and the agent who is
specially engaged in the work of illumination
is the Holy Spirit ; and if He makes us wise
unto salvation by the Holy Scriptures, then
^ Rom. viii. 27. ^ 1 Cor. ii. 11. ' St. James i. 17.

168 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [sERM.
the Scriptures are an instrument of illu
minating grace. Again, if by using the
Sacred Scriptures as "profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness," "the man of God may be
throughly furnished unto all good works,"
then the Sacred Scriptures are likewise an
instrument of grace to live well.
The grace of illumination and the grace of
sanctification are two apparently distinct, but
really concurring, operations of the Holy
Ghost. The end of the one is Divine truth,
the end of the other Divine life. But Divine
life cannot exist without truth, because truth
is the basis of faith, and " without faith it is
impossible to please" God, or to live the life
of faith. Neither can Divine truth effectually
subsist without the actual presence of the hfe
of God in the soul, together with the evidences
and fruits of that hfe in the outward actions of
the believer; for "faith," which "without
works is dead, being alone," is the heartfelt
acceptance and realization of Divine truth;
" if any man will do his will, he shall know
of the doctrine whether it be of God," Saving
faith then, and Christian practice, each seve
rally wrought in us by the same one Spirit,
cannot be sundered except in idea; they must

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 169
abide or depart together ; they must increase
or else decrease, in reciprocal dependence
upon each other. If we do the deeds of the
body, the spiritual eye will be darkened. The
withdrawal of God's Holy Spirit both evi
dences and causes the hardness of the heart ;
it is the withdrawal both of light and
warmth. All Holy Scripture, then, must be read, as
it was written, with these two combined
objects in view, the knowledge of God's truth,
and the obedience to His commandments, or
in other words, the same knowledge ob
jectively and subjectively, the learning God's
truth as it is, for its own sake, and the learn
ing the self-same truth for our sakes, as it
applies to us. All our efforts, all our prayers
must be concentrated upon the hope of attain
ing, "by the same Spirit, to have a right
judgment in all things."
In the passage before us, the nature of the
connexion between Christian knowledge and
Christian practice would, perhaps, have been
more clearly seen, if the word TratBeia, rendered
in our version by the word instruction, had
been more accurately represented by the word
education. In popular language education and
instruction are often confounded as equivalent

170 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [SERM.
terms ; but it is unnecessary to remind any of
my hearers, that, though connected together,
they are of very different extent ; or rather,
that the one is contained in the other. Edu
cation comprises the training of the whole cha
racter bodily, intellectual, moral, and spiritual ;
and comprehends therefore instruction or doc
trine QSiSaa-KaXia) as one of its subordinate
instruments. This, which is true of education
as it is generally understood, is more particu
larly true of the training in righteousness, the
training of the Christian man, which, in the
fullest extent of the term, is the only true
education after all. The great difference
is, that, whereas training in general can only
influence the intellectual powers within the
limits prescribed by the original faculties of
the individual mind, the education of the
Christian character reacts, by God's special
appointment, directly and reciprocally upon
the faculties conversant with the investigation
of revealed truth. The sum of Christian edu
cation is to learn to do God's will ; and " he
that will [is wilhng to] do his will shall know
of the doctrine whether it be of God." Upon
these principles, we should, perhaps, be justi
fied in considering the words " instruction" or
education "in righteousness," as concentrat-

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OP GRACE. 171
ing in one focus the separate uses of Holy
Writ as described by the words preceding ;
"All Scripture is profitable for doctrine,
[SiSaa-KaXia, teaching,] for reproof, for correc
tion," — in a word, for that which compre
hends all these, education in the work of our
redemption, the training of the man of God,
that he may be perfect, " throughly furnished
unto all good works."
In entering, therefore, into the uses of the
Scripture as an instrument of the Holy Spirit
in the acquisition of " doctrine" or Divine
truth, it is not intended to consider this use as
really separable from its use as a means of
grace to live well. Some distinct notice of
the Scriptures as a means of attaining truth
appears necessary to my purpose ; but my ob
servations may be the shorter, inasmuch as
the Inquiry into that special subject, as de
livered by one of my predecessors in the
office of Lecturer, must be fresh in the recol
lection of many of my hearers^.

And, first, let it be permitted me to adopt,
8 An Inquiry into the connected uses of the principal means of
attaining Christian Truth, (being the Bampton Lecture for the
year 1840), by Edward Hawkins, D.D., Provost of Oriel College,
and Prebendarj- of Rochester.

172 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [SERM.
without reserve, the foUowing conclusions, as
established in the work to which I have just
referred; that the Scriptures by themselves
are not intended ordinarily to be introductory
to Christian truth ; that other means have
been provided preparatory to the profitable
study of the Holy Volume, as well as concur
rent with it, not only in the instructions of a
Christian parent, but in the institution of the
Christian ministry, and the systematic teach
ing of the Church.
Supposing the Scriptures, then, to be placed
in the hands, or read in the ears, of a person
who is competently prepared, or of one at
least furnished with the elementary principles
of the Christian faith, and still enjoying the
guidance of his appointed teachers, he will
find throughout the one great characteristic
of the Christian faith, the redemption of the
world by the Death and Passion of our Lord
Jesus Christ, comprising its causes, its cir
cumstances, its consequences, and its final
issue, the glory of the eternal Trinity in the
salvation and everlasting life of the heirs of
redemption. "All Scripture," — every writer
from Moses to St. John, — ^breathes one doc
trine, one faith, and one Lord. " He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life."

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 173
" To know Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is
the grace of graces, " life eternal" begun on
earth ; and all and every part of the one
Volume of inspiration — the whole history,
every Psalm, Prophecy, Gospel, Epistle, are,
collectively and singly, means of grace, con
tributing, in their several appointed degrees,
by and with the Holy Ghost their Author,
to kindle and keep alive in our hearts the
grace of illumination ; as living parts of that
Word, which " is a lantern unto our feet, and
a light unto our paths''." And thus are
" grace and peace multiplied unto us, through
the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our
Lord'." But, independently of doctrine, there is in
Holy Scripture, as a means of grace, still
another use, which is yet not another, but a
modification of the same ; or, say rather, the
living body of illuminating grace ; the correc
tion of our own lives by the standard of God's
will. The commandments, the precepts, the
threatenings, the promises of God, are as
much an object of faith, as the subhmest
mysteries of the Holy Trinity ; and they too
are revealed to us by the inspiration of the
Holy Ghost moving the writers, and by His
" Psalm cxix. 105. * 2 St. Peter i. 2.

174 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [SERM.
illuminating grace lightening the darkness of
our own minds. If we do not believe God's
will to be revealed in the Scripture, we shall
never obey it. The childlike submission of
the human Avill to the supreme will of the
Almighty is not less necessary, as an act of
faith, to our sanctification, than is the childlike
prostration of the understanding jbefore " the
secret things" which " belong unto the Lot-d
our God :" both are suggested by His preven
tive grace before reading, and both are fur
thered by His co-operating grace, as we read.
Every syllable that we hear, or read, " in an
honest and good heart," is quickened by the
Spirit into a life-giving efficacy. The self
same words, which to a careless or carnal
reader are either not significant or not intelli
gible^, appear in characters of light to the
spiritually minded; they are pregnant with
deep, and holy, and ineffable thoughts ; they
have a sound and a meaning not their OAvn, a
voice, as it were, from the firmament of an
other world. And no wonder ; for the Spirit
which gave them utterance lives in them ; and
Christ Himself (to use an expression of the
ancients) is " lying hid in the letter," Aoyo?
€v XoyoLs. What a mighty engine, then, is
j 1 Cor. ii. 14.

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 175
entrusted to us in the holy Volume ! Well
might St. Augustine call it " instrumentum,"
KaT'i^oXvv, "the great means of grace''." What
a mirror have we for detecting the deceitftil-
ness of our OAvn hearts, the approach of temp
tation, the weakness of our faith, the aberra
tions of our conscience ! It is the voice of
God in our souls ! We know that we are
" naked ;" we would hide ourselves from His
presence, but in vain ! " The Word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the di
viding asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart'." So
" profitable" is the Scripture " for reproof"
And when we have fallen into grievous sin,
and would again win back our way to hohness
and peace, where so surely can the penitent
seek for medicine adapted to his special mala
dies, for a prop and stay adequate to his
weakness, for heavenly refreshment, and a
Divine guide on his homeward journey ?
What can then be more profitable " for cor
rection," or, as the word more literally means,
"restoration to rectitude""," than the Word of
^ See St. Augustine, tom. ix. 372. G. ed. Bened. '
' Heb. iv. 12. ™ IIpos iiravopBaxnv.

176 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [sERM.
God ? And thus the same Divine instrument,
which is the sword of the Spirit against Satan
and sin, has heavenly consolations and heal
ing influences in store for the heart of the
humble and the contrite, and for him " which
trembleth at" God's " Word."
Such, then, in short, is that education in
righteousness, with respect to both faith and
practice, which by the instrumentality of the
Scriptures the Holy Ghost worketh in the
elect children of God. It is an instrument,
by the daily use of which, not only progress
in holiness, but a relative perfection may be
sought : " that the man of God may be per
fect, throughly furnished unto all good
works." But perfection in all good works is
the highest fruit of the Spirit ; and if that fruit
is ripened by the Scriptures, then the Scrip
tures are among the very chiefest co-operat
ing instruments in the operations of His grace.
Strange to say, however, this is the very
instrument which the Church of Rome most
studiously withdraws from the hands and
hearts of her people ! and the Church which
does so, is held up to us as the most faithful
steward of the gifts of grace. Again we are

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 177
compelled to examine her pretensions ; we are
counselled to seek her as a mother ; and, be
hold, we find her to be a cruel and unnatural
stepmother to her own impoverished children.
Witness the systematic attempt to suppress
the Word of God, and to confine its use to
the Clergy ; witness the discouragement
thrown in the way even of regulated pri
vate study, and the limited circulation even
of her OAvn unfaithful translation ; but above
all, witness the utter futility, for the great
body of the people, of such scanty portions
of Scripture as are inserted in her formu
laries. Think of the multitudes of perishing
souls to whom the opened Bible and the
appointed reader have been but as a mockery
in the Church of God. How large the
number of those, so far as human provision
went, who, hungering and 'thirsting after
righteousness, have perished for lack of food,
and that even in sight of the rich man's
table ? The public and continuous reading of
the Scriptures is the natural and indispensa
ble duty of the Church. It was a received
usage even amongst the Jews. And how
otherwise could the great mass of mankind
come, in any way, to the knowledge of the
Scripture ? In the present day, indeed, par-
N

178 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OB PREACHED [sERM.
ticularly in Protestant countries, a large pro
portion of the rising generation are taught
to read ; and so, if they cannot hear Holy
Scripture read in pubhc, they may, if they
are so disposed, in countries where the Bible
is not prohibited, read it at home. And this,
doubtless, is some palliation for the niggard
measure, in which the Protestant Churches
abroad, and the Separatists amongst ourselves,
with most unhappy inconsistency, while they
talk the most about a scriptural faith, commu
nicate really so little knowledge of the Bible
to their congregations. But, in earlier times,
the man who could read was an exception to
the general rule ; in many Roman Catholic
lands this is still the case. And what provi
sion has the Church of Rome made to remedy
the inconvenience ? She is, at least, con
sistent in her unfaithfulness. She has made
it impossible for her poorer children to join
in the pubhc prayers, but she makes it
incumbent on her people to "'hear mass ;" and
so likewise she allows them to hear the Word
of God, but she practically forbids them to
understand it ; for the Latin Vulgate is, in
most of the countries where it is the only au
thorized Scripture, a sealed book to the great
body of the people. It is easy for those

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 179
amongst ourselves, who, after the cultivation
of the classical languages, hsten to the Romish
rituals, to speak (if such is their judgment) of
the magnificent Latin of the Vulgate ; but the
true question is, how that version affects the
unlearned hearer, to whom all beyond his
vernacular language is as the tongue of a
barbarian ; whether it teaches, reproves, cor
rects, instructs him ; in what sense it " is pro
fitable" to thousands and thousands of souls,
" for whom Christ died."
And, now, it may appear invidious, but it
is our duty in these times, to contrast this sys
tem with our own. Compare, then, the gene
ral diffusion of the Word of God through
every village in our land, with the prohibition
of the Bible, still practical if not authoritative,
to the laity, by the Church of Rome. Com
pare the decrees of Romanist councils, illus
trated as they are by Romish rituals and
Romish usage, with " the order" in our Book
of Common Prayer, " how the Psalms and
the rest of the Scriptures are to be read," and
then judge which of the two Churches is the
more faithful in this matter. A Church must
be judged of by her official acts ; and, above
all, the order of Divine service is an evidence
N 2

180 HOLY SCRIPTURE BEAD OR PREACHED [sERM.
of the mind and intention of the Church as
such. And thus, however neglectful individuals
may be of their true interests, our Church
has at least, by a public act, expressed her
sense of the profitableness of the Scripture /or
all. She intends that each one of her children
may hear the whole Psalter monthly, the Old
Testament, nearly entire, once in the year,
and the whole of the New Testament thrice.
And the time may come when many of her
children, from the least to the greatest, may
flock to the House of God, in order to receive
the daily portion of the bread of hfe, which
the Holy Ghost has provided for those who
are worthy of the blessing.
And is this free publication of God's Word
an innovation upon the ancient practice of
Christ's Church? Quite the reverse". Not
only was the ultimate appeal, in matters of con
troversy amongst theologians, to the Scriptures
rightly interpreted, but the public reading and
the private study of the Holy Volume "in a
tongue understanded of the people °," was a re
cognized part of the institution of the Church,
" The reader is recommended to consult " Usserii Historia dog
matica," already referred to in a note in the last Lecture, p. 150 ;
as well as Bishop Jewel's Replie, Art. xv. ° Art. xxiv.

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 181
The facts admit of no dispute. To pass over
other early Avriters, it is impossible to read
even St. Augustine, St. Basil, St. Chrysostom,
or St. Jerome, without finding repeated ex
hortations, express or implied, to the general
enjoyment of the whole Word of God. The
Commentaries on the Scriptures by each of
those writers, not esoteric but popular Com
mentaries, often conveyed in the shape of
Homilies ad populum, are wholly inexplicable,
except upon the supposition that the Scriptures
themselves were familiar to the ears and hearts
of the people, nay, that on many occasions they
held them in their hands and referred to the
passages as they were cited by the preacher.
St. Augustine's Homihes very frequently begin
with an express reference to " the portion of
Scripture which has just been read," or " that
which was read yesterday." Many of these
popular discourses are exegetical of Scripture,
verse by verse, not, by any means, of the
plainest parts of Scripture, but of passages
relating to the highest mysteries of the Faith.
And even when any reserve is discoverable, as
was natural and proper, in mixed assemblies
of professed Heathen Catechumens and Chris
tians, particularly in reference to the Holy
Eucharist, an allusion is introduced perfectly

183 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [sERM.
mtelhgible, and professedly intended to be so,
to all the /xefiv^/jLevoi, or Tre^coTia-fxemi, that is, to
all the baptized, and implying in the hearers
a competent knowledge of the scriptural bear
ings of the subject. But, to put the matter
beyond all doubt, those writers take every
opportunity either of enjoining on their lay
hearers as such the purchase of the Sacred
Volume, not for the ornament of their
libraries P, but for actual use, as a most
powerful means of grace ; or of enforcing the
duty of private meditation in God's Word, or
of family reading, as well as of making their
children commit to memory large portions of
the Scriptures, especially the Psalms. Take
for instance, St. Chrysostom. " Hear me, all
ye who are engaged in the active duties of
life : get you Bibles, the medicine of the
soul ; if nothing else, get at least the New
Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, the
Gospels, as perpetual teachers i;" or again,
"Let a man take the Scriptures, call his
neighbours together, by means of the heavenly
P St. Chrysostom (in Johan. 31. tom. viii. 188. ed. Bened.) re
marks on the folly of possessing beautiful copies of the Bible, dis
tinguished for the thinness of the pai-chment or the beauty of the
letter, without using them.
1 Chrysost. in Epist. ad Coloss. Horn. 9. ed. Bened. tom. xi.
391.

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 183
writings water his own thoughts and those of
his neighbours'':" or again, " The origin of all
our misfortunes is your erroneous supposition
that the reading of the Scriptures belongs only
to monks ; for you, fathers of families, as
living in the world, have much more need of
reading than monks themselves" :" or, St.
Basil, (after speaking of Scripture as full
of medicines adapted to every disease), " The
intention of the Psalms being set to music
is that the young in age or in character,
whilst they seem to be singing, should educate
their souls*." It would be easy to multiply
passages to a similar effect indefinitely. Such
witnesses, indeed, are not necessary for those
to whom the express authority of St. Paul, or
of our Lord Himself, is sufficient ; but, taken
as testimonies in illustration of such Divine
authority, they are, even upon the professed
principles of Romanists themselves, conclusive
against the error of Rome in this matter ;
an error, which, besides invalidating one of
the means of grace, is too surely indicative of
other grievous corruptions, such as could
only be tolerated by those, to whom the
>¦ Chrysost. in Genes. Hom. 6. iv. 48.
5 Chrysost. in Matt. 2. ed. Bened. tom. vii. 30, 31.
' Basil, Prolog, in Psalm, ed. Bened. tom. i. p. 90.

184 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [SEBM.
Scriptures are a sealed book. "Men loved
darkness rather than hght, because their deeds
were evil. For every one that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved,"
Let it not be supposed, on the other hand,
that in encouraging the diffusion and the gene
ral use of the Scriptures amongst the faithful,
the Church would give the reins to private
judgment in matters of the faith, or assign
such prominence to the sanctifying infiuence
of the Scriptures as to consider them sufficient
without other aid. Rightly interpreted, indeed,
by competent authority, in their true mean
ing, though not always in their letter, they
are alone sufficient to instruct us in a saving
faith; they are sufficient as to the ultimate
appeal. But they can never supersede, or
supply the place of, the positive rites of Bap
tism, or the Lord's Supper, or Prayer, or any
other appointed Ordinance, Neither our
own Church, nor any other branch of Christ's
Church, ever intended that their use should
be isolated from that of the other means of
grace. An Apostolic ministry has been always
pre-supposed, together with the received body
of truth (at first handed down in connexion

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 185
with other ordinances, such as baptism, but
very early committed to Avriting); a formu
lary of faith, simple, indeed, at first, but by
degrees expanded, as the antagonist principles
of heresy became more developed. The Bible
is the key of knowledge ; it is not the
hand that turns it ; it is an instrument and
not an agent ; or, to speak more accurately,
the Scriptures are the treasure-house of spiri
tual knowledge, of which interpretation is the
key, of which the Church collective is the or
dinary keeper. The efficacy of Sacred Scrip
ture lies in its true interpretation; and its
interpretation depends for its correctness, first
and primarily upon the continual aid of the
Holy Ghost who framed it ; secondarily, upon
collective and individual industry and prayer,
upon a critical acquaintance with the original
languages, and upon the accumulated tradi
tionary experience and wisdom of many ages
severally enlightened by the Holy Spirit, from
the age of the Apostles downwards through
the many generations of good and faithful
men, whose Scriptural labours have been pre
served by God's grace and providence even
to our times. Of a volume, which requires
for its due explanation so much preliminary
labour, it would be too much to say, that

186 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OB PREACHED [SERM.
even taken alone, it would be of no use. God
forbid we should deny, that there are on
the very surface of Holy Writ, for the most
unprepared and unlettered reader, many holy
and intelligible precepts, many ensamples of
godly life, many portions of saving truth,
much heavenly consolation. It is truly won
derful with what ease the humble and teach
able spirit passes over things too high for it,
and assimilates to itself whatever it can " in
wardly digest." But this result, though a
foretaste of doctrine, is not doctrine itself
Such a spirit, having tasted of the heavenly
gift, is led on to desire further supplies from
the fountain of grace ; in the consciousness of
its OAvn inadequacy, to have recourse to the
masters in Israel ; and to place itself under
the guidance of the Church ; in reply to the
question, " understandest thou what thou
readest," answering with the eunuch, "how
can I, except some man should guide me"?"
To resort to the Scriptures, then, for rules of
life, for consolation, for warnings, for guid
ance into the Church, is one thing : it is an
other to suppose that a book which, Divine as
it is, stands in need, by God's own appoint
ment, of such a comphcated mechanism for
" Acts viii. 30, 3] .

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE, 187
its true exposition, can be safely entrusted /or
doctrine to the unaided efforts of laymen, and
still more, that it will, of itself, effect the con
version of mankind. How should the unlet
tered peasant, or the prejudiced Jew, or the
benighted heathen, arrive by themselves at
the real principles of the Christian faith, from
the bare unaided perusal of an unsystematic
volume ; implying throughout, in its very tex
ture, such a complexity of relations both in
matter and form ? The very want of system
in the Scriptures, is a proof that God would
compel us to resort simultaneously to some
other means for the attainment of Divine
truth. And in the full employment of those
means there is no reason why the humblest
Christian should not arrive at the same de
gree of saving faith and spiritual illumination
as the highest proficient in biblical learning.
The lowliest may embrace the sublimest mys
teries of the faith; the highest can do no
more; and the Scriptures have, for the one
as for the other, their proper functions in
illustrating, confirming, and deepening the
knowledge of Divine things already attained.
Nay, how often does it happen that the lowly
student of Holy Writ, under the shadow of
the Church, and in the light of his simple

188 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [SERM.
Catechism, reflected from the Bible, has a
deeper insight into holy things than "the
wise and prudent," whose theology is not of
the heart. Truly, "Holy Scripture," to use
the beautiful illustration of St. Gregory, "is
as some mighty stream, in which the elephant
may swim, and the lamb may wade."

It now remains to speak of the ordinance of
preaching, as supplemental and conducive to
the right use of the Scriptures : and in its true
intention and meaning the appointed instru
ment by and with the Scriptures for teaching
the Gospel when unknown, and for illus
trating and enforcing it when already in some
degree known. Now, the Gospel of Christ
crucified relates, as we have seen, not to one
isolated fact, nor to one simple principle, but
to a series of facts inseparably blended, and to
a scheme of doctrine, absolutely one, indeed, in
its design and essence, but extremely complex
and diversified in its details, and in its appli
cation. There is one central truth towards
which in necessary coherence every ray of
religious truth converges. There is one faith,
which surveys and embraces in one view from
the hill of Calvary the Avhole of the kingdom of

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 189
Christ ; which, seated near the cross of the
" man of sorrows," meditates on the full extent
of the kingdom of the cross, — its rise, its pro
gress, its struggles, its militant state, its ulti
mate triumph and eternal peace. To publish
these glad tidings to all far or near ; to bring
home to each individual conscience the faith
once delivered to the saints ; to speak peace,
when there is peace, grace and peace by Jesus
Christ, but to awaken fear and trembling in
such as are disobedient, or "who hold the truth
in unrighteousness ;" to proclaim the natural
helplessness of man, the absolute necessity of
Divine grace, the office of the Comforter, the
riches of God's mercy in Christ in providing
means whereby Ave " may be partakers of the
Divine nature ;" " knowing the terrors of the
Lord to persuade men" to righteousness and
holiness by all the awful glories of heaven, by
the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and
his angels ; to teach the vanity of all visible
things and of this mortal life itself, when com
pared with the dread realities of eternity, ten
fold more awful for those once redeemed ; to
reason " of righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come :" this and nothing less
than this is the appointed office of the
preacher ; this is to preach the Gospel, the

190 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [SERM.
whole counsel of God ; this it is " to know
nothing amongst you, save Christ Jesus and
him crucified." And woe be to us if we
preach not the Gospel ; yea a necessity is laid
upon us ; we are the ambassadors of Christ,
and we must deliver our message, whether
men will hear or whether they will forbear.
If this be a true account of the work of an
evangelist, that, surely, cannot be complete,
and faithful, and Scriptural preaching, which
measuring its scope by the narrow views or
bigoted exclusiveness of the preacher or his
flock, studiously sets forth a part only of the
message, and either from inexcusable igno
rance or from presumptuous self-trust, hides
other no less necessary portions of God's truth.
And those are liable to this charge, who either
preach of morality independent of Christian
truth, or of works of merit, or of faith without
works, or qf unconditional mercy, or of grace
without means, or of Christianity without the
Christian Church, or of the ministerial office
without the Apostolical commission, or of re
generation without baptism, or of the Lord's
Supper without a true spiritual participation
amongst the faithful receivers of the body and
blood of Christ ; in a word, whoever preaches
on any of these subjects to the actual or vir-

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 191
tual exclusion of others. These are all in
stances of the partial delivery of truth, and
they originate, if not in a wilful wresting of
the Scripture, at least in its imperfect and
unfaithful use, in the text without the context,
in the letter without the spirit, in the particu
lar view uncorrected and unbalanced by the
general scope of the whole.
Nor is it alone from the incompleteness of
the instruction conveyed, that this ordinance
loses much of its efficacy, but also from cer
tain popular mistakes respecting the extent
and proper sphere of its functions. Most
persons understand by preaching the delivery
of a sermon from the pulpit. But, without
disparaging that method as a very useful ad
junct to public worship, especially if employed
in the elucidation of some portion of Scrip
ture appropriated to the day, it may well be
doubted whether it corresponds to the real
evangelical meaning of the term preaching.
To preach the gospel must mean something
more than to speak about it ; its object is not
to gratify " itching ears ;" but much rather to
instruct the ignorant in saving knowledge, to
convert the sinful to the ways of godliness,
and to bring every soul into the captivity of
the law of Christ. Now the " word of exhorta-

193 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [sERM.
tion" in the Church has doubtless its appointed
uses. Many a man may trace his first con
victions of religious truth to some such " word
spoken in season :" many a sinner may have
been led to consider the error of his ways:
many " a forgetful hearer" may have been re
minded of his duties and privileges, his hopes
and fears. Still, useful as it may be in its
own sphere as an instrument for recalling or
enforcing truth, its very nature forbids it, in
general, from being efficiently employed in
the original instruction of the people. It is
preliminary, or supplemental, to Christian
training, rather than training itself. Chris
tianity comprehends, as we have seen, a con
tinuous whole of great extent; it must be
taught, therefore, with due regard to con
tinuity and connexion, with some relation
also to the learner's capacity and actual attain
ments. The acquisition of Christian truth, as
of truth in any other subject matter, must be
gradual and painful. " For precept must be
upon precept, precept upon precept ; line
upon line, line upon line ; here a little, and
there a little''." Now according to the most
perfect system of homiletic preaching, even
if it be granted, that the preacher is ac-
'' Isaiah xxviii. 10.

V.j ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 193
quainted with the exact intellectual and moral
condition of each of the mixed multitude be
fore him, how shall his discourse be so framed
as to be suited to the wants of each hearer ?
One is in need of milk; another of strong
meat ; some " have need that one teach" them
"again which be the first principles of the
oracles of God'';" others have so grown "in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ''," that they may " go on
unto perfection''." The teaching which may suit
one, may, on that very account, be insufficient,
or too hard for another. The instruction, also,
must be, even for the most attentive hearers,
fragmentary and disconnected. Be it remem
bered also that all teaching is nugatory, Avhich
is not aided by the diligent co-operation of the
hearer. If his mind be indolent, or absent, to
what purpose is the most effective instruction ?
Yet it requires but a glance around any given
congregation to convince us that of all our
pastoral ministrations this is, in general, the
least fruitful. Our instructions too often fall
upon deaf ears, or unmoved hearts.
These reflections would lead us to seek for
some other method of Christian instruction,
y Heb. V. 12. ^2 St. Peter iii. 18.
» Heb. vi. 1 .
O

194 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OB PREACHED [sERM.
even if one had not been already provided and
consecrated by the practice of the universal
Church. The system of catechising is, in
effect, a most powerful form of evangelical
preaching, I do not mean only the teaching
of the Church Catechism, although that in
comparable manual is the best foundation for
a complete superstructure of Scriptural know
ledge, and although, even in the hands of pa
rents, it has been the blessed instrument of
keeping true religion alive amongst successive
generations even in the darkest times. What is
meant is rather the system of catechetical in
struction in the hands of the clergy ; of teach
ing whatever is to be taught, articles of belief,
and rules of life, our duty to God and man,
according to the catechetical method. To
teach catechetically, I need not say, is to deli
ver personially to each learner so much of
truth, according to his rate of progress, as
will enable him, by the co-operating exercise
of his own faculties, to evolve that truth in
all its bearings, and to assimilate it to the
knowledge already possessed; or, to speak
with more precision, by a combined system
of explanation and of leading questions, to
introduce certain propositions consecutively
into his mind, and then to draw them out, in

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 195
such a manner as to test his real progress, by
the way of question and answer, I will not
say that this method facilitates original
thought ; that would be little desirable in
matters of faith; but it enables the learner
unconsciously and gradually to comprehend,
and enunciate, and appropriate to his own
use, even subhme truths in a manner as if
they had been originally conceived ; and hoAv
much this contributes to the delight and ad
vance of the learner, it requires little know
ledge of man's nature to perceive. Yes ! the
village pastor may be assured, that he is then
truly preaching the Gospel, when, in the
Church or in the school, he so teaches God's
word as to ascertain that it is taught ; when
each difficulty is removed as it arises, each
thoughtless answer is reproved and corrected,
indolence is stimulated, wandering thoughts
are checked ; where each is permitted to ad
vance in proportion to the real progress al
ready made. Such a system of preaching
may carry with it less popular display, less of
the applause of man, than the eloquence of
the pulpit ; it may be more tedious and per
plexing ; it may require peculiar talents,
strengthened by patient thought, dihgent
preparation and prayer, unceasing self-disci-
o 2

196 HOLY SCRIPTURE READ OR PREACHED [sERM.
phne, a practised and growing insight simul
taneously into human nature and into the
hidden things of God : but it is, without all
doubt, an effectual way of winning souls
from darkness to light; it is "the work of
an evangelist ;" it is the ministration of the
Word as a means of grace. The nature and
importance of this method are daily becoming
more clear to our parochial clergy ; the fruits
of its revival amongst us are already partially
visible; and the time will come when cate
chetical instruction shall be universally recog
nised as a means of grace, because a method
of preaching suited alike to all, " from the
least to the greatest."
And does such a mode of instruction tend
after all to depreciate, or to supersede, the use
and value of Sermons in the congregation ?
Nay rather, it adds strength towards their
effectual working, and a definite individual
aim to the instruction imparted. They will
" go on to perfection" who are most firmly
grounded in the principles of religion. The
ears and the heart will be open to that
preacher, whose voice is familiar and beloved
from earliest infancy. The man will "con
tinue in the things which" he has " learned
and been assured of," the more readily be-

V.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE, 197
cause he knows " of whom" he has " learned
them, and that from a child he has known
the Holy Scriptures," The preacher will be
valued, not because he preaches Q.fine sermon
to " itching ears," but because he preaches a
true one to converted and faithful hearts ; be
cause, in ministering the Word to those who
already know its meaning, he does indeed " re
prove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering
and doctrine," " In season and out of season"
he is " instant," he is intent upon his vocation
of saAdng souls : at set times or incidentally,
whether to his oAvn convenience or incon
venience, in the sick room, in the house of
mourning, by the bed of death, as in the con
gregation, he wields " the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God." But his chief
delight, his hohest function, as a preacher of
righteousness every where, is in the congrega
tion. He looks upon the entire service in all
its details as setting forth the glory of God in
Christ ; and to declare His glory is to preach
His Word. He will shew no undue regard
for one part of his ministrations, or for an
other ; he will himself consider, and teach his
flock to consider, the worship and the Word
of God as different apphcations of the same
principle, diversified operations wrought in us

198 HOLY SCRIPTUR:E A MEANS OF GRACE. [sERM. V.
by the same one Spirit ; the prayers, as faith
embodied and quickened in utterance; the
Lord's Prayer itself, as an epitome of the holy
Volume''; the Lessons, as faith taught by God ;
the Sermon, as faith explained and enforced
by man ; Holy Baptism, as signifying to us
our profession; and (to pursue the thought
of St. Augustine) the Holy Eucharist itself, as
a sermon shewing the Lord's death and pas
sion till He come.
'' TertuU. de Orat. c. 9. " Compendiis paucorum verborum
quot attinguntur } Dicta prophetarum, Evangeliorum, Apostolo-
rum, sermones Domini, parabolse, exempla, prsecepta."

SERMON VI.

1 Cor. X. 16, 17.
THE CUP OF BLESSING WHICH WE BLESS, IS IT NOT THE
COMMUNION OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST? THE. BREAD
WHICH WE BREAK, IS IT NOT THE COMMUNION OF THE
BODY OF CHRIST ? FOR WE BEING MANY ARE ONE BREAD,
AND ONE BODY : FOR WE ARE ALL PARTAKERS OF THAT
ONE BREAD.
It is impossible at any time to approach
the subject allotted to this day's Lecture,
without feelings of the deepest awe. The
mystery itself, as understood in our Church,
is so transcendental, the grace imparted so
divine, that the religious mind shrinks in
stinctively from contemplation as to its mode,
and would gladly accept the truth without ex
amining its foundation, and enjoy the privilege
without enquiring too closely into its nature.
And would to God we might be permitted to
enjoy our spiritual birth-right without strife
and debate; to rest satisfied with the sublime,
though simple, declarations of our own Church,
without being compelled to contrast them with

200 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
the antagonist errors on either side ! But the
circumstances of our times forbid us to be
silent. By a natural, if not a pardonable, re
action, the inadequate views on the momentous
subject of the Holy Eucharist, which had for
some years, more or less, prevailed, are lead
ing the minds of men into the opposite ex
treme; from whence, it is to be feared, they
will again ere long revert to a dangerous de
gree of depression. It is the office of the
Church of England, following in the steps of
the ancient Churches, to correct these oscilla
tions in theology ; and it is our duty, at
whatever cost, and with whatever reluctance,
again to make her voice of sobriety to be heard.
But if we are compelled to notice errors, let
it not be thence inferred, that we notice them
in a spirit of controversy. It is much rather
in the spirit of peace and fear ; such peace as
is consistent with truth ; such fear as is com
patible with boldness, and readiness, "with
all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away
all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary
to God's Word^"
If we analyze the various theories which
have divided theologians on the subject of the
" See The Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests.

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 201
Lord's Supper, we shall find that the leading
difference Hes in this ; that, on the one side,
men have looked only or principally to the
recipient, — to the acts, thoughts and motives,
which affect his mind, prior to or during the
Communion, — so that in their view the Holy
Eucharist is an occasion, rather than a means,
of grace, suggestive rather of holy thoughts,
and pious feelings, and of the memory of our
redemption, than instrumentally effective of the
presence of the Lord of grace in our hearts ;
while, on the other side, they have dwelt,
more or less exclusively, on the gift in itself,
on its nature and dignity, independent of
its reception, and of the mode of its recep
tion. The worst form of the one extreme is
the bare remembrance of Christ's passion (in a
sense analogous to what might be suggested
by a visit to Calvary or to the Holy Sepulchre) ;
and this has been carried by Socinus, and by
Zuingli's disciples, to a point nothing short of
heresy : of the other, the uncatholic and un
scriptural tenet of transubstantiation, which, in
its reverence to the thing signified, annihilates
the sign, confounds the means and the grace
together, and so overthrows the nature of a
sacrament. The Church of England appears
to combine what is scriptural and true in these

202 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
opposite theories. It interprets the words of
the text according to their literal import, and
as the Church has ever interpreted them.
The words themselves distinguish between
the end and the means ; the end invisible, the
means visible and outward ; the end, divine,
even the communion of the Body of Him
" by whom all things were made;" the means,
God's creatures of bread and wine. " The
bread" is called " the communion of the Body
of Christ;" "the cup of blessing" is called
" the communion of the Blood of Christ ;" that
is, they are the means of communicating His
Body and Blood to us. That which by God's
appointment imparts the grace, therefore,
is the bread and the cup respectively; the
bread consecrated, as intimated in the clause,
" which we break ;" the cup consecrated, be
cause it is " the cup of blessing which we
bless." So then the consecrated elements are
the means whereby are imparted and received
the Body and Blood of Christ; and, conse
quently. Consecration is, in the view of the
Apostle, in order to participation, nor may these
two be disjoined. The text cannot mean less
than this, neither can it mean more; it cannot
mean, that the consecrated bread is the very
natural Body, or the consecrated cup the

VI.J ONE OP THE MEANS OF GRACE. 203
Blood ; because, if so, then that meaning
might be substituted in the terms of the
sentence : but, if we attempt this, the result
is the following proposition, which is incon
sistent with all sound reasoning ; " the Body
of Christ is the communion of His Body, the
Blood of Christ the communion of His Blood;"
in other words, the end would be a means to
itself. Following the ancient Churches therefore,
the Church of England, not daring to explain
away what is expressly written, or to sub
stitute human glosses for a mystery literally
contained in God's Word, considers what is
signified and imparted by the medium of the
bread broken, to be (what our Saviour stated,
to the letter, in the words of institution)
the Body of Christ : and again, what is sig
nified and imparted by " the cup of blessing"
to be His Blood, Christ Himself, the Word
of life and truth, when He had said " Take
eat," " Drink ye all of this," said thus, " this
is My Body," " this is My Blood of the New
Testament ;" and our Church dares not add
to, or take from, the words which import so
great a mystery.
The Church of England, again, maintains,
as she must do if she would not " overthrow

204 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
the nature of a Sacrament," that the bread
and wine are signs of a hidden mystery ; that
they remain signs up to the moment of recep
tion; not the grace itself, which she defines to
be the Body and Blood truly received, but signs
of the grace, symbolical representatives of
Christ's crucified Body, and Blood shed : yet
not signs only, but means also, " effectual signs
of grace and of God's good will towards us,
by the which He doth work invisibly in us, and
not only quicken, but also strengthen and
confirm our faith in Him :" " so that to such
as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the
same, the bread which we break is a partaking
of the Body of Christ, and likcAvise the cup
of blessing is a partaking of the Blood of
Christ''." She maintains that there is a way
(otherwise she would not pray that we may be
enabled) " so to eat the flesh of" God's " dear
Son, Jesus Christ, and to drink His blood,
that our sinful bodies may be made clean by
His Body, and our souls washed through His
most precious Blood, and that we may ever
more dwell in Him and He in US'"."
Now if we consider the full import of these
most pregnant sentences, it is difficult to con-
*" Art. xxviii.
¦= The Order of the Administration of the Holy Communion.

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. SOS'
ceive how the full mystery of Christ's Presence
in the Holy Communion could be more ex
plicitly held, without presumptuous intrusion
into " the secret things" which " belong unto
the Lord our God." There is no attempt, on
the one hand, at extenuating or abrogating
the mystery ; there is no thought, on the
other, of penetrating its nature, or the manner
of Christ's presence and operation within us.
There is no concealment, no reservation, but
the fearless uncompromising assertion of
scriptural truth, neither more nor less. The
babe in Christ is taught, that the Body and
Blood of Christ " are verily and indeed taken
and received by the faithful in the Lord's
Supper," and that the "means whereby we
receive the same" are " the outward part or
sign in the Lord's Supper," "bread and wine,
which the Lord hath commanded to be re
ceived," The highest proficient in divine
things can attain to no higher knowledge.
He can only fall down and adore, not the
elements which he sees before him, as if a
change had passed upon their material sub
stance, but the Lord Jesus sitting in Heaven,
who thus condescends to become one with
the believers, and by His Spirit to make His
tabernacle amongst men.

206 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
And surely there are certain truths, which
carry in their simple enunciation a body of
adorable mystery, which all attempts at ex
plaining them rather diminish than increase.
Divine things can hardly be appropriately re
presented in divinely-appointed terms. When
so appointed, those terms may or may not be
intelligible to man, but they are consecrated
and set apart to a particular spiritual meaning,
and cannot be adequately measured by the
common standard of human language. It
may be necessary, indeed, for the Church to
define such a scriptural truth, to " set bounds
unto the people round about," lest the profane
should " break through" and perish ; it may
be expedient even to adopt some human word,
as embodying the scriptural and primitive
faith of the whole Church, a perpetual test
against heresy, as we know has been done
to preserve the faith "whole and undefiled"
respecting the adorable Trinity. But a de
finition in the mouth of the Church is one
thing ; rhetorical declamation on the part of
an individual writer, is another ; too often
it is a presumptuous violation of the sacred
barrier by which the truth is guarded; it
lowers the dignity of the very mystery which
it is intended to heighten. — What, for in-

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 207
stance, can be more ineffable than the expres
sion " the communion of the Body and Blood
of Christ ?" Who can add to it without
presumption ? Who can take from it without
peril ? What explanation can make it clear ?
What paraphrase can embrace all its Divine
meaning ? What human eloquence is there,
which is not struck dumb before it ? What
reason which does not veil its face ?
The use, then, of metaphorical imagery,
however innocently and devotionally intended,
however consistent with perfect orthodoxy,
seems altogether misplaced, when applied to
this transcendental doctrine ; nay, it disturbs
the feelings of awe and reverence, with which
the whole mystery, stated but unexplained,
fills many a pious heart. The very attempt
at amplification in regard to such a mystery
is in reality its depreciation ; spiritual things
are actually carnalized in this endeavour to
detect their essence : whether it be Arnoldus,
so late as the twelfth century, who, under
the honoured name of St. Cyprian, indulges
in this metaphorical language, or whether
it be some genuine early Father, in an age
when the doctrine and name of Transubstan
tiation had not as yet been invented ; the pious
mind may well shrink from a manner of treat-

208 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [SERM.
ing of the mystery of the glorified Body of our
crucified and ascended Saviour, which, however
well and piously intended, does, in fact, appear
to border upon familiarity, not to say a want of
reverential awe. Wisely, then, has our Church
pondered those words of our blessed Lord,
uttered, as many commentators have judged,
in anticipation of this very mystery, and on
occasion of the carnal interpretation of the
Capernaites, the first germ of the Romish
error : " It is the Spirit that quickeneth ;
the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life''," We shall do Avell to ponder the same
words with her, and to imitate the cautious
reverence which has led her to state the whole
truth, in words borrowed from Scripture, and
to leave the "spirit" and "life," which is in
these words, to work their full efficacy and
meaning upon our hearts and souls.
And, in very truth, we have need of caution;
for there are dangers on the right hand and
on the left. There are those who hold less
than the scriptural truth, as well as those who
hold more. The two extremes are both in error,
yet neither is altogether deficient in truth,
<^ St. John vi. 63.

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE, 209
In order, therefore, to a clearer perception of
the tenets of our own Church, in reference to
the holy Eucharist as a means of grace, it is
necessary to notice (though very briefly)
some of the principal deviations from sound
doctrine, which the malice of our great enemy
has introduced into the Church of Christ,
And, first, there have been those (alluded
to in our twenty-fifth and twenty-eighth
Articles) who hold the Supper of the Lord,
as well as the other Sacrament, to be only "a
badge or token of Christian men's profession,"
or " a sign of the love that Christians ought
to have amongst themselves one to another."
And if it were indeed nothing more than this,
we should not be even justified in assigning it
any place amongst the means of grace. For
that which is a bare sign, even if it were a
sign of grace, could in no sense be accounted
a means ; indeed, an opinion like this could
only proceed from such a degree of Rationalism
as would deny the reahty of any means of
grace, nay even of grace itself. For if there
be no grace in the Holy Sacraments, where
else shall we expect to find it? I have
already stated, that the formal refutation of
this dea-ree of error does not lie within the

210 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
scheme of the present Lecture. I am speak
ing before Christians, and not before infidels ;
and I assume the fact, according to the Scrip
tures, that there are means of grace ; as a
fact acknowledged in every Christian Church
from the beginning ; the only question
amongst Christians being in regard to the
extent of signification, and the degree of
value, to be affixed to the sign and the thing
signified. Leaving, therefore, this abyss of heresy
without further remark, we may pass on to
those who consider the Lord's Supper, not
only as a sign, but also as a means of com
munion amongst Christians one with another.
Rightly understood, indeed, and in its full
extent, this opinion, though heretical if held
alone, virtually implies the whole truth;
and, even in its narrowest signification, it is
one of the elements which go towards making
up the sum of the Christian doctrine. For
the whole truth is, that in some manner the
Church, and its several members are, in and
by the Holy Eucharist, according to some
inscrutable process, brought into intimate
union with the Person of Christ, the Head of
the Body : but those who are severally
either brought into union, or into nearer

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 211
degrees of union, with the same one Head,
become through that Head more intimately
united with one another. The Holy Com
munion, therefore, of the Body and Blood of
Christ, is at once an evidence and an instru
ment of the mystical unity of the Church,
" We being many are one bread and one
body, for we are all partakers of that one
breads" It is one of the great links by which,
consciously or unconsciously, one Church is,
through Christ the common Head, connected
with another ; nay (we may well believe) that
portion also of the Church which is gone to
its rest, with the actually existing members of
the Church militant and visible upon earth.
And in this light it has from the begin
ning been regarded in the Christian Church.
It has ever been held, that there is no
other way by which spiritual union can be
more unequivocally expressed, and more
surely cemented and strengthened, between
saint and saint, and between Church and
Church, than by participation in the holy
mysteries. It has ever been the test of
orthodox agreement, as well as the recog
nised means of growing in brotherly love.
We do not deny, therefore, much rather we
« 1 Cor. X. 17.
p 2

212 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
fuUy accept, this view of the Holy Commu
nion. It is an essential ingredient in the
truth. The benefit received, even accord
ing to this view, is, in itself, a very high
degree of grace. The error hes, not in
holding this view, but in holding it exclu
sively ; and it is to be feared, that too many
well-disposed Christians, even in the present
day, advance no higher in their opinion re
specting the Holy Eucharist, and thus, it may
be unconsciously, fall short of Catholic truth.
Connected with this defective theory, and
often in combination with it, is that which
would limit the benefits of the Lord's Supper
to the remembrance of His Death and Passion;
or, which is nearly the same thing, which
would look upon the outward elements as
bare signs and memorials of our redemption,
the benefits of the Lord's Supper being sup
posed to consist in its being a means to re
mind us of our redemption. And of this, in
like manner, it may be said that it is true,
but not the whole truth; indeed it is often used
as the denial of the truth. One end of the
Holy Communion is assuredly to " shew the
Lord's death till He come ;" we are com
manded to " do this in remembrance of"

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 213
Him ; and, doubtless, this remembrance is
vividly in our hearts and souls on the oc
casion of each due celebration. The whole
service is a symbolical representation and
memorial of our Lord's Passion, a perpetual
evidence to the fact itself, and to the faith
of the Church ; it is a lively act of faith ;
and faith is grace; and therefore the occa
sion which awakens and embodies it, is, in
some inferior sense, even in respect of this
remembrance, a means of grace. And thus
our Church is careful to state, that these holy
mysteries were instituted " to the end that we
should always remember the exceeding great
love of our Master, and only Saviour, Jesus
Christ, thus dying for us, and the innumerable
benefits which, by His precious blood-shed
ding. He hath obtained to us." She declares
that this remembrance is in itself conducive
" to our great and endless comfort." And
yet she is so far from considering this remem
brance as the only or the principal end, that,
in defining " the inward and spiritual grace,"
she does not even name remembrance as a
part of it ; or, to speak more accurately, she
looks upon it rather as an ingredient in the
necessary preparation, as a means or a condition
than as the end itself For she limits the

214 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
grace to the faithful receiver ; and he only is
a faithful receiver, who has " a thankful re
membrance" of the full import of the Passion,
commemorated and represented by the recep
tion of the outward and visible signs.
One other defective view requires to be
mentioned, which admits of an innocent inter
pretation, but which more commonly, it may
be feared, is a cloak for much secret scepticism.
According to this theory, the Holy Sacrament
is only a means to our indefinitely obtaining
pardon and acceptance in Christ, together with
all other spiritual blessings which He hath
purchased for us by His precious death. Now
this opinion is partially true, and has been
actually embodied in our OAvn Communion
Office. It may, indeed, imply the whole truth ;
for one benefit of the Passion is the reception
of the Body and Blood of Christ. Yet when
men studiously confine themselves to express
ing this partial truth, it arises too often from
an unwillingness to accept the full mystery.
The express acknowledgment of the Real
Presence spiritually, mystically, and sacra-
mentally understood, the belief that "the Body
and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed
taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 215
Supper," is " an hard saying" for many ;
and they prefer a general formulary which,
without explicitly denying the mystery, may
be used consistently with not believing it. In
this, indeed, as in the foregoing theories, the
actuating principle is a spirit of Rationalism,
a desire to smooth down and explain away
whatever is above the apprehension of the
natural reason in man. It has been aggra
vated, doubtless, by a dread of the errors
involved in the doctrine of Transubstantiation,
but it operates even in Churches where that
doctrine has been repudiated and denied.
To the theories which have been alluded to,
rather as specimens of the various shades of
opinion connected with this extreme, than as
an accurate enumeration, one general answer
may suffice ; and it is furnished in the ques
tion of the text ; " The cup of blessing which
we bless, is it not the communion of the
Blood of Christ ? The bread which we break,
is it not the communion of the Body of
Christ ?"

And now if defective theories on the Holy
Eucharist are perilous in their effects, and,
savouring more or less (according to their

216 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
degree) of heresy, not less so are those which
teach more than the truth. I allude more
particularly to the two connected doctrines,
Transubstantiation and the Sacrifice of the
Mass. The narrowness of my limits manifestly
precludes even the attempt to enter fully into
these two aberrations from Catholic truth,
even if more than one Lecture could be devoted
to their consideration. I must, therefore, con
tent myself with indicating the nature of the
argument by which these two errors have
been again and again refuted, referring you,
for the proof itself, to those great writers
whom Divine Providence has, from time to
time, raised up as burning and shining lights
in our Church.
And, first, the doctrine of Transubstantia
tion is neither a scriptural nor a Catholic
truth ; it cannot be found in Holy Writ ; and
it was never held, as deducible from Scripture,
in any of the ancient branches of the Apostolic
Church; it receives no countenance either
from the official acts, or from the individual
writers of the early Church; indeed, for more
than six centuries, neither the name, nor the
doctrine, was ever so much as heard of.
With respect to Scripture, some of the

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 217
Romish controversialists themselves admit ^,
that there is nothing therein contained whereby
Transubstantiation may be proved. Others,
however, rely upon two testimonies; the first,
our Lord's discourse in the synagogue at
Capernaum ; the second, the words of institu
tion as reported by three of the Evangelists
and by St. Paul.
The passages cited from the sixth chapter
of St. John may, indeed, as Bishop Jewel and
other of our eminent Reformers allow, be
understood as spoken prophetically of the
institution of the holy Communion, as the
conversation with Nicodemus was an anticipa
tion of the institution of the other Sacrament
of Baptism; and they accord perfectly with
the doctrine of the Church of England re
specting the real reception of our Lord's Body
by the faithful. But there is nothing in the
expressions which we find there, to justify the
carnal interpretation of the Romanists^; and
our blessed Saviour has providentially and
mercifully guarded us against the revival, in
these latter days, of the error into which the
^ See Fisher's Captiv. Babyl. cap. x. p. 226, quoted by Bishop
Jewel : Replie, art. v. div. 1 .
? Even Nicolas Lyra, in Psalm 110, vol. iii. p. 1300, admits
that the words " nil directe pertinent ad Sacramentum :" quoted
by Bp. Jewel, Replie, art. v. div. 3.

218 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [SERM.
Capernaites fell, by saying expressly "the
flesh profiteth nothing, the words which I
speak unto you they are spirit and they are
life;" upon which words St. Augustine's para
phrase is as follows: — "Understand spiritually
what I have said. It is not this Body which
ye see, that ye will eat ; nor that Blood which
My murderers will shed, that ye will drink.
I have delivered to you a certain sacrament.
Being spiritually understood, it gives you life.
Although it is necessary that it be visibly
celebrated, yet it must needs be invisibly
understood''." This interpretation is supported
by many others of the old Fathers of the
Church', The words of institution, in like manner,
give no support to the doctrine, that the
substance of the bread and wine is changed
into the Body and Blood of Christ. For,
allowing no weight to the physical objection
that the bread could hardly be Christ's natural
Body, while He was yet alive, that He could
not hold His own Body in His hand, with
^ August, in Psalm. 98. ed. Bened. tom. iv. p. 1066 : partly
quoted by Bp. Jewel, Replie, art. v. div. 3.
' So Tertullian, de Resur. earn. c. 37, p. 347. "Durum et in-
tolerabilem existimarunt sermonem ejus ; quasi vere camem suam
illis edendam daturus esset."

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 219
which He brake and gave the bread, there are
difficulties in the very construction of the
sentence which, even upon Romish principles,
make the literal interpretation untenable. On
the meaning of the pronoun tovto, Romanists
themselves are not agreed''; but, granting that
it may be grammatically referred to " bread',"
TOV aprov, yet, seeing that the real question
turns upon the signification of the verb " is,"
the Romanist is not a whit the nearer to his
object ; and, indeed, the more literal the gram
matical construction, the greater, in a doctrinal
point of view, is his embarrassment: for he does
not mean that the bread is the Body of Christ,
but that it is changed into His Body ; that the
bread is no longer there, but that the Body is
there in its place. Yet how this meaning can
be extracted from these words, upon what
principle of literal interpretation the verb " is"
can be made equivalent to the verb "is changed
into," it is for the advocates of Transubstan
tiation to declare, when they are themselves
agreed upon the point. On the other hand,
the ancient Catholic Fathers, in a manner
universally, expound the passage in a figurative
^ For an account of the embarrassments to which this pronoun
has given occasion in reference to the Romish theory, see Bp.
Jewel, Replie, art. 24. of Individuum Vagum.
' See Hammond in loc.

220 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM
sense, T shall instance only two. St. Augus
tine says, " The Lord did not hesitate to say.
This is My Body, when He was giving the
sign of His Body""." And so Tertulhan,
" This is My Body ; that is, this is a figure
of My Body"." But, valuable as is the
interpretation of those early writers, as evi
dence of the truth maintained in their times,
we have an infinitely more decisive commen
tary, even that furnished by one whose Gos
pel was " not after man," who " neither
received it of man, neither was taught it, but
by the Revelation of Jesus Christ." The same
inspired Apostle who " delivered unto" his
Corinthian converts that which also he had
"received of the Lord," Avhat "the Lord Jesus"
did and said "the same night that he was
betrayed," had already written, in the same
Epistle, the words of the text, Avhich are evi
dently a key to our Lord's meaning. And so
the Apostle's saying " The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of
Christ ?" is a commentary on our Lord's own
¦" Contra Adeimantum. Ed. Bened. tom. viii. p. 124.
" This, and the last quoted, are taken from Bp. Jewel's Replie,
art. xii. div. 1 , where many more will be found. The Bishop, in
art. V. div. 1, says, " If I should allege all the rest of the ancient
godly Fathers that write the like, I should be over tedious to the
reader."

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 221
words, " Take eat, this is my body, which is
broken for you; this do in remembrance of me."
And again, when after supper our Lord took
the cup, when He had supped, saying, " This
cup is the New Testament in my blood, this
do ye as often as ye shall drink it, in remem
brance of me," we are taught what that cup is
by the words, " The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of
Christ ?"
But if, as might be abundantly shewn, the
pretended proofs from Scripture are so sin
gularly deficient, not less so are those which
are alleged as the evidence of Christian anti
quity. Certain passages are, indeed, brought
forward, particularly from St. Chrysostom's
writings, painting in the most glowing
colours which the fervid oratory of the
East could invent, the deep and awful sub
limity of the mysteries. But they must be
corrected by other passages in the self-same
writers which distinctly assert, in didactic
rather than in oratorical language, that
the Presence of our Lord must be under
stood spiritually not carnally, and that the
consecrated elements are the emblems of the
Body received by the faithful, as well as means

222 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
to its real reception. In short, the doctrine
resulting from a comparison of the several
portions of those writings, one with the other,
is identical, not with the Romish error, but
with the tenets of the Enghsh branch of
Christ's Catholic Church, Those who refuse
to correct an author's rhetorical amplifica
tions by his own more formal statements
of truth, must be led to adopt the other
alternative, and to set aside such a witness,
as one who contradicts himself.
Whatever degree of weight, however, we
may assign to these passages, which, to say
the least, admit of an anti- Romanist interpre
tation, they will be fully outweighed by the
testimony, which, in the most explicit lan
guage, several of the most eminent Fathers
afford against the doctrine of Transubstan
tiation, They are generally the more valu
able because undesigned, occurring inci
dentally as the expression of knoAvn and
universally acknowledged truth, used for
proof or illustration against heresy, parti
cularly the heresy of Eutyches. St, Chrysos
tom, for instance, as an illustration of his
argument in defence of the distinct yet com
bined two natures in the person of Christ,

VI.] ONE OF THE MEANS OP GRACE. 223
adduces the Holy Eucharist, in Avhich the
bread, after consecration, is, by the me
dium of the Priest, freed from the name of
bread, and is thought worthy of the name
of the Lord's Body, although the nature
of bread remains in it". To the same pur
pose Theodoret argues ; " For He who called
the natural body food and bread, and who,
again, called Himself a vine, the same has
honoured the symbols, which are seen, with
the title of the Body and Blood, not chang
ing nature, but adding grace to nature^."
But perhaps the most conclusive testimony
to the primitive doctrine, as against modern
Rome, is that of the Bishop of Rome, Gela-
sius, at the end of the fifth century, who says
° Chrysost. Epist. ad Csesarium Monach. ed. Bened. tom. iii.
p. 744. This Epistle is celebrated for the sensation which was
occasioned in the literary world by the sentence alluded to in the
text being for the first time published by Peter Martyr, as a frag
ment. The copy which Peter Martyr brought from Florence, and
deposited in Cranmer's library, was lost during the Great Rebelhon.
In 1680 another MS. of the same version was found by Bigot,
but the censor suppressed it when already printed off. It was sub
sequently published (1685) by Stephen Le Mo)me. The Greek
exists only in fragments, preserved by Anastasius and John Da-
mascenus. Respecting its genuineness, see Walch, Bibl. Patrist.,
p. 296, and Bingham, book xv. ch. v. p. 3, 4. The best Protestant
edition is by Routh, (Opuscula, vol. ii. p. 123.) See Cosin, Hist.
of Transubstantiation, ch. v. p. 21.
P Theodoret. in Dialog. 1. ap. Routh, vol. ii. p. 132. See also
another passage in Dial. 2. vol. ii. p. 136.

224 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
expressly, " the substance or nature of bread
and wine does not cease to exist^."
To these testimonies of individual Fathers,
may be added the official evidence afforded by
the Councils of the Church. There is not a
trace of the Romish doctrine in any Council
earlier than the second Council of Nice, in
the latter part of the eighth century, a Coun
cil infamous in the Church, as the one which
established the worship of images'". The
germ of error, which then sprang up in
relation to that fatal decree, after grow
ing silently amongst private theologians, at
length attained its maturity and bore fruit in
the anti- Catholic canon of the Lateran Coun
cil of 1215, under a Pope, and in an age, con
genial to the establishment of any error which
might be gainful to the priesthood.
And yet, while our Church thus denies the
doctrine of Transubstantiation, she does not
seem to maintain that the consecrated ele
ments are in all respects the same as they
were before consecration. There are few
persons who would not acknowledge that
1 Routh, Opusc. vol. ii. p. 139. See also St. Augustine's Serm.
xvi. ed. Bened. tom. v. p. 1103.
¦¦ See Waterlahd's Charge on the Doctrinal Use of the Chris
tian Sacraments, vol. v. p. 116. ed. 1843.

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 225
there is a change as to effect and power.
Many of our best divines have held that a
sacramental and spiritual conversion, though
not a natural and bodily one, is wrought
as in a mystery by God's invisible power' ;
and our own Church has evidently deter
mined that the elements, so consecrated,
should not be treated as common bread and
wine. And, if our Lord has really ordained
these elements to a specific end ; if con
secration is, in all Churches which follow
the primitive rule, a means to communion,
why should we pause, in the spirit of ra
tionalism, to calculate the exact state of the
elements subsequent to consecration and prior
to participation, and to consider an over-
curious question, beside the Sacred Scrip
tures, and unknown to the early Fathers,
which may lead, and has led to profane-
ness ? Why not content ourselves with be
lieving, that, as some of the ancient Litur
gies expressed it, the bread and wine are
made to us the Body and Blood of Christ ;
that there is that in them, which is, by Divine
appointment, capable of working, and, re-
^ So Bp. Jewel, Rephe, art. xii. div. 8. " Further we may
say, that Christ's Body is in the Sacrament itself, understanding it
to be there as in a mystery." Q

226 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
ceived with faith, does work within us the
true Presence of the Lord's Body and Blood'.
And now, let it be remembered that the
doctrine of Transubstantiation is not a mere
theory, but fraught with most momentous
consequences. It not only confounds the
means and the grace together, thus destroying
the nature of a sacrament ; but, if it rests on
no solid grounds whatever, and is demon
strably false, then the grace itself is actually
endangered. For if the bread and wine are
not changed into the Body and Blood of
Christ so as to cease to remain in their natural
substance, the falling down and worshipping
them (an indispensable part of the Romish
ritual) is nothing less than idolatry. It may
be, that the force of this conclusion is pal
liated, as respects themselves, by subtle meta
physicians, (according to metaphysics falsely
so called), by means of the fiction of accidents

' That this operation does not take place irrespectively of the
spiritual state of the receiver, is expressly maintained by our
Church. Art. xxix. " The wicked, and such as be void of a
lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their
teeth (as St. Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and
Blood of Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ : but
rather, to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or Sacra
ment of so great a thing."

VI.] ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 227
without subjects ; but how shall these sub
tleties, untenable as they are, be propounded
to the great mass of worshippers within the
Roman Communion ? And, if there be no
such subterfuge, then the adoration is direct ;
if the Creator is not the object of worship,
then the idolatry is formally complete. And
if idolatry is committed, how is idolatry con
sistent with grace ? How is that a means of
grace, which is made the occasion of the
greatest sin of which the creature can be
guilty ?

We may now turn to the Sacrifice of the
Mass. But our observations may be the
shorter, inasmuch as this error is connected
with that of Transubstantiation, indeed, de
pendent upon it. If one error fall, the other
falls with it. If the substance of bread and
wine is not changed into that of Christ's
very Body and Blood, then the oblation
of them is not the oblation of Christ to
the Father; and then there is no fresh or
continued offering for the quick and dead.
Romanists themselves would not maintain
that any thing less than Christ's actual natural
Body could be made available as a Sacrifice
Q 2

228 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
for the remission of sins. But the conse
crated elements are not turned into Christ's real
natural Body : and thus the whole system of
error falls to the ground. And here also, as
in the matter of Transubstantiation, if the
efficacy of the Eucharist as a means of grace
is at all deteriorated, it is in regard to those
who have " sought out many inventions," not
to those who refuse to bring such oblations
as do dishonour to the one Sacrifice for sins,
offered once for all upon the cross, as "a
full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation,
and satisfaction for the sins of the whole
world." Whether the consecrated elements, as such,
are offered up in the Holy Communion,
in commemoration of the only Sacrifice upon
the cross, is another question, which, as our
Church, in her official acts, has left undecided,
it appears unnecessary to discuss at length.
Certainly there is nothing in her offices which
is not fully consistent with the Eucharistic
Sacrifice, as recognised by the early Fathers,
and maintained by her own soundest divines.
It has been well said, " that every oblation
recognised by the Christian Church is con
tained in the English Liturgy. There are the
offerings of prayer and alms, the sacrifice of

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 229
praise and thanksgiving, the oblation of God's
creatures of bread and wine, the reasonable,
holy, and lively sacrifice of ourselves, our
souls and bodies, unto God"." And in the
whole of this, our reasonable and spiritual
sacrifice, we do, no doubt, " shew the Lord's
death till He come ;" therefore our sacrifices
are effectually commemorative ; we are " ful
filled Avith God's grace and heavenly benedic
tion," and therefore the benefits of the only
sacrifice are perpetuated and secured to our
enjoyment ; yet there is no sacrifice of the
blessed Body of our Lord, or continuation of
the same sacrifice, or any sacrifice propitiatory
in the proper sense of the term.
Connected with what has been just said,
there appears one A'^ery important difference
betAveen the Romish Church and our own,
which perhaps may be shortly expressed thus ;
— Romanists have added to the notion of the
Communion of the Body and Blood another
tenet which is at variance with the Scriptural
and Catholic doctrine of the one Sacrifice on
the cross, viz. that, in the Lord's Supper,
Christ is offered up as a sacrifice to God by
the priest, whereas our Church teaches that
" See Origines Liturgicse, by the Rev. W. Palmer, M.A., of
Worcester College, vol. ii. p. 14.

230 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sEBM.
the Body and Blood of Christ are communi
cated to the faithful receiver by means of the
elements consecrated and delivered by the
priest ; — so that, according to this part of their
teaching, the Lord's Supper is considered by
Romanists as an act of Atonement, rather
than as a means of Grace.
The view now given of the Romish theory
on the Holy Eucharist, may suffice to shew,
particularly if the proofs could be given in
detail, that there is nothing to tempt us into a
Communion so far gone from primitive truth
and purity ; nothing to shake our confidence
in our own full enjoyment, through Christ's
mercy, of the means of grace. But even in
dependently of error in doctrine, there are
manifold and corresponding corruptions in
the practice of that Church, sufficient to throw
discredit on her pretensions to soundness. I
need only mention the private mass, in which
the priest receives alone, whilst the whole
congregation besides, nay, while his brother
priests, are standing by and looking on — a
practice utterly without precedent in the first
six centuries of Christianity ; the studied in-
frequency of their general Communion ; the
denial of the cup to the laity; the idola-

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 231
trous worship of the host, already mentioned ;
the intention"^ of the priest in the consecra
tion and in the distribution of the elements.
This last corruption is fraught with such
awful consequences, that its nature should be
made generally known. It has been a re
ceived tenet in the Church of Rome, that un
less the officiating priest intends to consecrate,
whether he makes any mistake as to a definite
number of hosts which he intends to conse
crate, or whether he wilfully withholds his
intention, no consecration takes place. Think
only, what tremendous power is here lodged
in the mortal creature who is officiating ;
think of the peril of idolatry, which, even
upon Romish principles, results from the
possibility of the intention being withheld, or
misapplied; think of the uncertainty which
hangs over each communicant, whether he
really receives the grace, or whether, without
knowing it, he is virtually excommunicated !
Yet this doctrine has not only been main
tained by the Schoolmen, but is actually em-
" It should be observed, that the same intention is also con
sidered necessary to the validity of Holy Baptism. Hereupon
Bishop Jewel remarks (Replie, art. i. div. 12): " This is the very
dungeon of uncertainty. The heart of man is unsearchable. If
we stay upon the intention of a mortal man, we may stand in
doubt of our own Baptism."

232 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM.
bodied, to this day, in the authorized Preface
to the Roman MissaP.
Let us now, by way of recapitulation, sum
up the different points of contrast between our
Church, and those who severally oppose her.
First, then, we protest against the Holy
Sacrament being a bare remembrance, or a
mere sign of unity, or a mere sign of the
Body and Blood of Christ ; we admit it to be
a remembrance and a sign ; but we regard it
as something much more, even a means of
communion between the recipient and Christ
and His Church, and, still further, as a
means to a specific grace. This grace we
hold to be not a mere suggestion of goodness,
nor mere instruction, nor an implanting of
motives, nor a sense of mere gratitude in the
remembrance of Christ's death ; but the real
reception of the Body and Blood of Christ,
whatever that may mean, " after an heavenly
y De Defectibus circa Missam occurrentibus. No. 7. " Si quis
non intpndit conficere, sed delusorie aliquid agere. Item si ali-
quse hostise ex oblivione remaneant in altari, vel aliqua pars vini
vel aliqua hostia lateat, cum non intendat consecrare nisi quas
videt. Item si quis habeat coram se undecim hostias sed inten
dat consecrare solum decem, non determinans quas decern inten-
dit : in his casibus non consecrat, quia requiritur intentio."

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 233
and spiritual manner^," which we do not
attempt to understand or define ; something
neither carnal nor unreal, but the more real
because wholly spiritual ; a real grace, pecu
liar to this Sacrament, conveying the motions
of God's Holy Spirit to our hearts and souls,
because uniting us mystically, but truly, with
the glorified nature of our blessed Lord. We
consider the bread and wine to be, not indeed
changed as to their substance, but consecrated
and set apart, and potentially converted to
a holy use, and therefore not meet to be pro
faned by any other application. The only con
ditions on which we consider the grace to de
pend, are, first, in ourselves a lively faith (in
cluding a thankful remembrance of Christ's
death), true repentance, and charity with all
men; and, secondly, the due administration
according to Christ's institution : these two
conditions being fulfilled, the grace will infal
libly be obtained.
On the other hand, in direct contrast with
this high mystical and spiritual doctrine, thus
reverentially held, stands the carnal and
carnalizing theory of Rome ; in contrast with
our commemoration of the one sacrifice made
^ Art. xxviii.

234 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [SERM.
by the only High Priest, a pretended renewal
and continuation of the same sacrifice; in
contrast with our certainty of all duly quah
fied communicants receiving the full grace,
the uncertainty which rests upon the three
following contingencies ; first, whether the
communicant is or is not guilty of idolatry ;
secondly, whether communion under one
kind is reconcileable with Christ's institu
tion, that is, whether it is any communion
at all, or, at least, whether it is a perfect
means of grace; thirdly, whether the priest
intended to consecrate. Let us only humbly
and charitably ponder upon these contrasts,
and the result will surely be increased grati
tude to God for His merciful deliverance of
our Church, and, under Him, to those vene
rable men, who, in the strength of God's
Word, read by the light of the ancient
Church, were His chosen instruments for
removing from our Liturgy, and from our
Church, the many theoretical and practical
errors, which thus hindered the free course of
God's grace.

And now, having discharged a painful duty,
and ascertained in Avhat sense our Church

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 235
holds the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper to be a means of grace, we may dwell
for a short space upon the riches of this
our inheritance in Christ, The life first im
planted in Holy Baptism, is nourished and
increased by the different instruments ap
pointed for our sanctification, our own efforts
being unceasingly and consciously directed to
second and improve the effects wrought in
our hearts through faith. But of all these
instruments, there is none which conduces
more directly and divinely to the end of our
existence here, even holiness of body, soul,
and spirit, than the due reception, through
appointed means, of the Body and Blood of
Christ, It is, indeed, in the heart and not in
the hands that we receive Chrisf — ^but we do
receive Him really and spiritually ; we receive
Him by worthily partaking of the symbolical
means. This is that instrument, designed to
repair the waste which the world, the fiesh,
and the devil, are daily working, or tending
to work, in the life of God, in the souls even
of the regenerate. Its virtues and efficacy do
^ O come to our Communion Feast ;
There present in the heart.
Not in the hands, th' eternal Priest
Will His true self impart. Christian Year. (Nov. 5.)

236 THE HOLY EUCHARIST [sERM,
not consist, as too many appear to think, in
the due preparation which should precede its
enjoyment, but in the work of the Holy Spirit
wrought by, and with, the spiritual Presence
of our Blessed Lord, within our inmost hearts.
The Body and Blood, which are the life of the
world, which alone can cleanse our sinful
bodies and wash our souls, (to use the words
of the most eminent of our Reformers,) " we
verily eat, we A^erily drink ; we verily be re
lieved, and live by it ; we are bones of His
bones, and flesh of His flesh ; Christ dwelleth
in us, and we in Him^," Mystery of mys
teries ! to be kept in our hearts, to be medi
tated on in silence, to shine forth in our lives !
What a medicine have we here provided against
every disease which may threaten to paralyze
our vital powers ! The same Divine Person
is mystically within us, who, in the days of
His flesh, went about, healing all manner of
sickness and all manner of infirmities amongst
the people, — He who spake the word and
healed them. And can we be actually united
with Him, the very hem of whose garment,
touched with faith, was the vehicle of Divine
virtue, and yet find no medicine to heal our
sickness ? And shall we not, again and again,
'' Bishop Jewel, Replie, art. v. div. 1.

VI.J ONE OF THE MEANS OF GRACE. 237
resort to the healing efficacy of the Physician
of souls ? He who is most conscious of his
own exceeding sinfulness, and weakness, and
wretchedness ; most awake against the un
ceasing attacks of our great enemy ; most
desirous of heaven, and most fearful of eternal
death; will be the most careful, ever more
and more, to purify and strengthen himself
by an indwelling strength and holiness not
his own ; to guard his heart against invisible
and cruel enemies by the perpetual presence
and defence of the Captain of his salvation ; to
procure for himself, at the Lord's table, a fore
taste and earnest of heaven and eternal life,
by ever-increasing union with Him, whose
visible Presence will be the everlasting joy of
Paradise; who is the fountain of all grace
here, and of all glory and immortality here
after ; the quickener of our mortal bodies ;
and to all who die in Him, " the Resurrection
and the Life."

SERMON VII

1 Cor. xiv. 26.

LET ALL THINGS BE DONE UNTO EDIFYING.

Of the means of grace which have occupied
our attention in the six preceding Lectures,
the one common characteristic, which sepa
rates them from all other ordinances, is that
their nature, as means of grace, is determined by
the express warrant of God's written Word.
Wherever a direct promise can be alleged out
of the Scriptures, that certain spiritual effects
will follow upon the use of certain ordinances,
nothing more is wanting to complete their
character as divinely appointed means of
sanctification. Being revealed as " things
that pertain unto life and godliness," given
unto us by God's " divine power," owing all
their efficacy and authority directly to His
appointment, they may be rightly called the
immediate and primary means of grace.
From this fact of their Divine and cove
nanted origination results the farther charac-

240 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [SERM.
teristic, that they are perpetually in force;
not as matters indifferent, to be adopted or
rejected according to our caprice ; not legiti
mately variable under any circumstances ;
not capable, in respect of their essence, of dis
pensation, or abrogation, of diminution, or
addition, or modification of any kind, by any
authority short of that which ordained them.
Till God shall be pleased expressly to revoke
them, they remain, in their essential proper
ties, absolute and indefeasible means of
grace ; ordained to continue till their end
shall have been accomplished in the actual
salvation and glory, to w^iich the grace, pro
vided by their instrumentality, is a means.
It is evident, however, that, besides these
principal instruments so revealed, there are
others, either concurrent with their operation,
or else subsidiary, either directly or colla
terally, to their right employment and full
effect ; usages and ordinances, not resting on
the express evidence of God's written Word,
but either, from the very first, demonstrably
established by the Apostles themselves, with
traces more or less distinct in Scripture, or
else, at some indefinite time, mediately sanc
tioned by God, through His Church, and, by

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 241
His appointment, conducive, in their degree, to
edification. Now these ordinances, it will
appear at once, are very numerous, and dif
fer greatly as to their relative value; some
approximating to the rank of proper means
of grace, as, for instance, the rite of Confir
mation; others, such as Liturgical forms, of
great moment, because necessary or auxiliary
to the means properly so called ; and others
again, such as ecclesiastical habits, sacred
architecture. Church music, and the like, re
motely influencing the mind or feelings of the
worshipper, and serving, more or less, to the
harmonious development of the religious life.
Yet, with all these shades of value, ranging
from what is almost essential, to what is, in
itself, absolutely indifferent, it will be granted
on all hands, that whatever does really contri
bute to the efficiency and application of our
Lord's gracious promises in Scripture, as
limited to certain means, is entitled to a
place, more or less subordinate, amongst
those things which are " done unto edifying,"
It may be matter of dispute, whether they are
or are not so conducive, or what degree of
obligation there may be to adopt or continue
them ; but if once admitted, on sufficient evi
dence, to be in any degree useful, if not neces -
R

242 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM,
sary, to edification, they are entitled to no
common share of reverence, as being, either
supplemental to the means of grace properly
so called, or at least accessary to their full
use and enjoyment.
It is proposed, then, in the present Lecture,
to consider very briefly the nature of such
means of edification as are not directly re
vealed in Scripture, distinguishing, by the
way, if possible, betAveeu the different grada
tions in their usefulness and obligation, and
endeavouring to ascerta,in to A^hose hands
the authority of regulating theiii has been
entrusted, and within what limits it inay be
lawfully exerted. It will then be my endea
vour, with equal brevity, to apply the results
which we may have obtained, by way of test,
to the practice of our own branch of the
Catholic Church,

And, first, it appears antecedently probable,
that the regulation of the details by which
God's gracious designs in the Gospel should
be carried out, would be left, in some measure,
to human discretion, Christianity differs
from the earlier form of true rehgion, which

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 243
it displaced and succeeded, in nothing more
remarkably than in this, that,, whereas the
most minute details affecting divine offices
and privileges, were scrupulously set down in
the law of Moses, illustrated also during a
considerable period by the constant special
intervention of a proper theocracy ; the books
of the New Testament, on the contrary, are,
on the very face of them, singularly sparing
in the number of ritual observances. Certain
mysteries and certain rites are, indeed, en
joined ; and certain plain, necessary, and con
stituent parts therein implied : but the exact
mode of celebrating them is, in general, left
in Scripture indeterminate. Yet some mode
there must be, some order, and circumstances,
and ceremonies, calculated to further the
main design, and some more appropriate than
others ; for the nature of man requires some
such external aid in religion as in everything
else. Accordingly we find, in the same
Volume, many allusions to some authority,
external to the Scriptures themselves, by which
such things were to be " set in order." Dur
ing the presence of the Apostles in any par
ticular Church, and during their life-time in
regard to the whole of Christendom, there
could be no doubt in whom the authority
R 2

244 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
resided. Those who had conversed with their
Lord, who were led, both in speech and
writing, "into all truth," when they pro
nounced authoritatively, whether by word of
mouth or by their epistles, "according to the
power which the Lord had given" them " to
edification and not to destruction," were en
titled not only to respectful attention, but to
absolute obedience, as speaking in the person
of Christ. And thus we find St. Paul saying
to his Corinthian converts ; " Now I praise
you, brethren, that ye remember me in all
things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered
them to you^ ;" and to the Thessalonians ;
" Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the
traditions which ye have been taught, whether
by word, or our epistle^." But the personal
influence of the Apostles, even when aided
by the epistles which they wrote, was limited
by time and space. From the nature of their
commission they could not abide long in one
place; they planted the Gospel, and passed on ;
and though they revisited some of their con
verts at intervals, yet there were many who saw
their faces no more ; and at length they were
called to their rest. In their temporary ab
sence, or at their final departure, they, almost
" 1 Cor. xi. 2. •> 2 Thess. ii. 15.

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 245
of necessity, committed the regulation of such
details as were not provided for already, to
those actually residing and bearing rule on the
spot. Nor does this conclusion rest upon pro
bable reasoning alone. The text furnishes an
instance of the actual delegation of such power.
"Let all things be done unto edifying;" and so
likewise does the last verse of the same chap
ter'', " Let all things be done decently and in
order." For these words imply, that, due
regard being had to certain fixed principles,
something was left as a matter of choice, not
of necessary obligation, commended to the dis
cretion, rather than to the obedience of Chris
tians. For decency and order, and (in minor
matters) edification itself are relative terms.
The same things are not equally fitting under
all circumstances, or in all places and times ;
the same custom, which might be edifying to
one nation, might have an effect directly the
reverse upon another; the same ordinance
which, in its first origin, ministered grace to
the worshippers, might, in the process of
time and the progress of corruption, become
a snare to weaker brethren, an object of
superstitious reverence, nay, of idolatry itself,
even as "the brazen serpent that Moses had
•^ 1 Cor. xiv. 40.

346 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
made," th« very type of our Lord's crucifixion,
was broken in pieces by Hezekiah, as "a piece
of brass," because " unto those days the chil
dren of Israel did burn incense to it*^,"
Now in regard to such matters, either every
individual Christian must have been left to do
" what was right in his own eyes," or else,
some one method out of certain which are
conceivabk must have been adopted with a
view to supply what was, from time to time,
required to meet the various emergencies of
the Church,
But, that the decision of such questions
should have been left to the caprice of indi
viduals is an hypothesis inconsistent with the
first principles, indeed with the very existence,
of the Church. The whole of Christian so
ciety must have been, under such a system,
quickly broken up into independent units, each
minding his own things, not the things of
others. All things would have been done
unto selfishness, and not " unto edification,"
unto unseemly confusion, not "decently and
in order." Experience, even in our own day,
as gathered from such bodies as have pushed
the principle of independence to its extreme,
* 2 Kings xviii. 4.

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 247
bears incontestable evidence to the practical
working of the system. The passage before
us, also, furnishes an argument against the
admissibility of such a claim. The Epistle is
addressed not to individuals, but " to the
Church of God which is at Corinth ;" and the
text contains a lesson to those who, in the use
of their miraculous gifts, might be inclined
to act independently of the general good, and
to further their own individual views in the
conduct of their public assemblies. " How is
it then, brethren, when ye come together,
every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doc
trine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath
an interpretation ? Let all things be done
unto edifying." And if in those days of the
outpouring of the Spirit such a caution was
necessary, how much more applicable is it by
analogy in the less-favoured ages of the Church.
This theory, then, being laid aside as un
tenable, we may proceed to consider whether
the regulation of the accessaries to Christian
life and worship was entrusted, 1. to particular
Churches ; or, 2, to the Church collective ;
or, 3, to some supreme Church and some
universal Bishop, Considered according to
antecedent probability, each of these three

248 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
methods might seem to have its advantages
and its defects. Which of the three, therefore,
was actuaUy chosen is a question to be de
termined by the evidence of facts.
1. And, first, the supremacy of any one
Church, and the universal jurisdiction, even in
minor matters, of any one Bishop, are demon
strably untenable, as being opposed by the
whole concurrent testimony of the first six
centuries of Christianity. Indeed to this day
there is a living witness against such anti
christian claims". Not only is there in the
early Church conclusive evidence against such
dependence upon any one Church or Pastor,
but the Greek branch of the Church, that is,
one-half of Christendom, in a state of actually
existing independence, still lifts up her voice,
as she has done from generation to generation,
against the Papal usurpations.
^ That the term antichristian is not misplaced, may be shewn by
the opinion more than once expressed by Pope Gregory I. Gre-
gorius Mauricio Augusto. " Ego autem fidenter dico, quia quis
quis se Universalem Sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in
elatione sua antichristum prsecurrit, quia superbiendo se cseteris
praeponit. Nee dispari superbia ad errorem ducitur, quia, sicut
perversus ille Deus videri vult super omnes homines ; ita quisquis
iste est qui solus Sacerdos appellari appetit super reliquos Sacer-
dotes se extoUit.'' Sancti Gregorii Papse I. cognomento Magni
Opp. (ed. Bened.) tom. ii. col. 881. D.

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 249
2. Neither, secondly, could these subordi
nate particulars be confined exclusively to the
Church collective. There are two methods
by which the sense of the universal Church
can be gathered ; either its simultaneous
adoption or continuance of the same customs
everywhere from an indefinite time, or its de
cision by its representatives in a general Coun
cil, accepted by all Christendom, And doubt
less when the Church has so spoken, and still
more when her tacit universal consent has
existed everywhere without the record of its
origin, a very high degree of reverence is due
to her decisions, especially if grounded on
Sacred Scripture, even in matters which may
appear indifferent; inasmuch as, in the one
case, express universal consent to any canon
affords a presumption that there is some uni
versal ground for its adoption, and, in the
other, there is a strong probability that the
custom was derived from the Apostles, or
their immediate successors. But then, let it
be remembered, with respect to these imme
morial customs, that they are few and definite,
and therefore too narrow to meet all the vary
ing wants of the Church ; and, with respect to
the Church representative, that the earliest
general Council is that of Nice in the early

250 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
part of the fourth century ; so that, for three
hundred years, according to this hypothesis,
the several Churches were left in such matters
to act according to their own discretion, in
reference to the circumstances in which they
were placed,
3, And this, in fact, was the method ordained
by Divine Providence for the guidance of the
Churches, in questions which, compared with
the great and essential matters of faith and
worship, might be rightly considered indif
ferent. For this liberty, qualified with due
regard for apostolical ordinances or universal
consent, was freely exercised by every Church
from the beginning.
It is historically certain that, agreeing in all
essential points, the ancient Churches within
their several jurisdictions did vary very widely
in the particular adaptation of their usages.
Thus, that bread should be used as one of the
elements in the Holy Communion, was every
where deemed an essential part of the institu
tion ; but whether it should be made of wheat
or of barley, whether it should be leavened, as
the Greeks say, or unleavened, according to the
Latins, whether it should be of one form or
of another, is nowhere determined, and, as is

VII.J MEANS OF EDITICATION. 251
proved by the very existence of the variations,
is a matter of indifference and liberty ^ Again :
that fasting was an ordinance of Divine ap
pointment was universally acknowledged ; but
the days set apart for its use, the mode and
degree of its application, the question whether
the Lenten fast was to endure forty or thirty-
six days, or forty hours, all these questions
were decided in different ways in different
Churches without blame and without breach
of unity ; when once settled within any par
ticular jurisdiction, binding in conscience, ac
cording to the judgment of antiquity, upon
individual members of that Church, nay ex
pedient for, and ia charity incumbent upon,
even those who were sojourners within their
limits, but in no sense binding upon other
Apostolical Churches Avithout their own ex
press consent. To this effect is the memo-
rahle answer of St. Ambrose, which cannot
be too often repeated, " When I am at Milan,
I do not fast on the Saturday ; when I am at
Rome, I do. Upon this principle, to whatso
ever Church thou shalt come, keep the cus
toms of that Church, if thou wilt neither give
nor receive offence^." And the Epistles of
f See Bp. Jeremy Taylor's Rule of Conscience, Book iii. c. 4,
Rule 13, Works, vol. xiv. p. 41. (Bp. Heber's ed.)
8 August, ad Januar., lib. 1. ed. Bened. tom. ii. p. 124.

252 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
St, Augustine to Januarius, from whence this
account is taken, are full of instruction to the
same purpose.
The general conclusion then to be de
rived from these particulars is, that, all the
Churches being Apostolical, and all willing
and bound to follow the undoubted institu
tions of the Apostles, their diversity in that
early age is sufficient evidence that the Apo
stles themselves had left such points to be
decided by the circumstances and the dis
cretion of each particular Church,
And yet it would be a great error to
imagine that this discretion extended to all
matters not immediately derived from Holy
Scripture, or that it has been in any age left
unrestricted and arbitrary. By virtue of its
connexion with Christ's Body, every parti
cular Church is bound, under heavy responsi
bility, to observe the analogies of Catholic
practice ; to make conformity to established
usages the rule, and variation from them the
exception ; in matters affecting the founda
tion, to make no change whatever which shall
endanger its stability; and, even in matters of
indifference, to introduce innovations, if there
be need for any, not lightly and wantonly,
but with charity and deliberation. And the

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 253
measure of what is abrogated and of what is
left is alike comprehended in the exhortation of
the text, " Let all things be done unto edifying."
And certain ordinances there are, which
have, stamped upon them, such a title to per
petuity, as no Church could disregard without
extreme peril. What the whole collective
Church at any time has sanctioned, as we
shall again have occasion to observe, can only
be legally abrogated when the reason and the
circumstances are wholly reversed. But what
the Apostles, one and all, established as a
manifest aid to sanctification, derives a rela
tive sanctity from their character as inspired
stewards of God's mysteries, little inferior to
that which belongs to their instructions as
inspired teachers. Their acts are in such cases
evidences as to their mind, no less than their
words and writings. It may be inferred, from
their supernatural gifts, compared with the
power entrusted to their successors, that there
is, in the nature of things, a very wide dis
tinction between ordinances and edifying
usages undoubtedly Apostolical, and those
which may be shewn to have originated
in any decision of the Church subsequent
to the Apostolic age. For surely the former
usages, if truly Apostolical, carry with them

254 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
a weight inferior only to those of which the
evidence is given in Scripture. And their
weight Avill be the greater if it should seem
probable that they were delivered to the
several Churches, and adopted in their prac
tice, before the greater part of the New Testa
ment was written. This is not said in dis
paragement of Sacred Scripture, or of its su
premacy, and sufficiency in matters of Faith.
In respect to doctrinal truth we cannot be too
jealous in demanding, as all the Fathers did
before us, the warrant of Scripture, either ex
press or inferential, for our belief But doctrine
is one thing, usage, which is only relative and
subsidiary to the application of the received
doctrine of Scripture, is another. If there is
sufficient evidence that any given usage was
established universally by the inspired Apostles
themselves, a pious and rightly constituted
mind will hardly pause to weigh the differ
ence between Scriptural and extra-Scriptural
proof. Such ordinances, to use the words of
the judicious Hooker, " being known to be
Apostolical, it is not the manner of delivering
them unto the Church, but the authors from
whom they proceed, which doth give them
their force and credit." And if the Apostles
did institute them with a view to edification.

VII.J [means of EDIFICATION. 255
nothing but such a change of circumstances
as shall amount to a total cessation of the
reason of their institution, will justify any
Church in abrogating their use. The things
which an inspired Apostle " set in order,"
even if they were at first intended for one
Church only, can not be looked upon as mat
ters of indifference in any age of the Church ;
still more would an Apostle's " ways which
be in Christ, as" he taught " every where in
every Church''," be entitled to general rever
ence. But what all the Apostles instituted
in all the Churches indicates a common
origin and design. The unanimity of men
inspired by the Holy Ghost, stamps their
institutions as essential and Divine. True
there is no promise of grace attached to the
means employed; yet when they manifestly
tend under all circumstances to the edifying
of the Church, they may, notwithstanding, be
rightly ranked if not amongst the principal
means of grace, in the sense used in these
Lectures, yet in a class by themselves, as
appointed instruments of sanctification, with
the Divine sanction and blessing tacitly im
plied in their use*.
t 1 Cor. iv. 17.
» This is not said as if all the ordinances of the Apostles were.

256 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
Amongst the few ordinances, of this nature,
which have come down to us as the genuine
traditions of the Apostles, there is one which
we have the best reason for regarding as of
Divine institution. Men may differ as to the
grounds of their acceptance, but all Christians
will, with one heart and voice, hail the first
day of the week as " the day which the Lord
hath made." To that day of sacred rest and
refreshment, the softened and Christian form
of the Jewish Sabbath, who can hesitate to
assign a high place amongst those things
which are to be done " unto edifying ?"
What if no distinct command for the ob
servance of the first day of the week can
be alleged from the New Testament? Yet
there is ample recognition of its early ob
servance even there. It is supported, too,
by the analogy of the Sabbath, not only the
Sabbath of the fourth Commandment, in its
covenanted adoption as a sign given to the Jews
as such, of equal weight, or of perpetual obligation. We know
that certain of them, although expressly laid down in Scripture
itself, have fallen into desuetude, by almost universal consent.
This is true as respects the Western Churches, even of a part of
that solemn decree made by the Apostles in full council at Jeru
salem, which had so entirely lost its force in the fourth century,
that St. Augustine himself tells us that those who scrupled to eat
strangled birds were treated with ridicule. (Jer. Taylor's Works,
vol. xiv. p. 19, quoting Lib. 32. cont. Faustum, cap. 13.)

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 257
as God's peculiar people, but that earlier pri
meval institution of the Sabbath common to
all mankind as the creatures of His hand ;
the monument of creation, coeval with the
work commemorated, the emblem of the rest
which remaineth for the people of God. The
sacred character of the first day is at once
established by its office as the day on which
man's justification and sanctification were
severally completed and sealed. In accord
ance with these Scriptural intimations of its
being intended to displace and succeed the
seventh day, we find the early Christians una
nimously regarding the first day of the week
as their sacred day ; at first, in order to meet
Jewish prejudices, in common with the Jew
ish Sabbath, but, at no distant time, as sub
stituted in its place. In short, it has ever
been looked upon, not as of ecclesiastical, but
of Apostolical institution, and therefore enti
tled to rank very high amongst the very
chiefest of the ordinances of Divine appoint
ment designed for the use and improvement
of the means of grace. On its spiritual uses,
as an ever-recurring memorial, to a forgetful
world, of our creation and redemption, as a
day set apart for the solemn enjoyment of the
means of grace, properly so called, it is unne-
s

258 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
cessary for me here to enlarge. Which of us
can say, how much of the grace which carries
him in spiritual safety through the occupa
tions and temptations of each portion of six
days, may not be derived from the spiritual
food, the Scriptural instruction, the religious
exercises, the sacred rest, the holy medita
tions, which this blessed interval in the
course of our mortal life has afforded ? And
who can doubt, that an ordinance, congenial
to natural piety, as well as to the analogous
practice of the Jewish Church, was intended
to be perpetually in force, coeval Avith the
institution of our holy religion, and to termi
nate only with the accomplishment of God's
gracious promises in Christ? The Church
which should abrogate this observance, if
such a case is conceivable, would go near to
renounce Christianity itself.
Next in order to such indisputable Aposto-
hcal institutions, and doubtless, next, if not
equal, in value, are such ordinances as have
come down to us, recommended by the prac
tice, or sanctioned by the canonical decrees of
the ancient Church; more especially, when
they farther approve themselves to our ob
servance by their natural fitness, by their

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 259
suitableness to the spirit, or their relation to
the facts, of our holy religion. Such are those'
instanced by St. Augustine, the religious obser
vation of Good Friday, of Easter and Ascen
sion Days, and of Whitsunday''. And the
ground of the observance is the presumption,
already alluded to, that they owed their origin
either to some unrecorded practice or precept
of the Apostles, or at least to the unanimous
consent of the different Churches dispersed
throughout Christendom ; for, as early varia
tion in such matters is evidence to early liberty,
so early universal consent is evidence to some
admitted common ground of obligation ^
But we may advance one step farther, and
remark, that where usages have been long
estabhshed, no matter what' their primary
origin may have been, it should only be
after grave deliberation, and upon reasonable
grounds, that they should be discontinued,
or superseded by new regulations. For uni
formity amongst different Churches, so long
as it is perfectly innocent, is in itself most
momentous and desirable, inasmuch as it is
^ August, ad Januar. 1. ed. Bened. ii. col. 124.
1 To this class might be referred, though with some shades of
inferiority in respect of the evidence of antiquity, the observation
of the Memories of the Apostles and principal Sciints.
s 2

260 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
both a sign and a means of unity. It is only
when estabhshed usages involve any princi
ple of error, or any actual or probable super
stitious consequences, or any direct encou
ragement of formalism, or any infringement
of the genuine Christian liberty of the faith
ful, and, above all, when they are injurious to
faith and morality™, that a Church, guided by
wisdom and grace, is authorized and required
to make such definite alterations as may neu
tralize the evil, without needless abridgment
of what is " lovely and of good report," For
change for the sake of change is no proof of
wisdom in any subject-matter; but, in mat
ters affecting religion, it tends to disturb the
foundations of religion itself; since men, in
general, are not capable of discerning the dif
ference between circumstances and essential
parts ; and a shock is given by wanton inno
vation to their instinctive convictions of the
permanency and in variableness of Christian
faith and duty.

It appears, then, that the right exercise of
the discretionary powers vested in the Church,
depends upon her rightly distinguishing, by
"• August, ad Januar. 1. tom. ii. col. 126, &c.

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 261
God's grace, between matters indifferent, and
matters essential. Very heavy, therefore, is
her responsibility; and, if she errs on the
side of rejecting essentials, the punishment is
involved in the offence ; for is it not a proof
of God's displeasure, is it not, in a greater or
less degree, at least a partial withdrawal of
His sanctifying presence, when a religious
community is, for its sins, permitted wilfully
to abandon one of the means of grace ?
With such limitations, however, as these,
the general principle appears to be sufficiently
established, that each particular Church was,
from the earliest times, at liberty to adapt its
rites and ceremonies, in indifferent matters,
to the diversified circumstances of its peculiar
position. And, if this limited power of determining
what things are conducive to "edifying" was,
from the first, granted even to the primitive
Churches, while the memory of Apostolic in
stitutions was yet fresh in the minds of men,
there is no assignable ground why (the rea
son of the thing remaining the same, or rather
increasing in force) the same liberty should
not be continued stih. Indeed there are ob
vious reasons why this privilege should be-

262 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
come even more necessary in the later ages of
the Church, in proportion as the simphcity
and spirituality of Gospel truth, as revealed
in the Scriptures, was withdrawn from men's
eyes. For the tendency of man to formalism,
to resting in outward observances, to the ac
cumulation of burdensome and superstitious
rites, is proportioned to the prevailing obscu
ration of Scriptural truth. The correctness
of this observation may be tested by expe
rience. Take for instance the Rationale of
Durandus, and compare it with the mode of
celebrating the Holy Communion as described
in the well-known passage of Justin Martyr,
or with the primitive Liturgies, or even with
the mystic explanations of the early writer
under the name of Dionysius of Areopagus ;
compare the simplicity, brevity, and signifi-
cancy of the observances, as gathered from
the early writers, with the puerilities, super
stitions, and errors of the modern ; and the
necessity of some power competent, from
time to time, to retrench what is superfluous
and correct what is false, will become at once
apparent. It was only, then, in the exercise of her in
alienable prerogative as a branch of Christ's

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 263
Catholic Church, that the Church of England
thought it expedient, under the guidance of
God's Spirit, to add to the purification of her
faith the reformation also of her rites and
ceremonies. It was as much her duty to see
that "all things" should "be done unto edi
fying," as it was the duty of the Church at
Corinth. That which, as a divinely commis
sioned Church, she had thought fit to esta
blish, or to accept, or to continue, she thought
fit, by virtue of the same authority, to modify
or to repeal. True, the usurpations of Rome
had, for some time, suspended de facto the
exercise of her independent powers ; but no
authority could abrogate them, save that
which had given them at first; and, the fo
reign influence being providentially removed,
she was restored at once to the liberty with
which Christ had made her free.
And, assuredly, what she did thus legiti
mately she was led by the Holy Spirit to do
with moderation and wisdom. She was nei
ther carried away by the blind zeal of inno
vation, nor restrained by a superstitious reve
rence for human, though ancient, institutions.
What was really Divine, or Apostolical, or
Catholic, she was reverentially careful, as to
all essential parts, to retain entire ; what was

264 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
decent and orderly in ancient practice, she
held in due regard. But whatever experience
had taught to be an abuse, or leading to
abuses, to be evil or the germ of evil, these
things, as tending not to edification, but to
corruption, she did not hesitate to purge
away. And surely it was not alone by her
own strength or wisdom that she was sup
ported in what she abandoned and in what she
retained. Equally comprehensive and discri
minating in her views, she bore always in mind
the great principles of the Catholic Church, and
modified the application of them only when
she had reason to believe that the Catholic
Church, in like circumstances, would have
done the same. And the result, though
doubtless bearing marks of human imperfec
tion, was such as to entitle her to the grati
tude of her children. In the usages which
she has retained, there is enough to fill the
heart and to elevate the soul, to support spiri
tuality, not to overwhelm or to supersede it.
Let her children but obey her voice in simpli
city and truth, let them make full proof of
the manifold privileges which she is ready to
dispense, in her round of holy services, in her
festivals and in her fasts, in things indifferent
as well as in things essential, and they will

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 265
feel no temptation to desert her fold of safety,
or to wander either in forbidden pastures, or
" in a barren and dry land, where no water is."
But, inasmuch as to' give even a brief out
line of the modifications which were then in
troduced, and of their several grounds, would
far exceed my limits ; suffice it to say, that
some usages were removed, because they
were absolutely evil, such as the adoration of
images, and the invocation of saints ; some,
because, though in themselves indifferent,
they were relatively injurious, or tending to
superstition and fanaticism, such as the use of
holy water, or oil, or ashes" ; some, because
they were both at variance with primitive
practice, and proved by experience to be
detrimental to purity and morality, such as
the compulsory celibacy of the clergy ; some,
because they confounded falsehood with truth,
as the legends of apocryphal saints ; some,
because, from their very excess, they were
conducive to the diminution, rather than to
the increase, of edification", such as the un-
" See Treatise on the Church of Christ, by the Rev. W. Palmer,
of Worcester College, vol. i. p. 517; also vol. ii. p. 70, whei-e
the principle of variable and invariable rites is treated with much
discrimination. " See a passage in St. Augustine, Ep. 119, ed. Bened. tom.
ii. p. 142, quoted by Puller, in his Moderation of the Church of
England, p. 126.

266 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM,
reasonable multiplication of festivals. And
the general ground of her decisions our
Church has explicitly stated in the Preface
to her Book of Common Prayer,

But it may be said. Has not the Church
of England exceeded her powers ? has she
rested satisfied with altering things indiffe
rent? has she not abandoned some of the
means of grace, by her refusal to recognise
five out of the seven Sacraments, which the
Church of Rome retains ? A few words,
therefore, on this objection must be added
before I conclude.
And, first, let it be observed, that, although
in her regular Definition she refuses to lower
the high dignity of the two Sacraments of
the Gospel, by giving the same name in the
same sense to other ordinances, she has no
where abandoned their use, so far as they
may be proved to be conducive to grace ;
nay, in her less formal statements, she has
used the name of Sacrament in the same in
definite general sense as the early Fathers
didP, The real question is, which of those
P So Matrimony is called a Sacrament in the Homily on Swear
ing, part i. The Ordering of Ministers, though expressly dis-

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 267
ordinances, as to all that is essential in them,
she has retained, not what name she assigns
them ; for if there is any grace conveyed
through them, we enjoy it by virtue of God's
blessing on their use, not by virtue of an
equivocal name.
Now it would be wasting words to prove
that Holy Orders, Confirmation, and Holy
Wedlock are as fully enjoyed in the Church
of England as in any other Church from the
beginning. Of the value of Ordination I
have already had occasion to speak ; indeed
I have not hesitated, on the authority of Holy
Scripture, to consider the divinely commis
sioned ministry as amongst the principal
means of grace. The holy estate of Matri
mony is so highly esteemed amongst us as to
be considered compatible with the highest
spiritual functions of God's ordained ser
vants, sanctified as it is as a type of the mys
tery of Christ's union with the Church. Yet,
as respects the rite by which it is solemnized,
Cardinal Bellarmine himself has signally
failed in the attempt to prove it a Sacra-
tinguished from Baptism and Communion, is spoken of as amongst
" other Sacraments," in the Homily on Common Prayer and Sacra
ments, part i.

268 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [SERM.
menf ; and, in its own nature, matrimony is
no more a means of grace, than any other
innocent state of life may be ; just as indiffe
rent in its essence as a state of celibacy, or a
state of riches, or a state of poverty ; capable
of being turned, by God's grace, to holy uses,
yet to one man a snare, and to another a
blessing ; not a means of grace, but furnish
ing an occasion for Christian dispositions, and
holy union in the Lord.
Neither is any laboured proof required of
the reverential estimation in which Confirma
tion is held. The imposition of the Bishop's
hands, accompanied with solemn prayer, has
ever been by the whole Catholic Church ac
cepted as a means of grace ; the germ of it,
to say the least, being plainly discoverable in
Scripture, and the universal observance of it,
with some modifications, from the very ear
liest times, being sufficient warrant for consi
dering it an " Ordinance Apostolic, always
profitable in God's Church, although not al
ways accompanied with equal largeness of
those external effects, which gave it counte
nance at the first""."
1 See Gibson's Preservative against Popery, vol. ii. tit. vii. pp.
1 1 and 29.
' Hooker, Eccl. Pol., book v. ch. 66. § 4.

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 269
With respect to Extreme Unction, it is
matter of dispute amongst Romanists them
selves, "whether the faithful are bound by
any Divine or ecclesiastical precept to re
ceive it, and whether St. James's words are
not to be understood as advice, not as pre
cept'." There is no sufficient evidence prior to
that of Innocentius in the fifth century, that
it was customary in the Church — indeed the
Epistle of that Pope to Decentius' furnishes a
presumptive proof against the early institution
of any rite of Unction of the sick, apart from
its use as an instrument concurrent with the
miraculous gifts of healing. The history of
the Church long subsequent to the date of
that Epistle supplies abundant negative evi
dence against the Romish doctrine and usage
upon this subject ; nor, Avhatever germs of it,
as a part of the visitation of the sick, we may
find in the Sacramentary of Gregory, was it
declared to be a Sacrament before the time of
Pope Eugenius", nor fully established as such
before the Council of Trent. Facts these, suffi-
= Palmer, Treatise on the Church of Christ, vol. ii. p. 71. Note.
' Innocentius I. Decentio Episcopo Eugubino — ap. Mansi Con-
cill. nov. Collect, tom. iii. 1031. See this argument stated by
Bishop Burnet on the 39 Articles, Art. 25.
" Decretum Eugenii Papse ad Armenos ap. Mansi, tom. xxxi.
p. 1058.

270 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
cient to shew, that the ancient Church inter
preted the passage in St, James's Epistle^ as
we do, attributing to the application of oil
" in the name of the Lord," not a function
which was to be perpetuated in the Church
as a Sacrament for the spiritual benefit of the
dying, when despaired of, but an efficacy,
conjointly with prayer, towards the miracu
lous restoration of the sick man's bodily
health ; to which was added, in certain cases,
the forgiveness of sins as comprised in the
miracle. On these grounds, our Church, in her
discretion, has rightly thought fit to discon
tinue the anointing, while she retains, however,
that which St. James himself has declared to
be instrumental to saving " the sick," namely
" the prayer of faith," supplicating condition
ally for the sick member's restoration to
bodily health, and commending his soul at
the point of departure, " as into the hands of
a faithful Creator^."
There remains one ordinance to be consi
dered, that of Penance, which, important at
^ This interpretation of St. James v. 14. derives strength from
comparing it with St. Mark vi. 13. and xvi. 18. See the whole
question of Extreme Unction fuUy treated of in Gibson's Preser^
vative against Popery, vol. ii. tit. vii. p. 57.
y See the Commendatory Prayer in the Order for the Visita
tion of the Sick.

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 271
all times, is especially so in these days, when
the hearts of many are longing for that
which our Church herself confesses to be
the ancient "godly disciplined" And let it
be acknowledged that it is now to be found
no where in Christendom as it existed in
the Primitive Church; and, considering the
change of circumstances and habits, it is, per
haps, hardly to be expected that any Church
will ever succeed in restoring it to its primi
tive form and efficiency. Let us console our
selves with the refiection, that, being an eccle
siastical ordinance, however wisely adapted to
the situation of the early Church, it was, in
its nature, variable, and liable to discretionary
modifications in after times. It is our wis
dom then, not vainly to mourn at the absence
of that, the restoration of which, however
much to be wished, may seem to be denied
us, but to pray that our Church in her discre
tion may be led and enabled to act upon the
principle of discipline, as already, in certain
of her formularies, enjoined on her clergy, in
the spirit of Christian love for the sinner, so
as to adapt it to the circumstances of her posi
tion, A very shght change in the law would
suffice to give full and real effect to the well-
^ See Exhortation in tlie Commination.

272 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [SERM.
known Rubric in our Communion Office, and
to reahze the theory of our Church that " that
person, which by open denunciation of the
Church is rightly cut off from the unity of
the Church and excommunicated, ought to
be taken of the Avhole multitude of the faith
ful as an heathen and publican, until he be
openly reconciled by penance, and received
into the Church by a judge that hath autho
rity thereunto ^"
But if the ancient system of penance, how
ever we may regret its unsuitableness to our
times, was liable to modification, as being
only of ecclesiastical origin, still more Avas the
so called Sacrament of Penance, which had
been received in the Church of Rome, liable
to be rejected, as owing its origin to the sub
tleties of the Schoolmen about the time of the
Lateran Council. For what title has an ordi
nance arbitrarily compounded, as it is, out of
various elements*", to be accounted " a Sacra
ment for the remission of sins committed
after Baptism," which, as a complex system,
" Art. xxxiii.
•^ The matter in this so-called Sacrament assigned in the Church
of Rome are the acts of the penitent ; made up of his confession
by his mouth to the Priest, the contrition or attrition of his heart,
and the satisfaction of his work in doing the enjoined penance.
The form is in the words Ego ie ahsolvo. Bp. Burnet.

VII.J MEANS OP EDIFICATION. 273
had yet no warrant of Scripture and no evi
dence of antiquity to support its claims ?
Whatever, indeed, there is of value in its
component parts our Church has retained.
To absolution she attributes, as we have
seen, a very important office in restoring
the sinner ; confession, not only general and
public, but private confession to some "dis
creet and learned minister of God's Word,"
is even recommended to the disquieted con
science; contrition, if it mean true repent
ance and amendment of life, true fxeTavota,
change of heart and mind, she confesses to be
absolutely necessary to salvation ; and no re
pentance is true and availing, which does not
bring forth " works worthy of repentance."
But our Church gives no countenance to the
snare of compulsory auricular confession, nor
to sacramental confession as a necessary qua
lification for the Holy Communion, seeing
there is no ground for it either in Holy
Scripture or in Christian antiquity''; she
makes no vain distinctions between contrition

" Hooker E. P. book vi. ch. iv. § 13. " To conclude, we every
where find the use of confession, especially public, allowed of and
commended by the Fathers ; but that extreme and rigorous neces
sity of auricular and private confession, which is at this day so
mightily upheld by the Church of Rome, we find not."

274 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
and attrition*^ ; and she allows no meritorious
efficacy to satisfaction. In a word, what the
one Church arbitrarily established, the other,
in her discretion, has rightfully rejected, so
far as it was repugnant to God's Word and
Catholic practice ; but she has, in doing this,
been careful not to abandon or to endanger
any of the means of grace.

The argument of the present Lecture, how
ever briefly and inadequately handled, may
serve in some degree to complete the proof
of the proposition which it has been a part
of my design to establish ; namely, that God
hath " given unto us all things which pertain
unto life and godliness'' ;" that in the subordi
nate, as well as in the principal, means of
grace, that in Apostolical, Catholic, and eccle^

^ Attrition, according to the Romish casuists, is imperfect con
trition, that is " any sorrow for sin, though upon an inferior mo
tive, such as may be particular to one act of sin, as when it rises
from the loss or shame it has brought with it, together with an
act formed in detestation of it, without a resolution to sin no
more. Such a sorrow as this is they teach does make the Sacra
ment effectual, and puts a man in a state of justification, though
they acknowledge that without the Sacrament it is not sufficient
to justify him." (See Exposition of the XXXIX Articles by Bp.
Burnet ; Art. xxv.)
" 2 St. Peter i. 3.

VII.J MEANS OP EDIFICATION. 275
siastical usages, as well as in Sacraments, and
such other ordinances as have the promise of
grace attached to them in Scripture, our
branch of the Catholic Church has been very
highly favoured by its Divine Head.
And if this be so, surely a sense of duty
and gratitude to God Himself should lead us
to rest contented with the rich privileges with
which our cup is overflowing. It is our true
Avisdom not to speculate on what, in our judg
ment, may be wanting, but to enjoy what we
have ; confidently believing, that, if we yet
lack any thing, the Lord of the Church will in
due time give it to us, in proportion as our
prayers, and, I will add, our faithfulness and
thankful employment of what we have, draw
down upon us a further blessing. I would
press it affectionately upon the consciences of
aU, who without the sanction, sometimes even
against the spirit, of our Church, are adopting
in their own practice, or recommending to
others, what they think fit arbitrarily to
consider Catholic usages, whether they are
not acting in the spirit of private judg
ment, and, in the search after fancied
edification, disturbing what is the first prin
ciple and condition of edification, the peace
and unity of the Chur'ch. If such matters,
T 2

276 THE AUXILIARY AND SUBORDINATE [sERM.
indeed, were of the essence, and if our
Church has them not, then no one could
blame such persons, (however deeply their
withdrawal might be lamented), if, in that
conviction, they were to desert her commu
nion, and to resort elsewhere, supposing,
always, that they went where they could go
with full assurance that there would be no
danger of finding themselves in a schis-
matical position. But, if, as has been proved,
our Church is in full possession of the
means of grace, if the changes desired are
not essential but circumstantial, such as by
virtue of her Christian liberty every Church
is entitled to grant or to withhold, then let it
be considered, whether, upon their OAvn prin
ciples, those who murmur at her regulations,
those who, of their OAvn authority, would add
to, or take from, or in any way modify these
subordinate institutions, are not acting in the
spirit of schism. For schism is distinguished
from legitimate separation by its subject-
matter being indifferent and non-essential.
To reject gross and fundamental errors, when
proved to be so, to refuse compliance in
practices implying idolatry, or any thing
which does dishonour to God, or manifestly
repugnant to His Word, or to the pure

VII.J MEANS OF EDIFICATION. 277
practice of the Church, is an act of duty, not
an act of schism ; but to murmur at the
shape of a vestment, or at some fancied de
viation from perfect order in the Liturgy, this
is surely to disturb and divide the Church
without cause ; it is to sacrifice the substance
for the sake of the shadow.
But while occasion has been taken to vindi
cate for the Church of England the character
of a living branch of the true vine, let it not
be supposed that the theoretic completeness
of the Church herself is confounded with the
ordinary practice of her children. It is im
possible to look around, I will not say upon
the multitudes of avowed non-conformists, or
upon the heathen population — alas ! that such
it must be termed — ^which Christian England
is holding, without nursing, in her bosom, but
even amongst the professing members of our
Church, nay, it is impossible to look into our
oAva hearts, without confessing that the
Church has never as yet realized her high
destiny. In the midst of spiritual plenty,
thousands are perishing for lack of food.
The means of grace are ready for use ; but
how few employ them ; how few understand or
appreciate them ; how few ever seek for that

278 MEANS OF EDIFICATION. [sERM. VII.
grace, which, by God's blessing, they are capa
ble of conveying. What we want, then, is not a
living Church, for that we have ; but to live in
that living Church, to grow in her and with
her, to grow with her growth and to strengthen
with her strength ; in her to " grow up
unto him in all things which is the head,
even Christ." This truth has doubtless been
present to our minds throughout the whole
of the foregoing Lectures ; but, inasmuch as
it is the grace of graces, and has special pro
mises attached to it in Scripture, it is entitled
to a special place in the inquiry ; and on this
subject accordingly, namely the due applica
tion of the means of grace, I propose to treat
in the concluding Lecture.

SERIVION VIII.

St. John xv. 2.
EVERY BRANCH IN ME THAT BEARETH NOT FRUIT HE
TAKETH AWAY : AND EVERY BRANCH THAT BEARETH
FRUIT, HE PURGETH IT, THAT IT MAY BRING FORTH MORE
FRUIT.
In the General Thanksgiving, which we offer
daily in the Church, amongst the special bless
ings for which we give unto the " Father of
mercies," " most humble and hearty thanks,"
we make mention of " the means of grace ;"
a blessing manifestly regarded by our Church
as of great moment, if we only judge by
the context in which it stands ; placed in
most appropriate relation to its actual bear
ing upon our salvation, between the only
cause of all our spiritual blessings and
their ultimate perfect consummation ; be
tween " the redemption of the world by
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," and
" the hope of glory." Yet it is to be feared,
that, often as this expression passes our lips,
there are few who realize to themselves any
definite notion of the meaning of the terms.
A vague general impression, that it alludes to

£80 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sEBM.
the influence of the Holy Spirit, with perhaps a
more special reference to the two Sacraments of
the Gospel, seems to satisfy most minds. The
object of the present inquiry, then, has been
to examine, whether the terms do not com
prehend much more ; and I have endeavoured
to shew, by an induction of particulars, what
is the nature, and extent, and mutual relation
of the principal means appointed and revealed
for the attainment of Divine grace ; and, that
nothing may be wanting which may possibly
be comprised in the subject, I have likewise
given as much attention as time permitted, to
the consideration of those ordinances which,
being of Apostolical, Catholic, or Ecclesias
tical origin, are supplemental, in various de
grees, to the great primary instruments, by
which the Holy Ghost ordinarily enables us
to work out our salvation. The object of this
the concluding Lecture will be, to ascertain
the right method of turning the means of
grace to the best account. It will be my pur
pose to shew, that the only adequate return
we can make for God's infinite goodness in
bringing these privileges within our reach, is,
not only to look upon them theoretically as
one harmoniqus system, but, in very deed,
to fulfil His gracious purposes towards us by

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 281
the unreserved, full, and heartfelt acceptance,
and, according to the real measure of our
opportunities, the enjoyment of each and all.
Without reference to this employment, indeed,
the whole inquiry would be in a great measure
unprofitable ; and the very name of " means"
would be an idle sound. And yet this obvious
truth, so nearly affecting our immortal souls, it
is the most difficult task of all to bring home
to men's consciences, or to impress it upon
their lives. Indeed, mankind in general are
living as if the Holy Ghost had never descended
upon men, or rather as if they had " not so
much as heard whether there be any Holy
Ghost ^." For to the great multitude of
nominal Christians the means of grace are
as if they had never been.
The causes of this fatal disregard of that
Divine Person " without whom nothing is
strong, nothing is holy," lie deep in the cor
ruptions of the human heart; and "the Prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience'',"
is ever on the watch to make the grace of God
of none effect. He is ever ready to suggest,
if not the avowed rejection of all Christian
ordinances, at least a quiet unobtrusive dis-
' Acts xix. 2. " Eph. ii. 2.

282 THE IMPROVEMENT OT [sERM.
belief in their covenanted efficacy ; doubts as
to all spiritual influences ; a dread of what is
supernatural ; a disinclination to what is mys
terious. Whatever means of grace are ad
mitted, where this spirit of scepticism is
allowed to operate, it is only on the ground,
that they are supposed to produce certain
moral effects, in as far as they act upon the
mind by memory, or association, or instruction,
or implanting of motives, not because they are
the channels of the Divine presence within our
hearts. How far these suggestions fall short
of the truth, the foregoing Lectures, perhaps,
may in some degree serve to shew.
But, perhaps, the most subtle of our great
adversary's devices is that by which he in
duces men to rely upon the outward form of
ordinances without regard to their spirit and
power. And it is the more dangerous, because
the formalist appears to himself and others to
be doing that which is religious and right;
and yet, all the time, his inward dispositions
are probably in no way connected with his
outward acts. The means, which are abso
lutely useless, unless furthered and followed
by grace, are valued for their own sakes ; they
are regarded, not as helps to religion, but as

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 283
religion itself. And the operation of this de
lusion is much more extensive than is com
monly imagined. It may be traced to the same
principle, which, in reference to the Sacra
mental theory, is known amongst the School
men by a distinct theological name, the prin
ciple of benefit ex opere operato. But its in
fluence is equally dangerous in the other means
of grace. For what is conscious wandering of
the heart in prayer ; or the listless mechanical
perusal of the Scriptures ; or a bare outward
adherence to the Church ? what is Confession,
or dependence upon the priest's Absolution, ir
respective of repentance ; or an unfruitful at
tendance on the ministration of an Apostolical
clergy ? what are fasts without universal daily
self-denial, or festivals without thankful devo
tion, without the earnest endeavour to imitate
the saints, whom we commemorate ? what are
all these, but so many distinct instances of
dependence on outward observances ex opere
operato ; reliance on the work being done,
the ordinance observed, no matter how un
faithfully? And the temptation is more
dangerous because unsuspected. We can all
recognise the danger of the principle, when we
hear of the superstition of those who placed
the Holy Sacrament in the mouths of the

284 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [SERM,
dead", or ofthose heretics, whom St. Augustine
describes as teaching that, if a man was bap
tized and had once communicated, be he never
so wicked or heretical, he would, by virtue of
those Holy Sacraments, be saved*^. But we
little suspect, that the same principle of error,
in another form, is too often busy within our
selves. How should dead, or cold, or faithless
hearts receive benefit from the use of the
Sacraments, more than the mortal remains of
the departed ? What talisman is there in all
the means of grace for those who receive the
grace of God in vain ?

These, then, are the two great instruments by
which our sanctification is frustrated through
the machinations of the Evil Spirit ; and thus
it is that generation after generation passes
away, and the Lord cometh and findeth no
fruit, or, when " he looked that" the vine
" should bring forth grapes," " it brought
¦= Concil. Carth. 3. can. 6. " Item placuit, ut corporibus defunc-
torum Eucharistia non detur ; dictum est enim a Domino, Accipite
et edite ; cadavera autem nee accipere possunt nee edere. Caven-
dum est etiam ne mortuos baptizari posse fratrum infirmitas
credat." . . . Bruns., vol. i. p. 123.
'' August, de Civ. Dei, lib. xxi. cap. 19. Ed. Bened. tom. vii.
col. 639.— Conf. cap. 25. col. 646. G.

VIII.] THE MEANS OF GRACE. 285
" forth wild grapes^." And when the long-
suffering of God is bestowed upon it in vain,
and it finally " heareth not fruit ;" when the
process of corruption is accomphshed, and the
branch is dried up and withered, then, at
length, the Father, which is the husbandman,
"taketh it away:" that is, according to the
full force of that simple yet awful expression,
the soul of the reprobate is cut off from Christ,
the sources of life and grace are dried up and
stopped, and nothing else can follow, but
eternal perdition of body and soul.

But there is yet another temptation, which
deserves distinct mention. Our spiritual
enemy may not succeed to the extent of seal
ing up the fountains of Divine grace ; but his
unholy purposes may be partly furthered by
choking up some of the channels. Many an
honest and good heart, which would shrink
with horror from despising the means of grace,
or from using them deceitfully and perfunc
torily, may yet be led to inadequate views of
the extent and variety of its privileges, and to
only a partial acceptance and employment of
the manifold gifts of God. The main design
* Isaiah v. 2.

286 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
of the present inquiry has been to enforce
the combined and harmonious use of all the
means placed by God's mercy within our
reach. To this end the Scriptural sources,
and the high value, of each particular channel
of spiritual influence, have been traced in de
tail ; and to the general result thus obtained,
I would now add some farther considerations,
in support of the conclusion at which I would
arrive. It is a simple and obvious truth, which holds
good universally, that it is only by the com
bined use of all necessary instruments that
any result can be fully obtained. We have
no reason to doubt, that the same principle
holds good with respect to our sanctification.
If we would become holy, we must use all
the necessary means.
And who of all created beings shall decide,
what is necessary to the spiritual Avell-being
of the soul ? How little does any human
being know of the intricacies of his own
heart ! And what do wx know of any of the
invisible operations of God's Holy Spirit
Avithin that unknown world, except what it
hath pleased " the Father of lights" to re
veal ? And wh6, then, can tell what neces-

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 287
sary relation there may be between certain of
the means of grace, and certain wants of the
soul ? And who, then, can determine in what
proportions each may be safely administered,
or safely neglected ? It may be, that what
appears to us least necessary for our special
case, may on that very account be indispen
sable. There may be hidden diseases in the
heart, and there may be a hidden specific
adaptation of one means rather than another
to its cure. We can see, that (independently
of the general effect towards sanctification)
several of the means have a specific kind of
grace apparently peculiar to each. To Holy
Baptism is assigned the grace of regenera
tion ; to the Holy Eucharist, the grace of our
Lord's Body and Blood verily and indeed re
ceived by faith ; to the Holy Scriptures and to
preaching (in its full sense), the grace of illumi
nation ; to the Church, the grace of union with
Christ the Head, and communion with His
Body ; to the Apostolical Ministry, the grace
of perpetuating a visible order of pastors, and
a continued succession of faithful men, and
of ministerially applying the other means of
grace ; to Absolution, the quieting of the con
science, the pardon assured to repented sin,
and the restoration of spiritual privileges ; to

288 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [SERM.
Prayer, the supplemental grace of petitioning
for all grace.
We can see, again, that the remedies of
grace do, in a remarkable degree, correspond
specifically to the several sources of that " cor
ruption that is in the world through lustV
Thus, for instance, regeneration in Baptism
is the specific remedy for original sin; the
new man, as born after the second Adam, is
contrasted with the old man as engendered in
the first. The Holy Eucharist is adapted to
the renovation of the faithful penitent from
sin after Baptism, to the conquest of that " lust
of the fiesh" which remains even in the rege
nerate. The Holy Catholic Church, citizenship
and service in Christ's kingdom, the succession
of faithful men under a succession of faithful
pastors ; all this is opposed to the service of
Satan in his kingdom, to the contagion and
propagation of evil, to the world with its
pomps and vanities, to hereditary and accu
mulated ungodliness. Fasting is contrasted
with the sins of the body, with luxury and
uncleanness, with surfeiting and drunkenness.
Prayer, again, is the antagonist of forgetfulness
of God, trust in ourselves, indifference to spi
ritual things, open contempt of God, cursing
<¦ 2 St. Peter i. 4.

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 289
and blasphemy. Again, on the one side are
ranged the holy Canonical Scriptures, cate
chetical instruction, sermons and homilies,
psalms and spiritual hymns, public and pri
vate teaching, the Scriptural knowledge of
our duty to God and man : on the other, igno
rance of heaven and hell ; idle talking ; pro
fligate language and literature ; education in
vice ; principle silently undermined by vicious
practice, or openly ridiculed and assailed.
This enumeration, though of course inade
quate to the full truth, may yet serve to shew
us, that there may be other special uses in
these several means, undiscoverable by our
present faculties ; and the only conclusion
which a man anxious for his salvation can
arrive at, is that all within our reach must be
fully employed, lest by neglecting any we fall
short of the grace which we most need. The
whole character, the whole man, the " whole
spirit, soul, and body^," are being educated
for heaven ; and no branch of discipline must
be neglected which can even possibly affect
the result.
Who knows, again, whether the means in
combination may not have a cumulative effi
cacy, wrought through the indwelling Spirit,
8 1 Thess. V. 23.
U

290 THE IMPROVEMENT OP [sERM.
over and above the separate use of each ?
We can see that this is the case in some.
Prayer, for instance, though of singular effi
cacy alone, yet enters readily into combina
tion with all the rest ; it heightens and spi
ritualizes them ; it adds the blessing peculiarly
its own to the grace properly appertaining to
each of the other means. The baptismal life,
as we have seen, is continued, and rekindled,
and brought to maturity, by the means sub
sequently co-operating with its Adtal powers.
Holy Baptism itself, in cases of absolute
necessity, the Church in general has judged
to be valid without the aid of an apostolical
ministry ; yet Baptism at the hands of such
a ministry appears indispensable, "where it
may be had," and it is without all doubt com
plete, whereas, according to primitive rule,
the Rite, when administered apart from Holy
Orders, though possibly valid, yet requires
the imposition of the Bishop's hands to render
it fully efficacious^. Again, reading Holy Scrip
ture is one instrument ; catechetical instruc
tion or preaching is another ; but full illu
mination is a result compounded of the effects
of both. From all this, therefote, which we
do see, there is a presumption that there are
^ See the Appendix,

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 291
hidden links of mysterious coherence, between
each and every one, though not perceived as
yet. And when to this presumption is added
the fact, sufficiently established, I trust, in
the foregoing Lectures, that all the principal
means are of God's appointment, that He
nowhere gives a dispensation for neglecting
any one, and that all the Christian graces have
a mutual influence towards the increase of
each other, it may be regarded as sufficiently
proved, that the use of all the means also is
cumulative, reciprocally adding to the efficacy
of each other ; and that, as the end of all is
one and the same, even our sanctification, so
the instrumentality appointed by Divine good
ness and wisdom, the eTrixopvY^a, tov Hi/evfjtaTos',
is one complex system, made up of diversified,
yet harmonious, parts, all converging towards
one common centre in the heart of each in
dividual believer, or rather in the collective
body of which he is a member.

And now, the great deduction from what
has been said, is, that our duty lies in the
faithful, heartfelt, conscious improvement of
all the means of grace, in the proportion
' Phihpp. i. 19.
u 2

292 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
suited to each, without the undue preference
or the exclusion of any. Whether in the con
duct of our own lives, or in the attempt to
convert the heathen and the sinner, we are to
depend, neither upon the Scriptures alone,
nor upon preaching alone, nor upon the
Apostolical Church and ministry alone, no,
nor even upon the Holy Sacraments alone ;
to depend upon none of these, either singly or
conjointly, as intrinsically efficacious, without
the co-operation of our own faculties, intellec
tual, moral, and spiritual, as evidenced by a
holy life; and to depend upon nothing;
whether it be our own efforts, or even ap
pointed means, as separable from the Divine
presence, indwelling and working in us,
" both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
And, assuredly, there are " exceeding great
and precious promises''," even in this world,
even to the soul which is not yet ripe for
heaven, given to this uniform and consistent
employment of all our opportunities. Over
and above the grace corresponding to our
efforts, there is a reward offered, the highest
which "this mortal" can enjoy, the earnest
of God's approval of our endeavours to be like
k 2 St. Peter i. 4.

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 293
Him, by the communication of a greater share
of the goodness which is after His image, in
His likeness. It is a truth of incalculable
moment ; and I state it, not in the form of a
corollary to the results of our inquiry, but as
a constituent part of the subject itself. For
though we may hesitate to call grace improved
a means of sanctification, yet it is a condition,
accompanied with a promise, of increase of
grace. What other conclusion than this can be
drawn from the text ? " Every branch that
beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring
forth more fruit." Every member of Christ
that profits by the grace given to him and
brings forth the fruits of good living, the
Father purifieth yet more, giving him more
grace, that he may bear more fruit. The
good works which are produced by grace out
of " an honest and good heart," united to
Christ, are rewarded by an increased capa
city, through God's Divine and covenanted
assistance, of growing " in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ." A similar conclusion results from the
parable of the talents'. The "talents" are
' St. Matthew xxv. 20.

294 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
means and opportunities, the dihgent and
faithful use of which produces a corresponding
addition of means and opportunities. " Lord,
thou deliveredst unto me five talents : behold,
I have gained beside them five talents more."
" Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents :
behold, I have gained two other talents beside
them," The unimproved talent is given also
" to him which hath ten talents :" one means
of grace, over and above what he had before.
So grace improved is the seed of more grace ;
and the means of grace likewise are strength
ened, and perhaps even increased, " by reason
of use," " For unto every one that hath shall
be given, and he shall have abundance: but
from him that hath not shall be taken away,
even that which he hath."
And now, before I conclude, instead of a
formal recapitulation of the contents of the
foregoing Lectures, I would venture to trace
briefly and rapidly, as upon principles now
established, to which, or to obvious corollaries
from them, I would be understood to be re
ferring, what may be called the history of the
life of God in the Christian man from the font
to the grave.
Let us take the case, then, of any child just

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 295
born into the world, the child of Christian
parents, within reach of evangelical ordinances
in a Christian land. It signifies nothing what
condition of life he is born in, or what is his
future temporal destination. The education
for heaven is tied to no conventional laws of
human society ; it is, in all its extent and ful
ness, the right of every child of Adam, whom
it may please God to call. The application of
the principles will vary, doubtless, according
to future opportunities, which are, after all,
relative in the case of each individual to " that
state of life unto which it shall please God
to call" him ; but the principles themselves,
and the foundation, and our duty in reference
to them, are essentially the same in all.
This child, we know, has an immortal soul;
and, although, thus far, he has done neither
good nor evil, yet he will inevitably become
either " as the angels of God in heaven," or
else the sinful and wretched companion of
evil spirits to all eternity. The problem
which we have to solve, then, is how that
helpless infant may be educated in such a
manner as that he may become, not only po
tentially, but really and ultimately, an inheri
tor of the kingdom of heaven.
The first question which arises, is, at what

296 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
point this education ought to begin. Now,
unassisted reason would bid us wait till the
child's faculties should have dawned suffi
ciently to admit of his at once co-operating in
the charitable work which we have under
taken. Not so the Christian philosopher;
not so the Apostles ; not so the universal
Church. It was not so from the very begin
ning". In accordance with Scriptural intima
tions and analogies, the Church bids us begin
the work, of grace at once, by calling " upon
God the Father, through our Lord Jesus
Christ, that of His bounteous mercy He will
grant to this child that thing which by nature
he cannot have ; that he may be baptized
with water and the Holy Ghost, and received
into Christ's holy Church, and be made a
lively member of the same," And so he be
comes " a member of Christ, the child of God,
and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven,"
He is regenerate ; he has put off the old man
and put on the new; he has new relations,
new capacities, new principles of life ; not
yet in the full actual enjoyment of his privi
leges, but potentially endowed with a spiri
tual birthright, to be "under tutors and gover
nors until the time appointed of the Father","
"> See the Appendix. " Gal. iv. 2.

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 297
yet, even now, " lord of all" that rich inherit
ance. And who can tell how soon that little
seed of vital grace begins to germinate ? Who
can tell how much preventive grace may not be
thereby imparted to his opening faculties, so
as to facilitate the growth of faith and repent
ance, which, when ripe within him, quicken in
their turn the actual development of the powers
of his new life ? Surely the struggles of the
Christian child, even before he knows that he
is struggling, for goodness, and gentleness,
and obedience, cannot be without God's grace.
By this early initiation, again, he is made a
member of the Church ; bound up with her spi
ritual interests; a warrior enrolled in her armies
under the banner of the Cross ; a partaker in
her growth, in her triumphs, in her prayers.
Further, in the very act of Baptism, he is
brought into immediate relation with the
Apostolical Ministry, and, through that
ministry, with the Apostles themselves as the
ambassadors of Christ. He is become one of
the flock, whom it is the appointed office of
successive pastors to guard and to feed.
Such, then, in brief, for the child in ques
tion, are the results, immediate or almost im
mediate, of the laver of regeneration ; results
and relations, which are to endure throughout

298 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
his mortal pilgrimage, capable, indeed, of
being forfeited by his own apostacy, but ad
mitting likewise of infinite degrees of im
provement and increase.
And now, only contrast what he is with
what he would have been, if, according to
this world's wisdom, he had been left unbap-
tized. He is a child of God ; he would have
remained a child of wrath : he is under grace ;
he would have been under corruption and
condemnation : he has all the promises, hopes,
privileges, relations of the Gospel, yea, and the
inheritance of heaven, secured to him by co
venant ; he would have been a stranger "from
the covenants of promise," and for him all
those privileges would have existed in vain.
In the mean time his faculties are expand
ing, and he becomes capable of learning "what
a solemn vow, promise, and profession he
hath made by" his sureties. He is brought
under the teaching of parents, sponsors, and
spiritual pastors. He is taught his duty to
God and man; he is instructed in the great
mysteries of the Christian faith ; he learns to
study and to love God's Word ; and thus the
grace of illumination dawns in his heart.
Furthermore, he is habituated to the use of

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 299
prayer, not without learning that the chief
object of prayer is grace". Night and morn
ing, he kneels, in the presence of his earthly
parent, before Him who is invisible ; he is
gradually permitted also to partake in the
privilege of domestic worship ; he is taken, as
the great privilege of all, to the consecrated
house of God, and there, amidst holy asso
ciations, edifying forms, the memorials of wor
shippers, once, like himself, " babes in Christ,"
but now gone to their rest in the full stature
of Christian manhood, there surrounded by his
spiritual kindred, dead and living, he learns
to join in those holy and affecting and time-
hallowed services which his Church has pro
vided in the Book of Common Prayer. And
thus " the spirit of grace and of supplications"
is gradually, by God's aid and blessing,
poured into his heart.
In those few short years, the most momen
tous in the whole existence of every human
" What a depth of meaning there is, yet how seldom observed,
in the introduction to the command in the Catechism to say the
Lord's Prayer ! " My good child, know this, that thou art not
able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk in the command
ments of God, and to serve Him, without His .special grace,
which thou must learn at aU times to call for by diligent prayer."
Yet in many schools it was, and perhaps is, the custom to leave
out these words as superfluous : and to use the compendious form,
" Say the Lord's Prayer."

300 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [SERM.
being, how many of the seeds of hohness
may have been sown in the good ground
of his regenerate nature. The dew of God's
grace is already falling upon him and fertiliz
ing his heart, that "honest and good heart"
which, like " the earth which drinketh in the
rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth
forth herbs meet for those by whom it is
dressed, receiveth blessing from God^." Al
ready has he " tasted of the heavenly gift,
and been made partaker of the Holy Ghost,
and" has " tasted the good word of God,
and the powers of the world to come "J."
" From a child" he has " known the Holy
Scriptures, which are able to make" him
" wise unto salvation through faith which
is in Christ Jesus'"." Faith in that crucified
Saviour, and in the power of His resurrec
tion, is becoming gradually the principle
of all his actions. Already he may have
become, even in those tender years, " sted-
fast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted
in charity'." That feeble branch in Christ
may already be bearing fruit, and the Father
be even now purging it, " that it may bring
forth more fruit."
P Heb. vi. 7. i Heb. vi. 4, 5. r 2 Tim. iii. 15.
' See the Ministration of Baptism.

VIII.J THE MEANS OP GRACE. 301
But there are greater privileges yet in store
for the child of grace. Having been duly
prepared by a consistent and full course of
catechetical teaching, he is, at the proper
season, brought to the Bishop to be con
firmed. The vows which were made in his
name, he now solemnly and " in the pre
sence of God and of the congregation," takes
upon himself. His responsibility, which had
hitherto been in proportion to his faculties
and to his knowledge, is henceforward com^
plete ; he is now, for all spiritual purposes;
of full age. And the Bishop, after the ex
ample of the Apostles, lays his hands upon
him, and blesses him, and prays over him,
to the intent that God may strengthen him
"with the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and
daily increase in" him His " manifold gifts
of grace."
Lastly, and to crown all, he is bidden, to
gether with all " such as are religiously and
devoutly disposed," to "the most comfortable
Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ ;"
and there, coming in faith, and charity, and a
thankful remembrance of Christ's death, he
verily and indeed receives His Body and
Blood.

302 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [SERM.
Thus far, at least, the training of every
living soul, " as many as the Lord our God
may call," may be and must be, as to all its
essential parts, the same. Every Christian
child, Avhatever may be his future destination,
is entitled, in right of his second birth, to be
put into full possession of his covenanted in
heritance ; and woe to that land which deals
partially and unjustly by her children. How
far Christian England has fulfilled this pa
rental duty, I pause not to inquire ; for the
answer is written upon the moral and reli
gious condition of this people in characters
which " he may run that readeth."
From this epoch, however, it becomes diffi
cult to fix upon any one rule respecting the
application of the means of grace, which shall
be strictly and uniformly suitable to all. The
characters and habits, the circumstances and
employments of men in actual life, are so in
finitely diversified, that certain of the ordi
nances abstractedly most desirable, in all
their integrity, for every one, require, and
admit of, considerable practical modifications.
Thus the daily prayer of the Church is a bless
ing of incalculable value to all within its reach ;
nay, upon the principles estabhshed, it is a

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 303
Jblessing even for those who are willing, but
unable, to take a personal share in the service,
inasmuch as they are faithful members of a
praying Church and congregation : but it is a
privilege which to many of a large class of
men is, in their own persons, inaccessible.
Supposing, even, the realization of what all
would Avish, the establishment of morning
and evening service daily in every parish
Church in our land, how can every labourer
or artizan, especially in rural districts, be ex
pected, day by day, to leave his labour, or his
distant home, in order to enjoy the privilege?
Fasting, again, is, beyond all doubt, an or
dinance of Divine appointment; andtheprm-
ciple of self-denial, and self-mortification which
it involves, is indispensably necessary for all ;
yet fasting is not for the sick and languishing,
whose soul and. body are already brought
under, but for the healthy and the strong;
not for the child, but for the man ; not
for the poor mechanic, whose daily labour
requires the daily recruiting of his full
bodily strength ; but (to use the words of
Bishop Jeremy Taylor) " for the lusty and the
lazy, the strong and the unemployed*," Nay,
' See Bishop Jeremy Taylor, Of the Power of the Church in
Canons and Censures. Works, vol. xiv. p. 97.

304 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
still more, fasting is not for those who, instead
of deriving benefit from its use, are, in real
truth, as in God's sight, hindered thereby
from fulfilling their Christian duty ; and that
for the plain reason, that Christian duty is an
end, whereas fasting is only a means, ordained
not for its own sake, but for the end to which
it serves. These instances may suffice to shew,
that there must be some limitation to the
conclusion drawn at the beginning of this
Lecture ; it is not possible to lay down a
general rule ; but neither is it necessary ; it is
sufficient, for the purpose of ascertaining the
principle upon which many of the means of
grace are to be applied, to divide the whole
body of Christians into two classes; those
who have full spiritual opportunities, and those
who have them not : and for each individual
it is enough to ascertain, as he will answer to
God in the dreadful day of judgment, what is
the real amount of his privileges, and to avail
himself of them to the fullest extent. " If
there be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according to that a man hath, and not accord
ing to that he hath not"."
And in truth, how much is within the reach
of every one if he has but this "wilhng mind !"
" 2 Cor. viii. 12.

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 305
True, we are again reminded of the spiritual
destitution which surrounds us. Men are be
ginning to discover that the provision for the
means of grace, whether in respect to an Apo
stolical Ministry, or even to the subsidiary in
strument of ecclesiastical fabrics, which was
suitable to a population of four millions, is in
sad disproportion to that number quadrupled.
To acknowledge this disproportion is the first
step to its remedy ; and if all the members of
the Church had but " a willing mind," God
would soon supply our spiritual necessities.
Yet, even Avith our present inadequate but in
creasing resources, how many of the means of
grace might, by obvious methods, be multi
plied indefinitely for the use of our people.
The Holy Sacraments are accessible to all.
Each man has, even now, in the eye of the
Church, his appointed pastor, and teacher,
and guide, and friend, amongst men, who to
their power, yea, and beyond their power, are
willing "very gladly to spend and be spent
for" their flock; yes, and even for their ali
enated little ones, for whom they are, in a
degree, responsible, though they have wan
dered out of the fold. The holy services of
our Church, her " form of sound words," her
prayers and thanksgivings, the Holy Volume
X

306 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
and its sound exposition, might, in many
cases, to a greater extent, be made available
to successive congregations within the same
hallowed walls in one day. Catechetical teach
ing might become universal. Men might learn
in their secret hearts to "pray without ceas
ing;" they might teach the words of God
"diligently unto their" children, and might
so learn themselves ; they might talk of them
when they were sitting in their house, and
when they were walking by the way, and
when they were lying down, and when they
were rising up.
And if so much as this may be expected
from those whose opportunities are limited,
what shall be said of those whose privileges
are, in a manner, unbounded ? What, for
instance, in this venerable seat of Christian
learning, is the measure of our privileges, and
of our responsibilities ? Here, if any where,
the means of grace, in all their fulness and
intensity, are concentrated and embodied, yea,
even forced upon our daily and hourly atten
tion in audible and visible reality. Here the
Church's voice is heard, calling her sons to the
ceaseless improvement of her annual round of
holy ministrations, of her daily service, of her
festivals and her fasts. Even secular learning

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 307
comes to us, in great measure, through the
channel of the Apostolical Ministry ; know
ledge, which, by itself, " puffeth up," is tem
pered with that heavenly wisdom, which only
the humble may learn. In the Latin Litany
and Holy Communion, with which every aca
demical term is opened, the University is
assembled in solemn supplication to the foun
tain of all wisdom and grace, in recognition
of our heartfelt acceptance of our crucified
Lord, and of His perpetual presence within
His Church. And, as if all this were not suf
ficient, even local associations are insensibly
affecting the character of all who have ears
to hear. The echoes of saints and Christian
heroes departed, are still, to a pious mind,
lingering about our cloisters and our
Churches. Nay, the very " stone shall cry
out of the wall, and the beam out of the
timber shall answer it""," for upon them, as
upon all our institutions, is inscribed the
watchword of a Christian student, " Dominus
illuminatio mea."
On the whole, however, it appears that,
after making every allowance for difference of
circumstances, the application of the means of
^ Habak. ii. 11.
X 2

308 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [SERM.
grace to the spiritual progress of every Chris
tian pilgrim, is essentially the same. Recur
ring, therefore, to the individual, whatever
may be his station in the Avorld, whose life
during his spiritual infancy we had been de
scribing, we have now a principle which will
apply to every condition. Whatever his
sphere of action, he has but to obey God's
Commandments, to do his duty both to God
and man ; and to this end he must earnestly
seek for that grace which alone can enable
him to do it ; and, in order to that grace, he
must diligently and thankfully employ every
means within his reach ; and in all likelihood,
it will come to pass, that, where there has
been equal diligence, " he that gathered much
had nothing over, and he that gathered little
had no lack^." The spiritual sustenance af
forded by God to every man will be in pro
portion to his necessities and his progress, to
his diligence and his prayers. And so he
journeys on, that Christian pilgrim, along the
paths of godliness ; never alone, never unpro
tected. Through various channels the ever-
blessed Spirit comes to him, and dwells in
him, as in His chosen temple. Pause, my be
loved brethren, and consider once more the
y Exod. xvi. 18.

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 309
full import and mystery of those words, ad
dressed to every one of us, " What ? know
ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you^ ?" The Holy
Spirit is personally and wholly present with
each several believer, though he filleth heaven
and earth" ; He " divideth to every man seve
rally as he will," yet is ever whole and undi
vided. He is unapproachable by nature, yet
approached by grace ; of one substance,
power, and majesty with the Father and the
Son ; yet proceeding from both ; sent by the
Father in the Son's name to testify to every
one concerning Christ, to finish and crown
the work of redemption by the sanctification
of the redeemed.
And shall a man, so aided and so governed,
be content to fall short of that perfection
^ 1 Cor. vi. 19.
" See a passage, printed in the Appendix, from St. Basil, de
Spiritu Sancto ; ed. Bened. tom. iii. p. 19. This treatise will
be also found in a very valuable work, lately published, in
illustration of the XXXIX Articles, entitled Ecclesise Anghcanae
Vindex CathoHcus, cura GuUelmi Wigan Harvey, A.M., Colt.
Regal. Socii. It is a compilation of the best works of the Fathers,
as far as they bear upon the doctrines of the Church of England,
executed with great judgment and learning. The authofr, without
pledging himself to all the details, takes this opportunity of re
commending it most warmly to the theological student, who may
not have access to the entire works of the Fathers, or who desires
to be guided in the choice of works to be perused.

310 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [SERM.
which is set before him ? Why should not the
humblest Christian, in the strength imparted
through the manifold gifts of grace, "walk
with God," like Enoch ; or be " a just man
and perfect in his generations, and walk with
God," like Noah ; or " perfect and upright,"
like Job, " one that feared God and eschewed
evil ?" What had those holy men of old to
strengthen them, compared with that strength
which came down for " the least in the king
dom of heaven," on the day of Pentecost?
What is there to hinder any of us from pre
serving the purity which the waters of Bap
tism once imparted ?
It is too true, that to most men these ques
tions are addressed in vain. Too many have
grieved the Holy Spirit of God by deliberate
and enormous sins, and have to seek " a place
for repentance carefully and with tears." For
them, even in their state of bondage, are the
prayers of the whole Church offered up. To
them, in the first awakenings of conscience,
are freely given the reproofs, the advice, the
encouragement of God's commissioned ser
vant, the Minister of the Church, praying
them " in Christ's stead," that they would be
" reconciled unto God." And for them, too,
on their change of heart, are the arms of

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 311
God's mercy in Christ extended in the minis
trations of His Church. By prayer, and con
fession, and absolution, according to the mea
sure of his need, and, above all, by the renew
ing of the Holy Ghost in the Holy Commu
nion, the sick member may be restored to the
unity of Christ's body.

And so, at length, the day is far spent, and
"the night cometh, in which no man can work."
The hand of sickness and death is upon God's
weary servant. Still, even then he is mindful
that the means of grace are not yet exhausted ;
his spiritual friend and guide is once more at
hand to warn, to support, to pray with him
and for him ; to receive, if he desire it, his
last confession, and, by Christ's authority com
mitted unto him, to "absolve" him "from all"
his " sins, in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost''." Finally, he
receives for the last time the Communion of
the Body and Blood of Christ, and so, is now
and ever, one with Christ and Christ with
him. And so he departs in peace, the last
sounds which his mortal ears, if God open
'' See the Office for the Visitation of the Sick ; particularly the
Form of Absolution, and the rubric preceding it.

312 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
them, shall hear, being the words of the
Church's Commendatory prayer.
Here, then, let us pause ; without turning
to regard his closing scene who is become to
all good works reprobate ; the branch which,
even in this life, seeing that it bore no fruit,
the Father hath taken away.
A day is coming upon us all, which " shall
try every man's work of what sort it is."
In that day it will be seen whether a Chris
tian, once baptized, has led " the rest of his
life" according to that " beginning," or whe
ther " the last state of that man is worse than
the first." According to the things done in the
body, " according to that he hath done, whe
ther it be good or bad*=," it will be decided,
whether that soul and body, which have been,
during the time of his probation, the temple
of the Holy Ghost, shall be raised up in glory
by Him who raised up the temple of His own
body in three days ; or whether, seeing that,
" if any man defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy, for the temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are''," that body and
soul shall become like the temple of Jerusa
lem, after the voice of God's wrath had, ac
cording to the testimony of the Jewish histo-
" 2 Cor. V. 10. <i 1 Cor. iii. 17.

VIII.] THE MEANS OP GRACE. 313
rian, been heard through the chambers of her
desolation, fieTalSaivcofiev ivTev6€v, " Let us for
sake this temple, and depart elsewhere^."

Finally, brethren, (if we may thus inquire,
without presumption,) what, after that final
consummation, when " time," the season of
probation and grace, " shall be no longer,"
what will have become of the means of grace ?
It is no vain speculation ; but a real practical
question, which may help to shew us what is
the nature of these means. The Apostle has
told us, with especial reference to some of
them, that " when that which is perfect is
come, then that Avhich is in part shall be
done away*^." "Whether there be prophe
cies, they shall fail ; whether there be tongues,
they shall cease ; whether there be know
ledge, it shall vanish away." May we not
suppose, then, that when hope shall have
been changed into certainty, and faith into
sight, and grace into glory, that the means
by which faith, and hope, and grace have
been kindled and kept alive, shall likewise
* Fl. Josephus de Bell. Judaico, lib. vi. c. 5. ed. Haverc, tom.
ii. p. 389.
f 1 Cor. xiii. 10.

314 THE IMPROVEMENT OF [sERM.
vanish away? When this mortal life shall
have come to an end (to adopt and pur
sue a thought of St. Augustine's s) there will
be no need of the Holy Eucharist, when we
shah ever be with the Lord, whose Body we
have verily received by faith ; nor of an Apo-
stohcal Ministry, when we shall be living in
the blessed society of Apostles and Angels,
and when we shall ourselves, every one of
us, have been by "him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own blood,"
made "kings and priests unto God and his
Father;" nor of the Holy Volume, when
we shall see Him who is the Word, when
we shall see face to face, and " know, even as
we are known ;" nor of preachers and evan
gelists, when we " shall be all taught of
God;" nor of Confession and Absolution,
when there shall be no more sin ; nor of
Prayer, when supplication shall be swallowed
s " Cum autem vita ista transierit, nee panem ilium quseremus
quem quserit fames, nee sacramentum altaris habemus accipere,
quia ibi erimus cum Christo cujus corpus accipimus; nee verba
nobis ista dici habent, quae dicimus vobis ; nee codex legendus est,
quando ipsum videbimus quod est Verbum Dei, per quod facta
sunt omnia, quo pascuntur angeli, quo iUuminantur angeli, quo
sapientes fiunt angeli, non queerentes verba locutionis anfractuosse,
sed bibentes unicum Verbum, unde completi ructuant laudes, et
non deficiunt in laudibus." — S. August. Serm. 59. ed. Bened,,
tom. V. p. 344.

VIII.J THE MEANS OF GRACE. 315
up in thanksgiving, and in the new song of
the Lamb. The use of all these instruments
shall have passed away. Yet still that life
obtained in Holy Baptism, cherished by faith
and obedience, and made more than conque
ror, through Christ who gave it, over sin, and
death, and the grave, shall endure through
endless ages, in the holy city, the everlasting
Church, the new Jerusalem, when " the taber
nacle of God shall be with men, and he will
dwell with them, and they shall be his peo
ple, and God himself shall be with them, and
be their God,"

APPENDIX,

LECTURE I.
Page 6. " It may be necessary to premise, &c." The
subjects alluded to here would require a separate volume,
and would comprehend an inquiry into the principles of
Enthusiasm, Socinianism, and Rationalism, All that can
be here attempted is a short account of some of those
sects, which have either explicitly or by implication denied
the existence of means of grace.
The Socinians, denying the necessity of grace, indeed
the personality of the Holy Ghost, act only consistently in
denying means : for if there is no end, there are no means
towards its attainment. What wonder, then, that they
reckon water-baptism to be a thing indifferent (see Calovii
Socinismus profligatus ed. Wittemberg 1668. p. 796), and
consequently not necessary for all Christians (ib. p. 797) ;
that it is not a means of regeneration and salvation (ib.
p. 819) ; that it has never been the means by which the
Holy Ghost is given (ib. p. 823) ; that it amounts to
nothing more than a public profession of Christ's name
(ib. p. 824) ? Touching the Holy Eucharist, they deny
the presence of Christ in any sense, not only in the sense
of transubstantiation or of consubstantiation, but in that
of a true spiritual reception by faith (ib. p. 858) ; they
hold that there is nothing wonderful or supernatural in
the Lord's Supper, that nothing is therein given us by

318 APPENDIX.
God, that the whole work is man's, that it serves only for
a bare commemoration of Christ and His death (ib. p.
864), (though some Socinians deny even this, ib. p. 865) ;
and for a declaration or spiritual profession of our food
and support enjoyed as well externally to the Lord's Sup
per as with it (though some deny that the Lord's Supper
has any thing to do with our spiritual support, ib. p. 866).
Calovius sums up his account of the Socinian tenets on
this point in the following terms ; " Patet etiam quod in-
ficientur Soc. S. Eucharistiam vel (1.) ob recordationem
mortis Christi, seu ut in memoriam cam revocet ; vel
(2.) ob fidei confirm ationem ; vel (3.) ob foederis aut jus-
titise fidei obsignationem j vel (4.) ob peccatorum remis-
sionem; vel (5.) ob spiritualem corporis et sanguinis
Christi participationem ; vel (6.) ob spiritualem animse
sustentationem j vel (7.) ob ullam aliquam singularem
utilitatem in ipso salutis seternae negotio ad nos redun-
dantem institutam esse quemadmodum. Schlichtingius
impie loco citato non minus quam sarcastice nos exagi-
tat : O fadlem vestram et expeditam adipiscendce salutis
rationem, tot tantaque bona mica panis et guttd vini con-
sequi. Adeo contemptim spiritus ille loquitus de Sacra
mento sanctissimo !" (ibid. p. 866.)
This whole work of Calovius, making allowances for
some Lutheran peculiarities, deserves an attentive perusal,
comprising no less than three hundred questions arising
out of the Socinian heresy, the statements being mostly
given in the words of the heretical writers themselves, and
then briefly refuted in a solid, learned, and orthodox
manner. One more quotation will shew the tenets of the Socinians
on Sacraments in general. " Sociniani negant Sacramenta
esse media conferendi gratiam Dei. Smaltz. Exam. Cent.
error um, p. 37, tantum non blasphemiam esse, per Sacra-

APPENDIX. 319
menta hominibus gratiam conferri contra Smiglecium
defendere conatur, imo criminatur, omnium errorum, quin
et impietatis unicam veram causam esse, quod Sacramentis
rebus externis, quas quivis homo tractare potest, talia ad-
scribantur. Quid enim, inquit, opus est studere pietati,
quod onus est durum homini non regenerate, si usus
sacramentorum, ad qu8e omnibus patet aditus, gratiam di-
vinam confert." (ibid. p. 778.) Some part of the answer of
Calovius will be given below.
It is hardly necessary to prove that the Socinians deny
the other means of grace.

With respect to the Quakers, to whom I chiefly alluded
in Lecture I., their denial of the eflScacy, and ordinary
necessity, of outward means to inward sanctification, cor
responds exactly to their view of the whole Christian
rehgion. Many of these writers have expressly denied
(and more have done so consequentially) the existence of
an outward Christ, that is, of a real Person who died for
our sins, and by whose very Blood we are cleansed from
all sin. Those who deny the existence of Christ external to
themselves, that is, the reality of the outward means of our
Redemption, only act consistently in denying the means
of grace. See a remarkable collection of passages from
the leading Quaker writers in "The Principles of the
Leading Quakers truly represented. London, 1732." The
horrible blasphemies which have been uttered by these
unhappy enthusiasts cannot be conceived by those who
have not examined the works of their early writers. It
must be owned that all Quakers have not gone to the
same length; there being a high and a low degree of
Quakerism. Let us hope that modern Quakers have in
some respects departed from these principles of Anti-

320 APPENDIX.
Christ ; but if so, they ought in justice to themselves openly
to disavow them.
The means of grace against which the Quakers have
directed their chief attacks are Baptism and the Lord's
Supper. One specimen may suffice. G. Eox (in his
News out of the North, p. 14, quoted in the work above
mentioned) declares it to be as unlawful to return to
Baptism as to Circumcision ; and calls the Lord's Supper
"the table of devils and cup of devils, which is in the
generation of serpents," &c. ! No wonder that other
means of grace, such as the Scriptures, Preaching, the
visible Church, and the divinely commissioned Ministry,
should be equally depreciated or denied.
Of the impious terms in which the first Quakers vilify
the Scriptures and Preaching, see many instances in " The
Principles of the Leading Quakers truly represented,"
pp. 11 — 80. The following may be taken as specimens.
" G. Pox (in his News out of the North, p. 39) denies
the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, to be the
Gospel ; and he calls them carnal."
"G. Fox (in Brief Discovery, p. 7, &c.) "The Scriptures
are death, dust, and beastly ware ; and those that preach
out of them are conjurers, devils," &c. ; and (in his Several
Papers, &c.) he styles them " dust and serpents' meat . . .
which feeds your dogs and swine."
See also the 7th Section of Leslie's " Snake in the
Grass," 2nd edition, where the vain subterfuge is exposed
that the above words were meant only of the material
paper and ink.
It is to be observed, however, that preaching is kept up
amongst the Quakers after a certain manner, and this is
one of the inconsistencies alluded to in p. 7 of Lectirre I.
Praying also is allowed and practised by them, though
they discountenance outward devotion.

APPENDIX. 321
The Church of God as gathered into a visible fellowship,
is defined by Barclay to be " a certain number of persons,
gathered by God's Spiiit, and by the testimony of some of
His servants (raised up for that end), unto the belief of the
true principles and doctrines of the Christian faith; who,
through their hearts being united by the same love, and
their understanding informed in the same truths, gather,
meet, and assemble together, to wait upon God, to worship
Him, and to bear a joint testimony for th^ truth against
error, &c. . . . and as to the visibility of the Church in this
respect, there hath been a great interruption since the
Apostles' days, by reason of the apostacy, as shall here
after appear." (Barclay, Apol. prop. x. p. 274. ed. 1701.)
The Catholic Church may comprehend "heathens, Turks,
Jews, and all the several sorts of Christians." (Ibid. p. 273.)
The consequences of deserting the outward ordinances
of Christ are well stated by Leslie, " Snake in the Grass,"
sect. 13.
I am far from assuming that the modern Quakers hold
all the blasphemous tenets professed by their first founders ;
on the contrary, I gladly acknowledge that Barclay's Apo
logy for the Quakers, although full of gross and demon
strable heresy, perhaps the more dangerous because the
more covert, is yet written in a far better spirit than the
earlier writings ; and to this book modern Quakers would, I
suppose, principally refer for an account of their opinions".
I have only taken one page out of the History of Qua
kerism, by way of shewing to what lengths men, under the
cloak of religion, have carried their contempt of Divine Or
dinances ; and, so long as the irpcoTov yfrevBo'; of " an univer
sal, inward light" is maintained, may easily carry it again.
The Quakers in many respects resemble the ancient
=¦ Barclay's Apology has been aLly answered, and his sophistries exposed,
by Bennet in his Confutation of Quakerism. Cambridge, 1705.

322 APPENDIX.
Messalian heretics, as described by Theodoret, Eccl. Hist.
cap. 11. ed. Vales, tom. iii. pp. 161, 162. They reckoned the
Eucharist indifferent; Baptism, Instruction, &c. useless:
and they believed in the sensible illapse of the Holy Spirit,
iTTKJjotTa XoiTTOv TO TTavdjiov Uvev/xa, aladrjTS><i Kal
oparw Tr]V ol/cetav "Trapovatav arjfiaivov.
Of other ancient heretics the Seleucians did not receive
water-baptism, S. Augustin, Kb. de Hseres., No. 59. ed.
Bened. tom. viii. p. 20 ; the Pelagians disputed the neces
sity of prayer and of Baptism, considering grace to be
merely free-wiU, and instruction, " ut discamus quae facere,
et quEe sperare debeamus, non autem ad hoc per donum
Spiritus sui, ut quse didicerimus esse facienda, faciamus."
Ib. No. 88. tom. viii. p. 26.
See also an account of the Ascodrutae, Theodoret. Hser.
Fab., lib. i. c. 10. (cited by Suicer), Ovtoi Be ^aai, fir]
VpTjvai, TO, 6eta fivar'^pia, aoparrav ovra avfi^oXa, Bo opaifik-
voav i'mTeXelaOai irpay/jidTcov, Kal to, dacofiara Bo aicrvrjTwv
Kal acofiaTLKoyv. elvao Be ttjv TeXeiav diro'kuTptoaiv Trjv
d\7]0rj TOV oVto? i7rijveoat,v. rd yap opcofieva •Kavra vir
d'^voLa^ Kal irddov; avcTTdvTa, Bid jvcoaeo)^ KaTaXverai,' irvev-
fiaTLKr)v ovv Bel Kal rrjv Xvrpcoaiv virdp^etv Bid tovto ohre
/SaTTTi^ovai Tov<i irpoaiovTa^, ovBe eTriTeXelrai Trap' avToi<; tov
PaTrTicrfiaTO<i to fivarripiov. XvTpayaiv ydp KaXovai, Trjv tS>v
oXcov iirlyvmaiv. How closely does this resemble certain
modern systems, which would reduce the Christian religion
to simple instruction !
For an account of the lengths to which the Independ
ents went in denying means, see Edwards's Gangrsena. He
gives a catalogue of the errors of the sectaries to the num
ber of 176. See particularly No. 92, (p. 27, ed. 1646,)
No. 94, 97, 101, 103, 104, 105, 107, 116, 119, 120, 130,
137, 142, 157. For the blasphemous extravagances of

APPENDIX. 323
Rationalism consult the lamented Mr. Rose's sermons on
that subject, and (as the latest account) Mr. Marshall's
Notes on the Catholic Episcopate.

P. 6, note e.] The following concise and full answer to
the question, " Why is the administration and reception of
the Sacraments necessary ?" is taken from Dr. Christopher
Wordsworth's admirable manual, Theophilus Anglicanus,
p. 59. "A. Because it has pleased God, in His wisdom
and goodness to us, to make them the instruments of
our incorporation, union, life, and growth, in the Body of
Christ'' ; and because He has constituted them the means
for the conveyance of His grace and goodness to us, and
the pledges of our assui'ance of it ; and because our Saviour
Christ Himself' has declared them to be necessary to our
salvation." This is followed by a passage of Hugo de Sacramentis,
lib. i. cap. V. " Institutio sacramentorum, quantum ad
Deum auctorem, dispensationis est ; quantum vero ad homi-
nem obedientem, necessitatis : quoniam in potestate Dei est
prater ista hominum salvare ; sed in potestate hominis non
est sine istis ad salutem pervenire." — See also Hooker, E. P.
V. Ivii. 4. and V. Ix. 4.
It is to be hoped that this most valuable sequel to the
Church Catechism will shortly be in the hands of every
one who pretends to a liberal education.

P. 14. 1. 8. " They are not means of grace themselves."]
And yet one of these subordinate means, affliction, as sent
to the Christian, has something of a sacramental character,
" 1 Cor. xii. 12—14; x. 16, 17.
c John iii. 3—5 ; vi. 53, 56 ; Mark xvi. 16.
y2

324 APPENDIX.
and has even the promise of grace. The sufferings which
are sent for our improvement stand in a peculiar relation
to the sufferings of Christ — and, taken in connexion with
those sufferings, may be well regarded as something
more than common instruments of sanctification, that we
may be like unto Him in all things. " For they verily for
a few days chastened us after their own pleasure ; but he
for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness."
Heb. xii. 10.
P. 16. 1. 10 from bottom. " But they have no absolute,
or intrinsic, or physical efficacy independent" &c.J It was
a favourite doctrine of the Schoolmen, and has led no
doubt in part to Romish errors, that grace is contained in
the Sacraments, as water in a vessel. See Bonaventur. in
4. Sent. Dist. 1. qu. 3. Hooker, also. Append, to BookV.
(Mr. Keble's ed., vol. ii. p. 556), after describing some scho
lastic subtleties (intended to prove sacramental signs to be
physical causes), says; "Were they not as good to say
briefly, that God's omnipotent will causeth grace, that the
outward sign doth shew His will, and that the Sacraments
implying both are thereby both signs and causes ?"
St. Basil says ; . . . mcTTe et rt? eaTlv ev t« vBaTi ^(dpi^,
ovK €K T^9 (pvaeo)^ eaTi tov vSaro?, dW' e/c ttJ? tov IIvevpLa-
To? 'jrapovala?. S. Basil de Spirit. Sancto, c. 15, (ap. Eccle
sise Anglic. Vind. Cath., vol. i. p. 379*.)
So St. Chrysostom . . . oO;^ aTrXw? to vBcop epjd^eTai,
a\X' oTav Trjv tov irveiifMaTO^ Be^TjTai %a/3ti' t6t6 irdvTa Xvei Ta
dfiapTTj/uiTa. In Johan. Homil. 36. ed. Ben., tom. viii. p. 207.
d May I be permitted to recommend to the theological student this very
valuable compilation ? It is in three volumes, and is entitled Ecclesiae Angli-
canee Vindex Catholicus cura Gul. VPigan Harvey, A.M. Coll. Kegal. Socii.
The work is so aiTanged as to illustrate the several Articles of the Church
of England by distinct treatises of the Fathers. Mr. Harvey has done good
service to the Church by this well-timed publication.

APPENDIX. 325
" It is not the vessel by which the medicine is conveyed,
but the medicine itself which heals;" (an illustration of
Hugo's, quoted by Hooker, Keble's ed., vol. ii. p. 258).

The following passage is the one alluded to in Note ",
p. 16, from Hooker, E. P., Appendix to Book V. " For
sacraments with us are signs effectual: they are instru
ments of God, whereby to bestow grace, howbeit grace not
proceeding from the visible sign, but from His invisible
power. *¦ God by sacraments giveth grace (saith Ber
nard) even as honours and dignities are given ; an Abbot
made by receiving a staff, a Doctor by a book, a Bishop by
a ring;' because He that giveth these preeminences de-
clareth by such signs His meaning, nor doth the receiver
take the same but with effect ; for which cause he is said
to have the one by the other ; albeit that which is bestowed
proceed wholly from the will of the giver, and not from
the efficacy of the sign . . . They (the Romanists) to derive
grace in Sacraments from the very sign itself as a true co
efficient with God, are so wrapped about with clouds," &c.

P. 16. 1. 11. " The end to which they are ordained."]
" Caro abluitur, ut anima emaculetur ; caro ungitur, ut
anima consecretur ; caro signatur, ut et anima muniatur ;
caro manus impositione adumbratur, ut et anima Spiritu
illuminetur; caro corpore et sanguine Christi vescitur, ut
anima de Deo saginetur." Tertull. de Resurr. cam. c. 8.
ed. Priorii, p. 530.
Cranmer in his Catechism of 1548, (quoted by Mr.
Davison in his review of Tracts on Baptismal Regenera
tion : Quarterly Review, vol. xv. p. 494.) " Without the
word of God water is water, and not Baptism. But

326 APPENDIX.
when the word of God is added and joined to the water,
then it is the bath of regeneration and baptism water,
and the living spring of eternal salvation, and a bath that
washeth our souls by the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul calleth
it, saying, ' God hath saved us through his mercy by the
bath of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,'" &c.

P. 17. 1. 13. "... really inefficacious because unac
companied by 'the effectual working of God's power."]
"Observatur hie . . . (2.) nos nequaquam Sacramentis
tribuere tantum quantum ipsi Deo, ut calumniatur, 1. c.
Smaltzius, sed Deum causam prindpalem salutis, sacra
menta vero media tantum divinitus instituta, omnemque
vim a divina institutione trahentia, agnoscere. (3.) Nostr^
sententia rebus externis nullatenus tantum tribuitur quantum
ipsi Deo: quandoquidem virtus spiritualis, quse sacramentis
adscribitur, minime tribuatur tantum externis rebus, aut
terrenis elementis, sed toti Sacramento, tum ob ordinationem
Dei, tum ob materiem caelestem, quse praecipuus nucleus
Sacramenti est. (4.) Adde quod non nudse actioni externse
per se, vel ex opere operato, salutaris fructus vindicetur,
sed qua Sacramenta vera fide percipiuntur et usurpantur."
Calovii Socinismus profligatus, p. 779.

P. 17. 7 lines from the bottom. " It may be said, that
faith is the mean," &c.J " Dicunt (hseretici) Baptismum
non esse necessarium, quibus fides satis est." Tertull.
de Baptism., p. 229. c. A little lower he calls Baptism,
" yestimentum fidei quse retro erat nuda."

P. 26. 1. 8. " Without denying, therefore, that uncove-

APPENDIX. 327
nanted assistance," &c.J "Nee movere nos debet, quod
per quosdam ad hoc templum non pertinentes, vel nondum
pertinentes, id est in quibus non habitat, vel nondum ha
bitat Deus, aliquid virtutis operatur  Cornelius
etiam Centurio antequam regeneratione incorporaretur huic
templo, missum ad se Angelum vidit, audiitque dicentem,
quod exauditse sint orationes ejus et eleemosynse acceptse.
Agit enim hsec Deus tanquam ubique prsesens, vel per sanc-
tos Angelos sues." S. Aug. ad Dardanum, tom. ii. p. 690.

P. 28. 1. 6. "Even Catechumens themselves," &c.J The
difference between a Catechumen and a baptized person
in the same family is thus described by St. Chrysostom :
irolov Be KepBo^ ttj? ev Trj yfj dy^iaTeiai;, oTav ev tok ovpavoi';
dXKoTpioi 3>/jiev ; dX\,6Tpio<; ydp 6 KaTTj'yov/Jievo'; tov ttkttov'
ov yap k)(ei Ke^aXrjv ttjv avTrjV oy^ ep(;et irarepa tov avTov'
OVK e'X^ei TToXtv ttjv avT-qv ov Tpo(f>rjv, ovk evBvfia, oj} Tpdire^av,
OVK oiKiav dXKd TrdvTa e^rjXKay/jieva. k. t. X. In Johan.
Hom. 25. tom. viii. p. 147.

P. 32. 1. 8. "As it is, they are too often contending
about different things under the same name."] On this
subject the following just and striking observations may
be studied with advantage by each of the contending
parties. " Another occasion of doubt has been the use made by
many divines of the word Regeneration, when they were
not speaking of Baptism. There needs be no embarrass
ment from any such cause. Every act of the Holy Spirit
upon the mind of the Christian, conducing to form in him
the new life, is an act of regenerating power; every ad
vance of the Christian in that new life, is an increase of

328 APPENDIX.
his regeneration. The first gift of new life in Baptism is
most properly called regeneration, because it is the first :
setting aside that accident of its being the first, the reason
of man shall never be able to pronounce wherein it differs
from any subsequent gift conducing to the furtherance of
the same state. To have life, and to have it more abun
dantly, is the privilege of the Christian : he may have life
from his birth, whether of nature or of grace ; he may have
it also from that which sustains him and aids him to form
the perfect man within him. That which is increased, say
the old logicians, must be made greater by the continual
addition of parts similar to itself. Making allowance for
the difference of subjects, we do not perceive any difficulty
in understanding how men may be regenerate in baptism ;
and yet divines be continually speaking of another and
subsequent regeneration. The use of discriminating terms
is always of service ; but for the credit of our whole body
of theology, we wish to say that the promiscuous use of the
word is strictly correct, though it has proved inconvenient.
For the circumstance of priority in time is not a sufficient
ground of making two terms for a subject otherwise agree
ing in itself. It is one of the differences which the analysis
of language seldom attends to. But considering the im
portance to our feehngSj in the distinction between the
beginning of the Christian state, and our confirmation or
progress in it ; considering that the first dawn and day-
spring from on high will always be hailed by the attentive
mind with a becoming earnestness : and considering the
absolute and eminent virtue which this solemn rite derives
from the institution of Him who enjoined it, as the begin
ning of our new life ; it would be more prudent to divide
the phrase, and prevent ambiguity in the reader's mind,
even where there is none, or need be none in the writer's :
and as we are apt to honour the day of our birth, above all

APPENDIX. 329
others, in the short period of our mortal existence, so to
distinguish the day of our Christian birth by an appro
priate acknowledgment of it in our ordinary language.
" It will be seen that we do not adopt the inference in
tended to be drawn from the production of inconsistent
language, in the use of this term, to inconsistent doc
trine. Writers who describe a baptized infant as unre-
generated may not mean that he never had the grace of
regeneration given, but that he has not improved it ; that
it has been resisted ; quenched in him. We have observed
some passages where the same writer has described the
regenerating efficacy of baptism ; and yet, in his practical
discourses, has spoken of some of his hearers as unregene
rate. All this is sufficiently consistent." Mr. Davison
on Baptismal Regeneration, Quarterly Review, vol. xv. pp.
504, 535.

P. 33. 1. 17. "It is the office of faith to accept upon
sufficient evidence all such mysteries, though they are, or
even because they are contrary to our antecedent expecta
tions."] This is something very different from the well-
known "credo quia impossibile est." A slight change in
the sentence makes all the difference: "credo quia im
possibile videtur:" a man may and should believe upon
sufficient evidence, what may appear to his hmited faculties
impossible. Thus Tertulhan (de Baptismo, p. 224) ; "Nonne
mirandum et lavacro dilui mortem ? Atquin eo magis cre-
dendum, si quia mirandum est idcirco non creditur : qua-
lia enim decet esse opera divina nisi super omnem admira-
tionem? Nos quoque ipsi miramur, sed quia credimus :
ceterum incredulitas mrratur, non credit. Miratur enim
simphcia quasi vana, magnifica quasi impossibilia." The
truth is, there is a general antecedent probability of man's

330 APPENDIX.
ignorance on a given subject or event, which takes prece
dence of the particular antecedent improbabihty which
would hinder our belief in that subject or event. A true
philosopher, when there is sufficient evidence of any fact,
admits it even the more readily, because prior to that evi
dence it was contrary to his expectations. The whole ques
tion turns upon the sufficiency of the evidence in its fuU
sense, for that which purports to be revealed.

P. 34 (reference to the Appendix.) It was at first in
tended to cite passages from the Fathers in support of the
conclusions in the text, and several had been already tran
scribed with this view; but, on second thoughts, it appeared
better to abandon this intention, as the production of a
few passages, however striking, would give only a very
partial view of the extent of the evidence; while the pro
duction of all that might be alleged would far exceed the
hmits of this volume. Indeed an adequate idea of the
universality of the tenet of Baptismal Regeneration amongst
the ancient Christians can only be gained by a familiar
acquaintance with the whole tenor of patristical theology;
so intimately does the doctrine appear to have been inter
woven with the whole religious system of those days. At
every step of the inquiry as to the Scriptural and Catholic
grounds for Baptismal Regeneration, one is inclined to
adopt St. Jerome's words : " Dies me deficiet si cuncta
quae ad potentiam Baptismi pertinent, de Scripturis Sanctis
voluero digerere, et nativitatis secundae, imo in Christo
primse ponere sacramenta." S. Hieron. ad Oceanum, ed.
Ben,, tom. iv. pt. 2. col. 652.
It is scarcely necessaiy to say that no account is taken
in the text of the very few heretics (already referred to in
a former note) who (as we learn from orthodox writers)

APPENDIX. 331
denied the necessity of Baptism as of other means of
grace ; their opinions are only made known to us as heresy,
and in order to mark the general reprobation in which
they were held; and so another proof is furnished as to the
orthodox belief. It can surely be no encouragement or
support to any one, in these days, who may be inclined to
hold an opinion against the doctrine of the necessity of
Baptism, to find that he holds it in common with the
Paulicians, or with Pelagius, or with some obscure forerun
ner of Socinus.

P. 35. 1. 12. "The word 'regenerate' convertible with
'baptized.'"] "And for St. Austin, no man living can
read him without perceiving that he useth the word ' rege
nerate' as another word for ' baptized ;' and that this with
him would have been an identical proposition ; as if one
should say now-a-days ' all that are baptized are chris
tened.' If some of late days have put a new sense on the
word [regenerate], how can St. Austin help that? And
the Church of England uses the word in the old sense." Wall
on Infant Baptism, Part 2. ch. 6.

P. 36. 1. 10. " That the laver of regeneration, &c., was
nothing less than the baptismal Font."] " Baptisma enim
esse in quo homo vetus moritur, et novus nascitur, mani-
festat et probat beatus Apostolus, dicens : Salvavit nos per
lavacrum regenerationis. Si autem in lavacro, id est, in
baptismo est regeneratio," &c. S. Cyprian. Pompeio,
p. 140. ed. Bened.

P. 37. 1. 1. " That the use of water was not only typical.

332 APPENDIX.
but effective of a death unto sin."] Out of many passages
the two following are selected : —
©eia TeXeiTai iv avTa> avfj-^oXa' Tdx^o^ Kal veKpa<n<;, Kal
dvd(TTa<Ti<; Kal tfor], Kal Tama o/xov yiveTai TrdvTa. Kaddirep
ydp iv Tivl Td<pq>, tm ijBaTi KaTaBvovTcov ¦fj/j.cov ra? Ke(f>aXd<;,
6 7raXaib<; avdpa>Tro<s OdiTTeTai, Kal KaTaBv<i kutq} KpinrTeTai
6Xo<; KaQdira^' eiTa dvavevovTwv rj/Mthv, 6 Kaivb<i dveicri iraXiv.
.... Kal OTi ov a'TO')^a(Tfx,b<; to elpTjfiivov, oiKovaov UavXov
XeyovTO'i' avveTd(j)7)/Mev avTa> k. t. X. S. Chrysost. in
Joan. Hom. 25. tom. viii. p. 146. — See also S. Basil de Spir.
Sancto. ed. Ben., tom. iii. p. 29. (ap. Eccl. Anglic. Vind.
Cathol., vol. i. p. 379.) . . . aXX' ev olBafiev to craTripiov
^diTTiafia. iireiBrj eh eaTiv 6 iiirep tov koctjiov QdvaTO<i, Kal
fxia 7] eK veKpSjv i^avdaTaaK, wv tvtto? eaTi to ^dTTTicfjia.
TOVTOV ^apW 6 TTJV ^CCirjV Tj/JLQJV OlKOVOflCOV Kvpio^, Tr)V TOV
^aTTTlxTfiaTO'i Tjfuv edeTO BiadijKrjv, OavdTOv tvttov Kal §w?5?
Trepie')^ov(rav' ttjv /mev tov QavdTov eiKova tov vBaTO^ iKTrXrj-
povvTO'i, TOV Be Tr}<; ^co^? dppa0cova Trape'ypfievov tov Uvev-
/xuT0<i. &(TTe aa<j)e'; rjiuv ivTevOev yiyove to ^rfTovpsvov, Bid
Ti TO) IIvevfiaTi TO iiBcop cv/MTrapeXijcjiOT], oti Bvo aKovcov iv
TO) ^aTTT lafjMTi TrpoKeifievcov, KaTapyrjaai p,ev to aSyp,a Tr]<;
dfAapTW TOV fiTjKeTi avTo KapTTO^opeiv tw ddvaTa, ^yv Be rro
TIvevfiaTi Kal tov KapTTOv e')(eiv iv dyiaaixai' to fiev vBcap tov
davaTov TTJV eiKova Trape^ei, aairep ev Taipr} to a&fia Trapa-
Be')(pfievov to Be Uvev/J-a, ttjv ^coottoiov ivirjcri Bivaftiv, diro
Tfj<; KaTd TTjV dfiapTiav veKpoT7]TO'i et? ttjv i^ dp"^!; ^(orjv ra?
¦\^vj(d<i rjfiMV dvaKaivitpv. tovto ovv iaTi to dvadev yewrjdrjvai
i^ vBaTO<; Kal IIvevfiaTO<;' w? t:^? fjiev veKpcocreco^ iv tw vBaTi
TeXovfj,ev7]<;' t^j? Be ^bjj? tj/mmv ivepyov/^evrj<; Bid TovUvevfiaTOf
iv Tpicrlv ovv KaTaBvaecn k. t. X.

P. 39. 1. 8. "... . then Baptism is the beginning of a
new life."] El ydp dp^v f^oi ^(oi]<; to ^diTTiafia, Kal TrpcoTTj

APPENDIX. 333
rjfiepwv eKeiVT] 97 ttj? TraXiyyevecria^ rj/xepa k. t. X. S. Basil
de Spiritu Sancto ed. Ben., tom. iii. p. 22. (ap. Eccl. Anglic.
Vind. Cath., tom. i. p. 366.)

P. 40. 1. 6. " Janua ecclesise."] «Xel? ovpavwv ^aaiXeia<;.
Greg. Nazianz. Orat. 40. (ap. Suicer.)

P. 42. 7 lines from the bottom. "That a little water,"
&c.] One of the chief grounds upon which the efficacy,
indeed, the existence, of means has been denied is the very
simplicity of the means. See a passage (quoted above)
from Shlichtingius ap. Calovium de S. Eucharistia x. Con-
trov. 5. p. 566. "O facilem et expeditam adipiscendaa
salutis rationem, tot tantaque bona mica panis et gutta vini
consequi.''' How forcibly do these awful words remind us
of the grounds of Naaman's incredulity !
This was early observed by Tertulhan, de Baptism.,
p. 224. "Nihil adeo est quod tam obduret mentes ho
minum, quam simplicitas divinorum operum quse in actu
videtur, et magnificentia quse in effectu repromittitur : ut
hie quoque quoniam tanta simplicitate, sine pompa, sine
apparatu novo aliquo, denique sine sumptu in aqua de-
missus et inter pauca verba tinctus, non multo vel nihilo
mundior resurgit, eo incredibilis existimetur consecutio ceter-
nitatis. Mentior, si non e contrario idolorum solemnia
vel arcana de suggestu et apparatu, deque sumptu fidem et
auctoritatem sibi extruunt. Pro misera, incredulitas, quse
denegas Deo proprietates suas, simplicitatem et potestatem.
Quid ergo ? nonne mirandum et lavacro dilui mortem ?"
S. Gregory Nyssen, in a passage which can never be
too often quoted, gives the true explanation why outward
means are necessary. ^Edv p.r] Ti<i yevvrjOfj, (fyrjaiv, i^ vBa-

334 APPENDIX.
T09 Kal TrvevfiaTO<; k. t. X. Aid tI Ta Bvo, Kdl ov')(l fiovov to
TTvevfia avTapKe'i evopbUrdr) TTp6<i TrjV crvfjiTrXrjp<j}(Tiv tov ^air-
TtcTytiaTo? ; avv6eT0<; 6 dvOpcoTTO?, Kal ovx fflTrXow?, cti? aKpi^ck
iTricTTdfjieOa- Kal Bid tovto tw BnrXm Kal crvve^evyp,ev(p Ta
avyyevT] Kal o/xoia cpdp/jiaKa tt^o? depaTreiav aTreKKrjpmd'q'
ad>p,aTi fiev tw (j)aivop.evq) tjBoyp to alcrOrjTov, '^1'%^ Be Ty
dopdT(p TTvevfia to d(j)avh, TriaTei KaXov/jievov, dp'prjTox; Tra-
payivofievov to ydp Trvevfia, ottov deXei Trvei' k. t. X. eiiXoyei
TO awfia TO ^aiTTii^ofievov, Kal to {jBap to ^airTi^ov Bio firj
KaTa(j)pov)]ar]<i tov Oeiov XovTpov, firjBe dx; kowov o.vto i^exne-
Xlarj<;, Bid Trjv ^(pyja-iv tov vBaT0<s' to ydp ivepyovv fjieya, Kal
aTT iKeivov Sav/MurTa yiveTai Ta TeXov/ieva. Gregor. Nys
sen. (ed. Paris. 1638.) tom. iii. p. 369 D.
" If any one ask why water is employed, we would ask
why earth was used for man's creation ?" Chrys. viii. 146.

P. 37. 1. 8. "There were not wanting those who in
terpreted the words in the text of the great initiatory
Sacrament."] S. Athanasius contra Ariauos Orat. 2. ed. Paris, 1627,
tom. i. p. 322. . . . avrov ydp tov vlov /MeTe')(pvTe<;, tov
0eov fieTe^eiv Xeyo/jieda, Kal tovto eaTiv o eXeyev 6 IIeTpo<;'
iva yevr/crde Oeia'; Koiva>vol <j}vaea)<;, Kal co? (}>r]criv 6 'Atto-
<7ToXo9, oiiK o'iBaTe oti vao^ ©eov eaTe' Kal yfj,ei^ vaol iajxev
Qeov t,a)VTo^. In St. Athanasius's view the indwelling of
the Spirit was first effected by Baptism.
S. Leo de Nativ. Serm. 5. (ed. Paris. 1675, tom. i. p.
160.) " Factus est homo nostri generis, ut nos divinse na
turae possimus esse consortes. Originem quam sumpsit in
utero virginis, posuit in fonte baptismatis. Dedit aquse,
quod dedit matri," &c.
St. Augustine also, though he does not expressly refer
to 2 St. Peter i. 4, yet connects our being partakers of

APPENDIX. 335
Christ's divinity with our relation as sons, which in his
view was always identical with our baptismal privileges.
"Neque enim efficeremur participes divinitatis ejus, nisi
ipse mortalitatis nostrse particeps fieret. Nam et in Evan-
gelio, quod nos divinitatis ejus participes facti sumus, ita
dicitur, Dedit eos potestatem filios Dei fieri," &c. S. Au
gust, in Psalm. 118. Serm. 16. ed. Ben., tom. iv. p. 1319.
Amongst our own Divines, Bishop Bull, Harm. Apostol.,
Works, vol. iii. p. 109, interprets the words, " partakers of
the Divine nature," as " eximia ilia sanctitas, qu^ Dei quo-
dammodo similes efficimur, et quse a mundi sordibus atque
inquinamentis nos liberat," while Barrow adopts the view
mentioned in the text : " The chief reason why we do not
sin, or persist in a course of disobedience to the laws of
God, is, as St. John telleth us, (1 St. John iii. 9,) Because
the divine seed remaineth in us, that root of divine life, and
vital activity implanted in us by the Holy Spirit; that
divine nature, (as St. Peter styleth it,) that principle and
spring of spiritual motion by Him inserted in us; from
which only seed or nature do sprout all heavenly graces
and virtues." Barrow's Whitsunday Sermon, Works, vol. iii.
Serm. 45. p. 533. ed. 1686. That Barrow in these ex
pressions had Holy Baptism principally in view, will be
seen by comparing them with an earlier part of the same
sermon, (p. 528).
Other writers, on the other hand, explain the words
as applicable to the Holy Eucharist. CyrUl. Hierosol.
Catech. Myst. 3. (ed. Bened. p. 320. c.) Ovtod ydp Kal
XpiaTO<J36poi yivofieda, tov (Jo)fiaTO<; avTov Kal tov a"p,aTO<;
eh Td yp^Tepa dvaBiBofievov fieXr]' ovto) KaTd tov fiaKdpiov
Uerpov 6eia^ Koivccvol (piia-ea'; yivofieda.
P. 38. (Reference in the note to the Appendix.) The
article by Mr. Davison here alluded to is instinct with the

336 APPENDIX.
spirit of its admirable author : exhibiting in a short com
pass all the rarest qualities of an English theologian;
patient and exact thought, extensive and sound learning,
luminous reasoning, and a calm and Christian temper. Its
value has been fuUy appreciated by many eminent writers,
amongst others by Bishop Heber (in his Life of Bishop
Jeremy Taylor) ; but in the present day, it is known to
comparatively few ; a fact which may be accounted for by
the shape in which it has appeared, first in a publication
which is only known partially to the passing generation,
and then laid aside (for who reads the Quarterly of thirty
years ago ?) ; and secondly, in the collected Works of the
author, which have fallen into the hands of few. It is to
be hoped that it will be one day extensively circulated in a
portable form. In the mean time, the following copious
extract will not be unacceptable to the reader, and may
serve at least to corroborate the necessarily short state
ments in the Lecture.
" Our position is, that according to the doctrine of our
Church, baptismal regeneration is also spiritual regenera
tion, to all who, in mature age, receive baptism rightly:
and in respect of infants, that baptismal regeneration is
also spiritual regeneration simply.
" Now in order to obtain truly the sense in which our
Chm'ch understands and teaches the efficacy of baptism
at either age, it will be right to look, in the first place,
to the office of baptism itself, as to the most sure and
positive rule of her doctrine on that head ; because in ad
ministering the rite, the Church also professedly expounds
it. The exposition given in such a place is direct and con
clusive; the subject is fully in view; the judgment upon
it is a solemn one, designed to express the value of the
rite to the minds of those who receive it, if they be
capable of understanding it ; to those who minister in it.

APPENDIX. • 337
that they may be aware of the nature of their function,
and to those who are present as witnesses of the sacra
ment. No occasion can be imagined more needful for
the doctrine to be explained than when the benefit of
the sacrament is to be applied ; and to the explanation
afforded under such circumstances, we are bound there
fore, as fair inquirers, to attend with peculiar respect.
"With regard to adults, the service of baptism framed by
our Church shews, unequivocally, that in her sense, bap
tism is neither on one hand a kind of charm, nor on the
other a mere ineffectual or external rite, but a certain
medium of the grace of regeneration to the worthy re
ceiver. It is not a charm to convert, by a ceremonial
power, human nature from a fallen to a restored state ; to
infuse grace by a material miracle : or to caU down from
heaven a supernatural blessing upon prevarication; or to
adopt into the privileges of the Gospel, those in whom no
sincerity of mind towards Christian faith and amendment
is to be found. This part of our position is demonstrated
by the fact that certain special interrogatories, to be put
to the person who is to be baptized, make a part of the
service. For that an actual and a real faith and repent
ance are pledged by the answers given to those interroga
tories, must be obvious to any one who considers, that a
faith and repentance not real are nothing at all. And the
nullity of the faith and repentance, when they are pro
fessed, but exist not, having only the superadded virtue of
an hypocritical profession to improve them, are not likely
to be raised thereby to the standard of qualification re
quired by a Church which has as honest and strong a
meaning in asking who and what manner of person he is
who comes to be baptized; as in pronouncing him, after
baptism, regenerate, a member of Christ, a child of God.
The previous existence of his qualification, as connected

338 APPENDIX.
with the efficacy of baptism, is moreover expressed in these
decisive words: 'Doubt ye not, therefore, but earnestly
believe, that He will favourably receive the present per
sons, TRULY REPENTING AND COMING UNTO HiM BY FAITH.'
The same exhortation in which these words are con
tained had previously quoted the words of Christ, 'He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved :' and also the
words of St. Peter, 'Repent and be baptized every one of
you for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost.' The language of the Catechism is
equally explicit : ' What is required of persons to be bap
tized ? Repentance, whereby they forsake sin, and Faith,
whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made
to them in that Sacrament.' So explicitly does the Church
connect the demand of qualification with the rite. Nor
less explicitly does she connect with the rite, so duly
received, the gift of regeneration.
" For on the other hand, baptism is not, in the sense of
our Church, a mere ineffectual or ecclesiastical rite. It is
not a rite of bare public admission unto communion ; nor
is it a simple declaration on the part of the Church,
setting forth the hopes and duties of the new disciple.
These uses of ecclesiastical incorporation, though included
in the service, are subordinate to the other higher purpose
of the sacrament, viz. the assurance of federal communion
in the blessings of the Gospel, with the gift of regeneration
by the Holy Spirit, communicated in the sacrament, and
sealed by it, through the instrumentality of the Church,
acting in the name of God, and under the M'arrant of
Sciipture. "This part of our interpretation is equally apparent from
the very words of the service ; ' Seeing that these persons
are regenerate.' It is also apparent from the assertion of
the Catechism, that in a sacrament there are two parts.

appendix. 339
the sign and the inward grace. If then the grace be a
part of the sacrament, it must be communicated in the
sacramental rite. The grace peculiar to baptism is ^Iso
asserted to be 'a death unto sin, and a new birth unto
righteousness.' A new birth unto righteousness or re
generation, then, is by baptism 
" Upon the whole, we affirm that the form of baptismal
service, comprehending the ritual of the words of in
stitution, as appointed by our Saviour, and the use of
the symbol of water also appointed by Him, combined
together, though it possess not by nature any regenerating
power, nor has received that power by an unconditional or
irrespective promise, does yet, in the doctrine of our
Church, constitute the appointed medium, through which
the grace of regeneration is conveyed ; that grace coming
from the fountain of all purity and holiness, from the
Eternal Spirit, whose emanations assured to us by special
promise, are to be thought of, as attendant upon that
promise, and as verifying it. The Church therefore, as the
minister of God, proclaims the value of baptism, to all who
are fit for it, and pronounces the efficacy of her ministra
tion for the beginning of their new and spiritual state.
Did the Church profess the doctrine of universal regenera
tion in those of riper age, without respect to their faith and
repentance, those things would not be stated in the
Catechism as required, nor would the strict demand of
them be made in the service itself. Were the Church able
to discern the secrets of men's hearts, she would actually,
and in form, limit the assurance of regeneration in the
same extent, as under the absence of such knowledge, she
virtually and imphcitly does now limit it. But that her
ministration may neither be void, nor presumptuous, may
neither bless those whom God has not blessed, nor reject
those whom He will not have rejected, combining the
z 2

340 appendix.
defect of her knowledge vrith the certainty of the Evan
gelical promise, she speaks to the supposed faithful and
penitent, a language, to them who are such, universally
true; which to the impenitent and unfaithful must be,
according to her doctrine, as universally not true.
"We proceed to the second part of our position, viz., that
infant baptism is regarded by our Church as conferring spi
ritual regeneration, simply and without reserve. Here, as
before, our first reference must be made to the office itself
The introductory part of the office for infant baptism
deserves attention. It adverts to the discourse held by
our Saviour with Nicodemus. The topic of that discourse
is the necessity of a man's being born again of water and
of the Holy Ghost, in order to his entering into the king
dom of God. Spiritual regeneration, then, is the first thing
which is presented to our thoughts in the preliminary
part of this office. And as it begins, so it continues. The
same is the subject of the beginning of the office, and of
the middle, and of the end of it. The same subject of
spiritual regeneration is exhibited in prayer interceding for
it; in references to portions of Scripture, which relate to
it ; in positive affirmation of doctrine, in thanksgiving to
God for the gift as actually given. The sacrament from first
to last holds the doctrine of regeneration by the Holy Spirit
enclosed and embodied in it. Its phrase is formed upon
that doctrine ; its purport and efficacy are explained by it.
" Nor may we believe that the Church intends to re
present this sacrament as a type and symbol of spiritual
regeneration, without possessing, infused into it, the very
grace itself. Because the words employed on the occasion
are not merely such as imply that the sacrament and the
grace are combined together, but they are such as have
been studiously selected to express that idea, and such as
do most emphatically express it. They even shew an

appendix. 341
anxiety that nothing less may be supposed. ' Doubt ye not
therefore, but earnestly believe, that He will hkewise favour
ably receive this present infant ; that He will embrace him
with the arms of His mercy ; that He will give unto him
the blessing of eternal life, and make him partaker of His
everlasting kingdom.' Again, ' Seeing now, dearly be
loved brethren, that this child is regenerate, and grafted
into the body of Christ's Church, let us give thanks unto
Almighty God for these benefits.' Again, ' We yield thee
hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased
thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to
receive him for thine own child by adoption,' &c. The
words of the first passage are certainly remarkable, as
shewing an anxiety that we may receive the full doctrine
on this head. The words of the passage corresponding
with it in the office for those of riper years are as follow :
' Doubt ye not therefore, but earnestly believe, that He i^ill
favourably receive these present persons truly repenting and
coming unto Him by faith.' The same pointed and earnest
wish is shewn in both. And this clause in the latter office,
' truly repenting and coming unto Him by faith,' which is
wanting in the former office, is equally significant in the
place where it is inserted to shew what is required in the
one instance, as in the other place where it is omitted, to
shew that in the other instance the absence of actual moral
qualification does not vacate the benefit of the sacrament.
The insertion and the omission are alike from design, and
that design is in both places obvious to be understood.
" The office for the order of Confirmation comes next to
be considered ; and we shall see that it supports and illus
trates the exposition which we have given. As the rite of
confirmation is connected in design with the sacrament of
infant baptism, and is a supplement to it, we might expect
to find that which actually we do find, a connexion of

842 appendix.
doctrine in the two offices. The spiritual regeneration, as
already communicated, and communicated in baptism, is
thus recognised in the prayer which precedes the solemn
act of confirmation. ' Almighty and everliving God, who
hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy servants by water
and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness
of all their sins; strengthen them, we beseech thee, 0
Lord, with the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and daily
increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace.' The most
specific use of the Catechism is to qualify those who have
been baptized in infancy to receive this rite of Confirma
tion, by instructing them in their Christian calling. It is
their manual of instruction, and their knowledge of it is
the testimonial whereupon they are admitted to be con
firmed. The Catechism, then, informs them, that the
inward and spiritual grace is a part in each sacrament, and
that the grace of baptism is a death unto sin, and a new
birth unto righteousness ; for being by nature born in sin,
and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children
of grace. (The word hereby, we suppose, must refer
grammatically to the sacrament. If it be referred to the
more remote antecedent, ' a new birth unto righteousness,'
logically the difference is nothing, for that new birth has
previously been declared to be a part of the sacrament.)
Moreover the answer dictated to the second question of the
Catechism seems in itself equivalent to a volume. ' Who
gave you this name ? My godfathers and godmothers in
my baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, a
child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.'
Such is the continued train of instruction provided in
the three connected offices, of Baptism, the Catechism,
and Confirmation, holding one uniform and consistent
language 
" The plain and positive sense of these several offices ought

appendix. 343
not to give way to the refinement which a curious piety
may contrive for them. Are they not offices for general
use, addressed to the understanding of common men, who
must understand by the ear, and be taught with simpli
city ? Are they not offices for young persons (we speak of
the Catechism and the office for Confirmation), for young
persons whose reason is just on the dawn, who know little
and believe infinitely, and whose error must be chai-ged to
the account of those who, under plain and direct terms,
have a reserve of hypothesis behind ; that error which the
young mind cannot avoid, of beUeving that a distinct affir
mation contains a definite meaning, that strong words
mean something positive, and that the assertion of a past
event does not express a change future and contingent ?
These considerations are to us of great force, and literally
conclusive. "But as the hypothetical meaning is urged by some
whose sincerity in the search of truth we do not suspect,
and whose error, as we suppose it to be, gives us no
small pain, combined as it is with zeal, and ability, and
learning ; we shall not decline following this point a little
farther, and separating the cases, in which, as it appears to
us, an hypothetical sense may be admitted, from those in
which it cannot be admitted 
"But all these circumstances, which account to our
easy comprehension for the conditional tenor of the
services to which we have just now adverted, do, in our
judgment, entirely lose their application to the baptism
of infants. The Church is, in this instance, fully aware
of the present state and condition of the subject to
whom the rite is to be applied. The infant is born in
a state of sin, and it is incapable of believing and re
penting. It is confessedly incapable of any moral act
whereby to seek its recovery; not merely incapable in

344 appendix.
that sense whereby human nature is generally incapable of
doing any thing to its restoration, without the aid of grace
from above, but by a stronger degree of incapacity, inca
pable of even seeing its own wants, and feeling its weak
ness, or knowing how they may be removed. Its cries are
full of weakness, but they are not expressive of any moral
desire : its whole imbecility is uninformed by any purpose
of heart or determination of thought. This state, which
we suppose no one denies, is not unknown to the Church,
nor, since it pertains at the same time to the application
of the office to be administered, can it be disregarded by
the Church in that office. The possible reasons of excep
tion, therefore, which might exist in the other cases, can
have no place here : and since the actual subject is so defi
nitely and universally known, the language of the service
cannot have a concealed reserve in regard to any such
reasons of exception. Tacit reserve, without a hint of con
dition, or without a known ground of possible exception,
as against the party to whom any promise of benefit is
assured, seems to us unintelligible in reason, and intolera
ble in good faith. We suspect no such dealing in the
offices of our Church : we rest, therefore, in this conclusion,
that, since the Church, with an entire knowledge of the
present state of the individual, and with a strict attention
to it, receives an infant into communion, by Baptism, and
declares the infant to receive a regeneration to life in that
Baptism, her sense is as simple as her language, and that
all honest subterfuge of supposition by which that which is
in terms absolute should be made precarious, and that
which is universal in the obvious meaning should be made
limited in the true meaning, is, in this present question,
necessarily excluded. Moreover, we apprehend that to de
part from this direct admission of the obvious meaning of
words which carry in them a kind of importunate perspi-

APPENDIX. 345
cuity, is to introduce a principle of universal and incurable
scepticism into the interpretation of doctrines; insomuch
that if it were admitted, we should despair, for our own
part, of ever being able to say that any words could ever
express a certain and fixed doctrine, or that any doctrine
could ever be expressed in intelligible words." — Mr. Davi
son's Article on Baptismal Regeneration, Quarterly Review,
vol. XV. p. 478—485.

LECTURE II.
P. 46. 1. 9. " Now groivth of every kind is a work of
degrees," &c.J So Mr. Davison (on Baptismal Regenera
tion as above.) "That which is increased, say the old
logicians, must be made greater by the continual addition
of pBrts similar to itself."

P. 48. 7 lines from the bottom. "Members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones."] St. Chrysostom
interprets this passage as referring to Baptism .... tt&j?
oiv iK Trji; a-apKO's aiiTov iajiev, Kal iK tcov ootcov avTov ; . . .
OTrep BtjXovv ^ovXeTai tovto iaTiv, oti . . - ¦^/xet? yevvwfieda
iv TO) XovTpa. Chrysost. in Epist. ad Ephes. Hom. 20. ed.
Ben. tom. xi. p. 147.

P. 61 . 1. 9. " The type of which is one individual man."]
" Proinde ipse Jesus loquitur in ista prophetia : sed quse-
dam in membris suis et unitate corporis sui, tanquam in
uno quodam homine diffuso toto orbe terrarum, et succrescente
per volumina steculorum: qusedam vero in seipso capite

346 APPENDIX.
nostro." S. August, in Psalm. 118. Serm. 16. ed. Ben.
tom. iv. p. 1319.

P. 61. 1. 10. " One united body, made up of souls
mystically knit together" &c.J "Ecclesise nomine non
una anima, sed multarum unitas, vel potius unanimitas
designatur." S. Bernard, in Cantic. 1478, See the
Collect for All Saints' day, " O Almighty God, who hast
knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical Body of thy Son Christ our Lord," &c.

P. 66. 1. 10. "What is a Church without grace? and
how can grace consist without truth ?"] We acknowledge
truth, then, to be an essential ingredient in the whole
system of the Catholic Church; her holiness and her
triumphs must ever bear a direct ratio to her orthodoxy ;
the succession of the Church is a succession oi faithful men,
that is, men who, as to essentials, hold the truth in
righteousness ; the succession of the ministry is properly
the Apostolical descent of men who in the main are true
expositors or banders down of the Catholic faith, or as
Mr. Gladstone terms them "the ordained hereditary
witnesses to the truth, conveying it to us through an un
broken series from our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apo
stles." Yet though this is one office of the Apostolical suc
cession, it does not seem the main one ; that being rather,
as it would seem, the hereditary preservation, exercise,
and tradition of " the Means of Grace." The flnal cause
of the Church's office is not truth, which, however, is a
property of Christ's body, but rather God's good pleasure
for His own glory, to " purify unto himself a peculiar
people zealous of good works ;" in short, not knowledge as

APPENDIX. 347
such, but sanctification; purification through God's truth.
This is the ultimate effect of " Grace," and to this end the
succession of the Church and the succession of the ministry
are ordained; means of grace themselves, and means to
the preservation and employment of other means, and,
amongst the rest, of the Scriptures of truth. On the
whole, then, it appears correct to speak of the Apostolical
succession less as a channel of truth (though it is that also)
than as a channel of the means of grace. There have
been many hours of darkness in the Church's history,
during which her teachers were " removed into corners,"
and truth was contented to retire into monasteries, finding
only a few of the " hereditary witnesses" able and willing
to vindicate her claims. But in the darkest times the
means of grace (the furtherance of truth being also one of
the fruits of grace) were uninterruptedly employed in
originating and in fostering whatever of spiritual life and
light there was in each generation in the Church. There
never was a time when the clergy, though often mixing up
much that was false or questionable with the fundamental
verities of religion, did not instrumentally impart God's
grace through His two sacraments. On these grounds I
would submit, that the main office of the hereditary succes
sors of the Apostles was not so much to bear witness to the
truth (which they yet did directly by teaching the creeds,
indirectly by their Christian profession and ministerial
office, as facts presupposing the Christian verities) as to
hand doivn, under a purer or a more debased form in a
direct ratio to the truth which they held and taught, the
sacraments and the other means of grace ; the validity of
which, the learning or the ignorance, the perfect orthodoxy
or the partial error, of the clergy regularly ordained in any
given generation can neither give nor take away, seeing
that it is God which worketh the effect of His own sac7'a-

348 APPENDIX.
ments and ordinances by the hands of His ministers as
instruments, not as givers, of life.
P. 76. 3 lines from bottom. "Each succeeding age
inherited the privileges of their progenitors in Christ:
they did not renew and re-invent them," &c.] S. Pacianus
(ap. Eccl. Anglic. Vind. Cathol., tom. ii. p. 316) : "Jam et
istud attendite, an hsec potissimum sedificata sit in fun-
damentis Prophetarum et Apostolorum ex ipso angulari
lapide Jesu Christo, si ante te coepit, si atite te credidit, si
a fundamentis prioribus non recessit, si non ilia migravit,
si non a reliquo corpore separata, suos sibi magistros, et
propria instrumenta constituit."
P. 77. 9 lines from bottom. "The succession we are
here speaking of, as one means of grace, is not the Apo
stolical succession of ministers."'\ Let me, however, most
earnestly remind the reader, that, whilst for the sake of
clearness I treat of these two successions as if they were
separable, I yet carefuUy consider them as combined
together and in fact inseparable. Any attempt at di
vorcing the one from the other, nay, any exclusive exalta
tion of the one to the virtual forgetfulness or depreciation
of the other, is not only inconsistent with truth, but is
fraught with dangerous evil. There is a class of men, which
affects to speak of the Church, even if regarded as one
continuous body, yet as independent of an Apostolical
Ministry : and the tendency of this class is to schism, that
is, ultimately to heresy. There is another class which is for
ever preaching up an Apostolical succession of ministers,
without saying a word about its correlative, (or rather that
which comprehends it,) the succession and continuity of the
Apostolical Church; and the tendency of their views is

APPENDIX. 349
sacerdotalism, i. e. a habit of regarding the ministers as the
Church, and the people as simply made for them to rule over.
A right appreciation of these two combined and correla
tive successions would be an antidote to much popular
error, such as that, by which a candidate for Holy Orders
is commonly said to be intended and brought up for the
Church, or again, as that which leads good Churchmen to
speak of themselves as friends of the Church ; an expres
sion which evidently tends to make a man forget that he
is a member of that Church, and that he is doing no more
in her behalf than is conducive to his own best interests.
In promoting her welfare and growth, he is actually pro
moting his own ; so that to say he is friendly to the Church,
involves the self-evident proposition that he is friendly to
himself, for "who ever hated his own flesh?" To adopt
Dr. Arnold's expression, all Christians should be taught to
look upon themselves not " as friends or honorary members
of the Church, but as its most essential parts'."
The important share which the laity possess in the
Church is forcibly expressed by the same powerful thinker.
" The end of the Church he maintained to be the putting
down of moral evil. 'And if this idea,' he asks, 'seems
strange to any one, let him consider whether he will not
find this notion of Christianity every where prominent in
the Scriptures, and whether the most peculiar ordinances
of the Christian religion are not founded upon it ; or again,
if it seems natural to him, let him ask himself whether he
has well considered the legitimate consequences of such a
definition, and whether, in fact, it is not practically forgot
ten ? ' Its true nature he (Dr. Arnold) beheved to be not
an institution of the Clergy, but a living society of all
Christians. 'When I hear men talk of the Church,' he
e Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold, D.D., late Head Master of
Rugby School, 2nd ed., vol. i. p. 219.

350 APPENDIX.
used to say, 'I cannot help recalling how Abbe Sieyes
replied to the question, ' What is the Tiers Etat?' by say
ing, ' La nation moins la noblesse et le clerge ;' and so
I, if I were asked. What are the laity? would answer,
The Church minus the clergy''.'" How painful it is to
read, in the very next page, of Dr. Arnold's " belief that an
authoritative permission to administer the Eucharist, as
well as Baptism, might be beneficially granted to civil or
military officers, in congregations where it was impossible
to procure the presence of clergy 8^." Truly, if there are
some amongst us who would exalt the clergy above their
true level, there are others who would depreciate the office,
as if it were of human and not of Divine institution.
One other remarkable observation may be quoted from
the same work. " In our heavenly commonwealth the 'jus
civitatis' is a thousand times greater than the 'jus hono-
rum;' and he who most magnifies the solemnity of Baptism
win be inclined to value most truly the far inferior solem
nity of Ordination''." Yet why should we contrast those
Divine institutions with each other? Why not regard
them both (without venturing to decide upon the degree of
their relative value) as severally and jointly contributing to
one common end, the edification of the Church of Christ ?

P. 79. 1. 8 from the bottom. " But if we look to the
authorized formularies of our Church," &c.] " So far was
it from the purpose of the Church of England to forsake
and reject the Churches of Italy, France, Spain, Germany,
or any such hke Churches, in all things which they held
and practised, that, as the Apology of the Church of Eng-
' Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold, U.D., late Head Master of
Rugby School, 2nd ed., vol. i. p. 218.
B Ibid., vol. i. p. 219. " Ibid., vol. ii. p. 177.

APPENDIX. 351
land confesseth, it doth with reverence retain those cere
monies which do neither endanger the Church of God, nor
offend the minds of sober men ; and only departed from
them in those particular points wherein they were fallen
both from themselves in their ancient integrity, and from
the Apostolical Churches, which were their first founders."
Canons of 1604; can. 30. Cardwell's " Synodalia," Oxford
1842, vol. i. p. 262.

P. 79. 4 lines from bottom. "Their language is uni
form ;" &C.J See particularly Bishop Jewel, Apol. Eccl.
Anglic, (oct. ed., vol. iv. p. 12) : "Nam quod nos appel
lant hsereticos, est illud crimen ita grave ut nisi videatur,
nisi palpetur, nisi manibus digitisque teneatur, credi facile
de homine Christiano non debeat. Est enim hseresis de-
stitutio salutis, abjectio gratis Dei, discessio a corpore et
Spiritu Cliristi."

P. 80. " . . . . to the ancient doctors and the pri
mitive Catholic Church."] It is hardly possible to
read a page of Bishop Jewel's works without meeting
with an express or tacit appeal to the old Fathers. This
principle lies at the bottom of his whole argument, both
in the Replie and in the Defence of the Apology. Pas
sages without number might be quoted in support of the
assertion in the text, but I content myself with the fol
lowing : " Verily we, for our parts, as we have said,
have done nothing in altering religion, upon either rash
ness or arrogancj'; nor nothing, but Avith good leisure
and great consideration. Neither had we ever intended
to do it, except both the manifest and most assured will of
God, opened to us in his Holy Scriptures, and the regard

352 APPENDIX.
of our own salvation had even constrained us thereunto ;
for though we have departed from that Church, which
these men call Catholic, and by that means get us envy
among them that want skill to judge, yet is this enough
for us, and it ought to be enough for every good and wise
man, and one that maketh account of everlasting life, that
we have gone from that Church, which hath power to err ;
which Christ, who cannot err, told so long before it
should err ; and which we ourselves did evidently see with
our eyes, to have gone from the old holy Fathers, and from
the Apostles, and from Christ himself, and from the Pri
mitive and Catholic Church of God : and we are come as
near as we possibly could to the Church of the Apostles,
and of the old Catholic Bishops and Fathers ; which Church,
we know, was sound and perfect ; and as Tertulhan termeth
it, a pure virgin ; spotted as then with no idolatry, nor
with any foul or shameful fault ; and have directed, accord
ing to their customs and ordinances, not only our Doc
trine, but also the Sacraments, and the form of Common
Prayer." Bishop Jewel's Works, Def. of Apol., Partvi.
ch. xvi. div.l. p. 614. ed. 1609.
Queen Elizabeth in her answer to foreign potentates
touching the ejected Popish clergy, used these weighty
words : " There is no new faith propagated in England,
no religion set up, but that which was commanded by our
Saviour, practised by the primitive Church, and unani
mously approved by the Fathers of the best antiquity."
See Collier, Eccles. Hist., vol. vi. p. 264.
LECTURE III.
P. 93. 1. 14. " In short, did the significant action" &c.]
" Juxta Judaeorum denique sententiam, Spiritus Sanctus
per Apostolicam etiam ')(eipo6ecriav collatus est. Act. viii.

APPENDIX. 353
17. et xix. 6. Et ipse quidem Sospitator noster Jesus
Christus, cum ad Patrem jam ascensurus Apostolos suos
in Episcopos consecraret, ut sui absentis vices in terris sup-
plerent, et ecclesiasticam exercerent disciplinam, etiamsi
manus eis non imponebat, in eos tamen sufflabat, dicens
XdjSeTe TTvevfia dyiov. Quem quidem Spiritum a Christo
in ipsos suffiatum, Apostoli in ahos, eodem quo Christus
modo, sufflare non ausi sunt : sed juxta ritum conferendi
Spiritum in lege Mosaica institutum, et hucusque e
Judseis observatum, per manuum viz. impositionem, eun-
dem communicarunt aliis, quos ipsi ordinarunt : qui eodem
quoque modo delude eundem contulerunt, et sic successive,
non ad nostra tantum tempora, sed usque ad finem sseculi.
Quo fit, ut qui etiamnum rite ordinantur, et manuum im
positionem ab ipsis Apostolis successive continuatam acci-
piunt, Spiritus a Christo sufflati seque sunt participes, ac
quibus ipsi Apostoli manus imposuerunt in quos sufflatus
est. Qui autem hanc ¦xeipodeertav non habent, quomodo
legitimam veramque 'xeiporovlav habere censeantur me
prorsus latet." Guilielmi Beveregii. Annott. in Canones
Apostol. p. 11. col. 1. Pandect. Canon, tom. ii.

P. 96. 3 lines from bottom. " Or that the pastor
might not only be chosen and called by his flock, but
derive his authority solely by virtue of their commission."]
" We must remember, that the Church in its beginning
did not form itself, neither did it ordain or appoint its own
rulers, for ' Christ gave some Apostles, pastors, teachers,'
yea they had their power given them somewhat before the
Church was formed, (St. Matt, xxviii.,) to shew that they
were not to depend upon the people for their power."
Puller, " Moderation of the Church of England :" a book
lately and very seasonably reprinted. A a

354 APPENDIX.
P. 99. 1. 3. " And as we find it, so early as the time of
Ireuceus ;"] (Bishop of Lyons, a disciple of St. Polycarp,
fl. A.D. 180.) See lib. iii. contr. Hseres. c. 3. ed, Bened.
p. 175. " Habemus annumerare eos qui ab Apostolis insti-
tuti sunt Episcopi in Ecclesiis, et successores eorum etiam
ad nos, qui nihil tale docuerunt, neque cognoverunt, quale
ab his deliratur. Etenim si recondita mysteria scissent
Apostoli, quse seorsim et latenter ab reliquis perfectos doce-
bant, his vel maxime traderent ea quibus etiam ipsas Ec-
clesias committebant. Valde enim perfectos et irreprehen-
sibiles in omnibus eos volebant esse, quos et successores re-
linquebant, suum ipsorum locum magisterii tradentes . . ."
The next sentence shews that it was possible at that time
to specify the successions of all the Churches, although he
abstains from it for the sake of brevity, and contents him
self with giving that of Rome, as the greatest, most an
cient, and well known to all ; and as the Church to which
" propter potiorem principalitatem necesse est omnem
convenire ecclesiam, hoc est eos qui sunt undique fideles,
in qua semper ab his qui sunt undique, conservata est ea
quse est ab Apostolis traditio." [This latter passage, it
need scarcely be mentioned, is one of the few which
affords a handle for the supporters of the uncatholic
doctrine of the supremacy of Rome; but it is only a
handle; since the fact of such supremacy is negatived
by the evidence of six centuries, as well as by the in
dependence of the Oriental Churches. See Bp. Jewel's
Replie, art. iv. : also the Def. of the Apol., Part 6. cap. 16.
div. 2. p. 616. ed. 1609.
No well-informed Protestant will deny that the primi
tive Church of Rome was a very eminent one, both on ac
count of her connexion with the then capital of the world,
which is the true meaning of the words " propter potiorem
principalitatem," and on account of her faithfulness, in

APPENDIX. 355
early times, in maintaining the faith — but both these
grounds of pre-eminence having ceased, our respect to
wards her is modified accordingly.]
S. Irenseus contr. Hseres. lib. iv. cap. 33. p. 272. "PyoJo-t?
dXT]9rj<;, r) Tbiv aTTOCTToXav StSa^?), Kal to dp^aiov Trj'; iKKXr/-
aria<; av(TTt\fxa KaTa iravTO^ tov Kocrpiov, et character corpo
ris Christi secundum successiones episcoporum, quibus Uli
cam, quse in unoquoque loco est, Ecclesiam tradiderunt,
quse pervenit usque ad nos custoditione sine fictione Scrip-
turarum tractatio plenissima, neque additamentum neque
ablationem recipiens."
S. Irenseus, lib. v. c. 20. p. 317. "Omnes enim ii valde
posteriores sunt quam Episcopi, quibus Apostoli tradide
runt ecclesias."
To the testimony of Irenseus should be added that of
Tertullian (fl. A.D. 192) de Pr^scrip. Hseret. cap. 32. (ed.
Prior, p. 213.) " Cseterum, si quse audent interserere se
setati apostolicse, ut ideo videantur ab apostolis traditse^
quik sub apostolis fuerunt, possumus dicere: Edant ergo
origines ecclesiarum suarum : evolvant ordinem episcopo
rum suorum, ita per successiones ab initio decurrentem,
ut primus ille episcopus aliquem ex apostolis, vel apostolicis
viris, qui tamen cum apostolis perseveraverit, habuerit auc
torem et antecessorem. Hoc enim modo ecclesise apostoli-
cse census suos deferunt ; sicut Smyrnseorum ecclesia Poly-
carpum ab Joanne conlocatum refert : sicut Romanorum,
Clementem a Petro ordinatum itidem. Perinde utique et coe-
terse exhibent quos ab apostolis in episcopatum constitutes
apostohci seminis traduces habeant. Confingant tale ali
quid hseretici." See also lib. iv. cap. v. adv. Marcion. (ed.
Prior, p. 415.) "Habemus et Joannis alumnas ecclesias.
Nam etsi Apocalypsim ejus Marcion respuit, ordo tamen
Episcoporum ad originem recensus, in Joannem stabit
auctorem. Sic et cceterorum generositas recognoscitur."
A a 2

356 APPENDIX.
P. 100. 1. 14. "The humblest Bishop in the present
day has received and can impart it likewise."] "Quid
enim facit excepta ordinatione Episcopus, quod Presbyter
non faciat? Nee altera Romanse urbis Ecclesia, altera
totius orbis existimanda est. Et Gallise, et Britannise, et
Africa, et Persis, et Oriens, et India, et omnes barbarse
Nationes unum Christum adorant, unam observant regu-
1am veritatis. Si auctoritas quseritur, orbis major est urbe.
Ubicunque fuerit Episcopus, sive Romse, sive Eugubii, sive
Constantinopoli, sive Rhegii, sive Alexandrise, sive Tanis,
ejusdem meriti, ejusdem est et sacerdotii. Potentia diviti-
arum, et paupertatis humilitas, vel sublimiorem vel inferio-
rem Episcopum non facit. Cseterum omnes Apostolorum
successores sunt." Hieronym. ad Evangelum, tom. iv.
pt. 2. p. 803.

P. 102. 1. 13. "And the manner of its communication"
&c.] It has been well observed by a late writer, referred
to in a subsequent note, " this ' laying on of hands' which,
in our days, is seen to share the fate of other high truths,
was from the beginning included amongst the fundamental
'principles' of the doctrine of Christ. In a statement of
certain essential Catholic verities, which constitute what
St. Paul calls ' the foundation' of Christian doctrine, this
occupies a place. 'Repentance,' 'Faith,' 'Baptism,' 'Resur
rection,' and ' Eternal Judgment ;' these are the doctrines
with which the 'Laying on of hands' is classed by the
Holy Spirit. And it is of this 'Laying on of hands' that
some men, in our days, fear not to speak lightly." (Mr.
Marshall's Notes on the Catholic Episcopate, p. 47.) The
whole argument upon the cases of Timothy, of Titus, and
of the seven " angels" of the Apocalypse (from p. 46. to
p. 95) is very ably conducted.

APPENDIX. 357
P. 102. 9 hues fi-om the bottom, "(the germ of a well-
known usage in the rite of ordination.)"] See however
Dean Comber's Discourse on Ordination, ch. iv. § I.
" . . . . when a Priest is ordained, the Priests that are
present do all lay on their hands with the Bishop, which
some would derive from Timothy's being ordained ' with
the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery;' but the
Greek Fathers (i. e. Chrysost. and Theophyl. in loc.) and
the Ethiopic Version expound that of the Bishops who joined
with St. Paul in making Timothy a Bishop. And in the
Greek Church none but the Bishop lays on his hands at the
ordination of a Priest, as well as of a Deacon." See also
Beveridge's note on the First Apostol. Canon, tom. ii. p. 10.
At all events, however, whether derived from the passage
in the Epistle to Timothy, or not, the custom of Presbyters
laying on their hands upon the candidate for Priest's orders
ivith the Bishop, was of very early origin, as is proved by
the third Canon of the fourth Council of Carthage ; and
by the sixth Canon of the Constitutions of the Church of
Alexandria, quoted by Beveridge, (note on the Second
Apostol. Canon, tom. ii. p. 13. col. 2). See also "The
Perpetual Government of Christ's Church," by Bishop
Bilson, ch. 13. Oxford, University Press, 1842. p. 324.

P. 103. 2 lines from the bottom. "And although it
may be granted that the terms ' Apostle,' ' Bishop,' and
'Presbyter,' are in Scripture used synonymously," &c.J It
may even be admitted that during the Apostles' life-time,
the name of Bishop and of Presbyter designated one and
the same office, those who had the power of transmitting
orders being then (according to Theodoret, in 1 Cor. xii.
28.) distinguished by the name of Angels and Apostles.
All that is contended for is, that, under whatever name.

358 APPENDIX.
there was always an order which had the exclusive power
of sending, and that, when the Apostles had passed away,
the name of Bishops was restricted to this exclusive office.
See Beveridge. On this whole subject see also a learned
dissertation in Collier, vol. vii. p. 102 to p. 112. On the
whole. Collier's Eccl. History may be recommended cum
grano. His pecuhar opinions are never prominent, and
in general he states facts and leaves them to the reader's
judgment. On this subject also a full answer to the oppo
nents of Episcopacy has been given by Mr. Marshall, p. 95.
p. 114. His conclusion in p. 112 may be here transcribed.
"To conclude : — the ecclesiastical order was, it should seem,
at first, as follows: (1.) Apostles; (2.) Presbyters; (3.)
Deacons ; the title of Bishop being applied sometimes to
one order sometimes to another. But when, after the
Twelve were removed to the Church in Heaven, the name
'Apostle' seemed too sacred to be apphed in its first
latitude, — that is, to all the supreme governors, — it ceased
to be so used, and the office which it had indicated was
henceforward denoted by a title not hitherto restricted to
that purpose, the order being now, (1.) Bishops; (2.) Pres
byters ; (3.) Deacons." Marshall's Notes on the Cathohc
Episcopate, p. 112.

P. 104. 1. 1. "Yet there are clear indications of a dis
tinction of Orders in fact."] St. Jerome has been often
quoted in defence of the original equality of Bishops and
Priests, (Epist. ad Evangel, ed. Bened. tom. iv. pt. 2. p. 802.)
This equality, however, even that Father considers to have
been superseded by the Apostles themselves, (see the end
of the same epistle,) "ut sciamus traditiones Apostolicas
sanctas de Vetere Testamento, quod Aaron, et filii ejus,
atque Levitae in templo fuerunt, hoc sibi Episcopi, et

APPENDIX. 359
Presbyteri, et Diaconi vendicent in Ecclesia." The most
strenuous champion for the distinction of orders could
hardly desire a more definite illustration of the Christian
scheme, than the distinction between Aaron, and the
Priests, and the Levites respectively; and, in confessing
this to have been instituted by the Apostles, St. Jerome,
in fact, confirms the statement in the text, that this con
stitution was "estabhshed by the Apostles in every one
of their Churches :" not forgetting the one very important
exception which St. Jerome makes in favour of the Bishops,
as hlone qualified, after the Apostles' departure, to send
labourers into the vineyard. " For what," he asks, " does
the Bishop do, except ordination, which the Presbyter may
not do?" ibid. On the whole, the adversaries of Episcopacy
will gain nothing by alleging this opinion of St. Jerome,
singular and unsupported as it is, in respect to the mode
of stating the relation between the orders. Compare
St. Jerome's Letter to Oceanus, tom. iv. pt. 2. p. 647.

P. 104. 1. 5. "At aU events it is very shortly after the
Apostles' death, that, passing to the early Christian writers,
we find the definite ordinance both as to title and office,
which has ever since prevailed."] " The adversaries
admit, that the Churches were governed by Bishops
within a very few years — the most extravagant say, within
forty years — of St. John's death. At that time, it is con
fessed, the Three Orders of the Priesthood were universally
acknowledged. They might, indeed, with just as much
reason, have fixed upon any other imaginary epoch; but
we may be content here to take the admission as they
make it. In the year 140, then, the Bishops throughout
the world were in undisputed possession of their authority
over Presbyters and Deacons." Marshall on the Catholic

360 APPENDIX.

Episcopate, p. 83: to this is appended a note specifying the
admissions of some of the leading Presbyterian Divines.

P. 104. 10 lines from bottom. "  insomuch that
lists have come down to us of the succession in various
lines."] See Leslie, "Qualifications requisite to administer
the Sacraments :" Works, vol. ii. p. 724. "But to leave the
fruitless contest about words, let this matter be determined
as other matters of fact are. If I pretend to succeed any
man in an honor or estate, I must name him who had
such estate or honor before me, and the man who had it
before him, and who had it before him ; and so up aU the
way to him who first had it, and from whom all the rest do
derive, and how it was lawfully deduced from one to
another. This the Bishops have done, as I have shewn,
and can name all the way backward, as far as history goes
from the present Bishop of London, for example, to the
first plantation of Christianity in this kingdom ; so from
the present Bishop of Lyons up to Irenseus the disciple of
St. Polycarp, as before is told. The records are yet more
certain in the great Bishopricks of Rome, Antioch,
Alexandria, and others, while they lasted in the world.
And though the records may not be extant of every small
Bishoprick, which was less taken notice of, as the names
of many kings are lost in obscure nations, of many mayors
or sheriffs, who notwithstanding have as certainly suc
ceeded one another as when the Records are preserved ; I
say though every Bishop in the world cannot tell the
names of all his predecessors up to the Apostles, yet their
succession is certain. And in most Christian nations
there are Bishops who can do it; which is a sufficient
proof for the rest, all standing upon the same bottom, and
being derived in the same manner." He adds (p. 725),

APPENDIX. 361
" This I have shewn in behalf of Episcopacy, and put the
Presbyterians to prove their succession in the form of
Presbytery, which they can never do; because, as I said
before, the chronology of the Church does not compute
from the succession of the Presbyters, but only of the
Bishops, as being the chief governors of the Church. And
therefore, though in many bishopricks, the roll of these
Bishops is preserved from the Apostles to this day, yet
there is not one bare Presbyter, that is, the minister of a
parish and no more, no not in all the world, who can give
a roll of his predecessors in that parish, half way to the
Apostles or near it."
Again Archbishop Potter : " This was the rise of Episco
pacy according to Eusebius : and in the following parts of
his history, he has given to us such exact and authentic
catalogues of the Bishops who presided in all the principal
cities of the Roman empire, from the Apostles down to his
own time, that it is as impossible for an impartial man
who shall compare this historian with the rest of the primi
tive Fathers, to doubt whether there was a succession of
Bishops from the Apostles, as it would be to call in ques
tion the succession of Roman emperors from Julius Csesar,
or the succession of kings in any other country. Indeed,
those who have been produced, and others who have been
passed by, lest this discourse should be drawn out into too
great a length, are such a multitude of unexceptionable
witnesses as can scarce be produced for any other matters
of fact, except the rise and progress of Christianity; so
that whoever shall deny this may with better reason
reject all histories whatever." Discourse of Church
Government by the most Rev. John Potter, Archbishop of
Canterbury (Mr. Crosthwaite's ed. 1839), ch. iv. p. 123.
See also Bishop Bilson, Perpetual Government of Christ's
Church, ch. xiii. p. 332. Oxford ed. : " Now that in the

362 APPENDIX.
Churches planted by the Apostles and their coadjutors one
hath been severed from the rest of the Presbyters, and
placed above the rest in the honour of the episcopal chair,
before there were any general councils to decree that
manner of government, and so continued even from the
Apostles' persons and hands to this present age, the per
petual succession of Bishops in those principal Churches
where the Apostles and their helpers preached and
governed, and hkewise in all other Churches of the world
following their steps, will strongly and fully confirm. If
the Apostles placed Bishops with their own hands ; if de
parting or dying they left Bishops to succeed them; if
their disciples and scholars embraced and used that course
to set Bishops above Presbyters for saving the Church
from schisms, and left it to their aftercomers ; I trust there
are few men so deeply drowned in their own conceits, or
wholly addicted to their fancies, but they wiU acknowledge
the first distinction and institution of Bishops from and
above Presbyters, was, if not commanded and imposed by
the Apostles' precepts on the Church, yet at least ordained
and dehvered unto the faithful by their example, as the
best way to maintain the peace and unity of the Church :
and consequently the custom of the Church (which Austin
speaketh of,) that the Bishop's office should be greater than
the Presbyter's ; and the decree of the whole world (which
Jerome mentioneth), were derived from the Apostles, and
confirmed by them, and may not be reversed and repealed
after 1500 years, unless we challenge to be wiser and
better able to order and govern the Church of Christ than
the Apostles were.
"Eusebius, the first and best collector of ancient and
ecclesiastical monuments, (Egesippus and Clemens being
lost,) deriveth the succession of Bishops in the four prin
cipal Churches of the world, Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome,

APPENDIX.

363

and Alexandria, from the Apostles' age unto his own time :
by which, as by a line, we may be directed to see what
manner of episcopal succession the rest of the Churches
had; and from whom the first original of Bishops de
scended. I will set them down, as it were in a table, even
from the Apostles and their followers, unto the time they
met in the great Council of Nice, about 320 years after
Christ ; and then examine more exactly whence they took
their firsb beginning. " In the Church of

Jeucsalem.

Antioch.

Rome.

Alexandria.

James the Ap.

Peter the Ap.

Peter and Paul.

Mark the Evang

Simeon.

Euodius.

Linus.

Anianus.

Justus.

Ignatius.

Anacletus.

Abilius.

Zachaeus.

Heros.

Clemens.

Cerdo.

Tobias.

Cornelius.

Euaristus.

Primus.

Benjamin.

Eros.

Alexander.

Justus.

Johannes.

Theophilus.

Sixtus.

Eumenes.

Mathias.

Maximinus.

Thelesphorus.

Marcus.

Philippus.

Serapion.

Higinus.

Celadion.

Senecas.

Asclepiades.

Pius.

Agrippas.

Justus.

Philetos.

Anicetus.

Julianus.

Levi.

Zebinus.

Soter.

Demetrius.

Ephiem.

Babilas.

Eleutherius.

Heraclas.

Joseph.

Fabius.

Victor.

Dionysius.

Judas.

Demetrius.

Zepherinus.

Maximus.

Marcus.

Paulus Samosat

. Calixtus.

Theonas.

Cassianus.

Domnus.

Urbanus.

Petrus.

Puhlius.

Timaeus.

Pontianus.

Achilles.

Maximus.

Cyrillus.

Anterus.

Alexander.

Julianus.

Tyrannus.

Fabianus.

Athanasius.

Caius.

Vitalis.

Cornelius.

Petrus.

Symmachus.

Philagonius.

Lucius.

Timotheus.

Caius.

Eustathius.

Stephanus.

Theophilus.

Julianus.

f Paulinus and
1 Milesius.

XistusDionysius.

Cyrillus.

Capito.

Flavianus.

Felix.

Maximus.

Porphyrins.

Eutichianus.

Antoninus.
Alexander.
Caius.
364

APPENDIX.

" In the Church of

Antioch.
Johannes.

Rome.

AXEXANDBIA.

Marcellinus. Marcellus.
Eusebius. Meltiades.Sylvester.
Marcus. Julius. Liberius. Daniasus.
Siricius.Anastasius.

Jerusalem.
Valens. Dolichianus.Narcissus. Dius.Germanion.Gordius.Narcissus iterum.
Alexander. Marzabenes. Hymenaeus.
Zambdas. Hermon.Macarius. Maximus.Cyrillus.
Johannes. l^Prai/lius.'] '
Juvenalis. " These catalogues of the Bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch,
Rome, and Alexandria, Eusebius pursueth unto the begin
ning of his own time; leaving off at Hermon, Bishop of
Jerusalem ; Tyrannus, Bishop of Antioch ; Marcellinus,
Bishop of Rome; and Peter, Bishop of Alexandria; the
rest are supplied out of others, as in the see of Alexandria,
Achilles, Alexander, and Athanasius out of Socrates; Vi
talis, Philagonius, and Eustathius out of Theodoret; as
also Macarius for Jerusalem. In the see of Rome, Mar
cellus and those who follow, out of Optatus and Augus
tine," &c.
The Bishop then proceeds to offer corroborative evidence
from various authors as to " when these successions began,
and who were the first authors and ordainers of them," (p.
335). Let it be remembered that Eusebius had access to
' This name Bishop Bilson appears to have overlooked; or perhaps he
followed the opinion of some writers, that Praylius was identical with
Johannes.

APPENDIX. 365
the histories of his predecessors (now lost), and that lists
of the successions were still extant in his day. To doubt
evidence such as this, offered by a witness of unquestioned
veracity, on the ground of its not being contemporary,
appears to be carrying scepticism to an extreme. The cata
logues to which Eusebius had access were to him the evi
dence of writers who were contemporary successively with
the respective Bishops in each line. If testimony like his to
a. fact, i.e. to the existence ofthose records, is to be disputed,
it is difficult to conceive how history can be written at all.
The following ia the continuation of the Catalogue of
the Bishops of Jerusalem down to the year 1733, which I
have derived from the third volume of Le Quien's learned
work, Oriens Christianus, p. 162. to p. 528 J. It is added,
as one example of a line (suspended indeed for thirty-seven
years, but) in fact uninterrupted ; and Jerusalem is selected
rather than Rome, as being the first established see, and as
designated by St. Jerome as the mother of all Churches ;
" Hierosolymitanse autem ecclesise, quae mater est omnium
ecclesiarum" &c. S. Hieron. de Script. Ecclesiast. cap. 112.
Pto!/'««.[c.A.D.417.] Eustochius. /oa?Hi<;s F. [A.D.705.]
Juvenalis. Macarius. Theodorus I.
Anastasius Geruntius. Joannes IV. Eusebius.
Martyrius. Amos. Elias II.
Salustius. Isacius. [A.D. 600.] Georgius.
Elias I. Zacharias. Thomas. [A.D. 807.]
/«annra7/J.[A.D.513.] Modestus. BasHius.
PelTus. Sophronius ''. Sergiiis.
' The same work furnishes in tom. ii. the succession of the Patriarchs of
Alexandria, and of Antioch, down to the year 1735.
'' The Church of Jerusalem was, through the usurpation of the Pope of
Rome, administered vicariously, from A.D. 643. to 680. by Stephanus Doren-
sis Ej)iscopus, Joannes Philadelph. Episcop., Theodorus Presbyter : but this
interval, when the Patriarchal power was, as it were, in abeyance, is only a
temporary suspension of the line of succession, and two of the Pro-Patriarchs
were Bishops. But it may serve to illustrate the accuracy with which th^se
records were preserved.

366 Salomon.Theodosius.
Elias III.
Sergius II. \_k.T>. 907.-]
Leontius.Anastasius. Christophorm.
Agatho.Joannes VI.
Christophorus II.
[A.D. 1010.]
Thomas II.
Josephus II.
Alexander.Agapius.Hieremias, or Orestes.
Theophilus.
Arsenius.
Jordanus. Nicephorus. Sophronius II.
Euthymius.

APPENDIX.
Simeon II.
Sa66MJ.[A.D.1099.]
Jacobus II.
Arsenius II
Joannes VII.
Nicephorus II.
Athanasius II.
Leontius.Dositheus I.
Marcus II.
Theophanes I. [circ.
A.D. 1200.]
Gregorius II.
Athanasius III.
ThaddcBus.
Sophronius III.
Athanasius IV.
Gabriel Bnda. [circ.
A.D. 1300.]
Lazarus.Sophronius IV.

Dorotheus I.
Theophilus II. [circ.
A.D. 1400.]
Theophanes II.
Joachim. Theophanes III.
A braham.
Jacobus III.
Marcus III.
Gregorius III. [circ.
A.D. 1600.]
Dorotheus II.
Germanus.
Sophronius V.
Theophanes IV. [A .D.
1608.]
Paisius.
Nectarius.
Dositheus II.
Chrysanthus.
Milatheus, [A.D. 1733.]

P. 104. 1. 14. " It can be proved that thenceforth the
order of Bishops was exclusively entrusted with the power
of transmission."] See this most convincingly proved by
Bishop Bilson, Perpetual Government, &c. p. 325. (Oxford
ed. 1842.) The reader is recommended to consider atten
tively the instances he brings, 1st. of an ordination of
Priests and Deacons being accounted invalid, because a
Presbyter read the words of ordination, instead of the
Bishop, who only laid on his hands, being pained with
sore eyes ; 2nd. The well-known story of Ischyras, who
pretended to be a Presbyter, having been ordained by a
Presbyter, Colluthus, but who was declared on that account
by a Council at Alexandria, under the famous Hosius, to be
a mere layman, and so remaining all his life ; upon which
Bishop Bilson remarks, "You shall do well considerately

APPENDIX. 367
to read the place (i. e. Athanas. ad Imp. Const. Apol. ii.
tom. i. p. 732. Par. 1627) ; it importeth the universal
consent of the primitive Church to have been this, that no
Presbyter could ordain a Presbyter; but those that received
imposition of hands from any such, were throughout the
Church of Christ esteemed and reputed mere laymen, and
not otherwise accepted to the Lord's table." 3rdly. The
Bishop alleges the story of Maximus. (Concil. Constanti-
nopol. i. can. 6.) The whole, however, of this masterly work
should be attentively studied. One more quotation must
be given, in which the Bishop sums up this part of his
argument. "Wherefore I see no cause why some writers
in our days should discredit the report and reason, which
Epiphanius (adv. Hseres. 65.) maketh against Aerius, that
a Presbyter could not be equal with a Bishop ; forsomuch
as this order of Bishops 'engendereth fathers unto the
Church ;' and the order of Presbyters, ' not able to beget
fathers, by the regeneration of Baptism, begetteth children
unto the Church, but not fathers or teachers, and so no
possibihty to make a Presbyter that hath not received
power to impose hands' equal with a Bishop. For what
doth Epiphanius avouch in these words, which Athanasius,
Jerome, Chrysostom, and Ambrose do not likewise avouch?
or what saith he more than the primitive Church in her
general and provincial councils decreed against CoUuthus,
Maximus, and others; and observed without alteration
ever since the Apostles died ? If we reject this assertion
of Epiphanius, that only Bishops should impose hands to
ordain, and not Presbyters, we reject the whole Church of
Christ, which interpreted the Scriptures in this behalf as
Epiphanius did; and confirmed the very same resolution
with the continual practice of all ages and countries where
the gospel hath been preached and believed ; for by power
to ordain, the Christian world hath always distinguished

368 APPENDIX.
Bishops from Presbyters, as it is easy to be seen by all
the monuments of antiquity that are extant to this day,
either of councils, stories, or fathers." Perpetual Govern
ment, &c. pp. 331, 332. See also Beveridge's learned note
on the second of the so-called Apostolical Canons, Cod.
Can. tom. ii. Annot. p. 12 — 15.

P. 104. 1. 3 from bottom. " . . . . that order was very
early taken for the better preservation of one unbroken
line, by the canon providing that every Bishop should be
consecrated by three Bishops at least."] For the proof of
this highly important fact I would refer the reader to
Beveridge's learned note on the first of the so-called
Canons of the Apostles. Although the genuineness of
this collection of early canons, as to their immediate Apo
stolic origin, is generally abandoned, yet the learned as
generally consider that it is to be referred to a very early
age, and that it bears evidence to the practices actually
existing at the time of its compilation. The first canon
runs thus : 'ETTtWoTTO? '^^eipoTovelaOco vtto iiTiaKOTraiv Bvo tj
Tpuov. The germ of this canon Bishop Beveridge traces to
1 Timothy, iv. 14. (where " the Presbytery" is interpreted
by Chrysostom and CEcumenius to mean " Bishops"), and
to Acts xiii. 1, 2, 3. He then shews from more than
one source, that (except in a few cases specified) no Bishop
was from the first considered to be canonically ordained,
on whom three Bishops at least had not laid their hands ;
that the rite of imposition of hands, and even the num
ber of ordainers, was probably derived from the Jews.
The Bishop then cites the following Canons and Councils :
Concil. Nic. can. 4; Concil. Carth. 2. can. 12; 1 Carth. can.
53; Carth. 4. can. 2; Arel. 1. can. 21. (requiring, if possible.

APPENDIX. 369
seven ordainers); Arel. 2. can. 5; Araus. i. can. 21; Hippon.
can. 39. He then sums up his account as follows : " Hunc
porro ternarium Episcoporum ad Episcopum constituen-
dum confluentium numerum a Grsecis observari Eucholo-
gium docet, tit. de ordin. Episc. p. 302, et eundem a nos-
trS, quoque Ecclesia religiose retineri ex Ordinalis nostri
Rubrica satis patet .... Hunc itaque ritum ab ipsis Apo-
stohs usitatum et a viris Apostolicis prseceptum, nostra
quoque Ecclesia religiose admodutn observat; qui, quoad
fieri potest, ubique proculdubio observandus est." Beve
ridge then proceeds to consider the cases of necessity,
which have been thought to dispense with the rigorous
observance of the number specified ; where two, or even
one, have been deemed sufficient. He specifies particu
larly the case of the first English Bishop of London, Mel-
litus, ordained (with Pope Gregory's express permission)
by Augustine alone. But even in such cases the particu
larity with which Christian writers specify tlie exception
and the cause of it, proves the general stringency of the
rule. It appears to me that it is impossible to read this note
without coming to the conclusion, that the injunction in
the Rubric^ of the "Order for consecrating Bishops" is
derived from the uniform practice of primitive times, fol
lowed by that of each succeeding generation.
If this be granted, what is the result ? No other than
this; that, in every single ordination considered abstractedly
' Rubric; "Then the Aichbishop and Bishops present shall lay their
hands upon the head of the elected Bishop kneeling before them upon his
knees, the Archbishop saying, ' Receive the Holy Ghost, for the Office and
Work of a Bishop in the Clmrch of God, now committed unto thee by the
imposition of oar hands ; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen." The force of the plural pronoun in italics will be
seen by comparing "the Form of imikiiig of Deacons," where, the Bishop
acting alone, the clause is omitted. B b

370 APPENDIX.
from the hue of succession in which it is a link, collusion,
mistake, and irregularity are by this rule rendered in a
high degree irnprobable ; and, with regard to a long series
of such ordinations linked together in a succession, that
they are rendered next to impossible. For, take the case
of any modern Archbishop of Canterbury, it would be
difficult for one of his ordainers to pretend (without the
risk of instant detection), or even to be mistaken as to his
claim, to the regular possession of episcopal functions — not
only his own conscientious knowledge, but pubhc notoriety
is an adequate guarantee against imposture or error — but
even supposing, for argument's sake, that one such spurious
ordainer could be found amongst the three, it is beyond
the bounds of credibility, that, under the guard of the
same notoriety, a similar mistake or collusion could take
place with regard to the other two also ; and so, if the act of
one is invalid, its invalidity is cured by the legitimate act of
two. Now what we have thus far supposed of a modern
Archbishop, was true, of every Bishop in their respective
generations, from the Apostolic age downward ; there were
the same regulation, at least equal notoriety, and even more
jealousy as to the purity of the descent. When the Apostles
ordained, doubtless it was not necessary that any should be
associated with them in the official act, though even their
act of ordination was ratified and witnessed (to say the
least) by the joint act of the Presbytery ; but, very shortly
after their time, we find the regulation in question recorded
(how long it had been practised we nowhere read) ; and, for
the notoriety and jealousy which were observable in the
early Church, we probably have hardly an adequate notion
of the extent to which they prevailed, when the Catholic
Church was one, and when the addition of each new Bishop
to the Episcopal Roll was regularly notified by public
letters to his already recognised colleagues throughout

APPENDIX. 371
Christendom, (a wholesome practice which was disconti
nued in consequence partly of the usurpation of the Pope.
See Bishop Jewel's Defence of the Apology, part 2. fol. ed.
1611. p. 129.)
And if this were all ; if it were only that each generation
by itself was thus secured against the probability of a
break, at that particular moment, in the Episcopal line of
succession, we might surely look upon this ecclesiastical
rule as nothing short of providential. But we cannot
stop here. No single Bishop, and still more no generation
of Bishops, can be considered as isolated, any more than
any individual man in the natural succession of the gene
rations of mankind. In the nature of things, each Bishop
with his contemporaries is related to those who went
before, and to those who come after him. Let us see, then,
what results from the canon in this hereditary point of view.
The Archbishop, in the case supposed, had, as we have
seen, his Episcopal character conferred by three Bishops at
least"" simultaneously laying their hands upon him. But
each one of those three ordainers had been also consecrated
by three, any one of whom would, as Beveridge has shewn
us, have been in case of necessity sufficient. So that there had
been nine ordainers actually concerned in the consecration
of the three ordaining Bishops before us, and virtually in
that of the Archbishop elect. Again, each of the said nine
had been also consecrated by three, so that in the third step
already there are as many as twenty-seven guarantees to
the regularity of the consecration in hand. So far, then,
are the probabilities of a vahd consecration in the line of
the Apostohc succession from being weakened by distance
from the Apostles' age, that, at each several step in the
ascending scale of succession, the guarantees for validity
¦" Three at least are required ; but in fact four or even more are generally
present.
Bb2

372 APPENDIX.
are increased, and, consequent^, the chances of error or
corruption are diminished, according to the abstract calcu
lation, in a geometrical ratio.
In practice, doubtless, we shall have to make allowance
for the probable recurrence of the same Bishop's name in
more than one of the several lists of Bishops engaged in
each ordination ; yet after the actual deduction of such du
plicate guarantees, the number of independent ordainers, to
whom the validity of any particular consecration is to be
referred, will be such as to surprise those, who have never
adverted to the working of the primitive Canon under
consideration. It will be sufficient to mention, that in
tracing the spiritual pedigree of the present Archbishop of
Canterbury, four independent ordainers can be actually
named in the first step of the ascending scale ; ten in the
second; twenty -four in the third; and, in the fourth, no
less \hsiii forty -one.
In order that this interesting result may be exhibited
in one view, Mr. Perceval in his valuable treatise, entitled
"An Apology for the Doctrine of the Apostolical Succes
sion," (2nd ed. 1841.) has compiled from authentic sources
a Table of the "Episcopal Descent of the present Arch
bishop of Canterbury, traced in full for four Successions,"
(Append., p. 238.) Mr. Perceval has also given lists of all
the English and Colonial Bishops (with the names of their
respective consecrators), from Cranmer downwards, (as well
as of the Bishops uncanonically consecrated during Queen
Mary's reign). The whole work is most valuable; and so
convincing is the ocular demonstration afforded of the
reality of the transmission of our Orders, that we cannot
help wishing, that what an individual clergyman has with
great labour performed, might in future be done periodi
cally by authority. It would be easy to continue the lists,
taking them up where Mr. Perceval has left off, and

APPENDIX. 373
numbering each new Bishop according to his plan. It
is the practice of the Sister Church in America, in pub
lishing their Episcopal hsts, to print, opposite to the name
of each Bishop, the names of his ordainers. It would be
well, if a similar precaution were adopted amongst our
selves. A series of such lists, so published from time to
time, would be an irrefragable evidence, to present and
future times, of the uninterrupted purity of the Apostolical
Commission as handed down in our branch of the Church.
Let it be remembered, that what has been here demon
strated of the present Archbishop of Canterbury as to the
evidence of the Apostolicity of his orders, apphes to every
Bishop in every line of succession, as ascertainable in his
own day. From the earliest times the Diptychs or
Registers of each Church were preserved as jealously as
the Archiepiscopal Records are at this day in the Archives
at Lambeth.
The immediate occasion for the foregoing observations
was furnished by an article which appeared not long ago
in the Edinburgh Review, and which has been subse
quently ascertained to have been written by Mr. Macaulay.
That it is written with acuteness and vigour it would be
neither wise nor just to deny ; but it is impossible for any
one acquainted with the History of the Church, to avoid
perceiving great, though doubtless undesigned, mis-state
ments of facts, and much greater brilliancy than accuracy
or solidity of reasoning. The passage to which I am par
ticularly adverting wiU be found in Mr. Macaulay's
Essays, vol. ii. p. 479. (Review of Gladstone on Church
and State.)
" Now it is probable, that no clergyman in the Church
of England can trace up his spiritual genealogy from
Bishop to Bishop so far back as to the time of the Con
quest. There remain many centuries during which the

374 APPENDIX.
history of the transmission of his orders is buried in utter
darkness. And whether he be a priest by succession from
the Apostles depends on the question, whether, during
that long period, some thousands of events took place, any
one of which may, without any gross improbability, be
supposed not to have taken place. We have not a tittle of
evidence for any one of these events. We do not even
know the names or countries of the men to whom it is
taken for granted that these events happened. We do not
even know whether the spiritual ancestors of any one of
our contemporaries were Spanish or Armenian, Arian or
Orthodox. In the utter absence of all particular evidence,
we are surely entitled to require that there should be very
strong evidence indeed that the strictest regularity was
observed in every generation, and that episcopal functions
were exercised by none who were not Bishops by succes
sion from the Apostles. But we have no such evidence.
In the first place, we have not full and accurate informa
tion touching the pohty of the Church during the century
which followed the persecution of Nero. That during this
period the overseers of all the little Christian societies
scattered through the Roman empire held their spiritual
authority by virtue of holy orders derived from the Apo
stles, cannot be proved by contemporary testimony, nor
by any testimony which can be regarded as decisive.
" Extreme obscurity hangs over the history of the mid
dle ages ; and the facts which are discernible through that
obscurity prove that the Church was exceedingly ill regu
lated. We read of sees openly sold, transferred backwards
and forwards by popular tumult, bestowed sometimes by a
profligate woman on her paramour, sometimes by a war
like baron on a kinsman still a stripling. We read of
Bishops of ten years old, of Bishops of five years old, of

APPENDIX. 375
many Popes who were mere boys, and who rivalled the
frantic dissoluteness of Caligula, nay of a female Pope."
To the greater part of this extraordinary passage it is
impossible to return an adequate answer within the limits
of the present work. Something however has been done
in the preceding notes, by which the reader may be enabled
to judge, what foundation there is for saying that " it is
probable that no clergyman in the Church of England can
trace up his spiritual genealogy so far back as to the time
of the Conquest ;" and " that there remain many centuries
during which the history of the transmission of his orders
is buried in utter darkness." How is it, then, that the list
of Archbishops of Canterbury is complete up to Augustine,
in the beginning of the seventh century ? Whence did
Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, derive the
catalogue which he has given of his predecessors? Or
from what materials did Bishop Godwin compile his learned
work" ? Is the history of these four centuries silent as to
the transmission of Episcopal orders ? (for this is the true
question, inasmuch as each individual clergyman need go
no farther than the Bishop who ordained him, and the
question thenceforward becomes a question of Episcopal
consecrations, and this is sufficiently attested by the line of
the Archbishops, even if no records of the other sees were
extant, a supposition quite contrary to the facts.) Is it
indeed true, that " we have not a tittle of evidence for any
one of these events" prior to the age of the Conquest ?
Did the venerable Bede never write ? Are " the names and
countries of the men to whom these events happened"
utterly unknown ? Is not even the country of Theodorus
known to us? These and such like questions to an in
definite extent are suggested by the conjectures of the
" De Pr^sulibus hngWm.

376 APPENDIX.
Reviewer. All the sources of ecclesiastical history fare
alike; Eusebius, Tertullian, Irenseus are met, hke Bede,
with the authoritative assurance, "We have no such
evidence :" " we have not full and accurate information of
the Church during the century which followed the perse
cution of Nero." How far all this is true, a perusal of the
¦works from which extracts have been given above, will
enable the reader to judge ; and till these works have been
read and refuted, no man is justified in adopting the con
fident tone in which the Reviewer indulges.
Dismissing all this, however, as mere conjectural writing,
we may proceed to observe, that a fact is assumed as the
basis of the above argument such as it is. The whole of
this reasoning plainly rests upon the assumption that each
individual clergyman can only trace his orders theoretically
through a single line of ordainers up to the Apostles.
Enough has been said to shew how untenable this hypo
thesis of a single line really is — and if, instead of a single
line, there is, in each generation, a triple or quadruple one ;
if the chances of failure progressively decrease as we go on
to the Apostolic age, so that the great number of persons
through whom the succession has been derived, so far from
increasing the chances against any individual's valid orders,
are actually a greater guarantee for their validity ; then,
although, from the natural loss of records, we may grant,
that we cannot prove that during a certain period "the
overseers of all the little Christian societies scattered
through the Roman empire held their spiritual authority
by virtue of holy orders derived from the Apostles," yet
the fact of the existence from the earliest age of the Canon
alluded to in the text, — coupled with the fact that hsts of
the overseers of the great Christian societies in the Roman
empire (lists which there is no more ground for discrediting
than there is for disputing the succession of the Roman

APPENDIX. 377
emperors) — and further supported by every known fact of
Ecclesiastical history, without so much as one fact against
it, — this fact affords the highest degree of probability
which any reasonable man can desire, that an uniform
system of spiritual polity was established for dioceses of
all descriptions, whether large or small, for " Eugubium"
as well as " for Rome."
Let us suppose then, for argument's sake, what is beyond
the bounds of credibility, that in every consecration since
the Apostles' time, one of the three consecrators was
canonically disqualified, that there was always some Pope
Joan, or some Boy Bishop, or some simoniacal intruder,
concerned, still it would only follow that the probability
in favour of the validity of any given ordination was dimi
nished one third, so that the chances, even then, would
greatly preponderate in its favour. Yet, we must confess,
to suppose all this would be to doubt God's presence with
His Church ; and therefore we may throw the onus pro-
bandi upon Mr. Macaulay. It is for him to shew, if he
can, how often such disqualifying circumstances have oc
curred in the English hue of succession ; how far the leaven
of Arianism, or of a female Pope (if Mr. Macaulay believes
in her existence), or of a Boy Bishop, has really and in
deed infected the purity of our orders.
¦  Mr. Macaulay ends by adopting the language of
Chillingworth, ..." so that the assurance hereof (that is,
of the succession of orders) is like a machine composed of
an innumerable number of pieces, of which it is strangely
imlikely but some will be out of order, and yet if any one
be so, the whole fabric falls of necessity to the ground."
But it is evident that this acute writer has fallen into the
same mistake. He clearly supposes the possible failure
of one of ten thousand probables or requisites, conclusive
against the succession ; as it might be thought to be, if

378 APPENDIX.
the line of those probables were made up of single succes
sive links one depending upon the other. The force of the
illustration depends upon the assumption that each several
piece of the machine rests singly upon another — which we
deny, and which can never be proved so long as the Canon
of the Councils aforesaid is acted upon in the Church.
If the pieces do not severally and jointly depend upon
each other, it is evident that some may be withdrawn or
damaged without of necessity bringing the fabric to the
ground. In what I have here offered, nothing has been farther
from my thoughts than to speak harshly or disrespectfully
of Mr. Macaulay. It is impossible to do otherwise than
admire his splendid talents, his retentive memory, his
powers of ratiocination, his great erudition. But it is no
disparagement even to him to say, that he has hitherto
very imperfectly examined Ecclesiastical History. If he
wiU only bring his mind to bear upon the original docu
ments, illustrated by such master-spirits as Beveridge, and
Bilson, and Pearson, he will at least see reason to recon
sider his hasty conclusions against a divinely-appointed
ordinance ; nay, he may even now become (and the world
has lately seen stranger things) the most powerful advo
cate of the Reformed Catholic Church of England.

P. 105. 1. 8. "... the fuller development of the his
torical argument."] This argument has been so fully
traced by some of our greatest Divines, that it seems su-
perfiuous and almost presumptuous to attempt more than
to refer the reader to their unanswerable works. See in
particular Archbishop Potter on Church Government,
(Crosthwaite's ed.) from p. 103 to p. 134 : Bishop Pearson's
VindicicR Ignatiance, which settled for ever the genuineness

APPENDIX. 379
of the works of Ignatius, the earhest witness (as early as
A.D. 101.) for the three orders, for their Divine institution,
for the superiority of Bishops, for the necessity of the
threefold subordinated ministry to the regular constitution
of any Church, and to its communion with Christ.

P. 106, 1. 9. "And this form she has maintained, &c.
notwithstanding the exceptions expressly taken against it
by the Puritans."] Cartwright in No. XVIII. of his un
sound propositions (ap. Collier, Eccl. Hist., vol. vi. p. 487)
says, "these words 'Receive,' &c. at the ordination of
ministers is a ridiculous and wicked expression."
The following is Archbishop Whitgift's answer to certain
Sussex incumbents who objected inter alia to this form.
CoUier, Eccl. Hist., vol. vii. p. 19. " The third doubt was
of these words in the book of ordering priests and deacons,
&c. ' Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' It was answered, that
the Bishop did not thereby look upon himself to give the
Holy Ghost, but only ' instrumentaliter,' even as the
minister gives baptism when he says, ' I baptize thee in
the name,' &c. Whereby he does not take upon him to
be the author or giver of baptism, but the minister thereof
only, as John the Baptist did, for Christ only is the giver
of the Holy Ghost and of baptism; John and others are
the ministers of the sacrament, and of the ceremony.
" The words are Christ's words, used in the admitting of
the Apostles into the ministry, and therefore used by us in
the like action, to signify that God, by our ministry and
imposition of hands, as by his instruments, doth give his
Holy Spirit to all such as are rightly called to the minis
try. With which answer they were likewise satisfied."
See Barclay's attack upon this form, "Apology for the
Quakers," Prop. X. p. 298. ed. 1701.

380 APPENDIX.
It ought to be mentioned, however, that the earliest
record which has come down to us of this form of bene
diction is in a Pontifical of the Church of Mayence, circ.
A.D. 1300. See " An Apology for the Doctrine of the
Apostolical Succession," by the Hon. and Rev. A. P.
Perceval; second edition, p. 156.

P. 107. line 8. " That a Clergy by succession is of in
dispensable obligation," &c.] It should be remembered
that the old genuine Presbyterian claimed this succession,
as well as the Church of England. The question was
whether the Presbyterian or the Episcopal succession was the
true one; or whether they were both indifferently genuine.
Presbyterians, in modern times (probably on account of
their earlier defeats by the champions of Episcopacy) ap
pear to have abandoned this ground ; and it seems to have
been forgotten or undervalued even by some within our
communion, who have inherited this Apostolic succession,
in its only pure form, without knowing it.

P. 107. 1. 11. " That a self-instituted ministry is a
dangerous deceit," &c.] "... nee episcopus computari
potest, qui evangelica et apostolica traditione contempta,
nemini succedens a seipso ortus est. Habere namque aut
tenere ecclesiam nuUo modo potest, qui ordinatus in eccle
sia non est." Cyprian ad Magnum, p. 152.

P. 108. 1. 3. "And assm-edly, when we look to the
condition of those religious communities which have wil
fully abandoned this succession, we shall see enough to
confirm our conclusions," &c.] Edwards, a Presbyte-

APPENDIX. 381
rian, and a zealous adherent of the parliamentary fac
tion in the Great Rebellion, gives the following fearful
picture, in his Gangrsena, of the result of the experi
ment of a change from the Episcopal to the Presbyte
rian government, as ascertained at the end of four years'
trial. Epist. Dedicatory to the Lords and Commons.
"... You have, most noble Senators, done worthily
against Papists, Prelates, and scandalous Ministers, in
casting down images, altars, crucifixes, throwing out
ceremonies, &c. ; but what have you done against other
kinds of grovring evils. Heresy, Schism, Disorder,
against Seekers, Anabaptists, Antinomians, Brownists,
Libertines, and other sects? You have destroyed Baal
and his priests ; but have you been zealous against
the golden calves, and the priests of the lowest of the
people? Are not these grown up, and daily increase
under you? are any effectual means used against them?
You have made a reformation, and, blessed be God, who
put into your hearts to do such things, but with the refor
mation have we not a deformation, and worse things come
in upon us, than ever we had before? Were any of
these monsters heard of heretofore, which are now com
mon among us ? as denying the Scriptures, pleading for a
toleration of all religions and worships, yea, for blasphemy
and denying there is a God? You have put down the
Book of Common Prayer; and there are many among us
who have put down the Scriptures, slighting, yea blas
pheming them. You have broken down the images of the
Trinity, Christ, Virgin Mary, Apostles ; and we have those
who overthrow the doctrine of the Trinity, oppose the Di
vinity of Christ, speak evil of the Virgin Mary, slight the
Apostles. You have cast out the Bishops and their offi
cers ; and we have many that cast down to the ground all
ministers in all reformed Churches. You have cast out

382 APPENDIX.
ceremonies in the Sacraments, as the Cross, kneeling at
the Lord's Supper ; and we have many cast out the Sacra
ments, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. You have put
down Saints' days; and we have many make nothing at
all of the Lord's days, and Fast days. You have taken
away," &c. — The writer did not perceive that these
evils had arisen from overlooking the mutual coherence
and dependence of the several appointed means of grace
upon each other; and that wilfully to discard one, endan
gered the whole. What would he have thought, if he had
lived to see all the congregations of Presbyterians, as such,
throughout England, lapsed to Socinianism?
Whilst these notes were in preparation, a book fell
accidentally into my hands, which corroborates in a
most painful way the statement in the text respecting
the consequences which have ever resulted from the
abandonment of the divinely-appointed government of
the Church. Under the unpretending title of "Notes
on the Episcopal Polity of the Holy Catholic Church,
with some Account of the Development of the Modern
Religious Systems," the author, the Rev. T. W. Marshall,
has produced the most convincing argument in defence
of an Episcopal succession which has appeared in modern
times. The work is arranged as follows: 1. An Intro
duction, in which the a priori objection to the truth
of the Catholic system of Polity, and the antecedent pro
babilities in its favour derived from Prophecy and prescrip
tion, are briefly discussed. 2. The positive evidence of
Holy Scripture in recognition of the Episcopate. 3. The
testimony of Antiquity, including the first four ages of
Christianity. 4. The Admissions of Adversaries. 5. (The
most valuable of the whole work.) The argument "supplied
by the actual history of those religious bodies which have
been severed from the Apostohcal Succession, and which

APPENDIX. 383
were originally founded either upon the deliberate rejection
of the divine office of the Episcopate, or the supposed suffi
ciency of other modes of ecclesiastical disciphne for pre
serving in its integrity 'the faith once delivered to the
saints.'" (Advertisement, p. vii.)
The Advertisement concludes with these emphatic words.
"And although hitherto many have been able to resist
the combined testimony of Prophecy, Scripture, and Anti
quity, and even to justify their adherence to the modern
systems in spite of the explicit confessions of the very men
by whom they were first framed, we may perhaps hope,
that the present aspect of those systems, and their uniform
development — without so much as a single exception — into
nurseries of heresy and unbelief, may constrain some few,
at least, to reconsider their hazardous position, and to
relinquish, while yet they may, the unhappy inventions,
upon which — ^let it be reverently said — the Almighty seems
at length, by abandoning them to utter decay, to have
pronounced judgment before our eyes."

P. 109. "... calumnies, which have only led to a
more triumphant vindication of the vahdity of our
Orders."] The "Nag's Head" story, never heard of for
many years after the time alleged, and discredited by
most respectable Roman Cathohcs, gave rise to more than
one most powerful vindication of the full canonical regu
larity of Archbishop Parker's consecration. See especially
Archbishop Bramhall's "Consecration of Protestant Bishops
vindicated," and Courayer's Vindication of the Validity of
English Orders, (ed. of 1844, in the Editor's Introduction
to which the above calumny is examined with great care.)

384 APPENDIX.
P. 117. 1. 1. " In the Visitation of the Sick."] In the
Hampton Court Conference (the first day, in the absence
of the non-conformists) a discussion took place as to the
different forms of Absolution. The king expressed his
approbation of them all, especially (as an apostolical ordi
nance) of that particular and personal form (as the Bishop
of London termed it) in the Visitation of the Sick ; the
Bishop affirming that it was retained in the Confessions of
Augsburg, Bohemia, and Saxony. — See Collier, Eccles.
Hist., vol. vii. p. 274.

P. 122. 1. 11. "Knowing the corruption to which this
error" (of the undue exaltation of Orders) "has led the
Church of Rome," &c.] Dr. Arnold seems to think it im
possible with any consistency to hold the doctrine of the Apo
stolical Succession, and yet reject the Romish notion of a
redl proper sacrificing Priesthood. " But the Priesthood," be
argues, " and the Succession are inseparable, — the Succes
sion ha^^ng no meaning whatever if there be not a Priest
hood, as W. Law saw and maintained ; arguing, and I think
plausibly enough, that the succession was necessary to
carry on the priestly virtue which alone makes the acts of
the ministry available. Now as the authorized formularies
of our Church are perfectly free from this notion, and as
the twenty-third Article to my mind implies the contrary,
— for no man, who believed in the necessity of a Suc
cession, would have failed to omit" [Qu? would have
omitted] " that, to him, great criterion of the lawfulness
of any ordination, — it has always vexed me to see our
Clergy coquetting as they do with the doctrine of Succes
sion, and clinging to it, even while they stoutly repudiate
those notions of a Priesthood which the Succession doc-

APPENDIX. 385
trine really involves in it °." The whole of this inconclu
sive reasoning rests upon the assumption, stated but not
proved, (except by reference to the opinion of W. Law,
irrespective of the opinion of other English Divines who
have not seen or maintained this view,) that " the Priest
hood and the Succession are inseparable." Now to my
mind there is no such necessary connexion between them ;
and in practice, I am quite sure, that it is possible to hold
the one, without admitting the other. Those, it is true,
who hold the Romish notion of the Priesthood will also
hold the Succession ; but the converse is not so true. —
Hereditary succession is clearly apphcable to any privi
leges, whether of dignity, or estate ; and if this is true in
temporal affairs, why should we, in spiritual matters, limit its
apphcation to the Priesthood ? What is there inconsistent in
holding, that God ordinarily has appointed an hereditary
Succession of Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons (not of
Priests in the Romish sense) ; that He has entrusted to them
the ordinary ministration of the means of grace; that in the
highest of these ministers (the Church's " servants for Jesus'
sake,") He has vested the government of His flock {for the
flock's benefit and not for their own), as well as the privilege
and duty {ordinarily exclusive) of sending in perpetual
succession new labourers into the vineyard, and of delega
ting the same power of transmission to certain the heirs
(by God's appointment) of this peculiar privilege ? These
are surely sufficient grounds for judging the Succession to
" have a meaning," and to be of the highest importance,
and for accepting it upon historical evidence, without in
curring the danger or the odium of holding, that the Pres
byter is a real sacrificing Priest, whose function it is to
"offer Christ for the quick and dead." One may hold,
that the succession is ordinarily necessary, not as attribut-
" Life of Dr. Arnold, vol. ii. p. 238 : see also p. 261.
C C

386 APPENDIX.
ing to it any " priestly virtue, which alone makes the acts
of the ministry available:" but referring the ordinary
necessity of the Succession, and the efficacy of this, as of
all the means of grace, to the Divine Will. Whether it
is of Divine appointment is another question; but it is
surely unjustifiable to accuse those who consider it to be so,
of the error of attributing its efficacy to any thing but
God's institution.

P. 123. 1. 1. " The creators of the Body of their Crea
tor."] " Iste qui creavit me, dedit mihi creare se ; qui
creavit me sine me, creatur mediante me :" " Stella Cleri-
corum cuilibet Clerico summe necessaria," a book which
went through thirteen editions (four of which were printed
at Daventry) between A.D. 1488 and 1515, (Panzer. Ann.
typogr. ); quoted (though incorrectly) by Bishop Jewel in
his Rephe, art. xxi. div. 10. (8vo. ed. vol. iii. p. 439). In
the same place of the Replie there is a reference to the
Sermones Discipul. (i. e. Johan. Herold) ; and the passage
intended appears to be this : — " Unde minimus Sacerdos in
terris potest hoc quod maximus angelus in coelo non potest :
unde Bern. O veneranda dignitas sacerdotum, in quorum
manibus tanquam in utero virginis Dei Filius incarnatur!"
The writer gives no reference to St. Bernard ; it is to be
hoped that a Father, in many respects so admirable, never
said any thing so shocking.

LECTURE IV.
P. 137. 1. 10. " In most of the employments of man,
the mind and even the tongue are unemployed."] " Quo-
cunque te verteris, arator stivam tenens Halleluiah de-

APPENDIX. 387
cantat. Sudans messor Psalmis se avocat, et curva at-
tondens vitem falce vinitor aliquid Davidicum canit."
S. Hieron. Epist. Paul, et Eustochii ad Marcellam ut
Bethlehem commigraret : Opp. tom. iv. pt. ii. p. 552.

P. 159. 1. 6. " The blessed Virgin has been dishonoured,
indeed her person multiplied, by variety of titles."] A very
long catalogue would be required to comprise all the
various designations, local or circumstantial, by which
the Blessed Virgin is worshipped in the Roman Commu
nion. It is notorious, that the Saint Mary of one place
is popularly believed to be a different person from the
Saint Mary of another, and that, according to circum
stances, the assistance of one is invoked as more effica
cious than that of the rest. It is impossible, when we
hear of these shocking superstitions, to avoid being most
painfully impressed with the resemblance they bear to
that principle of Heathenism which is embodied in the
word TToXvwvvfw;.
It is not unworthy of remark, that the very sex of the
blessed Virgin Mary has been made use of to lead captive
"silly women;" as if the supplications of a female would
be most appropriately offered through the Virgin mother.
It is painful to notice such developments of the mystery
of iniquity, yet it is a duty to notice them, because this is
one of the most powerful engines in the carnal machinery,
by which Romanism takes advantage of the weakness of
the human heart. The more we appreciate the important
office which was assigned to the blessed Virgin in the
economy of Redemption, as the channel through which
" the Word was made flesh," the more zealously must we
remonstrate against the dishonour done to that " blessed
among women," and still more to the incarnate Son of
c c2

388 APPENDIX.
God, when, in defiance of all Scriptural authority, in dis
regard of the first principles of religion, "influence" is
attributed to a human creature, over that Divine Being
who is sitting as perfect God and perfect man in glory at
the right hand of the Father.

P. 160. 1. 5. "We make no vain distinction between
mediators of salvation, and mediators of intercession."]
See Bishop Jewell's Def. of Apol. p. 294. fol. ed. "Ye
say, there is one only Mediator of salvation : but there are
many Mediators of intercession. And thus with this
pretty simple distinction ye convey yourself away invisibly
in a cloud. But to cut off quarrels, M. Harding, let us
have that one only Mediator of salvation : and then after
wards take to you your other Mediators of intercession at
your pleasure.
" Howbeit, if Christ only be the Mediator of salvation,
wherefore then do you thus call upon the blessed Virgin,
Christ's mother : ' Salva omnes qui te glorificant ?' ' Save
thou all them that glorify thee.' Here you intrude upon
Christ's office, and make the holy Virgin a Mediator not
only of intercession, as you say, but also of salvation."

P. 162. 1. 3. "And may we not hope," &c.] Mr. Knox,
in a letter to Bp. Jebb, (" Thirty Years' Correspondence,"
vol. ii. p. 513,) speaks thus of the English Prayer Book.
" I cannot doubt, that in the fulness of time it will be
accounted the richest treasure next to the Canonical Scrip
tures in the Christian Church."

APPENDIX. 389
LECTURE V.
P. 177. 1. 5. "Witness the systematic attempt to sup
press the Word of God, and to confine its use to the
clergy."] Mr. Hallam remarks (ch. ix. pt. 2) that the
Council of Toulouse first prohibited the use of the Scrip
tures to the laity, A.D. 1229.

P. 181. "And even when any reserve is discoverable,"
&c.] This cautious way of speaking before unbelievers
was observed in respect of Baptism, as well as of the Lord's
Supper. Thus in St. Chrysost. Comment, on the Epistle
to the Galatians, cap. 4. ed. Ben. x. p. 711, . . . oStco Br)
Kal eTTt Trj<i dvayevvr^aeQ)'} tjj? rjjjieTepa^ ^vai<! fiev ovBepila,
Ta Be prifiaTa tov Qeov Bid tov lepeco^ Xeyofieva, aTrep tcraaiv
01 TTiaTol, TavTa iv Ty KoXvfMJSi^Opa t&v vBotcov, KaddTvep ev
v7)Bvi Tivl, BiaTrXaTTei Kal dvayevva tov ^aTTTi^ofievov. See
also Suiceri Thesaur. Art. dvayevvrjaK.

P. 191. 5 lines from the bottom. " The object of preach
ing is not to gratify 'itching ears.'"] The following passage
from St. Chrysostom, (the most famous preacher in the
annals of the Christian Church,) while it evidences the
value of Scripture in the congregation, will shew that in his
day, as in our own, the object of too many in going to Church
was to hear the sermon, and that there was a tendency even
then to depreciate God's word in comparison with human
eloquence. Nopii^ovai Trpo<i tj/jm's elaievai, oTav elaicoaiv iv-
Tavda, vofiltpvai Trap' r/fitov aKoveiv aTrep aKovovcriv. ov Trpoa-
e')(ovcnv, ovk ivvoovaiv on Trpo? t6v deov elaep^ovTai, oti
avTO? avTOK BiaXeyeTai  ei(Tep')(wp,e6a toivvv

390 APPENDIX.
jieTd T§<; Trpoa-rjKoiiaTj'i TiiJ.rj<; eh Td'i eKKXrjaia<;, Kai fieTa
^6j3ov iiraKovonpiev tcov Xeyofievcov. ti eiaepxofiai, ^rjaiv, el
OVK aKovw Tivo'i 6jiiXovvTO<; ; tovto TrdvTa aTToXcoke Kai Bie^-
Oeipe. Ti ydp ¦ypela 6/j,iXr}Tov ; dTrb Trj<; rjfjieTepa^ pa6vfita<;
avTTj rj %/3eta yeyove. Bid tI ydp 6fuXia<; ')(pela ; Travra aa(prj
Kal evOea Td Trapd Tah 0eiai<; ypa(pah' TravTa Ta dvayKaia
BijXa' dXX' iTreiBrj Tepy{red)<; iaTe dKpoaTal, Bid tovto Kal
Tavra ^TjTeiTe, k. t. X.
" People think, that, when they enter in here, they enter
in to us; they think, that it is from us they hear what
they hear; they do not attend to the fact, they do not
consider, that it is God to whom they come when they
enter here ; that it is He who converses with them 
Let us enter the Church, then, with all becoming rever
ence, and let us attend to what is said with fear. ' Why
should I go in,' some one may say, ' unless I hear some
body preaching to the congregation?' It is this which
has ruined and corrupted every thing. For what is the
necessity for an Homiletic Preacher ? This necessity has
arisen from our negligence. For what is the necessity for
a sermon ? Every thing is clear and straightforward in the
Scriptures, all necessary points are clear; but inasmuch as
ye are hearers, whose object is enjoyment, this is the reason
why ye desire these things."

P. 194. 1. 13. "Catechetical instruction."] "The most
useful of all preaching is catechetical. . . I could quarrel
with my very sermons, and wish that a greater part of
them had been exchanged for this preaching conference,"
&c. Bishop Hall's Old Religion, Preface.

P. 198. 1. 8. " (To pursue the thought of St. Augustine)

APPENDIX. 391
the Holy Eucharist itself, as a Sermon shewing the Lord's
death and passion till He come."] " Si ergo Apostolus
Paulus  potuit significando prcedicare Dominum
Jesum Christum, aliter per hnguam suam, alitor per episto-
1am, ahter per sacramentum corporis et sanguinis ejus," &c.
S. August, de Trinit. ed. Ben., tom. viii. p. 798.
It was hence probably that Home, in his answers to Cole,
(see Collier's Eccles. Hist., vol. Aa. p. 214,) borrowed his
thought, "The ministration of the Lord's Supper and Bap
tism ai-e, as it were, sermons upon the death and resurrec
tion of Christ."

LECTURE VI.
P. 225. 6 lines from the bottom. "Why not content
ourselves with beheving," &c.J See Archbishop Wake's
Commentary on the Church Catechism. " Qu. If the
Body and Blood of Christ be not really given and dis
tributed by the Priest, how can they be verily and indeed
taken and received by the faithful communicant ? A. That
which is given by the Priest is as to its substance bread
and wine : as to its sacramental nature and signification,
it is the figure or representative of Christ's Body and
Blood, which was broken and shed for us. The very
Body and Blood as yet it is not. But being with faith
and piety received by the communicant, it becomes to
him by the blessing of God, and the grace of the Holy
Spirit, the very Body and Blood of Christ."

P. 231. 1. 2. "The intention of the Priest."] See
Scrivener's " Body of Divinity," p. 159. " The most sacred

392 APPENDIX.
and comfortable instruments of God's grace and our salva
tion are left to the lusts of malicious and wicked man, to
be baffied at his pleasure, and the communicant defeated
of the blessings God has designed to him thereby."

P. 234. 1. 8. " Whether communion under one kind is
reconcileable with Christ's institution" &c.] See Cas-
sander's irrefragable treatise on this subject. When a
partizan of Rome is obliged to argue so convincingly
against a practical error of his Church, how great must be
the force of the evidence !

P. 235. 9 lines from bottom. "It is, indeed, in the heart
and not in the hands that we receive Christ."] Hooker
says expressly that the Presence of Christ's most blessed
Body and Blood is not in the Sacrament, but in the worthy
receiver. E. P. Book v. Ixvii. 6.

P. 236. 1. 8. The whole passage is as follows : " Herein
we teach the people, not that a naked sign or token, but
that Christ's Body and Blood, indeed and verily, is given
unto us ; that we verily eat it ; that we verily drink it ;
that we verily be relieved and live by it ; that we are bone
of His bone and flesh of His flesh ; that Christ dwelleth in
us, and we in Him. Yet we say not, either that the sub
stance of the bread and wine is done away ; or that Christ's
Body is let down from heaven, or made really and fleshly
present in this Sacrament." Bishop Jewel, Replie, Art.
V. div. 1. (8vo. ed. vol. ii. p. 325.)

APPENDIX. 393

LECTURE VII.

P. 242. 2 lines from bottom. " Christianity differs from
the earlier form of true religion" &c.J " Sed hoc nimis
doleo, quodmulta quse in di^inis libris saluberrime preecepta
sunt, minus curantur, et tam multis prsesumtionibus sic
plena sunt omnia, ut gravius corripiatur qui per octavas
suas terram nudo pede tetigerit, quam qui mortem vino-
lentia sepelierit. Omnia itaque taha, quse neque sancta-
rum scripturarum auctoritatibus continentur, nee in con-
ciliis episcoporum statuta inveniuntur, nee consuetudine
universse ecclesise roborata sunt, sed pro diversorum loco-
rum diversis moribus innumerabiliter variantur, ita ut vix
aut omnino nunquam inveniri possint causse, quas in eis
instituendis homines secuti sunt, ubi facultas tribuitur, sine
ulla dubitatione resecanda existimo. Quam vis enim neque
hoc inveniri possit, quomodo contra fidem sint, ipsam
tamen religionem, quam paucissimis et manifestissimis cele-
brationum sacramentis misericordia Dei esse liberam voluit,
servilibus oneribus premunt, ut tolerabilior sit conditio
Judceorum, qui etiamsi tempus libertatis non agnoverunt,
legalibus tamen sarcinis, non humanis prsesumtionibus
subjiciuntur. Sed ecclesia Dei inter multam paleam mul-
taque zizania constituta multa tolerat, et tamen quse sunt
contrk fidem vel bonam vitam non approbat, nee tacet, nee
facit." S. August, ad Januar. lib. ii. Opp. tom. II. p. 142.

P. 248. 5 lines from bottom. "  the Greek
branch of the Church .... still lifts up her voice, as she
has done from generation to generation, against the Papal
usurpations."] See Nilus de Primatu Romani Pontificis,

394 APPENDIX.
quoted by Bishop Jewel, Def. of Apol. p. 110. ed. 1609.
See also the thirty-sixth Canon of Concil. Quini. Sext. ap.
Bruns. Canones Apostol. et concill., vol. i. p. 48.
But the reader is more particularly recommended • to
consult the treatise of Nectarius (Patriarch of Jerusalem,
1661.) Trepl dpy(7ji; tov UdTra; a Latin translation of which
was pubhshed by P. AUix, Londin. 1702. The author
begins by exposing the usurpation of Rome in arrogating
to herself the title of the Catholic Church, seeing that she
is only one particular branch of it. This he does in answer
to the three first theses of his opponent. In reply to the
fourth, he goes, century by century, through the historical
argument against the alleged authority of the Bishop of
Rome, (the establishment of that authority, as he saj'^s,
being the real drift of his opponent ;) and he shews that
the independence of the Oriental Churches was exercised
from the beginning in matters indifferent, as well as in
matters of the faith. In reference to the fifth and main
thesis, the intention of which is to convict the Greeks of
schism, on the ground of their separation from the Church
of Rome, the Patriarch proves, that the Roman Church
is particular, and the Greek Catholic; and ends by re
torting the charge of schism.
The testimony of the Oriental Church against the Supre
macy of Rome is the more valuable, because it is impartial
and independent, and cannot be suspected of any sympathy
for the Reformation, the real character of which, especially
in respect to England, they appear not to have understood.

P. 266. 1. 14. "And, first, let it be observed," &c.J
Thorndike, (conclusion of the Epilogue of the Church of
England) says well : " Nor does the Church of England
either make Sacraments of the rest of the seven, or abolish

APPENDIX. 39J

the Offices, because the Church of Rome makes them
Sacraments."

P. 273. 1. 7. " Confession not only general and public,"
&c.] " No kind of confession, either public or private, is
disallowed by us that is any ways requisite for the due
execution of that ancient power of the keys, which Christ
bestowed on his Church : the thing that we reject is that
mere picklock of sacramental confession, obtruded upon
man's conscience, as a matter necessary to salvation, by
the Canons of the late Council of Trent : Session 14. c. 6."
(read Session 4. c. 5.) Archbishop Usher, p. 84.

LECTURE VIII.
P. 289. 1. 3 from bottom. " Who knows again, whether
the means in combination may not have a cumulative effi
cacy," &c.] The following passage of St. Chrysostom may
illustrate what is meant by " cumulative efficacy." What he
says of the continual application of one means is still more
true of the continual and simultaneous use of all. The
apphcation of one means may fail; but many repetitions
of the same may succeed, and each application wiU have
contributed something to the result. So Hkewise many
means, and still more all the means combined, continually
employed, may effect what each singly would have been
inadequate to, and each several employment of each and
aU may imperceptibly bear its share in the work : Troaoi
osTTO fxkv Se/caTij? dKpodae(i3<i ovBe aXaOrjaiv eXa/3ov, vaTepov
Be dwb /jiia<; /Ji6vrj<; iTreaTpd<f>7jaav ; pidXXov Be ovk cttto fMai.
el ydp Kal dvaia6rjTa)<; e.l)(ov iv Tah BeKa, dXX' 6/i&)? iKep-
Bavav, Kal vaTepov tov KapTrbv ddpoov eBei^av. SnjTrep yap

396 APPENDIX.
eVt BevBpov, rb BeKa Xa^bv TOfid<;, Kal fir] KaraTreabv vtto
tSsv BeKa, varepov Be fjiid^ eTTa')(delarj<; irdv KaTrjvk'xOrj. ov
Trj<i fiid'; Be yeyove TOfj.fj<;, dXXd twv BeKa earl rb Trj^ vaTepa<i
KaTopOco/Ma. K. T. X. S. Chrysostom. in 2 Corinth, ed.
Ben., tom. xi. p. 691.

P. 290. 10 lines from bottom. "Whereas, according to
primitive rule, the Rite, when administered apart from
Holy Orders, though possibly valid, yet requires the impo
sition of the Bishop's hands to render it fully efficacious."]
See Bingham's " Scholastical History of Lay Baptism,"
Works, vol. viii. pp. 61, 65.

P. 293. 1. 2 from bottom. "A similar conclusion results
from the parable of the talents."] See Scrivener's Body
of Divinity, book i. p. 1. c. 17. p. 61. "Good works are
fruitful, not only in reference to an ample and manifold
reward ; but in reference to good works ; as the parable of
the five talents gaining five talents m,ore, which cannot
mean the ultimate reward, 'which is the joy of his Lord.'"

P. 296. Note ™.] Ntjttiov iaTi aoi; p/rj Xa^eTco Kaipbv
7j KaKia' iK ^pe(f)ov^ dyiaaQrjTW), e^ ovv^cov KaOiepcodrjTco Tm
TTvevpxbTi. Greg. Nazianz. Orat. 40. p. 648. ap. Suicer.

P. 296. 4 lines from the bottom. " Not yet in the full
actual enjoyment of his privileges," &c.J " Dicimus ergo
in baptizatis parvulis, quamvis id nesciant, habitare Spiri
tum Sanctum. Sic enim cum nesciunt, quamvis sit in eis,
quemadmodum nesciunt et mentem suam, cujus in eis

APPENDIX. 397
ratio, qua uti nondum possunt, velut qucedam scintilla sopita
est, excitanda cetatis accessu. Neque hoc in parvulis mirum
debet videri, cum Apostolus quibusdam etiam majoribus
dicat, Nescitis quik templum Dei estis, et Spiritus Dei
habitat in vobis," &c. S. August, de prsesentia Dei, Lib.
ad Dardanum. ed. Bened., tom. ii. p. 686.

P. 309. 1. 4. " The Holy Spirit is personally and wholly
present" &c.] The following is the passage alluded to in
the note, and it may form an appropriate conclusion to the
Appendix : Ov toivvv Bvvarbv Uvevp-a uKovaavTa, Trepiye-
ypafifievTjv (pvcriv ivTVTTwaai ttj Biavola, fj TpoTrah Kal dXXoico-
aeaiv vrroKeipevTjv, fj oXm? bp.oiav TJj KTiaer dXXd tt/so? to
dvatTaTco rah ivvolai<; ¦xcopovvTa, voepdv ovaiav iTrdvayKe<;
ivvoeiv, aTreipov Kara Bvvafiiv, fieyedei aTrepiopiaTov, ¦^povoK
fj alSyaiv dperprjTov, d<f)6ovov S)v eyei KaXaiv. Trpo? o TrdvTa
iTrearpaTTTai Ta dyiaafiov TTpoaBeopeva' ov TrdvTa i(f>ie-
rai Td KaT dperijv i/Sivra, olov iTvapBopeva ttj iTrnrvola Kal
^orjdovfieva tt/so? to oiKeiov eavToh Kai Kara (j)vaiv reXos"
TeXeiooTiKbv tcov dXXcov, avTO Be ovBapov iXXeiTrov ovk iTri-
aKevaaT(a<i ^cov, dXXd ^corj<; j^oprjyov. ov TrpocrdrjKaii; av^avo-
(levov, dXKd TrXr}pe<; evOii^, iv eavra iBpvfievov, Kal TravTa')(pv
ov. dyiaa/jiov yeveai<;, <^w? votjtov, Trdaji Bvvdpei XoyiKy Trpb'i
Ttjv Tr}<; dXr]9eia<i evpeaiv, olov Tiva KaTacpdveiav Bi eavrov
Trapeypp,evov' aTrpoaiTov Trj cpvaei' y^QyprjTov Bi dyaQoTTjTa.
TrdvTa p,ev TrXrjpovv t§ Bvvdp,ei, povoii} Be ov p^eOeKTOv Toh
d^ioK, ody evl perpcp peTe-xppevov, dXXd Kar dvciKoyiav Trj<;
TriaTeca Buupovv ttjv ivepyeiav. aTrXovv ttj ovaia, ttoikiXov
rah Bvvdpeaiv. oXov eKaarat Trapov, Kai bXov arravra'^v ov.
drraQSi'i pepi^opevov, Kal oXoa')(epw perexbpevov Kara rrjv
elKova rrif rjXiaKrj'i dKTivo<;, k. t. X. S. Basil, de Spir.
Sancto. ap. Eccl. Angl. Vind. Cath., tom. i. p. 361.

OXFORD ;
PRINTED BY 1. SHRIMPTON.

By the same Author,
VIA MEDIA: or the Church of England our Provi
dential Path between Romanism and Dissent. A
SERMON, preached before the University of
Oxford in Christ Church Cathedral, on Sunday,
Jan. 23, 1842.
SERMONS Doctrinal and Practical, preached abroad.
SUGGESTIONS respecting the neglect of the
HEBREW LANGUAGE as a qualification for
Holy Orders.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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