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DOUBLE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH.

RT. REV. WM. liNGRAHAM KIP, D. D.,
AVsaoB or '* the ixstks i-att," *' thk ciuiibtm as holtdati in aOMX," " TDB KAMLI
nsarr uimioni ut worth AacKBicA,^' xtc. bto.

It may be ai well, theiij old and trite sb thc subject is, to say a few words oa some of thou
fttttnres of our Church, which bear at once a DOUBUt witnkss against Rome oo tbe one hand
or mare Froteitaat eoD|^egatioDt oq the other.— Rkv. F. W, Fabkk.

NINTH EDITION.

NEW-YORK :
Stanford & Uelisser 508 Broadw^a^
1858.

Kntebed, accorillng to A Jt of Congress, in the year 1849, by
STANFORD AND SWORDS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New-York

TO
THE CONGREGATION OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH,
IN THE CITT OF ALBAN IT.
STfiese Slectitres,
OBiaiNALLT WRITTEN FOK THEIR I NSTRDOTIOM,
AND NOW PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST,
ARE INSCRIBED,
BT THEIR APFECTIONATE RECTOK,
THE AUTHOR.

One 01 ly way to lite ;
Odo Failh, delivered ouce for all ;
One holy Band, endow'd with Heaveu'i high caD.'
One earnest, endless strife;—
This is the Church th* Eternal from'd of oM.
Smooth open ways, good store;
A creed fur every clime and ago,
By Mammon's touch new moulded o'er and o'er:
No Cross, no war to wage ;
This is tbe Church our earth-dimmod eyes behola.
But ways must have an end,
Creeds undergo the trial-flame,
Nor with th' impure the saints for ever blend,
Heaven's ^lory with ourshame :
Think on that home, and choose 'twixt soft and bold.
Lyra Jpo$tali»'^

CONTENTS.

I.
latroduotory. Necessity fiir knowing the Reasons wty we are Churchmen 13
IL
Episcopacy proved from Scripture -•...... 35
m.
Episcopacy proved from History --•--••. 64
IV.
Antiquity of Forms of Prayer ---•>.... 95
V.
History of onr Liturgy ...... «.«. ug
VL
The Church's View of Infant Baptism --•••«• I53
vn.
The Moral Training of the Church -•¦•-. ..igi
vni.
Popular Objections against the Church ..-...• 202
IX.
The Church in all ages the Keeper of the Truth ..... 231
X.
Conclusion. The True, Catholic Churchman ¦..•.. 250

Man is a creature of extremes. The mlJdle path is generally the wise path j
but there are few wise enough to find it. Because Papists have made too rauch of
some things, Protestants have made too little of them. The Papists treat man as
all sense ; and, therefore, some Protestants would treat him as all spiriL Because
one party has exalted the Virgin Mary to a Divinity, the other can scarcely think
of that "most highly favored among women" with common respect. The Papist
puts the Apocrypha into his Canon ; the Protestant will scarcely regard it as an
ancient record. Tbe Popish Heresy, human merit in justification, drove Luther
on the other side into the most unwarrantable and unscriptural statements of that
doctrine. The Papists consider Grace as inseparable from the participation of
the Sacraments — the Protestants too often lose sight of them as instituted means
of Gonreying Grace. OteiVa Remaint,

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

In revising this fourth Edition for the press, the author
would express his thankfulness for the many assurances he
has received that this work has proved useful in spreading
the knowledge of the Apostolic Church. Written during a
time of excitement, and to meet a peculiar crisis in the state
of religion around, he had no idea that at the end of five
years it would be found with an increasing circulation. To
the kindness of his brethren in the ministry much of this is
owing ; and now, the author may truly say, that with the
added study of years and the wdder experience he has gained
from himself vntnessing the workings of mere Protestantism
in Germany and Somanism in Italy, he sees no necessity for
changing any views which he formerly expressed in these
pages. The last five years have been those of trial to the
Church, when her principles were fuUy tested both in this
country and in that from which she came, yet to his mind
the result has proved her Catholic character, and increased
his confidence in the truths he has endeavored to unfold in
this volume. Once more then he sends it forth on its way,
with the earnest prayer that it may not only strengthen the
Churchman in his faith, but also prove Useful to some among
those, who in an age of doubt and skepticism, are. "sounding
on their dim and perilous way."
April, 1848.

PREFACE.

The circumstances under which this Volume was writ
ten, are briefly these. The last winter, it is well known,
was a season of- strange excitement among the difierent de
nominations throughout our land. At such a time — as the
best safeguard against this injutious influence — ^the writer
thought it weE to deliver to the people of his charge, a
course of Lectures, plainly setting forth the distinctive prin
ciples of the Church. They were continued through ten
successive Sunday evenings ; and he had reason to believe
that the efiect produced was beneficial.
The Lectures were originally prepared without the most
distant idea of publication. Having, however, been request
ed by the Vestry, as well as by others in whose judgment
he is accustomed to -rely, to furnish the series for the Press,
the writer did not feel at liberty to decline. He has,
therefore, availed himself of what hours of leisure he could
find amidst the engrossing cares of Parish duty, to expand
some parts of the course and to add the necessary references.
The result of hb attemyt is seen in this volume.
1*

X PREFACE.
He believes that this work^will be found to diSer some
what in its plan, from most of those on the claims of our
Church, which are intended for popular reading. They
are generally written with reference merely to the Protest
ant denominations around us. The pubhc mind, however,
has lately taken a new direction, and the doctrines of the
Church of Rome have again become a subject of discussion.
The writer has therefore endeavored to draw the Une be
tween these two extremes — showing that the Church bears
her DOTTBLE WITNESS against them both — and poii^ts out a
middle path as the one of truth and safety. And the prin
ciple by which he has been guided in all cases, is that laid
down by TertuUian, " Whatever is first, is true ; whatever
is more recent, is spurious."*
To account for the tone in which some parts are written
— ^for instance, the close of the Lecture on " The moral
training of the Church" — he must ask the reader to bear in
mind, the high state of religious excitement which was at
that time prevailing on every side, and the strange excesses
to which it naturaUy gave birth. These passages have
been suffered to remain, because another winter may again
produce the same delusions in the denominations around
us. On the solemn subject of his religious interests, man
seems determined not to profit by the experienee of the past,
" Perffique adversus universas haereses jam hinc prijsjudicatum dt
id esse verum, quodcunque primum ; id ease adultierum quocLeunque
posterius." — Tertull. ade. Prix., § ii. Oper. p. 406.

PREFACE. XJ
but year after year courts the fever, forgetfiil of the chill
by whioh it is invariably foUowed.
The prevalence in this country of a peculiar form of
error, also occasioned the delivery of a separate Lecture,
devoted to an exposition of "the Church's View of Bap
tism." In the fourth century, Pelagius, after travelling
over the greater part of Christendom, could record as the
result of his observations that " he had never heard even
any impious heretic, who asserted, that infants are not to be
baptized." Such, however, is unfortunately not the case
in our day. A numerous body of those " who profess and
call themselves Christians," have fallen into this heresy,
and it has become necessary to show plainly, how untenable
are their doctrines when tested by Scripture and the voice
of CathoUc antiquity.
The writer cannot expect, in bringing forward so many
disputed points, but that his readers wUl take exception to
some of his statements. He trusts, however, that the views
advanced wiU be foimd to be in accordance with the teach
ing of the great body of divines of the Church of England.
In the old path which they marked out, we should 9,11 en
deavor to walk. And the caution at this time is particu
larly necessary. The revival of an attention to Church
principles which has lately taken place, wUl in some cases
drive the unstable and the imaginative to an extreme border
ing on Romanism. This danger, therefore, we must shun ;
seeking with care thr well defined line which separates

CathoUc truths from Roman fallacies. And if these Lec
tures shaU aid any inquirer in forming Hs opinion-, and
avoiding the errors by which we are surrounded, the writer
will feel that his labor has not been in vain.
Ftativtd of St. Jama, mdcoosuii.

NECESSITY FOR KNDWINS THE REASONS WHY WE ARE
CHURCHMEN.
Mother t I am aometimef told,
By the wanderers in the dark.
Fleeing {torn thine ancient fold,
I must seek some newer ark.
Rather those who turn away
Let me seek with love to win,
Till Christ's scattered sheep astray
To thy fold are gt^thered in.
Rev. B. D. rriiuloa, 'To. tht Ohttrch.'
In aU the varied history of the Church, the most beautiful
picture is that which is presented by the unity of her early
days. The watchwords of a party were then unheard over
the earth. No discordant tones arose, to break the delight
ful harmony which prevailed. No warring sects distracted
the attention of the inquirer after the Truth, or pointed to
an hundred different paths in which he was invited to walk.
With one voice all declared themselves heirs of the same
hopes, and alike numbered with the faithful. " By the
operation of the Holy Ghost, all Christians were so joined
together; in unity of spirit, and in the bond of peace, that
with one heart they desired the prosperity of the Holy
Apostolic Church, and, with one mouth professed the faith
once delivered to the saints."*
Tbe Church then stood before our race, 'he sole mes
senger of glad tidings to the world — -the only city of refuge,
beyond whose shelter there was no salvation for mankind.
On widely distant shores, and in many a strange tongue,
the voce o/ prayer was uplifted, yet always its spirit was
* From a prayer in the office of Institution.

14 NECESSITY FOB KNOWING THE
the same. "From the rising of the sun even unto the
going down of the same," — every where over the wide earth
-^there was "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." All
" continued Steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellow
ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." There
was, therefore, nothing else in this world to which the peni
tent could turn, but the one Catholic, Apostolic Church.
Centuries have gone by «mce these bright days of the
Church passed away; yet, still the hope of their return
sustains her children amid the toils and self-denial of the
way. For this their souls are waiting " more than they
that watch for the morning." For this they labot. For
this they strive to make her principles known in the world
— to reclaim the w'aaderers from her fold — and to convince
them, that there indeed they will find rest for their souls.
And it is in the attempt to do my humble share in this
work, and to mingle my exertions also with that tide of
influence which is put forth on every side of us, that I have
met you this evening, to commence a course of lectures on
the distinctive principles of the Church. The field which
opens before us is a wide one, but the remarks which 1
shall offer, on the present occasion, will be merely intro
ductory. You will naturally ask the question — why I have chosen
this way to advance the interests of our faith, and aid the
final coming of the reign of peace ? Why — ^with so many
topics opening before us on the pages of God's word, which
ultimately concern man's eternal safety — I pass them by, to
dwell upon forms of Church government ? Why— when the
apostate and the lost are perishing on the right hand and
on the left — instead of sounding forth to them the solemn
warning, to tum unto the Lord and live — instead df preach
ing that great Atonement whioh must be their only hope —
I take up subjects which to many would appear only of
secondary interest ?
In answer to these inquiries I can only say, that I am
fully aware of the unspeakable importance of these themes.
You, too, I trust, can bear me witness, that when I have
stood before you, week after week, for nearly six years, in
the ministrations of this sanctuary, it has ever been my
object to lead you through the sc rrows of a broken and

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 15
contrite heart, to that peace and joy which are to be found
only at the Cross of our Lord. It has been my earnest
prayer, that never might I lose sight of that maxim of the
Apostle which regulated his preaching, an* which he
declared so explicitly in the words: "For I determined not
to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified." But every truth which God has revealed must
be important, and should hold its proper place in the instruc
tions of the pulpit. Under the Jewish law, no commands
which he had given were thought too inconsiderable to
receive their strict attention. Even the "paying tithes of
mint, anise, and cummin," our Saviour declared they "ought
not to leave undone." Who, then, can say, that the question.
What form of government did our Lord' prescribe for His
Church ? is one which does not deserve our earnest investi
gation ? There is indeed " a time to speak," as well as " a
time to be silent" — a time' to warn the sinner that he flee
from the wrath to come, or to call the Christian to press
onward in his course — and a time to proclaim to those
around us, the rules of outward order which characterize
our Church. There must indeed be a symmetry in our
teaching. "He," says Bishop Mcllvaine, "is a poor hus
bandman, who spends so much time upon the tilling of the
ground, that his enclosures are forgotten ; or who thinks that
because the fence is not the grain, therefore it may take
care of -itself.^ So would that be a very defective ministry,
and would prove at last, should it be generally prevalent,
a ruinous ministry to all abiding fruits of righteousness,
which, for the sake of more attention to inward and spiritual
religion j should despise or neglect the careful maintenance,
in their right claim of reverence and obedience, of those
outward things of Church ordinance and order, which are
just as necessary to the abiding of spiritual religion in the
world, as the human body is to the abiding of the human
soul." Neither, indeed, are these single and isolated facts,
standing by themselves. They have their influence on the
whole circle of our religious duties. And since all truths
ire linked together, the reception of, any one may be the
means of pouring light into the mind, and inducing us to go
on step by step, until " the Truth shall make us free."
While, therefore, "ihe time is short" in which our warfare

IQ NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
IS to be waged, it is surely well for us at once to decide, in •
what arena the conflict must be fought.
To this duty then I am called, by the very vows which
bound me to the altar. Among the earliest charges incul
cated upon the ministry, even by an Apostle, was the duty
of declaring to their people "aU the counsel of God,"
because thus only could they be "pure from the blood of
all men." Yes, brethren ! " aWihe counsel of God "—not
merely a few great and cardinal doctrines — those of repent
ance and faith — ^but every thing whioh forms a part of our
common Christianity. How, then, can he be fulfilling this
requisition, who omits' any truth which can exert an
influence upon the Christian life and conduct? Would
the ancient Jewish priest have discharged his duty to the
people, if, when commanded to instruct them in the law, he
had spent all his time in directing their attention to that
coming Messiah, who was then revealed in prophecy ? No,
his business was to teach them also the rit^s-of the cere
monial law — to show why they were severed from the
surrounding nations — and to recall the history and explain
the object of that splendid ritual with which they worshipped,
, And this is the wide duty of the Christian priest in our day.
He must also unfold before you the government and polity
of that Church which his Master founded, when, as the
earliest Herald of the faith. He preached among the villages
of Judea, and which He then constituted to be in aU ages
" the pillar and ground of the truth."*
Again — in our ordination service, the question put by
the Bishop to one about to be admitted to the holy order of
Priests is — " Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence,
to banish and drive away from the Church all erroneous and
strange doctrines contrary to God's word?" — to which he
replies — "I wiU, the Lord being my helper." And the
exhortation also is given — " See that ye never cease your
labor, your care and diligence, until ye have dcme all that
lieth in you, according to your bounden dvtty, to bring all
such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that
agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and that ripe
ness and perfection of age in Christ, that there be no place
left among you, either for error ia religion, or for viciousness
» 1 TiK*. iii. 15.

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 17
in life." How then can he be innocent, who beholds what
he regards as errors rife around him, and yet warns not the
people of hia charge against their infiuence — ^who sufiers
them to live on year after year, attending the services of
the Church, yet liable to be " tossed to and fro, and carried
about with every wind of doctrine," because they are without
any definite knowledge of the reasons why they should be
Churchmen ?
Such, then, are the motives which have induced me to
address you on these subjects. They are points which for
the last three centuries have exercised the intellect and pens
of some of the most gifted in each generation. There is no
room therefore for any attempts at originality, but all that
we can now do is to go forth, and reap' here and there, with
what judgment we may, in the wide fields which the learned
of former days have; cultivated. " Other men labored, and
we have entered into their labors." In the elucidation, too,
of each single topic which I can bring before you in the
narrow compass of these lectures, volumes have been writ
ten. But how few comparatively will turn to the hoarded
wisdom of the past — the worka of those who were giants in
the intellectual warfare of older days — and search for them-
sevles in the rich mines which have been thus bequeathed
to us? The very magnitude of the materials which are
offered to their view, causes them often to tum away in
despair, whUe to a simple statement of the argument they
wiU listen readily. Many too need to have their attention
first awakened, and their interest excited, before they will
commence the examination. My endeavor therefore shall
be, merely to open this subject before you, in the hope that
afterwards, from the hints and suggestions given, you will
feel inclined yourselves to prosecute the study of this im
portant argument.
¦ And now, brethren, a few words with regard to the spirit
in whioh I propose to conduct this inquiry, Tt is with no
feeling of unkindness or opposition to those who differ from
us on these topics. Born and educated in a denomination
which discards the distinctive features of the Church, the
recollections of ycmth are not easily forgotten, nor the ties
of relationship vrhich bind me to those who reject, as a
corruption of the dark ages, the claims of our ancient Apos.

18 NECESSITY FOR KNOWINO THE
tolio ministsy, and almost regard as heresy the way in which
we worship our God. But if compelled from principle to
decline uniting with their communion^ and to differ from
them on doctrines whioh the Church holds to be most im
portant, I would still speak of them only in the spirit of love.
In setting before you, therefore, most distinctly the points on
which we are at variance, and protesting against what we
believe to be a departure from the Scriptural standard, il
shall still be done with no other feeling than that of deep
egret that thus the followers ofthe same Lord can disagree.
Remembering, with the exceUent Hooker, that " there will
come a time, when three words uttered with charity and
meekness shall receive a far more blessed Teward, than three
thousand volumes written with disdainful sharpness of wit,"*
he who now addresses you would desire in this; as in all
other things, not to record a single line,

-which, dying, he would ¦wish to blot.''

In that fearful conflict which is waging against " the
Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience," we may hail with gladness
of heart the success of any who are winning souls from sin
to holiness, even though they " follow not with us." Though
error may be mingled with the truth they inculcate, still if
they can thus lead the lost and perishing to their God, our
spirits may well be lifted up with gratitude, that thus the
faith is advanced, " if by any means we might save some."
When, therefore, we learn that through the efforts of those
who disclaim our ministry, new triumphs are won to tho
cross among the snows of Greenland, or on "the palmy
plains " of Ceylon — when we read how the Jesuits, Caval-
lero and Anchieta, taught their creed among the mighty
forests of our own Southern continent, and for the first time
the wild tribes of Brazil bowed to the emblem of our com
mon Master, we thank God our hearts can respond to the
announcement of their success,! and our faith is strengthened
* Preface to Eccles. Polity, Sect. 2 .
f " It was a land of priestcraft, but the Priest
Believed himself the fables that he taught .
Corrupt their forms, and yet those forms at least

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 19
as we journey on amid the gloom and trials of this lower
world. We can adopt, we trust, alike the feelir,.gs and the
language of the Apostle and say, — "What then? notwith
standing, every way, whether in pretence or in truth,
Christ is preached ; and I therein do rejoice, yea, imd will
rejoice."' Yet stUl, we may be clearly sensible of the errors
of those, who thus in a greater Or less degree have departed
from that standard which our Lord left for his followers.
Let our motto then be expressed in the words of an ancient
writer — "Unity, in things that are necessary — liberty, in
things that are unnecessary — charity, in all things." *
Again— it shall be my endeavor to speak plainly. Thc
trumpet should never utter an uncertain sound. There is
no use on this point, or on any other, of that smooth and
equivocal preaching which leaves the hearer in doubt as to
the practical conclusion. The pulpit is no place ft'om which
to utter dark sayings, or to address you in the language of
parables. I shall endeavor, therefore, fully and faithfully
to lay before you the distinctive principles of the Church
— ^showing that she is now, in her form and ministry, as
founded by Christ and his Apostles eighteen centuries ago,
and that this view is confirmed alike by the voice of Scrip
ture and of History. And if the conclusions to which we
come should strike at the very foundations of the claims of
those who surround us, we are not responsible for the result,
We must interpret the word of God in accordance with the
light we have — deliver faithfully the message with which
He has charged us — and then leave consequences to Him.
It was not always ¦with pleasant minstrelsy that the prophets'
of old approached those to whom they were sent. Often
they were charged with a sterner message, as they rebuked
their infatuated countrymep for abandoning the Holy Temple
Preserv'd a salutary faith that 'wrought,
Maugre the alloy, ibe saving end it sou^t.
Benevolence had gain'd such empire there.
That even superstition had been brought
An aspect of humanity to wear.
And make the weal of man its first and only care *
SoutJiey's Tale of'JParaffuay, Cant. IV. 10.
* " In necessariia, unitas — in non necessariis, libertas— in omnibua,
charitae." Witsitis ap Turretin, de Fund. p. 45.

20 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
at Jerusalem, and worshipping in groves and high places
which their own hands had made.
Why THEN SHOULD YOU SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONS
FOE BEING Churchmen ?
The first I shall mention is — because our Divine Master
when on earth certainly founded and established a Church.
Had He not done so — Had he merely inculcated the general
principles of His faith, and left each body of believers to
regulate their own ecclesiastical government — the obligations
resting on us would be widely different. Then, we might
justly consider every self-constituted society, and every
assembly professing itself to be Christian, as a regular and
duly organized Church of Christ. Then every individual
who imagined himself moved to preach the Gospel, or who
was asked to do so by any number who had chosen thus to
unite together as a congregation, would be fully entitled to
ministerial authority, and as much qualified to administer
the sacraments, as if he had received a direct commission
from heaven.
You perceive, then, that there must have been some
visible Church established by our Lord, and some regularly
constituted ministry, or every thing has been left entirely
unsettled, subject to the caprices of man. And you will
readily see, to what fluctuations and changes the want of
this established system would necessarily give rise. If at
any particular time — take that of the Reformation in the
sixteenth century for example — a body of men, for some
reason which seemed sufl[icient to themselves, had a right to
abandon that ministry which was derived in uninterrupted
succession from the Apostles, and without any new com
mission from our Lord, to constitute another ministry of
their own, then any individuals have at any time a right to
do the same. Either the ministry of the Church must have
been handed down from our Lord and his apostles, through
the long line of those who succeeded them — and it is from
this fact that I stand before you your authorized teacher —
or else there is no law at all on this subject, and each one
who occupies these pews has as much right as I have —
should his fancy lead him to do so — to stand at this altar,
and minister to you in holy tMngs. There is, therefore, no
middle gound in this matter.

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 21
But our Lord did not, we believe, thus abandon the pre
cious truth He came to communicate, to be, through all the
foUowing ages, swept about upon the surging, changing sea
of popular will. He formed also the casket, and left it to
contain and guard the precious treasure, until His coming
again. He constituted His Church to be, in the Apostle's
words, " the pillar and ground of the truth." He found His
disciples living under the Mosaic ritual-^u,nder a well defined,
strictly organized plan of government, and is it to be sup
posed that He released them from this, and. yet substituted
nothing in its place ? While the Christian faith was but the
continuation, the perfection of the Jewish, was it to have no
restrictions — ^no form of polity whatever ? Our reason would
dictate to us, that this cannot be. Our Lord knew too well
what was in man, thus to abandon him to his own idle
caprices. it was after our Master had burst the bonds of death and
triumphed over the grave — while for a time He was still
lingering on the earth to cheer His disciples, and fit them
for the trials and labors which were at hand — that He gave
them the high commission to go forth and lay the founda
tions of that spiritual kingdom which was to embrace within
its fold, " all nations, and kindreds, and tongues." His
clear and unequivocal language was : "Peace be unto you ;
as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when
He said, this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them.
Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye
retain, they are retained." "And Jesus came and spake
unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in Heaven
and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, bap
tizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you ; and lo I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world."* The general
belief has been, that during the forty days which intervened
between our Lord's resurrection and ascension, while He
instructed His disciples in "the things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God," He also inculcated the organization of
the Church He had founded. It is evident, that when
* John XX. 21, 22, 23. Matt xxviii 18, 19. 20.

22 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
immeaiately afterwards they commenced their ministry
there was no doubt, no hesitation on their part. They a
once proceeded to develope this plan — to fill the vacancy
in the number of the Apostles — "to ordain them elders in
every Church "* — and to constitute the order of Deacons.f
This then was the three-fold ministry of the Church.
* Acts xiv. 23.
f Bishop H. TJ. Onderdonk argues, (Fpis. Fxamiried, p. 234,) that
this was not the first appointment of Deacons, but that they existed
" in re," at least, long before. He derives this conclusion from the
following arguments — 1. The Apostles, even before thia time, could
not have attended personaUy, as is generally supposed, to the dis
tribution of alms. The work was too extensive from the first, and
they would have had to "leave the word" altogether, had they
discharged this lower office. 2. Had this work been in the hands of
the Apostles, they would hardly have shown partiality. It must,
therefore, have been previously committed to other agents. 3. If this
was the beginning of the order of the Diaconate, seven would have
been hardly enough for the converts, daily increasing by thousands.
There must, therefore, have been others also. 4. The Jewish converts
were of course much the most numerous. They did not, however,
complain of any neglect The murmuring came from the foreign
converts. There does not, however, appear to have been one native
Hebrew among " the seven ; " an omission which, without the con
struction before us, would have invited a " murmur " from the party
before favored. The probability therefore is, that this was no new
order at that time in the Church, but that additional deacons, selected
from foreigners, were then ordained to minister to the foreign converts
who had begun to increase. They were added to provide for a special
emergency. Such also is the view of Mosheim. He says — " The first deacons
of the Church, being chosen from among Jews who were bom in Pales
tine, were suspected by the foreign Jews of partiality in distributing
the offerings which were presented for the support of the poor. To
remedy, therefore, this disorder, seven other deacons were chosen by
order of the Apostles, and employed m the service of ihat part of the
Church, at Jerusalem, which was composed of the foreign Jews con
verted to Christianity. Of these new ministers, six were foreigners,
as appears by their names ; the seventh was chosen out of the prose
lytes, of whom there were a certain number among the first Christians
at Jerusalem, and to whom it was reasonable that some regard should
be sho'wn in the elections of the Deacons, as well as to the foreign
Jews. — Comm. de Rebus Christ, p. H8.

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 23
If, therefore, a Church was founded with its valid min
istry, is it not our duty to seek out this fold and unite with
It ? Christ — the Apostle tells us — " is Head over all things
to the Chiirch, which is His body."* Now the Body can no
more be divided than the Head. Again, he says — " Then
is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope
of your caUing; one Lord, one faith, one baptism."! It is
indeed a common opinion, and one which we often hear
announced, that " as long as an individual is truly religious,
it is a matter of no importance to what body pf Christians he
belongs." But if this be of no consequence, why was a
Church established at all ? And — ^to go a step farther — if a
Church has been established, and that Church is the body
of Christ, unless we are members of her fold, how can we be
members of Christ ?
Divisions certainly were not regarded by the Apostles, as
matters of but little moment. The declaration of St. .faul
is — " That there should be no schism in the body,"$ and
when the Corinthian converts, in their dissensions, began to
arrange themselves under the party names of Paul and Apol
los, and Cephas, they were most sternly rebuked bythe great
Apostle of the Gentiles. His indignant inquiry was — "Is
Christ divided ? " and the exhortation which he wrote them
yr^s — " Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our
Lord Jesus, Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and
that there be no divisions {r^iB-iutra) among you ; but that ye
be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same
judgment." J So fearful did he regard this sin of schism,
that the authors of it were not to be treated as Christians.
His instructions on this head were — ^"Now I beseech you,
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences,
contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned ; and avoid
them, for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ."\\
And so St. Jude speaks of those "who separate themselves,"
as "ha'^ing not the Spirit." Is it not, then, a matter of
importance to belong to that Church which our Lord found
ed? And if you are now numbered with her members^
• Eph. i 22, 28. t -Eph iv. 4. t 1 Cor. xiL 26.
{$ 1 Cor. i. 12. \ E^m xvi. 17.

24 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
should you not understand the ground of your belief — the
reasons why you are Churchmen ? *
* The early Fathers always -wrote on the subject of schism, in the
same strain with the Apostles. Ignatius says — "As children of light
and truth, avoid the division of unity." Mpist. ad Philad.
¦ Ireneus says — "The spuitual than will also judge those who work
divisions ; vain men, devoid of the love of God, seeking their o-wn
advantage more than the unity of the Church ; who for triflmg, nay,
for any causes, rend and divide the great and glorious body of Christ,
and as far as in them lies, slay it ; who speak peace, and work war
fare; who truly strain at the gnat, and swallow the camel; for no
improvement can be made by them so great as is the.evil of schism!'
Ada. Sceres. iv. c. 83.
The martyr Cyprian wrote a treatise — "De TTnitate Ecclesias
Catholicae" — especially upon this subject. He says: "Heresy and
schiwi are his [Satan's] invention, for the subversion of faith, the
corruption of truth, the division of unity. Those whom he can no
longer retain in the blindness of the former way, he circumvents by
betraying them into deviation fi-om their new progress. He tears
men away from the Church ; and while they imagine themselves to
have come unto the light, and to have escaped the night of this world,
he secretly infuses a second accession of darkness ; so that they con
tinue to call themselves Christians, while they stand not by the Gospel
of Christ, and never heed or obey him."
In the same work he speaks also of Episcopacy as a witness for
Unity. " He who holds not this unity of the Church, does he think
that he holds the faith? When a man struggles against the .Churdi,
and resists it, does he suppose that he conturaes to belong to it ! "
In the same way St Augustine -writes against the Donatists, and
his testimony is particularly valuable, because this was a sect whose
only error was schism, while in other points — as Mosheim states —
" their doctrine was conformable to that of the Church, as even their
adversaries confess." (Cent iv.part il ch. 6. sec. 8.) But mark with
what severity he reproves their sui. He supposes the Church thus to
address them — "My children, why do you complain of your Mother ?
I -wish to hear why you have deserted me. Tou accuse your brethren,
and I am rent asunder by you. "When the Gentiles persecuted me,
I suffered much ; many left me, but they left me through fear. ITo
one forced ¦you thus to rebel against me. You say that you are -with
me, but you must perceive that this is false I I am called Catholic ;
you are on the .side of Donatus." (Contra Donat.'rx. 6.) And again,
. he says : " Thc question between us and the Donatists is. Where if)

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEK. 25
Again — a second reason for acquiring this knowledge is
— fcecattse if toe are members of that Church which our Lord
founded, we must be free from, ¦many errors on various subjects
which mingle with the fcCiih of those who dissent from her.
Our object ofcourse must be, to receive the truth as pure as
possible. How should -we have acted, therefore, had we
lived in the days of our Lord's personal ministry on the
earth ? There would then have been no doubts on this sub
ject. We should, of course, have attached ourselves to Him.
as members of His own household of faith — the little Church
of which He was the Visible Head.
But the Church did not end with our Lord, for when He
ascended up, He left others as His appointed successors,
saying unto them ; " As my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you." Of course, then, at this tirae we should have
thought it safest to unite with thent in visible fellowship,
esteeming ourselves in this way more certain of spiritual
blessings,' than by belonging to any self-constituted societies
in Galilee or Antioch, (had such things existed,) which had
merely received" some of the prominent doctrines of our Lord,
yet without submitting to the rule of His chosen Apostles.
Yet these Apostles also appointed their successors, to whom
this same authority was thus transmitted, and they again
consecrated others, and so the chain was kept up through
the second century, and the third, and the fourth, until it
reaches down even to our day. Is not, then, the obligation
lO belong to this Church as imperative upon us, in the nine
teenth century, as it was upon those who lived in the first ?
A.nd if we now find the Christian world divided into contending
sects, which have strayed off from her fold — disclaimed some
of her doctrines — and renounced her Apostolic ministry — I
submit to you the question. Which is the part of prudence ?
Is it not to find out this Church, which has come down from
the earliest age, and to unite with her? Let your reason
decide. But we are told that each one who loves the Lord Jesus
in sincerity and truth, shall be saved at last through His
the Church of God ? "With us, or -with them ? This Church is oae
¦denominated by our ancestors, Catholic; to denote, bythe very name,
that it is every where diffused." Sp. ad Cath. iL 338.
2

26 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
atonement, even though he "follow not with us." We deny
it not, for sorrowful indeed would be our view of human Ufe
could we believe otherwise. When the voice of strife is loud
around us, and the truth is defaced by passion or obscured
by prejudice, we can look forward with joy to the hour when
the end of all these things shall be. Then, we trust that
those mighty spirits who now display so much inteUectual
power while tjiey have " fallen out by the way," will meet
in peace before their Father's throne, and as they rejoice
together in the light of His countenance, will forget the
differences which divided them on their journey thither.
"The spirit of Christianity is a spirit of love, and it often
dwells araong those who, in this world of corruption and
folly, are most widely severed; It is cheering to think, that
when the films which obscure our earthly vision are removed,
we may all be found prostrate in adoration before the Larab
who died to redeem all by His most precious blood."* Yet
still, those who have abandoned the Church, must necessarily
be mingling some errors with the truths they receive ; may
they not therefore be depriving themselves of advantages,
and cutting themselves off from spiritual blessings, which
otherwise they would enjoy, on their way to heaven ? This
's a point which we shall not fully know until the last day.
Admit, however, the principle on which this objection to our
claims is founded, and you may as well assert that, since
we believe the heathen who lives up to the light he has will
be saved, t therefore there is no use in his ever hearing of
Christianity, because he can reach heaven without it. This
view indeed confounds all principle of belief — renders truth
utterly unimportant — and inculcates the notion, that God
may impart directions to ua, yet if we in our wisdom believe
them to be of secondary importance, we may "entirely disre
gard them. J
* Dr. Jarvis's Sermon on Church Unity, in 1836, p. 26, n.
f Eom. ii. 14.
X There is probably no body of Christians more inclined to narrow
do-wn salvation than the Romamsts, and yet they do not confine it to
those -within the pale of their own Church. They extend it also to
others who from conscientious motives have remained separated from
it. Thus, their great writer Dr. Milner says — " Catholic divines and
the holy fathers, at the sarae time that they strictly insist on the

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 27
In examining this principle, indeed, I know njt how
better to explain it, than by bringing before you the striking
iUustration employed by the Bishop of Vermont. He thus
shows its absurdity. " The respectable society of Friends,
frequently called Quakers, are well known as professing
Christianity, and as being on some points remarkably
zealous followers of the precepts of the Gospel. Their
love of peace — .their order — their patient endurance of per
secution — what more lovely exhibition of practical religion
have modern days to boast, than this remarkable people
have displayed in these particulars ? But they have adopted
the erroneous idea, that a purer dispensation of the Gospel
was committed to George Fox, the founder of this sect,
which superseded in some respects the directions of Apos
tolic rule, and hence they have no order of the ministry, no
water baptism, no administration of the communion. Their
women are allowed to teach in public equally with men, and
they are strong opponents in all these points of the Church
established by the Apostles. Now is it competent for us to
necessity of adhering to the doctrine and communion of the Catholic
Church, make ah express exception in favor of what is termed invin
cible ignordnce ; which occurs when persons out of the true Church
are sincerely and firmly resolved, in spite of all worldly allurements
on one hand, and all opposition to the contrary on the oiher, to enter
into it, if they could find it out, and when they use their best
endeavors for this purpose. This exception in favor of the invincibly
ignorant is made by the same St. Augustine who so strictly insists on
the general rule  our great oontrovertist, Bellarmine, asserts
that such Christians, 'in virtue ofthe disposition of their hearts, belong
to the Catholic Church.'" Mid of Controversy, Letter xd. p. ISl,
Lond. 1841.
Again — ^in another place, iu his letter on " the Qualities of Catho
licity," he says, when speaking of the Church of England, and other
bodies of Christians not in union -witli the Romish Church — " AU the
young children who have been baptized in them, and all invincibly
ignorant Christians, who exteriorly adhere to them, really belong to
flie CathoUc Church, as I have sho^wn above." Lettm- xxix. p. 190.
The same •view of this doctrine as held by the Church of Roine is
pven by Palmer in his Treatise on the Church, vol. i. p. 240. When
therefore they assert — " There is no salvation ¦without the pal* of the
Catholic Church" — the question is. What do they mean ly "the
Catholic Church?"

28 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
say, that the pious and sincere Quaker shall be cE.st out of
the kingdom of Christ, on account of these serious errors in
his system ? God forbid. We are not the judges of our
fellows. Nay, it is the voice of the Redeemer himself
which saith, 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.' On the
other hand, shall we admit that the pious Quaker is on an
equality with those who, being equally sincere, have retained
VaithfuUy the whole system of the Book of God ? Surely not,
for this «would be an absurdity. It is preposterous to say,
that the man who is in error can be on an equality with him
that is not in error. It is preposterous to say, that he who
departs ftom the rules of the Christian Church, is as safe as
he who diligently keeps them. Consequently, while we
behold the Quaker ¦with all benevolence of feeling, and
willingly praise every thing in his faith and practice which
accords with the Word of God, we hesitate not to declare,
plainly and unequivocally, that he has fallen into error on
the points specified; that in this error we cannot take any
part, nor can we give it either allowance or encouragement;
while, nevertheless, we do not undertake to define the peril
to which it exposes him before God, but leave him to that
tribunal before which we must all stand at t^ day of final
retribution."* '
Now we may apply this view to the whole controversy,
on the claims of the different denominations of Christians.
The question is not — can a person be saved ¦without the
Church? but, has God established any Church with a par
ticular organization, which is still in existence ? If He has,
it is clearly our duty to be included with this fold. Thus
shall we be conforming ourselves most nearly to the divine
standard, and of course be raost certain of spiritual blessings.
AU these various sects cannot be right. Truth cannot have
a hundred forms. She is one, and we must search her out
among all the counterfeits by which she is surrounded, and
then cleave to her.
Again — another reason why we should understand our
distmotive Church principles is, because without this kno-jj-
ledge we cannot be useful or consistent Churchmen. T;'e
* The Prim. Church compared with the Prot Episcopal Church, ¦
by Bp. Hopkins, p. 1.

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHUhCHMEN. 29
times in which we live are peculiar. It seems to be a crisis
both in the intellectual and moral history of our race. It is
an age of inquiry and investigation — an age ' ' emulous of
change " — when the truths in which our fathers rested are
questioned and disallowed, and the maxim of many around
Us is — " Old things have passed away; all things have be
come new." And with reference to no subject is this spirit
more fully displayed than that of religion. Whatever may
be the result, the time of indifference at least is going by.
Men seem to be awakening to the truth, that it is a matter
of concern and importance whether or not they are in the
right way. Experience is beginning to demonstrate to them,
that he whose creed is erroneous, will at length become
erroneous in his life also, and they are therefore learning to
discard that shallow sophism of the poet —
" For modes of faith, let graceless zealots fight ;
His can't be ¦wrong whose life is in the right"^*
For it is evident, that if his religion has any hold upon him
at all, his life will partake of the eccentricities of his belief,
and be, in fact, but his creed developed in action. The
consequence is, that the sound of theological warfare has
lately come up with redoubled energy from all quarters of
the Christian world. We Jiear on every side the earnest
inquiry — " What is truth ? " And the brightest sign of the
times is, that the thoughtful and the serious in such numbers
are looking to the Church. They see her standing unaltered
in the midst of all this conflict. It rages around, yet hei
venerable battlements are untouched. The spirit of the age
is continually modifying the sects about her, yet she is now
in doctrine, and worship, and ministry, what she was in tha
Apostles' days. Time writes no wrinkle on her brow, and
impairs not her strength. Is it not natural, then, that the
question should be often asked by those who are tired of the
contention and change they meet with elsewhere — ^What is
the secret of this stability? Is it not also the duty of each
Churchman, to study her distinctive features, that he maybe
enabled both to stand fast in the old ways, and also to give a
reason for his cl.oice to the many who are inquiring ?
* Pope's Essay on Man, Ep. iii.

30 NJECESSITY FOR BNOWINd THE
We can see, too, that the day is approaching in which
she must taKe part in the conflict, to repel the assaults of her
enemies. Her wonderful increase has not been unmarked
by those who are opposed to her, and now there is on every
side a rallying to stop her progress. Should not her friends
then know why they belong to her fold, and the points in
which she differs from those who are arrayed against her?
No one can long labor with effect in a cause which he does
not perfectly understand. He may be aroused to a spas
modic effort by some sudden burst of enthusiasm, but it needs
something more to sustain him amid the weariness and self-
denial of continued exertion. To inspire him with an abid
ing earnestness, his views raust be clear and distinct. He
must be, as it were, deeply penetrated with the truth he would
advocate, and then he will be compelled to listen reverently
to her voice, and to go forth and labor in her behalf, when
she points him to the field. Otherwise a secret, lurking un
belief will belie the cold profession of his lips, or else, if
believed at all, the truth for which he is bound to contend
will be entirely inoperative, and " lie bed-ridden in the dor
mitory of the soul."*
The Church can never depend upon the stability of her
ignorant members. He who attends her services, merely
because he was born a Churchman — or because to do so is
convenient — or because he prefers the minister who hap
pens to officiate at her altar — can be of but little benefit to
her cause. The slightest reason will induce him to leave
her fold and unite with others. He has merely a personal
preference, not founded on any distinct understanding of her
claims. Far be it from me, my brethren, to speak, in the
slightest degree in disparagement of that feeling of affection
which binds a people to their pastor, for no one prizes it
more highly than I do. Yet it must be engrafted upon
Churchmanship, not substituted for it. Let an individual
be attached from principle to the Church herself, and then
any pastoral tie will but strengthen his love Jbr her. Bui
where this exists alone, pleasant as it may be to the indi
vidual towards whom this affection is directed, it wiU ofter
in the end cause the Church to suffer.
* Coleridge's Friend Essay xv.

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 31
111 proof of this, we could point you to cases in wh'lch
Jarge and flourishing qongregations, upon the death or re
moval of their minister, have been sadly injured by their
members scattering to the sects which surrounded them.
And the reason is evident. There was na Church principle
there, and when their head was removed they thought not of
the Apostolic Church, but merely looked around for some
one else whom personally they could admire. But had they
been grounded in a knowledge ofthe claims of their Church,
they would have foil that the first duty was to her — to cling
to her through good report and evil report — to devote them
selves to build her up — ^while the question of their all3^;iance
was entirely independent of any attachment or dislike to "e
individual who, for the time, was ministering at her al:
Fearful indeed was often the wickedness of the Scribes auJ
Pharisees in the days of our Lord ; and yet, while He con
demned their conduct. He declared that they were the au
thorized teachers of the nation, and directed his disciples
to reverence them accordingly. " The scribes and the
Pharisees " — said he — " sit in Moses' seat : all therefore
whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do ; but
do not ye after their works : for they say, and do not."*
And now, let me close this part of the subject, by giv
ing you the testimony of one whose name and worth have
been widely^ known through the religious community.
Probably few among our clergy have been more honored
by those who differ from us on tho subject of Church gov
emment, than the late Dr. Bedell of Philadelphia. We find,
however, his biographer. Dr. Tyng, of the same city, in de
scribing his views towards the close of his ministry, remarks :
" He had seldom preached in Philadelphia upon what are
termed the ' distinctive principles ' of the Episcopal Church,
finding so much more pressing calls for his time and efforts
m teaching the great principles ofthe Gospel, which are in
dispensable to man's salvation, and desiring first to build up
his people in the acceptance and love of these .... That
the time however had come, when a more decide'd exhibition
of these points of distinction might have been desirable,
when his own health failed and his m'nistry closed, I have
• Matt xxiu. 2, 3.

32 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE
no doubt. And this seems to have been, at that time, his
own impression and plan ; for he had commenced a course
of sermons upon this class of subjects, which his failing
health never allowed hira to deliver or to complete." He
referred to this fact in a conversation with one of his breth-
ren-in the ministry, at Bedford, but a few weeks before his
death. That gentleman thus relates it, in a letter to Mrs.
Bedell — " He said, like many who thought and acted with
him, he had for years said little on the peculiarities of. our
Church ; but the period had arrived when they should be
taught and preached. While many in their preaching had
given them too much prominency, he had given them too
little ; but the state of the tiraes seemed to require it.
These had now changed for the better, and the sarae foun
dation for difference did not exist. He then added, very em
phatically, ' If God spares ray life, I intend delivering a
course of sermons on Episcopacy this coraing winter.' This
course, he informed me, he had then in preparation.' On
this passage Dr. Tyng reraarks : " As certainly as it is our>
duty to declare the whole counsel of God, I concede it is our
duty to declare the doctrines ofthe Scripture in regard to the
Church of Christ."*
Such, then, are some of the reasons why you should un
derstand your distinctive principles as Churchmen. In con
cluding, then, this Introductory Lecture, I would ask your
candid attention to those which shall follow. Much which
raay be presented, if new and strange, will be regarded at
first with but little favor. It may be at variance with views
previously adopted. It depends, however, entirely upon argu
ment, and we ask you to dismiss all prejudice and weigh
candidly and fairly what may be said. We shrink not from
investigation on this subject. We court the most rigid
inquiry. And' let me not be--taet at the outset with the usual cry
oi: bigotry. That epithet is surely misapplied to one who is
discharging a duty to which he is called by his ordination-
vow, while it is done in no hostile or unkindly spirit towards
others. There is, indeed, no middle path on the subject.
If the ministers of the Church believe her doctrine.s on thia
¦* Life, pp 287, ?88.

REASONS WHY WE ARE CHURCHMEN. 33
point, they are as much bound to set them before their peo
ple, as they are those which relate to any other point. With '
the result tbey have nothing to do. They must feel as did
the Apostle, when he said — " With rae it is a very small
thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment
 but he that judgeth me is the Lord."* Theii
business is to preach the eternal truths of the Gospeh wheth
er men will hear, or whether they will forbear. Even when
all gainsay and reject, they can adopt the consoling reflec
tion of the ancient prophet — "Yet surely my judgment is
with the Lord, and my work is with my God.f"
We know, indeed, that to advocate the doctrines we are
inculcating, is not to act in accordance with popular views.
Yet he is surely unworthy of his sacred Calling, and regard
less of the solemn hour of retribution which is at hand, who,
through fear of censure or a wish to court applause, could
shrink from declaring anything which he conscientiously
believes. A different path is marked out for him, in the
discharge of his duty as a faithful watchman. He must
warn the people of his charge against every opinion and
every practice which would rend, by schism, the mystical
body of their Redeemer. There is, too, a loftier destiny to be
accomplished, thaii that which falls to the lot of him who
glides along easily with the current, winning the praise of
" a generation that are ¦vrise in their own eyes." It is to con
tend earnestly against the opinions ofthis mistaken world —
to be " faithful found araong the faithless " — breasting the
storm, and rebuking the cherished delusions of those around
him, even though he should be obliged to stand forth (to
use Milton's words) as " the sole advocate of a discounte
nanced truth." Human language, therefore, could not write
above the champion of the Church a nobler epitaph than
that encomiura which the first Bishop of Culcutta, Dr. Mid
dleton, pronounced upon the unbending Horsley — " He ran
a glorious but unpopular career, in the midst of an heretical
and apostate age."
But we may remeraber that, if now these principles are
disputed and disallowed, there was a tirae when their recep
tion was fai different. In the earliest ages of our faith,
• 1 Cor. iv. 3 4. t Isaiah xlit 4.
2*

34 NECESSITY FOR KNOWING THE REASONS, ETC.
when the memory of our Lord had not yet become dim in
the minds and hearts of his followers,-aU gladly acknowledged
those truths for which now we are forced to contend. We
stand not alone then in this profession. We hold it with
" the glorious company of the Apostles," and " the noble
army of martyrs." And these days of union we believe
shall once more return. Dark though the clouds may be
which gather around us, the Sun of righteousness shall yet
pour his beams over this benighted world, dispelling these
mists of prejudice and error. And already the distant ho
rizon is lighted up with the glory whioh heralds his coming.
" Truth " — says the Eastern proverb — " is the dg,ughter of
Time ;" and though we wait long for her coming, yet at last
she will appear. Her progress cannot be stayed, or her
final triuraph prevented. She mocks the vain efforts of her
adversaries. They may, for a season, imprison her in the
tomb, but it will only be that she may burst forth with a
new and more glorious beauty. In vain for her will be
the stone, the seal, the guard. She must have her resur
rection. She must enjoy her own immortality.
In this hope, then, we live ; whea error is rife around us,
striving to hold fast to our steadfastness — to set forth the
truth in humility — and looking forward to the time, when
all warring sects which now distract the Christian world
shall profess with " one heart the faith delivered to the
saints," and with " one niouth glorify God." And for this
we pray, when gathered in Jlis Holy Temple, we utter those
solemn words of our own Litany —
" From all false doctrine, heresy and schism,
Good Lord, deliver ub."

IL
EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPrUEB.
Who then, uncalled by Thee,
Dare touch Thy Spouse, Thy very self below ?
Or who dares couut him summoned worthily,
Except Thy hand and seal he show ?
Kehle.
Let us look back this evening tnrough the long vista of
nearly eighteen centuries, to a little group which then had
gathered in Judea. It was our risen Lord, surrounded by
His eleven disciples. .The time of his triumph had come.
The fearful conflict with Our great enemy was over, and
his power broken. Death had been vanquished, and the
grave robbed of its prey. And now, when the Son of God
was about to leave this world of suffering and ascend to his
Father, His faithful followers had collected about Him, to
hear His last injunctions before " the cloud received Him
out of their sight."
The outward, busy world knew not of this little assem
bly, and cared not for its doings. Yet in that hour words
were spoken which changed the destiny of man, and a com
mand was given, whose influence should be felt to the end of
time. Then was issued that broad commission — " Go ye
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching
them to observe aU things, whatsoever I have commanded
you." Here is the Charter of the Christian Church — the
source of all power to her rulers. The twilight dimness of
Judaisiji was over, and the full glory of the Sun of right-
ppusness w^s about to shine. Our Master's kingdom was to
^U the whole world. The faith, no longer shut in by the
hiUs qf J-jdea, was to go forth everywhere, enligh'er.ing the
nations. His ministers were to inherit the earth.

3(j EPISCOPACY PROVEn FROM SCRIPTURE.
But ¦what is His Church, and who are His ministers ?
and how did He constitute them ? To be equal in rank —
or each, according to his degree, to yield obedience to those
above him ? Did He, " of his wise providence appoint di
vers Orders in His Church" — or one grade of ministers only?
Was tne office of an Apostle to be perpetuated, or did its
authority expire when the last survivor ofthe twelve died at
Ephesus-? These are the points on which the Church dif
fers with those about her, and to a consideration of which
we would ask your candid attention. They are not questions
which can be set aside, or regarded as unimportant. They
act upon our conduct in daily, practical life. They have
their influence on the spiritual interests of millions of im
mortal beings. Are we — or are those who dissent frora us
— walking in the path which our Lord marked out, and en
joying the ministry which He instituted ? These therefore
are surely subjects to be approached, not " lightly," but "rev
erently, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God."
And where shall we begin this investigation ? It is the
glory of our Church, that she refers everything to the deci
sion of Scripture. Her Sixth Article declares raost expli
citly—" Holy Scripture contalneth all things necessary to
salvation : so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may
be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it
should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requi
site or necessary to salvation." To this tribunal then let us ¦
go in the settlement of the important subject now before us
viz., the authority for the Episcopal form of Church gov
ernment. Let us tum at once " to the law and to the testi
mony," and make our first inquiry. What says the Word of
God ? What do we learn from its pages with regard to the
government ofthat Church, which our Lord and his Apostles
in their day established?
The first thing is— to set plainly before you what we be-
heve to be the truth on this subject, and in what respects we
differ frora the various denominations around us. We con
tend, then, that in accordance with directions given by our
Lord, His Apostles, acting under the direct influence ofthe
Holy Spirit,^established a Church, having a ministry of three
ordeis, and which ministry has been continued by their sue
cessors down to the present time. These three orders were

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 37
1st, the Apostles — called in the following age, the£ishpps:
2d, the Presbyters, or Elders ; and 3d, the Deacons. We
contend, also,, that there is no instance of ordination record
ed in Scripture, as being performed by any except the Apos
tles, or others, as Timothy or Titus, who had been invested
by them with the authority of Bishops ; in other words, that
there is no instance anywhere of mere Presbyters ordaining.
And we beUeve, also, that this remained an established rule
ofthe Church, never violated for more than 1500 years, un
til at the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when some
bodies of Christians, who had separated from the Church,
proceeded to ordain ministers by the hands of mere priests
or Presbyters. We therefore require in those who oihoiate
at our altars, that they should be Episcopally ordained, that
is, that they should be ordained by sorae Bishop, who has de
rived his.authority from those Bishops who went before him
in -the Church, in uninterrupted succession since the Apos
tles' days.* This is the doctrine of the Apostolical succes-
sion. On the other hand, those who deny the necessity of
Episcopal government assert, that the Apostles of the Early
Chnrch left no successors — that it is not necessary for ordi
nation to be performed by a Bishop — that there is but one
order of ministers in the Church, that of Presbyters — and
that these have a right, by their own authority, to ordain
aiid admit to the ministry. Such then is the dividing line
between us, and to decide which ¦view is right, and most in
accordance with the government of the Primitive Church,
we must refer to the intimations given in Scripture, and the
testimony of History in the earliest ages of our faith.
The first argument, then, we would advance, is the anal
ogy to be drawn from the nature of the ministry in the Jew
ish Church. The Church in all ages is the same, only de
veloping itself at one tirae in a greater maturity than it had
dpne under the dispensation which preceded it. In this way
we may interpret the illustration used by St. Paul, in the xi.
of Romans, where he compares the Church to an olive tree,
* "'So man shall be accounted or taken to be a Isijyful Bishop,
Priest, or Deacon, in this Church, except he hath had Episcopal Conse
cration or Ordination." Preface to the Ordinal.

38 EPISCOPACY PROVED FEOM SCRIPTURE.
from which, when the appointed tirae had corae, some branch.
es (that is, the Jews) were broken off, and the wild olive
tree (that is, the Gentile nations) was grafted in.
If, indeed, we look at the different dispensations, we shall
find that each one was but an expansion of the last — elevat
ing man to a higher stage of religious truth than he had
before enjoyed. Thus the Jewish dispensation was an ad
vance as compared with the Patriarchal — while the Chris
tian Church is but the continuation — the ripening — the
fuller development of the Jewish. ' All things in the Mosaic
economy 'Were but preparatory to things in the Christian
dispensation, and typical of them. Therefore it was that
each was prescribed by God Hiiriself with such distinctness,
and the direction given — " See that thou make all things
according to the pattern showed to thee in. fhe mount."*
Look, then, how one thing answers to another. There
were sacrifices in the Jewish Church, but these were only
intended to shadow forth the one great sacrifice of our Lord.
The rite of entrance into the former Church was circumci
sion, but in the latter. Baptism took its place. The Pass
over, in the old dispensation, commeraorated the deliver
ance of the people of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, and
at the same time pointed fbrward to the Lamb of God. But
this was set aside by our Lord, when He substituted in place
of it the Sacrament of His Supper, which in the Christian
Church was to commemorate the greater deliverance which
He had wrought out from a more fearful bondage. Thus,
you may perfectly draw the parallel between the two
Churches, arid you will find, as we remarked, that the one
is only the continuation of the other, modified by the clearer
light which had beamed upon the world. The difference is,
that in the former, they looked forward to an expected Sa
viour — while, in. the latter, we look back to this Saviour who
has already come.
Now let us turn to the ministry, and see how the analogy
holds good in this case. We find that; in the Jewish Church,
God Himself instituted a priesthood, consisting of three
orders, viz., the High Priest, the ordinary Priests, and the
Levites. These, through all ages, were the only authorized
' ¦ /
* Heh, viii. .5.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 39
teachers of the nation — ^the only ones permitted to offer sac
rifice in behalf of the people. Should we not then naturally
expect, that when the Christian ministry took the place of
this priesthood, it wouli be, like every thing else, conformed
in some degree to the ancient model ? Such would be our
reasonable supposition, and we find it realized. In the early
Church— as its condition is learned both from Scripture and
History — we recognize everywhere the ti'aees of a three
fold ministry — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.
See, too, how strictly, under the old Dispensation, the
Priesthood was guarded from the intrusion of those who
could not enter it by regular descent from the family of
Aaron. " No man" — writes the Apostle in his Epistle to
the Hebrews — " taketh this honor unto himself, but he that
is called of God, as was Aaron." -In every case the most
fearful punishment awaited those who ventured to discharge
its sacred duties without having been thus regularly commis
sioned. Such was the case,with Korah and his company.
In that spirit which prevails so extensively at this day, they
raised their voices ^against the authorized ministers of the
Sanctuary, and in language the very counterpart of which
we too often hear around us, proclaimed themselves to be as
good as those whom God had commissioned, and therefore -
authorized to assume the duties of the priesthood. " They
gathered themselves toge'ther against Moses and against
Aaron, and said unto them. Ye take too much upon you,
seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and
the Lord is among them : wherefore, then, lift ye up your
selves above the congregation of the Lord ?" But mark the
reply of Moses — " Hear, I pray yoii, ye sons of Levi : Seem
eth it but a smaU thing unto you, that the Gpd pf Israelhath
separated you from the congiregation of Israel, to bring
you near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of
the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister
unto them?  and seek ye fhe priesthood also ?"*
Read, too, how God gave forth His verdict on this point.
Fire from the. Lord burned all who joined in that act— -the
earth opened her bosom, and swallowed those who favored
thjm  ^while the breath ofthe pestilence was poured forth,
* Num. xvi.

40 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
untU it had destroyed the people who murmured at these
judgments.* Again — ^we have another example of the same kind in
King Uzziah. Listen to the account in the sacred record —
" When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his de
struction ; for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and
went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon
the altar rf)f incense. And Azariah the priest went in after
him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were
valiant men. And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said
unto him, ' It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn
incense unto the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron,
that are consecrated to burn incense ; go out of the sanctu
ary ; for thou hast transgressed ; neither shall it be for thine
honor from the Lord God.' Then Uzziah was wroth, and
had a censer in his hand to burn incense ; and while he was
wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his fore
head before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside
the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all
the priestSj looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous in
his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea
himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten
.him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his
death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper ; for he
was cut off from the house of the Lord."j- Thus, you per
ceive that he entered the sanctuary an unaccredited priest,
and came forth smitten with the plague of leprosy.
And do you think, that for fifteen centuries God thus
* Mr. Percival, in his " Apostolic Succession," haa paraphrased thia
passage, to adapt it to modern times. Let it be read as overlined, and
the address might be made to eome in our day :
Presbyters
" Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi : Seemeth it but a small thing
Son of God Christian
unto you that the God of Im-ael hath separated you from the cengre-
people
gation of Israel, to briog you near to Himself, to do the service of the
tabernacleof the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister
Episcopate
unto them ? . . . . and seek ye the Priesthood also ?"
f 2 Oliron. xxvi. 16-21.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 41
carefully guarded the priesthood, and by fearful judgmenis
taught His people, that none could be numbered with it ex
cept, they received the p-ivilege by direct succession, and
then, as soon as His Church had expanded into a nobler ^
form, did he leave this subject totally unsettled ? Did He
gi've no, authority, as in old time, to be transmitted-down by
descent,? Did He, instead of sending authorized heralds
whp bore the terms of peace, do what no earthly monarch
would have done, permit His rebellious subjects to Appoint
their own messengers to proclaim to them His will ? No,
brethren, such, is not the lesson which we learn from the
analogy of the Jewish priesthood.
Neither ,is there any force in the objection sometiiri'ea
advanced, that this argument ^proves too much — that it
would support, not only Episcopacy, but also the Papacy.
We are told — " There was but a single Jewish High Priest,
and therefore, according to your analogy, there should be
but a sipgle Bishop., The ancient Church had but one
head; if then the principle is to be carried out, Iput one
universal Bishop should preside over Christendom. You,
therefore,, are sustaining the claims of the Romanist." A
moment's reflection, however, ¦will show the futility ofthis
objection. There was but a single High Priest among the
Jews, because that Church was to stand single and alone,
confined in a great measure to but one land. All men were
obliged " to go up to Jerusalem," as thecentre of their faith.
But one single temple was allowed to be biiilt, in'which sac
rifices could be offered. Under the Christian dispensation,
however, the Church assumed a Catholic character and
form. It was to be universal — diffused everywhere. Jeru
salem could no longer claim extraordinary/ privileges, as
" the place where men ought to worship," for everywhere
" the true worshippers could worship the Father in spirit
and in truth." That land became, under the new economy,
but a portion of the Church, and as such had its Bishop —
its single head and ecclesiastical ruler. And so it was
throughout the world. The office is everywhere one and the
same, although, from the .extended limits of the Church, it
must be held in different countries, by different and numer
ous individuals. The Catholic believer, therefore, in pass
ing from diocese to diocese, finds everywhere a successor of

42 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURl.
the Jewish High Priest, but all the while he is under one
Apostolate, as under one sky and sun.
But let us proceed to the direct Scripture evidence.
The first proof we advance is — that there is a recognition,
in the Acts and the Epistles, of the existence of three orders
in the early Ch'urch. A confusion is, indeed, sometimes cre
ated in the minds of readers, in consequence of the indis
criminate use of the title Bishop. A few sentences, how
ever of explanation will remove this difficulty. As we
Already remarked — the three orders of ministers were, 1st,
Apostles; 2d, Bishops or elders; 3d, Deacons. After, how
ever, the death of the Apostles, who were the first Bishops,
those who succeeded to the Episcopal office, out of respect
tb them as having stood nearest to our Lord, would not
assume the name of Apostles, although they inherited their
authority. They therefore took the name of Bishops, leay
ing those in the second rank of the ministry to be called, as
before. Elders or Presbyters — and the third, to retain the
title of Deacons. Thus it is that the early historian, Theo
doret, gives the history of this change of name. "The same
persons were anciently called promiscuously both Bishops
and Presbyters, whilst those who are now called Bishops,
were called Apostles. But shortly after, the name of Apos
tles 'Was appropriated to such only as were Apostles indeed ;
and then the narae Bishop was given to those who before
were called Apostles."* Thus, he says, that Epaphroditus
was the Apostle of the Philippians, and Titus the Apostle
of the Cretians, and Timothy the Apostle of the Asiatics.
And this he repeats in other places. ¦}¦
The ancient writer under the name of St. Ambrose as
serts the same thing. " They who are now called Bishops,
were originally called Apostles. But the holy Apostles
being dead, they who were ordained after them to govern
the Churches, could not arrive to the excellency of these
first, not had they the testiraony of miracles, but were in
many other respects inferior to them. Therefore they
thought it not decent to assume to themselves the name of
Apostles, but dividing the names, they left to Presbyters the
¦* Theodoret, Comm. in 1 Tim. 3, 1.
f Ibid. Com. in Phil. 1 1, and 2, 25.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 43
name of the Presbytery, and they themselves were called
Bishops.* Here, you perceive, is a full explanation of the
change. The name however is a matter of no importance.
It is the office and the authority for which we contend. W^e
only wish to prove, that there was a grade of ministers
higher in rank than the Elders or Presbyters.f
* Bingham'sOrig. Eccles. lib.iL c. 2, sec. 1.
f If a more famihar illustration of this change of title may be al-
lo^sved, ¦we would give the foUowing. Suppose that Washington had
been elevated to the office of Chief Magistrate over this country, ¦with
the name of Dictator, while the highest magistrate in each state was
called, indiscriminately, President or Governor. We will imagine,
also, that the successors of Washington, although placed in office ¦with
exactly the same powers, out ai respect to him as the Pater Patrice,
would not assume the same title. They therefore took the name of
President, leaving that of Governor to be still borne bythe magistrate
of each state. Would thia change make any difference in the office
itself, or render it difficult for us to prove, that those who in 1'785
were called Presidents or Governors, held the same office with those
now called Governors ? Or would any one deny, on account of the
change of name, that he ¦who is no^w called the Presjdent of the United
States holds the same office which his first predecessor held under the
title of Dictator ?
Bishop H. U. Underdonk has given an admirable explanation,
drawn from Scripture. " The Word ' Sabbath' is applied in Scripture
to only the Jewish day of rest ; by very common ¦use, however, it
means the Lord's day. Ifow, ' the Sabbath' is abolished by Christian
ity, and the observance of it discountenanced ; yet ministers of Christ
ian denominations are constantly urging their Christian flocks to keep
' the Sabbath.' Does any confusion of mind result from this confusion
of names ? We suppose not. AU concerned understand, that in
Scripture the word means the Jewish Sabbath, while out of Scripture
the same word is constantly applied to the Christian Sabbath. Let
the same justice be dcme to the word ' Bishop.' In Scripture, it means
a, Presbyter, properly so called. Out oi Scripture, according to the
usage next to universal of aU ages since the sacred canon was, closed,
it means that sacerdotal order, higher than Presbyters, which is found
in Scripture under the title of ' Apostle.' When a Christian teacher,
who enjoins the observance ofthe day which he calls ' the Sabbath,' is
asked for his New Testament authority, he has to exclude all the pas
sages which contain that word, giving them a different application, and
go to other passages which do not contain it ; and he agrees that he
seeks the thing, not the name. And when we EpiscopaUans are

44 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
Now turn to the Acts, and you will find everywiieiv
recognized the three orders, Apostles, Elders, and Deacons.
The first chapter contains an account of the election of Mat
thias, as Apostle, that he might " take the bishopric " of
Judas. In the fourteenth chapter, we are told the Apostles
" ordained them Elders in every church ;" and in the sixth
chapter, is the record of the selection of seven men " full of
the Holy Ghost and of wisdom," on whom " the Apostles
laid their hands," and thus appointed them Deacons. In
several places " Apostles and Elders" are mentioned as dis
tinct classes of ministers.* Nor can it be said, that the
Elders here referred to were laymen, for these also are care
fully distinguished in some passages, as being again a class
distinct from the other two. The statement madeis, " Apos
tles, Elders, and brethren."t
And so it is in the Epistles. Take a single instance in
which all the orders ofthe ministry are mentioned together.
We refer to that salutation with which the Epistle to the
Philippians opens — "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of
Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at
Philippi, with the Bishops and Deacons." Here are cer
tainly three orders of ministers — the two Apostles, Paul and
Timothy, sending their salutations to the Bishops and Dea
cons. Now, change the titles to those which we have shown
you the same orders bore in the next age, and it wiU.read
thus — "Paul and Timotheus, Bishops, to all the samts
(Laity) at Philippi, with the Elders or Presbyters, and
Deacons. ,
Buflet us proceed to the main point — the authority ex
ercised by Bishops in that day — and see how entirely differ
ent it was from that entrusted to the second rank in the
ministry. For instance, when an Apostle gives a charge to
a Bishop, we perceive at once that he is addressing " one
having authority," and set to rule in the Church of God.
He instructs him as to the manner in which he should con-
asked for inspired authority for 'Bishops,' we do the very same ; we
give a different appUcation to the passages whioh contain that word,
and buUd on other passages, which teach ihe fact of the existence ol
Episcopacy, without that appellation;' Episcopacy Examined, p. 13.
* Acts XV. 2, 4, 6, 22. and xvi 4. f Acts xi. 1, and xv. 23.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 45
duct himself towards the presbyters or elders over whom he
had been placed. We shall find, on the contrary, that with
these elders he dwells upon a totally different class of duties.
They are always addressed, and cautioned, and advised, as
those who are merely pastors over congregations. There is
no allusion made to their exercising ecclesiastical discipline,
or admitting others to the ministry.
Let me give you a striking example of ihis. We are
told that when St. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, hav
ing stopped at Miletus, he sent from thence to the neigh
boring Church, at Ephesus^ that its elders might come to
him, and receive his final charge, since " they should see
his face no more." Aud what does he tell them? why, he
addresses them as those whose functions are entirely pas
toral, whose business it is to rule, and feed, and instruct the
fiock committed to them. He directs them "to remember
his warnings for the space of three years" — "to take heed unto
themselves" — "to take heed unto the flock over which the
Holy Ghost had made them overseers" — " to feed the Church
of God " — " to watch against the grievous wolves that would
enter in among them, not sparing the flock" — and also to guard
against "men who should arise among themselves, speaking
perverse things."* This is the amount of his address — that
they should be vigilant in guarding themselves from error,
and also in preserving their people from those who would
inculcate strange doctrines. There is nothing said about
discipline to be exercised among the ministry — not a sylla
ble about one having authority over another to depose him —
hot an intimation that any one among them had power to
ordain. It is, in fact, precisely the kind of charge which
any Bishop in this day might deliver to his clergy, to warn
them to be faithful in the discharge of their pastoral duties.
Now mark the contrast in the Apostle's language, when
he writes to Timothy, at this same church in Ephesus.
Timothy was a young man, probably younger than most of
the elders at Ephesus, for St. Paul charges him — " let no
man despise thy youth," — and yet every lineof the Apostle's
letter proves, that Timothy was invested with Episcopal
authority over these same presbyters. The Epistle is not
* Acts XX. 17-36.

46 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
intended to guide him in any pastoral connection with hia
flock, but rather to instruct him as to the manner in which
he should rule over the elders. Everything, for example,
is addressed to him personally, and in the singular number,
as being something in which the others could not share :
" This charge I corarait unto thee, son Timothy" — " these
things write I unto thee, that thou mightest know how to
behave thyself in the house of God" — " if thou put the
brethren in remembrance of these things."*
Look at the directions with regard to his exercising
ecclesiastical discipline. " That thou mightest charge some
that they teach no other [that is, no false] doctrine" —
" against an elder receive not an accusation, but before
two or three . witnesses" — " them [that is, the elders thus
accused] that sin, rebuke before all, that others also may
fear" — " I charge thee, that thou observe these things [these
rules for the regulation and discipline of the clergy,] without
preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. "t
See, again, the rules given him with respect to ordinations.
The third chapter of the -first epistle is taken up with describ
ing qualifications, for which he should look in those who
are to be admitted to the ministry. Thus, he says, that the
deacons " must first be proved ; then let them use the office
of a deacon, being found blameless" — " the deacons must
be grave, not doubled-tongued, not given to much wine, not
greedy pf filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a
pure conscience" — " they that have used the office of a
deacon well, purchase to themselves a good degree" —
" literally," says Dr. Bloomfield, " obtain an honorable post,
or step, that is, a higher degree, viz., of Presbyter or
Bishop."t In the same way, the proper qualifications of a presbyter
are given — " A Bishop [elder or presbyter] must be blame
less, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good beha
vior, given to hospitality," &c. These descriptions are to
guide him in observing the directions afterwards given —
" lay hands suddenly on no man"^ — and again — " the things
» 1 Tim. i. 18 ; iii. 14, 15 ; iv. 6. f 1 Tun. i. S ; v. 19, 20, 21.
X Bloomfield's Greek Test, in loco. g l Tira. v. 22.

EPISCOPACY PROVJSD FROM SCRIPTURE. 47
which thou hast heard of me, the same commit thou to faith
ful men, who shall be able toteach others also."*
Now, I would ask, if, as we are told, Timothy was not a
successor ?»f the Apostles, but only a Presbyter, and a young
Presbyter too, what right had he to be "receiving accusa
tions" against his brother presbyters, and "rebuking them
before all ?" How could these things be, if all ministers were
equal in the early Church ? or, is it in accordance with human
nature,, that the elders of the Church a,t Ephesus should thus
have submitted to the rule of one of their own number, evi
dently, too, their junior in years ? On the Presbyterian scheme
of Church government, I cannot understand what was the
position of Timothy in the Church, or his relative situation ,
with regard to those who were in the ministry with hira.
These Epistles are to me, in this case, a sealed, book. But
look at the page of Ecclesiastical History, where we are told
that Timothy was the first Apostle or Bishop of Ephesus, ¦)-
and all is plain. Then, I see the meaning of every direction
given by St. Paul. Totally out of place as they would be,
if written to a mere presbyter, they at the same time com
pose exactly the kind of charge which, in this day, an aged
Bishop of the Church might write to one, who was younger
in the Episcopate, that he might know how to act towards
the clergy of his diocese.
Lopk at another example, equally striking — that of/TitUs. I
He, says Eusebius, "was appointed over the Churches in |
Crete ;" and all ancient writers unite in making the same
assertion.^ It is Certainly con'Krmed most fully by the Epis
tle, in which St. Paul addresses him as one invested with
Episcopal authority. He writes to him — " For this cause left
T thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things
that are wanting, and [that thou shouldest] ordain elders in
every city, as I had appointed thee." He then goes on to
describe, as we have already seen him doing to Timothy,
* 2 Tim. ii. 3.
f Eusebius, lib. iii. c. 4, " Timothy is recorded as having first re
ceived the Episcopate at ^Ephesus." Also Chrysostom, Hom. 1, in
PhiUp. Jerome, Catal. Scrip, in Tici. Theodoret Com. in 1 Tim. iiL .1
\ Eusebius, Chrysostom, and Theodoret, as cited above. Jerome
Catal. Scrip, in Tit.

48 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRII'TURE.
what qualities Titus should require in one who was tb be
ordained — "for a Bishop [elder or presbyter] must be blame
less, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, "
&c.* And he afterwarwards directs — " a man. that is an her,
etic, after the first and second admonition [do thou] reject."t
Here is certainly full Episcopal anthority-— ordination — ^ad
monition — rejectiPn or degradation — all committed to Titus
personally. We know, from history, that there were man^
Churches in Crete. Why, then, when the field was the
world, and men were so much wanted to publish the Gospel
else were amid t^e darkness of heathenism, was Titus with
drawn, and sent to spend his life in this islandjj if any of
the elders there could ordain as '\yell as he? or allowing
that at first tliere were not enough there for that purpose,
why must he ordain elders in e^ery city? After doing so in
one or two cities, cpuld not they be left to keep up the suc-
Bpssion ? It would be difficult, indeed, to find an answer to
these questions on the Presbyterian scheine. The only
solution is, that Titus could ordain by right of his authority
as Bishop, and the others could not. "Yet this is Episco
pacy. ,
Let us now turn to the address niade to " the angels" of
the Seven Churches of Asia. In each, of these Churches —
as, for example, Ephesus and Smyrna — ^history tells us there
were many congregations and Elders. Yet the warnings
and admonitions are not written to these Elders, nor to the
Church collectively, but to the " angel " or chief-officer.
There was evidently some one presiding over the spiritual
welfare of each of those Churches, who was held personally
answerable for it. Look, for example, at that written to
the angel of the Church at Ephesus. Here we find that, in
the year 96, § its chief officer is evidently exercising the
same discipline over the clergy, in investigating and reject-
* Titus i. 6. f ui. 10.
f Cave's Lives of the Fathers, i. 128.
1^ St. John was banished to Patmos in the latter part of Domitian's
reign, and returned to Ephesus upon Nerva's succeeding to the empire,
which was in 96. This book was written whUe stiU in the island.
Irenseus, speaking of the vision, says — " It was not very long ago that
it was seen, being but a little before our time, at the latter end of
Domitian's reign."

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 49
ing their claims, which was ascribed to his predecessor
Timothy, thirty years before. ^The address to him is^TAou
hast tried them which say they are Apostles, and are not,
and. hast found them liars." And so it is W'ith'all these
Churchea. "I know tAy worksj" is the announcement to
the ruler of each one. We might cppy t^e greater part of
the second and third, chapters, in'^^roof of what we have
asserted. " And [fAo«]hast borne, and hast had patience, and
for my name's sake IfAow] hast labored^and hast not fainted"
— " thou hast left thy first love" — "remember from whencR
thou art fallen" — " thou boldest fast my name" — " I have
set before thee an open door" — " thou hast a little strength,
and hast kept my word" — " I have a few things against thee"
— " because thou hast .there, them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam".^" thou sufferest that woman Jezebel f . to teach,"
&c. — "if thou shalt npt watch, I will come on thee- a,s a
thief" — "thou art neither hot ' nor cold" — "be [thiJu]
watchful, and strengthen -[iSow]' the things that remain" —
"hoH fast^that, which *Ab,« hast." And such is the tenor
of these seven Epistles. There iano intimation any where
given, that the Elders of the Churches shared in this
responsibility, for ¦which their chief-ruler is so pointedly
addressed. That these seven angels.were tbe Diocesan Bishops of
the Churches, is indeed a fact, so fully proved from early
history, that it would seem to be alraost beyond contradic
tion. All the early fathers assert it. " So say Irenaeus.
Clemens of Alexandria, Eusebius, Ambrose, and others.
That Polycarp was then Bishop of Smyrna, is testified by
Irenaeus, who knew him well ; by Ignatius ; by Polycrates^
Bishop of Ephesus, who calls him Bishop and martyr in
Smyrna ; by Eusebius ; by TertuUian ; by Jerome ; and by
all antiquity. And Ignatius names Onesimus as Bishop of
Ephesus, when he wrote, which was but about twelve years
aftei the inditing of these Epistles. It being then so evi
dent, that one of those to whom St. John writes, under the
name of Angel, was Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, and, most
probably, another, Onesimus, Bishop of Ephesus, we may be
sure that all the rest , were Bishops of their respective
Churches, as well as Polycarp and Onesimus."*
» Dr. Bowden's Letters, Vol L p. 118. *
3

60 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
So evident indeed is this truth, that some of the leading
writers on the Presbyterian side of the question Lave fell
themselves obliged to acknowledge it. Such is the casa
¦with the learned Blondel, in his " Apology," which was writ
ten at the earnest request of the Westminster Assembly of
Divines. He contends that the Angels of these Seven
Churches were " exarchs or chief governors," who were su
perior in office to the other clergy, holding their places for
life, and indeed so superior, that " the acts of the Church,
whether glorious or infamous, were imputed to those exarchs."
And this, he says, is necessary to be maintained, otherwise
the difficulties are insuperable.
So also Dr. Campbell, President of Marischal College,
Aberdeen, is forced to make concessions, from which he evi
dently shrinks. He remarks — " But one person, called the
Angel of that Church, is addressed in the name of the whole.
. . . ShaU we affirm, that by the angel is meant the Pres
bytery ? " With this interpretation, he declares himself dis
satisfied. He concludes, at last, that it means one who had
a kind of presidency over the rest, derived from the model
of the Jewish Sanhedrim.* So difficult is it, to evade the
natural explanation, or rather, so eager are men to adopt any
theory which may enable them to escape the argument, that
in the Apostolic days each Chnrch had its chief ruler.t
* CampbeU's Lect on Eccles. Hist., Lect V. p. 82.
f Dr. MiUer of Princeton, in his despau-, has resorted to the amus
ing explanation that the Angel was only the Moderator of the Pres
bytery. We cannot forbear giving Dr. Bowden's reply to this theory.
" When our Lord blamed and threatened the Angel of the Church of
Sardis, might he not have said, ' Lord, why blamest thou me ? I have
no more authority in thy- Church in this city than other Presbyters.
We do everything, as thou well knowest, by a pluraUty of votes, and
those-Presbyters who wish for a majority, for the purpose of beginning
the work of reformation, have not yet been able to obtam it. I need
not tell thee, that I am no more than the Moderator of the Presbytery,
appointed to count their votes and keep order. Upon what dictate,
then, of reason, upon what prmciple of justice, am I to be blamed for
the defects and corruptions in the Chm-eh ? As a Moderator, I have
no relation whatever to the Church ; my relation is entu-ely to the
Presbyier^y, and there I have but a casting vote. What then can I
do ? Why am I addressed 'n particular, and threatened with exci-

¦"ISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 61
Thero is but one more fact which we will bripfiy no'ice.
Itis, as we have already mentioned, a favorite declaration of
our opponents, that the thirteen Apostles were the only ones
holding that office, and that they left no successors. And
yet we find St. Paul referring to " false apostles" (¦v^£«J**
a-oo-ToAo/ .)* There were therefore some, even in' his day,
who assumed that office, and pretended they were called to
the highest rank iu the ministry. Now, as we cannot sup
pose that they endeavored to pass themselves off for any of
the thirteen who were first called, f it is evident that the ,
oion, unless I repent ? Eor my personal faults, I humbly beg forgive
ness ; but I cannot possibly acknowledge any guilt as the gpvernor of
this Church, when I bear no such character.' Might not the Angel of
Sardis have addressed Christ •svith the strictest propriety in this man
ner ? And does not this show how utterly inconsistent your scheme of
Church government is ¦with these Epistles?" Letters, Vol I. p. Wl. i
J^ 2 Cor. xi 13.
f Bishop H. U. Onderdonk has thus clearly lUustrated this point.
"That it was infinitely improbable that the ' false apostles' pretended
to be of the original twelve or thirteen, will appear from such consi
derations as these : — There are sixteen of our Bishops in the United
States [tbis was written in 1835], but never has it been attempted to
counterfeit the person of any of them, either at home or abroad. So
ofthe twenty-six Bishops and Archbishops in England — of the nine
teen Bishops and Archbbhops in Ireland — and of the six Bishops in
Scotland. We may add the same remark, as far as we recollect, of all
the Bishops in the Christian world. Persons have feigned to be Bish
ops, as in the case of West, and perhaps the Greek mentioned in the
accounts of Mr. Wesley ; but none have counterfeited the persons of
other Bishops — if otherwise, the cases are so r^re and so obscure, as
not to affect this iUustration of our argument. What the impostors
mentioned in Scripture claimed, was, to be apostles or bishops in their
own persons, not in the persons of any of the thirteen. Of course, the
Apostleship was not confined to these last.
" Our fellow-citizens generaUy wUl perhaps see more clearly the
force of this analogy in another case. There are twenty-four go
vernors of States in our Union. In no instance has it occurred that
any man has pretended to be one of these. The same raay probably
be said of aU our magistrates of the higher grades. So clear is it,
that the ' false apostles' would not have pretended, to be of the origi
nal thirteen who held that office — and so clear, that others besides the
thffteen were made Apostles — many others." Episcopacy Examitied, [
p. 275.

52 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
office itself must have been widely known in the Church
and their pretence was, that they had received it. Stil
stronger is the inference which may be drawn from tha
warning which St. John gives against " them which say they
are Apostles, and are not."* At this time St. John was well
known to be the sole survivor of the thirteen. Could any
impostor, therefore, have attempted to counterfeit the per
son of one of his colleagues who had been invested with that
office by our Lord Himself? The want of age would at
once have revealed the deception. At this time more than
sixty years had passed since our Lord's ascension, and he
who was once the youngest of that little band, was now
among thera in the feebleness of extreraeold age. St. John,
too, would, in that case, have stated, that no Apostle but
himself was then living, and this would have set all such
clairas at rest forever. This very attempt, then, shows that
there were many apostles besides the original thirteen, and
.ii<tt the Apostolic office itself was extensively recognized
in the Church. These passages alone, therefore, refute the
Presbyterian argument, that the office expired with its orig
inal holders.
Let us now, before closing this subject, briefly notice
some of the usual objections advanced by those who differ
from us.
I. One is — that Paul and Barnabas received an ordina
tion only from Presbyters. In the beginning of Acts xiii. is
this passage : " Now, there were in the Church that was
at Antioch, certain prophets and teachers ; as Barnabas,
and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,
and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the
Tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and
fasted, the Holy Ghost said. Separate me Barnabas and
Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And
when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on
them, they sent them away." This, we are told, was their
ordination. We reply — this could not be, for they were
" prophets and teachers" before, and employed in " minis
tering to the Lord." They are placed on an e.xact footing
with the other three If the three, therefore, were in orders^
* Rev. li. 2.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FRlM SCRIPTURE. 03
so were Paul and Barnabas. If, on the other hand, Paul
and Barnabas were layraen, then the other three were also ,
and if an ordination at all, it was performed by laymen.
These two brethren werCj in truth, in this way merely com
mended to a special missionary work on which they imme
diately set out, and at the completion of^ which we are ex
plicitly told — "And thence they sailed to Antioch, /rom
whence they had been recommended to the grace of Ood for
the work which they fulfilled."* St. Paul hiraself disclaims
any human ordination, and says, that he is "an Apostle,
not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and Gpd the
Father."t He had, indeed, previous to this, been on a mis
sion to Tarsus arid Cilicia (Acts ix. 30, and Gal. i. 21),
where, as Prof. Burton has shown,J he founded the Churches
which he afterwards (Acts xv. 41) revisited in company
'with Barnabas. Bishop Whittingham has well compared
this transaction in Acts xiii. to " a farewell missionary
meeting, in which persons, previously ordained presbyters
or bishops, receive jurisdiction in the mission to which they
have been appointed. "§
IL Again, it is said — Timothy did not receive Episco
pal ordination. This inference is drawn from St. Paul's
address to him — ^"Neglect not the gift that is in thee,
which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of
the hands of the presbytery.W Timothy, therefore, we are
told, was ordained to his office in the ministry by the
hands of a body of Elders. We reply — first, it is not clear
by any means, that the 'word here translated presbytery does
not refer to the office conferred, and not to the perions who
conferred it. lit that case it would read thus — "with the
laying on of hands to confer the presbyterate or presbyter-
ship." Such was the opinion of Jerome, Ambrose, Euse
bius, and Socrates, among the ancients, and Grotius, Calvin,
and many of the leading Presbyterian wriiers, among the
modems .TT
* Acts xiv. 26. t Gfal. i 1.
X Lect. on Hist, of Ch. in first Gent. p. 135, HI, 168.
§ Note to Palmer's Treatise on the Ch. v. ii. p. 391.
II 1 Tun. iv. 14.
•jf See many of these quoted by Bishop Onderdonk, in Epismpa-

54 EPISOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
But, second, even allovTing that it does refer to persons,
we find St. Paul, in another place, claiming Timothy's ordi
nation as performed by himself. He writes to him — " Stir
up the gift ot God, which is in thee by the putting on of my
hands."* We can easily, however, reconcile the two passa-'
ges. It has been customary, in all ages of the Church, when
a Bishop laid his hands upon the head of an individual to
elevate him to the office of the priesthood, that Presbyters
who were there should unite with him in that act, in token
of their concurrence. Might not this have been the case at
Timothy's ordination ? St. Paul conferred that office on hira,
the presbyters also " laying on their hands." If we critically .
examine these two passages, we shall find that the words se
lected clearly point out the different shares of the orda-lning
apostle and the consenting presbyters. He was ordained,
St. Paul tells us, "by (S'la) the putting on of mi/ hands,"
"with (jM.£T«) the laying on ofthe hands of the presbytery."
Such is the acknowledgment of Dr. Macknight; the Presby
terian commentator, when discussing this text. He says —
" Since it appears, from 2 Tim. i. 6, that the Apostle, by the
imposition of his own hands, conferred on Timothy the spir
itual gift here mentioned, we must suppose that the elder
ship at Lystra laid their hands On him only to show their
concurrence with the Apostle in setting Timothy apart to the
ministry by prayer."
III. Again, another objection is — that Deacons were not
in the ministry, but merely laymen appointed to distribute
the contributions made for the poor.-j- In reply, we say, first,
cfy Examined, p. 19-22, 193-196. Dr. MUler, finding his great authority,
Calvin, against him on this point, says, that for interpretipg the word
offjce, " he deserves nothing but ridicule." (P. 58, 1st Edit)
* 2 Tim, i 6.
f We copy the following passage firom a Review of Episcopacy
tested by Scripture, in the Biblical Repository. " It is plain that the
' order of deacons,' as one of the ' three orders of clergy' for which our
Episcopal brethren contend, cannot stand the test of Scripture. It
must undoubtedly be given up, if we would be governed by the Word
of God. Deacons there undoubtedly iDere in the ApostoUc Church ; but
they were evidently curators of the poor, and attendants on the tables
of the Church ; precisely such as were found in the Jewish synagogues,
before the coming of Christ, and such as are found in all completely

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 55
that the whole testimony of Scripture is against this view.
If this had been only a secular office, why did they require,
not merely integrity, honesty, and piety, but the highest
spiritual qualifications ? They were to be " men full of the
Holy Ghost and of wisdom," and Stephen is described as a
man "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." This require
ment of the noblest gifts seems to point to something more
elevated than the mere distribution of alms, in which there
would be no field for the exercise of such lofty qualities.
The same inference may be drawn from the First Epistle to
Timothy, where the Apostle instructs him in the qualifica
tions ¦ necessary for that office, -one of which is — "holding
the mystery of the faith in a good conscience."
But, second, we learn their ministerial character also
from the duties they performed. As soon as Stephen was
ordained, we are told that, " full of faith and power, he did
great wonders and miracles among the people," and that h?
preached also, is evident frora the fa,ct that his enemies firs,'
disputed wifh him (vi. 9), and then "suborned men, which
said, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against
Moses, and against God " (vi. 11). Similar to this was the
conduct of Philip, another of the newly ordained deacons.
After the persecution in Jerusalem, he " went down to the
city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them (viii. 5).
" And they believed Philip, preaching the things Concerning
the kingdom of God, and the narae of Jesus Christ," (viii.
12). He afterwards went to Arotus, and "preached in all
the cities, till he came to Cesarea," (viii. 40). You per
ceive, then, how utterly unfounded is the assertion (which
we have just quoted frora the Biblical Repository), that it
was " several hundred years after the Apostolic age," before
deacons began to preach, or, as it is there expressed, " to
invade the province of preachers." Deacons also bap
tized. Philip "baptized" those at Samaria, " who believed,
organized Presbyterian churches at the present day. And this con
tinued to be the nature of the office for several hundred years after
the ApostoUc age. But when a spu:it of carnal ambition began to
reign in the Church, and led ecclesiastical men to aspire and encroach,
de^iCons invaded the province of preachers, and committed to ' sub
deacons' the burthen oftheirjrimitive duties."

56 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
both men and women" (viii. 12). He baptized Simon
Magus (viii. 13), and afterwards the Eunuch of Ethiopia
(viii. 38). Here, then, we find them preaching and bap
tizing. Are these the duties ofa layman?*
Now, it is precisely on this model — ^to discharge the du
ties, of the primitive deacons — that these ministers are or
dained in our Church at this day. Let us see the statement
made in the ordinal to the Prayer Book, and compare it with
the record of the early Church. We are told — " It apper
taineth to the office of a Deacon, in the Church where he
shall be appointed to serve, to assist the priest in divine
service, and specially when he ministereth the Holy Com-
* We consider the above examples amply sufficient to refute the
objection advanced against the ministerial character of deacons, and
as the lecture is intended to prove our positions from Scriptm-e, we
have dra-wn our evidence from this source alone. We add, however,
in this note a few extracts from the early fathers, showing the view of
the Chm-ch in that day. Polycarp says, that Deacons are " ministers
of God, not of men" (sect. 5). Ignatius, in his epistle to the Magnesi-
ans, says — " Deacons are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ"
(sect. 6). In the Epist. to the Trallians, he says, " Deacons are the
ministers of the mysteries of Jesus Christ ... for they are not the
ministers of meat and drink [that is, of this only], but of the Church
of God" (sect. 2). The foUowing passage in his Epist to PhUad. is
conclusive. Speaking of his bereaved Church at Antioch, he says —
" It ¦wiU become you, as the Church of God, to ordain some deacon to
go to them thither as the embassador of God; that he may rejoice
with them when they meet together, and glorify God's name. Blessed
be that man hi Jesus Christ, who shaU be found worthy of such a mi
nistry (sect. 10).-
TertuUian declares — " Tlie highest priest, who is the Bishop, has
the right of baptizing. After him, the presbyters and deacons, not
however without the permission ofthe bishop, on account of the honor
ofthe Church." Ooo/ce's Inval. of Pres. Ord. § 183.
The 74th ApostoUc Canon says — " Let a bishop, or presbyter, or
deacon, engaged in war  be deposed." But if a deacon waa
merely a layman, to discharge duties Uke our church^wardens, why
might he not engage in war ? This canon evidently shows that there
was a sacredness in his office which had a ministerial character.
Bingham, in his Orig. Eccles. Ub. ii. ch. 20, has given a fuU discus
sion of this subject, with an account ofthe duties discharged by dea
cons in the early church.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 57
munion, and to help him in the distribution thereof." This,
Bingham tells us, was anciently their duty, as he shows from
the Apostolical Constitutions and Jerome, that they should
read parts of the service.* They were not allowed to con
secrate the Eucharist,! but only to assist in its distribution. J
And in the Constitutions there is one passage which declarer
it ta be the office of the Bishop to deliver the bread to eaci»
communicant, and that of the Deacon to deliver the cup.^
The same rule which we now have.
The ordinal continues — " and to read Holy Seriptures
and Homilies in the Church." In early times, it was the Dea
con's duty always to read the Gospel, and, in some churches,
other parts of Scripture ; and the Council of Vaison author
ized Deacons to read the Homilies of the ancient Fathers in
the absence of a Presbyter, assigning this reason for it : " If
the Deacons be worthy to read the Discourses of Christ in
the Gospel, why should they not be thought worthy to read
the expositions of the ancient -Fathers ?"|1
"And to instruct the youth in the Catechism.'' In the
early Church there was a distinct office of- Catechist, the
duty appertaining to which was, that of instructing the Cat
echumens in the first principles of religion, and preparing
them for the reception of baptism. This office was, however,
sometimes filled by a Deacon. Thus, St. Augustine wrote
his book De Catechizandis Rudibus, at the request of Deo-
gratias, deacon of Carthage, who was a Cathechist there, to
assist him in the performance of his duties.lf
" In the absence of the priest, to baptize infants." We
have already seen that Philip the deacon baptized at Samaria,
and elsewhere. TertuUian too, in the passage we quoted
in the note, shows that they have the right, - ' but not with
out the permission of the Bishop." Bingham proves the same
thing from St. Cyril and Jerome.**
And " to preach, if he be admitted thereto by thP Bish
op." We have also shown our warrant for this from Scrip
ture. " They had power to preach," says Bingham, by
» Orig. Eccles. Ub. ii. ch. 20. sec. 6. f Ibid sec. 8.
X Ibid. sec. 7. § Constit. Apost. Ub. viii. c. 18.
1 Bing. Ub. ii. ch. 20. ^ Ibid. Ub. iii. ch. 10, sec. 1.
*» Ibid. Ub. ii. ch. 20, sec. 9.
R*

58 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE.
license and authority from the Bishop, but not -without it."
Many proofs of which he records.*
" And furthermore, it is his office, where provision is so
made, to search for the sick, poor, and impotent people of
the parish, to intimate their estates, naraes, and places where
they dwell, unto the Curate, that by his exhortation they may
be relieved by the alms of the parishioners." Here also
we closely follow Scripture. We find too in the Apostolical
Constitutions it is mentioned as part of' the duty of a Dea
con — ¦" That he should inform his Bishop, when he knows
any one to be in distress, and then distribute to their neces
sities bythe directions of the Bishop."t
Such were the deacons of Scripture and the Primitive
Church. From the view given, we must leave it to our read
ers to decide, whether or not they were admitted to the min
istry, and which bear the closest resemblance to the deacons
of Apostolic times — those ordained to the office in our Church,
by the form from which we have just quoted^-or the laymen
called by that name in the different denominations around us.
IV. Another objection is — that the proof of Episcopacy
which we derive from Scripture is incidental in its character.
This is true ; but in reply, we would say, there are two rea
sons why the testimony is of this nature. The first is be
cause we find it principally in Epistles, where things are not
generally so formally stated, but much is left to be supplied
by the previous knowledge of the one who receives the
Epistle. Mr. Locke, when referring to another subject, has
well stated this point — " The nature of Epistolary writings
in general, disposes the writer to pass by the mentioning
many things, as well known to him to whom his letter is
addressed, which are necessary to be laid open to a stranger,
to make him comprehend what is said ; and it not seldom
falls out, that a well-penned letter, which is very easy and
intelligible to the receiver, is very obscure to a stranger, who
hardly knows what to make of it. The matters St. Paul
writ about, were certainly things well known to those he
writ to, and which they had a peculiar concern in ; which
made them easily apprehend his meaning, and see the ten
dency and force of his discourse. But we, having now, at
* Ibid. sec. 11. \ Constit. Apos. Ub iii. c. 19.

kPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTUnS. gg
this distance of time, no information of the occasion of his
writing, little or no knowledge of the temper and circum
stances those were in he writ to, but what is to be gathered
out of the Epistles themselves ; it is not strange that many
things in them lie concealed to us, which, no doubt, they
who were concerned in the letter, understood at first sight?'*
The second reason for our gleaning this merely from
incidental allusions, arises from the fact, that all the in
structions of our Lord and His Apostles were of course not
fully written out. The inspired men to whom this work was
committed, recorded only great general truths. Had they
pursued a different course, " even the world itself could not
contain the books that should be written."! And it is evi
dent why this particular truth — the Apostolic succession — is
only mentioned incidentally. It is because at that time it
was not controverted. There is therefore only an occasional
allusion to it as an established regulation. It is precisely in
the same way that we learn, females are to be admitted to the
* Essay for the understanding of St. PauVs Epistles, Works, v.
iiL p. 102. We find the foUowing exceUent famiUar iUustration of
this point in Chapin's Prim. Church. " We wUl suppose a man, born
and educated in one of the South Sea Islands, who has grown up
¦without any communication -with, or knowledge of, any civilized nation.
Put into the bands of such a man, the Military Correspondence of
General Washington, dwring the American Resolution, and require
him, from that alone, to determine the organization ofthe American
army ; and you would certainly impose upon him a task of uo small
magnitude. . . . Yet such a man, under such circumstances, would
be situated very much as we are, when attempting to determine the
entire constitution of the ApostoUc Church, from Scripture only. This
wiU be evident upon sUght reflection ; for it wUl not be believed for a
moment, that General Washington, when -writing to men who were as
famiUar ¦with the organization of the army as himself, would enter
into a detail of facts, with which he knew them to be perfectly con
versant ; nor is there any greater reason for believing that the Apostles
would give a detaUed account of the organization and order of the
Churches they had estabUshed, when -writing to the members of those
very Churches. The nature of the evidence in the two cases is there
fore simUar; and what would be proofoftheconstitutionof the Amer
ican army, to a South Sea Islander situated as we have supposed, must
be proof to us of the constitution of the Apostolic Church." pp. 20, 21
f John xxi. ?5-

60 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTUR*..
Eucharist, or that the observance of the Sabbath is changed
from the seventh day to the first. Many who receive and
beleve the latter truth, profess to trace it to Scripture, and
yet reject the doctrine ofthe Apostolic succession, -which is
established therewith double the evidence.
V. Another objection is — that the first Apostles only were
appointed to their office by the extraordinary designation of
the Son of God. We are told that obedience was for this
reason due to them, but even if they had handed down their
office, their successors would not have the same claim from
the want of this miraculous sanction to their authority. In
reply, we would ask, what there is which is not at its com
mencement miraculous, and yet in its continuance loses this
character ? Would not this objection have applied with
equal force to the Jewish High Priest ? The first who held
that office was miraculously appointed, but afterwards it was
left to be handed down by, the succession of human instru
ments. Yet who doubts that the last who ministered at the
altar had every claim to reverence which Aaron himself pos
sessed fifteen centuries before ? On this point we will quote
the strikiiig analogy used to illustrate it, by one of our own
Bishops. " The beginning ofthe grass in the field was iniraculous
— by the instant and imraediate raandate of God. It was
created in full maturity. But its succession was provided
for by no such measure. The grass, and the herb, and the
fruit tree were furnished with the means, of a succession,
by ordinary laws, each having ' seed in itself after its kind.'
Thus also with raan. The head of the huraan race was
created by the immediate hand of God ; but the succession
from that moment to the end of time, was provided for by
laws of ordinary nature. But we hold it to be no arrogance
to say of any man, though the lowest of his kind, that he
has succeeded to the nature of the miraculously created
first man; nor to say ofthe herb ofthe field, that though it
be but the offspring ofthe little, familiar seed in the ground,
which sprang and grew by an ordinary law, and a human
planting and rearing, it is nevertheless, in all the essentials
of it.s nature, the successor, in an unbroken line of descent,
of the herb which on the third day of the world sprang
into maturity at the wonderful fiat of the Almighty. I

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRiPTDRE 61
know not that the man or the herb is any less a man or
an herb, or any less descended from the miraculous begin
nings of the creation, because the laws of growth were
but ordinary, and the intermediate agency of production
was but human. And so I know not that a minister of the
Gospel is any the less a successor of the first Apostles, be
cause, instead of receiving his authority, like them, imrae
diately from Christ, it has come to him by the intermediate
communication of a chain, fastened at its beginning upon
the throne of God, and preserved as inviolate as the line ofthe
descent of Adam, or t;he succession of seed-time and harvest,
of day and night, of summer and winter. I know not that
this day is not a true day, and strictly a successor of that
very day when first the sun appeared ; though that, you
know, was made by the sudden act of God suspending the
sun in the skies, and this arose by the ordinary succession
of the evening and the morning. The beginning of every
institution of God must of necessity be extraordinary ; its
regular continuance, ordinary. So with the course of Provi
dence, in all its branches. What is now an ordinary Provi
dence was once an extraordinary. What began with mira
cle, is continued by laws of familiar nature. And so it is
with the ministry of the Gospel. What was created by the
direct ordination of God, is propagated and continued by the
authorized ordination of men. Its 'seed is in itself, aft«r
its kind,' and at every step pf the succession it is precisely
the same ministry, and just as mifoh of God, sanctioned by
His authority, and sustained by His ppwer, as if it had been
received from the laying on of the hands of Christ Himself.
And so with the office of the Apostles. If was the promise
of Christ the Lord that it should cphtinue to the end of the
world. It is not more sure that sun and moon, seedrtime
and harvest, will continue to the end pf the world ; and
though its succession be now in the hands pf very feeble q,nd
fallible men — of men unspeakably inferior to the Apostles in
every personal and official qualification ; yea^ though many
Iscariots be fpund under its awful responsibilities, the ipteg-
rity oi the office, aS essentially identical with that pf the Apos^
ties, is in no -wise affected."*
* Bishop McHvaine's Sermon, at the Consecration of Bishop Polk,
p. 17.

62 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRITURE.
Here then is a brief view of the argument for Episcopacy,
as derived from Scripture. We contend, indeed, that the
whole tenor of the Acts and the Epistles sustains the fact
of there being three orders in the ministry, and a degree of
authority committed to those of the first rank — whether you
call them Apostles or Bishops, is immaterial — which those of
the other two grades did not possess. Thus then the early
Church was constituted. Our Lord left not His flock without
its Chief-Shepherds. While ordinary priests and teachers were
appointed, there were also leaders in " the sacraraental host
of God's elect." And in that day the office of a Bishop was
often but a passport to the flames and the stake. It obliged
those who bore it to stand in .the very first rank, where trials
were to be encountered, and to endure a double portion of
painful sacrifices. They were to be "examples of suffering,
affliction, and of patience." And nobly did they fulfil the
high duties imposed upon them, treading in the footsteps of
their Master, even to prison and to death. The blood of her
martyred Bishops was the seed of the Church. They were
the first marks at which the enemy aimed, and therefore the
record of their cruel sufferings contains often the history of
those early persecutions which fell upon the fold. In bearing
the Cross loftily before the Christian host, they were worthy
successors of those Apostles whose office they had inherited.
When, therefore, these had passed away, bequeathing
their authority to others, have we a right to set it aside, as
no longer binding ? If the Episcopal form of government
was thus established in Apostolic days, can we depart from
it ? Are we not justified in cleaving to it, and insisting on
it, as it has been handed down to us for eighteen centuries ?
Yes — ^nothing can change the order of the ministry but a
new and direct revelation from Heaven. It can be done by
no huraan authority. We are contented then not to try
experiments in things which God hath settled. The well-
worn path is before us, and we will not wander from it.
If the Rechabites were blessed, because they reverenced
antiquity, and walked in the way which had been marked out
for them in distant ages,* is it not well for us, as a Christian
Church, to imbibe their steadfast and unchanging spirit.
f Jer. XXXV.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 6S
Two voices are striving to enlist our attention. The
one rises up from those around uS — the voice of this present
age, as, " emulous of change," it invites us to novelties, and
points out unnumbered paths, untried and unknown, in which
we are exhorted to walk. It is a fitful voice, ever varying,
ever altering its tones. The other falls calmly, yet solemnly,
upon the ear. It comes down from the years of a dim and
distant antiquity, and every generation has heard it, from
the first founding of the Church until now. It bids us cleave
to the faith of the Appstles and martyrs. Its accents are
unchanged from age to age. The former, is the voice of
erring, fickle man. The latter is the voice pf God. Which
shall we heed ?

III.
EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
Throufrhout the older world, slory and rite —
Throughout the new, skirting all clouds with gold...'
Through rise and fall, and destinies manifold
Of pagan empires — through the dreams and night
Of nature, and the darltness and the light,
StiU young lo hope, in disappointment old —
Through mists which fall'o humanity unfold.
Into the vast and viewless infinite,
Rises th' Eternal City of our God. The Cathedral.
In the Preface to our Form for the ordaining of Deacons is
this declaration — " It is evident unto all men, diligently read
ing Holy Scripture and ancient authors, that from the Apostles'
time there have been these three orders of ministers in
Christ's Church — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." — In the
last Lecture I took up the forraer of these points — the
argument derived from Holy Scripture — and endeavored to
show you, as well as the narrow limits of a single discourse
would admit, that every allusion there made to the form of
Church Government, proves that it must have been Episcopal
in its nature. On the present occasion, I propose to bring
forward the second argument here set forth in the declaration
of the Church — that derived from the testimony of Ancient
Authors. Let us unroll then the records of the past, and looking away
from the strifes and vain assertions of " this ignorant present
time," read the words of those who wrote in the early years
of our faith — who stood up within that circle of light which
shed its radiance over ihe Apostolic days — and whose works
have been bequeathed to us as a precious legacy, to tell how
these things were in the golden days when schism was un-

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. gg
known. In the dim twilight then of our knowledge, we
would -repeat that counsel which Bildad gave to Job — "In
quire, 1 pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to
the search of their fathers : (For we are but of yesterday,
and know nothing, because lur days upon earth are a sha
dow) : shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter
words out of their heart ?"*
The argument, then, to be presented is this : That all
writers ofthe first three centuries, who describe in any way
the condition of the Church, in every hint they give, and every
fact they state, show most plainly, that no niinistry was
known or recognized in that day, but the same three-fold or
ders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, which have continued
down even to us, in uninterrupted succession. And who are
these writers ? Men who were the companions and imme
diate successors of the Apostles — confessors and martyrs,
who poured forth their blood freely' for that faith in which
they had lived — men, whose voices were- heard proclaiming
the doctrines of the Cross in every strange land — whose
motto and principle of action was, that their Master must
inherit the earth — men, whose virtues were too heroic, and
their aims too lofty, to be fully comprehended in these de
generate days — and on the record of whose self-denying labors
we now look back as upon a vision of past beauty which has
faded from the earth, and for whose return -we scarcely dare
even to hope. Are their words^ then, as they come down to
us from those holy days, to be received only with doubts and
carping questions ?
And we think, too, that the very manner in which they
gave their testimony, increases its force. They wrote no
arguraents to prove the nature of the Apostolic ministry.
They set forth no elaborate proofs of the constitution of the
Church. These were truths which in that day none dis
puted, and no formail defence was therefore necessary. We
learn all these things incidentally, as they are brought for
ward in connection with other features of the Church, or
the ordinary instructions by which they sought to train up
in holiness the people of their charge. No writer in that
age thought of proving that the Church was governed by
* Chap. viu. 8, 9, 10.

66 EPISCOIACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
Bishops, any more than he did of establishing by argumeni
the fact that Rome was governed by an emperor, and the
provinces by governors who were under him. Both are merely
alluded to as established historical facts. If then they who
were cotemporary with the Apostles, and they who for three
centuries followed thera, all speak of the three orders of the
ministry as being defined and established in their day, may
we not — adding this to the testiraony of Scripture — ^believe
that it was the divinely constituted form which our Lord pre
scribed to His Church ?
Our first witness, then, is St. Cleraent. He was a fel
low-laborer of St. Paul, who had bestowed upon him the no
blest commendation language can frame. When writing to
the Philippians, the Apostle says — " Clement also, and other
my fellow-laborers, whose names are -in the Book of Life."
Having been appointed Bishop of Rome, he held that office
nearly ten years, until his martyrdom.* The single Epistle
of his which is still extant, wa.s written to the Corinthians,
and so highly was it esteemed in the early Church, that Eu
sebius (the Ecclesiastical Historian who wrote in the begin
ning ofthe fourth century) assures us, " it was universally
received by all," and indeed reverenced by them next to the
Holy Scriptures, and therefore " publicly read in most of the
Churches for comraon benefit, both in tiraes past and also in
his raemory."t The object of this Epistle is, to promote a
spirit of subordination araong those to whom he wrote, that
no one should intrude upon the office of such as were above
hira, but each in his own station discharge his appropriate
duties. The very language which he uses, and the compari--
Eons by which he illustrates his meaning, prove most fully
that in that day " God in His wise providence had appointed
divers Orders'in His Church.''^
For instance, he says — " Let us therefore march on, men
and brethren, with all earnestness, in His holy laws. Let
us consider those who fight under our earthly governors :
how orderly, how readily, and with what exact obedience
they perform those things that are commanded them ! All
are not prefects, nor tribunes, nor centurions, nor inferior
* Cave's Lives ofthe Fathers, vol i. p. 157. f ¦'-''b. ui. c. 16, 88.
{ Prayer in Office of Institution.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 67
tffleers; but every one in his respective rank does what is
commanded him by the king, and those who have the au
thority over him. They who are great cannot Subsist with
out those who are little, nor the little without the great.
But there must be a mixture in all ^things, and then there
will be use and profit too. Let us, for example, take our body
(1 Cor. xii. 13) : the head without therfeet is nothing, neither
the feet without the head. And even the smallest members
of our body are yet both necessary and useful to the whole
body. But all conspire together, and are subject to
one common life, namely, the preservation of the whole
body. Let,-th'Brefbre, our whole body be saved in Jesus
Christ ; and let every one be subject to his neighbor, accord
ing to the order in which he is placed by the gift of God."
(§ 37, 38.)
Again — ^he uses that comparison to the Jewish priest
hood, whioh was so common among the early writers — ¦
"God has ordained, by His supreme will and authority, both
where and by what persons they [that is. His services] are
to be performed  For the Chief Priest has his proper
services ; and to the Priests their proper place is appointed ;
and to the Levites appertain their proper ministries; and the
Layman is confined within the bounds of what is commanded
to Laymen. Let every one of you therefore, brethren, bless
God in his proper station, with a good conscience, and with
all gravity, not exceeding the rule of his service that is ap
pointed to him." (§ 40, 41 .) By this illustration he clearly
points out a three-fold ministry.
Again — -he declares most plainly that the Apostolic
office was not to cease with those ' who first held it, but to
descend to others also. " So Ukewise our Apostles knew by
our Lord Jesus Christ that there should contentions arise
about the name of the Bishopric. And therefore having a
perfect foreknowledge of this, they appointed persons, as we
befcfre said, and then gave direction how, when they should
die, other chosen and approved men should succeed in the
ministry." (§ 44.)
Our next witness is St. Ignatiils. He, as St. Chrysostom
tells us, was intimately conversant with the. Apostles,
educated and nursed up by them, and made partaker both of
their famiUar discourses, and more secret and uncommon

68 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
mysteries.* He was more particularly the disciple of St.
Jf>hn, and when fully instructed in the doctrines of Chris
tianity, was consecrated Bishop of Antioch, the metropolis
of Syria, and the most famous and renowned city of the East,
To this office he was ordained by the Apostles who were
then living, and continued to guide the Church through the
stormy period which followed, for the space of forty years,
thirty of which were passed in the first century, the age of
the inspired Apostles.-}- At length, at the age of 80, he was
arrested as a Christian, and refusing to deny that Lord in
whose service he had lived, was sent to Rome to be devoured
by wild beasts in the amphitheatre. On his way thither,
he stopped at Smyrna, and was thus allowed to see once
more his ancient fellow-disciple, St. Polycarp, the Bishop of
that city.
Touching indeed must have been the meeting of these
aged Christians, as thus, for the last time on earth, they be
held each other face to face. What hallowed recollections of
the past must have come thronging back upon them —
thoughts of the early friends who had already entered into
rest — memories of days when together they sat at the feet of
the last surviving Apostle, and learned those lessons of love
for a fallen race, which since they had acted out in their
long and toilsome ministry ! Had they been faithful to the
lofty trust which he bestowed upon them ? And were they
prepared for that dread account, which, fearful to any of our
Lord's ministers, must be doubly so to those who'are the over
seers of all ? Solemnly, too, must the future have opened
its vista before them, as these aged disciples of the Cross
communed with eaoh other. They were men " appointed
to death." With both, this dream of life was about to vanish
into eternity. One was rapidly approaching a death of
agony ; while the other, bowed down -with years, felt that the
shadows of the grave must soon be gathering about his path.
Did no regrets, then, itt this hour mingle with the musings
of Ignatius, as the past, with its long array of trials, rushed
back upon his mind, while coraing days held out no promise
but the pains of martyrdom ? Was there no shrinking frora
¦* Homil. in S. Ignat v. ii. p. 693.
f Cave's Lives of the Fathers, v. i. p. 179.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 69
"the bitter cup" — ^no clinging still to this decaying life ?
Did not nature's feebleness wring from the aged man the
prayer — " Spare me yet a little longer, that f may recover my
sirength, before I go hence, and be no more seen ?" No —
his lofty faith could triumph over all earthly evils. His
courage rose to a nobler elevation, as the day drew nigh, and
he could write to his sorrowing friends — " Now I begin to
be a disciple ; nor shall anything move me, whether visible
or ii'^visible, that I may attain to Jesus Christ. Let fire and
the Cross — ^let the companies of wild ieasts— -let breakings
of bones and tearing of members' — ^let the shattering in pieces
of the whole body — and all the wicked torments of the Devil
come upon me ; only let me enjoy Jesus Christ. All the ends
of the world, and the kingdoms of it, will Jnofit me nothing : I
would rather die for Jesus Christ, than rule to the utmost
ends of the earth  Suffer me to enter into pure light,
where being come, I shall be indeed the servant of God.
Permit me to imitate the passion of Christ, my God."*
It was while in this situation, and filled with such emo
tions, that Ignatius, when at Smyrna, wrote four epistles —
one to the Ephesians, one to tie Magnesians, one to the Tral
lians, and one to the Romans. Having once more resumed
his journey, while stoppings at Troas on his way, he added
three other Epistles — -to Polycarp, to the Philadelphians, and
to the Smymiansl These seven Epistles were collected by
St. Polycarp, and being highly prized in all ages of the
Church, have been carefully preserved, until they have come
down to our day. Here then is a witness who well knew the
divinely appointed form of Church government. What then
does he say on this point ? Why, his Epistles are filled with
incidental allusions to the Episcopal office and the three orders
ofthe ministry. We -will select a few of these as examples.
In his Epistle to the Ephesians, he testifies that in his
day — that is from the year 70 to the year 107 — ^Bishops were
estabUshed in all parts of the world, in accordance -tt'ith our
Lord's will. His words are — " For even Jesus Christ, our
insuperable life, is sent by the will of th e Father : as the
Bishops, appointed unto the utmost bounds of the tarth, aie by
the wiU of Jesus Christ." (M-)
* Epist. ad Rom. § 6, 6.

70 EPISCOPACY PKOVED FROM HISTORY.
And again-^" Wherefore it will become you to run to.
gether according to, the will of your Bishop, as also ye do.
For your famous Presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as ex
actly to the Bishop, as the strings are to the harp." (J 4.)
And in enforcing the duty of obedience, he says —
" Whomsoever the Master of the house sends to be over His
own household, we ought in like manner to receive him as
we would do Him that sent him. It is therefore evident, that
we ought to look upon the Bishop even as we would do upon
the Lord Himself" (^6.)
In his Epistle to the Magnesians are these passages :
" Seeing then I have been judged worthy to see you, by
Damas, your raost exceUent Bishop; and by your very
worthy Presbyters, Bassus and Apollonius ; and by my fellow
servant, Sotio the Deacon, in whom I rejoice, forasmuch as
he is subject unto his Bishop, as to the grace of God, and-to
the Presbytery, as to the law of Jesus Christ." (§ 2.)
" I exhort you, that ye study to do all things in a divine
concord: your £wA op presiding in the place of God; your
Presbyters in the place of the council of the Apostles ;_ and
your Deacons, most dear to me, being entrusted with the
ministry of Jesus Christ ; who was with the Father before
all ages, and appeared in the end to us." (§ 6.)
" Study therefore to be confirmed in the doctrine of onr
Lord, and of his Apostles, that so whatsoever ye do, ye may
prosper both in. body and spirit ; in faith and charity ; in the
Son, and in the Father, and in the Holy Spirit ; in the be
ginning, and in the end ; together with your most worthy
Bishop, and the well- wrought spiritual crown of your Pres
bytery ; and your Deacons, which are according to God. Be
subject to your BisAop." (§13.)
In the beginning of his Epistle to the Philadelphians, he
says that he salutes them, " especially if they are at unity
Avith the Bishop, and Presb^yters who are with him, and the
Deacons, appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ,
whom he has settled according to His own will in all firm
ness, by His Holy Spirit."
In the body of the Epistle, he utters a fearful sentence
against those who violate the unity of the Church. After
calling thera " wolves who seem worthy of belief, that with
a false pleasure lead captive those that run in the course oi

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 71
God," and " herbs which Jesus Christ does not dress," he
adds — "Be not deceived, brethren; if any one follows him
that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the
kingdom of God. If any one walks after any other opinion,
he agrees not ¦with the passion of Christ." (§ 3.)
And again — " I cried while I was among you ; I spake
with a loud voice— attend to the Bishop, and to the Presby
tery,- and to the Deacoris. . ...... Do nothing without the
Bishop." (§ 7.)
To the Smyrnians, he wrote — " See that ye all follow
your Bishop, as Jesus Christ, the Father ; and the Presby
tery, as the Apostles ; and reverence the Deacons, as the com
mand of God. Let no man do anything of what belongs to
the Church separately from the Bishop. Let that Eucharist
be looked upon as well established, which is either offered
by the Bishop, or by him to whom the Bishop has given his
consent. Wheresoever the Bishop shall appear, there let the
people also be ; as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic
Church." (§ 8.)
And in conclusion, he says — " I salute your very worthy
Bishop, and your venerable Presbytery, and your Deacons."
(§12.) In his Epistle to Polycarp, also, he thu^ through him ad
dresses the Church, of Smyrna — " Hearken unto the Bishop,
that God also may hearken unto you. My soul be security
for them that submit to their Bishop, with their Presbyters and
Deacons." (§ 6.)
Again — ^he exhorts the Trallians — " He that is within the
altar, is pure; but he that is -without, that is, that does any
thing without the Bishop, and Presbyters, and Deacons, is not
pure in his conscience." (§ 7.)
Such then is the character of all the allusions made by
Ignatius, and testimony like this to the existence of the three
orders of the ministry might be much increased from his
Epistles. We will give, however, but one more extract. It
is from the Epistle to the Trallians, where he says — " In
like manner, let all reverence the Deacons, as Jesus Christ ;
and the Bishop, as the Father ; and the Presbyters, as the
Sanhedrim of God, and the College of the Apostles. Without
these there is no Church." (§ 3.) Now, mark this expres
sion. St. Ignatius, who personally knew the Apostles, after

72 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
mentioning the three orders of the ministry, declares—
Without THESE there is no Church. And hewas one,
cotemporary with the immediate disciples of our Lord. Yet
in' this day we are told, that it is not necessary to retain the
Apostolic Constitution of the ministry, and are ridiculed be
cause we cleave steadfastly to it, following in the steps of
these ancient martyrs. But who — we appeal to your reason
— who was most likely to know what was necessary to t^e
constitution of a Church — Ignatius, who had been a disciple
of St. John, and ^gathered instruction from his holy lips, or
those who in the nineteenth century, having separated, from
the Church, hesitate not to pronounce its Apostolic ministry
"a cunningly devised fable?" If, indeed, instead of _ the
mass of testimony before us, we had nothing but the Epistles
of this single writer, they would be amply sufficient to prove
the existence of Episcopacy in the days of the Apostles.*

* With regard to the genuineness and authenticity of these Epis
tles, we would observCf that several ancient ¦writers^ — such as Irenaeus,
a disciple of Polycarp, Origen, who was born in the latter part of
the second centiiry, and Eusebius, the Ecclesiastical Historian — all
possessed copies of the works of Ignatius, and the quotations they
made agree ¦with passages now found in our versions of them. Bishop
Pearson, in his Vindieia Epistolarum Ignatii, and John Daille, in hfe
De Scriptis quce sub Dionysii Areop. et Ignatii Antioch. nominibus
circumferuntur, have fully asserted their clauns. Grotius, a Presby
terian (as quoted by Pearson, chap, v.), ¦nnriting to Vossius, says —
"The Epistles of Ignatius, which your son brought out of Italy, pure
from all those things which the learned have hitherto suspected, Blon
del -will not admit, because they afford a clear testimony to the antiqm-
ty of Episcopacy" Even Mosheim allows — Perhaps there woiild be
no contention witlf most persons about the Epistles of Ignatius, if
those who contend for the divine origin and antiquity of Episcopal
government had not been enabled to support their cause -with them."
De rebus Christianis ante Consiantinum, p. 160.
Presbyterians always endorse Ignatius, except when he proves
Episcopacy. Thus, Dr. Miller of Princeton, when arguing on the minis
try, finds Ignatius to be un^svorthy of any credit. When wishing, how
ever, to prove the behef of the Early Church in the divinity of our
Lord, he discovers that the disciple of St. John is excellent a".Hhority.
Hia recorded testimony therefore stands thus : —

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 73
The next testimony we shall cite is that of St. Polycaip,
who has been already mentioned as the fellow disciple of
Ignatius. After having been cotemporary with the Apostles
for forty years, and filled the' office of Bishop of Smyrna (to
which he was ordained by St. John) for more than half a
century, he suffered martyrdom in the year 147, being then
eighty-six years old. We have but one letterof his remain
ing. The Philippians had requested him to send them the
Epistles of Ignatius, which he did, adding to them an Epistle
of his own, beginning with these words — " Polycarp and
the P^Kesbyters that are with him, to the Church of God which
is at Philippi." This Epistle is chiefly valuable, because it
contains an entire endorsement Pf aU that Ignatius had
asserted. His words are — " The Epistles of Ignatius,
which he wrote unto us, together with what others of his
have come into our handsj we have sent unto you, according
to your order, which are subjoined to this Epistle ; by
which ye may be' greatly profited, for they treat of faith and
patience, and of all things that pertain to edification in the
Lord Jesus." ( § 13.) Did not then St. Polycarp believe
Episcopacy to be a divine institution? Unless such had
been his views, no earthly consideration would have induced
him thus openly and decidedly to have recorded his approval
of Epistles which so plainly set forth as binding upon all
men, the three orders of the ministry.
LETTERS ON THE MINISTRY. itKITERS ON UNITAKIANISM.
"That even -the 'Shorter Epis- "The- great body of learned
ties' of Ignatius are unworthy of men consider the smaller Epistles
confidence, as the genuine. Works of of Ignatius as, in the main, the
the Fatherwhosename they bear, fe real works of the ¦writer whoso
the opinion of many of the ablest name they bear." p. 1^2.
and best judges in the Protestant
world." p. 150.
" Intelligent readers are no " I do not idmit that the most
- doubt aware, that the genuineness learned and able of the critics
oftheEpistles of Ignatius has been reject as spurious the seven
called in question by a great ma- shorter Epistles of this Father."
jority of Protestant divines, and fe Letter on the Sternal Sonship of
not only really but deeply ques- . Christ.
tionable." Essay on the office of
Ruling Elder.

74 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTOKY.
The next witness from whom we shall cuote is St. Iie-
naus. He was a disciple of Polycarp, and bom about the
time of St. John's death. Mosheim speaks ojf his works as
being " a splendid monument of antiquity."* Listen to his
plain declaration with regard to this historical fact-»-" We
can reckon up those whom the ¦ Apostles ordained to be
Bishops in the several Churches, and who they were that
succeeded them, down to our own times  For the
Apostles desired to have those in all things perfect and un-
reprovable, whom they left to be their successors, and to
whom they committed their own Apostolic authority. We
have the successions of Bishops, to whom the Apostolic
Church in every place was committed. All these [viz. the
heretics] are much later than the Bishops to whom the Apos
tles did deliver the Churches."^\
"The "true knowledge is the doctrine of the Apostles,
and the ancient state of the Church throughout the whole
world, and the character of the body of Christ according to
the succession of Bishops to whom they committed the Church
that is in every place, and which has descended even unto us.".X
And he afterwards adds, with regard to those who in
herited the Apostolic office^" With the succession of their
Episcopacy, they have the sure gift of truth, according to
the good pleasure of the Father."
We will bring forward the testimony of but one more
witness. It is that of TertuUian — the most eminent Latin
scholar of his day — who lived at the end of the second cen
tury. In his work, De Prcescrip. Hcereticorum, when
arguing against those who had wandered from the faith, he
says — "Let them produce the original of their Churches;
let them show the order of their Bishops, that by their suc
cession, deduced fro^m the beginning, we may see whethei
their first Bishop had any of the Apostles, or Apostolical
raen, who did likewise persevere with the Apostles, for his
ordainer and predecessor : for thus the Apostolical Churches
do derive their succession ; as the Church of Srayrna from
Polycarp, whom John the Apostle placed there ; the Church
of Rome from Clement, who was in like manner ordained
* Eccles. Hist. v. i. p. 146. f Adv. Hieres. 1. iii. a 4.
X Ibid. 1 iv. c 6.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE. 75
by Peter ; and so the other Churches can produce those con
stituted in their Bishoprics by the Apostles." ( c. 32. )*
And thus we might go on, age after age, and multiply
¦* We can show from two early ¦writers how carefully the Church
in that day preserved — as TertuUian here states — the succession of
the Bishops in the different sees. Thus Irenaeus says, " seeing that it
b very long, in such a volume as this to enumerate the succession o]
Bishops in all the Churches" he will give, as an example, that of Rome.
which he does in these words : —
" The blessed Apostles, therefore, founding and instructing the
Church, [of Rome,] delivered to Linus the administration of its Bish
opric : Paul makes mention of this Linus in his Epistles to Timothy.
To him succeeded Anacletus ; after whom, in the third place from the
Apostles, Clement had the Bishopric allotted to him. He had seen
the blessed Apostles, ^nd was conversant with them ; and as yet he
had the preaching of the Apostles sounding in his ears, and then-
tradition before his eyes : and not he alone, for at that time there
were many yet remaining alive, who had been taught by the Apostlea
To this Clement succeeded Evarestus, and to Evarestus, Alexander ;
and then Xystus was appointed the sixth from the Apostles ; and
after him Telesphorus, who suffered a glorious martyrdom ; after hun,
Hyginus ; then Pius ; after him, Anicetus. And Soter having suc
ceeded Anicetus, Eleutherus now has the Bishopric, in the twelfth
place from the Apostles. By this order and succession, that tradition
which is from the ApostleS, and the preaching of the truth, is descend
ed unto us." Adv. Sceres. lib. iiL ch. 3.
In the same way, Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, in his
Church History, -written about the time of the council of Nice, a. d.
826, gives the successions of the four Patriarchal Sees, of Rome, Alex
andria, Jerusalem, and Antioch, from the beginning do-mi to the year
305. These he copied from the archives and records of the different
Churches, which were extant in his day, but have since been lost. We
are told, indeed, that by the express command of the Emperor, all
these public registers throughout the Roman empire were laid open
to him, "and out of these materials he principally compiled his
Ecclesiastic History." ( Cav^s lAvesof the Fathers, v. ii. p. 1 35.) The
same hsts are given by other -writers, so as to render the facta
¦with regard to the succession in the primitive Church, indisput
able. There was also in that day a library at jElia which was founded
by Alexander the Bishop ¦ there, which has since been destroyed
" From this" — says Eusebius — " we have also been able to collect
materials for our present work." ( Secies. Hist. lib. vi. chap. 2 J.)

76 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
3ur witnesses to this truth. The writings of Hegesippus,
Polycrates, Dionysius of Coiinth,* Clement of Alexandria,
Origen, Cyprian, Optatus, Ephrem Syrus, and that code of
laws called " The Apostolical Canons," are all equally clear
and distinct in their assertion of the truth, that through all
those ages the Episcopal form of government was the only
one existing in the Church.t So evident, indeed, was the
pre-eminence of the Bishops, that even the heathen were
well aware of the fact. Thus, when the Emperor Maximinus
commenced his persecution against the Christians, we are
told by Eusebius, that " be commanded at first only the
Archontes, 01 chief rulers of the Churches to be slain." J
And St. Cyprian tells Antoninus, that so great was the ha
tred of the Emperor Decius against the Christians, that " he
could have heard with greater patience that another prince
had set himself up as a rival in the empire, than that a
Bishop should have been settled in the city of Rome."§ The
historian Gibbon is forced to admit the existence of Episco
pacy even in the apostolic days. His words are — "The
Episcopal form of government .... appears to have been
introduced before the close of the first century." " It had
acquired in a very early period the sanction of antiquity."
" Nulla ecclesia sine Episcopo, ( no Church without a
Bishop,) has been a fact as well as a maxim since the time
of TertuUian and Irenseus." He acknowledged, that " after
we have passed the difficulties of the first century" — which
* The -writings of these three authors have perished, and must be
included among those ancient records used' by Eusebius, which are
now lost to the world. We receive, however, their testimony on the
subject of the government of the early Church, from the extracts he
has incorporated in his own history. Hegesippus in the second cen
tury -wrote a history of the Church from the beginning to his o-wn
day, and having travelled extensively, speaks of the Bishops presiding
in the different countries he had visited. (Euseb. L iv. c. 8, 22.) For
the testunony of Polycrates, see Euseb. 1. v. c. 24. — and for tbat of
Dionysius, Euseb. 1. iv. c. 23.
-|- And yet with all this array of testimony before him, (for we
have only given a mere specimen,) Dr. Miller cf Princeton can say,
they refer us to some vague suggestions and- alhsions of c few of the
early fathers." . Letters on ihe Ministry, p. 50.
X Eccles. Hist 1. vi. c. 28. § Epist. 66.

episcopacy proved from history. 77
would be before .he death of St. John — " we flnd the Epis
copal government universally established, until it was inter
rupted by the republican genius of the Swiss and German
reformers."* The skeptical' historian found in truth, when
he sat down to sketch the progress of our faith in that early
day, that the history of Christianity was the history of Epis
copacy. To have drawn the picture of our religion in the
first three centuries, yet without admitting the government
of Bishops, would have been as easy as to have given a view
of Imperial Rome in the ages of her " Decline and Fall,"
without making any mention of her Emperors. The Church
with her three-fold ministry met him at every step. From
the very first they were inseparable, and coiiH not be dis
severed. God had "joined them together," and man could
not " put them asunder." Regarding them simply as
historical facts, we have the same evidence of the existence
of Episcopacy throughout the Church in primitive times,
that we have of the use of baptism, or the weekly reception
of the Eucharist.t
¦* Decline and Pall, ch. xv.
-f Palmer in his HVeatise on the Church (v. i. pp. 392-4) shows the
uniform practice with respect to ordination by Bishops only, and tho
decision which -was at once made -with regard to the invalidity of this
rite by Presbyters only. " We find several instances in which such
ordinations were declared null, but not a single case has been adduced
in which they were reaUy allowed. In 324, the council of all the
Egyptian Bishops assembled at Alexandria under Hosius, declared
null and void the ordinations performed by CoUuthus, a Presbyter of
Alexandria, who had separated from his Bishop, and pretended to act
as a Bishop-himself. (Athanas. Oper. t. L p. 193.) .In 340, the Egyp-
" tian Bisliops, in theur defence of St. Athanasius, alluding to Ischyras,
who pretended to be a priest, said, 'Whence, then, was Ischyras a
Presbyter ? Who was hfe ordainer f Colluthus ?. For this only re-
mams. But it is known to all aud doubted by no one, that Colluthus
died a Presbyter ; that hfe hands were without authority ; and that
all who were ordained by him in time of the schism, were reduced to
the state of laymen, and as such attend the Church assemblifes." (Ibid.
p. 134.).  Epiphanius refutes the doctrine of Aerius, observing,
that Bishops beget fathers of the Church by ordmation. Presbyters
beget sons only by baptism, and concludes, ' How can he constitute a
Presbyter, who has no right to ordain him by imposition of hands !'
(Epiph. Hceres. 75. 0; er. 1 1 p. 908.) ...... "So difficulties mduced

78 EPUCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
And this continued to be the case for fifteen hundred
years : for until the Reformation in the sixteenth century
there is no evidence of the existence of any religious com
munity, without a Bishop and Episcopal government. At
this time it was, when old customs and rites were broken
up, and the restless desire was created to make all things new,
that the many parties whioh we see in the Christian world
took their rise. The Chnrch at that period being- deformed
by the corruptions which had gradually gathered around
her as the Middle Ages went by, there was a natural wish
in the minds of men to restore her to Apostolic purity. Yet
in this, as is often the case in other things, they ran to the
opposite extreme. Among the reforraers on the continent,
the reason let loose from its thraldom, indulged in the strang
est extravagances. The followers of Luther, Melancthon,
Zuinglius, and Calvin, differed widely, but looked only to their
own private views as their guides. And the result was, that
instead of retaining what was primitive and apostolic in the
Church — retaining in fact the Church herself, relieved from
all corruptions— they abandoned every ancient landmark.
Thus the expedient was at last resorted to, of forming a ne-w
Church and a hew rainistry of their own, and their followers,
to defend its validity, have been obliged since that tirae to
take the ground that Episcopal ordination is not necessary,
and that but one order of ministers is required. The door
being thus" thrown widely open, unnumbered sects arose,
each modelled after its particular leader, as he happened to
give a prominence to some single doctrine of his creed ; and
these, or their offspring, form that " mixed multitude " which
encircle the camp of the true Israel as it journeys through
the wilderness.
That the Beformers at first intended to separate from
the Church we do not believe. This step grew out of occur-
the Church to break through this rule. Never do we read, even in
the height of the Arian persecutions, of any attempt to supply the
necessities of the Churches by means of Presbyterian ordinations ; no,
not though it was held that in a time of such necessity, all the ordi^
nary rules might be dispensed with. Even when the Vandals exiled
the whole body of the Afriom Bishops to the number of nearly BOO,
(Fleury. Hist. Eccl. lib. xxx § 7,) we read of no attempt to deviate
from the universal rule."

EPISCOPACY PROVED FRtM HISTORY. . 79
rences which they could not have foreseen. The storm they
had raised was indeed beyond all human control, aud the
whirlwind swept them along with it in its course. They
had called forth the passions of men, and taken off every
restraint from spiritual freedom, and who had power to say —
" Thus far and no farther shaSt thou gt ? " The successive
steps too taken by the court of Rome, at last rendered an
accomraodation impossible, and placed the Lutherans under
the ban of interdict, as heretics, whose company the faithful
were commanded to avoid. " It would be, therefore, a great
mistake to suppose that Luther or his party designed to effect
a reformation in the Church ; they were driven entirely by
the force of circumstances to adopt the course they did. It
was not premeditated or desired by them., They would
have widely altered the Lutheran systera, which was a
merely temporary arrangement, if by so doing they could
have recovered the -communion of the Church. But the
opposition of the Roman See thwarted these designs ; the
Council of Trent rendered them still more difficult ; and, in
tirae, the Lutherans forgot that their systera was merely
provisional, pretended to justify it as ordinary and sufficient,
and lost their desire for accommodation with the Roman and
German Churches." *
* Palmer's Treatise on ihe Church, v. i. p. 341. See this point
proved in Part. i. ch. 12, seel, 2. — It was a favorite remark of Napoleon,
that " no man who commenced a revolution, knew where he was going "
— and the statement is as true of moral and religious, as of pohtical
changes. It is, we think, an error to regard Luther so entirely as
creating and moulding the opinions of hfe age, or by any means con-
templatmg the extent to which he himself would be carried. He was
the Uving development — the speaking voice — of that deep feeling
which pervaded all classes of society, and Which would eventuaUy
have found utterance and produced a reformation, had Luther never
existed. The opposition to the Romish Church in France, commenced
before the name of Luther had been heard in that country. Of course,
after he had taken the bold stand into which he was driven, his reac
tion upon the people was as great as their action upon him. He
presented a centre of unity, and gave direction and aim to their efforts.
But no one can thoughtfully read his Ufe, -without perceiving, that
instead of leading hfe generation, he was himself borne forward by the
beaving-j of the mighty mass beneath him.

80 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
The Reformers fully realised the difficulty of their posi
tion, and the necessity of Episcopacy to constitute a Church
or a valid ministry. We accordingly find in their writings,
repeated declarations in favor of this form «f government,
and even the distinct acknowledgment of its divine authority.
They arrayed theraselves, not against this power itself, but
against the abuse of it in the Rpraish Church.
Thus in the Confession of Augsburg, (pars. i. art. 22,)
"which Melancthon drew up, holding consultation all the
while with Luther," * it says of Bishops — " The Churches
ought, necessarily, and jure divino, to obey them." ....
" The Bishops might easily retain their legitimate obedience,
if they -ivould not urge us to observe traditions which cannot
be kept with a good conscience  There is no design
to deprive the Bishops of .their anthority, but this only is
sought, that the Gospel be permitted to be purely taught,
and a few observances be relaxed." And in .the Articles of
Smalcand, "drawn up in German by Luther, in his own
acrimonious style," -j- in denouncing the supremacy assumed
by the Pope, he says — " The Church can never be better
governed and preserved, than when we all live under one
Head, Jesus Christ, and all Bishops, equal in office, though
unequal in gifts, are most perfectly united in diligence, con
cord of doctrine, &c  The Apostles were equal, and
afterwards the Bishops in all Christendom, until the Pope
raised his head above all." (pars. ii. art. 4.)
In the same strain Melancthon always wrote. In the
Apology for the Augsburg Confession, which he drew up,
he says — " We have oft protested, that we do greatly approve
the ecclesiastical polity and degrees in the Church, and as
much as lieth in us, do desire to conserve them. We do
not mislike the authority of Bishops — we do here protest
that we would willingly preserve the ecclesiastical polity —
that it may not be imputed to us, that the authority of
Bishops is overthrown by us."
Again he says — "I would to God it lay in rae to restore
the governraent of Bishops. For I see what manner of
Church we shall have, the ecclesiastical polity being dis- ,
solved. I do see that hereafter will grow up a greater
tyranny in the Church, than there ever was before."
* Mosheim's Eccles. Hist v. iii. p. 49. \ Ibid. p. 64.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. gj
Once more he asks — *'By what right or law may we
dissolve the ecclesiastical polity, if the Bishops will grant us
that which in reason they ought to grant ? And if it were
lawful for us so to do, yet surely it were not expedient.
Luther was ever of this opinion."
Beza, in his treatise against Saravia, says — " If there
are any, (which you shall hardly persuade me to believe,)
who reject the whole order of Episcopacy, God forbid that
any man of a sound mind should assent to the madness of
such men."
We will quote the opinions of but one other of that age.
Among those who are now reverenced by the opposers of
Episcopacy, there is no name stands higher than that of
Calvin. Yet listen to his testimony. In his commentary
on Titus (chap. i. v. 5) he says — " At this time " (that is, in
the time of Titus) " there was no equality among the ministers
3/ the Church, but some_ one in authority and council had the
pre-eminence." Again, he declares^" To every Bishop was committed
the government of kis own clergy, that they should rule
their clergy according to the Canons, and hold them to their
duty." *
" In the solemn assembly, the Bishops had a certain
apparel whereby they might be distinctly known from other
Priests. They ordered all Priests and Deacons with only
laying on of hands. But every Bishop, with the company
of Priests, ordained his own Priests."^f
In his Book, De Necess. reformand. Eccles. he has these
words — "Let them give us such an hierarchy, in which
Bishops may be so above the rest, as they refuse not to be
under Christ, and depend upon Him as their only Head ; that
they maintain a brotherly society, &c. If there be any that
do not behave themselves with all reverence and obedience
towards them, there is no anathema, but I confess them
worthy of it."t But especiaUy is his opinion of Episcopacy
showr. by a letter, which he and Bullinger, and other learned
men, wrote in 1549 to King Edward VI., offering to make
him (heir Defender, and to have Bishops in their Churches,
* Ijistit Ub 4. ch. 12. -|- Ibid. ch. 4.
t Stryne's Life of Archbfehop Parker, p. 140.
4*

82 EPISCOPACY PROVED PROM HISTORY.
as there were in England. Unfortunately, this letter fell into
the hands of the Romish Bishops. The follpwing account of
it was found among the papers of Archbishop Parker —
- "And whereas John Calvin had sent a letter in King
Edward the Vlth's reign, to have conferred with the clergy
of England about some things to this effect, two Bishopsj
viz., Gardiner and Bonner, intercepted the sarae ; whereby
Mr. Calvin's overture perished. And he received an answer,
as if it had been from the reformed Divines of those times,
wherein they checked him and slighted his proposals : from
which tirae John Calvin and the Church of England were at
variance in several points ; which otherwise through God's
mercy had been qualified, if those papers of his proposals
had been discovered unto the Queen's Majesty during John
Calvin's life. But being not discovered until or about the
sixth year of her Majesty's reign, her Majesty much lamented
they were not found sooner : which she expressed before her
Council at the same time, in the presence of her great
friends, Sir Henry Sidney, and Sir William Cecil.*
Such then were the opinions of the Reformers on the
Continent — the fathers of Presbyterianism. But borne along
by the current, they at length violated their own declared
principles and clear convictipps of duty. Like John Wesley
in modern times, impatient of the movings of Providence,
tliey could not wait God's tirae, and therefore rushed into
opeh schism, and cut themselves off from the Church. And
now, for three hundred years, the world has been reaping
the bitter fruits of the harvest which they sowed. Strife
and dissension, and every form of error, prevail among their
followers, and in the lands where once they preached
scarcely a trace of their spirit reraains. "The first loss
drew all others after it. Although the full declension was
not seen at once, the mystical, moral, and doctrinal systems
perished together. They lingered on as bodies of which the
organic frame is maimed ; and they died rather by a natural
than by a mysterious law. Even after their virtual extinc
tion as Christian Churches, there was, as in the corpse ofthe
dead, a lingering warrath, which made a mocking promise
of life ; till that too fled, and they were left in the cold torpor
of heresy or unbelief't
» Ibid. p. 14.'. i Manring's Unity of the Church, p. 286.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 83
From this melancholy picture of inconsistency, and spir
itual desolation, we turn with gratitude to England, where
the principles by which they were guided, and the end at
tained, were all so widely different. There, the Reforma
tion left the whole Church, with its three-fold rainistry of
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, unimpaired. Bowing to no
mere human opinions, when the views of Luther, Calvin, aud
Arminius, were quoted to turn her from the truth, she had a
ready answer at hand, and a higher authority to quote —
" Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are these?"
With a careful hand the errors of doctrine and practice which
had crept in, were removed, but nothing was touched which
could injure the integrity of the Church. The venerable
edifice itself was left unaltered. The dust which had settled
upon it, obscuring the beauty of its architecture, was swept
away — the deforming additions which the hand of man had
made, were cut ofi^ — and then, it stood forth as it was in
primitive times, iii its ancient freshness and beauty. The
order of her ministry was not interfered with — all that was
pure and ancient in her Liturgy was retained — and from her
we have derived the succession of Bishops and the Apostolic
ministry. Through her, therefore, we can trace back our
orders to the days of the Apostles, and feel that we receive
from them that authority by which we minister at the ahar.
This, then, is the simple historical account of the Refor
mation of our branch of the Church, and the origin of those
who now declare, that but one order of ministers is necessary,
and that Presbyters have power to ordain. They date back
only for the last three hundred years. It was in 1594 —
before the changes produced by the Reformation had sub
sided into quiefness — that the learned Hooker, while he
rejoiced at the happy lot of his own Church in England, as
he heard the assertions made by those on the Continent who
discarded Episcopal government, that their own form was
Drimitive, issued to them this challenge — " A very strange
thing sure it were, that such a discipline as ye speak of
should be taught by Christ and His Apostles, in the word
of God, and no Church ever have found it out, nor received
it till this present time ; contrariwise, the government against
which ye bend yourselves be observed everywhere ihrough-
put all genei ations and ages of the Christian world, no

81 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY
Church ever perceiving the word of God to be against it.
We require you to find out but one Church upon the face of
the whole earth, that hath been ordered by your discipline, or hath
not been ordered by ours, that is to say, by Episcopal
regiment, sithence the time that ihe blessed Apostles were here
conversant."* This challenge has never yet been answered, and it is
on this point that we rest our argument. If for the first 1500
years no Church can be shown without Episcopal govern
ment, then what authority had any, at the end of that tirae,
to forra a new rainistry of their own, setting aside that de
rived in uninterrupted succession from the Apostles ?-[-
¦* Preface to Eccles. Pohty, sect. 4.
f There are two excuses generally made by the foUowers of the
Continental Beformers for thfe step. The first is that of necessity —
their inability to procure orders from regularly ordained Bishops.
We wiU answer thfe plea in the words of Bishop Whittingham : —
" It will not be denied .that Luther was virtuaUy in possession of
Episcopal jurisdiction, at Wittemberg, after 1526 ; and Calvin, at
Geneva, after 1541. They needed but to obtain the order, tb 6ec"re
the Apostolical succession at least  Could they have obtained
the order ?
" I As to LuTHEE. Several Bishops are knoiivn to have been favor
able to ' the new learnmg,' and to its founder personally : e. g., George
Polentius, Bishop of Sambia, in 1524; his successor, Paul Speratus,
1530 ; (Wernsdorf. Program, de Anhaltinorum in Ref meritfe. p. 1. s.) ;
Matthew, Bishop of Bantzig, who -wrote to Luther in terms of strong
affection, and sent him a present, in 1529 ; (Luther's Briefe. Ep. 1110,
ed. De Wette. III. 462) ; Matthew Jagovius, Bishop of Bradenburg ;
(the Diocesan of Wittemberg) ; the Archbishop of Salzburg, who
preceded Ernest ; (accessit, 1340) ; and Herman, the famous reforniir^
Archbishop of Cologne, of whose Uturgical labors so much use bas
been made in some of the offices of the English Church. It is hard
to beUeve, that if due anxiety had been felt, and proper measures
taken, the Episcopal succession might not have been obtained for the
Lutheran communion from some one or more of these prelates.
" II. As to Calvin. Peter Paul Vergerio, Bishop of Capo d'Istria,
and more than once Papal nuncio, went over to the Reformed about
1548. His brother, also a Bishop, foUowed him. Spifame, Bfehop
of Nevers. became a Protestant in 1557. He was employed in im
portant negociatioris, and was in Geneva about that time. He was
called t-) be 'minfetre' at Lyons, in 1561. (Bayle, Art. Spifame.) Jo.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 85
We will briefly mention one fact more. The reply com
monly made to us is, that our evidence comes through the
Church of Rome, and that this form of government is one
of the corruptions introduced by her. We l\ave, however,
shown you, we think, most fully, that it existed in the ear
liest age, when the Bishop of Rome had no more authority
than any other Bishop in Catholic Christendom. But suppose
that a Church should now be discovered in sorae secliided
corner ofthe world, which had been founded by the Apos
tles, and since their day remained cut off from other
Churches, and without ever having heard of the Church of
Rome; would you not consider their evidence as to the
form of government handed down to them from the Apostles,
to be a conclusive argument on this point ? Yet precisely
such an instance we have. When, in the sixteenth century,
the Portuguese visited Southern India, they were agreeably
surprised to find, on the coast of Malabar, a Christian nation,
with upwards of a hundred Churches. But when they be
came acquainted -with the simplicity and purity of their
worship, they were offended. " These Churches," said they,
"belong to the Pope." " Who is the Pope?" said fhe
natives : " we never heard of him." The tradition handed
down among them, was, that their Church had been founded
by St. Thomas. They had-always raaintained the order and
discipline of Episcopal jurisdiction, and for 1300 years past
Anth. CaraccioU, Bfehop of Troyes, publicly embraced Protestantism
in 1561. He offered to resign to the people, but was re-elected and
re-ordained. (Bayle, Art. CaraccioU.)" Ifote to Palmer's Treatise on
the GhurchiY. i. p. 855.
The probahiUty fe, that Calvin, being disheartened by the repulse
he supposed he had received from the Church of England, resigned
himself to circumstances, ¦without making any further effort.
The second excuse made for the Reformers is, ihe corruption of the
Church. But was it not rather their duty — as was done in'England —
to labor in the Church for its reform ? When the ancient prophets
were forced to cry, " Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth I" did
they ever think oi going out from their people, and establishing a new
nation, to serve God in greater purity ! The Reformers, indeed, have
given a mournful illustration of that declaration made-by Irenseus,
with regard to the heretics of hfe time — " Jfo correction can be made
by them so great as fe the mfechief of schfem." Adv. Hceres. Ub.iv. c. S3,

66 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
had enjoyed a succession of Bishops, appointed by the
Patriarch of Antioch. " We" — said they—" are of the true
faith, whatever you from the west may be ; for we come
from the place where the followers of Christ were first called
Christians." Refusing to subscribe to the tenets of the Church of
Rome, or to exchange for her toim of service the pure
liturgy they had inherited, persecution was commenced, and
some of their clergy seized, and devoted to death as heretics.
They were accused of the following practices and opinions,
— which are, in truth, some of the points on which we also
differ frora the Church of Rome — " that they had married
wives ; that they owned but two Sacraments, Baptism and
the Lord's Supper ; that they neither invoked Saints, nor
worshipped Images, nor believed in Purgatory ; and that
they had no other orders or names of dignity in the Church,
than Bishop, Priest, and Deacon." The Churches on the
sea-coast were thus compelled to acknowledge the supremacy
of the Pope ; but they still refused to pray in Latin, and in
sisted on retaining their .o-wn language and liturgy. " This
point" — they said — "they would only give up with their
lives." The Pope therefore compromised with thera :
Menezes altered their liturgy, but they retained their Syriac
language, and have a Syriac college unto this day. These
are called the Syro-Roman Churches^ and are principally
situated on the sea-coast. Not so however with those in
the interior. They refused to yield to Rome — proclaimed
eternal war against the Inquisition — hid their books — fled
to the mountains, and sought the protection of the Native
Princes, who had always been proud of their alliance.
Two centuries then elapsed without any definite infor
mation being received of their situation, and it even began
to be doubted whether they were still in existence. In 1806,
however. Dr. Buchanan in his missionary travels again found
them in the interior, there in poverty and purity maintain
ing their faith in the seclusion of the wilderness. The
chain of their Episcopal rainistry was still unbroken, their
discipline was orderly, and their Scriptural liturgy pure
from the corruptions of Rome. He thus relates part of a
jonversation which he had with one of their Bishops.
' Jhe Bishop was desirpus to kno-vv something of the gther

' EPISCO.'ACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 87
Churches which had.separated from Rome. I was ashamed
to tell him how many they were. I mentioned, that there
was a Kasheesha or Presbyter Church in our own Kingdom,
in which every Kasheesha was equal to another. ' Are there
no Shumshanas ? ' ( Deacons in holy orders.) None. ' And
what, is there nobody to overlook the Kasheeshas ? ' Not
one. ' There raust be something imperfect there,' said he."*
It was, you perceive,, a matter of surprise to him, that a
Church could exist without a Bishop, and he justly con
sidered it as wanting the marks of its Apostolicity. Here
hen is an argument coming down from Primitive days in a
different channel.
Such then, brethren, is the historical evidence. We ask,
therefore, if these three orders have not been in the Church
from the very beginning, when were they introduced ? This
is a question which those opposed to us have never yet an
swered. We are told, in general terms, that at first all
ministers were of equal rank and power in the Church, but
at some -period — when they know not — some managed to
usurp authority, and thus arose the prder of Bishops, and the
Episcopal government. -(- And yet on the page of Ecclesi-
* Buchanan's Christian Researches in Asia, pp. 69-71, 84. Edit. |
New-York, 1812.
f The only -writer to whom they can pretend to refer, is Jierome,
a few sentences from whose works they endeavor to construe in their
favor. In hfe Epistle to Eoagrius, he says — " I hear that one was so
impudent as to rank Deacons before Presbyters, that is. Bishops. Now
the Apostle plainly declares the same to be Presbyters, who also are
Bishops." In his Comment on Titus, i. 7, he writes — " The same there
fore is a Presbyter, who also isa Bishop: for before bythe instigation
of the De-vil, parties were formed in religion, and it was said by the
people, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, the Churches
were governed by the council of Presbyters. But after some began
to consider those which he had baptized to be his own, not Christ's, it
was decreed throughout the whole world, that one he elected who
should be put over the rest of the Presbyters. ,  By degrees,
(paulatim,) tiiat every sprout of dissension might be rooted out, aU
the authority was conferred upon one alonfe."
I. Let us, then, examine this passage, and we shall find it proves
nothing against us. He says — 1st. " The same were Presbyters, who
also were Bishops." This he himself afterwards explains when he

88 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
astical history it is irapossible to point to a single trace of
this great change. And would the Church, which contend
ed so earnestly with regard to the day of celebrating Easter,
or the reiteration of the baptism of heretics, have passed it
over in total silence ? Every minute heresy — every varying
shade of opinion which arose, is fully dwelt upon by tha
adds — " Because in the Bishop the Presbyter is contained. We are
advanced from the less to the greater." 2d. When does he say the
change took place ? " When people said, I am of Paul, Ac." — that is,
in the very days of the Apostles. 3d. He asserts, that fixed Bishops
were introduced " by degrees" — thfe is exactly in accordance with tbe
Episcopal theory. As the Church extended, the Apostles could not
personally superintend it, and therefore, " by degrees'- placed others
over the Churches with the same power they had themselves exer
cised, as increasing dissensions rendered it necessary. Such in brief
fe his testimony.
II. He has here a particular object in view, to oppose those who
exalted Deacons to a level wfth Presbyters. He naturally, therefore,
uses strong language, exalting Presbyters above measure. He says
— " I hear that one was so impudent as to rank Deacons above
Presbyters, &c"
III. In every other place, he distinctly upholds Episcopacy. In
this very Epistle, in elevating Presbyters, he says — " What can a
Bfehop do, that a Presbyter may not do, except ordination ? " This
is aU we ask. And again — " James, after the passion of our Lord, was
immediately, by the Apostles, ordained Bishop of Jerusalem." (Oper.
t. IV. pars, ii p. 102.) Again — " The power of wealth, or the lowU-
ness of poverty, renders a Bishop neither more nor less exalted ; but
allaresucoessorsof the Apostles." (Ibid. -p. 802.) On the 45th Psalm,
he says — " Christ hath constituted Bishops to be the chiefs or princes
of the Church, in aU parts of the world." If, therefore, he ever -writes
against Episcopacy, he contradicts himself
IV. Jerome personaUy could know nothing of the matter, not Uv
ing untU nearly three hundred years after the death of the Apostles.
We have the record of hfetory through aU the long interval between
the apostles' and his day, testifying with one voice to the existence of
Epfecopacy. Here then is the sole hope of the Presbyterians. It is, of
course, impossible in thfe note to do more than glance at this passage.
The reader wiU find it fully analyzed and discussed in Dr. Bowden's
Letters to Dr. Miller— Letter 1st of Isl Series, and Letter 5th of 2<i
Series. Also in Slater's Original Draught.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 89
early writers, and yet — except those two misinterpreted sen
tences in Jerome — the advocates of parity can find not one
word — ^not the most distant hint, of this revolution which
they say has taken place, and which in that case would have
entirely remodelled the government of the whole Christian
Church throughout the -world. We ask you, then, whether
this is probable ? " When I shall see"— rsays Chillingworth
— " all the fables in the metamorphosis acted, and prove
true stories ; when I shall see all the democracies and aris
tocracies in the world lie down and sleep, and awake into
monarchies ; then will I begin to believe, that presbyterial
government, having continued in the Ohurch during the
Apostles' times, should presently after, ( against the Apos
tles' doctrine, and the will of Christ,) be whirled about like
a scene in a mask, and transformed into Episcopacy."*
Again — Is it in accordance with human nature, that all
the clergy of fhe Church, in every country throughout the
world, should simultaneously have given up their rights, and
submitted themselves to some among their number, thus
creating the Episcppal authority; and that all this should
have been acquiesced in by each one so quietly, and per
formed so silently, that history nowhere notices the change ?
" Imagine,'' — says Chillingworth- again — " that the spirit of
Diotrephes had entered into some, or a great many of the
Presbyters, and possessed them with an ambitious desire of
a forbidden superiority, was it possible they should atterapt
and achieve it at once without any opposition or contra
diction ? And besides, that the contagion of this ambition
should spread itself and prevail without stop oi» control ;
nay, without any noise -or notice taken of it, through all the
Churches in the world ; all the watchmen in the meantirae
being so fast asleep, and all the dogs so dumb, that not so
much as one should open his mouth against it ? "t
Why, try this argument by what would happen under
like circumstances in this day. Suppose that in a single
widely extended denomination of those around us, now
holding to an equality in the ministry, it should be proposed
to make this change — that a few should be invested with the
authority of Bishops, and all the rest yield to them in obedi-
* Works, p. 625. t Ibid. p. 524.

90 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
ence — ^how long, do you think, it would take to produce
this alteration ? And how quietly would it be done ? Why
protest after protest would be entered against it — their fold
would be rent asunder with dissensions — and it would be
found recorded upon the page of their history, that this was
for years the absorbing topic of debate. And yet they tell
us, that such a change did once actually take place in
ancient times, and history has preserved no evidehce of it.
No, brethren, such arguments bear with them their own
refutation. Human nature then was precisely what it is
now, and in similar circumstances would have acted as it
now does. We know, therefore, that this power of the
Episcopate must have been from the very beginning — ^must
have been sanctioned by Apostolical, nay, by- Divine au
thority — or it never would have been acquiesced in during
any later age.
And now, I submit the truth of Episcopacy to your judg
ment, as a matter of fact. I Etppeal away from yPur passions
and your prejudices, and resting this subject on its historical
evidence, 1 bring it to the bar of your reason. And think not
rhat this is a doctrine held only by a small minority. Nine-
tenths of those who bear the Christian name, cling to it, and
avow their belief in the three-fold ministry as handed down
from the Apostles' days.* Our own Church, with her 21
¦* Malte-brun, in hfe Geography (vol. i. p. 273), has the following
estimate of the Christian population of the world : —
TUe Church of Rome. [ l^Jiriope"^ ""' V'' -^--
The Greek Church - . . - 70 "
The Protestant Churches . . - 42 "
Total, 228
Now, out of the 42 millions of Protestants, we may safely set
down one-half as belongmg to these branches of the Church — such as
the Church in England and its colonies, Denmark, this country, and
among the Mora-vians — .which acknowledge Episcopal government.
Thfe leaves, therefore, 21 millions of Dissenters, out of 228 millions —
less than one-tenth- " They," says Manning, " that are concerned to
estabhsh a looser theory than that of the Catholic Church, how nu
merous soever when taken by themselves, are a smaU fraction of the
Cliristendom of to-day, and .is a handful compared -with the multi-

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 91
Bishops and her 1200 clergy, scattered through the length
and breadth of the land, everywhere maintains it. So does
the Church of England, planted as she is in every clime
and on every shore.* The Church of Rome, amidst all the
corruptions she has admitted, has in this point remained
steadfast to ancient truth. The many miUions of the Greek
Church, spread through the East, have never doubted it;
while the decayed Oriental Churches of Syria, Asia Minor,
and Ethiopia, have, even in their fallen state, found in their
government the sole preservative for the little spark of life
which yet remains. Only a small portion of the Christian
-world therefore dissents. t
tudes of Chrfetians who from the beginning have lived, hoped, suffered,
and died, in another trust." Unity of the C%«rcA, p. 288. ; |
* " The Church of England, in the preface to the Ordination Ser
vices, has these express woirds : ' It is evident unto all men dihgently
reading the Holy Scripture and ancient authors, that from the Apos
tles' time there have been these orders of Ministers in Christ's Church —
Bishops, Priests, and'Deaeons, <fec.' . . . And it is on this account that,
if a clergyman of the Romau Communion does in this country join
himself to the EngUsh Church, his ordination fe acconnted good and
vaUd, because the Roman Church has Epfecopal ordination, and an
ApostoUcal Ministry. He fe not ordained over again, but simply
Ucensed by a Bfehop to teach and preach in his Diocese. Whereas,
if a Protestant dissenter, who has been accustomed to call himself a
minister of the Gospel, repents of hfe schfem, and is anxious to become
a clergyman, the EngUsh Church considers him merely as a layman,
and not as a minister of the Gospel ; and makes him a clergyman by
Epfecopal ordination." Fabers' Tract on ' The one Catholic and Apos-I
tolic Church,' p. 18.
f There is a body of Christians, caUed " Methodist Episcopal,"
which we have not included in this Ifet; because, although they have
the office of Bishop, yet it fe in name only, and without any legitimate
authority. This sect, it is weU known, was founded about 1730, by
John Wesley, who was only a Presbyter iu the Church of England.
After professing through his whole Ufe that he did not intend to abandon
the Church, or create a schism, when 82 years old, he was induced to
lay hands on Dr. Coke, and thus pretend to consecrate him a Bishop
for America. On this act, his brother, Charles Wesley, makes these
remarks  " How was he surprised into so rash an action ? He has
renounced tlie principles and practices of his whole life, acted contrary
to all his declaratiotis, protestations, and writings, robbed his friends

92 EPISCOPACY PROVED FR<M HISTORY.
Let us cling then to this, as a precious inheritance which
has come down to us through 1800 years. Everything else
has altered, but the government which our Lord instituted in
of their boasting, reaUzed the Nag's Head ordination, and left an in
delible blot on his name, as long as it shall be remembered. . . . What
-wiU become of these poor sheep in the wilderness, the American
Methodfets ? How have they been betrayed into a separation from
the Church of England, which theu- preachers and they no more
intended than the Methodists here 1 Had they had patience a Uttle
longer, they would have seen A real Primitive Bishop in America,
duly consecrated by three Scotch Bishops [referring to Bishop Sea-
bury]." " His ordination would be indeed genuine, valid, and Epis
copal" Dr. Coke himself felt hfe ordination to be invaUd, and often by his
acts admitted it For instance, in 1791, he appUed to Bishop Wliite,
for the Methodfet Society to be received into the Church, and their
preachers re-ordained, thus acknowledging the invalidity of their ordi
nation received from him. (See his letter in Bp. Whites Memoirs of
the Church, p. 345.) In a subsequent interview, he suggested that
he himself should be elevated to tlie Episcopate (p. 170). StiU
later in the same year, he made a similar proposal to Bishop Sea-
bury. (See this letter in Banner of tlte Cross, April 27, 1843.)
Eight years afterwards, he made written appUcation to the Bishop of
London, to ordain some traveUing preachers in England, to adminfeter
the Sacraments to theu- people. Agam, m 1813, he made the greatest
efforts to procure consecration for himself as a Bfehop of the Church,
to be sent to India, writmg a raost extraordinary letter to WUber-
force, setting forth his Own good quaUties. (See this in Wilberforc^s
Correspondence, v. i., date April 14, 1813.) He offers to return most
fully and faithfully into the bosom of the EstabUshed Church, and do
everything in his power to promote ita interests, and submit to all
such restrictions in the fulfilment of his office, as the government and
the bench of Bishops at home should think necessary." Failing in
thfe, he was obUged to settle down for life with the conviction that
hfe office was a pretence, and his Episcopal shield deformed by the
bend sinister.
Thus, then, stands the case. Wesley attempted to invest Dr
Coke with an office which he had no authority to confer. Coke or
dained Asbury, and from him all the Methodist preachers in tfiis
country derive their ordination, But Asbury was of course nothmg
but a layman through life, and therefore those on whom he laid
liands are in the same condition. Such, th«.n, fe Methodism in thfe
country — without a Church or a Ministry.

EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY. 93
His Church is still unchanged. Century after century, the
dark and troublous stream of Time has swept by, its waters
choked with the wrecks of all that earth admires. Nations
and peoples, courts and dynasties, have played their part,
and then been seen no more. The mighty monarchies of the
Elder World have long since passed away — the kingdoms
which were the early cotemporaries of the Church — those
which beheld the dawn of her youth — ^now Uve only on the
page of History — yet she still rides the waves, and as she
passed along, has made all tributaries to herself, gathering
from each spoils to enrich her Master — jewels to gleam in
His unfading diadem. With her hopes now just as bright
and glorious as ever, she remains in her organization what
she was in the Apostles' days. The same Episcopal govern
ment which Timothy then exercised at Ephesus, an^ Titus
in Crete, and which they "committed to faithful men," is now
with us in this distant land, of whose very existence they
were ignorant.
We feel, then, that as members of this Church we be
long to a cause which in the end must triuraph. ' The
heathen may rage, and the people imagine a vain thing — the
kings of the earth may stand up, and the rulers take counsel
together" — yet the Church they cannot overcome. " There
shall no divination prosper against Israel." He who is its
Protector " shall laugh them to scorn, and its Lord shall have
them in derision." Yes, brethren, the past may be with us
a pledge for the future. If for eighteen centurie^ the Apos
tolic Church has breasted the storm, and uninjured, un
changed, come down to us — if now we trace in every linea
ment, that here is the same Church which existed in "our
fathers' days, and in the old time before them" — then we may
believe that thus she shall continue to go on ia the greatness
of her strength, until the trumpet of the Archangel proclaims
that her warfare on earth is accomplished. Her ancient
ministry shall never be wanting. Her holy succession of
Bishops shall be uninterrupted, till the last who bears that
sacred office stands amidst the ruins of a crumbling world.*
* " Remarkable and positive promises clearly establfeh the pel
petnity of the Church ; and it may also be inferred easily from the
promfee made to the faithful servant, whom the Lord should set over

94 EPISCOPACY PROVED FROM HISTORY.
Unless it shall be so, what meant our Lord's parting promise
to His Apostles — "Lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world" ? It could not have been restricted to
those only who heard it, for they have long since passed
away. Unless, then, they left their successors, who are to
keep up the unbroken chain " even unto the end of the
world," we know not who are to inherit the benefits which
our Master's words seera to promise.
Are we then united with this Church — ^not only outwardly,
but also in heart and spirit ? Are we sharing in her trials here,
that we may partake of her triuraph hereafter ? Shall we,
iri the hour of her glory, stand with her upon the holy moun
tain, and help to upraise that anthem which the redeemed
shall sing forever ? Christian warrior ! the confiict is raging
around you — the Church is summoning you to her aid — the
voices of Apostles, and martyrs, and confessors, come down
to you frora the ages of a distant antiquity, urging you to
live for this cause for which they were willing even to die.
Will you turn away from this appeal ? Will you prove re
creant to this high trust ? Your daily, hourly life is furnish
ing the answer.
His household : ' Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when He
cometh, shall find so doing.' In which words it fe intimated, that when
Chrfet shaU come hi the latter day. He shall, even then, find faithful
servants presiding over His own household, still ex'sting upon the
earth." Palmer's Treatise on the Church, v. i. p. 31.

IV.
ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
Then, fainting soul, arise and sing.
Mount, but bo sober on the wing ;
Mount up, for Heaven is won by prayer.
Be sober, for thou art not there. Kehle.
The foundation of all true devotion is reverence. Remem
bering the lowliness of our own state, and the awful majesty
of Him in whose presence our petitions are uttered, our spirits
should be bowed within us, and we realize, while in His
sanctuary, that "this is none other but the House of God,
and this is the gate of Heaven." The question then invol
untarily rises to our lips — " Wherewith shall I come before
the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ?"* And
the answer which Scripture gives us, is in these words of
caution — " Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy
heart be hasty to utter anything before God ; for God is
in Heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words
be few."t In the spirit of this exhortation the Church has always
acted, when she prescribed a Liturgy, by which her members,
in their public assemblies, were commanded to worship God,
instead of trusting to the extemporaneous effusions of the
moment. And this is a peculiarity which still marks her
services, and which, perhaps, more forcibly than anything
else, would strike a casual observer. In her public devotions,
he finds everything definitely arranged and settled ; while in
the different denominations around her the prayers are left
to be composed as they are uttered by hitr who may happen
* Micah VL 6. t Eccles v. 2.

96 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
to minister to them. As, therefore, the charge is often
made, that to have an established ritual for public worship
leads necessarily to coldness and formality, an examina
tion of this subject is one which is interesting to us as
Churchmen. The first and most natural inquiry is, as to the authority
for a Liturgy. Is it sanctioned by Scripture — by the example
of our Lord, and the custom of the early Church ? If so,
surely none can now object to it as wrong or even inexpe
dient. What our Lord authorized by his own example, and
the Church in her first and purest ages continued to practise,
it may be safe for us tp follow. We certainly cannot do bet
ter than tread in their footsteps.
Our first argument then is — that the entire worship of the
Jewish Church, as commanded by God, and as practised for ages,
was in prescribed forms. On every occasion in which the
people were required with one voice to offer their praises to
God, or to entreat His forgiveness, we find them doing so in
the words ofa previously written form.
Thus, when the Israelites had passed the Red Sea in
safety, and paused awhile upon their march to chant their
song of victory, we find their leader composing for them that
noble ode, which the Holy Ghost corapares with the
Heavenly song of those who have obtained the last great
triumph over all spiritual enemies — the once suffering, now
ransomed followers of the Lamb.* " It was fitted for alter
nate recitation, with musical accompaniments."-! Moses
begins the song, and in the first two hemistichs states its
object —
" Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously ;
The horse and hfe rider hath He thrown into the sea."
And we learn from v. 21 , that these two lines becarae the
grand chorus of the piece, and were probably repeated at in-
* " And I saw as it were a sea of glass, mingled with fire : and
them that had gotten the victory over the baast, and over hfe image,
and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea
of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." Rev. xv. 2, 3.
f Bfehop Jebb's Sacred Literature, p. 10.

ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 97
tervals, after the people had recited each merey bestowed
upon their nation. " And Miriam answered them— -
" Smg ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously ;
The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea."*
This song was, therefore, used responsively, in the same way
in which we now recite the Psalter iii our service.
When, again, in the wilderness, their public worship
was arranged by the express comrhands of God, we find that
forms were provided for every occasion. Thus, Aaron and
his sons are enjoined to use these words, in blessing the peo
ple — " On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel :
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee ; the Lord make His face
to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee ; the Lord lift
up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." This
was the authorized form of benediction, and the declara
tion is added — " They -shall put my name, saith the
Lord, Upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them."
(Num. *. 24, 27.)
In the book of Deuteronomy are recorded various forms
to be used by the people on different public solemnities.
Such is the confession the Israelite was to make when offer
ing the basket of first-fruits — "And thou shalt ipeak and say
before the Lord thy God — A Syrian ready to perish was my
father," &c. (xxvi. 5-11.) Such also is the prayer he was to
use when offering his third year's tithes — " Then thou shalt
say before the Lord thy God," &c. (v. 12-15.) With equal
accuracy is prescribed the form of deprecation to be uttered
by the elders of a city near which a murder had been com
mitted, in protesting their own innocence — " Our hands have
not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merci
ful, OLord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed;
and lay not innocent blood to thy people of Israel's charge."
(xxi. V. 7.)
Thus, by examining the ancient books of the law, we
could show that provision was made for every portion of
their regular services. And on extraordinary occasions it is
* This is the view given by Dr. Kennicott, in his arrangement of
this song, and also by Bfehop Lo-wth. Prcelect 19. They show the
different intervals at which the chorus probably came in.
5

98 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
evident that something was in like manner written for their
use, to meet the exigency. Such was the case with tha
prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple, a copy
of which was preserved araong the records of the nation.
" The regular construction of the whole prayer, the formal
division of the subject, together with the continued series
and almost poetical arrangement of the versicles in the
original, scarcely seem compatible with extemporaneous
devotion, and obviously suggests the idea of previous com
position."* But let us look at the usual worship of the Temple, and
of what did it consist ? From the minute accounts of the
Hebrew Rabbis which have come down to us, we learn that
it was composed of the Sacrifices, Liturgical Compositions,
and Psalms.f But it is evident that the Psalms are nothing
but forms of prayer, and are in most cases direct and solemn
adresses to the Supreme Being. In this way they were used
in the Jewish Church, and we can often learn from their
titles alone, that they were appointed to be recited by the
congregation on particular days. This collection was pro
bably first arranged definitely by King David, who added so
much as to gain for himself the title of " the sweet singer of
Israel." It was afterwards remodelled by Hezekiah, of whom
it is said — " Moreover, Hezekiah the king, and the princes,
commanded the Levites to sing praises unto the Lord, with
the words of David and of Asaph the seer; and they sang
praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads, and
worshipped."t The last changes in the Psalmody of the
nation were made by Ezra, after the captivity. Did then the
adoption of these devotional services lead to mere for
mality ? If so, why is not the same effect produced upon
those who now can address the Deity in metrical hymns
yet whose scruples prevent them from using a form, if it be
in prose ?5

• Sincliur's Dfesertations, p. 8.
f Thff reader wiU find the whole service, -with, its prayers and
arrangement of Psalms, accurately given by Lightfoot, in hfe Temple
'Service, ch. 7, p. 59.
X 2 Chron. xxix 30.
§ " Unless it can be proved that thfe fault and evil which ia e»

ANTIQUITY OP FORMS OF PRAYER. 99
But this is not all. We have direct evidence that at
various periods during the existence of the Jewish nation,
their prophets and holy men composed prayers to be used in
their public worship. Thus, after the return from Babylon,
Ezra prepared eighteen collects,, for confession, supplication,
thanksgiving, and intercession. These, under the title of
Ezra's Benedictions, are still found in the Prayer Books
of the Jews. Maimonides, a learned Rabbi, says — "Ezra
composed these eighteen forms of prayer, which were
enjoined by the great council : that every man might have
them in his mouth, and be perfect in them, aiid that thereby
the prayers of the rude and ignorant might be as complete
as those of a more eloquent tongue." And then, after stat
ing the custom whioh prevailed, that the people should say
" Amen" at the conclusion, he adds — " This is only in those
oases where the people are not perfect in the prayers, and
cannot say the same by heart ; for they who can repeat
the prayers, do not discharge their duty as they ought, in
case they themselves do not pray with the public minister."*
These prayers have all been translated by Dr. Prideaux, and j^/
are to be found in his Connection of Scripture History. f *
And so it was also in the worship of the Synagogue.
The service there differed somewhat from that of the Tem
ple, for no sacrifices were offered up. It consisted of three
parts: prayers, readilig of the Scriptures, and preaching
from them. Here also the' prayers were by stated forms,
the most solemn and ancient of which were tho prayers of
Ezra.t To these — as we leara fi-om Justin Martyr — they
added, just before the destruction of Jerusalem, a nineteenth
sential to a form in prose, is entirely removed if the substance of tha
obnoxious form be expressed in metre and chime —
Crito freely wfll rehearse
Forms of prayer and prafee in verse :
Why should Crito then suppose
Forms are sinful when in prose I
Must my form be deemed a crime
Merely for the want of rhyme?"
NeaAorls Apologia, p. 14.
* Maunon. apud Seld. m Eutych. Alex. p. 43.
\ Part I, book vi. p. 375. '..
X Bingham's Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii. chap. 5, sect. 4.

/

100 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
collect, praying against the new sect of the Nazare ies, whom
they denominated apostates and heretics.*
In addition, as we are informed by Jewish writers, their
Ritual provided for all those occurrences which mark the
changes in domestic life — for those solemnities of their re
ligion which were performed at home — for times of joy and
sorrow — ^for the Passover — -the marriage, and the burial. t
And many of these had been handed down from a remote
antiquity. The Samaritan Chronicle speaks of a book of
prayers used by the Jews at their sacrifices, " from the time
of their legate Moses until that day ; "f and Josephus asserts,
that at the period in which he lived, the sect of the Essenes
made use of prayers "received traditionally from their
fathers. "§ Nor has the lapse of eighteen centuries entirely
changed their customs. Could you now meet with the
feeble, dispersed remnant of Israel, scattered as they are
throughout all the world, yet every where cleaving to their
forefathers' rites — could you see them in their private
services, or when on the Seventh Day they have gathered in
their Synagogues-. — ^you would hear the same words of the
Hebrew Psalter chanted forth, and the same ancient prayers
of their Liturgy offered up, with which two thousand years
ago their fathers worshipped, in the days of their pride and
power. II We perceive then how fuUj> established under
the Old Dispensation, and how entirely authorized by God
— ^nay, especially commanded by Him — ^was the use of forms
of prayer. If, then, these were enjoined upon the Jew, is
it wrong in the Christian in this way to worship the same
God? But the Old Dispensation, we are ans-vvered, was a day
of rites and ceremonies — a day when the human mind was
in bondage, "subject to ordinances." We are directed to
look to the coming of our Lord for that spiritual freedom
wluch was then bestowed upon the world. He was indeed
our Great Exemplar, and we may well mark His course, as
He traveUed on in His earthly pilgrimage, and in all respects
* Dial, cum Tryph. p. 336. f Sinclair's Dfesertation, p. 10.
X Sinclair's Dissertation, p. 11. g De BeUo Jud. Ub. il chap. 12.
j See the Prayers of the Jews as they are now used, translated in
Home's Introd. to Scrip, v. iii. p. 250-S.

ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 101
humbly walk in His footsteps. Can we then gather any
thing from His life to aid us in this investigation? We can;
and therefore we set forth the argument, that the use of forms
of prayer in puhlic worship was sanctioned hy our Lord while
on earth, both by precept and example.
We have already shown you that the worship of the
Jews, both in the Temple and the Synagogue, was accord
ing to a prescribed Liturgy. And yet our Lord always
attended these services, and scrupulously joined in their
public devotions. On all the great Feasts He went up to
Jerusalem with His disciples, while Sabbath after Sabbath He
appeared so regularly in the Synagogue, that His watchful
eneinies, while seeking every occasion to charge Him with
opposition to the Law, never brought forward the accusa
tion of neglecting their appointed worship. But had there
been anything wrong in the manner in which this was per
formed—had the Liturgical Service been merely a corruption
introduced by the Scribes and Pharisees^ — would He, think
you, have been backward in denouncing the innovation, and
restoring the service to its ancient simplicity ? No, brethren ;
had there been coldness or formality in this custom, the
same zeal whioh led our Master to drive from the Temple
" the money-changers, and those that sold doves," would
have impeUed Him also to rebuke the priests for the want of
spirituality in their worship. But He did not : on the contrary,
He fully countenanced it ; and therefore it cannot be wrong or
inexpedient. In that solemn hour, too, when the Paschal Supper was
just closing, and our Lord " sang a hymn" with His disciples,
before, He went forth to the last scene of His trial and agony,
we know from the voice of tradition, and the concurrence of
all antiquity, that He adopted, as was natural, the particular
form always made use of by the Jews at the end of the
Passover. It was called the Great Hallel, or hymn of praise,
and consisted of Psalms cxv. to cxviii. inclusive.* So was
* Lightfoot s Temple Service, ch. xiii. Jahn's Bib. Archaeology. p.i
449. Hornis Introd to Script, vol iil p. 306. Dr. Adam Clark, in'
his Commentary on Matt, xxvi 30, makes it begin -with Ps. cxiii. He
saya "As tj the Hymn itself, we know frora the universal consent of;
Je-svfeh antiquity, that it was composed of Psalms cxiil to txviii.

I OS ANTIQUITY or FORMS OF PRAYER.
it also amid the fearful sufferings of the Cross. When His
huraan nature was, as it were, crushed by the sorrows
heaped upon Him, the words which seemed naturaUy to rise
to His lips were those of the Psalter. The inquiry — "My
God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ?" is the com
mencement ofthe 22d Psalm; and the words which last he
uttered — " Into thy hands I commend my spirit," compose
the Sth verse of the 31st Psalm. Thus, in the language of
the divines of Leyden — " Christ, while suspended from the
Cross, used that golden form of prayer which David, as His
prototype, had composed."* '
Another stong proof of our Lord's sanction is derived from
that model of devotion which He Himself gave to His disci
ples. John the Baptist had taught his followers to pray by
a set form, and the Uttle household of believers who had
gathered around our Master, and composed the Early
Church, requested Him also to do the same. Their petition
was — " Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his dis
ciples." And what did He answer ? Did He tell them, in all
cases to trust to the passing feelings of the moment, and to
shun as coldness everything which is not extemporaneous ?
No ; He at once prescribed that form now known by the name
of the Lord's Prayer, and which the Church has since in all
ages continued to use in her worship. It is a most striking
termed by the Jews Hallel. . . . These six Psalms were always sung
at every Paschal solemnity."
Jacob Abbott, in hfe Corner-Stone, ends hfe description of the
last Passover with a pathetic appeal to St. John. " ' And when they
had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.' WTiat
could have been their hymn f Its sentiments and feelings, they who
can appreciate the occasion may perhaps conceive ; bat what were its
words I Beloved disciple I why didst thou not record them? They
should have been sung in every nation, and language, and dune. We
should have fixed them in our hearts, and taught them to our children,
and when we came together to commemorate our Redeemer's suffer
ings, we should never have separated without singing his parting
hymn." (p. 219.)
A very slight knowledge of Jewish antiquities might have pointed
out to Mr. Abbott what was probably ihe form which he wfehes to
have so extensively adopted.
* Sinclair's Dfesertation, p. 12.

ANTIQUITY OP FORMS OF PRAYER. lOg
fact, too, that every single ssntence in this prayer is taken
from the Jewish Liturgies, with which the disciples were
already familiar.* "So far," says Grotius, " was the Lord
Himself ofthe Christian Church frora all affectation of un
necessary novelty." What stronger confirmation, then, could
He give of His approval ? And should we not be contented
to follow in the steps of our Divine Master — to worship as
He did — and in accordance with the example which He sets,
to "hold fast the form of sound words," -when we approach
our God ?
Our next argument is derived from the uniform practice of
the Primitive Church. The early disciples followed the ex
ample of the Jewish Church, which their Lord had thus sanc
tioned, and adopted forms of prayer suited to the wants of
the Church under the new dispensation. In the fourth chap
ter of the Acts is an Apostolic form of Prayer. It was de
livered on the return of Peter and John from the Jewish
council, when, in the assembly of their brethren, they " re
ported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto
them." We are told, " when they heard that, they lifted up
their voices to God with one accord," and in (what Bishop
J^bb calls) " this noble supplicatory hymn, poured forth at
once by the whole Christian people," they returned thanks
for the past, and begged strength for the future. We give the
same distinguished writer's version of the paraiUelisms — t ^
1. 0 Lord, thou art the God,
Who didst make Heaven and earth,
* Abundant proof of thfe can be found in Lightfoot (on Matt.ix. i
9-18) and the works of several other learned men. Mr. Gregory has
coUected the expressions out of the different Jewish Euchologies, and
tbis translated them: —
"Our Father, which art in Heaven, be gracious unto us I 0 Lord
our God, hallowed be Thy name, aud let the remembrance of Thee be
glorified in Heaven above, and upon earth here below. Let thy king
dom reign over us, now and for ever. The holy men of old said, remit
and forgive unto aU men whatsoever they have done agaiii st me. And
lead us not into temptation, but deUver us from the evU thing. For
thine ia the kingdom; and thou shalt reign m glory for ever, and for ,
evermore." Hor^ne's Introd. to Scrip.v.'vx.-p.^'iS. /
t Jebb's Saoed Literature, p. 132-142. /

104 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OP PRAYER.
And the sea, and aU things that are in thera ;
Who, by the mouth of thy servant David, didst say :
2. " Why did the heathen rage.
And the people imagine vain things.
The kings of the earth stand up.
And the rulers combine together
Against the Lord, and against his anointed !"
8. For of a truth there have combined
Against thine holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed.
Both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
With tlie heathen and the peoples of Israel,
To do whatsoever things thy hand
And thy counsel predetermined to be done.
4. And now. Lord, look do-wn upon their threatenings.
And give unto thy servants
With all boldness to speak thy word :
While thou art stretching forth thine hand for healing.
And while signs and wonders are performed
Thi-ough the name of thine holy child Jesus.
Th 5 manner in which this prayer was uttered — the whole
people " lifting up their voices to God with one accord" — to
gether with the regular poetical measure in which it is writ
ten, prove, we think, that it raust have been a pre-composed
forra, with which all were familiar. To use again the words
of Bishop Jebb — " The same sacred vein of poetry animates
the whole; and yet, amidst all this poetic fervor, we may
discern much technical nicety of construction." The view,
therefore, taken of it by Mr. Chapin, is one which would
commend itself to the reason of any person not biassed by
prejudice. " The occasion upon which the use of this
prayer is recorded, was the extraordinary escape of Peter
and John from the hands of the Jews. And yet there is no
allusion to the circumstance. It is just such a prayer as
they would be likely to use on every occasion of meeting
together — one that would be applicable to their case at all
times. Hence, as this general prayer was used upon an
especial occasion, it is but reasonable to infer that it had been
pre-composed and formed a part of their daily worship."*

j * Prim. Church, p. 130.

ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 105
Occasionally, in the Epistles, we find an incidental
allusion to their service, which strengthens the view we have
given. Thus, the Colossians are directed " to teach and
admonish one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual
songs." These, ofcourse, must have been previously pre
pared. And to what, unless one of these — probably an Easter
Hymn — could the Apostle refer in his Epistle to the Ephe
sians (v. 14), when he writes — " Awake thou that sleepest
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" ?
Where is this said in Scripture ? The words are nowhere
else to be found. Since therefore Aio Asye') rendered in our
version " he saith," might as well be translated " it saith,"
we may believe this to be a quotation from some now for
gotten anthem of the Early Church. Such is the view of
Bishop Jebb,* and the lines certainly form a triplet of con
structive parellelisms —
e<yiiftci 0 Kctisvjat,
KCtl tltCCTTCt IX. TOIV HlKfiH,
Kelt tvi^avrfi ml I 'X.fiirTOf.
Awake, thou who sleepest.
And arise from the dead.
And Chrfet wiU shine upon thee.
St. Paul, also, in writing to the Corinthians, mentions the
custom of saying Amen, at the close of the prayer. (1 Cor
xiv. 16.) This, Justin Martyr, in the middle of the second
century, says, was the universal practice of the Church.-t-
We now turn to the Primitive Church in the age imme
diately following thafT of the Apostles. The form most fre
quently used was the Lord's Prayer, endeared to them by
so many associations connecting it with Him from whose lips
* " Wolfius, Cur. PhiloL ; and Bosenmtlller, cite Henmann (Poe-
ciles, tom. il p. 390), as conjecturing these three Unes to have been
borrowed from one of those ' hymns, or spiritual songs,' which, even in
the Apostles' days, were used in the Christian Church, and which are
immediately noticed by St. Paul, in the same chapter of the same
Epfetle, verse 1 9. The conjecture has been approved and adopted by
Professors Stow and MichaeUs, nor is it opposed by RosenmttUer."
Jebb's Sacred lAteratwre, p. 160.
t Ap>L i. c. 87. 5*

106 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
they first learned its holy words. TertuUian calls it "not
only a rule prescribing the method and matter of prayer, but
a form to be used in the words in which Christ delivered it,
and to be added to all other prayers, as the foundation of a
superstructure."* St. Chrysostom, in two volumes of his
works — ^the third and the fifth — makes the declaration more
than twenty times, " that the Lord's Prayer was a common
form in use among them by the express command of Christ."
And St. Augustine, in his Retractations, confirms this, as
serting that " the whole Church will continue to use it to the
end of the world."t
" Evident is it, be}'ond dispute," says the learned Bing
ham, " that the whole Primitive Church constantly used it in
all her holy offices, out of consciousness and regard to Christ's
command ....;. For there was no considerable Divine office,
in the celebration of which this prayer did not always make
a soleran part.":|: This was the case in Baptism, when each
person was enjoined to repeat it as soon as the rite was
administered. "Immediately after this" — say the Apostoli
cal Constitutions — "let him stand and pray the prayer
which the Lord hath taught us."§ And St. Chrysostom in
like manner informs us, that as soon as he leaves the water,
" he says these words, ' Our Father which art in Heaven,' "
&C.1I This was done in the same manner at the celebration
of the Eucharist. St. Cyril says — " After the oblation
prayer, we say that prayer which our Saviour delivered to
His disciples, calling God our Father with a pure conscience,
and saying, 'Our Father which art in Heaven."'ir And St.
Augustine informs us — " The whole Church concludes the
prayer of benediction and sanctification with the Lord's
Prayer."** It also made a part of their daily Moming and
Evening Prayers, distinct from the Communion office,tt as
well as of the private devotions of individuals. Thus St.
Chrysostom says — " Christ, to induce us to unanimity and
charity, enjoins us to make coraraon prayer, and obliges the
whole Church, as if it were but one person, to say, ' Our
* De Orat. cap. 9. f Lib. I cap. 19.
. X Orig. Eccles. lib. xul chap. 7, sect. 2. § Lib. vi. cap. 44.
i Hom. 6, in Coloss. 1[ Catech. Myst v. p. 298
»» Epist. 59, ad. PauUn.
\\ 3 Bing, Orig. Eccles. lib. xiii. ch. 7, sect. 4.

ANTIQUITY OP FORMS OP PRAYER. IQT
Father,' and ' Give us this day our daily bread,' &c., always
using a word of the plural number, and commanding every
one, whether he pray alone by himself, or in company with
others, still to make prayer for his brethren."* Therefore it
had the name of Oratio Quotidiana, the Christian's Daily
Prayer, and was used alike by heretics and schismatics, as
by the Catholics. t
We have so particularly brought forward the use of this
prayer in the early ages, not only as showing the attach
ment of Christians to it as a form, but also because it will
be evident, from an exaraination of the passages quoted, that
it often thus formed one portion of a pre-composed^ervice.
There were indeed certain forras which were in all Churches
substantially the sarae, and were used in connection with
the ordinary Liturgy. These were, the form for Baptism, t
that for the consecration of the Eucharist,§ and the Dox
ologies. II This, Bingham has most fully shown. And the
reason for uniformity in these particular services is evident.
They included the grand cardinal points of our faith, and
therefbre, while they agreed, there was — to use Bingham's
own words — " but one form of worship throughout the whole
Church, as to what concerned the substance of Christian
worship." With respect to the other parts of the Liturgy — the
ordinary prayers — ^it is evident that each Bishop was at
liberty to form his own in what method and words he thought
proper, only keeping to the analogy of faith and sound doc
trine. Thus, we are told that St. Basil, araong other good
services which he did for the Church at Csesarea, while he
was but a Presbyter in it, composed forms of prayer, whioh
by the consent and authority of the Bishop, Eusebius, were
regularly used there. And this is thought by many to be
the first draught of that Liturgy which bears his name to
this day. The Church of Neo- Csesarea, in Pontus, where
St. Basil was born, had a Liturgy pecuUar to itself, of which
he speaks in one of his Epistles. St. Chrysostom's Liturgy-,
* Com. in Ps. cxil '**N(|- Orig. Eccles. lib. xul ch. '7, sect 7.
X Ibid. Ub. xl ch. 3, and ch. ". See also Chapin's Prim. Church,
p. 127. § Ibid lib. XV. ch. 3. | Ibid. Ub. xiv. ch. 2.

108 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
which he composed for the Church of Constantinople, dif
fered from these. The Ambrosian, Roraan, and African
forms, all varied in some particulars.* When also any new
Church was founded, it did not feel itself obliged to follow,
except in spirit, the model and words of the Church from
which it came, but altered the old Liturgy to suit its own
peculiar circumstances and condition, in the same way that
we adapted the Liturgy of the Church in England to our
situation in this country. Of this, the historian Sozomen
gives an example in the instance of Maiuma, in Palestine,
which once belonged to the diocese of Gaza. For, as soon
as it w*s erected into a distinct Episcopal See, it was no
longer obliged to observe precisely the rules and forms of
the Church of Gaza, but had, as he particularly remarks, a
calendar for the festivals of its own martyrs, and commemo
rations of the Bishops and Presbyters who had lived among
them.f After, however, a Liturgy was adopted in each Church,
and so modelled in minor points as to meet its peculiar wants,
we have reason to believe that it remained with buf little
alteration. Mr. Palmer says — " That each Church preserved
continuaUy the same Liturgy is certain. It is impossible to
peruse the notices supplied by the Fathers, without perceiv
ing that the baptized Christians were supposed to be familiar
with every part of the service ; and continual allusions are
made to various particulars as well known, which it would
be impossible to explain, except by referring to the Liturgies
still extant. The order of the parts was always preserved,
the same rites and ceremonies continually repeated, the
same ideas and language, without material variation, trans
mitted from generation to generation. The people always
knew the precise points at which they were to repeat their
responses, chant their sacred hymn, or join in the well known
prayer. "t We can give an example of this by a comparison
ofthe works of Justin Martyr and Cyril of Jerusalem. The
former in the middle of the second century gives an account
of the order of worship in the Syrian Churches in his day.§
The latter, 150 years later, describes the solemn Liturgy
-"^ * Orig. Eccles. lib. iii. ch. 6. f Ibid. lib. xiii ch. 6.
^ X Antiq. of EngUsh Ritual, v. I p. 9. § Apol I p. 96.

ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 109
which was celebrated afterthedismissal ofthe Catechumens.*
These two writers lived in different parts of the Patriarchate
of Antioch, but it is evident they are referring to a Liturgy
essentiaUy the same, and which, during the interval of time
whioh separated them, had not substantially changed. It is
that which we now have under the name of the Liturgy of
St. James.
From the prevalence of this spirit of hostility to change,
we should naturally expect that, after the lapse of some centu
ries, a substantial uniformity would be found in the ritual of
the different Churches. And such is the case. All the Prim
itive Liturgies may plainly be reduced to four, which were
undoubtedly the original forms from which they were model
led. These are, first, the Oriental Liturgy, which prevailed
through the entire East, and was ascribed by tradition to St.
James. Second, the Liturgy of St. Peter, wluch was used
through Italy, 'Sicily, and the North of Africa. Third, Sf.
Mark's Liturgy, adopted by the Christians throughout Egypt,
Ethiopia, and the neighboring countries on the Mediterranean
Sea. And fourth, St. John's Liturgy, whidh prevailed
through Gaul, Spain, and the exarchate of Ephesus, until
the fifth century. Now, upon examining these, we find that
the principal ideas are the same. The principal rites are
identical, and there is a general uniformity of arrangement
among them all. These facts prove, therefore, that at a
distant antiquity they must have had a coraraon origin, or
been at least written by men who shared in the same feelings ;
while there is also sufficient diversity to show the remoteness
of the period at which they had their rise.f Their use was
* Cyr. Op. 296.
•f- We here give the arrangement. The strikmg resemblance to
our Communion Service wiU be at once perceived : —
St. Peter's Liturgy. St. James' Litdrot
Italy, Sicily, and Africa. Oriental.
Ij Lift up your hearts, &c. 10. The kiss of peace.
2. Therefore -with Angels, ifec. 1. Lift up your hearts, <fec.
3. Prayer for the Church mUitant. 2. Therefore with Angels, <fec.
4. Consecration Prayer. 5. Commemoration of our Lord's
5. Commemoration of our Lord's words.
words. 6. The Oblation.
« The Oblation. 4. Consecration Prayer.

lltl ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
indeed so extensive in those ages, when Bishops were raost
independent, that it is difficult to assign their origin to a
lower period than the ApostoUc age. " The liberty," says
7. Prayers for the dead. 3. Prayer for the Church miUtanf;
8 Breaking of Bread. 7. Prayers for the dead.
9. The Lord's Prayer. 9. The Lord's Prayer.
10. The kfes of peace. 8. Breaking of bread.
11. Communion. 11. Communion.
St. Mark's LrruRgT. St. John's Liturgy.
Egypt and Ethiopia. Gaul, Spain, and Ephesus.
10. The kiss of peace. 3. Prayer for the Church mUitaut
1. Lift up your hearts, &c. 7. Prayers for the dead.
3. Prayer for the Church militant.fo. The kiss of peace.
7. Prayers for the dead. 1. Lift up your hearts, &c.
2. Therefore with Angels, &c. 2. Therefore with Angefe, ifec.
5. Commemoration of our Lord's 6. Commemoration of our Lord's
words. words.
6. The Oblation. 6. The Oblation.
4. Consecration Prayer. 4. Consecration Prayer.
8. Breakmg of bread. 8. Breaking of bread.
9. The Lord's Prayer. 9. The Lord's Prayer.
11. Communion. 11. Communion.
The Order in our Church fe somewhat different : —
3. Prayer for the Church miUtant. 8. Breaking of bread.
1. Lift up your hearts, Ac. 6. The Oblation.
2. Therefore with Angefe, &c 4. Consecration Prayer.
6. Commemoration of our Lord'sll. Communion.
words. 9. Tlie Lord's Prayer.
For the benefit of those who are not familiar with thfe subject, wa
would remark, that ih.e Prayers forthe Dead 'mVbe Primitive Liturgies
bear no resemblance whatever to those now used in the Romfeh Church.
'Jhey were rather an affectionate remembrance of those who had slept
in the faith — " a commemoration of the departed faithful," as Mr
Palmer calls them, — and were in these words : — " We commend unto
Thy mercy, 0 Lord, all other Thy servants which are departed hence
from us -mth the sign of faith, and now do rest in the sleep of peace ¦
grant unto them, we beseech Thee, Thy mercy and everlasting peace
and that, at the day of the general resurrection, we, and all they whicn
be of the mystical body of Thy Son, may altogether be set at His
ri"ht hand, and hear that His rnost joyful voice, ' Corne uqto me, D yp

ANTIQUITY or FORMS OF PRAYER. lii
Mr. Palmer, " which every Christian Church plainly had
and exercised, in the way of improving its formularies, con
firms the antiquity of the four great Liturgies; for where
this liberty existed, it could have been scarcely anything
else but reverence for the Apostolical source from which the
original Liturgies were derived, that prevented an infinite
variety of formularies, and preserved the substantial uni
formity whioh we find to have prevailed in vast districts of
the Primitive Church."* They form, therefore, four distinct
channels, by which the faith and practice of the early Church
have been handed down to us.
To one of these, indeed — the Liturgy of St. James — we
can assign a very great antiquity, from the manner in which
it has been kept separate from all others. Nearly fourteen
centuries ago, at the Council of Chalcedon, which met a. s.
451, a sect of Christians, caUed Monophysites, were anathe
matized for heresy. Since that time they have been, of
course, entirely separated from the orthodox, and no commu
nion subsisted between the two parties. For a time, they
each had their establishments in the different dioceses, and
their own patriarch in the Metropolitan City. At the time
of the Mahometan invasion, the orthodox were driven out,
and the Monophysites, patronized by the invaders, remained
in undisturbed possession of their sees, and represented the
ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. At this day, the members
of this sect are still scattered through Judea, Mesopotamia,
Syria, and the southern part of Asia Minor, and use a Liturgy
in the Syriac Language, which they ascribe to St. James.
The singular fact about this Liturgy is, that a great part of it
coincides, expression for expression, with the Greek Liturgy
used by the Orthodox Church at Jerusalem ; so that one must
evidently be a translation of the other. t When, then, was
this- done ? It must have been prior to the Council of Chalce
don, for since that time these two parties have shunned each
other. This coincidence, therefore, between their most solemn
religious rights proves their services to be at least more than
that be blessed of my Father, and possess the kingdom wliich fe pre
pared for you from the begmning of the world 1' Grant this, O Father,
ffa- Jesus Chrkt's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate."
* Antiq. of English Ritual, v. i. p. 8.
f The Antiquity ofthe Existing Liturgies, Oxford, 1838.

112 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
HOC years old. Such, then, is the authority we have for this
practice — from the cusiom of the Jewish Church — the sanc
tion and example of our Lord — and its universal prevalence in
the early Church. " No doubt" — says Hooker — " from Goi
it hath proceeded, and by us it must be acknowledged as a
work of singular care and providence, that the Church hath
evermore held a prescript form of ¦prayer, although not ih all
things everywhere the same, yet for the most part retaining
still the same analogy. So that if the Liturgies of all the
ancient Churches throughout the world be compared among
themselves, it maybe easily perceived they had all one origi
nal mould, and that the public prayers of the people of God in
Churches thoroughly settled, did never use to be voluntary dic
tates proceeding from any man's extemporal wit."* It would
not indeed be possible, during the whole course of the 1500
years which preceded the Reformation, to find any Church,
the public worship of which was conducted without a pre
scribed form. Not only the ancient Greek and Latin Churches,
but all the other Christian Societies in Europe, Asia, and
Africa, conformed to this rule. The Abyssinians and Egyp
tians — the Jacobites, MaronitCs, and Nestorians of Asia —
and the Christians of St. Thomas, in Indiaf — all had their
Liturgies. ¦* Eccles. PoUty, lib. v. sect. 25.
¦)- Dr. Buchanan, speaking about these Indian Christians, says —
" They have the Bible and a Scriptural Liturgy ; and these will save
a Church in the worst of tunes. And as there were but few copies of
the Bible among the Syrians (for every copy was transcribed with the
pen), it is highly probable, that if they had not enjoyed the advantage
of the daily ¦prayers, a^nd daily portions of Scripture, in their Liturgy,
there would have been, in the revolution of ages, no vestige of Chrfe-
tianity left among them. ..... In a nation Uke ours, overflowing
with knowledge, men are not always in cu-cumstances to perceive the
value of a Scriptural Liturgy. When Christians are well taught
they think they want something better. But the young and the
ignorant, who form a great proportion of the community, are edified
by a Uttle plain instruction, frequently repeated. A small Church or
sect may do without a form for a while. But a national Liturgy fe
that which preserves a relic of the true faith among the people in a
large empire, when the priests leave then: Articles, and their Confes-
' sions of Faith." Researches in Asia, p. 80.

ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER. 113
Strictly considered, all public prayer is a form to those
who unite with the speaker. Whether his petitions have
been previously composed, or arise from the impulse of the
moment, it is the same to his hearers. His extemporaneous
prayer must be to them a form of prayer. We corae then to
the simple question — whether it is better to have this arranged
beforehand, or to trust to the passing feelings of him who
happens to be the minister ? As far as the spiritual benefit
ofthe hearers is concerned, we should say that the former
would be the wiser course. Otherwise, the effect produced
will be that so admirably described by an eminent prelate
of the Church of England — " If there should be nothing ab
surd or unbecoming in the prayers, yet the audience must
first endeavor to understand the words; and then they must
weigh and consider the sense and meaning ; and then they
must deliberate whether such requests are proper for persons
in their condition, before they can lav?fully join them ; and by
that time, the minister is passed on to some other subject
which requires the like attention and consideration ; and so
their curiosity may be raised, and they may exercise their
jiidgment, but there can scarce be any room left for de
votion.''* Equally important is the influence of a Liturgy upon a
Church collectively. It preserves its orthodoxy unimpaired.
Without a prescribed form of prayer, each individual teacher
is left to inculcate such doctrines as best suit his own private
views. He may preach error, and then pray in accordance
with it. There is no standard to which his people can at
all times direct their attention, and judge of his doctrines.
He may become a disbeliever in one of the cardinal articles
ofthe Christian faith, but if he,omit all mention of it, both
in his sermons and prayers, it raay not be brought before the
attention of his people for years, and thus insensibly, yet
gradually, they fall into his errors.
Such, however, can never be the case where there is a
Liturgy like that of our Church.. Let one who ministers at
our altars become heretical, and he cannot lead his people
with him. He may for a tirae preach his views, but each
prayer he reads in the service will contradict him, aiid pro-
* Bfehop Newton's Sermons, vol ii.

1 14 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
claun most unequivocally that he is faithless to fhe Church
Thus he will be placed in a false position, until at last he is
compelled to go out from us. showing that he is not of us.
Now see ho'w this has always been exemplified. What
religious society without a Liturgy has ever subsisted for
any length of time, and yet not wandered from its early
faith? Look at those on the continent of Europe, which,
after the Reformation, while they abandoned the Apostolical
ministry, give up the ancient Liturgy also. To what result
have those in Germany been led ? Why, we see them wan
dering in all the mazes of rationalism, each year tending
downward to a darker, more hopeless infidelity.* What is
the faith which now prevails at Geneva, where once John
Calvin inculcated his stern and rigid creed ? There, all
is changed, and in place of the strictness of his views, we
have the latitude and coldness of those who scoff at the Di
vinity of our Lord.f We are compelled then to regard the
* Henry Dwight thus describes their progress — " Tlie genuineness
and authenticity of the Old Testament was first attacked, and outwork
after outwork was gained, until aU beUef in it as a revelation, was
almost literaUy exploded from Germany. The Epistles of the New
Testament were afterwards assailed with the same weapons. The
inspiration of one writer after another ceased to be beUeved, until by
an almost equaUy large proportion of the theologians, they were also
viewed as unworthy of regard, except so far as they contain a beau
tiful system of morality, and so far as they are historicaUy interesting
from their instrnmentaUty in spreading Christianity. At a subse
quent period, the Gospels were attacked in a similar manner. The
character of Christ was soon generally beUeved, by the clergy,
to have no more claim to our respect than those of Plato and Aristotie,
unless from the greater purity of his example and' his code of morals,
and from his exhibition of powers of intellect, which most of them
would have probably admitted to be much superior to those of the
Greek philosophers  So universal was thfe disbeUef, that
there were not, in the year 1808, as one of the most distingufehed
orthodox professors informed me, five clergymen, who dared to come
forth and declare themselves to the world, as belonging to the orthodox
party." Travels in Germany in 1825-6. See, too, Huifh James
Rose's ' State of Protestantism in Germany.'
-j- Dr. Sprague of Albany says — " The Protestant Church of Geneva
has greatly departed frora the faith of the early reformers. Most of
their present ministers are unquestionably Unitarians of the German

ANTIQUITY OP FORMS OF PRAYER. 115
reformati(ra on the continent, as a thing that has passed
away. " Lutheranism and Calvinism are indeed now little
more than matters of history ; for the feeble and lifeless
relics which they have left behind, and which still bear their
name, are but painful memorials of systems whose imperfec
tions and faults, whatever they might be, were dignified by
a holy ardor and zeal for God and for God's revelation.
Now, when the confessions of faith for which Luther, and
Zuinglius, and Calvin would have laid down their lives, are
thrown aside as obsolete, or subscribed with salvos and de
clarations which render the act of subscription a mere mock
ery ; how can we recognize the existence of their faith ? *
Overrun by the audacious impiety of Neologism, an infi
delity which cloaks itself under the name of Christianity
in order to inflict a more grievous wound on faith, or sunk
into the deadly slumbers of Socinian and Arian apostacy,
Lutheranism. and Calvinism, as religious systems, seem to
have nearly perished in the countries where they arose. "t
So it is, too, among the dissenters in England, and the
same pulpits in which, during the last century, their ablest
divines preached, are now held by Socinians. f And is not
School, though it is believed there are a few whose religious views are,
in the main, evangeUcaL Here, as in most places in France, I imder-
stand there fe very little that charity herself can beUeve to be vital
piety." Letters from Europe in 1828.
* One of our own clergy has thus recorded the result of his obser
vations, during a vfeit to Geneva, in 1819 : —
" And thrives pure faith there novr -with roots wide spread ?
Is Calvin's name revered — ^it's master dead ?
I too an exile, but for health, around
That Lake, whose mirror yields the raptured eye
Scenes of transcendent grace and majesty.
Have stroU^d, and in Geneva's streets have trod,
' Where's Calvin's tomb ?' I asked ; — the sole reply,
' Who knows ? ' — ' Is Christ stUl worshipped here as God ! '
•In private by dull fools who yet in darkness plod.'"
f Palmer's Treatise on the Church, v. i. p. 358.
X The most fearful picture we have seen of the EngUsh Dissenters
fe given by two of their own authors, Bogue and Bennet. They say—
" JIany, who drank the cup of Arianism first, and then of Socinianism
to the very dregs, ceased to be members of the dissentmg congrega-

116 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
this the case in our own land, where even the descendants
of the New England puritans have abandoned their faith, and
substituted in its place the most fearful heresies, " denying
the Lord that bought them ! " There is reason, therefore,
for that exclamation, uttered by Buchanan, the apostle ol
the East — " Woe to the declining Cburch which hath not a
Gospel Liturgy ! "*
But where could this melancholy history be -written of
any who adhered faithfully to a prescribed form in their pub
lic devotions ? Take our own Church, for example. In
vestigate the doctrines which are embodied in her formula
ries, and you will find that they are now what they were
eighteen centuries ago. Faithless and unworthy men have
indeed at times been the teachers of the Church, but their
errors passed away with them, and the great body of her
members, by looking to the Liturgy for instruction, still held
to their steadfastness. Its holy language, bearing the im
press, and breathing forth the spirit of the purest days, is
tion  By the operation of these causes, many a Presbyterian
congregation dwindled from a giant into a dwarf. Aged people who
remember their respectable condition in the metropoUs, at the com
mencement of this period, must be convinced that heresy has acted
like an enchantress, in sUently, by her fatal spelfe, accompUshing
their destruction. They are, in general, now but the shadow of
what they formerly were, aud many of them have ceased to exist.
Devonshire, the cradle of Arianism, has been the grave of the Arian
dissenters, and there is not left in that populous county, a twentieth
part of the Presbyterians which were to be found at her birth. More
than twenty of their meetmg-houses, it fe said, have been shut up, and
in those which remain open, there are to be seen the skeletons only
of congregations which were fuU and flourfehing before error had
bamshed prosperity."
" Like the dpvouring pestUence, Arianism and Socinianism have,
with few exceptions, carried desolation with them into every congre
gation where they have ohtained an entrance ; and some scores mora
of their meeting-houses would have been shut up, but for the pious
benevolence of persons of a different creed, in the former generation.
By theh- endowments, many of the Presbyterian ministers have been
enabled to retain their office, and to preach to what deserves not the
name of a congregation." History of Dissenters, vol. iv. p. 31 a
* Researches in Asia, p. 80.

ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF FR(.YER. H?
Stamped upon the memory of each one of her true children,
and wrought into the very texture of his mind. Her beau
tiful services, adapted to every change and circumstance of
life, from the cradle to the grave, speak to his heart with a
power which no extemporaneous prayer can have. In these
words his fathers have worshipped. These prayers, per
haps, have trembled upon the lips of some whom he has
loved, but who long since have passed away to their reward.
By the chain of association they unite him to the departed.
They recall them to his memory, and thus, by means of
these petitions, he lives again in scenes which have long since
gone. Oh, solemnly and sweetly do these words and these
services come home to the Churchman's heart ! He would
not part with them — so rich in hallowed recollections — for
all the eloquence that modern wisdora could devise. He
clings to them through life, and trusts that the last sound
which shall fall upon his dying ear, will be that solemn
prayer by which the Church commends the departing spirit
to the mercy of its God.*
Thus it is, that a thousand remembrances gather around
our time-honored Ritual and commend it to our affection.
We ha-ve seen, that in this manner the followers of our Mas
ter worshipped, even in the Apostolic age. When, there
fore, we are called to abandon it, and adopt in its place the
extemporaneous effusions of man in our public worship, may
we not reply in the words of Scripture — " We have no such
custom, neither the Churches of God." We will not fear to
walk in our Lord's footsteps and to follow those ancient
confessors and martyrs, who, in the earliest, purest days
of our faith, amidst sufferings and trials won their way to
Heaven. Did they lack spirituality, or find their devotion
cramped and narrowed down by the words of a Liturgy ?
Has the whole Christian Church been in a grievous error on
this subject, until within the last three hundred years ? No,
* When George Herbert was on his death-bed, he said to Mr. Dun
can, who had come to vfeit him — " Sir, I see by your habit that you
are a priest, and desire you to pray with me." Which being granted,
Mr Duncan asked him — " What prayers ? " To which Mr. Herbert's
answer was — " 0, sir, the prayers of my mother, the Church of Eng
land : no other prayers are equal to them." Wcdtoris Lives, p 339,

; x8 ANTIQUITY OF FORMS OF PRAYER.
brethren ; and the best we can do in our feebleness is, to
tread in the old paths, and " hold fast to the form of sound
Words" which was used " in our fathers' days, and in the
old time before them." Our venerable Liturgy speaks to us
in the language of God's own word. Let us strive to imbibe
its holy spirit, and we shall need no better preparation foi
death. And w-hen at last the worship of the earthly sane-'
tuary is over, we shall be admitted to join in that service
which the redeemed in glory use, as ever, day without night,
they circle the throne rejoicing, and raise the lofty anthem
— " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory,
and blessing."

V.
HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
-Mine is no solitary choice.
See here tlie seal of saints impress'd ;
The prayer of millions swells my voice.
The mind of a^es fills my breast. Ounnijtffham.
The sixteenth century opened upon a scene unequalled
in the history of the world. The power of the Church of
Rome was dominant through Europe. The opposition of
the Albigenses had been extinguished in their blood, and
all was apparently peace in Western Christendom. Tha
institution of the Orders of St. Francis and St. Dominic
had added a new element of strength to the Romish See.
The members of these fraternities wandered through every
land, mingling with the mighty masses of the great city, or
diligently in each lonely valley seeking out " the few sheep
in the wilderness," and every where they were the sworn
servants of the Vatican — ^ready to teach its doctrines, and to
do its bidding. The Pontiffs acted in the spirit of their lofti
est pretensions, deposing princes, and bestowing kingdoms
at their -will, yet every where they seemed to be obeyed.
But this universal peace, was hollow and deceptive. A
day of awakening for the human mind was at hand. Learn
ing had begun to come down from its high places, to en
lighten the multitude. The remains of that literature,
which ages before had called forth the plaudits of as
sembled Greece, or awakened the genius of Rome's
noblest orators, was again taken down from the dusty

120 HISTORY OF OCR LITURGY.
shelves of monasteries ; and thus " in this setting part of
Time," a new audience was created to listen to the strains
of Homer, or to muse over the glorious reveries of Plato.
Communing with the mighty dead, and dwelling "upon the
noble works which they had bequeathed to us — those forms
of antique beauty, which were for ever the bloom of an im
perishable youth — the inteUect of man was quickened into
action, and reason once more asserted her claims. The
moral sense, too, of that generation was outraged by the
sight of a pontiff like Julius, emulating the fame of a
warrior, and embroiling kingdoms in his mad ambition ; or
one like Leo, passing life in an unbroken dream of graceful
voluptuousness, and scoffing at the mysteries of our faith as
long-since refuted fables. Beneath this quiet surface, there
fore, the public mind was stirred up to its lowest depths. A
restless, eager spirit of inquiry was abroad. The question,
"What is truth ?" was earnestly asked. A craving after
spiritual freedom and purity was deeply felt. The successor
of St. Peter stood upon a volcano, though the landscape
was smiling around him, and he perceived not the beginning
of its heavings.
Is it wonderful, then, when the storm at last came, and
the huraan intellect burst the fetters by which Rome would
bind it down, that a scene of wild confusion eiisued ? Was
it not natural, that men should pass at once to the opposite
extreme, and, rejoicing in their newly acquired freedom, in
dulge in the strangest eccentricities ? It was ; and therefore
we are prepared to behold in that an age " emulous of
change" — an age whose motto was — "old things have pass
ed away — all things have become new." In less than fifty
years from the first controversy between Luther and Tetzel,
Protestantism had attained to its highest ascendancy on the
Continent. For the first time the love of novelty could be
indulged, and this liberty was used to the utmost.
The first half of the sixteenth century was the age of
eiEperiments, the fruits of which, in weal or woe, this gene
ration has inherited. Among the other changes made — as
we showed you in the last lecture — was that which related
to the manner of public worship. Those societies which had
abandoned the Church with her Apostolic ministry, in many
cases gave up her ancient Ritual also, and trusted to have

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 121
their devotions led by the extemporaneous effusions of those
who might minister to'them.*
In this respect, as in all others in this great crisis of her
history, the Church in England was enabled to act moie
wisely. As she had retained the Apostolic ministry which
had been handed down for 1500 years, so she preserved her
Ritual, only throwing out those things which were not prim
itive, but were corruptions which had gradually crept in
during the darkness of the few preceding centuries. Thus
our service was merely restored to its ancient purity. Each
view, therefore, which we gain of the true state of feeling
in those times of excitement and change, deepens our grati-
-* The early Reformers themselves were ofteu too clear-sighted
not to perceive the evU of thfe step, but it was taken by their foUow
ers, and, iu truth, naturaUy grew out of the state of feeling we have
described. We wUl give some of their recorded opinions in favor of
a Liturgy. " For so much as concemeth the form of prayer and ecclesiastical
rites, I much approve that it be determined so that it may not be
lawful for the ministers in their administration to vary from it ; as
well to help the simphcity and unsldlfuluess of some, as that the uni
formity of aU the several congregations may better appear ; and,
finally, that the desultory and capricious lightness of such as affect
novelties may be encountered and stopped" Calvin's Letter to Pro
tector Somerset.
" We account it grievous to contemn aU those holy Churches which,
from the times of the Aposties, and of the primitive Church, imto thfe
day, have celebrated the pubhc worship of God out of prescribed forms
— wherefore, we blame the over-nice singularity of those men who
would cast out aU prescribed forms from divine worship." Letter from
the Walachrian Classis of Zealand to the assembly of Divines in
Ijondon, 1646.
" Any one may satfefy himself, from a view of aU the particulars,
that in the ancient Church, the whole of divine worship was adminfe-
tered by prescribed forms. The question is, whether every minister
should have Uberty of obtruding private prayers, which he has him
self composed, with which no one else is acquainted, and to which the
Church fe unaccustomed, instead of forms matured with grave dehb
eration by the servants of Christ, revised by the higher officers of the
Church, and approved by the Synod. This Uberty we do not grant."
Preface to the Agenda or Book of Common Prayer in the Reformed
Churches of Poland and Lithuania. Dated at Thorn, a. d. 1636.
6

122 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
tude to that kind Providence which so plainly led our Mother
Church "in the way wherein she should go,"— overruled
every thing for good — and prepared her to be in all ages
"the Witness and Keeper" ofthe Truth.
This evening, then, we will endeavor to go back to the
early ages of the Church, and show you the origin of our
Liturgy — the different changes through which it passed, as it
was gradually compiled in the course of centuries, until it
finally assumed the form in which it now is in our Prayei
Book. It will surely be interesting to us as Churchmen, to
know from whence came this precious legacy, which, while il
ministers to the spirituality of those who now unite in its ser
vices, has performed also the same holy office for many gen
erations of the saints who have gone before us. There is
another object, also, to be answered by this investigation.
We are often told that the Church in England, from which
our o-wn is derived, was founded by the Romish Church, and
has merely seceded from her, while our Prayer Book is
nothing but an alteration of the Romish Breviary. I trust
that the historical inquiries into which we shall be led in this
Lecture, will demonstrate to your satisfaction, that neither of
these charges is correct — that the British Church existed,
pure and independent, centuries before the -Bishop of
Rome had any authority in that land, and that her Ritual is
derived from the Primitive Liturgies which, were in existence
during those early ages, in which corruption had not yet begun
to invade the Church of Rome.
Let us look, then, at the origin of the Church in that island.
Is she indebted to Rome for her existence? So far from
this being the case, we know that the Christian faith was
professed in Britain even in the Apostles' days, and when
the Church of Rome herself was but in the feebleness of
her infancy. While the Pantheon was yet filled with its
multitude of gods, and day by day there ascended the smoke
of sacrifice to the Capitoline Jupiter — when Christianity in
Rome was only recognized as a "pernicious superstition,"*
the adherents of which were doomed to the fire and the stake,
even then, the name of Christ was honored on the banks of
the Thames, and prayers went up to Him in the strange
¦* Tacitus, Annal. xv. 44.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 123
tongue of those on whom Cicero poured his contempt when
he wrote to Atticus,* and who formed the subject of his jest
with Trehatius, as he warned him against a horde of Celtic
barbarians. t This fact is fully proved by the testimony of
ancient writers. Gildas, a native of Britain, and Abbot of
Bangor, speaking of the birth of our Lord in the days of Ti
berius, and the fatal victory of the Romans over Boadicea,
which took place about the middle of the reign of Nero, says
— " In the mean time " — that is, in the interval between these
two events — " Christ, the true Sun, afforded his rays — that
is, the knowledge of his precepts— to. this island, shivering
with icy cold."t Eusebius, when showing that the Apostles
"preached their doctrine in the remotest cities and coun
tries," adds particularly, "that some passed over the ocean,
Ixl Ta; KaXo/itvaj BjsTravix*? n'trovi, those which are called
the British islands.''^ TertuUian, a. d, 190, says — "There
are places in Britian inaccessible to Roman arms, which
were subdued to Christ."|l Origen, a. d. 230, writes,
"When did Britain, before the coming of Christ, unite in
the worship of one God? "If and again, " The power of God
our Saviour is ever with them in Britain, who are divided
from our world."** And,^ to give one more authority, St.
Chrysostom saya — " The British Islands, situated beyond our
sea, and lying in the very ocean, have felt the power of the
word, for even there churches are built and altars erected."t-i-
The unvarying tradition of the early Church points out
the Apostle Paul as the one by whom the doctrines of the
Cross were preached in that land. Clemens Romanus and
Jerome speak of his travelling " to the utmost bounds ofthe
West" — of his "preaching as far as the extremity of the
earth" — and "preaching the Gospel in the western parts" —
expressions which Stillingfleet has fully shown from other
writers were always used in that age with reference to the
* Ep. ad Att. iv. 16. \^p.Fam.vii.1.n.
/X StlUingfleet's Orig. Brit. p. 4. According to Usher, (Brit. Eccles.
Antiq. p. 278,) Gildas -wrote his histCry about A. D. 564. To thfe Du
Pin agrees, (Eccles- Hist- Cent, -vi.) and also ColUer, (Eccles. Hist. lib.
i. p. 61.)
§ Dem. Evang. Ub. iii. cap. 7, 'f. 112. Paris, 1628.
1 Adv. Jud. c 7. T In Ezek. Rorn. iv.
** Luke c. i. ; Rom. vi. ft Tom. vi. p 635.

124 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
British isles.* He has also classified the evi^ ejice on this
subject by showing — 1st. From St. Paul's circumstances,
that he had leisure and opportunity enough to have gone to
Britain. 2d. Frora the circumstances of Britain, there was
encouragement and invitation enough for him to have gone.
3d. From the circumstances of the rest of the Apostles, that
he was the most likely to have gone of any. The raost direct
proof on this point, however, is derived from an assertion by
Theodoret, which shows the belief in his day. He says—
" Our fishermen and publicans, and he who was a tent-maker,
carried the Evangelical precepts to all nations ; not only to
those who lived under the Roman jurisdiction, but also to
the Scythians and the Hunns; besides to the Indians, Bri-
tains, and Germans."! We have, therefore, no hesitation in
agreeing with the learned Camden, when he says^-" From
these authorities it follows, not only that the Gospel was
preached in Britain in the times of the Apostles, but that St.
Paul himself was the preacher of it."t
Such then is the historical evidence of the early estab
lishment of the Church in that island, and in every succeed
ing age we can clearly trace its progress. The old historian
Bede tells us of Kings who gloried in the Cross, and sought
to aid its triumphs, while it is to this cause we must ascribe
the gradual dying out of the supepstition of the Druids, which
after the second century of Christianity is no longer to be
met with in the history of the country. Neither did her
remote situation shield this Church from the rage of perse
cution, but in the reign of Diocletian she was called to give
up also her witnesses for the truth. There, too, " fhe blood of
the martyrs was the seed of the Church." Foremost in that
glorious band who "counted not their lives dear unto them
selves," the annals of the day tell us of St. Alban, whose
name still reraains in the scene of his siraple faith, when
more than fifteen centuries have passed away. Her Bishops
were present and assisting at the council of Aries, convened
in 314 by the Emperor Constantine from all the Western
Churches, to take cognizance of the Donatist controversy."^
/*Orig. Britp. 39.
f Theod. Serm. ix de legibus, tom. iv. p. 610. Baris 1642.
X Britannia, Intro, p. 86.
§ Theu- subscriptions stand in this way —

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 126
Again, in the year 325, we find the British Bishops at the
pouncil of Nice ; also in 347 at Sardica ; and in 359 at the
Synod of Aminium, where Bishops from all parts of the West
had assembled.*
. This, then, is the first historical fact to which I would
call your attention. You perceive that the British Church
was not derived originally from that of Rome. She sub-
Eboeius Epfecopns, de civitate Eboracensi Provincia Britannia.
RESTirnrus Epfecppus, de civitate Londinensi.
Adelsius Episcopus, de civitate colonia Londinensium.
The Diocese of this last Bishop has been the subject of much
dfepute, since it is evidently a. mistake as it here stands. Archbfehop
Usher supposes it to be Cair-Colwn, (Prim. 60, 195,) which means
the city of Chester. Selden (in Eutch 118) and Sur H. Spelman
(Cone. i. p. 39) both refer it to the Old Colony of Camalodunum. The
supposition of StiUingfleet-(0n5'. Brit. 77) fe, that he was from the
third province of Britannia Secunda, where was a colony of the
Eleventh Legion. Therefore, thfe Bishop Adefeius came ex dvit.
Col- Leg- 11, which an ignorant transcriber might easUy turn to ex
Civit- Col. Londin- Stillingfleet also says, "There being but three
bishops present at the council of Aries, is so far from being an argu
ment that there were no more in Britain, that it is rather an argument
to the contrary, since it was the custom to send but one or two out of
a province where they were most nuraerous." (p. 78.) This is con
firmed by the Emperor's summons to Chrestus, Bishop of Syracuse,
which is the only imperial summons to this council extant, (Euseb.
Eccl, Hist. Ub. X cap. 5,) and which Baronius beUeves was in the same
form with the rest. In this summons, Chrestus is required to come
out of that province and bring two priests with him. And St. HUary,
in speaking of the councils in his day, says — "That one or two Bfehops
were sent for out of a Province." (Collier's Eccles. Hist) v. i. p. 26.)
It ia worth whUe to observe the conduct of 'this councU to the
Bishop of Rome, who was not present, that we may see how little in
that day they dreamed of his supremacy. They send theh- decrees to
hira only "to make them more public." They call hun "Dear
Brother," and express their regret that he had not been there, as they
would have been glad of hfe vote and company. Or, as it ia in the
Latin — " Et utinam; Frater DUectissime, ad hoc tantum Spectaculum
interesses, et te pariter nobfecum judicante, coetus noster majore latitia
exultasset." (Collier, v. L p. 28, and Stillingfleefs Orig. Brit. p. 86;)
There were also present with the British Bishops, Sacerdos, a
Presbyter, and Arminius, a Deacon of the Church.
* Corner's Eccl. Hfet. ^. i. p. 28, 37.

126 HISTORY OF nUR LITURGY.
sisted entirely independent of the Church in Italy until the
close of the sixth century, bound to her only by friendship
and amity, as she was to all other Churches throughout the
world. She owed no subjection to any foreign power, not
is there a record of any Romish Ecclesiastic in that island
until the year 596.*
What, then, during these six centuries, was the Liturgy
used in our Mother Church ? We mentioned to you in the
last Lecture, that there were still existing four great Litur
gies, which had come down to us from Primitive times, and
were the original sources from which all others were derived.
These were called after the naraes of St. James, St. John,
St. Peter, and St. Mark, and from their origin in the first
age of our faith, were of course similar in their general
features. The Liturgy of St. John was used not only in the
East by the Ephesian Church, but also in Westem Europe,
and from the Gallican Church the CJiristians in Britain
received it. Such, at all events, was the testimony of
tradition among those by whom it had been adopted. The
ancient author, whose tract has been published by Spelman,
and -who is allowed by all critics to have written not later
than the beginning of the eighth century, thus positively
affirms it — " Johii the Evangelist first chanted the Gallican
course; then afterwards, the blessed Polycarp, disciple of
St. John; then afterwards, thirdly, IrenEcus, who was Bishop
of Lyons in Gaul, chanted the same course in Gaul."t
The Church of Rome during this period was using the
* It was a Church ancient and glorious many hundred years before
Popery began, being planted by the hands of the Apostles, as some
affirm upon no improbable conjecture ; but we are assured from hfe
tory, very near those days. ..... And thfe British Church was
renoTVned throughout the world, flourishing under Bishops and a
glorious pnriesthood till about the seventh century ; when the Bishop
of Rome claiming a supremacy over other Bishops, the Church of
Rome claimed the same over other Churches, and from the precedence
of an elder sfeter leaped into the authority of a parent  Under
her corruptions, this Church, Uke her other sisters, sate down a
contented captive many hundred years, till the great releaae of the
Reformation." Bisse on " The beauty of holiness in the Common
Prayer." p. 11, 12.
f Spelman, Concilia, tom. i. p. 176.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 127
Liturgy of St. Peter, which varied in some particulars from
that of St. John, which the Western Church had adopted.
We leirn ihis from the iiiterrogation whioh St. Augustine
addressed to Pope Gregory, at the clcse of the sixth century.
lie asked— ^" Why the customs of Churches are different,
¦vhen their faith is the same, and one custora of Liturgy
Prevails in the Church of Rome, another in those of Gaul?"*
A.nd again, in his effort to bring the British Church under
Ihe dominion of Rome, he addressed her Bishops in the
fb'dowing terms — " In many respects you act in a manner
contrary to our customs, and indeed to those of the universal
Church ; and yet, if you will obey rae in these three things,
to celebrate Easter at the proper time ; to perform the office
of Baptism, in which we are bom again to God, according
to the custom of the Holy Roman and Apostolical Church;
and with us to preach the Word of God to the English na
tion ; we will tolerate all your other customs, though contrary
to our own."\ It is evident, therefore, that in her early day
the British Church did not receive her Ritual from Rome.
When, then, first commenced the intercourse between
these two Churches? It was in the year 596 that Gregory,
Bishop of Rome, carried into execution a plan he had long
cherished of sending missionaries to aid in the conversion
ofthe Saxons. For this purpose St. Augustine was selected
with forty monks from his own monastery at Rome. Taking
with him interpreters from France, he landed at the island
of Thanet with his company, in the month of August of that
year. He found the Church in Britain regularly estab
lished, although weakened by the opposition of the Pagan
Saxons, who had in some parts of the country driven out
her Bishops and caused them to take refuge in Wal0s ; "for
the Saxons" as the old English Chronicles tell us, " left not
the face of Christianity wherever they did prevail.''^ The
worship of the Church was, as we have shown, with their
own ancient Liturgy, while their Episcopal organization is
proved by the Correspondqjjce which took place between
* Bede, Hist. Eccles. Ub. i. c. 21.
f Ibid lib. ii. c. 2. CoUier in hfe Eccles. Hist. Ub. L p. 49-51, haa
given the points of difference between the Roman Ritual, and that of
the Gallican and AngUcan churches.
X StilUngfleet's Orig. Brij p. 366.

"128 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
Augustine and Gregory. When Augustine, in asking in
structions, inquires—" How he ought to manage with re
spect to the Bishops of Britain?" the Pope rephed, " As tc
the Bishops of Britain, he put them all under his jurisdic
tion."* From whence he derived his right thus to give
Augustine authority over an independent Church, it would
be difficult to show.
In accordance with these directions, when firmly estab
lished in the island, Augustine invited the British Bishops
to a conference. The meeting took place on the banks of
the Severn, at a place long afterwards called Augustine's
Oak. There were seven English Bishops present, — prob
ably from St. David's, Llandaff, Llanbadarn, Bangor, St.
Asaph, Somerset, and Cornwall — besides the most learned
men from Bangor-Iscoed, with Dinoth, their abbot.-j- No
efforts of Augustine however could induce them to submit
to the jurisdiction of Rome. His proposals were at once
rejected, and the reply of Dinoth, which is still preserved,
gives most fully the views of his Church. Speaking in the
name of his brethren, he said — " That the British Churches
owe the deference of brotherly kindness and charity to the
Church of God, and to the Pope of Rome, and to all Chris
tians. But other obedience than this, they did not know fo
be due to him whom they called Pope : and for their parts,
they were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Caerleon
upon Usk, who under God, was their spiritual overseer and
director.''^ Thus it was that the free spirit of our old
Mother Church spake out.
But power was on the side of Rome, and all the weight
of her influence was put forth to bring the Church in that
distant island under subjection. The Saxons, too, weakened
her ranks by their assaults, and on one occasion 1200 priests
and monks were slaughtered together, when they had posted
* ColUer'a Eccles. Hist. 1. ii. p. 68. f ^^de, L u. c. 2.
.''' X CoUier tells us, (Eccles. Hist. 1. u. p. 76,) that this passage, first
published by Spelman, (Concilia, v. i. p. 108, 109,) was copied by him
" from an old manuscript, which had also been transcribed from an
older." The Romanists have attacked its genuineness, but the reader
wiU see their arguments and objections answered, in Collier, as
above. Stillingfleefs Orig. ^rit. p. 371, and Bingham'r Antiq. Ecc.
ii. 9.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 129 *
themselves on an eminence near the field of battle, to pray
for the success of their countrymen.* Often therefore must
the members of that stricken and suffering Church have
been forced to recall as prophetic the parting threat which
Augustine had addressed to them at the close of his confer
ence — " I foresee that if you will not have peace with
brethren, you will have war with foes ; and if you will not
preach the way of Ufe to the English, you will suffer deadly
vengeance at their hands." Yet even thus depressed — with
the savage cruelty of the Pagans on the one side, and the
opposition of their Christian Brethren on the other — the old
British Church . struggled on, maintaining her rightful and
dignified position, and only yielding at last, when reduced
by the strong arm of secular force. It took therefore five
centuries of conflict to compel her into submission to the
Romish See, nor was it until the Norman conquest that the
authority of the Pope can be considered as firmly settled. t
* Bede, L iL o. 2.
¦f "There doth not appear much of the Pope's power in this
realm before the Conquest. But the Pope having favored and sup
ported King WUliam I in hfe invasion oJ thfe kingdom, took that op
portunity of enlarging hfe encroachments, and in this King's reign Tjc-
gan to send his legates hither ; and prevailed with Henry I. to give
up the donation of Bfehoprica ; and in the time of King Stephen gained
the prerogative of appeals ; and in the time of Henry IL exempted
all clerks from the secidar power.
" And not long after thfe, by a general excommunication of kings
and people for several years, because they would not suffer an Arch
bishop to be imposed upon them, King John was reduced to such
straits, that he waa obUged to surrender his kingdoma to the Pope,
and to receive them again, to hold of him at a rent of a thousand
marks. '
"And in the foUowing reign of Henry IIL, partly from the profit
of our best Church benefices, which were genefaUy given to ItaUana
and others residing at the Court of Rome and partly by the taxes
imposed by thePope, there went yeatly out of the kingdom, seventy
thousand pounds — an immense sum in those days." Bv/rris Ecclesias-
tical Law, v. ui p. 108.
Su(Jh was the gradual progress of Papal encroachments in Eng-
gland.' It wUl be observed, that the reign of WiUiam the Conqueror
commenced in 1066, and that of Henry VIIL in 1509. The period
between embra'-ns only 443 years.
6*

130 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
Then, for four centuries and a half, the same darkness
which had settled upon the rest of Western Christendom,
seemed to have gathered over Britain also. The spirit of
Popery everywhere prevailed, and the Church of England was
bowed down at the feet of a foreign Bishop. Yet the breath
and pulse of life had not yet ceased. Scattered through the
land during all these years were those who saw her fall, and
mourned over it in secret. Occasionally, too, they spake out,
and boldly bore witness against this corruption, although it
was at the peril of their lives. The page of Ecclesiastical
History in this way records the names of Grostete — whose
best encomium is that exulting exclamation of Pope Innocent,
on hearing of his death, " I rejoice, and let every true son of
the Church rejoice with me, that my great enemy is re
moved" — and Fitzralph, and Wiclif, who in succession entered
their protest against the evils of Romish dominion. These
were men who knew the right, and having solemnly counted
the cost, shrunk not from an open confiict with the crushing
power of Rome. Alone, uncheered by the loud voice of
popular sympathy, supported only by the purity of their in
tentions and the goodness of their cause, they stepped forth
from their -cloistered retirement, and endured " the dust and
heat" of this battle, which was waged for the best interests
of man. For them, . persecution had no perils by which it
could terrify ; but, receiving the torch of truth from each
other's hands, they bore it steadily onward, and thus acted
as the heralds of the coming reformation.* In this way it
¦* " It would be easy to show, that during this whole period there
were leading men in the English Church who made bold stand not
only against the usurpations, but also against the corruptions of the
Romish Church. Even Archbishop Dunstan, in many things subser
vient to the Pope, did not hesitate to set at defiance the Papal
mandate^ when he deemed it unjust or improper, a. d. 961. And
Alfric Puttock, Archbishop of Tork, from 1023 to 1050, openly
impugned the doctrine of transubstanti.ition. In hfe ' Sermon to he
spoken to the people at Easter, before they receive the holy housel,'
(the communion,) he teaches doctrines that would now be considered
orthodox by sound theologians. In the next century, GUbert S'oliath,
consecrated Bishop of Hereford 1148, translated to London 1163, died
1187, set at defiance the Papal authority, and though twice excom-
municatrd by the Pope, paid no regard to the thunders of the Vatican.

alSTORY OF OUR LITURGY. ISI
was t'aat the faith had ever some to witness for it in that
land. But the Church, even with these seeds of truth within
her breast — these germs of future purity and life — like the
Pilgrims in '.heir Progress to the Celestial City, slumbered
on the enchanted gii)und. For a time, she bowed to the
witohery of that spell which Rome had cast over her, and
suffered her senses to be overpowered by the incantations
of that oppressor who had led her into captivity. But at
length the hour of her redemption came, and a voice broke in
upon her, crying — " Sleep no more." Then her dream was
dispelled, and shaking frora her garments the dust of ages
she came forth in her ahcient strength. She had discerned a
vision of the Truth, which, while ir made her free, enabled
her also to proclaim spiritual freedom to the world.
You perceive, then, how groundless is the charge that the
Churfrh of England, and of course our own Church, are only
seceders from that of Rome. The whole statement of the
case is briefly this — ^that the Italian Bishops invaded the
British branch of the Catholic or Universal Church, which,
after a long struggle, was for a time reduced to submission ;
yet ultimately her rights were recovered, and this foreign
jurisdiction thrown off. Successive councils of the Church
had declared the independence of each particular branch,
and the Bishops of Rome therefore had no authority in that
island. The sixth canon of the Council pf Nice, a. d. 325,
Cotemporary -with FoUath, was Ormin the poet, whose worka present
us with the purest English, and the purest doctrines of that age. The
next century was rendered famous by Robert Grostete, or Greathead,
Bfehop of Lincoln, from 1234 to 1258. In 1247, a demand was made
by the Pope for 6000 marks, (about £50,000,) and he had the courage
to refuse to levy it until he had the sense of the nation upon it. He
visited Rome, and protested against its corruptions, before the Pope
and Cardinals. After his return, the Pope again tried his courage by
coUating an ItaUan youth to a vacant Canonry in the Cathedral of
Lincoln. But Grostete was inflexible. He set at nought the Pope'a
commands, for -which he was excommunicated. But the thunderbolt
feU harmless at his feet, and he died in peaceful possession of hfe See.
Other examples of a siraUar nature occur, but these are araply suffi- •
cient to show that raany of the clergy asserted that in their -writmga
to which they assented m thefe legfelative capacities." Chapin's
Prim. Chvirch, p. SSd,

^32 HISTORY OF OUU LITURGY.
commanded that the " ancient customs should prevail," and
the "privileges of Churches be preserved." In like manner,
the Council of Ephesus, a. d. 430, forbade Bishops to assume
jurisdiction over provinces which had not from the beginning
been subject to their predecessors. It enjoined on all who
might have taken such provinces, an immediate restitution,
and decreed " that every province should preserve pure and
inviolate the rights which it had from the beginning ; that" —
as the Council added, with a degree of prophetic wisdom —
" the Canons of the Fathers may not be transgressed, nor the
pride of worldly dominion enter, under the pretence of the
sacred ministry."* At that time, the Church in Britain was
independent of the Roman patriarch ^ what right, then, had
he afterwards to assume and enforce jurisdiction ? Mr. Dods-
worth has thus briefly summed np the whole question — " I
repeat, what is so essential in these days for every Church
man to remember, that the Church of England never
SEPARATED FROM THE Church OF RoME. It was Originally
an independent Church, founded — not by emissaries from
Rome — ^but at a period not far removed from Apostolic times,
and perhaps even by an Apostle himself. ... It was not till
the period of the Conquest, in the middle of the eleventh
century, that Rome assumed anything like an ascendancy
over our Church, and then it was not without a long and
arduous struggle that she established it. So that the real
fact ofthe case is this, that out of eighteen centuries, during
which the Churchof England has existed, somewhat less than
four centuries and a half were passed under the usurped
domination of the See of Rome : so great is the absurdity,
and palpable ignorance of historical facts, evinced by those
who represent the Church of England, as a separated branch
from the Romish comraunion."t
* Palmer's Orig. Liturgicae, v. U. p. 263.
f Discourses on Romanism and Dissent, p. 168. Dr. Hook, of
Leeds, Chaplain to the Queen, in a sermon preached in the Chapel
Royal, also thus finely illustrates this point — " About two yeara ago
the very Chapel in which we are now asserabled, was repaired, cer
tain diafigureraents removed, certain improvements made ; would it
not be absurd on that account to contend that it is no longer the Chapel
. Royal 8 Would it not be stiU more absurd if some one were to biuld a
nev Chapel in the neighborhood, imitating closely what this Chapel was

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. l33
Now, among the changes which took place during this
long period of bondage, the ancient and primitive Liturgy of
the English Church suffered also; for the overshadowing
power of Rome was too great to allow the continuance in
use of this precious legacy from former ages. It necessarily
became more and more assimilated to that of Italy. The tide
of Romish priests was poured in from;.-the continent — their
Bishops gradually usurped the Sees of the English prelates — ¦
foreign rites and ceremonies were taught to the people — ^nevs
doctrines, such as the worship of saints, the adoration of the
^Cross, transubstantiation, indulgences, and purgatory, were
introduced — and thus these corruptions, which their invaders
had brought with them, were gradually ingrafted upon the
Ritual ofthe British Church. At length tliat uniformity was
produced which it is ever the object of Rome to attain, and so
the Liturgy remained until the reign of Henry VIII.
At this time the spirit of reformation commenced in
England, and the Church, having first thrown off her aller
glance to the Romish See, proceeded to purify her service,
and restore it to its ancient form.* This, however; was not
five years ago, and carefully pUing up all the dust and rubbish which
was at that time s-wept from hence, and then pronounce that, not this, f o
bethe ancient Chapel of the Sovereigns of England? The absurdityisat
once apparent ; but thfe fe precisely what has been done by the Roman
Catholic or Papfet. The present Church of England is the old Catholic
Church of England, reformed in the reigns of Henry, Edward, and
EUzabeth, of certain superstitious errors ; it is the same Church which
came down from our British and Saxon ancestors, and, as such, it
possesses ita origmal endowments, which were never, as ignorant
persons foolfehly suppose, taken from one Church and given to
another. The Church remained' the same after it was reformed as
it waa before, just as a man remains the same man after he has
washed- his face, as he was before ; just as Kaaman, the' leper,
remained the same XTaaman after he was cured of his leprosy, as he
was before."
* It may be weU here to notice a usual objection, that Henry VIII.
commenced the Reformation and separated from Rome, to serve hia
own Ucentious passions. But haa this any thing to do with the ques
tion ? Doea not Gx)d often make "the wrath of man to prafee Him ?"
In this instance, we behold Him bringing good out of evil, raising up
holy men to complete in purity what was begun in passion, and thus
even the vices of an unholy king were made to minister to the success

.34 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
done hastily. Time was taken, and each step made the
subject of careful deliberation, and prpfound learning called
in to aid, and a thorough investigation of the past resorted
to, during every stage of the compilation. The questions
were often asked^' What is to be retained, because it is
Scriptural, Primitive, and CathoUc ? " and — " What is to be
stricken out, because it is modern and Romish ! " Their
own ancient existing missals, the "Uses," and other ritual
books of York, Sarura, Hereford, Bangor, and Lincoln,*
were sought out, and also the Priraitive Oriental forras of
worship examined, and from these materials, the service
was restored to its original purity, and that Ritual composed
whioh is now our Book of Common Prayer. More than
120 years, however, passed — from the year 1537, in the reign
of Henry VIIL, to the year 1662, in the reign of Charles II.
— while this church was going through its successive steps,
and gradually maturing to the form in which we now have
it. Twice indeed it was interrupted — once by the reign of
Queen Mary, who of course endeavored to restore the
Roman Ritual, and again by the rule of the Puritans, when
all ancient forms were rejected as the remains of Popery —
but during the remainder of this period, it was a subject of
frequent study with the Prelates of the English Church,
of His Church. The truth of a cause, and the personal characters of
its promoters, are very different considerations. Sorae of tlie Je-wish
kings, whom God employed as reformers, to restore Hfe worship — ¦-
Jehu, for example (2 Kings x. 29) — were by no means saints. Con
stantine estabUshed Christianity hi the Roman Empu-e, and Napoleon
restored it in France. Yet who cavik at either of these great changes,
on account of the want of personal sanctity in their authors ?
* These were, in the main, transcripts of the Sacramentary of St.
Gregory of the sixth century, and of course free from those corruptions
of the Romish Church which were most objectionable, as they were
prior to the adoption of these errors. As each Bishop had the power
of altering the particular Liturgy of his own Church, in process of
time different customs arose, and several became so establfehed as to
receive the names of their respective Churches. Thus gradually the
"Uses," or "Customs" of York, Sarum, Hereford, &c., came to be
distmguished from each other. (Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. 1, p. 186.)
An examination of these Uses will therefore often show the faith of
yje pnglfeh Church iq the aeyenth century.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 135
asisisted by the learned of the land, to return to a purer
mode of worship.
The first 'step was in the reign of Henry VIIL, when a
committee, appointed for that purpose, translated certain
portions of the Service into English, -which were publishcQ
under the title of "The Institution of a Christian Man."
It was known also by the name of '*The Bishop's Book."
Six years afterwards, this was revised and republished under
the title of "A necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any
Chrisiian Man." Again, in 1545, the King's Primer was
published.* * These words have all been reprinted" in England during the last
few years. To show the gradual progress of feeling during the reign
of Henry VIII. we wiU give the contents of these three Books.
I. The Institution of a Christicm Man-
" Thfe book, caUed The Institution of a Chrfetian Han, contalneth
four special parta, whereof
The first part contalneth the Exposition of the Creed, called the
Apostles' Creed.
The second part contalneth the Exposition or Declaration of tha
Seven Sacraments, viz.. Matrimony, Baptfem, Confirmation, Penance,
Holy Euchaifet, Orders, Extreme Unction.
The third part contaiheth the Exposition ofthe Ten Commandments
The fourth part contalneth the Exposition of the Pater Noster and
the Ave, with the Articlea of Justification and Purgatory."
II. A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Christian Man.
The Declaratibn of Faith.
The Articlea of our BeUef, called the Creed.
The Seven Sacraments.
The Ten Commandments of Almighty God.
Our Lord's Prayer, caUed the Pater Noster.
The Salutation of the Angel, caUed the Ave Maria.
An Article of Free WUl.
An Article of Justification.
An Article of Good Works.
Of prayer for souls departed.
III. The Primer, set forth by the King's Majesty, and His Clergy,
to be taught, learned, and read ; and none other to be used throughout
aU his dominions, 154S.
The Calendar. The Seven Psalms.
The King's Highnesa Injunction. The litany.
The Prayer of our Lord. The Dirge.

136 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
In the reign of Edward VI., when the ancient custom of
administering the Communion in both kinds was restored,
it was of course found necessary to have a Service giving
the true view of this Sacrament. The King therefbra
appointed " certain Bishops and other learned Divines, to
draw an office in English to be used for that purpose ; which
being finished, was caUed, The Communion."* In May,
1548, the greatest step in this series of changes was taken.
The same Bishops and Divines were again selected by the
King " to draw up a general public office in English, in the
room of the Latin mass-book," This having been done,
and the whole Liturgy with its public offices having been
compiled, it was confirmed by Parliament, in the latter end
of the same year, and set forth under the title of " The
Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacra
ments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of
England." Upon this Strype remarks — " The rule they
went by in this work was, the having an eye and respect
unto the most sincere and pure Christian reUgion taught by
the Holy Scriptures, and also to the usage of the Primitive
Church  .As for the work itself, as it is said to be
done by one uniform agreement, so also ' by the aid of the
Holy Ghost,' such was the high and venerable esteem then
had of it."t A few slight alterations having been made in
1552, together with some useful additions, such as the
Introductory Sentences, Exhortations, Confession and Ab
solution, and the forms for ordination of Bishops, Priests,
and Deacons, it was again confirmed by Parliament, and
this is the book known by the name of " The Second Book
of Edward VL"
Under Elizabeth ahd James I. Committees were S,t dif
ferent times appointed to see what further revision of the
Prayer Book was expedient. The changes however were
trifling, generally referring merely to the form of expres
The Salutation of the AngeL The Commendations.
The Creed, or Articles of Faith. The Psalms of the Passions.
The Ten Commandments. The passion of our Lord
The Matins. Certam godly prayers for sun
The Even Song. dry purposes.
Tlie Compline.
* Strype's Mem. Eccles. v. ii. part i. p. 96. -f Ibid p. 135.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. T37
sion, except the insertion of some prayers for Thanksgiving,
and a few Questions and Answers in the Catechism.
At last, in the reign of Charles II., the final alterations
were made. Some of the Collects were remodelled, the
Epistles and Gospels were taken from King James's transla
tion of the Bible, the office- for the Baptism of adults, to
gether with a few prayers for particular occasions, were
added, and thus the Prayer Book was finally adopted as it is
now used by the Church in England.
Thus it is that we have given the'History of our Litur
gy, from its rise in Primitive times down to its present form
in our Mother Church abroad. You perceive therefore that
it is no modern production^ nor is it a set of forms which
grew up amid the corruptions of the Middle ages.* It is a
Ritual which, in all its principal features, can be traced
back to the Apostolic age. And so close is this resem
blance, that in very many parts it extends even to the expres
sions and the words.
To effect this was the avowed object of the EngUsh Re
forraers. Unlike those on the Continent^ they raade no at
terapt to found a new Church, nor did they desire to intro
duce a new order of worship. They knew that " the old
was better," and therefore their work was simply one of
Restoration. Thus, in the answer of the Council to the
Princess Mary, afterwards Queen, whe,n she -wished Mass
* Ingram; in hfe True Character of the Church of England, thus
shows that our Prayer Bodk is older than the Roman Missal now
used — " Our Common Prayer was compiled in 1548, received a re
vision in 1552, and was established iu its present form in 1569.
Whereas the Roman Missal was dra-wn up by certain fathers chosen
for that pm-pose towards the close of the Council of Trent in 1562,
and was not sanctioned and promulgated until 1570 by a bull of
Pope Pius V. bearing date the 12th of January in that year. It fe .
therefore impossible that the later Roman could have heen the source
whence the earlier EngUsh Ritual was derived The Reformed
Church of England might, with much greater appearance of reason,
charge the Italian Church with having copied from her Liturgy aU
that is Scriptural and Prirhitive in the Roman Mass Book. But the
fact is, both Churches had one common fountain from which to draw ;
namely. Scripture and Primitive usage. The Church of Rome chos9
to corrupt the pure waters of this fountain." — ^p. 95.

138 HISTORY OF OUR LITUTIGY.
performed in her house, they say — " That the Christian
faith professed is the same in substance as before .....
that the English Reformation had recovered the worship to
the directions of Scripture, and the usage of the Primitive
Clmrch."* And Bishop Collier adds—" That part of the
letter which relates to religion, was penned in all likelihood
by Cranmer and Ridley, who were then of the Privy Coun
cil." When again, in the reign of Queen Mary, Arch
bishop Cranmer drew up " A Manifesto in Defence of the
Reformation," he has the same appeal to antiquity. He
says, " And with the Queen's leave he offers to justify the
English Communion Service, both from the authority of
the Scriptures, and the practice of the Primitive Church.
And on the other side, that the Mass is not only without
foundation in both these respects, but likewise discovers a
plain contradiction to antiquity  He will maintain
the Reformation made in the late reign, with respect to
Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship, to be more orthodox
and defensible, more agreeable to the true standard, and
Primitive Plan, than the belief and practice of the Church
of Rorae."t In the sarae way. Queen Elizabeth, in reply
to the Roman Catholic Princes on the Continent, who de
sired favor to be shown to the Romish Bishops, gives as a
reason why they should conform to the established Church,
that " there was no new faith propagated in England ; no
new religion set up, but that which was commanded by our
Saviour, practised by the Primitive Church, and awroved
by the Fathers cf the best an1iquity."X When therefore the
Prayer Book was published in its present form, it "was re
commended to the Clergy and Laity in these words — " Here
you have an order of Prayer, and for the reading of Scrip
ture, much agreeable to the mind and purposes of the old
fathers-"^ In the " Act of Uniformity," the Parliament of
England declared that thus they received it, and it was au
thorized as " A very godly Book, agreeable to the word of
God and the Primitive Church, very comfortable to all good
people, desiring to live in Christian conversation." ||
* ColUer's Eccl. Hist. v. il p. 311.
t Ibid. p. 347. X Ibid- P- 3*6.
§ Preface to the Prayer Book. || Collier's Eccl Hist. v. u. p. 320.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 139
We have thus brought before you the History of our
Liturgy, through all ages, from Primitive times until it
assumed its present form, that you may see how much it
retains the spirit and even the words derived from the days
of ancient -purity. To impress this ho-wever still more — to
show how fully we have the sanction of antiquity for our
manner of worship — we will briefiy take up the principal
parts of our Ritual, and state their derivation.
With respect to the Communion Service, wa showied
in the last Lecture, when referring to the four Original
Liturgies, how entirely our form for the administration of
this solemn Sacrament is taken from them: It was the ob
ject of the compilers of our Prayer Book — ^says Wheatley —
" out of them all to extract an office for themselves ; and
which indeed they performed with so exaict a judgment and
happy success, that it is hard to determine; whether they
more endeavored the advancement of doctrine, or the imita
tion of pure antiquity."* For example, all these ancient
Liturgies have a prayer answering in substance to ours,
"For the whole state of Christ's Church MiUtant." All
contain that portion begiiming, "Lift up your hearts,"
with, the responses whioh follow, is well as that noble an
them, " Therefore ¦with angels and archangels." In each
one of them also we find the commemoration of our Lord's
words — the Breaking of Bread — the Oblation — the Prayer
of consecration — the administration of the Elements — and
the Lord's Prayer.
Other parts of this service, although not taken from these
four Primitive Liturgies, are still of great antiquity. Thus,
the Offertory has been received in the English Church since
the vend of the sixth century. It is found indeed in Rit
uals of that period although it may have been used long
before.-i- The Exhortation also has its parallel in the an
cient Liturgies. In that of Antioch particularly, which was
used for a great Jength of time by the Syrian Monophosites,
there is a similar address from the deacon to the people,
which in its poshion in the service corresponds with our
Exhortation. This if not of greater antiquity than the sep
aration of the orthodox and Monophosites in a. d. 451, can-
* On Common Prayer, p. 274. f Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. ii. p. 73

140 HISTORY OP OUR LITURGY.
not be much later than that event.* A form of Confession
was common in the ancient Churches, and in the Liturgy of
Jerusalem it occupies exactly this place in the service.
There is also extant a Sacramentary of the time of Charle
magne, which contains one in substance similar to our own.f
The same antiquity may be claimed for the Absolution,
which follows. The Thanksgiving after Communion may
be traced in several early Liturgies, particularly that of Cae
sarea, which is more than 1500 years old, that of Antioch,
and the Alexandrian Liturgy of Basil. :( The date of the
Gloria in Exeelsis has never been accurately fixed. By some
it has been ascribed to Telesphorus, Bishop of Rome, a. d.
150; by others to Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers in the fourth
century. We know, however, that it is more than 1500
years old in the Eastern Church, and the Church of England
has used it either at the beginning or end of the Liturgy for
above 1200 years. § The Benediction is found in some form
in all ancient services, and the one with which our service
concludes is a judicious enlargement of that which was used
in the English Church before the year 600.11
In the sarae way, did our Umits permit, we could go
through the- Baptismal Service, and point out the origin
of its different parts. Some of these — like the vows of re
nunciation and the profession of faith — are of primitive
antiquity, while the remainder can generally be found in the
ancient Manuals of Salisbury and York, or in manuscripts
which were used more than nine hundred years ago.lf
Let us turn to the Psalter. The manner of reading or
singing the Psalms responsively, as we now do, prevailed in
very ancient times. We showed in the last Lecture that
thus the Song of Moses was used, after the passage of the
Red Sea, when the people sang, " and Miriam and all the
women answered them." In this way, too, we know that
many of the Psalms of David were chanted forth in the ser
vice of the Temple. Such, for instance, was Psalm cxxxvi.,
where the first part of each verse was sung by the Levites,
while the chorus, " For his mercy endureth forever," was
the response ofthe people.
¦* Palmers Orig., Lit v. ii. p. 100. f Ibid. p. 106.
X Ibid. p. 156. § Ibid. p. 169. [ Ibid p. 161.
t Ibid. p. i73.

history of our liturgy. 141
From them the early followers of our Lord inherited
these hymns of praise, and ever since the times of the Apos
tles the recitation of Psalms antiphonally has , every where
forraed a principal part of the service of the Church.* Thus
the Roman Governor, Pliny, a. d. 110, states that the Chris
tians "met on a certain stated day, and sung by turns,
(invicem,) a hymn to Christ, as God."t St. Jerome, in
describing the devotions of Christians in Egypt, says, "thdn
the Psalms are sung, and the Scriptures are read;'^ and
thus Cassian represents it, that the Psalms were used before
the lessons. J In the same way, St. Basil tells us; that this part
of the service was performed in his day, alternately. " After
the confession, the people rise from prayer, and proceed to
Psalmody, dividing theinselves into two parts, and singing
by turns."§ The Psalms, too, were always read or sung, as now
among us, standing. Thus Cassian, speaking of the Egyp
tian Christians, says, that when " by reason of their continual
fastings and labor day and night, they were unable to stand
all the time, while twelve Psalms were reading  yet
* Thus St. Chrysostom sayS — ^"Chrfetians exercise themselves in
David's Paalms oftener than in any part of the Old or New Testament
Moses, the great lawgiver, who saw God face to fkce, and wrote of the
creation of the world; is scarcely read through once a year. The Holy
Gospefe, where Christ's miracles are preached, where God converses
¦with man, where de^vife are cast out, lepers are cleansed, and the
bUnd restored to sight, where death fe destroyed, where is the food
of immortaUty, the Holy Sacraments, the words of Ufe, holy preoepta,
precioua promfees; theae we read over once or twice a week. What
shall laay of blessed Paul, the preacher of Chrfet ? Hia Epfetlea we
read twice in the week.' We get them not by heart, but attend to
them wlule they are reading. But as to David'a Paalma, the grace of
the Holy Spirit has so ordered it, that they are repeated night and
day. In the ¦vigils of the Church, the flrst, the midst, the last, are
David's Psalms. In the mommg, David's Psalms are sought for, and
the flrst, the midst, and the laat, fe David. At funeral solemnities,
the first, the midst, and the last, is David. In private houses, the
first, the midst, and the last, is David. Many that know not a letter,
can say David's Psalms by heart." Horn- vl de Poen.
t Pliny, Ep. 97. X Bmgham, Orig. Eccles. Ub. xiv. c 1. sect. L
§ Wheatley on Common Prayer, p. 134.

142 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
at the last Psalm they all stood up, and repeated it alternately _
adding the Ghr-ia Patri at-the end." And we have also tha
testimony of St. Augustine, who speaks of Psalmody as an
act of devotion, vrhich all the people performed standing in
the Church.* Cassian, it will be remarked, in the above
quotation, refers to the Gloria Patri being added to the
last Psalm. Such was the custom of the Eastern Church.
In the Western Church, the practice was different, and it was
used at the end of every PSalm.f
Such is also the antiquity of our rule of reading Lessons
from Scripture in each service. It was derived from the
Jewish Church, where the law was divided into sections,
one of which was read on every Sabbath day, so that the
whole was completed in a year ; and on each of these occa
sions sorae portion of the prophets was added also.J To
this St. James referred ¦when he said, " Moses was read in
the Synagogue every Sabbath day," (Acts xv. 21;), and in
the thirteenth chapter^mention is made of the same custom,
where we are told that St. Paul addressed the people in the
synagogue, " after the reading ofthe law and the prophets."
.(y. 15.)
The Christian Church, therefore, naturally -continued this
admirable rule, by which week after week her members are
systematically instructed in the ¦word of God. Thus, Justin
Martyr in the second century says, " It was the custom in
his tiipe to read lessons out of the Prophets and Apostles in
the Assembly of the faithful."§ And Cassian tells us — "It
was the constant custom of all Christians throughout Egypt,
to have two lessons, one out of the Old Testament, and
another out of the New, read immediately after the Psalms ;
a practice so ancient, that it cannot be known whether it
was founded upon any human institution." || Terttdlian, at
the end of the second century,, speaks of the reading of
Scriptures in the Church, and in one place especiaUy, he tells
us that the law and the prophets were read in Africa before
¦* Bingham, Ub. xiv. c 1. sect 14. f IbA sect; 8.
X Home's Introd. to Scrip, v. ul p. 244 where the reader will find
a table of the different sections from the Law and the Propheta, aa
uaed by the Jews throughout the year.
§ Apol l cap. 87. B Wheatley, p 141.

HISTORY OF OUa LITURGY. 143
the Epistles and Gospels.* The early fathers, .n their ser
mons whioh have come down to us, frequently allude to the
lessons for the day. Thqs St. Basil, in one of his Homilies
on Baptism, takes notice of three of the lessons that were
read that day, besides the Psalms, one of which was from
Isaiah, another from Acts, and a third from Matthew. f St.
Augustine, in like maimer, refers to four lessons which had
been read on a particular occasion, one out of Moses, another
out of Isaiah, a third out of the Gospel, and the last out of
the Epistles. t There were also proper Lessons selected for
the different seasons of the Ecclesiastical year; as during
the Festival of Easter, for four days successively the History
of Christ's Resurrection was read out of the four Gospels,
and on the day of His Passion, they read the narrative of
His sufferings as related by St. Matthew. § You perceive,
then, the great antiquity of this portion of the service, and
how faithfully, in this respect, we foUow the example of the
early Church.
The Litany next claims our attention. We can trace
this kind of prayer back to the third century, in the Eastern
Churches. It was introduced' into the Western Church
during the fifth century. The petitions in our Litany are of
very great antiquity in the English Church. " Mabillon
has printed a Litany of the Church of England, written
probably in the eight century, which contains a large por
tion of that which we repeat at the present day, and which
preserves exactly the same form of petition and response
which is still retained. The still more ancient Litanies of
the Abbey of Fulda, of the Ambrosian Missal, and of Gela
sius, Patriarch of Rome, together with the Diaconica or
Irenica of the Liturgies and Offices of the Churches of Con
stantinople, Caesarea, Antioch, Jerusalem, &c., which all
preserve the forra of the Litany; all these ancient formula
ries contain very much the same petitions as the English
Litany." II
Look now at the Oollects for each day. The origin
of this word is doubtful, so great is the antiquity of its use.
¦* TertuU. de Praescript, c. 36.
f Bingham, lib. xiv. chap. 8, sect. 2. X Ibid.
§ Bmgham, sect. 3. J Palmer's Orig. Lit. v. i p. 287.

144 HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.
By some R,itualists, these prayera^are said to derive their
name from the priest, thus, as 4t were, collecting the devo
tions of the people, and offering them at once.* By others,
it }8 asserted they took their rise from the collecting of the
people, as was usual in the early times of Christianity, on
fast days, and especiaUy during a season of public calamity,
for devotion in one of the Churches. When the clergy and
the people had assembled at the place appointed, the Bishop,
or the Priest who was to officiate, recited over the collected
multitude a short prayer, which, from the circumstance,
was denominated the Collect or gathering prayer-t We
have Cassian' s testimony that in his time — that is, in the
fourth century — Collects were recited amongst the Psalms
and lessons of morning and evening prayer, by the Egyp
tians ; and Athanasius, in several places, alludes to the
existence of the same practice in his time.J It has been
thought by some writers on this subject, that the Collects
were framed by St. Jerome. § They were certainly arranged
by Gelasius, Patriarch of Eome, in a. d. 494, and afterv^ards
by Gregory the Great, a. d. 590, in whose Sacramentary
many of them are now found. As he, however, only col
lected them, they are much older than his day. Yet it will
be perceived, that even this revision of them dates back
more than 1200 years. |1
* Bingham's Orig. Eccles. Ub. xix. ch 1, sect 4.
f Rock's i^erurgia, vol I p. 91. X Pahner's Orig. Lit. v. i. p. 810.
§ Wheatley, p. 212.
I Aa it raay be interestmg to Churchmen to see the date of each
CoUect, and the changes through which it has passed, we have copied
ths foUowing tables from Shepherd's El^ucidation of the Prayer of the
Church of England, p. 801-5.
PART I.
Consisting of such Collects as were retained from ancient Liturgies at
the Reformation.
Collects for Whence taketi.
4 Sunday in Advent. In some old officea for the first
Simday in Advent.
St. John'a day. St Greg. Sacr. and Gothic Liturg.
The Epiphany. St. Greg. Sacr.
1, 2, and 3 Sun. after Epiph. The sarae, and St Ambroa. Liturg.
5 Epiphany. St. Greg. Sacr.

HISTORY. OF OUR LITURGY.

146

Let us now examine the selection of the Epistle and
Gospel for each day, which follow those collects. " It is

Collects for
Septuagesima.Sexagesima. 2, 3, 4, 5 Sunday in Lent.
6 Sunday in Lent.
Cood Friday, the three CoUects.

Easter Day.
3 Sunday after Easter.
5 Sunday after Easter.
Ascension Day.
Whitsunday. 1 Sunday after Trinity.

Whence taken.
The same.
The same.
The same.
The same; but in St. Arabros.
Liturg. for Good Friday.
They are iu all offices with Uttle
variation ; but they are left out
of the Breviaries of Pius V. and
Clem VIIL
St. Greg. Sacr. and a Collect almost
the sarae in the GaUic Liturgy.
St.'Greg. Sacr. St. Ambros. Liturg.
St. Greg. Sacr.
The same.
The same.
The same. Thfe, in some old Of
fices, is called the second after
Pentecost; in others, the first
after the octaves of Pentecost

Are aU in St Greg. Sacr.
The same.
The same.

The 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
and 25, after Trinity.
The Purification. ,
St. Michael's Day.
The reader wiU observe, that the greater part of this class of Col
lects, is found in Gregory's Sacramentary, which was composed before
the year 600. AU of these, therefore, are at least 1200 years old,
and many of them are much older. For Gregory did not originaUy
form the offices. ¦ He only coUected and improved them. To wave
aU other proof of thia, we have his o-svn testimony, given in vindication
of his conduct. ' I have foUowed,' says he, ' a practice common in the
Greek Church, arid have altered eome old CoUects, and added some
new and useful ones.' But the generahty of the Collects in his
Sacramentary, he compUed from Liturgies which in hfe time were
esteemed ancient.
PART II.
Consisting of Collects taken from ancient models, bui considerably al-
teredand improvedby our Reformers, and the Reviewers of the Liturgy,
Collects for Time of Improvement. How it stood before.
St. Stephen's Beginning add. Grant us, 0 Lord, to learn to love
Day. 1662. our enemies, etc.
1

146

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.

certain " — says Wheatley — " that they were very anciently
appropriated to the days whereon we now read them ; since
they were not only of general use throughout the whole

Collects for Time of improvement.
4 Sunday after End improved
Epiph. 1652.
4 Sunday after Inprovcd 1662.
Easter.
.Sunday after A little varied
Ascension. 1549.

2 Sunday after
Trin.
8 Sunday after
Trin.
11 Sunday after
Trm.
18 Sunday after
Trin.
19 Sunday after
Trin.
St Paul's Day.

The order in
verted 1662.
Beginning im
proved 1662.
Improved 1662.

Improved 1662.
Improved 1662.
Improved 1559
and 1662.

The Annuncia- Improved 1549.
tion.

St PhiUp and Improved 1662.
Jamea.
St Bartholo- Improved 1662.
mew.

How it stood before.
Grant to us the health of body and
soul, that all those thmgs which
we suffer for sin, &c.
Who makest the minds of all faith
ful people to be of one -will, &c.
This had been of old the Collect
for Ascension Day, on which
our venerable Bede repeated it,
as hS was -dying.
Lord, make us to have a perpetual
fear and love of Thy holy name,
for thou never faUest, &e-
Whose providence fe never de
ceived, <fec.
That we, running to thy promises,
may be made partakers of thy
heavenly treasures, <feo.
To avoid the infections ofthe devil,
That the working of thy mercy
may in aU things, <fec.
In the Breviaries a new prayer was
addpd, mentioning St Paul's in
tercession ; in the year 1549 the
old prayer alone out of Greg.
Sacr. was restored, which had
our walking after his example
only, which was a Uttle varied
in the year ] 662.
The Breviaries had put in a new
prayer about the B. Virgin's in
tercession, which was cast out
m 1549, and the form m St
Greg. Sacr. restored.
As thou hast taught St. PhiUp and
the other Apostles, <fec.
To preach that which he taughti
Ac., waa altered, because there
IS no -avriting of his extant

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY.

147

Western Church, but are also commented upon in'the Hom
ilies of several ancient Fathers, ¦which are said to have been
Collects for H-ow it stood beforel
Trinity Sunday. ¦ Hfe Collect is no older than the
Sacramentary ascribed to Alcui-
nus. The old offices have an
other CoUect for it, and, caU it
the Octave of Pentecost.
PART III.
Consisting of such Collects as a^re composed anew, and substituted in the
plaee of those which, containing either false or superstitious doctrines,
were on ihis account rejected.

Collects for
1 Sunday in Advent.
2 Sunday in Advent.
3 Sunday in Advent
Christmas Day.
Circumcfeion.6 Sunday after Epiphany.
Quffiquagesima.
Ash Wednesday.
1 Sunday in Lent,
Easter Even.
Easter Sunday.
1 Sunday after Eastet.

2 Sunday after Easter.
St Andre-w's Day.
St Thomas'a Day.
St Matthias.
St Mark.
St. Barnabas.
St John Baptfet
St Peter.
St James.
St Matthew.
St Luke.
St Simon and St. Jude.
AU Saints.

this time they
Collect fer the

Composed in
Fh-st Book of Edward VI, 549.
jThe sarae time.
1662.
1549.
The same time.
1662. Before
repeated the
fifth Sunday.
1549.
The same time.
The eame time.
1662. No CoUect for it ever he-
fore then.
The first sentence (1 Cor. v'. 7)
was added 1663.
1549. Then it was uaed on Eas
ter Tuesday, and in 1662 was
fixed for thfe Sunday.
1549.
1552. Second Book of Edward VI.

. All composed anew m 1649.

148 HISTORY OK OUll LITURGY.
preached upon those very days to which these portions of
Scripture are now affixed. So that they have most of them
belonged to the sarae Sundays and Holy Days we now use
them on, for above 1200 years.""*
We are told by Mr. Palmer that, in the eariy ages of the
Church, the Epistle was generaUy called "the Apostle." In
this way St. Augustine often speaks of it, and in the Sacra
mentary of Gregory the Great it is said, " the Apostle fol
lows," meaning the Epistle of the Apostle is then read.
Alraost all the lessons now read as Epistles, have been used
in the Church of England for many ages. They appear in
English Liturgies before the invasion of William the Con
queror. We know, indeed, that they are generally as old as
the time of Augustine, a. d. 595. In his day a Psalm was
sung between the Epistle and Gospel. Thus, in one sermon
he says — "' We have heard the Apostle, we have heard the
Psalm, we have heard the Gospel; all the divine lessons
agree." In another sermon he says — "We have heard the
first lesson from the Apostle, ... f. then we have sung a
Psalm, . . . after this, came the lesson from the Gospel ;
these three lessons we will discourse upon, as far as time
permits."! There is a curious thought in Alcuin — an Eng
lish writer, who lived about a. d. 780 — that this arrangment
of the Church is "not without a spiritual meaning. For, in
causing the writings of God's envoys to be recited previous
to the lecture of the Gospel, the Church appears to imitate
the example of Jesus Christ, who deputed some araong his
disciples to go before hira into those quarters which he was
about to honor with a visit."J
You perceive in these quotations the reference made to
the Gospel also. Even in the manner in which it is read, our
Church continues to follow the example of the early ages.
It was a general custom for all the people to stand up, and
when it was announced, they uttered the ascription of praise
—"Glory be to Thee, O Lord." Thus the author of an
ancient Homily, sometimes ascribed to St. Chrysostom, as
serts — "When the Deacon goes about to read the Gospel,
we all presently rise up and say, ' Glory be to the Thee, 0
* On Common Prayer, p. 213. f Orig. Lit v. il p. 42-7.
X Alcuinus de Divin. Offic (quoted in RocVs Hierurgia, v. ii. p. 95.)

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 14'j
Lord.' "* We know, indeedj that this custom of rising is
certainly is old as the days of St. Chrysostom ; for he speaks
of it in one of his HomUies on St. Matthew-^^' If the letters
of a king are read in. the theatre with great silence, much
more ought we to compose ourselves, and stand up vvith
attentive ears, when the letters, not of an earthly king, but
ofthe Lord of angels are read to us."t In the same way tho
Author of the Constitutions says — "When the Gospel is
read let the Presbyters and Deacons and all the people stand
with profound silence. "f
These theuy are the principal parts of our service, and
you perceive not only their great antiquity, but also how
carefully the Church now adheres to the rites and customs
of eayly days. From the manner in which our Liturgy was
arranged by the English reformers, you can see the object
they had in view in the great work to which they were call
ed, and the spirit in which it was accomplished. They
wished simply to purify their Church and Ritual from the
corruptions of Jhe Middle Ages, and to have them both con
formed in every respect to the pattern of primitive times.
In this respect they differed widely from those on the Conti
nent. There, antiquity was disregarded — the Church, with
her ministry and Ritual, entirely abandoned — and instead
of a Reformation, the^result was a Revolution.^ Casaubon,
therefore, paid but a merited tribute to our Church, when
he wrote — " Si me Conjectura non fallit, totius reformationis
pars integerrima est in AngUA ; ubi, cum studio veritatis, viget
gtudium antiquitatis."
* Bing. Orig. Eccles. lib. xiv. ch. 3, sect 10.
f Hom. I in Matt X Constit. Ub. ii. cap. 57.
§ " Thus when the infatuate Council, named of Trent,
Clogg'd up the CathoUc course of the true Ti'aith,
TroubUng the stream of pure antiquity.
And the wide channel hi ita bosom took
Crude novelties, scarce known as that of old :
Then many a schism overleaped the banka,
Genevese, Lutheran, Scotch diversities.
Our Church, though straiten'd sore 'tween craggy waUs,
Kept her true course, unchanging and the same;
Known by that ancient clearness, pure and free.
With which she sprung from 'neath the throne of God."
Thoughts on Past Tears, p. 274

150 HISTORY OP OUR LITURGY.
It remains to say but a few words with regard to the dif
ference between the Prayer Book as used in England and
in this country. At the close of that revolution which po
litically separated us from England, the Church also in this
land was,^f course, severed from that to which she had been
" indebted, under God, for her first foundation, and a long
continuance of nursing care and protection,"* When, there
fore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by other Eng
lish prelates, had consecrated three Bishops for this coun
try, that we might have the Apostolical succession among
ourselves,t it became necessary also to make some trifiing
alterations in the Prayer Book, to adapt it to the circum
stances of the Church. These changes were made, and
these only ; for, as it is expressed in the Preface to that
volume — " This Church is far from intending to depart from
the Church in England in any essential point* of doctrine,
discipline, or worship, or further than local circumstances
require." Our early Bishops, looking to the Church from
which their own derived her existence, wished that every
one should trace the Mother's lineaments in the features of
the child. Thus, then, the Prayer Book was finally arrang
ed, and so we trust it will remain through all ages of our
Church here, until her earthly warfare is accomplished, and
this service gives place to the anthems of Heaven.
And now, in conclusion, let me ask — ^liave we not rea
son to bless God for this " form of sound words," which has
thus come down to us frora a distant antiquity ? May we
* Preface to the Prayer Book.
f The Right Rev. Wm. White, D. D, of Pennsylvania, and the
Bight Rev. Sam. Provoost D. D., of M"ew York, consecrated in the
Chapel ofthe Archiepiscopal Palace at Lambeth, in England, on Sun
day, Feb. 4th, 1787, by the Moat Bev. John Moore, Archbishop of
Canterbury, assisted by the Archbishop of Tork, and the Bishops of
Bath and Welfe, and Peterborough. The Right Rev. James Madison,
D. D., of Virginia, consecrated in the same place, on Sunday, Sept
19th, 1790, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops
of London and Rochester.
The Right Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D., of Connecticut had been
previously consecrated in Aberdeen, Scotland, Nov. 14th, 1784, by the
Bfehop of Aberdeen, with hia coadjutor, and the Bfehop of Rosa and
Moray aasisting.

HISTORY OF OUR LITURGY. 151
not say of ihe Church — " Her clothing is of wrought
gold ?" Out Ritual contains not the sentiments or thoughts
of any one man — or even any one generation of men — but
embodies the spirit and the devotion of Universal Catholic
Christendom, in its earliest, purest day. It is tinged with
no patty views. It is not intended to speak the language of
any one small section of believers, but it seeks to bring us
before the throne of God in the same spirit with which His
children were accustoraed to approach 'Him, when warring
sects were unknown, and but one united Church was spread
every where over the earth. Oh, are there not, then, sol
emn recollections and glorious meraories connected with
the Liturgy by which now we worship ? Is it not some
thing, to realize that in our devotions we are not dependent
on the feelings of a raortal like ourselves, for the direction
which our thoughts shall take, but that the prayers we utter
bear the stamp and breathe the spirit of Apostolic days ?
Does not this Ritual come to us with new power when wo
think that, age after age, its solemn, elevating voice has been
heard in the Church — that it is now what it was, when
Christianity itself, in the dawn of early youth, was contend
ing even for existence with a Pagan world ? Yes — when I
stand at this altar, to minister in that holy rite by whioh
with bread and wine we commemorate our Lord's death, I
remember that seventeen centuries ago these emblems were
consecrated, with almost the sarae words, in the distant
East where our faith had its birth, and through Northern
Africa, where once hundreds of Bishops sat in the councils
of the Church. There also that noble ascription — " There
fore with angels and archangels, and with all the corapany
of Heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name" — was
uplifted in many a strange tongue, as men thus professed
their faith even at the peril of their lives. And now it has
descended to us, as a chain -which binds us to them in <holy
fellowship. The same anthems which you sing, have been
sounded forth from ancient confessors and martyrs, as they
went joyfully to the stake, and been the last accents heard
from their lips as the flames gathered around them.*
* " Then- bodies were quickly ¦wrapped in flame ; they shouted
Te Deum laudam^us. Soon their voices were stifled — and their ashes

152 HISTORY OP OUR LITURGY.
Countless generations of the saints — the dead who slept m
Christ a thousand years ago — have worshipped in the very
prayers which Jiow you use, and had their souls thus trained
up for Heaven.
Therefore it is that, as each age passed by, this Ritual
has gone down with a richer freight of hallowed associations
and blessings to the generation -which succeeded, until we
in our turn have inherited it. We wish, therefore, nothing
better, We are willing to tread in the footsteps of the holy
dead who have gone before us. We will worship in their
words, and trust that at the end we shall share in their re
ward. We will feel, too, that the noblest legacy we can leave
to those who shall come after us, is this forra of sound Words
— so full — so coraplete, that we may well say in the words
of Dr. South — " There is no prayer necessary, that is not
in the Liturgy, but one, which is this : that God would
vouchsafe to continue the Liturgy itself, in use and honor,
and veneration, in this Church forever.
alone remained." Death of Esch and Voes, the first mjirtyrs of the
Reformaiion, at Brussels, 1525.
The venerable Bede, as he was dying, repeated the CoUect for
the day, which was the Festival of our Lord's Ascension. McUmt
Lie. 3.

VI.
THE CHUECH'S VIEW 0¥ IUFANT BAPTISE
Blest be the Church, that watching: o'er the needs
Of infancy, provides a timely shoWer,
Whose virtue changes to a Christian Flower
A growth from sinful nature's bed of weeds 1 —
Fitliest beneath the sacred roof proceeds
The ministration ; while parental Love
Looks oo, nnd grace descendeth from above,
As tbe high service pledges now, now pleads.
Wordswottih's Ecclesiastical Sonnets, X V.
Human language could not frame a question which would
appeal with greater force to the parent's heart than that
simple inquiry which Elisha addressed to the woraan of
Shunera — " Is it well with the child ?"* It is asking after
the welfare of one around whom their warmest affections are
clustering, with all the strength of a father's love, and the
undying steadfastness of a mother's tenderness. The infant,
even in the first months of its helpless innocence, is already
exerting a powerful influence over many hearts. How many
bosoms — alike of childhood and of age — are filled with its
love ! Hov?' many countenances, as they cluster around it,
light up with. gladness at its smiles I How does its presence
spread happiness through its home ! Thus early do the
threads of its influence go out, and entwine about the
hearts of those to whom Providence hath committed its
keeping. How powerfully, then, do the warmest feelings
of our nature respond at once to the question — " Is it well
with the child ? "
But expressive as is this inquiry when applied to the
temporal welfare of your child, -what an added emphasis does
it have, when we carry it still farther, and refer the question
¦* 2 Kings iv. 26.
7*

154 THE church's VIF.W
to that child's spiritual hopes ! There it is, in the feebleness
of wailing infancy — apparently so frail, that its existence,
Uke that of the delicate flower, might suddenly be nipped
even by the rude winds of Heaven — and realizing .the descrip
tion whioh Job gives of our nature, that its " foundation is
in tho dust, and it is crushed before the moth." Yet that
frail creature is a candidate for immortality, and no power
in the universe can end the existence which has now been
breathed into it. Disease or violence may reduce to insen
sibility that tender frame, but it will only be transferring
its life toj another sphere of being. That weak and power
less body is the prison-house of a spirit which must live
long after the matenal universe has passed away, and which,
through all the wasteless ages of its immortality, raust be
rejoicing in bliss ineffable, or else mingUng its wail with the
despairing cry of those to whom

' Hope never comes.

That comes to aU."*
To the thoughtful mind, then, what solemn reflections
gather around the unconscious infant I How strange the
contrasts suggested, between what it is and what it shaU be !
How lofty the speculations in which we may indulge, on the
destiny which awaits it in this world, and in that which is to
come !
But with what intense interest should these emotions
come home to the hearts of those who are intrusted with
the guidance of that child I They are to give the first im
pulse and direction to that immortal being. They are to
allure it on to Heaven, or else suffer it to be lost forever.
They are to impress upon its infant mind, those earliest les
sons which are to give tone and character to its expanding
faculties. On them, then, in a great raeasure it depends,
whether that infant is to be hereafter a saint in glory, or
through eternity, undone — a castaway. What force, there
fore; is there in the question — " Is it well with the child ? "
It is asking, whether you have done all that is in your power
to lead it forward in the way of life.
* Paradise Lcet Book I c. 66. '

OF INFANT BAPTIS.M. 155
Neither ist-fhis an inquiry, which is without meaning
until your child is old enough to be benefitted by your in
structions. You have a spiritual duty to perform in its
behalf, even before the hours arrive when its unfolding mind
aUows it to profit by your teaching. Long ere that time has
come, you may place it within the f jld of Christ, and by the
waters of baptism dedicate it to Him forever. This is your '
earliest duty, and until it is fulfilled, you have neglected the
first step in seeking the welfare of your child. In addressing
you then this evening, on the Church's view of Infant
Baptism., I would endeavor, by God's blessing, to impress
upon you the necessity of bringing your children forward,
"that they maybe baptized with -water and the Holy Ghost,
and received into Christ's holy Church, and be made living
members of the same."*
The first point, then, to be considered is — the- authority
for infant baptism. This rite is rejected by some, as you
are well aware, on the ground that it is not expressly com
manded in Scripture. The futility of this objection wijl at
once be seen, if we remember how many other duties we
perform, whioh are not even mentioned in the word of God.
That volume is intended to be merely the outline for our
guidance, and it would be impossible,. within its narrow
limits, to specify each particular act incumbent upon us.
If -we take this ground, that the authority for each rite and
custom must be drawn only from the Inspired Volume, we
must refuse to admit females to the celebration of the Lord's
Supper, because there is no instance recorded in the New
Testaraent of their having received it, and decline any longer
to observe as holy the first day of the week instead of the
seventh, because we can find no express command enjoining
the change. We tum, therefore, to the practice of the
Priraitive Church, and as we find that the early followers of
our Lord observed both these customs, we have.no hesitation
in foUov/ing their example. Aud for a reason precisely-simi
lar we feel constrained to admit infants to the VFaters of
baptism. But although this rite is not expressly inculcated in
Scripture, yet we think there are many intimations in the
* Address in the Baptismal Service.

156 THE church's view
New Testament which are clearly in its favor. We find that,
when the heads of families were converted '.o Christianity
by the Apostles, they were not only themselves baptised,
but also their households with thera. Thus it is stated, that
" Lydia and her household "* — " the jailer and all his 
¦with all his house "t — and " the household of Stephanas "X —
were baptized by St. Paul. Now, is it probable that these
households were all composed of none but adults — that there
were no children belonging to them ? If, indeed, we exam
ine in the original the meaning of the word (omos) rendered
"house" and "household" in our version, of Scripture, we
shall find that the term has a comprehensiveness, extending
to children, and sometimes to even more remote descendants. {
And this interpretation is strengthened by the fact, that in
the Syriac version of the New Testament, which was com
pleted early in the second century, if not before, 1| this word
is in every case rendered " children ; " thus — '¦" Lydia and
her children" — " the jailer wilh all his children" — and " the
children of Stephanas." The Church therefore in that age
must surely have believed, that children were baptized by
the Apostles. This indeed was only the enjoyment of that
graoe which St. Peter declared to the Jews they were to
inherit. "For the promise" — said he — "is unto you, and
to your children."
And this too was but in accordance with the conduct of
our Lord while oh earth. He seems to have loved the little
ones of His flock, and to have received them into His pecu
liar favor. On one occasion, we are told, "He took a child,
and set him in the midst of them ; and when He had taken
him in His arms, He said unto them. Whosoever shall re
ceive one of such children in my name, receiveth me."
And when, again. His disciples would have prevented those
* Acts xvi. 15. t -*-<=ts xvi 33, 34. X 1 Cor. I 16.
§"o«ov, 'family,' inclueKng every age and, sex, and of course,
infants. So Ignatius Epist p. 21, cited by Wolf: ao-vafo^at tok;
oi'xov; tIv aitXipwy pou (xvv yvmi^l xal texvoij" Bloomfield's Greek
Test. 1 Cor. i. 16.
II " Thia version (the Syriac) fe confessedly of the highest antiquity,
and there is every reason to beUeve that it was made, if not in the first
century, at least in the begmning of the second century." Home's
fntrod. *) Scrip- v. u. p. 203. ,

or infant baptism. 167
who brought little children to Hira, our Lord rebuked them,
and '' was much displeased," saying, " Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such
is the Kingdom of God." And may not the phrase, " King
dom of God," refer to the Militant Church here, as well as
to the Church triumphant in Heaven? St. Mark also adds
— ¦" And He took them up in His arms, put His hand? upon
ihem, and blessed. them." Among, too, the last exhortations
which He gave to His Apostle Peter, was the injunction^-
"Feed my lambs." Is it probable, then, with this affection
forthe little ones of the flock, that he would debar them from
entrance into His Church— ^-that He would bid them stand
without the shelter of the fold, and not participate in the
benefits it affords? No — such a course would be but little
in accordance with that character, under which the prophet
Isaiah foretold Him, when he described Him as the good
Shepherd, who shpuld "gather the lambs with His arm, and
carry them in His bosom."
Neither can anything be argued.:^as is often done — from
the command to His disciples, which seeras to render faith
a necessary antecedent to baptism — " He that believeth, and
is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth hot, shall
be damned." This refers to the adults whp then listened to
the word, and who, of course, as the Gospel was in that
generation new in the world, had never before had an oppor
tunity of being baptized, and therefore in their maturer years
were obliged to submit to that rite, when they became prose
lytes to Christianity; It is by no means an "evidence that
faith was in every case an indispensable requisite for baptism .
This argument, indeed, would prove entirely too much. If*
the first half of the verse — "he that believeth, and is bap- 1
tized, shall be saved" — debars infants from baptism for}
want of faith, then the last half— "he that believeth not,
shall be damned" — would exclude them from heaven, for
the same reason. The Church, therefore, in her Baptismal
Service, after that portion of St. Mark's Gospel has been
read, which gives the narrative of our Lord's love for little
children,^ directs the following exhortation to be made —
"Beloved, ye hear in this Gospel the words of our Saviour
Christ, that He commanded the children to be brought unto
Hiri ; how He blamed those who would have kept them from

i58 the church's mew
Him ; how He exhorteth all men to follow their innocency,
Ye perceive how, by his outward gesture and deed. He
declared His good will toward them; for He embraced them
in His arras. He laid His hands upon them, and blessed thera.
Doubt ye not, therefore, but earnestly believe, that He will
likewise favorably receive this present infant ; that He will
embrace Him with the arms of His mercy; that He will give
unto hira the blessing of eternal life, and make him partaker
of His everlasting Kingdom. Wherefore, we being thus per
suaded pf the good will of oUr Heavenly Father toward this
infant, declared by His Son Jesus Qhrist; and nothing
doubting, but that He favorably alloweth this charitable
work of purs, in bringing this infant to this holy baptism ;
let us faithfully and devoutly give thanks unto Hira."
And I rejoice, brethren, that it is so. I thank Heaven
that the Church takes this wide and expanded view of the
loving-kindness of Him, in whose steps she directs us to
walk. Were she unfaithful to her high trust, in this par
ticular, I could not minister at her altars, or coldly repel
from her fold those who most need her nurture. I could
not preach the chilling doctrines of a creed, which proclaims
to be unworthy of admission into the Church on earth, those
Utile ones, with regard to whom our Lord has expressly said
— "of such is the Kingdom of God." '
Again — a direct argument in favor of infant baptism is
derived from the fact, that baptism has taken the place of cir
cumcision. The Christian dispensation — as I have already
remarked to you in a former Lecture — is only a continuation
—a fuller developement of the Jewish. It is the same
Church, but expanded into a nobler form.* While, there
fore, the most perfect parallel can be drawn between the
two, among other particulars, we find circumcision as an
initiatory rite laid aside, and baptism adopted in its place
We should expect, therefore, to find the latter in every respect
answering to the forraer. And so it does. When an adult
becarae a proselyte from idolatry to Judaism, God commanded
him to be circumcised ; and when a heathen in this age, in
the maturity of his years, listens for the first time to the
news of the Gospel, and bows his heart to its sway, he in
he sarae way is baptized, in token of his allegiance. But
* See Lecture II.

OF infant baptism. 159
by the express direction of God, infants were also admitted
by circumcision into the Jewish Church; why, then, can
they not by baptism be received into the Christian fold ?•
If they are unworthy in the latter case, why were they not
in the former? If they are to be debarred now, because they
are incapable of understanding their obligations, and believ
ing in God, surely they were equaUy incapable of doing so
under the Mosaic Economy. No, brethren, believe it not,
that the Uttle ones of the flock are to be excluded. The
Church is the same in all ages, and so are the general prin
ciples by which she is regulated. And now, as in the
ancient days, "the promise is to you and to your children."*
* This argument might be strengthened by a more particular
reference to Jewfeh customs. " Baptism, under the Christian dispen
sation was not a new rite, for it had long been practised araong the
Jews.^ Our Lord merely retained it, at the same time iiivesting it
¦with a new authority and meaning. When John, therefore, com
menced baptizing, the Pharfeees and Scribes did not ask him the
meaning of thia rite, but, simply, by what, authority he administered
it. " Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor EUas,
neither that prophet ?" (John L 25-)
Every proselyte among the Jews was circumcised, baptized, and
obliged to offer a sacrifice. Thus, Maimonides says — " In aU ages,
when a Centile fe willing to enter into Covenant, and gather
himself under the wings of the, ^Majesty of God, and take upon him
the yoke of the Law, he must be circumcised and baptized, and briTig
a sacrifice : or, if it be a woman, be baptized, and bring a sacrifice."
In such cases, their children, even if infants, were baptized with
them. This was done in the presence of three persons, caUed ihe
Court, or ihe House of Judgraent, who acted as witnessea ; and from
this Je-wish practice the Chrfetian Church haa derived the custom of
havmg the same number of sponsors at the Baptism of each chUd.
Thus, in the Gemara Babylon, we find this declaration — " They are
wont to baptize such a Proselyte in infancy, upon the profession of
the House of Judgraent ; for thfe, fe for hfe good." Upon which, pas
sage there is the foUowing gloss: — " ' They are wont to baptize.'
Because none fe made a Proselyte -without curcnmcision and Baptism.
' Upon the profession of the House of Judgment' That fe, the three
men who have the care of hfe Baptfem, according to the law of the
baptfera of proselytes, which requires three men, who do so become
to him a father, and he is by them made a Proselyte.'' Again, " He
fe no Prpselyf e, unless he is circumcfeed and baptised, and if he be not
baptized he remains a Gentile."

160 the church's view
There is another argument on this subject which is raost
conclusive. It is the fact, that even in the first age of the
Church — frora the Apostles' days— infant baptism has been
practised. We learn this, in a great measure, incidentally
from the early writers. We do not find this rite explicitly
set forth and commanded by them, because it was unneces
sary, to do so ; for in that age no one doubted its obligation.
Yet the allusions to it are such as with any reasonable mind
place the matter beyond a doubt.
For instance— Justin Martyr, who was born near the close
of the first century, in speaking of Christians cotemporary
with himself, says that " there were among Christians in his
" tirae many persons of both sexes, some sixty, some seventy
years old, who had been made disciples to Christ from their
infancy, and continued virgins or uncorrupted all their lives."*
Now in what way, we ask, could infants be made disciples
of Christ, except by baptism ? And as Justin wrote this
Apology about the year 148,t those of whom he speaks as
baptized sixty or seventy years before, in their infancy, must
have been persons baptized in the first age, while some of
the Apostles were living. This rite must therefore have
been administered with their concurrence and sanction.
Again — such is also the testimony of Irenaeus, who was
born during the days of the Apostles, in the year 97,t and
trained up under St. Polycarp, " the angel of the Church in
Smyrna," who had himself been a disciple of St. John. He
Again, Maimonides aaya, " A Proselyte that is under age, they are
wont to baptize upon the profession of the Court ; because thia is for
hfe good." And — " Au IsraeUte that takes a little Heathen child, or
that finds a Heathen infant, and baptizes him for a proselyte, behold
he ia a proselyte."
The works of Lightfoot, Selden, and Wall, abound with similai
extracts from Jewfeh writers, proving theu custom of baptizmg infants.
But did our Lord any where rebuke his countrymen for it ? Did He
denounce it as a vain form and superstition ? If He did not, is it not
rather late in the day for uninspired teachers to begin thfe work, or to
¦tigmatise as " a remnant of Popery," a cuatom which has exfeted for
8600 years ?
* Apol il p. 62. t Bingham's Orig. Eccles. Ub. xl ch 4, sect T.N
X C»ve's Hist Liter, vol i. p. 41.

OF INFANT BAPTISM. Ifil
speaks of baptism as " regeneration,"* and mentions among
those who are thus regenerated to God, "infants and little
ones, and children, and youths, and elder persons."!
Cletnens of Alexandria, who was born about the middle
of the second century, wrote a work intended to instruct
young Christians in the practical 'duties of their faith. In
the course of this, he reproves them for the devices engraved
on their seals, for which purpose they sometimes used ima
ges -taken from the ancient idolatry, and at the same time
suggests some figures more Christian in their character.
Thus, he says, — "If any one be a fisherraan, let him think
of an Apostle, and the children taken out of the water. "X If
then, Clemens could thus exhort them to select the repre
sentation of an Apostle baptizing infants, does it not prove
that he believed the Apostles did administer that rite even
to those of that tender age, and that such in his time was
the practice of the Church ?
Origen, who waa born in the second century — had been
¦* To show the sense in which the word " regeneration " has always
been used in -the Churqh, we give the foUowing passage from Bishop
Hobart's ¦svritingsr— " When the Chm-chman, in the language of Scrip
ture, of prunitive antiquity, and of the Articles and Liturgy of his
Church, caUs baptfem regeneration, he doea not employ the term in
Its popular signification among many Protestants, to denote the di
vine infiuences upon the soul in ita saiictification and renovation, in
abohshing the body of sin, and raising up the graces and virtues of
the new man. The term regeneration fe uaed by hira in its original,
and appropriate, and technical acceptation, to denote the translation
of the baptized person from that state in whioh, as destitute of any
covenanted title to salvation he is styled ' the Child of wrath,' into
that state which, as it proffers to him in all caaes the covenanted
mercy and grace of God, and in the exercise of repentance and faith
actuaUy coiiveys to him these blessings, fe styled a ' state of salvation.'
(Catechism of the Church.) It must be obvious, that the sacramental
commencement of thespiritual life in the regeneration of baptfem, and
the subsequent sanctification of tho principles, the powera, and affec
tions of the new man, by the rene-wing of the Holy Ghost, are dfetinct
acts and operations ; the former leading to the latter, which, without
it, is wholly inefficacious to salvation ; on the contrary, increases the
condemnation of the despiser of the gifts and calUng of God." Charge
to the Clergy of Neio-Tork in 1819.
t Adv. Haeres. Ub. il ch. 39. X Poedogog. hb. iii ch. 1 1

162 THE church's VIF.W
trained up from infancy by Christian parents — visited, in his
travels, nftst of the Churches in the world — and gained the
reputation of being the most learned ma.i of his age — records
his testimony most unequivocally in behalf of infant baptism.
His language is — " Let it be considered, ¦what is the reason
why the baptism of the Church, which is given for remission
of sins, is, by fhe usage ofthe Church, given to inf tints also ,
whereas, if there were nothing^in infants which needed for
giveness and mercy, the grace of Baptism would seem to be
to them superfluous."*
Again, he says — " Infants are baptized for the remission of
sins. Of what sins, or at what time have they sinned ? Or
how can there be in infants any reason for the Laver, unless
according to that sense of which we have spoken a little
before, viz — ' No one is free frora pollution, although his
life upon the earth has been but one day.' And because by
the Sacraraent of Baptism native pollution is removed, there
fore infants also are baptized."^
And again — " The Church received from the Apostles a
tradition to give Baptism also to infants. For they to whom
the Divine mysteries were committed, knew that there is in
all persons the natural pollution of sin, which should be
washed away by water and the Spirit, and on account of
which, also, the body itself is called the body of sin."t
We would appeal then to your reason; who is most
likely to have been correct on this point, Origen — who lived
before the memory of the Apostles had faded from the
Church — or those who, 1500 years after their day, for the
first time discovered that infant baptism should not be ad
ministered. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in Africa, who was bom
about the middle of the fourth century, bears the same
testimony. His words are — "And if any one do ask for
Divine authority in this matter — though that which the
whole Church practises, and which has not been instituted by
tjouncils, but was ever in use, is very reasonably believed to
be no other than a thing delivered by authority of the Apostles
—yet we may besides take a true estimate how much the
• Homil vm. in Levit. ch. 12. -j- Hom. in Luc. c. 14.
f Com. in Rom. Ub. 6.

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 163
Sacrament does avail infants, by the circumcision which
God's former people received."*
"We affirm, that the Holy Spirit dwells in baptized in
fants, though they know it not ; for after the same manner
they know Him not, though He be in thein, as they know
not their own soul. The reason whereof, which they cannot
yet make use of, is in therti as a spark raked up which will
kindle as they grow in years."f
In anothei: place, referring to the Pelagians, he says —
" They grant that infants must be baptized, as not being able
to oppose the authority of the whole Church, which was
doubtless delivered by our Lord and his Apostles,"X
" Original sin is so plain by the Scriptures, and that it is
forgiven to infants in the Laver of Regerieration, is so confirm
ed by the antiquity and authority of the Catholic faith, and
so notoriously the practice of the Church, that whatsoever
is contrary to this cannot be true."§
"The custom of our mother, the Church, in baptizing in
fants, must no't be disregarded, nor considered needless, nor
believed to be other than a tradition ofthe Apbstles."||
St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, who was born a. d.
340, in speaking of the miracle by which Elijah divided the
river Jordan, and caused the waters to flow backwards tc
their source, (2 Kings xi.) says — "It signified the Sacrament
ofthe Laver of Salvation, which was afterwards to be insti
tuted, by which those infants that are baptized are reformed
back again li-orh a state of wickedness, to the primitive state
of their nature ."IT
"No person comes to the kingdom of Heaven but by the
Sacrament of Baptism. For ' unless a person be born again
of water and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.' You see He excepts no person, not an
infant, not one that is hindered by any unavoidable acci
dent."** St. Chrysostom, the eloquent Bishop of Constantinople,
who was also born about the middle of the fourth century,
^* De Bap. lib. iv. c. 23. f Epist 57, ad Dardanum.
X De Peccat c. 26. § Contra Pelag. Lib. iii. c. 10.
II De Gen. ad Ut Ub. 10. ^ Comm. Ub. I in St Luc. c. 1
»* De Abraham Patriarch, lib. il c. 11.

164 TIE church's VIEW
says — " And those that are baptized, some of them were chil
dren when they received it."*
Again, when referring to the Jewish Circumcision, and
the age of eight days, at which it was administered, he says
— "But our Circumcision — I mean the grace of Baptism —
has no determinate time as that had ; but one that is in the
very beginning of his age, or one that is in the middle of it,
or one that is in his old age, may receive this circumcision
made without hands, in which there is no trouble to be un
dergone, but to throw off the load of sins, and receive pardon
for all foregoing 6ffences."t
In the same way, his cotemporary, Theodoret the his
torian, a Syrian Bishop, speaking of Baptism as conveying
forgiveness of past sins, says — " If it had no other effect than
that, what need we baptise infants, that have not tasted of
sin?"t Such, then, is the unvarying testimony of the Primitive
Church, on this important doctrine. And the view we have
given is strengthened by the discussions which in those ages
took place on this subject, since in none of them do we ever
find a doubt suggested as to the lawfulness of infant baptism.
The controversy was always on some collateral point. The
earliest of these is by TertuUian, in the beginning of the
third century, a writer whose strange speculations led him
on from one step to another, until at last he fell into heresy,
and openly became a Montanist. Believing that the rite of
Baptism at any period of life entirely washed away all sin,
he proposed that it should be delayed as long as possible,
even if it could be done, to a person's last hour, that thus
the collected iniquities of a lifetime might at once be swept
away. He acknowledges, however, that the custom of the
Church has always been otherwise; a fact which is sufii
ciently proved by the very nature of his argument. He is
plainly contending in behalf of an innovation. His words are
— "For according ta every one's condition, and disposition,
and also their age, the delaying of Baptism is more advan
tageous, especially in the case of little children. For what
need is there that the godfathers should be brought into
* Hom. 23, in Acta. Apost f Hom. 40, in Gea
X Haeretio. Pabular, lib. v. de Bapt

or INFANT BAPTISM. 165
danger ? Because they may either fail of their promises by
death, or they may be deceived by a child's proving of
wicked disposition  What need their innocent age
make such haste to the forgiveness of sins ? "* " The way
of TertuUian's arguing upon this point " — says Bingham —
" shows plainly, that he was for introducing a new practice ;
that therefore it was the custom of the Ohurch iu his time
to give Baptism to infants, as well as to adult persons."!
But, in giving this advice about delay, he himself con
fines it to cases where there was no danger or apprehension
of death. For, otherwise, he pleads strongly for the neces
sity of immediate baptism, both from those words of our
Lord-.-"" Except a man be iiom of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" — and also from
that general corruption of original sin, which infects infants
a^s much as adults.:]:
The only other ancient writer who varied somewhat frora
the general opinion of the Church was St. Gregory Nazianzen,
Bishop of Constantinople, in -the latter part of the fourth
century. He did not carry his wish for innovation as far as
TertuUian, for he did not desire Baptism to be postponed
until persons had reached years of maturity, but only until
they were three years old, that they might gain at least some
little glimmering of religious truth. He agrees with Ter
tuUian, however, in declaring that all who are in any danger
should be at once baptized, lest any die -without that sacra
ment. With regard to those in whose case nothing Uke
this is apprehended, his language is — " As for others, I give
iny opinion that they shoiild stay three years or thereabouts ,
when they are capable to hear and answer some erf the holy
words; and though they do not perfectly understand thera,
yet they form them ; and that you then sanctify them in soul
and body with the great sacrament of initiation."§ Here
again we see, that he was pleading against the ancient, uni
form practice ofthe Church.
Such, too, is the evidence we may draw from the iirst
discussion of this subject before a public council of the
Church. This was the Council of Carthage, A. d. 253,
¦* De Bap. c. 18. f Orig. Eccles. Ub. xi. ch. iv. sect. 10.
X De anuna, cap. 40 — De Bapt cap. 13. § De Bap. Orat 40.

166 THE church's view
where 66 Bishops were assembled, whose- proceedings we
learn from St. Cyprian. No one had then the hardihood to
inquire, whether infant baptism ought to be administered or
not ; but Fidus, the Bishop of a country diocese, proposed
to the Council the question — " Whether infants ought to be
baptized before they were eight days old ? " — since this was
the age for circumcision in the Jewish Church. But the
Council unanimously decided, that there was no occasion for
this delay, but infants might be baptized at any time. And
in their Synodical Epistle to Fidus, the following unequivocal
language is.used^-" As to the case of infants, whereas you
judge 'that they must not be baptized within two or three
days after they are born, and that the rule of circumcision
is to be observed, so that none should be baptized and
sanctified before the eighth day after he is born,' we were all
in our assembly of the contrary opinion. For, as for whaj
you thought fitting to be done, there was not one that was
of your mind, but all of us, on the contrary, judged that the
grace and mercy of God [i. e., as conveyed through Baptism]
is to be denied to no person that is born."  "And,
therefore, - dearest brother, this was our sentence in the
Council, that no one ought to be hindered by us from
Baptism and the Grace of God, who is merciful and kind
and affectionate to all."
The result, then, to which history brings us is this —
that during the flrst 1100 years of the existence ofthe Chris
tian Churdh, no society of men, or even single individual of
whom we have any record, denied the lawfulness of infant
baptism. The first direct opposition to this rite arose about
the year 1126, in the midst of the darkness which had over
spread the greater part of Europe, and the wild fanaticism
and fearful perversions of the truth to which it gave birth.
At this time, an obscure sect founded by Peter de Bruys—
some of whose opinions were afterwards adopted by the
Albigenses and Waldenses — declared against the baptism
of 'nfants, because they believed them to be incapable of
salvation.* This doctrine, however, was received by but
few, and became extinct in 1147, after the death of de Bruys
and his immediate followers.
* Moshehn's Eccles. Hist v. a p. 309.

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 167
It was not until about 1522 that this heresy obtained any
permanent footing. At the time of the Reformation, when
the human mind, bursting from its long thraldom, naturally
abused its newly acquired liberty — when it rioted in a thou
sand fantastic forms, enabling eaah one to form his creed
according to the pecidiar caprices of his-'own heart — when,
antiquity and authority being disregarded, an hundred sects
arose, each differing from the Church in some one particular
which it insisted upon as essential — then it was, that Infant
Baptism w-as set aside', and a small and inconsiderable party
annouiiced, to the Christian world that for 15Q0 years the »
whole Church had been in grievous error. The preacher of ,'
this new doctrine was Munzer, 1521, wbo; having excited,?
his followers to insurrection and civil war, waa finally de- 1
feated and executed. It was not until 1534 that the s^ct of ,
the Anabaptists became regularly organized as a distinct
religious society. In this year, headed by John Boccold, a
journeyman tailor, whom they had named their King, and
incited to the most impious extravagances by John Matthias,
a baker, who claimed to be a prophet, they captured the city
of Munster, and attempted to establish a kingdom to be
called the New Zion.* The city being re-captured in the
following year, and their forces dispersed, sorae escap.ed to
England, and then for the first time these doctrines began
to spread in that land.
This, then, is the view whioh history gives us, of the
rise of those who deny to infants the rite of Baptism. And
who, with this account before him, could hesitate for a mo
ment to decide whether or not it should be administered ?
On the one side is the united testimony of the Catholic
Church as it comes do'wn through eighteen centuries, and
on the other are the loud clamors of a sect which three cen
turies ago just struggled into being, and whose cradle was
rocked by the wild heavings of ignorance and fanaticism.f
• Mosheim's Eccles. Hfet v. iu p. 65. '¦»
f It fe weU known that Roger WilUams was the founder of the sect
of the Baptists m thfe country. Who, then, gave him hfe cbmmission ?
An answer to this question is found in the foUo^sving extract from the
" History of the Baptist Church in Providence." " Being aettied in thia
place, which, from the kindness of tioa to xhem, they caUed Provi

168 the church's view
We may, in this respect, as in every other, cleave to {he
faith of Apostles and Martyrs who lived when the memory
of- their Lord's instructions was still fresh on the earth ; or
we may turn aside from the old paths, to embrace every
novelty which courts our notice. We may repose on the
wisdom and example of the many generations which have
gone before us; or we may unsettle our faith by yielding
to the varied teaching of those whose creed arose when
deticje, Mr. Wilhams, and those with him, considered the' importance
of Gospel union, and were desirous of forming themselves into a
Church; but met with Considerable obstruction. They were con-
-vinced of the nature and design of beUevers' baptism by immersion,
but from a variety of circumstances had hitherto been prevented from
submersion. To obtain a suitable administrator was a matter of
consequence. At length the candidates for communion nominated
and appomted Ezekiel HoUiman, a man of gifts and piety, to baptize
Mr.. Williams, and who in return baptized Mr. HoUiman and the
oiher ten,"
It is now a principle for which none contend more strenuously than
the B^ptfetSj that Scriptural arid valid baptism cannot be administered
by any one wlio is himself unbaptized. Yet of these twelve persona
who thus baptized each other, not one had previously been immersed,
and, of course, on Baptist principles, they were unbaptized. What
right, then, had they to admit into the vfeible fold of Christ, or to
" forra themselves into a Church ? " And are not the Baptists iu thfe
country, on their own confession, now destitute of any kind of valid
baptism ? We have never yet seen/& satisfactory answer to thia
question. It was brought forward iii the Banner of the Cross, AprU
1, 1843, but those to whom it was addressed seem not to be anxious
to have any inquiry into their origin in this country, or to reply to the
demand — " By what authority doest thou these things ? and who gave
thee thfe authority ?" The Missouri Baptist, however, with raore can
dor than its associates, thus apologizes for the manner iu which these
unbaptized laymen mutuaUy dipped eaoh other — " Under other cir
cumstances they would gladly have availed themselves of a regular
administrator of ihe ordinance ; but situated as they were, . . . they
naturally and wisely concluded that He who requireth thfe service
-wiU not annex conditions incompatable with then- obedience, and, of
course, wiU accept of their right intention in the performance." May
not thfe presumption be met with the question addressed by Jehovah
to some of old — "Who hath required this at your hand, to tread my
courts?" (See the Banner of ihe Cross, April 22.)

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 169
the human intellect was let loose from its old restraints,
and in the first moments of its delirium scarcely knew what
to believe. The next point to be considered is — the benefit to be
derived from Baptism. We hear the question often asked
— <' What use is it to the infant?" I answer — "Muoh^ every
way." -In the Catechism of the Church it is defined to be,
"an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual
grace given unto us." We have already seen in what lofty
terms the Primitive writers always refer to it, and how St.
Augustine; speaks of , the Spirit which then rests upon the
heart of the unconscious infant, as " a spark -which will
kindle as he grows in years." And this is in strict accord
ance with the view given Scripture, where it is mentioned
in direct connection with the infiuences of the Holy Spirit.
Thus our Lord speaks of a person as being " baptized with
water and the Spirit." One of the Fathers of our Church
— Bishop Seabury — therefore thus sums up this point : —
"As to the benefits of Baptism, they are remission qf sins,
regeneration or adoption into the family of God, the pre
sence of the Holy Spirit, the resurrection of the body,, and
everlasting life. That these benefits are annexed to baptism,
thfe Holy Scriptures give ample testimony. ' Repent ' — said
Peter to the multitde inquiring what they should do — ' and
be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of sins, and ye shalLreceive the gift of the
Holy Ghost.' In the same language Ananias addresses Saul
— ' And now, why tarriest thou ? Arise, and be baptized,
and wash away thy sins.' That we are regenerate and
born, or adopted into the family or Church of God by Bap
tism, Christ declared to Nicodemus when he said — ' Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be bom of water, and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.'
The Kingdom of God is the Church of God — the same
Church both in this world and the next, (for God has but
one Church, the body of Christ.) By Baptism we otc made
members of this Church ; and if we continue faithful mem
bers till death, shall in it obtain a happy resurrection and
everlasting life — shall continue members of it to all eternity."
Therefore it is, that in our service we use petitions like
these, before the Baptism — " We beseech Thee, for Thine
8

170 THE church's view
infinite mercy, that Thou wilt mercifully look upon this
child : wash him, and sanctify hira with the Holy Ghost "—
" We call upon Thee for this infant, that he, coraing to Thy
holy baptisra, may receive remission of sin by spiritual re
generation" — " Give Thy Holy Spirit to this infant, that he
may be born again, and be made an heir of everlasting sal
vation" — " Sanctify this water to the mystical washing
away of sin, and grant that this child, now to be baptized
therein, may receive the fulness of Thy grace." And after
the rite is administered, we say — " We yield Thee hearty
thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased Thee to
regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit, to receive him
for Thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into
Thy holy Church." Such is the plain and unequivocal
teaching of the Church, as displayed in her formularies.
And unless this truth is allowed, that the Spirit is given in
Baptism, that rite becomes nothing but a mere empty cere
mony. Now look for a moment at the two most common objec
tions to this view. The first is — " that infants cannot re-
cei-ye the influences of the Spirit at so tender an age." But
who can pretend thus accurately to draw the line, or to assert
at what period it first becomes possible for the image of God
to be stamped upon an immortal soul ? Who can declare
the manner in which the Father of spirits acts upon our
spirits, or the rules by which He is guided ? We are told
that John the Baptist was " filled with the Holy Ghost, even
from his mother's womb ;" why then is not an infant as
capable of receiving spiritual blessings now, as it was eigh
teen centuries ago ?
The other objection is — " that the child as it advances
in years, often gives no evidence of these spiritual infiu
ences." We reply — that this is no proof that grace was not
imparted to it in Baptism ? May it not be given at that time,
but when not subsequently nourished by the proper means,
become as it were dormant, and even be quenched ? Baptism
is the child's spiritual birth into the Church of Christ, but
unless, through the unceasing care of parents, it is nurtured
and trained up in the fear of the Lord, it may soon impair
and weaken the benefit tq be derived from this introduction
into the fold. It is precisely so in, the natural world. The

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 17]
fact that the child is born into it, is no proof that it shall
certainly live and grow. If neglected, and the prope.- means
are not used to increase its strength, it assuredly will die.
And in the same way the spiritual life which it gained at
baptism may, by neglect and the commission of sin, soon
decay, until, as its faculties unfold, it becomes more and more
of the earth, earthly. Yet for all this, who can gainsay the
truth, that Baptism is a high and holy privilege ? If it place
benefits within the reach di those who receive it, and impart
to the soul the first principles of vital, spiritual life, have we
not reason to rejoice that God thus permits us to dedicate
our children to Him ? We believe, therefore, there is as
much truth as beauty in the passage in which one of the
religious poets of England describes this touching rite —
"In due time
A day of solemn ceremonial comes ;
When they, who for thfe minor hold in trust
Bights that transcend the highest heritage
Of mere humanity, preaent their charge
At the baptismal font And when the pure
And consecrating element hath cleansed
The original stain, the chUd fe there received
Into the second ark, Christ's Church, with trust
That he, from -wrath redeemed, therein ahaU float
Over the bUlowa of thfe troubleaome world
To the fair land of everlasting ]lie."*
The third point in connection with this subject, which I
would bring before you, is — the manner in which this rite
should be administered. The Church regards as a lawful
mode of Baptism, either Immersionr— Affusion, or pouring —
and Aspersion, or sprinkling. In each of these ways she
declares it to be equally valid. If therefore the consciences
of any of her members are scrupulous on this point, her
ministers can administer this sacrament in the way they
may select. The Church has decided that the manner is
indifferent, for three reasons.
The first is, because the word Baptizo (^airn^u,) which
we translate baptize, and which our Lord used when he gave
the command — " Go teach all nations, baptizing (^chtti^ovtis)
* Wordsworth's Excursion, Book V.

172 the church's view
them" — does not, necessarily, raean to immeise. On the
contrary, in many cases, to translate it in this way would
entirely destroy its- raeaning. The same is true with regard
to Bapto {0airTig,) from which it is derived.* We will give
a single example of this result with each of these words.
In the Septuagint — the Greek translation of the old
Testament — Daniel iv. 30, in the description of the judgment
I which fell upon Nebuchadnezzar, when he was "driven forth
^ from the abodes of raen, and did eat grass as oxen," it is
stated that " his body was wet (i/Ja^ij) with the dew of
¦ Heaven." Here the word certainly means nothing but to
wet, or to moisten. And we would ask, which sounds most
in accordance with comraon sense, to say — " his* body was
* " As it is agreed on aU hands, that the native Greeks are the
best authority for the meaning of their own language, we shall refer
the question to them. We give therefore the definitions of these
words, only from the native Greek Lexicographers.
" The oldest native Greek Lexicographer fe Hestohius, who Uved
in the fourth cenfjiry of the Christian Era. He gives only the root
Bapto ; and the only meanmg he gives the word is antleo, ' to draw
or pump water.' Next in order comes Soidas, a native Greek, who
wrote in the tenth century. He gives only the derivative, Baptizo,
and defines it by pluno, ' to wash.' Passing over the intermediate
Greek Lexicographers, we come down to the present century, at the
beginning of which, we find Gases, a learned Greek, who with great
labor and pains compiled a large and valuable Lexicon of the ancient
Greek language. His book, in three volumes quarto, is a work de
servedly held in high estimation by all, and ia generally used by
native Greeks. The following are hia definitions of Bapto, and
Baptizo. ' Bapto. Brecho, to wet, moisten, bedew.
Pluno, to wash, (viz., clothea.)
Gemizo, to fill.
Buthizo, to dip.
Antleo, to draw, to pump water.
' Baptizo. Brecho, to wet, moisten, bedew-
Pluno, to wash-
Leuo, to wash, to bathe.
Antleo, to draw, to pump water!
"These are the definitions of a native Greek, and are entitled to
the highest deference, both for his learning and hia ecclesiastical con
nections." Chapin's Primitive Church, pp. 43, 44.

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 173
sprinkled with the dew of Heaven " — or, " his body was
immersed with the dew of Heaven ? "
'Again — in the New Testament, John the Baptist pre
dicting the coming pf our Lord, says — " He shall baptize
((3»rT»«i) you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Now,
translate this — "He shall immerse yciu with the Holy Ghost
and with fire" — and we at once perceive the absurdity. But
the prophet Joel, wheQ referring to this same event, (as St.
Peter declares, "this is that which was spoken by the
prophet Joel," Acts ii. 16,) says—" I wUl pour out my Spirit
upon all fiesh." This prophecy, therefore, was first fulfilled
on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended and
rested on the Apostles, and aftetwards when it was given to
the Gentiles also ; and we are told — " they of the circumci
sion were astonished, because the gift of the Holy Ghost was
poured out upon the Gentiles also." This is the only direct
reference in the. New Testament to the modem which baptism
of any kind was performed, and it certainly argues nothing
in favor of immersion.*
A second reason for this decision of the Church is —
because it is not in accordance with our Lord's custom, to
enjoin upon His discipleg any duty or rite which cannpt be
universally put in practice. Were immersion, therefore,
absolutely necessary, you perceive that in some situations
and climates it would be irapossible to receive it. Suppose,
for instance, that a person should be lying on a bed of sick
ness, with life waning away, yet feeling the earnest desire
before death ooines, to be admitted into the Church of Christ.
Tha,t privilege must, in this case, be denied him. He must
die an alien from the fold, if ¦We believe that our Lord has
appointed but one form in which the Sacrament of Bap'.ism
is valid- But all His commands, on the contrary, bear the
stamp of universality. The Holy Communion of His body
* It is of course impossible in this brief lecture to enter into any;
particular dfecussion of the meaning of these terma. The reader ¦vriU|
find, however, in Chapin's Primitive Church, a, critical examination |
of all the placea both in the Old and Kew Testaments, in which the'
worda Bapto and Baptizo are used, (p. 44-52.) The result is, thats
out of twenty-three cases in which Bapto occurs, it haa the sense of!
immersion but twice; and that iu seventy places where Baptizo ia
found, there is not one where it means to immerse.

174 the church's view
and blood can be administered in all climates, and to any
one, however enfeebled by sickness, and so we believe can
baptism. Our Lord never directs any thing which it would
be impossible to obey.
The third reason is — ^because affusion and sprinkling
have been both practised and recognized as valid in all ages
of the Church. It is not probable, that John the Baptist,
when "there went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and
all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him
in Jordan," administered this rite by immersion, for time
would scarcely have been found, to allow so slow a process
to be so often repeated to these multitudes. Many, too,
must have come there unprovided with proper garments for
this purpose. And these same objections ¦will apply against
immersion being the forra used in any of those cases, in
which, under the preaching ofthe Apostles, large numbers
at once submitted to the faith. Rivers and lakes could not
always have been at hand, nor a sufliciency of water have
been easily obtained.*
* " After the preaching of St Peter, it is stated that SOOO were
baptized, and that theae were added to the Church in one day. Now
the immersion of 3000 persons in so short a time, carries ¦with it ao
great an air of improbabihty, that we must be excused, if we suspect
that some more rapid mode waa adopted for theh: baptfem. Keflect
npon thia one moment : — Peter's aermon began (as we are told) after
the third hour of the day ; that is, nine o'clock in the moming. Hfe
addresses occupied' a considerable time; for, beaidea the sketch given
in the Acta, it ia said that '¦with many more words he exhorted them'
— which are not recorded. Now, it was not untU after aU thia, that
the Baptfema be^n, — and the time remaining to the evening, could
scarcely have been more than eight hours. Dividing, therefore, the
3000 persons, there would be 376 to receive baptfem in each of those
eight hours — a number so great that it fe difficult to imagine how they
could poaaibly have been immeraed.
"But again; in the case of the jaUer at Philippi, we have an
instance of a whole famUy, suddenly baptized, and this, too, at mid
night. The whole matter was transacted in a very Umited time, and
we cannot, ¦without ¦violence, bring ourselves to beUeve in the reaUty
of such a thing, as the instant arousing from slumber of a whole family
and the immediate plunging oi them in the cold element of baptfem ;
to Bay nothing of the improbabUity of there being on the spot, and at

OF INFANT BAPTISM. l>
The probability seeras to he that all three meihbvls wern
fraetised in the Early Church. In the hot countries of the
East, where men went Ughtly clad, and bathing was often
used, it was natural that immersion should frequenfly be the
manner of baptisra. As, however, the faith extended into
the colder "climates of the North and West, affusion and
sprinkling were more generally resorted to, as agreeing bet
ter with local circumstances. Thus St. Cyprian, even when
he declares agaiiist the validity of heretical Baptism, defends
that performed by sprinkling. , "For the contagion of sin"
— says he — " was not washed away as the filth of the body
is, by a carnal and secular washing. There was no need of
a lake or other such like helps to wash and cleanse it."
And he proves the lawfulness of aspersion from Ezekiel
xxxvi. 25 — " I vvill spri<nkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall he clean."* The manner was conformed to the climate,
and the situation of the recipient.
The mistake in all this matter is, that men have not dis •
tinguished what is essential, from what is non-essential. The
essentials in baptism are — the proper person to administer
it — the use of water — and the name of the Trinity in which
it is applied.t Other things may be regulated by circum
stances. The case is precisely the same with the Eucharist.
This, at its first institution by our Lord, was administered in
a very different way from what it now is ; but we have dis
criminated, and retained what is essential. And why not
do so with Baptism? To make the mode of Baptism the
distinctive feature of a sect, is as reasonable as it would be,
now to form a new party in the Christian world, to be called
" the Communionists," who should sever themselves from
the Catholic Church on the ground that the Communion is
not administered in a valid manner, unless received precisely
as it was by the Apostles of our Lord, reclining on couches
around a table, and in an upper chamber. The fact that the
the time, a sufficiency of pure water, and suitable vessels to meet tho
emergency." Staunton's Church Dictionary, Art " Immersion."
* Epist 76.
¦(¦ " It cannot appear that the chUd was baptized with water, in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (which are
essential parts of baptism.") Rubric at the end of Form for private
\aptism of children.

176 THE church's VIEW
whole Christian Church for eighteen centuries had believed
difierently, would, in this age of new di icoveries, be a matter
of no importance.
There is, however, a much raore summary way of dis
posing of the question. Suppose we were to allow, that in
the early Ohurch in the East, immersion was always used,
does it prove that the Church is now bound lo continue it ?
Certainly not. There is nothing in this manner essential to
the existence of the Sacrament. This is merely a gractice,
resting on no express coraraand, and involving no doctrine
or point of faith. The only difference about the manner is,
whether this or one of the other two ways is most significant
of spiritual purification. It is one of those things which the
Church has a right to alter and adapt to the changing cir
cumstances ofthe world. And the Church general has long
since adopted aspersion as the mode of baptisra. A striking
vistance of this sarae power of altering the manner in which
rites are adrainistered, is furnished by the history of the
Passover. The Jews, at first, by the express coraraand of
God, were to receive this, " with their loins girded, their
shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand," as those who
eat in haste. But when settled in their own land, they seem
to have totally changed the mode — to have added many new
rites to it — and to have partaken of it, reclining on couches.
Yet our Lord sanctioned this by His example. And has not the
Christian Church this same power ?
Such is precisely the view given by Bishop Burnet, -when
discussing Art. XX., "The Church hath power to decree
rites or ceremonies." He even gives this very case of
Baptism, as one of his illustrations. His words are — " In
raatters that are merely ritual, the state of mankind in dif
ferent climates and ages is apt to vary : and the same thing
that in one scene of human nature may look grave, and seem
fit for any society, may in another age look light, and dissi
pate-men's thoughts. It is also evident there is not a sys
tem of rules given in the New Testament about all these :
and yet a due raethod in them is necessary to maintain the
order and decency that become divine things. This seems
to be a part of the Gospel liberty, that it is not a ' law of
ordinances;' these things being left to be varied according
to the diversities of mankind  Though a kiss of

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 177
peace, and an order of deaconesses, were the practices of
the ApostoUcal tirae; yet when the one gave occasion to
raiUery and the,other to scandal, all the world was, and still
is, satisfied with the reasons of letting both fall." After
speaking of the changes made by the Jewish Church in their
rites, he says— " If then such a liberty was allowed in so
limited a religion, it seems highly suitable to the sublimer
state of Christian Uberty, that there should be room left for
such appointments or alterations as the different state of
time and places should require. In hotter countries, for
instance, there is no danger in dipping ; but if it is other
wise in colder climates, then, since ' mercy is better than
even sacrifice,' a more sparing use may be made of water;
aspersion may answer the tr^ue end of baptism." It is of
course to be observed, that these changes can only be made
ill things merely ritual, and by the authority ofthe Catholic
Church. The last point which we would briefiy bring forward is
— the place in which the Sacrament of Baptism should be admin
istered. This is declared by our regulations to be in the
Church. The Rubric states that "the Godfathers and
Godmothers,^ and . the people with the children, must be
ready at the font, either immediately after the last lesson at
Morning Prayer, or else immediately after the last lesson at
Evening Prayer, as the minister, at his discretion, shall
appoint.',' And the minister is also enjoined, to warn the
people, " that without great cause and necessity, they procure
not their chUdren to be baptized at home in their houses." _ ,
And this surely is right — that here at the Font, in the
house of God, these solemn vows should be made, which
devote your children to the Lord. Thus is it shown, that
we all are one body, united by a comraon tie when we enter
our Master's temple— -that here at least, before His altar, all
worldly distinctions are unknown. " If baptisms always
took place on Sundays or holydays, and in the public ser
vice, and at every poor child's baptism the rich did not sit
in their pews, as if it did not concern them and were a wea
riness, but rose, and knelt, and joined in the service with
readiness and fervency; experience in certain places has
shown that a good feeling has been generated among the
poor, far beyond what seemed likely from such a trifle ; and
8*

I7fi THE church's view
01 course a more right feeling would be produesd among
tlie rich, who in such cases are far more deficient in it than
the poor."*
The severity of the climate, however, sickness, or other
causes which cannot be enumerated, may often furnish that
"great cause and necessity" which will justify the minister
in performing this service iu private. Yet, in such cases,
you will perceive at once that it should be private. The
administration of this solemn Sacrament is surely not a time
for gathering together your worldly friends, and giving loose
to festivity and mirth. When the young immortal is signed
with the sign of the Cross, and the influences of the Spirit
are invoked to uphold it in its future life, is it the time oi
place for frivolity and arauseraent ? When soleran words
are spoken, and the pomps and vanities of this sinful earth
are renounced, shall worldliness in that hour have gathered
there to hold its carnival ? Should there thus be furnished
at the very moment, a practical denial of all the lips are
uttering? Should this be made merely an excuse for ex
citement and gayety ? No, brethren, whatever else you
may do, at least bring not the Sacraments of the Church
into your homes, except with awed and chastened feelings.
The humble prayer and the heartfelt petition for grace to
fulfil your fearful reponsibilities, might well befit a scene
like this — not the light jest or the empty laugh. Remem
ber, with whom you are dealing in that rite — that He is not
mocked — that He marks the feelings with which you kneel
before Him — and that this service concerns the eternal well-
being of a young spirit, which is thus setting out for immortal
life. We have thus, my brethren, endeavored to bring before
you in the narrow limits of this single Lecture, a subject
which might well fill a volume. You will perceive, how
ever, even from these brief observations, the spiritual force
of the question—" Is it well with the child ? " If it be still
uncleansed by the waters of baptism, I tell you, it is not well
with it. It is an " alien from the commonwealth of Israel,"
and a stranger to the Christian Church. Are you willing
that thus it should remain? Shall that being around whom
* Faber's " Churchman's PoUtica," p. 44.

OF INFANT BAPTISM. 179
your fondest affections are clustering, be sent forth into a
stormy and sinful world, without being fortified by the aid of
God's Spirit — feeling as if no obligation was resting on him
— and cut off from all union with that holy fellowship,
whicn comprehends the just on earth and the angels in Hea
ven? Are you willing, that through your remissness that
link should be vvanting which binds him to the throne of the
Eternal ? Who can tell the momentous results which may
ensue from his being thus debarred? Separated from the
nursing care of the Church whose object is, to have her
children first in infancy brought within her fold — then in
maturer years confirmed in this grace — and thus by regular
steps advanced to partake of the communion of their Lord's
death — ^he may feel himself enabled to live without restraint
or care for these things. Thus, the world claims him as its
own, and the claim is allowed. He yields to temptation —
resigns himself to its embrace — Olives in sin, and dies with
out hope. And when at length he has risen from his lowly
grave, only to find himself a partaker in " the resurrection of
damnation," and you and he meet once more before the last
dread tribunal; as you stand up to receive your sentence,
perchance from the ranks of the lost there may start forth
one, whom in speechless dismay you recognize as him whom
you have nurtured on earth; and as he points to you, the
author of his being, his familiar tones thrill in your ear,
when he shrieks forth to the Judge — "This, this, 0 Lord,
is he, through whose remissness I must inherit the hor-rora
of the second death. Through his neglect it happened,
that I was not numbered with Thy Church, or baptized
¦ with Thy Spirit, ere the cares of life gathered around me,
and now, I am a castaway — ^undone forever."

VII.
THE lOEAl TRAINING OF THE CHURCH.
I love the Church — the Holy Church,
That o'er our life presides.
The Birth, the Bridal, and the Grave,
And many an hour besides I '
Be mine, through life, to live in her,
And when the Lord shall call,'
To die in her— the spouse of Christ,
The Mother of ui all. Rtv. A. O. Coxe.
Our faith appeals to the heart as much as to the intellect.
Its object is, not to inculcate a set of abstract truths, but to
render us "meet^to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light." Among the changes and trials of this
lower world, we are to exercise our hope and patienee — the
grace of God being our strength— the prizes of eternity, the
rewards to which we look forward. Thus, as this life wears
away, we shall feel that in our spiritual warfare we are
going on from "conquering to conquer "r — ^mastering the
evil of our nature-^-and, by self-deiiial and self-discipline,
fitting ourselves hereafter to minglu-with the children of
immortality. Each year wiU witness some new advance
in the divine life — some new acquisition in holiness, until,
as our sun declines towards the West, we can calmly watch
its setting, being confident that the night of death which
gathers around us, shall soon give place to a gloripus awak
ening. It is to produce this result that the whole system of the
Church is intended. She would educate the soul for Eter
nity. Sheis indeed the Churchman's guide through life —
at once his instructor and his own familiar friend, who m^ets
him, at every change and turn, with words of warning and

183 THE MORAL TRAININO
of comfort, and thus systematically and unceasingly exerts
her influence to prepare him for that rest which awaits the
just in the Paradise of God. This then is the moral
TRAiNiN(j OF the Church, with regard to which I would
this evening address you. I wish to show, that no emer
gency can happen to us in this world, for which the Church
has not provided — no possible condition of life, from the
cradle to the grave, which she has not anticipated, or where
she is found wanting in her power to convey spiritual aid.
Thus it is, that we are enabled to attain that privilege, for
which the kingly Poet of Israel longed — " to dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of our life, to behold the
beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple."
Let us begin then with the infant, whose reason and
senses are just unfolding to a perception of the world it has
entered, and what course does the Church pursue? Does
she disregard or scorn that feeble being, as it passes through
the raonths of wailing infancy and the years of helpless
childhood? Does she repel it from her fold, telling it to
live on, "an alien froin the commonwealth of Israel,'.and a
stranger from the covenants of promise," until the fresh dew
of life is gone, and the beauty of its early years departed ?
Does she refuse to notice that young immortal, until in ma
turer years it can apply for admission at her gates, coming
fresh from the world as a heathen would do, who had not
till then heard the news of redeeming love ? Does she pro
claim, that by nature that being, about whom your warmest
affections are gathered, is born in sin, yet without offering
any remedy to blot out the stain ? , Such is by no means the
Church's want of care for little children. She claims them
even from their birth, and gathers them at once into her
fold, that from the flrst the promises of the Gospel may be
pledged to them, and they share in those rich blessings
which are offered to her members.
The first Rubric in our Prayer Book which relates to the
infant, is one for the guidance of the minister of the Parish,
directing him " often to admonish the people, that they de
fer not the baptism of their children  unless upon a
great and reasonable cause." As the children of the
Israelites at eight days old were made members of the Jew
ish Church, and thus entitled to the covenant promises

OF THE CHURCH. 182
which God had made tq,the nation, so are your children by
baptism to be received into the fold of the Christian Church.
When, therefore, the child is presented before the altar, the
appeal is made to those present — " I beseech you to call
upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of
His bounteous mercy, He will grant to this child that which
by nature he cannot have ; that he may be baptized with
water and the Holy Ghost, and received into Christ's Holy
Church, and be made a living member of the same."
And this is done. The water is poured forth — ^fhe sign
of the Cross* is impressed upon the forehead of that uncon-
* Among the refinementa of modem wfedom is a dread of the
Sign of the Cross. Are we ashamed of ft? Have we forgotten the
example of St Paul, and ceased to " glory in^ the cross of Jesua
Christi" Such waa not by any meana the yie-w of the Primitive
Christians. " When heathena," aaya Hooker, " despiaed the Christfen
religion because of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the Fathers, to tes
tify how h'ttie such contumelies and contempts prevailed with them,
chose rather the sign of the Cross, than any other outward mark,
whereby the world might most easUy dfecern always what they
were." (Eccles. Polity, book v.) TertuUian, in the second century
testifies, that on aU occasions they uaed thfe sign. (Deo Caron. Milit.
c iii) It was made upon those persona who were adrbitted as Cate
chumens, (B%ng. Orig. Eccles. Ub. x. c. i. sec. 3., and c. ii. sec 8;) and
signed upon their foreheads at the time of baptism. (Palmer's Orig.
Lit. V. ii p. 1901) Thus they would manifest^-St. Augustifie says —
" that BO far are they fi:om blushing at the Cross, they do not conceal
thfe instrument of redemption, but carry it on their brows." (In
Psalm cxU.)
It was this spirit which induced our forefathers every where to
set up the sign of the Groaa — in their Churchea— their houses — ^by the
way-side — and at the fountain — ^that as the weary traveller stopped
to drink, he might have before him the emblem of the Crucified.
There may sometimes have been superstition mingled with thfe, but
was not even superstition better than the refined indifference of our
day ! In a treatise on the Ten Commandments, entitled " Dives et
Pauper," and printed at 'Westminster by Wynken de "Worde, a. j>.
1496, the real and pious object of erecting the Crosa hy the roa9-side
ia thua expressively assigned — " For this reason ben Crosses by ye
waye, that whan folke passynge see the Crosses, they sholde thynke
on Hym that deyed on ye Crosse, and worahyppe Hym above aU
thynge."

184 THE MORAL TRAINING
scious being, " in token that hereafter he shall not be
ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and man-
fuUy to fight under His banner, against sin, the world, and
But we are told, " it fe Popfeh." Are we then to give up every
Primitive practice which the Romish Church has retained ? If so, we
shall soon be worse off than our dissenting brethren. The Church
of England in one of her canons thus vindicates her retention of thfe
sign— " FoUowing the stepa of our most worthy King, because he therein
foUo.weth the rules of the Scripture, and the practice of the Primitive
Church, we do commend to aU true members of the Ohurch of Eng
land these our directions and observations ensuing: the honor and
dignity of the name of the Crosa begat a reverend eatimation even in
the Apostles' tirae, (for aught thai fe known to the contrary,) of the
aign of the Cross, which the Chrfetians shortly after uaed in aU their
actiona. The uae of thia sign in Baptism was held by the Primitive
Church, as well by the Greeks as the Latms, -vrith one consent and
great applause. This continual and general use of the sign of tha
Croaa ia evident by the testimonies ofthe ancient fathers.
" It must be confessed, that in process of time, the sign of the
Cross waa grCafly abuaed, in the Ohurch of Rome. But the abubi
OF A THING DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE LAWFUL USE OF IT. Nay, SO fir
was it from the purpose of the Ohurch of England to forsake and
reject the Churchfes of Italy, France, Spain, Germany, or any such
like Churches in all thinga which they held and practfeed, that as the
Apology of the Church of England confesseth, it doth -with reverence
retain those ceremonies which do neither endamage the Church of
God, nor offend the minds of sober men ; and only departeth from
them in those particular points, wherein they were fallen both from
themselves in their ancient integrity, and from the Apostolical
Chiirches which were their first founders.
" The sign of the Cross iu Baptism being thus purged from all
Popfeh superstitions and error, and reduced in the Church of England
to the primary institutipn of it, upon those rules of doctrine concern
ing things mdifferent, which are consonant to the word of God, and
the judgments of all the ancient fathers, we hold it the part of every
private msSi, both minister and other, reverently to retain the true
use of it prescribed by public authority." Canon -ryv
Let us then continue to glory in the Cross. Let it be elevated
on our Churches, to show a heedless world the object of those conse
crated buildings. Surely, this emblem of our common faith — ^gutter
ing in the sunshine, and immovable in the storm — is more appropriate
on our pinnacles aud spires, than the Ught vane, turning to every

OF THE CHURCH. 185
the devil ; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and ser
vant unto his life's end." Thus he becomes a member of
the visible Church. Her responsibilities are resting on him
— ^her blessings belong to him.
f A few calm worife of feith and prayer,
A few bright drops of holy dew.
Have worked a wonder there
Earth's charmers never knew.
For there the holy Croa's was aign'd.
And the young soldier diily sworn,
"With true and fearless mind.
To serve the Virgin-born."*
The Church in this way offers to take your children, and
by her spiritual influence to educate them for the Lord.
While you would be compelled to send them out to encoun
ter tbe snares of a sinful world, unaided by Divine Grace,
she steps forward, and like Pharaoh's daughter, rescues
them from this death, adopts them for her own, and then
gives them back to you, to nurse for her sake. Thus it is'
that she obeys that injunction of her Lord, when he said —
" Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them
not ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And when he
declared again — "Whosoever ,shall receive one siich little
child in my name receiveth me." She knows that He not
only gives great encouragement, but also promises a reward
to those who thus dedicate their chifdren to Him. She
knows, too, that this solemn Sacrament is not merely an
outward forra, but also " a visible sign of an inward and
spiritual grace, given unto ns." Therefore it is, that in
point qf the compass, as if to teach, that the minda of tiiose who wor
ship' below are "carried about with every wmd of doctrine."
" And we -wiU not conceal the precious Croaa
Like men aahamed. The aun with its first smile
ShaU greet that symbol crowning the low pile.
And the fresh air of ' incense-breathing morn '
ShaU wooingly embrace it ; and green moss .
Creep round its arms through centuries unborn."
Wordsworth's Eccles. Sonnets,
• Keble'fl Christian Tear.

186, THE MORAL TRAINING
Scripture when Baptism by water is mentioned, the influences
of the Holy Ghost are so often connected with it.* She
trusts, then, that Divine Grace does descend upon that young
candidate for immortality — that the germs of holiness are
implanted there — which may afterwards, as the faculties
expand, and life goes on, be cherished into confirmed godli
ness. Thus she commences Ufe with the children committed
to her care.f
Now look at the second step. The Church still keeps
her hold upon that child, and, as its reason strengthens, has
provided her Catechism, with which its training is to be
commenced. She does not send it forth to feed in " strange
pastures," or to attempt, in the high-ways and by-ways of
this busy world, to gather that knowledge which can make
* Matt. in. 11, John iii. 5, Eph. v. 26, Titus, u. 4—7, 1 Pet iii. 21,
1 John V. 6— 8.
f " In ancient times men had Holy Baptfem continually m their
thoughta. They could scarcely speak or -write on any reUgious subject
without the discourse turning on Baptism at last ChUdren were
educated simply as baptized chUdren. They were taught that thmgs
were right or -wrong in proportion as they affected the Baptismal vow.
Sins were considered more or leas heinous as they were supposed to
stain Baptismal purity. Baptism was to them aU in aU ; because it
was there they found the crosa of Christ set up." Faber on " The
Prayer Book a Safeguard," p. 8.
^ " Christian education is the education of a baptized souh Now it
is not too much to say, that there are very few of us who give thfe
prominence to Baptfem in the education of our children. The Uttle
ones teU us, that they viere made in their Baptism ' membera of Chrfet,
children of God, and inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven ; and raore
over they ' heartily thank God their Heavenly Father that he hath
caUed them to this state of salvation.' Yet we educate them as if
we did not believe a word of all this. Alas I raany among us do not
believe it We bring them up as if they were one day to be Chrfe
tians, not as if they were so already  The Church, when
she educates her chUdren in the Catechism is ever teaching them io
look baclj. We, on the contrary, are always making'tjiem look forward.
She gives them great thoughts, and tries to make them careful, jealous,
and obedient, because they are Christiana. We educate their minda,
and inform them with high principles of action, because they may be
Christians, and ought to be Christians. In a word, with the Ohurch,
Baptfem is a gift and a power : with us it is a theory and a notion."
Faber on " The Catechism" p. 13.

OP THE CHURCH. 187
't wise unto salvation. She furnishes it, with aliment fol
the intellect as well as for the heart. As it \ras enjoined
upon the Sponsors at the time of baptism, that "the infant
be taught, as soon as he shall be able to leam,_what a solemn
vpw, promise, and profession, he hath made by them," so
the Churbh provides the means at an early day of beginning
this work. He is to be "instructed in the Church Catechism
set forth for that purpose."
And how admirable is every portion of this little formu
lary ! WhUe so short that the youpg ohUd can commit it
to meraory, and, so simple that its meaning can be easily
explained and learned, it is at the same time so comprehen
sive an outline of religion that it familiarises the mind with
all its cardinal truths. Neither is there,- any thing dim or
vague in the instruction which it imparts^ All is plain aiid
practical. The opening questions naturally lead tbe child
to speak of its baptism — the privileges and obligations oi
which are accordingly explained. Then follow the Articles
ofthe Creed, which it is required to beUeve— the Ten Com
mandments, which are laid down as its rule of life towards
God and its neighbor-^^and , the necessity of grace from on
high having been inculcated, that prayer is added which our
Lord Himself gave His followers to use. The whole then
concludes with a brief exposition of the nature of the two
Sacraments — Baptism and the Lord's Supper — ^the benefits
to be derived from them, and the requisites necessary for
their proper reception.
Tell me, then, where in so small a compass can you find
BO admirable a view of the doctrines of our faith ? While
the doubts and questionings of controversy are shunned, eveiy
thing is inculcated which is necessary to inform the mind
or regulate the life by the rules of holiness. In this respect,
therefore, the Church has done her part ;' and were parents
and sponsors but faithful to their trust, the children of the
fold would go forth into the -World, instructed in the truth,
armed against error, and prepared to repel the iltsidious
suggestions of those who would' seduce them from the right
way."* • " What may be the cause why so much cloth so soon changeth
color ! It fe because it waa never wet -wadded,, which giveth the fix
ation to a color, and setteth it in the cloth.

188 THE MORAL TRAINING
Nor let the oft-repeated objection be herded, that tha
doctrines of our faith are above the comprehension of the
young child. We believe there are none taught in our Cat
echism, of which a careful explanation will not enable the
learner to gain some perception, even if he do not fully grasp
the meaning. And what more than this, do we "children
of a larger growth," even in the maturity of our reason, un
derstand of many of the divine mysteries ? The deep things
of God seera to float dimly before our eyes — " we see through
a glass darkly " — and are obUged to wait, until in another
state of being, with our faculties expanded, we " shall know,
even as also we are known." Thus also is it with the child,
and precisely on this principle do we store its mind with
many branches of human learning which at present it cannot
understand. We know that these truths will be laid up in
its memory, and as the intellectual powers are developed,
their meaning will gradually dawn upon it. Beautifully and
effectually, indeed, has a living Christian poet answered this
objection — " 0 say not, dream not, heavenly notes
To childish eara are vain.
That the young mind at random floata.
And caimot reach the atrain.
Dim or unheard, the words may fall.
And yet the heaven-taught mind
May learn the sacred air, and aU
The harmony unwind."*
Now look at the third step in this moral training. The
solemn obligations resting on parents having been discharged,
and the child been trained up from infancy "in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord," the Church caUs upon him
" What may be the reason why so many, now-a-days, are carried
about with every wmd of doctrine, even to scour every point in the
compass round about? Surely ft is because they were never weU
catechised in the principles of religion." — Thomas Fuller.
* Eeble's Christian Year. The reader wiU find the subject of
Catechising nowhere more fully and admu-ably discussed, than in Bi
ahop Doane's Charge to the Convention of New-Jersey, m 1836,
entitled " The Church's Care for Little Children."

OF THE CHURCH.

189

again when he has arrived at years of discretion. She sup-
poses that the grace of God has been ripened and matured in
his heart, and that he is now prepared, openly before the
world, to confess himself a disciple cff the Crucified Son of
God. This is done in Confirmation, when he publicly takes
his Baptismal vows upon himself; and therefore the Church
directs, that at this period of life— just when he is in the
freshness of his youth, and before he has entered on the busy,
active world — ^he shall be thus farther armed against temp-
tatiffi. He returns then to the chancel, where he has once
been admitted by Baptishi iiito the Church, and standing up
before the altar, the Bishop addresses to him the question—
" Do you here, in the presence of God, and of this congrega
tion, renew the solemn promise and vow that ye made, or
that was made in your name, at your Baptism ; ratifying and
confirming the same ; and acknowledging yourself bound to
believe and to do all those things which' ye then undertook,
or your sponsors then undertook for you?" To this the
candidate " audibly answers, J do." And then, after the
united prayers of all have commended him to God, the Bishop
lays his hands upon his head, while kneeling before him,
with the appropriate petition — " Defend, 0 Lord, this Thy
servant with Thy Heavenly grace; that he may continue
Thine forever ; and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more
and more, until he come unto Thy everlasting kingdom."
How solemn then is all this service? Who can unite in it,
without having first determined most fully to devote himself
to the service of God, or without having every holy resolution
quickened and strengthened within him !*
• " At that moment the question was asked, 'Do ye here'^ — ^the
Bishop began — 'in the presence of God and thfe congregation, rene-w
the solemn .promfee and vow made in your namea at your baptiam ! '
I had separated myself from the company of candidates, and stood a
Uttie apart, looking at them. 'Do they' — I thought — ' here, where
the dead in Christ are lying to rest around them ; where the eye of
God fe in an especial manner upon them ; where their ministers are
watching as those who must give account, and anxious friends are
looking on even -with prayers and tears^^Do they come here -with
true hearts, or dare they here to trifle ! 0 let them tum back now !
I almost said — ^let them not Ue unto God 1 or rather„here, as at the foot
of the Croaa, let them accept'the offered mercy of Him who waiteth

190 THE MORAL TRAINING
Thus it is that we have traced the young member of the
Church, from his early infancy, until he stands upon the
verge of manhood, and is prepared to go forth and take his
part in its engrossing cares. You have seen how the Church
watched over him, and gathered her restraints about his
steps, training him up until the hour when he publicly pro
fessed himself one with the faithful. Now see her futnrb
care, and what, as life goes on, she has provided to strengthen
him against the encroachments of worldliness.
Our thoughts naturally turn at once to the Holy Com
munion. Of this he is now invited to partake, if he can do
so humbly, reverently, and with the wish to lead a godly
life. The erableras of his Master's broken body and shed
blood are placed before him, and from this Sacrament he can
gather strength for his future course. Solemn indeed are
the refiections which in these moments must crowd upon his
mind, wafting his thoughts away from this lower worlfl!
" With angels and archangels, and -with all the company of
heaven, he lauds and magnifies, God's glorious name," and
thus is forced to realize, that there is indeed "such a bond* as
"the Coraraunion of saints," uniting in one fellowship the
faithful in Christ Jesus, whether they' have entered into the
Paradise of rest, or are still toiling on in the wilderness.
And this sphitual foast is provided so frequently, that its
holy influence cannot wear out by the continual contact into
which he is forced with the things which are appealing to
his outward senses. Each month he is called to partake of
it, that worldliness may have no time to gather over his
soul — the affections become alienated from his God — or the
solemn scenes of Calvary be^ strsmge and unactnistomed to
his thoughts. Thus it is ^that the Church provides for man's
" spiritual food and sustenance in that„Holy Sacrament,
which is so di-vine and comfortable a thing to them who
receive it worthily."*
to be gracious.' Of aU the thoughts that come into one's mind in
looking on that Ictvely congregation, the aaddest was the dr^ad that
some there, perhaps, though charity hoped better things of all, had
come careleaaly, aa to an unmeaning ceremony." — Scenes in our Parish,
p. 198. * In the exhortation we aay — "He hath given His Son our Sa
viour Jesus Christ, not only to die for ua, but afeb to be our spiritual

OF THE CHURCH. 191
Then, again, we have her constant round of services.
These are regulated by no fitful devotion, but keep steadily
01 view the great .principle -of instructing her children in the
food and susteTumce ia that Holy Sacrament" This then is the doc
trine of our Church, that the body of Christ ia given, taken, and eaten
in the supper,, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the
mean whereby the body of Chrfet is received and eaten in tJheSuppef,
ia faith." (Art. XXVIII.) -The Church holds therefore the doctrine
of the real presence of Christy in the Eucharist, but not the doctrijie
of His material presence. She teaches that the change wrought in
the Elements, by their coijsecration, ia simply a spiritual one. Mr.
G. S. Faber, 'in hia " Digieulties of Romanism," in speaking on thia
subject uses the tehn " moral change," p. 44.
On the other hand, the Church of Rome contends, tliat by the con
secration the bread and wine are changed in theu essential quaUties
so that they cease to be bread and wine, but becotne ati-ictly and
KtiftaUy the material and substantial body mid blood of Christ. Thfe
fe their doctrine of Transubstantiation.
That the doctrine of a ^irit'ual change waa that of the early
church, fe evident from the iUuatrations they use to explain this sub
ject For example, Gregory of Nyasa aaya — " Thfe altar, before which
we stand, is physicaUy mere common stone, differing, nothing from
the; stones with which our houses are buUt : but, after it has been
consecrated hy benediction to the service of God, it becomes a holy
table, a sanctip^d altar. Jri a siniilar manner, the-^ucharistia bread fe
originally mere common bre^; but i^henithaa been consecrated in
the holy mystery, it becomes, and is called, the body of Christ The
eame power of consecration Uke^wfee imprints a new and honorable
character upon a prieat, when by a new benedictiCih heia separated
firom the laity. For he, who was previoualy nothing more than a
common inan, ia suddenly transformed into a teacher of reUgion, ahd
into a steward of the holy^my&tenes. ' Y6t,thfe great mutation fe
effected without any change in Ms bodily form ainfi appearance. Ex
ternally, hefe the same that'he already was ; but internally, by an Di
visible andgradoua operatfon, a mighty change fe effected in hia Botd."
(*>e Baptism Oper. v. iu. p. 369;) In these caaea of the altar and''the
priest, Gregory can of courae refer to no spiritual chaoge.
The rise of this error of trmSubatantiatiiii was iiatural. The early
fathera evinced an extreme anxiety io av^d-^iiny mode-of apeecb^hidh
might lower the dignity- of this Sacrament in' the 'estimation of the
people. They therefore often resorted- 1» a fetT?id aod' poetieal'^tyle
of addreaa dictated by the glowing imagination of the Greeks c^ Asi
atics; which identified the hallowed elements w^ the aacrifica' tit^
represented. "Thua," says Le Baa', "the impaaaicnied eloqueifte of

192 THE MORAL TRAINING
doctrines of Christianity, and gradually building them up in
a knowledge of the faith. Look at her Sunday services,
how they go through the whole circle of religious truth, and
bring constantly before our eyes the eventful life of our Lord,
and the doctrines he came to unfold. We begin at Advent,
by looking forward in anticipation of his coming, until at
Christmas, " with cheerful hymns and garlands sweet," we
celebrate His nativity. Then, one prominent action after
another of His earthly pilgrimage passes in review, until in
the season of Lent we commemorate His bitter sufferings —
His Passion — and death. But Good Friday goes by — the
darkness which had gathered about the tomb is dispelled by
" the vernal light of Easter morn," and we enter the house
of God to listen to the story of our Master's joyful Resurrec
tion. Forty days afterwards we celebrate the Festival of the
Ascension — then, at Whitsunday, the Pentecostal coming of
the Holy Ghost — and then, on Trinity Sunday, we are called
to remember that solemn mystery of the Three in One, about
which men indeed can profanely argue, but on which angels
meditate with an awful reverence. " But as hitherto we have
celebrated His great works, so henceforth we magnify Him
self. For twenty-five weeks we represent in figure what is
to be hereafter. We enter into our rest, by entering in with
Him who having wrought and suffered, has opened the king-
dom of Heaven to all believers. For half a year we stand
still, as if occupied solely in adoring Him, and with the
Seraphim crying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy,' continually."* Now,
who can go through this round of instruction, and thought
fully contemplate all these solemn truths, without being
deeply impressed by the realities of our religion ?
the preachers grew imperceptibly into the doctrine of the Church."
(Life of Wiclif, p. 253.) To thfe language of rhetoric the Romish
writers now appeal, aa if it had been uttered with didactic caution.
And yet, in aU the early fethers there is no expression stronger than
that contained in one of our own hjrmns —
" HaU, sacred feast which Jesua makes 1
Rich banquet of his fiesh and blood 1 "
Would it be logical a thousand years hence, to point to this line aa
proof that our Church in the loth century beUeved in ^physical
change ! Yet such is the Romish argument from the early fethera.
* Newman's Sermons, Yol. YI. p. 400. '-\

OF THE OHURCH 19^
Look, too, at the Church's plan of daily services, as laid
down in her Calendar. She has so divided up the Word of
God, that the Psalms can be read over once in each month,
and during the course of each year, in her lessons, she goes
once through the Old Testament, and three times through
the New, except the Book of the Revelation of St. John.
And at the same time, at intervals come the Saints' Days
when we are called to comraemorate each of the Apostles in
sucession, and others of the holy dead who have passed
away lo glory. Thus we are shown that, to serve God truly,
and to shine like Ughts in the world, we must follow in the
steps of these His favored servants, and devote our hearts
and lives to his worship and service. We are taught to live
for a time with the dead — to be joined with them, as it were
in a mysterious love, realizing that though the earthly eye
cannot see them, yet they are "not far from every one of
us," living in a nobler existence than they ever enjoyed on
earth. Arid even when the Church does not publicly cele
brate this* daily service, her members have still the Prayer-
Book in their hands, to lead their thoughts aright, and to
direct them each day to the same portions of the Word of
God, that they may thus with one mind follow the Church
in the lessons she prescribes, and be ever advancing in reli
gious knowledge. She has both her Festivals of holy joy,
when they are called to exult in the rich promises which
are made them, and again her weekly and yearly Fasts,
when they are directed to chasten their spirits, and bring
their bodies into subjection, that the earthly and sin-born
nature may not war against that influence in the heart, which
is ever striving to lead them nearer to their God. *
* The following is the Churc .'s table of Fasts, aa gi«en in the
Prayer-Book immediately after the Calendar.
A TABLE OF FASTS.
ASH- WEDNESDAY. GOOD-FRIDAY.
Other days of Fasting ; on which the Church requires such a measure
of Abstinence, as is more especially suited to extraordinary Acts
and Exercises of Devotion.
1st The Forty days of Lent.
2d The Ember-Days at the Four Seasons, being the Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, the Feaat of
Pentecost, September'l*, and December 13.
9

194 THE MORAL TRAINING
In this way it is that, year after year, through a lifetime,
the Church appeals both to the intellect and the heart. She
instructs her children through the mind and the affections.
She uses devotion as the instrument ; by her holy prayers
elevating their thoughts above this passing world — sanctify
ing their hearts — and, by teaching them to conquer themselves
rendering them children of the light and of Ihe day. They
must acquire the habit of prayer — not that irregular, varying
devotion which burns around us — at one time apparently kin
dled to an angel's fervor, and at another, utterly dead and
cold — but the flame which shines on steadily unaffected by
the dampness of this earth-, and growing brighter and brighter
to the end. " As our Lord led persons gradually to the know
ledge of the truth, by quiet teaching, by leading them to
observe His works, by drawing out their self-denial and en
gaging their confidence, so, in obedience to His command
' to make disciples of all nations,' the system of the ChUrch
is that of parental and pastoral training, and building up by
practical instruction, such as catechisitig and the use of a
constant devotional form." She acts on this principle — to
induce her members to acquire a devotional frame of mind,
by self-discipline and frequent repetition — for thus only can
it be formed.
But besides this regular, constant training ofthe Church,
there are also her occasional services, which are adapted to
every situation in which her children can be placed. At
home or abroad — ^in safety or in peril— ^in peace or in war —
she is ever at their side. Even on the wild billows of the
sea, she speaks to the storm-tossed mariner in words which
bring to his remembrance the quiet Church atJiome, and
thus connect him in spirit wijh the little circle he has left.
" Thou too art there, ¦with thy soft inland tonea.
Mother of onr new birth ;
The lonely ocean learns thy orisons.
And loves thy sacred mirth :
When storms are high, or when the fires of war
Come lightening round our course.

3d. The three Rogation Days, being the Mon<'ay, Tuesday, and
Wednesday, before Holy Thursday, or the Ascension of our Lord.
4th AU the Fridays in the Year, except Chrfetmaa-day.

OF THEjCHURCH. 195
Thou breath'st a note Uke music from afiir.
Tempering rude hearta -with calm angeUc force."*
In every hour of joy, she is with the members of her fold,
to impart a calm and holyi spirit to their happiness. Have
mercies been vouchsafed to them ? Here are her prayers of
thanksgiving, putting words into their mouth, by which in
the great Congregation they can pour out the overflowing
gtatitude of their hearts. By her holy blessings she sanc
tifies the marriage-tie, divesting it of its worldliness, and in
the name of the Triune God, invokes upon those who kneel
before the altar, " His spiritual benediction and grace, that
they may so live together in this life, that in the world to
come they may have life everlasting." Thus she follows
the leadings of Scripture, where St. Paul declares this state
to be "honorable in all," and even exalts it as a solemn
mystery, to be an image of the union between Christ arid His
Church.'f Neither is it for the sunshine of life only, that the Church
has provided her services. Knowing that here we are " born
unto trouble, as the sparks fly upwards," and that God most
often purifies us by the furnace of afiliction, she is ready
also to " weep with them that weep." An Apostle says —
" Is any among you afllieted ? let him pray." And in obey
ing this injunction, where can we find petitions more suitable
than she sets forth — so simple, yet so touching ? "0 mer
ciful God, and Heavenly Father, who has taught us in Thy Holy
Word, that thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the chilr
* Eeble's Christian Year.
f la it not in accordance with the spirit of the present day, to
deprive thfe tie of ita religious character, and to regard marriage aa a
mere eivU contract ! Widely different from thfe haa alwaya been the feel
ing of those who have imbibed the old CathoUc spirit of the Church
TertuUian in the second century asks — " How shaU I sufficiently
declare the happiness of that marriage which the Church makes, the
oblation confirms, and the benediction seals?" (Ad Uxorem, Ub.
ii c. 8.) And where can thia aervice so properly be performed as before
the altar ? " 'Where ahould ye aeek Love'a perfect smile.
But where your prayers were leam'd erewhile.
In her own native place 1" Keble.

196 THE MOKAl TR.,.INING
dren of men ; look down with pity, we beseech Thee, upon
the sorrows of Thy servant, for whom our prayers are de
sired. In Thy wisdom. Thou hast seen fit to visit him with
trouble, and to bring- distress upon him- Eemember him,
0 Lord, in mercy ; sanctify Thy fatherly correction tp him;
endue his soul with patience under his affliction, and -with
resignation to Thy blessed will; comfort him witji a sense
of Thy goodness ; lift up Thy countenance upon him, and
give him peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord."
" Is any sick among you ?" — asks the same Apostle —
"let him pall for the elders of the, Churph, and let them pray
over him." And for this also the Church has provided. In
her " Visitation of the Sick," she marks out the course to be
pursued, bringing down the subject of our faith to something
tangible and practical — dispelling at once the dreamy reve
ries pf modern days — and Xastening upon those points in the
belief of the mind, and the conduct of the life, which present
the only true evidence of preparation for Heaven. She has
also "The Communion of the Sick," by which, with appro
priate prayers, the Sacrament of the Lord's death can be
administered to him who is debarred frommingjing with his
fellow- worshippers in the House of God, and in this way, he
eats the bread of life, and keeps np his spiritual union v\fith
the faithful.* And thus she is present, to sustain and com
fort his fainting spirit, while days of suffering and nights of
weariness are appointed him, ever being at hand with her
holy words. Nor does she leave him when life is just flick
ering away. In the very latest raoraent of existence, when
the soul IS trerabling on the brink of eternity, she has pro
vided that solemn prayer, by which her ministers may com
mend the departing spirit into the hands of its God. Thus,
the last accents whiph fall upon his ear are the touphing
words — " 0 Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of
just men made perfect, after they are delivered ftom their
¦* " A simple altar by the bed
For high Communion meetly spread.
Chalice, and plate, and sno^wy vest.
We eat and drink : then calmly blest.
All mourners, one ¦with dying breath,
We sate and talk'd of Jesus' death." KebU.

OP THE CHURCH . 197
earthly prisons ; wehumbly commend the soul ofthis Thy ser
vant, our dear brother, info Thy hands, as into the hands of
a feithfiil Creator, and most merciful Saviour ; most humbly
beseeching Thee, that it may be precious in thy sight : wash
it, we pray Thee, in the blood of that Immaculate Lamb,
that was slain to take away the sins of the -world j that
whatsoever defllements it may have contracted in the midst
of this miserable and naughty world, through the lust of the
flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, it
may be presented pure and without spot before Thee."
Never, indeed, in time of health and strength; can the words
of this prayer come home to us in aU their force. To -realize
their full solemnity, we must liear them uttered in the cham
ber of the dying, when the spirit of the Christian is wrestling
in its last confUct, and the mortal is just putting on immor
tality. Nor does the Church's care end here, even when the spirit
is gone. She still has a -voice to utter with regard to the
earthly tabernacle which it once inhabited. She proclaims
over It the holy promises of the Gospel, in the name of Him
who has declared Himself to be " the Eesurrection and the
Life," and then commits it to its last resting-place, " earth
to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," pointing forward the
surviving relatives who have gathered around, to " the
general resurrection in the last day, and the life of the world
to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; at whose second
coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the earth
and the sea shall give up their dead ; and the corrtiptible
bodies of those who sleep in Him shall be changed, and
made like unto His own glorious body ; according to the
mighty working, whereby He is able to subdue all things to
Himself" Such then is the system of the Church — that ancient and
Catholic system, derived by her from her earlier and better
days — which she has kept in her formularies, and which by
means of her Prayer-Book is ever spread but before her
children. You perceive, then, that never for an instant does
she lose sight of one committed to her trust. From his Bap
tism to his Burial — from the cradle to the grave — she is e^ver
at his .«<le. She does not hazard his spiritual improvement
on the fidelity or changing vie^p s of those, who may happen

198 THE MORAL TRAININO
to minister at her altars, but herself marks out the plan and
sketches the system by which her members are to live. Day
after day — raonth after month — ^year after year — she expects
to go forward, leading them Bver on to nobler attainments in
the divine life, and as this world graduaUy fades away,
preparing them more fully for that which is to come. Her
lesson is — "In quietness and confidence shall be your
strength." , Tell me then — I again ask — is not this the end which
God intended his .Church should answer, to train up His
children for Heaven ? And is not this the true object of oui
faith — by a constant struggle with ourselves, and by inward,
spiritual discipline — steadily to increase the power of hoU
ness over our hearts ? Or, does religion consist in periodical
excitements — in renouncing for a time all dependence on the
reason, and suffering the imagination to be awakened to a
perfect delirium — ^until we lose sight of things earthly and
terrestrial ? Is the soul to pass from spiritual death to life;
by one spasmodic effort, amid thq whirlwind of excited pas
sions ? Is an inquiring, immortal being to be taught the
way to Heaven, by distorted, unnatural appeals — ^by array
ing scenes of terror before the eye, until the mind is inca
pacitated from forming a calm and rational decision? Are
the holiest themes of our faith — themes on which angels
can dwell with the deepest adoration — to be bandied about
by ignorance and fanaticism, and lowered by every degrad
ing association, until all reverence is gone ? Was it thus
that our Lord proclaimed the soleran precepts of the Gospel,
on the hill-sides of Judea, or in the Courts of the Temple ?
No, everything with Him was elevating, lofty, .and impres
sive. Men might quail beneath the truths He uttered, but
the skeptic found nothing in His teaching frora which he
could gather new topics for scoffing, nor were the worldly-
minded able to indulge in ribaldry and laughter.
And in the same spirit would the Church impart all her
instmctions. Solemnly, and steadily her voice is heard,
impressing upon our hearts the awakening lessons with
which she is charged. She appeals to you, not for to-day
only — or for this month — or this season — ^but she goes on
unceasingly through your lifetime. She wishes you deeply
to realize the truth, that religion is not a thing for particular

OF THE CHURCH. 199
tunes and places, but a holy influence which is to be exerted
over every part of our existence, here and hereafter. There
fore it is, that " she takes to herself almost every comraon
action of our lives, and makes it her own by giving it a reli
gious turn, a Church meaning. She keeps meddling with
us in every stage of our lives. She comes araong us in our
Baptism, Education, Confirmation, Marriage, Sickness, and
Death. She calls, upon us to consecrate our worldly goods,
by yielding a poition up to her. She bids us make our time
miijister to Eternity, by calling us away from a worldly use
of it on her Sunday and Saints' days. She makes us put a
limit even upon our natural appetites, that she may teach us,
through her Fasts, obedience and self denial and bountiful
giving of alms. Thus she strives to interweave herself with
our most secret and common thoughts, our every-day actions,
our domestic griefs and joys. She would put something spirit
ual into them all. She is diligent, unwearying, ungrudging
as her Master, always going about doing good. " *
Is not this system, then, one most beautiful in all its
parts, and proving what care the Church has taken of oui
spiritual interests ? Is there any thing here left undone,
which ought to have been don& — any link wanting in the
chain by which she binds us to the Throne of God ? No, he
who is once within her fold, and yet wishes to cast aside
her influence, and return to worldliness,. Would be obliged to
make an effort, before he can succeed in bursting the bands
which she hath twined about hira, and breaking away from
her holy restraints. Not on her therefore must be cast the
blame, when any who have belonged to her, fall by the way,
and thus proye that they are to have no part nor lot in the
Heavenly inheritance. She has provided every thing necessary
for their spiritual welfare. The waters of life are flowing
beside them, brightly and beautifuUy, but they will not stoop
and drink. The Heavenly armor is before them, but they
will not array themselves in it for the conflict.
Do I address one individual, then, who has ever felt in
clined to distrust the Church, and to wander elsewhere, seek
ing food ? Is there one, who fears lest he cannot grow in
hoUness beneath her quiet round of services, who charges
* Faber on "7Tie Church-Catcchiam, " p. 6.

200 THE MORAL TRAINING
her with formality, and wishes to turn to some place, where he
can find more excitement ? My brother 1 it is not by noise
and bustle that you are to be aided in your progress to Hea
ven. The contest you are to wage, must be /ought within
— in your own heart — and from the responsibility of this,
nothing can relieve you. Excitement will only lead your
thoughts away to the outward world of action, instead of the
little inward world of meditation. It can never produce tho
necessary moral discipline, and if you trust to it. you will find,
when the morning of the Resurrection comes, that you are
without the wedding garment.
Again ; let me ask such a person another question^
Have you thoroughly tried this system of the Church, to see
what is its effect ? She has appointed, as we have shown
you, varied services. Have you faithfuUy attended all of
these — Sundays and week-days — on Festivals and in Lent ?
Have you acted out that principle, by which ilone her true
children are guided, that nothing but an insuperabl&obstacle
shall prevent them from being present here ? If you have
not, what possible idea can'you form, of the influence of her
holy system ? She has also her regular Fast days, to disci
pline your spirit, and recall your affections from a world
which is passing away. Have you observed them as you
should, afflicting the soul here that it may be saved hereaf
ter ? She has too her Holy Festivals, when, in a spirit of
subdued joy, we are to come before God in thanksgiving.
Have you done so, or have those solemn, consecrated days
been lost, and unmarked amidst the other days of your
worldly life ? Oh, if you have not, month after month sat
humbly at her feet, and listened to her teaching, what right
have you to allege that she does not supply every spiritual
want ? She can only place her systera before you, and then
leave it to yourself to enjoy its benefits or not. She can
minister only to the faithful.
Come, then, and make but trial of her power. While
trouble is out among the nations, and " men's hearts are
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things
whioh are coming on the earth," we call you to this ancient
fold, where the landraarks are still unchanged. Her strength
is unabated — her grace is undiminished — and she can now
pour into your heart the same' f '11 tide of joy, which she

OF THE CHURCH. 201
has given to the saints in the generations which have gone.
Still, her prayers, and Sacraments, and holy rites, remain as
of old, and she stands before you, in this world a home for
the lonely, and at the same time a type of that eternal and
unchanging home for which she would prepare you.

POPUIAR OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE CHIIRCH.
Bide thou thy time t
Watch with meek eyes the race of pride and crime
Sit in the gate, and be the heathen's jest.
Smiling and self-posaest,
O thou, to whom is pledged a Victor's sway.
Bide thou the Victor's day I
Lyra Apostolica,
There are some so blinded by prejudice, that every thing
connected with the distinctive principles of the Church,
is the object of their special anathema. They see no beauty
in her ancient, solemn services — ^nothing venerable in the
long succession of her Bishops, as the unbroken line comes
down through eighteen centuries. They understand but
little of her peculiarities — they know not what is Primitive
and Catholic — and they care not to inquire. The fact that
any thing which they have abandoned, has been retained
by the Church, is sufficient to draw down upon it their
reprobation. "Having eyes, they see not, and having ears,
they hear not." They form a perfect illustration of old
Fuller's description of Prynne — " So great is his antipathy
against Episcopacy, that if a Seraph himself should be a
Bishop, he would either find or make some sick feathers in
his wings." Now, to such persons explanations are useless.
Words are wasted on thera. They can only be left to go
on, until their wilful blindness leads thera into sorae strange
extravagance, and they thus by their conduct give a new
proof of what Dr. Johnson asserted, that " fanaticism is robust
ignorance." There are others, however, who will listen like reason
able beings. They have perhaps, been educated in entire

POPULAR OffJECTlONS AGAINST THE CHURCH. 203
misapprehension of the spirit which pervades the Church,
and even of the object of her services. They have heard the
oft-repeated calumnies which are urged against her, yet never
met with their refutation. By such persons then, a few
words of explanation will often be received in that spirit
which should always characterize the sincere inquirer after
truth. I propose, therefore, this evening briefly to dis
cuss some of the common and popular objections which
ARE URGED AGAINST THE Church. Several which I shall
mention, may appear to those already within the pale of the
Church, as being too trivial and unimportant to be noticed.
Yet they are only such as I have often myself encountered,
for few subjects connected with religion are so little under
stood by the great mass of those about us, as the claims and
true position of our Church.
One objection emplayed against us is — our use of the
word " Catholic." In the Apostle's Creed, which we repeat
every Sunday, we declare — " I believe in the Holy Catholic
Church" — and in the second Creed set down in our Prayer-
Book — that called the Nicene, and which was adopted A. n.
3»5, to be explanatory pf the first — this confession is made
still more strongly — " I belie v& one Catholic and Apostolic
Church." So, too, in one ofthe Prayers in " The Visitation
of the Sick," we pray God, that "when we shall have
served Him in our generation, we may be gathered unto our
fathers ... in the communion of the Catholic Church."
Now, to many persons the phrase Catholic Church conveys
nothipg but the idea of the Church of Rome, because they
have most erroneously been accuSlomed to distinguish the
members of that particular body by the name of Catholics, al
though it is a tUle which belongs to them no more than it
does to any other branch of the Christian Church.
This word is derived from the Greek word K«&oXixof, which
means general or universal. The Holy Catholic Church,
then, means the Holy Universal Church, as existing in her dif
ferent branches in all parts of the earth, and in aU ages of
the world.. For example, this is the Greek word which
is employed in the New Testament in setting forth the
titles of the Epistles of St. James, St. Peter, St. Jude, and the
First Epistle of St. John; because instead of being address
ed to particular Churches— *s St. Paul addressed his Epis-

'.^04 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
ties to the Church in Corinth^ or Rome, or EphesuS' — the?
were written to all the Churches throughout the world
It raight, therefore, be translated^ — and it would be the
most literal rendering — " the Catholic Epistle (EirioToXn
Ka^o^iK^l) of James, or Peter or John." Instead of whioh, as
you remeraber, it is translated in our version — " the General
Epistle of James and Peter, and John."
In fhe early ages, when small heretical sects occasionally
arose, and separated from the great body of the faithful,
calling themselves by different party names, the Church in
stead retained the title of Catholic, to distinguish herself
from them, as being that one, continuous, orthodox body,
which had always existed, and to which the preservation of
the truth was comiriitted. The Catholic Church then was
that which was spread throughout the world, and was des
tined to continue also through all ages, even unto the end
of time. Her common bond was the Apostolic Ministry, and
her unity on all the grand cardinal doctrines of the faith.
On every shore her branches were found under their different
Bishops. Thus, there was the CathoUc Church of Jerusalem,
that of Antioch, of Alexandria, of Rome, and that in West
ern Europe. They had, indeed, no single, visible earthly
head, presiding over them all, but were independent of eaoh
other, in the same way that the Church in this country is
now independent of the Church in England.* Yet, although
"^ The causes which gave rise to the supremacy of the Bishops of
Rome are obvious. The principal one was, -the temporal dignity and
wealth of that city. This gi^e to ita Church an early- pre-eminence,
and placed great power in the hands of her rulers. Rome was the
mistress ofthe world — ^the centre to which all eyes were directed — and
this feeUng of respect and veneration naturaUy extended to the
Church there. Thus the Council of Chalcedon declared that Rome
had obtained privileges on account of ita being the imperial City
(Can. xxviii.) Cyprian also assigns this reason for honoring the
Roman Church : •' Quoniam pro magnitudine sua debet Carthaginem
Roma prsecedere." (Epist. 49.) Precisely the same causes now
give the Bishop of London greater influence in the Christian
world, than is possessed by the Bishop of Sodor and Man. In an age
of darkness and superstition, it was easy for a succession of ambitious
prelatea graduaUy to expand this influence into a supremacy.
JTothing, however, can be more conclusive than th^ bfefjoricaJ

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 205
thus separated in distant regions, and speaking divers lan
guages, they still looked to each other, as being branches
together of the same vine. Beautifully, indeed, is this illus
trated in the writings of one of the old Fathers — "The
Church," he says, "is one, though multiplied far and wide
by its naturally prolific tendency ; in like manner as the
sun has rays many^ yet one light; and the tree ias many
boughs, yet their strength, from the root upwards, is a
single property ; and when many streams flow from one
argument - agaiust thia claim of the Bishop of Rome. When Poly
crates and the Bishops of Asia disagreed -with Pope Victor, they
seemed to pay very little regard to his opinions or hia excommuni
cations. (Museb. Eccles. Hist. Ub.-v. c. 24.) Irenseus, too, rebuked
the same Pope for hia arrogance. (Ibid.) St. Cyprian bestowed on
the Bishop of Rome no higher title than that of brother and coUeague,
and expressed the utmost disregard., of Pope Stephen's judgment
with regard to heretics. (Cyp. ad Pomp. 14.) The early Bishops
of Rome indeed disclaimed aU such authority. Gregory the ^reat,
m the 6th Century, telle ua, that " the Fathers of the C ouncU of
Chalcfedon w«re they who firat offered to his predecessors the title of
Universal Bishop, which they refused to accept." (Epist. Lib. vii
Ep. 80.) He elsewhere condemns the Patriarch of Constantinople
for assuming thia title, and says — " Whoever claims the Universal
Episcopate, ia the forerunner of Anti-Christ." (Ego fidenter dico,
¦jupd quisquis se Universalem Sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat,
jn elatione sua, Anti-Chriatum proecurrit.) (Lib. vi. Epist. 30.) The
Second General CouncU indeed — that of Constantinople, a. d. 381 —
gave the title of " Mother of all Churches," not to the Church of
Rome, but that of Jerusalem. (FercivaVs Roman Schism, p. 32.)
It waa not untU the eleventh century that thia gigantic system was
fuUy matured. Then came the attempt by the Henries of Germany —
the Imperial line of Fraconia — to secularize the Church, and Incor
porate ,ii into the State. The questltp was, thetefore, whether the
Church should submit to thia feudal vassalage, or be herself the
ruler of the world 3 To affect the latter result, Hildebrand set forth
lofty and imauthorized pretensions in behalf of the Church of Rome,
and hia victory in thia struggle endowed her with that supremacy,
which she has ever aince claimed. See Bowden's Life and Pontificate
of Gregory VII. 2 vols. Lond. 1840, pasiim^
See thia subject fuUy discussed in Barrow on the Pope's Supremacy
 Bp, Hopkin^s Church of Rome compared loiih Prim- Church — an. ,
Pabhei's Tieatise on the Ghirrch, vol iL p. 451 — 493

208 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
head, a character of multiplicity may be developed in the
copiousness of their discharge, and yet the unity of their
nature must be recognized in the fountain they proceed
frora. Divide the ray from the sun, and the principle of
unity will negative their separation ; lop the bough from the
tree, it will want strength to blossom ; cut the stream from
its fountain, the remnant will be dried up. Thus the
Church, invested with light from the Lord, sends out her rays
over the whole earth ; and yet the Ught is one, disseminated
over every where, with no separation of the original body
she stretches forth the rich luxuriance of her branches over
all the world, and pours out her onward streams, and spreads
into the distance ; yet is there one head, one source, one
mother, in all the instances of her eventful fecundity.*
Such in that day was the view entertained of the Church
Her members felt, therefore, that they were one " in the
fellowship of the Spirit," while with the different sects of
heretics about them, they held no communion. It was in
this spirit that St. Augustine defined the word Catholic.
" The Catholic Church," said he, " is so called, because it
is spread throughout the world."t Ag^-in, he adds, address
ing certain heretics — "If your Church is Catholic, show me
that it spreads its branches throughout the world ; for such
is the meaning of the ,word Catholic." J So also Vincentius
of Lerins writes in the fifth century — " The Catholic or uni
versal doctrine is that which remains the same through all
ages, and will continue so tiU the end of the world. He is a
true Catholic, who firmly adheres to the faith which he
knows the Catholic Church has universally taught from the
days of old."§
Who then in this day are the Catholics? We answer,
those who belong to any branch of the original Church, in
whatever country it raay exrst, which has retained the Apos
tolic ministry, and owns its subjection to the Universal
Church, rendering obedience to her voice. We are merabers
of the Catholic Church, for we derive our succession from
Priraitive days, and still hold in all respects to " the faith
once delivered to the saints." We recognize our connection
» Cyprian, de Unit. Eccles. f Epist. 110, ad S. Sever.
X CoD'ira Gaudent, 1. iu. c. 1. § Commonit ad. Hseret. c. 25,

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 207
with the Universal Church, whenever we repeat the Creeds,
or that declaration in the Te Deum — " The Holy Church
throughout all the world 4oih acknowledge Thee."
Our Mother Church in England has never given up the
title. " We hope" — says Hooker—" that to reform ourselves,
if at any time we have done amiss, is not to sever ourselves
from the Church we were of before. In the Church we were,
and we are so still."*
This too, is the title of the Greek Church, and of those
vast and numerous Churches' in the East, which, even in
their low estate, have never severed themselves from the
Universal Church. We acknowledge, too, as Catholics, the
members of the Church of Rome, within the bounds of her
own proper jurisdiction, and when she does not put forth
claims which conflict with those of other branches of the
ChuTCh.t You perceive then from this explanation, how
• Mcles. Pol. ¦works, v. i. p. 431, ed. Keble. Mr. Palmer has col
lected many instances from pubUc documents, of the continued use
of the title Catholic. For example — .Iji the order of prayer before
sermons in 1535, the preacher waa to "pray for the whole CathoUc
Church of Christ; (fee., and especiaUy for the Catholic Church of (his
realm" and for King Henry VIII. the " supreme head of thia Catholic
Okwrkh of EnglamdV (See Burnet, v. Ui. Records, n. 29.) In the act
against Annates, (23 Hen. viu. o. 33,) it ia 8aid„thaf the King and all his
subjecta," " aa well apiritual as temporal, been as obedient, devout,
Odthcdic, and humble children of God, and holy Church, as any
people be within any realm christened." (TVeatise on Chu/rch, v. i.
p. 221.) The writers of the Church in England alwaya speak in
these terms.
f There are aome -writers who take the ground that, aince the
CouncU of Trent, the Romaniata have cut themselves off from the
CathoUc Church, and are achismatica. Thia opinion ia aupported by
Jewel, Field, and othera. Even Mr. Froude, -who has been accused
of leaning towards Romaniam, aaya — ^"The Romanists [are not
schismatics in England and CathoUca abroad, but they] are -wretched
Tridentinea every where." Remains, v. u p. 434.
We have foUowed, however, on thia point, the great body of
EngUsh divines. Hooker calls the Church of Rome " a part of the
house of. God, a lunb of the visible church of Chriat." ( Works, U. 418.)
And again — " We gladly acknowledge them to be of the family of
Jesus Christ." (Ibid 438.) Thia was the view of Laud, Hammond,
Bramhall^ Andrewea, Chillingworth, TiUotson, Bumet, &e. It is as-

208 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
erroneous is that popular mode of speech by which so many
are accustomed to confer this title exclusi-yely upon the
inembers of the Romish Church. " The name Catholic be-
longs^qually to all the members of Christ's Catholic Church,
-wherever dispersed and however distressed. Hence a name,
whicji belongs equally to all, whether oriental, or occidentalj
cannot be correctly employed as the special, and exclusive,
and descriptive appellation ofa part only; because when the
term is thus usedj the common character of Catholicism is
by implication denied to every Christian, who happens not
to be a meraber of that provincial Western Church which is
in communion with the Bishop of Rome, and which acknow
ledges him as its chief or Patriarch."*
serted also most clearly in the formularies of the EngUsh Church. Thus,
in the " Institutions of a Christian Man," signed in 1531 by twenty-
one Archbishops and Bishops, (among whom were Cranmer, Latimer,
Shaxton, Bradford, May, and Cox, aU warm aupportera of the Refor
mation,) we find thia passage — "Therefore I do beUeve that the
Ohurch of Rome ia not, nor cannot worthfly be called the CathoUc
Ohurch, but only a particular member thereof. And I beUeve also
that the said Church of Rome, with aU the other particular Churches
in the -world, compacted and united together, do make and constitute
but one Catholic or Church body." (p. 65.) So again, the " Necea-
sary Doctrine and Erudition," approved by the Biahopa of England,
in 1543, after acknowledging the particular Churchea- of England,
Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Rome, adda that these churchea
are "members of ihe whole Catholic Church, and each of them by
himself is also worthUy caUed a Catholic Chiirch" (p. 248.) We
think, therefore, that the decision of the Church iu England, oa thia
point, is clear.
Leading modem -writera generaUy take the same view. It -wiU
be found expressed in the works qf Palmer, Bp. Whittingham, Dr.
Hook, G. S. Faber, and others. The latter, even when writing agauist
the Romanists, says — " That the Latins constitute one of the many
branches of Chriat'a Universal Church, I am far fi-om -wishing^ to
deny." Diff. of Romanism, pref. xxxiU.
* Faber's Difficulties of Romanism, pref. xxxiu. The same idea
is expressed by Dr. Hook, in a sermon preached before the Queen, in
the Chapel Royal — ". You see here, by the way, the folly (if it be
not a sin, for, it ia callmg ' evil good, and good evU ') of atyling the
Romish Diasentera in England, as some persons in extreme ignorance,
and others perhaps -with bad intentiona, do. Catholics ; for this in-

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 209
Let US not then misinterpret this term, or shrink from
acknowledging, that we " believe in one Catholic and Apos
tolic Church." It is declaring the truth, that we are nt.
obscure sect* — no mere party in the Christian world, calling
ourselves by the name of some human teacher; but that we
claim fellowship with the great fold of Christ — the com
munion of the faithful, not only in this generation, spread
every where throughout the earth, but also of those who, in
every age which has gone, have "' slept dn Jesus," and those
who shall be united " with His body, which is the Church,"
in all future time, even until the trump of the archangel
proclaims that the warfare of His followers is over.
Again, another objection often urged agauist us is — 4he
use by our ministers of peculiar cterical garments. In the En
glish Ritual, published in 1549, directions are given on the
subject of Ecclesiastical Vestures. Among these we find
particular mention qiade of the Albe. This' garment, which
is noticed among the acts of the Coimcil of Narbonne, a. d.
589, was very similar to the present Surplice, by whioh name
it began to be called about the twelfth century. -f- We will
quote some of these Rubrics of 1549. "Upon the day and
ainuatea, that we of the Ohurch of England are heretics, whereas you
have seen that oura, not theira, ia the true and orthodox Church of
Christ in this country, the real Catholic Church in and of England.
Jf they disUke the name Papist, we may speak of them aa Roman-
'isis, or even Roman Catholica. Roman CathoUcs they may be
styled, for (though schismatics and dissenters in England) in France
and England they belong to a Chiirch true by descent, though corrupted
by Roman or Popish superstitibna. A bad man is still a man, and
you may refuse to associate with Mm before he reforms ; but stiU
you -will never permit him so to style himself a man, as to imply
that you yourself are not a human being."
* By not adhering to this name we furnish the Romanist with
an argument against ua. Thus, Dr. Milner, speaking of the membera
ofthe Chm-ch m England, says — " Every time they address the God of
truth, either in solemn worship or in private devotion, they are forced
each of them to repeat, ' I believe in the Catholic Church.' And yet, if 1
ask any of them the question, ' Are you a catholic ?' he is sure to
answer me, ' No, I am a protestant.' Was there ever amore glaring
instance of inconsistency and self-condemnation among rational
beings ?" End of Religious Controversy, letter xxv.
+ Palmer on the Ritual, v. u. p. 320. ^

210 POPULAR .OBJECTIONS
at the lime appointpd for the ministration of the Holy Com
munion, the priest that shall execute the holy ministry shaU
put upon him the vesture appointed for that rainistration;
that is to say, a white albe, plain," &c. " In the, saying or
singing of matins and evensong, baptizing and burying, the
minister, in parish churches and chapels annexed to the
samej shall use a surpless." Following this ancient regula
tion of the English Church, we have adopted the custom that
the Priest, when he ofiieiates in the usual services, should be
clothed in a white linen surplice.* And yet there are some
so sensitive, as to make this a cause of offence.
"It is used by the Romanists" — we are told. And so
it is ; but if good in itself, is this any reason for abandoning
it? Is it the object of the Christian world, to get as far as
possible from the Church of Rome, without exercising any
discrimination as to what is correct, and what incorrect in
her rites and services ? Why not then abandon the custom
of singing, as a part of public worship, because vocal music
is heard in her temples — or give up baptism, because that
Church has retained it — or the use of any commissioned
ministry whatsoever, because she has still clung to the order
of the priesthood.-j- The question is not, whether it is a
custom of the Romish Church, but whether it is sanctioned
by the usage of the ancient Church, and whether it is ad-
* The origin of this word is somewhat doubtfuL Webster, in hia
Dictionary, gives its derivation aa from the Latin " super pellidum,
^bove the robe of fur." This agrees with the account given by Durandus,
who, in his work on the Divine Offices, written about the year 1286,
traces up the etymology bf the word superpelliceum, to a custom
which anciently pre -failed in the Church, of wearing tunics made
from the sMna of such animals as the country furnished, over which
was cast a white linen alb or vest, which thua received ita name
superpelliceum., from the circumstance of its being worn ahove fur.
Rock's Hierurgia, vol. u. p. 661.
\ We might find a fit answer in the reply given by Cyprian in
ancient timea, to similar objections — " Quid ergo ? quia et honorem
cathedrie sacerdotaUs Novatianus usurpat, num idcirco nos cathedrae
renunciare debemus! Aut quia Novatianua altare coUocare, et
sacrificia offerre Contra jua nititur ; ab altari et aacraficiis cessare noa
oportet, ne paria et simUia cum Uld celebrare videamur 1" Epist. ad
Jubaian de Haret- rebapt-

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 211
vantageous, as adding solemnity to the forms of public wor
ship ? When on this, and other kindred points, such puerile
objections are brought forward, instead of attempting gravely
to meet them, we feel inclined to respond with the Apostolic
injunction — " Brethren, be not children in understanding ;
but in understanding be men."*"
" BuJ^ the Surplice is not necessary for the worship of
God" — we are again told. Now suppose we should carry
out this principle, and only retain what is absolutely and
barely necessary; how much would be left to us? Why,
not even these consecrated temples, in which we offer up our
prayers, are indispensable. We might worship God " in
spirit and in truth," iu any building however humble. We
might pour forth our petitions, where the dark forests were
waving around us, and the Heavens above formed our only
canopy ; like the ancient Christians, when in days of perse
cution, far away from the abodes of men,
" They shook the depths of the deaert'a gloom
With their hymna of lofty cheer."
But we know that the mind and the devotional feelings
are reached through the outward senses, and therefore it is
meet and proper, that some spot should be set apart, in
which week after week we may assemble before God. By
being thus " separated from all unhallowed, worldly, and
common uses, " it will " fill men's minds -with greater reve
rence for God's glorious majesty, and affect their hearts with
more devotion and humility in His service, "t And the
same regard for the principles of association would dictate,
thaf when the minister of the Church officiates in the solemn
rites of the sanctuary, even his outward apparel should declare
to those before whom he stands, the sacred duty in which he
is engaged. Thus, the recollections of this world are broken
in upon — men forget the individual, and reihember onlythe
office which he holds.
Look again at the authority for the use of this garment,
and the antiquity which can be pleaded in its behalf. Un
der the Jewish dispensation, God Himself prescribed with the
* 1 Cor. xiv. 20.
f Addreas in the form for the Consecration of a Church.

212 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
Utmost mi luteness, the dress of all who should ministei
before Him in holy things. While magnificent robes were
provided for the High Priest, the ordinary priests when per
forming service, were to wear " a white linen ephod." The
Levites also, who were singers, were arrayed in white linen.
And this continued to be the law through all ages of the
Jewish state.
The early apostles being Jews, and thus trained up to
see " all things done decently and in order, " it was natural
that under the new dispensation they should have continued
to observe the ancient custom of appropriate priestly gar
ments. This is shown by frequent allusions to the surplice
in the primitive writers. Thus it is said in the Apostolical
Constitutions — " Then the High Priest standing at the altar
with the presbyters, makes a private prayer by himself,
having on his white or bright vestment. " * Pontius, in his
account of St. Cyprian's martyrdom, says that there was by
chance near him at that time "a white linen cloth, so that at
his passion he seemed to have some of the ensigns of the
Episcopal honor."-f Esebius, in his address to Paulinus,
Bishop of Tyre, mentions "the sacred gown" and "the
sacerdotal garments " -worn by Bishops and Priests, t It
was one of the charges made against St. Athanasius, that he
had imposed a tax upon the Egyptians, to raise a fund [or tJie
linen vestments of the Church. <j This fact is mentioned both
by Athanasius himself, and by Sozomen. We observe in this,
that the accusation was not, that he used such vestments in
the Church, but only that he laid a tax upon the people to
provide them ; which supposes them to be in ordinary use. St.
Chrysostom intimates that Deacons wore this habit in their
ministrations when he says, "their honor, crown, and glory,
did not consist so much in their walking about the Church
m o white and shining garment, as in their power to repel
unworthy communicants from the Lord's table. " || The
historian Sozomen, when speaking of the assault made
upon the Chnrch by the enemies of St. Chrysostom, says—
• Lib. viil ch. 12. f Wheatly on Common Prayer, p. 105
X Eccles. Hist. lib. x. ch. 4.
' § Bingham'a Orig. Ecclea. Ub. xul ch. 8. sec. 2.
I Chrya. Horn. 82 in Matt.

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 213
" The priests and deacons were beaten and driven out of tha
hurch, as they were in the 'vestments of their ministration. " *
And to give one more instance ; St. Jerome in the same sen
tence both shows the ancient use of the dress, and reproves
the dress, and reproves the needless scruples of those who
oppose it — " What harm or enmity, I pray, is it against God,
if a Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon, or any other of the Eccle-
iastical Order, come forth in a white vestment, when they
minister the Sacraments ? " t
And how suitable is the color of this dres^in which the
priests minister at the altar!- White has in all ages been
the emblem of innocence and purity. TJierefore it is that
when in the book of Daniel, the Ancient of Days is represen
ted as appearing to the prophet, we are told, that "His
garment was white as snow" — when pur Lord was transfig
ured, "His raiment was white as the light" — and whdn
angels have appeared to" men, theyhave al-ways been clothed
in white apparel.
It declares the frame of mind in which we should appeal
before God — cleansed, from all siu, like those whom St.
John saw in vision, who had "washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb- " To the
Lamb's wife, whioh is, the Church, we are told, "it was
granted, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and
white ; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."
And more than all, by this significant emblem we are
pointed forward to the glory which awaits the ransomed.
"They" — declares our Lord — "shall walk with me in white,
for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name
out of the book of life, but I'will confess his name before
my Father, and before his angels." And agaih, the same
Apostle says — " I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which
no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and peo
ple, and tongues, stood before the throne, aqd before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands ; and
cried with a loud voice, saying Salvation to our God which
sittetb Upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. "
Surely then it is right, that our ministers, when publicly
• Sozom. lib. u. cap, 21. f Adv. Pelag. Ub. i. ch. 9. torn. 2.

214 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
offering prayers to God, should retain this ancient garment,
which was first prescribed by the God of Israel Hiraself —
adopted in the Priraitive Church — in all ages the erablera of
devotion — and thus descending to us, consecrated by the
veneration of raove than three thousand years. *
* It will be observed,' that we have said nothing about the black
go-wn, which is generally used by the minister while preaching. The
reason of this omission is, because it is not a clerical dress. It was
originaUy an academic dreaa, which ia stUl worn in many of our col
leges, and by the judges of aome of our courta. There is therefore
nothing about it strictly eccleaiaatical.
The object of thia change of coatume while ofiSciating in the ser
vice, ia briefly this. The priest while at the altar or engaged in
reading the worda of the Liturgy, acta and speaka in the name of the
Church, authoritatively, aud ia therefore clothed in the veatmenta of
the Church. In preaching, however, he ia deUvering hia own -words,
not the words of the Ohurch, and therefore does not wear her dis
tinctive garments.
It was not indeed originally intended, that he ahould put en a
go-wn after the prayers, for the purpose of preaching. The gown and
cassock were the ordinary daUy dress of the clergy, even do-wn to the
middle of the last century. We learn this from the works of Fielding,
and several of the pictures of Hogarth. The priest ia supposed
therefore to be already clothed in his gown and caasock, over which
ia hia surpUce. It is only necessary, therefore, for him to take off the
latter, and he ia ready for preaching. Thia ia what is referred to in
Shakespeare, where he so clearly shows the manner of wearing both
the aurpUce and gown. In " AU'a weU that enda well," the clown,
being obliged to do something which he disUkes, consoles himself by
saying, that he "wfll wear the surplice of humiUty over the black
gown of a big heart."
Thia ia the view given in a late work — A few ITioughts on Church
subjects, by Rev. Edw. Scobett, Lond, 1843. He aaya — "And the
law ordaina this distinction warily ; with a special design and good
reason, Aa a ministering priest, a clergyman ia the repreaentative
and voice of the Ohurch, apeaking in her own words, and in the use of
the Liturgy, deUvering her -written, deUberate, unalterable doctrines ;
and therefore she clothea him, not only with a power, but with ape-
cific dreaa for that aolomn purpose." 
" But in the regular aermon, and aa a regular preacher, high-and
holy aa hia employment may be, and sincerely aa the Church hopes
for the best, still the preacher is no longer her sacerdotal organ." In
this case — ^Mr. S. argues — whUe the minister may be endeavoring to

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 215
But a third objection urged against the Church, is one
much more important. It is — that the terms of admission iiito
our fold are easy, and but little scrutiny exercised. Now, what
is the door of admission into the Christian Church? We
answer, of course, Baptismr-^iov this was commanded ex
plicitly by our Lord, as the right of entrance into His King
dom, for all who embraced His doctrines. " Go," said He,
" and teach " — or, as it might be translated — " make dis
ciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Every
person, therefore, who has been baptized is as much a mem
ber of the Church as he evei: can be. The question. Whether
after this he walks worthy of his high calling ? opens an
entirely different subject, and one, the responsibility of which
rests upon himself, hot upon the Church.
But let us see whether the Church does lightly receive
her merabers in Baptism. Take up the questions proposed
tb one who is a candidate for that Holy Rite, and the mere
reading of them will at once cause this objection to vanish.
What then does she require him to believe, on entering her
fold ? The question addressed to him is — " Dost thou believe
all the Articles of the Christian faith, as contained in the
Apostles' Greed ? " Now, you well know the simple, com
prehensive Creed called by this name, and which is repeated
give the views and expositions of the Church, still he does so in hia
own language, and -with his own thoughts. In doing this, he fe liable
to error, and sometimes is actuaUy in error. " On this account it ia,
that the Church purpoaely diarobea him in his new function, (by
givmg him no Ucense ta appear in them,) of those ornaments with
which, in her reading desk, and at her communion table, she has
invested him by authority, and auffera him to speak his own private
thoughts in hia own private dreas ; and thua it ia that the preacher,
(if the ofBce be united,) when m the pulpit he ceases to be a priest,
puts on no new dreaa for the purpose, but simply takes off the aurpUce,
and remains in hia original gown." P. 42. See alsa Lond Quar. Re
view, May, 1843, p. 262.
This view is confirmed by the invariable custom of the Church of
Rome. There, when the same priest performs the aervice and
preachea, before he ascends the pulpit, he takes off the pecuUar vest
ment, (chasuble or cope,) in which he performs the rites, and assumes
it again when he returns to the altar.

216 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
in our services, every time we meet. It contains a brief
summary ,of all the cardinal doctrines of our faith — of all
which are to be believed, as necessary to salvation. - These
are to be received heartily and truly-7-in their literal mean
ing, as they have always been explained and interpreted by
the Church.*
And is not this all that we can lawfully require of our
I members ? Have we any ri^ht to force them to - subscribe
; to minute points of abstruse theology, not fully proved from
¦ Scripture, and which are often, to say the least, questionable ?
No — the very simplicity of this Creed — and it has been used
for this purpose in all ages of the Church-=— is its strong
recommendation. It can be clearly understood by all — even
the unlettered and the child. Regulating essential matters,
it places such restrictions on its members as prevent them
¦ from straying beyond the bounds of orthodoxy, while on the
other hand, in those things which are unessential, where
different minds will necessarily take different views, it leaves
room for a hberal variation of opinion. Thus are a-roided
those endless disputes on the deep doctrines of our faith,
which so often disturb the peace of those denominations
around us, and even rend them asunder into separate bodies,
while attempting ih every minute particular to bring all men
down to one precise standard.
Experience, too, has proved that this system is the best
in its practical effects, to preserve purity in doctrine. Let
one come to us, who has erred from the faith — who disbe
lieves, for example, in the Divinity of our Lord — and by
applying the test of this Creed, (as interpreted by the Nicene
Creed,) we debar him from the Church as a heretic. There
is, therefore, ^is much sound orthodoxy within our ranks, as
within the ranks of any of those who endeavor to enter into
* It ia evident, that a peraon may sometimea brf'able to repeat
the Creed, and profess hia belief in ita articlea, while at the same
time he gives his own interpretation to some of them, and philoso
phizes away their natural sense. In thia way Arius was -willing to
subscribe to the Apostles' Creed, while denying the true and proper
divinity of our Lord. The Church therefore obviates this difficulty,
by having from the earliest age explained the creed in her formularies,
and her membera must hold it in the honeat sense she does, or bs
counted heretics.

^UAINST THE CHURCH. 217
a more minute investigation of doctrinal belief. This how
ever is but one requirement at Baptism, and concerns the
intellect only. There' are others, also, which refer directly
to the heart and the life.
Another question then is — "Dost thou renounce the devil
tnd all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world,
with all covetous desires of the- same, and the sinful desires
of the flesh; so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by
them?" To which, the answer is given — "I renounce them
all ; and, by God's help, will endeavor not to follow nor be
led by them,'? Now, how can a more perfect vow of re
nunciation bemtlered ? The individual who thus wishes to
" put on Christ " — standing here before God, and in the
presence of His people, looks back at a world of sin, with
which heijetofore he has been leagued, and then solemnly
abandons it; recording his decision, that for the future he
" will not follow nor be led by it."
But the Church even goes farther, and puts one more
question — "Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will
and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of
thy life ? " To which the required answer is — " I will, by
God's help." Let me ask you, therefore, to weigh these
pledges, and then tell me, where is there any body of persons
calling themselves Christians, who more strictly oblige those
uniting with them to discard an evil world, and devote
themselves to the service of God? How futUe then is this
objection against us !
Again, a fourth objection often urged is — that we receive
persons. Ughtly and hastily to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
Look then at our Communion Service, and see its require-
ments. Like those in the Baptismal vows, they also are
simple, yet comprehensive. The priest is directed to say —
" Dearly beloved in the Lord, ye who mind to come to the
Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour
Christ, must consider how St. Paul exhorteth all persons
diligently ,to try and examine themselves, before they pre
sume to eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For as the
benefit is great, if with a true penitent heart and lively faith
we receive that holy sacrament, so is the danger great, if
we receive the sarae unworthily. Judge therefore yourselves,
brethren, that ye be not judged ofthe Lord; repent ye truly
10

218 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
for your sins past; have a lively and steadfast faith in Christ
our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity
with all men ; so shall ye be meet partakers of those holy
mysteries." Can any one, then, hearing this solemn invi
tation, and realizing its force, come forward lightly? Or,
supposing that he should do so, is the Church to be blamed ?
Certainly not ; he has the requirements before him, and the
responsibUity rests with himself.
The rule then with u^ is this. Since all baptized per
sons are members of the Church, we regard them as having
a right to come forward to Communion, if they are giving
.evidence by their daily walk, of the existence of Christian
character. If, however, they have been baptized in infancy,
there is yet a preparatory step which they must take. They
must first publicly assume those vows for themselvesj or at
least show their -willingness to do so. This, as we have
shown in the last lecture, takes place at Confirmation. And
the Rubric declares — " There shall none be admitted to the
Holy Communion, until such time as he be confirmed, or be
ready and desirous to be confirmed."
Is it not evident, therefore, that any one who can go
through the solemn service by which he thus publicly
assumes and ratifies his Baptismal vows, devoting himself
willingly to the service of God, must be prepared for the
Holy Communion ? At all events, we can have no bettei
security with regard to him, than this ordeal. If, therefore
after seriously weighing the matter, he has passed through
it, or professes to be ready to pass through it, we have no
right to debar him from the Christian privilege which his
Lord has provided, of partaking of His body and blood. The
Church, therefore, takes the power out of the hands of her
ministers, and throws the responsibility upon the individual
himself. She bids us explain to him this holy rite, lay the
requirements before him, and then he is left to form his ovra
decision. We may advise him, but we have no power to
investigate his heart, or to penetrate into the nature of those
hidden, sacred feelings, which rest between his God and
himself. The only case in which we have authority to debar an
individual from communion is, (as stated in the Rubric,}
"if among those who come to be partakers of the Holy

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 219
Commmion, theiniaister shaU know any to be an open and
notorious evil liver, or to have done any wrong to his neigh
bors by word or deed, so that the congregation be thereby
offended ; he shall , advertise him, that he presume not to
come to the Lord's table, until he have openly declared
hiraself to have repented and amended his former evil -life,
that the congregation may thereby be satisfied; and that he
hath recompensed the parties to which he hath done wrong ;
or at least declare himself tp be in full purpose to do so, as
soon as h& conveniently may. The same order shall the
minister use with those, betwixt whom he perceiveth malice
and hatred to reign; not suffering thera to be partakers of
the Lord's Table, until he know them to be reconciled. And
if one of- the parties so at variance be content to forgive from
the bottom of his heart aU that the other hath trespassed
against him, and to make amends. for that wherein he him
self hath offended ; and the other party will not be persuaded
to a godly unity, but remain still in his frowardness' and
malice; the. minister in that case ought to admit the, peni
tent person to the Holy Communion, and not him that is
obstinate. Provided that every minister so repelling any, as
is herein specified, shall be obliged to give an account of the
sarae to thjB ordinary, as soon as conveniently may be." In
these cases, we have of course the overt actr^the outward
conduct — by which to judge. There can, therefore, be no
doubt on the subject, and we act with certainty in cutting off
the unworthy member.
And now, is not this reasonable ? If an individual has
been by baptism solemnly admitted into the Church of
Chijst — unless he should show beyond doubt, by his out
ward conduct, that he is unworthy of the privilege — have I,
or any one else, authority to debar him from a Sacrament
which his Lord has provided to sustain and strengthen him ?
After the Jews were admitted into their Church by circum
cision, was any priest gifted with power to prevent them
from partaking ofthe Passover, until Ae^ should think them
prepared ? And if the baptized Christian, in addition to
this, after having arrived at years of discretion, professes his
wiUingness to stand up publicly before the Church in Con
firmation, to take these solemn baptismal vows upon him-
lelf, and then is able also, after listening to the searching

220 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
test proposed in our Communion service, to corae forward,
where is the fallible man who shall dare to read his heart,
and say that he is not prepared? By what examination
can we arrive at any certainty on this point? An indi-
-vidual may have the grace of God in his heart, and yet be
unable clearly to flisclose his feelings, or embody them in
language. On the other hand, the self-deceiver, or the wil
ful hypocrite, may be gifted with a volubility which shall
set the raost severe scrutiny at defiance. Each minister of
the Church has, therefore, reason to be thankful that this
power rests not in his hands, lest at the last day it might
appear that in some cases he had been raistaken, and had
debarred from that spiritual feast sorae of the little ones of
Christ's flock. We may well shrink from this responsibility,
and rejoice that it is taken away from us, and placed upon
the individuals theraselves who vvish to come forward.
~ Another objection which it may be well briefly to notice
is — that the Church does not believe in what is called " a change
of heart." To this we reply, that she nowhere, it is true,
uses this term in her formularies. Neither, indeed, is it to
be found in the Bible. Itis not, of course, to be expected
that a Liturgy framed more than a thousand years ago
should now have engrafted upon its rich and beautiful ser
vices, the shifting, changing phraseology, with which the
religious world around chooses in this day to express its
views. Her object rather is, to shun every thing modem
and evanescent, and to cleave steadfastly to those old ex
pressions which, drawn originally from the solemn language
of Holy Writ, have come down generation after generation
among her children, always " familiar in their mouths as
household words."
But that the Church requires her children to be renewed,
renovated, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, as requisite for
membership with her, while militant here, or in glory here
after, no one can doubt who has ever read her offices. She
every where teaches the truth, that " without holiness no
raan shall see the Lord." She constantly seeks to draw men
away frora dependence on their own changing feelings, or
the delusive visions of the imagination. She presents be
fore them tests of Christian character which are real and
tangible, calUng them to self-denial and a holy life. Oe

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 221
this principle every page of our Prayer-Book has been framed,
and we might prove it from eaoh of her services, or from
the general spirit and tenor of her prayers. We content
ourselves, however, with merely quoting the collect for Ash-
Wednesday — " Almighty and EverlastingGod, whohatest no
thing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all
those who are penitent ; create, and make in ¦us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknow
ledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of
all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus
Christ our Lord." ""
There is but one more objection which our limits will
allow us to bring forward. It is — that the standard of reli
gious feeling is low among the members of the Church. How
this conclusion is reached, I know not; for I cannot per
ceive but that they walk as consistently as others, who are
called by a different name. It is a question, therefore, en
tirely intangible, and I cannot pretend to discuss the amount
of religion among the members of the Church, as compared
with other religious- bodies around, for God has not given
me the power thus to judge the heart. Neither can I pre
sume to forestaU His final sentence, and decide on the
spiritual condition of my neighbors. " For we dare not make
ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some
that commend themselves ; but they measuring themselves
by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves,
are not wise."* On such topics the Christian rule is — td
fear every thing for ourselves, and to hope every- thing for
others. We would merely warn you, however, that talking
about religion, is not religion itself; and that there is a
wide difference between possessing an elevated degree jof
devotion, and being familiar with its language, aud having
it ever on our lips. The Church tells her members, that
their daily lives must be the test— rthat in silence and quiet
they must, by the aid of God's grace, train themselves up
for Heaven ; and not be forming erroneous conclusions with
respect to others. Her direction is that whioh~was once
given by an Apostle — " Judge nothing before the time, URtil
the Lor^ come." » 2 Cor. X. 12.

222 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
In such cases, it is well to follow that proverb given by
Solomon — " Let another man praise thee, and not thine own
mouth , a stranger, and hot thine own lips." What, then,
is the reputation of the Church with those whose opinion is
worth heeding ? Has she" a good report of them which are
without?" We know that the storm of vituperation is con
stantly directed against her, yet amidst the uproar we can
gather the testimony of the more thoughtful and considerate
Let us attempt then to do so. The Puritans of New- England
— the first settlers of Massachusetts — are generally quoted,
as having been arrayed in deadly hostility against the
Church of England. We are told, that they were driven
from their own pleasant homes by religious corruption and
ecclesiastical tyranny ; and obliged to fly to the wilderness
of this western world, that here they might worship God in
purity. Was this the case ? We can answer the question
by referring to the letter written by the leading men in that
enterprise, " aboord the Arbella, April 7, 1630," and signed'
by Gov. John Winthrop, Rich. Saltonetall, Charles Fines,
Isaac Johnson, Tho, Dudley, William Goddington, Geo,
Phillips, &c., &c. As they were about to launch forth upon
the deep, and direct their course for that " rock-bound coast"
which was to be their future home, they once more looked
back, and sent their parting farewell tothe Church they were
leaving. From her care they had voluntarily cut themselves
off. If formerly oppressed by her, they had now nothing
more to fear. What, then, were their emotions ? As they
listened to the surging sea on whose bosom they were soon
to be tossing, did no sound of the sweet anthems of their
ancient mother come back, and seem to mingle with the
sighing of the wild winds which were sweeping around
them ? Did there not flit across the eyes'of any of those stern
men, a bright vision of the old Parish Church, at whose font
he had been baptized — at whose altar he had received his
bride — and -within the shadow of whose walls his forefathers
were sleeping ? Did they not realize, that the very strength
which now upheld tl em in their hours of darkness, had been
gathered in her Courts ? Such is the inference we draw
from their address, entitled —

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 223
¦The humble, request of his Majesties loyall Subjects, the Governor
and the Company late gone for New-England ; to the rest of
their Brethren in and of the Church Taf England.
" Reverend Fathers and Brethren, .... We desire
you would be pleased to take notice of the principals, and
body of our Company, as those who esteem it our. honour to
call the Church of England, from whence wee rise, our deare
mother, and cannot part from our native countrie, where she
specially resideth, without much sadness of heart, and many
tears in our eyes ; ever acknowledging that such hope and part
as we haveobtained in tlie common salvation, we have received in
her bosome, and suckt it from her breasts : wee leave it not,
therefore, as loathing that milk wherewith we were nourished
there, but, blessing God for the parentage and education, as
merabers of the same body, shall alwayes rejoice in her good,
and unfainedly grieve for any sorrow that shall ever betide
her, and while we have breath, syncerely desire and indeav-
our the continuance and abundance of her welfare, -with the
inlargement of her bounds iii the Kingdom of Christ Jesvs.
 So farre as God shall enable us, we will give
him no rest in your behalfes ; wishing our heads and hearts
may be as fountaines of tears for your everlasting -welfare,
when wee shall be in our poore cottages in the wildemesse,
overshadowed with the Spirit of supplication, through the
manifold necessities and tribulations which may not alto
gether unexpectedly, nor, we hope, unprofitably, befall us.
And so, comraending you to the grace of God in Christ, -wee
shall ever rest, " Your assured friends and Brethren.?'*
How beautiful is this testimony ! thus acknowledging
gratefully the spiritual benefits they had received within the
fold of our Mother Church — ascribing to the purity of her
faith and the soundness of her instructions, the hope^pf ever-
lasting life which they then enjoyed — and praying earnestly
for the enlargement of her bounds. How do their words re
buke the carping spirit of too many among their descendants !
Our next witness is Dr. Adam Clarke, the author of the
• Gov. Hutchmson's Hist, of Massachuaetta, (Appendix, No. 1,)
V. i p. 431.

224 POPULAR OBJECrlONS
Commentary on the Bible, and one of the brightest lights ol
the Methodist connection. "I consider" — ^he says — "the
Church of England, the purest natiou'al Church in the world.
1 was brought up in its bosom. I was intended for its mi
nistry. I have been a Methodist for half a century. I have
been a preacher for forty-three years. And I ara greatly
deceived indeed, if I be not, without any abatement, a
thorough member of the Church of England. Its doctrines
and its sacraments, which constitute the essence of a Church,
I hold conscientiously as it holds them. I reverence the
Liturgy next to the Bible. I proclaim its doctrines and ad
minister its sacraments, not only in the same spirit in which
it holds and administers them, but also in the same words
or form. I also reverence its orders, and highly esteem its
hierarchy, and have not a particle of a dissenter in me;
though I love and esteem all good men and able ministers
wherever I find them. But I preach, and have long preached,
without any kind of Episcopal orders. My faraily fell into
decay, and ray education was left imperfect. I would greatly
have preferred the hands ofthe Bishop, but not haying gone
through the regular courses, I could not claim it. Even
now, at this age of comparative decrepitude, I would rejoice
to have that ordination, if I raight, with it, have the full
liberty to preach Jesus, wherever I could find souls perishing
for lack of knowledge  The Church has our warm
attachment, and if the time should ever come, which Dieu ne
plaise ! that the bodies of the various dissenters were to rise
up against the Church, the vast bodies of Methodists would
not hesitate to be your light infantry."*
Hear also the sentiments of the celebrated Dr. Chalmers
of Scolland — "There are many who look with an e-iril eye to
the endowraents ofthe English Church, and to the indolence
of her dignitaries. But to that Church, the theological liter
ature of our nation stands indebted for her best acquisitions.
And we hold it a refreshing spectacle, at any time that
meagre Socinianism pours forth a new supply of flippancies
and errors, when we behold, as we have often done, an armed
charapion come forth in full equipment, from some high and -
lettered retreat of that noble hierarchy. Nor can we grudge
¦» Chi-i?;iari Guardian, Dec. 1832.

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 225
her the wealth of her endowments, when we think how well,
under her venerable auspices, the battles of orthodoxy have
been fought; that, in this holy warfare, they are her sons
and her scholars, who are ever foremost in the field, ready
at all times to face the threatened mischief, and by the
weight of their erudition to overthrow it.''*
Similar to this is the testimony of another in the same
land — " Thus much an attached Presbyterian may sincerely
and readily say of the Church of England : It is a noble and
venerable hierarchy. Its foundations are laid deep in the
old feelings of the people. Its clergy, mingling the accom-
plishraents of the aristocracy with the condescension of
Christian pastors, rivet together the different ranks of society,
as with crossing bars of iron. Its bishops have exhibited,
many of them^ the pomp of the prelate in beautiful unison
with the spirit of Christ's meekest martyr. Its massive
learning is the bulwark of Christianity. Its exquisite Lit
urgy, second in divine composition only to Scripture itself,
ready at all times to supply the needs of the fainting soul,
and fitted, in its comprehensive devotions, aptly to embody
every different individual aspiration, binds in one chain of
prayer, the hearts of ils members, and>the hearts of genera
tion after generation. From its pulpits, no longer occupied
by slumbering -watchmen, the true doctrines of the Cross are
proclairaed, as with the sound of a trumpet. The costliest
offerings for the cause of Christ are poured in generous
profusion into the treasury. The zeal of the missionary,
that finest token of apostolic origin, has awoke within its
bosom; and bishops are going forth, making ofthe crosier a
pilgrim staff, in order to proclaim amongst the Gentiles the
good tidings of salvation. Well might the members of any
other communion excuse the generous feeling which would
awake those words of holy writ, concerning her -whom the
best of her sons have rejoiced to call their Mother Church
of England, ' Many daughters have done virtuously, but
thou excellest them all.' "f
And such also is the feeling of many in onr own country,
who, although arrayed against us, can yet acknowledge the
* Quarterly Review, Dec. 1832.
^ A Tract for the Timea, by William Penny, Advocate, of Edmburgb.
10*

226 POPULAR OBJECTIONS
beauty of fhe Church's system, and pay their proper tribute
to the services she has rendered the world. Read for exam
ple, the words of Dr. Barnes of Philadelphia — the more val
uable because written in the midst of a controversy " We
have no war to wage with Episcopacy. We know, -we deeply
feel, that much maybe said in favor of it, apart from the
claim which has been set up for its autliority from the New
Testament. Its past history, in some respects, makes us
weep; in otherSj it is the source of sincere rejoicing and
praise  We associate it wilh the brightest and
happiest days of religion, and liberty, and literature, and
law. We remember that it was under the Episcopacy that
the Church in England took its firm stand against the Papacy ;
and that this was its form when Zion rose to light and splen
dor, from the dark night of ag^s. We remember the name
of Cranmer — Cranmer, first in many respects among the Re
formers ; tbat it was by his steady and unerring hand, that
under God, the pure Church of the Saviour was conducted
through the agitating and distressing times of Henry VIII.
We remember that God watched over that wonderful man;
that He gave this distinguished prelate access to the heart
of one ofthe most capricious, cruel, inexorable, blood-thirsty
and licentious monarehs that has disgraced the world ; that
God, for the sake of Cranmer and His Church, conducted
Henry, as ' by a hook in the nose,' and made him faithful
to the Archbishop of Canterbury, when faithful to none else ;
so that, perhaps, the only redeeming trait in the character of
Henry, is his fidelity to this first British prelate under the
Reformation. The world will not soon forget the names of
Latimer, and Ridley, and Rogers, and Bradford ; names
associated in the foelings of Christians, with the loi^ list of
ancient confessors ' of whora the world was not worthy,' and
who did honor to entire ages of mankind, by sealing their
attachment to the Son of God on the rack, or amid the flames.
Nor can we forget that we owe to Episcopacy that which
fills our minds with gratitude and praise, when we look for
example of consecrated talent, and elegant literature, and
humble, devoted piety. While men honor elevated Christian
feeling ; while they revere sound learning, while they render
tribute to clear and profound reasoning, they will not forget
the names of Barrow and Taylor, of Tillotson, and Hooker.

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 227
and Butler ; and when they think of humble, pure, sweet,
heavenly piety, their minds will recur instinctively to the
name of Leighton. Such names, with a host of others,
do honor to the world. When we think of them we have it
not in our hearts to utter one word against a Church which
has thus done honor to our race, and to our conimon Chris
tianity. " Such we wish Episcopacy still to be. We have always
thuoght that there are Christian minds and hearts that would
find more edification in the forms of worship in that Church,
than in any other. We regard it as adapted to call forth
Christian energy, that might otherwise be dormant 
We ourselves could live and labor, in friendliness and love,
in the bosom of the Episcopal Church. While we have an
honest preference for another department of the great field of
Christian action ; while providential circumstances, and the
suggestions of our own hearts and minds, have conducted us
to a different field of labor ; we have never doubted that
many of the purest fiames of devotion that rise from the
earth, ascend from the altars of the Episcopal Church, and
that many of the purest spirits that the earth contains minis
ter at those altars, or breathe forth their prayers and praises
in language consecrated by the use of piety for centuries."*
" Sh^ [the Church] is consolidated ; well marshalled :
under an efficient system of laws ; and pre-eminently fitted
for powerful action in the field of Christian warfare. We
desire to see her what the Macedonian phalanx was in the
ancient army ; with her dense, solid organization, with her
unity of movement, with her power of maintaining the posi
tion which she takes, and with her eminent ability to advance
the cause of sacred learning, and the love of order and of
law,, attending or leading all other Churches in the conquests
of redemption in an alienated world. We would ever rejoice
to see her who was first in the field at the Reformation in
England, first also in the field when the Son of God shaU
come to take to Himself His great power."
" We remember the former services which the Episcopal
Church rendered to the cause of truth, and of the world's
redemption ; we remember the bright and ever-living lighti!
• Episcopacy Examined, pp. 89 — 91,

228 - POPULAR OBJECTIONS
of truth, which her clergy and her iUustrious laymen- have
in other times enkindled, in the darkness of this world's his
tory, and which continue lo pour their pure and steady lustrfc
on the literalure,-the laws, and the customs of the Christiai
world ; and we trust the day will never come, when our own
bosoms or the bosoms of Christians in any denomination,
will cease to beat with emotions of lofty thanksgiving to
the God of grace, that he raised up such gifted and holy men
to meet the corruptions of the Papacy, and to breast tho
wickedness of the world."*
Beautiful indeed are these testimonies to the purity and
devotion of our venerable Church ! We point then to such
acknowledgments as an appropiale answer to those who,
unacquainted with her past history, and ignorant of the spirit
which now reigns within her courts, would charge upon the
members of the Church, a want of religious principle.
We have thus endeavored to notice some of the promi
nent arguments urged against the Church. Do they not
come from those who: — in the words of the Apostle — "un
derstand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm I"
There are other objeclions, also, which might be brought
forward ; but the time would fail, were we to attempt to
reply to every thing which ignorance or captiousness may
allege. All indeed that we ask, is investigation. We know
that the Church which our Lord founded, and which now has
descended to us with the veneration of eighteen centuries,
cannot be found wanting in any one single point which con
cerns man's spiritual welfare. We will trust her, therefore,
in preference to any of the shifting, changing experiments
whioh court our notice. From the many ages that have
gone, there comes down to us the recorded experience of
those who have slept in the faith — the holy dead whose
words and actions still speak to the world, urging it on to
godliness — and whose spirits are now rejoicing in the Para
dise of God. We question them, therefore, as to the way in
which they reached their lofty stand in holiness. We ask
them to point out lo us the path in which we should tread.
And their answer is uttered in the words of the prophet —
•' S'and ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
» Ibid. p. 170.

AGAINST THE CHURCH. 229
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find
rest for your souls." We learn, that they were nurtured in
the bosom of our ancient Church, who regards all, the high
and the low, as alike her children,*-r-that in her solemn
rites and services they found all the spiritual aliment neces
sary for their souls, and thus were prepared for the church in
glory. Let us then profit by their example. As we travel on
our way, each year convulses the religious world wilh a
new excitement, and gives birth to some plan for leading
the lost to the truth, which, in the judgment of erring man,
is better than that practised by Apostles and Saints in
primitive days — more effectual than that by which the early
heralds of the Cross broke the power of heathenism, and
Christianized the world. -Those deep and searching sorrows
by which the contrite heart turns to its Lord, and thus, as
in a furnace of fire, purifies the whole man, are all now
derided, as something formal and antiquated. In their place,
new machinery is^ invented, which, by one sudden, violent
effort, sweeps the abandoned sinner from the depth of his
degradation, and elevates him immediately to the very
heights of Mount Zion. Peace, rather than holiness, is
made the end and object of their search.
But oh, be nol ye deceived, or believe that any thing can
" * Our Mother, the Church, hath never a chUd,
To honor before the rest.
And she aingeth the same for mighty kings.
And the veriest babe on her breast ;
And the Bishop goes do-wn to his narrow bed
As the ploughman's child is laid.
And alike she blesseth the dark-bro-w'd serf.
And the chief in his robe arrayed.
She sprinkles the drops of the briglit new-birth.
The same on the low and high.
And christens their todies with dust to dust.
When earth with its earth must lie ;
Oh, the poor maris friend is the Church of Christ,
From birth to his funeral day ;
She mates him the Lord's, in her surpliced arms.
And smgeth liis burial lay." Rev. A. G. Coxe.

230 POPULAR OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE CHURCH.
be substituted in place of that discipline — that holy training,
which gradually, yet surely, prepares for heaven, and which
it is the object of the Church lo effect by her constantly
recurring round of services. Voices on every side are sum
moning you to leave the fold of the faithful. The restless
and unsettled are ever pointing out new paths, and exclaim
ing, " Lo here," and " Lo there." They cry with regard to
our Lord — " Behold, he is in the desert," and thus would
induce you to be wanderers with them in the pathless wil
derness. We say therefore unto you, in that Master's
words — " Believe it not. For there shall arise false Chrisis,
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders ;
insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect." Not in the whirlwind and the storra is it, that
faith takes root, and godliness grows up in strength. It is
beneath the gentle dews of divine grace, which fall silently
yet steadily, that the vineyard is quickened into fertility.
The whisperings of " the still small voice," lead us on to
peace and happiness. And this is pledged to the Apbstolic,
Catholic Church, and in her courts is never sought in vaia
by her children.

IX.
THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTE
She sits — Truth's Witness in an evil world.
And sore environ'd "by unnumber'd foes.
With wileS and weapons stern against her hurFd ;
The Child of Life, death's shades around her close ;
The Crown of joy, amid o'erwhelming woes t
Her right hand hold's tho keys o'f death and life.
And calm she sits in undisturbed repose.
But alt around with hostile arms are rife.
And foes of earth and hell are arming for the strife .
The Baptistery.
Melancholy indeed was the view presented to the great
Apostle of the Gentiles, when standing upon the Mount of
Observation, he first looked forth over the world whioh
was to be the scene of his labors. The greater portion of
mankind were crushed down by the iron power of Rome — a
tyranny the most oppressive and degrading, which seemed
to be gradually treading out every spark of generous feeling,
and fitting the human race only lobe slaves. Neither was
there any thing to correct the cruelty and licentiousness
which were so fearfully on the increase. For ages men had
made trial of their moral strength, but seemed now to have
resigned themselves to despair. Every prevailing system
had lost what purifying influence it might formerly have
possessed. The philosophy of Greece — ^perverted from all
the nobler ends at which once it aimed — was only investing
vice with new grace, and causing the arrow to sink deeper
because its point was polished. The'old Paganism of Rome
had to begun to lose all moral hold on the mind, and now
was only sustained as the religion of the Empire, and the

232 THE CHURCH IN ALL ACES
instrument of power to its priesthood. Even its ministers in
secret scoffed at it as an imposture. " Diligently practising"
— says Gibbon — "the ceremonies of their fathers; devoutly
frequenting the temples of the gods ; and sometimes con
descending lo act a part on the theatre of superstition, they
concealed the sentiments of an atheist under the sacerdotal
robes."* In Egypt, forgetting the lessons of wisdom which
in an older day were taught in the sacred groves of Mem
phis and Heliopolis, her people now bowed to deities of their
own creation, and worshipped the herb they eat, or the rep
tile upon which they trod.
Neither did the East furnish to the Apostle any more
cheering view. There was the fruitful home and the cradle
of every debasing form of idolatry. The ancient inhabitants
of Palestine had bequeathed to their descendants the adora
tion of Astarte, the Queen of Heaven, or of that spirit which,
under the name of Baal, was supposed to guide the chariot
of the sun ; while slill more distant nations, wilh their in
numerable gods, had collected in their worship every thing
which was degrading and Uceiitious. Even God's own peo
ple, the Jews, had shared in this debasement. Their reli
gion had degenerated into formality. The purity of their
earlier days had departed, and so marked was their wicked
ness, that their own historian, Josephus, bears his indig
nant testimony to their depravity .t Sucsh was the prospect
which presented itself to St. Paul, as he looked over the
moral landscape. Truly, it was a ' ' world lying in wicked
ness." " The people were sitting in gross darkness."
Where then was the power which could meet all this
array of idolatry and vice, and mould it into purity ? On
what did the Apostle rely, that he was enabled to go forth
so boldly to confront it ? His hopes rested on that Church
— then in the feebleness of her early day — which his Lord
had founded. He looked to ber, as a perpetual witness
against sin. He expected her, wilh her holy institutions, to
enter the dark and troubled waves, and spread over them a
• DecUne and PaU of the Roman Empire, ch. U.
¦f "Nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in
¦wickedness than thia was, from the beginning of the world." Antiq.
lib. V. chap. 10.

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 233
glory not of this world. His trust was, in "the Church of
the Living God, the pillar and ground ofthe truth."
Has the Ohurch then realized these high expectations ?
Has she fulfilled the lofty destiny which St. Paul marked out
for her ? Has she in the ages which have gone, been the
Ark cff truth for a fallen and apostate world ? The history
of the past answers, that she has. From every page of the
records of our race, there comes a testimony, that the
Church alone has been the preserver of all that is most
valuable to man in lime and through eternity. It is on this
subject then that I would address you this evening — the
CHURCH, IN ALL AGES, THE KEEPER AND GUARDIAN OF THE
TRUTH. From an historical view of her origin and progress,
it will be evident, that in each crisis, intellectual or moral,
in the existence of our race, the Church has stood forth lo
rescue man's best interest from ruin. And she was enabled
to accomplish this great work by her strict organization and
government, and the union produced by the Apostolic minis
try, binding together the different branches by a com
mon tie.
We might indeed say at once, that since God adopted
this plan for preserving in the earth a knowledge of our
faith, it must be the best melhod that could be devised.
The very fact that if was the choice df Infinite Wisdom,
proves this point conclusively. But il is evident, even lo
the eye of human reason, that this end could probably have
been effected in no other way. Had the word of God, and
the holy principles of His Gospel, been left to be treasured
up only in. the breast of each private individual, or to be
swept about on the wild waves of popular feeling, they
would long since have disappeared from the earth. Thc
same result would have foUowed, had the spiritual destinies
of the world been committed to the care of the discordant
- sects which are now around us. These, deprived of the
high claims of the Apostolic Church, and standing inde
pendently of each other, unite both the nature and the
weakness of mere voluntary associations. It is the existence
of the Church, which keeps the truth always before the
world, which gives to religion "a local habitation and a
name," and endows it with permanency.
We shall easily perceive this, by looking back to the

234 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
past history of our faith. It was the regular organization of
the Church — her systematic discipUne, and her unity—
which enabled her, in the first three centuries, not only to
survive the violence of enemies, but even to be always the
aggressor, and to advance wilh a steady step from conquer
ing to conquer. It is to this, under God, that we must
ascribe the triumphs she gained. Wherever the Apostles
went, they left not the converts who had been gained, to
confine their feelings to their own breasts — to stand isolated
and alone — to use their principles only as articles of indi
vidual belief — or, in their blindness, just starting from the
sleep of heathenism, to endeavor to settle a system of eccle
siastical polity for themselves. On the contrary, they form
ed their followers into one united body, the different parts of
which were bound together by the closest alliance. Thus, they
grew up to maturity and strength, in secret and in silence,
while their enemies were scarcely aware of their increase.
In the midst of the mighty empire of Rome, a new kingdom
quietly arose.* " It came not with observation. " No
sound of a trUmpet heralded its approach — no clang of
arms marked ils progress — but, like the building of the first
temple, while the noise of- the workmen's instruments was
not heard, the mighty fabric was fast rising up into splendor
and beauty. t
The faith stretched its ramifications through every class
of society, and enlisted every where ils proselytes. The de
graded bondsman in his chains became "a freeman in Christ
Jesus," and the inmate of palaces began to aspire after dia-
* " Wliile the great body [the Roman Empire] was invaded by
open violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion
gently insinuated itself into the minds bf men, grew up in silence and
obscurity, derived new vigor from opposition, and finally erected the
triumphant banner of the Cross on the ruins, of the Capitol." Gib
bon's DecUne and FaU, vol. iL p. 265.
\ " There was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard
in the house, while it was building. " . 1 Kings vi. 1.
 " In awful state.
The temple reared its everlasting gate.
No workman's steel, no ponderous axes rung !
Like soir.e taU palm the noiseless fabric sprung. "
Heber's Palestine.

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 235
dems whose glory was eternal, and which were to be received
only when " the mortal had put on immortality." Thus, the
heathen saw their temples suddenly deserted * — their fellow-
worshippers changed into foes — and themselves encompassed
by ten thousand associations, all uniting in the same discipline,
and all proclaiming irreconcilable hostility to the time-hon
ored faith of their fathers. " It was not a foreigner who
invaded them, not barbarians from the north, not a rising of
slaves, nor an armament of pirates, but the enemy rose up
from among themselves. The first-born in- every house,
' from the first-born of Pharoah on the throne to the first
born of the captive in the dungeon,' unaccountably found
himself enlisted in the ranks of this new powrer, and estrang
ed from his natural friends. Their brother, the son of their
mother, the wife of their bosom, the friend that was as their
own soul, these were the sworn soldiers of the ' mighty iarmy,'
that ' covere'd the face of the whole earth.' And when they
began to interrogate this enemy of Roman greatness, they
found no vague profession among themselves, no varying
account of themselves, no irregular and uncertain plan of
action or conduct. "They were all members of strictly and
similarly organized societies. Every one in his own district
was the subject of a new state, of which there was one visible
head,, and officers under him. These small kingdoms were
indefinitely multipUed, each of them the fellow of the other.
Wherever the Roman Emperor traveUed, there he found
these seeming rivals of his power, the Bishops of the
ChuTch."t Thus it was that the faith -went on. It measured strength
with the proud philosophy of Greece, and planted its standard
in the midst of Athenian luxury and superstition. Along the
shores of the Mediterranean, every city reared its temples,
on whose lofty pinnacles the Golden Cross glittered in the
sunbeams ; while there rose at break of day the melody of
• In the celebrated letter of C. PUny, to the Emperor Trajan,
m deso-ibing the progreaa of Christianity, he mentiona, that " the
temples were almost desolate," "the sacred solemnitiea had been
long intermitted," and "the sacrificial victims could scarce find a
purchaser. " See whole Letter in Wilson's Evidences, vol. i. p. 214.
¦f Newman'a Sermona, voL u. p. 264.

236 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
countless thousands singing " hymns lo Christ as God,"* in
those loVelv valleys from whence now only
" The Moslem's prayers profane
Mom and eve come sounding. "
Spain received the Gospel gladly — Africa sent her hun
dreds of Christian Bishops to the councils of the Churchf—
* " They were accustomed, on a stated day, to meet before day-
Ught, and to repeatamong themaelvea a hymn to Christ as to a God. "
Pliny's Letter to Trajan.
t The argument is often advanced by those opposed to us, that
from the great number of Bishops present at some of the ancient
councils, it ia evident they muat have been only Preabyters. The
error here arisea for not remembering two facta — 1st, that these regions
of the world, although now thinly inhabited, then contained a dense
population. — 2d, that Dioceses in that day were much smaller in
geographical extent, than now. "We wiU take Africa aa an illuatra-
tion of thia. The northern, or Christian portion of thia continent,
comprehending the six Roman Provincea, ia computed by Procopius
to be ninety day'a journey in length, that is, 2360 mUes. The
breadth varied from 200 to 500 mUea. It has been estimated that
the population waa at leaat eighty mUUona, the majority of whom
were nominal Christiana.
Now we know that in St Augustine'a day there were, in this
compass, at least 466 dioceses. (Bing. Orig. Eccles. Ub. ix. ch. 2, sect
6.) When the Vandals exiled the whole body of the Afi-ican Bi
shops, their number amounted to nearly 500. (Fleury, Hist. Eceles.
Ub. xxx. s. 7.) In addition to these, the provinces of Egypt, Lybia,
and Pentapolis, contained 100 dioceses.
These dioceses averaged from 60 to 80 towns and -villages, each
of which contained at least one congregation, whUe in some of them
we know there were several. There were above 500 clergy in the
Church of Carthage. (Bing. Ub. ix. c. 2, a. 5.) St. Augustine's
Dioceae of Hippo, was above 40 miles long. (Ibid.) There was a
Canon of the African Councils, which saya, " No Bishop shall leave
his principal Cathedral, and reside in any other church of his dioceae."
(Ibid) Thua implying, that there were more churches than one in
each diocese. And when there were in the same diocese rival Bishops
Bet up by the CathoUca and Donatists, they were in different parts oi
the diocese.
In thia way we might go through the Eaat, and one who had not
inveatigated the subject, would be surprised at the strength of the

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 237
while St. Paul himself preached the faith in ^that little bar
barous isle, which then was looked upon as "out off froin all
the world,"* but which has since sent the Church to us, and
now is planting it throughout the earth. Thus it was that,
in the words of an Apostle — " the Gospel was preached to
every creature which is under Heaven." ^
- But the triumphs of the Church were not confined to the
provinces. Our faith entered the Imperial City, and St. -
Paul was "ready to preach the Gospel to them .that were at
-Rome also. " It did indeed require fortitude and devotion,
to attack Paganism in this its strongest hold. The obstacles
which impeded its progress in other lands, were tenfold
increased in the Capital. The chariot-wheel of Romau
greatness had gone on, levelling one kingdom after anoiher,
until all the earth had been given to its sceptre. Idolatry
was there in ils most splendid form, and its strongest array.
Embodied in the national customs, it seemed exactly suited
to the tastes and feelings ofthe popular m'tid. Ils Pantheon
of gods appealed to the prejudices of every nation. The
Court was there, wielding a despotism which scorned all
opposition, -and whioh scrupled not to shed rivers of blood in
furthering ils designs. The luxury, and vice, and licentious
ness, which prevailed in the rest ofthe world, seemed but a
Church, as shown by the number of her dioceses. In tlie Patriarchate
of Constantinople were about 600 dioceses, varying in size. Of these,
400 were in Asia, and 200 in Europe. In the dioceae of Csesarea,
which was about one hundred miles square, St. BasU, when Bishop
in A. D. 375, had under him 50 Chor-epiacopi, or asaistant Bishops,
each having under his authority many Presby tera and Deacona.
(Greg. Naz. Carm. De Vita, Basil. Bas, Ep. 181, 412.) In Italy
were 800 dlocesea; in Spain 70; in France 117. In Persia alone
there were 50 ; and during a persecution, a. p. 330, we learn that 23
Bishops suffered martyrdom at the same. time. In one of th?se
dioceses, 250 of the clergy were put to death with their Bishop. See
Bingham, Ub. ix
Sb easy is it, by aa appeal to the records of that day, to refute
the objection derived from the great number of Bishops. In those
lands Christianity haa receded, and it is estimated that we have lost
150 millions of worshippers by the returning wave of Paganism, or
the strange imposture of the prophet of Mecca.
* "Britannos orbe di vises. *

238 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
faint reflection of that developing itself in every form in the
Capital. Here then was a task, to plant the pure faith of our Lord
in the midst of all this corruption. But it was accomplished.
The sacriflce was indeed a great one, for Rome through
many years was purple with the blood of the children of
God ; and the sands of the amphitheatre were dyed with the
gore ofthe martyrs. But yet, the end was attained, and in
a space of time shorter than the wildest hopes of the Chris
tian could have imagined. It was but thirty years after the
crucrifixion, that Nero, to remove from himself the suspicion
of having set fire to the city, charged it on the Christians,
and proceeded to inflict upon them the most cruel torments.
The historian Tacitus, when giving an account of this per
secution, shows us how strong at that time must have been
the Church at Rome. "The founder of that name " — he
says — " was Christ, -who suffered death in the reign of
Tiberius, under his procurator Pontius Pilate. This perni
cious superstition, thus checked for a while, broke out again ;
and spread, not only over Judea, where the evil originated,
but through Rome also, whither every thing bad finds its
way, and is practised. Sorae who confessed their sect, were
first seized; and afierwards, by their information, a vast
multitude were apprehended."* We see, then, from this
statement, how great must have been the number of disci
ples in the city.
But persecution did not stop the good cause. The faith
increased, even within the precincts of the court. It forced
itself into high places. It entered the palace of the Ceesars ;
and three centuries more beheld a Roman Emperor adopting,
as his proudest badge, the Cross of the once despised Naza-
rene, and proclaiming Christianity to be the religion of the
Empire. Then came one decree after another, smiting
heathenism, and closing its temples, until it gradually
withered away. That splendid mythology of Greece, from
which the immortal poets of old time drew their inspiration,
faded utierly from the earth. The long array of divinities,
whose names once were held in reverence, vanished even
from the knowledge of the people ; until to later generations,
they have * Annals, lib. xv. % 44.

TUE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 239
" Gone glimmering through the dreams of thinga that were —
A achool-boy's tale. "
ft was a ruin, which Gibbon pronounces " perhaps the only
example of the total extirpation of any ancient and popular
superstition "*
Thus died the antagonist of the Gospel, an enemy which,
while it gathered around it all that was splendid and allur
ing, was also the natural enemy of man; for in its whole
creed it could point lo no traces of purity and holiness. Its
fall, therefore, was the freedom of the world.
Such, then, was the early triumph of the Church. And
now, looking back upon this history, what we do perceive to
have been the secret of her strength ? We answer, under
Providence, it was her union — the presentation of herself
visibly before the worlds — her strict, compact, and energetic
government. And if we come down a few centuries later, to the time
when the fierce barbarians from the North trampled the Ro
man Empire beneath their feet, we shall find, that then the
perfect Organization of the Church was the instrument of
Heaven for the preservation of religion. Had it nol been for
the infiuence of her standing ministry, all traces of our faith
would at once have been obliterated from the West. Look
at the materials of which the population was then composed.
Among the conquered people, the higher classes had ceased
to be either numerous or powerful ; while the lower, recently
converted from polytheism, were not always the most sin
cere in their change, nor had their faith — whioh was no
longer purified by persecution — yet gained the requisite
strength. The clergy alone occupied a commanding position,
which rendered them the able and efficient defenders of the
oppressed. They extorted respect even from their Gothic in
vaders. In the first confusion of conquest, they might indeed
share in the indiscriminate evils df warfare, yet the rudest
soldier brought with him a superstitious reverence for the
priesthood, particularly when he found them honored, and
the ceremonies of their worship imposing.f He soon leam-
* DecUne and Fall, chap. xxviiL
f Waddington'a Ohurch History, p. 203.

240 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
ed to invest the ministers of this faith with a saMtity,
which enabled them to wind their chains about the hearts
of their conquerors, and to win them to that faith itself.
The illiterate prince found himself confronted fearlessly by
the Christian Bishop ; and the respect which he felt was
soon increased by the discovery, that the clergy were the
e.Yclusive possessors of that learning which commands the
reverence evpn of barbarians. The invaders had been al
ready converted to the failh before they left their northern
homes, and now the ministers of the Church stood between
ih.^m. and the conquered, as the only connecting link — the
only intermediate power — which gave some community of
interest to the master and the slave. They found them
selves worshippers of the sarae God, gathered into the same
Church, and united under the same spiritual supervision.
Thus the Church, with her high authorily, prevented the
complete disorganization of all the existing relations of
society. She gradually mingled up the invaders wilh the
invaded into one people, and before the next wave of con
quest came from the North, the community was in seme
measure prepared to breast the shock.
In this way, by regulating the social system, and stai«d-
ing forth a perpetual witness for the truth, the Church pre
vented all religion being absorbed and lost, in the conflict
and confusion of the times.* But had Christianity then ex
isted as a mere individual belief, or had ils form of govern
ment been less complete and vigorous, it would have pos
sessed neither the energy nor discipline necessary to main
tain its hold in the midst cf the deluge which rolled over it.
Or, had ils preservation been then coraraitted to the keeping
of warring sects, which were ever shifting and changing, both
it and they would have been swept from the earth like chaff
before the wind.
And thus il was through all the ages which followed,
when a twilight gloom had gathered over the earth, even
down to the dawn of the Reforraation. Although the
Church was existing only in a corrupted form, yet still she
was in some measure discharging her duty to the world, by
keeping alive the remembrance of religion in the minds of
* Mihnan'a Hist, of Christianity, vol. ii. p. 168.

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 24]
men The spiritual despotism of the Romish Church had
indeed stretched an iron sceptre over the earth ; yet in the
good providence of God it seems lo have been permitted,
because more efficacious than any gentler form of faith, to
keep the social system in order during an age of savage
turbulence and unceasing tyranny. The Church was then
the only " City of refuge" for the helpless and oppressed.
The power of superstition was the only one which in that
warlike age formed any efficient barrier between the nobles
and their down trodden vassals. The very claim of the
Bishop of Rome to be the vicegerent of God on earth,
wliUe it invested him with a fearful power, perhaps enabled
him also to save our race from the horrors of perpetual bar
barism. Customary as it has been to speak of the Church
in these centuries only in the language of denunciation, he
who does so knows but little of the spirit of those times.
In truth, the world has never witnessed a spectacle raore
sublime than that furnished by the Church in her progress
through the Middle Ages. It was a mental supremacy,
which cannot but command our admiration, even when it
devised and wielded the weapons of superstition. It was
the triumph of intellect and learning, over ignorance and
brutal force. The higher classes of Europe, at that time,
were a fierce and lawless nobility, yielding to no auihority
but that dictated by superior strength, and regarding all
beneath them as being only the helots of the soil, doomed
forever to exist but as " the hewers of wood and drawers of
water" to their lords. The elements of society were always
at war, and often threatening to rush into a ruinous conflict.
But above these wild waves of anarchy and turbulence there
arose a mighty form, its foot indeed resting on the earth,
but its head reaching to the clouds, clothed wilh the attri
butes of both worldly and spiritual power and holding in ils
hand the enchanter's rod, which alone could awe into silence
the threatening storm or afford a timely succor from external
violence. The mightiest of mankind trembled before it,
while it " bound their kings wilh chains, and their nobles
with fetters of iron." The Church therefore, in that day,
wras the sanctuary of the earth. She was the ark in which,
while the flood of error was sweeping around, the truth was
preserved in being for belter tiraes. Corrupt then as the
11

242 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
Romish Chnrch undoubtedly was, and often " holding the
truth in unrighteousness," her movements were slill overruled
by a wise Providence to the furtherance of good, and her
colossal strength was enlisted to keep alive in the earth the
true Church, that "the gates of hell should not prevail
against it."
There were indeed, al that time, innumerable ways by
which, through her instrumentality, religion was daily
brought before the people, until the degraded peasant, and
the rude and warlike baron, were alike obliged to yield to her
claims. In the first place, her rites and services were gor
geous, and well adapted lo an illiterate age, when the heart
must be reached, and the raind enlightened, through the
medium of the senses.
Again — the Church was the dispenser of the charities of
the age. Thus, that work was effectually accomplished,
which is now attempted with such inadequate results, by a
multitude of voluntary associations — often ill-directed in
their zeal — conflicting in their efforts — and bound together
by no sympathy of religious principles. The pious raade
he Church the alraoner of their bounty, and thus, among
other good effects, the tie was strengthened which bound
the people to their spiritual pastors. They came to them
for relief of their worldly necessities, as well as of their re
ligioni wants, and thus that " raost excellent gift of charity"
— one ofthe brightest virtues of Christianity — was inculcated
upon the multitude, not only by the preaching, but also by
the daily example of those who ministered at the altar.
Beautiful, indeed, is the picture which has corae down to
us of the crowds which morning and evening assembled
around the doors of the religious houses, to have their
wretchedness relieved,* and sad was the day for England's
* The Rev. J. J. Blunt — an author who surely will not be accused
of any attachment to Romanism — ^writes thus — " As we khow not,
aaya the proverb, what the well is worth till it is dry, so was it found
after the dissolution, that with all their faults, thc monasteries had
been the refuge for the destitute, who were now driven to frightful ex
tremities throughout the country, the effect of the suppression being
with respect to them the same as would now follow from the sudden
iboUtion of the poor lawa that they had been the almahouses, where

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 24.3
poor, when these establishments — instead of being remodel
ed in accordance with the rules of that purer failh which
had then dawned upon the land — were entirely suppressed
by the rude hand of violence, and their pensioners scattered
abroad, lo subsist by the cold charity of their countrymen,
or to be driven by want into licentiousness and crime. Well
may a living poet ask —
-When the old must pass

The threshold, whither shaU they turn to find
The hospitality — the alma, (alas I
Alma may be needed,) which that houae beatowed ?"f
the aged dcpendenta of more opulent families, the decrepit servant,
the decayed artificer, retired as to a home neither uncomfortable nor
humiliating ; that they had been the country infirmaries and dispen
saries, a knowledge of medicine and of the virtues of herbs being a
department of monkish learning, (aa passages in the old dramatic
-writers sometimes indicate,) and a hospital, and perhaps a laboratory,
being component parts of a monkish establishment ; that they had
been foundUng asylums, reUeving the state of many orphan and out
cast chUdren, and ministering to their necessitiea, — God's ravens in
the wilderness, (neither so black as they had been represented,) bread
and fiesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening ; that
they had been inns for the wayfaring man, who heard from afar the
sound of the vesper bell, at once inviting him to repose and devotion,
and who might sing hia matins with the moming star, and go on hia
way rejoicing ; that they filled up the gap in which the public U-
brariea have aince stood, and if then- inmates were not very desirous
to eat of the tree of knowledge themaelves, they had at least the
merit of cherishmg and preserving it alive for othera." Hist, of
Reformation in England, p. 142.
f Wordsworth's Eccles. Sonnets, No. xix. " On the whole. King
Henry VIII. at different times, suppressed 645 abbeys and monas
teries. Ninety Colleges were demolished in several counties. Two
thousand three hundred and seventy-four Chantries and Free Cha
pels; and 110 Hospitals. The whole revenue of these estabhsh
ments amounted to £161,100." Hume, vol. iv. p. 182.
The effect of this change upon education iilone is thus told in a
single sentence by Latimer, in the middle of Edward VI's reign—" I
think there be at thia day, ten thousand students less than were
within these twenty years." Latimer's Sermons, vol. i. p. 246. At
the time of their destruction, Latimer had pleaded with CromweU,

244 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
Even to this day -we have witnesses to the noble spirit
of self-denial which prompted tho men of those generations
to sacrifice all private interests to the advancement of their
faith. The magnificent edifices scattered through every
land in Europe, which were dedicated to the service of our
Lord, and which succeeding ages have attempied in vain to
rival, testify how abundant -was the liberality, and how deep
the religious feeling of those, who were then the members
of the Church. We raay call it superstition — and such it
sometimes was — yet we believe that often these works were
prompted by a loftier, holier feeling — that >
" They dreamt not of a perishable home.
Who thus could build."*
Again — the penitential discipline o-f the Church was con
tinually enforing the moral precepts of our religion. The
superstitious crowd, who could be awed by noihing else,
trembled when they heard the terrible denunciations of the
Church ; and as the penitent stood before them in his public
shame, they were impressed wilh a salutary awe, as they
witnessed his deep humiliation, the intensity and bitterness
of his remorse. No elevation of rank was so lofty as to
shield the offender. Kings bo-wed to the spiritual authority
of the Church, and were forced to realize, that when they
entered her walls, they stood in the sight of the King of
kings, on a level with the meanest of their subjects. In an
age whem fhe true spirit of religion was but dimly perceived,
this system must have possessed the strcragest power, when
exerted to advance man's moral improvement. And in these
days of laxity and carelessness, would not a revival of
something of this ancient and stern discipline of the Church,
tend to call back also in some measure a portion of her
forraer spirit ?
Henry's minister, that some might be reserved as places of study and
pr.iyer. " Alas, my good Lord " — said he — " shall we not see two or
three in every shire changed to such a remedy 1 " He pleaded how
ever in vain, for Henry and his courtiers, grasping at the spoils, were
deaf to every religious argument. See Sir H. Spelman's Hist, and
Fate of Sacrilege, or the last part of Churton's Early EngUsh
Church. * Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Sonnets, No. xxxv.

THl; KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 245
The Church, too, sought unceasingly to correct the vices
of the whole systera — lo improve the spirit of society — and
to interpose as peace-maker for the prevention of outrage
and warfare. If indeed we closely examine the history of
the past, and compare the condition of society in successive
centuries, we shall be surprised to find, how many of the
glaring abuses of the Middle Ages have gradually disap
peared before the increasing light of the Church, until they
have been entirely extirpated. Without her influence, we
should now be sunk in degradation and barbarism ; for even
of that literature which has come down to us from the days
of classic antiquity, the Cburch was the guardian in a time
when the world al large knew 'not the worth of these models
of the past. It was in the libraries of the Monasteries that
the intellectual treasures of former ages were preserved,
when these were the only places of safely ; because the
rude noble, whose trade was war, and who felt no remorse
in rifling cities and palaces, dared not lay the finger of
violence on those consecrated buildings. He dreaded too
much the threatenings of the Church.
Such was the Church of the Middle Ages. A dark pall
was indeed drawn over Western Christendom, and the hu
man mind in the mass of men slumbered in a reel which
was unbroken. But fearful as the picture was, there were
still some redeeming traits. Within the courts of the Church
were ever those, whose learning enlightened the age in
which they lived. " There was a continual succession of
individual intellects — the golden chain was never wholly
broken, though the connecting links were often of baser
metal. A dark cloud, like another sky, covered the entire
cope of Heaven ; but in this place it thinned away, and
white stains of light showed a half eclipsed star behind il —
in that place it was rent asunder, and a star passed across
the opening in all its brightness, and then vanished."* In
many a retired spot, too, humble piety was training up for
Heaven, and the Church in secret was nurturing wiihin her
fold those whose names live not in history, but whose record
is now on high. Mingled with the superstition" which then
prevailed, thera was indeed a heartiness in their devotion —
• Coleridge's Literary Remaina, vol u. p. 26.

246 THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
a reality for every day life in their religion — which might well
shame the lukewarm faith of modern limes. Therefore it is,
that even now, in these days of greater light, the thought
ful mind cannot forbear often turning back with regret, and
amid the worldliness which is around us, feeling that far
better was the simple, unlearned piety of forraer centuries.
Yet these imaginings are nol to be indulged. The past can
not return. "Neither the churches nor the empires of the
Middle Ages are to be rebuilt, however lovely many things
about them were, nor the forms of that warlike Christianity
to be wished back again, in place of the belter forms of a
more primitive pattern. They were forms which primitive
traths put on, and in which they then saved the world :
forms which were real for awhile. But the present state of
things must surely teach the ardent and the hopeful disciples
of old times, that il is the priraitive truths for which they
have to strive, and not to do battle for the chivalrous, mid
dle-age accessories of them, however gorgeous or pic
turesque. "*
Review, however, the picture we have presented. See
the lawlessness of those centuries through which the Church
passed, and then tell me, which of the religious societies
that have grown up around her during the last three hun
dred years, would have been able to perform the work that
she did — assert the same rule over the human raind, wild
and turbulent as it then was — and thus save the faith alive ?
And look around you now — even in these times, which
boast so much of their spiritual and intellectual-light — and
think what we should be without a Church. The external
world is continually presenting its fascinations — acting on
the imagination — and tempting us, in view of " ihings seen,"
to dismiss all remerabrance of " the things which are unseen."
Now, to counteract this, what more efficacious than a visible,
unchanging Church, to be a witness for Christ — lo speak to
us continually by her solemn services — lo preach to a gain
saying world the great truths of Redemption — and, with a
ceaseless voice, to suramon il to heed the whispers of con
science, and to think of Eternity. Thus ihe Church alike
rebukes the ungodly, and inspires the fainting believer with
* Ptber'e Churchman'a Politics, p. R.

THE KEEPER OF THE, TRUTH. 247
new courage. She is a witness of the invisible world — set
ting forth, even in this life, that separation which is one
day to take place between the just and the unjust. Who
ihen can estimate the wonderful influence she exerts ! From
the present as well as from the past, we can gather an ar
gument in behalf of that wisdom, which set forth " the
Church of the Living God, " to be forever " the pillar and
ground of the Truth. "
This, then, is the historical view of the Church. We have
spoken only of that general witness which she bears for the
truth, but we might strengthen the argument, by taking up,
one by one, the doctrines which our failh sets forth, and
showing how, through the influence of the Church, each one
is preserved alive in the memory of man. But the time
would fail us, should we attempt to enter on this eubjecl.
We trust, however, that you have already seen how entirely
this plan, which has been devised to defend the faith from
injury, is in accordance with Infinite Wisdom. It only re
mains, then, that we should commend this Church to your
affections. It is now the same Church which we have fol
lowed in her progress through eighteen centuries — the same
which our Lord founded, when He trod the hills of Galilee,
and taught in the villages of Judea — the same which His
Apostles invited their countrymen lo enter, when they first
preached the news of redeeming love in the streets of Jeru
salem. Checkered as her course has been with fearful
vicissitudes, she has not only survived, but grown and ex
panded. The sunshine and the calm have often been with
drawn, and the Church been obliged to make her way through
the cloud and the storm. She has gone through periods
dark and turbulent, as well as those enlightened and tranquil.
Every habit and form of social life has in turn been tried,
and at one lime she has had to contend againsl the corrup
tions of refinement, and at another, with the ^ grossness of
barbarism. Dangers have ever encircled her, and her ene
mies never ceased to threaten her existence. " The Kings
of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together
againsl her." In her early day, however the Roman Em
perors raight iiffer in leraper and disposition, they always
agreed in hostility to the Church. The wise Trajan, and
18 brutal Nero — the philosophic Antoninus, and the mad

S'iS THE CHURCH IN ALL AGES
man Domitian — were alike zealous i.n the cause of heathen
ism. In whatever hand the scourge might be, il always fell
upon the Christian. The noble — the pure — the young — and
the aged — were flung together into the same dishonored
grave, One rea lisition after another was made upon the
Church, to send forth her champions for martyrdom ; and the
voice of the -wailing wras ever heard in her courts, as they
mourned the loss of leaders in " the Sacramental host of
God's elect," who had passed into Paradise from the agonies
nf the stake, or whose spirits had gone upward from the fire.
False friends, too, have acted as traitors in the camp of the
Lord. Heresies, which deformed the faith, and schisms, which
sought to divide il — have caused one parly after another to
separate from the ancient Church ;* and never yet has the
world been able, from the lives of her merabers, to form a
just estimate ofthe excellence of her doctrines.
But yet, notwithstanding all, the Church survived, while,
as she passed down the streara of time, she beheld one na
tion after anoiher fall, and the raost powerful empires suffer
extinction. And look at her now. Is her vitality diminish-
eil, or her " natural force abated ? " Is her strength im
paired by the conflicts through which she has passed ? Can
you point to any evidence of the decrepitude of age ? No —
she is still in the vigor of her youth. Sheis unchanged — or
rather, she presents herself now lo the gathering storm, with
a bolder front than ever in ages that are passed.
Are you then a member of this Church, which comes lo
you sanctioned by such weighty claims ? With every pro
mise fulfilled lo the letter — every precious hope realized to
the full — and enric^^ed with the prayers of generations that
have gone — she appeals to your hearts. Thousands, as you
have seen, have died, rather than forfeit an interest in her
blessings. That branch to which il is our privilege lo be
long, is no novelty in the world, but looks back through a
long line of confessors and martyrs of the Church Catholic,
lo Christ Himself as her head. She teaches all the grand
* The martyr Cyprian -wi-ites^" We have not departed from
thom, but they from us ; and since schisms and heresies are born af-
terw.irds, they left the fountain-head and origin of truth, when they
constituted different assemblages for themselves." De Unit. 256.

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUTH. 249
and cardinal doctrines of our faith. She is wanting in no
single point.
We invite you then — if you have not already done so —
to take refuge within her walls, before God shall arise to
shake terribly the earth. Corae, and unite yourself with the
bright array of those who have gone before, on whom is
resting the Spirit of glory and of grace. They are* bending
down from their thrones on high — " a greal cloud of wit
nesses" — to see whether you will still sustain that Holy
Church, lo advance which they considered life itself as not
too precious lo be sacrificed. They have beqeathed to you
this cause, to bear it onward as once they did. You are
standing in their places, and are the inheritors of their re
sponsibilities. You are "baptized for the dead." And now,
the host of the elect is pressing onward. Some have ahead)
passed into Canaan, over the river of death, and some are
still toiling on in the wilderness. Oh, may you, when the
dispersed of God's spiritual Israel are gathered into one,
be found again united as members of " the general assembly
and Church ofthe first born, which are written in Heaven."

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
All mny save self; — but minds that heavenward tower
Aim at a wider power,
Gifts on the world to shower.
And this is not at once ; — by fastings gained.
And trials well sustained.
By pureness, righteous deeds, and toils of love.
Abidance in the Truth, and zeal for God above.
lAira Apostolica.
Having endeavored to bring before you the distinctive
principles of the Church — those by which we are separated
from the different denominations around us — the quesiion
naturally occurs. What is the practical bearing of those
truths? We answer — they are to be acted out in the Ufe,
and embodied in the daily walk and conversation of those
who profess to be merabers of our Holy Apostolic Church.
I know not, therefore, that I can select a more appropriate
subject with which to close these Lectures, than a delinea
tion of THE TRUE, Catholic Churchman.
The very name indeed which he bears — if he walk wor
thy of it — proclaims the principles by which he will be di
rected. He has received his title from no human teacher.
He assumes the badge of no mere sect. He shares in that
jealous vigilance which induced St. Paul so sternly to chide
the Corinthians, because one party said "' we are of Paul,"
and anoiher, " we are of Apollos," and another " we are of
Cephas." And this feeling the Primitive believers be
queathed to those who came after them in the early Church,
" We take nol," says Sl. Chrysostom, "our denomination
from men. We have no leaders, as the followers of Marcion,
or Manichajus or Arius."* " The Church" says Epiphanius,
• Hom. 83, in Acta.

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN 251
'' was never called so much as by the name of any Apostle.
We never heard of Petrians, or Paulinus, or Bartholomseans,
or Thaddseans : but only of Christians, from Christ."* " I
honor Peter" — says another Father — "but I am not called a
Petrian ; I honor Paul, but 1 am nol called a Paulin ; I cannot
bear to be named from any man, who am the creature of
God."t And Bingham tells us that when Sempronian, the
Novatian heretic, demanded of Pacian the reason why Christ
ians called themselves Catholics, he answered, that it was to
distinguish them from Heretics. " Christian" — he says —
" is my name, and Catholic my sur-name ; the one is my
title, the other my character or mark of distinction."t Such
w^as the feeling of these early saints. Leaving to the secta
which started up on every side, to narae themselves aftei
their leaders, Ihey still kept to that general appellation, which
was more expressive of unity and relationship to their Lord.
The Churchman of this day therefore has inherited these
views, and by the name Catholic Churchman, he expresses
both his allegiance to his Divine Master, and to that Apos
tolic Chnrch He founded. §
One characteristic of the true Churchman is — that he
receives' with humility all the doctrines of the Church, and
avows his belief in them. This must at once be evident. It
would be an absurdity for a disciple to call himself by the
name ofa teacher lo whose instructions he did not fully sub
scribe. As the Jew prided himself on being the follower of
Moses, and showed his reverence for the ancient dispensation
by observing all ils requirements, even the most minute, so
does the Churchman proclaim to the world the fact, that he
is a disciple of Christ, and a member of His Holy Apostolic
* Bing. Orig. Ecclea. Ub. i. ch. 1, sect. 6. f Greg. Naz. Orat. 31
X Orig. Ecclea. lib. i. ch. 1, sect 1-
§ ' I wear the name of Christ, my God,
So name me not from man 1
And my broad country Catholic,
Hath neither tribe nor clan :
Its rulers are an endless line,
Tlirough aU the world they went.
Commissioned from the Holy Hill
Of Christ's subUme ascent." Rev A- C. Coxe

y.)2 the true, catholic churchman
Cliiirch. Ho is ready to acknowledge his belief in all that
liis Master taught, either when, Himself on earth. He acted
as the earliest herald of the Gospel ; or when, after His
ascension, He inspired holy men to enlarge the circle of
revelation, and then committed lo the Church which He had
organized the lofty diity of being a Keeper and Witness of
the Truth.
Bat we are told that there is no necessity for an appeal
CO the Church, to learn the fundamental doctrines of our
failh — that " the Bible alone is the religion of Protestants"
— and we need no other intervention to aid us in forming
our Creed, or in settling our belief. Look then over the
world, and see how this assertion is supported by actual ex
perience. The first sound which strikes the ear is the din of
ooulro versy, as the most solemn truths which God has reveal
ed, are openly questioned and denied, or banded about araong
warring hereclics frora raouth lo mouth, until the reverence
even of the believer is insensibly impaired. The first sight
which meets the eye, is that of the body of Christ rent asun
der, and contending parties using as' hostile watchwords
those solemn verities, to which man should have listened
only wilh awe and reverence. The present situation of the
different Protestant sects around answers but too truly the
description which Dante has given : —
" Christ's host, which cost so dear to arm afresh.
Beneath its ensign moves with tardy atep.
Thin are ita rank, each soldier coldly looka
Upon his feUow, doubtful of hia faith. "*
Amidst then this changing, shifting sea of opinions,
where is the truth ? In what can I believe, as the certain ¦
teaching of my Lord ? The Bible is of course before rae,
and I may study it for myself, but the same privilege is
afforded oihers also, and yet I behold a hundred varying
sects — all holding different Creeds — and all professing to
derive them from that Volume. Which then is right ?
Where can I find a guide lo direct me in the right path ? I
x'.aa truly say, like the Ethiopian Eunuch — " How can I un
derstand, except some man should guide me ?
Now, *hese difficulties are natural, and must be felf by
* Paradiso, xii.

the trce, catholic churchman 253
every reflecting mind.* The Church, therefore, has pro
vided a remedy. She does nol say to her children " Each
one of you may explain the Scripture according to your own
fancy " — but she furnishes them with an interpretation.
Going back to Primitive times — to the days of Apostles and
Martyrs — she unrolls their writings, and inquires, how these
men, who stood nearest to the founiain of light — who lived
when the tradition of all our Lord's words and deeds had
not yet faded from the earth — ^how they understood His pre
cepts ? She takes the ground — and surely it is a reasonable
one — that doctrines which have been the admitted failh of
the Church from the first age down through eighteen hun
dred years, are probably correct, and therefore she teaches
them to her children in her creeds and formularies.
Here then is her rule of faith — Scripture as it always
has been interpreted bv the Church. The Church of
Rome contends that there are two rules of failh, of equal
authority ; that there is an unwritten tradilion, alike definite
and alike to be respected with the written word of God.
Thus it was asserted in a decree of the Council of Trent —
" All saving truth is not contained in the Holy Scripture,
but partly in the Scripture and partly in unwritten tradition,
which -whosoever doth not receive with like piety and rever
ence as he doth the Scriptures, let him be accursed, "t The
clearly stated doctrine of our own Church, on the contrary,
is, that tradition is to be used only to interpret Scripture.
" The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and
authority in controversies of faith ; and yet it is not lawful
for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary lo God's
word written : neither may it so expound one place of Scrip
ture that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although
ihe ' Church be a luitness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet as it
* " We learn to prize that which is not of this earth; we long for
revelation which nowhere burns more majestically or more beauti
fuUy than in the New Testament. I feel impelled to open the original
text — to translate for once, with upright feeling, the sacred original
into my darling German. It ia written : ' In the beginning waa the
Word' Here I am already at u stand; who will help me on?"
Oeethe's Faust, p. 44.
-f Sess. iv. Decret de Can. Script

25i the true, catholic churchman.
ought not to decree any thing against the same, so, besides
the same, ought il not lo enforce any thing to be believed for
necessity of salvation. "*
Again — the Church of Rome fetters the judgment, by
requiring a blind, unconditional submission lo those who,
from time to time, occupy the place of ecclesiastical rulers.
They constitute the Church, aud are to be iraplicilly obeyed.
Thus, an appeal to Catholic antiquity, to verify her doctrines,
is practically forbidden, since each one must believe what the
Church does now hold.f The different denominations around
us, going to the other extreme, give unbounded license to
the fancy, by an unrestricted exercise of privale interpreta
tion. Our own Church, avoiding either error, " inculcates a
liberal, discriminative, yet undeviating reverence for pious
antiquity : a reverence, alike sanctioned by reason, inspired
by feeling, and recommended by authorily. "X She adopts
the rule laid down by Vincentius of Lerins, who wrote in
the year 434. A brief view of his system raay, therefore,
be useful in illustrating the principles ofthe Church on this
point. He sets out with inquiring how he must decide between
truth and error ? His language is — " I have made frequent
and earnest inquiries of a great number of holy and learned
men, how I raight discrirainate, that is, what certain and
universal rule there was for discriminating between Catholic
truth and heretical pravity ; and I have ever received some
thing like the following answer, that wheiher I myself, or
any other private person, wished to detect the corruptions,
and avoid the snares of heretics who were springing up, and
to remain sound and whofe in the sound faith, there were
two ways, by God's blessing, of preserving himself— first,
by the authorily of Scripiure, next by the teaching of the
Church Catholic. "
• Art. XX.
f Thua, Dr. Hawarden, in speaking of the Arians, uses this lan
guage — " If they be aUowed the plea of all reformers, I mean, of ap
pealing from, and against the present CathoUc Church, to tbe timea paat,
the controversy can never be ended, until the dead apeak. " The
True Church of Christ, vol. ii. pref p. 9.
X Appondix to Bishop Jebb's Sermons, p 366,

the true, catholic churchman. 255
But, he continues — '' Here some one, perhaps, will de
mand, since the Canon of Scripture is complete, and in itself
more than sufficient for all things, why need I subjoin to it
the authority of ecclesiastical opinion ? " To this objection,
his answer is — " That the very depth of Holy Scripture pre
vents its being taken by all men in one and the sarae sense,
one man interpreting it in one way, one in another; so
that it seems almost possible to draw from il as many opin
ions as there are readers. Novatian, Photinus, Sabellius,
Donatus, Arius, Eunomius, and Macedonius, Apollinaris, and
Priscillian, Jovianus, Pelagius, and Celestius, lastly Nes
torius, each of those heretics has his own distinct interpre
tation of it. This is why it is so necessary, viz., in order to
avoid the serious labyrinths of such various errors, to direct
the line of interpretation, both as to Prophets and Apostles,
according to the sense of the Church and Catholic world."
Having thus most conclusively proved the necessity for
some rule of interpretation, he proceeds to state that one
which can always give us a sure direction — " We must be
peculiarly careful to hold that which hath been believed, in
ALL places, at ALL TIMES, BT ALL THE FAITHFUL : QuOD
UBIQUE, QUOD SEMPER, QUOD AB OMNIBUS CREDITOM EST. This
is true and genuine Catholicism, as the very word means,
comprehending all truths, every where, and truly ; and this
will be ours, if we follow in our inquiries Universality, An
tiquity, and Consent. We shall fallow Universality, if we
confess that to be the one true faith, which is held by the
Church all over the world ; Antiquity, if we in no respect
recede from the tenets which were in use among our Holy
Elders and Fathers ; and Consent, if, in consulting antiquity
itself, we attach ourselves to such decisions and opinions as
were held by all, or at least by almost all, the ancient Bi
shops and Doctors."
" What, then, will the Catholic Christian do, in a case
nrhere any branch ofthe Church has cut itself off from the com
munion of the universal faith? What can he do but prefer
(he general body, -w^hich is sound, to the diseased and in
fected meraber of it ? What if soiiie novel contagion attaint
wilh its plague-spots, not only a portion, but even the whole
Church ? Then he will be careful to keep close to antiquity,
which is secure from the possibility of being corrupted by

256 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
new errors- What if, even in antiquity itself, there be two
or three men, nay, one community, or even province, dis
covered in error ? Then he will be careful to prefer to the
rashness or ignorance of the few, (if so be,) the ancient de
crees, (i. e. in Council,) or the Universal Church. What if
a case arises -when no such acts of the Church are found ?
Then he will do his best to compare and search out the opin
ions of the ancients; that is, of those who, in various times
and places, remaining in the faith and comraunion of the
one Catholic Church, are the most trust worthy authorities ;
and whatever, not one or two, but all alike, with one con
sent, held, wrote, and taught, and that openly and per
severingly, that he will understand is to be believed with
out any hesitation." Having thus laid down his rules,Vin-
cenlius adds — " By these principles, faithfully, soberly, and
diligently observed, we shall, with no great difficulty, de
tect every noxious error, of all heretics, who may rise against
the Church."*
Such was the rule in the fifth century, and it is one by
which the Church is even now guided. " I greatly mistake"
— says the ^ev. G. S. Faber — " if, in any one instance, the
wise Reformers of the Church of England can be shown to
have exercised an insulated private judgment. In fact, they
possessed far too much theological learning, and far too much
sound intellect, to fall into this palpable error. Omitting,
then, the mere dogmatism of the Latin Church on the one
hand, and the wanton exercise of illegitimate private judg
ment on the other hand, the practice of those venerable and
profound theologians who presided over the reformation of
the Anglican Church, will teach us, that the most rational
mode of determining differences is a recurrence to first prin
ciples, or an appeal to that Primitive Church which was
nearest to the times ofthe Apostles, "f
In the " Necessary Doctrine," &c., which in 1543 was
adopted by the whole Church of England, we are fold—
" All those things which were taught by the Apostles, and
have been by a whole universal consent of the Church of
Christ ever sith that time taught continually, and taken
always for true, ought lo be received, accepted, and kept, as
* Comnanit. adv. Hjereticos. f Difficulties of Romanism, p. 33.

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 257

a pelfect doclrine "Spostolic. "* With regard to the Articles
of the Creed, Christians are coraraanded, " to interpret all
the same things, according to the self-same sentence and
interpretation which the words of Scripture do signify, and
the holy anproved doctors of the Church do agreeably en
treat and defend. " They are directed also to reject all doc
trines, " which were of long time past condemned in the
four holy councils, "j-
This was the view of Cranmer. In his Epistle to Queen
Mary on the subject of the Eucharist, he says — " Herein I
said I would be judged by the old Church, and which doc
trine could be proved the elder, that I would stand unto. "J
Bishop Ridley, too acknowledges the weight of Catholic
tradition as a guide in interpretation. § Bishop Jewell writes
— " We are come as neere as we possibly could, lo the
Chnrch of the Apostles, and of the old Catholike bishops and
fathers ; and have directed, according lo their customs and
ordinances, not only our doctrine but also the sacraments,
and the forme of common praire."|| And so the rule remains
now explicitly staled in our articles. In the XX. Article it
is said — " The Church hath auihority in controversies of
faith;" and afterwards in the XXXIV. it is added—" Who
soever, through his private judgment, wiUingly and purposely
doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies ofthe Church,
which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained
and approved by comraon authorily, ought to be rebuked
openly. "IT
• Formularies of Faith, p. 221. f Formularies of Faith, p. 227.
X Cranmer's Works, vol. U. p. 113.
§ Jebb's Sermona, Appendix, p. 395. || Apology, p. 156.
^ That thia is the rule of the Church of England, and consequently
3f our own branch of the Church, cannot be doubted by any one who
wUl read the records of the past, and the opinions of all of the most
eminent EngUsh divines. See, for example, the Afpendix to Bp.
Jebb's Sermons, with the testimonies there collected ; and the Rev.
E. Churton's Sermon, " The Church of England, a witness and keeper
of tlie CathoUc Tradition." Did our limits aUow, copious extracts in
support of the rule of Vincentius might be given from the following
Divines and Authors : JeweU, Bilson, Hooker, Overall, Morton,. Field,
White, Hall, Laud, Montague, Jackson, Mede, Ussher, BriimhaU, San
derson, Cosin, Hammond, Thorndike, Taylor, HeyUn, Commissionera.

258 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
It is by this safe test, then, that the Church decides at
once upon those countless controversies, which are rending
in bitterness all who surround us. For exaraple, let us apply
this rule. We hear some denying the Divinity of our Lord
— degradij g Hira down to a merely inspired prophet — and
when we endeavor to establish the truth of his Godhead by
an appeal to Scripiure, they reply by rejecting our interpre
tation of its words.* What, then, is our safest course ?
(to review the Prayer Book,) A. d. 1662, Pearson, Barrow, BuU,
StilUngfleet, Ken, Beveridge, Patrick, Sharpe, Potter, Grabe, Brett,
Hicks, CoUier, Leslie, Waterland, Bingham, Jebb, and Van Mildert.
t A writer, indeed, who takes the ground that the Bible alone is hia
rule of faith, wiU find it impossible at the outset to prove the autho
rity of that Book, and is, therefore, at the mercy of any infidel who
attacks him. Bishop Milner thus atates this argument — " By what
means have you learned what ia the Canon oi Scripture, that ia to
say, what are the booka which have been written by divine inspira
tion ; or, indeed, how have you ascertained that any booka at all have
been so written ? You cannot discover either of these things by your
rule, because the Scripture, as your great authority Hooker shows,
(Eccles. Pol. b. iu. sec. 8,) and ChUlingworth allows, cannot bear tes
timony to itself. . . . You have no sufiicient authority for asserting
that the sacred volumes are the genuine compositions of the holy
personages whose names they bear, except the tradition and living
voice of the Catholic Church ; since numerous apocryphal prophecies
and spurious gospels and epistles, under the same or equally venera
ble names, were circulated in the Church during its early agea. . . . In
deed, it is so clear that the Canon of Scripture is built on the tradition
of the Ohurch, that most learned Protestants, with Luther himself,
have been forced to acknowledge it. " End of Controversy, Let
ter ix.
• Socinus boasted that he acknowledged no maater ; Sed Deum
tantummodo praeoeptorem habui, sacrasque literas. He accordingly
denied the authority of the Fathers, Councils and Primitive Church.
(Palmer's Treatise on Church, v. ii. p. 59.) It is said in the life of
Biddle, the founder of the English Socinians, that " he gave the Holy
Scripture a dihgent reading ; and made use of no other rule to deter
mine controversies about religion, than the Scriptures, and of no other
authentic interpreter, if a scruple arose concerning the sense of Scripture,
than reason." (Ibid. p. 64.) It would be easy to show, that those who
abandon the authority of the fathers, generally end by forsaking the
truth The infidel Rationalists of Germany, who have thus disowned

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 159
Why, we turn to the testimony of the Church. We find
that through all ages the great body of the faithful have
rendered those passages as we now do, and bowed in rever
ence to our Lord, as a Person of the Triune God. We will,
therefore, be the inheritors of their faith, and with them
acknowledge — "This was the Son of God."*
Again — we hear oihers denying the necessity of infant
baptism, and thus, in the words of our Lord, " forbidding
little children to come to Him." We appeal once more to
the voice of the Church. We read the history of the past.
We discover that even from the Aposlles' days, she has
commanded her merabers thus to dedicate their children to
Him who had redeemed thera, and we are therefore content
ed to walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before
us. When, too, the Roraanist comes to us wilh his exclusive
clairas, we make the same appeal to antiquity. We show
that our doctrines are older than his and adopt for our motto
that declaration of Bishop Ridley — " I prefer the antiquity
of the Primitive Church to the novelties of the Church of
Rome." t
all ancient authority, boast that they alter their belief " as often as
any new views require it. " Rose's State of Protest, in Germany,
p. 24.
> * " Doctrines received through the medium of only two or three
links from the Apostles themselves, and with one consent declared by
all the varioua Churchea then in existence to have been thus received,
cannot be false. Tliua, for an instance, Irenseus, himself the pupil of
Polycarp the disciple of St. John, beara witness to the fact, that iu
hie time, all the Churches in the world held the doctrine of our Lord's
divinity ; each professing to have received it, through the medium of
one or two or three hnks, from the Apostles ; and his testimony ia
corroborated by Hegeaippua, who, about the middle of the second
century, travelled from Asia to Rome, and found the aame ayatem of
doctrine uniformly eatabUahed in every Church. Facts of thia de
scription form the basis of the reasoning adopted by Irenaeus and
TertuUian; and the conclusion which they deduce from it is, the
moral impossibility of the Catholic system of theology being errone
ous. " Faber's Difficulties of Romanism, p. 27.
f See an admirable sermon, entitled, " The Novelties of Romanism, J
or. Popery refuted by Tradition," by W. F. Hook, D. D., of Leeds, j
pubUshed in England in 1840, .md lately roprmted in this country!
by D. Dana, 20 John-street, New fork

260 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
Thus it is that we decide on all disputes. Instead of
trusting to the feebleness of individual reason, we obey the
coraraand which our Lord gave when He said — " Hear the
Church." We thus free ourselves from doubt. We lean
upon the recorded wisdom and opinions of eighteen centu
ries and feel, that if we are wrong on these poinis, then
must the whole Church have been so through all her gene
rations. Is not this, lo say the least, the safest way lo un
derstand the Word of God ? Let us nol, then, bring into
the Church an arrogant, questioning, carping spirit, but
rather that humility which Bishop Wilson shows in one of
his prayers — "Grant, O Lord, that in reading Thy Holy
Word, I may never prefer my private sentiments before
those of the Church in the purely ancient times of Chris
tianity."* Again — the true Churchman is devoted in his attendance
on the services of the Church. To this, indeed, he will be
prompted by a regard for his own spiritual advancement.
The Church knows the difficulty of leading your thoughts
heavenward in this worldly age, and therefore calls you
often to join in her solemn rites. Yet not too often is this
summons given. Oh, we may rather say, would that it
were more frequent, and men could be induced, as in the
olden time, to sanctify every day by devotion ; nor feel that
they should go forth to their worldly business, untU they
had first visited the house of God, there lo gather spiritual
strength for the coraing hours.t But the limes have becorae
intensely worldly, and men now care for nothing but heap-
* Sacra Privata, p. 93.
f " In foreign climea, mcchanica leave their taska
To breathe a passing prayer in the Cathedrals ;
There they have week-day ehrinea, and no one asks.
When he would kneel to them, and count his bead-rolls,
Why are they shut ?
Seeing them enter, sad and disconcerted.
To quit those cheering fanes with looks of gladness 
How often have my thoughts to ours reverted !
How oft have I exclaimed, in tones of sadness.
Why are they shut ?"
Stanzas written outside a country Church,
By HoEAOK Smith.

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 261
ing up wealth, or gaining honors, or pursuing pleasures,
with as desperate an energy as if they were to live here
forever. The Church, therefore, is scarcely able to enforce
her rules of regular, systematic devotion in public services,
and is often obliged to trust, that in private her members
will use her daily lessons and solemn prayers, and thus there
shall be unity of spirit among them all.
But whenever her courts are open, her true children will
feel, that noihing shall prevent their attendance there. All
are engaged in a fearful struggle against the world, the
flesh, and the devil, and they realize it, although those about
them do not. Happy are they, therefore, to break away even
for a single hour from the engrossing cares of business, here
to refresh their spirits, where God dwelleth. They would
thus strengthen their immortal hopes, that the bright yet
transitory ihings around them may have no influence over
their hearts. They would have solemn voices from the land
of spirits sounding in their ears, that thus they may be in
different to the siren-song of enchantment by which this
earth seeks to mislead them.
With him who has truly imbibed the spirit of 'the Church,
the want of time is never urged as an excuse. He knows
that a willing mind can make time, and that if he will
attempt it, he can now and then snatch a single hour from
this world to give to the next. He will not let the ihings
which " perish with the using " hold him constantly captive,
but remembering that with him there must come a time to
die, he is earnest to prepare himself for that soleran hour.
Feeling that the next life is but a continuation ofthis, only on a
higher stage of action, and wilh every feeling raore fully
developed, he realizes, that if he cannot rejoice in the wor
ship of God's earthly sanctuary, he is nol prepared lo join
in the services of the Heavenly Teraple — that temple above,
not made with hands.
But we may carry this farther. He wiU not only be re
gular in his attendance on the services of the Church, but
will seek nothing beyond her ministrations. This is a duty
which he owes to the Church herself It is nol a matter of
mere feeling, but should becorae one of principle. If the
Church furnish suflficient instruction, all that is necessary
for his spiritual welfare — and none surely can say that she

262 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
does not — then he should confine himself to her services, and
nol be unsettling his mind and dissipating his thoughts by
wandering elsewhere. And if he believe the truth she incul
cates, and which we have been endeavoring in previous lec
tures to set before you — the necessity of the Apostolic
succession in the rainistry — then the appeal is made to him
on still higher grounds, and the Church has a claim to be
his authorized instructor, which none other can advance.*
" But " — you may say in reply — " I am so well settled
in my principles that I cannot be injured by any leaching I
may hear, even though it should conflict with the instructions
of the Church. " This may indeed be the case, although
the influence which error exerts over the mind, is often so
insensible in its progress as to be almost unmarked until it
gains the supremacy. Yet may not your example produce
an effect upon oihers, who are not so well eslablished ? Sup
pose that the Churchraan thinks there is but liltle harm in
* Mr. Wilberforce is often quoted for liberality in his Church
views. The following extracts, however, from his Diary, will show
that on principle he abstained from attending Dissenting meetings.
We quote from Li,fe of Wilberforce by his Sons. 5 vols. Lond. 1839.
" In the year [1786] Mr. Wilberforce dissuaded a relation, who
complained that in her place of residence she could find no religious
instruction in the Ohurch, from attending at the meeting-house. ' Its
individual benefits ' — he writes in answer to her letter of inquiry —
' are no compensation for the general evils of Dissent. The increase
of Dissenters, which always follows from the institution of unsteepled
places of worship, is highly injurious to the interests of religion in
the long run! " Vol. i. p. 248.
" Mr. Hughes of Battersea dined with us — dissenting miniater.
He ia a sensible, well-informed, pioua man ; strongly dissenting in
principle, but moderate in manner. He confessed, not one in twenty
of Doddridge's pupils but who turned either Socinian, or tending that
way; (he himself strictly orthodox;) and he said thai all the old
Presbyterian places of worship were become Socinian congregation^. "
Vol. iii. p. 24.
" L. off to Birmingham to hear [Robert] Hall preach to-morrow ;
I should have liked it, but thought it wrong. In attending public
worship we are not to be edified by talent, but by the Holy Spirit,
and therefore we ought to look beyond the human agent. " Vol. v.
p. 140.

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 263
yielding fo his curiosity to hear a new voice, and visit some
other place of worship ; may he not be giving a lesson of
irregularity lo numbers around him, who believe, that if Ae
¦vnll do so, they may also ? If he, who is supposed lo un
derstand the principles and regulations of his Church, may in
dulge his taste for novelty, and wander about from place to
place, his weaker brethren will conclude that they may with
safely follow in his footsteps. Thus, he has the responsibility
of countenancing what he knows to be error, and of spread
ing abroad an influence which may keep others from the
means of grace, or frora listening, as they should, to the
calls ofthe Gospel. His irregularity furnishes them wilh a
ready argument for their remissness ; and thus, when he
sometimes wonders at seeing the seats around him untenanted,
were the truth fully knovrn, it would be found he had him
self aided in producing that result. Those who wish not
well to the Church can quote him in support of their views,
and thus his moral influence is enlisted against her cause.
Instead of quietly and silently aiding in training up
those around him lo a constant and devout attendance on
her services, he is showing them that it is immaterial where
they go. He certainly cannot be said to be " steadfast, un-
movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. "
Again, another characteristic of the true Churchman is
— that he regards the Church, with her institutions, as the grand
instrument for reforming the world. Look abroad over so
ciety, and see its present stale of feeling with respect to
benevolent enterprises. It is distinguished for outward
activity and bustle. The followers of our Master seem to be
ever engaged in furbishing up their armor, and in preparing
to take part in that great contest which is waging against
sin. But we think it will be evident even to a casual ob
server, that the lofty expectations formed are not reaUzed —
that the result is sadly disproportioned to the noise made in
the conflict. And the reason of the failure is equally evident.
It is because the strength of the Christian world is so much
wasted in visionarj schemes, in which a little more -wisdom
would have taught -t never to engage. There is a degree of
ill-directed earnestness abroad, which, while it produces no
valuable fruits, at the sarae time prevents those e.-tertions
which might truly aid the great cause of man's rederaption.

264 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
Il is " a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge,'-' and
which therefore is often running in the wrong channel.
And even when the object is a good one, the manner in
which the attempt is made, is often such as to defeat the
desired end. The hurry and bustle which mark every de
partment of life, have been transferred also to the efforts of
benevolence. If an evil is to be rectified, instead of having
t done by the gradual progress of truth, the community must
at once be wrought up into a fever. The entire work raust
be imraediately accomplished. Ingenuity is exhausted in
devising new and human means of triuraphing over sin. A
mighty machinery is set in motion. Men, becoming wiser
than Scripture, and improving on the exaraple of their Lord,
forget " in patience to possess their souls," and cannot wait
for great principles to be inculcated, which are afterwards
slowly yet surely to develop their influence.
But mark the result. Behold it on every side of us.
Thus earnestly laboring without any guide but their own
zeal, men begin to take distorted views of truth. They
attempt to act upon the prejudices of those around thera by
questionable raotives and arguraents ; for in their eager
ness to attain the end, they forget to be scrupulous about
the raeans. In this way, no matter how wild a scheme may
be, or how evil and unhallowed are the passions which urge
it on, they resort to the Word of God, that ils sanction may
seem to be given to their excess. Thus, Scripiure is
constantly perverted by ignorance and fanaticism; and the
holiest subject — themes of which an Apostle could not
speak without the deepest reverence — are flung before the
multitude, to be jeered and scoffed al — lo be fiercely deba
ted by unhallowed lips — until every association of sanctity
is lost, and the sublime mysteries of our faith are blas
phemed wilh a recklessness which might make an angel
weep.* The limits of human responsibility also seem lately to
have disappeared. Few are contented to labor in the par
ticular spheres in which Providence has placed thera, but
-* For instance — the discussions on the subject of the Holy Com
munion, growing out of the agitation of the Wine Question by the
Temperance Society

THE TRUE, CATHOLIl. CHURCHMAN. 265
the general rule of conduct is that every one must do every
thing. Even woman, whose brightest ornament is that of
" a meek and quiet spirit," must step forth from the domestic
circle which God has made the sphere of her usefulness, to
seek for other and unauthorized fields of labor. Deserting
the bedside of the sick, and the lowly habitation of the
poor, where when she came in her gentleness and meekness,
she was welcomed as a ministering angel, and sacrificing
that shrinking delicacy which is her most beautiful attri
bute, she must lift up her voice as the public teacher, or else
gird on the armor of the Reformer, and be seen in the arena
of strife. The natural consequence of all this is, that a spirit of
bitterness is engendered. The world is not going to be
driven, and some who under different measures might have
been the advocates of these objects are forced, in stemming
the current, to oppose them. Thus in reality the great cause
of human well-being suffers by the ill-directed zeal and
ullraism of its friends.
Now what is the remedy for these manifold evils ? I
answer without hesitation, it is to return to the principles
inculcated by our Lord. The same forms of sin which now
prevail, were in the world when He was here, and yet He
only founded His Church as the corrective for all. Here is
the authorized channel, through which He appointed bless
ings to be conveyed to fallen and apostate man. He en-
dovred her with power for every situation in which she
should be placed. He commissioned her to be a perpetual
witness for him in the earth — ceaselessly by her voice to
reprove sin, and sustain the cause of godliness. She takes
no partial view, but looks over the whole field of human
misery, and in a spirit of love to the sufferer, yet with the
voice of authority, rebukes the demon, of whatever kind it
may be, and bids the victim go free.
Do you wish, then, so to labor that you may discharge
your duty to your God, to the world, and to the interests of
suffering humanity? The Church opens to you unnum
bered paths by which you may attain this object; while at
the same time she so guides you, that your zeal cannot but
be directed aright. For instance, are your sympathies ex
cited for the distant heathen — for ihe thousands in your own
12

266 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
land WHO are perishing for lack of knowledge — or even fot
the temporal suffering which is around ? She instructs you
in what way to relieve this wretchedness, or else herself acts
as the almoner of your bounty. While, then, we are bound
to strive for the diffusion of truth and purity, let us learn to
" strive lawfully. " Let us look wilh sorae little reverence
to the experience of eighteen centuries which have preceded
us, and not imagine that light has now, in our day, for the
first time burst upon the earth.
Once more, then, I would say to you, in the language of
our Lord Himself-^" hear the Church. " Be as earnest and
as active as you can in the cause of human benevolence —
do all in your power to relieve a sinful and apostate world —
but let the Church guide you as lo the manner in which
your efforts are to be directed. Live as she bids you — pray
in the spirit wilh which she would haive you — urge on the
holy principles of the Gospel in the old way which she points
out — and you need not fear being wrong. An excited world
may revile you, but the rule is — "judge nothing before the
time. " When the day of requital comes, it will be seen,
that he acted not only wilh the truest wisdom, but also with
the best effect, who was willing to be an humble follower of
that Church to which his Master committed the work of
human reform — for which He shed His blood — and which an
Apostle has called, " the Church ofthe Living God, the pil
lar and ground ofthe truth. "
One other characteristic of the true Churchman which we
would briefly mention is, that he walks worthy of his high call
ing. We may not only most accurately understand, but
also fully believe all that our Lord has taught, and be num
bered among the members of His Church ; yet if His religion
has not performed ils appropriate work upon our hearts, we
shall be " as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. " To
receive these subUme truths into the intellect will be nothing,
unless they act also as a light to our feel, to lead us on in
the way of holiness. To be enrolled in the Church on earth
will be worse than useless, if we do not imbibe the spirit
which she inculcates, and thus suffer her to discipline us for
Heaven. Our Master designs, that by her constant services
and her soleran lessons, she should recall us from this fleet
ing world, and make us remember what we are and what we

THE TRUE. CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN. 267
may be. Here is the standing, perpetual testimony of our
God, fo train us up to be the children of immortality. Her
ordinances must be to us effectual signs of grace, not mere
forms and shadows. We must be temples of the Holy Ghost,
having in our faithful hearts the shrine which the Spirit of
Grace may inhabit. The true Churchman, who worthily
bears that holy name, will be ever looking upward to the
Cross as his source of safety and strength, and onward to
eternity as his home and abiding-place. His religion must
be " one of visible holiness and self-denial, that willingly
takes on itself the sorrows which to tbe multitude are
inevitable, and lightens their suffering by its own pain and
privation. " It must be a failh, whose aims are lofty^-
whose efforts are untiring — and whose spirit is evidently
that which our Lord would inculcate, when he declared —
" Whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it. "
It is such that the Church needs for her followers. She asks
not for those who are merely fascinated by her outward
beauty, but recognize not her sterner features, and shrink
from self-denial in her cause. She wishes not those, who
delight to be with her in the hour of glory on the Mount of
Transfiguration, declaring, " It is good for us to be here, "
but leave her side as soon as she descends to the conflicts of
this lower world, or points to the Cross. Far different is the
standard of devotedness to which the true Churchman,
through God's Holy Spirit, must be trained. He must image
forth in hislife, the beauty of the faith in which he trusts. By
partaking of that solemn ordinance, which is provided "for
his spiritual food and sustenance" — ^by holy employments —
by daily benevolence — by frequent prayer — he is to reveal
the sacredness of his profession, and let the world see that
he is indeed a member of the Holy Caiholic Church.
I have thus concluded a consideraiion ofthe topics, which
I wished to bring before you in this course of Lectures. For
ten successive Sunday evenings I have addressed you on
the distinctive features of the Cfhurch ; and imperfectly and
briefly as the subject has been brought forward, I still trust
il will not be without its fruits, in causing you to under
stand why you are Churchmen. Al all evenls, if only the
spirit of inquiry is e.-^cited, it is all we ask. We court in
vestigation, well knowing that the principles on which the

268 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
Church is based, can stand the test, and commend them
selves to the reason.
And now, before I close, let me ask you for a moment
to look once more over the world around us. See how
trouble is abroad — how earnest and restless the mind of
man has become, as with perfect recklessness he rushes on
from one experiment to another. The wisest are at fault,
and confess themselves unable lo interpret the signs of the
times, or to prophesy whereunto all this will grow. Even
the religious feeling of man is ever seeking some strange
form in which to develope itself, and each year gives birth
to new sects, and untried ways of advancing the truth.*
* Bishop De Lancey, in a note to his aermon preached in Boston,
Jan. 1843, at the consecration ofthe Bishop of Massachusetts, makes
the following statement -.
" Aa far aa can be ascertained, there are now prevalent, among
the leading denominations in the United States, as mdependent or
ganizations — Baptists. Presbyterlans.
Calvinistic Baptists, Old-School Presbyterians,
Free- WUl Baptists, New-School Presbyterians,
Free-communion Baptists, Cumberland Presbyterians,
Seventh-day Baptista, Associate Presbyterians,
Six-principle Baptists, Dutch-Reformed Presbyterians,
Emancipation Baptists, Reformed Presbyterians.
Oampbellite Baptists. congregationalists.
Methodists. Orthodox Congregationaliata,
Methodist-Episcopal, Unitarian CongregationaUsts,
Protestant Methodists, Transcendental Congregationalists
Primitive Methodists, Universalist CongregationaUsts.
Wesleyan Methodists,
Associate Methodists.
" No Christian man can contemplate the above statement, without
feelings of sorrow. No Churchman can view if without feelings o)
humble thankfulness, that the Providence of God has thus far pre
served the unity of the Church, and overruled the occasional excite
ments and diversities of opinion in it, to the prevention of any
disruption, or rending of the body of Christ. Among the thousand
evils, which result from the endless subdivisions of Christian men into
independent organizations, ia a miserable waste of ministerial effi
ciency, and augmented expenslveness in sustaining religion. In moat
of our villages, one half the Church edifices and one half the clergy

THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN 269
The scene around us is shifting with the rapidity of a drama.
And we know from the history ofthe past, that so it must
be, and these new creations which are thus constantly start
ing into existence, raust live out their brief day, and then
pass into nothingness. They contain within themselves no
elements of perpetuity. Out of nearly one hundred sects
which were flourishing in the days of Charles I., and whose
names are recorded on the page of history, but two or three
are now in existence, and these so altered, that they could
not at present be recognized by their own founders. And
thus it is, in this ever-changing world, that the Ecclesias
tical writer of the next century will make the record of our
day. Is there then nothing fixed and stable ? Is there no
City or Refuge for those who are wearied with this strife of
tongues ? Is there no Holy Ark lo which the Christian may
flee and be at peace, when over the broad earth he finds no
resting place for the sole of his feet ? Yes — it is in the
ancient Apostolic Church, to which we have pointed you.
Unaltered in her doctrine and ministry for eighteen cen
turies, she passes calmly and quietly on her way, unaffected
by the worldly changes around her. Other religious bodies
endeavor to adapt themselves to the spirit of the tiraes, and
thus are drawn into the current ; but the Church does not.
She has her own old paths, and goes forward unfalteringly,
whatever the world may do. Around her are the whirlwind
and the storm, and the multitude, as they are swept along
by every wind of doctrine, at times look up to her venerable
towers and deride as antiquated her time-honored services.
But within her fold — cut off from all this excitement — her
children are quietly training up against the day of account,
until one by one they pass from her courts to the Paradise
of God, "meet to be partakers ofthe inheritance of the saints
in light." And thus, age after age, she alone remains unalter
ed, while all else is changing. The Bomanist falls off on one
would supply ample accommodation and better instruction to the
people, at less expense to them and -with increased usefulness to the
clergy. Is there any effectual cure for this waste of means, energy,
and talent, but a return to the " one body of Christ !" Surely,
Christian .men should ponder thia subject. "

270 THE TRUE, CATHOLIC CHURCHMAN.
side,* and the Dissenter on the other, but she siraply bears
her DOUBLE witness against them, and goes on as of old.
Learn then to prize your privileges as members of this
Churth, and live up to your high responsibilities. The con
flict which she calls her children to Wage is no trifling war
fare, out " an earnest, endless strife. " It is in self-denial,
and toil, and often in suffering, that she bids them accom
plish their work, and thus- form and mature those elements
of Christian character, vvhich in the coming world can alone
fit them for immortaUty. Despise not, then, her.instruclions,
for they are the words of holy wisdom which her Master
hath taught. Shrink nol frora avowing your aUegiance,
alike in good report and evil report ; for you must suffer
with the Church here, if you wUl reign with her in the
hour of her triumph. You raay be misunderstood and mis
represented. A captious world raay ridicule your adherence
to the old custoras of generations w-hich have long since
gone, and when arguments are wanting, bestow upon you
• Palmer gives the following brief account ofthe beginning of the
Roman schism in England. " The accession of the iUustrious Queen
Elizabeth waa followed by the restoration of the Church to its
fomer state  The clergy generally approved of the return to
pure religion, and retained their benefices, administering the sacra
menta and rites according to the English Ritual. In 1562 the Synod
or Convocation of England published a formulary of doctrine, divided
into S9 articles, in which the doctrines of the CathoUc faith were
briefly stated, and various errors aud superstitions of the Romanists
and others were rejected. Thia formulary was again approved by
the Convocation in 1571, and ordered to be subscribed by all the
clergy. There was no schism for many years in England : all the
people worshipped in the same Churches, and acknowledged the same
pastors- . . At last, in 1569, Pius V. issued a bull, in which he
excommunicated Queen Ehzabeth and her supporters, absolved her
subjects from their oaths of aUegiance, and bestowed her dominions
on the King of Spain. Tliis bull caused the schism in England; for
the popish party, which had continued in communion with the Church
of England up to that time, during the eleven past years of Elizabeth's
reign, now began to separate themaelves. Bedlngfield, Comwallis,
and Sllyarde, were the first popish recusants ; and the date of the
Romanists m England, us a distinct sect or community, may be fixed
in t^ie year 1570." Church History, p. 163.

THE KEEPER OF THE TRUT H. 27i
an opprobrious name. But what of this ?. Remember the
stirring words of Ihe Martyr Ignatius — " Stand like a beaten
anvil. Let not those wno seera to be worthy of confidence,
and teach other doctrine, put thee to confusion. Il is a part
of a great Champion to be stricken and conquer. "* How
noble this destiny! "To be stricken and conquer . " To
pass through life as if it were a battle-field — ever contend
ing earnestly for the truth — and then, when death comes, to
be able to look back, and feel that the great end is attained,
that the principles for which you waged the warfare are
beginning to triumph ! And soon with all of us this con
flict will be over. Soon, this fleeting life will melt away
into eternity, and the contest and the agonism passed,
noihing will remain but the victor's reward. Then, the
spiritual and the heroic, whioh here were formed in the
breast by suffering and toil, shall be developed in their own
heavenly shape, and brighter than the poet's dream shall be
the living gloiy in which they are arrayed. Wail, therefore,
until the end. Follow in the footsteps of your Master and
His Apostles, leaving consequences to Him. In the worda
of one of the living poets of our Mother Church in England,
i would say to each one of you,
' Thy part is simple. Fearless stiU proclaim
The truth to men who loathe her very name.
And if thy night be dark — if tempests roll.
Oread as the visions of thy boding soul —
StiU, in thy dimness, watch, and fast, and pray ;
Aad wait the Bridegroom's caU— the burst of opening day. "
Lyra Apostolica.
• £pis. ad Polycarp, § 8.

THE END.

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