LIBRARY ST. MARY'S COLLEGE
The LITANY to be said or sung in the midst of the
CHURCH.* The PRIEST goeth from out of his seat into
the Body of the CHURCH, and (at a low desk hefore the
Chancel door, called the F aid-stool,) kneels, and says or
sings the LITANY. See the Prophet Joel, chap. ii. 1 7.
* Injunct. Elizab. XVIII. A. D. 1555. Spar. Artie, p. 33. Cardwell's Docu-
mentary Annals, X. p. 46. vol. I. Bishop Andrewes' Notes upon the Liturgy,
p. 23 at the end of Nichols on the Common Prayer.
O - : - O
1 RATIONALE
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
CHURCH OF ENGLAND,
BY ANTHONY SPARROW, D.D.
C>
SOMETIME LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH.
A NEW EDITION.
118619
OXFORD :
JOHN HENRY PARKER.
MD CC.C XL.
O O
unnanv cr RflftRV'C C(\\ \ FF
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EDITOR'S PREFACE.
NTHONY SPARROW, Bishop suc-
cessively of Exeter and Norwich,
was born at Depden in Suffolk, and was
educated at Queen's College, Cambridge, of
which Society he became scholar and fellow.
In 1643 he was ejected, with the rest of
the body, for their loyalty to King Charles
in refusing the Covenant. Soon afterwards
he accepted the Rectory of Hawkenden in
his own county, but was again ejected,
when he had held it only five weeks, for
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ii EDITOR'S PREFACE.
reading the Common Prayer. It was during
this sorrowful time, in the year 1657, when
the enemies of the Church were triumphant,
that he published the work now presented
to the Christian Reader. On the Restoration
he was reinstated in his living, elected one
of the Preachers at St. Edmond's Bury, and
promoted to the Archdeaconry of Sudbury,
and a Prebendal Stall in the Church of Ely.
While in possession of his living he expended
a considerable sum of money upon it, and
he resigned it, together with his Preacher-
ship, in 1662, on his being elected Master
of Queen's College. On November 3, 1667,
he was consecrated Bishop of Exeter, and
on the death of Dr. Reynolds in 1676 was
translated to the See of Norwich, where he
died in 1688. Besides his Rationale, he is
known as the Author of a Collection of Ar-
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EDITOR'S PREFACE. iii
tides, Canons, &c. of the English Church, a
work which made its first appearance in 1671.
The present Edition is printed from that of
1684, the last which appeared in the Author's
lifetime ; in which, however, he did not think
i
it neccessary to altjir the Rubrics and Collects
as they stood when it was first published,
according to the revised Prayer Book put
forth by authority of Convocation in 1661.
These neccessary substitutions have here been
made ; the older forms being added at the foot
of the page.
The references have all been verified with
great care and exactness by the Rev. GEORGE
BERKELEY, of Pembroke College, and Curate
of St. Aldate's, to whom the Edition is other-
wise much indebted.
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iv EDITOR'S PREFACE.
The Reader will find one or two historical
inaccuracies on the part of Bishop Sparrow
in the course of the volume, which however
are not of consequence enough to require
more than this passing allusion ; such as the
ascription of the Te Deum to St. Ambrose,
the Creed of St. Athanasius to the Father
whose name it bears.
J. H. N.
ORIEL COLLEGE,
September 6, 1839.
O O
PREFACE.
HE present age pretends so great
love to reason, that this RATIONALE
may, even for its name, hope for acceptation ;
which it will the sooner have, if the Reader
! know that the Author vents it not for a
j full and just, much less a public and au-
thentic piece, but as his own private Essay,
(wholly submitted to the censure of our holy
mother the Church, and the reverend Fathers
of the same,) and composed on purpose to
keep some from moving that way, which, it
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Vi PREFACE.
is feared some will say it leads to. The
Author's design was not by rhetoric first to
court the affections, and then by their help
to carry the understanding ; but quite con-
trary, by reason to work upon the judgment,
and leave that to deal with the affections.
The poor Liturgy suffers from two ex-
tremes ; one sort say sit is old superstitious
Roman dotage ; the other, it is schismatically
new. This book endeavours to shew par-
ticularly, what Bishop Jewel says in general ; a
I. That it is agreeable to PRIMITIVE USAGE,
and so, not novel. II. That it is A REASON-
ABLE SERVICE, and so not superstitious. As
for those that love it, and suffer for the
love of it, this will shew them reasons why
they should suffer on, and love it still more
a Juell. Apoll. p. !$<;. Lond. 1692.
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PREFACE. Vli
and more. To end, if the Reader will cast
his eye upon the sad confusions in point of
prayer, (wherein are such contradictions made
as God Almighty cannot grant,) and lay
them as rubbish under these fundamental
considerations ; first, how many set forms (of
petition, blessing, and praise) be recorded in
the Old and New Testament, used both in
the Church militant and triumphant ; secondly,
how much of the Liturgy is very Scripture ;
thirdly, how admirable a thing Unity, (unity
in time, form, &c.) is ; fourthly, how many
millions of poor souls are in the world, ig-
norant, infirm by nature, age, accidents, (as
blindness, deafness, loss of speech, &c.) which
respectively may receive help by set forms,
but cannot so well (or not at all) by extem-
porary voluntary effusions, and then upon all
these will build what he reads in this book ;
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Viii PREFACE.
he will, if not be convinced to join in com-
munion with, yet perhaps be so sweetened
as more readily to pardon those who, still
abiding in their former judgments, and being
more confirmed hereby, do use THE ANCIENT
FORM.
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CONTENTS.
Page
Advent Sundays 90
All Saints 190
Ascension Day 149
Ash Wednesday 1 1 6
Baptism 228
Burial of the Dead 281
Caution Sermon 341
Chancels, Altars, Fashion of Churches 299
Christmas Day 93
Churching of Women 285
Circumcision, Feast of 101
Collects from Septuagesima to Easter 128
Commemorations, Synodals, Pye, &c 336
Commination 291
Communion Service 191
of the Sick 266
Confirmation 244
Conversion of St. Paul 183
Daily saying Morning and Evening Prayers 3
Dedication of Churches and Chapels 293
Divine Service may be said privately 308
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CONTENTS.
Page
Easter 130
Ember Week 1 18
Epiphany 105
Good Friday 127
Gunpowder Treason 326
Holy Days 82
King Charles' Birth 333
Martyrdom 329
Lent 113
Matins, or Morning Service 12
Matrimony 254
Maunday Thursday 125
Ornaments to he used 310
Priest, the word 312
Private Baptism 242
Purification of the Virgin Mary 184
Septuagesima Sunday u i
Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays 112
St. Stephen, St. John, Innocents 97
St. Andrew 183
St. Philip and St. James 186
St. John Baptist 189
St. Michael 190
Translation of Psalms 317
Trinity Sunday 1 65
Visitation of the Sick 262
Whitsunday 157
THE COMPILERS OF
THE COMMON PRAYER BOOK
OF THE
CHURCH OF ENGLAND
WERE
DR. CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.
DR. GOODRICK, Bishop of Ely.
DR. SKIP, Bishop of Hereford.
DR. THIRLBY, Bishop of Westminster.
DR. DAY Bishop of Chichester.
DR. HOLBECK, Bishop of Lincoln.
DR. RIDLEY, Bishop of Rochester.
DR. MAY, Dean of St. Paul's.
DR. TAYLOR, Dean of Lincoln.
DR. HEYNES, Dean of Exeter.
DR. REDMAN, Dean of Westminster.
DR. COX, King Edward's Almoner.
DR. M. ROBINSON, Archdeacon of Leicester.
Mense Maio, 1549.
Anno Regni Edwardi Sexti tertio.
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Hardly can the pride of those that study novelties
allow former times any share or degree of wis-
dom or godliness. "KiNG CHARLES, Medita-
tion xvi. upon the Ordinance against the Book
of Common Prayer in his EIKflN BA2." p. 93.
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SHORT RATIONALE
UPON THE
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
HHHE Common Prayer Book contains in it many
J- Holy Offices of the Church ; as Prayers, Confes-
sion of Faith, Holy Hymns, Divine Lessons, Priestly
Absolutions, and Benedictions; all which are set
and prescribed, not left to private men's fancies, to
make or alter. So was it of old ordained,* "It
is ordained that the prayers, prefaces, imposi-
tions of hands, which are confirmed by the Synod,
be observed and used by all men." These and no
a Con. Carth. Ca
ap. Balsamon. p. 716.
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I
2 RATIONALE ON THE COMMON PRAYER.
other. So is our English canon. b The council of
Milevis gives the reason of this constitution,
" Lest through ignorance or carelessness, any thing
contrary to the faith should be vented or uttered
before God, or offered up to Him in the church."
And as these offices are set and prescribed, so
are they moreover appointed to be one and the
same throughout the whole national Church. So
was it of old ordained. d "That all governors of
Churches, and their people, should observe one
and the same rite and order of service, which they
knew to be appointed in the metropolitan see."
The same is ordered in the 2nd Council of Braga, e
and at the 4th Council of Toledo/ " It is appointed
that one and the same order of praying and singing
be observed by us all ; and that there should not be
variety of usages by them that are bound to the same
faith, and live in the same dominion. This for
conformity's sake, that according to Divine Canon,
" we may with one mind and one mouth glorify
God."*
J> Can. xiii. Due celebration of Sundays and holydays.
c Can, xii. torn. ii. p. 1540. d Cone. Tolet.xi. Can. iii. torn vi. p. 546.
e Can. i. torn, v. p. 840. f Can. ii. torn. v. p. 1704. gRom.xv.6.
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OF DAILY SATING OP
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER.
ALL PRIESTS SHALL BE BOUND TO SAY DAILY
THE MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. h The end
of the preface before the service, Rubric 2.
So was it of old ordered in the Church of
Christ. 1 And this is agreeable to God's own law.
" Thou shalt offer upon the altar two lambs of the
first year, day by day continually ; the one lamb in
the morning, the other at evening." k Besides the
daily private devotions of every pious soul, and
the more solemn sacrifices upon the three great
feasts of the year; Almighty God requires a
daily public worship, a continual burnt offering,
every day, morning and evening. "Teaching us
by this," saith St. Chrysostom, " that God must be
worshipped daily when the day begins, and when
h And all Priests and Deacons are to say daily the Morning and Evening
Prayer, either privately or openly, not being let by sickness, or some other
urgent cause.
i S. Chrysostom. Hom.vi. i ep. ad Tim. cap. ii. tom.xi. p. 579. Clement-
Constit. 1.11. cap.xxxix. Pat. Apost. Coteler. torn. i. p. 254.
k Exod. xxix. 38, 39.
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4 RATIONALE ON THE COMMON PRAYER.
it ends, and every day must be a kind of holy day."
Thus it was commanded under the law : and
certainly we Christians are as much at least obliged
to God, as the Jews were; our grace is greater,
our promises clearer, and therefore our righteous-
ness should every way exceed theirs, our homage
to Almighty God should be paid as frequently at
least. Morning and evening, to be sure, God expects
from us as well as from the Jews, a public worship ;
" a sweet savour," or, " savour of rest," as it is in
the Hebrew; 1 without which God Almighty will
not rest satisfied.
This public service and worship under the law
was appointed by God Himself, both formatter and
manner of performance," 1 but under the Gospel,
our Lord hath appointed only the materials and
essentials of His public worship: in general,
prayers, thanksgivings, confessions, lauds, hymns,
and eucharistical sacrifices are commanded to
be offered up in the name of Christ; in the
virtue and merits of that Immaculate Lamb, whereof
the other was but a type, and for whose sake alone
that was accepted : but for the manner and order
of His public worship, for the method of offering
up prayers or praises, and the like, our Lord hath
not so particularly determined how, but hath left
that to be ordered and appointed by those to
whom He said at His departure out of this world,
1 Num. xxviii. 6. m Exod. xxix. 38.
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MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. 5
" As My Father sent Me, so send I you," n to govern
the Church in His absence, viz. the Apostles, and
their successors in the Apostolic Commission. And
therefore, the public prayers of the Church are
called the Apostles' Prayers. The disciples are
commended there for " continuing in the Apostles
doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and
prayers." And therefore St. Paul writes to Timothy,
the bishop and governor of the Church of Ephesus,
to take care that prayers and supplications be made
for all men; especially for kings, &c. p And
concerning the manner of celebrating the holy
Eucharist, St. Paul gives some directions, and
adds, "The rest will I set in order when I come." q
And, " let all things," 1 i. e. all your public services,
for of those he treats in the chapter at large,
"be done decently and Kara rdgiv," according to
Ecclesiastical Law and Canon.
The service and worship of God thus prescribed,
according to our Lord's general rules, by those to
whom He hath left a commission and power to
order and govern His Church, is the right public
service and worship of God, commanded by Himself
in His law ; for though God hath not immediately
and particularly appointed this public worship, yet
He hath in general commanded a public worship in
the second commandment. For where it is said,
" Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship
n John xx. 21. o Acts ii. 43. p I Tim. ii. 1,2. qiCor.xi.34. r i Cor.siv.4o.
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6 RATIONALE ON THE COMMON PRAYER.
them -, " by the rule of contraries, we are commanded
to bow down to God, and worship Him. A public
worship then God must have, by His own command ;
and the governors of the Church have prescribed
this form of worship for that public service and
worship of God in this Church, which being so
prescribed, becomes God's service and worship by
His own law, as well as the lamb was His
sacrifice. 8
For the clear understanding of this, we must
know that some laws of God do suppose some
human act to pass and intervene, before they
actually bind ; which act of man being once passed,
they bind immediately. For example, " Thou shalt
not steal," is God's law, which law cannot bind
actually, till men be possessed of some goods and
property ; which property is not usually determined
by God Himself immediately,' but by the laws of
him, to whom He hath given authority to determine
it. God hath given the earth to the children of
men, as He gave Canaan to the Israelites in general ;
but men cannot say this is mine, till human laws
or acts determine the property; as the Israelites
could not claim a property on this or that side
Jordan, till Moses had assigned them their several
portions, but when their portions were so assigned,
they might say this is mine, by God's as well as
man's law; and he that took away their right,
s Exod.xxix.s8, 39
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MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. 7
sinned not only against man's, but God's law too,
that says, " Thou shalt not steal." In like manner
God hath in general commanded a public worship
and service, but hath not, under the Gospel, assigned
the particular form and method; that He hath left
to His ministers and delegates, the governors of the ;
Church, to determine agreeable to His general rules ;
which being so determined, is God's service and
worship not only by human, but even by Divine
law also : and all other public sendees whatsoever,
made by private men, to whom God hath given
no such commission, are strange worship, 1 because \
not commanded; for example, as under thje !
law, when God had appointed a lamb for a !
burnt offering, 11 that alone was the right daily i
worship, the " savour of rest," because commanded, |
and all other sacrifices whatsoever, offered up in j
the place of that, though of far more value and
price than a lamb, suppose twenty oxen, would
have been strange sacrifice: so now the public
worship of God prescribed, as we have said, by those i
to whom He hath given commission, is the only
true and right public worship ; and all other forms
and methods offered up instead of that, though
never so exactly drawn, are strange worship, because i
not commanded. It is not the elegancy of the ;
phrase, nor the fineness of the composition, that
makes it acceptable to God, as His worship and |
t Lev. x.i. u Exod.xxix.
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8 RATIONALE ON THE COMMON PRAYER.
service; but obedience is the thing accepted.
" Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the fat of rams." w
This holy sendee offered up to God by the priest,
in the name of the Church, is far more acceptable
to Almighty God than the devotions of any private
man.
For, first, it is the service of the whole Church,
which, every man that holds communion with that
Church, hath consented to, and said, Amen : and
agreed that it should be offered up to God by the
priest in the name of the Church, and, " if what any
two of you shall agree to ask upon earth, it shall
be granted; 1 " how much more, what is asked
of God or offered up to God by the common
vote and joint desire of the whole body of the
Church !
Besides, this public sendee and worship of God
is commanded by God, i. e. by those whom He hath
empowered to command and appoint it, to be offered
up to Him in the behalf of the Church, and there-
fore must needs be most acceptable to Him, which
is so appointed by Him; for what He commands
He accepts most certainly. Private devotions and
sendees of particular men, which are offered by
themselves, for themselves, are sometimes accepted,
sometimes refused by God, according as the persons
are affected to vice or virtue; but this public
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MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. 9
worship is like that lamb y commanded to be offered
by the priest for others, for the Church, and there-
fore accepted, whatsoever the priest be that offers
it up. And therefore King David prays, " Let the
lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice," 2
i. e. as surely accepted as that evening sacrifice
of the lamb, which no indevotion or sin of the
priest could hinder, but that it was most certainly
accepted for the Church, because commanded to
be offered for the Church. 8
This public service is accepted of God, not only
for those that are present, and say Amen to it ; but
for all those that are absent upon just cause, even
for all that do not renounce communion with it
and the Church ; for it is the common service of
them all, commanded to be offered up in the names
of them all, and agreed to by all of them to be
offered up for them all, and therefore is accepted
for all them, though presented to God by the priest
alone, as the lamb offered up to God by the priest b
was the sacrifice of the whole congregation of the
children of Israel, "a sweet smelling savour, a
savour of rest," to pacify God Almighty daily, and
to continue His favour to them, and make Him
dwell with them. c
Good reason therefore it is, that this sweet
y Exod. xxix. a Psalm cxli. 9. a S.Cliiysostom. Hotn. in Psalm
cxl. torn. v. p. 430. B. C. D. b Exod. xxix. c Exod. xxix.42. 45.
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IO RATIONALE ON THE COMMON PRAYER.
smelling savour should be daily offered up to God
morning and evening, whereby God may be
pacified and invited to dwell amongst His people.
And whatsoever the world think, thus to be the
Lord's remembrancers, putting Him in mind of the
people's wants, d " being as it were the angels of
the Lord," interceding for the people, and carrying
up the daily prayers of the Church in their behalf,
is one of the most useful and principal parts of the
Priest's office. So St. Paul tells us, who in the I Ep.
to Tim. chap. ii. exhorts Bishop Timothy, that
he should take care first of all that this holy
service be offered up to God. " I exhort first of
all, that prayers and supplications, intercessions
and giving of thanks be made for all men; for
kings," &c, " What is the meaning," says St. Chry-
sostom, " of this 'first of all ?' I will that this holy
service be offered up daily, and the faithful know how
we observe this rule of St. Paul, offering up daily this
holy sacrifice morning and evening." e St. Paul in the
first chapter of this Epistle, at ver 18. had charged
his son Timothy to " war a good warfare, to hold
faith and a good conscience;" and presently adds, " I
exhort therefore, that first of all, prayers, &c. be
made." As if he had said, you cannot possibly hold
faith and a good conscience in your pastoral office,
unless " first of all," you be careful to make and offer
d Isai. Ixii. e S. Chrysostom. Hom.vi.i Ep.ad Tim. cap. ii. tom.xi. p. 579. A.
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MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER. II
up prayers, &c. For this is the first thing to be done,
and most highly to be regarded by you. Preaching
is a very useful part of the Priest's office ; and St.
Paul exhorts Timothy to " preach the word, be
instant in season, out of season," f and the more
because he was a Bishop, and to plant and water
many Churches in the infancy of Christianity
among many seducers and temptations: but yet
" first of all" he exhorts, that this daily office of pre-
senting prayers to the throne of grace in the behalf
of the Church be carefully looked to. This charge
of St. Paul to Timothy holy Church here lays
upon all those that are admitted into that holy
office of the ministry, that they should offer up to
God this holy sacrifice of prayers, praises, and
thanksgivings ; this " savour of rest," daily, morn-
ing and evening. And would all those whom it
concerns look well to this part of their office, I
should not doubt but that God would be as
gracious and bountiful to us in the performance
of this sendee, as He promised to be to the Jews
in the offering of the lamb morning and evening. g
He would meet us and speak with us, that is,
graciously answer our petitions ; He would dwell
with us and be our God, and we should know, by
comfortable experiments of His great and many
blessings, that He is the Lord our God.
f 2 Timothy iv. a. g Exodus xxix. 43,44.
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OF THE MATINS,
OR
MORNING SERVICE.
THE Matins and Evensong, begin with one
sentence 11 of holy Scripture, after which follows
the Exhortation, declaring to the people the
end of their public meeting; namely, TO CONFESS
THEIR SINS, TO RENDERTHANKS ToGoD,TO SET
FORTH HlS PRAISE, TO HEAR HlS HOLY WORD,
AND TO ASK THOSE THINGS THAT BE NECESSARY
AS WELL FOR THE BODY AS THE SOUL. All this
is to prepare their hearts, which it does most
excellently, to the performance of these holy duties
with devotion, according to the counsel of Ecclus.
xviii. 23. "Before thou prayest prepare thyself,
and be not as one that tempteth God." To which
agrees that of Ecclesiastes v. 2. " Be not hasty to
utter any thing before God ; for God is in heaven,
and thou upon earth."
OF CONFESSION.
The Priest and the people, being thus prepared,
make their confession, which is to be done with
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OF THE CONFESSION, 13
AN HUMBLE VOICE, as it is in the exhortation.
3ur Church's direction in this particular is grave
and conform to ancient rules. The 6th Council
f Const, (in Trullo, l ) forbids all disorderly and rude
'ociferation in the execution of holy services ', and St.
Uyprian k advises thus; "Let our speech and
voice in prayer be with discipline, still and modest :
et us consider that we stand in the presence of
Giod, who is to be pleased both with the habit and
posture of our body, and manner of our speech :
for as it is a part of impudence to be loud and
clamorous, so on the contrary it becomes modesty
to pray with an humble voice."
We begin our service with confession of sins,
and so was the use in St. Basil's time. 1 And that
very orderly. For before we beg any thing else, or
ofter up any praise or lauds to God, it is fit we
should confess and beg pardon of our sins, which
hinder God's acceptation of our services. "If I
regard iniquity in mine heart, the Lord will not
hear me." m
" This confession is to be said by the whole con-
gregation," says the Rubric. And good reason. For
"could there be any thing devised better," says
Hooker, " than that we all at our first access unto
God by prayer, should acknowledge meekly our
sins ; and that not only in heart but with tongue ;
all that are present being made earnest witnesses
i Can. Ixxv. torn. vi. p. 1176. k De Oratione Dominica, p. 140.
1 Ep.ccvii.cap.s.B. tom.iii. p. 311. m Psalm Ixvi.iS.
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14 THE ABSOLUTION.
even of every man's distinct and deliberate assent to
each particular branch of a common indictment
drawn against ourselves ? How were it possible that
the Church should any way else with such ease and
certainty provide, that none of her children may, as
Adam, dissemble that wretchedness, the penitent
confession whereof is so necessary a preamble,
especially to common prayer ? " n
THE ABSOLUTION.
Next follows the Absolution, to be pronounced
by the Priest alone, standing. For though the
Rubric here does not appoint this posture, yet
it is to be supposed in reason that he is to do it
here, as he is to do it in other places of the service.
And in the Rubric after the General Confession at
the communion, the Bishop or Priest is ordered to
pronounce the Absolution, standing. Besides,
reason teaches that acts of authority are not to be
done kneeling, but standing rather. And this
Absolution is an act of authority, by virtue of a
POWER AND COMMANDMENT of God TO HlS
MINISTERS, as it is in the preface of this Absolution.
And as we read, "Whose soever sins ye remit,
they are remitted." 1 * And if our confession be
serious and hearty, this Absolution is effectual,
n Hooker's Eccles. Pol. vol. 2. b. v. ch. xxxvi. . 2. p. 2co.
o The absolution, or remission of sins, to be pronounced by the priest
alone, standing ; the people still kneeling. p John xx.23.
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THE ABSOLUTION. l5
as if God did pronounce it from heaven. So
says the confession of Saxony p and Bohemia;* 1
and so says the Augustan Confession;' and, which
is more, so says St. Chrysostom, 8 "Heaven waits
and expects the Priest's sentence here on earth;
the Lord follows the servant, and what the
servant rightly binds or looses here on earth, that
the Lord confirms in heaven." The same says St.
Gregory the Great, in his Homily xxvi. 4 upon the
Gospels. "The Apostles, and in them all Priests,
were made God's vicegerents here on earth in
His name and stead to retain or remit sins." St.
Augustine and Cyprian, and generally antiquity
says the same; so does our Church in many
places, particularly in the form of Absolution
for the sick : but above all, holy Scripture is clear,
"Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted
unto them," u Which power of remitting sins" was
not to end with the Apostles, but is a part of the
ministry of reconciliation, as necessary now as it
was then, and therefore to continue as long as the
ministry of reconciliation, that is, to the end of the
world. w When therefore the Priest absolves, God
absolves, if we be truly penitent. Now this remission
of sins granted here to the Priest, to which God
hath promised a confirmation in heaven, is not the
p De Poenitentia Syll. Conf. cap.xvi. p. 351. q ch.xiv.of the keys of Christ,
p. 450. Prot. Couf. of Faith. r De Confessione, p. 163. et de Potest.
Eccles. Syll. Conf. p. 188. s Horn. v. Isa. vi. i. tom.i. p. 442. M. Ed. lat.
i * tom.iii.p.Sz.F. u John xx. 23. w Ephes. iv. la, 13.
o
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l6 THE ABSOLUTION.
act of preaching or baptizing, or admitting men to
the holy communion; for all these powers were
given before this grant was made, as you may see
St. Matt. x. 7. "As ye go, preach, saying," &c.
And St. Johniv. 2. "Though Jesus baptized not,
but His disciples." And i Cor. xi. 23. in the same
night that He was betrayed, He instituted and
delivered the Eucharist, and gave His Apostles
authority to do the like : Do this, that I have done,
bless the elements, and distribute them ; which is
plainly a power of admitting men to the holy
Eucharist. And all these powers were granted
before our Saviour's resurrection. But this power of
remitting sins,* mentioned in St. John, was not
granted (though promised ?) till now, that is, after
the resurrection ; as appears, first, by the ceremony
of breathing, signifying that then it was given ; and,
secondly, by the word " receive," used in that place, z
which He could not properly have used, if they had
been endued with this power before. Therefore the
power of remitting, which here God authorizes, and
promises certain assistance to, is neither preaching
nor baptizing, but some other way of remitting;
namely, that which the Church calls Absolution.
And if it be so, then to doubt of the effect of it,
supposing we be truly penitent, and such as God will
pardon, is to question the truth of God ; and he that
underpretence of reverence to God, denies or despises
x Johnxx.23. y Matt.xvi.ip. zJohnxx.aa.
o c
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THE ABSOLUTION. 17
this power : does injury to God in slighting His
commission, and is no better than a Novatian, says
St. Ambrose. p
After the priest hath pronounced the Absolution,
the Church seasonably prays, WHEREFORE WE
BESEECH HlM TO GRANT US TRUE REPENTANCE,
AND His HOLY SPIRIT, &c. For as repentance is
a necessary disposition to pardon, so as that neither
God will, nor man can absolve those that are
impenitent ; so is it in some parts of it a necessary
consequent of pardon; and he that is pardoned,
ought still to repent, as he that seeks a pardon.
Repentance, say divines, ought to be continual.
For whereas repentance consists of three parts, as
the Church teaches us in the Commination. I.
Contrition or lamenting of our sinful lives; II.
Acknowledging and confessing our sins ; III. An
endeavour to bring forth fruits worthy of penance,
which the ancients call satisfaction ; two of these,
contrition and satisfaction, are requisite after
pardon. The remembrance of sin though pardoned,
must always be grievous to us. For, to be pleased
with the remembrance of it, would be sin to us :
and for satisfaction or amendment of life, and
bringing forth fruits worthy of penance, that is not
only necessary after pardon, but it is the more
necessary, because of pardon, for divers reasons ;
as first, because immediately after pardon, the
p De Poenit. 1. i. cap. it. torn. ii. p. 393.
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l8 THE ABSOLUTION.
devil is most busy to tempt us to sin, that we may
thereby lose our pardon, and he may so recover
us again to his captivity, from which by pardon
we are freed : and therefore in our Lord's Prayer,
as soon as we have begged pardon, and prayed,
" Forgive us our trespasses," we are taught to pray,
" And lead us not into temptation," suffer us not
to fall into sin again: which very method Holy
Church here wisely intimates, immediately after
pardon pronounced, directing us to pray for that
part of repentance which consists in amendment of
life, and for the grace of God's Holy Spirit enabling
us thereunto. Again, repentance in this part of it,
viz. an endeavour of amendment of life, is the
more necessary upon pardon granted, because the
grace of pardon is a new obligation to live well,
and makes the sin of him that relapsed after pardon
the greater ; and therefore the pardoned had need
to pray for that part of repentance and the grace
of God's Holy Spirit, that both his present sendee
and future life may please God; that is, that he
may observe our Saviour's rule given to him that
was newly cured and pardoned by Him, that he may
go away and "sin no more, lest a worse thing
happen to him.'" 1
There be three several forms of absolution in
the service. The first is that which is used at
morning prayer. ALMIGHTY GOD, THE FATHER
q John v. 14.
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THE ABSOLUTION. Ip
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, &c. AND HATH
GIVEN POWER AND COMMANDMENT TO HlS Ml-
NISTERS TO DECLARE AND PRONOUNCE TO HlS
PEOPLE, BEING PENITENT, THE ABSOLUTION
ANDREMISSION OFTHEIRSINS. HE PARDONETH
AND ABSOLVETH.
The second is used at the Visitation of the Sick.
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO HATH LEFT
POWERToHlsCHURCHTO ABSOLVE ALLSINNERS
WHO TRULY REPENT, OF HlS GREAT MERCY
FORGIVE THEE : AND BY HlS AUTHORITY COM-
MITTED TO ME, I ABSOLVE THEE, &C.
The third is at the Communion. ALMIGHTY
GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, WHO OF HlS
GREAT MERCY HATH PROMISED FORGIVENESS OF
SINS TO ALL THEM THAT WITH HEARTY RE-
PENTANCE AND TRUE FAITH TURN UNTO HlM,
HAVE MERCY UPON YOU: PARDON AND DELIVER
YOU, &C.
All these several forms, in sense and virtue, are
the same; for as when a prince hath granted a
commission to any servant of his, to release out of
prison all penitent offenders whatsoever, it were all
one in effect, as to the prisoners' discharge, whether
this servant says, by virtue of a commission granted
to me under the prince's hand and seal, which
here I shew. I release this prisoner ; or thus, the
prince who hath given me this commission, he
pardons you; or lastly, the prince pardon and
) O
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20 THE ABSOLUTION.
deliver you, the prince then standing by and
confirming the word of his servant : so is it here all
one as to the remission of sins in the penitent,
whether the Priest absolves him after this form;
Almighty God, who hath given me and all Priests
power to pronounce pardon to the penitent, He
pardons you ; or thus, by virtue of a commission
granted to me from God, I absolve you ; or lastly,
God pardon you, namely, by me His servant,
according to His promise, " Whose sins ye remit,
they are remitted." All these are but several
expressions of the same thing, and are effectual to
the penitent by virtue of that commission mentioned
in St. John xx. " Whose sins ye remit, they are
remitted." Which commission in two of these
forms is expressed, and in the last, viz. that at the
Communion, is sufficiently implied and supposed.
For the Priest is directed, in using this form, to
stand up and turn to the people. Rubric immediately
before it. Which behaviour certainly signifies
more than a bare prayer for the people, for if it
were only a prayer for the people, he should not
be directed to stand and turn to the people when
he speaks, but to God from the people, this gesture
of standing and turning to the people signifies a
message of God to the people by the mouth of His
Priest, a part of His ministry of reconciliation,
a solemn application of pardon to the penitent by
God's Minister, and is in sense thus much,
o <
i O
THE ABSOLUTION. 21
Almighty God pardon you by me. Thus the Greek
Church, from whom this form is borrowed, uses to
express it and explain it: Almighty God pardon
you by me, His unworthy servant; or, Lord,
pardon him, for Thou hast said, " Whose sins ye
remit, they are remitted : " sometimes expressing,
always including God's commission. So then in
which form soever of these the Absolution be
pronounced, it is in substance the same ; an act of
authority by virtue of Christ's commission, effectual
to remission of sins in the penitent.
Of all these forms, the last, in the Communion
service, was most used in primitive times by the
Greek and Latin Church, and scarce any other
form is to be found in their rituals or ecclesiastical
history till about four hundred years since, say
some learned men, but what then ? is another form
unlawful ? Hath not the Church power to vary the
expression, and to signify Christ's power granted to
her, provided the expression and words be agreeable
to the sense of that commission ? But it may easily
be shewn that those other forms are not novelties.
For even of old in the Greek Church there was
used as full a form as any the Church of England
uses : it is true it was not written, nor set down in
their rituals, but delivered from hand to hand down
to these times, and constantly used by them in
their private absolutions. For when the penitent
came to the spiritual man, (so they called their
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22 THE LORD'S PRAYER.
confessor,) for absolution, entreating him in their
vulgar language, HapaKa\a> va pov o-vyxcap^oT/y, I
beseech you, sir, absolve me: the confessor or
spiritual man, if he thought him fit for pardon,
answered, c^co a-e (rvyKex^prj^fvov, I absolve thee.
See Arcudius 1 and Goar in his Euchologion, *
where you may find instances of forms of Abso-
lution as full as any the Church of England uses.
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
mHEN foUows the Lord's Prayer. The Church
J- of Christ did use to begin and end her sendees
with the Lord's Prayer, this being the foundation
upon which all other prayers should be built,
therefore we begin with it; that so the right
foundation being laid, we may justly proceed to
our ensuing requests ; l and it being the perfection
of all prayer, therefore we conclude our prayers
with it. u Let no man therefore quarrel with the
Church's frequent use of the Lord's Prayer. For
the Church Catholic ever did the same. Besides,
if we hope to have our prayers accepted of the
Father only for His Son's sake, why should we not
hope to have them most speedily accepted, when
they are offered up in His Son's own words ?
Both in this place and other parts of the service
r De Poenitentia, 1. iv. cap. ii. p. 370. s Oratio super Poenitentes, p. 673. !
t Tertullian. de Oratione, cap. ix. x. p. 154,3. D. A.B. u S. August. Epist.
cxlix. cap. ii. torn. ii. p. 509. C.
Q O
3 O
THE LORD'S PRAYER. 23
where the Lord's Prayer is appointed to be used,
the Doxology, " For Thine is the kingdom" &c., is
left out. 1 The reason is given by learned men,
because the Doxology is no part of our Lord's
Prayer. For though in St. Matt. vi. 13. it be added
in our usual copies, yet in the most ancient manu-
scripts it is not to be found, no nor in St. Luke's
copy, y and therefore is thought to be added by the
Greek Church, who indeed use it in their Liturgies,
(as the Jews before them did,) but divided from the
prayer as if it were no part of it. The Latin Church
generally say it as this Church does, without the
Doxology, following St. Luke's copy, who setting
down our Lord's Prayer exactly, with this introduc-
tion, when you pray say, not " after this manner,"
as St. Matthew hath it, but say, " Our Father," &c.
leaves out the Doxology, and certainly it can be no
just matter of offence to any reasonable man, that
the Church uses that form which St. Luke tells us
was exactly the prayer of our Lord.
In some places, especially among those Ejacu-
lations which the Priest and people make in
course, the people are to say the last words
" But deliver us from evil, Amen." That so they
may not be interrupted from still bearing a part,
and especially in so Divine a prayer as this, thereby
giving a fuller testification of their concurrence
and communion.
x In the present Book the Doxology is used here. y Luke xi.
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24 THE VERSES.
Then follow the verses,
" O Lord, open Thou our lips."
" And our mouth shall shew forth Thy praise," &c.
This is a most wise order of the Church in
assigning this place to these verses ; namely, before
the Psalms, Lessons, and Collects, and yet after
the Confession and Absolution; insinuating that
our mouths are silenced only by sin, and opened
only by God. And therefore when we meet
together in the habitation of God's honour, the
Church, to be thankful to Him, and speak good
of His name, we must crave of God Almighty first
pardon of our sins, and then that He would put a
new song in our mouths, that they may shew forth
His praise. And because without God's grace we
can do nothing, and because the devil is then most
busy to hinder us, when we are most desirously
bent to serve God: therefore follow immediately
those short and passionate ejaculations : " O LORD
OPEN THOU OUR LIPS, O GOD MAKE SPEED TO
SAVE US !"
"Which verses are a most excellent defence
" against all incursions and invasions of the devil,
" against all unruly affections of human nature ; for
" it is a prayer, and an earnest one, to God for His
" help, an humble acknowledgment of our own
" inability to live without Him a minute. O God
" make haste to help us ! If any be ready to faint
" and sink with sorrow, this raises him, by telling
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THE DOXOLOGY. 25
" him that God is at hand to help us. If any be apt
" to be proud of spiritual success, this is fit to
" humble him, by minding him that he cannot live
" a moment without Him. It is fit for every man in
" every state, degree, or condition. "says Cassianus.*
The Doxology follows ; GLORY BE TO THE
FATHER, &c. which is the Christian's both hymn
and shorter creed. For what is the sum of the
Christian's faith but the mystery of the Holy
Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy -Ghost,
which neither Jew nor Pagan, but only the
Christian believes, and in this Doxology professes
against all heretics old and new? And as it is a
short creed, so it is also a most excellent hymn;
for the glory of God is the end of our creation, and
should be the aim of all our services ; whatsoever
we do, should be done to the glory of that God the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : and this is all that
we can either by word or deed give to God, namely,
Glory. Therefore this hymn fitly serves to close
any of our religious services, our praises, prayers,
thanksgivings, confessions of sins or faith. Since
all these we do to glorify God, it cannot be
unfitting to close with "Glory be to God the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." It cannot easily be
expressed how useful this Divine hymn is upon all
occasions. If God Almighty send us prosperity,
what can we better return Him, than Glory? If
x Collatio, 1. x. cap. x. De Oratione, p. $41-1.
o : o
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26 THE VENITE.
He sends adversity, it still befits us to say, " Glory
be to," &c. Whether we receive good, or whether
we receive evil at the hands of God, we cannot
say a better grace than " Glory be to the Father,"
&c. In a word, we cannot better begin the day
when we awake, nor conclude the day when we
go to sleep, than by " Glory be to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost." Then the
Hallelujah, or PRAISE YE THE LORD; of which
St. Augustine says, "There is nothing that more
soundly delights, than the praise of God, and a
continual Hallelujah." y
THE VENITE.
O COME LET US SING UNTO THE LORD.
THIS is an invitatory psalm ; for herein we do
mutually invite and call upon one another being
come before His presence, to sing to the Lord, to
set forth His praises, to hear His voice, as with joy
and cheerfulness, so with that reverence that
becomes His infinite Majesty, worshipping, falling
down, and kneeling before Him, using all humble
behaviour in each part of His service and worship .
prescribed to us by His Church. And needful it I
is that the Church should call upon us for this I
duty, for most of us forget the Psalmist's counsel, |
y In P. exlviii. torn. iii. p. 1672. et Horn, ccclxii. cap. xxviii. torn. 5. p. 1435. ;
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3- O
THE PSALMS. 27
"To give unto the Lord the glory due unto His
Name/' 8 Into His courts we come, before the
presence of the Lord of the whole arth, and forget
to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.
THE PSALMS.
rflHE Psalms follow, which the Church appoints
I TO BE READ OVER EVERY MONTH, oftcner than
any other part of Holy Scripture : so was it of old
ordained, saith St. Chrysostom. " All Christians
" exercise themselves in David's Psalms oftener than
" in any other part of the Old or New Testament.
" Moses the great lawgiver that saw God face to
" face, and wrote a book of the creation of the
" world, is scarce read over once a year. The
" Holy Gospels, where the miracles of Christ are
" preached, where God converses with man, where
" death is destroyed, the devils cast out, the lepers
" cleansed, the blind restored to sight; where the
" thief is placed in Paradise, and the harlot made
" purer than the stars, where the waters of Jordan
" are consecrated to the sanctification of souls,
" where is the food of immortality, the holy
" Eucharist, and the words of life, holy precepts,
" and precious promises, those we read over once
" or twice a week. What shall I say of blessed
a Psalm xcvi. 8.
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28 THE PSALMS.
Paul, Christ's orator, the fisher of the world, who
" by his fourteen Epistles, those spiritual nets,
" hath caught men to salvation, who was caught
" up into the third heaven, and heard and saw
" such mysteries as are not to be uttered ? him we
" read twice in the week. We get not his Epistles
" by heart, but only attend to them while they are
" reading. But for holy David's Psalms, the grace
" of the Holy Spirit hath so ordered it, that they
" should be said or sung night and day. In the
" Church's vigils, the first, the midst, and the last, are
" David's Psalms : in the morning David's Psalms
" are sought for, and the first, the midst, and the last
" is David. And in funeral solemnities the first,
" the midst, and the last is David. In private
" houses where the virgins spin, the first, the midst,
" and the last is David : O thing unheard of ! Many
" that know not a letter, can say David's Psalms
" by heart : in the monasteries, the quires of
" heavenly hosts, the first, the midst, and the last
" is David : in the deserts where men that have
" crucified the world to themselves converse with
t( God, the first, the midst, and the last is David.
" In the night, when men are asleep, David awakes
" them up to sing ; and gathering the servants of
" God into angelical troops, turns earth into
" heaven, and makes angels of men, singing David's
" Psalms." b The holy Gospels and Epistles contain
b De Poenitentia, Horn. VI. torn. v. p. 85. ed. Lat.
o'
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THE PSALMS. 2p
indeed the words of eternal life, words by which
we must be saved : and therefore should be sweeter
to us than honey or the honey-comb, more precious
than gold, yea than much fine gold ; but they are
not of so continual use as David's Psalms, which
are digested forms of prayers, thanksgivings, praises,
confessions ; and adorations, fit for every temper
and every time. Here the penitent hath a form
of confession, he that hath received a benefit, hath
a thanksgiving; he that is in any kind of need,
bodily or ghostly, hath a prayer; all have lauds,
and all may adore the several excellencies of
Almighty God in David's forms : and these a man
may safely use, being composed by the Spirit of
God, which cannot err : whereas other books of
prayers and devotions are, for the most part,
composed by private men, subject to error and
mistake, whose fancies, sometimes wild ones, are
commended to us for matter of devotion, and we
may be taught to blaspheme, while we intend to
adore ; or at least, to abuse our devotion when we
approach to the throne of grace, and offer up an
unclean beast instead of an holy sacrifice. May
we not think that this amongst others hath been a
cause of the decay of right and true devotion
in these latter days, namely, the neglect of this
excellent book, and preferring men's fancies before
it? I deny not but that Collects and other parts
of devotion which the consentient testimony anc
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30 THE PSALMS.
constant practice of the Church have commended
to us may, and especially the most Divine prayer
of our Lord, ought to be used by us in our private
devotion; but I would not have David's Psalms
disused, but used frequently, and made as they
were by Athanasius and St. Jerome, a great, if not
the greatest part of our private devotions, which
we may offer up to God as with more safety, so
with more confidence of acceptation, being the
inspiration of that Holy Spirit of God, who, when
we know not what to say, helps our infirmities both
with words and affections. If any man thinks
these Psalms too hard for him to understand, and
apply to his several needs, let him make trial
awhile, and spend that time in them, which he
spends in human compositions; let him study
them as earnestly as he does books of less concern ;
let him pray the Holy Spirit that made them, to
open his eyes, to see the admirable use of them ;
let him entreat holy and learned guides of souls to
direct him in the use of them, and by the " grace
" of God, in the frequent use of them, he may attain
" to the primitive fervour, and come to be a man,
" as holy David was, after God's own heart."
"In the morning," saith St. Jerome, "at the
" third, sixth, and ninth hour; in the evening at
" midnight David's Psalms are sung over in order,
c Rom. viii. 26.
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THE PSALMS. 3!
" and none of the sisters are suffered to be ignorant
" of David's Psalms." d
The Psalms we sing or say by course, "The
" Priest one verse, and the people another ; or else
" one side of the quire one verse, and the other
" side another," according to the ancient practice
of the Greek and Latin Church. e And according
to the pattern set us by the angels, f who sing one
to another, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. These reasons
may be given for this manner of singing by
course.
First, that we may thus in a holy emulation
contend, who shall serve God most affectionately,
which our Lord seeing and hearing, is not a little
pleased. g
Secondly, that one relieving another we may not
grow weary of our service. 11
When we say or sing these Psalms, we are wont
to stand ; by the erection of our bodies expressing
the elevation or lifting up of our souls to God,
while we are serving Him in these holy employ-
ments.
At the end of every psalm, and of all the hymns,
(except Te Deum, which because it is nothing else
almost, but this, " glory be to the Father," &c.
d Ep. Ixxxvi. in Epitaph. Paul. torn. iv. pt. ii. p.68a. e Socr. Eccles.
Hist. l.vi. cap viii. p. 313. D Theodoret. Eccles. Hist. 1. ii. cap. xxiv.
p. 107. D S. Basil. Ep. ccvii. torn. iii. p. 311. B. f Isaiah vi. 3. g Ter-
tullian. ad Uxorem, 1. ii. cap. viii p. 191. D. h S . August. De Confers. 1. ix.
cap. vii.toin. i. p. 162. F.
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32 THE PSALMS.
enlarged, hath not this Doxology added,) we say or
sing, " GLORY BE TO THE FATHER, AND TO THE
SON, AND TO THE HOLY GHOST ;" which was the
use of the ancient Church, never quarrelled at by
any till Arius, who, being pressed with this usage
as an argument against his heresy of making the
Son inferior to the Father, laboured to corrupt this
versicle, saying, "Glory be to the Father by
the Son in the Holy Ghost." 8 The Church on the
contrary was careful to maintain the ancient usage,
adding on purpose against Arius, "As IT WAS IN
THEBEGINNING,ISNOW,ANDEVER SHALL BE." b
Now if this joyful hymn of glory have any use
in the Church of God, can we place it more fitly
than where it now serves as a close and a conclu-
sion to psalms and hymns, whose proper subject
and almost only matter, is a dutiful acknowledg-
ment of God's excellency and glory by occasion of
special effects ?
As an hymn of glory is fit to conclude the Psalms,
so especially this Christian hymn, wherein as Chris-
tians, not as Jews and Pagans, we glorify God the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; by which Christian
conclusion of David's Psalms, we do, as it were,
fit this part of the Old Testament for the service of
God under the Gospel, and make them evangelical
offices.
a Theodoret. Hist. Eccles. 1. xi. cap. xxiv. p. 106. B. b Cone. Vasio. n.
Can. v. torn. iv. p. 1680.
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LESSONS.
i FTER the Psalms follow two lessons, one out
J\. of the Old Testament, another out of the New.
This was the ancient custom of all the Churches
in Egypt; Cassianus says it was not taught by
men, but from heaven by the ministry of angels . c
This choice may be to shew the harmony of them :
for what is the Law but the Gospel foreshewed ?
What other the Gospel but the Law fulfilled ?
That which lies in the Old Testament as under a
shadow, is in the New brought out in the open
sun : things there prefigured are here performed.
Thus as the two seraphims cry one to another,
" Holy, holy, holy," d so the two Testaments, Old
and New, faithfully agreeing, convince the sacred
truth of God. First, one out of the Old Testament,
then another out of the New, observing the method
of the Holy Spirit, who first published the Old,
then the New ; first the precepts of the Law, then
of the Gospel. " Which method of their reading
either purposely did tend, or at the leastwise doth
fitly serve, that from smaller things the mind of the
hearers may go forward to the knowledge of greater;
and by degrees climb up from the lowest to the
highest things," says incomparable Hooker. e
L. ii. dc nocturnis oratiouibus, cap. iv. p. at. d Isaiah vl. 3.
e Eccles. Pol. b. v. ch. xx. . 6. vol. ii. p. 96.
O
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34 THE LESSONS.
A wise constitution of the Church it is thus to
mingle services of several sorts, to keep us from
wearisomeness. For whereas devout prayer is joined
with a vehement intention of the inferior powers of
the soul, which cannot therein continue long without
pain, therefore holy Church interposes still some-
what for the higher part of the mind, the under-
standing, to work upon, that both being kept in
continual exercise with variety, neither might feel
any weariness, and yet each be a spur to other.
For prayer kindles our desire to behold God by
speculation; and the mind delighted with that
speculation, takes every where new inflammations to
pray ; the riches of the mysteries of heavenly wis-
dom continually stirring up in us correspondent
desires to them ; so that he which prays in due sort,
is thereby made the more attentive to hear, and he
which hears, the more earnest to pray.
THE MlNISTER f THAT READS THE LESSONS
STANDING ANDTURNING HIMSELF SO AS HE MAY
BE BEST HEARD OF ALL SUCH AS ARE PRESENT.
Rubric ii. before Te Deum.
Turning himself so as he may be best heard of
all, that is, turning towards the people, whereby it
appears that immediately before the lessons he
looked another way from the people, because here
he is directed to turn towards them. This was the
ancient custom of the Church of England, that
f Instead of the word Minister, the present Rubric is, " he that readeth ."
O C
_____^ O
THE LESSONS. 36
the priest who did officiate in all those parts of the
service which were directed to the people, turned
himself towards them as in the Absolution. See the
Rubric before Absolution at the Communion. THEN
SHALL THE PRIEST OR BISHOP, IF PRESENT,
STAND, AND TURNING HIMSELF TO THE PEOPLE,
SAY,&C. Sointhebenediction,readingofthelessons,
and holy commandments : but in those parts of the
office which were directed to God immediately, as
prayers, hymns, lauds, confessions of faith, or sins,
he turned from the people ; and for that purpose in
many parish churches of late, the reading pew had
one desk for the Bible, looking towards the people
to the body of the Church, another for the prayer-
book looking towards the east or upper end of the
chancel. And very reasonable was this usage ; for
when the people were spoken to, it was fit to look
towards them ; but when God was spoken to, it was
fit to turn from the people. And besides, if there
be any part of the world more honourable, in the
esteem of men, than another, it is fit to look that
way when we pray to God in public, that the turning
of our bodies towards a more honourable place,
may mind us of the great honour and majesty of
the Person we speak to. " And this reason St.
Augustine 8 gives of the Church's ancient custom of
turning to the east in their public prayers, because
the east is the most honourable part of the world,
g De serm. Dom. in montern, 1. ii. cap. v. D. torn. iii. pt. a. p. 207.
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36 THE LESSONS.
being the region of light, whence the glorious sun
arises." That this was the constant practice of
the Church to turn toward the east in her public
prayers, may sufficiently appear by St. Augustine, h
in the place last cited, where he says, " When we
stand at our prayers we turn towards the east."
And by Epiphanius, who detests the madness of
the impostor Elzseus, because that amongst other
things he forbade praying toward the east. 1 And
the Church of England, who professes to conform
to the ancient practices, as far as conveniently she
can, as may be seen in many passages of her canons
and other places, did observe the same custom in
her prayers, as appears by the placing of the desk
for the prayer book above mentioned, looking that
way, and as may be collected from this Rubric,
which directs the Priest in the reading of the lessons
to turn to the people, which supposes him, at prayer
and the psalms, to look quite another way, namely,
as in reason may be concluded, that way which the
Catholic Church uses to do for divers reasons :
and amongst other, for that which St. Augustine
hath given, because that was "the most worthy
part of the world," and therefore most fit to be
looked to, when we come to worship God in the
beauty of holiness. Again, another reason may be
given of turning from the people towards the upper
h Cum ad orationcs stamus, ad Orientem convertimur.
i Adv. User. I. i. her. xix. cap. in. A. torn. li. p. 42.
o . -c
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THE LESSONS. 37 j
end of the chancel in our prayers, because it is fit |
in our prayers to look towards that part of the
church or chancel, which is the highest and chief,
and where God affords His most gracious and mys-
terious presence, and that is the holy table and
altar, which anciently was placed towards the upper
or east end of the chancel. This is the highest
part of the chancel, set apart to the highest of
religious services, the consecration and distribution
of the holy Eucharist, here is exhibited the most
gracious and mysterious presence of God that in
this life we are capable of, the presence of His most
holy Body and Blood. And therefore the altar was
usually called the tabernacle of God's glory, His
chair of state, the throne of God, the type of
heaven, heaven itself. As therefore the Jews in
their prayers looked towards the principal part of
the temple, the mercy-seat ; k so the Christians in
their prayers turned towards the principal part of
the church, the altar, of which the mercy- seat was
but a type. And as our Lord hath taught us in
His prayer, to look up towards heaven when we
pray, saying, " Our Father which art in heaven ;"
not as if God were there confined, for He is every
where, in earth as well as in heaven, but because
heaven is His throne, whereas earth is but His foot-
stool ; so holy Church by her practice teaches us
in our public and solemn prayers to turn and look,
kPsalmxxviii.a.
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38 THE LESSONS.
not towards the inferior and lower parts of the foot-
stool, but towards that part of the church which
most nearly resembles heaven, the holy table or
altar. Correspondent to this practice was the
manner of the Jews of old, for at the reading of
the Law and other Scriptures, he that did minister,
turned his face to the people, but he who read the
prayers turned his back to the people, and his face
to the ark. 1
For the choice of these lessons and their order,
holy church observes a several course.
For the ordinary morning and evening prayers
she observes only this : to begin at the beginning of
the year with Genesis for the first lesson, and St.
Matthew for the second in the morning : and
Genesis again for the first, and St. Paul to the
Romans for the second lesson at even, and so con-
tinues on till the books be read over, but yet leaving
out some chapters, either such as have been read
already, upon which account she omits the Chro-
nicles, being for the most part the same with the
Book of Kings which hath been read already ; and
some particular chapters in some other books,
having been the same for the most part read either
in the same book or some other ; or else such as are
full of genealogies, or some other matter, which
holy Church counts less profitable for ordinary
hearers. Only in this she alters the order of the
1 Thorndyke, of Religious Assemblies, ch. vii. p. 231.
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_ Q
THE LESSONS. 39
books, not reading the prophet Isaiah till all the
rest of the books be done; because the prophet
Isaiah being the most evangelical prophet, most
plainly prophesying of Christ, is reserved to be read
a little before Advent.
For Sundays somewhat another course is ob-
served ; for then Genesis is begun to be read upon
Septuagesima Sunday; because then begins the
holy time of penance and mortification, to which
Genesis is thought to suit best, because that treats
of our misery by the fall of Adam, and of God's
severe judgment upon the world for sin ; then we
read forward the books as they lie in order, yet not
all the books, but only some choice lessons out of
them. And if any Sunday be, as they call it, a
privileged day ; that is, if it hath the history of it
expressed in Scripture, such as Easter, Whitsunday,
&c., then there are peculiar and proper lessons
appointed for it.
For saints' days we observe another order : for
upon them, except such of them as are especially
recorded in Scripture, and have proper lessons,
the Church appoints chapters out of the moral
books, such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus,
and Wisdom, for first lessons, being excellent in-
structions of life and conversation, and so fit to be
read upon the days of holy saints, whose exemplary
lives and deaths are the cause of the Church's solemn
commemoration of them, and commendation of them
o. o
O Q
4 THE HYMNS.
to us. And though some of these books be not in
the strictest sense canonical, yet I see no reason but
that they may be read publicly in the church, with
profit and more safety than sermons can be ordi-
narily preached there. For certainly sermons are
but human compositions, and many of them not so
wholesome matter as these which have been viewed
and allowed by the judgment of the Church for
many ages past to be ecclesiastical and good,
nearest to Divine of any writings. If it be thought
dangerous to read them after the same manner and
order that canonical Scripture is read, lest perhaps
by this means they should grow into the same credit
with canonical ; it is answered, that many Churches
have thought it no great hurt if they should, but
our Church hath sufficiently secured us against that
danger whatsoever it be, by setting different marks
upon them, styling the one Canonical, the other
Aporcryphal. As for the second lessons the Church
in them goes on in her ordinary course.
THE HYMNS.
TE DEUM, &C.
AFTER the lessons are appointed hymns; the
Church observing St. Paul's rule, " Singing
to the Lord in psalms and hymns, and spiritual
songs," every way expressing her thanks to God.
o , o
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THE HYMNS. 4*
The antiquity of hymns in the Christian Church
doth sufficiently appear by that of our Saviour,
"When they had sung an hymn they went out;" 8
upon which place St. Chrysostom says, "They
sung a hymn to teach us to do the like." b " Con-
cerning the singing of hymns and psalms in the
Church, we have/ 'says St. Austin, "both the pre-
cepts and examples of Christ and His apostles;"
St. Paul ordered it in the Church of Colosse,
"Singing to yourselves in psalms and hymns." d
Which we find presently after practised in the
Church of Alexandria, founded by St. Mark, e where
Philo reports that the Christians had in every place
almost monasteries wherein they sang hymns to God
in several kinds of metre and verse. St. Ambrose
brought them into Milan, to ease the people's sad
minds and to keep them from weariness, who were
praying night and day for their persecuted Bishop,
and from hence came all hymns almost to be called
Ambrosiani, because that by him they were spread
over the Latin Church. " With the morning and
evening hymns God is delighted." says St.Hierome.
And Possidius, in the life of St. Augustine, tells us,
that towards the time of his dissolution, "St.
Augustine wept abundantly, because he saw the
cities destroyed, the bishops and priests sequestered,
a Matt. xxvi. 30. b Horn. LXXXII. torn. vii. p. 784.
c ICpist. LV. cap. xviii. torn. ii. p. 142. d Col. iii. 16. e Euseb. Hist.
Eccles. lib. ii. cap.xvii. p. 55.
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42 THE HYMNS,
the churches profaned, the holy service and sacra-
ments neglected, either because few or none desired
them, or else because there were scarce any priests
left to administer to them that did desire them;
lastly, because the hymns and lauds of God were
lost out of the Church." f
These hymns are to be said or sung, but most
properly to be sung ; else they are not so strictly
and truly called hymns, that is, songs of praise ;
and not only by the Church of England, but by all
Christian Churches of old, was it so practised:
and so holy David directs, " O sing praises, sing
praises unto our God : O sing praises, sing praises
unto our King."* The profit of which singing
hymns is much many ways ; especially in this, that
they kin die an holy flame in the minds and affections
of the hearers. " O how I wept," says St. Augus-
tine, "in the hymns and holy canticles, being
enforced thereunto by the sweet voices of Thy
melodious Church ! by reason of the proneness of
our affections to that which delights, it pleased the
wisdom of the Spirit to borrow from melody
that pleasure, which, mingled with heavenly mys-
teries, causes the smoothness and softness of that
which touches the ear, to convey as it were by
stealth the treasure of good things into men's
minds : to this purpose were those harmonious
f Cap.xxviii. F. torn. x. p. 377. jj Psalm xlvii. 6.
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THE HYMNS. 43
tunes of psalms devised." h And St. Basil says,
" By pleasing thus the affections, and delighting
the mind of man, music makes the service of God
more easy."
When we sing or say these hymns we stand,
which is the proper posture for thanksgivings and
lauds, " Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants
of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of
the Lord." 1 And 2 Chron. vii. 6. "The priests
waited on their offices, the Levites also with instru-
ments of music of the Lord, which David the king
made to praise the Lord, (with the cxxxvi. Psalm,)
because His mercy endureth for ever, when David
praised by their ministry, and the priests soundeth
trumpets before them, and all Israel stood." The
erection of the body fitly expresses the lifting up of
the heart in joy : whence it is that rejoicing in
Scripture is called the lifting up of the head ; " Lift
up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh." k
So then joy being a lifting up of the soul, and praise
and thanksgiving being effects of joy, cannot be
more fitly expressed than by erection and lifting up
of the body, " standing in the courts of the Lord,"
when we sing praise unto Him.
After the morning first lesson follows TE DEUM,
WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD, or, O ALL YE WORKS
OF THE LORD, &c., called Benedicite. The first of
which, WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD, &c., was, as is
h S. Austin. Confess. 1. x. cap.xxxiii. F. torn. i. p. 187.
i Psalm cxxxi v.i. k Luke xxi. 28. ^^^
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44 THE HYMNS.
credibly reported, framed miraculously by St.
Ambrose k and St. Augustine at his baptism, and hath
been in much esteem in the Church ever since as it
deserves, being both a creed, containing all the mys-
teries of faith, and a most solemn form of thanks-
giving, praise, adoration, and what not. And so
hath that other canticle, " O all ye works of the
Lord," in which the whole creation praises God
together, been esteemed universally in the Church. 1
After the second lesson at morning prayer is
appointed, BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD OF
ISRAEL, called Benedictus, or, O BE JOYFUL IN
THE LORD, called Jubilate.
After the evening lessons are appointed Magni-
ficat, or, MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD, and
Nunc Dimittis, LORD NOW LETTEST THOU THY
SERVANT DEPART IN PEACE, Or else tWO PsalmS. j
And very fitly doth the Church appoint sacred
hymns after the lessons. For who is there that
hearing God speak from heaven to him for his soul's
health can do less than rise up and praise Him ?
And what hymns can be fitter to praise God with
for our salvation, than those which were the first
gratulations wherewith our Saviour was entertained
into the world ? And such are these. Yet as fit as
they are, some have quarrelled at them, especially
at Magnificat, "My soul doth magnify the Lord]''
and Nunc Dimittis, or, " Lord, now lettest Thou
k Bingham, b.xiv. ch. n. vol. v. p. 39. i Cone. Tolet. iv. Can.xir.
torn. v. p. 1710. jPs. xcviii. and Ixvii. ,-^
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THE HYMNS. 4
Thy servant depart in peace." The objections are
hese : That the first of these was the Virgin Mary's
iymn for bearing Christ in her womb ; the latter
Id Simeon's, for seeing and holding in his arms the
>lessed Babe, neither of which can be done by
us now, and therefore neither can we say properly
;hese hymns.
The answer may be, that bearing Christ in the
womb, suckling Him, holding Him in our arms, is
not so great a blessing " As the laying up His Holy
Word in our hearts," k "by which Christ is formed
n us;" 1 and so there is as much thanks to be re-
turned to God for this as for that. He that doth
the will of God, taught in His Word, may as well
say, " My soul doth magnify the Lord," as the holy
Virgin, for Christ is formed in him, as well as in the
Virgin's womb : " Whosoever doth the will of My
Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother
and sister and mother." 1 " And why may not we
after the reading of a part of the New Testament,
say, " Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in
peace," as well as old Simeon ? For in that Scripture,
by the eye of faith, we see that salvation which he
then saw, and more clearly revealed. We have
then the same reason to say it that old Simeon had,
and we should have the same Spirit to say it with.
There can nothing be more fitting for us, as we
have said, than, having heard the lessons and the
kLukexi.28. IGal.iv.ig. m Matt.xii. 50.
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46 THE HYMNS.
goodness of God therein preached unto us, to break
out into a song of praise and thanksgiving, and the
Church hath appointed two to be used (either of
them) after each lesson, but not so indifferently but
that the former practice of exemplary Churches
and reason may guide us in the choice; for
the Te Deum, Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc
Dimittis being the most expressive jubilations and
rejoicings for the redemption of the world, may be
said more often than the rest, especially on Sundays
and other Festivals of our Lord ; excepting in Lent
and Advent, which being times of humiliation, and
meditations on Christ as in expectation, or His suf-
ferings, are not so fitly enlarged with these songs of
highest festivity ; (the custom being for the same
reason in many Churches, in Lent, to hide and con-
ceal all the glory of their altars, covering them with
black to comply with the season ;) and therefore in
these times may be rather used the following psalms
than the foregoing canticles, as at other times also,
when the contents of the lessons shall give occasion ;
as when it speaks of the enlargement of the church
i)y bringing in the Gentiles into the fold of it, for
divers passages of those three psalms import that
sense.
And for the canticle Benedicite, O ALL YE WORKS
OF THE LORD, it may be used not only in the afore-
said times of humiliation, but when either the
essons are out of Daniel, or set before us the won-
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THE APOSTLES' CREED. 47
derful handywork of God, in any of the creatures,
or the use He makes of them either ordinary or
miraculous for the good of the Church. Then it
will be very seasonable to return this song, " O all
ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise
Him, and magnify Him for ever;" that is, ye are a
great occasion of blessing the Lord who therefore
be blessed, praised, and magnified for ever.
THE APOSTLES' CREED.
The Creed follows. At ordinary morning and
evening prayer, and most Sundays and holydays, the
Apostles' Creed is appointed; which Creed was
made by the Aopstles' upon this occasion, says
Ruffinus." The apostles' having received a com-
mandment from our Lord to teach all nations, and
withal being commanded to tarry at Jerusalem till
they should be furnished with gifts and graces of
the Holy Spirit, sufficient for such a charge, tarried
patiently, as they were enjoined, expecting the ful-
filling of that promise. In the time of the stay at
Jerusalem, they agreed upon this creed as a rule of
faith, according to the analogy of which they and
all others should teach, and as a word of distinction
by which they should know friends from foes. For
as the Gileadites distingished their own men from
n In 8ymb. np. Cyp. Op. p. 17.
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48 THE APOSTLES' CREED.
the Benjamites, by the word Shibboleth ; and as
soldiers know their own side from the enemy by
then- word ; so the apostles and the Church should
know who were the Church's friends, and who were
enemies, who were right believers, who false, by
this word of faith ; for all that walked according to
this rule, and professed this faith, she acknowledged
for her's and gave them her peace ; but all others
that went contrary to this rule and word, she
accounted enemies p led by false spirits; "For he
that is not of God heareth not us ; hereby know we
the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. "
THIS CREED is SAID DAILY TWICE, MORNING
AND EVENING. So it was of old. " Take the rule
of faith, which is called the symbol or creed, say it
daily, in the morning before you go forth ; at night
before you sleep. 1 " " Say your creed daily morning
and evening." 8 "Rehearse your creed to God,
say not, I said it yesterday, I have said it to-day
already, say it again, say it every day ; guard your-
selves with your faith ; and if the adversary assault
you, let the redeemed know that he ought to meet
him with the banner of the cross and the shield of
faith, above all taking the shield of faith." l " Faith
is rightly called a shield; for as a shield is carried
before the body, as a wall to defend it, so is faith to
o Judges xii. 6. p Tertull.de praescrip. cap. xiv. p. 236. qiJohniv.6.
r August, de Symbol, ad Catechum. 1. i. cap. i. A. torn vi. p. 547.
5 S. Aust.Hom. LVIII. cap. xi. A. torn. v. p.343. tEphes.vi. 16*
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THE APOSTLES' CREED. 49
the soul ; for all things yield to that. This is our
victory whereby we overcome the world, even our
faith." u Therefore we had need look well to our
faith, and be careful to keep that entire ; and for
that purpose it is not amiss to rehearse it often,
and guard our soul with it.
When we are affrighted, run we to the creed*,
and say, " I believe in God the Father Almighty,"
this will guard your soul from fear. If you be
tempted to despair, guard your soul with the creed,
say, " I believe in Jesus Christ His only Son our
Lord, who was conceived," &c. for us men and our
salvation ; that may secure your soul from despair.
If you be tempted to pride, run to the creed, and
a sight of Christ hanging upon the cross will hum-
ble you. If to lust or uncleanness, to the creed,
and see the wounds of Christ, and the remembrance
of them, if any thing, will quench that fiery dart.
If we be tempted to presume and grow careless,
take up again this shield of faith, see Christ in the
creed coming to judgment, and this terror of the
Lord's will persuade men. In a word, the creed
is a guard and defence against all temptations of
the world, all the fiery darts of the devil, all the
filthy lusts of the flesh. Therefore, "above all
take the shield of faith," saith St. Paul, and be sure
to guard your soul morning and evening with the
u Chrysostom. Horn. XXIV. A. tom.xi. p. 180.
x Cum horremus aiiquid, recurrendum eat ad symbolum.
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5o THE APOSTLES' CREED.
creed, the symbol of the most holy faith. Besides,
this solemn rehearsing of our creed is a plighting
of our faith and fidelity to God, before devils,
angels, and men j an engaging and devoting of our
souls in the principal faculties and powers of it,
our reason and understanding and will, wholly to
God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to believe
in the ever blessed Trinity, whatsoever flesh and
blood shall tempt to the contrary ; which is a high
piece of loyalty to God, and cannot be too often
performed. It is that kind of confession, that
St. Paul says is necessary to salvation, as well as
believing, (Rom. x. 10.) for it is there said, ver. 9.
" If we confess with our mouth," as well as, " If
we believe with the heart, we shall be saved;" it
is that kind of confession that our Lord Christ
speaks of, "Whosoever shall confess Me before
men, him will I confess also before My Father
which is in heaven." y And therefore since it is a
sendee so acceptable, it cannot be thought unrea-
sonable for the Church to require it morning and
evening. The creed follows soon after the lessons,
and very seasonably ; for in the creed we confess
that faith that the holy lessons teach.
The creed is to be said not by the priest alone,
but by the minister and people together. (Rubric
before the Creed.) For since confession of faith in
public before God, angels, and men, is so accept-
y Matt. x. 32-
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OF ATHANASIUS'S CREED 5l
able a service to God, as is shewn; fit it is that
every man, as well as the priest, should bear his
part in it, since every man may do it for himself
as well, nay, better than the priest can do it for
him; for as every man knows best what himself
believes, so it is fittest to confess it for himself, and
evidence to the Church his sound belief, by
expressly repeating of that creed, and every parti-
cular thereof, which is and always hath been
accounted the mark and character, whereby to
distinguish a true believer from an heretic or infidel.
We are required to say the creed standing, by
this gesture signifying our readiness to profess, and
our resolution to adhere and stand to this holy
faith.
OF ATHANASIUS'S CREED.
BESIDES the Apostles' Creed, holy Church ac-
knowledges two other, or rather two explica-
tions of the same creed, the Nicene and Athanasius's
Creed. Of the Nicene Creed shall be said some-
what in the proper place, the Communion Service,
where it is used. Athanasius's Creed is here to be
accounted for, because it is said sometimes in this
place instead of the Apostles' Creed. It was com-
posed by Athanasius, and sent to Pope Julius, for
' to clear himself and acquit his faith from the slan-
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52 OF ATHANASIUS'S CREED.
ders of his Arian enemies, who reported him erro-
neous in the faith. It hath been received with
great veneration as a treasure of an inestimable
price, both by the Greek and Latin Churches; 2
and therefore both for that authority, and for the
testification of our continuance in the same faith
to this day, the Church rather uses this and the
Nicene explanations than any other gloss or para-
phrase devised by ourselves ; which though it were
to the same effect, notwithstanding could not be of
the same credit or authority.
This Creed is appointed to be said upon the days
named in the Rubric, for these reasons; partly,
because those days, many of them, are most proper
for this confession of the faith, which, of all others,
is the most express concerning the Trinity, because
the matter of them much concerns the manifesta-
tation of the Trinity, as Christmas, Epiphany, Trinity
Sunday, and St. John Baptist's Day, at the highest
of whose acts, (the baptizing of our Lord,) was
made a kind of sensible manifestation of the Tri-
nity ; partly, that so it might be said once a month
at least; and therefore on St. James's and St. Bar-
tholomew's days, and withal at convenient distance
from each time, and therefore on St. Matthew's,
Matthias's, Simon and Jude's, and St. Andrew's.
z S. Greg. Nan. in laudemMagn. Athanas. oral. xsi. torn. i.p. 394.
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OF MUTUAL PRAYERS. 6
THE LORD BE WITH YOU.
This Divine salutation, taken out of Holy Scrip-
ture", was frequently used in ancient liturgies be-
fore prayers, before the gospel, before the sermon,
and at other times ; and that by the direction of the
holy apostles, says the second Council of Braga. b
It seems as an introit or entrance upon another
sort of Divine service ; and a good introduction it
is, serving as a holy, excitation to attention and
devotion, by reminding the people what they are
about, namely, such holy services as, without
God's assistance and special grace, cannot be per-
formed ; and therefore when they are about these
services, the priest minds them of it by saying,
THE LORD BE WITH YOU. And again, it is amost
excellent and seasonable prayer for them, in effect
thus much, The Lord be with you, to lift up your
hearts and raise your devotions to His service.
The Lord be with you, to accept your services.
The Lord be with you, to reward you hereafter
with eternal life. The people answer,
AND WITH THY SPIRIT. Which form is taken
out of 2 Tim. iv. 22, and is as much as this, Thou
art about to offer up prayers and spiritual sacrifices
for us, therefore we pray likewise for thee, that
a Ruth ii. 4. b Can. iii. torn. v. p. 840.
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64 OF MUTUAL PRAYERS.
He, without whom nothing is good and acceptable,
may be with thy spirit while thou art exercised in
these spiritual services, which must be performed
with the Spirit, according to St. Paul. c Thus the
priest prays, and wishes well to the people; and
they pray, and wish well to the priest. And such
mutual salutations and prayers as this and those
that follow, where priest and people interchange-
ably pray each for other, are excellent expressions
of the communion of saints, both acknowledging
thus that they are all one body, and each one
members one of another, mutually caring for one
another's good, and mutually praying for one an-
other ; which must needs be, if well considered and
duly performed, excellent incentives and provoca-
tions to charity and love one of another ; and, as
St. Chrysostom observes/ if these solemn mutual
salutations were religiously performed, it were
almost impossible that priest and people should be
at enmity. For can the people hate the priest that
blesses them, that prays for them, " The Lord be
with you," or, " Peace be with you ? " which was
anciently the bishop's salutation, instead of, " The
Lord be with you." Or can the priest forget to
love the people that daily prays for him, "And
with thy spirit ? "
c i Cor. xiv. ij.
d Horn. III. Coloss.c. i. v. 15. ao. torn. xi. p. 347, 8.
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OF THE KYRIE. 55
LET US PRAY.
These words are often used in ancient liturgies
as well as in ours, and are an excitation to prayer*
to call back our wandering, and re-collect our
scattered thoughts, and to awaken our devotion,
bidding us mind what we are about, namely, now
when we are about to pray, to pray indeed, that is,
heartily and earnestly. The deacon in ancient
services was wont to call upon the people often,
KTev5>s 8erj6S)fjiev, " Let us pray vehemently," nay,
eKTeveo-Tfpov, " still more vehemently." And the
same vehemency and earnest devotion which the
manner of these old liturgies breathed, does our
Church in her Liturgy call for in these words,
LET us PRAY ; that is, with all the earnestness and
vehemency that we may, that our prayers may be
such as St. James speaks of, active, lively-spirited
prayers; for these are they that avail much with
God. And there is none of us but must think it
needful thus to be called upon and awakened ; for
thoughts will be wandering, and devotions will
abate, and scarce hold out to the prayers' end,
though it be a short one : so that well said the old
hermit, whom Melancthon mentions in his dis-
course, "There is nothing harder than to pray."
e De Invocatione et Precatione, torn. i. p. 478.
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56 OF THE KYRIE.
These words, LET us PRAY, as they are an inci-
tation to prayer in general, so they may seem to
be sometimes an invitation to another form of
petitioning, as in the Litany and other places ; it
being as much as to say, Let us collect our alter-
nate supplications by versicles and answers into
collects or prayers. In the Latin Liturgies (their
Rubrics especially) preces and orationes seem to be
thus distinguished -, that preces, or supplications,
were those alternate petitions where the people
answered by responsive versicles ; oratio, or prayer,
was that which was said by the priest alone, the
people only answering, Amen.
LORD HAVE MERCY UPON US.
CHRIST HAVE MERCY, &c.
LORD HAVE MERCY, &C.
This short Litany (as it was called by some
ancients), this most humble and piercing supplica-
tion to the blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, was frequently used in ancient liturgies, as
it is to be seen in them, and also in the second
Council of Vaison, f " Because/' saith that Council,
" the sweet and wholesome custom of saying,
Kyrie Eleesonj or, LORD HAVE MERCY UPON us,
with great affection and compunction, hath been
received into the whole Eastern and most of the
Western Church : therefore be it enacted, that the
same be used in our churches at Mattins, Even-
f Can. iii. torn. ir. p. 1680. ^^^
) O
OF THE KYRIE. 67
song, and Communion Service." It was anciently
called KTvrjg uceon'a, "the earnest or vehement
supplication;" because as it is a most pathetic
petition of mercy to every Person of the blessed
Trinity, so it was uttered by those primitive good
men with much earnestness and intention of spirit,
being sensible of their danger of sinking into end-
less perdition, without the mercy of the blessed
Trinity; and therefore (with no less earnestness
than St. Peter cried, " Master, save," when he was
sinking into the sea) did they cry out, " Lord have
mercy." God the Father have mercy, God the Son
have mercy, God the Holy Ghost have mercy :
have mercy upon us in pardoning our sins, which
make us worthy to be cast out of Thy favour, but
unworthy to serve Thee: have mercy in helping
our weakness and inability of ourselves to serve
Thee : many are our dangers, many are our wants,
many ways we stand in need of mercy, therefore,
LORD HAVE MERCY, &c." This excellent compre-
hensive Litany is seasonable at all times and all
parts of the service, after our singing of hymns
and psalms, after our hearing and confession of
faith ; such is our unworthiness, such our weakness,
that it cannot be thought amiss to beg God's
mercy, after we have prayed ; such is our dulness
and coldness in our prayers, that we had need
pray, " Lord have mercy upon us."
It may be observed, that this earnest and humble
o o
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58 OF THE KYRIE.
supplication was usually in old Services, and so is
in ours, set immediately before the Lord's Prayer,
as a preparation to it, and very fitly; for as we
cannot devise a more suitable preparation to
prayer than this humble petition of mercy, and
acknowledgment of our own misery, so is there -no
prayer whereto greater preparation is required
than that Divine Prayer sanctified by the sacred
lips of our Lord, wherein we say, " Our Father,"
&c. Clement, in his Constitutions, 6 advises when
we say this prayer to be careful to prepare our-
selves, so that we may in some manner be worthy
of this Divine adoption to be the sons of God ; lest
if we unworthily call Him Father, He upbraid us
as He did the Jews, " If I be a Father, where is
Mine honour ?" h The sanctity of the Son is the
honour of the Father. Indeed it is so great an ho-
nour to call God " Our Father," l that we had need
with all humility beg pardon of His Majesty, before
we venture upon so high a title. Therefore our
mother the Church hath been careful to prepare us
for this Divine Prayer, sometimes by a confession
of our sins and absolution, as at Morning and
Evening Service ; but most commonly by this short
Litany : first, teaching us to bewail our unworthi-
ness, and pray for mercy ; and then with an hum-
ble boldness to look up to heaven and call God
our Father, and beg further blessings of Him.
g Clement. Constitut. 1. vii. cap. xxv. Pat. Ap. Cot. torn. i. p. 373.
h Malachi i. 6. i i John iii. i, 2.
o o
VERSICLES AND ANSWERS.
A FTER the Lord's Prayer follow short Versicles
jLjL and Answers taken out of Holy Scripture ;
Psalm Ixxxv. 7. Psalm xx. 9. Psalm cxxxii. 9.
Psalm xxviii. 9. I Chroiv. xxii. 9. Psalm xxxiii.
1 6 20. Psalm li. 10, u.
The priest beginning and the people answering,
contending in an holy emulation who shall be most
devout in these short, but pithy ejaculations, or
darts cast up to heaven. Such short ejaculations
were much used by the devout brethren, which St.
Augustine commends as the most piercing kind of
prayer. 1 Such as these were that ot the leper,
" Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean :" k
and that of the disciples, " Master, save us, we
perish." l Short, but powerful, as you may see by
our Saviour's gracious acceptance of them.
And here I must further commend the order of
ANSWERS of the PEOPLE in all places of the service
where it stands. It refresheth their attention, it
teaches them their part at public prayers, not to
stand by and censure how well the priest plays the
mouth of the congregation. Lastly, it unites the
affections of them all together, and helps to keep
them in a league of perpetual amity. For if the
prophet David did think that the very meeting of
i S.August. Ep. cxxx. c.x. F. tom.ii. p. 389.
k Matt. viii. a. 1 Matt. viii. 25.
6 O
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60 OF VERSICLES AND ANSWERS.
men together in the house of God, should make the
bond of their love indissoluble, Psalm Iv. 14. how
much more may we judge it reasonable to hope
that the like effects may grow in each of the people
toward other, in them all towards the priest,
and in the Priest towards them; between whom
there daily and interchangeably pass in the hearing
of God Himself, and in the presence of His holy
angels, so many heavenly acclamations, exultations,
provocations, petitions, songs of comfort, psalms of
praise and thanksgiving. In all which particulars,
as when the priest makes their suits, and they with
one voice say, Amen ; or when he joyfully begins,
and they with like alacrity follow, dividing betwixt
them the sentences wherewith they strive which
shall most shew his own, and stir up others' zeal to
the glory of God, as in the Psalms and Hymns ; or
when they mutually pray for each other, the priest
for the people, and the people for him, as in the
Versicles immediately before the morning Collects ;
or when the Priest proposes to God the peoples'
necessities, and they their own requests for relief in
every of them, as in the Litany ; or when he pro-
claims the law of God to them as in the Ten Com-
mandments; they adjoining an humble acknow-
ledgment of their common imbecility to the several
branches thereof, together with the lowly requests
for grace to perform the things commanded, as in
the Kyries, or, " Lord have mercy upon us," &c. at
O O
D O
OF VERSICLES AND ANSWERS. 6l
the end of each commandment : all these interlo-
cutory forms of speech, what are they but most
effectual, partly testifications, partly inflammations
of all piety ?
THE PRIEST WHEN HE BEGINS THESE SHORT
PRAYERS IS DIRECTED BYTHE RUBRIC TO STAND.
It is noted that the priest in the holy offices is
sometimes appointed to kneel, sometimes to stand.
The reason of this we shall here once for all inquire.
The priest or minister being a man of like infir-
mities with the rest of the congregation, a sinner,
and so standing in need of grace and pardon, as
well as the rest, in all confessions of sins, and peni-
tential prayers, such as the Litany is, is directed to
beg His pardon and grace upon his knees. He
being moreover a priest or minister of the most high
God, that hath received from Him an office and
authority, sometimes stands to signify that his
office and authority. Which office of his may be
considered, either in relation to God or the people.
As it relates to God, so he is God's ambassador,
2 Cor. v. 1 8, to whom is committed the ministry of
reconciliation, in which respect he is to teach,
baptize, consecrate the Holy Eucharist, bless and
absolve the penitent; and in all these acts of
authority, which he does in the name and person
of Christ, he is to stand.
As his office relates to the people, so he is hi
their stead, for them appointed by God to offer up
O O
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62 OF VERSICLES AND ANSWERS.
gifts and sacrifices to God, particularly the sacrifice
of praise and thanksgiving, together with their
prayers; so we read, Heb. v. i. "Every high
priest," or priest, (so the words are promiscuously
used, Heb. viii. 3, 4.) "taken from among men, is
ordained for men," or in their stead, " in things
pertaining to God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices
for sins." Which definition of a priest, belongs not
only to a priest of the Law, but also to a priest or
minister of the Gospel. For St. Paul from his defi-
nition proves that our Lord Christ, who was after
the order of Melchisedec, not of Aaron, a priest
of the Gospel, not of the Law, ought not to call
Himself, (v. 5 .) but was appointed by God, and more-
over, that He ought to have gifts and sacrifices to
offer ; because " every high priest," or priest, " is
ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices."" 1 These
arguments of St. Paul, drawn from this definition,
are fallacious and unconcluding, unless this be the
definition of a gospel priest, as well as a legal.
Seeing then that we must not conclude St. Paul's
arguments to be unconcluding, we must grant that
the ministers of the gospel are appointed by God
to offer up the sacrifices of prayers and praises of
the Church for the people, thus to stand betwixt
God and them ; and to shew this his office, in these
services he is directed to stand. By this we may
m Heb. viii. 3.
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OF THE COLLECTS. 63
see what advantage it is to the people, that their
prayers are offered up by a priest. For God having
appointed him to this office, will certainly assist
and accept His own constitution : and though the
minister be wicked, or undevout in his prayers, yet
God, that will punish this neglect in himself, will
certainly accept of his office for the people. Upon
this ground probably it was that God sent Abime-
lech to Abraham to pray for him, for he was a
prophet, Gen. xx. 7.
THE COLLECTS.
rHHE Collects follow, which are thought by divers
-A- to be so called, either because they were made by
the priest, super collectum populi, over, or in behalf
of the congregation, meeting, or collection of the
people; or rather because the priest doth herein
collect the devotions of the people, and offer them
up to God ; for though it hath been the constant
practice from the beginning for the people to bear
a vocal part by their suffrages and answers in the
public service of God (which for that very reason
was by the ancients called Common Prayer, as may
be gathered out of Justin Martyr and others ; n )
n Apologia Leap. Ixv.B. p. 85. S. August. Kpist. liv.tom. ii. p. 113.
O : , . _<
Q- H
64 OF THE COLLECTS.
yet for the more renewing and strengthening of
their earnestness, importunity, and, as it were,
wrestling with God, and hope of prevailing, they
desired that themselves and their devotions should
in the close be recommended to God by the priest,
they all adjoining their assent, and saying Amen to
it. And that is the reason why in many of the
Collects God is desired to hear the petitions of the
people, (to wit, those that the people had then made
before the Collect,) that they come in at the end
of other devotions, and were by some of old called
missee, that is to say, dismissions, the people being
dismissed upon the pronouncing of them and the
blessing, the Collects themselves being by some of
the ancients called blessings, and also Sacramento.
either for that their chief use was at the Commu-
nion, or because they were uttered per Sacerdotem,
by one consecrated to holy offices.
But it will not be amiss to inquire more particu-
larly what may be said of these very Collects which
we use, they being of so frequent use, and so con-
siderable a part of the devotion of our Church.
And first concerning their authors and antiquity,
we may observe, that our Church endeavouring to
preserve, not only the spirit but the very forms (as
much as may be, and in a known tongue) of ancient
primitive devotion, hath retained these very Collects
(the most of them) among other precious remains of
it : for we find, by ancient testimony, that they
o c
D O
OP THE COLLECTS. 65
were composed or ordered, either by St. Ambrose,
Gelasius, or Gregory the Great, those holy bishops
and fathers of the Church ; and therefore, having
daily ascended up to heaven like incense from the
hearts and mouths of so many saints in the ages
since their times, they cannot but be very venerable,
and relish well with us, unless our hearts and affec-
tions be of a contrary temper.
Secondly, for the object of these Collects, they
are directed to God in the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord, for so usually they conclude, and very
fitly ; for Christ is indeed the altar upon which all
our prayers are to be offered, that thay may be
acceptable ; " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father
in My name, He will give it you." And so it was
the custom of old: "Itaque orationes nostras,
vitam et sacrificia, et omnia nostra offerimus tibi,
Pater, assidue per Dominum nostrum Jesum
Christum," &c. p But yet we may observe that a
few Collects are directed to Christ, and in the
Litany some supplications to the Holy Ghost,
besides that precatory hymn of Veni Creator in the
Book of Ordination, and that some Collects, espe-
cially for great festivals, conclude with this acknow-
ledgment, "that Christ with the. Father and the
Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth one God world
without end." And this seems to be done to testify
o Johnxvi. 33.
p Bernard, de Contemplando Deo, cap. viii. D. torn. ii. p. 240.
O O
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66 OF THE COLLECTS.
what the Scripture warrants, that although for more
congruity we in the general course of our prayers
go to the Father by the Son, yet that we may also
invocate both the Son and the Holy Ghost, and
that while we call upon one, we equally worship
and glorify all three together ; " Quia dum ad solius
Patris personam honoris sermo dirigitur, bene
credentis fide tota Trinitas honoratur," saith
Fulgentius. p
Thirdly, for their form and proportion, as they
are not one long continued prayer, but divers
short ones, they have many advantages to gain
esteem : the practice of the Jews of old, in whose
prescribed devotions we find a certain number of
several prayers or Collects to be said together ; the
example of our Lord in prescribing a short form ;
the judgment and practice of the ancient Christians
in their Liturgies, and St. Chrysostom, among
others, commends highly short and frequent prayers
with little distances between ; q so doth Cassian
also, and from the judgment of others that were
much exercised therein. r And lastly, as they are
most convenient for keeping away coldness, distrac-
tion, and illusions from our devotion ; for what we
elsewhere say in praise of short ejaculations, is true
also concerning Collects, and that not only in re-
spect of the Minister, but the people also, whose
p Ad Monimum, 1. ii. cap. v. p. 14.
q Horn. II. de Hanna. torn. iv. p. 714.
r De Institutis Coenobiorum, 1. it. cap. s. p. 31.
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q- o
OF THE COLLECTS. 67
minds and affections become hereby more erect,
close, and earnest, by the oftener breathing out
their hearty concurrence, and saying all of them
Amen together at the end of each Collect.
Fourthly, the matter of them is most excellent
and remarkable : it consists usually of two parts,
an humble acknowledgment of the adorable perfec-
tion and goodness of God, and a congruous petition
for some benefit from Him. The first is seen not
only in the Collects for special festivals or benefits,
but in those also that are more general ; for even in
such what find we in the beginning of them but
some or other of these and the like acknowledg-
ments ? that God is Almighty, everlasting, full of
goodness and pity, the strength, refuge, and pro-
tector of all that trust in Him, without whom
nothing is strong, nothing is holy, no continuing in
safety or being, that such is our weakness and
frailty that we have no power of ourselves to help
ourselves, to do any good, to stand upright, cannot
but fall ; that we put no trust in any thing that we
do, but lean only upon the help of His heavenly
grace; that He is the Author and Giver of all good
things, from whom it comes that we have an hearty
desire to pray or do Him any true or laudable
service ; that He is always more ready to hear than
we to pray, and to give more than we desire or
deserve, having prepared for them that love Him
such good things as pass man's understanding.
o o
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68 OF THE COLLECTS.
These and the like expressions can be no other
than the breathings of the primitive Christians, who
with all self-denial made the grace of God their
hope, refuge, protection, petition, and profession
against all proud heretics and enemies of it : and
the petitions which follow these humble and pious
acknowledgments and praises, are very proper, holy,
and good, which will better appear, if we consider
the matter of each Collect apart.
The first in order among the Collects is that for
the day. Now as on every day or season there is
something more particularly commended to our
meditations by the Church; so the first Collect
reflects chiefly upon that, though sometimes more
generally upon the whole matter of the Epistle and
Gospel, desiring inspiration, strength, and protec-
tion from God Almighty, in the practice and pursu-
ance of what is set before us. But concerning the
matter of the Collects for the day, is spoken after-
ward in the particular account that is given of each
Epistle, Gospel, and Collect.
The second Collect is for peace, according to St.
Paul's direction, i Tun. ii. i, 2, and orbem pacatum,
that the world might be quiet, was ever a clause in
the prayers of the primitive Church; and good
reason, for peace was our Lord's legacy My peace
I leave with you ; His new year's gift pax in terris,
Xenium Christi. He prayed for peace, paid for
peace, wept for it, bled for it : peace should there-
o o
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OF THE COLLECTS. 69
fore be dear to us, all kind of peace, outward peace
and all : for if there be not a quiet and peaceable
life, there will hardly be godliness and honesty. 8
This Collect then is fit to be said daily, being a
prayer for peace, and so is that which follows.
The third, for grace to live well : for if there be
not peace with God by an holy life, there will never
be peace in the world. No man can so much as
think a good thought, much less lead a godly life,
without the grace of God ; therefore that is also
prayed for, together with God's protection for the
day or night following.
Then the prayers : according to St. Paul, who
exhorts that "prayers and supplications be made
for all men." 1 In particular for kings; and the
reason he there gives, sufficiently shews the neces-
sity of praying particularly and especially for them ;
namely, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty ; " which can hardly
be done, if they do not help towards it. For as the
son of Sirach says, " As the judge of the people is
himself, even so are his officers ; and what manner
of man the ruler of the city is, such are all they that
dwell therein." u A good Josiah, Hezekiah, or David,
promote religion and honesty, and the right wor-
ship of God among the people ; but a Jeroboam, by
setting up calves in Dan and Bethel, makes all the
people sin.
B i Tim. ii. 2. t Ver. i, a. u Ecclus. x. .
o , o
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70 OF THE COLLECTS.
After this follows a prayer for the Church,
excellently described by bishops, curates, and the
people committed to their charge. By curates here
are not meant stipendiaries, as now it is used to
signify, but all those, whether parsons or vicars, to
whom the bishop, who is the chief pastor under
Christ, hath committed the cure of souls of some
part of his flock, and so are the bishop's curates.
The bishop with these curates, a flock or congrega-
tion committed to their charge, make up a Church.
For according to our Saviour's definition, a Church
is a shepherd, and His sheep that will hear His voice ;
to which St. Cyprian's description agrees, "The
Church is a congregation of believers united to their
bishop, and a flock adhering to their shepherd;" 1
whence you ought to know, says he, that the Church
is in the bishop, and the bishop in the Church, and
they that are not with the bishop, are not in the
Church. Now because the bishops are the guides
and governors of the Church, so that all acts of the
Church are ordered and directed by them, as the
same Cyprian says ; therefore the custom of the
Church always was, and not without reason, to
pray particularly by name for their bishop, as they
did for the king.
To make this Church, to gather it from among
infidels and heathens, and to preserve it from all her
x " llli sunt Ecclesia, plebs Sacerdoti adunata, et pastori suo grex ad-
haerens." Epist. LXVI.p. 168.
O 6
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OF THE BLESSING. 71
subtle and potent enemies, by the healthful Spirit
of His grace, is an act of as great power, and a
greater miracle of love, than to create the world.
Although Thou beest wonderful, O Lord, in ah 1 Thy
works, yet Thou art believed to be most wonderful
in Thy works of piety and mercy, says St. Augus-
tine, and therefore the preface is suitable, AL-
MIGHTY GOD, WHICH ONLY WORKEST GREAT
MARVELS, SEND DOWN UPON Thy Church,
BISHOPS, CURATES, AND THE CONGREGATIONS
COMMITTED TO THEIR CHARGE,, THE HEALTH-
FUL SPIRIT OF THY GRACE.
THE BLESSING.
TT7E end our service with a BLESSING, which is
VV to be pronounced by the bishop, if he be
present. See the Rubric before the blessing in the
Communion Service. Then the priest or bishop,
if present, shall let them depart with his blessing.
This is ordered for the honour of the bishop's
authority, " without contradiction the less is blessed
of the greater." ?
Therefore blessing being an act of authority, the
bishop ought not to be blessed by the priest, but
the priest by the bishop.
y Heb.vii.?.
O O
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72 OF THE BLESSING.
This blessing of the bishop or priest was so highly
esteemed in the primitive times, that none durst go
out of the Church till they had received it, accord-
ing to the Councils of Agde, z in the year 5 06,
and Orleans the third. a
And when they received it, they did it kneeling
or bowing down their heads. And the deacon, to
prepare them to it, was wont to call out imme-
diately before the time of the blessing in such
words as these, " bow down yourselves to the bless-
ing." 11 The Jews received it after the same manner,
Ecclus. 1. 19. 21, "When the service was finished,
the high priest went down, and lifted up his hands
over the congregation to give the blessing of the
Lord with his lips, and they bowed down them-
selves to worship the Lord, that they might receive
the blessing from the Lord the most High." And
doubtless did we consider the efficacy and virtue
of this blessing of priest or bishop, we could do no
less than they did. For it is God from heaven that
blesses us by the mouth of His minister. We have
His word for it, " And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, On
this wise shall ye bless the children of Israel; The
Lord bless thee, &c. And they shall put My
name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless
z Can.xlvii.tom.iv.p. 1391. a Can.xxix. tom.v. p. 309.
b S.Chrysost. Liturg. ap. Goar. Euch. p. 86.
o 6
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OF THE LITANY. 73
them." c And the same promise of God's assist-
ance, and ratifying the priest's blessings, we have in
the Gospel, where our Saviour charges His Apostles
and disciples, that "into whatsoever house they
enter, they should say," not pray, say with authority,
" Peace be to this house," d and (not if your prayers
be fervent, or if they in the house join in prayer
with you, but) if the son of peace be there j that is,
if he that dwells in the house hinders not, nor
resists your blessing, if he be a person capable of so
much good as your blessing, (for this is signified by
this Hebrew phrase, son of peace,) your peace shall
rest upon him : but if he be not such a son of
peace, your blessing shall return to you again,
which it could not be said to do, unless virtue,
together with the blessing, had gone out from them.
The EVENING SERVICE differs little or nothing
from the Morning, and therefore what hath been
said concerning the morning office, may be applied
to that.
THE LITANY.
[~ ITANY signifies an humble and earnest suppli-
I I cation. These forms of prayers called Litanies,
(wherein the people are more exercised than in any
c Numb. vi. 52-47. d Matt. x. 13. Lukex.J.
o c
74 OF THE LITANY.
other part of the service, by continual joining in
every passage of it,) are thought by some to have
been brought into the Church about four hundred
years after Christ, in times of great calamity, for
the appeasing of God's wrath. True it is, that they
are very seasonable prayers in such times, and
therefore were by Gregory and others used in their
processions, for the averting of God's wrath in
public calamities ; but it is as true, that they were
long before that time, even in the first services that we
find in the Church, used at the Communion Sendee,
and other offices, as ordination of priests, and the
like ; witness the Clementine Constitutions/ where
we find the deacon ministering to the people, and
directing them from point to point what to pray for,
as it is in our Litany, and the people are appointed
to answer to every petition, Domine miserere, " Lord
have mercy." And in all Liturgies extant, (as Mr.
Thorndike hath well observed in his book of Reli-
gious Assemblies, 5 ) the same allocutions or npoo--
<f)a>vr)<r(is, which are indeed Litanies, may be seen.
And St. Augustine * tells us of the common prayers,
which were indited or denounced by the voice of
the deacon. All which make it probable, that the
practice of Litanies is derived from the Apostles,
and the custom of their time. And St. Chrysostom,
on Rom. viii. 26, seems to assert the same ; for upon
e L. viii. cap. v. p. 395-6; vi. 397-8; x. 400-1. Cot. Pat. Apost. torn. i.
f Ch. x. p. 343. g Epist. Iv. cap. xviii. B. torn. ii. p. 144.
O
O
OF THE LITANY. ?
that verse, " we know not what we should pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities,"
he says thus : h in those days, amongst other mira-
culous gifts of the Spirit, this was one, donum pre-
cum, the gift of making prayers for the Church, to
help the ignorance of the people that knew not
what to pray for as they ought : he that had this
gift, stood up and prayed for the whole congrega-
tion, and taught them what to pray for; whose
office now the deacon performs : viz. by directing
them from point to point, what to pray for. To
every of which petitions, says Clement, above cited,
the people were to answer, Domine miserere. This
continual joining of the people in every passage of
it, tends much both to the improving and evidencing
that fervour and intention which is most necessary
in prayers. Hence was it that these forms of
prayers (where the people's devotion is so often
excited, quickened, and exercised by continual suf-
frages, such as, " Good Lord deliver us," " We be-
seech Thee to hear us good Lord") were called eWe-
vels 8er)o-eis, earnest or intense petitions. In which, if
they were relished aright, the earnest and vehement
devotion of primitive times still breathes \ and in
these prayers, if ever, we pray with the Spirit.
Concerning the Litany of our Church, we may
boldly say, and easily maintain it, that there is not
h Chrysost. in Rom. Hoin. xiv. tom.ix. p. 585. C.
o c
76 OF THE LITANY.
extant any where, I. a more particular, excellent
enumeration of all the Christian's either private or
common wants ; nor, II. a more innocent, blame-
less form, against which there lies no just exception ;
nor, III. a more artificial composure for the raising
of our devotion, and keeping it up throughout, than
this part of our Liturgy.
In the beginning, it directs our prayer to the right
object, the glorious TRINITY. For necessary it is,
that we should know whom we worship. Then it
proceeds to deprecations, or prayers against evil;
lastly, to petitions for good. In the deprecations,
as right method requires, we first pray against sin,
then against punishment ; because sin is the geatest
evil. From all which we pray to be delivered by
the holy actions and passions of CHRIST, the only
merits of all our good. The like good order is
observed in our petitions for good. First, we pray
for the Church catholic, the common mother of all
Christians ; then, for our own Church, to which,
next the Church catholic, we owe the greatest ob-
servance and duty. And therein in the first place
for the principal members of it, in whose welfare
the Church's peace chiefly consists. After this we
pray particularly for those sorts of men that most
especially need our prayers, such amongst others as
those whom the Law calls miserable persons.
The Litany is not one long continued prayer, but
broken into many short and pithy ejaculations ; that
o o
o
OF THE LITANY. 77
the intention and devotion which is most necessary
in prayer may not be dulled and vanish, as in a
long prayer it is apt to do, but be quickened and
intended, by so many new and quick petitions;
and the nearer to the end the shorter and livelier
it is, strengthening our devotions by raising in us
an apprehension of our misery and distress, ready
as it were to sink and perish, and therefore crying
out as the disciples did, "Master, save us, we
perish:" O LAMB OF GOD HEAR us, O CHRIST
HEAR us, LORD HAVE MERCY UPON us. Such as
these are the active, lively spirited prayers, Ivepyov-
fj.vai, which St. James mentions, and tells us avail
much 1 .
The Doxology, or glory be to the Father, &c. is
much used in our service, after confession, after
Athanasius' Creed, and especially after each psalm
and canticle, as a most thankful adoration of the
holy Trinity, upon reflection on the matter going
before, and therefore is very fitly divided betwixt
the priest and people in saying it, according as the
matter going before was ; and it is in those places
said standing, as the most proper posture for
thanksgiving or adoration. Here in the Litany it
is said in a way somewhat different ; for after that
the priest and people have in the supplications
aforegoing besought God that He would arise, help
and deliver them, as He did their forefathers of
3- O
o
78 OF THE LITANY.
old, for His name's sake and honour, the priest
does collect-wise sum up this -, praying that by such
deliverances, all glory may redound to God the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as it was in the be-
ginning, is now and ever shall be, &c. the people
answering only, Amen, as it were after a Collect,
and continuing kneeling ; because both this, as it
is here used, and other parts of the Litany before
and after, are matters of humble supplication, and
so most fit to be tendered to God in that posture.
In the former part of the Litany the priest hath
not a part so proper but that it may be said by a
deacon or other, and it useth to be sung by such in
cathedral and collegiate churches and chapels,
and both it and all other our alternate supplica-
tions, which are as it were the lesser Litanies, do
much resemble the ancient prayers indited by the
Deacons, as we have said ; but in the latter part of
the Litany, from the Lord's Prayer to the end, the
priest hath a part more peculiar, by reason of the
eminency of that prayer, and that other collects
follow wherein the priest doth recommend again
the petitions of the people to God, (as in that
prayer, " We humbly beseech thee, O Lord, merci-
iilly to look upon our infirmities," &c.) and so-
emnly offers them up to God in the behalf of the
)eople, to which the people answer, Amen; and
herefore these collects after the Litany, though
he matter of them hath been prayed for before
o o
3 O
OF THE LITANY. 79
particularly in the supplications foregoing, may be
said without the charge of needless tautology ; for
here the priest does by virtue of his sacred office
solemnly offer up and present to God these peti-
tions of the people, as it was usually done in an-
cient Liturgies ; praying God to accept the people's
prayers, as he doth more than once in St. Chrysos-
tom's Liturgy, particularly in that prayer which we
have out of it in our Litany. For when the deacon
hath (as we have observed) ministered to the people
several petitions, to which they answer, Lord have
mercy, litany-wise, then the priest collect-wise
makes a prayer to God to accept the people's peti-
tions, the deacon in the mean time proceeding to
dictate to the people more supplications which the
priest in another collect offers up to God solemnly
but secretly, so that though in some of those Col-
lects the priest at the latter end spake out so that
the people might hear and answer, Amen, or glory
be to the Father, or the like, (which they might well
do, for though the prayer were said by the priest
secretly, yet it was prescribed, and such as the
people knew beforehand,) yet some of them were
said throughout secretly by the priest, to which the
people were not required to make any answer.
The reason of these secreta, secret prayers said
by the priest, may be partly for variety to refresh
the people, but chiefly, as I conceive, that by this
course the people might be taught to understand
o o
o -c
8O OF THE LITANY.
and reverence the office of the priest, which is to
make an atonement for the people, and to present
their prayers to God by that very offering of them
up, making them more acceptable to God: all
which depends not upon the people's consent or
confirmation of his office, but upon God's alone
appointment and institution, who hath set him
apart to these offices of offering gifts and sacrifices
for the people k . And therefore as it was appointed
by God, that when Aaron by his priestly office was
to offer for the people and make an atonement for
them, none of the people were to be present 1 , so
the church ordered that at some times, when the
priest was making an atonement for the people, and
offering up for them and the acceptation of their
prayers, the merits and passion of Christ, none
should seem actually to assist, but the priest should
say it fj.v(rTiK>s, secretly and mystically. Yet lest
the people should be unsatisfied, and suspicious
that the priest had neglected this his office, which
they could not be assured that he had performed,
because it was done secretly -, therefore the church
appointed that the priest should at the end of the
service come down from the altar, and standing
behind the pulpit, in the midst of the people, say a
loud prayer, called evxrj oTrto-tfa/i/Scoi/os 1 ", which was a
sum or compendium of all that the people had
klleb.r. i. 1 Levit.rvi. 17. m Goar. p. 154.
o c
o o
OF THE LITANY. 8l
)efore petitioned for, which he then solemnly
offered up to God.
The Church of England is generally in her Com-
mon Prayers, as for an humble, so for an audible
voice, especially in the Lord's Prayer, appointing it
to be said, in the Rubric before it, with a loud, that
s, an audible voice, not secretly ; and this, for the
more earnest repetition of so Divine words, and to
make them more familiar to the people. But
though this church does not order the priest to say
these prayers secretly, yet she retains the same
order of offering up by the priest in Collects follow-
ing the people's foregoing supplications.
The Litany is appointed in the Rubrics to be read
Wednesdays and Fridays, the days kept in the
Greek church for more solemn fasts, because the
Bridegroom was then taken from us, being sold by
Judas on Wednesday, and murdered on Friday. 1
And though our Church in imitation of the western
hath changed the Wednesday fast to Saturday, yet
in memory of the eastern custom, she still appoints
the Litany to be used upon Wednesday.
Friday was both in the Greek church and Latin,
a Litany or humiliation day, and so is kept in ours.
And whosoever loves to feast on that day rather
than another, in that holds not communion with
the ancient catholic church, but with the Turks,
who in contumely of Christ crucified, feast that day {
n Epipkan. adve-r. Aerium. tom.i. cap. iii. p. 906. cap. vi. 910. C.
o Chemnit. in 3. proec.
o o
o-
OF HOLY DAYS.
HOLY in Scripture phrase is all one with sepa-
rate or set apart to God, and is opposed to
common : " What God hath cleansed, that call not
thou common. " p Holy days then are those which
are taken out of common days, and separated to
God's holy service and worship, either by God's
own appointment, or by holy Church's dedication.
And these are either fasting and penitential days,
(for there is a holy fast, Joelii. i5, as well as a
holy feast, Nehem. viii. 10,) such as Ash- Wednesday,
Good-Friday, and the whole week before Easter,
commonly called the Holy week ; which days holy
Church hath dedicated to God's solemn worship,
in religious fastings and prayers. Or else holy fes-
tivals, which are set apart to the solemn and reli-
gious commemoration of some eminent mercies and
blessings of God. And amongst these holy days,
some are higher days than other, in regard of the
greatness of the blessing commemorated, and of
the solemnity of the sendee appointed to them. So
we read Lev. xxiii. 34, &c. the feast of tabernacles
was to continue seven days, but the first and the
eighth were the highest days, because then were
the most solemn assemblies.
p Acts x. 15.
O : O
o o
OF HOLY DAYS. 83
This sanctification or setting apart of festival-
days, is a token of that thankfulness, and a part of
that public honour which we owe to God for His
| admirable benefits ; and these days or feasts so set
I apart are of excellent use, being, as learned Hooker
observes, the
I. Splendour and outward dignity of our religion.
II. Forcible witnesses of ancient truth.
III. Provocations to the exercise of all piety.
IV. Shadows of our endless felicity in heaven.
V. On earth, everlasting records teaching by the
i eye in a manner, whatsoever we believe.
And concerning particulars. As that Jews had
their sabbath, which did continually bring to mind
the former world finished by creation; so the
Christian Church hath her Lord's-days or Sundays,
to keep us in perpetual remembrance of a far better
world begun by Him who came to restore all things,
to make heaven and earth new. q The rest of the
days and times which we celebrate have relation all
unto one head CHRIST. We begin therefore our
ecclesiastical year (as to some accounts, though not
as to the order of our sendee) with the glorious
Annunciation of His birth by angelical message.
Hereunto are added His blessed Nativity itself, the
mystery of His legal Circumcision, the testification
of His true Incarnation by the purification of His
blessed mother, the Virgin Mary : His glorious
q Eccles. Pol. b. v. ch. Ixx. . 8. vol. ii. p. 496.
O _ O
o -
84 OF HOLY DAYS.
Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, the
admirable sending down of His Spirit upon
His chosen.
Again, forasmuch as we know that CHRIST hath
not only been manifested great in Himself, but
great in other His saints also ; the days of whose
departure out of the world are to the Church of
Christ, as the birth and coronation-days of kings or
emperors ; therefore, especial choice being made of
the very flower of all occasions in this kind, there
are annual selected tunes to meditate of Christ
glorified in them, which had the honour to suffer
for His sake, before they had age and ability to
know Him, namely, the blessed Innocents : glori-
fied in them which knowing Hun as St. Stephen,
had the sight of that before death, whereinto so
acceptable death doth lead : glorified in those sages
of the East, that came from far to adore Hun, and
were conducted by strange light : glorified in the
second Elias of the world, sent before Him to pre-
pare His way : glorified in every of those Apostles
whom it pleased Hun to use as founders of His
kingdom here : glorified in the angels, as hi St.
Michael : glorified in all those happy souls that are
already possessed of bliss.
Besides these, be four days annexed to the feasts
of Easter and Whitsunday, for the more honour
and enlargement of those high solemnities. These
being the days which the Lord hath made glorious,
o o
O
OF HOLY DAYS. 85
" Let us rejoice and be glad in them."' These days
we keep not in a secret calendar, taking there-
by our private occasions as we list ourselves to
think how much God hath done for all men ; but
they are chosen out to serve as public memorials of
such mercies, and are therefore clothed with those
outward robes of holiness, whereby their difference
from other days may be made sensible, having by
holy Church a solemn service appointed to them.
Part of which service are the Epistles and Gos-
pels ; of which in the first place we shall discourse,
because these are peculiar and proper to each
several holy day, the rest of the service for the most
part being common to all.
Concerning these, two things are desirable :
I. To shew the antiquity of them.
II. Their fitness for the day to which they belong,
or the reason of their choice.
Concerning the antiquity of Epistles and Gospels,
it will be sufficient, once for all, to shew that the
use of them in the Christian Church was ancient.
Concerning the antiquity of the days themselves, to
which the Epistles and Gospels appertain, it will
be fit to be more particular.
That the use of Epistles and Gospels peculiar to
the several holy days was ancient, appears first by
ancient Liturgies; secondly by the testimony of
the ancient fathers. Let ST. AUGUSTINE testify
r Psalm cxviii. 34.
o o
o c
86 OF HOLY DAYS.
for the Latin Church, " We heard first/' says he,
" the Apostolical Lesson, then we sung a psalm,
after that the Gospel was read." r Now let ST.
CHRYSOSTOM testify for the Greek ; " The Minister
stands up, and with a loud voice calls, "Let us
attend :" s then the Lessons are begun ; which Les-
sons are the Epistles and Gospels, (as appears in his
Liturgy,) which follow immediately after the Min-
ister hath so called for attention.
The fitness of the Epistle and Gospel for the day
it belongs to, and the reason of the choice will
plainly appear, if we observe that these holy fes-
tivals and solemnities of the Church are, as I have
touched before, of two sorts ; the more high days,
or the rest : the first commemorate the signal acts
or passages of our Lord in the redemption of man-
kind, His Incarnation and Nativity, Circumcision,
Manifestation to the Gentiles, His Fasting, Passion,
Resurrection and Ascension, the sending of the
Holy Ghost, and thereupon a more full and express
manifestation of the Sacred Trinity. The second
sort is of inferior days that supply the intervals of
the greater, such as are either the remaining Sun-
days, wherein, without any consideration of the
sequence of time, (which could only be regarded in
great feasts,) the holy Doctrine, Deeds, andMiracles
r In Epist. Joannis ad Parthos. Prologus,, torn. iii. p. 826. Serm. clxxvi.
He verbis Apost. i Tim. i. i. D. torn. v. p. 839.
s Horn. XIX. in Act. Apost. cap. ix. torn. ix. p. 159. E.
O , C
o
o
OF HOLY DAYS. 87
of our Lord are the chief matters of our meditations ;
or else the other holy days of which already hath
been spoken. And for all these holy times we have
Epistles and Gospels very proper and seasonable ;
for not only on high and special days, but even in
those also that are more general and indifferent,
some respect is had to the season, and the holy
affections the Church then aims at, as mortification
in Lent, joy, hope, newness of life, &c. after Easter ;
the fruits and gifts of the Spirit, and preparation for
Christ's second coming in the time between Pente-
cost and Advent. But these things I shall shew in
the discourse of the holy days severally. As for
the Lessons, although they have another order, and
very profitable, being for each day of the week,
following usually the method of chapters, and taking
in the Old Testament also, (the Communion deal-
ing chiefly with the New as most fit for the nature
of that service,) yet in them also regard is had to
the more solemn times by select and proper read-
ings, as hath been shewn. This being the Church's
rule and method, (as she hath it from the Apostle,)
that all things be done unto edifying, that we may
be better acquainted with God and with ourselves,
with what hath been done for us, and what is to be
done by us. And this visible as well as audible
preaching of Christian doctrine by these solemni-
ties and readings in such an admirable order, is so
apt to infuse by degrees all necessary Christian
o c
88 OF HOLY DAYS.
knowledge into us, and the use of it to the igno-
rant is so great, that it may well be feared (as
a reverend person 1 hatk forewarned) that when the
festivals and solemnities for the birth of Christ and
His other famous passages of life, and death, and
resurrection, and ascension, and mission of the Holy
Ghost, and the Lessons, Gospels, (and Collects,) and
Sermons upon them, be turned out of the Church,
together with the Creeds also, it will not be in the
power of weekly sermons on some head of religion
to keep up the knowledge of Christ in men's hearts,
&c. And no doubt for this and other good reasons
which he gives us, it was that the primitive Chris-
tians were so exact and religious in these solemni-
ties and meditations on the occasions of them, and
therefore the sermons of the fathers were generally
on the readings of the day, as hereafter is shewed.
And we have from another the like hand thus :
" The blessings of God, whereof these solemnities
renew the remembrance, are of that esteem to the
Church, that we are not able to express too much
thankfulness in taking that occasion of solemnizing
His service. And the greatest part of Christians
are such as will receive much improvement in the
principal mysteries of our faith, by the sensible in-
struction which the observation of such solemnities
yieldeth. The remembrance of the birth, the suf-
t Dr. Hammond'8 View of the New Directory, ch. i. sect. 36. p. ija.
o o
OF HOLY DAYS. 8p
ferings, the resurrection of Christ, the coming of
the Holy Ghost, the conversion of the Gentiles by
sending the Apostles, the way made before His
coming by the Annunciation of the angel and the
coming of the Baptist, as it is a powerful mean to
train the more ignorant sort in the understanding
of such great mysteries, so it is a just occasion for
all sorts, to make that a particular tune of serving
God, upon which we solemnize those great works of
His :" u and what we have above said concerning
the excellent use of festival days at p. 83.
The same method shall be observed in this dis-
course of holy days, which the service book uses :
not that in the title-page in the beginning of the
book, (which perhaps reckons for holy days only
those days in which we are solemnly to worship
God, and also to rest from usual labour,) but that
in the services appointed by the book which adds
over and above, that old catalogue of holy days, St.
Paul and St. Barnabas, Ash- Wednesday, and the
Holy week ; all which must be reckoned for holy
days in the Church's account, because they have
holy day service, Epistles and Gospels, and second
service, appointed to them, though there be no law
that inflicts a penalty upon them that do their usual
works upon those days, they being only desired to
be present at the Church's service at the hours
appointed.
a Thorndike of Religious Assemblies, ch.vii. p. 156.
O
o
OF ADVENT SUNDAYS.
THE principal holy days, as Christmas, Easter,
and Whitsunday, have some days appointed to
attend upon them; some to go before, some to
come after : as it were to wait upon them for their
greater solemnity.
Before Christmas are appointed four Advent
Sundays, so called because they are to prepare us
for Christ's Advent, or coming in the flesh. These
are to Christmas-day as St. John the Baptist to
Christ, forerunners to prepare for it and point it
out.
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT.
The Gospel, Matt. xxi. i, seems at first more
proper to Christ's passion than His birth ; yet is it
read now principally for those words in it, " Blessed
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," that
is, Blessed is He for coming in the flesh, the cause
of all our joy, for which we can never say enough,
Hosanna in the highest.
The Epistle, Rom. xiii. 8, labours to prepare us
to behold with joy this rising sun, bidding us awake
from sleep, according to the Prophet Isaiah, ch. Ix i .
" Arise, and shine, for thy light is come."
The Collect is taken out of both, and relates to
o c
o o
OF THE ADVENT SUNDAYS. pi
both, the first part of it is clearly the words of the
Epistle, "That we may cast away the works of
darkness, and put upon us the armour of light."
That which follows, " In the time of this mortal
life, in the which Thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us," in effect is the same with that in the Epistle,
" Let us put off the works of darkness, &c. because
the night is spent, the day is at hand, and our sal-
vation is near ; " that is, our Saviour Christ, the
light of the world, is coming into the world to visit
us in great humility, according to the prophet,
Zach. ix. 9, which the Gospel records, " Tell ye
the daughter of Sion," (to her great joy,) that be-
hold " her King comes unto her, meek, (or, in great
humility,) sitting upon an ass."
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT.
The Gospel, Luke xxi. 25, treats of Christ's
second coming to judgment, an excellent meditation
to prepare us for the welcome and joyful entertain-
ment of Christ's first coming. A Saviour must
needs be welcome to him that is afraid of damn-
ation.
The Epistle, Rom. xv. 4, mentions the first
coming of our Lord for the salvation even of the
Gentiles, that is of us, for which all praise is by us
to be given to Him. "Praise the Lord, all ye
Gentiles, and laud Him all ye nations together."
o o
o c
92 OF THE ADVENT SUNDAYS.
The Collect is taken out of the Epistle; and
though it seems not to relate to the day, yet is
it an excellent prayer for all times, and so not
unseasonable for this.
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT.
The Epistle, i Cor, iv. i, mentions a second ,
coming of Christ ; the Gospel, Matt. xi. 2, the
first. The Collect prays for the benefit of THIS
LIGHT.
This week is one of the four Ember weeks, con-
cerning which see after the first Sunday in Lent.
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER ADVENT.
The Epistle, Phil. iv. 4, and Gospel, John i. 19,
set Christ, as it were, before us, not prophesied of,
but being even at hand, yea, standing amongst us ;
pointing Him out as St. John Baptist did to the
people; "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sins of the world ! "
The Collect prays most earnestly and passionately
to Him, to succour us miserable sinners.
o c
D
FEAST OF CHRISTMAS DAY.
THE Epistle, Heb. i. i, Gospel, John i. i, and
Collect, are plainly suitable to the day, all
mentioning the birth of Christ. Besides, this feast
hath proper Psalms, in which some verses are
peculiar to the day, as will appear, if they be well
considered. The first psalm for the Morning Ser-
vice, is xix. " The heavens declare the glory of
God ; " very suitable to the feast, for at His birth
a new star appeared which declared His glory and
Deity so plainly, that it fetched the sages of the
East to come and worship Him : " Where is He that
is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen His
star in the east, and are come to worship Him." x
The second psalm for the morning is xlv. which,
at the beginning of it, is a genethliac, or birth-
song of Christ, " Thou art fairer than the children
of men," ver. 3. And of His mighty success in sub-
duing the devil and the world by the word of
truth, of meekness, and righteousness, ver. 5 . &c.
The third is Psalm Ixxxv. which is principally
set for the birth of Christ : for it is a thanksgiving
to God for sending a Saviour, which should save
His people from their sins, the greatest captivity
that is, and therefore cannot properly be meant of
x Matt. ii. 2.
o 6
o-
94 OF CHRISTMAS DAY.
any but Christ, who was therefore called " Jesus,
because He should save His people from their sins,"
Matt, i< 21. And so the primitive Church under-
stood it, and therefore selected it out as a part of
their office for this day, as being proper and perti-
nent to the matter of the feast : for the meeting
here specified, of mercy and truth, righteousness
and peace, ver. 10, u, was at Christ's birth, who
said of Himself, that He was the truth; who as He
had a birth from heaven, to wit, His Divine nature,
so had He another as man from earth from the
Virgin; which birth drew righteousness to look
from heaven upon poor sinners with a favourable
look, and made righteousness and peace kiss, for
the delivering of sinners from their captivity. True !
it is the prophet in the first verses speaks of this
delivery as of a thing past, " Lord, Thou hast turned
away the captivity of Jacob : " yet for all this it
may be a prophecy of our salvation by the coming
of Christ hereafter : for as St. Peter says, David
being a prophet and seeing this before, Acts ii. 30,
31, spake of Christ's nativity, as if it were already
The evening Psalms are Ixxxix. ex. cxxxii. The
first and last of which are thankful commemora-
tions of God's merciful promise of sending our
Lord Christ into the world, that " seed of David,
which He had sworn to establish, and set up His
throne for ever." For which, " O Lord, the very
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OF CHRISTMAS DAY. p5
heavens shall praise Thy wondrous works, and Thy
truth in the congregation of the saints." 1 The
Church was in affliction now, as is plain in both
these Psalms ; but such was the joy that they were
affected with, at the promise of Christ's birth and
coming into the world, that they could not contain,
but even in the midst of their misery break forth
into thanksgiving for it : and how can the Church
excite us better to thanksgiving to God for the
birth of Christ upon this day, than by shewing us
how much the promise of it afar off wrought upon
the saints of old ? Psalm ex. expressly mentions
the birth of Christ, " The dew of Thy birth is of
the womb of the morning," ver. 3. As the morning
dew brings forth innumerable fruit, so shall the
birth of Christ bring forth innumerable faithful
people ; and therefore the prophet here does, as we
should this day, adore and praise the goodness of
God for the birth of Christ, the cause of so much
good.
It is admirable to behold the frame of the
Church's holy office and service this day. In the
first Lessons, she reads us the prophecy of Christ's
coming in the fleshy in the second Lessons,
Epistle and Gospel, she gives us the history of it : z
in the Collect, she teaches us to pray, that we may
be partakers of the benefit of His birth ; in the
Psalm lxxxix.5. y Isaiah ix. i_ 8 ;
i Luke ii.i 15. Titus Hi. 4 - 9.
O
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96 OF CHRISTMAS DAY.
proper preface for the day, as also in the proper
psalms, she sets us to our duty of adoring and glo-
rifying God for His mercy. In the Lessons and
Gospels appointed, holy Church does the angel's
part, brings us glad tidings of our Saviour's birth :
Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, for
unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord." 3 In appointing the special hymns and
psalms, she calls upon us to do the shepherd's
part, to " glorify and praise God for all the things
that this day we hear and see." b And to sing with
the angels, " glory to God in the highest, for this
good-will to men."
For the antiquity of this day, many testimonies
might be brought out of the ancients ; but, because
I intend brevity, I shall be content with two
beyond exception. St. Augustine witnesses, that
it was the custom of holy Church to keep this day :
and upon the five and twentieth of December. d St.
Chrysostom makes a sermon to prove that the
keeping of Christmas-day was ancient, even from
the first tunes, and that the Church kept the true
day. In the same sermon he says, " it is a godly
thing to keep this day." Nay, further, that " the
keeping of this day was one of the greatest signs of
our love to Christ." Amongst other arguments
which he uses there, to persuade his hearers to
a Luke ii. 10, ii. b Ver. 20. c Ep.lv. cap. i. B. torn. ii. p. 19
d In Psalm, c-xxxii. torn. iv. p. 1490. A.
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ST. STEPHEN, ST. JOHN, INNOCENTS. p7
keep this day, he brings this, that the custom of
keeping this day was religious, and of God, or else
it could never have been so early spread over the
whole world, in spite of so much opposition. 6
ST.STEPHEN, ST. JOHN, INNOCENTS.
IMMEDIATELY after Christmas follow, as at-
tendants upon this high festival, St. Stephen,
St. John, and Innocents ; not because this was the
very time of their suffering, but because none are
thought fitter attendants on Christ's nativity than
the blessed martyrs, who have laid down their
lives for Him, from whose birth they received spi-
ritual life. And there being three kinds of martyr-
dom : I. In will and deed, which is the highest.
II. In will, but not in deed. III. In deed, but
not in will : in this order they attend. St. Stephen
first, who suffered both in will and deed. Next,
St. John, who suffered martyrdom in will, but not
in deed, being miraculously delivered out of the
boiling caldron, into which he was put before
Port-Latin in Rome. Lastly, the holy Innocents,
who suffered in deed but not in will; yet are
reckoned amongst the martyrs, because they suf-
e In diem natalem Dora. torn. ii. p. 354.
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II
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98 ST. STEPHEN, ST. JOHN, INNOCENTS.
fered for Christ ; whose praise these His witnesses
confessed, and SHEWED FORTH NOT IN SPEAK-
ING BUT IN DYING. [Collect for the day.] f
The reason of the choice of the Epistles, * Gos-
pels, 11 and Collects for these days is plain, these
being all privileged days, that is, days which have
in Scripture their peculiar histories. But for the
Collect 1 for St. Stephen's day we may note in parti-
cular, that as the Church offers up some of her
Collects directly to the second Person of the Trinity,
so one of them is this for St. Stephen's day, and
very properly ; for as St. Stephen in the midst of
hismartyrdom prayed to Jesus, saying, " Lord Jesus
receive my spirit," and, " Lord lay not this sin to
their charge;" so the Church in imitation of this
blessed proto-martyr upon his day calls upon the
Lord Jesus also, desiring of Hun such a spirit as
that of St. Stephen, to love and pray for our enemies,
which is that heroical and transcendant virtue which
is peculiar to Christian Religion.
f Old Collect for Innocent's Day. " Almighty God, whose praise this day
the young Innocents Thy witnesses have confessed and shewn forth, not in
speaking;, but in dying ; mortify and kill all vices in us, that in our conver-
sation our life may express Thy faith, which with our tongues we do confess ;
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
g Acts vii. 55. i John i. i. Rev.xiv. i.
h Matt, xxiii. 34. John xxi. 19. Matt. ii. 13.
i Old Collect for St. Stephen's Day. " Grant us, O Lord, to learn to love
our enemies by the example of Thy martyr St. Stephen, who prayed for his
persecutors to Thee ; which livest and reignest, &c." And for St. John the
Evangelist Day, after the words, "Evangelist St. John," followed, "may
attain to Thy everlasting gifts ; through Jesus Christ our Lord."
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ST. STEPHEN, ST. JOHN, INNOCENTS. 99
Before we endeavour to shew the antiquity of
these days in particular, it will not be amiss to give
some account of the ancient observation of Saints'
days in general.
That the observation of Saints' days was very
ancient in the Church will appear by these testimo-
nies following. The third Council of Carthage k tells
us, that the Church did celebrate the passions and
anniversaries of the martyrs. The council was held
in St. Augustine's time. 1 "Attend therefore, my
dearly beloved ; all of you unanimously hold fast
God your Father, and the Church your mother.
Celebrate the Saints' birth- days (so they anciently
called the days of their death and martyrdom) with
sobriety, that we may imitate them that have gone
before us, that they may joy over us, who pray for
us, that so the blessing of God may remain upon us
for ever." Amen. Amen.
Chrysostom. m " Thejsepulchres of the Saints are
honourable, and their days are known of all, bring-
ing a festival joy to the world."
Before these St. Cyprian," "We celebrate the
passions of the martyrs and their days with an anni-
versary commemoration." And before him, anno
147, the Church of Smyrna says the same.
If it be demanded why the Church kept the days
k Can.xlvii.tcm.ii. p. 1177.8.
1 S. Austin. Serm.ii. in Psalm. Ixxxviii. torn. iv. p. 954. C.
m Horn. LXV1. ad Pop. Antioch. torn. v. p. 335. B. ed. Lat.
n Epist. xxxix. p. 77. o Euseb. Eccles. Hist. 1. v. cap. xv. p. 135 . A.
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100 ST. STEPHEN, ST. JOHN, INNOCENTS.
of the Saints' deaths, rather than of their birth or
baptism ? the answer may be : I. Because at
their deaths they are born citizens of heaven, of the
Church triumphant, (which is more than to be born
either a man or a Christian, a member of the Church
militant,) whence (as above said) these days were
usually styled by the ancients, their birth-days. II.
Then do they perfectly triumph over the devil and
the world, by which the Church militant hath gained,
to her comfort, an example of persevering con-
stancy and courage, and the Church triumphant
hath gained a new joy by the addition of a new
member. For surely if the Saints and Angels in
heaven joy at the conversion of a sinner, much
more do they joy at the admission of a saint into
heaven.
Thus much of the Saints' days in general. For
these three holy days in particular, that they are
ancient, St. Augustine shews us, who hath sermons
upon all these days, vol. v. and Chrysologus, who
hath sermons upon St. Stephen and Innocents ; p
and Origen in his comment upon these words, q "A
voice was heard in Rama," tells us, the Church
did, and did well in it to keep the feast of Inno-
cents ; and there is as much reason for the keeping
of St. Stephen's day, who was the first martyr, and
of St. John's, the beloved disciple and evangelist, as
p Chrysologus Serm. cliv. in S. Stephan. p. 391. Serm. De Infantium
nee. CLII. p. 387. q In Diversos, Horn. III. torn, ii.p.436. ed.Lat.
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OF NEW YEAR'S DAY. 101
for the keeping of Innocents ; and therefore it is to
be thought, that the Church did then as well
observe them as this, since we have proved, she
did keep the days of martyrs.
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS.
Sunday hath the same Collect with Christ-
-L mas-day ; and the Epistle, Gal. iv. i . and Gos-
pel, St. Matt. i. 1 8, treat about the same business,
the birth of Christ ; for we have not yet done with
the solemnity of Christmas. Thus great solemnities
have some days after them, to continue the memory
of them, in prorogationemfesti.
FEAST OF CIRCUMCISION, OR
NEW YEAR'S DAY.
THE feast of Circumcision is affirmed by learned
men to be of later institution ; for though many
of the ancients mention the octave of Christmas and
New Year's day, yet they do not mention or seem
to keep it, say they, as a feast of the Circumcision.
O -O
o .
102 OF NEW YEAR'S DAY.
But suppose it to be so ; yet surely it cannot be
denied that there is reason enough for the keeping
of this day solemn, as it is the feast of Christ's
Circumcision; for as at Christmas CHRIST was
made of a woman like us in nature, so this day " He
was made under the Law," 1 " and for us took upon
Him the curse of the Law ; being made sin for us,
and becoming a surety to the offended God, for us
sinners ; which suretyship He sealed this day with
some drops of that precious blood which He meant
to pour out whole upon the cross.
As by His birth we received the adoption of sons, so
by His Circumcision, the redemption from the Law ;
and without this His birth had not availed us at all.
The Epistle, Rom. iv. 8, Gospel, St. Luke ii. i5,
and Collect, are plainly fit for the day.
This holy day hath no fast before it, the reason
we shall shew ; and to save trouble, we will here
once for all shew " Why some holy days have fasts
before them ; and then, Why this and some other
have none."
For the first. It was the religious custom of the
primitive times to spend the night (or a greater
part of it) before the holy days, in watching and
prayers and tears, partly to prepare them for the
more solemn and religious observation of the holy
day following ; partly to signify that we should be
as the blessed Saints were, after a little time of
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OF NEW YEAR'S DAY. 103
mortification and affliction, translated into glory
and joy, according to Psalm xxx. 5. "Heaviness
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the
morning." Thus after a vigil comes a holy day.
These vigils, or night watches, being in continuance
of time abused by the wickedness of some, who
under colour of those holy nightly exercises stole a
liberty of intemperance, lust, and other villainy,
were, say some, by the wisdom of holy Church, to
avoid scandal, turned into fasts, which still retain
the old name of vigils. The truth of this assertion
I question ; for neither do I find any decree of holy
Church forbidding these vigils : (Canon xxxv. of the
Council of Eliberis, 8 and Canon v. of the Council of
Autissiodorum 1 (or Auxerre) which are usually pro-
duced to this purpose, coming far short of such a
prohibition :) nor is it so probable that the Church
should, for some particular men's abuse, forbid a
practice so religious commanded by our Saviour, St.
Matt. xxv. 13 ; commended to us by His practice at
Gethsemane, St. Matt. xxvi. 38. St. Luke vi. 12 ;
earnestly urged by the Fathers of the primitive times.
I therefore rather think, that, whereas it was the
ancient custom to fast the day and watch the night
before the holy day, as St. Bernard" tells us, in
time, as charity and devotion grew cold, through
sloth and restiness, this more troublesome part of
devotion, the nightly watches, were laid aside, and
s Tom. i.p-974. D. t Tom. v. p. 958. B.
u In Vijfil. S. Andr. Apost. Serm. torn i. p. 1058. E.
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104 OF NEW YEAR'S DAY.
the fast only retained, and that but slenderly ob-
served. But it were to be wished, that as the fast
might be still retained, and more strictly observed,
so the holy vigils might be in part at least revived ;
for the night was not made only for sleep. Trades-
men, mariners, merchants, will tell you so much ;
they spend a good part of the night in watching for
gain ; will not you do as much for your soul ? Be-
sides, the darkness and silence of the night are
helps to compunction and holy sorrow; helps to
meditation and contemplation : the soul is the more
free from outward distraction. The sight of men
lying asleep in their beds, like dead men in the
grave, suggests a meditation of Doomsday. Let
me therefore persuade men and women : bend your
knees, sigh, watch and pray in the night, " Blessed
is he, whom our Lord when He cometh shall find so
doing; and because we know not what hour He
will come, watch therefore." 11 This for the first;
why some holy days have fasts before them.
Now why this Feast of CIRCUMCISION, and some
other have no Fasts, the reason is double.
First, because sometimes the signification of the
vigil or fast, mentioned above, ceases; and the
signification or mystery failing, the vigil or fast is
omitted. For example, St. Michael upon this ac-
count hath no fast, because the angels did not by
u S. Chrysost. Horn. XXVI. in Act. Apost. torn. ix. p. aiz. C.
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EPIPHANY. IO5
sufferings and mortifications enter into their joy,
but were created in the joy they have. But then,
secondly, though this signification and mystery of
vigils and fasts holds good in St. Mark. St. Philip,
St. Jacob, and some other, yet they have no fasts
for another reason -, because they fall either betwixt
Easter and Whitsunday, or betwixt Christmas and
Epiphany, which holy Church held for such high
times of joy and festivity, that they would not have
one day among them sullied by pensive sorrow and
fasting. *
If the fast for a holy day fall upon a holy day,
that is, if the day before the holy day upon which
the fast regularly is to be kept, be itself also a holy
day, then the fast must be kept the day before that. *
EPIPHANY.
THIS Greek word signifies Manifestation, and
hath been of old used for Christmas day, when
Christ was manifested in the flesh; and for this
day, wherein the Star did appear to manifest
CHRIST to the wise men ; as appears by Chrysol-
x Cone. Turou. II. can.xvii. torn. v. p. 856, K. Epiphan. in brev. expos.
Fidei, cap.xxii. torn. i.p. 1104.
y Decretal. 1. iii. tit. XLVJ. cap. i.p. 1523.
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IO6 EHIPHANY.
ogus y and Epiphanius. 2 Upon this identity of the
word, some unskilful ones were misled to think
that anciently the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany
were one and the same ; but plain it is by Chrysol-
ogus, Epiphanius, and Nazianzen, in their sermons
upon this day, that these two feasts were observed,
as we do, upon several days. Nazianzen 8 calls this
day on which Christ was baptized, " The holy lights
of Epiphany ; which to day we celebrate, says he,
having already celebrated the holy feast of Christ-
mas." St. Chrysostom b says, the day of Christ's
birth is not so usually and properly called Epiphany,
as the day of His baptism.
This feast is called in Latin Epiphanies, Epipha-
nies, in the plural ; because upon this day we cele-
brate three glorious apparitions or manifestations,
all which happened upon the same day, though not
of the same year. c
The first manifestation was of the Star, (men-
tioned in the Gospel,) the Gentiles' guide to Christ.
The second Epiphany or manifestation was that
of the glorious Trinity at the baptism of Christ,
mentioned in the second Lesson at morning prayer. d
The third was of Christ's glory or divinity, by
the miracle of turning water into wine, mentioned
in the second Lesson at evening prayer. 6
y Serm clvi. p. 393. z In Assumptionem, torn. ii. p. 286. B.
a In Sanctn Lamina, tom. i. p. 624.
b De Baptismo Christi. tom. ii. p. 369. D.
c Chrysologus, Serm. clx. p. 403. d Luke iii. 1 53. e John ii. i it.
O ' O
-> . O
SUNDAYS AFTER EPIPHANY. IO7
Tlie Collect is plain. The Epistle, Ephes. iii. i,
and Gospel, St. Matt. ii. i, mention Christ's mani-
festation to the Gentiles ; for this was the day of
the dedication of the Gentiles' faith. 6
For the antiquity of this day, we have already
seen Nazianzen, Chrysostom, and Epiphanius, to
which I shall add only St. Augustine/ "The so-
lemnity of this day, known throughout all the world,
what joy doth it bring us ! But the Donatists, says
he, will not keep it, both because they are schis-
matics and love not unity, and also because they
hate the Eastern Church, where the Star appeared."
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
From Christmas to Epiphany, holy Church's de-
sign is, to set forth Christ's humanity, to make
Christ manifest in the flesh, which the offices do, as
we have seen ; but from Epiphany to Septuagesima,
especially in the four next Sundays after Epiphany,
she endeavours to manifest His glory and divinity,
by recounting some of His first miracles, and mani-
festations of His Deity, so that each Sunday is in
this respect a kind of Epiphany.
The Gospel of this day, St. Luke ii. 41, mentions
Christ's manifestation to the doctors of the Jews,
e Chrysologus in diem, p. 293 405.
f Serm. ccii. In Epiphania Domini, iv. cap. i. F. torn. v. p. 914.
, , O
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IO8 SUNDAYS AFTER EPIPHANY.
astonishing all His hearers with His miraculous
answers.
The Epistle, Rom. xii. i, exhorts us to make a
spiritual use of the wise men's mysterious offerings,
especially of myrrh ; which signifies very rightly the
mortifying of the flesh, and the offering of our
bodies as an holy sacrifice to God by Christ.
The Collect prays for grace to enable us thereunto.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
The Gospel, St. John ii. i, mentions Christ's turn-
ing water into wine, by which He manifested both
His glory by the miracle, and His goodness in
ministering to the necessities of others ; to which
virtue the Epistle, Rom. xii. 6, exhorts us, that
whatsoever gifts we have, we should use them as
Christ did, to the good and benefit of others.
The Collect, as divers others, recommends to
God the supplications of the people, &c. [See more
of the Collects in general, p. 63 ; and for the day,
p. 68.]
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
The Gospel, St. Matt. viii. i, is concerning our
Lord's healing of the leper that believed in Him.
The Epistle, Rom. xii. 16, at first sight seems not
to agree to the Gospel ; but yet, if rightly applied,
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SUNDAYS AFTER EPIPHANY. lOp
it suits well with it in the mystical sense. For the
healing of the leper, signifies that Christ will heal
us from the leprosy of sin, if we believe in Him, and
come to Him for the cure as the leper did.
The Epistle labours to prevent the most over
spreading leprous sins of pride, against which the
first verse is directed, " be not wise in your own
conceits," and wrath, and revenge in the following
words, "rendering to no man evil for evil." Or
rather, the Epistle doth remove the two great impe-
diments of Christ's cure of our sinful leprosy;
namely, pride, which " God resists," * and malice or
r evenge, which makes us unpardonable and in-
| curable; "for^ unless we forgive, Christ will not
forgive us. " h
The Collect prays to God through Christ to
heal us.
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
The Gospel, St. Matt. viii. 23, treats of Christ's
miraculous stilling of the waves and the wind. By
the tempest on the sea, may be signified the tu-
multuous madness of the people, which endangers
the peace of the Church, Christ's ship ; so the
Psalmist expounds it, " Thou stillest the raging of
the sea, and the madness of the people,"' 1 which
would never be quiet, unless Christ by His word
and power should command it to be still; and
gJamesiv.6. h Mtt. vi.ij. i Psalmlxv.y.
3 -O
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IIO SUNDAYS AFTER EPIPHANY.
because He does now rule the people's madness by
ministers of His vengeance to whom He gives His
power : therefore the Epistle, Rom. xiii. i, teaches
and exhorts us to submit conscientiously to that
power of Christ, that so the ship of the Church may
be still and safe.
The Collect prays to God to keep the Church
safe amidst the many storms and waves that shake
it.*
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
The four preceding Sundays have manifested
Christ's glory to us in part, by the miracles He
wrought while He conversed with us on earth : the
Gospel, St. Matt xiii. 24, for this day mentions His
second coming to judgment, when He shall appear
in His full glory, and all the holy angels with Him ;
which glorious appearance, as it will be dreadful to
those who have resembled the tares, for they shall
then be burned with unquenchable fire ; so it will
be a joyful appearance to such as the Epistle, Col.
iii. 12, persuades us to be, viz. the meek and gentle
and charitable. And the Collect is for such, pray-
j Fourth Sunday after Epiphany ; Old Collect. "God, which knowest us
to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that for man's frailness
we cannot always stand uprightly, grant to us the health of body and soul
that all those things which we suffer for sin, by Thy help we may well pass
and overcome ; through Christ our Lord. Amen."
o 6
O
SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. Ill
ing to God to keep His Church and Household
continually in the true religion, &c. k
SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY.
MANY reasons are given of this name ; but in
my apprehension the best is a consequentia
numerandi, because the first Sunday in Lent is
called Quadragesima, containing about forty days
from Easter ; therefore the Sunday before that being
still farther from Easter, is called Quinquagesima,
five being the next number above four ; and so the
Sunday before that Sexagesima, and the Sunday
before that Septuagesima.
This and the two next Sundays and weeks were
appointed as preparatives to the Lenten fast, that
when it came it might be the more strictly and reli-
giously observed. And the regulars, and those of
the strictest life, did fast these weeks, though the
common people began not their fast till Ash-Wed-
The observation of Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and
k The Sixth Sunday (if there be so many) shall have the same Collect,
Epistle, and Gospel that was upon the fifth Sunday. Now there is an espe.
cial Collect, Epistle, and Gospel as see Wheatly on the place.
1 S. Bernard. Serin, i. in Septuages. torn. i. p. Six. F.
o
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112 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY.
Quinquagesima, are, to be sure, as ancient as
GREGORY the Great.
The Epistle, i Cor. ix. 24, persuades us to works
of penance and holy mortification; and lest we
should shrink from these hardships, it encourages us
by propounding the reward of these religious exer-
cises, namely, an everlasting crown.
The Gospel, St. Matt. xx. i, is much to the same
purpose. It tells us that God's vineyard is no
place for idle loiterers; all must work that will
receive any penny or reward.
SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY.
The Epistle, 2 Cor. xi. 19, propounds the example
of St. Paul, who was eminent for works of mortifi-
cation and Lenten exercises; and lest we should
think that there is no need of such strictness and
holy violence in religion, the holy Gospel, St. Luke
viii. 4, tell us what danger we are in of coming short
of heaven, how that scarce one of four that profess
religion, and hear the word, brings forth fruit to
salvation, most losing it after they have received it,
for want of due care and heed.
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY.
Septuagesima and Sexagesima Sundays have per-
suaded us to fasting and other exercises of mortifi-
o c
"O
OP LENT. 113
cation in the Lent following ; and because all these
bodily exercises profit little, unless we add faith and
charity, or faith working by love ; therefore this day
the Epistle, i Cor. xiii. i, commends charity, the
Gospel, St. Luke xviii. 31, faith in Christ, by which
our darkness is enlightened, as the blind man's eyes
were, who wisely desired that he may see, for in
sight of God consists our happiness.
LENT.
THE antiquity of Lent is plain by these testi-
monies following : Chrysologus, Serm. II. De
Jejunio et Tentationibus Christi, p. 27. D. Chry-
sostom, Horn. XVII. Heb. x. 9. torn. xii. p. 170.
A. Cyril. Catech. iv. cap. iii. p. 62. D. et xviii. cap.
xxxii. p. 300. B. S. Austin, Epist. LV. cap. xvii. D.
torn. ii. p. 141. Ut quadlaginta dies ante Pascha
observentur, ecclesice consuetudo roboravit, "That
forty days should be observed before Easter, the
custom of the Church hath confirmed." Nosunam
quadragesimam toto anno, tempore congruo jejuna-
mus, secundum traditionem Apostolorum, &c. " One
fast in the year of forty days we keep at a time con-
venient, according to the tradition of the Apostles." 1 "
m S. Hierom. Ep. xxvij. ad Marcel lam, torn. iv. pars. ii. p. 64.
3- O
o c
114 OF LENT.
Epiphanius" tells us, that the Aerians were the
most brain-sick heretics that ever were ; for they
held that bishops and priests were all one; that
presbyters might ordain presbyters : besides, they
held that they were not bound to keep Lent, and
the holy week, as holy Church's laws required, but
would then feast and drink drunk in spite, saying,
that it was against Christian liberty to be tied to
fast.
This forty days fast of Lent was taken up by holy
Church in imitation of Moses and Elias in the Old
Testament; but principally in imitation of our
Saviour's fast in the New Testament, " That we
might," says St. Austin, " as far as we are able,
conform to Christ's practice, and suffer with Him
here, that we may reign with Him hereafter."
But if this fast were taken up in imitation of our
Saviour ; it may be asked, why we do not keep it
at the same time that He did, who fasted immedi-
ately after His baptism, p which was at Epiphany;
whereas our fast begins not till some weeks after ?
For answer of this, many reasons may be given,
why now, rather than at that time, we keep our
Lent.
I. Because at this time, when blood and affec-
tions are at the highest, it is most fit to restrain
them; and to that perhaps St. Jerome alludes,
n Adversus Aerium, Haer. LXXV. cap. iii. torn. i. p. 906. D.
o S. August. Ep. LV. cap. xv. torn ii. p. 139. B. p Matt. iv. t .
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OF LENT. Il5
when he says, Jejunamus tempore congruo, (t we fast
at a time convenient." 01
II. As Christ's sufferings ended in an Easter, a
resurrection, so did holy Church think fit that our
spiritual afflictions and penances should end, as His
did, at Easter. " The fast of Lent signifies this
present troublesome life, and Easter signifies eter-
nal happiness and rest." r
III. Holy Church appoints that all Christians
whatsoever should receive the holy Communion at
Easter ; and therefore appoints this time before, to
prepare themselves by fasting and prayer; thus
judging themselves that they might not be judged
of the Lord ; and this is after God's own pattern,
who commanded the Israelites to afflict themselves,
and eat bitter herbs before they should eat the
Paschal Lamb. All Churches therefore agreed that
Lent should end in Easter, though some difference
there was when it should begin.
This fast is called Lent from the time of the year
in which it is kept, for Lent in the Saxon language
is Spring ; the Spring-fast, or Lent.
q Epist.xxvi.ad Marcellam.
r S. August. Ep.lv. cap. xv. torn. ii. p. 139. 3
O
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ASH-WEDNESDAY.
rpHE Church begins her Lent this day to supply
JL the Sundays in Lent, upon which it was not
the Church's custom to fast, Sundays being high
festivals in memory of our Saviour's joyful resurrec-
tion. Now if you take out of the six weeks of
Lent six Sundays, there will remain but thirty-six
fasting-days; to which, these four of this week
being added, make the just number of forty.
This was anciently called caput jejunii, the head
of Lent, and was a day of extraordinary humilia-
tion. Upon this day were ashes sprinkled upon
their heads, to mind them of their mortality, and
also to mind them what they had deserved to be,
namely, burnt to ashes.
Hence was it called dies cinerum, ASH-WEDNES-
DAY ; and upon this day they were wont to clothe
themselves in sackcloth. These rites are mentioned
Isaiah Iviii. 5, as the usual rites of penitents. This
was common to all penitents; but NOTORIOUS
SINNERS WERE THIS DAY PUTTO OPEN PENANCE.
WHICH GODLY DISCIPLINE, says our Church, [in
her Office of Commination,] IT is MUCH TO BE
WISHED THAT IT MIGHT BE RESTORED AGAIN.
Now that we may know what it is the Church
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OF ASH-WEDNESDAY. 117
wishes there, it will not be amiss to set down in
part the solemnity used upon those sinners at this
time, which was ordered thus.
Let all notorious sinners who have been already,
or are now to be enjoined public penance, this day
present themselves before the Church doors to the
bishop of the place, clothed in sackcloth, bare-
footed, with eyes cast down upon the ground,
professing thus by their habit and countenance
their guilt. There must be present the deans or
arch-presbyters, and the public penitentiaries, whose
office is to examine the lives of these penitents, and
according to the degree of their sin to apportion
their penance, according to the usual degrees of
penance. After this, let them bring the penitents
into the Church, and, with the clergy present, let
the bishop sing the seven penitential psalms, pros-
trate upon the ground, with tears for their abso-
lution. Then the bishop arising from prayer, ac-
cording to the Canons, let him lay his hand upon
them, (that is, to ratify their penance, not to ab-
solve them,) let him sprinkle ashes upon their head,
and cover them with sackcloth ; and with frequent
sighs and sobs let him denounce to them, that as
Adam was cast out of paradise, so are they cast out
of the Church for their sins. After this, let the
bishop command the officers to drive them out of
the church doors, the clergy following them with
this response, " in the sweat of thy brow shalt thou
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Il8 OF EMBER-WEEK.
eat thy bread 8 ; that these poor sinners seeing holy
Church afflicted thus, and disquieted for their sins,
may be sensible of their penance.'
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT.
The Epistle, 2 Cor. vi. i, exhorts to patience in
afflictions. The Gospel, St. Matt. iv. i, reads to us
Christ's victory over temptations, to keep us from
despair of conquest, that we should be of good
cheer and heart, since He our captain " hath over-
come the world."" The Collect for the day is
another of those Collects wherein the Church
directs her petitions to Christ, thereby manifesting
her belief that He is the true Son of God, for
she prays to none but God; in praying to Him,
therefore, she professes to believe Him to be God,
as it is in the close of the Collect ; and this in oppo-
sition to the tempter Satan and all his adherents,
who are still tempting Christ in His members, to
misbelief in that article.
OF EMBER- WEEK.
THE week after Ash- Wednesday, is Imber, or
Ember-week, of which fast we will here treat
in general. There be four Ember-weeks, called
s Gen. iii. 19. t Gratian. Decret. pt. i. Distinct. L. cap. 64. p. 479. B.
u Johnxvi. 33.
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3 . c
OF EMBER-WEEK. Up
in Latin Jejunia quatuor temporum, " the fasts of the
four seasons," because they were kept in the four
parts of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
The first of these begins upon Wednesday next after
Ash- Wednesday. The second upon Wednesday
next after Whitsunday. The third upon Wednes-
day next after Holy-Cross, Sept. 14. The last upon
Wednesday next after St. Lucy, Dec. 13. The
days of fasting and prayers in these weeks are,
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Wednesday, be-
cause then our Lord Christ was betrayed by Judas :
Friday, because then He was crucified : Saturday,
because then we represent the Apostles' sorrow for
the loss of their Lord lying in the grave. The
causes of such religious fastings and prayers upon
these weeks, were formerly many, as namely, that
Christians in these religious duties might let the
world know, that they were as devout as the Jews
formerly had been, whose custom it was to observe
four solemn fasts, Zach. viii. 19. That they might
dedicate to God, as the first-fruits, the beginnings
of the several seasons of the year set apart to His
religious worship, and by this means obtain God's
blessing upon them the remainders of those times.
But the principal cause was for preparation to the
solemn ordination of ministers ; holy Church imi-
tating the Apostles' practice, who, when they were
to set apart men to the ministry, prayed and fasted
before they laid on their hands, Acts xiii. 3. And
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I2O OF EMBER-WEEK.
in after-times, at these solemnities, these Ember
fasts, special regard was had to the ordination "of
priests and deacons. In what manner, and with how
much care and Christianity these fasts have been
heretofore observed, may be gathered from St. Leo,
in his sermons upon them, and from others : and
the second Council of Milan decreed herein to
good purpose. 1 That upon the Sundays before
these fasts, the priest should not only in their
parishes bid the solemn fast, but every one in his
several parish should piously and religiously say the
prayers and litanies, &c. That God's assistance
being implored, both the bishop may be guided by
the Holy Spirit, in the choice of those whom he
shall ordain, and also that they that are ordained,
may grow in learning and holiness of life. These
four fasts have been anciently observed both in the
Church of England and in other churches. In the
laws of king Canute, ch. xvi. p. 130, thus it is said,
" Let every man observe the fasts that are com-
manded, with all earnest care, whether it be the
Ember fast, or the Lent fast, or any other fast."
And the like decrees are found in other councils of
our nation before his time. y Now for the reason
of the name, we find it in Thomas Becon (as he
delivers it out of others that wrote before him,)
" By opinion of much people, these days have been
x Tit. i. Decret. ixii. torn. xv. p. 347. E.
y See Sir Henry Spelman's Concilia Britanuica, pp. 256, 518,546.
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OF EMBER-WEEK. 121
called Ember days, because that our Fathers would
on these days eat no bread, but cakes made under
embers; so that by eating of that they reduced
into their minds that they were but ashes, and so
should turn again and wist not how soon." These
fasts are still appointed by the Church of England.
For though she hath not reckoned them amongst
the holy days, because there is no peculiar office
appointed for them, (as there is to all those that are
reckoned in the catalogue of holy days,) yet by
custom they have been always kept with Litanies,
prayers, and fasting, and are commanded to be
kept still as formerly they were by that excellent
Canon " Forasmuch as the ancient Fathers of the
Church, led by example of the Apostles, (who set
men apart to the ministry of the Gospel by impo-
sition of hands, with prayer and fasting,) appointed
prayers and fasts at the solemn ordering of minis-
ters, and to that purpose allotted certain times in
which only sacred orders might be given or con-
ferred ; we, following their holy and religious ex-
ample, do constitute and decree, that deacons and
ministers be ordained or made, but only upon the
Sundays immediately following^e/Mma quatuor tem-
porum, commonly called Ember weeks, appointed
in ancient time for prayer and fasting, purposely for
this cause at their first institution, and so continued
at this day in the Church of England." 2
z C.xxxi. A.D. 1603.
O
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122 SUNDAYS IN LENT.
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT.
The Epistle, i Thess. iv. i, persuades to tem-
perance, and abstinence from all uncleanness.
The Gospel, St. Matt. xv. 21, tells us how we
may subdue that devil, namely, by steadfast faith
and fervent and importunate prayer.
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT.
The Epistle, Ephes. v. i, as the time, calls for
strictness of life.
The Gospel, St. Luke xi. 14, commends perse-
verance, shewing the danger of relapsing, " For
the end of that man is worse than the beginning."
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT.
This is called Dominica Refectionis; for the
Gospel, St. John vi. i, tells us of Christ's miraculous
feeding and satisfying the hungry souls, that hunger
after Him and His doctrine; and the Epistle,
Gal. iv. 21, tells us of a Jerusalem which is above,
which is free, and a joyous place, to which we, as
children, are heirs. Thus holy Church mixes joy
and comfort with our sorrows and afflictions.
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SUNDAYS IN LENT. 123
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT.
This is called PASSION SUNDAY. For now begins
the commemoration of the Passion of our Lord, and
after a long funeral pomp and train, the corpse
follows upon Good Friday.
The Epistle, Heb. ix. n, treats of the Passion.
The Gospel, St. John viii. 46, of our Lord's being
slandered by the bold malice of the Jews, who call
Him Samaritan, and tell Him He hath a devil,
which must needs be a thorn in His side, and a part
of His Passion.
SIXTH SUNDAY IN LENT.
This is PALM SUNDAY, on which CHRIST came
from Bethany to Jerusalem, and was received with
joy, some strewing their garments, others cutting
down branches and strewing them in the way;
whose religion it is fit we should imitate. " We
should meet Christ by keeping innocency; bear
olive, by doing works of mercy; carry palms, by
conquering the devil and our vices ; green leaves
and flowers we carry, if we be adorned with virtues ;
and we strew our garments in the way, when by
mortification we put off the old man." Bernard.
This week was called of old the GREAT WEEK,
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124 SUNDAYS IN LENT.
because it hath a larger sendee than any other
week, every day having a second service appointed.
It was called also the holy week, because men
gave over all worldly employments, and betook
themselves wholly to devotion this week. The
courts were shut up and civil affairs laid aside, and
prisoners that were put in for small faults were
freed. 8
It was also called the week of fasts ; because
fasting was then heightened and attended with
watching and prayers; for these six days were
spent in lying upon the ground and afflicting the
body, in prayers, watchings, and fastings longer
than ordinary. And when they did eat, their
refreshing was only bread, salt, and water, says
Epiphanius against Ae'rius. It will n<$ be amiss
to set down Epiphanius somewhat more at large :
"AeYius and his disciples had flouted at the
Catholic Christians' severities at this time. Why,
say they, do you keep Easter ? why do you keep
such a strict fast before it ? it is Jewish thus to
keep days of fasting by a law : it is enslaving
yourselves to a yoke of bondage : if I would deter-
mine to fast at all, I would fast what day I pleased,
at mine own liberty." 1 * Upon this principle it is,
saith that Father, that Ae'rius and his followers
affect to fast on Sunday and feast on Friday, and to
a S.Chrysost. Horn. XXX. Gen.xi. tom.iv. p. 293.
b Cap. iii. torn. i. p. 908. A.
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OF MAUNDAY THURSDAY. 125
spend this week of religion and devotion in jollity
and sport, rising early to fill themselves with flesh
and wine, with which, being full stuffed, they sport
and scoff at the Catholic Christians' folly in afflict-
ing themselves with such severities. " But who,'*
says he, " are the more fools ; Aerius, a silly fellow
of yesterday, still living with us, or we who observe
this severe discipline which our fathers delivered
us, which they received from their fathers, and
they from theirs, and so from the Apostles ? "
The Epistles, Phil. ii. 5. Isai. Ixiii. 1. 1. 5. Heb. ix.
16. i Cor. xi. 17. Heb. x. i. and Gospels, St. Matt,
xxvii. i. St. Mark xiv. i. xv. i. St. Luke xxii. i.
xxiii. i. St. John xix. i, of this week are concerning
Christ's Passion, to the contemplation of which
this week is dedicated.
MAUNDAY THURSDAY.
npHIS day CHRIST washed His disciples' feet, and
-L gave them a commandment to do likewise.
Hence it is called dies mandati, mandate, or Maun-
day Thursday.
This day, the penitents that were put out of the
c <n Sunday, St. Matthew xxvi. and xxvii. to ver. 56, were read till the last
review. St. Mark xv. the Gospel for Tuesday, and St. Luke xxiii. on Thurs-
day and on Good Friday, St. John xviii. and xix. were the Gospel. We find
this in the older books.
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126 OF MAUNDAY THURSDAY.
Church upon Ash- Wednesday, were received again
into the Church; partly, because there was this
day an holy Communion, in memory of our Lord's
institution of the same, this day ; and the Epistle,
i Cor. xi. 17, is fitted to that purpose; fit therefore
it was that penitents should be reconciled this day
(upon which this Sacrament was instituted for the
remission of sins) to receive the holy Communion .
Partly, because this day our Lord was apprehended
and bound, whose binding wrought our deliverance
and freedom.
The form of reconciling penitents was in short
this. The bishop goes out of the doors of the
church, where the penitents lie prostrate upon the
earth, and thrice in the name of CHRIST he calls
them, ( ' Come, come, come ye children, hearken to
me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord : " then
after he hath prayed for them, and admonished
them, he reconciles them, and brings them into
the Church. The penitents thus received, trim
their heads and beards, and laying off their peni-
tential weeds, they reclothe themselves in hand-
some apparel. The church doors were wont to
be set all open this day; to signify that penitent
sinners coming from north or south, or any quarter
of the world, shall be received to mercy and the
Church's favour.
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3 O
GOOD FRIDAY.
THIS day holy Church keeps a most strict fast;
it is called GOOD FRIDAY. For a good day it
was for us, even the cause of all our good, and
ground of all our joy ; and so in respect of the
effect of it, Christ's Passion may be a Gospel for a
feast ; and so it is upon Palm Sunday. But if we
consider that our sins were the cause of His suffer-
ings, and that it was we that crowned His head with
thorns, nailed His hands and feet, and gored His
side with a spear : so His Passion, considered in the
cause of it, is matter of the greatest sorrow, and in
this respect we keep it a fast.
The Gospel is taken out of St. John xix. i, rather
than out of any other Evangelist ; because he was
present at the Passion, and stood by the cross when
others fled ; and therefore the passion being repre-
sented as it were before our eyes this day, his testi-
mony is read who saw it himself; and from whose
example we may learn not to be ashamed nor
afraid of the cross of Christ.
This day holy Church prays expressly for all
Jews, Turks, and Infidels, enemies of the cross of
Christ : for this day Christ both prayed and died
for His enemies ; and as He expressed the height of
His love this day, by dying for them, so does the
Church her neight of charity in praying for them.
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128 COLLECTS FROM SEPT. TO EASTER.
The antiquity of this holy day appears by
Eusebius, who tells us, "That it was an holy
day in his time, and long before. That day of
our Saviour's Passion we are wont to celebrate,
not only with fastings and watchings, but also
with attentive hearing and reading of the holy
Scriptures." 6
SATURDAY.
day the Gospel, St. Matt, xxvii. 67, treats
JL of Christ's body lying in the grave : the Epistle,
i St. Peter iii. 17, of His soul's descent into hell. f
OF THE COLLECTS FROM SEPTUA-
GESIMA TO EASTER.
m HOUGH the Church be always militant while
J_ she is upon earth ; yet at this time (" the time
when kings go out to battle" s) she is more than
ordinary militant, going out to fight against her
e Enseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. II. cap. xvii. p. 57. B.
{ Till the Scotch Liturgy was compiled, there was no particular Collect for
this day ; those for Good Friday, I suppose, were repeated. - See Wheatly
he place. gr a Sam.xi. i.
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COLLECTS FROM SEPT. TO EASTER. I2p
ivowed enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil,
making it her special business to get the mastery
)ver them, so far, that they may not be able to
prevail over her the year following. Now because
as St. Paul saith, h ) " Every one that strives for the
mastery is temperate in all things ; " therefore at
this time especially, when she is seeking the mas-
;ery over her enemies, holy Church does more than
ordinary addict herself to temperance, fasting, and
other works of penance and mortification; and
accordingly she suits her readings, not aiming to fit
them to each particular day, (this is to be expected
only upon privileged days, the subject matter of
whose solemnity is more particularly recorded in
Holy Scripture,) but to the season in general, and
the Church's design at this time, commending to us
fasting, repentance, alms, charity, and patience in
undergoing such voluntary afflictions. And the
Collects are suitable also to the readings and the
time, praying earnestly for those graces and virtues
before mentioned, which are especially requisite to
this her holy undertaking. And because she knows
her own weakness, and her enemies both craft and
strength, who will then be most active and busy to
hurt when we thus set ourselves to fight against
them, therefore does she earnestly and frequently
also in divers Collects pray for God's protection
and defence from those enemies, for His strength
h i Cor. ix. 45.
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O (
I3O OF EASTER.
and assistance whereby she may overcome them.
" That He would stretch forth the right hand of His
Majesty, and by His power defend us both out-
wardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls,
which of ourselves have no power to help ourselves."
And in such prayers as these the Church continues,
lifting up her hands (as Moses did his against the
Amalekites) all the time of this spiritual conflict.
EASTER.
THIS is the highest of all feasts, says Epiphanius !
upon the day. This day Christ opened to us
the door of life, being the first fruits of those that
rose from the dead; whose resurrection was our
life, for He rose again "for our justification.'" 1
Instead of the usual invitatory, " O come let us
sing unto the Lord," holy Church uses special
hymns or anthems 1 concerning Christ's resurrection,
"Christ rising again from the dead," &c. and,
" Christ is risen," &c. set down before the Collect
on Easter-day. Having kept company with the
Apostles and first believers, in standing by the
cross weeping upon Good Friday, and kept a fast
i In Resur. Christi, tom.ii.p. 276. k Rom. iv.sj.
1 I Cor. v.7- Roin.vi.g iCor. xv. 20.
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3 O
OF EASTER. 13!
upon the Saturday following to comply with the
Apostles and Catholic Church, who were that day
sad and pensive, because their Lord was taken
away from them, we are directed this day to rejoice
with them for the rising again of our Lord, and to
express our joy in the same words that they then
did, and the Church ever since hath done, " Christ
is risen," m the usual morning salutation this day all
the Church over; to which the answer in some
places was, " Christ is risen indeed ; " and in others
this, " and hath appeared to Simon."
Holy Church's aim is in all these chief days, to
represent as full as may be the very business of the
day, and to put us into the same holy affections
that the Apostles and other Christians were, when
they were first done ; she represents Christ born at
Christmas, and would have us so affected that day
yearly, as the first believers were at the first tidings
delivered by the angel. So at His Passion she
would have us so affected with sorrow, as they were
that stood by the cross. And now at His resurrec-
tion she desires so to represent it to us, as may put
us into the same rejoicing that those dejected
Christians were, when the angel told them, " He is
not here, but is risen." Holy Church supposes
us to have fasted and wept upon Good Friday, and
the day following, because our Lord was taken
away, according to that of our Saviour, " The time
m St. Luke >. 34. n Ibid. 6 .
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132 OF EASTER.
shall come that the bridegroom shall be taken
away from them, then shall they fast in those days,"
and now calls upon us to weep no more, for
" Christ is risen." And that she may keep time
also with the first tidings of the resurrection, she
observes the angel's direction to the women, " Go
quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen."
Supposing us as eager of the joyful news of Christ's
resurrection, as they were, she withholds not the
joy, but immediately after confession and absolu-
tion, she begins her office with " Christ is risen." p
Proper Psalms at morning, are ii. Ivii. cxi.
The first of these is a triumphant song for Christ's
victory over all His enemies that so furiously raged
against Him, " Yet have I set My king upon My
holy hill of Sion," ver. 6. Notwithstanding all the
fury of His enemies that persecuted and murdered
Him, " Yet have I set My king upon My holy hill
of Sion," by His glorious resurrection from the dead,
as it is expounded, Acts xiii. 33.
Psalm Ivii. is of the same nature. It mentions
Christ's triumph over hell and death, " My soul is
among lions." ver. 4; and "the children of men
have laid a net for My feet, and pressed down My
soul," ver, 7 ; crucifying the Lord of glory, but
" God sent from heaven, and saved Him from" the
lions, both devils and men, by a glorious resurrec-
o St. Matt, xxviii.7.
p The verses " Christ our Passover," &c. were added at the last review
See Wheatly.
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o- -o
OF EASTER. 133 |
tion. And therefore He breaks forth, " Awake up
My glory, awake lute and harp, I myself will awake
right early ; I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,"
&c. ver. 9.
Psalm cxi. is a psalm of thanksgiving for " mar-
vellous works of redemption," ver 9 ; " works wor-
thy to be praised and had in honour," ver. 3. And
therefore though it be not set particularly for the
resurrection, but may serve for any marvellous
work of mercy, yet it is most fit for this day and
the work of this ; for amongst all the marvellous
works of redemption, this of Christ's resurrection
is the chief, and most worthy by us to be had in
honour. For " if Christ be not risen, we are yet in
our sins," q we are utterly lost. But " Christ is
risen," "the merciful and gracious Lord hath so
done His marvellous work of Christ's resurrection,
that it ought to be had in remembrance." For
which holy Church teaches us to sing, as we are
bound, "I will give thanks unto the Lord with my
whole heart, secretly amongst the faithful, and in
the congregation," ver. i.
Evening Psalms are cxiii. cxiv. cxviii.
The first is a psalm of thanksgiving, especially for
raising up Christ, " taking Him out of the dust, and
lifting Him out of the mire, to set Him with" and
above " the princes ; " ver. 6, 7, when " He raised
Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right
qi Cor. TV. 14, 17.
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134 OF EASTER.
hand in the heavenly places, far above all princi-
palities and powers, and might and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come." q
Psalm cxviii. is (part of it at least) of Christ's
resurrection, as it is expounded; "the stone which
the builders refused, is become the head of the
corner" 1 " this day. And therefore "this is the day
which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be
glad in it," ver. 24.
Psalm cxiv. may seem at first sight not so appli-
able to Christ's resurrection; for it is a thanks-
giving for the Jews' deliverance out of Egypt. Yet
notwithstanding, if we look well into it, we shall
find it proper enough for the day. For as the
Apostle teaches us, " all things happened to them
in types and figures;" not only words but actions
were typical. Egypt was a type of hell, and their
captivity there a type of our captivity under sin
and the devil. Their deliverance from thence, a
type and figure of our deliverance from Hell ; and
that which the Psalmist here gives thanks for as
past, in the history, is understood to be meant as
much or more in the prophecy of Christ's redemp-
tion of His Church (the true Israelites, " that walk
in the steps of the faith of our Father Abraham,")
from sin and hell by the power of His glorious
resurrection this day.
q Ephes.i. 20, ai. r St.Matt. xxi. 42. Acts jv. ti.
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OF EASTER. 135
The first Morning Lesson is Exod. xii. in which
is mentioned the institution of the Passover, proper
for this day, the feast of the Passover ; for as St.
Augustine observes, 8 "we do in this feast not only
call to mind the history of our Saviour's resurrec-
tion, but also celebrate the mystery of ours." That
as Christ this day rose again from death to life, so
by Christ and the virtue of His resurrection shall
we be made alive, and rise from death to life eternal.
Christ is therefore our true Passover, whereof the
other was a type. The Lesson then is proper for
the day.
So is the first Evening Lesson, Exod. xiv. for it
is concerning the Israelites' deliverance out of
Egypt, a type of our deliverance from hell this day
by Christ's glorious resurrection. As that day
Israel saw that great work which the Lord did
upon Egypt, ver. 31 ; so this day we see the great
conquest over hell and death finished, by Christ's
triumphant resurrection from the dead.
The second lessons are plain ; Rom. vi. Acts
ii. 22.
The Gospel, St. John xx. i, gives us the full
evidence of Christ's resurrection. The Epistle,
Coll. iii. i, tells what use we should make of it,
" if Christ be risen, seek those things that are
above," &c.
Epist. LV. cap. i. torn. ii. p. 128. B.
o o
. ,
136 OF EASTER.
The Collect prays for grace, to make that use of
it which the Epistle directs.
Thus holy Church is careful to teach and instruct
all her children in the matter of the feast, preach-
ing Christ's resurrection to us, both in the type and
prophecy out of the Old Testament, and in the his-
tory of it out of the New. And she does not only
teach us to know what God hath done for us this
day, but also she is careful that we may do our duty
to God for this His marvellous goodness, command-
ing and directing us to pray for grace to do our
duty, prescribing us excellent forms of adoring and
blessing God for His mercy this day, such methods
as the Holy Ghost hath set down, in which we may
be sure to pray and praise God by the Spirit.
For the antiquity of this feast heaps of testi-
monies might be brought, but these two following
may suffice :
I. ST. AUGUSTINE ; " Those things which are not
written, but we keep them by tradition, if they be
observed all the world over, are to be understood
to be commended to us, and commanded either by
general councils, (whose authority in the Church is
most safe,) or else by the Apostles ; as for example,
that the Passion of our Lord, His resurrection and
ascension into heaven, and the coming of the Holy
Ghost, should be observed by an anniversary
solemnity."*
t Epist. LIV. cap. i. torn. ii. p. 144. B.
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OF EASTER. 137
II. CoNSTANTiNEtheGreat; "the feast of Easter
we have kept from the first day of the Passion until
now:" u and this was not in the practice of some
few, but of all Churches, as he there testifies, and
is apparent, from the great contention in the Church
about the day ; some following the Jewish account,
who kept this feast the fourteenth day of the first
month, (the first month began with the new moon,
whose fourteenth day (or moon as they called it)
was the day of the vernal equinox, or if none such
happened, then that whose fourteenth day came
the soonest after the equinox) but the most Churches
kept their Easter the first Sunday after the four-
teenth day of the first month, which usage the
Council of Nice confirmed for these reasons :
I. Because it was the most general custom of
the Churches.
II. Because they would not in this particular
comply with the Jews ; for though in some other
cases they did it on purpose to sweeten them and
make them pliable to Christianity, as our Lord
Himself did and His Apostles, 1 retaining many of
their laudable and useful rites, as of excommuni-
cation, benediction, imposition of hands, with many
more which you may see in Grotius, y (for they
loved not innovation, nor measured the goodness of
their religion by their distance from the Jews in
u Ku.cb. de vita Constant, lib. Hi. cap xviii. p. 494. B. x Aeta xxi. 14.
y Annot.in S. Matt, xviii. torn. 1. p. 310. et Append, p. 54.
O
o _ (
138 OF EASTER.
things lawful and useful,) though I say the primi-
tive Christians did not like the Jewish rites ever
the worse because they were theirs, i. e. of God's
institution, but did use as many of them that were
useful as they had occasion for ; yet in this of the
time of keeping Easter they would not, because it
was of ill signification and scandalous, for the Jews
keep then- Easter as typical, and prefiguring Christ
to come ; the Christians kept their Easter in thank-
ful remembrance of Christ " come and risen from
the dead;" and therefore differing so much in the
main of the feast, they would not comply with
them, no, not so much as in the time, lest by that
they might have been thought to have complied
also in the very feast, and so have seemed to have
denied their Lord as the Jews did.
III. Because after the Jews' fashion of keeping
of Easter, (they following at that time an erroneous
account which had not due regard to the time of
the equinox,) it might happen that there might be
two Easters in one year, (viz. one in the first
month and another in the last,) and none in the
next year.
After our English account, Easter is found by
finding out Shrove Tuesday ; which is always the
first Tuesday in the new moon after Candlemas ;
the Sunday six weeks after is Easter.
o o
MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN EASTER
WEEK.
rpHESE two holy days are added as attendants
JL upon Easter day in honour of this high feast
and the more solemnity of it. And we find St.
Austin 2 mentioning them ; although both from him
(elsewhere) and others we may gather that these
two days where not all which at that time \vere
added to the feast ; for of old, this queen of feasts,
as the Fathers call it, was so highly esteemed,
that it was in a manner solemnized fifty days
together, even from Easter to Whitsuntide. See
St. Ambrose, a " Per hos quinquaginta dies nobis
est jugis et continuata festivitatas," &c. See also
Eusebius de vita Constantini, b and Tertullian de
Jejuniis, c and in his book de Idolatria, d where he
affirms that all the heathen festivals put together
could not equal this one great and solemn feast of
the Christians. From these and the like places
some conclude, and most probably, that every day
of that time the Christians met together in public
to sing with greatest joy psalms and hallelujahs to
God Almighty, and to take the cup of salvation,
the holy Communion, praising the name of the
Lord. All which time they did not keel at their
z De civitate Dei, lib. xxii. cap. 8. torn. vii. p. 671. a Serm.lxi.
b Lib.iv. cap. Ixiv. p. 558. c De Jejuniis, p. 710. A. dp. 113.3.
o
o o
I4O MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN EASTER WEEK.
prayers, which was accounted a posture of mourners,
but stand, (as upon Sundays they were wont,) in
token of joy, thus making every of those days equal
in a manner to Sundays. The reason of this so
great and long festivity at this time, was principally
because it was the feast of Easter, or of our blessed
Lord's resurrection, a principal article of our faith :
for as St. Paul says, " if Christ be not risen we are
yet in our sins, and we Christians are of all men
the most miserable." 6 Now that " Christ is risen,"
needs must there be in Christians' hearts an over-
flowing of joy ; which in those times they expressed
by such daily public exercises of religion, principally
of receiving the holy Communion, the pledge of our
resurrection, (as our Saviour says, "he that eats
My flesh shall live for ever," d ) that by this means
the memory of the resurrection might be fixed
deeply in their minds. We must not think that
the Christians then did keep all this time holy, so
as to cease from labour, (for the poverty of many, |
and the care and charity required in all, would not !
permit that,) but only as to religious exercises and
services. As devotion abated, the feast was short- j
ened ; yet long after Tertullian, even till Gratian's [
time and downward, the whole week of Easter, as i
also of Whitsuntide, were reckoned among holy
days. 6 And our Church, though she enjoins only
e i Cor xv. 17, 19. d St. John vi 54.
e Gratian. e Decret. pars iii. de Consecratione, Distinct, iii. 2054- B.
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MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN EASTER WEEK. 14!
Monday and Tuesday of this week for holy days,
yet seems to me to commend the keeping holy of
this whole week, as also of the whole week after
Christmas, Ascension, and Pentecost : for she di-
rects the proper prefaces for Christmas, Easter,
Ascension, and Pentecost, to be used every day the
week after ; which prefaces are to be used only at
the Communion, as appears by the Rubrics; so that
by prescribing the prefaces to be used upon every
day of the week, she doth withal prescribe the
Communion every day likewise, which is properly
the keeping of a day solemnly holy; and this week's
solemnity is principally, r -as we have said, for the
expressing of our joy for our Lord's resurrection,
and the honour of the feast, which Christian's were
not willing to make shorter than the Jews' feast of
unleavened bread.
Among the ancients there was another peculiar
reason for the keeping of the whole week of Easter
holy, besides that of the resurrection. For they
ministering baptism (except in case of necessity) at
no other times but the eves of Easter and Whit-
sunday, did make it a part of their festivity, the
week following, to congratulate the access oi
a new Christian progeny; the new baptized com-
ing each day to Church in white vestures with
lights before them; when thanksgivings and prayers
were made for them, with instructions also to those
that were of years of discretion, (for at that time
-o
142 SUNDAYS AFTER EASTER.
there were many such that came in from heathenism,)
in the principles and ways of Christianity. But
afterwards, when most of the baptized were infants,
and so not capable of such solemnities, this custom
was altered, and baptism administered all times of
the year, as at the beginning of Christianity. (
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
It was the custom of our forefathers to observe
the octave or utcis of their high and principal feasts ;
and this is the octave or eighth day after Easter.
Upon every octave, the use was to repeat some
part of that service, which was performed upon the
feast itself, and this is the reason that the Collect
used upon Easter is renewed upon this day.*
The Epistle, i St. John v. 4, exhorts the new
baptized persons that are born of God, to labour
to overcome the world, which at their baptism they
vowed to do.
The Gospel, St. John xx. 19, shews how Christ
conversed with His disciples after His resurrection ;
instructing and confirming them in the faith of the
resurrection.
f Tertull. de Baptismo, cap. xviii. p. 164. S. Chrysost. Horn. I. in Act.
Apost. torn. ix. p. 10.
g In all the old books, except the first of king Edward, the Collect for
Easter day was ordered to be repeated ; but at the lagt review, the Collect
prescribed in that first book was again inserted on this day ; it being the same
which was originally appointed for the second Commnnion on Easter day
itself, which was then also used ou the Tuesday following._See Wheatly.
O
3 - O
SUNDAYS AFTER EASTER. 143
This Sunday is called Low Sunday, because it is
Easter day repeated, the octave of Easter, but the
Sunday before is high Easter, and this is a lower
feast, Low Easter; in Latin dominica in albis, or
rather, post albas (scilicet de positas) as some old
rituals call it ; because those that were baptized on
Easter eve, wore, seven days after, white garments,
called Chrysoms ; signs of the purity which they
received in baptism ; which white clothes they this
day put off.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
As the last Sunday instructed the young and
new born Christians how they should imitate
Christ in a resurrection from sin and death to life ;
so this Sunday instructs the shepherds of the flock
how to imitate their great Shepherd. 11 And the
Epistle, i St. Peter ii. 19, sets before us His great
patience and goodness in the work of our redemp-
tion. The Collect prays for thankfulness and imi-
tation of His holy life.
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Hitherto since Easter the Church hath been as
it were overwhelmed in the joyful meditation of
Christ's resurrection from the dead, or chiefly about
it, and that hath been the subject of all the Collects
h John x. ii.
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o c
144 SUNDAYS AFTER EASTER.
since then. Now in this Collect, (as somewhat also
in one of the readings aforegoing) the Church re-
flects upon that other ancient Paschal solemnity,
the general haptism that was used at that time -, so
that this Collect is for the new baptized, or new
regenerates by baptism; desiring Almighty God,
who shews the light of His truth to them that be in
error, (enlightening them by baptism, which was
therefore called <omo>ios, illumination, and the bap-
tized the enlightened,) to grant them that be ad-
mitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion,
namely, by baptism, that they may eschew those
things that be contrary to their profession or vow
in baptism, &c. Though this custom of general
baptism at Easter be not in use now, yet this
Collect is still seasonable, as a general anniversary
commemoration of the great blessings received from
God by our baptism, and our solemn vow and pro-
fession made to Him therein.
The ancients were wont to observe PascJia anno-
tinum, in anniversary commemoration of their bap-
tism ; they that were baptized at Easter the year
before, came the year following the same day to
the Church, and solemnly with oblations and other
religious offices commemorated the anniversary day
of their new birth. Though our Church does not
in every particular observe the same custom, yet
she draws near to the ancient practice in this
solemn though general anniversary commemoration |
o o
D- -0
SUNDAYS AFTER EASTER. 14^
of baptism this day, minding us all this day of our
baptism, and our vow made therein, and praying to
God to enable us all to keep it. And for this very
reason does she appoint children to be baptized
upon Sundays and other holy days when most
people are present, that they may be put in remem-
brance of their own profession made to God in
baptism; 11 and happy were it for us, if we would
make good use of this care of the Church, and be
often remembering that solemn vow, by which we
have dedicated ourselves to God to be an holy
people -, the wilful breach of which vow is horrid
sacrilege.
In the Gospel, St. John xvi. 16, our Saviour tells
His disciples, that though they " should weep and
lament, (by reason of His death,) their sorrow
should be turned into joy, which no man should
take from them," (namely, after His resurrection.)
And such joy belongs to this time and to us in it, if
we be also His true disciples and followers ; which
how we may be, the Epistle, i St. Peter ii. n,
shews by minding us of (what we promised and
vowed, when admitted into Christ's school, and
gave up our names to Him) " the abstaining from
fleshly lusts, and having honest conversation" in
all our relations. And this is the main drift of the
whole Epistle (i St. Peter) out of which this is
taken, to persuade them that were born again, and
h Preface before Baptism.
3 O
o -<]
146 SUNDAYS AFTER EASTER.
lately become Christians, to walk suitably to such
an holy profession, and that chiefly in regard " of
the lively hope unto which they were begotten
again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead," and so is most agreeable to the Church's
meditations this day and season.
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
This Collect 4s fit for this Paschal time from
Easter to Pentecost, a time of greatest joy, the
Church therefore prays that we may rightly observe
the time ; be full of joy in a joyful time ; withal
that our joy may be a true and real joy, that " our
hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys
are to be found ; " such joy as Christ's resurrection
and the promised Comforter affords. And one or
both of these two grand occasions of joy and
exultation (to wit, Christ's resurrection, and the
promise of a Comforter) are the principal subject
of the Gospels, j from Easter to Whitsuntide; but
lest our joy should grow presumptuous and lux-
uriant, (as joy is apt to exceed,) the Epistles, for
the same time admonish us of duties answerable,
as to believe in Christ, to rise from the grave of sin,
i The Collect formerly began " Almighty God, which dost make the mine
of all faithful men to be of one will, Grant, &c." See Wheatly.
j Johnxvi. t. James i. 17.
o c
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OF ROGATION WEEK. 147
to be patient, loving, meek, charitable, &c. having
our Lord for an example, and the promise of His
Spirit for our guide, strength, and comfort.
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
The Gospel before promised a Comforter. The
Epistle, St. James i. 22, and Gospel, St. John xvi.
23, this day direct us what to do to obtain that
promise. Two conditions are required on our parts
for the receiving of that promised Comforter : I.
prayers or rogations, this the Gospel teaches ;
" Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full." II. To "love God and keep His command-
ments." 1 * This the Epistle exhorts to, "see that
ye be doers of the Word," &c. The CoUect prays
that we may feel the fruits and comforts of this
Holy Spirit in our hearts by good thoughts, and
abilities to perform them.
OF ROGATION WEEK.
This is called Rogation Sunday, because upon
the three following days Rogations and Litanies
were used, and fasting, for these two reasons:
I. Because this time of the year, the fruits of the
earth are tender and easily hurt ; therefore Litanies
k St.Johnxiv.ij.
O O
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148 OF ROGATION WEEK.
o
extraordinary are said to God to avert this judg-
ment. II. Because our LORD'S ascension is the
Thursday following, therefore these three days
before are to be spent in prayers and fasting, l that
so the flesh being tamed, and the soul winged with
fasting, we may ascend with Christ.
The Gospel is concerning Rogations, teaching us
how to ask of God, so as we may obtain, and
withal fortells His approaching ascension.
The fast this week is voluntary ; for there is no
fast commanded betwixt Easter and Whitsunday,
as hath been observed before.
The service formerly appointed in the Rogation
days m of procession was Psalm ciii. and civ. with the
Litany, and suffrages, and Homily of thanksgiving.
The two psalms were to be said at convenient places,
in the common perambulation; the people thus
giving thanks to God, in the beholding of God's
benefits, the increase and abundance of His fruits
upon the earth. At their return to the Church,
they were to say the rest of the service men-
tioned."
1 Con. Aur. I.Can.xxvii. torn. iv. p. 1408. E.
m Articles, 117.1564. Spar. Articles, p. ij.
n Eliz. Injunct. xviii. six. p. 72.
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ASCENSION DAY.
THIS day was Christ's perfect triumph over the
devil, "leading captivity captive." This day
" He opened the kingdom of heaven to all be-
lievers," as we say daily in the Te Deurn.* His
flesh opened that passage, in that He deserved to
enter there first ; for when He was taken up on high,
then he opened the gates of heaven. q Therefore
the Church appoints for this day Psalm xxiv. "Lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up ye
everlasting doors, and the king of Glory shall come
in." This day gives us hopes of heaven, in that
our flesh in the first fruits is thither ascended. For
if God had not intended some great good to our
nature, He would not have received the first fruits
up on high : Christ taking the first fruits of our
nature, this day carried it up to God, and by those
first fruits, hath made the whole stock to be sanc-
tified. And the Father highly esteemed the gift,
both for the worthiness of Him that offered it up,
and for the purity of the offering, so as to receive it
with His own hands, and to set it at His right hand.
To what nature was it that God said, " Sit thou on
My right hand ? To the same, to which formerly He
had said, " dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt
oEphes.iv.8. p See St. John Hi. 13. Acts 11.30. Heb.x.ig.
q Chrysost.iuHeb.x. 23. Horn. XIX. torn. . \ii.p.i8i. A.
O O
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l5o OF ASCENSION DAY.
return." This gift went far beyond the loss;
" Paradise was the place from which we fell ; but
we were this day carried up to heaven, and man-
sions are there provided for us." r " Christ ascend-
ed up into heaven in the sight of his disciples, that
they and we might assuredly believe, that we should
follow, and not deem it impossible for us body and |
soul to be translated thither." 8
This day hath proper Lessons and Psalms.
The first Lesson at Morning Service is Deut. x.
wherein is recorded Moses going up into the mount
to receive the Law from God, to deliver it to the
Jews, a type of Christ's ascension into heaven to
send down the new Law, the Law of faith ; " for
when He ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts to men, Apostles, Evangel-
ists, pastors, and teachers," * to publish the new
Law to the world.
The first Lesson at Evening Service is 2 Kings ii.
wherein Elias ascending into heaven was a type of
Christ's Ascension, but Christ went far beyond His
type in many particulars. Elias went up with a
single chariot, but Christ was attended with thou-
sands : " The chariots of God are twenty thou-
sand, even thousands of angels, and the Lord as-
cending is among them." u Elias upon his ascen-
sion doubles his spirit upon Elisha; but Christ
r Chrysost.indiemtom. ii.p.447. a Cfpr. indiem, Spnria.p.55.
tEphes.iv.8. u Psalm Ixviii. 17.
6- O
OF ASCENSION DAY. l5l
gave such an abundance of the Holy Spirit to His
disciples upon His Ascension, that they not only
were filled with it themselves, but it ran over upon
others from them, " by laying on of hands" they
imparted it to others. 1
We have no proper second lessons appointed;
but in Edward the Sixth's Liturgy were appointed
St. John xiv. and Ephes. iv. both very fit for the
day.y
Psalms for the morning are viii. xv. xxi.
Psalm viii. begins, " O Lord our Governor, how
excellent is Thy name in all the world, Thou that
hast set Thy glory above the heavens !" This was
fulfilled this day. For this day He set His glory
above the heavens, ascending from earthly humility
to heavenly glory. This made Thy name wonder-
ful in all the world; for hereby it appears that
Thou that didst before descend so low, and wert
for a time so vile reputed, art greater than all prin-
cipalities and powers in heaven and earth; since
some saw, and all men now believe, that Thou
didst ascend into heaven, whereby Thou hast gotten
" a name above all names, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, both of things in
heaven and things in earth." 2
Psalm xv. " Who shall dwell in Thy tabernacle,
x Acts viii. 17. y Lessons were added for this festival in 1661.
St. Luke xxiv. 44. Ephes. iv. to ver. 17. These passages are plainly suitable
to the day. Ed. z Phil. ii. 9,10.
O O
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l52 OF ASCENSION DAY.
or who shall rest upon Thy holy hill ? even he that
hath clean hands, &c." shews both how just it was
that Christ should ascend and rest upon the holy
hill, the highest heaven, of which Mount Sion was
a type ; for He of all others had clean hands and a
pure heart ; and withal tells us the way which we
must walk, viz. the way of righteousness and holi-
ness, if we desire to follow Christ to heaven.
Psalm xxi. is to be understood of Christ, " Thou
gavest Him a long life, even for ever and ever, His
honour is great in Thy salvation." 3 The raising
Him from death, hath made His honour great, and
all the world to believe in Him. " Glory and great
worship shalt Thou lay upon Him," by setting Him
at Thy right hand in heaven. The rest of the
Psalm is to the same purpose, of Christ's absolute
triumph over His enemies, which was this day ful-
filled, when " He led captivity captive."
The Evening Psalms are xxiv. Ixviii. cviii. b
Psalm xxiv. was sung this day at Christ's Ascen-
sion, by a choir of angels, some going before the
Lord Christ, knocking, as it were, at heaven's
gates, and singing, " Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the
King of glory shall come in :" to whom other angels
in heaven, desirous to know who this King of glory
a S. August, in Ps. xx. 4, 5. torn iv. p. 89.
b It seems that these were the Psalms in King Edward's book ; but in the
resent Liturgy we have xxiv. xlvii. cviii..~Ed.
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OF ASCENSION DAY. 163
was, sing the next words, " Who is the King of
glory?" The first angels that waited upon our
Lord in His Ascension, answer, " The Lord, strong
and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battle," as ye
may see by the prisoners that He leads captive in
His triumph. Therefore, " lift up your heads, O ye
gates," that never were yet opened to human na-
ture, "where never man yet entered." The other
angels as yet, as it were, amazed at the glory of the
triumph, ask again, " Who is the King of glory ? "
what Lord is it that is so mighty ? His heavenly
guard answer again, " The Lord of hosts, He is the
King of glory." d Then heaven's gates were opened,
and our dear Lord entered and took possession for
us, and prepared places for us. e
Psalm Ixviii. 1 8. is by the Apostle applied to the
Ascension of Christ : " Thou hast ascended up on
high, and led captivity captive." f It is not to be
denied, but that it may be applied to others also,
(for the Scripture is full of sense,) as to Moses. For
he from the bottom of the Red Sea went up to the
top of Sinai, leading with him the people of Israel,
that long had been captive to Pharaoh ; and there
received gifts, the law, the priesthood, but, above all,
the ark of the covenant to be the pledge of God's
presence amongst them ; this is the literal sense.
This of Moses, by analogy, doth king David
c St. John Hi. 13. Acts ii. 34. Heb.x.jo.
d Theodoret. in Ps. xxiii. torn. i. p. 485.
e St.Johnxiv.s. fEphes.iv.8.
D O
l54 OF ASCENSION DAY.
apply to himself, to his going up to mount Sion,
and to carrying up the ark thither. For all agree,
this psalm was set upon that occasion. The very
beginning of it ("let God arise/') shews as much;
the acclamation ever to be used at the ark's re-
moving, Num. x. 36. This was done immediately
upon his conquest of the Jebusites, whom he had
taken captive, what time for the honour of the
solemnity, he dealt gifts, bread and wine, to the
people, i Chron. xvi. 3. But in the prophetical sense,
this psalm belongs to Christ, to " the testimony of
Jesus, which is the spirit of all prophecy." 8 For
that was the greatest captivity that ever was led
captive; His the highest up-going, higher than
Sion or Sinai far ; that the most gracious and glo-
rious triumph, when Christ made a show of princi-
palities and powers of hell, triumphing over them
in His own person, Col. ii. i5, which was this day's
triumph. h
In Psalm cviii. the Prophet awakes himself and his
instruments of music, to give thanks to God among
the people, and among the nations, for setting Him-
self above the heavens, and His glory above all the
earth, which was most literally fulfilled in " His
Ascension into heaven, and sitting down at the
right hand of God." It is true, this psalm is
thought to be set upon another occasion, viz. God's
promise of subduing the Ammonites and Idumeans
Rev. xix. 10. h Bp. Andrews on Whitsunday, serm. vii. P. 666.
O O
, . O
OF ASCENSION DAY. l55
under David, for which he here vows his best
thanks ; yet for all this, it may be, and that prin-
cipally, meant of Christ and His triumphant Ascen-
sion. For God Almighty did so direct the mind of
the Prophets, that that which was spoken by them
of other persons and actions, is ofttimes more ex-
actly fulfilled in and by Christ. " Out of Egypt
have I called My son," 1 was there spoken of the
deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt; ful-
filled in Christ. What David says of himself, " I
will open my mouth in a parable," was fulfilled by
Christ, St. Matt. xiii. 36. Psalm Ixxii. was written
for Solomon, as the title shews, but more exactly
fulfilled of Christ. David's complaint of his own
misery, Psalm xxxv. 19, verified in Christ, St. John
xv. 26. Nay more, (which is worth our observa-
tion,) some things David speaks of himself, which
do not agree to him, but in a figure, which agree to
Christ in the letter ; as, " they parted my garments
among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. " k
Nay, in the same psalm, (and sometimes in the
same verse,) some words will not agree to Christ, as
" my faults are not hid from Thee;" 1 these cannot
be spoken of Christ who knew no sin. Some
words again most properly belong to Christ, as
" they gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty
they gave me vinegar to drink." m
O-
i St. Matt. ii. 15. Hosea xi. i. k Psalm xxii. 17,
1 Psalm Ixix. 5. m Ibid. M.
l56 OF ASCENSION DAY.
Thus holy Church hath in the Lessons and Gos-
pel, St. Mark xvi. 14, preached to us the Ascension
of Christ, in the type and antitype. In the Epistle,
Acts i. i, she teaches us our duty not to stand
gazing up to heaven, wondering at the strangeness
of the sight, but to take heed to demean ourselves
so, as that we may with comfort behold Him at
His second coming, His coming to judgment:
" Why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? " there is
other business to be done, fit yourselves for another
coming, for " this same Jesus which was taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come, even as ye
have seen Him go into heaven." n
In the Collect we are taught to pray, that we, as
far as may be, may conform to our Lord in His
Ascension; that like as we believe Him to have
ascended into the heavens, so we may also in heart
and mind thither ascend, and with Him continually
dwell. In the special psalm and hymn we adore
and bless God for our Saviour's glorious Ascension.
It is pleasant to behold the rare beauty of the
Church's offices, as on others, so on this day, how
each part suits the other.
The Gospel to the Lessons, the Epistle to the
Gospel, the Collect, and Psalms and Hymns, all
fitted to the same, and all to the day.
For the antiquity of this day, see St. Augustine's
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OF WHITSUNDAY. iS']
Epistle LIV. cited upon Easter day ; Epiphanius,
vol. ii. 276, and Chrysostom upon the day."
SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION.
This is called Expectation Week ; for now the
Apostles were earnestly expecting the fulfilling of
that promise of our Lord, " if I go away, I will send
the Comforter to you."
The Epistle, St. Peter iv. 7, exhorts to earnest
prayer for the Comforter promised in the Gospel ;
St. John xv. 26, 27. xvi. i 4. which the Church
performs in the Collect.
WHITSUNDAY.
THIS day the HOLY GHOST came down from
heaven upon His Church, as the Epistle, Acts,
ii. i, tells j according to the promise of the Gospel,
St. John xiv. i5.
As in a long war it happens ; when the war is
ended, and peace concluded, pledges and hostages
are mutually sent, both as tokens of, and securities
for, the mutual agreement and peace; so was it
betwixt God and man. After our Lord Jesus had
- ii Epist. LIV. cap. i. tom.ii. p. 124.8. Chrrsost. in Ascens. torn. ii. p. 447
o St. John xvi. 7.
O
o - - c
l58 OF WHITSUNDAY.
ended the long war betwixt God and man, and
finished the reconciliation, He sent up, or rather
He carried up Himself, our hostage, our flesh and
nature ennobled by the union with His Divine Per-
son, as a royal pledge to His Father : on the other
side, God sent this day His royal hostage, His Holy
Spirit, a security for our future peace. p The devil
had taken us captive, our Lord Christ undertakes
the quarrel, His death was His battle, but then He
seemed to be overcome ; but up He got again at
His resurrection, that was His victory; His Ascen-
sion was His triumph ; and as ancient custom was
for conquerors to scatter gifts amongst the be-
holders, especially on the last and great day of the
triumph, so does our Lord, in this last day of the
feast, the conclusion of His triumph, He doth, as it
were, make the conduits run with wine ; He poured
out His Spirit so upon all flesh, that some mockers
said, they were "full of new wine." q He casts
abroad His new wine, new gifts and graces of the
Spirit, to the amazement of the world, giving " to
some the word of wisdom, to others the gift of
knowledge, to others faith, to others the gift of
healing, to others the working of miracles, to others
prophecy, to others discerning of spirits, to others
divers kinds of tongues, to others the interpretations
of tongues : " r all these worketh one and the same
p i John iv. 12, 13. S. Chrysost. de Sanct. Pentecost, Horn. I. torn, ii-
p. 465.0. q Acts 11.13. riCor.xii.4.
O C
o- -.0
OF WHITSUNDAY. l5p
I spirit, the Holy Ghost, whom the Lord Christ, as
| He promised, sent down this day with these gifts, in
I honour of whom and His gifts we keep this day
I holy.
This time was also appointed of old for solemn
baptism. The reason was, I. Because this day the
Apostles were baptized with the Holy Ghost and
fire, Acts ii. 3. II. Because this day three thou-
sand were baptized by the Apostle, Acts ii. 41. In
memory of which the Church ever after held a
solemn custom of baptizing at this feast. 8
This day is called Pentecost, because it is fifty
days betwixt the true Passover and Whitsunday.
As there were fifty days from the Jews' Passover
to the giving of the Law to Moses in Mount Sinai,
which Law was written with the finger of God ; (for
from the fourteenth day of the first month, the day
of the Passover, to the third day of the third month,
the day of the Law's giving, Exod. xix. are fifty
days ;) so from the true Passover which was cele-
brated, when Christ was offered up for us, are fifty
days to this time when the Holy Ghost came down
upon the Church, to write the new law of charity
in their hearts. Upon this meditation St. Augustine
breaks out thus ; " who would not prefer the joy
I and pleasure of these mysteries, before all empires
of the world ? Do you not see, that as the two sera-
phims cry one to another, Holy, holy, holy, 1 so the
s Gratian. de Consec. Dis. iv. cap. xiii. p. 3069. t Isaiah vi. 3.
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j l6o OF WHITSUNDAY.
i two Testaments, Old and New, faithfully agreeing,
convince the sacred truth of God ? u Note that we
must not count the fifty days from the very day of
the Passover, but from the Sunday following ; and
so God directed the Jews, speaking of their Pente-
cost, or feasts of weeks, " and ye shall count from
the morrow after the Sabbath, from that day seven
weeks shall be complete." *
It is also called Whitsunday from the glorious
light of heaven which was then sent down upon
the earth, from the Father of lights; so many
tongues, so many lights, which kindled such a light
in the world on this day, as never shall be put out
to the world's end ; as also because the new bap-
tized, which were many at that feast, (Whitsunday
and Easter being the two solemn times of baptism,)
and of old called illuminati, the enlightened, Heb.
vi. 4, from the spiritual light they received in bap-
tism, were then clothed in white garments, as types
both of that spiritual whiteness and purity of soul,
which they received in baptism, and were carefully
to preserve all their life after; as also of their joy
for being made then by baptism members of Christ,
children of God, and heirs of the kingdom of hea-
ven. White is the colour of joy, says Solomon :
" Let thy garments be always white, for God now
accepts of thy works. " y St. Cyril, alluding to this
u Epist.LV. cap.xvi. torn. ii. p. 140. A. x Lev. xxiii.ij.
y Eccles.ix.8.
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OF WHITSUNDAY. l6l
ncient custom of the new baptized, of putting off
heir old garments, and clothing themselves in pure
vhite, hath words to this effect; "This white
lothing is to mind you, that you should always
lereafter go in white. I speak not this to persuade
ou always to wear white clothes, but that you
hould ever be clothed with spiritual white, bright-
ness, and purity of soul, that so you may say with
divine Isaiah, 1 (i I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
for He hath clothed me with the garments of salva-
tion, He hath covered me with the robe of righteous-
ness." Of which robe of righteousness and
garment of salvation, the white vestment was a
resemblance. " And to her was granted, that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white,
for fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints." a
Whitsunday then is as much as Dominica in albis,
the Sunday in white. The Greeks for the same
reason call Easter Kvpiaur) Xa^Trpa, the bright Sun-
day, because then also the new baptized wore
white : but the Latins call neither of these days
from thence, but give them their names from the
Resurrection, and Pentecost, and the octave oi
Easter or Low Sunday is by them called Dominica
in albis, as is abovesaid, p. 143.
This holy day hath proper Lessons and Psalms.
The second Lessons, Acts x. 34; xix. to ver. 21
are plain. The Morning first Lesson, Deut. xvi
z Ch. Ixi. 10. a Rev. xix. 8. Catech. xxii. Myst. iv. cap. viii. p. 314.
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I IO2 OF WHITSUNDAY.
to ver. 1 8, gives us the Law of the Jews' Pente-
cost, or feast of weeks, which was a type of ours.
The Evening first Lesson, Wisd. i. b is fit for this
day ; for it treats of the Holy Spirit, ver. 5, 6, how
it fills the world, ver. 7, which was most exactly
fulfilled this day, in which "they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost." c
The Psalms for the Morning, xlv. xlvii. are very
proper to the day. d The beginning of xlv. is con-
cerning the birth of Christ, and therefore used
upon Christmas-day; but the latter part is con-
cerning the calling of the Gentiles, ver. 10, n, and
the glory of the Church, the King of heaven's
daughter, "who is all glorious within," ver. 14,
through the heavenly gifts and graces of the Holy
Ghost, sent down this day; which glorious gifts
miraculously poured upon the Church brought in
the Gentiles to the Christian faith, " the virgins that
be her fellows shall bear her company > and shall
be brought unto Thee." ver. i5. For which all the
people shall (as holy Church directs us to do this
day) give thanks unto Thee, ver. 18, in holy
David's Psalms, as we do ; so Theodoret on Psalm
xliv. e " I will remember Thy name from one gene-
fa Isaiah xi.is a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles to the kingdom
of Christ, through the inspiration of the Apostles, by the Spirit of God
Wheatly on Common Prayer, p. 241. This was appointed instead of Wis-
dom . ini66i. Ed. cActsii-4.
d These were the Psalms in King Edward's book; but the proper Psalms
in the present Liturgy are xlviii.lxviii. See Wheatly on Common Prayer,
p. 240. e Tom. i. p. 896.
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OF WHITSUNDAY. 163
ration to another, therefore shall the people give
thanks unto Thee, world without end ; that is, all
people to the world's end shall praise God for these
blessings upon the Church, with those psalms
which I compose, and so, (though I be dead long
before,) yet in my psalms sung by them, I will
remember Thy name from one generation to another."
Psalm xlvii. is a song of praise for the conversion
of the Gentiles, by the Gospel published this day
in all languages, Acts ii. I 13, for which the Pro-
phet invites them to active praises : " O clap your
hands together, all ye people : O sing unto God with
the voice of melody," ver. i, for " God is gone up
in jubilo, with a merry noise," ver. 5 . That was upon
Ascension-day. And now " He is set upon His
holy and royal seat, He reigns over the heathen,
makes the princes of the people join in one body
unto the people of the God of Abraham," brings
the Gentiles in to the Jews, and makes one Church
of both ; and that by the Gospel of the kingdom,
published this day to all nations, and so, that was
done this day, for which this psalm gives thanjcs.
Evening Psalms are civ. cxlv. These two are
thankful commemorations of the various gifts of
God the Holy Ghost, who then gave temporal,
this day, spiritual gifts; which spiritual gifts of this
day were shadowed out by those temporal, and " all
come from the same Spirt," f to whom this feast
f xCor.xii.4.
o 6
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164 MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN WHITSUN WEEK.
is held sacred; so that in blessing the author of
them, we bless the author of these, the Holy Spirit,
from whom these divers gifts come. Some part of
Psalm civ. is more particularly appliable to this
feast : " He maketh the clouds His chariots," ver. 3,
that was upon Ascension-day, when He went up to
heaven in a cloud, Acts i. 9. Then follows, emittis
Spiritum, " Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, and they
shall be made, Thou shalt renew the face of the
earth," ver. 30, which is proper to this day ; for
this day the Holy Spirit was sent, and renewed the
face of the earth, with new creatures, new men of
new hearts and new tongues, Acts ii. " old things
passed away, and all things are become new."
The same harmony of Epistle, Gospel, and Col-
lect, and Lessons and Psalms that we have observ-
ed upon Christmas and Easter and Ascension, may
with pleasure be meditated upon this day.
The same ancients testify the antiquity of this
feast, that gave in evidence for Easter.
MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN WHITSUN
WEEK.
rpHE Epistles for both, Acts x. 34; viii. 14, relate
J- not only to the sending of the Holy Ghost, but
also to baptism, which the Church takes often
o c
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OF TRINITY SUNDAY. l65
occasion to remember us of by her readings and
usages, and would have us improve them all
towards most useful meditations.
This is one of the four Ember weeks ; of which
see above, after the first Sunday in Lent, p. 118.
TRINITY SUNDAY.
IN ancient Liturgies and Ritualists, we find this
day looked upon as an octave of Pentecost, or
as Dominica vacans, (of which name is spoken p.
175,) and that the observing of it as a feast of the
Trinity was of later use, and more late in the
Roman Church than in some other ; g and there
were who objected, that because on each day (and
especially Sundays) the Church celebrates the
praises of the Trinity in her Doxologies, Hymns,
Creeds, &c. therefore there was no need of a feast
on one day for that which was done on each. But
yet the wisdom of the Church thought it meet, that
such a mystery as this, though part of the medita-
tion of each day should be the chief subject of one,
and this to be the day. For no sooner had our
Lord ascended into heaven, and God's Holy Spirit
descended upon the Church, but there ensued the
g Decretal. Greg. lib. 11. tit. ix. cap. ii. p. 647. C.
i O
Q
l66 OF TRINITY SUNDAY.
notice of the glorious and incomprehensible Trinity,
which before that time was not so clearly known.
The Church therefore having solemnized in an
excellent order all the high feasts of our Lord, and
after, that of the descent of God's Spirit upon the
Apostles, thought it a thing most seasonable to
conclude these great solemnities with a festival of
full, special, and express service to the holy and
blessed Trinity. And this the rather in after-tunes,
when Arians and such like heretics had appeared
in the world, and vented their blasphemies against
this Divine mystery.
Some proper Lessons this day hath, as the
Morning first and second. 11
The first Lesson is Gen. xviii. wherein we read of
three that appeared to Abraham, or the Lord in
three Persons, ver. I, 2. a type of that mysterious
Trinity in Unity, which was after revealed in the
Gospel; so Theodoret, " because the Jews had
long lived in Egypt, and had learned there the
worship of many gods ; the most wise God did not
plainly deliver to them the mystery of the Trinity,
lest they should have mistaken it for a doctrine of
a plurality of gods. Yet the doctrine of the Trinity
was not wholly hidden in those times, but some
seeds of that perfection of divinity were dispersed ;
and for that cause, the choir of angels sing thrice
h In the present Liturgy the Lessons are; Morning, Gen. i. St. Matt. Hi.
Evening, Gen. xviii. I St. John v.
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OF TRINITY SUNDAY. 167
" holy," but once "Lord ; '* " Holy, holy, holy, Lord
God of Hosts;" and here three men appeared
to Abraham. 1
The second Lesson, St. Matt. iii. is thought fit
for this feast, because it delivers to us the baptism
of Christ, at which was discovered the mystery of
the Trinity; for there the Son is baptized, the
Holy Spirit descends upon Him, and the Father
speaks from heaven, " this is My beloved Son."
The Epistle and the Gospel are the same that in
ancient services were assigned for the octave of
Pentecost, (the Epistle being of the vision of St.
John, Rev. iv. i. and the Gospel the dialogue of our
Lord with Nicodemus, j ) and the mentioning (which
we find therein) of baptism, of the Holy Spirit and
gifts of it, though it might then fit the day, as a
repetition (as it were) of Pentecost so is it no less
fit for it as a feast to the blessed Trinity. The
mission of the Holy Ghost brings with it (as afore-
said) more light and clearness to the doctrine of the
Trinity, and when more fit to think of the gifts of
the Spirit, than on a solemn day of ordination, (as
this is one,) when men are consecrated to spiritual
offices ? But besides this, we have in the Gospel
set before us, all the three Persons of the sacred
Trinity, and the same likewise represented in the
vision which the Epistle speaks of, with an hymn
of praise, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,"
i Theodoret. advers. Gent. Disput. II. torn. iv. pt. ii. p. 744.
j John Hi. i.
o ,
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l68 SUNPAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
&c. which expressions, by ancient interpretation,
relate to the holy Trinity, as is above said.
OF THE SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY
TILL ADVENT.
rjlHE Church hath now finished the celebration
J- of the high festivals, and thereby run, as it
were, through a great part of the Creed, by setting
before us in an orderly manner the highest mysteries
of our redemption by Christ on earth, till the day
He was taken up into heaven, with the sending
down of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. Now after
she hath in consequence and reflexion upon these
mysteries, broke out into a more solemn and spe-
cial adoration of the blessed Trinity, she comes,
according to her method in the intervals of great
feasts, (of which see p. 83,) to use such Epistles,
Gospels, and Collects, as suit with her holy affections
and aims at this season. Such, namely, as tend to
our edifying, and being the living temples of the
Holy Ghost our Comforter, with His gifts and
graces ; that having oil in our lamps, we may be in
better readiness to meet the bridegroom at His
second Advent or coming to judgment. And this
is done in the remaining Sundays till Advent, which
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SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT. l6p
in their services are, as it were, so many echoes
and reflexions upon the mystery of Pentecost, (the
life of the Spirit,) or as trumpets for preparation to
meet our Lord at His second coming ; which will
be more manifest if we take a general view of the
Gospels together, and afterwards of the Epistles
and Collects.
The GOSPELS for this time, according to the
method which hath before been declared, p. 85, are
of the holy doctrine, deeds, and miracles of our
Saviour, and so may singularly conduce to the
making us good Christians, by being followers of
Christ, and replenished with that Spirit which He
both promised and sent, and for which the Church
lately kept so great a solemnity : for to be charit-
able, heavenly-minded, repentant, merciful, hum-
ble, peaceable, religious, compassionate, and thank-
ful, to trust in God and abound with such spiritual
qualities, are the lessons taught us by our Lord in
these Gospels; and that not only by word and
deed, but many miracles also, for divers Gospels
are of such, and tend much to our edifying. From
His healing of the sick, and going about doing
good, we may learn to employ that power and
ability we have in works of mercy and goodness.
He that raised the dead, and did such mighty
works, can be no other, we may be sure, than God
and man, the Saviour of the world, and able to
protect us, even against death itself, to raise j
O
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I7O SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
our bodies from the dust, and glorify them here-
after.
Thus we have in general the intent of these
Gospels, (as may easily appear by particular ob-
servations,) and withal, how pertinent they are to
the time. And with them the Church concludes her
annual course of such readings : having thereby
given us (and in such time and order as most apt
to make deep impression) the chief matter and
substance of the four Evangelists.
True it is, that in ancient rituals, and particularly
in St. Jerome's Comes, (or Lectionarius,) where
we find this same order of Epistles and Gospels,
(Pamelii Liturg. Eccles. Lat. torn, ii.) there are
some other besides these which our Church useth,
as for Wednesdays, Fridays, and other special tunes
and solemnities. But these for Sundays and other
holy days, which are retained by our Church, are
so well chosen for the fitness, variety, and weighti-
ness of the matter, and out of that Evangelist that
delivers it most fully, that the chiefest passages of
all the Evangelists are hereby made known and
preached to us -, and what we meet not with here,
is abundantly supplied by the daily second Lessons.
And the like also may be said concerning the
Epistles.
In theEpi STLES for this time there is an harmony
with the Gospels, but not so much as some have
thought in their joint propounding of particular
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5 O
SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT, 171
considerations, and those several and distinct, as
the days they belong to, (for that belongs to more
special solemnities,) but rather as they meet all in
the common stream, the general meditation and
affection of the season.
We may therefore observe, that as all the Gospels
for Sundays since Easter day hitherto are taken out
of the beloved disciple St. John, who therein gives
us many of the last and most tender and affectionate
words of our dear Lord before His Passion and
Ascension ; His promising of a Comforter, bidding
them not fear, bequeathing His peace to them, and
the like ; so now the two first Epistles are taken
(and most fitly) out of the same Apostle, who
therein minds us with much earnest affection of
that Spirit which our Lord promised for our Com-
forter, and of the great effect and sign of it, the
love of one another : " if," saith he, " we love one
another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is per-
fect in us ; hereby know we that we dwell in Him,
and He in us, because He hath given us of His
Spirit." And the Epistle for the second Sunday
exhorteth us in like manner, " to love one another
as He gave commandment, and he that keepeth
His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in
him; and hereby we know that He abideth in
us, even by the Spirit which He hath given us." In
the Epistle for the third Sunday, we are put in
mind by St. Peter of submission, and being humble,
o
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172 SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
(for God gives grace to such,) of sobriety, watch-
ing, faith, and patience in affliction, with an exhort-
ation " to cast our care upon God, who cares for
us, and shall perfect, settle, strengthen, and stablish
us," which is according to what Christ said, " that
He would not leave us comfortless." The fourth
Epistle is out of Rom. viii. and is a comfort against
afflictions, "as not worthy of that glory which shall
be shewed upon us," provided we be such as they
whom the Apostle there speaks of, " who had re-
ceived the first fruits of the Spirit." The Epistle
for the fifth being taken out of St. Peter, exhorts
us to love, peace, innocence, and such spiritual
affections ; and if any trouble us, " not to be afraid,
but to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts." The
rest of the Epistles for all the days following relate
much to the same business, as newness of life, and
all the fruits and gifts of God's Holy Spirit, as a
particular insight will sufficiently manifest. But
being not the first that are used in this season, they
seem to have been chosen with more indifferency,
for they are taken out of St. Paul, and keep the
very order of his Epistles, and the place they have
in each Epistle. For of them the first are out of
the Epistle to the Romans, and (so in order) the
next out of the Epistles to the Corinthians, (First
and Second,) Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and
Colossians, for so far the order reacheth till the
time of Advent. Only two of the Sundays (the
) C
SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT. 173
eighteenth and twenty-fifth) do vary from this
method in the choice of their Epistles, and there is
eason for both.
And first, for the twenty-fifth or last Sunday, the
eason is manifest ; for it being looked upon as a
dnd of preparative or forerunner of Advent, as
Advent is to Christmas, (and in St. Jerome's Lectio-
narius* it is comprised within the time of Advent,)
an Epistle was chosen not as happened according
to the former method, but such an one as prophesied
of Christ's Advent or coming; for that plainly
appears in this out of Jeremy, " Behold the time
cometh, saith the Lord, that I will raise up the
righteous Branch of David, which King shall bear
rule, and He shall prosper with wisdom, and shall
set up equity and righteousness again in the earth."
The like prophecy is implied in the Gospel, and
applied to Jesus in the words of the people when
they had seen His miracle : " This is of a truth the
same prophet that should come into the world.'
And therefore when there are either more or fewer
Sundays than twenty-five between Trinity and
Advent, if we so dispose of the services as always
to make use of this for the last of them, it will be
agreeable to reason and exemplary practice, anc
that from time of old, for we find such a rule in
Micrologus an ancient ritualist. l
The other Sunday that follows not the method o
k Liturg. Pamel. tom.ii. p.g6. 1 Cap. xxix.xxx. p. 753.
Q
J
i B& . w /r f*f Bfl 3
r/rr
o
174 SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
the rest is the eighteenth after Trinity; for its
Epistle is taken out of the First to the Corinthians,
not out of that to the Ephesians, as other are for
the Sundays that go next before and after. This
seems to be occasioned by a particular circum-
stance to which a fit Epistle was to be found out ;
though it were not taken out of its place in the
usual order, and that was the Ordination of Min-
isters ; for the understanding of which, and the
ancient care about ordinations, it will not be amiss
to be somewhat the larger. We may therefore
note that what was said of Collects (p. 64) is true
also of this order of Epistles and Gospels, that it
comes down to us from ancient times, as appears
by St. Jerome's Lectionarius m above mentioned,
and other old Liturgists and Expositors. And by
them we find that it was the custom of old to have
proper services for Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sa-
turdays in each Ember week, and then followed
(as with us) the conferring of Holy Orders. But
care being taken that the ordination should be per-
formed after continuance the same day in prayer
and fasting, and yet be done upon the Lord's day
also ; and because by ancient canon that day was
not to be fasted upon, they therefore took this
course to perform it on Saturday, (it being one of
the Ember fasts,) and yet in the evening of it, for
that time was accounted as belonging to the Lord's
m Pamel. Lit. torn. ii. p. $o.
o- -q
o -o
SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT. 1)5
lay following ; or if they would continue so long
asting, to do it early in the morning following."
In regard therefore that this was accounted a
Sunday's work, and that there had been so much
exercise and fasting on Saturday, the Sunday fol-
lowing had no public office, and was therefore
called Dominica vacat, (or vacans,} a vacant Sun-
day. But it was afterwards thought better not to
let that day pass in that manner, nor to continue so
long and late on Saturday in such abstinence and
exercise; and therefore the ordination came to
be dispatched sooner on Saturday, and the Sunday
following had a sendee said on it, which at first for
some time was borrowed of some other days, but
afterwards one was fixed, being fitted to the day or
season with some respect in the frame of it to the
ordination at that time. For although there were
peculiar readings, rites, and prayers for the ordina-
tion itself, (as there is also in our Church, much
resembling the ancient form,) yet besides that, in
the general service of the day, some reflexion was
made on the business of ordination.
Only the vacant Sunday for the Ember week in
September had no constant peculiar service; for
being fixed to a certain time of that month, it
chanceth that the said Sunday sometimes is the
eighteenth after Trinity, sometimes the seven-
teenth, or sooner, as Easter falls out ; and accord-
n Leo Epi&t. Decret. LXXXI. ad Dioscorum. cap. i. p. 435. C.
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176 SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
ingly takes the service of the eighteenth Sunday, or
some other before it, as it happens to be that year.
But of old, after other vacant days had their proper
services, this day continued for some while to make
use of borrowing ; so Berno and Micrologus p say it
was in their times ; and what service can we think
could be more useful for that purpose than this of
the eighteenth Sunday, especially if we consider
it with all the accessaries it had then ?
In the ancient rituals of St. Jerome's Lectiona-
rius, q St. Gregory's Antiphonarius 1 , and in the Liber
Sacramentorum,* &c. we find the sendee of Ember-
week placed immediately before that of this Sun-
day, and the chief reason may be this aforesaid,
their affinity of matter. Rupertus Tuitiensis* is
very copious in shewing how much the office of
this day (in that largeness it then had) concerned
them that had the cure of souls: and Berno
Augiensis u is as large in shewing how well it might
serve in that regard for a supplement to the vacant
Sunday. All which considered, and withal that
the usual order of the Epistles, from the fifth to the
twenty-fifth, was changed only in this ; and that
according to the course of Easter, the ordination
falls on this Sunday, or some other before it, we
may very probably conclude that the choice of this
o Cap.v. p. 715. p Cap.xxvi. p. 730.
q Pam. Lit. tom.ii. p. 48. r Tom. ii. pp. 157, 168.
s Torn, ii. p. 343. t De divinis officiis lib. xii. cap. xviii. p. 1085.
u De quibusdam rebns ad Missam spectant, cap. v. p. 705.
0= -c
o -o
SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT. 177
Epistle (and Gospel also) was with design to exer-
cise our meditations somewhat on the ordination
this day celebrated, or not long before it. And
hereby a good ground was given to the preacher in
his sermon, (for that was usually upon the readings
of the day,) to declare in a fit season the duty of
pastors and their flocks according as he saw occasion.
The Epistle, i Cor. i. 4, is a thanksgiving " in
behalf of the Corinthians for the grace of God
which was given them by Jesus Christ : " it appears
by what the Apostle saith of them in divers places,
that they had been taught by many learned in-
structors, and that many of them had much profited,
and abounded in many spiritual gifts; and such
gifts are here mentioned as are specially requisite
for them that are ordained to be spiritual guides, as
the " being enriched in all utterance, and in all
knowledge, and being behind in no good gift."
And the Gospel, St. Matt.xxii. 34, is of our Saviour's
answering a question of a doctor of the law, of His
silencing both Pharisees and Sadducees by His doc-
trine and questions : whereby He shews how those
whom He sends on Divine messages should be qua-
lified, how able to speak a word in due season, to
give a reason of their faith, and to convince gain^
sayers. This is the Gospel in the ancient Lection-
ary* above mentioned ; and though some churches
use other, yet we may observe that they are all
x Tom. ii. p. 50.
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178 SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
very appliable to this occasion. And the old
anthems or versicles for the day, y (which are to
be found most of them in some Latin services,)
are herein most express ; desiring of God " that
His prophets may be found faithful;" and speak-
ing of "being glad of going into the house of
God, bringing presents, coming into His courts,
&c. of telling out among the heathen that the
Lord is King : of Moses hallowing an altar, and
offering sacrifices, ascending into the mount, pray-
ing for the people, of God's shewing Himself to
him," &c.
It is true, that other ordination Sundays relate
principally (as is most meet) to the chief medita-
tions of those special seasons wherein they fall, but
yet therein we may find matter very pertinent to
this occasion. How fit the service of Trinity Sun-
day is in this regard hath already been declared,
p. 167, nor could any season have been more aptly
chosen for this occasion. In that of Lent the
Epistle tells us what holiness of life is required in
all, and therefore certainly in them whom God
hath called to such an holy profession ; and that
saying of Christ, (in the Gospel for the same day,)
"that He was sent to the lost sheep," &c. may
mind them of their duty who are sent by Him to be
pastors of His flock. The like advertisements they
may gather from both Epistle, i Cor. iv. i, and
y S. Greg. Antiphocarius, torn. ii. 157.
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SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT. 179
Gospel, St. Matt xi. 2, of the Sunday of ordination
in time of Advent, as may be obvious to view.
And no less proper is that Epistle, which the Lec-
tionary 2 and some churches appoint for the same
day ; " Let a man," saith the Apostle there, " thus-
wise esteem us,, even as the ministers of Christ, and
stewards of the secrets of God. Furthermore, it is
required of stewards that a man be found faithful."
Which Epistle with us, and some other Churches,
is applied to the Sunday next before this, changing
place with another Epistle, not unfit for this occa-
sion, and more fit to come next to Christmas : for
by those words in it, " the Lord is even at hand,"
it may excite us to such a preparation for the feast
of Christ's coming in the flesh, as may prepare us
for that other coming in glory which we look for.
Thus have we taken a view of these Epistles and
Gospels, and upon occasion also of those which are
used after ordinations, and somewhat also of the
time when holy orders were given. Our Church
herein keeps to the day that is most proper ; and
that is to the Sunday which next follows the Ember
fast. A day on which Christ bestowed His Spirit
upon His Apostles, gave them their commission,
and many wonderful gifts for the good of the
Church. For this and other reasons doth Leo
shew, how congruous the Lord's day is for such a
work. Besides this may be added, that a business
x Tom. ii. p. 58.
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l8o SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
of such consequence being done upon such a day,
is attended with more solemnity and presence of
the congregation. See the discourse of Ember
weeks, p. 118, and Leo. Epist. Ixxxi. ad Dioscorum,
cap. i. p. 435.
The COLLECTS* remain to be now spoken of;
and they in the same manner with the Epistles and
Gospels have a general congruity with the affection
of the season. For as faith, hope, and charity, the
graces and gifts of the Holy Ghost, are the general
subject, more or less, of these Epistles, and the
same taught, exemplified, and confirmed in the
Gospels ; so are these Collects certain general invo-
cations upon God for the assistance of His Holy
a The Collects in the old Books for the following Sundays were as follows :
For the second Sunday, " Lord make u to have a perpetual fear and love of
Thy holy name, for Thou never failest to help and govern them whom Thou
dost bring up in Thy stedfast love. Grant this," &c.
The third stood as follows : " Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to hear us,
and unto whom Thou hast given an hearty desire-to pray, grant that by Thy
mighty aid we may be defended ; through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The eighth began, " God, whose providence is never deceived ; we humbly
beseech Thee," &c.
The ninth had, instead of " that we who cannot do," &c. " that we which
cannot be without Thee, may by Thee be able to live."
The eleventh had this expression, " Give unto us abundantly Thy grace,
that we running to Thy promises may be made partakers."
The twelfth ended thus ; " and giving unto us that that our prayer dare no 1
presume to ask ; through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The fifteenth was without, " from all things hurtful."
The sixteenth had " congregation " for " church."
The eighteenth began thus : " Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people
grace to avoid the infections of the devil."
The nineteenth had this expression, " Grant that the working of Thy
mercy," whereas we now read, " mercifully grant that Thy Holy Spirit."
In the twentieth, for " cheerfully," there was "with free hearts."
In the twenty-fourth, for " absolve," there was " assist."
. C
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SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT. l8l
Spirit, and bringing forth the fruits of it, and con-
sist usually of a most humble acknowledgment, and
a petition suitable, as is above declared, pp. 66, 67.
And as we have taken there a brief view of the
pious sense and spirit of these acknowledgments,
so will it not be amiss to do the same here concern-
ing the petitions ; which in each Collect are some
or other of these following, or such like : " That
God would be pleased to prevent and follow us
always with His grace, and with His mercy, in all
things direct and rule our hearts, to stir up our
wills, pour into our hearts (graff in them) the love
of His holy name, make us to have a perpetual
fear and love of it, to ask such things as shall please
Him, to have the spirit to think and do always such
things as be rightful, (to please Hun, both in will
and deed,) that He would increase, nourish, keep
us in true religion and all goodness ; give unto us
the increase of faith, hope, and charity, that we may
live according to His will, with pure and free hearts
follow Him; accomplish those things He would
have done, may be cleansed, assoyled, delivered
from all our offences, have pardon, peace, protec-
tion, and defence \ may plentifully bring forth the
fruits of good works, and by Him be plenteously
rewarded, and obtain His promises, which exceed
all we can desire." Such requests as these, (be-
sides some other, " that God would hear the pray-
ers of the people," of which see pp. 64, and 79,) are
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l82 SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY TILL ADVENT.
by the priest presented to God, fit for the Church's
meditations at this time after Pentecost, and not
unfitly following the Lessons, the Decalogue, and
the following supplications of the people, as the
proper place of Collects ; being all of them (though
in several branches and expressions) in effect thus
much; that by the merciful grace, inspiration,
defence, and protection of God Almighty, we may
be cleansed from our sins, may obey His command-
ments, may live as Christians ought, not after the
flesh but after the Spirit, and so be fitter to meet
our blessed Lord at His second Advent to judge
the world.
And this meditation of the second Advent of
Christ is thought so seasonable in the last place,
that some Churches, instead of those readings which
we have for the last Sunday of this time, make use
of some other which concern the day of judgment :
but our Church, as she hath good reason for her
method, as we have seen, pp. 172, 173, so is she
not at all defective in her thoughts of Christ's
second coming : in time of Advent, and often after-
wards, she takes occasion to remember it, but most
especially at this season. The last Gospel (except
that which implies a prophecy of Christ's Advent)
sets before us His raising up of one from the dead,
a great ground of our faith and hope of a resurrec-
tion. The Epistle that goes with it, and all the
rest in a manner aim most evidently at this, the
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CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 183
" quickening us to a life spiritual by the hopes of
an eternal." The last Collect, with some other, is
for the enjoyment of it according to God's pro-
mises. So that we see the Church in her medi-
tations for the conclusion of the year, takes in that
for her subject which is the close of our Creed,
end of our faith, and crown of our devotions ; <( the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
ST. ANDREW.
THIS Saint's day is the first that is kept solemn,
because he first eame to Christ, and followed
Hun before any of the other Apostles, (St. John i.
40.) He brought his brother Simon to Christ,
ver. 42. He it was that said, "We have found
the Messiah," and therefore his day is rightly set at
the beginning of Advent for ever, to bring news
de adventu Domini, of the Advent or coming of
our Lord.
CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.
WHEREAS other Saints' martyrdoms, or at
least the days of their death, are celebrated
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184 OF THE FEAST OF CANDLEMAS.
by holy Church; St. Paul's Conversion is made
the holy day; b for these reasons :
I. For the example of it; that no sinner, how
great soever, might hereafter despair of pardon,
seeing Saul, a grievous persecutor, made St. Paul :
" For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me
first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffer-
ing, for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe. " c
II. For the joy which the Church had at his
conversion.
III. For the miracle wrought at his conversion.
PURIFICATION OF ST. MARY, OR
FEAST OF CANDLEMAS, d
SOME Churches keep four holy days in memory
of the blessed Virgin, namely, the Annuncia-
tion, the Assumption, the Nativity, and Purification.
Our Church keeps only the Purification and An-
b Conversion of St. Paul.* The old Collect. " God, which hast taught all
the world through the preaching of Thy blessed Apostle St. Paul, grant, we
beseech Thee, that we, which have this wonderful conversion in remem-
brance, may follow and fulfil Thy holy doctrine that he taught ; through
Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen. c i Tim. i. 16.
d Purification of St. Mary. The Epistle was the same as that used on the
Sunday before, whereas it is now Malachi Hi. i to 6. The Gospel was St_
Luke ii. 33 to 27, but now it goes on to the end of ver. 40.
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OF THE FEAST OF CANDLEMAS. l85
nunciation which are common to her and our
blessed Lord.
The Purification is a double feast, partly in
memory of the Virgin's purification, (this being the
fortieth day after the birth,) which she observed
according to the Law, Lev. xii. 4, though she needed
it not ; but chiefly in memory of our Lord's pre-
sentation in the temple, which the Gospel comme-
morates.
Our Saviour thus presented in the temple, offered
Himself a live oblation for us, that so the whole
obedience of His life might be ours.
This day had one solemnity of old peculiar to it ;
namely, procession ; the order and manner of which
I shall set down briefly out of St. Bernard. e
"We go in procession, two by two, carrying
candles in our hands, which are lighted, not at a
common fire, but a fire first blessed in the Church
by a Bishop. They that go out first return last ;
and in the way we sing, Great is the glory of the
Lord.
" We go two by two, in commendation of charity
and a social life ; for so our Saviour sent out His
disciples.
" We carry lights in our hands : first, to signify
that our light should shine before men ; secondly,
this we do this day especially in memory of the
wise virgins (of whom this blessed Virgin is the chief)
e In diem Senn. ii. torn. i. p. 961.
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l86 FEAST OF ST. PHILIP AND ST. JAMES.
that went to meet their Lord with their lamps light
and burning. And from this usage and the many
lights set up in the church this day, it is called
Candelaria, or Candlemas.
" Because our works should be all done in the
holy fire of charity ; therefore the candles are light
with holy fire.
" They that go out first return last, to teach hu-
mility; in humility preferring one before another. 1
" Because God loves a cheerful giver, therefore
we sing in the way.
"The procession itself is to teach us, that we
should not stand idle in the way of life, but proceed
from virtue to virtue, not looking back to that
which is behind, but reaching forward to that which
is before."
For the antiquity of this day, see Cyril Alex. g
Gregory Nyss. in diem.* And for the feast of the
Annunciation, Athanas. Serm. de Deipara. 1
ST. PHILIP AND ST.JAMES.k
WHEREAS, in the primitive Church, the Apo-
stles had not several days of solemnity, it
fPhil.ii.3. gTom.v. pt.ii. p. 379. h Tom. H. p. 876.
1 Serm. in Annunc. S. D. Deiparae, torn. Hi. p. 393.
k St. Philip and St. James. The Collect formerly ran, after the words,
" the way, the truth, and the life," " as Thou hast taught St. Philip and
other Apostles ; through Jesus Christ our Lord."
6 (
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FEAST OF ST. PHILIP AND ST. JAMES. 187
was appointed that one day should be allowed for
them all ; namely, in the Latin Church, the Calends,
or first of May; in the Greek, the feast of St. Peter
and St. Paul. Afterwards, when the other Apostles
had peculiar days appointed, this first of May was
left to St. Philip and Jacob, because it was thought
that they suffered upon that day. Thus Durandus 1
and some other deliver it: but upon further in-
quiry, it seems to be a mistake; for if (as hath
been proved in the discourse upon St. Stephen's
day) Martyrs and other Saints had their several
days observed in the first times, it is not pro-
bable that the Apostles, those founders of Churches,
" those princes over all lands," (as they are called
Psalm xlv. 1 6,) should be huddled up all into
one day, and have a less respect given them
by the Church than other Saints and Martyrs
had. I conceive therefore that they had several
days allowed them as well as other Saints;
and this mistake of Durandus was occasioned by
this, that in some old Martyrologists, this feast of
St. Philip and Jacob was called the feast of St.
Philip and Jacob and all the Apostles, and in some,
the feast of St. Philip and Jacob and all Saints.
The reason of which was, not because the Apostles
had no other feasts appointed them, but only this,
because the feast of St. Philip and Jacob is upon
the Calends of May, and so falls within the Paschal
1 Rational, l.vii. cap.x. p. 438.
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> -o
l88 FEAST OF ST. PHILIP AND ST. JAMES.
solemnity betwixt Easter and Whitsuntide; all
which time the Church of old was wont to com-
memorate, not one Saint alone, but all together ;
and therefore, not St. Philip and Jacob alone, but
all the Apostles and Saints together with them.
The reason of which was, says Gemma c?e antique
ritu Missarum, because, in our heavenly country
which that tune signifies, the joy of all is the joy of
every one ; and the joy of every Saint the common
joy of all : or because, as Micrologus says, n " At
the general resurrection (of which Easter solemnity
is a type) there is a common festivity and joy of the
righteous."
The St. Philip this day commemorated was St.
Philip the Apostle, whom the Gospel, St. Johnxiv. I.
mentions, not Philip the deacon. Yet the Church
gives us a Lesson, Acts viii. concerning him ; and
it was a thing not unusual in ancient martyrologies
to commemorate divers of the same name on the
same day.
The St. James that is commemorated this day is
not one of the sons of Zebedee, whose day is kept
in July, but St. James, who was called the brother
of our Lord, the first bishop of Jerusalem, who
wrote the Epistle called the Epistle of St. James,
part of which is this day read, ch. v. I.
This day hath no fast, because it falls betwixt
Easter and Whitsuntide. See feast of Circumcision.
m De Eccl. Offic. (Gemma) 1. in cap. cxl. p. lag.
n De Eccl. Offic c. Iv. p. 763.
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ST. JOHN BAPTIST.
WE celebrate the birth of St. John Baptist, and
of our Saviour, for these reasons :
The births of both were full of joy and mystery.
Our Saviour's we have already observed. Now for
St. John's, it is plain there was more than ordinary
joy at his birth, St. Luke i. 14. and full of mystery
and wonder it was. As a virgin conceived our
Lord, so a barren woman brought forth St. John,
St. Luke i. 36. Again, his birth was prophetical of
our Lord, whom he saluted out of his mother's
womb. Lastly, his birth was made memorable by
the prediction of the angel Gabriel, St. Luke i. 19.
There was formerly another holy day for the be-
heading of St. John Baptist ; but our Church keeps
only this holy day in memory of him, wherein,
though she principally commemorates his myste-
rious nativity, as you may see in the Gospel, yet
she does not omit his life and death ; his life and
office in the morning Lessons p are recorded; his
death is related in the Second Lesson i evening, and
the Collect prays for grace to imitate his example,
patiently suffering for the truth's sake.
o St. Luke 1. S7- P Mai. iii. St. Matt. iii.
q St. Matt xiv.i I3v ^,..
-O
o -c
ST. MICHAEL.
HOLY Church holds a feast in memory of the
holy angels : first, because they minister
to us on earth, " being sent forth to minister to
them that shall be heirs of salvation;'"! secondly,
because they fight against the devil for us, by their
prayers and recommendation of us and our con-
dition at the throne of grace; as appears by
the Epistle and the Gospel at the end of it.
The Church in this feast particularly commemo-
rates St. Michael, because he was prince, or tutelar
angel of the Church of the Jews, Dan. x. 13 ; xii. i.
and so of the Christian Church ; for the Church
which was once in the Jews is now in the Christians.
ALL-SAINTS.
IT) ECAUSE we cannot particularly commemorate
JD every one of those Saints in whom God's
graces have been eminent, for that would be too
heavy a burden ; and because in these particular
feasts, which we do celebrate, we may justly be
thought to have omitted some of our duty, through
q Heb.i.M-
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OF THE COMMUNION. Ipl
infiraiity or negligence; therefore holy Church
appoints this day in commemoration of the Saints
in general.
Other holy days not here spoken of, are either
mentioned in other places, or need no other expli-
cation than what already hath been said in general
of Holy days, and their readings.
THE COMMUNION OR SECOND
SERVICE.
IN the Liturgy it is called the Communion, and
well it were that the piety of the people were
such as to make it always a Communion. The
Church, as appears by her pathetical exhortation
before the Communion, and the Rubric after it,
labours to bring men oftener to communicate than
she usually obtains. Private and solitary Commu-
nions of the Priest alone she allows not; and
therefore when other cannot be had, she appoints
only so much of the service, as relates not of neces-
sity to a present Communion, and that to be said
at the holy table; and upon good reason, the
Church thereby keeping, as it were, her ground,
visibly minding us of what she desires and labours
towards, our more frequent access to that holy
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O (
192 OF THE COMMUNION.
table, and in the meanwhile that part of the service
which she uses may perhaps more fitly be called
the Second Service than the Communion. And so
it is often called, though not in the Rubric of the
Liturgy, yet in divers fast books and the like set
out by authority. If any should think that it can-
not properly be called the second sendee, because
the Morning service and Litany go before it, which
we prove in the following discourse to be two dis-
tinct services, whereby this should seem to be the
third rather than the second sendee ; it is answer-
ed, that sometimes the Communion Service is used
upon such days as the Litany is not ; and then it
may, without question, be called the second ser-
vice : nay, even then, when the Litany and all is
used, the Communion Service may be very fitly
called the second service ; for though in strictness of
speech the Litany is a service distinct, as is shewn,
yet in our usual acceptation of the word sendee,
namely, for a complete service, with all the several
parts of it, Psalms, Readings, Creeds, Thanks-
givings, and Prayers, so the Litany is not a sendee,
nor so esteemed, but called the Litany, or suppli-
cations, and looked upon sometimes, when other
offices follow, as a kind of preparative (though a
distinct form) to them, as to the Communion, Com-
mination, &c. And therefore it was a custom in
some Churches, that a bell was tolled, while the
Litany was saying, to give notice to the people that
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OF THE COMMUNION. Tp3
the Communion service was now coming on. This
service consists of four parts ; the first reaches to
the offertory, called anciently missa catechumeno-
rum, " the service of the catechumens ; " the second
is the offertory, which reaches to the consecration.
The third begins at the consecration, and ends at
the angelical hymn, GLORY BE TO GOD ON HIGH.
The last is the post Communion, or thanksgiving,
which with us is nothing but that holy hymn.
Part I. We begin the first part as the Church
was wont to begin her services, with the LORD'S
PRAYER, concerning which see the Morning Service.
After this follows an excellent prayer to God TO
CLEANSE OUR HEARTS BY HlS HOLY INSPI-
RATION.
Then follow the COMMANDMENTS with aKyrie,
or LORD HAVE MERCY UPON us, after every one of
them ; which, though I cannot say it was ancient,
yet surely cannot be denied to be very useful and
pious. And if there be any that think this might be
spared, as being fitter for poor publicans than saints ;
let them turn to the parable of the publican and
Pharisee going up to the temple to pray, St. Luke
xviii. 9, and there they shall receive an answer.
Then follows the COLLECT for the day, with
another for the King, which the priest is to say
standing, &c. Of this posture enough hath been
; said in the Morning service. Though there hath
been a prayer for the King in the Morning service,
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194 OF THE COMMUNION.
and another in the Litany; yet the Church here
appoints one again, that she may strictly observe
St. Paul's rule, i Tim. ii. who directs that in all
our public prayers for all men, an especial prayer
should be made for the King. Now the Morning
service, Litany, and this Communion service are
three distinct Services, and therefore have each of
them such an especial prayer.
That they are three distinct services will appear,
for they are to be performed at distinct places
and times. The Morning service is to be said at
the beginning of the day, as appears in the third
Collect for grace. Tlpcata, says St. Chrysostom,
which is translated, St. Matt, xxvii. i, in the morn-
ing, and St. John xviii. 28, early; in St. Mark
xiii. 35, it is translated, the dawning of the day.
The place for it is the accustomed place in the
chancel or church, says the Rubric before Morn-
ing prayer, or where the ordinary shall appoint it.
The Litany is also a distinct service, for it is no
part of the morning service, as you may see Rubric 1 "
after Athanasius' Creed. Here ends the Morning
and Evening service. Then follows the Litany.
Nor is it any part of the Communion service, for
that begins with " Our Father," and the Collect,
" Almighty God," &c. and it is to be said after the
Litany. The time and place for this is not
r That Rubric is now placed at the end of the Morning and Evening
prayer, and omitted after St. Athanasius' Creed.
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OF THE COMMUNION. Ip5
appointed in the Rubric, but it is supposed to be
known by practice. For in the Commination,
Psalm li. is appointed to be said, where they are
accustomed to say the Litany, and that was in the
church, before the chancel door. "It being a
penitential office, is there appointed, in imitation of
God's command to the priests in their penitential
service," 8 " Let the priests weep between the porch
and the altar." 4 The time of this is a little before
the time of the Commination Service. 11
The Communion service is to be some good dis-
tance after the Morning service ; before the Com-
munion service, " so many as intend to be par-
takers of the holy Communion, shall signify their
names to the Curate over night, or before Morning
prayer, or immediately after, * which does neces-
sarily require a good space of time to do it in. The
usual hour for the solemnity of this service was
anciently, and so should be, nine of the clock,
morning ;y this is the canonical hour, 2 thence
probably called the holy hour. 8 In case of neces-
sity, it might be said earlier or later, Durant. de
but this was the usual and canonical
Bishop Andrews on the Liturgy, p. 56. t Joel ii. 17.
Eli/,. Injuno. xviii. Spar. Art. p. 71.
Rubric I. The present Rubric is somewhat different ; for after the word
urate," it merely says, " at least some time the day before."
Cone. Aurel. 1IT. can. xiv. torn. v. p. 499.
Decret Pars. III. de Consec. Distinct. I. cap. xlix. p. 1992. C.
Decret. Pars. I. Distinct. XLIV. cap. xiii. p. aai. D.
b Lib. II. cap. viii. p. 112.
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196 OF THE COMMUNION.
hour for it. One reason which is given for it is,
because at this hour began our Saviour's Passion,
St. Markxv. 25,the Jews then crying out, " Crucify,"
&c. At this hour, therefore, is the Communion
service (part of which is a commemoration of
Christ's Passion) performed. Another reason given
is, because this hour the Holy Ghost descended
upon the Apostles, Acts ii. i5. Lastly, because it
is the most convenient hour for all to meet, and
despatch this with other offices before noon. For,
till the service was ended, men were persuaded to
be fasting ; and therefore it was thought fit to end
all the service before noon, that people might be
free to eat. c Why this service is called the second,
see pp. 191, 192.
The place for this service is the altar or Com-
munion Table. d And so it was always in primitive
times, which is a thing so plain as needs no proof.
After this, the priest reads the Epistle and Gospel
for the day. Concerning the antiquity of which,
and the reason of their choice, hath been said
already ; nothing here remains to be shewn but the
antiquity and piety of those rites which were used
both by us and the ancient Church, about the read-
ing of the Gospel. As,
I. When the GOSPEL, is named, the clergy and
the people present say or sing, GLORY BE TO THEE
c Durantus de ritibus Eccles. l.ii.cap. vii. p. tsa.
d Rubric before the Communion.
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OF THE COMMUNION. Tp7
O LORD. So it is in St. Chrysostom's Liturgy/
Glorifying God that hath sent to them also the
word of salvation." As it is in the Acts of the
Apostles xi. 1 8, "When they heard these things
they glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to
the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
II. While the Gospel is reading, all that are
present stand : e and Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical
History, tells us, it was a new fashion in Alexandria,
that the Bishop did not rise up when the Gospel
was read ; " which," says he, " I never observed
nor heard amongst any others whatsoever." f The
reason was this: anciently, whensoever the holy
Lessons were read, the people stood, 8 to express
their reverence to the holy word, Nehem. viii. 5.
But because this was counted too great a burden,
it was thought fit to shew our reverence, especially
at the reading of the Gospel, which historically
declares somewhat which our Saviour spake, did,
or suffered in His own person: by this gesture
shewing a reverend regard to the Son of God, above
other messengers, although speaking as from God.
And against Arians, Jews, Infidels, who derogate
from the honour of our LORD, such ceremonies are
most profitable, as judicious Mr. Hooker notes. h
d Goar Euchol. p. 69.
e Gratian. Decret. pars. III. De Consec. Distinct. I. cap. Ixv. p 1997. D.
f Sozomen. Hist. Kccles. 1. vii. cap. xix. p. 735. A.
g S. Austin. Horn. CCC. in Appen. torn. v. p. 504. B.
h B. v. ch.xxx. .3. vol. ii. p. 179.
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Ip8 OF THE COMMUNION.
III. After the Gospel is ended, the use was to
praise God, saying, THANKS BE TO GOD for this
Gospel. So was it of old ordained, ' that the lauds
or praises should be said, not after the Epistle, but
immediately after the Gospel, for the glory of
Christ, which is preached in the Gospel.
In some places the fashion was then to kiss the
book. And surely this book, by reason of the rich
contents of it, deserves a better regard than too
often it finds. It should in this respect be used so,
as others may see we prefer it before all other
books.
Next is the NICENE CREED ; so called because
it was for the most part framed at the great Council
of Nice. But because the great Council of Con-
stantinople added the latter part, and brought it
to the frame which we now use, therefore it is
called also the Constantinopolitan Creed. This
Creed began to be used in Churches at the Com-
munion service, immediately after the Gospel, in
the year of our Lord cccxxxix.
Afterwards it was established in the Churches of
Spain and France, after the custom of the Eastern
Church, k and continued down to our times.
The reason why this Creed follows immediately
after the Epistle and Gospel, is the same* that was
given for the APOSTLES' CREED following next after
i Conc.Toletan. IV. can.xii. torn. v. p. 1709.
k Cone. Toletan. III. can. ii. torn. v. p. 1009.
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OF THE COMMUNION. Ip9
the Lessons at Morning and Evening prayer. To
which the Canon of Toledo last cited, hath added
another reason of the saying it here before the
people draw near to the holy Communion, namely,
" That the breasts of those that approach to those
dreadful mysteries may be purified with a true and
right faith." 1
A third reason is given by Dionysius. m It will
not be amiss to set down some passages of his at
large, because they will both give us a third reason
of using the Creed in this place, and discover to
us, as I conceive, much of the ancient beautiful
order of the Communion service.
The Bishop or Priest, standing at the altar,
begins the melody of psalms, all the degrees of
ecclesiastics singing with him. This psalmody is
used, as in almost all priestly offices, so in this, to
prepare and dispose our souls by holy affections,, to
the celebration of the holy mysteries following;
and by the consent and singing together of Divine
Psalms, to work in us an unanimous consent and
concord one towards another. Then is read, by
some of the ministers, first a lesson out of the Old
Testament, then one out of the New, in their order,
(for the reasons before mentioned in the discourse
of lessons at morning service.) After this the
catechumens, the possessed, and the penitents are
dismissed, and they only allowed to stay who are
1 Tom. v. p. 1010. m De Eecles.Hier. cap. iii. $. ii, iii.toni i p 942
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Q Q
2OO OF THE COMMUNION.
deemed worthy to receive the holy Sacrament;
which being done, some of the under ministers keep
the door of the Church, that no infidel or unworthy
person may intrude into these sacred mysteries.
Then the ministers and devout people (reverently
beholding the holy signs, not yet consecrated, but
blessed and offered up to God on a by-standing table,
called the table of proposition, Tparrefa TrpotfeVecoy)
praise and bless the Father of Lights (from whom, as
all good gifts, so this great blessing of the Commu-
nion does come) with the catholic hymn of praise,
which some call the Creed, others more divinely
the pontifical thanksgiving, as containing in it all
the spiritual gifts which flow from heaven upon us,
the whole mystery of our salvation. When this
hymn of praise is finished, the deacons with the
Priest set the holy bread and cup of blessing upon
the altar ; after which, the Priest or Bishop says
the most sacred, that is, the Lord's Prayer, gives
the blessing to the people ; then they (in token of
perfect charity, a most necessary virtue at this
time of offering at the altar, St. Matt. v. 23.) salute
each other. After which, the names of holy men
that have lived and died in the faith of Christ are
read out of the diptychs, and their memories cele-
brated, to persuade others to a diligent imitation of
their virtues, and a steadfast expectation of their
heavenly rewards. This commemoration of the
Saints, presently upon the setting of the holy signs
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OF THE COMMUNION. 2OI
upon the altar, is not without some mystery; to
shew the inseparable sacred union of the Saints
with Christ, who is represented by those sacred
signs. These things being rightly performed, the
Bishop or Priest that is to consecrate washes his
hands, a most decent ceremony, signifying, that
those that are to do these holy offices should have a
special care of purity, " I will wash mine hands in
innocency, O Lord, and so will I compass Thine
altar/'" After he hath magnified these Divine
gifts, and God that gave them, then he consecrates
the holy mysteries : and having uncovered them,
reverently shews them to the people, inviting them
to the receiving of them. Himself and the Priests
and Deacons receive first, then the people receive
in both kinds ; and having all received, they end
the service with a thanksgiving, which was Psalm
xxxiv.
After the Epistle and Gospel, and the confession
of that faith which is taught in holy writ, follows
THE SERMON, which usually was an exposition of
some part of the Epistle or Gospel, or proper
Lesson for the day, as we may see in St. Augustine
in his Sermons de Tempore, according to the pat-
tern in Nehem. viii. 8. " They read in the book, in
the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and
caused the people to understand the reading." And
n Psalm xxvi. 6.
o S. Arabros. Ep. XX. torn. ii. p. 852. Leo. Serm. ii. de Resur. Dom. p. 1098.
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2O2 OF THE COMMUNION.
the Preacher was in his exposition appointed to
observe the Catholic interpretation of the old doc-
tors of the Church ; as we may see in Can. xix. of
the sixth Council of Constantinople, held in Trullo. p
The Canon is this : " Let the governors of Churches
every Sunday at the least, teach their clergy and
people the oracles of piety and true religion ; col-
lecting out of Divine Scripture, the sentences and
doctrines of truth, not transgressing the ancient
bounds and traditions of the holy Fathers. And if
any doubt or controversy arise about Scripture, let
them follow that interpretation, which the lights of
the Church and the doctors have left in their
writings. By which they shall more deserve com-
mendation, than by making private interpretations,
which if they adhere to, they are in danger to fall
from the truth."
"To this agrees the Canon made in Queen
Elizabeth's time, anno Dom. 1571.1 The Preachers
chiefly shah 1 take heed that they teach nothing in
their preaching, which they would have the people
religiously to observe and believe, but that which
is agreeable to the doctrine of the Old Testament
and the New, and that which the catholic Fathers
and ancient Bishops toave gathered out of that doc-
trine." These golden Canons, had they been duly
observed, would have been a great preservative of
truth and the Church's peace.
p Tom. vi. p. 1158. q Sparrow's Articles, &c. p. 238.
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OF THE COMMUNION. 203
The sermon was not above an hour long. Cyril.
Catech. xiii. cap. viii. p. 186.
Before the sermon, no prayer is appointed but
the Lord's Prayer, the petitions being first consign-
ed upon the people by the preacher or minister,
who is appointed to bid the prayers, as it is in
Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth's Injunctions; 8
that is, to tell the people beforehand what they
are at that time especially to pray for in the Lord's
Prayer;' which is called moving the people to join
with the preacher in praying the Lord's Prayer. Of
old, nothing was said before the sermon but gemina
salutatio, " the double salutation." 11 The Bishop
or Priest never begins to speak to the people ; but
first in the name of God he salutes the people, and
the salutation is doubled, that is, the preacher says,
" The Lord be with you," and the people answer,
" And with thy spirit." Much after this manner
was the Jews' practice, "Ezra the scribe stood
upon a pulpit of wood, &c. and opened the book
in the sight of all the people ; and when he opened
it all the people stood up, and Ezra blessed the
Lord, the great God, and all the people answered,
Amen, Amen, and worshipped. Then Ezra read
in the book, and gave the sense, and caused them to
understand the reading."* So we see, that both
s Sparrow's Articles, p. 83. t Caiion LV. A. D. 1603. p. 19.
u Clement. Constit.l. viii. c. v. Pat. Ap. torn. i. p. 395. Optatus de Schis.
Donat. l.vii. p.99. x Nehem. viii. 4 8.
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2O4 OF THE COMMUNION.
amongst Jews and Christians of old, the preacher
before his sermon used only a short salutation, or
blessing, to which the people having answered, the
sermon began. And though the Church of Eng-
land uses not the very same form, yet in this she
follows the ancient practice, prescribing only the
short prayer of our Lord ; and indeed what need
any more ? For whatsoever we can desire, is abun-
dantly prayed for before in the Liturgy, and needs
not be prayed over again immediately. And there-
fore there being no need of such a solemn prayer,
the Church hath appointed none, but only the
Lord's Prayer ; and no other being appointed, no
other should be used by the Preacher. For, as
hath been shewn, "No prayers should be used
publicly but those that are prescribed, lest through
ignorance or carelessness any thing contrary to the
faith should be uttered before God." p. i. How
necessary such restraint of private men's prayers in
public is, and how good that reason is for such a
restraint, a little experience of licentious times will
abundantly shew. The pulpit is no security from
errors. Men may as well speak blasphemy or
vanity before the sermon as in it. Is it not reason
then that the Church should take care what she
can to prevent this danger, by restraining that
liberty which is so likely to run men into it ? Sup-
pose some preachers should be so careful as not to
vent any thing unsavory, yet the Church cannot be
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OF THE COMMUNION. 2O5
secured of all, and therefore must not allow a
general liberty. Nay, suppose the Church could
be assured of all preachers' care in this particular,
that their prayers should be for matter sound and
good; yet how should it be reasonable for the
Church to allow any private person or preacher to
offer up to God a prayer in the name of the con-
gregation, as their joint desire, to which they never
before consented themselves, nor their governors
for them. A preacher may pray for his auditory
by himself, though they know it not, nor consented
to it beforehand ; but it is not imaginable how he
should offer it up in their name, or call it their
prayer to God, as sometimes the use hath been,
which neither they themselves, nor their governors,
whom Christ hath empowered to make prayer for
them, have consented to or acknowledged for theirs j
no more than any man can call that the petition of
a town, which he shall present in their names,
though they never before consented to it, or so
much as saw it before it was presented.
This form of bidding prayers is very ancient ; we
may see the like in St. Chrysostom, and other
Liturgies, which they called Trpoo-ffxavrjo-eis, allocu-
tions, in which the Deacon speaks to the people
from point to point, directing them what to pray
for, (as hath been said before.) This is all the
difference betwixt them and this ; that in them the
people were to answer to every point severally,
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2O6 OF THE COMMUNION.
" Lord have mercy," &c. In this, they are taught
to sum up all the petitions in the Lord's Prayer,
and to pray for them all together.
This was the practice in King Edward the Sixth's
time, as appears by Bishop Latimer, Jewel, and
others in those days, whose forms of bidding prayers
before sermon, are to be seen in their writings.
IF THERE BE NO SERMON, THERE SHALL
FOLLOW ONE OF THE Homilies SET FORTH. So
was it of old appointed, if the parish Priest be sick,
or cannot preach, let the Homilies of the holy
fathers be read by the Deacon. y
Part II. The OFFERTORY Z follows, which are
certain sentences out of Holy Scripture, which were
sung or said while the people offered. 8
Offerings or oblations are an high part of God's
service and worship, taught by the light of nature
and right reason ; which bids us to " honour God
with our substance," as well as with our bodies and
souls ; to give a part of our goods to God as an
homage or acknowledgment of His dominion over
us, and that all that we have comes from God;
" Who am I, and what is my people, that we should
be able to offer so willingly after this sort ; for all
j Cone. Vas. II. can. ii. torn. iv. p. 1680.
z Offertory. The Rubric here was different to the present. " Then shall
the Churchwardens, or some others by them appointed, gather the devotions
of the people, and put the same into the poor man's box ; and, upon the offer-
Ing days appointed, every man and woman shall pay to the Curate the due and
accustomed offerings."
a Durant. de rit. Eccles. 1. ii. cap. xxvi. p. 177.
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things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we
given Thee?" b To "bring presents to Him that
ought to be feared/' 6 this duty or offerings was
practised by the fathers before the Law, with a
gracious acceptation. Witness Abel, Gen. iv. 4.
Commanded in the Law : " Speak to the children
of Israel that they bring Me an offering." d So
Deut. xvi. 1 6, confirmed by our Saviour in the
Gospel : " Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath
aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy gift." 6 If
any man conceive that this offering here mention-
ed was a Jewish perishing rite, not a duty of the
Gospel to continue, let him consider,
I. That there is the same reason for this duty
under the Gospel, as there was under or before the
Law, God being Lord of us and ours as well as of
them ; and therefore to be acknowledged for such
by us, as well as by them.
II. That all the rest of our Saviour's sermon
upon the mount was Gospel, and concerning duties
obliging us Christians ; and it is not likely that our
Saviour should intermix one only Judaical rite
amongst them.
III. That our Saviour, before all these precepts
b i Chron. xxix .14. c Psalmlxxvi.it.
d Kxod.xxv. 2. e St. Matt. v. 23,34.
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2O8 OF THE COMMUNION.
mentioned in this His Sermon, whereof this of
oblations is one, prefaces this severe sanction;
<e Whosoever shall break one of the least of these
commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be
called the least in the kingdom of heaven ; " f which
could not be truly said concerning the breach of a
Jewish outward rite.
IV. That our Saviour hath carefully taught us
there the due manner of the performance of this
duty of oblations, like as He did concerning alms
and prayers, and no man can shew that ever He
did anywhere else; nor is it probable that He
should here carefully direct us how to do that
which was presently to be left, and was already out
of force, as this was, supposing it to be a Jewish
rite. We may then, I conceive, suppose it for a
truth, that oblations are here commanded by our
Saviour.
Add to this, that offerings were highly com-
mended by the Gospel, in the wise men that
offered "gold, frankincense, and myrrh," s and that
they were practised by the fathers in the Christian
Church. So says Epiphanius h andlrenaeus. 1 "By
a gift to the king, his honour and our affection is
shewn ; therefore our Lord, willing us to offer with
all simplicity and innocency, preached, saying,
f St. Matt. v. 19. g St. Matt. ii. n.
h Haeres. LXXX. cap. v. torn. i. p. 1072.
i Contra Haereses, 1. iv. cap. xviii. torn. i. p. 850.
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OF THE COMMUNION. 209
" When thou bringest thy gift to the altar," &c.
We must therefore offer of our goods to God, ac-
cording as Moses commanded, " Thou shalt not
appear before the Lord empty." There are offer-
ings under the Gospel, as well as under the Law :
the kind of offerings is the same : here is all the
difference, they were offered then by servants, now
by sons." i " The axe is laid to the root of the tree,
if I bring not my gift to the altar ; nor can I plead
poverty, since the poor widow hath cast in two
mites." k We should do well to think of this.
Though oblations be acceptable at any time, yet
at sometimes they have been thought more neces-
sary, as,
I. When the Church is in want, Exod. xxxv. 4, &c.
II. When we have received some signal and
eminent blessing from God, Psalm Ixxvi. When
David had recounted the great mercy of God in
breaking the bow and the shield of the Church's
enemies; at ver. n. he presses this duty, "bring
presents to Him that ought to be feared."
III. At our high and solemn festivals, "three
times in the year shall they appear before Me, and
they shall not appear empty," 1 especially when we
receive the holy communion. Theodoret tells
us, "that it was the ancient custom, before the
receiving of the holy Sacrament, to come up into
i Iren. con. hser.
k S. Hierom. Kpist. V. ad Heliodorum, torn. iv. pt. ii. p 10.
1 Deut. xvi. 16. m Hist. lib. v. c. xviii. p. ttt. D.
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210 OF THE COMMUNION.
the choir and offer at the holy table." And surely
it becomes not us to be empty-handed when God
comes to us full-handed, as in that Sacrament He
does.
Next to the OFFERTORY is that excellent PRAYER"
for the CHURCH MILITANT, wherein we pray for
the CATHOLIC and Apostolic CHURCH; FOR ALL
CHRISTIAN KINGS, PRINCES, AND GOVERNORS,
FOR THE WHOLE CLERGY AND PEOPLE ; FOR ALL
IN ADVERSITY. Such a prayer hath St. Chrysostom
in his Liturgy, a little before the consecration.
After which follow some wholesome Exhorta-
tions 11 to those that are coming to the holy Com-
n The concluding clause in the present prayer for the Church militant,
" And we also bless Thy holy name," was not inserted till after Bishop
Sparrow published his last edition of this Rationale.
o Goar. p. 78.
p In the old books there followed this exhortation, which is similar to
the second in the present book. I have only inserted here the passages
which were left out at the last revision.
The Rubric is, "Then shall follow this exhortation at certain times,
when the Curate shall see the people negligent to come to the holy Commu-
nion.
"We be come together at this time (dearly beloved brethren) to feed at
the Ijord's Supper," &c. &c. " And whereas you offend God so sore in
refusing this holy banquet, I admonish, exhort, and beseech you, that
unto this unkindness you will not add any more ; which thing ye shall do,
if ye stand by as gazers and lookers on there that do communicate, and be not
partakers of the same yourselves. For what thing can this be accounted else
than a further contempt and unkindness unto God ? Truly it is a great un-
thankfulness to say nay when ye be called ; but the fault is much greater
when men stand by and will neither eat nor drink this holy Communion with
other. I pray you, what can this be else, but even to have the mysteries of
Christ in derision ? It is said unto all, " Take ye, and eat, take and drink ye
all of this ; do this in remembrance of Me." With what face then, or with
what countenance shall ye hear these words ? What will this be else but a
neglecting a despairing, and mocking of the Testament of Christ? Where-
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OF THE COMMUNION. 211
munion, seriously exhorting the unprepared to for-
bear. So was the custom of old in the Greek
Church. The priest admonishes all that are com-
ing to that holy Sacrament, driving away the un-
worthy, but inviting the prepared, and that with a
loud voice, and hands lifted up, standing aloft,
where he may be seen and heard of all. q
Those that after these exhortations stay to re-
ceive, the Church supposing prepared, invites to
draw near ; and after their humble confession, the
Priest or Bishop absolves and comforts them with
some choice sentences taken out of holy Scripture.
After which the Priest says, LIFT UP YOUR HEARTS.
For certainly at that hour when we are to receive
the most dreadful Sacrament, it is necessary to lift
up our hearts to God, and not to have them grovel-
ling upon the earth; for this purpose the Priest
exhorts all to leave all cares of this life and do-
mestic thoughts, and to have our hearts and minds
in heaven upon the Lover of mankind. The people
fore, rather than ye should so do, depart you hence, and K 5ve place to them
that be godly disposed. But when you depart, I beseech you ponder with
yourselves from whom ye depart; ye depart from the Lord's table, ye depart
from your brethren, and from the banquet of most heavenly food,' 5 &c. &c.
Then follows in the old books v. hat is similar to the first exhortation in the
present book.
And sometime shall this be said also at the discretion of the Curate.
" Dearly beloved, forasmuch as our duty is to render to Almighty God, our
heavenly Father, most hearty thanks, for that He hath given His Son, our
Saviour Jesus Christ, not only to die for us, but also to be our spiritual food
and sustenance, as it is declared unto us, as well by God's word, as by the
I holy Sacrament of His blessed Body and Blood," &c. &c.
q Chrys. in Heb. vi. Horn. IX. torn. xii. p. too.
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212 *OF THE COMMUNION.
then answer, WE LIFT THEM UP UNTO THE LORD,
assenting to the Priest's admonition. And it be-
hoves us all to say it seriously; for as we ought
always to have our minds in heaven, so especially
at that hour we should more earnestly endeavour it.
The Priest then goes on, LET us GIVE THANKS
TO OUR LORD GOD, and many thanks we ought to
render Him, that calls and invites such unworthy
sinners as we be to so high grace and favour, as to
eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of
God.
The people answer, IT is MEET AND RIGHT so
TO DO : for when we give thanks to God, we do
a work that is just, and of right due to so much
bounty.
"Then follow for great days some proper pre-
faces, containing the peculiar matter or subject of
our thanks that day, which are to be said seven
days after," (Rubric,) except Whitsunday preface,
which is to be said but six days after, because
Trinity Sunday is the seventh day after, which hath
a peculiar preface. By this it appears that the
Church intends to prorogue and continue these high
feasts several days, even eight days together, if
another great feast comes not within the time,
which requires a peculiar service. But when we
say that the Church would have these high feasts
continued so long, it is not so to be understood, as
if she required an equal observance of those several
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D- O
OF THE COMMUNION. 213
days, for some of those days she commands by 'her
Canons and Rubrics, some she seems only to com-
mend to us to be observed ; some are of a higher fes-
tivity, some of less. The first and the last, namely,
the octave of the first, are usually the chief days for
solemn assemblies ; yet every of those days should
be spent in more than ordinary meditation of the
blessings of the time, and thanksgiving for them ;
according to that which the Lord commanded to
the Jews concerning the feast of tabernacles, Lev.
xxiii. 36. Upon every one of the days of that feast
an offering was to be made, but the first and last
were the solemn convocations.
The reason of the Church's proroguing and length-
ening out these high feasts for several days, is plain.
The subject matter of these feasts, as namely,
Christ's Birth, Resurrection, Ascension, the sending
of the Holy Ghost, is of so high a nature, so nearly
concerning our salvation, that one day is too little
to meditate of them, and praise God for them as we
ought. A bodily deliverance may justly require a
day of thanksgiving and joy ; but the deliverance
of the soul, by the blessings commemorated on
those times, deserve a much longer feast. It were
injurious to good Christian souls to have their joy
and thankfulness for such mercies confined to a day,
therefore holy Church, upon the times when these
unspeakable blessings were wrought for us by her
most seasonable commands and counsels, here
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214 OF THE COMMUNION.
invites us to fill our hearts with joy and thank-
fulness, and let them overflow eight days together.
See above, of the continuation of great solemn-
ities, pp. 101, 139, 143, and of the sendee of octaves,
p. 142.
But two queries here may be fit to be satisfied.
I. Why eight days are allowed to those high
feasts, rather than another number ?
For which the reasons given are divers ; one is
from the example which Almighty God sets us, com-
manding His people, the Jews, to keep their great
feasts some of them seven days, and one, namely,
the feast of tabernacles, eight days, Lev. xxiii. If
the Jews were to keep their feasts so long by a
daily burnt-offering, (which were but as types of the
Christian's great feasts,) the Christian's ought by no
means to come short of them, but offer up to God
as long, daily, hearty thanksgivings, presenting our-
selves, souls and bodies, a reasonable, holy, and
lively sacrifice unto Him. Other reasons for an
octave to great feasts are given, which are mystical.
The octave, or eighth day, signifies eternity; for
our whole life is but the repetition or revolution of
seven days ; then comes the eighth day of etern-
| ity, to which, by God's mercy, we shall be brought,
if we continue the seven days of our life in the due
and constant service and worship of God : Or else,
which is much the same in sense, the eighth day is
a returning to the first, it is the first day of the
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OF THE COMMUNION. * 2l5
week begun again, signifying, that if we constantly
serve God the seven days of our life, we shall
return to the first happy estate that we were
created in.
II. How the prefaces appointed for these eight
days can be properly used upon each of them ; for
example, how can we say eight days together,
" Thou didst give Thine only Son to be born this
day for us ? " as it is in the preface.
To which the answer may be, that the Church
does not use the word day, for a natural day of
twenty-four hours, or an ordinary artificial day,
reckoning from sun to sun : but in the usual ac-
ceptation of it in holy Scripture, where by the
word day, is signified the whole time designed to
one and the same purpose, though it lasts several
natural days. Thus all the time that God appoints
to the reclaiming of sinners by merciful chastise-
ments or threatenings, is called " the day of their
visitation," Luke xix. 42, 44. So all the time allot-
ted us for the working out of our salvation, though
it be our whole life long, is called a day, " Work
while it is day, the night comes when no man can
work;" and most directly to our purpose speaks
St. Paul, " Exhort one another daily, while it is
called to-day," r or this day, that is, while you live
in this world. In like manner, all that time which
is appointed by the Church for the thankful com-
r Heb.iii.i 3 .
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2l6 OF THE COMMUNION.
memoration of the same grand blessing, for the
solemnity of one and the same feast, is as properly
called a day, and all that time it may be said daily,
to-day, as well as all our hie, St. Paul says is called
hodie, this day.
After which follows the thrice holy and triumph-
ant song, at it was called of old, THEREFORE
WITH ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS, AND WITH ALL
THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN, WE LAUD AND MAG-
NIFYTHY GLORIOUS NAME, EVERMORE PRAISING
THEE AND SAYING, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY,"&C.
Here we do, as it were, invite the heavenly host to
help bear a part in our thanks to make them full.
" O praise the Lord with me, and let us magnify
His name together." And in this hymn we hold
communion with the Church triumphant. Which
sweet hymn in all Communions is appointed to be
said ; and though it should be said night and day,
yet could it never breed a loathing. 8 All that is in
our service from these words, LIFT UP YOUR
HEARTS, to the end of the Communion service, is
with very little difference to be seen in St. Chrysos-
tom's Liturgy, 1 and in St. Cyril's Catech. Lectures."
Part III. Next is the CONSECRATION. So you
shall find in Chrysostom and Cyril last cited. Which
consecration consists chiefly in rehearsing the words
s Cone. Vas. II. can. ili. torn. iv. p. 1680.
t Goar. p. 75.
u XXIII. Myst.v. de Sacra Liturg. cap. iv.p. 32 6.
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OF THE COMMUNION. 21)
of our Saviour's institution, THIS is MY BODY, AND
THIS is MY BLOOD, when the bread and wine is
present upon the Communion table. x " The holy
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper," says St. Chrysos-
tonV "which the Priest now makes, is the same
that Christ gave to His Apostles. This is nothing
less than that. For this is not sanctified by men,
but by Him that sanctified that ; for as the words
which God our Saviour spake are the same which
the Priest now uses, so is the Sacrament the same."
Again, 7 " Christ is present at the Sacrament now,
that first instituted it. He consecrates this also :
it is not man that makes the body and blood of Christ
by consecrating the holy elements, but Christ that
was crucified for us. The words are pronounced
by the mouth of the Priest, but the elements are
consecrated by the power and grace of God,
"Tnis is," saith He, "MY BODY :" by this word
the bread and wine are consecrated.
" Before these words "Tnis is MY BODY," the
bread and wine are common food fit only to nourish
the body ; but since our Lord hath said. " Do THIS,
AS OFT AS YOU DO IT IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME :
THIS is MY BODY, THIS is MY BLOOD:" as often as
by these words and in this faith they are conse-
crated, the holy bread and blessed cup are profit-
x Canon XXI. p. 8.
y Chryg. a Kp. Tim. cap. i. Hum. II. torn. xi. p. 671. E.
L Chrys >st. Hom.de Proditione Judse.ed. I,at. torn. Hi. p. 300. &c.
6_ b
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2l8 OF THE COMMUNION.
able to the salvation of the whole man." 1 The
same says St. Ambrose, a St. Austin/ and others.
After the Consecration, the Priest first receives
h imself . So is it ordained by the twelfth Council of
Toledo , wherein it is decreed that, "The Priest shall
receive whensoever he offers up the Sacrifice. For
since the Apostle hath said, " Are not they which eat
of the Sacrifice partakers of the altar ?" d it is certain,
that they who sacrifice and eat not, are guilty of the
Lord's Sacrament.
After he hath received, he is to deliver it to the
people in their hands. So was it in Cyril's time; 6 and,
" Let every one be careful to keep it, for whosoever
carelessly loses any part of it, had better lose a part
of himself," says he: and, "whosoever wilfully
throws it away, shall be for ever excluded from
the Communion. " f
It is to be given to the people KNEELING ; for
" a sin it is not to adore when we receive this
Sacrament." *. And the old custom was to receive
it after the manner of adoration. h
This Sacrament should be received fasting. ! And
so was the practice of the universal Church, says St.
z Cyprian, de coen. Dom. torn. ii. p. 39.
a S. Ambros. de Sacrament. 1. iv. cap. iv.et v. torn. ii. p. 368.
b S. Austin. Serm. LXXXIV. torn, v .p. 153. F. app.
c Cone. Tolet. xii. can. v. torn. vi. p. 1230. B. d i Cor. x. 18.
e Cat. XXIII. Myst. v. cap. xxi. p. 331.
f Cone. Tolet. xi. can. xi. torn. vi. p. 552.
g S.August, in Psalm, xcviii. torn. iv. p. 1065.
h Cyril. Cat.xxiii. Myst. v. cap. xix. p. 351.
i Cone. Carth. III. can. xxix. torn. ii. p. 1171. C.
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OF THE COMMUNION. 2Ip
Augustine, k which is authority enough (in things of
this nature, namely, circumstances of time, &c.) to
satisfy any that do not love contention, i Cor. xi. 16.
Yet it will not be amiss in a word to shew the reason-
ableness of this catholic usage. And the first reason
may be this; because our minds are clearest, our
devotion quickest, and so we fittest to perform
this most high service, when we are in our virgin
spittle, as Tertullian 1 expresses it. A second is
this ; it is for the honour of so high a Sacrament,
that the precious body of Christ should first enter
into the Christian's mouth before any other meat.
" It is true, that our Saviour gave it to His disciples
after supper ; but dare any man quarrel with the
universal Church of Christ, for receiving it fasting ?
This also pleased the Holy Ghost, that, for the
honour of so great a Sacrament, the body of Christ
should first enter into the Christian's mouth before
all other meats. Neither, because our Saviour gave
it to His disciples after supper, will it necessarily
follow that we should receive it so, mingling the
Sacrament with other meats; a thing which the
Apostle seems to reprehend, i Cor. xi. There was
a special reason for our Saviour's doing so, His
supper was to succeed immediately to the Pass-
over ; and therefore, as soon as that was over He
instituted His ; and that he might the more deeply
imprint the excellency of this mystery into the minds
k S. Aug. Epist. liv. torn. ii. p. ia 3 .
1 Tertull. Apol. xxxix. p. 54.
___ r
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22O OF THE COMMUNION.
and hearts of his disciples, He would give it them
the last thing He did, before He went from them
to His Passion, knowing that dying men's words
move much : but He no where appointed what hour
and time it should afterward be received, but left
that to be ordered by them that were after His de-
parture to settle the Churches, namely, the Apo-
stles ; and accordingly we find St. Paul, i Cor. xi.
rectifying some abuses, and prescribing some rules
for the better ordering of some rites and ceremo-
nies about the Sacrament, and promising when he
should come to settle and order for the rest, ver. 34,
from whom St. Augustine seems to think that the
catholic Church received this custom of receiving
the Sacrament fasting."" 1
" When the Priest hath said at the delivery of
the Sacrament, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ
which was given for thee, preserve thy body and
soul into everlasting life, the communicant is to
answer, AMEN." B By this Amen professing his
faith of the presence of Christ's Body and Blood in
that Sacrament.
The people were of old called out of the body of
the church into the chancel, even up to the rails of
the holy table, there to receive it of the Priest;
so in the Clementine Constitutions ; p " Afterwards
m Epist. LIV. cap. vi. torn. ii. p. 126.
11 Cyril. Catech. xxiii. Myst. v. cap.xxi. p. 331.
o Niceph. Eccl. Hist. Ixviii. cap. xlv. torn. ii. p. 869.
pLib. ii. cap. Ivii. torn. i. p. 268.
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P- o
OF THE COMMUNION. 221
let the sacrifice be made, all the people standing
and praying secretly; and after the oblation, let
every order apart receive the body and precious
blood of the Lord, coming up in their order with
fear and reverence as to the body of a king."
Where you see they were to come up to the Sacra-
ment, and to, or near the rails of the holy table,
says St. Chrysostom's Liturgy.* 1 For after the Priest
and Deacons have received, the Deacon goes to
the door of the rails, npos TTJV Qvpavrov ayiov Pharos,
and lifting up the holy cup shews it to the people,
saying, " In the faith and fear of God, Trpoo-eAtfere,
come hither," or as our Liturgy says, " draw near,"
the people answer, " Amen, Amen, Amen, Blessed
be he that comes in the name of the Lord," and
so come and receive in both kinds.
" Every parishioner shall communicate at the
least three times in the year, whereof Easter to
be one." r
In the primitive Church, while Christians con-
tinued in their strength of faith and devotion, they
did communicate every day. This custom con-
tinued in Africa till St. Cyprian's time. s " We
daily receive the Eucharist, for to be our food of
salvation." And after him till St. Augustine's time. l
Insomuch as these words in our Lord's Prayer,
"Give us this day our daily bread," they interpreted
q Goar. p. 84. r Last Rubric after the Communion.
s Cyprian, de Oratione Dominica, p. 147
t F.pist XCVIII. ad Bonifac. vol. ii. p. a6;. D.
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222 OF THE COMMUNION.
of the Eucharist, as being daily to be celebrated.
But afterward, when charity grew cold and devotion
faint, the custom grew faint withal ; and within a
small time began to be left by little and little ; and
some upon one pretence, and some upon another,
would communicate but once a week. In the East
Church they grew to a worse custom betimes, which
in after ages came into the Latin Churches too.
They fell from every day to Sundays and holydays
only, and from thence to once a year and no oftener.
St. Ambrose u is cited as a proof of this. But this
wicked custom of receiving the Eucharist but once
a year, was but of some Greeks in the East, says
St. Ambrose there ; which cannot properly be un-
derstood of any but the diocese, (as it was anciently
called,) or patriarchate of Antioch. For though
the Eastern empire, whereof Constantinople was
the metropolis, contained many provinces, yet the ,
Eastern Church, or Greeks in the East, were pro-
perly those of Antioch 1 . And possibly some of
these might be so supine, as hath been observed,
but of the Greeks in general no such careless cus-
tom can be affirmed ; for St. Chrysostom tells us,
that in his time, " in eveiy meeting or congregation
of the Church, the healthful mysteries of the Eu-
charist are celebrated." y In regard of this neglect,
u De Sacramentis, 1. iv. cap. iv. torn. ii. p. 368.
x Theodoret. Hist. Eecles. 1. v. cap.xix. p. an.
y S.Chrysost. in S.Matt. cap.viii. Horn. XXV. tom.vii. p. 3IO . D.
O
c
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OF THE COMMUNION. 223
after councils did, as the Church of England, make
Canons, that if men could be got to receive it no
oftener, yet they should be forced to receive it at least
three times in the year ; Christmas, Easter, and
Whitsuntide. Nor was he to be reckoned among
good catholic Christians, that did not receive at those
feasts," say the councils of Agde * and Eliberis, a as
they are cited by Gratian b . Three tunes a year at
the least they were to receive, whereof Easter to be
one, and good reason ; for when Christ our Passover
was sacrificed for us, then of all times let us keep a
feast with this holy banquet, i Cor. v. 7. These Ca-
nons were made for the laity, but for those of the
Clergy that lived in cathedral and collegiate churches,
(where there were enough of themselves to make a
sufficient company to receive the Sacrament,) they
were bound to receive much oftener, every day, every
Sunday at the least, ( Rubric 4 . ) after the Communion .
Thus we see holy Church, her care to bring all her
children, Clergy, and Laity, to the heavenly banquet
of the body and blood of Christ ; she invites all to a
frequent and due receiving of this holy Sacrament in
most passionate and kind manner, in that most ex-
cellent exhortation, next after "the prayer for the ca-
tholic Church militant here on earth." An exhor-
i tation fit to be read weekly by the Priest, and
i Cone. Agatheiis. can. xviii. tora.iv. p. 1386.
a Cone. Elib. can. xlvii. torn. i. p. 975. C.
b Deeret. p. III. l)e Consecmt. Distinct. II. cap. xvii. xviii. xix. p. aoog.
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224 OF THE COMMUNION.
seriously considered daily by all the people. In
which holy Church one while exhorts us by the
mercies and bowels of Christ, to come to this holy
feast ; another while terrifies us by the indignation
of God against those that despise His so great love,
and refuse to come; she sends her ministers, as the
man in the Gospel, to tell them " all things are
ready," e and to bid them in the name of God, to
call them in Christ's behalf, to exhort them as they
love their own salvation, to come to this holy
supper; and those that, notwithstanding all this
bidding, shall go about to make excuses, because
they had bought a farm, or would try their yoke of
oxen, or because they were married, holy Church
by her canons and laws endeavours to compel to
come in at least three times in a year. And it
were to be wished that all those that despise the
Church's passionate exhortations, and contemn her
wholesome canons and commands in this particular, j
would seriously at last think of that dreadful
sentence of our Lord upon those that still refuse j
so great mercy ; " I say unto you, that none of '
those men which were bidden shall taste of My !
supper." f None of those that are thus bidden by j
Christ and His Church to His holy Supper, the j
holy Communion, and shall refuse to come, shall
ever taste of His great supper hereafter, or eat and
drink with Him at His table in His kingdom. s
J. f Ibid. 24. glbid.xxii. 29.
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OF THE COMMUNION. 225
" If any of the bread and wine remain, the
Curate shall have it to his own use. h That is, if it
were not consecrated ; for if it be consecrated, it is
all to be spent with fear and reverence by the
1 communicants in the Church. 5
Part II. After all have received, we say the
i LORD'S PRAYER according to ancient custom, k
i " The people are to repeat every petition after the
Priest." 1 If the Church did ever devise a thing
| fit and convenient, what more than this? That
when together we have all received those heavenly
mysteries, wherein Christ imparts Himself to us,
and gives visible testification of our blessed com-
munion with Him, we should in hatred of all here-
sies, factions, and schisms, declaredly approve our-
i selves united as brethren in one, by offering up
with all our hearts and tongues that most effectual
prayer, " Our Father," &c. In which we profess
ourselves sons of the same Father, and in which we
pray for God's pardon no otherwise than as we
" forgive them that trespass," &c. For which
h Rubric v. after the Communion Service. Here also there has been an
alteration ; for these words have been added, " but if any remain of that
i which was consecrated, it shall not be carried out of the church, but the
I Priest, and such other of the communicants as he shall then call unto him,
shall, immediately after the blessing, reverently eat and drink the same."
i Gratian. de Consecratione, Distinctio II. cap. xxiii. p. son. Constant.
TribusConcil.Interrog.MonachorumRespons.ad quaest.V. ap. Balsamon.in
j Cauoues, p. 330. Theophil. Alex. Canones, can. vii. Synod. Bcreridg. tom. ii.
! pars I. p. 172.
k Arabros.de Sacramcntis, 1. v. cap. iv. tom. ii. p. 376. F.
1 Rubric.
^
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226 OF THE COMMUNION.
cause communicants have ever used it, and we at
that time do shew we use, yea, every syllable of it,
as communicants, saying it together with one con-
sent and voice.
This done, the Priest offers up the sacrifice of
the holy Eucharist, or the sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving for the whole Church, as in all old
Liturgies it is appointed, and together with that is
offered up that most acceptable sacrifice of our-
selves, souls and bodies, devoted to God's service.
Of which see Rom. xii. and S. August, de Civit.
Dei. m
Then we say or sing the angelical hymn, "GLORY
BE TO GOD ON HIGH,"&C. wherein the ecclesiastical
hierarchy does admirably imitate the heavenly,
singing this at the Sacrament of His body which
the Angels did at the birth of His body. And good
reason there is to sing this for Christ's being made
One with us in the Sacrament, as for His being
made One of us at His birth. And if ever we
be fit to sing this Angels' song, it is then when we
draw nearest to the estate of Angels, namely, at
the receiving of the Sacrament. After the receiv-
ing of the holy Sacrament, we sing an hymn in
imitation of our Saviour; who after His supper
sung an hymn, to teach us to do the like. n And
when can a psalm or hymn of thanksgiving be
more seasonable and necessary, than after we have
m Lib. X. c. vi. torn. vii. p. 342.
n Chrys. Horn. LXXXII. in S. Matt. c. xxvi. 30. torn. vii. p. 784. B. ^^^
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OF THE COMMUNION. 227
received this heavenly nourishment ? Is it possible
to hear these words, " This is My body, take and
eat it ; drink ye all of this, this is My blood :" and
not be filled, as with a kind of fearful admiration,
so with a sea of joy and comfort for the heaven
which they see in themselves? Can any man re-
ceive this cup of salvation, and not praise and bless
God with his utmost strength of soul and body ?
The ancients did express their joy at this time in
the highest manner that they could. Some were
so ravished with joy, that they immediately offered
themselves to martyrdom, impatient of being longer
absent from their so gracious Lord, unable to keep
themselves from expressing their love to Christ, by
dying for Him, the highest expression of love. All
men then counted it a sin to sully the day of their
receiving the Eucharist with any sorrow or fasting ;
these days they called days of mirth, days of re-
mission, days of immunity, solemn days, festival
days.
This angelical hymn " was made of old by eccle-
siastical doctors, and who refuses it let him be
exco mmunicated."
The hymn being ended we depart with a BLESS-
ING ; Goar, in Euch. p. 164, tells us, That of old,
when the Communion service was ended, and the
Deacon had dismissed the people, they would not
for all that depart till they had the blessing ; by
o Cone. Tolet. IV. can. xiii. torn. v. p. 1710. B ,
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228 OF BAPTISM.
this stay, saying in effect the same to the Priest
that Jacob did to the Angel, " We will not let Thee
i go unless Thou blessest us." The Priest therefore
departeth from them, as " our Saviour from His
disciples, with a blessing;" but first he comes
down from the altar, by this descending shewing
his condescension to the people in affection as
well as in body ; and standing behind the pulpit,
(retro ambonem, whence the blessing was called e vxn
oTTio-ddppavos ) in the midst of the people, in this
also imitating our Saviour, St. John xx. 19, who there
gave the blessing or peace of God " standing in the
midst," by the place shewing how equally He stood
affected to all, how He would have His blessings
spread upon all.
OF BAPTISM.
HOLY Church's aim being in all her services to
make them reasonable, that according to St. i
Paul, i Cor. xiv. we may all join with her in her
offices, both with our spirit and understanding,
she hath been careful not only to put them into a
known tongue, but also to instruct us in the nature
of them ; making thus her Prayer Book a sum of
divinity. Therefore here in the beginning she
oGoar. EuchoI.p.Sj.
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9
OF BAPTISM. 229
instructs out of holy Scripture concerning the ne-
cessity and efficacy of Baptism, as very briefly, so
very pithily and fully. First, Laying down this for
a rule, that we are all born in sin, as it is Rom. v.
1 8, 19, all guilty in Adam's fall, (so the catholic
Church spread over the world always understood
it, p ) and therefore by our first birth have no right
to heaven, into which " no unclean thing shall
enter.'" 1 Secondly, That therefore there is need
of a second birth, to give us right to that, as it is
" Except a man be born again, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God." r Thirdly, That this
second or new birth is by water and the Holy
Ghost ; " Except a man be born again of water
and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God." s By water and the Holy Ghost
is there meant holy Baptism. For first, this is the
most literal interpretation of the words, (for what
is Baptism but water and the Holy Ghost ?) and
I therefore the best ; for that is certainly the sense of
I the Holy Ghost, who, as we all believe, was the
' Author of the letter of the Scriptures, and there-
: fore of the literal sense, where that is not contrary
i to, but agreeable with, the other Scriptures. Now
, this literal sense given is agreeable to other texts .
as namely, to Acts viii. 38, and x. 47, where water
is declared to be the element of Baptism. And
p Cone. Milevit. II. can. ii. torn. ii. p. 1538. q Ephes. v. 5.
r St. John iii. 3. s Ibid. 5.
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230 OF BAPTISM.
expressly again, " Christ loved the Church, and
gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water." 1 And as
this is the most literal, so is it the most catholic in-
terpretation of the words, and therefore also the
best, by St. Peter's rule, " Knowing this first, that
no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpreta-
tion." 11 That this is the most catholic interpreta-
tion appears by St. Augustine, 1 Tertullian,? and all
the ancient interpreters upon the place, who ex-
pound it all of Baptism. And indeed, if it were
lawful to expound it otherwise, seeing no other
Scripture contradicts this literal sense, I know not
how it can be avoided, but that men may lose all
their Creed by playing so with Scripture, leaving
the letter for figures. Thus are we instructed in
the nature, necessity, and efficacy of holy Baptism,
that it is the only ordinary means of our regenera-
tion or second birth, which gives us a right and
title to heaven.
Then is prescribed a prayer, usually called the
benediction or consecration of the water, which is
used only for reverence and decency, not for neces-
sity, as if the water without this were not available
to Baptism; for, as the prayer hath it, " JORDAN
AND ALL OTHER WATERS ARE SANCTIFIED BY
CHRIST TO THE MYSTICAL WASHING AWAY OF
tEphes.v. 26. vi 2 St. Peter i. 20.
x De peccatorum merit, et remiss, lib. I. cap. xxx. torn. x. p. 34.
y De Baptismo, p. 255.
O O
o -o
OF BAPTISM. 231
SIN." So that there needs no consecration here, as
in the other Sacrament there is, where the bread and
wine must be blessed by us, saith St. Paul, before it
be " the communion of the body and blood of Christ
to us." z And that the Church does not think any
consecration of water necessary, appears in her
office of PRIVATE BAPTISM, where, haste admitting
no delays, no such prayer or blessing is used.
Then follows a prayer for God's merciful accept-
ance of the infant that is brought, that as he is to
receive the Sacrament, so he may receive all the
benefits of it. And lest any should doubt whether
CHRIST will accept an infant to Baptism, and the
effects of it, holy Church propounds to us St. Mark
x. 13, out of which she concludes CHRIST'S love and
good-will to children in general; " FOR HE COM-
MANDED THEM TO BE BROUGHT TO HlM ; HE
REBUKED THOSE THAT WOULD HAVE KEPT
THEM FROM HlM J HE EMBRACED THEM IN HlS
ARMS, AND BLESSED THEM :" which are all plain
arguments that He will receive them when they are
brought to Him ; yea, and that He will so far em-
brace them as to receive them to eternal life, if they
be brought to Him, is plain by His own words in that
Gospel; " SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME
UNTO ME, FOR TO SUCH," and therefore to them-
selves (for quod in uno similium valet, valebit in
altero, what belongs to others because they are
z I Cor. x. 1 6.
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232 OF BAPTISM.
such, as children are, must needs belong to the
children) "BELONGETH THE KINGDOM orGoD.'*
Since then they be capable of the kingdom of
heaven, and there is no ordinary way for them
to the kingdom of heaven, but by a new and
second birth of water and the Holy Ghost, that is,
Baptism; " DOUBT YE NOT BUT THAT HE" who
expressed so much love to them as is mentioned in
the Gospel, " WILL FAVOURABLY RECEIVE THE
PRESENT INFANT TO BAPTISM, AND GRACIOUS-
LY ACCEPT OUR CHARITABLE WORK IN BRING-
ING IT TO HIM." Thus holy Church concludes
out of Scripture according to the practice and doc-
trine of the catholic Church.
CYPRIAN tells us that no infant is to be hindered
from Baptism. 8 This was the sentence of that
Council, anno Dom. 256, and this was no new
decree, but fides Ecclesiafirmissima, "the most esta-
blished faith of the Church," says St. Augustine ad
Hieronymum. Hcec sententia olim in Ecclesia catho-
lica summa authoritatefundata est y b " This defini-
tion was long before St. Cyprian settled in the catho-
lic Church by the highest authority." Let no man
whisper to you any strange doctrines. This the
Church always had, always held ; this she received
from our forefathers, and this she holds constantly
to the end. And, Quieunque parvulos recentes, ab
a Epist. LXlV.p.i 5 8.
b S. Aug. Epist. CLXVI.cap.viii.tom.ii. p. 593. A.
c S.Aug. de Verb. Apost. serm. CCXC1V. cap.i. torn. v. p. 1183.8.
o o
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OF BAPTISM. 233
uteris matrum baptizandos negat, anathema sit, saith
the second Council of Milevis, d being the one hun-
dred and tenth in the African code. That council
pronounced anathema to any that shall deny the
Baptism of infants. And that council is confirmed
by the fourth and sixth general councils.
Next follows a thanksgiving for our Baptism,
which we are put in mind of by this occasion, with
an excellent prayer for ourselves and the infants
before us, that we may walk worthy of Baptism,
and they be accepted to it graciously.
Then shall the Priest demand of the Godfathers,
&c. these questions, " DOST THOU FORSAKE," &c.
This form of interrogating the Godfathers in the
name of the child, is very ancient and reasonable.
For the antiquity of it see St. Chrysostom. e
Adducit quispiam infantem adhuc ubera sugentem,
ut baptizetur, et statim sacerdos exigit ab infirma
estate, pacta conventa, assensiones, et minoris estate
Jidei jussorem accipit susceptorem, et interrogat an
renunciat Satance ? " The sucking infant is brought
to Baptism. The Priest exacts of that infant cove-
nants, contracts, and agreements : and accepting
of the Godfather in the infant's stead, he asks
whether he does forsake the devil," &c. " We re-
nounced the world when we were baptized ;" f and
their form of abrenunciation was much like ours, as
dCan.ii. torn. ii. p. 1538.
e In Psal.xvi. torn. i. p. 384, &c.ed. Lat.
f Cyprian. Epist. XIII. p. 3 o.
O O
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234 OF BAPTISM.
you may see in Salvian, in his book de Guberna-
tione Dei ; St. Augustine in his Epistle to Boni-
face j and in the Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril;*
where you may see at large the ancient form
and manner of abrenunciations, " First, you en-
tered into the church porch, the place of the
font or baptistry, and standing towards the west,
you heard it commanded you, that with hands
stretched out you should renounce the devil, as if
he were there present. It behoves you to know
that a type or sign of this you have in the Old Tes-
tament. When Pharaoh, the most bitter and cruel
tyrant, oppressed the free people of the Jews, God
sent Moses to deliver them from the grievous ser-
vitude of the Egyptians, the posts of the doors were
anointed with the blood of the Lamb, that the
destroying angel might pass by the houses which
had that sign of blood ; and the people were de-
livered beyond expectation. But after that the
enemy saw them delivered, and the Red sea
divided, he followed and pursued them, and was
overwhelmed with the waves of the sea. Pass we
from the figure to the truth : there was Moses sent
by God into Egypt, here Christ is sent into the
world; he to deliver the people oppressed by
Pharaoh, Christ to deliver the devil's captives :
there the blood of the Lamb turned away the
g Salvian. 1. vi. de Gubernatione Dei. Bib. Pat. tom.v. pars. III. p. 348.
S. Austin. Epist. XCVIII. ad Bonifacium, torn. ii. p. 263. Cyril. Cat. XIX.
Mfst.i. cap. ii. p. 306.
o- -c
o- -
OF BAPTISM. 235
destroyer ; here the blood of the immaculate Lamb
Christ Jesus is the defence against the devil : that
tyrant followed our fathers to the Red sea, this
impudent prince of wickedness, the devil, follows
thee even to the waters of salvation; he was drowned
in the sea, this is stifled in the waters of life. Hear
now what with a beck of the hand is said to the
devil as present ; " I renounce thee, Satan :" it is
worth the while to explain why you stand to the
west when you say this. The sunset is the place
of darkness, and the devil is the prince of darkness ;
and therefore in token of this ye renounce the
prince of darkness, looking towards the west, " I
renounce thee, Satan," thou cruel tyrant, I fear thy
force no more, for Christ hath dissolved the power
of darkness ; I renounce thee, subtle serpent, who
under the show of friendship actest all thy villainy.
Then he adds, " and all thy works." Those are
sins of all sorts, which you must of necessity
renounce. And this you must not be ignorant of,
that whatsoever thou sayest in that dreadful hour
is written down in God's book and shall be ac-
counted for. After this you say, " and all his
pomp," all vain shows from which holy David prays
to be delivered, " Turn away mine eyes lest they
behold vanity ;" h " and all thy worship," all idola-
try and superstition, all magic and soothsaying, all
worship of and prayers to the devil. Take heed
h Psalm cxix. 37.
o- -o
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236 OF BAPTISM,
therefore of all these things which thou hast re-
nounced ; for if after the renunciation of the devil,
you fall back again into his captivity, he will be a
more cruel master than before ; " the last state of
that man is worse than the beginning."
" When you have renounced the devil, then the
paradise of God is opened to you, which was
planted in the east ; and therefore as a type of this
you are turned from the west to the east, the
region of light."
We have seen that it was ancient ; and that it is
reasonable we shall perceive, if we consider, that in
Baptism we are making or concluding a covenant,
the new covenant of the Gospel ; in which cove-
nant God's part is promises, precious promises, as
St. Peter calls them, 2 St. Peter i. 4, for perform-
ance of which He hath given His word; and there-
fore good reason it is that we also should give our
word, and promise for performance of conditions
on our parts, viz. to renounce the devil and the
world, and swear fidelity to our LORD. In all
other covenants and contracts it is thought reason-
able, that the several parties should mutually en-
gage for performance of conditions, and that at the
making and concluding of the contract.
And why should not that which is thought rea-
sonable in all other contracts, be thought reason-
able in this ? As thus to give our faith and word
for performance of conditions is reasonable, so, if it
O
o- -o
OF BAPTISM. 237
be done with grave solemnity and in public, it is so
much the better, and more obliging; for grave
solemnities make a deep impression upon the
apprehension ; (whence it is that a corporal oath
vested with the religious solemnity of laying on the
hand upon, and kissing the holy Gospels, is more
dreaded than a naked and sudden oath,) and pro-
mises made in public bind more, because of the
shame of falsifying where so many eyes look on ;
which very shame of being noted to be false oft-
times is a greater bridle to sin than the fear of
punishment, as the world knows.
And this use the ancient Fathers made of it, to
shame gross offenders by remembering them of their
solemn promise made in Baptism to renounce the
devil, and give up themselves to God. "CHILDREN*
WHO BY REASON OF THEIR TENDER AGE CAN-
NOT PERFORM"this solemnity, have appointedthem
by the Church Susceptores, Godfathers, who shall in
the name of the child do it for them. As, by the
wisest laws of the world, guardians may contrac
for their minors or pupils to their benefit; am
what the guardians in such cases undertake, the
minors or pupils are bound, when they are able, to
perform. For the law looks upon them, not th
guardians, as obliged. So did the Church alway
account, that these promises, which were made by
the Godfathers in the name of the child, did bim
the child as if in person himself had made it. Anc
O
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238 OF BAPTISM.
when the ancients did upbraid any offenders with
the breach of their promise made in Baptism, none
of those that were baptized in their infancy were so
desperate as to answer scornfully, it was not I but
my Godfathers that promised ; and if any should so
have answered, he would have been loudly laughed
at for that his empty criticism.
Though this promise of abrenunciation made in
Baptism be ancient and reasonable, yet is it not
absolutely necessary to Baptism ; but when danger
requires haste it may be omitted, as the Church
teaches in private Baptism ; yet if the child lives,
it is to be brought to church, and this solemnity to
be performed after Baptism.'
Then follow certain short prayers, "O MERCIFUL
GOD," &c. which I conceive to be the same in sub-
stance with the ancient exorcisms, which were certain
prayers taken out of holy Scripture, k and composed
by the Church, 1 for the dispossessing of the person
to be baptized ; who, being born in sin, is under
the devil's tyranny, from which the Church by her
prayers endeavours to free him. And so available
they were, that oftentimes those that were corpo-
rally possessed were freed by them ; and thereupon
Cyril, m Nazianzen, n Gennadius, and others, earn-
i Rubric at private Baptism. k Cyril. Catech. Procateeh. ix. p. 7.
1 Cone. Carthag. IV. can. vii. torn. ii. p. 1200.
m Procatech. p. 7.6.
n Oratio XL. in Sanct. Baptis. torn. i. p. 657. B.
o Cap. xxxi. p. 17.
o o
o ,
OF BAPTISM. 239
estly persuade not to despise the Church's exor-
cisms. That it was ancient to use these exorcisms
before Baptism, Nazianzen, in Sanctum Baptismum,
Cyprian and Gennadius witness, who says, that it
was observed uniformiter in universe mundo, " uni-
formly throughout the world."
Next follows the commemoration of Christ's in-
stitution of Baptism ; and His commission to His
disciples to baptize. Thus the Priest reads his
commission, and then acts accordingly; and be-
cause "no man is sufficient for these things," p
therefore he prays for God's assistance and accept-
ance of his ministration.
Then the Priest asks the CHILD'S NAME. As
under the Law at circumcision the name was given,
so now at Baptism ; because then we renounce our
former lord and tyrant, and give up our names to
God as His servants.
Then the minister BAPTIZES THE CHILD/DIP-
PING OR SPRINKLING IT, &c. either of which is
sufficient.* 1 For it is not in this spiritual washing,
as it is in the bodily, where, if the bath be not large
enough to receive the whole body, some part may be
foul when the>est are cleansed. The soul is cleansed
after another manner, totum credentibus conferunt
divina compendia, a little water can cleanse the
believer as well as a whole river. r
p a Cor. ii. 16. q Gennadius de Eccles. Dog. cap. Ixxxiv. p. 39.
r Cyprian. Epist.LXIX. p. 186.
O 6
o ,
240 OP BAPTISM.
The old fashion was to dip or sprinkle the person
thrice, to signify the mystery of the TRINITY, and
the Apostolical Canon 8 deposes him that does other-
wise. The Church so appointed then because of
some heretics that denied the Trinity; upon the
same ground afterwards it was appointed to do it
but once, (signifying the unity of substance in the
Trinity,) lest we should seem to agree with the
heretics that did it thrice. *
This Baptizing is to be at the FONT. What the
font is every body knows, but not why it is so
called. The rites of Baptism in the first tunes
were performed in fountains and rivers, both be-
cause their converts were many, and because those
ages were unprovided of other baptisteries: we
have no other remainder of this rite but the name.
For hence it is that we call our baptisteries fonts ;
which, when religion found peace, were built and
consecrated for the more reverence and respect of
the Sacrament. These were set at first some dis-
tance from the church, u after in the church porch,
and that significantly, because Baptism is the
entrance into the Church mystical, as the porch to
the temple. At the last, they got into the church,
but not into every, but the city church, where the
Bishop resided, hence calledTHEMOTHERCHURCH,
because it gave spiritual birth by baptism ; after-
s Can. Apost. XLII. Coteler. torn. 1. p. 499.
t Cone. Toletan. IV. can. vi. torn. v. p. 1706.
u Cyril. Cat. six. Myst. I. p. 306.
o o
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OF BAPTISM. 24!
ward they were brought into rural churches.
Wheresoever they stood, they were had in high
veneration. St. Athanasius* complains sadly of
impiety in his tune ; such as never was heard of in
war, that men should set fire to churches and fonts,
and after mentioning the fonts, says, " Good God !
Christ-killing Jews, and heathenish atheists, have
without all reverence entered and defiled the fonts."
After the Priest hath baptized the child, he re-
ceives it into the congregation, by this solemnity
declaring that he is by Baptism made a member
of the Church; "We are all baptized into one
body." y And when he thus receives it, he signs it
with the sign of the cross, as of old it, was wont, 2
and on the forehead, the seat of blushing and
shame, that he may not hereafter blush and be
ashamed of the disgraced cross of Christ. 8 By
this badge is the child dedicated to His service,
whose benefits bestowed upon him in Baptism, the
name of the cross in holy Scripture does represent.
Whosoever desires to be fully satisfied concerning
the use of the cross in Baptism, let him read Canon
XXX. of our Church, anno 1603.
After thanksgiving for God's gracious admitting
the child to Baptism, and a most Divine prayer,
that he may lead his life according to that begin-
ning ; this office ends with a grave and pious
x Ep. ad Episc. torn. i. p. 113. C. y t Cor. xii. 13.
i S. Aug. in Pa. xxx. torn. iv. p. 165. F.
a Cypr. Epist. LVIII. p. 145.
o -o
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242 OF PRIVATE BAPTISM.
exhortation to the Godfathers, to remember their
duty towards the infants ; the like to which you
may read, S. Aug. de Temp. b
OF PRIVATE BAPTISM.
HP HOUGH holy Church prescribes the font for
A the place, and Sundays and holydays for the
usual times of baptism, that she may conform as
much as conveniently may be to the usages of primi-
tive antiquity, (which is her aim in all her services,)
and for other reasons mentioned ; c yet in case of
necessity she permits and provides that a child may
be baptized in any decent place at any time ; in
such cases requiring the performance only of essen-
tials, not of solemnities of Baptism ; according to
the practice of the Apostles, who baptized at any
time as occasion required, and in fountains and
rivers ; and according to the use of succeeding ages. d
" He that is baptized himself, may in a case of ne-
cessity baptize, if there be no church near." Nor
can I see what can be reasonably objected against
this tender and motherly love of the Church to her
children, who chooses rather to omit solemnities
than hazard souls ; which indulgence of hers cannot
b Append. Serm. CCLXVI1. torn. v. p. 439.
Ic Rubric i . before Baptism,
d Cone. Matiscon. IT. can.iii. torn. v. p. 981. E. Decretal, pars III. de
Congee. Distinctio. iv. cap.xvi.xvii.p. :o7. A. B. Cone. Kliberit.can.xxxviii'
torn. i. p. 974. E.
o . o
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OF PRIVATE BAPTISM. 243
be interpreted any irreverence or contempt of that
venerable Sacrament, but a yielding to just neces-
sity, which defends what it constrains,) and to God's
own rule, " I will have mercy and not sacrifice," 6
If it be objected that this may be an occasion of
mischief, that the form of Baptism may be vitiated
and corrupted in private by heretical ministers, and
so the child robbed of the benefits of Baptism, it
is answered, that this is possible ; but were it not
great folly to prevent a possible danger by a certain ?
to deny all infants in such cases Baptism, lest some
few should be abused by the malice of the Priest ?
which possible, but scarce probable mischief, the
Church hath taken all possible care to prevent. FOR
IF THE CHILD LIVES IT IS TO BE BROUGHT TO
THE CHURCH/ and there the Priest is to demand
BY WHOM THE CHILD WAS BAPTIZED,AND WITH
WHAT MATTER AND WORDS; and if he perceives
plainly that it was well baptized for the substance,
then shall he add the usual solemnities at public
Baptism, that so the child may want nothing, no not
of the decent pomp ; but if he cannot by such ques-
tioning be assured that it was truly baptized for
essentials, then shall he baptize it thus, IF THOU BE
NOT ALREADY BAPTIZED, I BAPTIZE THEE, as it
wasorderedConc.Carth.V.can.vi.tom.ii.p.i2i6,C.*
e St.Matt.sii. 7. f Rubric i. in private Baptism.
g The address to the Sponsors formerly ended thus ; after the words,
"which the Lord Himself taught," " and in declaration of our faith let us
write the articles contained in our Creed."
6 6
o
c
OF CONFIRMATION."
Eis ordered 1 "that none should be confirmed
ill they come to the use of reason, and can say
their Catechism," for these reasons :
I. Because then they may with their own mouth
ratify and confirm the promise made for them by
then- Godfathers.
II. Because they then begin to be in danger of
temptation, against which they receive strength in
Confirmation.
III. Because this is agreeable with the usage in
tunes past : by times past, we must not understand
the first tunes, (for then Confirmation was ad-
ministered presently after Baptism,) but later times ;
in which the first order hath been of a long time
omitted for these reasons given, and this order
which our Church observes generally received
throughout Christendom.
Lest any man should think it any detriment to
the child to stay till such years, holy Church
assures us out of Holy Scripture, that CHILDREN
BAPTIZED till they come to years to be tempted,
have no need of Confirmation, HAVING ALL THINGS
NECESSARY FOR THEIR, that is, children's SALVA-
h Rubric i. is now the preface in the Confirmation Service, and generally
r ed by the Bishop's chaplain,
i Rubric i. at Confirmation.
o o
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OF CONFIRMATION. 245
TION, AND BE UNDOUBTEDLY SAVED. The Sam e
says antiquity, " You are coming to the holy font,
ye shall be washed in Baptism, ye shall be renewed
by the saving laver of regeneration; ascending
from that laver ye shall be without all sin : if so,
then safe ; for blessed is the man whose iniquities
are forgiven." k Quemadmodum corpus Christi sepul-
tum in terra fructum tulit, universi orbis salutem,
ita et nostrum sepultum in Baptismo, fructum tulit,
justitiam, sanctificationem, adoptionem, infinita bona,
feret autem et resurrectionis postea donum. 1 " The
body of Christ buried in the earth, brought forth
fruit, namely, the salvation of the whole world ; so
our body buried in Baptism hath brought forth
fruit, righteousness, sanctification, adoption, infinite
good things, and shall afterwards have the gift of
the resurrection." It were too long to cite parti-
culars; take the Council of Milevis m for all, Ideo
parvuli qui nihil peccatorum in semetipsis committere
potuerunt, in peccatorum remissionem veraciter bap-
tizantur, ut in eis regeneratione mundetur, quod
generatione contraxerunt. " Therefore infants, who
could not sin actually, are truly baptized for the
remission of sins, that that which they have con-
tracted by their birth might be cleansed by their
second birth." And the council pronounces ana-
thema to them that deny it. But more than all
k S.August. Serm. CCXIII. In trad. Symb. II. cnp.viii. tom.v. p. 943.8.
1 S. Clirys. Horn. XI. in F.pist. ad Rom. cap. vi.ver. 5. tom.ix. p. 530.
m Tom. it. can. il. p. 1538. D.
o . o
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246 OF CONFIRMATION.
this is the express words of Scripture, Gal. iii. 26,
where St. Paul proves that they were the " children
of God," for or because they were baptized ; " if
they be children, then are they heirs" of God,
Rom. viii. 17: i St. Peter iii. 21, "Baptism saves
us." Again, " As many of you as have been bap-
tized into Christ, have put on Christ," n and that
surely is enough for salvation. By all this, we
see the effect of Baptism is salvation: now if
children be capable of Baptism, as hath been prov-
ed, then sith they no way hinder or resist this
grace, it necessarily follows that they are partakers
of the blessed effects of Baptism, and so are
UNDOUBTEDLY SAVED.
The children that are to be CONFIRMED ARE TO
BE BROUGHT TO THE BISHOP by one that shall be
their Godfather, who may witness their Confirma-
tion. The Godfather may be the same that was at
Baptism, but in most places the custom is to have
another.
AndtheBlSHOPSHALLCoNFIRMTHEM: p SOWaS
it of old j q St. Chrysostom r speaking of Philip, when
he had baptized, says, " He did not give the Holy
Ghost to the baptized, for he had no power, for this
was the gift of the Apostles alone." Before him, St.
Cyprian says, " those that were baptized by Philip
n Gal. iii. 47. o Decret. Pars III. Dist. iv. cap. ico. p. 3004. D.
p Rubric before Confirmation.
q S. Aug.deTrinit.l.xv. cap. xxvi. torn, viii. p. 999. A.
r Chrys. Horn. XVIII. in Act. Apost. cap. viii. tom.ix. p. 146.
o- o
> -o
OF CONFIRMATION. 247
the Deacon, were not baptized again, but that which
was wanting was supplied by Peter and John, by
whose prayers and imposition of hands the Holy
Ghost was called upon, and poured upon them;
which very thing is done amongst us now. They
that are baptized are offered up to the Bishops of
the Church, that by our prayer and imposition of
hands they may receive the Holy Ghost." r Before
him Urban, anno Dom. 222, tells us, that Bishops
only did confirm. s And St. Jerome, dial. adv. Luci-
ferum, 4 says it was, Totius orbis consensus in hanc
partem, " the general acknowledgment of the whole
Christian world."
The office begins on this wise, "Oun HELP
STANDETH IN THE NAME OF THE LoRD." u Of
such short ejaculations in general hath been said in
the Morning Prayer ; concerning these in particular,
that they are fitted to the office, will appear to
them that consider, that Confirmation is appointed
for the strengthening of us against all our ghostly
enemies ; which, though they be many and great,
yet is there no reason to despair of obtaining strength
enough to resist them, for " our help stands in the
name of the Lord, Who hath made heaven and
earth : " Who is therefore able enough and willing
also to help them that call upon His name, " Blessed
r Cyprian. Epist. LXXIII. p. 201.
s Urbai.. Epist. cap. vii. Cone. torn. i. p. 6ai . t Tom. iv. p. 294.
u The Office now begins with the Exhortation, "To the end,"&e- Th
Bishop's question, " Do you here," &c. was added at the last teview.
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O -Q
248 OF CONFIRMATION.
therefore be the name of the Lord henceforth and
for ever."
After these Versicles follows a prayer, that God
would strengthen the baptized, with THE HOLY
GHOST THE COMFORTER, who had in their Baptism
received Him as a sanctifier. These two ways, to
omit others, we are taught in Holy Scripture, that
the Holy Ghost may be received as a sanctifier and
cleanser in holy Baptism, " He saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;"* and after Baptism we may receive Him
again as a Comforter and strengthener. The Apo-
stles, who received Him the first way in Baptism,
are promised to receive Him the second ; St. John
xvi. 7. Acts i. 8, which was performed; "They
were filled with the Holy Ghost." *
ThenSHALLTHEBlSHOPLAYHIS HANDS UPON
THEM SEVERALLY ; by this sign certifying them of
God's goodness towards them, and consigning it
upon them. This is the most ancient and Apo-
stolical rite of Confirmation, Acts viii. 17, and by
this name it is known, " The doctrine of baptisms,
and laying on of hands." 1
After a most excellent prayer for their continu-
ance in God's love, and obedience to Him, the
Bishop departs them with a blessing. Of such
blessings hath been said already.
This holy rite hath been too little understood by
x Titus Hi. 5. y Acts ii. 4. z Heb. vi. x, a.
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OF CONFIRMATION. 249
many, and therefore too lightly esteemed and
valued ; for the remedy whereof it may not be
amiss to shew the benefit of it in these conclu-
sions following :
I. The Holy Ghost was given to persons bap-
tized, by the Apostles' prayers and laying on of
hands, Acts viii. 14 17 ; xix. 6.
II. This gift of the Holy Ghost so given, was not
only, nor principally, the gift of miracles, or speak-
ing with tongues. For, first, Confirmation is reck-
oned by St. Paul amongst fundamentals, Heb. vi. i,
2, which were necessary to all ages of the Church ;
but the gift of miracles was not such, for that lasted
but a while, as experience hath taught us. Again,
Confirmation was administered to all baptized per-
sons, Acts viii. 1 5 ; xix. 6, but all baptized persons
were not to have the gift of miracles : " To one is
given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another
the working of miracles."' And again, "Are all
workers of miracles?'" 5 It is true, that in the
Apostles' times, the inward grace of Confirmation
was attended with miracles, but it will not thence
follow that miracles were the principal intended
gift in Confirmation, no more than that the visible
opening of heaven is the proper effect of Baptism,
because at our Saviour's Baptism the heavens were
so opened, St. Matt. iii. 16, or that the proper effect
of preaching is to work miracles, because that at the
a i Cor. sii. 8, 9. b Ver. 39.
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25O OF CONFIRMATION.
Apostles' preaching miracles were wrought, Acts x.
44. In those first times the Holy Ghost fell upon
believers and they spake with tongues . Signa erant
tempori opportuna, "those signs were seasonable
to those times." Does any man now expect that
those that receive the Holy Ghost by our prayers
and imposition of hands should speak with tongues?
and if they do not speak with tongues, is any man
of so perverse a heart as to say, that they have not
received the Holy Ghost ? c "In the beginning
of spiritual and marvellous dispensations, outward
signs appeared to confirm the new preached faith ;
but now that the faith is sufficiently confirmed,
although such miracles be not wrought, yet we re-
ceive those inward graces and virtues, which were
signified and demonstrated by those signs." d
III. The proper and principal effect of Confirma-
tion was, and IS, ( GHOSTLY STRENGTH, AND POWER
TO RESIST TEMPTATIONS, as our Church teaches. e
That the baptized, when they come to years and
the use of reason, may have, not their Baptism con-
firmed, (which needs no Confirmation to perfect it,)
but themselves and their souls, by some new virtue
and power, or by an addition and increase of
former graces, by which they may be enabled
against those temptations that shall assault them,
c S.Austin, in Epist. Johan. tract. VI. torn. Hi. pars II.
d Chrys.in S. Matt. Horn. XIII. toin. vii. p. 167.
e Rubric i. before the Catechism. This Rubric is now removed. See
j Wheatly on the place.
3 O
OF CONFIRMATION. 25l
whence it is called Confirmation : Regeneramur ad
vitamper baptismum, in hoc confirmamur adpugnam.
" By Baptism, we are regenerated to life, in Con-
firmation we are strengthened to fight against our
enemies," says Melchiades about the year 31 1 . f In
Confirmation, the Holy Ghost is given for strength,
as He was given to the Apostles at Pentecost, that
Christians may boldly confess the name of Christ. 8
For our fuller persuasion of this, it will be neces-
sary to consider that our Lord Christ promised to
His Apostles, after they had been baptized, that,
" When He went away, He would send them the
Holy Ghost to be their Comforter or strengthener," h
to make them able to bear witness of Christ, not-
withstanding all the threats and terrors of men.
St. John xv. 27 ; xvi. I 3. And He promises
them, that, " not many days hence they should
receive the Holy Ghost," 1 or the power of the
Holy Ghost, whereby they (that forsook Him for-
merly and fled) should be henceforth emboldened
and encouraged to bear witness to Him all the
world over, Acts i .8. This promise was performed at
Pentecost; " They were filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak," k and to bear witness of Christ
with courage. ' This very promise made to the
Apostles formerly, and performed at Pentecost,
f Melchiad. F.pist. cap. ii. ad Episc. HUpan. Conril. torn. i.p. 1398. B.
g Concil. Florent. Gener. torn. xiii. p. 536. Tertull. De Bapt. p. 355. Cy-
prian, ad Donatum, p. 4. h St. John xvi. 7.
iActsi. 5. k Ibid.ii.4. 1 Verse 36.
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252 OF CONFIRMATION.
belongs to every one of us that are baptized, " Re-
pent and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." m " For
this promise " of the Holy Ghost fulfilled on us, " is
unto you and to your children, and to all that are
afar off." n And what St. Peter here promises them
was fulfilled by him and the other Apostles ; for by
their prayer and imposition of hands they received
after Baptism the Holy Ghost, not only enabling
them to speak miraculously, but also strengthening
and comforting them inwardly, as he did the Apo-
stles. For the same that was promised to the
Apostles, belonged to them and their children, and
was given by imposition of hands . Now that which
was promised to the Apostles, was principally,
ghostly strength and comfort, on which that gift of
miracles was an attendant, as we have seen : this
then is the principal effect of Confirmation, the
gift of the Holy Ghost by way of eminence, Acts ii.
38. Hence this phrase, " full of the Holy Ghost,"
is interpreted by Scripture to be the same in effect
with this, " Full of ghostly courage and strength,"
" They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
spake with boldness the word of the Lord," p and
" Stephen, full of faith and the Holy Ghost,"
that is, " full of faith and power." r
-
m Acts ii. 38. n Verse 39. o Acts iv. 8, 31.
pActsiv.s.. q Ibid.vi. 5. vii.55. r vi. 8.
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O . -O
OF CONFIRMATION. 263
IV. This office of Confirmation, as well as that
of Baptism, is to continue in the Church as long as
that shall be militant here on earth. For St. Paul,
Heb. vi. i, 2, joins them together, calling them fun-
damentals ; and a fundamental in one age is so in
another. Besides, we have seen that Confirmation
was the means used by the Apostles (and doubtless
not without their Lord's direction and guidance of
His Spirit) for conveying the Holy Ghost the Com-
forter into persons baptized : and since that all
ages have as much need of that ghostly strength
as the age of the Apostles had, and that the pro-
mise of it belongs to us all, as well as to them, as
formerly hath been proved ; and since that we find
no other means appointed instead of Confirmation,
for the conveying of the gift of the Holy Ghost,
then given by Confirmation ; it remains, that we
conclude, that Confirmation is still to continue.
And so the Church catholic hath taught us both
by her doctrine and practice, as may be seen by
the quotations cited above.
V. That Bishops who succeed the Apostles, are
to be the ministers of this holy rite hath been
shewn above.
o 6
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OF MATRIMONY.
THIRST, holy Church instructs us in the ends of
JL Matrimony, which are three : I. THE PROCRE-
ATION OF CHILDREN. II. A REMEDY AGAINST
SIN. III. A MUTUAL HELP TO EACH OTHER.
Then the Priest requires the parties to be mar-
ried, by the terror of the dreadful judgment day, to
declare, if they know any impediment, why they
may not be lawfully married ? which is as much
care and caution as can be used by those that are
not able to discern the secrets of the heart.
Then follows the contract in the future tense,
whereby these persons mutually promise to the
Priest, God's minister, before the congregation, to
enter into that holy state of wedlock, and strictly
to keep those sacred laws of marriage which Al-
mighty God hath ordained. This is that, as I
conceive, which St. Augustine 8 calls Votorum so-
lennitatem, " the solemnities of vows and pro-
mises," which was in his time and formerly an
usual ceremony of marriage : and of very good
use is this solemnity, for by this have the persons
bound themselves to their duty, by all the obliga-
tions that a sacred solemn vow or promise can
lay upon the soul.
s DeGen. ad lit. 1. si. cap. xli. torn. iii. pars I. p. 295.
O O
0- O
OF MATRIMONY. 255
Then the Priest asks, " WHO GIVES THIS
WOMAN TO BE MARRIED TO THIS MAN." This
was the old custom, that the bride should be given
by the father or friend ; * to which St. Paul may be
thought to allude, " I have espoused you to one
husband, that I might present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ. " u And " the queen," the spouse,
" shall be brought to the king." x The reason of
this, saith learned Mr. Hooker, was, " That in
ancient times, all women which had not husbands
or fathers to govern them, had their tutors, with-
out whose authority there was no act which they
did warrantable ; and for this cause they were in
marriage delivered unto their husbands by others.
Which custom retained hath still this use, that it
puts women in mind of a duty, whereto the very
imbecility of their sex doth bind them, namely,
to be always directed and guided by others." y
Whether this were the very cause of this custom, I
will not determine, nor what else was ; but what-
soever was the first cause of it, this is certain, that
it is a decent custom. For it cannot be thought
fit, that a woman, whose chiefest ornament is
modesty and shamefacedness, should offer herself
before the congregation to marriage to any person,
but should rather be led by the hand of another,
and given by him.
t Aug. de Gen. adlit.l.xii. cap. xli. torn. iii. pars I. p. 295.
u 3 Cor. xi. 2. x 1's.ilin xlv. 13, 14.
y Eccles. Polity, b. v. ch. Ixxiii. $. 5- vol. ii. p. 547-
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256 OF MATRIMONY.
f
After the marriage itself, THE MAN PUTS A
RING UPON THE WOMAN'S FINGER. The ring
hath been always used as an especial pledge of
faith and fidelity. Nothing more fit to serve as a
token of our purposed endless continuance in that
which we never ought to revoke; and therefore
fitly used in marriage, which is a contract not to be
dissolved but by death. Aurum nulla norat prater
uno diffito, quern sponsus oppignorasset pronubo
annulo.* No woman was permitted to wear gold,
save only upon one finger, which the husband had
fastened to himself with a wedding ring. This he
puts UPON THE FOURTH FINGER OF THE LEFT
HAND, because there is a vein that goes from
thence to the heart ; by which is signified that the
love should be hearty, say some Rituals.
Then follows, " WITH MY BODY I THEE WOR-
SHIP," &c. " For the better understanding of this
phrase, we must know that anciently there were
two sorts of wives ; one whereof was called the
primary, or lawful wife, the other was called the
half wife, or concubine. The difference betwixt
these two, was only in the differing purpose of the
man, betaking himself to the one or the other. If
his purpose was only fellowship, there grew to the
woman by this means no worship at all, but the
contrary. In professing that his intent was to add
by his person honour and worship unto hers, he
z Tertull. Apol. cap. vi. p. 7. C.
Q
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OF MATRIMONY. 267
1 took her plainly and clearly to be his wife, not his
concubine. This is it which the civil law doth
mean, when it makes a wife to differ from a concu-
bine in dignity. The worship that grew unto her,
being taken with declaration of this intent, was,
that her children became by this means free and
legitimate, heirs to their father, Gen. xxv. 5, 6; her-
self was made a mother over his family. Last of
all, she received such advancement of state, as
things annexed unto his person might augment her
with. Yea, a right of participation was thereby
given her both in him, and even in all things which
were his ; and therefore he says not only " WITH
MY BODYlTHEE WORSHIP," but also, "WlTH ALL
MY WORLDLY GOODS I THEE ENDOW." " The for-
mer branch having granted the principal, the latter
granteth that which is annexed thereto."'
The Jews anciently used the same phrase. " Be
unto me a wife, and I, according to the word of
God, will worship, honour, and maintain thee, ac-
: cording to the manner of husbands amongst the
Jews, who worship, honour, and maintain their
wives." b And that no man quarrel at this harm-
less phrase, let him take notice, that to worship here
signifies to make worshipful or honourable, as you
may see, i Sam. ii. 30. For where our last transla-
a Hooker's Kcclesiastical Polity, b. V. h. LXXIII. $. 7. vol. ii. p. 551.
b Godwin's Jewish Customs, b. vi. ch. iv. p. 931.
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258 OF MATRIMONY.
tion reads it, " Him that honours Me, I will honour,"
in the old translation, which our Common Prayer j
book uses, it is, " Him that worships Me, I will !
worship ; " that is, I will make worshipful, for that
way only can God be said to worship man.
After the Priest hath prayed for grace and God's
assistance for the married persons, to enable them i
to keep their solemn vow and contract, then does i
he as it were seal that bond and contract, by which
they have mutually tied themselves, with God's
seal, viz. " Those whom God hath joined together,
let no man put assunder."
THE PERSONS HAVING CONSENTEDTOGETHER
IN WEDLOCK, AND WITNESSED THE SAME BE-
FORE GOD AND THE CHURCH, AND PLIGHTED
THEIR TROTH EACH TO OTHER, AND DECLARED '
THE SAME BY GIVING AND TAKING OF A RING, !
AND JOINING OF HANDS ; and the Priest having
sealed and ratified all, as it were, with God's seal,
which no man must break, HE PRONOUNCES THEM
MAN AND WIFE, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER,
SON, AND HOLY GHOST; which proclamation, or
pronouncing of the married persons to be man
and wife, thus in the Church by the Priest, was
one of those laws and rites of marriage which the
Church received of the Apostles. c
Then the Priest blesses them solemnly according
: Kuarist. Epist. I. ad omnes Episoop. Africanos. Concilia, torn. i. p. 534.
o 6
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OF MATRIMONY. 25p
to the old rules. d Of the efficacy of which bless-
ings hath been said formerly.
After this follows Psalm cxxviii. which was the
Epithalamium, or marriage song, used by the Jews
at nuptials, says Musculus. 6
Then pious and devout prayers for the married
persons, and lastly the COMMUNION.' Such reli-
gious solemnities as these, or some of these, were
used by the Jews at marriages ; for their rites and
ceremonies of their marriage were publicly per-
formed with blessings and thanksgivings ; whence
the house was called the house of praise, and their
marriage song hillulim, praises; 8 the bridegroom's
intimate friends sung the marriage song, who are
called " children of the bridechamber." h The pri-
mitive Christians had all these which we have.
The persons to be married were contracted by the
Priest, the marriage was solemnly pronounced in
the Church, the married couple were blessed by
the Priest, prayers and thanksgivings were used,
and the holy Communion administered to them.
d Cone. Carthag. IV. can. xiii. torn. ii. p. HOI.
e In Ps.cxxviii. p. 1008. A.
f The last two rubrics are different from those in the present book. They
are as follow : " Then shall begin the Communion. And after the Gospel
shall be said a sermon, wherein ordinarily (so oft as there is any marriage)
the office of a man and wife shall be declared, according to holy Scripture.
Or if there shall be no sermon, the minister shall read thin that followeth :
"The new married persons (the same day of their marriage) must receive
the holy Commui'ion."
g Godwin's Rites and Customs of the Jews, h. vl. ch. ir. p. 338.
h St. Matt. ix. 15.
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260 OF MATRIMONY.
And these religious rites the Church received from
the Apostles, says Euaristus. h And doubtless
highly Christian and useful these solemnities are :
for first, they beget and nourish in the minds of
men a reverend esteem of this holy mystery, Ephes.
v. 32, and draw them to a greater conscience of
wedlock, and to esteem the bond thereof, a thing
which cannot without impiety be dissolved. Then,
are they great helps to the performance of those
duties which God Almighty hath required in mar-
ried persons; which are so many, and those so
weighty, that whosoever duly considers them, and
makes a conscience of performing them, must think
it needful to make use of all those means of grace
which God Almighty hath appointed. For if we
duly consider the great love and charity that this
holy state requires, even to the laying down of life,
" Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved
the Church, and gave Himself for it," 1 of the
weighty charge of the education of children, which,
if well performed, procures a blessing and an ad-
vantage to salvation. " She shall be saved in child-
bearing, if they continue in faith and charity, " k &c.
so, if it be carelessly performed, it procures a most
heavy curse, i Sam. ii. 29, 31, &c. Or lastly, the
chastity and holiness necessary to that state of
marriage, heightened now up to the representation
h Kpist. I. ad omncs Episc. African. Cone. torn. i. p. 534.
i Ephes. v. 35. k i Tiin.ii. 15.
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OF MATRIMONY. 26l
of the mystical union of Christ with His Church,
" This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning
Christ and the Church;" 1 to which holy con-
junction, our marriage, and all our works and
affections in the same, should correspond and be
conformable. I say, if we consider all these duly,
can we think we may spare any of those Divine
helps to performance ; whether they be vows and
holy promises to bind us, or our father's and
mother's, God's and the Church's blessings, or
holy prayers for God's assistance; or lastly, the
holy Communion, that great strengthener of the
soul ? If men's vices and licentiousness have made
this holy service seem unseasonable at this time,
reason would that they should labour to reform
their lives, and study to be capable of this holy ser-
vice, and not that the Church should take off her
command for the receiving of the holy Communion
for their unspeakable good. For would men ob-
serve God's and the Church's commands, and enter
into this holy state, not like beasts or heathens at
the best, but like Christians, with these religious
solemnities, the happiness would be greater than
can easily be expressed. " I know not which way
I should be able to shew the happiness of that wed-
lock, the knot whereof the Church doth fasten, and
the Sacrament of the Church confirm, saith Ter-
tullian. ra
1 Ephes. r. 34. m Ad Uxorem, 1. ii. p. 191.
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VISITATION OF THE SICK.
THE Priest, entering into the sick man's house,
shall say, PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE ; so our
Lord commanded : " And if the son of peace be
there, his peace shall rest upon it." 11
Then KNEELING DOWN, he prays those prayers
and ejaculations following, which whosoever reads
and considers impartially, shall find them to be
both very pious and suitable to the occasion.
Then SHALL THE PRIEST EXHORT THE SICK
PERSON AFTER THIS MANNER. The prayers are
all prescribed, but the exhortation is left arbitrary
to the discretion of the Priest, who can hardly be
thought to make a better.
Then SHALL THE PRIEST EXAMINE THE SICK
PERSON CONCERNING HIS FAITH, whether it be
Christian. And this is very necessary, for if that
be wrong, all is wrong. Christian religion consists
in these two, a right faith and a righteous life ; and
as a right faith without a righteous life will not save,
so neither will a righteous life without a right
belief. He that hath said, "Do this and live,"
hath said, " Believe and live ; " and how then can
we think him safe that lives indeed justly, but
blasphemes impiously ? This then is a principal
interrogatory or question to be put to the sick per-
n St. Luke x. 5, 6. o Cyril. Catech.iv. cap. ii. p. 52.
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9 Q
VISITATION OF THE SICK. 263
son, whether he believes as a Christian ought to
do ? And this he does by rehearsing to him the
Creed, and there can be no better rule to try it
by. For whatsoever was prefigured in the Patri-
archs, or taught in the Scriptures, or foretold by
the Prophets concerning God the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, is all briefly contained in the Apostles'
Creed. p " This Creed, it is the touchstone to try true
faith from false, the rule of faith, contrary to which
no man may teach or believe.'" 1 "This the catho-
lic Church received from the Apostles. Holding
this rule, we shall be able to convince all heretics
whatsoever, that they be departed from the truth."'
In the next place, holy Church directs the Priest
to examine the sick person concerning his life
and conversation ; especially concerning these two
particulars : I. Whether he forgives all the world;
II Whether he hath satisfied all injuries done to
others : without which the medicine of repentance,
which is necessary to the sick person's salvation,
will not profit him. For the first, our Saviour tells
us, St. Matt. vi. 1 5, that " unless we forgive others,"
neither our persons nor our prayers will be accepted :
" God will not forgive us." And for the second,
Non remittetur peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum :
" Repentance, without restitution and reparation of
injuries, cannot be true and serious ', or if it can, it
p S. August. Serm. CLX. torn. v. Append, p. 583.
q Ruffin. in Symb. ap. Cyprian, p. 17. Tertnll. de Prescript. cap.xiii.p.JsJ.
r Irenae. contra Haereses, 1. i. cap. x. torn. i. p. 49. et cap. xxii. p. 98.
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264 VISITATION OP THE 81<:h.
cannot profit."" " For if lie that, is injured by
another cannot he forgiven of(iod, unless he for-
gives linn th.it injured him; how can lie that, in-
jured others, and does not ma I..- him restitution,
hope fur pardon?" 1 The, 1'rient, therefore, ifl to
idvise him, that wherein oever he hath injured any,
he should make satisfaction to the uttermoHt <>!
power : by the uttermost of his power, in not meant
that he miiHl give to the injured persons all his
estate, nor that he must restore fourfold for inju-
ries done, (\vliieh wan required in some cases under
MOSCH' Law, byway of pimiHhment, rather than of
satisfaction,) but that he be careful to the uit.-i
most of his power, that the person injured be HO
repaired that he fie no loser hy him; which is all
that hy the law of justice, which commandH to give
every man their due, is required. " When I nay to
the wicked, he Hhall Hurely die; if he turn from bin
in, i! hr i .lore the pledge, give again that he hath
rubbed;" 11 it. is not, if he restore fourfold, but if
he restore that which he hath robbed, " he shall
surely live."
Then the Priest is to admonish the sick per- on to
settle his estate, FORT UK D<S( IIAIKJINO OK ins
OWN CONSCIENCE, AND QUIKTNEH8 OP II IH KX-
K(i TOKS. hut holy Church exhorts men to do thiw
I S. An.lln. Kpl.t. el.ll I. ,-,,. vl. torn. II. p. g)t. A.
I ( l,,yo,l. II.,,,,. XV. Ill S.MHlt.tolll.vli. |..|H 4 .
o o
VISITATION OK TIIK HICK. 26. r >
work in their health, that when they are ick, they
may not be troubled about the world, but may
bestow their whole l.inic :m<l care, aw it is fit, about
settliug and securing their future estate. And were
men possessed with that fear and trembling that
St. Paul speaks of, Phil. ii. 12, they would be care-
ful to gain all the time that might be then, to work
out their Halvation.
The minister MAY NOT FORORT TO MOVR TUB
SICK PERHON, and that most earnestly, TO MBK-
HAI.ITY TOWAIIDH THE I'OOR. This is tO haVC
mercy upon our own souls, says St. Augustine, or
Christum scribere hteredem, "to make Christ our
heir." For when the poor receives from UH, Christ
stands by and reaches out His hand to receive with
them." " Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of
these little ones, ye have done it to Me." y As it is
always necessary to be put in mind of this duty, so
especially at this time of sickness. For then we
are failing, and therefore most necessary it is then,
to u make friends of the unrighteous Mammon,
that, when we fail, they may receive us into ever-
lasting habitations."' Then we are going to give
up our account to God, and then-fore then most
necessary it is to do the best we can to procure a
gracious absolution at the day of judgment. Now
nothing seems more powerful with (iod to procure
hnUniu. Ill Nomornii . Plinth, tit . II. rnp. I. up. Itlli. I'ntr. tmn . vl. p. n,,i. K.
j 8t.Matt.KV. 40. 8t.Lukoxvl. 9>
O
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266 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
that, than liberality to the poor, " Come ye blessed,
for I was hungry, and ye gave Me meat."*
Here SHALL THE SICK PERSON MAKE A
SPECIAL CONFESSION, IF HE FEEL HIS CON-
SCIENCE TROUBLED WITH ANY WEIGHTY MAT-
TER. It would be considered, whether every deadly
sin be not a weighty matter ?
AFTER WHICH CONFESSION THE PRIEST SHALL
ABSOLVE HiM. b After which follows a most excel-
lent prayer or two, and Psalm Ixxi. all very fit to a
sick person's condition ; as will appear without an
interpreter, to the attentive reader.
A most excellent and pious benediction of the
Priest concludes all, and so ends this office.
OF THE COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
THE Church's care for the sick ends not here ;
for besides all this, she appoints, that if the
sick person desires it, the PRIEST MAY COMMUNI-
CATE HIM IN HIS PRIVATE HOUSE, IF THERE BE
A CONVENIENT PLACE, WHERE THE CURATE
MAY REVERENTLY MINISTER. 6 So was the ancient
a St. Matt. v. 34, 35.
b The Rubric stands now ; " the Priest shall absolve him (if he humblj
and heartily desire it) after thissort."
c Rubric before the Private Communion of the Sick.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 267
decree of holy Church, Nic. Can. d Generaliter omni
cuilibet in exitu posito, Eucharistite participati-
onem petenti, Episcopus cum examinations oblati-
onem impartiat. " To every man that is ready to
depart out of this world, let the Bishop, after exa-
mination and trial, give the holy Communion, if he
desires it." For this, says the Council, is antiqua
et canonica lex, ut siquis vita excedat, ultimo et
necessario viatico minime privetur.* "This is the
ancient law of the Church," says this Council there,
" concerning him that is dying ; that whosoever he
be, he shall not be denied the last and most neces-
sary viaticum of his life." This viaticum, or pro-
vision for the way, is the holy Communion, as is
plain in the Canon cited. For though, as learned
Albaspinus f observes, this word viaticum was ap-
plied to more things besides the Eucharist, as to
alms, to baptism, to absolution, which are all neces-
sary helps in our journey to heaven ; yet in this
Canon I conceive the viaticum, or provision for the
way, to be the holy Eucharist. For in the first
part of the Canon it is called ultimum viaticum,
" the last provision for the way ; " which cannot be
meant of any other properly, but of the holy
Eucharist: for the rest, for instance, absolution,
(of which Albaspinus B understands this Canon,) is
d Cod. Kceles.Univ. Can.xiii.p.32.
e Nic. Cone. can. xiii. toin. ii. p. 4 . D.
f L. i. Observ. xi. p. 74. g Ibid. p. 75.
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268 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
reconciliatio Altaribus, "a reconciliation to the
Altar, or Sacraments," as it was anciently called, a
fitting or qualifying of the communicant for the
holy Eucharist, and therefore to go before it; h and
for alms, they are part of the fruits of penance, and
so necessary to fit us for absolution, and Baptism is
janua Sacramentorum, "the first admission into
Christ's Church," which gives the first right to the
communion and sacraments of the Church; and
therefore, all these being precedaneous to the holy
Eucharist, cannot be called any of them ultimum
viaticum, "the last provision," but only the Eu-
charist itself. Besides, in the last part of the Canon
there is expressly mentioned, the participation of
the Eucharist, which must be the same with the
viaticum in the first part, as may appear by this :
the Canon immediately before this, had directed
that penitents, especially those of the first or second
degree, should fulfil the Church's tax before they
were received to the Church's prayers : but if those
should fall into danger of death, the ancient Canon
shall be observed, (saith this Canon in the begin-
ning,) that they shall be admitted, notwithstanding
the former canon, to the last viaticum j the reason
is given in the latter part of this canon : because
that to every one whatsoever, that shall in danger
of death desire the Eucharist, it shall be given to
him if he be found fit to receive it. This could be
h Cone. Carthag. IV. cap. Ixxvi. torn. ii. p. 1205. E.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 269
no reason of the former part of the canon, namely,
of giving the last viaticum to penitents in danger of
death, unless that viaticum and the Eucharist here
be all one. To that which may be objected, that
this viaticum cannot be the same with the Eu-
charist mentioned in the last part of the canon,
because this viaticum here is allowed to persons in
danger of death without any examination, but the
Eucharist is granted to persons in the same danger
with this exception, if the Bishop, after examination,
shall find him fit ; it may be answered, that not-
withstanding this, the viaticum and the Eucharist
may be all one, for the canon in the first part,
where it allows it to persons in necessity without
examination, speaks only of penitents who had
already undergone the examination, and had re-
ceived their penance, and submitted to the Church's
discipline, and so professed themselves truly peni-
tents, and were in such necessity, desiring the
Eucharist, in the judgment of charity supposed fit
to receive it; though the Church denied the same
to them, when there was no such necessity, for the
maintenance of holy discipline, and in terror of
offenders. But generaliter de quolibet for every one
that should desire it, before he had given testimony
of his repentance, there could not be sufficient
ground of charity to believe so well ; and therefore
they were to be examined by the Bishop, or some
others by his appointment. So then I think the
o
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270 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
canon may be interpreted thus of the holy Commu-
nion, without any contradiction ; and that it ought
to be so understood, may, I think, be concluded by
these testimonies following : ' and most clearly by
St. Cyprian, k :e After consultation we have deter-
mined, that those that have fallen in time of perse-
cution, and have denied themselves with unlawful
sacrifices, should do full penance ; yet, if they were
dangerously sick, they should be received to peace.
For Divine clemency does not suffer the Church to
be shut against them that knock ; nor the succour of
saving hope to be denied to those that mourn
and beg it; nor to send them out of the world
without peace and the communion." This is ex-
actly agreeable to that Canon of Nice. 1 What
Communion that was, he tells us soon after : " That
it was not only absolution, but the holy Eucharist
besides, as appears by that which follows: For-
merly we made this rule, that penitents, unless in
time of extreme sickness, should not receive the
Communion. And this rule was good, while the
Church was in peace and quiet; but now in time
of persecution, not only to the sick, but to the
healthful, peace is necessary ; not only to the dying,
but to the living, the Communion is to be given ;
that those whom we persuade to fight manfully
i Cone. Herb. can. v. torn. iv. p. 1612. Leonis Constitutiones xvii. ap. Nov.
Con.Ju,tiniani, p. 37.
k Epist. LVII. p. 116. 1 Can. riii. torn. ii. p. 242.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 271
under Christ's banner, and to resist even to blood,
may not be left naked and unarmed, but be defended
with the protection of the body and blood of Christ ;
which for this cause was instituted, that it might
be a strength and defence to them that receive it.
How shall we teach them to shed their blood for
Christ, if we deny them Christ's blood to strengthen
them? Or how shall we fit them for the cup of
martyrdom, if we do not admit them to the Com-
munion of the cup of the Lord ? Upon this very
ground was it provided, that all dying men might
have the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, the great
defence in that dangerous hour, when the devil is
doing his worst and last." Agreeable to this of St.
Cyprian is the LXXVIth Canon of the Council of
Carthage." 1 " He that in time of sickness desires
penance, if haply while the Priest is coming to him,
he falls dumb, or into a phrensy, let them that heard
his desire bear witness to it, and let him receive
penance ; and if he be like to die speedily, let
him be reconciled by imposition of hands, and let the
Eucharist be put into his mouth. If he recovers,
let him be acquainted with what was done by the
former witnesses, and be subject to the known laws
of penance. And those penitents which in their
sickness received the viaticum of the Eucharist, lei
them not think themselves absolved without impo-
si ion of hands, if they shall recover."" And the
m Cocc. Carthag. IV. can. Ixxvi. tom.ii. p. 1205.
n Ibid, can.lxxviii. tom.ii. p. ur6.
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CF RUBY'S COLLEGE
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272 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
Council of Orange says the same. They, that
after penance set them, are ready to depart out of
this life, it hath pleased the synod to give them the
Communion, without the reconciliatory imposition
of hands. Which suffices for the reconciling of
a dying man, according to the definition of the
Fathers, who fitly called the Communion a viaticum.
But if they recover, let them stand in the rank of
penitents, that by shewing the necessary fruits of
penance, they may be received to the canonical
communion by the reconciliatory imposition of
hands.
It will not be amiss for the clearer understanding
of all passages in these canons, to consider the
Church her discipline in this particular. Holy
Church, for preserving of holy discipline anddeter-
ing men from sin, did appoint for wasting sins,
such as adultery, murder, idolatry, and the like,
severe penance for three or four, six or seven years,
more or less, according to the quantity and quality
of the offence. In the Greek Church they had
several degrees of penance to be gone through in
this set time.
I. They were 7Tpoa-K\aiovTes, lugentes, mourners,
standing without the church porch ; they were to
beg of all the faithful that entered into the church,
to pray for them : in this degree they continued a
year or more, according as their crime deserved.
o Cone. Arausicanum I. can. iii. torn. iii. p. 1448.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 273
II. They were aKpowp-evoi, audientes, hearers ;
these might come into the church porch, into a
place called vdpfyg, ferula, (so called, because those
that stood there were subjected to the Church's
censure or ferula,) where they might stand and
hear the Scriptures read, and sermons, but were
not admitted to join with the Church in her
prayers.
III. They were vTromTrrovres, substernentes, the
prostrate, as we may say ; so called, because they
were all to prostrate themselves upon their faces,
and so continued till the Bishop said certain prayers
over them, and laid his hands upon them. They
might be present at the sermon and the first service
of the Catechumens, and then go out. p These were
admitted into the nave of the church, and to stand
behind the pulpit.
IV. 2iwcrra/zez/oi, the consistents ; they might
stay after the rest of the penitents were gone out,
and pray with the faithful, but not receive the holy
sacrament.
V. MeTe'xoi/res, communicants ; they were receiv-
ed to the participation of sacraments, but were
still to wear some marks of penance, till by prayers
and entreaties they had obtained the full commu-
nion of the Church's favours and honours. q
These several degrees were poor penitents to go
p Laodic. Cone. can. XIX. torn. i. p. u ,.. .
q Goar. in F.uch. Grtec. p. 11, 23.
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274 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
through in the Greek Church, and as much afflic-
tion in the Latin, unless the Bishop should think fit
to remit any thing of it, before they were fully
admitted to the Church's favour : but if any of
these were desperately sick, holy Church took care,
that upon their desire they should have the Church's
peace, by absolution/ say the )6th and 78th Canons
of the 4th Council of Carthage, and the holy Com-
munion says the same canon, and Cyprian; 8 lest they
should want that great strengthening and refreshing
of their souls in their last and greatest necessity.
Provided nevertheless, that if they should recover,
then they should resume their several places and de-
grees of penance they were in before, and go through
and perfect their task of penance, which having done,
they should receive ultimam reconciliationem, "their
last and highest reconciliation ;" a favour which
was denied to some that had been admitted to the
sacrament of the Eucharist, as you may see in the
second Council of Vaison.* This last reconciliation
was a solemn absolution from all the Church's cen-
sures and penances, by the laying on of the hands
of the Bishop, and some of his clergy, says Cyprian."
A declaration to all the Church, that they were re-
ceived not only to necessary viatica, and assisting
such as the former absolution mentioned in the 76th
canon of the fourth Council of Carthage, and the
r Tom. ii. p. 1205-6. s Epist. LV1I. p. 117.
t Can. ii. torn. iii. p. 1457. B. u Epist. XVI. p. 37.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 2^5
holy sacrament of the Eucharist were ; which they
were permitted to receive in case of necessity ; but
also to all the honour, and solemnities, and privi-
leges of the faithful, quite free from all brands and
marks of penitents. They were restored legitimce
communioni, "to the canonical and legitimate com-
munion ;"y they might offer with the faithful, and
their offerings be received by the Church; and they
might receive the kiss of peace, and all other
favours of the Church. This that hath been said
may help us to understand the true meaning of the so
much controverted Canon of the Council of Orange
before mentioned, together with the Canon of the
fourth Council of Carthage, 2 Qui recedunt de
corpore, &c. "They that after penance received
are ready to depart out of this life, it hath pleased
that they shall be received to the Communion,
without the reconciliatory imposition of hands ;"
that is, they shall be admitted to the communion
without that last, outward, solemn absolution in
the court of the church, which Balsamon rightly
calls Ka.Ta\\ayr)v, the full reconciliation to the
Church's honours and dignities, TJTOI \va-iv TStveniTt-
P.LCOV, a loosening of the Church's censures ; which
those penitents in case of extremity could not re-
ceive, because, as by the canons appears, they were,
if they recovered, to return to their several tasks of
y Cone. Arausicanxim I. can. iii. torn, iii.p.
z Can. LXX VIII.
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276 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
penance again, till they had fulfilled them. It was
enough for them to be reconciled to the altar and
sacrament by the absolution in foro cceli, " in
heaven's court," the power of which was granted
to the Apostles and their successors ; "Whose sins
ye remit," &c. a Which Balsamon calls x<*P iV > or the
absolution from sin ; and this they were to receive, b
and after that the holy Eucharist. And this, says the
canon of the Council of Orange, was sufficient for
a dying man's reconciliation according to the defi-
nition of the Fathers. And this the Church of
England provides for all dying men that shall desire
it. And infinitely bound to their mother, for this
her care, are all true sons of the Church. For thrice
happy souls are they, who shall have the happiness
at their last and greatest extremity, worthily to re-
ceive the reconciliation and the holy communion,
the bread of heaven, the blood of God, our hope,
our health, our light, our life. "For if we shall de-
part hence guarded with this sacrifice, we shall
with much holy boldness ascend to the holy hea-
vens, defended as it were with golden arms," says
St. Chrysostom.
We have seen the Church's care to provide all
necessaries for sick persons' salvation : it were a
happy thing to see in the people an answerable
diligence in the use of these ghostly offices, that
a St. John xx. 33.
b Cone. Carth. IV. can. Ixxvi. torn. ii. p. ic6.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 277
they would, when they are sick, send for the Priest;
not verbally only to comfort them, by rehearsing to
them comfortable texts of Scripture, whether they
belong to them or not, (which is not to heal the
sick, but to tell them that they have no need of the
spiritual physician, by which means precious souls
perish for whom Christ died :) but to search and
examine the state of their souls, to shew them their
sins, to prepare them by ghostly counsel, and exer-
cises of penance, for absolution, and the holy com-
munion, whereby they might indeed find comfort,
remission of sins, and the Holy Ghost the com-
forter. And this should be done while the sick
person hath strength and ability to attend and join
with him in these holy services. There is an excel-
lent canon to this purpose; "By this present decree
we strictly charge and command all physicians, that
when they shall be called to sick persons, they first
of all admonish and persuade them to send for the
physicians of souls, that after provision hath been
made for the spiritual health of the soul, they may
the more hopefully proceed to the use of corporal
medicine ; for when the cause is taken away, the
effect may follow." c That which chiefly occasioned
the making of this good law, was the supine care-
lessness of some sick persons, who never used to
call for the physician of the soul, till the physician
of the body had given them over. And if the phy-
c Decretal. 1. v. tit. xxxviii. cap. xiii. p. 2035. A.
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278 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
sician did, as his duty was, timely admonish them
to provide for their soul's health, they took it for a
sentence of death, and despaired of remedy, which
hastened their end, and hindered both the bodily
physician from working any cure upon their body,
and the ghostly physician from applying any ef-
fectual means to their soul's health. It is good
counsel that Ecclus. xxxviii. 9. gives, where we are
advised, not first to send for the physician, and
when we despair of his help, and are breathing our
last, then to send for the Priest, when our weakness
hath made him useless : but first to make our peace
with God by ghostly offices of the Priest, and then
give place to the physician. Which method our
Saviour hath taught us also by His method of cure;
who, when any came to Him for bodily cures, first
cured the soul of sin, before He healed the bodily
infirmity: teaching us, that sin is the cause of
sickness, and that cure first to be looked after.
And by thus doing, we may possibly save the body
without the physician : " Is any sick, let him send
for the Elders or Priests of the Church to pray
over him, and the prayer of faith shall save the
sick." d But if he fails of that bodily cure by these
means, yet he may be sure to obtain remission of
sins by their means. " If he hath committed sins,
they shall be forgiven him" 6 by the benefit of abso-
lution, so the words import. For a/zapriat, sins,
d St. James v.i4. e Ver. 15.
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COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 2)9
being a feminine plural, seems not to agree with
the verb dfaQijo-erai, it shall be forgiven, of the sin-
gular number, and therefore this word more pro-
perly seems to be rendered impersonally thus ; "If
he hath committed sins, pardon or absolution shall
be given him ;" and so by this means the sick per-
son shall be sure, if not to save his body, yet at
least to save his soul.
There was an ancient Canon, which, that it might
be duly practised and observed, it must be the wish
of all good men. It is, ut quipro quibuscumque cul-
pis in carceribus deputantur, ab Archidiacono sen a
Praposito Ecclesice diebus singulis Dominicis requi-
rantur, ut necessitas vinctorum, secundumprceceptum
divinum, misericorditer sublevetur / " that all pri-
soners, for what crime soever, shall be called for
and visited by the Archdeacon or Bishop of the
Church, every Lord's day, that the necessities,
bodily and ghostly, of the prisoners, according to
God's command, may be mercifully relieved." The
neglect of which duty, how dangerous it is, we
may read, "Go ye cursed, for I was sick and in
prison, and ye visited me not." g The Rubric, at
the Communion of the Sick, directs the Priest to
deliver the communion to the sick, but does not
there set down how much of the Communion Ser-
vice shall be used at the delivering of the commu-
f Cone. Aurel. V. can. XX. torn. v. p. 396. C.
g St. Matt. xxv. 43.
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i 280 COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
nion to the sick ; and therefore seems to me to
refer us to former directions in times past. h Now
the direction formerly was this :
If the same day (that the sick is to receive the
Communion) there be a celebration of the holy
Communion in the Church, then shall the Priest
reserve (at the open communion) so much of the
sacrament of the body and blood as shall serve the
sick person, and so many as shall communicate
with him. And as soon as he may conveniently,
after the open communion ended in the Church,
shall go and minister the same first to them that
are appointed to communicate with the sick, if
there be any; and last of all to the sick. But
before the Curate distribute the holy communion
the appointed general confession (in the Commu-
nion Service) must be made in the name of the
communicants, the Curate adding the absolution,
with the comfortable sentences of Scripture, follow-
ing in the open communion immediately, and so
proceeding in the Communion Service to the end
of the consecration and distribution : and after the
communion ended, the collect is to be used which
begins, " Almighty and ever-living God, we most
heartily thank Thee," &c.
But if the day wherein the sick person is to
h A Rubric in the present office has been inserted. After which is the Col-
lect, Epistle, and Gospel. The Priest shall proceed according- to the form be-
fore prescribed for the holy Communion, beginning at these words, " Ye that
I do truly &c."
O O
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OF BURIAL. 28l
receive communion, be not appointed for the open
communion in the Church, then, upon convenient
warning given, the Curate shall come and visit the
sick person afore noon. And, cutting off the form
of the visitation at the psalm, " In Thee, O Lord,"
shall go straight to the communion; 1 that is, after
he hath said the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel there
directed, he shall go to the Communion Service. >
BURIAL."
THE Priest MEETING THE CORPSE AT THE
CHURCH STILE, SHALL GO BEFORE IT TO THE
GRAVE, saying or singing, " I am the resurrection
and the life." This, in triumph over death, " O
death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy
victory ? " Thou mayest awhile hold the corpse,
but He that is "the resurrection and the life"
will make the dead man alive again. Therefore,
" thanks be to God, who gives this victory through
Jesus Christ our Lord." Much after this sort did
the ancients : l Quid sibi volunt istce lampades tarn
i Rubric 3, Communion of the Sick. j First King Edward the Sixth
k The present Rubrics stand now
" Here it is to be noted, that the office ensuing is not to be used for any tha
die unbapti/.cd, or excommunicate, or have laid violent hands upon them
selves.
" The Priest and Clerks meeting the Corpse at the entrance of the church
yard, and going before it, either into the church, or towards the grave, shal
say or sing. &c."
i Hieron. Epist. LXXXIV. ad Ocean, de Fabiola. torn. iv. p 657. Chrysost
Horn. IV. in Hebr. torn. xii. p. 46.
O
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282 OF BURIAL.
splendida* ? nonne sicut athletas mortuos comitamur ?
quid etiam hymni? nonne ut Deum glorificemus,
quod jam coronavit discedentem, quod a laboribus
liberavit, quod liberatum a timore apud se habeat ?
" What mean the bright burning torches ? do we
not follow the dead like champions ? What mean
the hymns? do we not thereby glorify God, for
that He hath crowned our departed brother, that
He hath freed him from labours, that He hath him
with Himself, freed from fear? All these are ex-
pressions of joy, whereby we do in a holy valour
laugh at death," saith Chrysostom there. And this is
Christian-like, " whereas if we be sad and dejected
as men without hope," mortem Ckristi, qua mors
super ata est, calumniamur j " we disgrace the death
of Christ, that hath conquered death : " and hea-
thens and atheists will deride us, saying, How can
these contemn death, that cannot patiently behold
a dead friend ? Talk what you will of the resur-
rection, when you are out of passion, it is no great
matter, nor persuades much ; but shew me a man
in passion of grief for the loss of his friend, playing
the philosopher, and triumphantly singing to God
for his happy deliverance, and I will believe the
resurrection. Of so good use are such triumphant
hymns at this time ; and of this sort are the three
first.
When they come to the grave, while the corpse
is made ready to be laid into the grave, THE PRIEST j
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OF BURIAL. 283
SHALL SAY OR SING, " MAN THAT IS BORN OF A
WOMAN," &c. closing with a most devout prayer
for grace and assistance IN OUR LAST HOUR; a
I prayer very suitable to such a time, and such a
i spectacle before us.
Then they commit the body to the earth, (not as
a lost and perished carcass, but as having in it
i a seed of eternity,) IN SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE
I OF THE RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE. This
I is to bury it Christianly ; the hope of the resur-
rection being the proper hope of Christians. Such
was the Christian's burial of old, that it was ac-
counted both an evident argument and presage of
the resurrection ; and an honour done to that body,
which the Holy Ghost had once made His temple
for the offices of piety. m
After follows another triumphant hymn. Then
a Lesson" out of St. Paul to the same purpose;
then a thanksgiving for that our brother's safe de-
livery out of misery ; lastly, a prayer for his and
our consummation in glory, and joyful absolution
m Aug. dc Civil. 1. i. cap. xiii. torn. vii. p. 13.
n In the first book of King Edward, instead of Psalms xxxix. or xe. there
were three others appointed, cxvi. cxxxix. cxlvi. And when they were left
out at the next review, there were no others whatever ordered in the room of
t hcm, till these were inserted at King Charles's restoration.
By the first Common Prayer, both the psalms and lesson with the suffrages
were to be said in the church, either before or after the burial of the corpse.
But from that time to the Restoration the lesson (the psalms being left out)
was appointed to be read wherever the grave was, whether iu the church or
churchyard, immediately after the sentence, "I heard a voice," &c. See
Wheatly on the place.
O
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284 OF BURIAL.
at the last day. By all which prayers, praises, and
holy lessons, and decent solemnities, we do glorify
God, honour the dead, and comfort the living.
"Take away these prayers, praises, and holy
lessons, which were ordained to shew at burials
the peculiar hope of the Church of the resurrection
of the dead, and in the manner of the dumb
funerals, what one thing is there, whereby the
world may perceive that we are Christians r " p
There being in those dumb shows nothing but what
heathens and pagans do, how can any unlearned or
unbeliever be convinced by them, that either we
who are present at them do, or that he ought
to believe any part of Christian religion? But
when the unlearned or unbeliever hears us sing
triumphant songs to God for our victory over death,
when he hears holy lessons and discourses of the
resurrection, when he hears us pray for a happy
and joyful resurrection to glory : by all these he
must be convinced, that we do believe the resurrec-
tion, which is a principal article of Christian faith,
and the same may be the means to convince him
also, and make him believe the same, " and so fall
down and worship God." And this is according
to St. Paul's rule, i Cor. xiv. 23 20, who thence
concludes, that all our public religious sendees
ought to be done, that the "unlearned or un-
o At the last review the Apostolical blessing was added,
p Hooker's Eccles. Polity, b. v. ch.lxxv. .4. p. 566.
0- C
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CHURCHING OF WOMEN. 285
believer may be convinced, and brought to wor-
ship God."
For the due performance of these holy public
services, a Priest, ordained for men in things per-
taining to God, Heb. v. I, is required by the Church,
as it ought to be, and as it was of old. q
It was an ancient custom after burial to go to the
holy communion, unless the office were performed
after noon. For then, if men were not fasting, it
was done only with prayers/
Funeral doles were an ancient custom. 1
THANKSGIVING
OF WOMEN AFTER CHILD-BIRTH,
Commonly called the Churching of Women.
THE woman, wheh she comes to give her thanks,
shall kneel near to the place where the holy
table stands : c but in the Church of Rome, she was
to kneel at the church door.
The woman may come to give her thanks when-
q S. Chrysost. Horn. IV. in Hebr. torn. xii. p. 38. Ambr. Serm. XC.
r Cone. Carth.III. can. xxix. torn. ii. p. 1171.
s Chrysost. Horn. XXX. in Matt. torn. viii. p. 356.
t The Rubric now is, "The woman, at the usual time after her deli very, shall
come into the church decently apparelled, and there shall kneel down in
some convenient place, as hath been accustomed, or as the ordinary shall
direct. And then, Sec."
o c
286 CHURCHING OF WOMEN.
soever she shall be able ; n but if she be likely to
live, she is required by the civil law, according
to the tradition of the Church, to forbear the
coming to partake of the holy mystery forty days
after the birth. Not for any unholiness in the
woman, or incapacity of receiving the holy myste-
ries at that time ; (for if there be fear of death, she
may receive them, as soon as she please after the
birth;) but for some secret reasons in the law,
which are set down.*
The woman that is to be churched is to have a
veil; and good reason: for if, as St. Paul says,
" Every woman, when she prays in public, ought to
have a veil or covering on her head," y in token of
her modesty and subjection; then much more,
when she is to sit in a more eminent place of the
church, near to the holy table, apart from the rest
of her sex, in the public view, ought she to have
such a veil or covering. Nor can it be deemed un-
reasonable for her at that time to have a veil or
habit distinct from others ; that so it may be known
for whom thanks is then particularly given.
The Preface following, " FORASMUCH," &c. is
left arbitrary to the Priest, but the prayers are all
prescribed. 2
u Gratian. Decretal, pars prima, Distinct. V. can. i. p.ig.
x Constit. Leor.is, xvii. p. 32. ap.Auth. Constit. Justin.
y i Cor. xi. 5.
i The Preface " Forasmuch, &c." was formerly left to the discretion
of the Priest; for the Rubric was, "And the Priest standing by her, shall
say these words, or much like, as the case shall require."
o c
) O
CHURCHING OF WOMEN. 287
Then shall the Priest say Psalm cxxi. a " I HAVE
LIFTED UP MINE EYES UNTO THE HILLS," &C.
The Church appointing this psalm at this time,
does not intend to persuade us by this, that this
psalm was penned for such a particular occasion as
this; or that the promises of God's protection
and assistance there expressed, were directly and
primarily made to persons in that danger of child-
birth ; but because the psalm at the very beginning
tells us all, that our help comes from God, it is
thought seasonable at this time to be used, to mind
the woman from whom she hath received that
mercy of deliverance, and to whom she is to return
the honour due for such a mercy, even to Him from
whom comes all our help, the Lord that made
heaven and earth. And this were enough to justify
the Church's choice of this psalm at this time ; in
that, part of it is so fit for this business in hand,
though it were not penned upon this very occasion,
" for so we find Hezekiah commended, for ap-
pointing of the Psalms of David and Asaph, to
set forth the praises of God in the public services,
2 Chron. xxix. 30, although neither had Hezekiah
and the Church then the very same occasions to
use them, which David and Asaph had, nor did
every particle of those songs so directly and pro-
perly belong to Hezekiah and the Church then,
as they did to David and Asaph." But not only
a At the last review, this psalm was changed for cxvi. or cxxvii.
o- (
288 CHURCHING OF WOMEN.
the beginning of this psalm, but even the whole
body of it is fit and suitable to this service. And
those promises of Divine assistance therein express-
ed, though they were primarily, and in their first
intention, made to the Church of the Jews ; yet in
their proportion they do belong to the person
coming to give thanks, and to every one that shall
lift up their eyes to the hills, and trust in God.
For not Israel at large, but Israel lifting up her
eyes to God, and trusting in God, is the formal and
true object of this promise; which therefore be-
longs to every such person as shall be so qualified,
so depending upon God. This rule St. Paul hath
taught us, Heb. xiii. 5, applying there the promise
made particularly to Joshua, chap. i. 5, to every
one of us that shall contentedly depend upon God,
as Joshua was commanded to do in expectance of
that promise. " Let your conversation be without
covetousness ; and be content with such things as
ye have; for He hath said, I will not leave thee
nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The
Lord is my helper."
One verse of this psalm may perhaps at the first
sight seem not so well expressed; namely, this,
THE SUN SHALL NOT BURN THEE BY DAY NOR
THE MOON BY NIGHT;" for the moon does not
burn but cool. But it is easily cleared, by taking
notice that to burn is not always taken in the strict
and proper sense, but usually in a larger ; whereby
o c
D O
CHURCHING OF WOMEN. 289
it is the same with to grieve or hurt, as ordinary
skill in language will inform us ; so the meaning is,
" The sun shall not hurt thee by day, nor the moon
by night," whose shine is held to be very hurtful.
After the psalm follow the Kyrie or short Litany,
and the Lord's Prayer, so admirably good and use-
ful, that there is scarce any public service dispatch-
ed without them: after these follow some verses
and responds, of which, and the reason of their use,
together with the antiquity of it, hath been said
already, and need not be here repeated. But
there is one thing observable in these responds or
answers which was not spoken of hitherto, nor was
so observable in some of the former verses and
responds as in these here; and that is this, that
some of these answers are not of themselves entire
sentences or petitions, as the others were, but are
parts or ends of the foregoing verses, the verse and
answer together making up one entire petition;
for example :
O Lord, save this woman Thy servant,
R. Which putteth her trust in Thee.
And,
Be Thou to her a strong tower,
R. From the face of her enemy.
This I observe, because it seems to be the re-
main of a very ancient custom. For Eusebius b tells
us, that the primitive Christians in the singing of
b Hist. Eccl. 1. 11. cap. xvii. p. 57.
O O
o , c
290 CHURCHING OF WOMEN.
their hymns, had this use ; that one began and sung
in rhyme, the rest hearing with silence ; only the
last part, or aKporeXevna, the ends of the psalm
or hymn, all the rest joined and sung together
with him. Agreeable to this, says the author
of the Clementine Constitutions, was the usage
in his time and before. After the readings of
the Old Testament, says he, let another sing
the Psalms of David, and let the people answer
TO. aKpocrrixia, the extremes or ends of the verses.
What the reason of this ancient custom was, I will
not peremptorily determine ; whether it were only
for variety, which much pleases and delights, and
is a great help against weariness ; which those pri-
mitive Christians, (who continued in sacred exer-
cises from morning to night,) had need of: for
which cause, says Eusebius, in the place above
cited, they used all decent and grave variety of
rhymes and metres in their hymns and psalms. Or
whether it were to avoid the inconvenience of inde-
corum and confusion, which the people (usually not
very observant of decency) were guilty of in their
oint singing, and yet to reserve them apart in these
offices, that it was so appointed that they should
only sing the extremes or ends of the verses ; or what
else was the cause, I leave it to others to judge.
The prayer following is clearly fitted to the occa-
sion.
C Lib. II. cap.lvii. torn. i. p. 265.
o -c
O
COMMINATION. 2pl
The WOMANTHAT COMES TO GIVE HERTHANKS
MUST OFFER. d Although offerings be always ac-
ceptable to God, yet some times there are in
which the Church hath held them more necessary,
as hath been shewn formerly about offerings : I .
when the Church is in want; 2. at the holy
Communion; 3. when we come to give thanks
for some more than ordinary blessing received,
then, not only in word, but in deed also to thank
God by bringing a present to God, Psalm Ixxvi. 10,
1 1 . That this is more than an ordinary blessing, a
deliverance that deserves even perpetual thanks,
| David tells us : " Thou art He that took me out of
j my mother's womb ; my praise shall be always of
I Thee." e This service is to be done betwixt the
I first and second service, as I have learnt by some
Bishops' inquiries at their visitation; the reason
I perhaps is, because by this means it is no interrup-
! tion of either of these offices.
COMMINATION.
i rilHIS office the Church confesses not to be
I _L ancient, but appointed instead of AN ANCIENT
GODLY DISCIPLINE OF PUTTING NOTORIOUS
d Rubric after the Thanksgiving;, e Psalm Ixxi. 5 , 6.
O O
o (
292 COMMINATION.
SINNERS TO OPEN PENANCE, WHICH BEING
lost with us, HOLY CHURCH WISHES MIGHT BE
RESTORED AGAIN.
Though it be not ancient, yet is it a very useful
penitential sendee, either in public or private, con-
sisting of holy sentences taken out of God's word,
fit for the work of repentance; God's holy com-
mandments the glass wherein we see our sins;
holy penitential prayers, taken for the most part
out of holy Scripture : so that he which prays this
form is sure to pray by the Spirit, both for words
and matter.
Nothing in it seems to need exposition but the
Amen, which is to be said after the curses ; which
being commonly used after prayers, may perhaps
here be accounted by some a wish or prayer ; and
so the people be thought to curse themselves.
For the satisfying of which scrupulosity, it is
enough to say, that God Himself commanded these
Amens to be said after these curses, Deut. xxvii.
and therefore good there may be in saying of them,
but harm there can be none, if men when they say
them understand them. Now that we may under-
stand them when we use them, let us consider that
\ Amen is not always a wish or prayer. For it signi-
fies no more but verily or truly, or an assent to the
truth of that to which it is added. If that to which
it is added be a prayer, then this must needs be a
joining in the prayer, and is as much as so BE IT;
6 c
o o
OF CONSECRATING CHURCHES, &C. 2p3
but if that to which it be added be a Creed, or any
affirmative proposition, such as these curses are,
then the Amen is only an affirmation, as that is to
which it is annexed. In this place, therefore, it is
not a wishing that the curses may fall upon our
heads, but only an affirming with our own mouths
that the curse of God is indeed due to such sins,
as the Church here propounds it. The use of it is
to make us flee such vices for the future, and earn-
estly repent of them, if we be guilty ; since, as we
acknowledge, the curse and vengeance of God doth
deservedly follow such sins and sinners.
Having gone through the several offices in the
Book of Common Prayer, we will now speak of the
Rubrics, and other matters thereunto belonging.
OF THE
DEDICATION OF CHURCHES AND CHAPELS
TO GOD'S SERVICE.
THE public service and worship is to be offered
up in the Church. f
And the Curate that ministereth in every parish
church or chapel shall say the same in the parish
f Last Rubric of the preface.
O O
o c
294 OF CONSECRATING CHURCHES, &C.
church or chapel. And where may it be so fitly
done as in the church, which is the house of prayer ?
"My house shall be called the house of prayer."
Almighty God always had both persons and places
set apart for His public service and worship,
opyavov iepovpyias 6 vaos re Kai 6 lepevs. A temple
and a Priest are necessary instruments of public
and holy worship. The Priest to offer it up, and
the church with an altar to offer it upon. h The
light of nature taught heathens thus much; and
they obeyed that light of nature, and dedicated and
set apart to the worship of their gods priests and
temples. The patriarchs, by the same light of
nature, and the guidance of God's Holy Spirit,
when they could not set apart houses, being them-
selves in a flitting condition, dedicated altars for
God's service, Gen. xxii. 9 ; xxviii. 22, &c. Under
the Law, God called for a tabernacle, Exod. xxv.
within which was to be an altar, upon which was to
be offered the daily sacrifice, morning and evening,
Exod xxix. 38. David, by the same light of na-
ture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, without
any express direction from God, (as appears 2 Sam.
! vii. 4 17, and also by this, that God did not suffer
him to build it,) intended and designed an house
for God's service and worship ; which (though for
some reasons, viz. because he had shed much blood,
g St. Matt.xxi. 13.
h Simeon. Thessal. de Templo. ap. Gear. p. 214.
O 6
O -Q
OF CONSECRATING CHURCHES, &C. 2p5
being a man of war,) God did not suffer him to
build, yet He accepted it highly from him, and for
this very intention promised to bless him and his
for many generations, 2 Sam. vii. But Solomon
built Him an house, which God accepted, and our
Saviour owns under the Gospel for His house of
prayer, whither the Apostles go up to pray, Acts
iii. i.
Afterwards, the Christians set apart, and conse-
crated with great solemnity of religious rites and
holy prayers, churches and oratories for the same
solemn service and worship. Nor can it with rea-
son be thought needless or superstitious to use
solemn religious rites and prayers, at the consecra-
tion and setting of those houses apart to religious
uses and services. For, as St. Paul argues in an-
other case, Doth not even nature teach you, that
it is unseemly for any man to go about the building
of an house to the God of heaven, with no other
appearance than if his end were to rear up a
kitchen or a parlour for his own use ? Did not this
light of nature teach the patriarchs in the state of
nature, when they erected altars for God's service,
to consecrate and set them apart with religious
solemnities? Gen. xxviii. 18, &c. And did not
Moses, by the direction of the God of nature, con-
secrate the tabernacle and altar with the like so-
lemnities ? Exod. xl. And Solomon afterwards con-
secrated the temple with religious prayers and rites,
o o
o c
296 OF CONSECRATING CHURCHES, &C.
I Kings viii. without any particular direction from
God, that we find, only by the light of nature and
right reason, which teacheth, that it is fit that the
house which is dedicated and given up to God
should be solemnly surrendered into His possession,
and by religious rites guarded and defended from
sacrilegious usurpation.
Again, nature teaches us by these solemnities,
that the house so consecrated is to be no more
used to common and profane employments, but set
apart to holy and religious services, such as those
are with which it is consecrated. These things,
those pious Christians in primitive times did not
account superfluous. They knew how easily that
which was meant should be holy and sacred might
be drawn from the use whereunto it was first pro-
vided. They knew how bold men are to take even
from God Himself; how hardly those houses would
be kept from impious profanation : they knew, and
right wisely therefore endeavoured, by such so-
lemnities, to leave in the minds of men that impres-
sion which might somewhat restrain their boldness,
and nourish a reverent affection towards the house
of God. Thus, therefore, they built and set apart
to God's holy service and worship by religious
solemnity, churches and oratories, which they
called dominicas, " the Lord's houses," and basi-
licas, " royal and kingly houses ; " because sacri-
fices and holy worship were offered up there to the
o . o
o o
OF CONSECRATING CHURCHES, &C. 2p7
great King of all the world. And when persecutors
at any time destroyed those holy places, as soon as
the storm was over, those blessed souls, the first
thing they did, rebuilt and rebeautified them, 1 that
they might worship God, according to the Psalmist's
rule, " in the beauty of holiness."
Thus to offer up God's public service and wor-
ship in separate and dedicated places, which we
call churches, is most fit, both for the honour of
God and our own profit. It is for the honour of God
to have a house of His own, for His service alone,
where flesh and blood hath no right or interest,
where no common or profane thing may be done,
St. Matt. xxi. 13, therefore called "the habitation
of His honour." k
Again ; it is for our profit many ways ; for, first,
it begets and nourishes in us, dull flesh, a reverence
and awe to God and His service, to offer it up thus
in places set apart to that purpose, and so helps
devotion. Besides, our prayers and public services
are most readily accepted in such holy separate
places : " Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine
ears attent unto the prayer in this place." 1 This
promise of acceptance of our prayer was there,
indeed, made directly to the house which Solomon
built, but belongs to any place so dedicated and
consecrated unto God for His holy service and wor-
i Euscb. I.X.cap.ii.p. 370. k Psalm xxvi. 8.
1 aChron.vii. 15.
o o
o c
298 OF CONSECRATING CHURCHES, &C.
ship ; for that is the reason that God gives of His
gracious readiness to hear the prayer of that holy
place : " For now have I chosen and sanctified this
house, that My name may be there." Now that it
is dedicated and solemnly set apart by religious
rites and prayers to My service, "Now have I cho-
sen," or accepted, "it for Mine," to be called by My
name, to be for "a house of prayer," m and therefore
" Mine eyes and My heart shall be there." Then, by
the rules of logic, a quatenus ad omne valet conse-
quentia if because he hath so sanctified this place,
and accepted it for His, therefore His eyes and
ears shall be open to the prayer of that place ; by
the like reason, whatsoever place shall be dedi-
cated to Him, and accepted by Him, shall have
His eyes open, and His ear attentive to the prayer
of it. And God Almighty promises as much : "In
all places where I record My name, I will come
unto thee, and I will bless thee."" In all places
dedicated to Me and My service, and so made
Mine, " called by My name," (as Jacob calls his
dedicated stone "God's house," ) "I will come and
bless thee." And such are all consecrated churches
and chapels. And therefore holy Church wisely
orders that the prayers and public services of God
shall be offered up there, in "the accustomed place
of the church, chapel, or chancel."
m St. Matt. xxi. 13. n Kxod.xx. 24. o Gen. xxviii. sa.
O c
o- o
OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, FASHION
OF CHURCHES.
AND THE CHANCELS SHALL REMAIN AS THEY
HAVE DONE IN TIMES PAST.
That we may the better understand the intent of
this Rubric, it will not be amiss to examine how
chancels were in times past, both for the fashion
and necessary furniture ; for as they were then, so
are they to continue still in the same fashion, and
with the same neccessary appendices, utensils, and
furniture. All this may be, and for ought appears
to me, must be meant in these words, " The chan-
cels shall remain as they have done in times past."
In times past, the fabric of the church, as to the
nave or body, was built somewhat in the form and
fashion of a ship, which very figure might mind us
thus much ; that we were in this world as in a sea,
tossed and hurried with the troublesome waves and
boisterous winds of divers temptations, which we
could not be carried safely through, to our haven
of rest and happiness, but only in the ship of the
Church.
The Church of old was parted into two principal
parts : navis, " the nave or body of the church ;"
and sacrarium, " the chancel." The first, the nave,
was common to all the people that were accounted
o o
o c
300 OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C.
worthy to join in the Church's sendee; the chancel
was proper and peculiar to the Priests and sacred
persons. The nave represents the visible world,
and the chancel typifies heaven, or, as Simeon
Thessal. applies it, p
The whole Church is a type of heaven ; Gen.
xxviii. 1 7, the house of God is heaven upon earth ;
the nave represents the visible or lowest heaven or
paradise; the lights shining aloft represent the
bright stars ; the circling roof, the firmament ; the
Priests within the choir beginningthe Divine hymns,
represent the first order of angels that stand before
God ; the Deacons, Avith the readers and singers
orderly succeeding, the middle order or choir of
heaven ; the whole company of true believers join-
ing with the Priests and Deacons in heart and
affection, saying Amen to the Divine hymns and
prayers, and so inviting and alluring the mercy of
God, resemble the lowest rank of angels, with
whom no profane heretic, or unclean notorious
sinner, is suffered to assemble ; for, ( ' what fellow-
ship hath light with darkness ?" Thus the whole
Church typifies heaven, but the chancel, parted
and separated from the nave or body of the church,
so as that it cannot be seen into by those that are
there, typifies the invisible heaven, or things above
the heaven, not to be seen by the eye of flesh.
The nave or body resembles the lowest visible
p Ap. Goar. p. 216.
o o
o o
OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C. 3OI
heaven or paradise ; and as man for sin was cast
out of Eden's paradise into the earth, accursed to
briers and thorns, there to eat his bread in sorrow,
and not suffered by the flaming sword to enter
again, Gen. iii. 17 24, till, after much affliction and
sorrow in this troublesome world, he shall be recon-
ciled to God by repentance, and so, his peace being
made, be received, as the thief upon the cross was,
to our Lord Christ in paradise ; so, in like manner,
notorious sinners were, by the sentence of excom-
munication, cast out of that paradise, the body of
the church, abroad into the church porch, which
represents the earth, not to be received in again to
the society of the faithful, till after a wearisome at-
tendance there in a place called of old narthex or
ferula, (because those that stood there were under
theChurch's/erMZaor censure,) begging the prayers,
entreating the tears, hanging upon the knees of all
that entered into the church, by much spiritual
affliction and castigation, they had made their peace
and were reconciled.
In the nave, we shall mention but two things as
observable here ; first, the doors, called vpaias, the
beautiful doors or gate, Acts iii. 2, because those
that had entered them might see the whole beauty
of the church ; and the pulpit, a/i/3eoi>, which stood
in the midst or side of the nave. q This signifies the
stone rolled away from the sepulchre ; and because
q Simeon. Thessal.ap.Goar. p. 116.
o -o
o c
3O2 OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C.
the angel, sitting upon it, preached the Gospel of
the resurrection of Christ to the women, St. Matt.
' xxviii. 6, the Priests and Deacons, imitating the
angel's pattern, from this pulpit, publish and pro-
claim the glad tidings of the Gospel.
The chancel was divided from the body of the
church, cancellis, whence it is called the chancel.
This was, as was said, peculiar to the Priests and
sacred persons. In it were, at least in some princi-
pal churches, these divisions : chorus cantorum, "the
choir ;" where was an high seat for the Bishop, and
other stalls or seats for the rest of the choir : yet
perhaps this chorus, as also the next, called soleas,
might be more properly reckoned a part of the
nave ; and the chancel properly that which of old
was called ayiov /3^/za, "the sanctuary," which was
separated from the rest of the church with rails, and
whither indeed none but sacred persons entered ;
whereas the laity entered into the other, as will
appear after ; but account it to which you please,
such a place there was, and immediately beyond it,
divided from the choir with boards on the one side,
and from the sanctuary by the rails of the altar on
the other side, was a place called soleas, from the
Latin solium, or throne, because this was Christ's
lower throne ; His higher or upper throne was the
altar, where the precious body and blood of Christ
was consecrated and offered : and this was His
lower throne, where the Bishop or Priest, in Christ
c c
o o
OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C. 303
His stead, stood and distributed the holy sacrament
to the people. Beyond this is ayiov $wa, " the
sanctuary," railed in of old, as you may see plainly,*
that it might not be pressed upon by the multitude."
At the upper end of this sanctuary or chancel is
a large arch or apsis j within that, a seat called
a~uv6povo$, a seat or seats built for the Bishop and
his assistant Priests in the celebration ; the middle
of which is the highest, where the chief Bishop
sat, which St. Chrysostom in his liturgy calls ryv
avco Kadcdpav. 1 Of this seat is the 56th canon of
the Council of Laodicea to be understood, " The
Priests ought not to go into the church and sit in
tribunalibus, before the Bishop be entered, unless
he be sick and cannot come." u The Bishop sitting
in this seat by the altar, (having his assistant
Priests sitting with him,) resembles Christ (with His
Apostles by Him) instituting the holy sacrament,
and blessing the prayers offered up at the altar by
the Priest. Right under this seat stood the altar,
or holy table, the propitiatory, Christ's monument,
and the tabernacle of His glory ; the seat of the
great sacrifice. *
Now that no man take offence at the word altar,
let him know that anciently both these names,
altar, or holy table, were used for the same things,
though most frequently the fathers and councils
r Syn. Calc. Act. i. torn. iv. p. 94. s Kuseb. Ecclcs. Hist. 1. X. cap. IT.
p. jSt.C. tGoar.p.58. u Can. Laodic. LVI. ap. cod. can. Kccles. Uuiv
p. 54. x Simeon. Thessal. ap. Goar. p. 216.
Qj
o -c
I 304 OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C.
' use the word altar. And both are fit names for
that holy thing ; for the holy Eucharist, being con-
sidered as a sacrifice, in the representation of the
breaking of the bread, and pouring forth the cup,
doing that to the holy symbols which was done to
Christ's body and blood, and so shewing forth and
commemorating the Lord's death, and offering upon
it the same sacrifice that was offered upon the
cross, or rather the commemoration of that sacri-
fice/ may fitly be called an altar, which again is
as fitly called an holy table, the Eucharist being
considered as a sacrament, which is nothing else
but a distribution and application of the sacrifice to
the several receivers.
To put ah 1 out of doubt, it is questionless lawful
and safe to speak the language of the New Testa-
ment, and to give this holy thing the name which is
given it there ; now there it is called an altar, ' 'We
have an altar ;" z St. Paul, in the verse before, had
persuaded that they should not be carried away
with strange doctrines of Jewish and carnal ob-
servances, which are grown unprofitable to those
that walk in them. " For we have an altar " now,
whereof they that serve at the tabernacle, the
Jewish Priests, have no right to eat, unless they
will receive the faith of Christ ; our altar is better
than theirs, and theirs was but a shadow of ours ;
y S.Chrysost. in Heb. 1.9. Horn. XVII. torn. xii. p. 169.
z Heb.xiii. 10.
o . c
o o
OP CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C. 3O5
the sacrifices of their altar but types of ours ; theirs
are vanished and ours only continue. And for this
reason, do you leave strange doctrines of legal
observances, and Jewish altars, and continue in
the grace of the Gospel; whose altar is to con-
tinue ; " for we have an altar." Again, " When
thou bringest thy gift to the altar."* That precept
and direction for offerings is evangelical, as is
proved at large in the office for the Communion ; b
and if the duty there mentioned be evangelical,
then altars are to be under the Gospel ; for those
gifts are to be offered upon the altar, so that
I hope we may go on and call it altar without
offence.
To return then to the appendices of the chancel :
on each side or wing of the altar, in the transverse
line, which makes the figure of the cross, stand
two side tables : the one, mensa propositionis,
Tpcmefa -n-podea-ecos, a by-standing table, appointed
for the people's offerings, which the Bishop or
Priest there standing received from the people,
offered upon that table in their name, and blessed ;
and though the oblations there offered were not yet
consecrated, yet were they there fitted and pre-
pared for consecration, and were types of the body
and blood of Christ. c The other was o-icevoQvXdKeiov,
sacristce mensa, "the vestry," where the holy books
and vestments were laid up and kept by the Dea-
a St. Matt. v. 23. b P. 407. c Simeon. Thessal. Goar.p.2i6.
O -O
o
306 OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C.
cons, who also sat there at the time of the Com-
munion service, at least, as many of them as were
necessary to assist the Bishop or Priest in his min-
istration. Thence was the same place called also
diaconicum. These several places, and this furniture,
some principal and cathedral chancels had ; which
I have named, not that I think this Rubric does re-
quire them all in every chancel, but because I con-
ceive the knowledge of them may serve to help us
in the understanding of some ancient canons and
ecclesiastical story. But though all chancels of old
had not all these, yet every chancel had, even in
rural churches, an altar for the consecrating of the
holy Eucharist, which they always had in high
estimation. " The ancients," says St. Chrysostom,
" would have stoned any one that should have over-
thrown or pulled down an altar." d Gregory Nazi-
anzen commends his mother for that " she never
was known to turn her back upon the altar." 6
And Optatus f accuses the peevish Donatists of the
highest kind of sacrilege, because " they broke and
removed the altars of God, where the people's
prayers were offered, Almighty God was invocated,
the Holy Ghost was petitioned to descend ; where
many received the pledge of eternal life, the defence
of faith, the hope of the resurrection. What is the
altar, but the seat of the body and blood of Christ ?
d S. Chrysost. Horn. LII1. ad pop. Antioch. torn. v. p. 301. D.edit. Lat.
e Oral. xviii. in Fun. Pair. torn. i. p. 86. f Lib. VI. cap. i. p. 90.
O
-c
o
OF CHANCELS, ALTARS, &C. 307
and yet your fury hath either shaken, or broken, or
removed these : every of these is crime enough,
while you lay sacrilegious hands upon a thing so
holy. If your spite were at us, that there were
wont to worship God, yet wherein had God offend-
ed you, who was wont to be there called upon ?
What had Christ offended you, whose body and
blood, at certain times and moments, dwelt there ?
In this you have imitated the Jews, they laid hands
upon Christ on the cross, you have wounded Him in
His altars. By this doing, you are entered into the
list of the sacrilegious. You have made yourselves
of the number of them that Elias complains of,
' Lord, they have broken down Thine altars. ' g It
should have sufficed your madness that you had
worried Christ's members, that you had broken His
people, so long united, into so many sects and
factions, at least you should have spared His
altars." So he, and much more to the same pur-
pose.
Many more testimonies to the same purpose
might be brought ; but this may shew sufficiently
the respect they had to the altar ; first, the epithets
they gave it, calling it the Divine, the dreadful
altar; secondly, their bowing and adoring that
way, turning their faces that way in their public
prayers, as towards the chiefest and highest place
of the church ; lastly, placing it aloft in all their
g i Kings xiz. 10.
O o
o -t
\ 308 THE DIVINE SERVICE MAY
churches at the upper end, the east. For so both
Socrates and Nicephorus tell us, h the altar was
placed ad orientem " at the east," in all Christian
churches, except in Antiochia Syriae, in Antioch.
And so they stood at the east in the church of
England till Queen Elizabeth's time, when some of
them were taken down indeed, upon what grounds
I dispute not; but wheresoever the altars were
taken down, the holy tables, which is all one, were
set up in the place where the altars stood by the
Queen's Injunctions, and so they continued in most
cathedral churches ; and so ought to have conti-
nued in all ; for that was enjoined by Queen Eliza-
beth's Injunctions, forbidden by no after law that I
know, but rather confirmed by this Kubrick, "FoR
THE CHANCELS ARE TO REMAIN AS IN TIMES
PAST."
THE DIVINE SERVICE MAY BE SAID
PRIVATELY.
WE have seen the reason of the Church's com-
mand, that the holy service should be offered
up in the church or chapel, &c. But what if a
church cannot be had to say our office in ? shall
the sacrifice of rest, the holy service, be omitted ?
h Lib. XII. cap. xxxiv. torn. ii. p. 297.
o c
V-/ (
I
BE SAID PRIVATELY. 309
By no means. If a church may not be had, "THE
PRIEST SHALL SAY IT PRIVATELY/ And good
reason; for God's worship must not be neglected
or omitted for want of a circumstance. It is true, the
church is the most convenient place for it, and
adds much to the beauty of holiness. And he that
should neglect that decency, and despising the
church, should offer up the public worship in pri-
vate, should sin against the Law of God that says,
" Cursed is he that having a better lamb in his
flock, offers up to God a worse:" for God Al-
mighty must be served with the best we have,
otherwise we despise Him. He that can have a
church, and will offer up the holy service in a
worse place, let him fear that curse : but if a
church cannot be had, let him not fear or omit to
offer up the holy service in a convenient place in
private, having a desire to the church, and looking
toward the temple in prayer, 2 Chron. vi. 29, for
it will be accepted, according to that equitable
rule of St. Paul, " If there be a willing mind, God
accepts according to that a man hath, and not
according to that he hath not." k
Agreeable to this command of holy Church, we
find it directed in the Clementine Constitutions, 1
" If, O Bishop or Priest, you cannot go to the church
because of infidels or persecutors, gather a congrega-
i Rubrics. k a Cor. viii. 12.
1 Lib. VIII. cap. xxxiv. Cot. Patr. torn. i. p. 420.
O O
o~ -c
3IO ORNAMENTS USED IN DIVINE SERVICE.
tion in a private house; but if you cannot be suffered
to meet together, no not in a private house, psallat
sibi unusquisque, " let every man say the office in
private by himself." Let every layman say this
morning and evening office, his psalter, leaving out
that which is peculiar to the Priest, absolution,
and solemn benediction ; and let him know that
when he prays thus alone, he prays with company,
because he prays in the Church's communion, the
Common Prayer and vote of the Church. But let
not the Priest, of all others, fail to offer this sendee
of the congregation. This public worship, this
savour of rest, though by himself in private looking
towards the temple, " Lifting up his hands toward
the mercy seat of the holy temple ;" that is, hav-
ing in his " soul a desire and longing to enter into
the courts of the Lord,*' m praying with David, that
he may " go unto the altar of God, the God of our
joy and gladness," to offer up His service there,
and it will be acceptable.
OF THE ORNAMENTS TO BE USED IN
DIVINE SERVICE.
rpHEMlNISTERINTIME OF HIS MINISTRATION
JL SHALL USE SUCH ORNAMENTS AS WERE IN
m Psalm Ixxxir. a.
o -c
o- -o
ORNAMENTS USED IN DIVINE SERVICE. 3!!
USE IN THE second of Edward VI. "viz. a surplice
in the ordinary ministration, and a cope in time
of ministration of the holy communion, in cathedral
and collegiate churches : Queen Elizabeth's Articles
set forth the seventh year of her reign. This ap-
pointment of decent sacred vestments for the Priest
in his holy ministration, is according to God's own
direction to Moses, "Thou shalt make holy raiments
for Aaron and his sons, that are to minister unto
Me, that they maybe for glory and beauty. " p And
good reason : for if distinct habits be esteemed a
beauty to solemn actions of royalty and justice, so
that princes and judges appear not without their
robes, when they appear in public to do those
solemn acts ; shall they not be esteemed a beauty
likewise to solemn religious sendees ? Or shall it
be thought necessary to preserve respect and awe
to royalty and justice, and shall it not be counted
as necessary to preserve an awful respect to God's
holy service and worship ? And if such respect to
God's sendee be indeed necessary, then cannot
sacred distinct vestments, nor sacred separate
places be thought unnecessary ; for by these and
such like decencies, our awe to religion is pre-
served; and experience teaches, that where they
are thrown off, religion is soon lost.
" White garments in holy services were anciently
it Rubric J, o Sparrow's Collection of Articles, p. 124.
p Exod.xxviii.a.
O- O
x->
.
3T2 OF THE WORD PRIEST.
used ;" q and they suit fitly with that lightsome affec-
tion of joy wherein God delights, when the saints
praise Him, Psalm cxlix. i, and lively resemble the
glory of the saints in heaven, together with the
beauty wherein angels have appeared to men, Rev.
xv. 6, St. Mark xvi. 5, that they which are to ap-,
pear for men in the presence of God as angels, if
they were left to their choice and would choose,
could not easily devise a garment of more decency
for such a service, says excellent Master Hooker.'
OF THE WORD PRIEST.
THE Greek and Latin words which we translate
Priest, are derived from words which signify
holy: and so the word Priest, according to the
etymology, signifies him whose mere charge and
function is about holy things : and therefore seems
to be a most proper word to him, who is set apart
to the holy public service and worship of God :
especially when he is in the actual ministration of
holy things. Wherefore in the Rubrics which direct
him in his ministration of these holy public services,
| the word Priest is most commonly used, both by
'!
q S. Chrysost. Horn. LX. torn. v. p. 313. edit. Lat.
r B. V. ch. xxix. . 5. vol. ii. p. 170.
o o
o o
OF THE WORD PRIEST. 313
this Church and all the primitive Churches, Greek
and Latin, as far as I can find; and I believe it
can scarce be found, that in any of the old Greek
or Latin liturgies, the word Presbyter was used in
the Rubrics that direct the order of service, but in
the Greek iepevs, and in the Latin sacerdos, which
we in English translate Priest, which I suppose to
be done upon this ground, that this word Priest is
the most proper for him that ministers, in the time
of his ministration.
If it be objected, that, according to the usual
acception of the word, it signifies him that offers
up a sacrifice, and therefore cannot be allowed to
a Minister of the Gospel, who hath no sacrifice to
offer:
It is answered, that the ministers of the Gospel
have sacrifices to offer ; " Ye are built up a spi-
ritual house, a holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices" 8 of prayer, praises, thanksgivings, &c.
In respect of these the ministers of the Gospel
may be safely, in a metaphorical sense, called
Priests, and in a more eminent manner than other
Christians are ; because they are taken from among
men to offer up these sacrifices for others. But
besides these spiritual sacrifices mentioned, the
ministers of the Gospel have another sacrifice to
offer, viz. the unbloody sacrifice, as it was anciently
called, the commemorative sacrifice of the death
s i St. Peter ii.j.
o -c
314 OF THE WORD PRIEST.
of Christ, which does as really and truly shew forth
the death of Christ, as those sacrifices under the
Law did foreshew it ; and in respect of this sacrifice
of the Eucharist, the ancients have usually called
those that offer it up, Priests. And if Melchisedek
was called a Priest, (as he is often by St. Paul to
the Hebrews,) who yet had no other offering or
sacrifice that we read of, but that of bread and wine,
" He brought forth bread and wine ;" u and, " or,"
for, (the Hebrew word bears both,) he was a Priest,
that is, this act of his was an act of Priesthood,
for so must it be referred, " He brought forth bread
and wine," for he was a Priest ; and not thus, and
he was a Priest, and blessed Abraham, (for both
in the Hebrew and Greek there is a full point after
these words " and, or, for he was a Priest.") If, I
say, Melchisedek be frequently and truly called a
Priest, who had no other offering, that we read of,
but bread and wine, why may not they, whose office
is to bless the people as Melchisedek did, and besides
that to offer that holy bread and wine, the body
and blood of Christ, of which his bread and wine
at the most was but a type, be as truly and without
offence called Priests also ?
If it be again objected, that the word Priest is a
Jewish name, and therefore not to be used by
Christians :
I. It is answered, first, that not every thing that
O C
9
OF THE WORD PRIEST. 3l5
was Jewish is become unlawful for Christians to
use. I find indeed that those things amongst the
Jews that were shadows of things to come, are
abolished now that Christ is come, Col. ii. 16, 17,
and therefore to use them, as still necessary and
obliging to performance, is unlawful under the
Gospel, for it is virtually to deny Christ to be come :
" An entangling ourselves again in the yoke of bond-
age, from which Christ hath set us free." u And
therefore St. Paul tells the Colossians there, that
he was afraid of them for their superstitious ob-
servation of sabbaths, which were shadows of things
to come: and in that chapter to the Galatians,
he does denounce damnation to them that " en-
tangle themselves again in that yoke of bondage."
But that other things, rites or usages of the Jews,
which were no such shadows, should be unlawful
to Christians if they were used without such an
opinion of necessity as we formerly spake of, I
cannot persuade myself, can ever be proved by
either direct Scripture, or necessary inference from
it. It will not therefore follow, that the name of
Priest, (which is no shadow of things to come,)
though it were Jewish, would become unlawful to
Christians.
II. The names of those rites and ceremonies
which were most Jewish, and are grown damnable
to Christians, may still be lawfully used by Christ-
O-
Or -
I
3l6 OF THE WORD PRIEST.
ians in a spiritual and refined sense. St. Paul, who
tells that the circumcision of the Jews is become
so unlawful, that if it be used by Christians (with
an opinion of the necessity aforesaid) it forfeits all
their hopes of salvation by Christ, Col. ii. 2, uses
the word circumcision frequently, particularly in
that very chapter, verse 1 1, "In whom ye" Christ-
ians "are circumcised." See p. 137.
III. The word Priest is not a Jewish name, that
is, not peculiar to the Jewish ministry. For Mel-
chisedek, who was not of Aaron's order or Priest-
hood, is called a Priest by St. Paul to the Hebrews
often : and our Saviour is a Priest after the order
of Melchisedek : and the ministers of the Gospel are
called Priests by the Prophet Isaiah, ch. Ixvi. 21 ;
Jer. xxxiii. 18, where they prophecy of the times of
the Gospel, as will appear by the context and
ancient exposition. Lastly, St. Paul, where he
defines a minister of the Gospel, as well as of the
Law, as hath been proved, (p. 62. of the Rationale,)
calls him Priest, Heb. v. and viii. To sum up all
then ; that name which was not Jewish, but common
to others; that name which was frequently and
constantly used by primitive Christians ; that name
by which the Prophets foretell that the ministers of
the Gospel shall be called; lastly, that name by
which St. Paul calls them, may not only lawfully
but safely, without any just ground of offence to
sober men, be used still by Christians, as a fit name
O ; - O
o o
OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS. 317
for the ministers of the Gospel ; and so they may
be still called, as they are by the Church of
England in her Rubric, Priests.
OF THE
TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS
IN THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
THE Psalms in our English Liturgy are accord-
ing to the translation set forth in the latter
part of King Henry the Eighth's reign, after that
Petrus Gelatinus had brought in the pronouncing
and writing the name Jehovah, never before used
or heard of in any language ; which is used in this
our translation, Psalm xxxiii. 12; Ixxxiii. 18.
The Bishop's Bible, (set forth in the beginning
of Queen Elizabeth's reign, and used in churches
till the new translation under King James,) though
a much different translation from the former in
other parts, yet retains the same Psalms without
any alteration. And therefore whereas it hath
notes upon all the rest of the books both of the
Old and New Testament, it hath none at all upon
the Psalms, not so much as references to parallel
places.
o o
318 OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS.
The reason hereof, I suppose, was to avoid offend-
ing the people, who were used to that translation,
and to whom the psalms were more familiar than
any other part of the Bible. As St. Jerome, in his
edition of the Latin Bible, retained the psalms of
the old Latin translation out of the Septuagint,
though himself also had translated them juxta He-
braicam veritatem, as they are extant at the end of
the eighth tome of his works.
This our translation was doubtless out of the
Hebrew. And though it ties not itself so strictly
to the letter and words of the Hebrew as the later
translations would seem to do, but takes the liberty
to vary a little for the smoothing of the language ;
yet it holds to the sense and scope more than some
suppose it doth, and many times much more than
those who would seem to stick so close to the
letter.
Some have had a conceit that this translation
was out of the Septuagint, or (which is all one in
effect) out of the vulgar Latin. But the contrary
is evident, and will appear to any man that shall
compare them but in any one psalm.
In one case indeed this translation may seem to
follow the Seventy and vulgar Latin against the
Hebrew, namely, in addition of some words or
clauses, sometimes whole verses, not found in the
Hebrew. But this case excepted, where it once
agrees with the Seventy and vulgar Latin against
o c
0- -O
OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS. 319
the Hebrew, it forty times agrees with the Hebrew
against them.
And for these additions :
I. They were made to satisfy them who had
missed those words or sentences in the former
English translations, finding them in the Greek or
Latin. 2
II. In that edition, 1640, they were put in a
different character from the rest, and in some later
editions between two hooks [ ], of which there are
even still some remainders, though now for the most
part neglected.
III. Neither does this our translation always
follow the Seventy and vulgar Latin, even in addi-
tions. As for example :
Not Psalm i. 5, in the repetition of the words
oi>X OVTMS.
Not Psalm Ixviii. 5, rapax&rjo-ovrai OTTO TrpocrtoTrou
avTov.
Not Psalm cxxv. 3, Kvpios.
Not Psalm cxxxviii. 4, irdvra.
Not Psalm cxlv, in the verse put in between 13
and 14, ULO-TOS Kvpios ev rols \6yois auroO, KOI
ocrios fv naari TOIS epyois auroi), though it may seem
to be wanting in our present Hebrew copies, all
the rest of the verses of this psalm going in
order of the alphabet, and this verse, which should
begin with (2) only wanting in our present copies,
z See the Preface to the English Bible in folio, 1540.
O O
o
32O OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS.
but found, or supposed by the Seventy, to begin
With ]QM3.
IV. The additions are not very many wherein
it doth follow them. The chiefest which I have
observed are these :
" From the face of the earth," Psalm i. 5.
"Unto Him,"ii. n.
" Right," ii. 12.
"His," hi. 2.
"And oil," iv. 8.
"Strong and patient," vii. 12.
"The poor," xi. 5.
" Yea, I will praise the name of the Lord most
Highest," xiii. 6.
" No, not one," xiv. 4.
"Their throat is an open sepulchre, &c. before
their eyes," xiv. 5 7.
"Even where no fear was," xiv. 9.
"My,"xix. 12.
"Alway," xix. 14.
" Look upon me," xxii. i .
"My," xxii. 31.
"The heavens," xxii. 32.
" Thy," xxiii. 6.
" His neighbour," xxiv. 4.
"Neither destroy me," xxviii. 3.
" Bring young rams unto the Lord," the Hebrew
words rrbN '21 twice translated, xxix. i,
"From me," xxx. 7.
C
s v_
O ; O
OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS. 32!
" Unte Him," xxxiii. 3.
" And casteth out the counsels of princes,"
xxxiii. 10.
" AU," xxxvi. 12.
" The unrighteous shall be punished," xxxvii. 29.
edit. 1640.
" His place," xxxvii. 37.
" Even mine enemies," xxxviii. 16.
" God," xxxviii. 22.
" And needy," xli. i.
" And Amen," xli. 13.'
" That trouble me," xlii. 12.
" Wrought about with divers colours," xlv. 10.
" God," in the Latin only, not in the Greek,
xlv. 12.
" Our," xlvii. 6.
" Of the earth," xlviii. 3.
" Wickedly," 1. 21.
" Great," li. i.
" Peradventure," Iv. 13.
" O Lord," Iv. 25.
" In Jerusalem," Ixv. i.
" And be merciful unto us," Ixvii. i.
" That I may sing of Thy glory," Ixxi. 7.
" I said," Ixxiii. 12.
" In the gates of the daughter of Sion," Ixxiii. 27.
" Our," Ixxviii. 3.
" Concerning me," Ixxxv. 8.
a " And Amen" is not in the version of our present Liturgy.
O O
o c
322 OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS.
" Of the house," xcii. 12.
" The Lord," xcv. 7.
" My heart is ready," repeated, cviii. i ,
" Praise the Lord for the returning again of Ag-
geus and Zachary the Prophets," cxi. n. edit. 1640.
" Thou house of," cxv. 9.
" That He is gracious and," cxviii. 2.
" Lord," cxix. 97.
" Neither the temples of my head to take any
rest," cxxxii. 4.
" Now," cxxxiv i.
" Even in the courts of the house of our God,"
cxxxiv. 2.
" O give thanks unto the Lord of lords ; for
His mercy endureth for ever," being in the Latin
only, not in the Greek, cxxxvi. 27.
" Thee, O," cxxxvii. i .
" O Lord," cxlv. i5.
" And herb for the use of men," cxlvii. 8.
" He spake the word, and they were made,"
cxlviii. 5.
For Psalm Iviii. 8, " Or ever your pots," &c. I
conceive our translation to agree very well both
with the sense and letter of the Hebrew. Neither
doth it go alone : but so translated both Pagnin a
little before, and Castellio since -, who both keep
as close to the sense of the Hebrew, and Pagnin to
the letter also, as any that I have observed.
O (
o ---------------------- o
OP THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS. 323
Pagnin, (whom Vatablus follows). Antequam
sentiant lebetes vestri ignem rhamni : sicut caro
cruda, sic ira ut turbo perdat eum.
Castellio. Ac veluti si cujus olla spinas [Annot.
ignem qui fieri solet ex spinis] nondum senserint :
sic ilia tanquam crudi per iram vexentur. [Annot.
Pereant setate immatura, ut si carnes ex olla extra-
hantur semicrudae.] 8
See also Calvin in Loc.
For Psalm cv. 28, "They were not obedient," &c.
Herein our translators follow the Seventy, who
(supposing this to be spoken of the Egyptians)
translate the Hebrew words vm n no vtn (leav-
ing out the negative particle) KOI TrapeTriKpavav TOVS
\6yovs auroC, et exacerbaverunt sermones ejus, (or,
according to another reading, on irapeTr'iKpavav, quia
exacerbaverunt,) which is all one with our English,
" They were not obedient," that is, they rebelled,
or were disobedient, mo and rra exchanging signi-
fications.
And this reading is also followed by the Syriac,
the Arabic, and the Ethiopic translations.
Only (which is strange) the vulgar Latin, which
usually in the Psalms is a mere translation of the
Seventy, yet here differs from them, and puts in
the negative particle according to the Hebrew.
Critici Sacri, in loc.
o
o -
324 OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS.
And in three other things in the same hemistich it
differs not only from the Seventy, but also from the
Hebrew, and from St. Jerome, and from all other
translations that I have seen, viz. altering the verb
from the plural number to the singular. II. Sup-
posing Deus to be the nominative case to it. And
so, III. making the pronoun affixed to be reci-
procal. Et non exacerbavit sermones suos.
See Mr. Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, b where
he defends this our translation thus far at least,
that it does not contradict the present Hebrew, as
(it seems) was objected.
The Epistles and Gospels in our Liturgy seem to
follow Coverdale's Translation, printed 1640.
" Here ends the Book of Common Prayer, truly
so called, being composed by the public spirit, and
prescribed by the public authority of the Church,
for the public service and worship of God, to be
offered up to Him, in the name and spirit of the
Church, by those who are ordained for men in
things pertaining to God, to which every person
of the Church may, according to St. Paul, say
AMEN with understanding, because he knows be-
forehand to what he is to say Amen. ILavres eVt TO
avrb eV rrj 7rpoo"i>x^ Trpocrep^ea'Se, p,ia derjcris eorw
r), els vovs. Come all together to the same
b B. V. ch. xix..ii. vol.ii. p. 82.
o -- - -o
o o
OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS. 326
prayer, let there be one Common Prayer, one
and the same mind and spirit."
SOLI DEO GLORIA
1 will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with
the understanding also.
Obsecrationum sacerdotalium Sacramento, respici-
amus, qua ab Apostolis tradita in toto orbe, atque in
omni Catholica Ecclesia uniformiter celebrantur, ut
legem credendi, lex statuat supplicandi. d
c Ignat. ad Magnesianos, torn. II. ii. p. 308.
d Gennad. Eccles. Dogm. XXX. p. 16.
o- o
o
In a Clause of an Act for a public Thanksgiving
every year on the Fifth day of November, for
Deliverance from the Gunpowder Treason.
III. Jac. I. Reg. cap. i. Statutes at Large,
vol. iii. p. 37,
After setting forth the great Blessings this King-
dom then enjoyed,
The Treason is thus expressed .-
HP HE which many malignant and devilish Papists,
J_ Jesuits, and seminary Priests, much envying
and fearing, conspired most horribly, when the King's
most excellent Majesty, the Queen, the Prince, and
all the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons,
should have been assembled in the upper house of
Parliament, upon the fifth day of November, in the
year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and five,
suddenly to have blown up the said whole house
with gunpowder ; an invention so inhuman, barba-
rous, and cruel, as the like was never before heard of,
&c. and which would have turned to the utter ruin
of this whole kingdom, had it not pleased Almighty
God, by inspiring the kings most excellent Ma-
jesty with a Divine Spirit, to interpret some dark
o , c
o - o
OF GUNPOWDER TREASON. 327
phrases of a letter shewed to his Majesty, above
and beyond all ordinary construction, thereby mi-
raculously discovering this hidden treason not many
hours before the appointed time for the execution
thereof, &c. [Then ascribing all the glory to God
for this infinite blessing :] And to the end this un-
feigned thankfulness may never be forgotten, but
be had in a perpetual remembrance, that all ages
to come may yield praises to His Divine Majesty
for the same, and have in memory this joyful day
of deliverance.
" Be it enacted, &c. That all and singular min-
isters in every cathredral and parish church, or other
usual place for Common Prayer within this realm
of England, and the dominions of the same, shall
always, upon the fifth day of November, say morn-
ing prayer, and give unto Almighty God thanks for
this most happy deliverance, and that all and every
person and persons shall alway upon that day dili-
gently and faithfully resort to the parish church or
chapel accustomed, or to some usual church or
chapel, where the said morning prayer, preaching,
or other service of God shall be used, and then and j
there to abide orderly and soberly, during the time !
of the said prayers, preaching, or other service of I
God, there to be used and ministered, &c. That j
public notice be given by the Minister in every
church the Sunday before every fifth day of No-
vember, and then and there read the Act."
o- o
o c
328 OF GUNPOWDER TREASON.
Anno 3 Jac. I. Reg. cap. ii. " Divers persons are
attainted of High Treason, for conspiring to blow
up with gunpowder the Parliament Houses, in
which statute the Treason is again rehearsed, as
followeth," viz.
" That Guy Fawkes, and others there named, did
undertake the execution of the most wicked, bar-
barous, execrable, and abominable Treason that
ever could enter into the heart of the most wicked
man, by blowing up with gunpowder the house of
Parliament, at such time as your most excellent
Majesty, and your dearest consort the Queen, and
the most noble Prince Henry, together with the
Lords spiritual and temporal, the Judges of the
realm, and the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses of
Parliament, should be in the said Parliament house
assembled, (for which most traitorous and bar-
barous purpose there were secretly laid in a vault
or cellar under the Parliament house thirty-six
barrels of gunpowder or thereabouts,) to the utter
overthrow and subversion of the whole state of this
flourishing and renowned kindom, if God of His
infinite mercy had not most miraculously, by your
Majesty's blessed direction, discovered the same, in
finding out the said barrels of gunpowder in the said
vault or cellar, but few hours before the time ap-
pointed for the execution thereof : all which most
heinous, horrible, and damnable treasons are most
manifest and apparent by the voluntary confes-
o c
o o
KING CHARLES'S MARTYRDOM. 329
sions and acknowledgments of the offenders them-
selves," 6 &c.
In a Clause of an Act entituled, An Act for the
attainder of several persons guilty of the
horrid murder of his late sacred majesty
King Charles I. 12 Car. II. cap. xxx. Stat.
at Large, vol. iii. p. 185.
The King's Martyrdom is thus set forth.
" rpHAT the horrid and execrable murder of your
J_ Majesty's royal father, our late most gracious
sovereign Charles the First, of ever blessed and
glorious memory, hath been committed by a party
of wretched men, desperately wicked and hardened
in their impiety, who having first plotted and con-
trived the ruin and destruction of this excellent
monarchy, and with it of the true reformed Pro-
testant religion, which had been so long protected
by it and flourished under it, found it necessary, in
order to the carrying on of their pernicious and
traitorous designs, to throw down all the bulwarks
and fences of law, and to subvert the very being
and constitution of Parliament, that so they might
at last make their way open for any further at-
e See more 3 Jac. I. Regis, ehap. iv. and v.
o ,
330 KING CHARLES'S MARTYRDOM.
tempts upon the sacred person of his Majesty him-
self; and that for the more easy affecting thereof,
they did first seduce some part of the then army
into a compliance, and then kept the rest in sub-
jection to them, partly for hopes of preferment,
and chiefly for fear of losing their employments and
arrears, until by these, and other more odious arts,
and devices, they had fully strengthened themselves
both in power and faction, which being done, they
did declare against all manner of treaties with the
person of the king, even then while a treaty, by
advice of both houses of parliament, was in being,
remonstrate against the houses of Parliament for
such proceedings, seize upon his royal person while
the commissioners were returned to the house of
Parliament with his answer, and when his conces-
sions had been voted a ground for peace, seize
upon the House of Commons, seclude and imprison
some members, force out others, and there being
left but a small remnant of their own creatures,
(not a tenth part of the whole,) did seek to shelter
themselves by this weak pretence under the name
and authority of a Parliament, and in that name
laboured to prosecute what was yet behind and un-
finished of their long intended treason and conspi-
racy. To this purpose they prepared an ordinance
for erecting a prodigious and unheard-of tribunal,
which they called an High Court of Justice, for
trial of his Majesty ; and having easily procured it
o
KING CHARLES'S MARTYRDOM. 331
to pass in their House of Commons as it then stood
moulded, ventured to send it up from thence to the
Peers then sitting, who totally rejected it, where-
upon their rage and fury increasing, they presume
to pass it alone as an act of the Commons, and in
the name of the commons of England, and having
gained the pretence of law, made by a power of
their own making, pursue it with all possible force
and cruelty, until at last, upon the thirtieth day of
January, one thousand six hundred forty and eight,
his sacred Majesty was brought unto a scaffold, and
there publicly murdered before the gates of his own
royal palace ; and because by this horid action the
Protestant religion hath received the greatest wound
and reproach, and the people of England the most
insupportable shame and infamy that it was pos-
sible for the enemies of God and the King to bring
upon us, whilst the fanatic rage of a few miscreants
(who were as far from being true Protestants as
they were from being true subjects) stands im-
puted by our adversaries to the whole nation : we
therefore, your Majesty's said dutiful and loyal sub-
jects, the Lords and Commons in Parliament as-
sembled, do hereby renounce, abominate, and pro-
test against that impious fact, the execrable murder
and most unparalleled treason committed against
the sacred person and life of our said late sovereign
your Majesty's most royal father, and all proceed-
ings tending thereunto : and do beseech your most
Q
o ,
332 KING CHARLES'S MARTYRDOM.
excellent Majesty that it may be declared and be
it hereby declared, that by the undoubted and fun-
damental laws of this kingdom, neither the Peers of
this realm, nor the Commons, nor both together, in
Parliament or out of Parliament, nor the people,
collectively or representatively, nor any other per-
sons whatsoever ever had, have, hath, or ought to
have, any coercive power over the persons of the
Kings of this realm. And for the better vindi-
cation of ourselves to posterity, and as a lasting
monument of our otherwise inexpressible detesta-
tion and abhorrency of this villainous and abomin-
able fact, &c. Be it hereby enacted, that every
thirtieth day of January, unless it falls out to be
upon the Lord's day, and then the day next follow-
ing shall be for ever hereafter set apart to be
kept and observed in all the churches and chapels
of these your Majesty's kingdoms of England and
Ireland, dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick
upon Tweed, and the Isles of Jersey and Guernsey
and all other your Majesty's dominions, as an anni-
versary day of fasting and humiliation, to implore
the mercy of God, that neither the guilt of thai
sacred and innocent blood, nor those other sins b)
which God was provoked to deliver up both us
and our King into the hands of cruel and unreason-
able men, may at any tune hereafter be visitec
upon us or our posterity," &c.
o
o
King Charles II. his Birth and Return.
'' T^ORASMUCH as Almighty God, the King of
J- kings, and sole disposer of all earthly crowns
and kingdoms, hath by His all-swaying providence
and power, miraculously demonstrated in the view
of all the world His transcendant mercy, love, and
graciousness, towards his most excellent Majesty,
Charles the Second, by His especial grace, of
England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, King,
defender of the true faith, and all his Majesty's
loyal subjects of this his kingdom of England, and
the dominions thereunto annexed, by his Majesty's
late most wonderful, glorious, peaceable, and joy-
ful restoration, to the actual possession and exercise
of his undoubted hereditary sovereign and regal
authority over them, (after sundry years forced
extermination into foreign parts, by the most trait-
orous conspiracies, and armed power of usurping
tyrants, and execrable perfidious traitors,) and that
without the least opposition or effusion of blood,
through the unanimous cordial loyal votes of the
Lords and Commons in this present Parliament
assembled, and passionate desires of all other his
Majesty's subjects, which inexpressible blessing
(by God's own most wonderful dispensation) was
completed on the twenty-ninth day of May last
o o
o-
334 KING CHARLES II. BIRTH AND RETURN.
past, being the most memorable birth-day, not only
of his Majesty both as a man and Prince., but like-
wise as an actual King, and of this and other his
Majesty's kingdoms, all in a great measure new
born and raised from the dead on this most joyful
day, wherein many thousands of the nobility, gen-
try, citizens, and others his lieges of this realm,
conducted his Majesty unto his royal cities of Lon-
don and Westminster, with all possible expressions
of their public joy and loyal affections, in far
greater triumph than any of his most victorious
predecessors, Kings of England, returned thither
from their foreign conquests, and both his Ma-
jesty's Houses of Parliament, with all dutiful and
joyful demonstrations of their allegiance, publicly
received and cordially congratulated his Majesty's
most happy arrival and investiture in his royal
throne, at his palace of Whitehall ; upon all which
considerations, this being the day which the Lord
Himself hath made and crowned with so many
public blessings and signal deliverances, both of
his Majesty and his people, from all their late
most deplorable confusions, divisions, wars, devas-
tations, and oppressions, to the end that it may be
kept in perpetual remembrance in all ages to come,
and that his sacred Majesty, with all his subjects
of this realm, and the dominions thereof, and their
posterities after them, might annually celebrate the
perpetual memory thereof, by sacrificing their un-
o c
KING CHARLES II. BIRTH AND RETURN. 336
feigned, hearty, public thanks thereon to Almighty
God, with one heart and voice, in a most devout
and Christian manner, for all these public benefits
received and conferred on them upon this most
joyful day. Be it therefore enacted, &c. That all
and singular Ministers of God's Word and Sacra-
ments in every church, chapel, and other usual
place of Divine service and public prayer, which
now are, or hereafter shall be, within this realm of
England and the respective dominions thereof, and
their successors, shall, in all succeeding ages annu-
ally celebrate the twenty-ninth day of May, by
rendering their hearty public praises and thanks-
givings unto Almighty God, for all the foremen-
tioned extraordinary mercies, blessings, and deliver-
ances received, and mighty acts done thereon, and
declare the same to all the people there assembled,
and the generations yet to come, that so they may
for ever praise the Lord for the same." &c.
Every Minister shall give notice publicly in the
church, the Lord's day next before every such
twenty-ninth day of May, and then read the Act at
large, 12 Car. II. cap. xiv. Statutes at Large, vol.
iii. p. 1 65.
o o
To your Liturgical demands I make as good
return to you as I am able, on this wise :
In the Preface fyc.
r\ OMMEMORATIONS were the recital of the
Vy names of famous martyrs and confessors, pa-
triarchs, bishops, kings, great orthodox writers,
munificent benefactors : which recitation at the
altar took up much time, and those names were
anciently wont to be read out of dyptics, or folded
tables; and tedious quarrels have been anciently
about dispunging some names out of the dyptics,
which have run into schisms.
II. Synodals were Synodical constitutions, such
as are in Linwood, wont to be read on Sundays in
time of service, to the great waste of tune ; and
you may remember that our Canons of anno 1604,
are appointed to be read at least once a year in all
churches.
III. The Pye, I should suppose, did come from
7riVa|, or TrivaKidiov. A table of order, how things
should be digested and performed. But the Latin
word is pica, which perhaps came from the igno-
rance of friars, who have thrust in many barbarous
words into Liturgies. I have heard some say it
; came from litera picata, a great black letter in
o c
o o
[ 337 ]
the beginning of some new order in the prayer, and
among the printers, that term is still used, the Pica
letter, as I am informed.
IV. No wonder the use of Sarum, York, Lincoln,
Hereford, Bangor are mentioned. For the Missals
and Breviaries of the Roman church were of divers
models in several countries and several dioceses.
The Tridentine Council first endeavoured to bring
them all into one shape, yet that order was not
obeyed till anno i568, under Pope Pius the Fifth,
yet is not observed to this day ; the Spaniards in
some places keeping the Mozarabique form, the
Prcemonstratenses another, and sundry besides.
Nay, that Church hath altered the Breviaries of
Pius the Fifth, and new corrections have come
forth under Clement the Eighth, 1698, and what
have been done since I know not. But why the
use of those five Churches ? Perhaps that was
accidental, that the diversities of them were more
signal than others. (Some historians mention
Osmundus, the Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor,
for the compiler of the use of Sarum, about anno
1070, or after,) yet since we read of no use of Can-
terbury, Winchester, Ely, perhaps those places
observed the true Roman Breviaries, and the other
five mentioned, were discrepant dialects from the
original Breviary. However, they are called uses
and customs, not appointments, from provincial
synods.
o o
f
" \
[ 338 ]
V. The division of the whole Bible into several
sections hath varied infinitely : it was a long time
parted into titles ; for St. Matt. 366, for St. Mark
335, for StLuke 343, St. John 332, &c. a Some
have thought that the present distinction of chapters,
generally now used, was by Lanfranc, Archbishop
of Canterbury, 1060, because sooner you shall not
meet with it ; and after him all commentators and
schoolmen use it ; and Rabbi Kimchi and other
learned Jews from that time, usurp the same par-
tition of chapters on the Old Testament : you may
read in Godwin, that Lanfranc took much care to
procure sound and uncorrupt copies of the Bible.
Look more for this in Possevine's Bibliotheca.
Yet (according to Jo. Bale) Stephen Lancton,
Archbishop of Canterbury, divided the Bible into
chapters about anno 1224. But for the deduction
of all chapters into verses, I am sure it was the
work of Robert Stephens, anno i55o, so his son,
Henry Stephens, testifies in his Epistles before the
Greek Concordance. See also Sir Henry Spelman. b
VI. Ember Weeks. The reason of the name is
very uncertain. Some derive Ember from
b was interposed as from jj/iepa pecrrj^pia
ftpivos. As Lent, a fast of weeks, so these, a fast of
days. I believe it a Saxon word. Surely I have read
it in Gower or Chaucer, our old poets. Some think
a See for this Sixt. Senen. Bibl. Sanct. 1. III. p. 175.
b Gloss, in Verb. Hcptat. p. 335.
o
: O
[ 339 1
it betokens fasting. But after my small skill in
Saxon terms, em is a brother, bert is noble, or very
worthy ; this put together is hebdomada embert,
" the week of the noble or worthy brothers." But
look better into it.
VII. A faldistory, is the Episcopal seat or throne
within the chancel, for in the barbarous language
of that middle age, falda is " a place shut up, a
fold ;" and faldistorium, is Cathedra Episcopi
intra septa cancelli ; so I find in many, particularly
in Sir Henry Spelman. c
VIII. What should a Canticle be but the praise
of God, not only to be read, but sometimes to be
sung ? By the order of the codex canonum, A the
Laodicean Fathers appointed an hymn or canticle
interserted between the lessons, Te Deum, Magni-
ficat, &c.
IX. One direct answer cannot be rendered what
Priests and Clerks together are: i. The chief
rector of a parish (called the cardinal Priest of old,
quia incardinatus in benejlcio) was 6 iepevs, and the
rest under him his clerks. 2. Where there were
cantores, the Laodicean Council/ called KavoviKol
T/mAral, who only till our Reformation were to sing
in the church, and none else; these were the
priest his clerks. 3. Where there were chantries,
as there were in most churches of England, their
i- Gloss, p. 147- d Can. CXXI. can. Kccles. p. 51.
e Can. CIX. Codex, can. Kccles. p. 51 .
o o
o c
C 340 ]
assisting the rector of the church, made up that
form of speech, the priest and clerks.
X. You tell me news, that a Latin copy of our
sendee book, printed in the second year of the reign
of Elizabeth, f hath in it an office for a communion at
burials, (celebratio Caena Domini infunebribus, &c.)
It is a translation of some private pen, not licensed
by authority, as I guess ; communions, by the di-
rection of our service, are joined with morning
prayers ; burials are mostly in the afternoon : offer-
tories at burials . did last to be frequent (if they
were considerable funerals) to the middle of King
James his reign, the ministers of parishes keeping
up the profit of oblations as long as they could;
and these offertories at funerals are spoken of in
the first Liturgy of King Edward the Sixth.
This is as much as comes into my head at
present, inquire of them that are more skilful,
but none shall be more willing to observe you, &c.
f In Bishop Sparrow's Collection of Articles there is a copy- of this office,
p. iQ9-
o
The Bishop of EXOWS
CAUTION
AGAINST
jfalse Doctctne>
In a Sermon to his Diocese at TRURO
in CORNWALL at his Primary
VISITATION.
Confusion of tongues."
Gen. . 7, 8.
LONDON,
Printed for George and Blanch Pawlet, at
the Bible in Chancery Lane, near
Fleetstreet, 1684.
PREFACE
TO THE
DIOCESE.
"IT 7 HEN I see so many false teachers
subtly insinuating themselves into
the affections of the people, and busily
enticing them by many artifices from the
steadfastness of their faith, and allegiance
to God in His Anointed and His Church ;
the care of the Diocese committed to my
charge, and the remembrance of the ac-
count which I must give to God for your
o-
o
o c
PREFACE TO THE DIOCESE.
souls, sets me not only to my prayers, but
to my study too, to prevent your ruin; and
I know no better way to do it than by per-
forming the Watchman's part, Ezek. iii. 17.
giving you warning to avoid the temptations,
and encouraging you to stand fast in the
Lord ; and I could not find any way to do
that but by making my advice so public that
all who listed might receive it. And because
that counsel and advice is most acceptable
when it is put into the dress of a sermon,
I resolved to make use of that method which
was most likely to instil effectually this cau-
tion. When I had determined this, I re-
solved further to present it as short and plain
as might be, that it might be the more ser-
viceable to those who most needed it ; those,
namely, who have least time to read, and
least ability to understand. But withal I
o o
o o
PREFACE TO THE DIOCESE.
have endeavoured in this short piece to de-
liver all necessary cautions with as clear evi-
dence and demonstration out of Scriptures as
I could. It was not possible for me to cau-
tion against every particular error or false
doctrine spread amongst you ; there be so
many that it would have required a volume
to recount and refute them, and few would
have given themselves the trouble to read
so large a discourse; nor was it necessary,
for it is more easy, and as safe, to secure
from the danger of all, by some general
rules and prescriptions, which if they be ob-
served, will certainly preserve you from all
damnable doctrines, and keep you steadfast in
the holy faith. I shall heartily desire you
to believe that this caution is given you by
him who loves you as his own soul, and can
with the greatest sincerity say of you, as
o o
o
"1
PREFACE TO THE DIOCESE.
St. Paul said of his Thessalonians, "What is
my hope or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are
not even ye in the presence of the Lord?
Ye are our glory and joy," i Thess. ii. 19, 20.
" If any of you shall draw back and fall from
the steadfastness of the faith, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him/' Heb. x. .38. But,
" Now I live, if you stand fast in the Lord,"
i Thess. iii. 8.
O
CAUTION SERMON.
i THESSALONIANS III. 8.
" Now we live, if you standfast in the Lord."
ST. PAUL having lately converted the Thessa-
lonians to the Christian faith, was called to
preach the Gospel in other parts ; in this his neces-
sary absence he still retains a tender fatherly affec-
tion for his children : " We being taken from you
for a short time endeavoured the more abundantly
to see your face with great desire ; wherefore we
would have come unto you once and again, I
Paul especially, but Satan hindered us." 8 He had
put upon St. Paul a necessity of staying where he
was, to settle some unseasonable disputes and con-
troversies with the Stoics and Epicureans, raised by
this great enemy of souls, on purpose to divert the
blessed Apostle from his charitable design towards
the Thessalonians. When St. Paul found himself
a iThess.ii. 17,18.
o o
o - c
348 A CAUTION SERMON.
thus hindered, he sends Timothy with a commis-
sion, in his name, to visit his Thessalonians, to
stablish his new converts, to comfort them, and
to know their faith, "lest by some means the
tempter hath tempted you, and our labour be in
vain." b When Timothy had finished his visitation
he returns to St. Paul, to give an account of his
inquiries and proceedings, and brought these good
tidings, that he had found the Thessalonians firm
and steadfast in the faith which St. Paul had taught
them ; at the hearing of this good report, St. Paul
breaks out into this rhetorical expression of his
joy and contentment in the message, "Now we
live," &c.
I am come hither on the very same errand, to
know your faith; and though I cannot but hope
that after so long profession of the holy faith ye
are well rooted and grounded in it, yet I cannot
but know that there are amongst us many busy and
cunning tempters who use various and subtle arts
to withdraw you from the holy faith; and I have
reason to fear, as St. Paul did, lest by some means
the tempter hath prevailed upon some ; and there-
fore could no longer forbear to come and know
your faith, and if I shall find you like these Thessa-
lonians, strong and steadfast therein, I shall say,
with the same sincerity that the Apostle did,
" Now I live, if you stand fast in the Lord."
O
-- o
A CAUTION SERMON. 349
And that you may continue constant and stead-
fast in the holy faith which our Lord hath deliver-
ed, I shall briefly and plainly set before you such
rules and directions out of the Holy Scriptures and
ancient writers, as by God's assistance upon your
hearty prayers shall undoubtedly preserve you.
I. RULE, Is to make a serious and hearty reso-
lution of believing and adhering to this Christian
faith, whatsoever it may cost. This is that which
our Saviour advises, " Which of you intending to
build a tower, sits not down first and counteth the
cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it, lest
haply after he hath laid the foundation, and is not
able to finish it, all that behold him begin to mock
him." It will be no less ridiculous for any man
to profess himself a disciple of Christ and His Holy
doctrine, that doth not first consider the cost he
may be at, and resolve to go on with it. And the
cost may be great, the loss of father and mother,
and whatsoever is nearest aud dearest to us. " If
any man come to Me and hate not father and
mother, and wife and children, and brethren and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My
disciple ;" d he cannot be steadfast in the profession
of the holy faith, which may and sometimes will
put him upon this cost. Let no man so far mis-
take our Lord, as to think that He teaches disobe-
c St. Luke xiv. 38. d Verse 26.
O -6
CT liJinx/'r
o- -(
350 A CAUTION SERMON.
dience to parents, whose first commandment with
promise is, " Honour thy father and mother ; " or
that He teaches us to hate our children, who by
His Apostle St. Paul tells us, that they are worse
than infidels who provide not for their family, i Tim.
v. 8 ; or that He teaches us to hate ourselves, who
hath summed up His commandments into these two
grand precepts, "Love God above all, and thy
neighbour as thyself." e St. Luke's phrase of hating
father and mother, &c. is best expounded by St.
Matthew, " He that loves father and mother more
than Me." f He that prefers father and mother
more than Me and My doctrine, and will renounce
that or any part of it to save them or his own life,
and whatsoever is dearest to him in this world, is
not worthy of Me. The sincere resolution of pre-
ferring God and His holy truth before all wordly
advantages, is that which makes the honest and
good heart, which affords depth of earth for the
seed of God's Word to root in, and bring forth fruit
to life eternal, St. Luke viii. i5. Let us therefore
retire to our closets, and frequently renew this
honest purpose and resolution, especially when we
come to the holy Eucharist, that we may get it
sealed and confirmed there by the grace of Thy
Holy Spirit ; let not the cost we may be at affright
us; the rich pearl of the holy faith (the end of
which is the salvation of our souls, i Peter i. 9.) is
e St.Matt.xxii. 40.
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A CAUTION SERMON. 35l
not dearly bought, though we sell all that we have
to purchase it, St. Matt. xiii. 46.
This resolution will not continue steadfast, unless
we purge out of our hearts all such violent lusts
and passions as will ravish our wills from the holy
faith which we have believed ; let us therefore be
careful to cast out them, especially those which are
most dangerous to the steadfastness of the faith : As,
I. The inordinate love of this present world;
this made Demas forsake St. Paul, after he had
been a long time his fellow labourer in the preach-
ing of the Gospel, 2 Tim. iv. 10. There be too
many such, who follow Christ's doctrine for gain,
who make great profession of this holy faith when
it fills their baskets, St. John vi. 14, who run away
from it as fast, to any impertinent, nay, damnable
error, which appears more advantageous : if we
have hearts exercised with covetous designs, we
shall certainly forsake the right way, as Balaam did
for the wages of unrighteousness, 2 Peter ii. i5.
II. Ambition and vainglory; Diotrephes, who
loves to have the preeminence, receives not the
Apostles nor their doctrine, 3 St. John ver. 9, nay,
slights their doctrine, vilifies their persons, prating
against them with malicious words, ver. 10, and all
this to get himself a name and esteem amongst the
credulous vulgar. This hath made most of the
heretics and schismatics in elder times, as Epipha-
nius and others have observed ; when they thought
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352 A CAUTION SERMON.
their worth and merit not enough rewarded, when
they could not be so great or powerful as they
affected to be ; when they could not obtain by the
regular and just ways of preferment, such places
and dignities, such esteem and repute as their am-
bition made them covet, and think themselves to
have deserved ; then they broached new doctrines,
and invented new disciplines to draw parties after
them of the weaker sort, that they might be in
a faction, what they could not be in the Church,
chiefs and leaders. Nor doth this ambition ap-
pear only in the leaders, but every little mem-
ber of the most ridiculous sect is swoln with the
same tumorous vainglory, each party affecting to
be called the godly. Where this wind of am-
bition blows, no wonder if it carries them away
to divers and strange doctrines, Heb. xiii. 9. How
can we believe receiving or catching at glory one
of another, St. John v. 44. When the teachers
court the people, and they again the teachers, for
applause and reputation, when vainglory is the end
of the design, how can men be steadfast ? for when
the holy faith becomes, as oftentimes it does, vile
and contemptible in the eyes of the people, such
men must needs forsake it, and profess any new,
though damnable doctrine, that grows popular.
Besides, no man can hope to stand steadfast in the
faith without the assistance of God's grace, who re-
sists the proud, and gives His grace only to the
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A CAUTION SERMON. 363
lumble, St. James iv. 6. If we will be constant
disciples of Christ, we must be, like Him, lowly in !
spirit, Matt. xi. 29.
III. There is in our nature a softness or ten-
derness, that is apt to betray our constancy. As
many as desire to make a fair show to the flesh,
ovres evTrpoo-fOTrrja-ai, that would appear with a
fair face without a scar, renounce their Christianity
and turn Jews ; "only lest they should suffer per-
secution for the cross of Christ." 8 This tenderness
made the Apostles, St. Peter and all, once forsake
their Lord; and the same hath made too many
forsake the Lord's holy truth. It may not perhaps
be thought needful to urge this any further at this
time, when, God be thanked, there is no present
danger of suffering persecution for the faith of
Christ, it being now defended by the Defender of
the Faith : but though confessors of the faith and
doctrine of our Lord be not persecuted by the
sword of authority, it is, at least some part of it,
cursedly persecuted by the spears and arrows and
sharp swords of slanderous tongues, who, like the
Donatists of old, cry out of persecution, even then
when they are thus sharply persecuting those who
profess the holy truth and faith of Christ. To
instance in a few particulars, let any man preach
or practise decency and order in the service and
g Gal. vi.ij.
o -o
A a
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364 A CAUTION SERMON.
worship of God, which is a direct command in
Christ's holy doctrine, i Cor. xiv. 40; let him
preach or practise loyalty and obedience to the
King and his Laws, which is part of the same holy
doctrine, Rom. xiii. 5. i Peter ii. 13; let him
preach or practise obedience to the Church, ac-
cording to our Lord's direction, Matt, xviii. 17,
and submission to the guidance of those who by
God and man's laws are set over us to watch for
our souls, Heb. xiii. 17, and he shall soon find the
truth of that which I have said ; his doctrine slan-
dered, and his person reproached and persecuted
by malicious tongues. The fear of this persecution,
we see, hath made some who are too tender, follow
our Lord's doctrine, as St. Peter did his Master, at
a distance ; it is not amiss to remember what the
Holy Ghost hath observed for our instruction in
St. Peter, that soon after he drew back and followed
at a distance, he forsook, nay, forswore his Lord,
Matt. xxvi. 58, 74. From all which we may cer-
tainly conclude, that we shall never stand steadfast
in the doctrine and faith of our Lord, unless we
endeavour to harden our faces, and strengthen our
foreheads against all such fear of the looks or
tongues of men, Ezek. iii. 8, 9.
IV. As there is a tenderness, so there is a fickle-
ness and love of change in our corrupted nature.
St. Paul calls it childishness, Eph. iv: 14, loving
much but not long, delighting in change, not only
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A CAUTION SERMON. 355
in ordinary matters, dresses, and fashions, but even
in religion too ; new prayers, new doctrines, new
governments ; many men having itching ears heap
to themselves teachers, 2 Tim. iv. 3, after their own
lusts, such as may rub their ears, and gratify their
lusts and several humours with doctrines suitable,
and please their childishness with novelties ; new
revelations, new truths are by many much affected,
and daily expected; I pray God we come not to
the Jews' innovation, new Gods which our fathers
never heard of, Deut. xxxii. 17. We seem weary
of the old garment, the old religion, and love to
put new pieces to it, though thereby we make
it much worse, Luke v. 36. Nothing can be more
directly opposite to our steadfastness in the truth
than this love of change ; since the holy faith and
Christian truth is like Jesus Christ who taught
it, the same yesterday and to-day, the same for
ever, Heb, xiii. 8. Let us labour, therefore, to
correct this childishness, to quit ourselves like men,
and earnestly contend for that faith which was once,
and but once, delivered, Jude 3. By the means
aforesaid we may, by God's grace, secure ourselves
against ourselves, that our own hearts shall not
mislead us. But though our hearts be sincere, our
understandings may be weak, and we may be daily
in danger of being seduced by the various arts and
subtleties of cunning and busy seducers who lie in
wait to deceive; and therefore I shall offer this
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356 A CAUTION SERMON.
second caution, which our blessed Lord hath
taught us, Matt. vii. i5.
II. Beware of false prophets or false teachers, as
St. Peter calls them, 2 Peter ii. i : and you will
readily grant the caution to be most seasonable
and necessary, if you will consider the crafts they
use to deceive you, and your own danger if you be
deceived j " inwardly," says our Saviour, " they are
ravening wolves," whose aim and design is no less
than the ruin and damnation of our souls. What
danger can be greater ? This cruel and malicious
design they hide under sheep's clothing, soft and
fair pretences of meekness and humility, professors
of extraordinary holiness, great care of souls, sin-
gular love of God's glory, to which they add good
words, kind and flattering speeches, Rom. xvi. 18,
and (which is the masterpiece of cunning) they
promise them liberty, 2 Peter ii. 19. Simon Magus,
Basilides, Carpocrates of old, taught their disciples
to live as they listed, and to do whatsoever they
pleased ; Marcion taught his disciples to believe
that Christ came into the world to deliver men
from the service of the Creator; Meletius gave
his followers a license to live without fear, and
to be ruled and governed by none. I might in-
stance in many more such false teachers of the
same leaven, but I need not, since St. Peter in the
place aforesaid assures us, that it is the wont of
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A CAUTION SERMON. 367
false teachers of what sort soever, to promise their
followers liberty : this sweet promise of liberty, or
rather licentiousness, being the most catching argu-
ment in the world to entice itching ears and lustful
hearts to their part. It is not unworthy of our ob-
servation, that St. Peter says they promise them
liberty, but indeed they neither do nor can by these
means make them free, for "whosoever committeth
sin is the servant of sin." What liberty then can it
be to be exposed and tempted to the deadly slavery
of error and sin ?
False teachers having all of them such malicious
designs of ruin, and such cunning artifices to deceive,
it behoves us very much to remember our Lord's
caution, "Beware of false prophets." But how shall
we discern them to be such ? their inward designs
we cannot see, and their outward appearance is
innocent and harmless, fair and plausible, sheep's
clothing : tl by their fruits you shall know them,"
says our Saviour ; they may act the sheep for a
while, but if you heed and mark them well, you
shall see the wolf appear, "by their fruits you shall
know them." When you see some creeping into
houses, and instilling doctrines into the weaker sort,
by this you may have just cause to suspect them for
false teachers, 2 Tim. iii. 6, " of this sort are they
which creep into houses, from such turn away."
" There shall be false teachers among you who pri-
vily shall bring in damnable doctrines," 2 Peter ii. i.
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358 A CAUTION SERMON.
when they shall offer themselves to be your teach-
ers, shall forsake the lawful and public assemblies
established by just authority in the houses of
prayer, by this fruit you may know them. " Be-
loved, remember the words which were spoken
before, of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
how that they told you there should be in the last
time mockers " h or deceivers. These be they who
separate themselves ; beware of such therefore, by
these fruits you shall justly suspect them to be
false teachers ; but there is one character or mark
by which you shall undoubtedly know them, St.
Paul, St. Peter, St. Jude, and all tell us for certain,
those are false teachers, by all means to be avoided,
who despise government, and speak evil of dignities ;
when, therefore, you hear any teachers blaspheming
and reviling their governors, civil or ecclesiastical,
when you see them contemning their laws, con-
fronting their authority, refusing to come at Moses'
and Aaron's call, to the assemblies appointed by
their laws ; and setting up meetings, gathering
assemblies against Moses and Aaron, the civil and
ecclesiastical authority; "come not near lest ye
perish in their sin," Numb. xvi. It is God's own
caution there, ver. 26, and in the like case too;
for what else was the sin of Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram, but refusing to come at the call of Moses
h Jude 17, 18.
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A CAUTION SERMON. 369
and Aaron, "We will not come up," 1 and the
" gathering congregations against them." k And
certainly to gather congregations contrary to the
laws and commands of Moses and Aaron, is to
gather against them, for it is the authority that
makes the king and the priest, Moses and Aaron,
so sacred that no man must rise against them.
When therefore you see or hear any so gathering
congregations contrary to the laws, depart from
them ; when you hear any teachers thus despising
dominion, remember that the Apostles have told
Us, they are false teachers, and forget not our
Lord's own caution, " Beware of false prophets :"
if any man after all this monition will still be bold
to receive such, because they come in sheep's
clothing, he deserves more blame than pity, if he
be ruined and devoured.
III. Obey your spiritual guides, and submit
yourselves to their conduct and direction, Heb.
xiii. 17. This rule is given us to this very pur-
pose, that we may stand fast in the faith. For
after the Apostle had forewarned us, " Be not car-
ried about with divers and strange doctrines," 1 he
prescribes this as the best prevention of such giddi-
ness and lightness, to "obey them that have the rule
over us," and "submit ourselves to them who watch
i Numb. xvl. u. k Ibid. 19. 1 Heb. xiii. 9.
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360 A CAUTION SERMON.
for our souls." Almighty God, in infinite goodness
to man, knowing the weakness of the people's
understanding, together with the want of time and
means for the study of truth, hath provided "some
pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ ;" m "that we henceforth be no
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men,
and cunning craftiness of men, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive." God hath, you see, appointed
you pastors and teachers to keep you from being
deceived by false teachers, and if you will not sub-
mit to their direction, you expose yourselves to the
danger of being deceived, and frustrate the merciful
ntendment of God's goodness towards you, to keep
you steadfast in the truth. I know not what excuse
any man can make why he doth not readily submit
to the guidance of these Pastors and Teachers, but
only this ; "That first he does not certainly know
whom Christ hath appointed for His guides now,
since the Apostles themselves are dead long since."
" And if he does know them, yet he cannot con-
fidently rely upon their guidance, since they are not
infallible in then- doctrines, as the Apostles were,
and therefore may possibly be deceived themselves,
and deceive him that submits to them."
m Ephea. iv. n, 12. n Ibid. 14.
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A CAUTION SERMON. 361
To the first I answer :
I. You may as certainly know who are your spi-
ritual guides, as who are your civil governors;
namely, by the Laws of Church and Kingdom, and
their solemn investiture in their several places and
charges; which is a greater and surer evidence
than any man can have of his natural parent,
whom you cannot otherwise know than by the
common repute of the neighbourhood and the tes-
timony of your mother, who is bound in reputation
to call her own husband your father ; since God
hath commanded you, upon pain of damnation, to
obey him, who is thus reputed your father ; why
should you not fear the same penalty for disobey-
ing your guides of souls, whom God hath equally
commanded you to obey, and given you a greater
evidence and assurance of their authority over you?
To the second scruple I answer ; that I assert no
infallibility to your spiritual guides. They are men
and may be deceived ; they may be cunning men,
and " lie in wait to deceive." And may not those
be such whom you heap to yourselves, and so will-
ingly run after ? Those who are set over you are
restrained by the laws and accountable to their
superiors, so that they cannot publish dangerous
errors without their own danger, and the censures
of the laws, if they be discovered; and being
allowed to preach only in the Church, cannot pro-
mise themselves any safety from secresy. And it
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362 A CAUTION SERMON.
is not so probable that they will willingly deceive
you, who are in danger to lose by their fraud, as
they who by false doctrines make parties to their
no small advantage. Besides, God always assists
His own institutions, and blesses His own ap-
pointments. God hath forewarned you to avoid
strangers, to heap to yourselves teachers, 2 Tim. iv.
3, and who can reasonably expect God's assistance
in disobedience ? It is just with Him to suffer us
to be deceived by those whom He hath warned us
to avoid j but it is most reasonable to expect His
blessing and assistance in obedience to His own
order. He hath commanded us to submit to them
who are set over us, and will not suffer us to perish
by obedience. If we shall be misled by our own
guides into small errors, He will graciously accept
our obedience, and not impute those errors to our
condemnation ; and He will never suffer us to be
led by them into damnable errors, unless it be our
own fault. " God is faithful, who will not suffer
you to be tempted above that you are able, but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape."
This promise would fail, if, having commanded us
to be guided by them, He should not either cer-
tainly withhold them from teaching damnable doc-
trines, or else afford us some means for the avoid-
ance and discovery, if we be watchful, and not wil-
fully refuse them.
o i Cor. x. 13.
A CAUTION SERMON. 363
I. Observe this rule of our Saviour, " Search the
Scriptures," 1 " acquaint yourselves with the plain
and evident texts which need no interpretation,
and if your teachers commend any doctrine to you
contrary to those, believe them not. It is an old
observation, and daily experience confirms it, that
false teachers use to build their doctrines upon
some few hard and obscure texts, that under the
colour of the Holy Text they may obtrude upon
their unwary disciples their own pernicious glosses,
interpretations, and inferences ; so that their disci-
ples' belief rests only upon the interpretation of
the preacher, who may be deceived, or (which is
worse) may endeavour to deceive. But when the
sober and wary Christian grounds his belief upon
the evident texts, which are so plain that they cannot
be more plainly expressed Or interpreted, he relies
undoubtedly upon God's own Word, who cannot
deceive or be deceived. This is the best way to
secure ourselves against the damnable doctrines of
your own false teachers ; as for example, when you
are by any of them taught to rebel against the king,
or to oppose his laws, to contemn the Church, and
separate from her Communion ; guard your faith
against their crafty insinuations of rebellion by
pretence of obscure Scriptures, by such plain texts
as these, "Let every soul be subject to the higher
p St. John v. 39.
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364 A CAUTION SERMON.
powers," to him that bears the sword not only for
wrath, but also for conscience sake, and whosoever
resists shall receive damnation, Rom. xiii. " Be
subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto
governors who are sent by him." q Which are
words as plain as can be spoken, and cannot admit
of any other interpretation. These are enough to
secure you against the damnable doctrine of rebel-
lion, and against contempt of the Church, and
schismatical separation from her Communion: take
these plain texts, "He that will not hear the Church,
let him be to thee as an heathen man and pub-
lican."* " Keep the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace." 8 " Not forsaking the public as-
sembling of ourselves."* " According to the com-
mands of those who are our governors. " u
If it be objected that all these texts do suppose
the king's and the Church's commands to be law-
ful, otherwise I may, nay, I must refuse to obey
the king, I must not hear the Church, I must for-
sake those assemblies if unlawful ; the answer is
easy : that I cannot be safe in going contrary to
these plain texts, till I can find that those particu-
lar commands of my superiors, and those assem-
blies, be as plainly forbidden in some other texts.
q x Peter ii. 13, 14. r St. Matt xviii. 17. a Eph. iv.3.
t Heb.x. sj. u Heb.xiii.i7o
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A CAUTION SERMON. 360
It is not safe to say, I will not obey the king nor
hearken to the Church, nor frequent those public
assemblies, because I think, and some powerful
preachers tell me, these ordinances and assemblies
are unlawful.
Remember, it is God who commands in those
plain texts before mentioned, and none but Him-
self can discharge my obedience; and therefore
you must obey till you find the particular com-
mands of your superiors forbidden by as plain texts
as those which in general require you to obey. If
you observe this rule, you cannot be cheated into
rebellion and schism ; and if you do not, it is your
own fault that you are deceived.
This rule is certain, but perhaps not large enough
to secure us from all damnable errors, there being
some such, which may not seem flat contrary to
the express words of Scripture; the necessary truths
of which those errors are destructive, not being de-
livered in express terms in the holy Scriptures, yet
sufficiently contained therein, and may be un-
doubtedly proved out of them by comparing of
texts, observing the context and scope of the text,
and other rules of art; which the people not
being so well able to do, let them observe this
second rule.
II. Keep steadfast in the faith of all such truths
as the Catholic Apostolic Church hath believed
and delivered as necessary; and believe not your
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366 A CAUTION SERMON.
particular guide, when he teaches contrary to these.
The Church is the ground and pillar of truth,
i Tim. iii. i5 ; into her bosom and registry the Apo-
stles committed all necessary truths, as our Lord
commanded them, " Go, teach all nations to ob-
serve all things whatsoever I have commanded
you." 1 They knew their Lord's commands, and
were true to their trust in teaching them accord-
ingly. These necessary truths thus laid up in the
treasury of the Church are domestic household doc-
trines which all of that family should hold fast,
and not be carried about with every wind of
strange or foreign doctrine, Heb. xiii. 9. These
necessary truths, committed by the Apostles to the
Churches of their own plantation, God hath pro-
mised (Matt, xxviii. 20.) should be delivered down
through all succession to the end of the world,
" Lo, I am with you" (namely, in the teaching all
that I have commanded) " to the end of the world."
What therefore hath been constantly delivered and
believed as commands of Christ, by the " general
testimony of the universal Church" in all ages,
ought to be firmly believed, upon the same con-
sentient testimony we receive and believe the ca-
nonical Scriptures to be the Word of God ; and
why should we not be satisfied with the same tes-
timony of all other necessary truths ? " But how
x Matt, xxviii. ig, 20.
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A CAUTION SERMON. 367
shall the people be able to know which truths are
so generally delivered from the first ages till now?"
They cannot themselves search and find them, and
perhaps their own teachers may tell them that their
errors are such.
I answer ; you may find and know these neces-
sary truths "by the public doctrine of our own
Church, delivered in her Liturgy and Articles of
Religion" by the unanimous consent of (( all your
spiritual guides." Acquaint yourselves thoroughly
with that public doctrine, and adhere to that, and
if your own teacher teach otherwise believe him
not. If to these directions here given you care-
fully attend, adding your constant humble prayers
to that merciful God who would have no man
to perish, but that all should come to the know-
ledge of the truth, i Tim. ii. 4, He will certainly
preserve you from all damnable errors, and keep
you steadfast in the holy Faith ; that Faith which
is the ground and foundation of the lively hope of
"an inheritance incorruptible and undented, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you," y
that Faith by which, through " the power of God,
ye are kept unto salvation;" 2 that Faith which,
being preserved firm and steadfast after it hath
been tried by " manifold temptations, will be found
unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the ap-
y i Peter 1.3, 4. z Ibid.;.
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368 A CAUTION SERMON.
pearance of Jesus Christ."" That Faith which
makes us here in this life to "rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory, " b and in the end
brings us to "the salvation of our souls," c which
God of His infinite mercy grant us all for Jesus
Christ's sake, to whom with the Father and the
Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without
end. Amen.
a i Peter i. 6, 7. b Ibid. 8. c Ibid. 9.
O
o
o
TABLE OF AUTHORS
REFERRED TO IN THIS EDITION.
Gabr. Albaspinaei, Episcopi Aurelianensis, Observationes
de veteribus Ecclesiae ritibus. Paris. 1623. folio.
Ambrosii, A. D. 374, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1686.
Lancelot Andrews, Bishop of Winchester. Sermons.
London, 1641. folio.
Pet. Arcudii De Concordia Eccles. Occident. Paris.
1626. folio.
Athanasii, A. D. 330, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1698.
Augustini, A. D. 398, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1679.
Theodor. Balsamon. Commentarius in Canones Apo-
stolorum et Conciliorum. Par. 1620. folio.
Basilii Magni, A. D. 370, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris.
1721.
Bernardi, A. D. 1115, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1690.
Berno. Augiensis De quibusdam rebus ap. De officiis
Cath. Eccles. Paris. 1624.
Gul. Beveridge. Synodicon. Oxon. 1672. folio.
O-
O
o , _
370 TABLE OF AUTHORS
Joseph Bingham's Works, 9 voll. London, 1829.
Bibliotheca Patrura, 15 voll. Col. 1618.
Bibliotheca Patrum, 9 voll. Paris. 1589.
Canones Apostolici, ap. Cotelerium. A. D. 250.
Joan. Cassiani, A. D. 424, Opera. Atreb. 1628. folio.
Pet. Chrysologi, A. 0.430, Opera. Paris. 1614.
Joan. Chrysostomi, A. D. 398, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris.
1718.
edit. Lat. Veu. 1583.
Codex Canonum Ecclesiae universes. Paris. 1661.
Conciliorum Collectio. Paris. 1672.
Confession of the Faith of all Christians, &c. London.
1656.
Constitutions and Canons of the Church of England.
Oxford, 1815.
| Joan. Cotelerii Patres Apostolici. Amst. 1724. folio.
Critici Sacri in Biblia. Aiust. 1698. folio.
Cypriani, A. D. 250, Opera. Oxon. 1682. folio.
Cyrilli Alexandrini, A. D. 412, Opera. Paris. 1638.
Cyrilli Hierosol., A.D. 350, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris.
Dionysii Areopag. A. D. 362, Opera sub ipsius nomine.
Paris. 1644.
Gul. Durantis sive Durandi, A.D. 1286, Rationale
Divinorum Officiorum. Lugd. 1584. 8vo.
Steph. Duranti De ritibus Ecclesiae Catholic*. Rom*,
I 59 l -
Edward the Sixth's Prayer Book. London, 1549.
EIKflN BA2IAIKH. Hague, 1649.
Epiphanii Opera. Colon. 1682. folio.
Euchologium Graecorum cum notis Goar. Paris. 1647.
folio.
O O
o o
REFERRED TO IN THIS EDITION. 3?1
Eusebii Caesariensis, A. D. 340, Historia Ecclesiastica.
Mogunt. 1682.
Fulgentii Ruspenis, A. D. 507, Opera. Venet. 1742.
j Gemma animae, de antique ritu Missae, ap. De officiis
Eccles. Cathol. Paris. 1624. folio.
i Gennadii Massiliensis, A. D. 495, De Dogmatibus Eccle-
siasticis. Hamb. 1614.
Thomas Goodwyn's Moses and Aaron. London, 1672.
j Gratiani Monachi, A. D. 1130, Decretum Paris. 1561.
I Gregorii Magni, A. D. 509, Opera, 4 voll. Antv. 1615.
Gregorii IX., A. D. 1227, Decretales. Paris. 1561.
j Gregorii Nazianzeni, A. D. 370, Opera. Paris. 1630.
Gregorii Nysseni, A. D. 370, Opera. Paris. 1615.
H. Grotii Annotationes in Nov. Test. Paris. 1646.
Hammond's Works. London, 1674.
' Hierouymi, A. 0.378, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1704.
| Hooker's Works, ed. Keble. Oxford, 1836.
Irenaei, A. D. 167, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1734.
j Justini Martyris, A. D. 140, Opera. Venet. 1747. folio.
' Justiniani, A. D. 527, Authenticae Constitntiones.
Antverp. 1575. folio.
Leges Anglo-Saxonicae. Lond. 1721.
', Leonis Magni Papae, A. D. 440, Opera. Paris. 1614.
| Melancthonis Opera. Witteberg. 1562.
! Micrologi, A. D. 1080, De Eccles. Observationibus, ap.
De Officiis Eccles. Cathol. Paris. 1 624.
Musculi Comment, in Psalmos. Basil. 1599. folio.
Nicephori Calisti, A. D. 806, Eccles. Hist. Paris. 1630.
Nicholls on the Com. Prayer. London, 1712. folio.
Optati, A. D. 368, De Schismate Donatist. Antv.
1702.
o o
o_
372 TABLE OF AUTHORS REFERRED TO.
Origenis, A. D. 230, Opera, ed. Bened. Paris. 1733.
edit. Lat. Basil. 1620.
Jac. Pamelii Liturgica. Colon. 1519.
Patres Apostolici, 2 voll. ed. Jacobson. Oxon. 1838.
Ruffini, A. D. 393. in Symb. ap. Cyp. Opera, ed. Fell.
Ruperti Tuitensis, A. D. mi, De Divinis Officiis, ap.
De Officiis Eccles. Cathol. Paris. 1624. folio.
Sixti Senensis Bibliotheca Sancta. Lugd. 1575.
Socratis, A. D. 439, Histor. Eccles. Mogunt. 1677.
Sozomeni, A. D. 440, Histor. Eccles. Mogunt. 1677.
Bp. Sparrow's Collection of Articles. London, 1671.
Sir H. Spelman's Concilia. London. 1639.
Archaeologus. London, 1626. folio.
Tertulliani, A. D. 192, Opera. Paris. 1641. folio.
Theodoriti, A. 0.430, Opera omnia. Hal. 1769. 8vo.
Herbert Thorndyke Of Religious Assemblies. Cam-
bridge, 1642. 8vo.
Wheatly on the Common Prayer. Oxford, 1819. 8vo.
o c
o-
THE COUNCILS
REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK,
With the dates of the year in which they were held.
Agathense. Agde in Gallia. A. D. 506.
Antissiodorense. Auxerrein Gallia. A. D. 578.
Arausicanum I. Orange in Gallia. A. D. 441.
Aurelianense I. Orleance in Gallia. A. D. 51 1.
Aurelianense III. A. D. 538.
Anrelianense V. A. D. 549.
Bracarense II. Braga in Hispania.
Calcedonence Generale in Bithyiiia.
Carthaginense III. A. D. 397.
Carthaginense IV. A. D. 399.
Carthaginense V. A. D. 401.
Constantinopolitanum, Vulgo Trullanum, sive Quini-
sextum. A. D. 692.
Eliberitanum in Hispania. A. D. 305.
Florentinum. A. D. 1438.
Ilerdense. Lerida in Hispania. A. D. 524.
A.D. S 6 3 .
A.D. 45 i.
o
o-
374 THE COUNCILS REFERRED TO.
Laodicenum in Phrygia. A. 0.361.
Matisconense II. Mascon in Gallia. A. D. 585.
Milevitanum I. A. D. 402.
Milevitanum II. A. D. 416.
Nicaenum I. Generate. A. D. 325.
Taurinense. Turin in Pedemont. A. D. 400.
Toletanum II. Toledo. A. 0.531.
Toletanum III. A. D. 589.
Toletauum IV. A. D. 633.
Toletanum XL A. D. 675.
Toletanum XII. A . D. 68 1 .
Turonense II. A. D. 567.
Vasense sive Visionense. Vaison in Gallia. A. D. 529.
O
O
o
A TABLE
OF
TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE,
MORE OR LESS EXPLAINED FOR THE ILLUSTRATION A
VINDICATION OF OUR CHURCH LITURGY.
Gen i P 166 ! i^avi* -w\l\ p
ND
214
1 60
82
213
73
154
4
150
209
292
48
53
,260
8
295
128
296
307
150
54
59
207
~r
iii. 17 24 301 1
10.. . Il8
15
34.
iv. 4.. . 2O7
36
Numb. vi. 22 27. .
x. 35
xiv. 1 8. 314
xviii. i, 2 .... 166
IXX. *7 63
xxii. o. . 204. .
xxviii. 6. .
XXV. ^6. 2 C 7
Deut x
xxviii. 17 .... 300
18 295
22.... 294,298
Exod xii 135
xvi, 16. .. 207,
I? 18
xxvii
xxxii. 1 7
xiv 1 3 %
xix. , i Co
Judges xii 6
xx 5, 24, 298
xxv 294
2. . 2O?
Ruth ii. 4
i Sam.ii.29, 3 1.. 257
XV 22
xxviii 2 311
2 Sam. vii-4 17 294
xi i . .
xxix. 38, 39, 42, 45
P- 3*4,6,7,9, 11,294
xxxv. 4 209
xix. 10 . .
xl 295
2 Kings ii.
Levit x i
i Cbron. xvi. 3 ....
x'i. 4 185
xvi. 17 .80
xxix. 14
k
o
376 A
2 Chron. vi.29- . .
vii 6
TABLE C
309
2 97
287
)F TEXTS
Psalms xxxiii. 1 6 20.
59
201
155
321
321
321
321
3 2I
162
93
321
'P
163
321
321
321
321
321
60
321
132
322
321
109
J 3
44
321
150
'55
266
291
32'
155
321
.201
xxix. 30 . .
xxxvi. 12
Nehem. viii. 5 ...
4, 8. .
. I 97
2o 3
xxxvii.29,37- .
xxxviii. 1 6, 22
xli i 1 3 .
8
2O I
_ jo
82
xlii. 12
Psalms i. 5
ii
{19,320
xlv
3,5
10,12
1 6
I I. 1 2. . . .
32O
iii 2.
32O
iv 8
vii. 12 . . .
xlvii
T < I
6 4.2
xi. 5
32O
xlviii. 3
32O
1. 2r
xv
. 320
Ii.
O3
I O, II
12,14....
XX. Q .
. 320
CO
Iv. 13. .
14.. .
I 2
2 S, .
32O
Ivii
\h ig, ,
lie.
Iviii. 8
Ixv. i .
31 32
xxiii. 6
xxiv i
. 320
__ h
Ixvi. 1 8
J.
Ixvii
Ixviii. 17
xxvi. 6
2OI
8
2Q7 i
18... .
32O
Ixix. 5, 22
Ixxi
*'
3 2O
5,6. . .
*
IO3
7.
t2O
xxxiii. 3. 10. .
12. .
321
317
Ixxiii. 12, 27. .
lxxvi.n.2O7,2Oo
J>
REFERRED TO
Psalms Ixxviii. 3. . . 32 1
Ixxxiii. 18.. . . 317
Ixxxiv. 2 310
Ixxxv 93
7. . e<n|
OR EXPLAINED.
Psalms cxiv
15
cxlvii. 8
cxlviii. 5
cxlix. i
Eccles. v. 2
L>
377
163
322
322
322
312
12
1 60
159
95
95
162
"3
,1
10
I2 5
316
J 73
316
354
344
204
190
190
155
82
195
119
9'
58
189
184
162
69
12
2 7 8
7 2
101
. r
8
321
10, n.
Ixxxix. t(.
. . . . 94
... 04
ix. 8
Isaiah vi. 3. ..31,33*
vii. 10, 17. ...
ix i 8
xcii. 12
322
xcv
9*\
2O
7. .
322
xi
xcvi 8
27
1 c
xcviii. . . .
r&;
Iviii. 5. .
civ
l63
Ix. i.
cv. 28. . .
323
Ixi. 10
cviii. i.
322
Ixii
ex. 3. . .
QC
Ixiii. i
Ixvi 2 T
cxi
133
n. ...
322
Jerem. xxiii. 5
xxxiii. 1 8... .
Ezek. iii. 8,9
1 7
cxiii .
133
cxiv. ....
134-
cxv. 9. ...
.... 3 22
287
xxxiii. 14,15. .
Dan. x.i3
xii i
cxviii. . .
I 34
2
322
24
cxix. 37. .
. . . . $li
.... 85
23$
Hosea xi. i
Joel ii. 15
07. .
. . . . 322
i7
Zech.viii. 19
ix. 9 . .
cxxi.
287, 289
287
cxxvii. . .
cxxviii .
2CQ
Mal.i.6
QC
4.. .
322
16
Wisdom i. 5, 6, 7. .
Ecclus. x. 2
xviii. 2. 3
xxxviii. 9 ....
1 IO 2 1
o.
tc
cxxxiv. i,
cxxxvi. . .
27. .
2.. 43, 322
43
. . . . 322
cxxxvii. i
cxli. 2. . .
s
.... 322
9
St. Matt. i. 1 8
o-
378
St. Matt. i. 21. .
ii. r
2
A TABLE (
94 i
.. 107
. . Q3
)F TEXTS
St. Matt. xxii. 34
4.0. . .
177
350
. 9 8
103
266
xxiii. 34. .
_ ii
y4
208
xxv. 13 ....
2.4. 2C.
I^
08
1C. .
*55
4.0
. 265
279
I2 5
4i
1 Ot
iii.. 5 ...
16
167, 189
1AC\
43
xxvi . .
iv. i. ... 114, 118
v. 19 208
2 3.. 200, 203, 305
23, 24 207
vi.i3 23
15.... 109,263
vii. 1C aen
30
38. . .
5.8, 74-
xxvii
366
126
i
c*?.
. I 94
128
57. .
xxviii. o. .
3O2
viii. i
... 108
_ <-
. 132
360
231
. I 94
125
196
312
irA
2. 2S,
CQ
19,20...
St. Mark x. 13 ..
xiii. 35
xiv. 15
xv : 2 5
XVI <
..._ 2">
. . . IOQ
ix.15
x- 7
I 2.
... 259
16
7 3
}2
CQ
317
2.S.O
~~ ' 4
xi. 2
92,179
2 C 2.
St. Lukei. 14,19,36,57,189
ii. 115. . . 95, 96
ie in?
20 .
V
i. 7
-o
. . . 2 4 3
,4 e
V
2O
06
xiii. 24. ...
7C
no
ICC
22
41
yu
-. 184
IO7
35
4.6
5 C I
iii i 2?
1 06
xiv f
I 80
v. 36
vi. 12
viii. 4
355
.. 103
112
XV. 21. ...
xvi. 19. ...
xviii. 17. . .
'9
XX. I
. . . ioy
122
. . 16
354,364
. . . . 8
. . . 112
i <.
3 CO
>'
x-5,6
3S
73, 262
xxi. i
. . . 90
14. . .
. 122
13. 294,
4.2. .
297, 298
134.
28.. .
AZ
xiv. I ) 7. 24.. .
224.
O
?
REFERRE]
St. Luke xiv. 26, 28
xvi Q
TO
349
265
193
43
125
224
125
93
92
183
1 08
167
229
'53
16
18
363
352
122
3SI
140
123
H3
153
157
155
157
25 1
25-
'57
146
251
'45
OR EXPLAINED.
St. John xvi. 23.
11
^
379
65, 147
118
xviii 28
3 1
xix. 42, 44
xxi. 25
xix
125, 127
XX. I . .
19....
21 .. . .
142,228
r
28
xxii. i
2Q
22
16
23. 14^55
16,20,276
08
xxiii
xxiv. 6,34
Acts i. i
e
25 1
8
Q
248,251
164.
dO 4.2
156
ii. i 12. . 106,
iii i
ii 113.
I C7
i
3
I ^0
13.... 149,
iv 2
4,248,251
V 14.
i f(
. . . 1 06
39
A4.
O4.
vi. i
-34-...
36. .
2(J I
I A.
64. ..... . .
38, 39-
4.1 . .
... 252
JCQ
X. 1 1
42 . * .
2
iv 8, 31.. .
2C2
15.... 147,
XV 2K
ii.. .
1 34.
vi. 5, 8 ...
2C2
26,27
27 .
vii.55 98,252
viii. 14 17. 164,249
17.... 151,248
38 229
x. 15 81
xvi. i 3, ....
_ c
7.. 157^248,
16
34-
161, 164
"^
C
J
380
A TABLE
3F TEXTS
I Cor. xii. 4 .... 158,
8, 9,29 ....
12...
163
249
"3
228
54
284
354
140
130
239
61
118
309
255
112
2 4 6
101
TO2
45
122
315
353
107
364
360
15
36o
122
22 9
260
26l
48
186
1 ?C
xi. 18.
xiii 3
1 10
22. ,
xix. i 21.
__ 6
. .. 161
24Q
I ^ .
xxi. 24
T 27
23 2 ^
Rom. iv. 8
IO2
^40 c.
2 5 .
I 3O
xv.i 4 ,i7,i 9 . 133,
&$
v. 18, 19 .
vi
. . . 22 9
. . . I 2C
2 Cor ii. 1 6
Q.
I 3O
v 18
I 72
17. .
24.6
viii. 12. .
-26
3O 74
xi 2
X. Q. IO. .
jo
xii
1,6, 16.
xiii
. .. 226
108
364
Gal iii. 21 27.
4 e 4
. I IO
IO
C
354.
2 I
8
V. I
ii
XV. 4 . .
. .. 9 I
. . . QI
vi 12
Ephes.i. 20, 21. ...
iii. i
. . 2
xvi. 18
i Cor. i 4
... 356
iv.
- -, i _ i 7
iv. i
92,178
130, 223
112
^ 2
&;'.:
8.. 149, 150,
II 12.
M 354?
V. I
5
25,26.. . 230,
32 260,
vi. 1 6
X. I 2 . .
362
l6
231
I?....
18 .
125, 126
2l8
16
74.
5 22O
286
Phil ii 3
16..
2TO
o
o
-o
REFERRED TO OR EXPLAINED. 681
Phil ii. o 10 IKI HoV Y ^ i . of* A
12., 26?
38 . . 346
iv. -i 02
xiii 5 288
Coloss. ii. 2, n. ... 316
15 154
16,17.... 315
17,18.... 347
19, 20 .... 346
iii. I . i in
8 355
9 --352J 359>366
10 304
i?-- 354,359,364
St. James i. 17. ... 146
22 .. I 4.7
8 34.6 34.7
iv 6 . . IOCK 1 ^3
O 2.4.8
v i 188
y OT
12 . I IO
14,15.... 278
16 . 77
16 41
i Thess. iv. i 122
i St. Peter 1.3 9. 367,368
Q. . . 3SO
j Tim i 1 6 184
18 10
|i C 313
ii.i, 2. 5,10,68,69,194
A l6"7
II.. I4K
13, 14.. 354 ? 364
IQ 143
4 o"7
I r- 768
iii i< 366
iii. 17 128
21 246
v. 8. . 3 So
2 Tim. iii. 6 357
iv. 7. . . 1^7
iv. 2; ii
IT. /. IJ|
2 St. Peter i. 4. . . . 236
20 230
1, , 1H , 362
io 351
o/* g
ii. i . . . 3^6. 3^7
IK ?C I
Titus iii. 4 9 .... 95
24.8
IQ. . 3,tl6
I St. John i i. 08
Heb i. i 93
iii. 1,2 58
iv. 6 48
14 IQO
iii. 13 215
12,13 158
v. i. 62,80,285, 316
vi. 1,2. 248,249,253
A 1 6O
3 St. John 9, 10. .. 351
St. Jude 3 355
vii 7 y i
viii.3,4, 5 .. 62,316
iv i i 123
Rev. iv. i 167
xiv. i 08
l6 I ? 'S
x. i 125
^ _ 19,20.. i49> r 53
xix. 8 161
IO I S4.
o
o
-o
The Forme of
CONSECRATION
Of a CHVRCH or CHAPPEL,
And of the place of Christian Buriall.
Exemplified
! By the R. R. Father in God LANCEL ot
ANDREWES late L. Bishop of
Winchester.
6 -o
It is not to be forgotten though it be forgotten, that who ever ave
any Lands or Endowments to the Seruice of God, gaue it in a
formal writing, as now adayes betwixt Man and man. Sealed and
Witnessed : & the tender of the Guift was super ' Altare " by the
Donor on his knees .
Bp. Andrewes Notes upon the Liturgy.
Bishop Andrews
Form of Consecration of
Church or Chapel, &c.
CONSECRATIO
CAPELLjE JESU,
ET CCEMETERII,
PER
LANCELOTUM EPISCOPUM WINTON.
TUXTA Southamptoniensem villam Ecclesla
Beatce Mar ice collapsa cernitur, solis Can-
cellis ad sacros usus super stitibus : paucce aliquot
cedes ibi in propinqua parte numerantur ; cete-
ra parochianorum multitude hinc inde sparsim
inhabitant in villis, turn loci longinquo interval-
lo, turn cestuario longe periculoso divisi ab Ec-
clesia. Ex ea accedendi difficultate non profance
modo plebecute animos facile invasit misera neg-
c c
o
o c
386 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
ligentia atque dispretio divini cultus, sed et viri
probi sedulique pietatis cultores remoram in tra-
jectu scppe experti sunt, hand ipso quidem capi-
tum discrimine eluctabilem ; consortem hujus in-
fortunii cum sefactum sentiret (dum ibi locifa-
miliarn poneret) Fir strenuus Richardus Smith
Armiger, heroicos plane animos gestans, atque
inspiratos de Ccelo, commune hoc Religionis dis-
pendium privatis quingentarum aliquot librarum
expensis (aut plus eo) redemit, et Capellam egre-
giam, quam Deo divinisque officiis dicari supplex
vovet, in altera parte Jluminis magnifies extruit.
Spectato probatoque CapelUe hujus Jesu om-
ni adparatUy adest tandem Reverendissimus in
Christo Pater, Honorandissimus Lancelotus,
Episcopus Wintoniensis, Septembris 17, Anno
1620. Hora octava matutina aut circiter ;
erat autem dies Dominicus : Episcopus Capel-
lam statim ingressus induit se pontificalibus, quern
secuti itidem (qui ipsi a sacris domesticis ade-
rant.) Matthceus et Christopherus Wren, SS.
Theol. Bacc. Sacerdotalibus induuntur ; Egres-
sus dein cum illis Episcopus, convenarum magna
stipante caterva, Fundatorem affari orditur in
JKEC fere verba :
o c
o- o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 387
Captain Smith, you have been an often and
earnest suitor to me, that I would come hither to
you : now that we are come hither to you, what
have you to say to us ?
Turn iUeprcE/ata humillime reverentia schedu-
lam porrigit, quam suo nomine recitari cupit per
Willielm. Cole, qui Episcopo a Registris erat :
earn ille (ad nutum Episcopi) clara voce sic
perlcgit.
" TN the name of Richard Smith, of Peer-Tree
J_ in the county of Southampton, Esquire, Right
Reverend Father in God, I present unto you the
state of the village of Weston, and the hamlets,
Itchin, Wolston, Ridgeway, and the part of Bittern
Manor (being all of the parish of St. Mary's, near
Southampton in the Diocese of Winton) as well in
his own, as in the name of the inhabitants of the
said village, hamlets, &c., wherein are many house-
holds, and much people of all sorts, who not only
dwell far from the church, but are also divided
from the same by the great river of Itchin, where
the passage is very broad, and often dangerous,
and very many times on the days appointed for
common prayer, and that service of God, so tem-
pestuous, as the river cannot be passed; and so
the people go not over at all, or if any do, yet
o- o
o c
388 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
they both go and return back in great danger, arid
sometimes not the same day. Besides, in the
fairest weather, at their return from church, they
press so thick into the boat for haste home, that
often it proves dangerous, and ever fearful, espe-
cially to women with child, old, impotent, sickly
people, and to young children; many times also
they are forced to baptize their children in private
houses, the water not being passable ; and when
they lie sick, they are without comfort to their
souls, and die without any ghostly advice or coun-
sel; their own minister not being able to visit
them, by reason of the roughness of the water,
and other ministers being some miles off remote
from them.
"And thus much formerly having been presented
to your predecessor, he favourably gave leave to
the said Richard Smith to erect a chapel on the
east side of the said river, at the only proper cost
and charges of him the said Richard Smith : which
chapel being now finished with intent and pur-
pose that it may be dedicated to the worship of
God ; and that His holy and blessed name might
there be honoured and called upon, by the said
Richard Smith, his family, and the inhabitants
aforesaid, who cannot without great danger pass
over unto their parish church ; I, in the name of
the said Richard Smith, and in the names of them
all, do promise hereafter to refuse and renounce to
o <
O O
OP A CHURCH, &C. 389
put this chapel, or any part of it, to any profane
or common use whatsoever ; and desire it may be
dedicated and consecrated wholly and only to reli-
gious uses, for the glory of God, and the salvation
of our souls.
In which respect he humbly beseecheth God to
accept of this his sincere intent and purpose, and
he and they are together humble suitors unto your
lordship, as God's minister, the bishop and ordi-
nary of this diocese, in God's stead to accept of
this his free-will offering ; and to decree this cha-
pel to be severed from all common and profane
uses, and so to sever it : as also by the word of
God and prayer, and other spiritual and religious
duties, to dedicate and consecrate it to the sacred
name of God, and to His service and worship only :
promising that we will ever hold it as an holy
place, even as God's house, and use it accord-
ingly; and that we will from time to time, and
ever hereafter, as need shall be, see it conveniently
repaired, and decently furnished in such sort as a
chapel ought to be ; and that we will procure us
some sufficient clerk, being in the holy order of
priesthood, by your lordship, as ordinary of that
place, and by your successors to be allowed and li-
censed, and unto him to yield competent mainte-
nance, to the end that he may take upon him the
cure of the said chapel ; and duly say Divine ser-
vice in the same at times appointed, and perform
O _ , o
o c
39O THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
all other such offices and duties, as by the canons
of that church, and the laws of the realm, every
curate is bound to perform."
Post hcec Episcopus.
Captain Smith, is this the desire of you and your
neighbours ?
In the name of God let us begin.
Ordinatur igitur a Psalmo xxiv.
The earth is the Lord's, and all that is therein, &c.
Alterni vero respondent uterque Sacellanus, et
sic deinceps adfinem Psalmi : dicta autem dogoXo-
yia, paulatim se promovet Episcopus ad port am Ca-
pella, atque recitat e Psalmo cxxii.
I was glad when they said unto me, We will go
into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand
in thy gates, O Jerusalem.
Substitit itaque prce foribus universa multitudo,
intrante Episcopo et Fundatore, cum Sacellanis,
qui genua statimfiectunt, ubi spectari commode au-
dirique possint a plebe : atque Episcopus infit.
o o
. /^.
o
OP A CHURCH, &C. 391
Let us dedicate and offer up unto God this place
with the same prayer that king David did dedicate
and offer up his : i Chron. xxix. 10.
Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, and the God
of our fathers for ever and ever, &c., usque ad
finem vers. 18. panels mutatis. Deinde
MOST glorious God, the heaven is Thy throne,
and the earth is Thy footstool ; what house
then can be built for Thee, or what place is there
that Thou canst rest in ? Howbeit we are taught
by Thy Holy Word, that Thy will is not to dwell
in the dark cloud, but that Thy delight hath been
ever with the sons of men; so that in any place
whatsoever, where two or three are gathered to-
gether in Thy Name, Thou art in the midst of
them ; but specially in such places as are set apart
and sanctified to Thy Name, and to the memory of
of it, there Thou hast said, Thou wilt vouchsafe
Thy gracious presence after a more special manner,
and come to us and bless us.
Wherefore in all ages of the world, Thy servants
have separated certain places from all profane and
common uses, and hallowed unto Thy Divine wor-
ship and service, either by inspiration of Thy
blessed Spirit, or by express commandment from
Thine own mouth.
By inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit. So didst Thou
o o
o o
392 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
put into the heart of Thy holy Patriarch Jacob, to
erect a stone in Bethel to be an house to Thee,
which act of his Thou didst call for, and highly
allow of.
By express commandment from Thine own
mouth. So did Moses make Thee the tabernacle of
the congregation in the desert, which Thou didst
honour by covering it with a cloud, and filling it
with Thy glory.
And after, when it came into the heart of Thy
servant David to think it was in no wise fitting
that himself should dwell in an house of cedar, and
the ark of God remain but in a tabernacle, Thou
didst testify with Thine own mouth, that in that
David was so minded to build a house to Thy
Name, it was well done of him, to be so minded,
though he built it not.
The material furniture for which house, though
his father plentifully prepared, yet Solomon his
son built it and brought it to perfection. To which
house Thou wert pleased visibly to send fire from
heaven to consume the sacrifice, and to fill it with
the glory of Thy presence, before all the people.
And after, when for the sins of Thy people that
temple was destroyed, Thou didst by Thy prophets,
Aggai and Zachary, (by shewing how inconvenient
it was that they should dwell in ceiled houses, and
let Thy house lie waste,) stir up the spirit of Zo-
robabel, to build Thee the second temple anew :
o o
. Q
OF A CHURCH, &C. 393
which second house likewise by the fulness of the
glory of Thy presence, Thou didst shew Thyself to
like and allow of.
Neither only wert Thou well pleased with such
as did build Thee these temples, but even with
such of the people afterwards, as being moved with
zeal added unto their temple, their mother Church,
lesser places of prayer, by the names of Syna-
gogues, in every town throughout the land ; for the
tribes to ascend up to worship Thee, to learn Thy
holy will, and to do it. Which very act of the
centurion, to build Thy people a synagogue, Thou
didst well approve and commend in the Gospel.
And by the bodily presence of Thy Son our Sa-
viour at the Feast of the Dedication, testified by
St. John, didst really well allow of, and do honour
to such devout religious services, as we are now
about to perform.
Which also by Thy Holy Word hast taught us,
that Thine Apostles themselves, and the Christians
in their time, as they had houses to eat and drink
in, so had they also where the whole congregation
of the faithful came together in one place, which
they expressly called God's church, and would
not have it despised, nor abused, nor eaten nor
drunken in, but had in great reverence, being the
very place of their holy assemblies.
By whose godly examples the Christians in all
ages successively have erected and consecrated
o o
o -,
394 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
sundry godly houses, for the celebration of Divine
service and worship, (monuments of their piety and
devotion,) as our eyes see this day.
We then, as fellow-citizens with the saints and
of the household of God, being built upon the
foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus
Christ Himself being the head corner-stone ; walk-
ing in the steps of their most holy Faith, and en-
suing the examples of these Thy Patriarchs, Pro-
phets, and Apostles, have together with them done
the same work (I say) in building and dedicating
this house, as an habitation for Thee, and a place
for us to assemble and meet together for the ob-
servation of Thy Divine worship, invocation of Thy
name, reading, preaching, and hearing Thy most
holy word, administering Thy most holy sacra-
.ments ; and above all .in Thy most holy place, the
very gate of heaven upon earth, as Jacob named it,
to do the work of heaven ; to set forth Thy most
worthy praise, to laud and magnify Thy most glo-
rious Majesty, for all Thy goodness to all men;
especially to us of the household of Faith. Accept,
therefore, we beseech Thee, most gracious Father,
of this our bounden duty and service ; accept this
for Thine house ; and because Thine holiness be-
comes Thine house for ever; sanctify this house with
Thy gracious presence, which is erected to the
honour of Thy most glorious name.
Now therefore, arise, O Lord, and come into
o <
3- -o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 3p5
this place of Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy
strength ; Let Thine eye be open towards this house
day and night ; Let Thine ears be ready towards
the prayers of Thy children, which they shall make
unto Thee in this place, and let Thine heart delight
to dwell here perpetually: and whensoever Thy
servants shall make to Thee their petitions in this
house, either to bestow Thy good graces and
blessings upon them, or to remove Thy punish-
ments and judgments from them ; hear them from
heaven Thy dwelling-place, the throne of the glory
of Thy kingdom, and when Thou hearest, have
mercy ; and grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that
here and elsewhere Thy priests may be clothed
with righteousness, and Thy saints rejoice in Thy
salvation.
And whereas both in the Old and New Testa-
ment Thou hast consecrated the measuring out and
building of a material church, to such an excellent
mystery, that in it is signified and presented the
fruition of the joy of Thy heavenly kingdom, we
beseech Thee that, in this material temple made
with hands, we may so serve and please Thee in
all holy exercises of godliness and Christian reli-
gion, that in the end we may come to that Thy
temple on high, even to the holy places, made with-
out hands, whose builder and maker is God; so
as when we shall cease to pray to Thee on earth,
we may with all those that have in the like manner
O- O
p (
I 396 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
erected such places to Thy name, and with all Thy
saints eternally praise Thee in the highest heavens,
for all Thy goodness vouchsafed us for a time here
on earth, and laid up for us there in Thy kingdom
for ever and ever; and that for Thy dear Son's
sake, our Blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ, to
whom, &c.
BLESSED Father, who hast promised in Thy
holy law, that in every place where the re-
membrance of Thy name shall be put, Thou wilt
come unto us and bless us ; according to that Thy
promise, come unto us and bless us, who put now
upon this place the memorial of Thy name, by de-
dicating it wholly and only to Thy service and
worship.
Blessed Saviour, who in the Gospel, with Thy
bodily presence, didst honour and adorn the feast
of the dedication of the temple ; at this dedication
of this temple unto Thee, be present also, and ac-
cept, Good Lord, and prosper the work of our
hands.
Blessed Spirit, without whom nothing is holy,
no person or place is sanctified aright, send down
upon this place Thy sanctifying power and grace,
hallow it, and make it to Thee an holy habitation
for ever.
Blessed and glorious Trinity, by whose power,
wisdom, and love, all things are purged, lightened,
o c
OF A CHURCH, &C. 397
and made perfect ; enable us with Thy power, en-
lighten us with Thy truth, perfect us with Thy
grace, that both here and elsewhere, acknowledging
the glory of Thy eternal Trinity, and in the power
of Thy Divine Majesty worshipping the Unity, we
may obtain to the fruition of the glorious God-
head, Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, to be
adored for ever.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost, accept, sanctify, and bless this place to the
end whereunto, according to His own ordinance,
we have ordained it; to be a sanctuary to the
Most High, and a church for the living God.
The Lord with His favour ever mercifully behold it,
and so send upon it His spiritual benediction and
grace, that it may be the house of God to Him,
and the gate of heaven to us. Amen.
Hcsc precatus Episcopus Baptisterium adit,
atque imposita manu ait,
REGARD, O Lord, the supplications of Thy
servants, and grant that those children that
shall be baptized in this laver of the new birth,
may be sanctified and washed with the Holy Ghost ;
delivered from Thy wrath, received into the ark of
Christ's church, receive herein the fulness of
grace, and ever remain in the number of Thy
faithful and elect children.
c o
O (
398 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
Suggestion dein :
GRANT that Thy holy word, which from this
place shall be preached, may be the savour
of life unto life, and as good seed take root and
fructify in the hearts of all that shall hear it.
'AvaXoyflov quoque.
GRANT that by Thy holy word, which from
this place shall be read, the hearers may both
perceive and know what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power to fulfil the
Sacrum etiam Mensam.
/^ RANT that all they that shall at any tune par-
vJT take at this table, the highest blessing of all,
Thy holy communion, may be fulfilled with Thy
grace and heavenly benediction, and may to their
great and endless comfort obtain remission of their
sins, and all other benefits of Thy passion.
Locum Nuptiarum.
GRANT that such persons as shall be here
joined together in the holy estate of matri-
- c
6
_ __ ~
O
OF A CHURCH, &C. 399
mony, by the covenant of God, may live together
in holy love unto their lives' end.
Universum denique Pavimentum.
GRANT to such bodies as shall be here interred,
that they with us, and we with them, may
have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in
body and soul, in Thine everlasting kingdom.
Tumflexis genibus ante sacram Mensam
per git porro.
f^ RANT that this place which is here dedicated
VJT to Thee by our office and ministry, may also
be hallowed by the sanctifying power of Thy Holy
Spirit, and so for ever continue through Thy mercy,
O blessed Lord God, who dost live and govern all
things, world without end.
Grant as this chapel is separated from all other
common and profane uses, and dedicated to those
that be sacred only, so may all those be that enter
into it.
Grant that all wandering thoughts, all carnal
and worldly imaginations, may be far from them,
and all godly and spiritual cogitations may come
in their place, and may be daily renewed and grow
in them.
Grant that those Thy servants that shall come
o -.<
40O THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
into this Thy holy temple, may themselves be made
the temples of the Holy Ghost, eschewing all things
contrary to their profession, and following all such
things as are agreeable to the same.
When they pray, that then- prayers may ascend
up into heaven into Thy presence, as the incense ;
and the lifting up of their hands be as the morning
sacrifice ; purify their hearts, and grant them their
hearts' desire, sanctify their spirits, and fulfil all
their minds, that what they faithfully ask, they
may effectually obtain the same.
When they offer, that their oblation and alms
may come up as a memorial before Thee, and they
find and feel that with such sacrifices Thou art
well pleased.
When they sing, that then* souls may be satisfied
as with marrow and fatness, when their mouth
praiseth Thee with joyful lips.
When they hear, that they hear not as the word
of man, but as indeed it is the word of God, and
not be idle hearers, but doers of the same.
Populus interea tacite ingressus in imis substitit,
dumhcec in Cancellis agerentur quibusjinitis, sedes
quisque suas jussi capessunt, atque ad solennem Li-
turgiam Sacellani se parant.
Alter Sacellanorum coram sacra mensa venerans
sic incipit.
o <
o o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 4OI
I
F we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth, &c.
Confessionem, absolutionem, Dominic.
recitant, fyc. Psalmos canunt pro tempore accom-
modos, Ps. 84, 122, et 132., alternis respondente
populo quibus facultas erat et libri. Lectio prima
definitur ex 28 Gen. a ver. primo adfinem. Hymn.
Te Deum, fyc. Lectio secunda ex secundo capite
S. Joh. a versu 13 adfinem. Hymn. Ps. 100.
I
BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and earth : &c.
Et post usitatas Collectas hanc specialem addidit
Episcopiis :
OLORD God, mighty and glorious, and of in-
comprehensible Majesty, Thou fillest heaven
and earth with the glory of Thy presence, and
canst not be contained within any the largest com-
pass, much less within the narrow walls of this
room ; yet forasmuch as Thou hast been pleased to
command in Thy holy law, that we should put the
remembrance of Thy name upon places, and in every
such place Thou wilt come to us and bless us ; we
are here now assembled to put Thy name upon
this place, and the memorial of it, to make it Thy
o o
D d
o . c
4O2 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
house, to devote and dedicate it for ever unto Thee,
utterly separating it from all worldly uses, and
wholly and only consecrate it to the invocation of
Thy glorious name, wherein supplications and in-
tercessions may be made for all men ; Thy sacred
word may be read, preached, and heard, the holy
sacraments (the laver of regeneration, and the
commemoration of the precious death of Thy dear
Son) may be administered ; Thy praise celebrated
and sounded forth, Thy people blessed by putting
Thy name upon them; we (poor and miserable
creatures as we are) be altogether unfit, and utterly
unworthy to appoint any earthly thing to so great
a God; and I the least of all Thy servants, no-
ways meet to appear before Thee in so honourable
a service ; yet being Thou hast oft heretofore been
pleased to accept such poor offerings from sinful
men, most humbly we beseech Thee, forgiving our
manifold sins, and making us worthy by counting
us so, to vouchsafe to be present here among us
in this religious action, and what we sincerely offer,
graciously to accept at our hands, to receive the
prayers of us and all others, who either now or
hereafter entering into this place, by us hallowed,
shall call upon Thee ; and give us all grace when
we shall come into the house of God, that we may
look to our feet, knowing that the place we stand on
is holy ground, bringing hither clean thoughts, and
undefiled bodies, that we may wash both our hearts
O C
o o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 403
and hands in innocency, and so compass Thine
Altar.
Jam alter Sacellanus denuo exiens, et venerans
ante sacram Mensam, incipit Litaniam j in fine cu-
jus recitavit hoc ipse Episcopus :
OLORD GOD, Who dwellest not in temples
made with hands, (as saith the Prophet,) yet
hast ever vouchsafed to accept the devout endea-
vours of Thy poor servants, allotting special places
for Thy Divine worship, promising, even there, to
hear and grant their requests ; I humbly beseech
Thee to accept of this day's duty, and service of
dedicating this chapel to Thy great and glorious
name : Fulfil, O Lord, I pray Thee, Thy gracious
promises, that whatsoever prayer in this sacred
place shall be made according to Thy will, may be
accepted by Thy gracious favour, and returned
with their desired success to Thy glory and our
comfort. Amen.
Post benedictionem populi cantatur Psalm 132.,
conscenditque suggestum M. Robinson, Theol. Bac.,
Fundatoris summo rogatu j Episcopus hoc ei tandem
concessit ; (geminas sorores ille atque fundator in
uxores duxerant, sed utraque defuncta, jam tertiis
gaudebat thalamis concionator.}
Thema ejus desumptum e 28. cap. Gen. vers. 16,
o o
o o
404 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
17., inter ccetera docte egit de omnipreesentia Di-
vina, ubivis locorum, turn speciatim (pro benepla-
cito suo) in Ecclesia, deque reverentia et veneratione
ibi debit a.
Pergitur in Liturgia, qua mulier qucedam pau-
fpercula purificanda ad limen Cancellorum accedens,
genuaflectit, gratiasque post partum (solenni Eccle-
si(B ritu) agit : Baptizandus autem vel Matrimonio
jungendus, nullus aderat.
Itur dein ad Ccena Dominica administrationem,
Sacellanorum altero ad Australem, altero ad Sep-
tentrionalem partem sacra mensee genu flectente et
dicente :
UR Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be
Thy Name, &c.
Ante Epistolce lectionem hanc specialem Collec-
tarn (una cum Collecta solita pro Rege) recitat
Sacellanorum alter :
MOST blessed Saviour, who by Thy bodily
presence at the feast of Dedication didst
honour and .approve such devout and religious
services, as we have now in hand, be Thou present
also at this time with us, and consecrate us into an
holy temple unto Thyself, that Thou dwelling in
our hearts by faith, we may be cleansed from all
carnal affections, and devoutly given to serve Thee
in all good works. Amen.
o o
o o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 4O5
Epistolam secundus Sacellanus ante sacram men-
sam starts, legit ex i Cor. cap. 3. a vers. 16. ad
finem : SS. Evangelium prior sacellanus ibidem
stans recital ex 10. cap. 8. Jokannis a vers. 22. ad
finem: dein Symbolum Nicenum, omnibus etiam
stantibus.
Post ilia Episcopus, sede sua egressus, coram
sacra mensa sese provolvit atque ait .-
Let us pray the prayer of king Solomon, which
he prayed in the day of the dedication of his
temple ; the first temple that ever was, 2 Chron. 6.
ab initio vers. 18. ad versum 40. quojinito ait:
rPHUS prayed king Solomon, and the Lord ap-
X peared unto him, and answered and said unto
him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen
this place for Myself, to be an house of sacrifice,
2 Chron. 7. 12.
Thus did God answer : We have prayed with
Solomon, answer us, O Lord, and our prayer, as
Thou didst him and his. Behold the face of
Thine Anointed, even Christ our Saviour, and for
His sake grant our requests.
Dein in cathedram ibidem se collocat, (assidenti-
bus Thoma Ridley Cancellario Episcopi a dextris,
a sinistris vero Doctore Earlo Archidiacono
Winton.) actumque consecrationis (pileo tactus)
promulgat in hancformam :
o o
o o
406 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
TN Nomine Domini Amen. Cum strenuus
L vir Richardus Smith de Peer-tree in Comi-
tatu Southampt. Armiger, pia et religiosa de-
votione ductus, Capellam hanc in quodam solo
vasto vocato Ridgway-heath, juxta cedes suas
communiter nuncupatas Peer-tree, infra paro-
chiam Ecclesise paroch. Beatae Marise juxta
villam Southampt. dioceseos et jurisdictionis
nostrse, continentem intra muros ejusdem in
longitudine ab Oriente ad Occidentem 50 pedes
et dimid. aut circiter; in latitudine vero ab
Aquilone ad Austrum 20 pedes et dimid. aut
circiter, propriis suis sumptibus sedificaverit,
erexerit, et construxerit ; eandemque Capellam
cancellis ligneis distinxerit ; sacra mensa de-
center instructa, baptisterio, pulpito, sedibus
convenientibus, tarn infra super solum quam
supra in modum galeriee, campana etiam aliis-
que necessariis ad divinum cultum sufficienter
et decenter ornaverit; nobisque supplicaverit
tarn suo nomine quam aliorum inhabitantium
in villa de Weston, ac hamlettis de Itchin,
Ridgway, ac quorundam etiam inhabitantium |
o o
o -o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 40)
in manerio nostro de Bitterne, de parochia
pnedicta, quatenus nos authoritate nostra ordi-
naria et Episcopal! pro nobis et successoribus
nostris dictam Capellam ab usibus pristinis
communibus et profanis quibuscunque separare,
et in usus sacros et divinos consecrare et dedi-
care dignaremur.
Nos Lancelotus permissione divina Winton.
Episcopus, pio et religioso tara ipsius quam
aliorum in villa et hamlettis prsedictis habitan-
tium desiderio, in hac parte favorabiliter an-
nuentes, ad consecrationem Capellae hujus de
novo propriis sumptibus dicti strenui viri Ri-
chardi Smith, sic ut praefertur erectse et ornatse,
authoritate nostra ordinaria et Episcopal i pro-
cedentes, eandem Capellam ab omni communi
et profano usu in perpetuum separamus, et soli
divino cultui ac divinorum celebrationi in per-
petuum addicimus, dicamus, dedicamus : ac in-
super eadem authoritate nostra ordinaria et
Episcopali, pro nobis et successoribus nostris
licentiam pariter et facultatem in Domino con-
cedimus, ad rem divinam ibidem faciendam,
nempe Preces publicas, et sacram Ecclesiae Li-
turgiam recitandam, ad Verbum Dei sincere
proponendum et praedicandum, Sacramenta
o o
o <
408 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
Sacrae Eucharistiae et Baptismatis in eadem
ministranda, Matrimonia solemnizanda, Muli-
eres post puerperium ad gratiarum actionem
publicam recipiendas et adjuvandas, Mortuos
sepeliendos, caeteraque quaecunque peragenda,
quae in aliis Capellis licite fieri possunt et
solent. Ac tarn Presbytero in Capella pne-
dicta deservituro preces divinas dicendi, caete-
raque praemissa faciendi, quam Domino Richar-
do Smith, et familiae ejus, reliquisque in dictis
locis habitantibus, preces divinas audiendi, cae-
teraque praemissa percipiendi, plenam in Domi-
no potestatem concedimus. Eandemque Ca-
pellam ad levamen (Anglice, a chapel of ease)
sub dicta Ecclesia parochiali B. Mariae juxta
villam Southampt. tanquam Matrice Ecclesia
sua, quantum in nobis est, et de jure divino,
Canonibus Ecclesiae et Statutis hujus regni
Angliae possumus, in honorem Dei et sacros
inhabitantium usus, nunc et in futurum conse-
cramus, per nomen Capellse JESU in parochia
Sanctae Mariae juxta villam Southampt., et sic
consecratam fuisse, et esse, et in futuris perpetuis
temporibus remanere debere, palam et publice
pronunciamus, decernimus, et declaramus ; et
per nomen Capellae JESU nominamus et appella-
> c
o . o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 409
mus ; et sic perpetuis futuris temporibus no-
minandam et appellandam fore decernimus :
privileges insuper omnibus et singulis in capite
usitatis, et Capellis ab antique fundatis compe-
tentibus, Capellam hanc JESU prsedictam, ad
omnem juris effectum munitam et stabilitam
esse volumus ; et quantum in nobis est, et de
jure divino possumus, sic munimus et stabilimus
per praesentes ; absque prsejudicio tamen ullo,
et salvo semper jure et interesse Ecclesiae pa-
rochialis Sanctse Marise juxta villam South-
ampt. tanquam Matricis Ecclesise ; et Rectoris,
Guardianorum, aliorumque Ministrorum ejus-
dem pro tempore existentium (in cujus paro-
chia dicta Capella JESU notorie sita et situata
est) in omnibus et singulis decimis, oblationi-
bus, obventionibus, vadiis, feudis, proficuis,
privilegiis, juribus et emolumentis quibuscun-
que ordinariis et extraordinariis eisdem respec-
tive debitis vel consuetis, ac infra prsecinctum
seu limites Capellse JESU preedictse orientibus
et provenientibus, et ad dictam Ecclesiam Ma-
tricem Sanctse Marise, Rectori, Guardianis vel
aliis Ministris ejusdem de jure vel consuetudine
quoquo modo spectantibus, vel pertinentibus ;
in tarn amplis modo et forma, prout eisdem
> o
O (
! 410 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
debebantur, aut solvi solebant, ante hanc no-
stram consecrationem hujus Capellee prsedictse.
Proviso, quod prsedictus strenuus vir Richar-
dus Smith, ac ejus hseredes et assignati, alii-
que in dicta villa et hamlettis, &c., habitantes,
non solum dictam Capellam, quoties opus fuerit,
impensis suis propriis reficere et reparare, sed
etiam ad reparationes prsedictse Matricis Eccle-
siae Sanctse Mariae juxta villam Southampt.,
et ccemeterii ejusdem Ecclesiee, ac ad omnia
alia onera, ad quae cseteri parochiani dictse
Matricis Ecclesise teneantur.
Proviso etiam, quod tarn dictus strenuus vir
Richardus Smith, hseredes et assignati ejus,
quam reliqui omnes in dictis villis et hamlettis,
&c. habitantes, in signum subjectionis Capel-
lae hujus sub Ecclesia Matrice Beatse Mariae
juxta Southampt. ac senioritatis ejusdem Ec-
clesiae supra dictam Capellam, singulis annis
de tempore ad tempus ad Festum Paschatis,
vel ad Festum Pentecostes, ad dictam Ecclesi-
am Matricem venire, et, in dicta Matrice Ec-
clesia tantum,, non in dicta Capella, (si tuto ad
Ecclesiam parochialem venire possint,) Preces
audire, et Sacramentum Eucharistise ibidem
percipere ; vel si tempestate aut alio impedi-
o c
o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 411
mento detineantur, quo minus tune venire
possint, turn die Dominico, quo tuto venire
possunt, subsequente, venire et Eucharistiam
accipere omnino teneantur, absque speciali li-
centia nostra, seu Vicarii nostri generalis in
hac parte obtenta.
Proviso etiam, quod in dicta Capella Sacra-
mentum Baptismatis non ministretur, nee Ma-
trimonia solemnizentur, neque Verbum Dei
prsedicetur, neque Sacramenta vel Sacramen-
talia aliquibus profanis conferantur, prseter-
quam solis inhabitantibus seu degentibus in
villa, hamlettis, &c. praedict., nee etiam reliquis
dictse Matricis Ecclesise parochianis in Occi-
dentali parte ripse inhabitantibus, inscio vel
invito Rectore Ecclesise Matricis Sanctas Marise
juxta villam Southampt. prsedict. seu absque
assensu, consensu et licentia ejusdem prius
habita et obtenta.
Et ulterius, dicto strenuo Richardo Smith,
hseredibus et assignatis suis, liberam et ple-
nam potestatem in Domino concedimus per
prsesentes, idoneum Presbyterum de tempore
in tempus nominandi ad deserviendum, et di-
vina officia in dicta Capella exequenda, a nobis
et successoribus nostris de tempore in tempus
o_ o
Q (
412 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
approbandum et licentiandum : at quod dic-
tus strenuus vir R. Smith, haeredes et assig-
nati sui, et reliqui in dictis villa et hamlettis,
&c. inhabitantes de tempore in tempus in futu-
rum propriis suis sumptibus dictum Presby-
terum sive Curatum in eadem Capella deservi-
entem, et authoritate riostra, vel successorum
nostrorum ut prsefertur approbatum et licentia-
tum, alent et sustinebunt, ac annuale stipendium
viginti marcarum ad minimum eidem Presby-
tero vel Curato prsestabunt, et solvent ad
quatuor Festa ; Nativitatis Christi ; Annuncia-
tionis ; Nativitatis Sancti Johannis Baptistse ;
et Sancti Michaelis, per aequales portiones, sine
ulla tamen diminutione, vel defalcatione juris
Ecclesiastici, decimarum, oblationum, vel ob-
ventionum quarumcunque ad dictam Ecclesiam
parochialem Sanctse Marise, seu ad Rectorem
ejus pro tempore existentem, quo modo de
jure vel consuetudine spectantium seu per-
tinentium.
Et ulterius, quod pro sepulturis in Capella
prsedicta, et in choro seu navi ejusdem, omni-
busque aliis in dicta Capella vel extra gerendis,
vadia, quoad defunctos tarn in domo dicti
strenui viri R. Smith, hseredum et assig-
o <
- - O
OF A CHURCH, &C. 413
natorum suorum, quam in dicta villa, hara-
lettis, &c. Rectori dictse Ecclesise Matricis
pro tempore existenti, et successoribus suis, et
Guardianis respective, et Clerico, ceeterisque
Ministris dictse Ecclesise parochialis debite
solvantur, in tarn amplis modo et forma, prout
pro sepulturis in choro seu intra cancellos,
seu etiam in navi dictse Ecclesise Matricis,
solvi consuetum fuit, et prout solvi solet et
deberet, si personse prsedictse intra cancellos
seu navim dictse Matricis Ecclesise sepultse
fuissent.
Quod si autem aliquando defuerit in dicta
Capella Presbyter, Curatus legitime per nos
aut successores nostros licentiatus et appro-
batus, tune prsedictus strenuus vir R. Smith,
hseredes et assignati sui ac reliqui in dicta
villa, et hamlettis, &c. inhabitantes, ad Matri-
cem Ecclesiam convenire, aut ibidem precibus
interesse teneantur, prout ante solebant, donee
dicta Capella de legitimo Curato, ad ibidem
divina celebranda idonee provideatur et idem
admittatur. Quod si autem aliquo tempore
in posterum, quod Deus avertat, per con-
tinues sex menses per culpam aut negligen-
tiam parochianorum defuerit idoneus Curatus
o ,
414 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
in dicta Capella, qui ibidem divina celebret,
aut si Curatus sit qui per sex menses continues
non celebret, tune nobis et successoribus no-
stris potestatem reservamus pro ea vice tantum,
idoneum Curatum ad dictam Capellam nomi-
nandi, ad supplendam negligentiam dictorum
R. Smith, hseredum et assignatorum suorum.
Quod si autem dicta Capella decenter non
fuerit reparata vel instructa libris, aliisque ad
cultum divinum necessariis, per tempus prse-
dictum, (nisi ex legitima in ea parte causa per
Episcopum approbanda hoc contigerit,) tune in
perpetuum post dictos sex menses continues
sic elapsos, teneantur omnes infra praecinctum
seu limites dictse Capellae inhabitantes ad Ma-
tricem Ecclesiam convenire, pro divinis audi-
endis, prout ante hanc nostram consecrationem
tenebantur ; aliqua in hac concessione seu
consecratione nostra in contrarium non ob-
stante, ac perinde ac si hsec concessio seu con-
secratio facta nunquam fuisset.
Postremo reservamus nobis et successoribus
nostris, Episcopis Winton., potestatem visitandi
dictam CapeUam, prout alias Capellas infra
nostram Diocesin situatas, communiter nuncu-
patas peculiares, ut nobis eisque constet, an de-
OF A CHURCH, &C. 4l5
center in reparationibus aliisque conservetur,
et an omnia ibidem decenter et secundum ordi-
nem fiant. Quae omnia et singula sic reserva-
mus ; quoad csetera vero prsemissa quatenus in
nobis est, et de jure possumus, pro nobis et
successoribus nostris decernimus et stabilimus
per prsesentes.
Actu demum recitato veneratur denuo, atque infit.
BLESSED be Thy name, O Lord God, for that
it pleased Thee to have Thy habitation among
the sons of men ; and to dwell in the midst of the
assembly of Thy saints upon earth : bless we be-
seech Thee this day's action unto Thy people,
prosper Thou the work of our hands unto us, yea
prosper Thou our handy-work.
Finitis precationibus istis Dominus Episcopus
sedem separatim capessit (ubi prius) populusque
universus non communicaturus dimittitur, et porta
clauditur; prior Sacellanus pergit legendo senten-
tias illas hortatorias ad eleemosynas, interea dum
alter Sacellanus singulos Communicaturos adit, at-
que in patinam argenteam oblationes colligit : Col-
lecta est summa 4?. 1 2s. 2d. quam Dominus Episcopus
convertendam in calicem huic Capellce donandum
decernit.
3 O
o ~
4l6 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION.
Ceeteris rebus ordine gestis, demum Episcopus
sacram mensam redit, (Sacellanis utrisque ad
aliquantulum recedentibus,) lotisque manibus, pane
fracto, vino in calicem effuso, et aqua admista,
stans ait,
A LMIGHTY God our Heavenly Father, who of
_/jL His great mercy hath &c.
Eucharistiam ipseprimo loco accipit, sub utraque
specie : proximo loco tradit Fundatori, (quern jam
coram sacra mensa in genua supplicem collocarant,)
dein utrique Sacellano. Ad cceteros vero pergentem
Episcopum atque panem iis tradentem, prior Sa-
cettanus subsequitur, et calicem ordine porrigit.
Cum vinum, quod prius effuderat, non swfficeret,
Episcopus de novo in calicem ex poculo quod in
sacra mensa stabat effundit, admistaque aqua,
recitat dare verba ilia consecratoria.
Finita tandem exhibitione Dominus Episcopus ad
sacra menses Septentrionem in genibus, recitante
quoque populo, ait :
UR Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be
Thy Name, &c.
Lord our Heavenly Father, we Thy humble
servants entirely desire &c.
GLORY be to God on high, and in earth peace,
good-will towards men.
o c
o o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 41?
Concludit denique cum hac precatione.
BLESSED be Thy name, O Lord, that it hath
pleased Thee to put into the heart of this Thy
servant to erect an house to Thy worship and
service, by whose pains, care, and cost, this work
was begun and finished. Bless (O Lord) his
substance and accept the work of his hands :
Remember him, O our God, concerning this, wipe
not out this kindness of his that he hath shewed
for the house of his God, and the offices thereof,
and make them truly thankful to Thee, that shall
enjoy the benefit thereof, and the ease of it; and
what is by him well intended, make them rightly
to use it, which will be the best fruit, and to God
most acceptable.
Post hfsc vota populum stans dimittit cum bene-
dictione hac.
THE peace of God which passeth all under-
standing keep your hearts and minds in the
knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus
Christ our Lord: and the blessing of God Al-
mighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
be amongst you, and remain with you always.
Amen.
o o
Consecratio
CCEMETERII.
QTATIM a pr audio (quod in eedibus suis vicinis
fundator capella satis laute appararat domino
Episcopo, atque convenarum magnce frequentice) ad
rem divinam reversis, alter Sacellanorum prceit.
OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be
Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our tres-
passes, As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation ; But deliver us
from evil : For thine is the kingdom, The power,
and the glory, For ever and ever, Amen.
Post responsas, Psalmus 90 recitatur alternis.
Post psalmum Episcopus cum universa multitudine
egreditur capella, atque ad orientalem ccemeterii
partem stans, denuo sciscitatur.
Captain Smith, for what have you called us
hither again ?
o c
O Q
419 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
Ille schedulam, ut prius humillime porrigit, quam
preefatus a Registris recitat in hcec verba.
" TN the name of Richard Smith, of Peertree in
JL the county of Southampton, Esquire, Right
Reverend Father in God, I present unto you the
state of the village of Weston, &c. ut prius, usque
ad, the river cannot be passed, whereby it often
cometh to pass that they have been constrained to
bury their dead in the open fields, the water not
being passable, or if they durst venture over, yet
the dead body was followed with so little company,
as was no way seemly.
" And thus much formerly having been presented
to your predecessor, the Right Reverend Father
in God, James, late bishop of Winton ; and petition
to him made to give and to grant leave unto the
said Richard Smith, to enclose a piece of ground for
a burial place on the east side of the said river, he
favourably gave license and granted power unto
the said Richard Smith so to do, as may appear
by an instrument under his episcopal seal, bearing
date the 23. of February, in the year of our Lord
God, according to the computation of the Church
of England, 1617.
"Which place of burial being now enclosed
with a decent rail of timber, at the only proper
cost and charges of him the said Richard Smith,
with intent and purpose that it might be dedicated
and consecrated only and wholly for Christian
o o
o -c
42O THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
burial, for him the said Richard Smith, and his
family, and the said inhabitants, and none other.
" In which respect I beseech God to accept of
this sincere intent and purpose, and both he and
they are together humble suitors to your lordship,
as God's minister, the bishop and ordinary of this
diocese, in God's stead to accept this his free-will
offering, and to decree this ground severed from
all former common and profane uses, and to sever
it, as by the word of God and prayer, and other
special religious duties, to dedicate and consecrate
it to be a cemetery or place of Christian burial,
as aforesaid; wherein their bodies may be laid up
until the day of the general resurrection; pro-
mising that they will ever so hold it for holy
ground, and use it accordingly, applying it to no
other use, but that only, and that they will from
time to time, and ever hereafter, as need shall
be, see it conveniently repaired and fenced in such
sort as a cemetery or burying place ought to be."
Hoc ipsum vero (db Episcopo paucis interrogatis}
viva voce conformant fundator, et qui e vicinia.
Lectio prima desumitur e 23. Gen. Secunda Lec-
tio destindbatur e prima Epist. ad Cor. cap. 15.
a vers. 15. ad fonem, propter angustias temporis
omissa.
6 r O
o o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 421
Turn dominus Episcopus in genua ibi submissus
precatur.
OLORD GOD, Thou hast been pleased to
teach us in Thy Holy Word, as to put a dif-
ference between the soul of a beast, and the spirit
of a man ; for the soul of a beast goes down to the
earth from whence it came, and the spirit of man
returneth unto God that gave it j so to make di-
verse accompts of the bodies of mankind and the
bodies of other living creatures; in so much as
the body of Adam was resolved on, and afterwards
the workmanship of Thine own hands, and endued
with a soul from Thine own breath : but much
more since the second Adam, Thy blessed Son, by
taking upon Him our nature, exalted this flesh of
ours to be flesh of His flesh, Whose flesh Thou
sufferedst not to see corruption ; so that the body re-
turns to the earth, and the soul to Him that gave it.
It shall from thence return again, it is but a rest,
and a rest in hope, (as saith the Psalmist,) for it is a
righteous thing with God that the body, which was
partaker with the soul both in doing and suffering,
should be raised again from the earth to be par-
taker also with the soul of the reward, or punish-
ment which God in mercy or justice shall reward,
not to one of them alone, but jointly to them both.
There being then so great difference, it is not
Thy will, O Lord, that our bodies should be cast
o ,
o o
422 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
out as the bodies of beasts, to become dung for
the earth, or our bones lie scattered abroad to the
sight of the sun ; but when Thy servants are ga-
thered to their fathers, their bodies should be
decently and seemly laid up in the bosom of the
earth from whence they were taken.
Neither is it Thy pleasure, O Lord, that they
should be buried as an ass in the open fields, but
in a place chosen and set apart for that purpose.
For even so from the beginning we find the
holy patriarch Abraham (the Father of the faithful)
would not bury his dead in the common fields;
nay, nor amongst the bodies of Hethites who
were heathen men, but purchased a burial place
for himself in the plain of Mamre which became as
it were the churchyard of the patriarchs, wherein
they laid the dead bodies of Sarah his wife, of him-
self, his son Isaac and Rebecca his wife ; after
them Jacob and Leah were buried there.
After this manner did the patriarchs in old time,
who trusted in God, sever themselves places for
burial : whose children we are so long as we
do their works, and walk in the steps of their
most holy faith.
Ensuing then the steps of the faith of our
father Abraham, we for the same purpose have
made choice of the very same place, wherein we
now are ; that it may be as the cave of Mamre,
even God's storehouse for the bodies of such our
o o
o (
OF A CHURCH, &C. 423
brethren and sisters to be laid up in, as He shall or-
dain there to be interred ; there to rest in the sleep
of peace till the last trump shall awake them j for
they shall awake and rise up that sleep in the
dust ; for Thy dew shall be as the dew of herbs,
and the earth shall yield forth her dead.
We beseech Thee, good Lord, to accept this
work of ours in shewing mercy to the dead ; and
mercifully grant, that they whose bodies shall be
here bestowed, and we all, may never forget the
day of putting off the tabernacle of this flesh, but
that living we may think upon death, and dying
we may apprehend life ; and rising from the death
of sin to the life of righteousness, which is the
first rising of grace, we may have our parts in the
second, which is the rising to glory by Thy mercy,
O most gracious Lord God, who dost live and
govern all things, world without end.
Priorem dein formulam per omnia secutus, in
cathedram ibi se collocat, atque actum consecra-
tionis promulgat.
IN Dei nomine. Amen. Nos Lancelotus
permissione divina Winton. Episcopus
hunc locum jacentem in vasto solo vulgo nun-
cupatum Ridgway-heath, infra Parochiam Ec-
clesise parochialis sanctae Mariee, &c., et jam
o o
o c
424 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
propriis sumptibus strenui viri Richardi Smith
de Peer-tree Armigeri in circuitu Capellse no-
viter ab eo quoque propriis sumptibus suis
constitute, palis inclusum et arboribus consi-
tum; continentem in longitudine 148 pedes,
aut circiter,'in latitudine 124 pedes aut circi-
ter, in toto vero circuitu 435 pedes aut circiter;
a pristinis, aliisque quibuscunque communibus
usibus et profanis in usus sacros separandum
fore decernimus, et sic separamus ; ac eundem
inhabitantibus vel degentibus in familia R.
Smith, in villa de Weston, hamlettis de Itchin,
Wolston, Ridgway, et in parte manerii de
Bitterne, quse est de Parochia sanctae Marise
juxta Southampt. in Ccemeterium sive locum
sepulturae pro corporibus inibi decedentium
Christiano ritu humandis, quantum in nobis
est, ac de jure et Canonibus Ecclesiasticis, ac
de statutis hujus Regni Anglise possumus au-
thoritate nostra ordinaria et Episcopali assig-
namus : ac per nomen Ccemeterii Capellse
JESU designamus, dedicamus, et in usum prae-
dictum consecramus ; ac sic assignatum, dedi-
catum, et consecratum fuisse et esse et in
futurum, perpetuis temporibus remanere de-
bere palam ac publice declaramus ; ac Coeme-
o o
o o
OF A CHURCH, &c: 425
terium Capellae JESU deinceps in perpetuum
nuncupandum decernimus : privilegiis insuper
omnibus et singulis Coemeteriis et locis sepul-
turae ab antique consecratis et dedicatis com-
petent. Ccemeterium prsedictum sive locum
sepulturae ad omnem juris effectum munitum
esse volumus, et quantum in nobis est et de
jure possumus, sic munimus et stabilimus per
praesentes.
Proviso tamen quod praedict. Richardus,
Haeredes et Assignati sui, ac reliqui in dicta
villa, hamlettis, &c., inhabitantes, propriis suis
sumptibus dictum coemeterium de tempore in
tempus, in decenti statu conservabunt, et clau-
suras ejus quoties opus fuerit sufficienter et
convenienter reparabunt. Salvis etiam et om-
nino reservatis Rectori Ecclesise Parochialis
sanctae Mariae praedictae, ac Guardianis aliisque
Ministris dictae Ecclesiae pro tempore existen-
tibus in perpetuum, omnibus et singulis obla-
tionibus, mortuariis, feudis et vadiis, pro om-
nibus et singulis sepulturis mortuorum in hoc
Ccemeterio, aut ratione eorundem de jure, sive
consuetudine debitis, et in tarn amplis modo et
forma, ac si personae praedictae sepultae fuissent
in Coemeterio matricis Ecclesise praedictae.
o
o c
426 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
Quas quidem oblationes et mortuaria, feuda et
vadia omnia et singula sic de jure ac consuetu-
dine debita Rectori, Guardianis et Ministris
dictse matricis Ecclesise pro tempore existenti-
bus in perpetuum solvendi, quantum in nobis
est, et jura patiuntur, reservamus per prsesen-
tes : salva item nobis et successoribus nostris,
tanquam loci Ordinariis, potestate visitandi
dictum Ccemeterium de tempore in tempus, et
inquirendi an sufficienter reparatum fuerit in
clausuris ; et an omnia ibi decenter et secun-
dum ordinem fiant ; et, si minus fiant, per
censuras ecclesiasticas corrigendi.
His finitis precatur denuo.
T ORD GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Who
I ^ because Thou art the God, not of the dead,
but of the living, shewest hereby that they are
living and not dead, and that with Thee do live the
spirits of all them that die in the Lord, and in
whom the souls of them that are elect after they
be delivered from the burden of this flesh, be in
joy and felicity; Thou hast said Thou wilt turn
men into small dust, and after that wilt say, Return
again you children of men : Thou art the God of
truth, and hast said it ; Thou art the God of power
o c
o o
OF A CHURCH, &C. 427
and might, and wilt do it ; by that power whereby
Thou art able to subdue all things unto Thyself,
and bring to pass whatsoever pleaseth Thee in
heaven and earth, with whom nothing is im-
possible.
Lord Jesu Christ, who art the resurrection and
the life, in Whom if we believe, though we be dead
yet shall we live ; Who by Thy death hast over-
come death, and by Thy rising again hast opened
to us the gate of everlasting life, Who shalt send
Thine Angels, and gather the bodies of Thine
elect from all the ends of the earth, and especially
those who by a mystical union are flesh of Thy
flesh, and in whose hearts Thou hast dwelt by
Faith : we humbly beseech Thee for them, whose
bodies shall in this place be gathered to their fa-
thers, that they may rest in this hope of resur-
rection to eternal life through Thee, O blessed
Lord God, who shalt change their vile bodies, that
they may be like Thy glorious body according to
the mighty working whereby Thou art able to
bring all things, even death and all into subjection
to Thyself.
Holy and blessed Spirit, the Lord and giver
of life, Whose temples the bodies of Thy servants
are, by Thy sanctifying Grace dwelling in them;
we verily trust that their bodies that have been
Thy temples, and those hearts in which Christ
hath dwelt by Faith, shall not ever dwell in cor-
o o
O (
428 THE FORM OF CONSECRATION
ruption, but that as by Thy sending forth Thy
breath at first we received our being, motion, and
life in the beginning of the creation, so at the last
by the same Spirit sending forth the same breath
in the end of the consummation, life, being, and
moving shall be restored us again ; so that after
our dissolution, as Thou didst shew Thy holy pro-
phet, the dry bones shall come together again,
bone to his bone, and sinews and flesh shall come
upon them, and Thou shalt cause Thy breath to
enter into them, and we shall live ; and this cor-
ruption shall put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall put on immortality.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Ghost, accept, sanctify and bless this place
to that end whereunto according to Thine own or-
dinance we have ordained it, even to bestow the
bodies of Thy servants in, till the number of
Thine elect being accomplished, they with us, and
we with them, and with all other departed in the
true faith of Thy holy Name, shall have our con-
summation and bliss both in body and soul, in
Thy eternal and everlasting glory.
Blessed Saviour, that didst for this end die and
rise again, that Thou mightest be Lord both of
the living and the dead, whether we live or die
Thou art our Lord, and we are Thine ; living or
dying we commend ourselves unto Thee, have
mercy upon us, and keep us Thine for evermore.
o c
OF A CHURCH, &C. 4 2 9
Reintrantes igitur capellam cantant priorem par-
tern PsaL 1 6. Conscendit suggestum magister Mat-
theeus Wren; Thema ei posterior pars vers. 17.
cap. 2. S. Joan. Zelus domus tua, fyc. Agit de
affectibusin Christo,zelo inter cater os; nee illofalso,
sed pro Deo j nee cteco, sed secundum scientiam,
pro domo, pro cultu Dei j de prcesentia Dei, prce-
cipue in templis ; magno non morum solummodo
nostrorum, sed spei quoque et Fidei incremento
fulcimentoque : Deum locorum distinctione gaudere
confirmat, turn exemplo mirifico Jacobi tantopere
distinauentis Bethel; turn maximo omnium miraculo,
quo Christus mercatores e templo ejecit. Enarratis
Christi per hoc factum devotionibus concludit in
debitam a nobis templorum reverentiam, atque istivs
fundatoris encomium meritissimum.
Cantatur pars reliqua ; et vespertince precationes
Cincipiendo jam a symbolo apostolico) secundum
communem ecclesite formulam, finiuntur.
-o
o-
o
3 O
A.
A BSOLUTION by the Priest alone standing, why ?
XA. 14. 19.20. remission of sins by the Priest; what
it is not, 15. 1 6. what it is, 16. three parts of repent-
ance, 17.
Absolution, the several forms of it in the service, 18. all
in sense and virtue the same, 19.
Advent Sundays, 90.
Altar, 303.
*A./j.pav of the Church, what, 301.
Answers of the people in public prayers, why, 59.
Apocryphal books may be read in the Church, 40.
Ash- Wednesday, 116. caput jejunii^ ib. dies cinerum. ib.
the solemnity then used upon sinners, 117.
Ascension-day, 149. hath proper Lessons and Psalms,
150. the antiquity thereof, 156.
B
Baptism, 228. St. John iii. 5. expounded, 229. benedic-
tion or consecration of the water in baptism, used
only for reverence and decency, not for necessity, 230.
not thought necessary by the Church, 231. infants to
be baptized, ib. &c. interrogatories at baptism ancient
O O
O (
396 INDEX.
and reasonable, 233, 236. ancient arbenunciations in
baptism, 234. &c. abrenunciation not absolutely neces-
sary to baptism, 238. ancient "exorcisms, what, ib.
observed uniformiter in universo mundo, 239. names
given at baptism, why, ib. susceptores, godfathers,
237. their promises bind the child, ib. dipping or
sprinkling sufficient in baptism, 239. thrice dipping
of old to signify the mystery of the Trhiity, 240. why
afterwards but once, ib. See Font. Sign of the cross
used in Baptism, and in the forehead, and why, 241.
necessity and efficacy of baptism, 229. guardians con-
tract for pupils, 237. he that is baptized may baptize
in case of necessity, 242.
Baptism ministered by the ancients at Easter. See Easter.
Baptism isjanua sacramentorum, 268.
Baptism, private, 242. in case of necessity in any decent
place, ib. justified against objections, 243, &c.
Bidding of Prayers, 203. ancient, 205. no prayer before
sermon but the Lord's Prayer, 203. nothing said be.
fore sermon of old but gemina salutatio, 203. restraint
of private prayers in public necessary, 204. 205. bid-
ding of prayers practised by Bishops Latimer, Jewel,
&c. 206.
Blessing, by whom to be pronounced, 71. how to be
received, 72. God blesseth by the mouth of His
minister, ib. the Priest giving the blessing comes
down from the altar, and why, 228.
Burial and the rites thereof, 281, &c. ancient custom
after burial to go to the holy communion, 285. funeral
doles an ancient custom, ib.
O C
o o
INDEX. 433
C
Candlemas, 184. procession peculiar to it, 185. anti-
quity thereof, 186.
Chorus Cantorura, what, 302. soleas, ayiov 77,110, the
sanctuary, what, 302. apsis, awOpovos, altar, 303.
&c. rpdirefa irpoOeffews, what, 305. (r/cevo^uAei/cetov,
what, ib. diaconicum, what, 306. the respect given to
altars, Hi.
Christmas-day, 93. proper psalms for it, 93, 94. frame of
the Church service that day admirable, 95. antiquity
of the day ; and upon the 25th of December, 96.
Chrysomes, what, 143.
Churches, chapels dedicated to God's service, 293. chan-
cels, and the fashion of churches, 299. divided into
the nave and chancel, 299, 300, 301, 302. nave, what
it is, 300. chancel, why so called, 302. vdpOr], what,
wpaias, what, oVijSwi/, what, 301.
Church, mother, why so called, 240. description of the, 70.
Churching of Women, and the rites thereof, 285, 286.
of Psalm cxxi. and a doubt about one expression therein
cleared, 287, 288. women to be churched must offer,
291. to be veiled, and why, 286, &c.
Collects, why so called, 63. called of old missce, blessings,
sacramenta, and why, 64. by whom composed, 65.
object of them, ib. their form and proportion, 66. the
matter of them, 67. for peace, 68. for grace, 69. for
kings, ib. for the Church, 70. from Septuagesima to
Easter, 128. from Trinity to Advent, 168.
Commandments repeated at the Communion Service, 193.
Commination, 291. Amen in the commination, and what
it meaneth, 292.
,__ O
Ff
o c
434 INDEX.
Common Prayers set and prescribed, and why, i , 2. but one
and the same in the whole national Church, 2. public
prayers of the Church called the Apostles' prayers,
why, 5. essentials only of public worship appointed
under the Gospel, 4. public sen-ice more acceptable
than private, 8. and why, ib. accepted of God not
only for the present, but absent also on just cause, g.
strange worship, what, 7. Divine service may be said
privately. See Service.
Communion Service, 191. second service, ib. to be read
at the holy table, ib. the Church by reading the
second service there keeps her ground, ib. why so
called, 192. much of the order of the Communion
Service set forth out of Dionysius Eccles. Hierar. 199,
200, 201. the thrice holy triumphant song, 216. the
consecration of the holy sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, in what words it consists, 216, 217. the bread
and wine common before the consecration, 217. the
Priest to receive the sacrament first, 218. the sacra-
ment to be delivered to the people in their hands, ib.
kneeling, ib. Amen to be said by the communicant,
and the reason of it, 220. the sacrament of old deli-
vered to the people at the rails of the holy table, ib.
thrice a year every parishioner to communicate, at
Easter by name, 221. in the primitive church they
communicated every day, ib. how they failed, 222.
care of the Church to reduce the primitive order, 223.
why at Easter, ib. bread and wine remaining after the
consecration, how to be disposed of, 225. the Angeli-
cal hymn, when sung and why, 226, 227. it was made
of old by ecclesiastical doctors, the penalty of refusing
O ' O
o
INDEX. 435
it, 227. Evxi) oiri(T0d}j.fici)vos, why so called, 228.
washing of hands before the consecration, why, 201.
this sacrament to be received fasting, 218.
Communion of the Sick, 266. that the communion is
not to be denied to persons dangerously sick, appears
by the 13 Can. Con. Nice, 267. the several degrees of
penance for wasting sins in the Greek Church, 272,
273, &c. npo(TK\aioj/Tes, 272. 'A/cpocfytei'oi, "TiroTri-
irTovres, who, 273. 'SwurrdfAevoi, Merexovrey, who,
ib. Ndp6r), ferula, what, ib. KaraA-Acry?), Xdpis, what,
275, 276. how much of the Communion Service shall
be used at the delivery of the communion to the sick,
in case there had been that day a communion, 280.
Confession by Priest and people with an humble voice,
12, 13. service begins with it, and why, 13.
Confirmation, when to be administered, and why then,
244, 245. a godfather to witness the confirmation, 246.
confirmation the act of the Bishop, ib, imposition
of hands the most ancient and apostolical rite of con-
firmation, 248. benefit of confirmation, 249, &c to
continue in the Church while militant, 253. a fun-
damental, ib.
Consecration of churches and chapels. See Dedication.
Creed, Apostles', upon what occasion made, 47. to be
said daily twice, morning and evening, 48. by Priest
and people, why, 50. standing, why, 51.
Creed, Athanasius', 51. when used, and why, 52.
Creed, Nicene, why so called, 198. called also the Con-
stantinopolitan, and why, ib. when begun to be used
at the Communion Service, ib. why read after the
Epistle and Gospel, ib.
O O
O
436 INDEX.
Cross in the forehead used in baptism, 241.
Curates, what meant by, 70.
D.
Dedication of churches and chapels to God's service, 293.
reasons why, 295, &c. advantage of having our services
performed in such places, 297, 298. that service may
be said privately, and why, 308.
Dominica in Albis, or post Albas rather, why so called,
143-
Dominica refectionis, 122.
Dominica Vacat, or Vacans, which, and why so called,
175-
Doxology, or " Glory be to the Father," &c. 25. 31. 77.
Dyptics, 200.
E.
Easter-day, special hymns instead of the usual invitatory,
130. proper psalms for it, 132. and proper lessons,
135, &c. antiquity thereof, 136. contention in the
Church, when to be kept, 137. determination of the
Nicene Council about it, 137. how to find out Easter,
138.
Easter-week, Monday and Tuesday in, why kept, 139.
Easter solemnized of old fifty days together, ib. bap-
tism ministered anciently at no times but the eves of
Easter and Whitsuntide, 141. the new baptized come
to church in white vestures with lights before them,
ib. baptism ministered all times of the year, 142.
KvpiaK^] Ao/UTrpa, Easter, 161.
Ejaculations commended by St. Augustine, 59.
Ember Weeks, 118. which they are, 119. why Wednes-
day, Friday, and Saturday observed in them, ib.
O O
o o
INDEX. 437
Epiphany used of old for Christmas day, 105. mistakes
upon the identity of the word, 106. in Latin Epiphaniae,
why, ib. antiquity thereof, 107. Sundays after the
Epiphany, ib. &c.
Epistles, 85. antiquity and fitness of the Epistles and
Gospels, 85, 86. Epistles from Trinity to Advent, and
the reason of their choice, 170, &c.
Exorcisms used in baptism, 238.
F.
Fast. See Lent, Good-Friday, c. if a fast for an holy-
day fall upon an holyday, then the fast is to be kept the
day before that, 105.
Feast of Circumcision, or new year's day, 101. of a later
institution, ib. great solemnities have some days after
them in prorogationem festi, ib.
To feast on Friday is not to hold communion with the
catholic Church, but with the Turks, 81. week of
fasts, which, and why so called, 124. some feasts have
fasts before them, why, 102. others none, why, 104,
105.
Festivals; St. Andrew, 183. Conversion of St. Paul, ib.
why kept rather than the day of his death, 184. St.
Philip, 186. St. James, 188. the Apostles in the pri-
mitive times had not several days of solemnity, saith
Durandus, 187. not probably though, one day for all.
ib. in the Latin Church the Calends or first of May,
in the Greek the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, ib.
no fast on St. Philip and St. James, why, 188. St.
John Baptist his birth celebrated, and why, 189. his
beheading, ib. St. Michael and all Angels, why a feast
then, 190. tutelar Angel of the Church of the Jews,
O O
o c
438 INDEX.
and so of the Christians, ib. All Saints, why kept, ib.
St. Stephen, St. John, and Holy Innocents, 97. 101.
observations of Saints' days ancient, 99. days of Saints'
deaths kept, rather than their births or baptism, why,
99, TOO. Purification of St. Mary, 184.
Font, baptism to be at the font, 240. why so called, ib.
placed in the church porch significantly, ib. after, in
churches, but not all ; but only in the city chnrch,
hence called the mother church, ib. in high venera-
tion, 241.
G.
Glory be to the Father, &c. is both hymn and creed, 25.
a fit close for any religious services, ib. Glory be to the
Father, &c. said at the ends of psalms ; never quar-
relled at by any till Anus, 32. Glory be to the Father,
&c. in the Litany, 77.
Glory be to Thee, O Lord, reason of saying it when the
Gospel is named, 196. Thanks be to God for this
Gospel, used to be said after the Gospel, and the reason
of it, 198.
Godfathers, 237.
Good-Friday a most strict fast, why so called, 127. Cos-
pel out of St. John, why upon that day, ib. antiquity
thereof, 128.
Gospel, rites used at the reading of the Gospel, 196, &c.
standing at the Gospel, 197. to kiss the book the
fashion in some places, 198.
Gospels, and the reason of their choice, 85. reason of
saying Glory be to Thee, O Lord, at the Gospel, 197,
&c. the Gospels from Trinity to Advent, 169.
O C
o - o
INDEX. 439
H.
Holydays, 82. are either fasting days or festivals, ib. of
excellent use, 83. particular festivals, 83, 84, 85. See
Festivals.
Holy Table, so called considering the Eucharist as a
sacrament, 304. the Altar, so called considering the
Eucharist as a sacrifice, ib. and so it is called Heb. xiii.
10. and St. Matt. v. 23. 304. Altars always had in
high estimation, 306. Holy Tables set where the
Altars stood, ib.
Holy week, which, and why so called, 124. called also
great week, 123.
Hymns, the antiquity of them, 41. most properly to be
sung, 42. and why, ib. the profit of it, ib. standing
the proper posture of hymns, 43. why, ib. Te Deum
framed miraculously by St. Ambrose and Augustine,
44. why hymns after lessons, 44. and why those ap-
pointed,^. Magnificat, Nunc dimittis quarrelled at, ib.
answered, 45.
L.
Lent, the antiquity thereof, 113. in imitation of Moses,
Elias, and our Saviour, 1 14. why not kept immediately
after Christ's baptism, 114, 115. why called Lent, 115.
in Lent, the glory of the Altar hid, why, 46. Benedi-
cite then used, ib. Te Deum, Benedictus, Magnificat)
Nunc dimittis may be said more often, excepting in Lent
and Advent, why, 46.
Lessons, of the choice of them out of the Old and New
Testament, 33. 38. mingling services of divers sorts a
wise constitution of the Church, why, 34. at the reading
of the lessons the Minister is to turn to the people, 34,
O 6
o
44O INDEX.
35. the Prophet Isaiah read last before Christmas, and
wuv 39- a several course in reading lessons ; ordi-
nary, 38. for Sundays, 39. for Saints' days, ib.
Let us pray, often used, and why, 55, 56.
Litany, 73. used in processions, why, 74. used at the
communion, ordinations, &c. ib. probably derived
from the Apostles' times, ib. donum precitm, 75. of
the Litany of our Church, ib. the sum of it, 76.
the nature of it ; short ejaculations, 76. the former
part of the Litany may be said by a Deacon, as in
cathedral and collegiate churches; the latter peculiarly
by the Priest, and why, 78, 79. secreta, what they are ;
the reason of them, 79. the Litany, when to be said,
and why then, 81. the Litany a distinct service, 192.
Lord's Prayer, 22. frequent use thereof, why, ib. dox-
ology omitted in the Lord's Prayer, why, 23. " But
deliver us from evil, Amen," said by the people, when
and why, ib. " Give us this day our daily bread," un-
derstood by the Fathers of the Eucharist, 221, 222.
no prayer before sermon but the Lord's Prayer, 203.
Salutations : " The Lord be with you," of the use of
them, 53. " And with Thy Spirit," ib. excellent in-
centives to charity, 54.
Lord have mercy, &c. a short Litany, frequently used in
ancient liturgies, 56. seasonably at all parts of the
service, 57. set before the Lord's Prayer; why, 58.
M.
Marriage, three ends of it, 254. contract of marriage
called by St. Augustine votorum solennitas, ib. the
bride given by father or friend, why, 255, &c. the
ring a pledge of fidelity, 256. why upon the fourth
O -C
o o
INDEX. 44! \
finger of the left hand, ib. " With my body I thee
worship," the meaning of it, 256. Psalm cxxviii. the
epithalamium used by the Jews at nuptials, 259. de-
vout prayer and the holy communion very useful and
highly Christian at marriages, 259. the Jews religious
solemnities at marriages, ib. the primitive Christians
used the like solemnities at marriages which we do,
ib. which the Church received from the Apostles, 260.
Maunday Thursday, dies mandati, why so called, 125.
practice of the Church upon that day, and form of
reconciling penitents, 126.
Missa catechumenorum, 193.
Morning Prayer, Litany, and Communion Service, three
distinct services, 194, &c. the several places and times
of the performance of them, ib. nine in the morning
the usual hour for the communion service, and why,
195. morning and evening prayer to be said daily,
3. public prayers of the Church called the Apostles'
prayers, why, 5.
N.
Nave of the church, what, 300.
Ncp07j of the church, what, 301.
New-year's day. See Festivals.
O.
Octave of Christmas, 101.
Octave or utas of high feasts observed by our forefathers,
142. upon which, some part of the service of the
feast, repeated, ib. why eight days allowed at high
feasts, 214. how the prefaces for those eight days can
be properly used on each of them, 215. See Prefaces.
Offerings, Oblations, an high part of God's service, 206.
O O
o g
o o
442 INDEX.
a duty of the Gospel, proved, 207, 208, &c. when
most necessary, 208, 209.
Offerings at the churching of women, 291.
Ornaments to be used in time of Divine service, why, 310.
P.
Penance for wasting sins, in the Greek Church. See
Communion.
Praying with the Spirit. A man may safely use David's
forms, as being composed by the Spirit, 29, 30, 31.
donum precum peculiar to the Apostles' times, 75. of
bidding of prayer, 203. 205.
Prefaces proper for some great days, 212. an argument
that the Church intends the prorogation and continu-
ance of those feasts, 213. how this prorogation is to
be understood, 213, 214.
Priests are the Lord's remembrancers, 9, 10. bound to
say daily morning and evening prayer, 3. reason of the
Priest's sometimes kneeli ng and sometimes standing, 6 1 .
giving the blessing, came down from the Altar, why,
228. what the word signifies, 312. it may be applied to
the Ministers of the Gospel, reasons why, 313. not a
Jewish name, why, 316. Ministers of the Gospel called
Priests by the Prophet Isaiah, ib.
Psalms read over every month, why, 27, 28, &c. fit for
every temper and time, 29. sung or said by course, by
Priest and people, why, 31. standing, why, ib. trans-
lation of the Psalms in our English liturgy, 317.
objections against some passages in the translation
of the Psalms, 317, &c.
R.
Remission and Repentance. See Absolution.
o o
9 o
INDEX. 443
Rogation days, service and procession formerly appointed,
147.
Rogation week, why so called, 14^. litanies and fasting,
then, ib. the fast then is voluntary, 148. no fast
betwixt Easter and Whitsunday, ib.
S.
Sanctuary of the Church, what, 302.
Secreta, what they are ; the reason of them, 79.
Sermon, when, 201. usually an exposition of part of the
Epistle or Gospel, &c. of the day, ib. not above an
hour long, 203. preachers in their expositions appointed
to observe the Catholic interpretation of the old doc-
tors, 202. golden canons about preachers, ib. no
prayer before the sermon but the Lord's Prayer, 203.
Divine service may be said privately, and the reason
why, 308.
Sunday, Passion, why so called, 123.
Palm, why so called, ib.
Low, why so called, 143.
Rogation, why so called, 147.
Septuagesima, so called, a consequcntia numc-
randi, in.
Sundays, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, pre-
paratives to Lent; Regulars fasted those weeks, in,
112.
Surplice used in holy ministrations, 311.
T.
Trinity Sunday, the octave of Pentecost, or dominica
vacanSj 165. how ancient, ib. proper lessons, 166. of
the Sundays after Trinity till Advent, 168. the last
Sunday after Trinity, a preparative to Advent, hath
O O
>- -p
444 INDEX.
therefore an Epistle purposely chosen out of the Pro-
phet Jeremiah, prophesying of Christ's Advent, 173.
&c.
V.
Venite, an invitatory psalm, 26.
Verses or Versicles and responds ; the reason of placing
the verses after the confession, &c. and before the
psalms, 24.
Versicles and answers by Priest and people, a holy emu-
lation, 59. answers of the people, the benefit of them,
ib. versicles and responds, 289. some of the answers
are not entire sentences, but parts or ends of the fore-
going verses, the reason why, ib.
Vestry, why so called, 305.
Viaticum, applied to more things beside the Eucharist,
267. only the Eucharist is ultimum viaticum, ib.
Vigils turned into fasts, why, 103.
Visitation of the sick, 262. orders of the Church about
and at it, &c. ib. examination of the faith of the sick
person, 262. and of his life and conversation, 263. no
true repentance without restitution, ib. the sick per-
son to be admonished to settle his estate, 264. and to
be liberal to the poor, 265. sick persons to send for
the Priest, 276. to what purpose, 277. prisoners
anciently visited by the Archdeacon or Bishop, 279.
W.
Whitsunday, 157. appointed of old for solemn baptism,
159. why called Pentecost, ib. and Whitsunday, 160.
and why, ib. Kvptcuc)) \a/unrpa, Easter, 161. Whit-
sunday hath proper lessons and psalms, ib. of the an-
tiquity of it, 164.
O -O
o o
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