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stroyed, and death swallowed up in victory,) and a perfect consummation of bliss and happiness. All which are comprised in that short praier of S. Paul for Onesiphorus, (though made for him while he was alive :) The Lord grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." Answer to the Jesuit's Challenge, Lond. 6131. p. 224.

34 ❝ Quamdiu nulla fuit de purgatorio cura, nemo quæsivit indulgentias. Nam ex illo pendet omnis indulgentiarum existimatio. Si tollas purgatorium, quorsum indulgentiis opus erit? His enim, si nullum fuerit purgatorium, nihil indigebimus. Contemplantes igitur aliquamdiu purgatorium incognitum fuisse, deinde quibusdam pedentedim, partim ex revelationibus, partim ex scripturis fuisse creditum, atque ita tandem generatim ejus fidem ab orthodoxa Ecclesia fuisse receptissimam, facillime rationem aliquam indulgentiarum intelligimus." Joan. Fisher. Roff. Ep. contra Luther. art. XVIII. p. 497.

SERMON VII.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

2 THESS. ii. 15.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

THE two last discourses offered to your notice the main pillars, probably, of that extensive empire which the Church of Rome has gained. What assurance can fall more agreeably upon human ears, than that eternal salvation awaits the soul of every attrite sinner duly submissive to the priestly voice? And when transgression is menaced, notwithstanding, by temporary pains, how gratefully does fallen man reflect, that these may safely be deferred until the eyes are closed in death, and their rigours then be most materially mitigated by alms and masses! But, besides these provisions for leaving undisturbed the carnal security and sinful indulgences to which men so fondly cling, the papal system possesses also another most prominent and

powerful hold upon their affections. Are not the eucharistic doctrines of their Church the principal sources of that ritual pageantry which enchains the admiration of Romish worshippers? Does not a belief in the corporal presence and transubstantiation lead them to invest their own devotions with a character immeasurably superior to those of all other Christians? Amidst their public offices of piety they detect a present Deity, veiled, indeed, from human gaze, but yet sensibly claiming adoration. What honours shall be deemed excessive to greet a presence so august? Alas! has not transubstantiation also generally supplied incentives to those cruel ebullitions of intolerance which have, during these later ages, brought so much unmerited discredit upon the Gospel of our meek and gracious Master? What but exasperated zeal for this mysterious doctrine has bidden the persecuting pyre to shoot, in Christian countries, its lurid blaze toward the firmament of heaven? Whence has calumnious profaneness drawn more frequently and speciously its aspersions upon our holy faith, than from conspicuous instances of that inhuman and infatuated policy which has asserted our Lord's corporal presence in the Eucharist, amidst a deluge of human blood?

Surely if a doctrine thus impressive, yet to human sense thus incredible, rest upon a divine or apostolical tradition, there must be traces of it imprinted deeply, clearly, and indelibly upon the records of the records of every age in the Church's history. Ecclesiastical antiquity must afford examples of heathen scoffs, heretical cavils, philosophical refinements, excited by the daily repetition of a miracle so stupendous, yet eluding so completely man's natural apprehensions. The earliest apologists for our religion must have left arguments in its defence, the earliest liturgists must have made provision for adoring the incarnate Saviour, when sensibly drawn, by priestly consecration, from the right hand of his Father's majesty. Such inferences are indeed highly reasonable; but upon them signal disappointment waits. Antiquity supplies nothing beyond incidental, inconsistent, and disputable authorities in favour of our blessed Lord's corporal presence in the Eucharist. The implacable malignity of paganism, and the restless, perverse ingenuity of heresy, appear to have overlooked this doctrine. The Fathers, accordingly, have left no controversial pieces in its defence. Even the most ancient directors of public worship have wholly omitted those becoming provi

sions which it obviously demands. Embarrassing as are these notorious and indisputable facts to advocates of a belief in transubstantiation, it is asserted, notwithstanding, that the Catholic Church has holden this doctrine in every age, although long in the undisturbed, and therefore unnoticed, assurance of faith. If this representation, however, be really worthy of reliance, at least inferential evidence in its favour must be supplied by the early religious records of every Christian country. Let the case, then, be tried by such remains as the theological school of ancient England has left behind.

Upon Gregory, the Apostle of our Saxon fathers, according to their current phraseology, let attention first be fixed. From him, surely, they could not fail of being “taught traditions" in perfect unison with those eucharistic doctrines which are among the most prominent and important peculiarities of the Romish creed. A prayer, however, anciently found in his Sacramentary, but long banished from its pages, and brought again to light at a period comparatively recent, affords abundant reason for abandoning any such expectation. This interesting remain of antiquity designates the Eucharist as "a pledge of eternal life," and "a sacramental image'." In

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