Q. By whom is the power of consecrating the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper, to be exercised?

A. The first Eucharist was consecrated by our Lord himself, a little before his passion. At the same time he gave his Apostles commission to do as he had done; Do this, said he, in remembrance of me. Yet this office was not so strictly appropriated to the Apostles, but that it might be law. fully executed by the ministers of the second order; whence we find, that the Eucharist was consecrated in the Church of Corinth, when no minister above the order of Presbyters, who were next below the Apostles, was there.

Q. Why were not Deacons allowed to consecrate the Lord's Supper?

A. The reason why Deacons were not allowed to consecrate the Lord's Supper was, because this sacrament was always believed to succeed in the place of sacrifices; and as none beside the high priest, and inferior priests, were permitted to offer sacrifices under the Jewish law, so none but Bishops and Presbyters, who alone are priests in the Christian sense of that name, consecrated the Lord's Supper.

Q. What was the original of the power which the Church possesses of Confirmation, or imposing hands on persons baptized?

A. The Scripture gives us the following account of the exercise of the power of laying on of hands: When Philip, the Deacon and Evangelist, had converted and baptized the Samaritans, the Apostles which were at Jerusalem sent unto them Peter and John, who having prayed and laid their hands on them, they received the Holy Ghost, who was before fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." When the twelve disciples at Ephesus had been baptized by Timothy, or some other of St. Paul's assistants, Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Ghost came upon them.

Q. What results from this account of the original of this rite?

A. From this account it results: 1. That the end and design of this office was to confer the gifts of the Holy Ghost upon persons lately baptized. 2. That it was so strictly appropriated to the Apostles, that it could not ordinarily be performed even by inspired men, and workers of miracles, who were of an inferior order, (such was Philip the Dea

m Luke xxii. 19.

n Acts viii. 14, 17.

con). And, in the primitive Church, the Bishops, as successors of the Apostles, exercised this power.

Q. But was not the office of Confirmation appropriated to the Apostolic age, and merely designed for the conveyance of miraculous gifts?

A. It cannot be proved that all who received imposition of hands in the Apostolic age, were immediately endowed with miraculous gifts. It appears that these gifts were not universal in the Church. And it is therefore unreasonable to suppose that the whole body of Samaritan converts, on whom Peter and John laid their hands, received miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost. And as they all certainly did receive the Holy Ghost, it must have been his ordinary and common grace. Indeed, an ordinance that was not designed to convey grace necessary to all Christians at all times, would not be ranked by the Apostle among the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and considered as essential and fundamental. In this light it was viewed by the primitive Church, which may reasonably be supposed to have best understood the design of the institutions of Christ and his Apostles.

Q. What qualifications are necessary for those who purpose to receive this sacred ordinance?

A. Since Confirmation is an authentic renewal of the baptismal vow, and qualifies those who receive it to be admitted guests to the table of the Lord, the candidates ought to be thoroughly instructed in the nature of those holy promises which they then renew, and of the obligation to perform them. They ought to be acquainted with the meaning of this holy right, and to understand whose office alone it is to administer it. They ought to have a competent degree of knowledge in those Christian duties that relate to God, their neighbour, and themselves. And they must further prepare themselves for this ordinance by prayer and fasting, and a serious resolution of living answerably to their Christian obligations. And in order to these ends, it is advisable that the candidate should frequently read over the offices of Baptism and Confirmation.

Q. What are the great advantages of Confirmation?

A. Confirmation is a new engagement to a Christian life, and is a lasting admonition and check, not to dishonour or desert our Christian profession. It is a renewal, to those who receive it in sincerity, of all the privileges of their baptism,

of all the blessings of the Christian covenant. It is a testimony of God's favour and goodness to them, when his lawful minister not only declares, that God accepts their proficiency, but also advances them to a higher degree in the Church, by placing them among the faithful, and thereby giving them a title to approach the holy table of the Lord. conveys divine grace to encounter our spiritual enemies, and to enable us to perform our Christian obligations.

It

Q. What order of men are authorized to exercise the power which belongs to the Church of ordaining ministers?

A. It has before been fully proved from the concurrent testimony of Scripture and the primitive Church, that none but Bishops have authority to ordain ministers in the Church; and, consequently, none but those who are ordained by them can be truly said to have a divine commission, or any authority to minister in the Christian Church. Throughout the universal Church for fifteen hundred years, no instance occurs of an ordination by Presbyters that was considered valid. And this fact, that the universal Church considered Episcopal ordination only as valid, is proved by the very same testimony by which we establish the canon of Scripture, the validity of infant baptism, and the change of the sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week.

Q. What is meant by the power which the Church possesses of making canons, or laws for the behaviour of its members in spiritual affairs?

A. It is not meant by the power of making laws or canons, that the Church has authority to change any of the divine laws, or impose any article of faith, or rule of moral duty, or to prescribe any condition of salvation, which is neither expressly contained in the Scriptures, nor can certainly be concluded from them; but only that she is invested with power in all such things as relate to the outward peace and order of the Church.

Q. But are not the things which relate to the outward or der and peace of the Church determined by Scripture ?

A. That these things are not particularly determined by Scripture, is very evident The rules of Scripture are all general. We are commanded to assemble together to worship God; but the times and places are not expressed. We are commanded to follow such things as make for peace and edification, and to do all things decently and in order; but the particular methods whereby order must be maintained, and edification promoted, are nowhere set down. Timothy,

and all other Bishops with him, are commanded to lay hands suddenly on no man; but the previous trials of such as are candidates for holy orders, and the time and methods of examination into their abilities and behaviour, are left undetermined.

Q. As these things are not determined by Scripture, does it not follow that the governors of the Church have authority to determine them?

A. It is necessary that these things should be determined for otherwise, disorder and confusion would ensue in the Church; and, therefore, Christ has certainly left the governors of his Church authority to determine them. Accordingly, if we inquire into the practice of the Apostles, and other primitive governors of the Church, we shall find, that, besides the standing rules of the Gospel, they established many regulations, as the several occasions of the Churches under their care required. In many of St. Paul's epistles, especially in those to the Corinthians, he prescribes particular rules for the decency of divine worship, the avoiding of scandal, and other things which were not determined by Christ: and he speaks of customs which he himself and other Apostles established, and the Churches observed. There is, and ever will be the same necessity of prescribing rules for the peace and good government of the Church, and the order and decency of divine service, that there was in the Apostolic age; and, consequently, there is the same reason why this authority should be transmitted to the Bishops in all ages, as any other part of the Apostolical office.

Q. How does it appear, from considering the Church as a society, that it possesses authority to censure offenders, and exclude them from its communion?

A. As, in every civil society, authority to censure offenders, and exclude them from its communion, is necessary for securing men's lives and properties, which is the chief end for which it pleased God to institute these societies; so in the Church or spiritual society, the same authority is equally necessary to attain the ends for which the Church was founded; namely, to maintain the purity of divine worship, to secure men from the pollutions of the world, and train them up in virtue and piety now, in order to make them happy for ever. These ends cannot be effected if the Church has

1 Cor. xi. 16.

not power to exclude from its communion such unworthy members as endeavour to oppose these ends, by promoting vice, superstition, and infidelity.

Q. Does it not appear that the power of excommunication must be possessed by the Church, from considering that the privileges of the Church are conditional?

A. None can be admitted into the Church by baptism, who do not, by themselves, or their sureties, profess the faith, and vow obedience to the laws of Christ; and if these conditions are necessary for men's admission into the Church, they must be so for their continuance in it. For no reason can be shown why men should be obliged to promise faith and obedience in order to their becoming members of the Church, which does not equally hold for their exclusion from it when they notoriously break their vow. So that the power of excommunication is a manifest consequence of the baptismal covenant, and committed to the governors of the Church, who have the dispensation of the sacraments.

Q. Did not the Church receive this power from our Lord's institution?

A. The Church has received this power from our Lord's institution. Upon Peter's confessing our Lord to be the Son of God, he declared, first, that upon this rock he would build his Church, against which the gates of hell should never prevail; and then added, I will give unto thee (that is, to Peter, and with him to the rest of the Apostles) the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. The meaning of this promise manifestly is, that the Apostles and their successors should be chief governors of the Church under Christ, and, as such, should have authority to admit persons into it, or exclude them from it; to condemn or absolve its members. This is certain from another passage, where our Lord, having cautioned his disciples that they should not offend others, proceeds to instruct them how to behave themselves when others should offend them. That, first, they should privately admonish the offender; if this did not bring him to repentance, they should then reprove him before two or three witnesses; but if this also proved unsuccessful, their last remedy should be to tell it to the Church; and if the offender still neglected to hear, as their authority was wholly spiritual,