"I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offence and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me early." 39. Show me, also, that God calls us, as a Church, to come before Him with prayer and 1 praise. This is, again, the general tenor of Scripture, of which we can only give examples :→→→→ Praise ye the Lord. Praise him in his sanctuary." Ps. cl. 1. "Sanctify ye a fast call a solemn assembly: gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God; and cry unto the Lord." Joel i. 14. "Mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." Isa. lvi. 7. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised-not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is." Heb. x. 23. 25. The Confession. 40. When was the Confession of our Liturgy composed? On the review of Edward's First Book, in 1551. 41. Was there no Confession previous to that time? Yes; there had been one in many English Liturgies, occupying a more advanced place; preceding the Collects. 42. Reasonable and proper as it seems to place the Confession thus early in the Liturgy, were the Reformers warranted by antiquity in doing so? Yes; by the earliest Liturgies of the East. 43. And was the Confession, like ours, the Confession of all? Yes; Basil (4 C.) says, "All, as it were with one voice and one heart, make their Confession unto the Lord, each man expressing his own repentance with his own mouth." 44. What is the doctrine of the Confession? 1. An acknowledgment of universal sin. 2. A seeking of God's promised mercy. 3. Mercy asked only on confession and peni tence. 4. The result-amendment of life to God's glory. 45. Show briefly, that this is the doctrine of the Bible. 1. "All we like sheep have gone astray." Is. liii. 6. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. iii. 23. 46. 2. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. 16. 47. 3. See No. 38. "The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Pet. iii. 9. 48. 4. 66 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God.' 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt. v. 16. Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. vi. 20. 49. Who, then, convict themselves as inconsistent members of the Church of England, when they repeat this Confession? 1. They, who deny universal sin. They, who do not watch their's as a sinful nature. 2. They, who doubt of that mercy which is promised: 3. They, who dream of mercy without the sense of sin, without a sorrow for sin. 4. They, whose lives do not glorify God. The Absolution. 50. When was the Absolution composed? At the same time with the Confession. 51. Is the custom of Absolution ancient? It dates from the earliest times. 52. Why does the Rubric say, "to be pronounced by the priest alone?" Because it is his part alone to declare, as God's minister, God's message of pardon1. 53. Is it the intention of the word "priest," that no deacon shall read it? Yes; deacons are expressly forbidden by the act of parliament passed in 1661, in conformity with the last review of the Liturgy. 54. Then the congregation are not to join in the Absolution? Certainly not; to repeat the words with the officiating priest shows either ignorance of the service, or a wandering mind; repeating words with the lips which are not in the heart. 55. What is the doctrine contained in the Abso lution? 1. That God desires not the death of a sinner, but his amendment and salvation. 2. That God has given His ministers both authority and command to declare the remission of sins. 3. The application-that it is our part to ask of God repentance, as the needful state of mind to receive mercy; and the Holy Spirit to enable us to please Him now, to walk with Him in holiness in the future, and thus to be prepared to be with Him in His own heaven. 56. Show briefly that this is the doctrine of the Bible. 1. See No. 47. "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore, turn yourselves, and live ye." Ezek. xviii. 32. 1 This answer is merely explanatory of the Rubric. 57. 2. "As my Father hath sent me, so send I you. Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them." John xxi. 21-23. 58. 3. Repent ye, and believe the Gospel." Mark i. 15. "How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him!" Luke xi. 13. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor. xii. 3. 59. Who, then, are convicted as inconsistent members of the Church of England, when they hear the Absolution? 1. They, who think of God as a hard, severe, and unkind God. 2. They, who are disrespectful to His ministers, or forget the authority vested in them. 3. They, who speak of mercy without repentance. They, who look for good works from any source but the indwelling Spirit. 60. What is the meaning of "Amen," which the Rubric directs to be said here, and after every It is a Hebrew word, expressive of assent to the prayer, or other devotional form, which it concludes. 61. And its ancient use? Was universal. The Jews had a proverbial saying, that Paradise opens its gates to him who answers 'Amen' with energy. St. Paul speaks of the 'Amen' at the giving of thanks, |