Dial. 2.

descending upon consecration, and sanctifying the bread and wine, and invigorating them with the divine virtue of Christ's body and blood: for though, as Theodoret speaks," The symbols of our Lord's body and blood, after the prayer of consecration are changed, and become other; yet they depart not from their own nature, for they remain in their former essence, and figure, and shape, and are visible and sensible, such as before they were." And the priest that officiated in the ancient Church not only rehearsed the evangelical history of the institution of this holy sacrament, and pronounced these words of our Saviour, "This is my body, this is my blood;" but he offered up a prayer of consecration to God, beseeching Him, "that He would send down His Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine presented unto Him on the altar; and that He would so sanctify them, that they might become the body and blood of His Son Jesus Christ:" not with respect to the gross compages or substance, but only as to the spiritual energy and virtue of His holy flesh and blood, communicated to the blessed elements by the power and operation of the Holy Ghost descending upon them, whereby the "body and blood of Christ is verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's supper." This prayer is

found in all the ancient liturgies; and some learned men have thought that St. Paul alluded to something of

Rom. xv. 16.

this nature, when he speaks of the offering of the Gentiles being made acceptable by the sanctification of the Holy Ghost; there being no less than five liturgical words in that text, as has been observed by learned men.

And as this Christian sacrifice was designed to render God propitious to us, by representing to Him the merits of our Saviour's sufferings, so it was instituted to be a standing monument of the infinite love of our Saviour in dying for us; and by eating and drinking at God's table, according to Christ's appointment, to fix in our souls the memory of those invaluable blessings He has purchased for us, and to communicate to all worthy receivers the benefit of His sacrifice upon the cross; upon which account it is called the communion of His body and blood: and it was, moreover, ordained to be a band of union to knit Christians together in the same fellowship and communion. Thus the infinite love of Christ appeared not. only in giving Himself to die for us, but in so far complying with the weakness of our nature as to "institute and ordain holy mysteries as pledges of His receiving the salove, and for a continual remem

Exhort. before

crament.

brance of His death, to our great and endless comfort."

And since we live in an age that is inclinable to make all the inherent powers in the priesthood to be the effects of priestcraft; and that others take upon them to sign and seal covenants in God's name, who have received no commission to that purpose, it will be fit for any man that prepares himself for this holy ordinance, to consider who has the power of administering this holy sacrament; whether laymen, as well as clergymen that have received their commission by succession from the apostles. This consideration, I am sure, will be of great comfort to the faithful members of the Church of England, which has preserved the ancient apostolical government, and the primitive orders in a due subordination, whereby they are secured of a right and truly canonical ministry.

Now to satisfy ourselves in these inquiries, we must observe, that in the first institution of this sacrament it was celebrated by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. He blessed the bread and wine, and gave both to His disciples; and He Himself was, as the apostle calls Him, the High-Priest over the house of God. And, indeed, the design of the epistle to the Hebrews seems to be, to shew us the difference between the two covenants-the nature of the Levitical

and evangelical priesthood—what necessity there was of a change from the one to the other; that the evangelical was after the order of Melchisedec; that our Saviour was the High-Priest of that order; and that this honour He took not to Himself, but was called of God to it, as well as Aaron was to his. The sacrament being thus instituted, and the elements being consecrated by a priest at the first celebration of it, the apostles kept close to their Master's institution; being commanded to do the same in remembrance of Him, they consecrated the elements, and gave them to the people, as He before did to them; and the same did the bishops, their successors after them, and those that they appointed and this was so constantly and universally practised in these early times, that one instance is not to be brought to the contrary.

Besides, the very nature of a sacrament requires commissioned officers for the administrations of it: for sacraments being seals of the covenant of grace of that covenant between God and man which our Saviour purchased for us, and confirmed with His blood,-who can seal this covenant, unless such as are empowered by God to transact with us in His name? — on our part, to offer up our prayers and supplications to Him; and on His, to bless us, to absolve us from our sins upon repentance, and to seal

the pardon of them by admitting us to partake of these holy mysteries.

To this end the apostles were careful in providing good men to succeed them in their ministry. St. Paul was earnest with Titus to "ordain elders in every city;" and with Timothy, to" lay hands suddenly on no man:" and in his epistles to both, he describes and that nicely too the qualifications of those that were to be admitted to ecclesiastical orders. In the Church of Corinth there were prophets and teachers, helpers and governors, which were their bishops, priests, and deacons. Now, what need was there of this distinction, and of this great care and caution in conferring orders, if they had no particular powers to exercise, and that every layman had an equal right to dispense them? Our Church, in asserting the supremacy of Art. xxxvii. sovereign magistrates, has declared,

that the "ministering either of God's

word, or of the sacraments," is not given to princes, because they are not invested with, nor have a sovereign disposal of, the power of orders.

But the practice of the Christian Church from the beginning of Christianity sufficiently confutes the reasonings of theists and enthusiasts; and matter of fact is too solid and substantial an argument to be confuted by art and sophistry. St. Clement, in his epistle to the