judges them to be no longer necessary, and therefore Christians are no longer partakers of what are commonly called miraculous powers. But still, though the influence of man over the powers of nature, because no longer necessary, has ceased, the work of Divine grace upon the heart goes on, because it is necessary. It is necessary, in order that men may be enabled to turn from sin to holiness, from Satan to God, to teach them, and give them power to resist temptation, control their evil passions, and obey the commands of their heavenly Father. And therefore when, in the solemn ceremony of Confirmation, the Bishop lays his hand on the head of the person confirmed, although we do not expect the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, we feel a confident hope that the prayer then offered in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be heard, the blessing invoked will be vouchsafed to the supplications of faith, the assistance of Divine grace will be given to help our weak endeavours, and an assurance will be conveyed, that, though of ourselves we can do nothing, we can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us3.

Such is the origin and nature of this primitive custom in the Christian Church. I will now give you a further reason why all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ should be confirmed when they arrive at years of discretion. The Church believes that children can never be too young to be admitted into the blessings and privileges of Christianity, even though they may be too young to understand their duties and their belief as Christians. This belief may be said to have been sanctioned by our blessed Lord Himself when He said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Infant Baptism has prevailed in the Christian Church from its first planting to the present day. Nor is it unreasonable that, as the children of the Jewish Church were admitted, according to God's command, into

3 Phil. iv. 13.

covenant with Him, by the ordinance of Circumcision, on the eighth day after their birth, so, in the Christian Church, children should, while yet infants, be, by Baptism, made "members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven," and partakers of such a measure of Divine grace as may enable them to fight successfully against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

It is probable that most of you, Christian Soldiers, were baptized before you were capable of knowing and understanding the blessings to which you were then admitted. But you know them now you have heard them explained to you by your Chaplain; you have read of them in your Church Catechism, which you have been studying as a preparation for being admitted to this sacred ordinance. And what solemn and comforting truths does this knowledge convey to you! How earnestly ought you to pray that this knowledge may be increased in you, and your faith in these blessed truths be confirmed by the power of God's Holy Spirit !

Each of you was then made one of the number of God's adopted children; the wrath of God, which is the inheritance of all descendants of Adam, because all are by nature sinners, was removed; each of you was made a "member of Christ," that is, a member of his Church, a part of the body of which Christ is the Head, just as much as your limbs are parts of your natural bodies; you were made subjects of Christ's kingdom on earth, and inheritors of his kingdom in heaven; the promises of the Gospel were made yours, and you were enlisted into the vast army of Christ's soldiers, under Jesus, the great Captain of your salvation. But when God did so much for you, do you not suppose that He required something on your part? He did. He required repentance and faith.

But as an infant could not promise these, your Godfathers and Godmothers made in your name all the promises which a Christian ought to make on ad

mission to such great benefits; they undertook that you should be brought up and instructed as Christians ought to be; and they promised that you would renounce the devil and his service, and enter into the service of the living God, and believe in his Son.

If I were to ask you whether you, who still call yourselves by the name of Christians, are bound to perform these promises, you would, I am sure, whatever your practice may be, confess that you are bound to believe and to do as your Godfathers and Godmothers promised for you. If I were still further to ask you, whether, as these promises were publicly and personally made, you are bound publicly and personally, now that you are no longer children, to release them from their engagements, and take them upon yourselves, you would answer, "It is but just that I should do so." You would say, "I know I cannot avoid being answerable for my conduct now that I understand the difference between right and wrong, now that I know what my duty is towards God and towards man, and what is meant by the Gospel of Jesus Christ: but I ought to say so plainly and openly, like a man, and not be ashamed to confess myself a Christian.”

This, then, is what you do when you are confirmed. You do, "in the presence of God, and the Congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow that was made in your name at your Baptism; ratifying and confirming the same in your own persons, and acknowledging yourselves bound to believe and to do all those things which your Godfathers and Godmothers then undertook for you." And at the same time when you do so, you join your prayers solemnly to those of your Spiritual Pastor and of the Congregation of your fellow-Christians, for God's gracious help, that you may be enabled to keep your baptismal vow, to lead a new life, to forsake sin, to walk worthily of your Christian vocation, never to be ashamed of Christ crucified, but manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil,

unto your

and to continue Christ's faithful soldiers and servants life's end. And you may be assured that prayers so faithfully offered in this place, dedicated to God's honour and service, will be heard by Him who has said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them *."

If, Christian Soldiers, you view the ordinance to which you are now invited in this light, you cannot but see that those who come to be confirmed, in a serious and devoted frame of mind, will by God's blessing profit by so doing. The remembrance of their solemn promises will be to them in after-life a safeguard and a protection against temptation, a strong and urgent motive to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling; and to do their duty as men, as soldiers, and as Christians; and when they hear that earnest prayer offered, "Strengthen them, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace," their hearts will burn within them with a holy desire to please God, to prove themselves worthy of his love, and in the end to obtain everlasting life.

You will now naturally ask, "What knowledge is required of me before I am confirmed?" Only that without which a man can hardly be called a Christian: -a knowledge of the Articles of the Christian Faith, as contained in the Apostles' Creed, of God's will as contained in his Commandments, and of the way to address God acceptably in prayer, which we are shown in the prayer which He Himself taught us. These you must surely know already; and as your own good sense will tell you that you ought to understand as well as know them, you have, doubtless, also read and studied attentively that beautiful summary of Christian doctrine, the Church Catechism, which explains them and all other things necessary for a Christian to know and believe to his soul's health. You

4 Matt. xviii. 20.

must know the Lord's Prayer, the Belief, and the Ten Commandments, and have been instructed in, and understand, the Church Catechism.

And remember, above all things, that not only must a Christian's understanding be improved, but his heart must be improved also. Christian doctrine is intended to lead to Christian practice. Our faith is shown forth by our works, which are the fruits of faith; "as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also 5" There is then no other way of showing the sincerity of your faith in Christ, and your gratitude to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, for all the benefits which He has done and is doing towards you, than by a strict and conscientious performance of all your duties, and amongst them the especial duties of that profession which you have chosen; nay, I should rather say, into which it has been God's will that you should enter. This is the way for you to please God, and to prepare yourself for his presence hereafter; and if you make good resolutions to do this for the future by the help of God's Holy Spirit, He will, doubtless, vouchsafe this help in answer to your prayers in the solemn ordinance of Confirmation.

In conclusion, Christian Soldiers, as God, of his infinite mercy, has put it into your hearts to do this good thing (for, remember, "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure""), let your Confirmation be the beginning of a new life to you. Forsake the sins of your youth. Avoid the temptations which have hitherto led you astray. Begin to think more seriously than you have hitherto done of those awful subjects-Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Place God habitually before your eyes. Walk ever as in his presence; for He is indeed "about your path and about your bed, and spieth out all your ways"." You know well what your

5 James ii, 26.

6 Phil. ii. 13.

7 Ps. cxxxix. 3.