the sacred text, whatever, in fact, has by universal consent been so collected respecting the Church of Christ in general, will be true of our own particular offset, and not only may, but, under certain restrictions, must be applied to it. The converse does not, of course, hold good; and hence many special ordinances may be binding on the members of our own communion, from which our fellow Christians in other lands are exempt. They have a particular, though not a universal obligation, and flow by immediate derivation from the authority of Christ, though not of his own appointment, or that of his apostles. But what if the branch be dead, and the wild vine suspend from it its poisonous grapes'? What if the foreign intruder have usurped its place', wreathing it with a foliage not its own, and investing it with a seeming life3?" Or if not dead, may it not be diseased? and will not the fruitage, in this case, be proportionally injured? The tree may be good, and yet the shoot carry with it its own particular defect. How can we certainly attribute to the one, the virtuous qualities which we know to belong to the other? Not without inquiry: not certainly till we have examined the fruits,-for "by their fruits shall ye know them'." Yet it is something to see the visible connexion of our own branch with the true vine. It creates, at least, as I have above stated, a presumption in favour of the produce. Men do not expect to "gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles";" but the vine-branch excites a reasonable expectation, though it may eventually disappoint it. It demands a trial, and in the absence of 1 Is. v. 2. 3 Rev. iii. 1. 5 Matt. vii. 16. H unfavourable symptoms it justifies a hopeful reliance. We are not bound to regard it, at the outset, with suspicion, though in due time, and according to our opportunities, we shall have to "prove all things, and hold fast that" only "which is good'." More especially is this true, if our fathers have sat beneath its shade, and plucked of its inviting clusters, and found them wholesome. Even this will not acquit us of the duty of personal investigation, but surely it justifies a child-like confidence in the beginning of our inquiry,—a hopeful anticipation of good. I have said, that whatever is true of the whole Church generally, must be true of every several part. This, as we shall see presently, is a very important proposition. It affords the ground upon which alone the pretensions of particular Churches, to the possession of Catholic powers, can be defended; and it is therefore necessary that it should be clearly understood, and properly restricted. Now there are certain properties assigned to the Church universally, or as a whole, which are not necessarily true of every constituent part. Indefectibility, or final perseverance, is one of these. As a whole, the Church shall never perish; "the gates of hell shall never prevail against it';" but in parts we know that it is even too liable to corruption, to decay, and death. Other properties belong to the Church collectively, or as represented by all its portions. In this sense, the Church is infallible," a pillar and ground of the truth." Its united voice, whenever it can be ascertained, admits of no appeal. Hence the authority of the canonical Scriptures, in which the Catholic determination of the Church, in all things necessary to salvation, are clearly and safely 1 Thess. v. 21. 2 Matt. xvi. 18. conveyed to us. But particular Churches may err, as the most famous have "erred, not only in their living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of faith'." But in addition to those characters which can only be predicated of the Church as a whole, or as collectively represented, there are others of immense importance, which belong to it inherently and absolutely. Of this kind is that blessed assurance of our Saviour, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," with the functions and powers grounded on this fact. The communion of the body and blood of Christ, as connected with the solemn institution of the Lord's Supper, is another of these diffusive privileges; and there are many others. These being true of the Church essentially, must be true of every Church particularly. The ocean, however divided into seas, or subdivided into bays or creeks, is still the same water. Whatever can be said of it in general, must hold good in the particular portions. If we speak of its briny taste, we allude to a quality which we can recognise as we stand upon the shore. It belongs to every separate wave, and is not a mere attribute of the entire collection. In like manner the Church Catholic, however locally distinguished, is everywhere the same in essence, equally Catholic, equally the Church of Christ. The characters impressed upon it by its Divine Author, are diffused over its entire surface. It cannot lose them without ceasing to be itself, any more than the atmosphere could part with its elasticity, or become impermeable to light, and still remain what it is. These qualities, though attributed in Holy Writ to the Church in general, we may impute, with the most unreserved confidence, to our own branch. Matt xviii. 20. 1 Art. XIX. If it be a Church at all, it is a portion of that which Christ ordained, and which the apostles founded. The above characters are merely instanced by way of illustration; their exact nature must be considered hereafter. It is most important, however, to remark, that, be they what they may, the promises on which they rest are made to the Church, and are not satisfied by their application to individuals. "On this rock," said our Saviour, "I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it'." It is not enough to infer from this, that there will always be some Christians "holding the mystery of faith in a good conscience"." We must believe that "the great congregation," however depressed, however corrupt in parts, however torn and divided, nay, though "the whole head be sick, and the whole heart faint"," and everything to human appearance threaten speedy dissolution, will still be divinely preserved; and as it has been, so it will continue to be, a living power, through union with the Head, and communion among the members, even "the body of Christ'." And if it be asked what are our grounds for this assertion, I reply, that it is so said. The assembly of the faithful, the saints in their collective capacity,-the faith as embodied in a positive institution,-in a word, the CHURCH" is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." And with the inspiring thoughts which this confidence engenders, I close the present discourse. 101 SERMON VII. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, OR THE CHURCH AS DELINEATED BY THE SAVIOUR. MATTHEW Xiii. 11. To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. WE have seen that the Church of God may be contemplated either as a great whole, in which sense it is generally spoken of in Scripture, or with a reference to the particular districts in which it is set up: and that, under certain restrictions, we are perfectly justified in applying to the latter, the characters assigned in Holy Writ to the former. In other words, we have a right to expect from every true Church', whatever we know to be true of the Church Catholic. It is difficult to state this truth in a logical form, without the semblance of metaphysical refinement, from its extreme simplicity. Properly understood it is self 1 "The fourth character of the and Ireland, is justifiable and apChristian Church, and a necessary propriate: for through the presence consequence of the first and third, of its only head and sovereign, is its catholicity, i. e., universality. entire in each and one in all, the It is neither Anglican, Gallican, Church universal is spiritually pernor Roman, neither Latin nor fect in every true Church, and of Greek. Even the Catholic and course in any number of such Apostolic Church of England is Churches, which, from circuma less safe expression than the stance of place, or the community Churches of Christ in England: of country or of language, we have though the Catholic Church in occasion to speak of collectively." England, or (what would be still-S. T. COLERIDGE'S Church and better) the Catholic Church under State, p. 160. Second Edition. Christ throughout Great Britain |