Better in silence hide their dead and go,Than sing a hopeless dirge, or coldly chideThe faith that owns relief from earthly woe.
Better in silence hide their dead and go,Than sing a hopeless dirge, or coldly chideThe faith that owns relief from earthly woe.
Better in silence hide their dead and go,Than sing a hopeless dirge, or coldly chideThe faith that owns relief from earthly woe.
Better in silence hide their dead and go,
Than sing a hopeless dirge, or coldly chide
The faith that owns relief from earthly woe.
The last line of this quotation suggests another point to which attention must be directed, viz. the fact of our returningthanks to AlmightyGodfor having “delivered our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world.” How, it is asked, can this be done with sincerity, at the very time when the tears and moans of weeping friends seem to belie the assertion? And we answer, it is because the Church assumes that those who attend her services are under the influence of Christian faith; and of Christian faith a most important part consists in the belief ofGod’sespecial providence. Except byGod’spermission, the true Christian believes that not a sparrow can fall to the ground, not a hair on our head can perish; and the true Christian also believeth thatGoddoth not willingly afflict the children of men, but that when he chasteneth, he doth it even as a father chasteneth his child, for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Suppose that a parent be taken in the vigour of his strength, from a loving wife and helpless little ones,—and this is, perhaps, the severest dispensation we can conceive:—that the desolate and the destitute should grieve is natural. And are they to be blamed for this? No; for at the grave of Lazarus our blessedLordgroaned in his spirit and wept. Why, indeed, is affliction sent? Is it not sent for this very purpose—to make us grieve? And while affliction is impending, we may pray that it may be averted. Did not theLord Jesusdo the same? Thrice, in his agony, he prayed that the cup of sorrow might be removed from him; thereby affording us an example, that we may pray for the turning away of a calamity,—though at the same time affording us an example to say, when the prayer has not been granted, “Father, not my will, but thine be done.” And if the petition, the petition for the life of a parent or a friend, has not been granted, why has it been unheeded by theFatherof mercies? The faith of the true Christian answers, even becauseGodforesaw that it would be more conducive to the everlasting welfare of the lost one, the everlasting welfare of his desolate wife, to the everlasting welfare of his destitute children, that he should be taken at the very time he was. This, says the heart of faith, is mysterious in our eyes, but it is theLord’sdoing; it is theLord, let him do what seemeth him good. It is thus that, in the midst of sighs and groans, the Christian spirit can giveGodthanks while nature weeps, grace consoles, and faith assures us that what has been done is right.
GALILEE. An appendage of some of our large churches is traditionally known by this name, and is supposed to be connected with some purposes of discipline, and to have borrowed its name from the words of the angel at the sepulchre to the women, “Go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.” (Mark xvi. 7.) The churches where a Galilee occurs are Durham, Lincoln, and Ely; but they have little in common except the name. That at Ely agrees with that at Durham in being at the west end of the church, but it differs in being to all appearance a mere porch of entrance, while that at Durham is a spacious building with five aisles and three altars; and, so far from its use being as a porch of entrance, the great west entrance was actually closed in the fifteenth century, while the Galilee in all probability retained its original use. That at Lincoln is at the south-west corner of the south transept; it is cruciform in plan, and has over it another chamber of the like size, once apparently arranged as a court of judicature, which favours the idea that the Galilee had some connexion with discipline. This was certainly the case at Durham, for there the consistory court has been held from time immemorial: and there Cardinal Langton erected a font for the children of persons who were excommunicate. But this was nearly 300 years after the building of the Galilee, which was certainly erected by Hugh Pudsey in the twelfth century, that women, who were allowed to proceed but a short distance into that particular church, might have a place where they might frequent the Divine ordinances; and this in itself had something of the nature of discipline. It may be worth noticing in addition, that all the three Galilees still remaining were erected between the middle of the twelfth and the middle of the thirteenth century.
GALLICAN CHURCH. (SeeChurch of France.)
GARGOYLE, or GURGOYLE. A water spout, usually in Gothic buildings formed of some grotesque figure.
GEHENNA. The true origin and occasion of this word is this: there was an idol of Moloch, near Jerusalem, in the Valley of Hinnom, to which they offered human sacrifices. The Rabbis say, that they were wont to beat a drum, lest the people should hear the cries of the children that were thrown into the fire when they sacrificed them to idols. This valley was called Geenon, fromGe, which signifiesa valley, and Ennom, which comes fromNahom, that signifies to groan; therefore hell, the place of eternal fire, is called Gehenna. The ancient writers did not make use of this word, and it was first used in the gospel.
GENERATION, THE ETERNAL. (SeeEternity.) It is thus that the filiation without beginning of the Only Begotten of theFatheris expressed.
The distinction of a threefold generation of theSonis well known among the learned, and is thus explained:—1. The first and most proper filiation and generation is his eternally existing in and of theFather, the eternalΛόγοςof the eternal Mind. In respect of this, chiefly, he is theonly begotten, and a distinct person from theFather. His other generations were rather condescensions, first to creatures in general, next to men in particular. 2. His second generation was hiscondescension,manifestation,coming forth, as it were, from theFather, (though never separated or divided from him,) to create the world: this was in time, and a voluntary thing; and in this respect, properly, he may be thought to be first-born of every creature, or before all creatures. 3. His third generation, or filiation, was when he condescended to be born of a pure virgin, and to become man also without ceasing to beGod.—Waterland.
The second person of the Trinity is called theSon, yea, and the “only begottenSonofGod,” because he was begotten of theFather, not as others are, by spiritual regeneration, but by eternal generation, as none but himself is, for the opening whereof we must know thatGodthat made all things fruitful is not himself sterile or barren; but he that hath given power to animals to generate and produce others in their own nature, is himself much more able to produce one, not only like himself, but of the self-same nature with himself, as he did in begetting his Son, by communicating his own unbegotten essence and nature to him. For the person of theSonwas most certainly begotten of theFather, or otherwise he would not be hisSon; but his essence was unbegotten, otherwise he would not beGod; and therefore the highest apprehensions that we can frame of this great mystery, the eternal generation of theSonofGod, is only by conceiving the person of theFatherto have communicated his Divine essence to the person of theSon; and so of himself begetting his other self theSon, by communicating his own eternal and unbegotten essence to him; I say, by communicating of hisessence, not of hispersonto him (for then they would be both the same person, as now they are of the same essence); the essence of theFatherdid not beget theSonby communicating his person to him, but the person of theFatherbegat theSonby communicating his essence to him; so that the person of theSonis begotten, not communicated, but the essence of theSonis communicated, not begotten.
This notion of theFather’sbegetting theSon, by communicating his essence to him, I ground upon theSon’sown words, who certainly best knew how himself was begotten: “For as theFather,” saith he, “hath life in himself, so hath he given to theSonto have life in himself.” (John v. 26.) To have life in himself is an essential property of the Divine nature; and, therefore, wheresoever that is given or communicated, the nature itself must needs be given and communicated too.
Now here we see howGodtheFathercommunicated this his essential property, and so his essence, to theSon; and, by consequence, though he be a distinct person from him, yet he hath the same unbegotten essence with him; and therefore as theFatherhath life in himself, so hath theSonlife in himself, and so all other essential properties of the Divine nature, only with this personal distinction, that theFatherhath this life in himself, not from theSon, but from himself; whereas, theSonhath it, not from himself, but from theFather; or, theFatherisGodof himself, not of theSon; theSonis the sameGod, but from theFather, not from himself, and therefore not theFather, but theSon, is rightly called by the Council of Nice,Godof God, Light of light, yea, veryGodof very God.—Beveridge.
What we assert is, thatGodtheFatherfrom all eternity communicated to hisSonhis own individual nature and substance; so that the sameGodheadwhich is in theFatheroriginally and primarily, is also in theSonby derivation and communication. By this communication there was given to theSonall those attributes and perfections which do simply and absolutely belong to the Divine nature; there was a communication of all the properties which naturally belong to the essence communicated; and hence it is that theSonis eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and the like, in the same infinite perfection as hisFatheris. The natural properties were thus communicated; but we cannot say the same of the personal properties, it being impossible they should be communicated, as beinginseparable from the person: such are, the act of communicating the essence, the generation itself, and the personal pre-eminence of theFather, founded on that generation. These were not communicated, but are proper to theFather; as, on the other hand, the personal properties of theSon(filiation and subordination) are proper to theSon, and do not belong to theFather. And although in this incomprehensible mystery we use the termgeneration, (the Scripture having given us sufficient authority to do so, by styling himGod’s Son, his properSon, and his only begottenSon,) yet, by this term, we are not to understand a proceeding from non-existence to existence, which is the physical notion of generation; nor do we understand it in that low sense in which it is agreeable to creatures; but as it is consistent with the essential attributes ofGod, of which necessary existence is one. Nor, further, are we in this generation to suppose any division of the essence, or any external separation. The communication of the nature was not a separate one, like that of finite beings, but merely internal: and, though theSonbe generated from the substance of theFather, (and thence be a distinct person from him,) yet he still continues to beintheFather, and theFatherinhim; herein differing from the production of all created beings, that in them the producer and the produced become two distinct individuals, which in this generation cannot be affirmed. The term used by the Greek Fathers to express this internal or undivided existence in the same nature,ἐμπεριχώρησιςthat of the LatinFathers,circumincessio; and that distinction of the schoolmen,generatio ab intra; are terms which are as expressive as any words can be of a mystery so far above our comprehension. TheFatherand theSonby this communication do not become twoGods, (as Adam and Seth are two men,) but are only oneGodin the same undivided essence. The communication of this nature neither did, nor could, infringe the unity of it, because the Divine essence is simply one, and therefore cannot be divided; is absolutely infinite, and therefore incapable of being multiplied into more infinities. And this, by the way, sufficiently shows the weakness and falseness of that charge which has been so often thrown on the orthodox scheme of the Trinity, namely, that it is downright tritheism, and that to maintain that the three persons are each of themGod, is in effect to maintain threeGods; a charge which is so far from being a just consequence of our principles, that it is manifestly inconsistent with them, and impossible to be true upon them. We hold the Divine essence to be one simple, indivisible essence; we assert that theFathercommunicated to theSon, without division, this his individual substance; and therefore, upon these our principles, the unity of the Divine essence must still unavoidably be preserved; and upon this scheme the three distinct persons neither are, nor can be, (what is falsely suggested against us,) three distinctGods. This communication of the Divine substance toGodtheSonwas not a temporary one, but strictly and absolutely eternal; eternal in the proper sense of that word; in the same sense in which eternity is ascribed to the Divine nature itself; and eternal, in the same sense asGodtheFatherhimself is so.—Stephens.
GENESIS. The first book of the Bible. The Hebrews call itברשית,Bereschith, which signifies,in the beginning; these being the first words of the book. The Greeks gave it the name ofGenesis, or Generation, because it contains the genealogy of the first patriarchs from Adam to the sons and grandsons of Jacob; or because it begins with the history of the creation of the world. It includes the history of 2369 years, from the beginning of the world to the death of the patriarch Joseph. Besides the history of the creation, it contains an account of the original innocence and fall of man, the propagation of mankind, the rise of religion, the invention of arts, the general defection and corruption of the world, the deluge, the restoration of the world, the division and peopling of the earth, the original of nations and kingdoms, the history of the first patriarchs down to Joseph, at whose death it ends.
GENTILE. (FromGentes.) All the people in the world, except the Jews, were called Gentiles.
GENTLEMEN OF THE CHAPEL ROYAL. The lay singers of the Royal Chapel are so called; and their duty is to perform with the priests, in order, the choral service there, which was formerly daily. According to the present rule, they attend in monthly courses of eight at a time. In ancient times this body was more numerous: Edward VI.’s chapel had thirty-two gentlemen; Queen Elizabeth’s thirty; James I.’s twenty-three.
GEOMETRICAL. The style of Gothic architecture which succeeded the Early English about 1245, and gave place to the Decorated about 1315.
In this style window tracery was firstintroduced, and it is distinguished from the tracery of the succeeding style by the use of simple geometrical forms, each in general perfect in itself, and not running into one another. (SeeTracery, and the engravings there given.) From the use of tracery large windows naturally followed, sometimes even extending to six or eight lights; and from these larger openings in the walls some constructive changes followed, especially in the greater weight and projection of the buttresses. The doors are very often, as in the Early English, divided by a central shaft. The piers very soon lose the detached shafts, and are rather formed of solid clusters. In early examples the triforium is still retained as a distinct feature; in later, it is treated as a decorative band of panelling. Arcading is either discontinued, or increases very greatly in richness. Vaulting hardly advances upon the simple forms of the preceding style. All decorative features are of the very highest order of excellence, and are far more natural than either before or after, without losing in grace, or force, or character. There is no single decoration peculiar to this style, but crockets first appear in it, as also the ball-flower; on the other hand, the dog-tooth is quite given up.
GHOST. (SeeHoly Ghost.) A spirit. The third person in the blessed Trinity is spoken of as theHoly Ghost.Giving up the ghostmeans expiring, or dying.
GIRDLE. A cincture binding the alb round the waist. Formerly it was flat and broad, and sometimes adorned with jewels; in the Roman Catholic Church it has been changed into a long cord with dependent extremities and tassels. The zone is regarded as a type of purity.—Jebb.
GLEBE. Every church is of common right entitled to house and glebe.
These are both comprehended under the name ofmanse, and the rule of the canon law is, “Sancitum est, ut unicuique ecclesiæ unus mansus integer, absque ullo servitio, tribuatur.” This is repeated in the canons of Egbert; and the assigning of these was of such absolute necessity, that without them no church could be regularly consecrated. The fee simple of the glebe is inabeyance, from the Frenchbayer, to expect, i. e. it is only in the remembrance, expectation, and intendment, of law. Lord Coke says, this was provided by the providence and wisdom of the law, for that the parson and vicar have cure of souls, and were bound to celebrate Divine service, and administer the sacraments, and therefore no act of the predecessor should make a discontinuance, to take away the entry of the successor, and to drive him to a real action whereby he might be destitute of maintenance in the mean time.
After induction, the freehold of the glebe is in theparson, but with these limitations: (1.) That he may not alienate, nor exchange, except upon the conditions set forth in the statutes cited below; (2.) that he may not commit waste by selling wood, &c.
But it has been adjudged that the digging of mines in glebe lands isnotwaste; for the court said, in denying a prohibition, “if this were accounted waste, no mines that are in glebe lands could ever be opened.”
Glebe lands, in the hands of the parson, shall not pay tithe to the vicar, though endowed generally of the tithes of all lands within the parish; nor being in the hands of the vicar, shall they pay tithe to the parson. This is according to the known maxim of the canon law, that “The Church shall not pay tithes to the Church;” but otherwise if the glebe be leased out, for then it shall be liable to pay tithes respectively as other lands are. By a statute of Henry VIII., if the parson dies in possession of glebe, and another is inducted before severance of the crop from the ground, his executor shall have the corn, but the successor shall have the tithes: the reason is, because, although the executor represents the testator, yet he cannot represent himas parson; inasmuch as another parson is inducted. By 13 Eliz. c. 10, the term for leasing glebe is limited to twenty-one years, or three lives. The 55 Geo. III. c. 147, 56 Geo. III. c. 52, 1 Geo. IV. c. 6, are acts for “enabling spiritual persons to exchange their parsonage houses or glebe lands.” (See also 6 Geo. IV. c. 8; 7 Geo. IV. c. 66; 1 & 2 Vict. c. 23; 2 & 3 Vict. c. 49; 5 & 6 Vict. c. 27; 1 & 2 Vict. c. 106, s. 93.)
Canon 87.A Terrier of Glebe lands, and other Possessions belonging to Churches.—“We ordain that the archbishops and all bishops within their several dioceses shall procure (as much as in them lieth) that a true note and terrier of all the glebes, lands, meadows, gardens, orchards, houses, stocks, implements, tenements, and portions of tithes, lying out of their parishes, (which belong to any parsonage, or vicarage, or rural prebend,) be taken by the view of honest men in every parish, by the appointment of the bishop, (whereof the minister to be one,) and be laid up in the bishop’s registry, there to be for a perpetual memory thereof.”
By 1 & 2 Vict. c. 106, the bishop may assign four acres of glebe to the curate, occupying the house of a non-resident incumbent, at a fixed rent, to be approved of by the bishop.
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS. “Glory be [toGod] on high.” One of the doxologies of the Church, sometimes called the angelic hymn, because the first part of it was sung by the angels at Bethlehem. The latter portion of this celebrated hymn is ascribed to Telesphorus, bishop of Rome, about the year ofChrist139; and the whole hymn, with very little difference, is to be found in the Apostolical Constitutions, and was established to be used in the Church service by the fourth Council of Toledo,A. D.633. It is used by both the Greek and Latin Church. “In the Eastern Church,” says Palmer, “this hymn is more than 1500 years old, and the Church of England has used it, either at the beginning or end of the liturgy, for above 1200 years.” It is now used at the conclusion of the Communion Service; but in the First Book of King Edward VI. was placed near the beginning. It is directed to besungorsaid; and ought to be sung in all cathedrals at least, as it is still at Exeter, Durham, and occasionally at Worcester and Windsor.
GLORIA PATRI. “Glory be to theFather.” The Latin title of one of the primitive doxologies of the Church, sometimes called the lesser doxology, to distinguish it from theGloria in excelsis, or angelic hymn. From the times of the apostles it has been customary to mingle ascriptions of glory with prayer, and to conclude the praises of the Church, and also sermons, with glory to theFather, to theSon, and to theHoly Ghost. The first part of theGloria Patriis traced by St. Basil to the apostolic age. In the writings of the Fathers, doxologies are of very frequent occurrence, and in the early Church they appear to have been used as tests, by which orthodox Christians and Churches were distinguished from those which were infected with heresy. The doxologies then in use, though the same in substance, were various in form and mode of expression. The Arians soon took advantage of this diversity, and wrested some of them so as to appear to favour their own views. One of the doxologies which ran in these words, “Glory be to theFather,bytheSon,intheHoly Ghost,” was employed by them in support of their heretical opinions. In consequence of this, and to set the true doctrine of the Church in the clearest light, the form, as now used, was adopted as the standing doxology of the Church. (SeeDoxology.)
Of the hymns that made a part of the service of the ancient Church, one of the most common was what is called the lesser doxology. The most ancient form of it was only a single sentence without a response—“Glory be to theFather, and to theSon, and to theHoly Ghost, world without end. Amen.” Part of the latter clause, “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,” was inserted some time after the first composition. In the fourth Council of Toledo, an. 633, the words, “As it was in the beginning,” &c., are omitted, but the word “honour” is added to “glory,” according to a decree of that council; that it should be said, “Glory and honour be to theFather:” forasmuch as the prophet David says, “Bring glory and honour to theLord,” and John the Evangelist, in the Revelation, heard the voice of the heavenly host, saying, “Honour and glory be to ourGod, who sitteth on the throne.” (Rev. v. 13.) From whence they conclude, that it ought to be said on earth as it is sung in heaven. The Mozarabic liturgy, which was used in Spain a little after this time, has it in the very same form: “Glory and honour be to theFather, and to theSon, and to theHoly Ghost, world without end. Amen.” The Catholics themselves of old were wont to say, some, “Glory be to theFather, and to theSon, and to theHoly Ghost;” others, “with theHoly Ghost;” and others, “in or by theSon, and by theHoly Ghost.” These different ways of expressing were all allowed, so long as no heterodox opinion was suspected to be couched under them. But when Arius had broached his heresy in the world, his followers would use no other form of glorification but the last, and made it a distinguishing character of their party to say, “Glory be to theFather, in, or by, theSon, andHoly Ghost:” intending hereby to denote, that theSonandHoly Ghostwere inferior to theFatherin substance, and, as creatures, of a different nature from him, as Sozomen and other ancient writers inform us. From this time it became scandalous, and brought any one under the suspicion of heterodoxy to use it, because the Arians had now, as it were, made it the shibboleth of their party. We may observe, that it was a hymn of most general use, and a doxology offered toGodin the close of every solemn office. The Western Church repeated it at the end of every psalm, and the Eastern Church at the end of the last psalm.—The wholecommonly running thus: “ToFather,Son, andHoly Ghost, be all glory, worship, thanksgiving, honour, and adoration, now and for ever, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”—Bingham.
In this diversity there was certainly nothing either intended ill towards the truth, or which could be directly drawn into ill construction; but when, about the time of the Nicene Council, the Arians began to sow their seeds of heresy touching the inequality of the three persons, and, the better to colour their pretences, sheltered themselves under the protection of the doxology, “theFather, by theSon, in theHoly Ghost,” formerly used, to which they constantly adhere, the Council of Nice, to avoid all occasion of future question, held herself to that form which came nighest to the form of baptism composed by ourSaviour, and the doctrine of Christian faith; prescribing it to be punctually observed by all such as were of the orthodox party.—L’Estrange.
It were well if this ancient heresy were so buried as never to rise or revive any more. But, alas! that weed was never so thoroughly rooted out, but the seeds of it soon sprang up again, to the depraving of the doctrine and disturbing the peace of the Church. In these later years there hath arisen up one Socinus, a man of a subtle and crafty wit, who hath rubbed up and revived the same heresy, by denying the Divinity and satisfaction of our blessedSaviour, and hath carried away many by his cunning and corrupt reasoning.—Hole.
If the reasoning of Basil be conclusive, or his opinion may be relied upon, this hymn,Gloria Patri, derives its origin from the apostles. Glorifying theFather, and theSon, together with theHoly Ghost, was in Basil’s judgment practised and prescribed by the apostles themselves. This, he believes, was one of the “ordinances,” or “traditions,” which St. Paul praises the Corinthians for keeping, as they had been delivered to them by him (1 Cor. xi. 2); and exhorts the Thessalonians to hold, as they had been taught, whether by word, or by epistle. (2 Thess. ii. 15.) On this principle, Basil accounts for the practice of ascribing glory to the Trinity, which in his day was universal.—In different passages of his works we find him thus arguing: “As we have received, so must we be baptized; as we are baptized, so must we believe; and as we have believed, so must we glorify theFather, theSon, and theHoly Ghost.”—Shepherd.
The earliest instance that we meet with of the use of this hymn, is found in the circular epistle of the Church of Smyrna, concerning the martyrdom of their beloved bishop Polycarp, from whence we learn that a doxology, nearly resembling Gloria Patri, was the last words he uttered. Polycarp was conversant with the apostles, and was consecrated bishop of Smyrna by St. John the Evangelist. To him, among others, St. John is said to have addressed the Revelation, in which Polycarp is entitled “the angel of the Church of Smyrna.” With some little difference in the phrase of their doxologies, the Christians of the three first ages agreed in uniformly expressing the same thing. Believing and confessing, that in the eternalGodheadthere existed three, theFather, theSon, and theHoly Ghost, they ascribed to them all honour and glory.—Shepherd.
To this very day this serves for these two uses; first, as a shorter creed, and confession of our believing in “three persons and oneGod,” whereby we both declare ourselves to be in the communion of the Catholic Church, and also renounce all heretics who deny this great and distinguishing article of our faith; secondly, for a hymn of praise, by which we magnify theFatherfor our creation, theSonfor our redemption, and theHoly Ghostfor our sanctification; and to quicken us herein, we declare it was so “in the beginning,” for the angels sung the praises of the Trinity in the morning of the creation; and the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, saints and martyrs, did thus worshipGodfrom the beginning. The whole Church militant and triumphant doth it “now,” and shall do it for “ever,” not only in this “world,” but in that which is “without end.” Let us, therefore, with great devotion, join with this blessed company in so good a work, and give glory to theFatherwho granted our pardon, to theSonwho purchased it, and to theHoly Ghostwho sealed it.—Comber.
GLOSS. A comment.
GNOSTICS. (Fromγνώσις,knowledge.) The wordGnosticproperly signifies alearnedorenlightened person; and thus Clement of Alexandria uses it to denote theperfect Christian, who is the true Gnostic. But in its more common use, the term signifies a class of heretics, who pretended to superior knowledge, and mixed up some Christian ideas and terms with systems based on Platonism, Oriental philosophy, or corrupt Judaism. To this class most of the earliest sects belonged. Simon Magus may be considered as theforerunner of Gnosticism; and in the second century there were many varieties of Gnostics—as the followers of Basilides Saturninus, Carpocrates, Valentinus, &c. Of these the Carpocratians alone are said to haveassumedthe name.
The Gnostic systems held in common a belief in one supreme God, dwelling from eternity in thePleroma, or fulness of light. From him proceed successive generations of spiritual beings—called by ValentinusÆons. In proportion as these emanations are more remote from the primal source, the likeness of his perfections in them is continually fainter.Matteris regarded as eternal, and as inherently evil. Out of it the world was formed, not by the SupremeGod, but by theDemiurge—a being who is represented by some heresiarchs as merely a subordinate and unconscious instrument of the Divine will, and by others as positively malignant, and hostile to the Supreme. The Demiurge was the national God of the Jews—the God of the Old Testament; according, therefore, asheis viewed, the Mosaic economy is either recognised as preparatory, or is rejected as evil. The mission ofChristwas for the purpose of delivering man from the tyranny of the Demiurge. But the Christ of Gnosticism was neither very God nor very man. His spiritual nature, being an emanation from the SupremeGod, was necessarily inferior to its original; and, on the other hand, an emanation fromGodcould not dwell in a material, and consequently evil, body. Either, therefore,Jesuswas a mere man, on whom the ÆonChristdescended at his baptism, to forsake him again before his crucifixion; or the body with whichChristseemed to be clothed was only a phantom, and all his actions were only in appearance. (SeeDocetæ.)
The same view as to the evil nature of matter led the Gnostics to deny the resurrection of the body. They could admit no other than a spiritual resurrection; the object of their philosophy was to emancipate the soul from its gross and material prison at death; the soul of the perfect Gnostic, having already risen in baptism, was to be gathered into the bosom ofGod, while such souls as yet lacked their full perfection, were to work it out in a series of transmigrations.
Since matter was evil, the Gnostic was required to overcome it. But here arose an important practical difference; for, while some sought the victory by a high ascetic abstraction from the things of sense, the baser kind professed to show their superiority and indifference by wallowing in impurity and excess.—(SeeBardesanists,Basilidians,Carpocratians,Marcionites,Ophitæ,Valentinians.)
GOD. This is the name we give to that eternal, infinite, and incomprehensible Being, the Maker and Preserver of all things, who exists One Being in a Trinity of Persons. The name is derived from the IcelandicGodi, which signifies the supreme magistrate.
Article I. “There is but one living and trueGod, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker and Preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of thisGodheadthere be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; theFather, theSon, and theHoly Ghost.”
TheFatherisGod.
GodtheFather(John vi. 27; Gal. i. 1, 3; 1 Thess. i. 1).God, even theFather(1 Cor. xv. 24; 2 Cor. i. 3; James iii. 9). OneGodandFather(Eph. iv. 6). OneGodtheFather(1 Cor. viii. 6); and the passages whereGodis spoken of as theFatherof ourLord Christ, theSonof the livingGod(Matt. xvi. 16; John iii. 16; vi. 27; Rom. v. 10; viii. 3; xv. 6).
TheSonisGod.
I. So expressly declared.
The mightyGod(Isa. ix. 6). Make straight—a highway for our God! (xl. 3). Thy throne, OGod, is for ever and ever! (Ps. xlv. 6, with Heb. i. 8). I will save them by theLordtheirGod(Hosea i. 7). Immanuel,Godwith us (Isa. vii. 14; Matt. i. 23). The Word wasGod(John i. 1). MyLordand myGod! (xx. 28; see Ps. xxxv. 23). Feed the Church ofGod, which he has purchased with his own blood (Acts xx. 28). They stoned Stephen, calling uponGod, and saying,Lord Jesus, &c. (vii. 59).Christis over all,God, blessed for ever! (Rom. ix. 5.)Godwas manifest in the flesh, &c., believed on in the world, received up into glory (1 Tim. iii. 16).GodourSaviour. (Titus ii. 10). The greatGod(13). OurGodandSaviour,Jesus Christ(Gr.) (2 Pet. i. 1, with Titus ii. 13). Hereby perceive we the love ofGod, because he laid down his life for us (1 John iii. 16). The trueGod, and eternal life (v. 20).
II. By necessary implication.
The angel Jehovah isGod(Gen. xxxi. 11, with 13; and xxxv. 9–13, and 15; xvi. 9, with 13; Ex. iii. 2, with 4, and 6). I am Alpha and Omega—he that overcometh—I will be hisGod(Rev. xxi. 6, 7). We must all stand before the judgmentseat ofChrist, for,—every tongue shall confess toGod(Rom. xiv. 10, 11). I saw the dead, small and great, stand beforeGod, &c. (Rev. xx. 12). Many shall he (John the Baptist) turn to theLordtheirGod, for he shall go before him (Luke i. 16, 17; with Matt. iii. 11, and xi. 10). TheLord Godof the holy prophets sent his angel (Rev. xxii. 6, with 16). IJesushave sent mine angel to testify, &c. They tempted the most highGod(Ps. lxxviii. 56), applied toChrist(1 Cor. x. 9). Behold theLord Godwill come—behold his reward is with him (Isa. xl. 10, with Rev. xxii. 12, 20). Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me—I am Alpha and Omega. Surely I come quickly, Amen! even so, come,Lord Jesus!—To the only wiseGod, ourSaviour, be glory, &c. Amen! (Jude 25).
III. From his attributes.
As he iswisdomitself (Prov. viii. throughout; Luke xi. 49, with Col. ii. 3).—As he is theholyone (Ps. xvi. 10); the most holy (Dan. ix. 24, with Rev. iii. 7).—As he is thetruth(John xiv. 6, and Rev. iii. 7, with 1 John v. 20).—As he iseternal.—Eternal life (1 John i. 1, 2, and v. 20).—From hisunchangeableness(Heb. i. 11, 12, and xiii. 8, with Mal. iii. 6).—Hisomnipresence(John iii. 13; Matt. xviii. 20; xxviii. 20; Eph. i. 23; iv. 10).—Hisomniscience(Rev. ii. 23; John ii. 24, 25; v. 42). Knowing the thoughts (Matt. ix. 4; xii. 15, 25; Mark ii. 8; Luke v. 22; vi. 8; ix. 47; xi. 17; John vi. 61, 64; xvi. 19; xxi. 17, with 1 Cor. iv. 5; this with 1 Kings viii. 39). Thou, even thou only, (OLord God,) knowest the hearts of all the children of men.—Omnipotence: The works of creation. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made (John i. 3, with Ps. cii. 25; Col. i. 16, and Jer. x. 10, 11).—Andprovidence. By him all things consist (Col. i. 17). Upholding all things by the word of his power (Heb. i. 3).—Judgingthe world. TheLord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead (2 Tim. iv. 1, &c., with Gen. xviii. 25, and Ps. l. 6).Godis judge himself.—Raising the dead (John vi. 40, 54; v. 28, 29; with Deut. xxxii. 39). I, even I, am he, and there is noGodwith me; I kill, and I make alive!—Theforgivenessof sins (Mark ii. 10, 11, &c., with Isa. xliii. 25). I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, and Mark ii. 7.
IV. As Divine worship is due, and paid to him.
Being directed by prophecy. All kings shall fall down before him (Ps. lxxii. 11). All dominions shall serve and obey him (Dan. vii. 27). Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way (Ps. ii. 12). He is thyLord, and worship thou him (xlv. 11). Let all the angels ofGodworship him! (Heb. i. 6.) All men should honour theSon, even as they honour theFather. External worship was paid by the wise men (Matt. ii. 11)—by the leper (viii. 2)—by the ruler (ix. 18)—by the seamen in the storm (xiv. 33)—by the woman of Canaan (xv. 25)—by the blind man (John ix. 38)—by the Marys, &c. (Matt. xxviii. 9), and by his disciples (Rev. i. 17). At the name ofJesusevery knee should bow in heaven and in earth (Phil. ii. 10; compare this with Matt. iv. 10, Thou shalt worship theLordthyGod, and him only shalt thou serve; and Neh. ix. 6, Thou, even thou, artLordalone; thou hast made heaven, &c., and the host of heaven worshippeth thee!).
V. As there must be faith, and hope, and trust in him.
See John iii. 15, 16; xiv. 1; xii. 44; Rom. x. 11; xv. 12; Acts xvi. 31; Eph. i. 12, 13, with Jer. xvii. 5. Cursed be the man that trusteth in man; whose heart departeth from theLord! but blessed are all they that put their trust in him!
VI. As praise and thanksgiving are offered to him.
Daily shall he be praised (Ps. lxxii. 15). Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins, be glory and dominion for ever and ever! (Rev. i. 5, 6; compare Ps. cxlviii. 13). Let them praise the name of theLord, for his name alone is excellent. Whosoever shall call upon the name of theLordshall be saved. Saints, with all that in every place call upon the name ofJesus Christ(1 Cor. i. 2, and Rev. v. 11–13). Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive honour, and glory, and blessing—blessing and honour and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever!—Salvation to ourGod, who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Blessing, &c. be unto ourGodfor ever and ever. Amen! (Rev. vii. 10–12).
TheHoly GhostisGod.
This perhaps is only to be proved by implication and analogy.
I. In regard to title.
The Spirit of theLordspake by me—theGodof Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake (2 Sam. xxiii. 2, 3). That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called theSonofGod(Luke i. 35). She was found with child of theHoly Ghost(Matt. i. 18). Why—lie to theHolyGhost—thou hast lied untoGod(Acts v. 3, 4). Born of the Spirit (John iii. 6). Be born ofGod(1 John v. 4). Consider, too, no man taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called ofGod(Heb. v. 4). Pray theLordof the harvest that he will send forth labourers (Matt. ix. 38).—TheHoly Ghostsaid, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.—So they, being sent forth by theHoly Ghost, departed (Acts xiii. 2, and 4). They shall be all taught of God (John vi. 45). Not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which theHoly Ghostteacheth (1 Cor. ii. 13). Ye are the temple ofGod(1 Cor. iii. 16). Your body is the temple of theHoly Ghost(vi. 19). The hand of theLord Godfell there upon me, and he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head, and the Spirit lifted me up (Ezek. viii. 1–3).
See also the following passages, as respectively explaining each other: Luke ii. 26, with John xiv. 16, 17, and 1 Cor. xiv. 25.—Matt. iv. 1, with Luke xi. 4.—2 Cor. i. 3, with Acts ix. 31; John xiv. 26, &c.—1 Cor. ii. 11, with 14.—Matt. iv. 7, with Acts v. 9.—Gen. vi. 3, with 1 Pet. iii. 20.—Luke xi. 20, with Matt. xii. 28.—Acts iv. 24, 25, with i. 16,—and Luke i. 68, 70, with Acts xxviii. 25; and various others that might be noticed.
That theFather, under whatever names he is described and addressed, isGod, is not disputable. That theSonis alsoGod, it would seem much of rashness to doubt; since he was foretold by prophecy before his manifestation in the flesh, to beGod, and appeared asGodto the patriarchs.—GodtheSon, the angel and guardian of his people; for “God”—the Trinity in unity—“no man hath seen at any time.” That he must be aGodwho has such titles applied to him, such Divine attributes and offices, and to whom Divine worship is paid, the Arian allows, and the Socinian did not always deny; but that he is another—an inferiorGod, thus making moreGodsthan one, the voice of revelation expressly contradicts.
The Divinity of theSonis in fact proved both directly and incidentally; but the personality and Divinity of theHoly Spiritare less decisively expressed and treated of—apparently because theHoly Ghostwas never incarnate, nor appeared in a bodily form upon earth, and therefore we have not his frequent declarations, as we have those of theSon, nor direct addresses to him, as we have to theFather, to illustrate this point, but are left to gather the truth from the mouths of the prophets—the holy men ofGod, who spake as they were moved by theHoly Ghost. From their preaching we sufficiently learn that he joined in the work of creation—that he dwells in the temple of the body, (1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19, 20; 2 Cor. vi. 16,) and the faithful are therefore dedicated to him—that he is eternal, omnipresent, infinite in power and knowledge—that obedience is due to him, and the sin against him considered unpardonable—and that he is to be worshipped is implied by the apostolic form of benediction. That theHoly Spiritis a person is proved, independently of analogous reasoning, by a clear personal distinction between him and theFatherand theSon.
The termGod, when used in Holy Scripture in relation to theFatherof ourLord Christ, is evidently used in a personal sense; and in such sense the Church also speaks ofGodtheSonandGodtheHoly Ghost. But when it is announced that there is but oneGod, though he is theFatherof all, the term is used essentially, and comprehends the sacred three. The unity of theGodheadis so unequivocally declared in Holy Scripture, that we dare not deny it: but neither, it is presumed, can we safely deny that theFather, theSon, and theHoly Ghostare each of themGod, without either impeaching the authenticity of most of the passages cited in this article, or making the word ofGod(itself) of none effect, by strifes of words, not to say profane and vain babblings.
GODFATHER. (SeeSponsors.) He that holds the child at the baptismal font, and answers for him. The custom of godfathers or sponsors is very ancient in the Church. We find them mentioned by Tertullian, the Apostolical Constitutions, St. Chrysostom, and St. Augustine. There were three sorts of sponsors: 1. For children. 2. For adult persons, who through sickness were not able to answer for themselves. 3. For such as could answer. The sureties for the first were obliged to be guardians of children’s Christian education; and indeed at first they were the parents of the children, and it was in extraordinary cases, either when the parent could not or would not, that others were admitted to be sureties. Sureties of the second sort were such as engaged to the Church that the adult person, who was grown incapable to answer for himself, did, when he was capable, desire to be baptized. But those of the third sort, who appeared with the person to be baptized,obliged themselves to admonish the person of his duty, as they had, before baptism, instructed him in it. Anciently deaconnesses were the sponsors for women, and the deacons were for the men. Parents were not forbidden to be sponsors for their children, before the Council of Mentz,A. D.813. In the Church of Rome it is not lawful to marry any person to whom one stands related in this spiritual way; and this occasions numberless disputes, and numberless dispensations, which ring great sums of money to the exchequer of Rome.
Rubric. “There shall be for every male child to be baptized, two godfathers and one godmother; and for every female, one godfather and two godmothers.”
Canon 29. “No person shall be urged to be present, nor be admitted to answer as godfather for his own child; nor any godfather or godmother shall be suffered to make any other answer or speech, than by the Book of Common Prayer is prescribed in that behalf. Neither shall any person be admitted godfather or godmother to any child at christening or confirmation, before the said person so undertaking hath received the holy communion.”
Rubric. “And the godfathers and godmothers, and the people with the children, must be ready at the font, either immediately after the last lesson at morning prayer, or else immediately after the last lesson at evening prayer, as the curate by his discretion shall appoint.”
GOLDEN NUMBER. By referring to the astronomical tables at the beginning of the Prayer Book, it will be seen that a large proportion of them are simply calculations of the day on whichEasterwill fall in any given year, and, by consequence, the moveable feasts depending on it. In the early Church, it is well known that there were many and long disputes on this point, the Eastern and Western Churches not agreeing on the particular day for the celebration of this festival. To remove these difficulties, the Council of Nice came to a decision, from which the following rule was framed, viz. “Easter day is always the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon or next after the 21st day of March; and if the full moon happens upon a Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday after.”
To determine the time of Easter in any year, it was therefore only necessary to find out the precise time of the above full moon, and to calculate accordingly. Now if the solar year exactly corresponded with the lunar, the time of the paschal moon would be liable to no variation, and Easter would fall on the same day of every year; but as the lunar year is really shorter than the solar, by eleven days, it follows that the paschal moon must, for a course of years, always happen at a different period in each successive year. If then the above rule be observed, the time of Easter may vary from the 22nd of March to the 25th of April, but somewhere within these limits it will always fall. Hence the adoption by the Council of Nice of theMetonic Cycle, by which these changes might be determined with tolerable accuracy. From the great usefulness of this cycle, its numbers were usually written on the calendar in letters of gold, from which it derived the name ofGolden Number.
GOOD FRIDAY. The Friday in Passion week received this name from the blessed effects of ourSaviour’ssufferings, which are the ground of all our joy, and from those unspeakable good things he hath purchased for us by his death, whereby the blessedJesusmade expiation for the sins of the whole world, and by the shedding of his own blood, obtained eternal redemption for us. Among the Saxons it was called Long Friday; but for what reason, except for the long fastings and offices they then used, does not appear.
The commemoration of ourSaviour’ssufferings hath been kept from the very first age of Christianity, and was always observed as a day of the strictest fasting and humiliation; not that the grief and affliction they then expressed did arise from the loss they sustained, but from a sense of the guilt of the sins of the whole world, which drew upon our blessed Redeemer that painful and shameful death of the cross.
The Gospel for this day (besides its coming in course) is properly taken out of St. John rather than any other evangelist, because he was the only one that was present at the passion, and stood by the cross while others fled: and, therefore, the passion being as it were represented before our eyes, his testimony is read who saw it himself, and from whose example we may learn not to be ashamed or afraid of the cross ofChrist. The Epistle proves, from the insufficiency of the Jewish sacrifices, that they only typified a more sufficient one, which the Son ofGoddid, as on this day, offer up, and by one oblation of himself then made upon the cross, complete all the other sacrifices, (which were only shadows of this,) and made full satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. In imitation of which Divine and infinite love, the Church endeavours to show hercharity to be boundless and unlimited, by praying in one of the proper collects, that the effects ofChrist’sdeath may be as universal as the design of it, namely, that it may tend to the salvation of all, Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics.
How suitable the proper psalms are to the day, is obvious to any one that reads them with a due attention: they were all composed by David in times of the greatest calamity and distress, and do most of them belong mystically to the crucifixion of ourSaviour; especially the twenty-second, which is the first for the morning, which was in several passages literally fulfilled by his sufferings, and, either part of it, or all, recited by him upon the cross. And for that reason (as St. Austin tells us) was always used upon that day by the African Church.
The first lesson for the morning is Genesis xxii., containing an account of Abraham’s readiness to offer up his son; thereby typifying that perfect oblation which was this day made by theSonofGod; which was thought so proper a lesson for this occasion, that the Church used it upon this day in St. Austin’s time. The second lesson is St. John xviii., which needs no explanation. The first lesson for the evening contains a clear prophecy of the passion ofChrist, and of the benefits which the Church thereby receives. The second lesson exhorts us to patience under afflictions, from the example ofChrist, who suffered so much for us.—Wheatly.
The proper psalms and both the second lessons for Good Friday were added at the last review: and Genesis xxii., the first morning lesson, which was formerly read all through, limited to ver. 20.
GOOD WORKS. “Albeit that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity ofGod’sjudgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable toGodinChrist, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.”—ArticleXII.
Good works are inseparable from our union withChrist; but then as effects of that union, not as causes or instruments. “We are created inChrist Jesusunto good works.” “Ye are become dead to the law by the body ofChrist, that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit untoGod.” “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me—separate from me—ye can do nothing.” While, however, we regard good works as effects of our union withChrist, we must remember that they are an end also, nay, the end for which we have been united to him; and if so, a condition of the continuance of our union. “The branch cannot,” it is true, “bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine;” but yet its fruitfulness is the object of the care and pains which the vinedresser bestows upon it, and therefore a condition on which it is suffered to remain. “I am the true vine, and myFatheris the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” And as fruitfulness in good works is a condition on which we are suffered to continue inChrist, so also is it the measure according to which fresh supplies of grace are given; “every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.” And yet further, which indeed follows upon the foregoing—our works are the rule by whichGodwill judge us at the last day. These will declare, beyond all controversy, how far we have answered the end of our new creation; how far we have improved the talents intrusted to us; how far we are qualified and prepared for that kingdom, into which “there shall in nowise enter anything that defileth,” where “the people shall be all righteous,” where “the merciful” “shall receive mercy,” where “the pure in heart” “shall seeGod;” where the servant, who has so improved the pound intrusted to him as to have gained five pounds, shall be appointed to reign over five cities, and he who has gained ten pounds, shall have authority over ten cities.
It is one great secret of holy living to remember, that holiness is to be sought in and fromChrist; to be wrought in us by his Spirit. We are too prone to overlook this great truth; to forget the strength which we have inChrist. We act as though, notwithstanding all thatChristhath done for us and in us, Christian virtue were nothing more than moral habits strengthened by exercise. Whereas, in truth, it takes a far higher range. It consists in habits doubtless; but they are habits of him who has been created anewinChrist Jesus; they are the habits of him who is one withChrist, and partaker of the Spirit ofChrist; who has been planted together withChrist, in the likeness of his death, that he should be also in the likeness of his resurrection; and who has that blessed promise to cheer and encourage him in striving against sin. “Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”—Heurtley.
GOSPEL. (A word compounded of two Saxon words,god, “good,” andspell, a “message” or “tidings,” and so answering to the Greekεὐαγγέλιον.)God’sor Good Tidings—the glad tidings of the salvation wrought for man by theLord Jesus Christ.
In a stricter sense, the word means each of the four histories of ourSaviour, written by the Evangelists: in a more confined sense still, it means that portion of Scripture which is read immediately after the Epistle in the ante-communion service, and which is taken from one of the four Gospels. A Gospel is also read in the Baptismal Service.
In the mediæval Church there were always peculiar ceremonies used in honour of the Gospel, as for instance, the bringing special lights even during day-time, placing the book of the Gospels reverently on the altar, incensing them, &c. In the Anglican Church we retain some vestiges of this in standing whilst the Gospel is read, and preceding it by the “Glory be to thee, OLord,” a sentence retained traditionally from the ancient Church.
GOSPELLER. The priest who in the Communion Service reads the Gospel, standing at the north side of the altar. In some cathedrals one of the clergy is so designated, and has this special duty among others to perform. By the 24th Canon, in cathedral and collegiate churches, a Gospeller (as well as an Epistoler) is to assist the priest, vested in a cope. Gospellers are statutable members of the several cathedrals of the new foundation, and an officer so called still officiates at Durham, though the office has generally fallen into desuetude; and, contrary to the ancient universal usage of the Church, even when many priests and deacons are present, it is usual for but two ministers to attend at the first part of the Communion Service: the principal minister reading the Gospel. Strictly speaking, the deacon is the minister for the Gospel; since, in the ordering of deacons, authority is given them to “read the Gospel in the Church of God.”—Jebb.(See alsoEpistoler.)
GOSSIP. A sponsor for an infant in baptism, fromGodandsib, a Saxon word, which signifies kindred, affinity: kin inGod.
GOTHIC. A general term for that style of mediæval architecture of which the pointed arch is the most prominent character. Together withRomanesque(an equally general term for that style of which the round arch is the most prominent character) it comprehends all mediæval ecclesiastical architecture in England. The substyles with their dates may be roughly stated as follows:
The more minute characteristics must be sought under these several names, and it must be obvious that the accounts given within the small limits we can devote to the subject must be very superficial. The subject may be pursued in a number of works now before the public, as, first in date and not last in importance, Rickman’s “Attempt to distinguish the Styles of Architecture in England,” and last in time, Sharpe’s “Seven Periods of English Architecture.” The same mode of architecture prevailed in Ireland and Scotland, with some characteristic distinctions.
GRACE. This word is used in a variety of senses in Holy Scripture: but the general idea, as it relates toGod, is his free favour and love; as it relates to men, the happy state of reconciliation and favour withGod, wherein they stand, and the holy endowments, qualities, or habits of faith, hope, and love, which they possess.
“We are accounted righteous beforeGod, only for the merit of ourLordandSaviour Jesus Christby faith, and not for our own works or deservings: wherefore, that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the homily of justification.”—ArticleXI.
The most pious of those who lived under the Mosaic dispensation, often acknowledge the necessity of assistance fromGod. David prays toGodto “open his eyes, to guide and direct him” (Ps. cxix. 18, 32–35); to “create in him a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within him.”(Ps. li. 10.) And Solomon says, thatGod“directeth men’s paths, and giveth grace to the lowly.” Even we, whose minds are enlightened by the pure precepts of the gospel, and influenced by the motives which it suggests, must still be convinced of our weakness and depravity, and of the necessity of Divine grace to regulate and strengthen our wills, and to co-operate with our endeavours after righteousness, as is clearly asserted in the New Testament. See the texts above cited, which sufficiently prove that we stand in need both of a preventing and of a co-operating grace; or, in the words of the Article, that “we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable toGod, without the grace ofGodbyChristpreventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.”
Dr. Nicholls, after quoting many authorities to show, that the doctrine of Divine grace always prevailed in the Catholic Church, adds, “I have spent perhaps more time in these testimonies than was absolutely necessary; but whatever I have done is to show, that the doctrine of Divine grace is so essential a doctrine of Christianity, that not only the Holy Scriptures and the primitive Fathers assert it, but likewise that the Christians could not in any age maintain their religion without it; it being necessary, not only for the discharge of Christian duties, but for the performance of our ordinary devotions.” And this seems to have been the opinion of the compilers of our most excellent liturgy, in many parts of which both a preventing and co-operating grace is unequivocally acknowledged; particularly in the second collect for Evening Service, in the fourth collect at the end of the Communion Service, and in the collects for Easter Day, for the fifth Sunday after Easter, and for the 3rd, 9th, 17th, 19th, and 25th Sundays after Trinity.
This assistance of Divine grace is not inconsistent with the free agency of men (seeFree Will): it does not place them under an irresistible restraint, or compel them to act contrary to their will. Though human nature is greatly depraved, yet every good disposition is not totally extinguished, nor is all power of right action entirely annihilated. Men may therefore make some spontaneous, though feeble, attempt to act conformably to their duty, which will be promoted and rendered effectual by the co-operation ofGod’sgrace: or the grace ofGodmay so far “prevent” our actual endeavours, as to awaken and dispose us to our duty; but yet not in such a degree, that we cannot withstand its influence. In either case our own exertions are necessary to enable us to “work out our own salvation,” but our “sufficiency” for that purpose is fromGod. The joint agency ofGodand man in the work of human salvation is pointed out in the following passage: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it isGodthat worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. ii. 12, 13); and therefore we may assure ourselves that free will and grace are not incompatible, though the mode and degree of their co-operation be utterly inexplicable.
GRACE AT MEALS. A short prayer, invoking a blessing upon our food, and expressive of gratitude toGodfor supplying our wants. The propriety of this act is evident from the traditional custom of the Church, and from the Divine command, as interpreted by this custom, (1 Thess. v. 18; 1 Cor. x. 31; 1 Tim. iv. 5,) and from the conduct of our Lord. (Mark viii. 6, 7.)
GRADUAL, or GRAIL. The antiphonary which, before the Reformation, supplied the anthems or verses for the beginning of the Communion, the Offertory, &c., was often called the Gradual, because some of the anthems were chanted on the steps (gradus) of the ambon or pulpit.
The Gradual is also an anthem sung in the Roman Church immediately after the Epistle.—Jebb.
GRAVE. The resting-place of a dead body. The spoliation and desecration of ancient sepulchres is as much an ecclesiastical offence as the robbing of a more recent grave; but where none feel themselves especially aggrieved, there are none to seek redress, and to bring offenders to justice. The law upon the subject seems to stand thus: A corpse once buried cannot legally be taken up to be deposited in another place, without a licence from the ordinary. But in case of a violent death the coroner may order the body to be disinterred, if it has been buried before he has had an opportunity of taking a view for the purposes of his inquest.
If the body, after it has been committed to the grave, be disturbed or removed, it is a subject of ecclesiastical cognizance: yet the common law also protects the corpse; for the taking up of dead bodies, for the purposes of dissection, is an indictable offence, as highly indecent, andcontra bonos mores.
The property of things deposited with the dead, as the grave-clothes, &c., is in him that had property therein when thedead body was wrapped therewith, and the taking them is felony. The property in hatchments, or other ensigns of honour, is in the heir, or the person concerned in the hereditary distinction. (SeeBurial, and the list of acts of parliament appended to the wordCemetery.)
GREEK CHURCH. (SeeChurch, Greek.)
GREGORIAN CHANT. (SeeChant.) This general designation is given to the collection of chants compiled by Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, aboutA. D.600. These chants have continued to be in use from that time to the present day, in the Western Church, and form the basis of our cathedral music. It is known that Gregory merely collected, arranged, and improved the chants which had already been used for centuries before his time. The most learned writers on the subject suppose that they are derived from those introduced by St. Ambrose into his church, at Milan, aboutA. D.384. Great improvements, however, having been made in the science of music, subsequently to the time of St. Ambrose, Gregory took advantage of those improvements, and increased the number of ecclesiastical tones, (which somewhat resemble our modern keys,) from four to eight, of which number the Gregorian chants, properly so called, still consist. The four original tones are called authentic, the others plagal. All the eight are now used in some parts of the Greek Church, as in Russia, doubtless adopted from the West. They have been harmonized according to the more recently discovered laws of music, and thus harmonized possess a singular gravity, which character would alone justify their perpetual retention in the Church as thebasisof church music.