PROCTOR. (Procurator, Lat.) Proctors are officers established to represent, in judgment, the parties who empower them (by warrant under their hands, called aproxy) to appear for them to explain their rights, to manage and instruct their cause, and to demand judgment.
The representatives of the clergy in convocation are also called proctors.
The same name is given to university officers, whose business is to guard the morals and preserve the quiet of the university at Oxford and Cambridge; to present candidates in arts and music for their degrees; and (formerly in a more special manner than at present) to superintend their public exercises. The latter is now the prominent practice of the proctors in the university of Dublin: the senior proctor presiding at the Masters’ exercises, the junior at the Bachelors’. They are two in number, and chosen annually by the several colleges in cycle.
Procuratorswere officers in some of the ancient universities of Europe, as in Paris; they were then four in number, elected annually, each by one of the fournationsinto which the students were divided: and the rector, the deans of divinity, law, medicine, and the four proctors, formed the standing council of the university: somewhat analogous to thecaputat Cambridge. Thedeanswere the proctors of their respective faculties. Anciently the university of Oxford was divided into two “nations,” as they might be called, each of which was represented by a proctor.
PROCURATION. A pecuniary sum or composition by an incumbent to an ordinary or other ecclesiastical judge, to commute for the provision, or entertainment, which he was formerly expected to provide for such ordinary at the time of visitation. (SeeSynodal.)
PROFESSOR. A public teacher in a university.
PROPHECY. (Fromπροφητεία.) The prediction of future things. (SeeScripture, Inspiration of, andMiracles.)
PROPHESYINGS. Religious exercises of the clergy in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, instituted for the purpose of promoting knowledge and piety. The ministers of a particular division at a set time met together in some church of a market or other large town, and there each in order explained, according to their abilities, some portion of Scripture allotted to them before. This done, a moderator made his observations on what had been said, and determined the true sense of the place, a certain space of time being fixed for despatching the whole. These exercises being however abused, by irregularity, disputations, and divisions, were restrained.—Canon72.
PROPHET. One who foretells future events. We have in the Old Testament the writings of sixteen prophets; that is, of four greater prophets, and twelve lesser prophets. The four greater prophets are, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The Jews do not place Daniel among the prophets, because (they say) he lived in the splendour of temporal dignities, and a kind of life different from other prophets. The twelve lesser prophets are, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
PROPITIATION. (SeeCovenant of Redemption,Sacrifice,Atonement,Satisfaction,Jesus.)Propitiationis originally a Latin word, and signifies the appeasing of the wrath ofGod, or doing something whereby he may be rendered propitious, kind, or merciful, to us, notwithstanding that we have provoked him to anger by any sin or offence committed against him. And the original word,ἱλασμὸς, is used by the Greeks exactly in the same sense, as might easily be shown. But that we may fully understand the true notion of the word, as it is here used, our best way will be to consider how it is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, made long before St. John’s time; for he, writing to those who were generally accustomed to the words and phrases in that translation, it cannot be supposed but he useth this, as well as other words, in the same sense as it is used there: for otherwise they would not so well have understood him. Now there we find thatἱλάσκεσθαιandἐξιλάσασθαιall along answer to theכפר, which signifiesto appease,to pacify,to reconcile, a person offended, toatoneor make himat one againwith the offender. So both the Hebrew and the Greek words are used, where it is said, “The wrath of a king is as messengers of death, but a wise man willpacifyit.” And also where Jacob, having sent a present before him to his brother Esau, that was offended with him, saith, “I willappeasehim with thepresentthat goeth before me.” He calls his presentמנחה, a word commonly used for offerings toGod. That was his propitiation, whereby his brother was reconciled to him. So were the sacrifices of the Levitical law: they were theΙλασμοhὶ, the expiations, or propitiations, wherebyGodwas atoned or appeased towards him which brought them; or, as it is there expressed, they were accepted for him, to make atonement for him. And when a man had thus brought his offering, and the priest had therewith made atonement for him, for the sin he had committed, then it was forgiven him, as we often read. In all which places, both the Hebrew and Greek words before mentioned are used; the first by Moses himself, the other by the Seventy which translated him. And therefore we cannot doubt but that the Greek word, coming from the same root, is here also used in the same sense for such a propitiation, or propitiatory sacrifice, wherebyGodis reconciled, or rendered propitious, to us, and our sins are forgiven us;Godaccepting, as it were, of that sacrifice, instead of the punishment which was due unto us for them.
The same appears also from several words derived from the same Hebrew root, asכפר, which the Seventy sometimes translateλύτρα, orλύτρον, which signifies aransom, a price paid for the redemption of man’s life, that was forfeited by any capital crime, something given in recompence and satisfaction for the crime whereby it was done away; sometimesἄλλαγμα,commutationorpropitiation, as the vulgar Latin renders it: sometimesπερικάθαρμα, “piaculum,” or a sacrifice offered for the purging or expiating some heinous crime; or for the diverting some heavy judgment from one to another, as in Prov. xxi. 18, where the wise man saith, “The wicked shall be aransom(as we translate it) for the righteous;” that is, as he himself elsewhere explains it, “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.” Sometimes they translate itἸξίλασμα,propitiation,expiation. And so the Jews anciently used this word in their common discourse; for when one of them would show the greatest love he could to another, he would say,כפרי הנני, “Behold, let me be his expiation;” that is, as one of their most learned writers interprets it, “Let his iniquities be upon me, that I may bear the punishments of them,” which will give us great light into the true notion of the word, as we shall see anon.
Another word from the same Hebrew root isכפרים, which is commonly used likewise for aransom,atonement,expiation,propitiation, or the like. As where we read of theכסף הכפרים, the atonement money, the Seventy render itτὸ ἀργύριον τῆς εἰσφορᾶς, the tribute money that every man was to give for the ransom of his life, when the people were numbered—thesin-offering of atonement,τῆς ἐξιλάσεως, ofpropitiation, as the Seventy translate it. Theram of the atonement, in the Greek,κριὸς τοῦ ἱλασμοὺ, theram of propitiation. In all which places we see the word is used to denote something offered or laid down for the pardon of a man’s sins, and so for the redemption of his life that was forfeited by them. But that which is most observable in this case is, that the great day, when the two goats were chosen, the one for a sin-offering, with the blood whereof the high priest made atonement for the people in the most holy place; and the other for the scape-goat, upon the head whereof he confessed and laid the sins of the people, and then sent him away into the wilderness, never to be heard of more: this day, I say, is calledיום הכפרים, theday of atonement, or, as the Seventy render it,ἡμέρα τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, and, which is the same,τοῦ ἐξιλασμοῦ, theday of propitiation. To which we might also add, that the lid or cover of the ark where the law lay, is calledכפרת, which the Seventy translateἱλαστήριον, thepropitiatory, we, themercy-seat.
These things, I confess, may seem something too nice and critical, but I could not but take notice of them for the satisfaction of myself, and of all that understand the original languages, as being of great use to our finding out what the apostle here means bypropitiation, according to the common notion of the word he useth in those days, and among those to whom he wrote; for hereby we may perceive, that, by the wordpropitiationhere used, is meant such a sacrifice or offering made toGodfor the sins of men, which he is pleased to accept of as a sufficient atonement and satisfaction for the dishonour and injury that was done him by them, so as not to require the punishments whichwere due unto him for them, but to forgive them all, and to become again as kind and propitious to the persons that offended him as if he had never been offended by them. For he is now propitiated, he is pacified, and reconciled to them: he receives them into his love and favour again, and so into the same state they were in before he was displeased with them.—Beveridge.
PROPROCTORS. Two assistants of the proctors in the universities nominated by them.
PROSES. There are hymns in the Roman Church which are calledProsæ, Proses, a title given to composition in rhyme, in which the law of measure and quantity established by the ancient Greeks and Romans are neglected. These being sung after the Gradual or Tracts, were likewise calledSequentiæ. Of this kind is the beautifulStabat Mater. (SeeSequences.) The use of prosing began at the latter end of the ninth century.—SeeBurney’s History of Music. An uncharitable inference having been drawn from the epithet “beautiful” having been applied to theStabat Mater, as if the idolatry of that composition, in spite of the contrary principles everywhere prevailing in this dictionary, had been approved, it is necessary to state that the epithet has reference only to the music.
PROTESTANT. The designation ofProtestantis used in England as a general term to denote all who protest against Popery. Such, however, was neither the original acceptation of the word, nor is it the sense in which it is still applied on the Continent. It was originally given to those who protested against a certain decree issued by the emperor Charles V. and the Diet of Spires, in 1529.—Mosheim.
On the Continent it is applied as a term to distinguish the Lutheran communions. The Lutherans are calledProtestants: the Calvinists, theReformed. The use of the word among ourselves in a sense different from that adopted by our neighbours abroad, has sometimes led to curious mistakes. The late Mr. Canning, for instance, in his zeal to support the Romanists, and not being sufficiently well instructed in the principles of the Church of England, assumed it as if it were an indisputable fact, that, being Protestants, we must hold the doctrine of consubstantiation. Having consulted, probably, some foreign history of Protestantism, he found that one of the tenets which distinguishes the “Protestant,” i. e. the Lutheran, from the “Reformed,” i. e. the Calvinist, is that the former maintains, the latter denies, the dogma of consubstantiation.
It is evident that inourapplication of the word it is a mere term of negation. If a man says that he is a Protestant, he only tells us that he isnota Romanist; at the same time he may be, what is worse, a Socinian, or even an infidel, for these are all united under the common principle of protesting against Popery. The appellation is not given to us, as far as the writer knows, in any of our formularies, and has chiefly been employed in political warfare as a watchword to rally in one band all who, whatever may be their religious differences, are prepared to act politically against the aggressions of the Romanists. In this respect it was particularly useful at the time of the Revolution; and as politics intrude themselves into all the considerations of an Englishman, either directly or indirectly, the term is endeared to a powerful and influential party in the state. But on the very ground that it thus keeps out of view distinguishing and vital principles, and unites in apparent agreement those who essentially differ, many of our divines object to the use of the word. They contend, with good reason, that it is quite absurd to speak of the Protestantreligion, since a religion must of course be distinguished, not by what it renounces, but by what it professes: they apprehend that it has occasioned a kind of sceptical habit, of inquiring not how much we ought to believe, but how much we mayrefuseto believe; of looking at what is negative instead of what is positive in our religion; of fearing to inquire after the truth, lest it should lead to something which is held by the Papists in common with ourselves, and which,therefore, as some persons seem to argue, no sound Protestant can hold; forgetting that on this principle we ought to renounce the liturgy, the sacraments, the doctrine of theTrinity, the Divinity and atonement ofChrist,—nay, the very Bible itself. It is on these grounds that some writers have scrupled to use the word. But although it is certainly absurd to speak of the Protestantreligion, i. e. a negative religion, yet there is no absurdity in speaking of the Church of England, or of the Church of America, as a ProtestantChurch; the word Church conveys a positive idea, and there can be no reason why we should not havealsoa negative appellation. If we admit that the Church of Rome is a true, though a corrupt Church, just as a felon is a man, though a bad man, it is well to have a term by which we may always declare that, while we hold in common with her all that she has whichis catholic, scriptural, and pure, we protest for ever against her multiplied corruptions. Besides, the word, whether correctly or not, is in general use, and is in a certain sense applicable to the Church of England; it is surely, therefore, better to retain it, only with this understanding, that when we call ourselves Protestants, we mean no more to profess that we hold communion with all parties who are so styled, than the Church of England, when in her creeds and formularies she designates herself not as theProtestant, but as theCatholicChurch of this country, intends to hold communion with those Catholic Churches abroad which have infused into their system the principles of the Council of Trent. Protestant is our negative, Catholic our definitive, name. We tell the Papist, that with respect to him we are Protestant; we tell the Protestant Dissenter, that with respect to him we are Catholic; and we may be called Protestant or Protesting Catholics, or, as some of our writers describe us, Anglo-Catholics.
PROTEVANGELION. The name of a book attributed to St. James the apostle, which treats of the birth of the blessed Virgin and of that of ourSaviour. It was brought first from the East by Postulus in Greek, who translated it into Latin, affirming that it is publicly read in the Eastern Church, and formerly believed to have been written by St. James, first bishop of Jerusalem; but the fables, of which it is full, disprove this.
PROTHESIS. The place in a church on which the elements in the eucharist are placed, previously to their being laid as an oblation on the altar. Called alsocredence. The wordprothesisπροθεσιςis derived from the temple service, in which the placing of the shewbread was calledἡ πρόθεσις τῶν ἄρτων, and the bread itself,οἱ ἄρτοι τῆς προθέσεως, i. e. the loaves set in order before theLord.
PROTHONOTARY. A word that has a different signification in the Greek Church from what it has in the Latin; for in the first it is the name of one of the great officers of the Church of Constantinople, who takes place next to the patriarch, and writes all despatches he sends to the Grand Seignor; besides which he is empowered to have an inspection over the professors of the law, into purchases, wills, and the liberty given to slaves: but in the Roman Church they were formerly called prothonotaries who had the charge of writing the acts of the martyrs, and the circumstances of their death; a title of honour whereunto is ascribed many privileges, as legitimatizing bastards, making apostolic notaries, doctors of divinity, of the canon and civil law; they are twelve in number.
PROTOPAPAS; i. e. archpriest: the head of a cathedral in the Eastern Church, answering to our dean.
PROVERBS, THE. A canonical book of the Old Testament, containing the Proverbs, or wise sayings, of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
This collection is but a part of the proverbs of that prince: for we are told that “he spake three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five.” His name is prefixed to the whole work. In the twenty-fifth chapter it is observed, that the following Proverbs belong to him, but that they were collected by persons appointed by Hezekiah for that purpose. The thirtieth chapter is entitled, “The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh.” The last chapter is inscribed, “The words of king Lemuel.” From these different titles it is concluded, that the first twenty-four chapters are the genuine work of Solomon; that the five next are a collection of several of his Proverbs, made by order of King Hezekiah; and that the two last chapters were added, and belong to different, though unknown, authors.
The Jews are of opinion, that Solomon wrote the Canticles in his youth, the Proverbs in his manhood, and the Ecclesiastes in the latter end of his life. The Hebrews called this book Mische, which signifies a proverb, or allegory; the Greeks style itΠαραβολαὶ, and the Latins,Proverbia; which may properly be rendered sentences or maxims. They contain rules for the conduct of all conditions of life; for kings, courtiers, masters, servants, fathers, mothers, children, &c. The Greek version of this book is often very different from the Hebrew, and adds a great many verses, that are not found in the original. In the ancient Latin editions several verses are added, which have been left out since the time of St. Jerome.
This proverbial manner of speaking and writing was in great use and esteem among the Hebrews, and in all the countries of the East. Hence it was, that the queen of Sheba came to prove Solomon with hard questions, or parables. Hiram, king of Tyre, they say, held a correspondence by letters with Solomon, and proposed enigmatical questions to him, and answered those that were proposed to him by Solomon.
PROVIDENCE. The superintendence which God exercises over creation. Inthe very notion of a Creator this power is implied. The work of a creature may continue after its author’s death: because the work of a creature does not depend upon him who was the author of it, but upon some pre-existing things which were not created by him, but merely combined. While the pre-existing things remain in combination, the work lasts; but when the pre-existing thing or things are removed, the work perishes. A house survives the architect and builder, because the pre-existing things, the stones for instance, and the mortar, remain in combination. But the works ofGodarenotcombinations;theyare creations; things formed out of nothing. The pre-existing Being on whom they depend isGod, andGodonly. IfGodbe removed from them they must perish. His presence is their support. But whenGodis present, he is present as an acting and intelligent being. Therefore we say, that what in his wisdom he created, that by his providence he sustains.
Thegeneralprovidence ofGodis seen in the laws of Nature. The universe may be compared to a great machine, the whole of which has been put into motion by the Creator, who watches over his works, and prevents disorder and confusion. According to these laws, the earth proceeds in its annual course, the moon observes its regular changes, the seasons come round at their stated periods, and the tides, in all their variety, keep their courses.
But although, to a certain extent, we perceive that there is such regularity in the order of events, that Nature may be said to be bound by laws; yet, as a matter of fact, we find that there is an occasional and not unfrequent interference with those laws. This fact is expressed in every language in which words occur equivalent to our expressions of luck, chance, good or ill fortune. According to the laws of Nature, the harvest follows the seed-time; but the husbandman is sometimes disappointed in his just hopes: the race is to the swift, and the battle to the strong, according to the laws of Nature; but accidents so frequently occur, that we find that the race isnotalways to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. These deviations from the laws of Nature, the Scriptures teach us to refer to an interference on the part ofGod, and this interference with the laws of Nature we regard as hisparticularprovidence.
Relying on hisgeneralprovidence, we labour and adopt the best means for the furtherance of our ends: we plant, we sow, we endeavour to be swift or strong. Believing in hisparticularprovidence, we pray. (SeePrayer.)
PROVINCE. The limits of an archbishop’s jurisdiction, as thedioceseis the limits of the jurisdiction of a bishop: and soprovincial constitutions,provincial courts,provincial synods,provincial canons, are the canons, synods, courts, and constitutions, which have authority within the rule of a single archbishop.
PROVISIONS. An oppressive invention of the bishops of Rome, whereby the right of patronage of ecclesiastical benefices was arbitrarily suspended by the Pope, that he might present his own creatures, and makeprovisionin the Church of England for foreign ecclesiastics. This usurpation of the pope occasioned much discontent in the Church of England; and at one time the evil had become so intolerable, that it occasioned frightful disturbances. The pope (Gregory IX.) had granted a provision on the patronage of one Sir Robert Thwinge, a Yorkshire knight, who resented it so highly as to associate with himself some eighty others, who had received the like treatment, by whom the persons of foreign ecclesiastics were seized, and even the pope’s envoys murdered. The king, Henry III., set himself to restore peace; and Thwinge, betaking himself to Rome, was reconciled to the pope, and recovered his right of patronage; and the pope conceded that there should be in future no provisions, except in benefices in the patronage of ecclesiastical persons or bodies. These he had usually found more defenceless, and therefore over them he still exercised his usurped authority.
PROVOST. The designation of heads of some colleges in our universities. It was also the title given to the heads of several collegiate churches in England, suppressed at the Reformation, and was their usual designation in Scotland, except in cathedrals. In some foreign cathedrals the head of the chapter is the provost, though there be a dean besides; and in others the dean is head, the provost subordinate. The latter was formerly the case in five out of the six of the cathedrals in the province of Tuam: the name is still retained in some; in others it has been exchanged for that of precentor. Archdeacon Cotton, in his Fasti Ecclesiæ Hiberniæ, (part ii. 114,) says that the title answered to that of chancellor. This observation seems strengthened by the fact, that the dignity of chancellor did not anciently exist in theprovince of Tuam. Maillane, in hisDictionnaire de Droit Canonique, says that the provost had the care of the temporals, the dean of the spirituals; that deans were established to take care of the discipline of the church, and, in many chapters, became in the course of time the first in rank. In Holland and elsewhere, before the Reformation, the provost was sometimes a kind of archdeacon.
PSALMODY. The art or act of singing psalms. Psalmody was always esteemed a considerable part of devotion, and usually performed in the standing posture; and, as to the manner of pronunciation, the plain song was sometimes used, being a gentle inflection of the voice, not much different from reading, like the chant in cathedrals; at other times more artificial compositions were used, like our anthems.—Bingham.The word is now usually limited to the singing of the metrical psalms, but properly it includes chanting also.
PSALMS.The Book of Hymns.Our word Psalm is the translation of two very different Hebrew words. The first,Tehillem, properly meanspraises, and is the title of the book. The other,Mizmor, means in strictness, a poem. Psalm is derived from a Greek verb,ψάλλω, which means to play or sing to an instrument, being very appropriate to these sacred songs, which we know from Holy Scripture were sung to harps, and other musical instruments. The Book of Psalms is a collection of hymns or sacred songs in praise ofGod, and consists of poems of various kinds. They are the production of different persons, but are generally called “the Psalms of David,” because a great part of them was composed by him, and David himself is distinguished by the name of thePsalmist. We cannot now ascertain all the psalms written by David, but their number probably exceeds seventy; and much less are we able to discover with any certainty the authors of the other psalms, or the occasions upon which they were composed; a few of them were written after the return from the Babylonian captivity. And the ninetieth psalm, as its title in the original in our Bible translation shows, is attributed to Moses. There is no subject upon which learned men are so much at variance as the authorship of the Psalms, and the meaning of their titles. It is clear, however, that they may be divided into the following classes: Psalms of David; Psalms or Songs of the Sons of Korah; Psalms of Asaph; Songs of Degrees; and again into Penitential Psalms, Hallelujah Psalms, and Historical Psalms.
The whole collection of psalms, usually divided into five books, is eminently prophetical of theMessiah. The first book begins with the 1st and ends with the 41st psalm, and the Hebrew wordLeDavid, (of or concerning David,or by David,) occurs before almost every psalm. The 2nd book begins with the 42nd psalm, the 3rd with the 73rd psalm, the 4th with the 90th psalm, and is continued to the 106th. The 5th and last book opens with the 107th. The seven penitential psalms are, 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. These are appointed to be read in our Church on Ash-Wednesday. For many ages they had been used in the Western churches in token of special humiliation. (SeeAlphabetical or Acrostical Psalm, and Songs of Degrees;Korah, Psalms of;Asaph, Psalms of;and Hallelujah.)
PSALTER. The word Psalter is often used by ancient writers for theBook of Psalms, considered as a separate book of Holy Scripture. It afterwards assumed a more technical meaning, as the book in which the Psalms are arranged for the service of the Church. The Roman Psalter, for instance, does not follow the course of the Psalms as in Scripture; they are arranged for the different services, in the several accompaniments, as antiphons, &c. In our Psalter, the notice of the divisions for the days of the month, and the pointing in the middle of each verse, are a part ofthe Psalter, though not of the Psalms; and some part of the Psalms unfit for recitation are omitted, as the titles, the wordsSelah,Higgaion, &c., and the Hallelujahs with which many psalms begin or end, or both. The division of the Psalms into daily portions, as given in our Prayer Books, has been done with a view to convenience. Something like this has long prevailed in the Church, but without its regularity and system. Thus in Egypt, at first, in some places, they read 60 psalms; in others, 50; and afterwards they all agreed to recite 12 only. Columbanus, in his rule, appointed the number of psalms to vary according to the seasons of the year, and the length of the nights; so that sometimes 75 were sung. In the monasteries of Armenia they repeat 99 psalms to the present day. In the Greek Church, the Psalms are divided intocathismata, or portions, so that the whole book is read through in a fortnight. Previously to the reform of our offices, the English Church prescribed 12 psalms for the nocturn; but at that period the number was reduced on an average to three, by the division of the 119th, and by reckoning some other longpsalms as each more than one. Under the present arrangement the Psalms are divided into 60 portions, two of which are appointed for each day of the month. Selections are also set forth by the American Church, which may be used instead of the regularly appointed portions.
The Psalms are pointed as they are to be said or sung in churches; by which is meant the colon in the middle of each verse, indicating the pause to be made, not only in the chant, but also in the recitation, as the words clearly imply; a direction commonly neglected by readers, to the great prejudice of distinct enunciation.
The custom of repeating the psalms alternately, or verse by verse, between the minister and the people, is probably designed to supply the place of the ancient antiphon, or the responsive chanting of the psalms by two distinct choirs. This latter practice is still retained in the cathedrals of England, and is more primitive than the alternate reading now prevailing in parish churches.
The Psalter, properly speaking, is a separate book from that of Common Prayer; though bound up in the same volume, and equally subscribed to by all the clergy. The title page of the Prayer Book announces the Book of Common Prayer, &c., &c.,together withthe Psalter, &c. The Prayer Book and the Psalter were not included in the title page till the last review. It is remarkable, that the same causes have had the same effects in influencing the translation of the Psalter both in the Latin and the English Church. In the former, the old Italian translation had become so familiar to the people that St. Jerome’s translation from the Hebrew was never adopted; but the old version, corrected considerably by St. Jerome, was used; a less correct edition by the Roman, and a more carefully worded one by the Gallican Church. The latter was in the course of time adopted by all the Churches in communion with Rome with a few exceptions. In like manner, the English Psalter does not follow the last translation, (which is in the authorized version of the Bible,) but that of Coverdale’s Bible, corrected, which had become familiar to the people from constant use.
PUBLIC WORSHIP. (SeeFormulary, Liturgy.) The 90th Canon ordains: “The churchwardens or questmen of every parish, and two or three more discreet persons to be chosen for sidesmen or assistants, shall diligently see that all the parishioners duly resort to their church upon all Sundays and holy-days, and there continue the whole time of Divine service; and all such as shall be found slack or negligent in resorting to the church, (having no great or urgent cause of absence,) they shall earnestly call upon them; and after due monition, (if they amend not,) they shall present them to the ordinary of the place.”
Article 20.“The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies” that are not “contrary toGod’sword.”
Article 34.“It is not necessary that traditions and ceremonies be in all places one or utterly like; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men’s manners; so that nothing be ordained againstGod’sword. Whosoever through his private judgment willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the word ofGod, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that others may fear to do the like,) as he that offends against the common order of the Church, and hurts the authority of the magistrate, and wounds the consciences of weak brethren. Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish the ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man’s authority; so that all things be done to edifying.”
Canon 6. “Whoever shall affirm, that the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England by law established are wicked, antichristian, or superstitious; or such as, being commanded by lawful authority, men who are zealously and godly affected may not with any good conscience approve them, use them, or, as occasion requireth, subscribe unto them; let him be excommunicatedipso facto, and not restored until he repent, and publicly revoke such his wicked errors.”
By Canon 80. “The churchwardens or questmen of every church and chapel shall, at the charge of the parish, provide the Book of Common Prayer, lately explained in some few points by his Majesty’s authority, according to the laws and his Highness’s prerogative in that behalf; and that with all convenient speed, but at the furthest within two months after the publishing of these our constitutions.”
Every dean, canon, and prebendary, of every cathedral or collegiate church, and all masters and other heads, fellows, chaplains, and tutors of or in any college, hall, house of learning, or hospital, and every public professor and reader in either of theuniversities, or in every college elsewhere, and every parson, vicar, curate, lecturer, and every other person in holy orders, and every schoolmaster keeping any public or private school, and every person instructing or teaching any youth in any house or private family, as tutor or schoolmaster, who shall be incumbent, or have possession of any deanery, canonry, prebend, mastership, headship, fellowship, professor’s place, or reader’s place, parsonage, vicarage, or any other ecclesiastical dignity or promotion, or of any curate’s place, lecture, or school, or shall instruct or teach any youth, as tutor or schoolmaster, shall at or before his admission to be incumbent, or having possession aforesaid, subscribe the declaration following: I, A. B., do declare, that I will conform to the liturgy of the Church of England, as it is now by law established (13 & 14 Charles II. c. 4, s. 8; and 1 William, sess. 1, c. 8, s. 11). And no form or order of common prayers, administration of sacraments, rites, or ceremonies, shall be openly used in any church, chapel, or other place, other than that which is prescribed in the said books. (s. 17.)
By Canon 4. “Whosoever shall affirm, that the form ofGod’sworship in the Church of England, established by law, and contained in the Book of Common Prayer and Administration of Sacraments, is a corrupt, superstitious, or unlawful worship ofGod, or containeth anything in it that is repugnant to the Scriptures, let him be excommunicatedipso facto, and not restored but by the bishop of the place, or archbishop, after his repentance and public revocation of such his wicked errors.”
By Canon 38. “If any minister, after he hath subscribed to the Book of Common Prayer, shall omit to use the form of prayer, or any of the orders or ceremonies prescribed in the Communion Book, let him be suspended; and if after a month he do not reform and submit himself, let him be excommunicated; and then if he shall not submit himself within the space of another month, let him be deposed from the ministry.”
And by Canon 98. “After any judge ecclesiastical hath pronounced judicially against contemners of ceremonies, for not observing the rites and orders of the Church of England, or for contempt of public prayer, no judgead quemshall allow of his appeal, unless the party appellant do first personally promise and avow, that he will faithfully keep and observe all the rights and ceremonies of the Church of England, as also the prescript form of Common Prayer, and do likewise subscribe to the same.”
By the 13 & 14 Charles II. c. 4. “In all places where the proper incumbent of any parsonage, or vicarage, or benefice with cure, doth reside on his living, and keep a curate, the incumbent himself in person (not having some lawful impediment to be allowed by the ordinary of the place) shall once at the least in every month openly and publicly read the Common Prayer and service in and by the said book prescribed, and (if there be occasion) administer each of the sacraments and other rites of the Church, in the parish church or chapel belonging to the same, in such order, manner, and form as in and by the said book is appointed, on pain of £5 to the use of the poor of the parish for every offence, upon conviction by confession or oath of two witnesses, before two justices of the peace; and, in default of payment within ten days, to be levied by distress and sale by warrant of the said justices, by the churchwardens or overseers of the poor of the said parish.” (s. 7.)
By the 2 & 3 Edward VI. c. 1, and 1 Elizabeth, c. 2, it is enacted as follows: “If any parson, vicar, or other whatsoever minister, that ought or should sing or say Common Prayer mentioned in the same book, or minister the sacraments, refuse to use the said Common Prayers, or to minister the sacraments in such cathedral or parish church, or other places, as he should use to minister the same in such order and form as may be mentioned and set forth in the said book; or shall, wilfully or obstinately standing in the same, use any other rite, ceremony, order, form, or manner of celebrating theLord’ssupper, openly or privily, or matins, even-song, administration of the sacraments, or other open prayer, than is mentioned and set forth in the said book; or shall preach, declare, or speak anything in the derogation or depraving the said book, or anything therein contained, or of any part thereof; and shall be thereof lawfully convicted, according to the laws of this realm, by verdict of twelve men, or by his own confession, or by the notorious evidence of the fact, he shall forfeit to the king (if the prosecution is on the statute of the 2 & 3 Edward VI.) for his first offence, the profit of such one of his spiritual benefices or promotions as it shall please the king to appoint, coming or arising in one whole year after his conviction, and also be imprisoned for six months; and for his second offence be imprisoned for a year, and be deprived,ipso facto, of all his spiritual promotions, andthe patron shall present to the same as if he were dead; and for the third offence shall be imprisoned during life.”
Canon 18. “No man shall cover his head in the church or chapel in the time of Divine service, except he have some infirmity; in which case let him wear a nightcap, or coif. All manner of persons then present shall reverently kneel upon their knees, when the general confession, Litany, or other prayers are read; and shall stand up at the saying of the Belief, according to the rules in that behalf prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. And likewise when in time of Divine service theLord Jesusshall be mentioned, due and lowly reverence shall be done by all persons present, as it hath been accustomed; testifying by these outward ceremonies and gestures their inward humility, Christian resolution, and due acknowledgment that theLord Jesus Christ, the true eternalSonofGod, is the onlySaviourof the world, in whom alone all the mercies, graces, and promises ofGodto mankind, for this life and the life to come, are fully and wholly comprised. And none, either man, woman, or child, of what calling soever, shall be otherwise at such times busied in the church, than in quiet attendance to hear, mark, and understand that which is read, preached, or ministered; saying in their due places audibly with the minister the Confession, theLord’sPrayer, and the Creed, and making such other answers to the public prayers as are appointed in the Book of Common Prayer: neither shall they disturb the service or sermon, by walking, or talking, or any other way; nor depart out of the church during the time of Divine service or sermon, without some urgent or reasonable cause.”
Canon 14. “The Common Prayer shall be said or sung distinctly and reverently, upon such days as are appointed to be kept holy by the Book of Common Prayer, and their eves, and at convenient and usual times of those days, and in such places of every church as the bishop of the diocese or ecclesiastical ordinary of the place shall think meet for the largeness or straitness of the same, so as the people may be most edified. All ministers likewise shall observe the orders, rites, and ceremonies prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, as well in reading the Holy Scriptures and saying of prayers, as in administration of the sacraments, without either diminishing in regard of preaching, or in any other respect, or adding anything in the matter or form thereof.”
And by the preface to the Book of Common Prayer: “All priests and deacons are to say daily the Morning and Evening Prayer, either privately or openly, not being let by sickness, or some other urgent cause. And the curate that ministereth in every parish church or chapel, being at home, and not being otherwise reasonably hindered, shall say the same in the parish church or chapel where he ministereth; and shall cause a bell to be tolled thereunto, a convenient time before he begin, that the people may come to hearGod’sword, and to pray with him.”
PULPIT. Sermons were originally delivered from the steps of the altar, which was sometimes called the Pulpitum, a term derived from the ancient theatres. TheAmbones, or pulpits of the primitive Church, were used originally for reading the lessons only. In later times pulpits, or elevated desks, were erected sometimes in the choir, but generally in the nave, for the purpose of sermons. In our Church a raised desk, called a pulpit, is ordered in every church, from which the preacher addresses his flock. (SeeCanon 83.)
PURGATORY. A place in which souls are, by the Papists, supposed to be purged, whether by fire or otherwise, from carnal impurities, before they are received into heaven. The first authoritative decree concerning purgatory is to be found in the Council of Florence, (A. D.1439,) in which council endeavours were made (and with momentary success) to persuade the representatives of the Greek Church to adopt the Roman innovations, and, amongst others, this of purgatory, which was so vague and undefined, that the former found it necessary to ask what it was that they meant by it. This inquiry produced the following synodical definition of it:
“Since you have demanded to have the faith of the Roman Church expressed concerning the truth of purgatory, we briefly reply in these writings, ‘that if any who truly repent depart from life before that by worthy fruits of repentance they have made satisfaction for their sins of commission and omission, their souls are purified after death, and to the relieving these pains, the suffrages of the faithful who are alive, to wit, the sacrifices of masses, prayers, alms, and other pious works, are profitable.’ ‘But whether purgatory is a fire, or a mist, or a whirlwind, or anything else, we do not dispute.’”
When first this error was broached byindividualsit is not easy to determine; but in St. Augustine’s time,A. D.398, it appears to have been new, as he speaks of itas a thing which “possibly may be found so, and possibly never;” and so our English Bede, “not altogether incredible.” Its novelty, as an article of faith, is well expressed by Fisher, bishop of Rochester: “For some time it was unknown; but lately known to the Catholic Church. Then it was believed by some persons, by little and little, partly from Scripture, and partly from revelations.” This is spoken of in our twenty-second Article as “a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded on no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word ofGod.” What the Romish doctrine concerning purgatory is, cannot be better explained than by the Romish doctors themselves, who tell us in the Council of Trent, “If any one say, that, after the grace of justification received, the fault is so pardoned to every penitent sinner, and the guilt of temporal punishment is so blotted out, that there remains no guilt of temporal punishment to be done away in this world, or that which is to come in purgatory, before the passage can be opened into heaven, let him be accursed.” And elsewhere they say, “There is a purgatory, and that the souls detained there are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the sacrifices of the acceptable altar.” So that, as Bellarmine saith, “Purgatory is a certain place, in which, as in a prison, the souls are purged after this life, which were not fully purged in this life, to wit, that so they may be able to enter into heaven, where no unclean thing enters in.” Thus we see, in a few words, what the Romish doctrine concerning purgatory is.
Now that this doctrine is a “fond thing” is plain, in that, by the confession of some of their own writers, there is little or no footing for it in the Scriptures. Nay, if we examine it by Scripture light, we shall find it so far from being grounded upon the Scriptures, that it is directly contrary to them. For the Scriptures say, “The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love and their hatred and their envy are now perished; neither have they any more a portion, for ever, in anything that is done under the sun.” (Eccles. ix. 5, 6.) Whereas this doctrine saith quite contrary, that, when they are dead, they have a part or portion in the prayers of the faithful, and the sacrifices of the altar. Again; the Scripture makes mention but of a two-fold receptacle of souls after death, the one of happiness, the other of misery. (1 Sam. xxv. 29; Matt. vii. 13, 14; viii. 11; Luke xvi. 22, 23.) Whereas this doctrine brings in a third, called purgatory, betwixt heaven and hell, half happiness and half misery. Again; the Scripture saith, “The blood ofJesus Christ, hisSon, cleanseth [or purgeth] us from all sin” (1 John i. 7); but this doctrine would persuade us, there are some sins which are to be purged away by the prayers and good works of others. To name no more, the Scripture saith, “He that believeth shall not come into condemnation, but pass from death to life” (John v. 24); and therefore St. Paul saith, “I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart and to be withChrist.” (Phil. i. 23.) So that St. Paul reckoned verily upon it, that so soon as ever he was dead, he should be withChrist; no sooner “absent from the body” but “present with theLord.” (2 Cor. v. 8.) Whereas this Romish doctrine about purgatory bids him not to be so hasty, for he might depart and yet not be withChristneither; he might pass from death, and yet not to life; he might and must be absent from the body a good while before he be present with theLord; he might go from earth, yet not to heaven, but to purgatory, a place St. Paul never dreamt of. So that this doctrine directly contradicts the Scripture. The Scriptures say, “We shall pass from death to life;” this doctrine saith, we shall not pass from death to life, but to purgatory: the Scriptures, that “when we are absent from the body we are present with theLord;” but this doctrine, when we are absent from the body we are not present with theLord: the Scriptures, that “when we depart we shall be withChrist;” this doctrine, that when we depart we must be in purgatory: the Scriptures, that “we must go directly from earth to heaven;” but this doctrine saith, that we must go about by purgatory, first going from life to death, then from death to purgatory, and from purgatory to heaven.
And as this doctrine herein contradicts the Scriptures, so does it contradict the Fathers too. For Origen saith, “We, after the labours and strivings of this present life, hope to be in the highest heavens,” not in purgatory. And so Chrysostom, “For those that truly follow virtue, after they are changed from this life, they be truly freed from their fightings, and loosed from their bonds. For death, to such as live honestly, is a change from worse things to better, from this transitory to an eternal and immortal life that hath no end.” And Macarius, speaking of the faithful, “When,” saith he, “they go out oftheir bodies, the choirs of angels receive their souls into their proper places, to the pure world, and so lead them to theLord.” Whence Athanasius saith, “To the righteous it is not death, but only a change, for they are changed from this world to an eternal rest. And as a man comes out of prison, so do the saints go from this troublesome life to the good things prepared for them.” Certainly these Fathers were no purgatorians, who so unanimously affirmed the souls of the saints to go directly from earth to heaven, never touching upon purgatory.
To these we may add Gennadius, who assures us, that “after the ascension of theLordto heaven, the souls of all the saints are withChrist, and going out of the body go toChrist, excepting the resurrection of their body.” And to name no more in so plain a case, Prosper also tells us, “According to the language of the Holy Scripture, the whole life of man upon earth is a temptation or trial. Then is the temptation to be avoided when the fight is ended; and then is the fight to be ended, when after this life secure victory succeeds the fight, that all the soldiers ofChrist, who, being helped byGod, have to the end of this present life unwearily resisted their enemies, their wearisome travel being ended, they may reign happily in their country.” So that they do not go from one fight here to another in purgatory, but immediately from the Church militant on earth to the Church triumphant in heaven. From hence we may well conclude, that “the Romish doctrine about purgatory is a fond thing repugnant to Scripture,” yea, and Fathers too.—Bp. Beveridge.
PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY. This holy-day is kept in memory of the presentation ofChristin the temple, and is observed in the Church of England on the second of February. It was a precept of the Mosaic law, that every first-born son should be holy unto theLord, to attend the service of the temple or tabernacle, or else to be redeemed with an offering of money, or sacrifice. The mother, also, was obliged to separate herself forty days from the congregation, after the birth of a male, and eighty after that of a female; and then was to present a lamb, if in good circumstances, or a couple of pigeons, if she was poor. All this was exactly performed after the birth of ourSaviour, who came to fulfil all righteousness; and was willing, in all particulars of his life, that a just obedience should be paid to the public ordinances of religion. The offering made in this case is an undesigned coincidence attesting the poverty of his parents. This feast is of considerable antiquity. St. Chrysostom mentions it as celebrated at his time in the Church. It is observed as one of the scarlet days in the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
PURITANS. A name assumed by the ultra-Protestants in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., who called themselvespure, though their doctrines were so impure as to lead them on to the murder of their archbishop and their king. A violent and popular outcry has often been raised against the Church, because, at the Restoration, those of the clergy who refused to conform were ejected from their benefices. But it will be well to see how the case really stands.Seven thousandEnglish clergymen, having refused to take the covenant at the great Rebellion, were ejected from their livings, their places being supplied by dissenting teachers. This most honourable testimony to the clergy of the Church of England at that period ought never to be forgotten. At the Restoration it was required, that all those persons who had thus become possessed of the property of the English Church, should either conform to the regulations of the Church, or resign. Of all the Puritan clergy then in possession, only two thousand thought fit to resign rather than comply. And these two thousand were ejected from what? From their rights? No; but from their usurpations. Five thousand conformed, and still retained possession of the Church property, so that many of the previously ejected clergy of the Church of England who hoped, at the Restoration, to be restored to their own, were sorely disappointed and cruelly used. This treatment of the English clergy by the Puritans is worthy of notice, and is an instructive commentary on the spirituality of their pretensions, and the tenderness of their consciences.
“The taking of the covenant was now pressed close through all the parliament quarters, which brought a terrible persecution upon the loyal clergy. Those who refused to comply were turned out of their houses, and not suffered to compound either for personal or real estate. This rigour forced great numbers of the clergy to quit their benefices, and retire to places under the king’s protection. Thesevacancieswere partly supplied by thosePresbyterianswho had formerly beenlecturersor chaplains; partly by young unqualified students from the universities; to whichwe may add, some refugees fromScotlandandNew England, who came in for their share of preferment. And some of those Puritans, who had formerly declaimed so much againstpluralities, were now reconciled to the holding two or three livings. As to the honest clergy, who refused to join the rebellion, or revolt from the Church, they were sequestered and imprisoned, and almost every way harassed and undone. From the year 1641 to six years forward, there were an hundred and fifteen clergymen turned out of their livings within thebills of mortality; most of these were plundered, and their wives and children turned out into the streets. By these barbarities in London, the reader may conjecture the greatness of the calamity in the rest of the kingdom. They had another way of reaching the orthodox clergy besides the covenant. Some of them were sequestered and ejected upon pretence of scandal and immorality. But, to show the iniquity of their proceeding upon this head, it may be observed,first, that some of the crimes charged upon them were capital; and, therefore, since the forfeiture of their lives was not taken, we may reasonably believe the proof was defective.Secondly, the depositions against them were seldom taken upon oath, but bare affirmation went for evidence.Thirdly, many of the complainants were apparently factious men, who had deserted the Church and professed an aversion to the hierarchy.Fourthly, many of these pretended criminals were ignorantly, if not maliciously, charged with delivering false doctrine: for instance, some were persecuted for preaching thatbaptism washed away original sin: and,lastly, many were ousted formalignancy; that is, for being true to their allegiance. In short, it is observed there were more turned out of their livings by the Presbyterians in three years, than were deprived by the Papists in Queen Mary’s reign; or had been silenced, suspended, or deprived by all the bishops from the first year of Queen Elizabeth to the time we are upon.”—Collier, ii. 828.
PYX. The box in which Romanists keep the Host.
QUADRAGESIMA. The Latin name forLent. It was formerly given to the first Sunday in Lent, from the fact of its beingfortydays before Easter, in round numbers.
QUAKERS owe their origin to George Fox, in 1624. The following, according to Mr. Burder, are their principal articles of belief.
Every one who leads a moral life, and from the sincerity of his heart complies with the duties of natural religion, must be deemed an essentially good Christian. An historical faith and belief of some extraordinary facts, which the Christians own for truths, are the only real difference between a virtuous Pagan and a good Christian, and this faith is not necessary to salvation.
Christis the true inward light, which enlightens all men. This is performed by an immediate inspiration, and not by the outward doctrine of the gospel, whichChristhas preached to men as a rule of their belief and practice; which outward preaching of evangelical truths is not the usual and ordinary method used byGodto enlighten mankind; but he sends to each person interior inspirations. This interior light is the true gospel; it is to be adored, as beingChristhimself andGodhimself.
Scripture is not the true rule, the real guide of Christian faith and moral doctrine; this is a prerogative belonging only to the inward light, which each has within himself, or which breaks forth in the assemblies of the brethren or friends. The dead letter of the sacred writings is not of so great authority as the preaching of the authors of them: the particular books which make up the Scripture, were directed to private churches or persons, and we are not interested them.
The chief rule of our faith is the inspiration of theHoly Ghost, who interiorly teaches us; and the Scripture is only a rule subordinate to that Spirit. An immediate inspiration is as necessary to us as to the apostles: it teaches us whatever is necessary to salvation. The promise whichChristmade to his apostles, to teach them all truth by his Spirit, and that theHoly Ghostshould always remain with them, was not confined to the apostles only, it belongs to all the faithful; and it is said of them all, that the unction shall teach them all things.
All true ministers ofChristare as infallible in what they teach, as the prophets and apostles were; otherwise the Spirit ofChristwould not be infallible. All those who are filled with the gifts of theSpiritare equally infallible, without which the infallibility of theHoly Ghostmust be divided; there is no exterior way of teaching, which may help one to judge of the truth of the doctrine which he preaches. The immediate inspiration is sufficient to enable a minister to preach without Scripture, or any other exterior helps. Withoutthis particular inspiration all those who pretend to argue upon or explain the words ofChrist, are false prophets and deceivers. The Church ought to have no other ministers, but those who are called by an immediate inspiration, which is best proved by interior miracles, of which the outward signs were only a representation or figure. The Quakers do not preach a new gospel, and therefore need not work miracles to prove their doctrine; a visible succession of ministers, ordained or otherwise established, is likewise of no use. Whoever is inwardly called to the ministerial functions, is sufficiently qualified for that post; inward sanctity is as essentially requisite in a true minister, as in a true member of the Church.
Women may preach with as much authority as men, and be ministers of the Church; for inChristthere is no distinction of male and female, and the prophet Joel has foretold that women should have the gift of prophecy as well as men.
The Scripture nowhere says, that theFather, theSon, and theHoly Ghost, are three persons; there are three several manifestations; but threepersonswould in reality be three Gods. The Scripture being silent as to the manner of the unity and of the distinction in theTrinity, it is a great rashness in the Christian Churches to meddle with deciding such intricate points. The distinction of persons in theGodheadis a speculative subtlety, not calculated to mend our lives, and very prejudicial to Christian peace and charity. To draw up an exact profession of faith, it is necessary to adhere closely to the expressions used in Scripture.
The trueChristis he who existed before he was manifested in the flesh, and who has never been seen with the eyes of the flesh.Jesus Christ, asGod, has a heavenly humanity, of which the earthly one is but the outward garment, the type or figure.Jesus Christ, theWordandSonofGod, did not personally unite himself to our human nature; he only took it as a suit of clothes, which he was to put on for a while. This human nature was inspired, as other men, but in a superior and more particular degree.Christcould not be united to a corrupt nature; his interior birth within men, is a greater mystery than his outward nativity. The faith in and the knowledge ofChrist, according to the flesh, and of his mysteries, were but the first elements fit for the infancy of Christianity, which being over, those rudiments become useless: we now have learned to be inChrist, to become new creatures, to let old things pass away in order to make room for the new.
The expiation of our sins has not been merited by the outward spilling ofChrist’sblood, which was not more precious than that of any other saint: neither has the Church been redeemed by it; but by an inward and spiritual blood, which purifies our hearts and consciences, of which the Scripture says, it was spilt for our justification; lastly, of whichChristhimself says, that he who does not drink his blood shall not have life in him.
The Scripture does not say thatChristsatisfied the justice ofGodfor our sins. AsGodmay without any injustice forgive our sins without such a satisfaction, it was not necessary, neither can it be reconciled with the gratuitous remission of our sins: and moreover,God’spunishing his ownSon, who was innocent, is contrary to Divine justice.
Christdid not go up to heaven with the body which he had on earth, which is not now in heaven at the right hand ofGod. It is an erroneous opinion to think or believe that the body ofChrist, which is in heaven, occupies and fills any particular limited place: the body ofChristis wherever his Spirit is; and it cannot save us, if distance of place separates it from us: whoever preaches a doctrine opposite to these propositions, is a false minister, and deceitful teacher: the same gift of discernment in the examination of spirits, which was bestowed on the apostles, remains still in the Church.
Our sins being once forgiven, it is wholly unnecessary to repent of them any further, or to go on in asking forgiveness for them. We cannot becomeGod’sservants unless we be first purified.
Outward baptism is not an ordinance ofChrist, or at least not to be observed as a perpetual law. Whoever pretends thatChrist’sorder is to be understood of water baptism adds to the text, which does not mention water. The baptism enjoined byChristis a baptism of spirit, not of water. The water baptism was St. John’s, and has been abolished. St. Paul says he was not sent to baptize, but to preach. Water baptism was used by the apostles only as a toleration for the weakness of the Jews, but it can do no good to the soul. Baptism by inspersion is nowhere mentioned in Scripture. Water baptism, and the spiritual baptism, are two entirely different baptisms. The inward baptism alone is the true baptism ofChrist.
Children ought not to be baptized, sincethey are not capable of taking any engagement upon themselves, or of making a profession of faith, or of answering toGodaccording to the testimony of a good conscience.
Taking or receiving the eucharist is not a perpetual obligation; it was instituted heretofore only for those who were newly converted to the Christian religion, or for weak Christians in the beginning of their Christianity.
Amongst the Quakers the spirit is what they callfree, and does not submit to synods, nor to worldly learning, wisdom, or customs: this is one of the chief and most essential articles of their religion. All the members of the Church may and ought to concur to the general good of the body; all may have the same helps from theHoly Ghost, and feel the same impressions of his power; all are animated and fed, like our bodily members, by the same efficacy and in the same manner; all by consequence ought to give a helping hand to the edification of the mystical body, as natural members contribute to the welfare of human bodies. This they apply to the evangelical ministry: theSpirit, say the Quakers, notifies by its impulse what is wanting to the Church, and obliges those members, upon whom he makes that impulse, to give a speedy help to the mystical body. If it should happen that out of laziness, neglect, or distraction, the person so moved should not be sensible of the impulse, or not give a due attention to the defects of which the members of the mystical body are guilty, then they ought to rouse themselves with new fervour, and by a perfect recollection make a trial of the gifts and power of the Spirit of life. The call to pastoral functions essentially consists in this, it requires no pomp, no ceremony, no improvement of the mind, no preparation, no examination, nor any of the means used in other Christian societies, to provide churches with pastors and teachers. Yet if after this inward trial any one be moved and forcibly drawn by theSpiritto engage in the ministry, the ecclesiastical council must not omit the formality of examining whether the person so inspired be in reality fit for it, and ought to be admitted to that dignity; the importance of which, in regard to himself, and to the whole Church, is strongly represented to him, in a speech or exhortation made to that end. This ceremony is sometimes accompanied by the letters of other churches and societies of Quakers, recommending such or such to that office. When installed, they are maintained by voluntary contributions only, without any settlement, contract, or previous agreement. Each Quaker contributes freely, according to his power, and the minister is not to accept of their benevolence, further than is necessary for a sober and frugal maintenance; but if he be reduced to poverty for want of such contributions, it is lawful for him to leave the congregation which he served; he may even, according to their historian, shake the dust off his feet against that Church, asChristordered his apostles to do against those who would not receive them.
The Quakers apply equally to all governments, or pretended governments, and do not seem to make one title better than another; for, to use their own words, they do not dispute authority with any man, nor question forms of government, nor trouble their heads what becomes of the world. And, in consequence of this principle, they seem to make a kind of merit of their faithful obedience, under all the usurpations of the Rump Parliament, Cromwell, &c.
Robert Barclay, one of the most learned of their persuasion, in his second proposition affirms, that the light within, or the Divine inward revelation, is, like common principles, self-evident; and therefore it is not to be subjected either to the examination of the outward testimony of the Scriptures, or of the natural reason of man. In his third proposition he asserts, that the Scriptures are not the principal ground of all truth, nor the primary rule of faith and manners, they being only a secondary rule and subordinate to theSpirit; by the inward testimony of whichSpirit, we do alone know them: so that, by this reasoning, the authority of the Scriptures must depend upon the inward testimony of theSpirit. He affirms further, that the depraved seed of original sin is not imputed to infants before actual transgression. (Prop. 4.) Those who have the gift of the light within, are sufficiently ordained to preach the gospel, though without any commission from churches, or any assistances from human learning; whereas those who want the authority of this Divine gift, how well qualified soever in other respects, are to be looked upon as deceivers, and not true ministers of the gospel. (Prop. 10.) All acceptable worship must be undertaken and performed by the immediate moving of theHoly Spirit, which is neither limited to places, times, nor persons; and therefore all outward significations of Divine worship, unmoved by secret inspiration, which man sets about in his own will,and can both begin and end at his pleasure, all acts of worship thus mis-qualified, consisting either in prayers, praises, or preaching, prescribed, premeditated, or extempore, are no better than superstitions, will-worship, and abominable idolatry in the sight ofGod. (Prop. 11.) The dominion of conscience belongs only toGod, therefore it is not lawful for civil magistrates to punish their subjects, either in fortune, liberty, or person, upon the score of difference in worship or opinions: provided always that no man, under pretence of conscience, does any injury to his neighbour, relating either to life or estate. The Quakers are charged with other errors of a very bad complexion, drawn especially from the writings of those who were first of their persuasion; but these tenets the modern Quakers seem to disown, and appear very willing to explain and reconcile their authors to a more orthodox meaning: the truth is, they now far differ from what they were originally, not only in principle, but even their external demureness and rigidity seem to be abated.
The following is taken from the Report published in 1854 by the Registrar-general.
“The whole community of Friends is modelled somewhat on the Presbyterian system. Three gradations of meetings or synods,—monthly, quarterly, and yearly, administer the affairs of the Society, including in their supervision matters both of spiritual discipline and secular polity. TheMONTHLY MEETINGS, composed of all the congregations within a definite circuit, judge of the fitness of new candidates for membership, supply certificates to such as move to other districts, choose fit persons to beEldersto watch over the ministry, attempt the reformation or pronounce the expulsion of all such as walk disorderly, and generally seek to stimulate their members to religious duty. They also make provision for the poor of the society, (none of whom are, consequently, ever known to require parochial relief,) and secure the education of their children.Overseersalso are appointed to assist in the promotion of these objects. At monthly meetings, also, marriages are sanctioned previous to their solemnization at a meeting for worship.—Several monthly meetings compose aQUARTERLY MEETING, to which they forward general reports of their condition, and at which appeals are heard from their decisions.—TheYEARLY MEETINGholds the same relative position to the quarterly meetings as the latter do to the monthly meetings, and has the general superintendence of the Society in a particular country: that held in London comprehends the quarterly meetings of Great Britain, by all of which representatives are appointed and reports addressed to the yearly meeting. Representatives also attend from a yearly meeting for Ireland held in Dublin. It likewise issues annual epistles of advice and caution, appoints committees, and acts as a court of ultimate appeal from quarterly and monthly meetings.