purposes, and whose strength is made perfect in his weak

"We not only believe it," says Bishop Hickman, “but we feel it too; we feel the comfortable influences, the sacred emanations of the Holy Spirit upon us; more particularly at those offices of devotion, wherein he descends upon us also, as he did once upon our blessed Saviour, like a dove, and sheds his grace upon us, in some measure with those excellencies which become the sons of God."

To these we may add the observations of Mr. Addison, author of the Spectator: "We who have this veil of flesh standing between us and the world of spirits, must be content to know that the Spirit of God is present with us, by the effects which he produceth in us. Our outward senses are too gross to apprehend him; we may however taste and see how gracious he is, by his influence upon our minds, by those virtuous thoughts which he awakens in us, by those secret comforts and refreshments which he conveys into our souls, and by those ravishing joys and inward satisfactions which are perpetually springing up and diffusing themselves among all the thoughts of good men. He is lodged in our very essence, and is as a soul within the soul, to irradiate its understanding, rectify its will, purify its passions, and enliven all the powers of man. How happy therefore is an intellectual being who, by prayer and meditation, by virtue and good works, opens this communication between God and his own soul ! Though the whole creation frowns upon him, and all nature looks black about him, he has his light and support within him, that are able to cheer his mind, and bear him up in the midst of all those horrors which encompass him. He knows that his helper is at hand, and is always nearer to him than any thing else can be, which is

capable of annoying or terrifying him. In the midst of calumny or contempt, he attends to that Being who whispers better things within his soul, and whom he looks upon as his defender, his glory, and the lifter-up of his head. In his deepest solitude and retirement he knows that he is in company with the greatest of beings; and perceives within himself such real sensations of his presence, as are more delightful than any thing that can be met with in the conversation of his creatures. Even in the hour of death, he considers the pains of his dissolution to be nothing else but the breaking down of that partition which stands betwixt his soul and the sight of that Being, who is always present with him, and is about to manifest itself to him in fulness of joy.

"If we would be thus happy, and thus sensible of our Maker's presence, from the secret effects of his mercy and goodness, we must keep such a watch over all our thoughts, that, in the language of the Scriptures, his soul may have pleasure in us. We must take care not to grieve his Holy Spirit, and endeavour to make the meditations of our hearts always acceptable in his sight, that he may delight thus to reside and dwell in us. The light of nature could direct Seneca to this doctrine in a very remarkable passage among his epistles, There is a Holy Spirit residing in us, who watches and observes both good and evil men, and will treat us after the same manner that we treat him.' But I shall conclude this discourse with these emphatical words in divine revelation.

If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come and make our abode with him.'"

i Sacer inest in nobis spiritus bonorum malorumque custos et observator et quemadmodum nos illum trac tamus, ita et ille nos.

It must be admitted, however, that there is great need of the caution, that we try the spirits whether they be of God. Too many there are who deceive themselves by fancies and feelings, at the same time that they exhibit very little of Christianity in their tempers and conduct. Those of a warm and volatile temperament are especially in danger from this quarter. But it is plain, that, unless we live as becomes the gospel, we have no right to feel its consolations. The Spirit of God dwelleth not in hearts which are not duly kept and sanctified. Angry passions, unchaste or unbecoming conversation, omissions of duty, or habits of sinning, will ever grieve and banish the Holy Spirit. Let none then ever content themselves with any emotions that are not attended with the fruits of the Spirit. But while we feel ourselves daily mortifying the flesh, our affections more and more set on things above, our heart and conduct more and more conformed to the image and precepts of our Saviour, we may lawfully look for, and cherish in our hearts, "the full assurance of faith." "The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."

In what has been said on the subject of that " quietness and assurance," which the Scriptures speak of as the effect of righteousness, the writer would not be supposed as setting a value on fanciful flashes of the mind, or morbid fluctuations of feeling. What he pleads for is a sober and rational joy-a gladness of heart, as strictly united with the soundest reason as the solar warmth is united with the solar light-a pleasure which necessarily accompanies the healthful actions of our highest tastes and affections, on their most excellent and natural objects; and which reflection is so far from damping, that it will raise it to its greatest height. Such an enjoyment as this ought ever to be aimed at in all our spiritual exercises, because,

where the mind is in a sound state, and is not depressed by any peculiar circumstance, it is the feeling which naturally belongs to them; it is that too which makes them most interesting. To aspire, therefore, at times to this feeling, to cherish it with tenderness, to guard it with holy jealousy, is the path at once of rectitude and pleasure, of genuine duty no less than of genuine happiness. For, whatever may be the delusions of the enthusiast, he whose vivid relish for spiritual things makes him fear even a thought by which that relish might be impaired, whose days are bright and whose nights are tranquil in proportion as his sense of the Divine presence is lively, and his intercourse with his Redeemer cordial and unobstructed-he certainly is, of all men, the most secure, as well as most happy-is in youth best guarded against seducing pleasures-is in manhood best guided amidst distracting occupations of business-is in age best supported under infirmities and pains—is in death most comforted-in a word has the truest enjoyment of life, and the most perfect preparation for eternity.i

COLLECT FOR WHITSUNDAY.

O God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

i See Christian Observer, vol. vi. p. 83, for an excellent paper on "Frames and Feelings."

CHAPTER XII.

THE SACRAMENTS.

"SACRAMENTS ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good-will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him.

"There are two sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord." Article XXV.

"A sacrament is an outward visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ himself as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof." Church Catechism.

The word sacrament, by virtue of its original in the Latin tongue, signifies any sacred or holy thing or action, and among the heathens was particularly applied to denote, sometimes an oath, the most sacred of obligations, and especially that oath of fidelity which the soldiery took to their general. In Scripture it is not used at all. By the early writers of the Western Church it was used to express almost any thing relating to our holy religion; at least any thing that was figurative, and signified something further than at first sight appeared. But afterwards

a The author has borrowed freely on this subject from Archbishop Secker's Lectures on the Catechism; but as he has sometimes condensed, and sometimes supplied matter, he could not adopt the usual mode of marking the quotations.