structed in the law, had, in every village, a person called "an instructor of babes," (to this probably St. Paul alludes, Rom. ii. 20.) The business of this person was to teach the children the law till they were ten years old; from ten to fifteen they instructed them in the Talmud. Grotius informs us, that at the age of thirteen they were brought to the house of God to be publicly examined, and being approved, were declared to be children of the precept, i. e. they were obliged to keep the law, and were admitted to the full privileges of the church. From this custom among the Jews," Wheatly says, "the rite of confirmation was probably deduced, which, though it was not expressly instituted by our Saviour, as was Baptism and the Eucharist, and so it is not properly a sacrament; yet Aquinas thinks the reason why this had no positive institution was, because the Holy Ghost (who is therein communicated) was not given till after Christ's ascension." The rite of confirmation was ordained and practised by the apostles: as administered by them, it was connected with the supernatural communication of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of their hands on such as had been baptized into the Christian faith. (Acts viii. 14, &c. Acts xix. 5, 6, &c. &c.) The apostle St. Paul mentions, among "the principles of the doctrine of Christ," "the doctrine of baptism and the laying on of hands," (Heb. vi. 2.) by which the orthodox writers of all ages have understood confirmation.

66

Calvin produces this passage of Scripture, and argues from it the apostolic institution of confirmation. The rite of confirmation, in common with that of sponsorial engagements in baptism, discovers the pious solicitude of the church for the religious education of the baptized, that they might thus be prepared at a suitable age for admission to the full privileges of "the communion of saints." In this expressive rite, she requires such to recognize and ratify in their own names, those sacred vows which others made on their behalf at their baptism. Every church practising infant baptism, insists upon a confession of faith as an indispensable requisite for full communion with the visible body; and this being admitted, we feel warranted to decide, without any unkind feelings to those who may conscientiously differ from us, that the profession of confirmation is more conformable to the practice of the apostolic churches, and the custom of the primitive ages, than any that prevails. It is, indeed, in its intent, similar to the profession of adult baptism, the answer of a good conscience towards God.'"*

This simple apostolic rite, so adapted to usefulness, the church of Rome has unscripturally exalted into a sacrament, and corrupted and perverted it from its first design. The Douay Catechism says— "Confirmation is a sacrament which makes us strong and perfect Christians, able to profess our * Bridges, on the Christian Ministry, p. 440.

faith before tyrants and persecutors." It is administered in the Romish church, by anointing the forehead in the form of the cross, with oil mingled with balm, accompanied by prayer and imposition of hands. The words used by the bishop are—" I sign thee with the sign of the cross, I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Not to receive confirmation, when opportunity offers, is declared to be "a mortal sin."* One passage of Holy Scripture, particularly urged by Roman Catholics as requiring and justifying their mode of administering confirmation, is (2 Cor. i. 21,) " Now he which stablisheth (o de Beßauwv) us withyou in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God." What our translation correctly renders "stablisheth," the Romanists, in their version, render "confirmeth.” In their version the passage reads, "He which confirmeth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God." How forced and unnatural is the application of these words, to the purpose for which they are used, will appear from the following ob. servations" Here, it must be confessed, we have the words, confirm and anoint; but, alas! the connexion will not serve their purpose. If the apostle had represented himself, or any of his fellow apostles, as having thus confirmed and anointed the Corinthians, there might have seemed some plausible ground for the interpretation; but, * Douay Catechism Confirmation.

in the present instance, it is most distinctly asserted, He who confirmeth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God." The apostle is not referring to the Corinthians, but to himself and his fellow-labourers, mentioned in the preceding verse, who had preached the gospel among them; and he assures them that they were established, anointed, and sealed, not by man, but by God himself, whose Holy Spirit had rendered their labours successful, and sanctioned them by his miraculous and gracious communications. It is obvious that the term anointed, like the term sealed, immediately following it, is altogether figurative; for, if anointing be understood literally, why should not sealing too; and why have we not the sacrament of sealing, as well as of chrism ?*

Bishop Jewel, in his excellent Treatise on the Sacraments, thus exposes and protests against the church of Rome, on confirmation:-"I protest that the use and order of confirmation, rightly used, is profitable and necessary in the church, and no way to be broken. But all that is profitable and necessary is not a sacrament; Christ did not command it, he spoke no word of it. Look and read, if you doubt it; Christ's words are written, and may be seen. You shall never find that he commanded confirmation, or that he ever made any special promise to it; therefore may you conclude that it is

* Fletcher's Lectures, p. 171, 172.

no sacrament, otherwise, being rightly used, it is a good ceremony, and well ordained of our ancient Fathers.

"Time rusteth and consumeth all things, and maketh many a thing to prove nought in the end, which was first devised for good. The brazen serpent, at the first, was made by Moses, and set up for good purpose, but afterwards it was abused. The children of Israel did burn incense unto it, and therefore Hezekiah brake it in pieces.

"The first abuse in confirmation was, that it was done in a strange tongue, that no man might understand what was meant. Then, that they received to confirmation such children, and so young, as were not able to make profession of their faith, so that the infant promised, he knew not what, and the bishop ratified and confirmed, where there was nothing to be confirmed; he set to his seal, where there was nothing to be sealed. These abuses were far unmeet for the church of God.

"Besides these, there was a great abuse in the manner of doing. For thus the bishop said, 'I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and confirm thee with the oil of salvation.' Thus they used to do; these were their words, with the oil of salvation.' They took not this of Christ, nor of his apostles, nor of the holy ancient Fathers. It agreeth not with our Christian faith to give the power of our salvation unto oil; he that seeketh his salvation in oil, loseth his salvation in