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has done his daily office (for a sacramental office such as his is supposed to be, ought to be made daily.) "Created being" is here declared to be to us the only channel through which “the divine nature is distributed." Christ's "Human Nature," we were before aware, was supposed to be thus distributed through "created being —but here we are told that the Divine is also. What is there left for Faith to do? Nothing which we can see. To put an end to all question, let us quote once more what we have before quoted :

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"For all the private prayers, thoughts, actions, of Chris"tians depend on that union with Christ our Lord, which "is attained through the communication of His Man's "Nature. And He communicates it through those public acts, whereby the Great Head of the Christian Body 'joins all its members to Himself." (p. 396.)

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We confess that if this does not amount to what St. Paul calls "Another Gospel," we know not what does.

§ 12. DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST.

The Archdeacon has the boldness to affirm as a fact, that the main object of the Descent of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost was, to give effect to the first Eucharist which

the Disciples celebrated since the Evening of its Institution! He asserts that till then, that is, for the space of six weeks, they had been supernaturally withheld from “breaking bread" in remembrance of their Lord. Who will believe this-merely because there is no mention of their communicating? Has "the Church" revealed it? We are not sufficiently acquainted with Thomas Aquinas to know whether this is one of his revelations-like that of our Lord's constitutional exemption from sickness.

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"On our Lord's Ascension, His disciples returned to "Jerusalem to wait for that gift of the Holy Ghost, "which was shortly to be dispensed. It had been declared "to be the work of the Blessed Comforter to provide some new and closer means of union with that Manhood of the Son, which was to be withdrawn from mortal sense. By this means, He who in appearance departed, was in 66 reality to be brought more near. The new Head of the "renewed race, the second Adam of reformed Humanity,

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was about to provide that principle of supernatural "union, whereby all His members were to be engrafted "into Himself. Now, it is through the Holy Communion "that this connexion is especially maintained. Its great purpose is to bring the members of Christ into mystic “union with their Head. Thereby does the Manhood of "Christ act upon His brethren. In this circumstance,

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surely, we have the reason why, during that first assein"blage at Jerusalem, no mention is made of an observance, which, so soon as the Holy Ghost had bestowed "the fulness of His gifts, became the main act of Chris"tian worship. These all continued in one accord with

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prayer and supplication.' But no sooner had the lifegiving medium been bestowed, than they continued "in breaking of bread, and in prayer.' The Holy Communion, it seems, could not have effect, till the pouring "out of that quickening Spirit, by which the members of "Christ mystical are attached to their Head." (p. 457.)

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In a note, the Archdeacon endeavours to meet the difficulty which arises from the fact, that the two disciples at Emmaus partook of the Sacrament from our Blessed Lord's hands before the Ascension. We will not occupy our reader's time by giving them his philosophical explanation of this plain contradiction to his hypothesis.

Before finally quitting this subject, let us say for ourselves, that we deny not the necessity of a gift of grace, before there can exist that saving Faith which consciously lays hold of the merits of Christ for salvation. But this preventing grace we dare not, like the Archdeacon, tie to Sacraments. We look upon it rather as the general grace of God, flowing to all through the satisfaction made by the Saviour by which God moves all hearts through the immediate agency of the Holy Spirit; because "He willeth not that any should perish." Had our Church tied this preliminary gift of grace to Sacraments, could she possibly have spoken in the terms she has

used concerning "the baptism of young children;" that "it is in any wise to be retained. in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ"? Must she not have employed very positive and decided language, by which she might have left no doubt that she considered the Sacrament indispensable? We regard Infant Baptism as a valuable witness to the necessity of God's first moving towards us, before we can move towards Him. But even in this light, as a witness to that truth, it is not indispensable. For we read the same truth in Scripture. We do not absolutely need the recollection of our baptism to teach it us. We can go further back, to the very source itself of the grace which is exhibited in Infant Baptism, the love of God in Christ. The knowledge of this as effectually prevents pride and self-dependence from entering the heart, as the highest view of the Sacraments can do. We are no Rationalists-we hope the Archdeacon will not call us such, though he is not slow to impute Rationalism to all who oppose his views. We rely not on any strength of Nature. There must be an act of God, before there can be any valid acts of our own. All we deny is, that the act of God must necessarily be a Sacramental one-an act performed

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through human agency. It is enough to know, that Christ has died to save the lost. This is the Act, everlastingly pleaded in Heaven, which gives virtue to every act of ours. It has enabled God, without injury to His attribute of Justice, to exercise towards all His human creatures His attribute of Mercy. His Spirit will move those who hear of Christ's love, to embrace the tidings. If their faith be sincere and strong, it will unite them at once to Christ, and He will be " their peace." At the same time, they will "love Him, and therefore keep His commandments"—they will be "zealous of good works"-they will neglect no means or ordinances, by which they may "grow in grace ;"--but still their dependence will be on nothing within themselves, or which man can do for them; they will say with Hooker to the last :

"Let it be counted folly, or phrenzy, or fury, or whatsoever; it is our comfort, and our 66 wisdom, we care for no knowledge in the "world but this, that man hath sinned and "God hath suffered; that God hath made "Himself the Son of Man, and that men are "made the righteousness of God." (Disc. on Justification.)

Those who read the whole of the Archdea

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