Images de page
PDF
ePub

A. 1. Of the right Use of the Church.

2. Against Peril of Idolatry.

3. Of repairing and keeping clean of Churches.
4. Of good Works: first of Fasting.

5. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness.
6. Against Excess of Apparel.

7. Of Prayer.

8. Of the Place and Time of Prayer.

9. That Common Prayers and Sacraments ought to be ministered in a known tongue.

10. Of the reverend estimation of God's word. 11. Of alms-doing.

12. Of the Nativity of Christ.

13. Of the Passion of Christ.

14. Of the Resurrection of Christ.

15. Of the worthy receiving of the Sacrament of

the Body and Blood of Christ.

16. Of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost.

17. Of the Rogation-Days.

18. Of the State of Matrimony.

19. Of Repentance.

20. Against Idleness.

21. Against Rebellion.

Scripture Proofs.

Jude 3. Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.

Titus i. 9. Holding fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

The word 'Homily' signifies conference or conversation; it was applied to those familiar exhortations which were delivered by ministers to their congregations assembled in churches. At the time of the reformation, many of the clergy were exceedingly illiterate; therefore, to supply the defects of some, and to oblige the rest to teach according to the form of sound doctrine, there were two books of Homilies prepared, the first was published in 1547, and was supposed to be written by Cranmer, the second book was published in 1560, and was supposed to be written by Bishop Jewel; they are plain and short discourses, chiefly calculated to impress the nation with a sense of the purity of the Gospel.

XXXVI.

OF CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS AND MINISTERS.

The book of consecration of archbishops and bishops, and ordering of priests and deacons, lately set forth in the time of Edward the sixth, and confirmed at the same time by authority of parliament, doth contain all things necessary to such consecration and ordering: neither hath it any thing, that of itself is superstitious and ungodly. And therefore whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to the rites of that book, since the second year of the fore-named king Edward, unto this time, or hereafter shall be consecrated or ordered according to the same rites; we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered.

Q. What doth the book of consecration of archbishops and bishops, and ordering of priests and deacons, set forth in the time of Edward the sixth, contain?

A. All things necessary to such consecration and ordering neither hath it any thing, that of itself is superstitious, and ungodly.

Q. What is decreed of those who are consecrated or ordered, according to the rites of that book,

CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS AND MINISTERS. 111

since the second year of the fore-named king Edward, unto this time, or of those who shall hereafter be consecrated according thereto ?

A. That all such are rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered.

Scripture Proofs.

1 Timothy v. 17. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Acts vi. 3, 4, 5, 6. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

Such elders as preside well and wisely over the church, especially such as truly labour in word and doctrine, both in public and private, the Apostle declares are worthy of double honour. Three things are absolutely necessary in the right ordering of ministers: First, that they be called or moved inwardly of God to take upon them the office. Secondly, that they be outwardly called and sent forth by men having authority thereunto.

Thirdly, that they be publicly ordained by prayer and imposition of hands. The ceremony of laying on of hands was used in the church of old on many occasions, as we read in various parts of the Bible; and thus were ministers ordained in early times of the Christian Church; and the service for their ordination is indeed so solemn and impressive, and contains such an excellent summary of the duties of the ministers of the Gospel, and such earnest exhortations to the discharge of those duties, that every clergyman, whatever be his age or his station in the church, would do well to read it carefully and attentively at least once in every year.

« PrécédentContinuer »