If I am addressing any who have already made up their minds as to what they will or will not receive as truth, I must indeed warn them that if they are wrong in what they have thus resolved to maintain-if, after all, they are in ignorance of the truth (which is surely possible), then their error is wilful and their ignorance hopeless. And I now address myself to those only, who do not enter on the enquiry with minds already "made up ;" those who have not determined beforehand what shall be God's truth; those who, calmly and humbly, are prepared to enquire, in every matter,-What is their Lord's Will? not, what in their judgment it might be, or should be ;-those, in a word, who are ready to acknowledge the truth, whatever it may be. Many there are who formally appeal to God's Holy Word in proof of their opinions; but few go to that word to get their opinions. For I have found that when the plain words of God are brought to some men, they set themselves, as they say, to "explain" them, instead of submitting to them, and believing simply what their Heavenly Father says. Surely a much shorter Bible would have suited such persons; for it would seem that they have first of all embraced one or two, so called, "spiritual" principles, and have then followed them out systema

tically; constructing a religious theory by mere human reasonings and fallible deductions: whatever opposes their scheme they simply consider

a difficulty to be elucidated"—and thus they seem to appeal to the Scriptures, not so much to learn God's truth, as to see "whether God is of their opinion." And a like spirit manifests itself in others of a different class, who are ever professing a faith in the Holy Catholic Church, but are very unwilling to submit to it, when it is opposed to modern opinions of their own, or corrupt practices of the church to which they may belong-whether Romish or Protestant. I trust, however, that I am now addressing many who have no sympathy with such insincerity on either hand. If you really believe the Scriptures, you must not hesitate to embrace what they teach, even if it should be quite new to you quite different from all you have learned. If you really believe in the Holy Catholic Church, you must not shrink from the consequence -even if it should lead you to differ from those whom you love and reverence-even if it should compel you, in a manner, to begin anew in religion. In any serious matter it is worth while to take the trouble to be right; but above all in so serious a

1 Hooker.

matter as religion. In this it will be no consolation at the last to reflect that we were wrong in company with others, however dear or well esteemed

among men. The Lord of truth Himself hath said, That if we leave not father and mother; and friends and riches and lands, if needs be, for His sake, we cannot be His disciples.' Let us then honestly consult the writings of the Holy Evangelists and Apostles; and let us thus endeavour to follow the teaching of the Primitive Church, as to this point in particular-The belief in the Catholic Church.

Now, the very first question to be decided is, what are we to understand by "the Church" which we are required to believe in? What is the scriptural and primitive truth concerning Church authority?—The word xxλna of course, means no more than an "assembly," and nothing would be more sophistical or unsafe than any argument built simply on the signification or etymology of a word. At the commencement of Christianity the term "Church" was very generally and vaguely employed, to denote any assembly of men, whether Christian or Heathen, large or small. And this was but natural, as the sacred writers did not invent the word; it was a common one in the language

which they wrote in; and it was some little time before it received a specific and critical signification, as denoting an organized body of believers. Thus, at first, we find that a few persons in one family are described as a "Church"-" the Church in Cæsar's household." And again, on the other hand, the large riotous assembly of heathen at Ephesus, who would have slain St. Paul, are called by this very name; for when the uproar among them was appeased, it is said that the governor "dismissed the Assembly"—the Ecclesia, or Church. So that we can argue nothing from the mere use of this word, unless there is something in its connexion to give it a definite meaning. They, then, who argue, that since Cæsar's household is termed a Church, therefore any party of Christians meeting together may be regarded as a true Church, in a strict and critical sense, plainly reason from insufficient premises; since they might just as well infer, that every riotous assemblage is a true apostolic Church, because the word Church was applied by St. Luke to the Ephesian tumult. They forget that the word was a common one, descriptive of any assembly; and that, therefore, there must be something definitive to mark it, when it is used in a technical sense.

Twice, and, I think, only twice, our Blessed Lord Himself appears to have used the word CHURCH; and these are the earliest instances on record, in the New Testament, of the use of the word at all. On this ground alone they possess an interest; but they have a further importance, because there is something in the circumstances under which the term was employed, in both instances, to fix and define, to a certain extent, its Christian meaning.

The first instance is recorded in the 16th ch. of St. Matt. v. 18. A very short time previous to our Lord's suffering, He questioned His disciples, and St. Peter in particular, as to the nature of their faith in Him; which questioning elicited that noble confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." After which, Jesus thus addressed the Chief of the Apostles :— :-"I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build MY CHURCH, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This, then, is the first time that we meet with the word Church; and perhaps its definite meaning may be partly learned from this passage. We must be careful, however, not to overstrain it. It hence appears plain, doubtless, that it was Christ's intention to build a church, i. e. (to take the simplest meaning of the metaphor) to call together an