1

that is good, made by holy persons to God;' not to the saints, but to God immediately. And so Damascen saith", Prayer is the ascension of the mind to God, or the desire And therefore saith of convenient things from God.' Chrysostom P, Every one that prays discourses with God.' When thou readest, saith Gilbertus 9, thou art taught by Christ; but when thou prayest, thou talkest familiarly with him.' So that it seems they did not think we should go to any of the courtiers of heaven to speak to the King for us, but that we should speak to him ourselves.

Nay, and Origen saith expressly', 'For we must pray only to the Most High God, and we must pray to his onlybegotten and the first-born of every creature, even the Word of God, and beseech him as our High Priest, to present our prayer that comes to him, to his God and our God, to his Father and the Father of all those that live according to the word of God.' And elsewhere, Every prayer, and supplication, and intercession, and giving of thanks, is to be sent up to the God that is above all, by him that is above all angels, even our High Priest, the living Word and God; and let us pray to the Word himself, and beseech him, and give thanks to him.' So that it is Christ, not the saints, that is to present our prayers to God. To which we may add that of Gregorius Thaumaturgus, ' He that rightly calls upon God, calls upon him by his Son; and he that comes near to him, comes by Christ; but none can come to the

• Προσευχὴ ἐστιν ἀνάβασις τοῦ πρὸς Θεὸν, ἤ αἴτησις τῶν προσηκόντων παρὰ Θεοῦ. -Damasc. de Orthod. Fide, lib. iii. cap. 24.

¡¡p Пãs #gorruxóμevos tã Osÿ diäzbystas.—Chrys. de Orat. Hom. 2.

a Cum legis, erudiris de Christo, orans verò, familiare cum ipso feris colloquium. — Gilbert. in Cant. Serm. 7.

* Μόνῳ γὰρ προσευκτέον τῷ ἐπὶ πᾶσι Θεῷ, καὶ προσευκτέον γὶ τῷ μονογενεῖ καὶ πρωτοτόκῳ πάσης κτίσεως λόγῳ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀξιωτέον αὐτὸν ὡς ἀρχιεριὰ, τὴν ἐπ ̓ αὐτὸν φθάσασαν ἡμῶν ἐυχὴν ἀναφέρειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ Θεὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ Πατέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ Πατέρα τῶν βιούντων κατὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ.-Οrigen. contra Cels. lib. vii. Πᾶσαν μὲν δεήσιν, καὶ προσευχὴν, καὶ ἔντευξιν, καὶ ευχαριστίαν ἀναπιμπτέον τῷ ἐπὶ πᾶσι Θεῷ διὰ τοῦ ἐπὶ πάντων ἀγγέλων ἀρχιερέως, ἐμψύχου Λόγου καὶ Θεοῦ δεησόμεθα δὲ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Λόγου, καὶ ἐντευξόμεθα αὐτῷ καὶ ἐυχαριστήσομεν. Ibid. lib. v.

• Qui rectè invocat, Deum per Filium invocat, et qui propè accedit per Christum accedit, accedere autem ad Filium non potest sine Spiritu Sancto. - Greg. Thaum. Exp. Fid.

-

6

Son but by the Holy Spirit.' Hitherto we may refer that also of Tertullian, These things,' saith he,' I can pray for of none else but him, from whom I know I shall obtain them, and it is he that alone performeth for me, and I am such a one to whom it belongs to pray, his servant, who observe him alone, who am killed for his discipline.' And this is the argument whereby Athanasius proves against Arius that Christ is God, because he is prayed to ": " For none,' saith he, would pray to receive any thing from the Father and the angels, or any other creatures:' so that we are to join no creatures with God in our daily prayers. And truly, if we are to pray to any creatures in heaven, why not to the angels as well as saints; yet the council of Laodicea determined long ago, That it is not lawful for Christians to leave the church of God, and name angels, and make congregations which are forbidden; and if any one, therefore, be found to follow this secret idolatry, let him be accursed, because he hath left the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Son of God, and gone to idolatry.' The occasion of which canon, Balsamon saith, was, Because the devil suggested sometime to some, that Christ was not to be called for help, but the angels.' So that it is calling upon the angels that is here accursed; and therefore Theodoret saith", The synod which met at Laodicea, which is the metropolis of Phrygia, forbade by a law, that none should pray to the angels.' So that praying to angels was so long ago forbidden as idolatry, as accursed idolatry. And what shall we then say to that doctrine that saith, we must pray to

Hæc ab alio orare non possum, quàm à quo me scio consequuturum, quoniam et ipse est qui solus præstat, et ego sum cui impetrare debetur, famulus ejus qui eum solum observo, qui propter disciplinam ejus occidor. Tertul. Apol. c. 30.

4. Ουκ ἂν ἡγοῦν ἐνξαιτὸ τις λαβεῖν παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἢ παρὰ τίνος räv ähλwv nṣiopárur.-Athanas. contra Arian. Orat. 4. 3.03

* “Οτι οὐ δεῖ Χριστιανοὺς ἐγκαταλείπειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀγγέλους ὀνομάζειν, καὶ συνάξεις ποιεῖν, ἅπερ ἀπηγόρευται· εἰ τις οὖν ευρέθη ταύτῃ τῇ κεκρυμμένη εἰδωλολατρεία σχολάζων, ἔστω ἀνάθεμα, ὅτι ἐγκατέλιπε τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν Ὑιὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ εἴδωλολατρείᾳ προσῆλθεν.-Concil. Laod. Can. 35.

* Διὰ τοὶ τοῦτο καὶ ὑπέβαλλί ποτε τινὰς μὴ ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν εἰς βοηθείαν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους.—Balsam. in loc. p. 848.

Synodus quæ convenit Laodiceæ, quæ est Phrygiæ metropolis, lege prohibuit ne precarentur angelos. — Theodoret. in Epist. ad Colos. c. 2.

saints? Certainly we can do no less than conclude it to be ' a fond thing, and repugnant to the word of God;' and say, with the ancient council at Frankfort, That no saints should be either worshipped, or invocated, or prayed to by us.'

ARTICLE XXIII.

Of Ministering in the Congregation.

IT IS NOT LAWFUL FOR ANY MAN TO TAKE UPON HIM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC PREACHING OR MINISTERING THE SACRAMENTS IN THE CONGREGATION, BEFORE HE BE LAWFULLY CALLED AND SENT TO EXECUTE THE SAME. AND THOSE WE OUGHT TO JUDGE LAWFULLY CALLED AND SENT, WHICH BE CHOSEN AND CALLED TO THIS WORK BY MEN WHO HAVE PUBLIC AUTHORITY GIVEN UNTO THEM IN THE CONGREGATION, TO CALL AND SEND MINISTERS INTO THE LORD'S VINEYARD.

'THE church of God,' as we have seen in the Nineteenth Article, is a congregation of faithful men, wherein the word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly administered.' In this Article, therefore, we have it determined, who are those who are to preach the word, and to administer the sacraments in the church; not every one that hath a mind to it, not every one that fancies himself fit for it; no, only such as are lawfully called thereunto. Now, though there be but one God men are called to this office by, yet there be two ways which he is pleased to call them in. Some he calls immediately from himself without men ; others mediately from himself by men. The first manner of calling to this sacred office the prophets and apostles had, who were all, as Paul saith of himself, " called not of men, neither by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father," Gal. i. 1. The prophets had this immediate call from God under the law, and the apostles from Christ under the Gospel. And as they were called immediately by Christ, so were others

a Ut nulli nobis sancti colantur aut invocentur, nec memoriæ eorum in aras erigantur. Concil. Francof. Can. 42.

called immediately by them. So that Christ called the apostles, the apostles by the appointment of the same Christ called others to succeed them, they again others; and so hath there been a succession of lawful ministers ever since, which, though they were not all called immediately by Christ, yet they were all called by him; yea, and all others are their successors who had this immediate call from him. So that none are now lawful ministers but such as are thus called by him, and all that are thus called by him are lawful ministers; I mean all such as are called by such as succeed them in the ministry, who were called immediately from Christ himself. For these are they which certainly we are to understand by those mentioned in this Article, who have public authority given unto them in the congregation, or church, to call and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard.' But of this we shall speak more, by the blessing of God, in the Thirty-sixth Article, where we shall treat of the consecration of bishops and ministers.

But the principal thing to be demonstrated here is, that without some such call from God, it is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or ministering, or in general the office of a ministry. And for the proof of this, we might go no further than that remarkable passage in St. Paul, "How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?" Rom. x. 14, 15. Where we may observe, how the apostle links several precious truths together, every one of which is as much a truth as any of them; and therefore, as it is certain that a man cannot call upon him in whom he hath not believed, nor believe in him of whom he hath not heard, nor hear unless there be a preacher; so

» Καὶ ὁι ἀπόστολοι ἡμῶν ἔγνωσαν διὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι ἔρις ἔσται ἐπὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς· διὰ ταύτην οὖν τὴν αἰτίαν πρόγνωσιν εἰληφότες τελείαν κατέστησαν τοὺς προειρημένους, καὶ μεταξὺ ἐπινομὴν (ισ. ἀπονομὴν) δεδώκασιν, ὅπως, ἐὰν κοιμηθῶσιν, διαδέξωνται ἕτεροι δεδοκιμασμένοι ἄνδρες τὴν λειτουργίαν αὐτῶν. -Clem. Epist. ad Corinth. p. 57. Τοὺς οὖν κατασταθέντας ὑπ ̓ ἐκείνων, ἢ μεταξὺ ὑφ ̓ ἑτέρων ἐλλογίμων ἀνδρῶν, συνευδοκησάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας πάσης, καὶ λειτουργήσαντας ἀμέμπτως τῷ ποιμνίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης, ἡσύχως καὶ ἀβαναύσως, μεμαρτυρημένους τὲ πολλοῖς χρόνοις ὑπὸ πάντων, τούτους οὐ δικαίως νομίζομεν ἀποβάλεσθαι τῆς λειτουργίας.--Ibid.

certain it is, that a man cannot lawfully preach unless he be sent. For "this" is an honour" that " no man takes to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron," Heb. v. 4. And therefore God complains of such prophets as run before they are sent, and preach his word to others, before they have received power from him: "I have not sent these prophets," says he, "and yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they have prophesied," Jer. xxiii. 9. And therefore he commands his people, saying, "Hearken not to the words of the prophets that speak unto you," c. xxvii. 14; "for I sent them not," v. 15. So that such as God doth not send, man is not bound to hear; did I say man is not bound to hear? Nay, man is bound not to hear; and if man be bound not to hear those that God doth not send, certainly those that he doth not send are bound not to preach.

And he that further considers the several titles that are given to the ministers of God in the holy Scriptures, may have good ground to subscribe to this truth. For they are called "stewards," Tit. i. 7. Now it doth not belong to every man that will to be a steward, unless he be appointed by him whose steward he is to be, Luc. xii. 4. Again, they are called "ambassadors," 2 Cor. v. 20. And who dare undertake an embassage to a foreign prince or people, without a commission from his own king? Yea, the very words used by the Holy Ghost to express them by, do all imply office, as bishops, ministers, deacons. Now there is no office that lies open in common to all, but a man must be particularly appointed, and commissionated by him that hath power to do it, before he can be put into it, or invested with it. And hence it is also, that we find in Scripture several rules laid down for the choosing of men into this office, 1 Tim. iii. 2-4; iv. 14. Tit. i. 5, 9. Whereas, if any one might take upon him this office, these rules and directions would be altogether superfluous. To all which we might also consider what confusion and disorder the church would fall into, should any one that thought himself a man gifted for it, undertake this sacred office. And truly of this we have had too many years of sad and woful experience, when ministers turned laymen, and laymen turned ministers, till at length we were likely to have all ministers, and no laymen, or rather