TRACTARIAN.

"A. No; for it was when he had overcome death, that the kingdom of heaven was opened to all believers." -(p. 23.)

may

be

PAPIST.

"A. When Christ ascended into heaven." (Gen. Cat. pp. 17, 18.)

The allusion to the Te Deum is an instance of the unfair dealing of the Tractarians with the services of our church. How far it affords "a counterpart" to the unwarranted assertion of Popery seen from Hooker's commentary on the passage. "It should be a weak collection," says he, exposing the false logic of such an inference, "if whereas we say that when Christ had overcome the sharpness of death, he then opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers, a thing in such sort affirmed with circumstance, were taken as insinuating an opposite denial before that circumstance be accomplished, and consequently that because when the sharpness of death was overcome, he then opened heaven as well to the believing Gentiles as Jews, heaven till then was no receptacle for either."-(Eccl. Pol. b. v. vol. ii. p. 248. Keble's Ed. who quotes the opposite .opinion from the Douay Bible, and Thomas Aquinas.)

The Romanist at least is innocent of the blasphemy of his follower. "To be what he was!" What is that? Our God and Saviour !

How strangely does this scholastic parade sound beside the simple description given of the church in our communion-service; "the blessed company of all faithful people;" or the definition of our Article:-"A" not "the" "congregation of faithful men, in the which THE PURE WORD OF GOD IS PREACHED, and the sacra ments be duly administered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." Hence the society wherein the pure word of God is not preached, is, by the very terms of our formularies, declared to be no church at all.

TRACTARIAN.

"Q. Have we, then, any communion with the saints in heaven?

"A. Yes; we communicate with them as our fellow-members under the same head, Jesus Christ; they feeling for us and assisting us in all holy and kind offices, and we giving thanks to God for their good examples, honouring them for their virtues, and holding spiritual communion with them!

"Q. Is it any disrespect to God to remember the saints with reverence and honour?

"A. Quite the reverse; inasmuch as we glorify and adore God in and through them; for even the greatest saints are indebted for all goodness to Him alone."—(p. 29.)

PAPIST.

"Q. Have we then, any communion with the saints in heaven?

"A. The faithful on earth communicate with the angels and the saints in heaven; we by praising and praying to them, they by praying for us.

"Q. Is it any dishonour to God for us to pray to saints to pray for us?

"A. No; it is not; nor yet to beg it of men, for St. Paul himself did it. 2 Cor. i. 11."-(Abridg. pp. 28, 29.)

Art. XXII. "Invocation of saints is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of God." So too, the second part of our Homily on Prayer, "Is there any angel, any virgin, any patriarch or prophet among the dead, that can understand or know the

meaning of the heart ?—They know no more,' (quoting Augustin,) what we do on earth, than we know what they do in heaven.'Let us not seek the aid and help of saints, but let us come boldly ourselves." Where, we may well ask, is the "counterpart " here? We add the official expression of the opinion of the compiler's diocesan. "It is a subject of still deeper concern, that they should recommend or justify, under any qualification, prayers or addresses to saints, a practice which began in poetry and ended in idolatry.”—Charge of the Bishop of London, 1842. p. 56, 57.

In the following passage the doctrine of the two catechisms is precisely the same,-the differences in expression are exactly such as are accounted for by the ostensible position of their authors.

"A. The forgiveness of sins.

"Q. What is meant by this article? な A. That there is in the Church of

God forgiveness of sins for such as properly apply for it.

Q. What do you mean by proper

ly applying for it?

"A. In the way which God has appointed.

'Q. To whom has Christ given the power to forgive sins?

"A. To the apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of His Church.

"Q. By what outward means is forgiveness of sins conveyed to us?

A. In the first place by holy baptism, in which sacrament we are made members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.

"Q. Can a person be baptised more than once? For instance, suppose a person after baptism falls into sin; can he again avail himself of that blessed sacrament?

"A. No.

"Q. How, then, can such an one be reconciled to God?

"A. By a special act of His mercy through Christ, in behalf of all such as heartily sorrow for their sins, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. "Q. What do you call the power of forgiving sin, which Christ has left with his Church?

"A. It is called absolution.

"Q. Is absolution all that is necessary for the forgiveness of sins?

TRACTARIAN.

"A. No; confession and repentance are also necessary.

"Q. Should we be content with being only sorry for our sins?

"A. No: we should try, by God's grace, to hate sin, not merely because it brings punishment upon ourselves, but because it is hateful to God.

"Q. Will a godly sorrow for sin, and a hearty purpose of amendment through His grace, avail to the pardon of sin through Christ, without the absolution of the Church?

"A. Yes; by God's mercy, in cases of necessity."-(pp. 29-31.)

PAPIST.

"A. We must make a good confession.

"Q. Can our sins be forgiven in confession, if we be not sorry for them, and resolved to amend our lives?

"No; without sorrow for sin and a purpose of amendment, the absolution of the priest is void and of no effect." (Gen. Catechism, p. 47, 48.)

"Q. What if a dying man be in mortal sin, and cannot have a priest?

"A. Then nothing but perfect contrition will suffice, it being impossible to be saved without the love of God." (Abridg. p. 98.)

Contrast this complex perversion of divine truth with the simple statements of our Church :-"To Thee ONLY it appertaineth to forgive sins." (Commination-service :)" We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ BY faith, and not for our own works or deservings." Art. XI. "Every man is constrained to seek for another righteousness, or justification, to be received at God's own hands, that is to say, the forgiveness of his sins and trespasses. And this righteousness which we so receive of God's mercy and Christ's merits, embraced by faith, is accepted of God for our perfect and full justification." "Faith doth not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God to be joined with faith in every man that is justified; but it shutteth them out from the office of justi fying."-Homily of Salvation, Part I. How opposed is such language to the doctrine of human merit, which meets us here at every step-e.g.:

TRACTARIAN.

"A. And the life everlasting. Amen. "Q. What understand you by this? "A. That such as live well and die in a state of grace shall live for ever with God happy in heaven."-(p. 32.)

"Q. You said just now, that the three theological virtues were, Faith, Hope, and Charity; now can you tell me what Hope is?

"A. Hope is a gift of God; and it helps us to expect with confidence that God will give us all things necessary for our salvation, if we only do what He requires of us.

"Q. On what is hope grounded?

PAPIST.

"Q. What understand you by this Article?

"A. I understand that such, as keep the commandments, and die in a state of grace, shall live with God in bliss for ever'-(Abridg. p. 32).

"Q. What is hope?

"A. It is a virtue infused by God into the soul; by which we have a confident expectation of glory, to be obtained by the grace and merits of Christ, and our merits proceeding from his grace.

"Q. On what is this confidence founded?