ing at the altar, if thou rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thine offering, and go to be reconciled, and when thou art reconciled, come and offer thine offering.' It may also be thus taken, that we ought to confess our weakness and infirmities one to another, to the end that, knowing each other's frailness, we may the more earnestly pray together unto Almighty God, our heavenly Father, that he will vouchsafe to pardon our infirmities, for his Son Jesus Christ's sake, and not to impute them unto us, when he shall render to every man according to his works. And whereas the adversaries go about to wrest this place, for to maintain their auricular confession withal, they are greatly deceived themselves, and do shamefully deceive others; for if this text ought to be understood of auricular confession, then the priests are as much bound to confess themselves unto the lay people as the lay people are bound to confess themselves to them. And if to pray is to absolve, then the laity, by this place, hath as great authority to absolve the priests as the priests have to absolve the laity. And where they do allege this saying of our Saviour Jesus Christ unto the leper, to prove auricular confession to stand on God's word, 'Go thy way, and show thyself unto the priest,' do they not see that the leper was cleansed from his leprosy before he was by Christ sent unto the priest for to show himself unto him? By the same reason we must be cleansed from our spiritual leprosy; I mean, our sins must be forgiven us before that we come to confession. What need we, then, to tell forth our sins into the ear of the priest, sith they be already taken away? Therefore, holy Ambrose, in his second sermon upon the 119th Psalm, doth say full well, "Go show thyself unto the priest. Who is the true

priest but he which is the Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek?" Whereby this holy father doth understand that both the priesthood and the law being changed, we ought to acknowledge none other priest for deliverance from our sins but our Saviour Jesus Christ, who, being Sovereign Bishop, doth with the sacrifice of his body and blood, offered once forever upon the altar of the cross, most effectually cleanse the spiritual leprosy, and wash away the sins of all those who, with true confession of the same, do flee unto him. It is most evident and plain that this auricular confession hath not his warrant of God's word, else it had not been lawful for Nectarius, bishop of Constantinople, upon a just occasion to have put it down; for when any thing ordained of God is, by the lewdness of men, abused, the abuse ought to be taken away, and the thing itself suffered to remain. Moreover, these are St. Augustine's words, 'What have I to do with men that they should hear my confession, as though they were able to heal my diseases? A curious sort of men to know another man's life, and slothful to correct and amend their own. Why do they seek to hear of me what I am, which will not hear of thee what they are? And how can they tell, when they hear by me of myself, whether I tell the truth or not; sith no mortal man knoweth what is in man, but the spirit of man which is in him?" Augustine would not have written thus, if auricular confession had been used in his time. Being, therefore, not led with the conscience thereof, let us, with fear and trembling, and with a true contrite heart, use that kind of confession that God doth command in his word; and then doubtless, as he is faithful and righteous, he will forgive us our sins, and make us clean from all wickedness. I do not say but that if any do

find themselves troubled in conscience, they may repair to their learned curate or pastor, or to some other godly learned man, and show the trouble and doubt of their conscience to them, that they may receive at their hands the comfortable salve of God's word; but it is against the true Christian liberty, that any man should be bound to the numbering of his sins, as it hath been used heretofore in the time of blindness and 'ignorance."*

"The third part of repentance is faith, whereby we do apprehend and take hold upon the promises of God, touching the free pardon and forgiveness of our sins, which promises are sealed up unto us with the death and blood-shedding of his Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, they that teach repentance without a lively faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ, do teach none other but Judas's repentance, as all the schoolmen do which do only allow these three parts of repentance: the contrition of the heart, the confession of the mouth, and the satisfaction of the work. But all these things we find in Judas's repentance, which, in outward appearance, did far exceed and pass the repentance of Peter. For, first and foremost, we read in the Gospel that Judas was so sorrowful and heavy, yea, that he was filled with such anguish and vexation of mind for that which he had done, that he could not abide to live any longer. Did he not also, before he hanged himself, make an open confession of his fault, when he said, I have sinned, betraying the innocent blood? And verily this was a very bold confession, which might have brought him to great trouble; for by it he did lay to the high-priests' and elders' charge the shedding of innocent blood, and that they were most abominable murderers. He did also make a

* Oxford edition of 1802, p. 457-9.

certain kind of satisfaction, when he did cast their money unto them again. No such thing do we read of Peter, although he had committed a very heinous sin, and most grievous offense, in denying of his Master. We find that he went out and wept bitterly; whereof Ambrose speaketh in this manner : Peter was sorry and wept, because he erred as a man. I do not find what he said: I know that he wept. I read of his tears, but not of his satisfaction. But how chance that the one was received into favor again with God, and the other cast away, but because the one did, by a lively faith in Him whom he had denied, take hold upon the mercy of God, and the other wanted faith, whereby he did despair of the goodness and mercy of God? Therefore, as we said , before, they that teach repentance without Christ, and a lively faith in the mercy of God, do only teach Cain's or Judas's repentance."*

- The fourth is, an amendment of life, or a new life, in bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance; for they that do truly repent must be clean altered and changed; they must become new creatures; they must be no more the same that they were before. And therefore thus said John Baptist unto the Pharisees and Sadducees that came unto his baptism: O generation of vipers, who hath forewarned you to flee from the anger to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance. Whereby we do learn that if we will have the wrath of God to be pacified, we must in no wise dissemble, but turn unto him again with a true and sound repentance, which may be known and declared by good fruits, as by most sure and infallible signs thereof."f

- They that do from the bottom of their hearts ac* Oxford edition of 1802, p. 459-61.

THE ENGLISH LITURGY.

CHAP. III.]

41 knowledge their sins, and are unfeignedly sorry for their offenses, will cast off all hypocrisy, and put on true humility and lowliness of heart. They will not only receive the Physician of the soul, but also with a most fervent desire long for him. They will not only abstain from the sins of their former life, and from all other filthy vices, but also flee, eschew, and abhor all the occasions of them. And as they did before give themselves to uncleanness of life, so will they from henceforth with all diligence give themselves to innocency, pureness of life, and true godli

ness."*

Such being the doctrine of the Homilies, declared by the 35th Article, to be “a godly and wholesome doctrine," and therefore having the formal sanction of the Church of England, I proceed next to the recognition of the subject of repentance and confession in her Liturgy

The Morning Prayer opens with an exhortation to repentance and confession; and the General Confession, by minister and people, immediately follows, which is succeeded by a sentence of Absolution in the declaratory form, pronounced by the priest alone, standing. Here it is manifest that the principle laid down in the Homily is the only one apparent. The act of repentance and confession is addressed to God. The Absolution refers to the judgment of God, and the people are solemnly assured that " He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel.”

The next recurrence of the subject is in the Office for the Celebration of the Eucharist, or Holy Com. munion. Here there is another humble and deep confession to the Almighty, offered, as before, by priest