ing part of the Article, which makes mention only of particular Churches, such as the "Churches of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch," or "the Church of Rome."*

A visible Church then is, according to its definition, "a congregation of Saints;" and what we are to understand by the latter expression is explained in the next Article, the object of which is to obviate an objection which might be urged against the statements of the preceding one. "Although," the Augsburg Confession proceeds, "the" (a) "Church is properly a society of Saints, that is true believers (vere credendium), yet since in this life many hypocrites and evil men are mixed up with them, it must be remembered that the Sacraments and the Word lose not their efficacy by being administered and preached by the wicked."+ The "Saints" then, of which a Church, according to the idea which Protestantism frames of it, is composed, are real ones; they are "faithful men" (fideles), and the word, "faith," has in Protestantism a very different signification from that which it bears in Romanism; they are not only outwardly consecrated to God, but inwardly sanctified by His Spirit.

The Articles of Schmalcald, composed by Luther in anticipation of a conference to be held at that place between the Romish and the Protestant theologians, which, however, did not take place, return "thanks to God, that, in these times, even a boy of seven years of age can tell what the Church consists of; viz. believers, holy persons, Christ's sheep, who hear the voice of their shepherd. For so do children declare their faith:-'I believe in the Holy Catholic Church.' This holiness consists, not in outward things, but in (the possession of) the Word of God, and true faith."S

The smaller Catechism of Luther teaches the catechumen to profess, "that he can by no means come to the knowledge of Christ by the unaided strength of his own reason; that it was the Holy Spirit who called him through the Gospel, enlightened him with

* The same remark has been made by Archbishop Whately, Kingdom of Christ, p. 150. + Conf. Aug. art. 3.

Unless the reader is careful to remember this, he will constantly be in danger of attributing to the statements of the Romish formularies a meaning which they do not really bear. In those formularies a "fidelis” means one who professes the Christian faith, whatever be bis inward state, even though he be living in mortal sin, or be a concealed atheist: in the language of Protestantism, the same word signifies one who exercises lively trust in Christ, which cannot exist without a change of heart.

"Hæc sanctitas non consistit in amiculo linteo, insigni verticali, veste talari, et aliis ipsorum ceremoniis, contra sacram scripturam excogitatis, sed in verbo Dei et verâ fide.”— Art. Smal. art. 12.

us.

His gifts, and now sanctifies, and preserves him in the faith, in like manner as He calls, and sanctifies, the whole Church upon earth" and the larger Catechism, expounding the third great division of the Apostles' Creed, declares that:-"The Holy Spirit carries on His work of sanctification through the instrumentality of 'the Communion of Saints,' or the Christian Church. That is;first of all, the Holy Spirit transplants us into that Holy Society, the Church, through which, as an instrument, He teaches us, and leads us to Christ. For neither could I, or thou, have known any thing of Christ, or believed upon Him, unless, through the preaching of the Gospel, the help of the Holy Spirit had been freely offered Where the doctrine of Christ is not taught, there the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to constitute the Church, and gather men into it, does not work. The Christian Church is termed a 'Communion of Saints,' for in fact they are equivalent expressions; the word 'ecclesia' signifying a congregation of 'the called.' The clause Communion of Saints,' was added, in order to explain what the Christian Church is" (that is, in its essence, or according to its idea); “viz. a society, or fellowship, to which none but holy persons belong." "The sum of what we here profess to believe is therefore this: I believe, that there is upon earth a certain community of Saints, composed solely of holy persons, under one Head, collected together by the Spirit; of one faith, and one mind, endowed with manifold gifts, but united in love, and without sects or divisions. Of these I believe that I am one, having fellowship with them in the spiritual blessings which they enjoy; united to them in one body by means of the Word of God, which I have heard, and do now hear; which hearing of the Word is the first step towards entering this community."§

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Cat. Min. cap. 2. art. 3.

† Cat. Maj. part II. art. iii. ss. 30. 34. 39. 40. 42.

"Neque aliam ob rem quàm interpretandi gratiâ priori adjecta est, quâ quispiam haud dubie exponere voluit quid Christianorum esset ecclesia." It is worthy of notice, that both the Romish and the Protestant formularies regard the clause, "The Communion of Saints," as being simply an explanation, subsequently added, of the preceding Article, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church;" and not as a distinct Article of faith. And this doubtless is the true light in which it is to be regarded. For what otherwise are we to understand by the clause? "The fellowship," says Pearson, "which the saints maintain with God, with each other, and with happy spirits." But this is already expressed, implicitly, in the Article on the Church; for Church membership is, in fact, such fellowship. The clause, no doubt, was added, to explain, as Luther observes, what the Church is; and should be read with the preceding, as one Article.

"Credo in terris esse quandam sanctorum congregatiunculam et communionem ex mere sanctis hominibus coactam, sub uno capite Christo, per Spiritum Sanctum convocatam."

If the Lutheran Confessions labour under a want of clearness and precision of statement, the defect is, in some measure, supplied by those of the Reformed Churches: which, while presenting, in all points, a substantial coincidence of sentiment,* are fuller, and more discriminating, in their statements than the former: besides their own intrinsic value therefore, they serve to clear up what is obscure or ambiguous in the expressions of Luther and Melancthon. The following are the declarations of some of the principal of these Confessions. The Helvetic Confession of 1566, which may be regarded as the symbol of the Swiss Churches, observest that, "Since God from the beginning would have men to be saved by coming to the knowledge of the truth, there must always have been, there is now, and ever shall be, a Church; that is, a community of believers, or saints, gathered out of the world; whose distinction it is to know, and to worship, through the Word and by the Spirit, the true God in Christ our Saviour, and by faith to participate in all the blessings freely offered to us through Christ. These are all citizens of one polity, subjects of the same Lord, under the same laws, and recipients of the same spiritual blessings. It is concerning these that the Article of the Creed, 'I believe in the Holy Catholic Church,' is to be understood.

"Since there is, in relation to this community, but one God, one Mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, one Shepherd of the whole flock, one Head of the body, one Spirit, one faith, &c., there can be but one Church: which, moreover, we call 'Catholic,' because it is diffused throughout the world. The Church indeed may be viewed under the twofold aspect of triumphant and militant; but these terms merely denote different conditions of the members of the same Church.

"The Church militant upon earth has always existed under the form of many particular Churches, which, however, are all connected with each other by their common relation to the one Catholic Church. The latter is termed in Scripture the house of the living God, built of living and spiritual stones, upon the rock (Christ). Hence it is

“On the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, Articles," (of the Augsburg Confession) "there is no difference of opinion between the two parties." - Colloquium Lipsiacum, s. 12. This was a conference held at Leipsic, A. D. 1681, between the theologians of the Lutheran and Reformed Churches, with the view of ascertaining how far they were agreed. - Augusti, Corp. Lib. Symb. &c. p. 386.

† De Cathol. Eccles. cap. 17.

"Et militans in terris ecclesia semper plurimas habuit particulares ecclesias, qua tamen omnes ad unitatem Catholicæ ecclesiæ referuntur." - De Cathol. Ecoles. cap. 17.

called 'the pillar and ground of the truth;' the bride of Christ; and the body of which He is the Head.

"The head is that part of the body which governs the whole, and from which life, and power to increase, are derived into the members. There can be but one head of the body; and there must be a congruity between the two. Hence the Church can have no other head than Christ; a spiritual body admits of none but a spiritual Head. We disapprove therefore of the doctrine of Rome, that the Pope is visible Head of the universal Church, and the Vicar of Christ upon earth. For we affirm that Christ Himself discharges in His Church all the offices of a Priest, and Pastor; and therefore needs no Vicar: a Vicar exists where the principal is absent; but Christ is present, the source of all spiritual life and grace.*

"As we acknowledge no other head of the Church than Christ, so we do not at once admit the claim of every (particular) Church to be a true Church; but we say, that that is a true Church in which are found the notes of a true Church, especially the pure preaching of the Word. We condemn those churches as corrupt which are not, in this respect, what they ought to be, however much they may boast of their succession of bishops, of their unity, and of their antiquity.

"Communion with the true Church of Christ we account of so much importance, that we deem it impossible for any one to enjoy the favour of God who separates himself from it. It may, however, happen that some, without any fault of their own, shall be unable to participate in the Sacraments; such persons we do not exclude from the communion of the Church.

"The (true) Church may be, and has been, so reduced in numbers as to appear almost extinct; as in the times of Elijah and others; whence it may be termed an invisible Church: not that the persons who compose it are invisible, but because, being known unto God alone, it often escapes the observation of men.

"Not all who are nominally in the Church, are true and lively members thereof; for there are in it many hypocrites, who outwardly hear the Word, and partake of the Sacraments, while, inwardly, they are destitute of the Spirit. As long, however, as they put on the appearance of piety, though they are not of the Church,

"Unicum item est corporis caput, et cum corpore habet congruentiam. Ergo ecclesia non potest ullum aliud habere caput quam Christum. Nam ut ecclesia est corpus spirituale, ita caput habeat sibi congruens spirituale utique oportet. Docemus Christum ........ nullo indigere vicario, qui absentis est. Christus vero præsens est ecclesiæ, et caput vivificum." -Conf. Hel. 1 ma. c. 17.

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they are counted to belong to it,* just as traitors, before they are detected, enjoy the name of citizens: hence our Lord compares the Church to a net containing both good and bad fishes, and to a field in which tares and wheat grow side by side.

"The unity of the Church consists, not in the sameness of ex ternal rites and ceremonies, but rather in the truth and unity of the Catholic faith. The Catholic faith is delivered to us not in human writings, but in Holy Scripture; and is summed up in the Apostles' Creed. The pure doctrine of the Gospel, and the ordinances expressly appointed by Christ himself; these are the constituent elements of the true 'Unity of the Church.'

The Scotch Confession, as might be expected, assigns, in its statements on the Church, a prominent place to the doctrine of election. It defines the Church to be "a society of the elect, of all ages and countries, both Jews and Gentiles; this is the Catholic, or universal Church. Those who are members of it worship God in Christ, and enjoy fellowship with Him through the Spirit. This Church is invisible, known only to God, who alone knows who are His; and comprehends both the departed in the Lord, and the elect upon earth."+

The Belgic Confession has nothing upon the subject particularly deserving of notice. "The Catholic Church is the community of all true believers, viz. those who hope in Christ alone for salvation, and are sanctified by His Spirit. It is not attached to any one place, or limited to particular persons, the members of it being dispersed throughout the world." The notes of a true Church it declares to be "the pure preaching of the Word, the right administration of the Sacraments, and the exercise of discipline."+

More to the point are the statements of the Tetrapolitan Confession, supposed to be the composition of Bucer. After defining the Church to be "the community of those who believe upon Christ," among whom, however, "false professors will ever be found," it proceeds thus:-"Whereas the Church is called the bride of Christ, Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of the first-born, &c.; it must be remembered that these sublime appellations belong only to those who really believe in Christ, and are the true Sons of God. Over these since the Saviour reigns in spirit and in truth, they are properly His

"Et tamen, dum hi simulant pietatem, licet ex ecclesia non sint, numerantur tamen in ecclesia."

+ Conf. Scot. Art. 16.

Conf. Belg. ss. 27. 29.