Page images
PDF
EPUB

how, by any other sect, should always have been careful to transmit their episcopacy by imposition of hands.

When these possibilities shall be turned into probabilities, and the probabilities amount to a reasonable certainty, then, and not till then, will the episcopal character claimed by the Herrnhuters, or Moravians, deserve the grave consideration of the church.

DEVOTIONAL.

FROM THE PARISIAN BREVIARY.

ON THE FESTIVAL OF THE HOLY

INNOCENTS.

THERE is perhaps no subject on which our church holds up more conspicuously her pure gospel light than in that sacred, and indeed, I may say, that most cheering and exulting consolation which she has shed upon the grave of infants; having, after the example of her blessed Lord, taken them up into her arms, and declared them regenerate, and born anew, and therefore, as such, in dying undoubtedly saved. And it is very much to be observed, how every distinct source and subject of Christian encouragement has been embodied on some saint's-day, so as to bring the lesson more pointedly and strongly to our notice. Thus the Innocents' Day is one in our Christian year, at the thought of which, before and after, many a parent may derive consolation; and the watchful pastor may have one of those opportunities which are ever remembered in times of visitation-an opportunity of inculcating some lesson of heavenlymindedness and comfort to the afflicted; or of instilling into others, in a more palpable and striking way, that child-like humility which is the best ornament of a Christian.

Something of this kind might be remarked in each of the saints'days, and thus each scripture truth comes forth in its turn through our sacred year

Till "all their lights combine,

And the configurations of their Glory,"

And these "make up some Christian's destiny."

A combination, I say, of their lights, for to teach any one doctrine of scripture to the manifest exclusion of others, either in practice or in preaching, were, in effect, to teach falsehood, and not truth.

The effect which a right observance of these festivals of our church might produce is forcibly brought to one's mind by the manner in which they are calculated in the Breviary Service to instil these practical lessons of piety. The numerous texts and the gospel lectures, which are as the foundation, and the ancient precepts of early writers, and the hymns and collects, built upon the same, tend to render each one of these days in itself a beautiful and impressive homily.

AD OFFICIUM NOCTURNUM.

Invitatory.-Christ taking up little children into his arms, and blessing them.-Mark x.

Little flowers of martyrdom,

Whom the ruthless sword has torn,
On the threshold of the morn,
Rosebuds by the whirlwind shorn!

All regardless of their doom,
'Neath the altar where they lay,
With their palm and chaplets gay,
Little simple ones they play.

Tyrant, what avails their tomb?
He shall 'scape the bloody blade,
Which hath many childless made,
Infant born of mother maid.

Hymn.

Thus the type of Him to come,
Restorer of lost Israel,
Moses 'scaped the tyrant fell,
Guarded by th' Invisible.

Jesu, born of Virgin's womb,
Father, Spirit, One and Three,
Sing we glory unto Thee,
Sing we everlastingly. *

(The first Nocturn is here omitted. It corresponds with the other Nocturns, in containing the Antiphones, Lectios, and the Responsories, the Lectios being taken from the second Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans.)

IN II. NOCTURN.

Ant. Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth.—Matt. ii.

Ant. The wicked man travaileth with pain; a dreadful sound is in his ears.-Job xv. Ant. For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.-Job xvi.

Ant. Behold, he travaileth with mischief; he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth ungodliness.-Psalm vii.

SERMON OF POPE LEO.

LECTIO IV.

Herod, upon hearing that the King of the Jews was born, and suspecting that it was a successor to himself, becomes alarmed, and, dissembling with a plea of worship and respect, devises the destruction of Him who is the Author of life and salvation. How happy had it been for him had he followed the example of the wise men, and had indeed turned to religion that which was nothing else but a purpose of deceit. When the wise men had now returned to their country, and Jesus, by the Divine admonition, was taken into Egypt, the madness of Herod, whose plans were now frustrated, breaks forth into violence. He commands all the infants at Bethlehem to be slain; and, knowing not the child who was the object of his fears, he directs his fury against all who were of that age as to be liable to his suspicion. But those whom a wicked king puts out of the world, Christ sets in heaven.

r. The king, in a furious mind, commanded his men of war not to spare. Thus was there killing of children and slaying of infants.

v. Herod slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. * Thus was there killing of children and slaying of infants.-2 Macc. v. ; Matt. ii.

* The original is as follows:

Salvete, flores martyrum,
In lucis ipso limine
Quos sævus ensis messuit,
Ceu turbo nascentes rosas.

Vos prima Christi victima,
Grex immolatorum tener,
Aram sub ipsam simplices
Palma et coronis luditis.

Quid proficit tantum nefas?
Quid crimen Herodem juvat?
Unus tot inter funera,
Impune Christus tollitur.

Inter coævi sanguinis
Fluenta, solus integer
Ferrum quod orbabat nurus
Partus fefellit Virginis.

Sic dira regis impii
Edicta quondam fugerat,
Christi figuram præferens,
Moses receptor civium.

Qui natus es de Virgine
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Cum Patre, cumque Spiritu,
In sempiterna secula!

LECTIO V.

What folly is this, ye men of Judea, being asked where Christ should be born, ye answer with truth, in Bethlehem of Judea. Ye are able to point out the place of his nativity from the testimony of Scripture. Ye know that the time is come by the testimony of earth and heaven; and yet, when the wrath of Herod breaks forth to destroy, your minds are hardened, so that ye believe not. More happy, therefore, were those infants in their ignorance, when the persecution destroyed them, than ye in your knowledge whom he turned to consult in his troubles. His kingdom ye were unwilling to receive, though ye could point out the city of his birth. They could die for Him whom they were as yet unable to acknowledge. Christ, therefore, that no age should be without the wonders of his mercy, could in silence employ the power of the word before the tongue could speak; and, as if He already were saying unto them" Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,”— with a new glory he crowned these infants, and consecrated them, at his own birth, as firstfruits to himself; that we might thence learn that no human being is incapable of a divine sacrament, since even that age was rendered meet for the glory of martyrdom.

r. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the Prophet, saying, *In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not.

v. They called upon the Lord that he would hear the blood that cried unto him, and remember the wicked slaughter of harmless infants. In Rama was there a voice, &c.— Matt. ii. ; 2 Macc. iii.

LECTIO VI.

It is infancy which Christ loves; and this was the state which he put on both in spirit and in body also. It is infancy which Christ loves, for it is this which is the mistress of humility, the rule of innocence, the express form of meekness. It is infancy which Christ loves it is to this state that he would conform the characters of manhood; it is to this that he would bring back the spirit of old age; it is to this, his own lowly example, that he first disposes those whom he would raise to his own eternal kingdom. It is to this conformity and resemblance to the character of little children that we are invited, my dearly beloved, by the mystery of this day's celebration. And the same lesson of humility is implied by the adoration paid to our Saviour as an infant by the wise men. Thus did he consecrate to himself, by martyrdom, those who came into being at the period of his birth; and shewed of what nature that glory was which he was preparing for those who would imitate his example, so that those who were born with him at Bethlehem, from being joined with him in age, might be made the partakers of his sufferings also.

r. Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: ⚫ thy children shall come again to their own border.

v. The Lamb shall lead them, and shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. r. Thy children shall come again, &c.-Jer. xxxi.; Rev. vii.

IN III. NOCTURN.

Ant. Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.Matt. xix.

Ant. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits to God and to the Lamb. They are without fault before the throne of God.-Rev. xiv.

Ant. These have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy.-Rev. iii.

v. The Lord knoweth the days of the godly.

r. And their inheritance shall endure for ever.-Psalm xxxvii.

From the Sacred Gospel according to St. Matthew.
LECTIO VII. Chap. ii.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Et reliqua.

Homily of S. J. Chrysostom.

Little cause had Herod for anger; well might he have restrained himself and feared, perceiving that he was endeavouring in a matter beyond his power. But a mind that is once

vitiated by a depraved will, and now incurably diseased, is little capable of restraint; nor does it yield to those great remedies which God, in his mercy, sets before it. Consider him, therefore, as he earnestly presses forward to commit fresh evils, to add crime to crime, and, maddening in his course, through all impediments rushing headlong, as it were, to a precipice. For tormented, as it were by an evil spirit, by his own passions, vexation, and wrath, and envy, he is checked by no reason, but vents his rage even against nature herself. And the wrath which he conceives against the wise men for having deceived him, he turns against these little innocents, committing a crime in Palestine not unlike that which Pharaoh had perpetrated in Egypt.

r. O Jerusalem, rejoice for thy children, for they shall be gathered together, and shall bless the Lord.

v. My sheep shall never perish; and no man is able to pluck them out of my hand. For they shall be gathered &c.-Tobit xiii.; John x.

LECTIO VIII.

Most cruel Herod, what plea of reason hadst thou for this thy exceeding wrath at being mocked by the wise men? Didst thou not perceive that this birth was of Divine appointment? Didst thou not call before thee the chief priests and assemble the scribes? And did they not bring forward with them the testimony of that prophet who had foretold these things long before? Didst thou not understand this accordance of events with ancient predictions? Did not this zeal of even Gentiles make thee ashamed? Had Truth no power to command thy respect? Could not these events induce thee to perceive that these circumstances were not to be attributed to the agency of the wise men, who had frustrated thy purpose, but to the over-ruling of that Divine Power which wisely ordereth all things for good? But if the wise men deceived thee, why should this be visited on innocent children?

r. I will joy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard, nor the voice of crying.

v. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. And the voice of weeping shall be no more heard, &c.-Isaiah lxv.; Rev. xxi.

[ocr errors]

LECTIO IX.

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the Prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not. O wonderful result and consequence! for when the hearer is filled with horror at the description of this cruel slaughter, the Evangelist adds the consolation by shewing that these things did not happen from the Almighty's want of means to prevent them, nor from his not foreseeing their accomplishment; but they were circumstances which he both knew beforehand and had foretold by his Prophet. Be not, therefore, disturbed nor dismayed at such things, but rather behold in them his unspeakable providence, which is most clearly discernible both in those things which He himself worketh, and in those which he alloweth others to do.

r. I will turn their mourning into joy,* and will comfort them, and will make them to rejoice from their sorrow.

v. And I will give them of the fountain of the water of life freely.-Jer. xxxi.; Rev. xxi.

AT THE LAUDS.

Ant. Arise, O Zion, pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.-Lam. ii. Ant. When they had determined to slay the babes of the saints, one child being cast forth and saved, reproved them.-Wisdom xviii.

Ant. They leaped like lambs, praising thee, O Lord, who hadst delivered them.~~ Wisdom xix.

Ant. They magnified, with one accord, thy hand that fought for them. For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of them that cannot speak eloquent.— Wisdom x.

Ant. Everlasting joy is upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.-Isaiah xxxv.

Capitulum. Wisdom iv.

His grace and mercy is with his saints, and He hath respect unto his chosen. Thus the righteous that is dead shall condemn the ungodly which are living, and youth that is soon perfected the many years of the unrighteous.

VOL. VII.-June, 1835.

4 P

As the wolf, in fierceness sore,
Falls on lambs o'er fold and fence,
Thus the tyrant, lost to sense,
Falls on harmless Innocence;

And the cradles flow with gore--
God of gods shall he withstand?
One he seeks in murder'd band,
One escapes his murderous hand.

Hymn.

Mourning mothers, weep no more!
Weep no more your pledges torn,
Little troop, in endless morn,
They attend the Virgin-born.

Virgin-born, whom we adore,
Father, Spirit, One and Three,
Sing we glory unto Thee,
Sing we everlastingly! *

Ant. at the Benedictus. They serve him day and night in his temple; they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall lead them unto living fountains of water.-Rev. vii.

The Collect.

Ant. O God, whom the innocent martyrs did, as on this day, proclaim and confess, not by their speech, but by their deaths, mortify all vices in us, that our lives also may confess that faith which our tongues express, through Jesus Christ, thy only Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the same Spirit, world without end. Amen.

Molles in agnos ceu lupus
Amens tyrannus irruit,
Et destinat promiscuâ
In strage Christum perdere.
Cunæ redundant sanguine,
Sed in Deum frustra fugit,
Unam petit tot mortibus,
Mortes tot unus effugit.

• Hymnus.

Matres querelis parcite;
Quid rapta fletis pignora?
Agnum salutis obsidem,
Denso sequuntur agmine.

Qui natus es de Virgine,
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Cum Patre, cumque Spiritu,
In sempiterna secula!

These Hymns, which are given in the note, are taken from Prudentius's Hymn on the Epiphany. The Hymns in the Roman Breviary for this day are taken from the same source, although the rest of the service, excepting the Collect, is different. The structure of the service, i.e. comprising the three Lessons for each Nocturn &c., is the same in both Breviaries, excepting that the Responsories in the Roman are not responding verses from the Old and New Testaments, but only from one place continuously. But the substance of the Lectios and the authors from which they are taken is, on this day, entirely different in the Roman Breviary.

[blocks in formation]

"The things which are impossible with man are possible with God."
Luke xviii. 27.

THE faith that builds its strength on worlds unseen
Seeks not th' unstable aid of time and sense

Her limbs to brace, her wavering steps to fence

With a fallacious vigour; firm, serene,

On heav'n-pledged hopes her arms are taught to lean.

« PreviousContinue »