The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-29 00:00:00

TILE MISOLITION.

Next foli,Jws the absolution to be pronounced by the
priest, alone standing :
And in the Rubrick after the confession at the com-
munion, the Bishop or Priest is ordered to pronounce the
absolution standing. Besides, reason teaches, that acts of
authority are not to be done kneeling, but standing rather.
And this absolution is an act of authority, by virtue of a
" Power and Conimandmant of God to his Ministers." as
it is in the preface of this absolution. And as we read, St.
John xx., Whosoever sins ye remit, they ;are remitted.
And if our confession be serious of hearty, this absolution
is effectual as if God did pronounce it from-% Heaven. So
says the confession of Saxony and Bohemia ; and so says
the Augustan confession, and which is more, so says St.
Chrysostom in his fifth Homily. " Heaven waits and
expects the priests' sentence upon earth ; the Lord fol-
lows the servant, and what the servant rightly binds or
looses here on earth, that the Lord confirms in Heaven."
The same says St. Gregory, Homily 2i), upon the Gos-
pels. " The Apostles (and in them all the priests) were
made God's vicegerents here on earth, in his name and stead
to retain or remit sins." St. Augustin and Cyprian, and
generally antiquity, says the same ; so does our Church
in many places, particularly in the form of absolution for
.he sick ; but, above all, Holy Scripture is clear. St.
John; xx. 23, " Whosseoever sins ye remit, they arc re-
mitted unto them." Which power of remitting sins was
not to end with the Apostles, but is part of the ministry
of reconciliation—as necessary now as it was then, and
therefore to continue as long as the ministry of recon-
ciliation, that i 4, to the end of the world. ‘Vhen there-
fore the priest absolves, God absolves, if we be truly
penitent."
There be three several forms of absolution in the ser-
vice. The first is thLt which is used at Morning Prayer :
" Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
&c., &c., and hath given power and commandment to his
Ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being
penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins, he
pardoneth and absolveth."
The second is used at the Visitation of the Sick :
" Our Lord Jesus Christ, who bath left power to his
Church to absolve all sinners which truly repent, of his
great mercy forgive thee ; and by his authority committed
to me, I absolve thee, &c."
The third is at the Communion—" Almighty God, our
Heavenly Fattier, who of his great mercy haul promised
forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repent-
ance and true faith turn to him, have mercy upon you ;
pardon and forgive you, &c."
All these several: forms, in sense and virtue aro the
same ; for when a prince bath :granted a commission to
any servant of his, to release out of prison all penitent
offenders whatsover, it were all'one in effect as to the
prisoner's discharge, whether this servant says, " By virtue
of a commission granted to me, under the prince's hand
and seal, which here I show, I release this prisoner ;" or
thus—" The prince who hath given mo this commission,
he pardons you;" or lastly, " The prince pardon and
deliver you," the prince standing by and confirming
the word of his servant. So is it here all one as
to the' remission of sins in the penitent, whether the priest
to pronounce. pardon to the‘
aafltle
pr
tests
powerf orm Almighty God, who bath
given absolves
rn c him after
penitent, He pardons you." Or thus, "By virtue of a
commission granted to me frem God, I absolve you." Or
lastly, " God pardon you, namely, by me, his servant,
according to his promise, Whose sins ye remit, they are
remitted.'" All these are several expressions of the same
siting, and arc effectual to the penitent, by virtue of that
commission mentioned St. John xx. 23, " Whose sins ye
remit they are remitted." Which commission, in two of
these forms is expressed ; and, in the last, viz.,
that at the Communion, is sufficiently implied and
supposed; for the priest is directed, in using this
form to stand and turn to the people. Which behaviour
certainly signifies
more than a bare prayer for the people,
(for if it were only aprayer for thepeople, he should not
be directed to stand and turn to the people whets he
speaks, but to God, frosts
the people); this gesture of
standing and turning
to the people signifies a message of
God to the
people by the mouth of his priest.

THE LESSONS.
" Then shall the priest or bishop if present, stand,
and turning himself to the people, &c." So in the Pune-
diction, reading of tho Lessons and Holy Commandments ;
but in thoso parts of the office which were directed to God
immediately prayers. hymns, lauds, confession of faith,
or sins, he turned from the people ; and for that purpose,
, as
in many parish churches of late, the reading-pew had one
desk for the bible, looking towards the people and the
body of the church, another for the prayer-book, looking
towards the cast, or upper end of the chancel. And
very reasonable was this usago ; for when the people
were spoken to it was fit to look towards them; but
is hen God was spoken to,
it was fit to turn from the
people. And besides, if there be any part of the world
more honourable in the esteem of men than another, it is
fit to look that, way when we pray .to God in public
that in turning of our bodies, towards a more
honourable place, may
remind us of the great
honour and maj, sty of rho person we speak to.
And this reason St. Augustin gives of the Chinches' an-
cient custom of turning to the East in their public prayers,
because the east is the most honourable part of the world,
—Augustin, I. 2 (15 Ser. Dom. in Monte, c. 5.
light, whence the glorious sun arises
being the region of`.

peoplev
e
Aihitoewra rrdertohne umpaY pe r been dgoi etiL of the
et) chancel turningnour from h t
prayers.
because it is fit in our prayers to look toward; that pert of
the church or chancel which is the highest and chief, and
where God a&rds his most gracious and mysterious pre.
scree, and that is the holy Table and Altar, which anciently
was placed towards the upper or east end of the chancel
This is the highest part of the chancel, set apart to the
highest of religious services, the consecration and distri.
bution of the holy Eucharist. Here is exhibited the
most gracious and mysterious presence of God that in this
life we arc capable of, the presence of his most holy body
and blood. And, therefore, the Altar was called the
of God, the Type of Heaven, Heaven itself. As, tlvre-
fo r
there-
fore,
ti e Tabernacle
J e %ov of s i God'stheir
Glory, Ipor r s Chair of State, tl:e Throne
ay; e
rs
xxvlii. 2 ,
looked towards the princi-
palB3 the Christians, is their prayers, turned towards the
V,e Mercy-seat-seat--Palmprinpcia;:lofptalr'et Temple,hurch, the Altar, of which the
of the.
Mercy rest was but a type. And as our Lord bath taught
us in-hi, prayer to look up towards heaven tthcn we pr,,y,
s.ty ing " Our Father which art in heaven," not ai if Gad
were th,:re confint ti. fur he is everywhere, n Car h ; s wail
as in heaven, but because " Heaven is his Throne,"
whereas " Earth is but his Footstool;" so holy Church
by her practice, teaches us in our public and solemn
prayers to turn and look not towards the inferior and
lower parts of the footstool, but towards that part
of the Church which most resembles heaven, the
holy Table or Altar. Correspondent to this practice was
the manner of the Jews of old, for at the reading of the
law and other scriptures, he that did minister turned his
face to the people, but he who read the prayers turned his
b-,':k to t:t, people, and iris face to the At k.— Me, Thu.,.
of no. plge i
" The Lord be with you,"
" And with thy spirit."
This divine salutation taken out of the Scripturegm," The