these
secular advantages cease, on what must Christ's Ministers depend? Is
not this a serious practical question? We know how miserable is the
state of religious bodies not supported by the State. Look at the
Dissenters on all sides of you, and you will see at once that their
Ministers, depending simply upon the people, become the _creatures_ of
the people. Are you content that this should be your case? Alas! can a
greater evil befall Christians, than for their teachers to be guided
by them, instead of guiding? How can we "hold fast the form of sound
words," and "keep that which is committed to our trust," if our
influence is to depend simply on our popularity? Is it not our very
office to _oppose_ the world? Can we then allow ourselves to _court_
it? to preach smooth things and prophesy deceits? to make the way of
life easy to the rich and indolent, and to bribe the humbler classes
by excitements and strong intoxicating doctrine? Surely it must not be
so;--and the question recurs, _on what_ are we to rest our authority
when the State deserts us?

Christ has not left His Church without claim of its own upon the
attention of men. Surely not. Hard Master He cannot be, to bid us
oppose the world, yet give us no credentials for so doing. There are
some who rest their divine mission on their own unsupported assertion;
others, who rest it upon their popularity; others, on their success;
and others, who rest it upon their temporal distinctions. This last
case has, perhaps, been too much our own; I fear we have neglected the
real ground on which our authority is built--OUR APOSTOLICAL DESCENT.

We have been born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God. The Lord Jesus Christ gave His Spirit to
His Apostles; they in turn laid their hands on those who should
succeed them; and these again on others; and so the sacred gift has
been handed down to our present bishops, who have appointed us as
their assistants, and in some sense representatives.

Now every one of us believes this. I know that some will at first deny
they do; still they do believe it. Only, it is not sufficiently,
practically impressed on their minds.

They _do_ believe it; for it _is_ the doctrine of the Ordination
Service, which they have recognised as truth in the most solemn season
of their lives. In order, then, not to prove, but to remind and
imp