'Neither of them has faith in what Christ has done for them': Keble, the Old High tradition, and those who deny the Prayer Book's sacramental order

From a Keble sermon, in his collection Sermons for the Christian Year: From Septuagesima to Ash Wednesday, on the Litany. Here Keble introduces the significance of praying for the Church in the Litany. In doing so, he refers in a very traditional Old High manner to the dangers facing the ecclesia Anglicana: from, on the one hand, the Low Church denial of the sacramental order of the Prayer Book; and, on the other, from those who cross the Tiber, likewise denying the Prayer Book's sacramental order. This extract exemplifies how Keble's sermons witness to the deep and profound influence of the Old High tradition upon this Tractarian leader:

But for the spiritual condition of our English Church, believe me, my brethren, when I tell you that it is indeed very distressing. We are hard beset on both sides: and why? Because people have not the faith which they ought to have in the blessed Sacraments of Christ, whereby He both received us at first, and hath fed us all our lives long unto this day.

Some persons do not like to believe that holy Baptism saves us at all, although the Prayer-book teaches it so plainly: and these unhappily have so great power at present, that there is great danger of their altering the words of the Prayer-book, as they have already perverted its doctrine. These, it is plain, have no faith in the Sacraments of Christ.

Others are so disgusted at seeing such liberties taken with such very holy things that they begin to think the Body which allows them can be no part of the true Church of Christ, and so they wander away to the Roman Catholics; not considering, that in so doing they are giving up all faith in the holy Sacraments which have been their soul's health hitherto.

These two sorts, unlike as they appear to each other, agree in this, that neither of them has faith in what Christ has done for them: and between these two, as I said, our mother the Church is even now hard beset.

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laudable Practice

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