laudable Practice

Today we bring our extracts from Jelf's 1844 Bampton Lectures -  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England  -  to a close (the  first extract  was posted in late June 2022). At the end of the final lecture, Jelf portrays how the varied means of grace in Anglicanism shape and sustain a life of faith, hope, and love. In this extract he describes the means of grace at the hour of our death: And so, at length, the day is far spent, and "the night cometh, in which no man can work." The hand of sickness and death is upon God's weary servant. Still, even then he is mindful that the means of grace are not yet exhausted; his spiritual friend and guide is once more at hand to warn, to support, to pray with him and for him; to receive, if he desire it, his last confession, and, by Christ's authority committed unto him, to "absolve" him "from all" his "sins, in the n...

In the seventh of his1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of the Zs, those whom Nockles highlights as the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - addresses the issue of private confession and absolution. Proposed by Tractarians as a regular, routine feature of the spiritual life, Jelf robustly reaffirms the Old High understanding that this Prayer Book provision must not be regarded as Tridentine "compulsory auricular confession". Jelf begins by pointing to the radical difference between the primitive penitential practice and the much later Sacrament of Penance: And let it be acknowledged that it [i.e. the primitive practice] is now to be found nowhere in Christendom as it existed in the Primitive Church; and, considering the change of circumstances and habits, it is, perhaps, hardly to be expected that any Church will ever succeed in resto...

In the seventh of his 1844 Bampton Lectures, An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of the Zs, those whom Nockles highlights as the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - addresses the question if the Church of England has "not abandoned some of the means of grace, by her refusal to recognise five out of the seven Sacraments, which the Church of Rome retains?". Earlier in the lectures he had considered the ordained ministry as a means of grace. Next week's post will explore his understanding of private confession and absolution. In today's extract we see Jelf refute the suggestion that the Church of England was deprived of particular graces because it rightly did not define Matrimony, Confirmation, and Unction as Sacraments of the Gospel. Matrimony The holy estate of Matrimony is so highly esteemed amongst us as to be considered compatible with the highest...

Returning to Jelf's 1844 Bampton Lectures, An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , and following on from his vigorous defence of the rights of national churches , we consider his account of how the Church of England exercised its liberties as a national church at the Reformation. The account is an example of how the Zs - the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - were radically parting ways with the Tractarians and an increasingly explicit rejection of the Reformation: the Church of England thought it expedient, under the guidance of God's Spirit, to add to the purification of her faith the reformation also of her rites and ceremonies. It was as much her duty to see that "all things" should "be done unto edifying," as it was the duty of the Church at Corinth. That which, as a divinely commissioned Church, she had thought fit to establish, or to accept, or to...

In the seventh of his 1844 Bampton Lectures, An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - provides a vigorous defence of the right of national churches to order traditions, ceremonies, and matters indifferent: And this, in fact, was the method ordained by Divine Providence for the guidance of the Churches, in questions which, compared with the great and essential matters of faith and worship, might be rightly considered indifferent. For this liberty, qualified with due regard for apostolical ordinances or universal consent, was freely exercised by every Church from the beginning. It is historically certain that, agreeing in all essential points, the ancient Churches within their several jurisdictions did vary very widely in the particular adaptation of their usages. Thus, that bread should...

In the seventh of his 1844 Bampton Lectures, An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - commenced by introducing " auxiliary and subordinate " ordinances and usages.  In today's extract, Jelf expounds a deeply Cranmerian understanding of ordinances, rites, and ceremonies.  As Cranmer had declared, while "Christ's Gospel is not a Ceremonial Law, (as much of Moses' Law was)", "without some Ceremonies it is not possible to keep any Order, or quiet Discipline in the Church". Such ceremonies, Cranmer stated, could legitimately differ and be changed in "divers countries", not least because "at length [some ceremonies] turned to vanity and superstition". Mindful that mid-Victorian Anglicanism would soon experience intense conflict a...

In the seventh of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - after having previously considered Baptism and the Eucharist, turns to "auxiliary and subordinate" ordinances and usages. Jelf here presents a Laudian understanding, significantly distinct from the direction in which Tractarianism was developing.  To begin with, those ordinances reverently administered by the Church of England, such as Confirmation, " approximating to the rank of proper means of grace", are not to be regarded as Sacraments of the Gospel.   The key term is "approximating". It is echoed in the use of "subsidiary". These ordinances, unlike the Sacraments of the Gospel, follow apostolic practice (they are not of dominical institution) or have ...

In this final extract from the sixth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - summarises what he describes as "this high mystical and spiritual doctrine" of the Sacrament. That phrase alone should make us again think of Nevin's account of the High Reformed doctrine of the Supper, The Mystical Presence (1846). Or, as Jelf puts it here, in more than an echo of Calvin, "uniting us mystically, but truly, with the glorified nature of our blessed Lord": This grace we hold to be not a mere suggestion of goodness, nor mere instruction, nor an implanting of motives, nor a sense of mere gratitude in the remembrance of Christ's death; but the real reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, whatever that may mean, "after an heavenly...

In the sixth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - addresses the nature of the Eucharistic sacrifice. Jelf here rehearses well established Old High teaching, affirming Eucharistic sacrifice - prayer, alms, elements, praise and thanksgiving - but denying any offering of Christ's Body and Blood.  The caution he expresses at the outset regarding any offering of the consecrated elements reflects the mainstream Old High tradition, which distanced itself from John Johnson's Unbloody Sacrifice (1724) and the enthusiasm of some advanced Non-Jurors for that work. Instead, in typical Laudian and Old High fashion, Jelf refers to a commemorative - not propitiatory - sacrifice.  This also, of course, reaffirms the Protestant nature of the Old High traditio...

In the sixth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - addresses Eucharistic doctrine. Having, as seen last week , rejected Transubstantiation on high Reformed grounds, Jelf takes care to note that this does not at all equate to a denial that any change takes places in the bread and wine. This, of course, reflects the Reformed understanding, expressed by Calvin : if it be asked whether the bread is the body of Christ and the wine his blood, we answer, that the bread and the wine are visible signs, which represent to us the body and blood, but that this name and title of body and blood is given to them because they are as it were instruments by which the Lord distributes them to us. This is the sacramental change which occurs in the elements, the change...

In the sixth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - addresses Eucharistic doctrine.   Having considered "defective" views of the Sacrament, which " hold less  than the scriptural truth", Jelf moves to consider "those which teach more than the truth", by which he means " the two connected doctrines,  Transubstantiation and the Sacrifice of the  Mass". Regarding transubstantiation - and mindful of Newman's equivocation in Tract XC - Jelf invokes patristic teaching to support a Reformed understanding of the Sacramental gift and presence: Yet how this meaning can be extracted from these words, upon what principle of literal interpretation the verb "is" can be made equivalent to the verb "is change...

In the sixth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - addresses Eucharistic doctrine. He points to the Apostle's words in I Corinthians 10:16-17, quoted in Article 28, to expound an Augustinian and high Reformed (cf. Calvin , " the internal substance of the sacrament is conjoined with the visible signs")  understanding of the relationship between 'sign' and 'thing signified' in the Lord's Supper. Explicitly rooting his argument in the Articles of Religion, Jelf here gives expression to pre-1833 Old High eucharistic teaching . The words themselves distinguish between the end and the means; the end invisible, the means visible and outward; the end, divine, even the communion of the Body of Him "by whom all things were...

In the fifth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - concludes his reflection on the ministry of the Word as a means of grace by reflecting on the duty of preaching, particularly challenging evangelical preaching which failed to unfold the fullness of the Christian revelation.  He ends this section by - in a classically Hookerian, Laudian, and Old High manner - placing preaching within the context of "the entire service", that is, not exalting it above other ordinances: If this be a true account of the work of an evangelist, that, surely, cannot be complete, and faithful, and Scriptural preaching, which measuring its scope by the narrow views or bigoted exclusiveness of the preacher or his flock, studiously sets forth a part only of the messag...

In the fifth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - turns to reflect on Holy Scripture, "whether read or preached", as a means of grace (significantly alongside Holy Communion), " the food appointed for the sustenance of this spiritual life": "To know Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is the grace of graces, "life eternal" begun on earth ; and all and every part of the one Volume of inspiration - the whole history, every Psalm, Prophecy, Gospel, Epistle, are, collectively and singly, means of grace, contributing, in their several appointed degrees, by and with the Holy Ghost their Author, to kindle and keep alive in our hearts the grace of illumination; as living parts of that Word, which "is a lantern unto ou...

In the fourth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - turns to the matter of the invocation of saints.  Mindful that this was but three years after Newman's attempt in Tract XC to undermine the teaching of Article 22, and that within a few decades advanced Anglo-catholic devotional manuals would be promoting this practice, Jelf's rejection of it is firm and robust, a statement of the classical Protestant position: "one of the worst corruptions of the Church of Rome". As with the words of Holden Pott, quoted in a recent post, this demonstrates how the Old High tradition was an expression of magisterial Protestantism.  What is more, this rejection of the practice of the invocation of saints continues to be normative for the vast majority...

In the fourth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - provides an excellent account of why liturgical prayer accompanies the administration of the Sacraments and the reading of the Scriptures: the truth is, that the spirit of prayer is implied in those ordinances, if it is not an inseparable part of their essence. The faithful and intelligent use of any of the means of grace, presupposes a desire to obtain the Holy Spirit. An infant is brought to the holy font, or at least it is received and baptized by the Church, because a desire is entertained that it may thereby be made regenerate. He who reads the Scriptures in faith, reads because he is seeking for edification in the mind of the Spirit. He who draws near with faith to the holy table, receives God...

In the fourth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - roots the duty and privilege of prayer in the regenerating grace of Holy Baptism. This captures a crucial aspect of the Old High pastoral vision, its robust rejection of sacerdotalism for obscuring the "covenanted title" bestowed at the font: And thus we are again brought round to that fundamental truth, our adoption as children of God in the laver of regeneration. It is because we are His children that we have a covenanted title to be heard in prayer; it is the Spirit, dwelling in the regenerate, which enables them to cry effectually for the continuance of His presence within them, for His more complete, uninterrupted, and increasing power over our whole nature; that He may be sent again a...

At the close of the third of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - gives expression to the Old High rejection of sacerdotalist claims. " A due appreciation of the pastoral functions, a persuasion of their Divine origin and of their Divine efficacy", he insists, does not lead to "sacerdotal pride". This is a crucial aspect of Old High piety, entirely incompatible with a sacerdotalism which necessarily exalts clergy over laity. The experience of the Old High parson - often married, with domestic responsibilities, not receiving holy Communion apart from his parishioners, participating in communal and political affairs alongside his neighbours, ministering the modest rites of the Prayer Book - stood apart from the experience of a sacerdot...

In the third of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - offered a classic Old High account of the ministry of reconciliation given to the ordained.  Contrary to Tractarian and later Anglo-catholic accounts which interpreted this to be private confession and absolution - an interpretation far removed from the lived experience of most Anglicans, in the 19th century and now - Jelf and the Old High tradition provided a vision of the ministry of reconciliation rooted in and expressed through the parson's ministry of Word and Sacrament. This understanding had deep roots in the Laudian tradition.  Richard Montague  stated,  "Reconciling by the whole office and function of the ministry".  Likewise  Jeremy Taylor  said  of t...