I.  The Authority.

It is not a scheme of man’s contrivance, or the result p. 5of merely human wisdom, but was ordained by our blessed Lord himself, and enjoined on his people by his twice repeated words.

The first occasion was on the night before his crucifixion, when he was eating the Paschal Supper with his disciples.  He then gave them bread and wine, and said, “This do in remembrance of me.”  Here, therefore, is his own plain command—and one command from him is enough for the Christian.

But He did not leave the subject there; for after his ascension to the right hand of God, he was still mindful of his sacrament, and repeated his command by express revelation to St. Paul.  He had already spoken plainly, so that none could mistake him; and three evangelists had left his words in writing, so that none could doubt as to his language: bu. . . Read More