and of' the Son, and of' the Holy Ghost." But none of these have their institution fi?om Christ or hi8 aposdes. We real, indeed, that the apos- tles used imposition of hands, but never of chrism or oil. Indeed, this suporstitiou8 device was not then in use, being brought in long ?ter by Sylvester, who is reported by Damasus to have been t?e deviser of. christoo The Scripture, however, beside8 this extraordinary imposition of. hands used !:? the apostles, make8 mention of' another as appertainin? to the sacrament of baptism; as the apostle nith, "the doctrine of. baptism and of laying on of hands,"Heb. vi, 2. This external rite seem8 to have been connected with baptism, and not a separate sacra- ment from it. So Tertullian 8peaks of the unction which was common in his days: "Coming out of. the bath, we are anointed with blessed ointment, according to the ancient discipline whereby in the priesthood they used to be anointed."* The foliowhig tex? is quoted to favour the unction of confirmation: "It is God which confn-meth us with you in Christ, and hath ano/nted us,"2 Cot. i, 21. But it i8 too gross an interpretation of this panage to con6?e it to their anointing, seeing the apostle explains it in the following verse: "He hath sealed us, and g/yen us the earnest 0� his Spirit in our hearts."Besides, the Holy Ghost is represented as given without any chrisre. Acts viii, 17, 19, and x, 44. 3. They speak of and treat injuriously- the Holy Spirit in confining his operations to their confirmation, which, they say, ha8 power to confer grace. But the Scripture represents the operation of the Spirit by the emblem of wind, "which bloweth where it listeth," (John iii, 8,) and therefore not confined to mere ceremonies. 4. We have already seen what kind of. ceremonies they use, such as breath/ng on the pot of chrisre, saluting it in these words, A,?e s?nc?m c/?/.wnc ?H?/i, Ao/y cAr/sin; the kiss; the blow on the face; the foro- head bound round, ?c. On these we briefly remark, 1. That some of these are r/i//cu?)us, as the breattfing on the oil; the striking the3.parA? conferned. 2. One of them i8 i?'r?,?, that of saluting the oil. of them are 8uporst/tious, being mystical signification8 which have no countenance from the ?ospel. "Efreesi de �ucro perunguimur benedict? unctione de pristine disci?).lin? qua oleo de comu in mceniotium oolebant," &,c.?L?. d? ?B?., c. 7, tom. ii, p. 4?. 1
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