A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY. (See Assembly of Divines.)

WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. (See Confessions of Faith.)

WHITSUNDAY. One of the great festivals of the Church, held in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. It occurs ten days after Holy Thursday, or Ascension Day. The reason of this day being called Whitsunday, or more properly Whitesunday, is, because on this day, being a remarkable time for baptism, the catechumens, who were then baptized, as well as those who had been baptized before at Easter, appeared in the ancient Church in white garments. It has also been thought that the name was symbolical of those vast diffusions of light and knowledge which were then shed upon the apostles, in order to the enlightening of a world then in the darkness of superstition and idolatry.

This day the Holy Ghost came down from heaven upon his Church, as the Epistle tells, according to the promise of the Gospel; in honour of whom and of his gifts we keep this holy day.—Bp. Sparrow.

As to the name, the most received opinion is, that the word is at length “Whitesunday;” so called from the white garments worn by the persons baptized in the ancient Church. For the administering of which sacrament, Easter, and this, and the Sundays between, were the most solemn seasons. Particularly on this day, the last of those Sundays, (when that solemnity determined, and the preparation for it had been extended to the utmost length,) as well on that account, as for the deserved veneration due to so great a festival, vast numbers offered themselves to be received to baptism. And, in token of their being cleansed from all past sins, as well as for an emblem of that innocence and purity, to which they then obliged themselves, they were clad in white; and from the multitude of such vestments then put on, are supposed to have given occasion for this Lord’s day being distinguished by that name.—Dean Stanhope.

The reason why this time was of old appointed for solemn baptism, was, 1. Because this day the apostles were baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire (Acts ii. 3). 2. Because this day 3000 were baptized by the apostles (Acts ii. 41). In memory of which, the Church ever after held a solemn custom of baptizing at this feast.—Bp. Sparrow.

Some conclude from St. Paul’s earnest desire of being at Jerusalem at this time, that the observation of it as a Christian festival is as old as the apostles; but, whatever St. Paul’s design was, we are assured that it hath been universally observed from the very first ages of Christianity.—Wheatly.

This day is called Pentecost, because there are fifty days betwixt the true passover and Whitsunday. As there were fifty days from the Jews’ passover to the giving of the law to Moses in Mount Sinai, which law was written with the finger of God (for from the fourteenth day of the first month, the day of the passover, to the third day of the third month, the day of the law’s giving, Exod. xix. 1, 16, are fifty days); so from the true passover, which was celebrated when Christ was offered up for us, are fifty days to this time, when the Holy Ghost came down upon the Church, to write the new law of charity in their hearts. Upon this meditation, St. Augustine breaks out thus: “Who would not prefer the joy and pleasure of these mysteries, before all the empires of the world? Do you not see, that as the two seraphim cry one to another, Holy, holy, holy,” (Isa. vi. 3,) “so the two Testaments, Old and New, faithfully agreeing, evince the sacred truth of God?” It should be noted, that we must not count the fifty days from the very day of the passover, but from the Sunday following; and so God directed the Jews, (Lev. xxiii. 15,) speaking of their Pentecost or Feast of Weeks, “and ye shall count from the morrow after the sabbath; from that day seven weeks shall be complete.”—Bp. Sparrow.

The first lesson for the morning contains the law of the Jewish Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, which was a type of ours; for as the law was at this time given to the Jews from Mount Sinai, so also the Christians upon this day received the new evangelical law from heaven, by the administration of the Holy Ghost. The first lesson for the evening is a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles to the kingdom of Christ, through the inspiration of the apostles by the Spirit of God; the completion of which prophecy is recorded in both the second lessons, but especially in the portion of Scripture for the Epistle, which contains a particular description of the first wonderful descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles, who were “assembled together in one place,” in expectation of that blessed Spirit, according to the promise of our Saviour mentioned in the Gospel.—Wheatly.

The same harmony of Epistle, Gospel, and collect, and lessons, and Psalms, that has been observed upon Christmas, and Easter, and Ascension, may with pleasure be mentioned upon this day.—Bp. Sparrow. It is observed as a Scarlet day at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; and at several cathedrals on this day, as on the two following, the service is performed in a more solemn manner than usual, as at Christmas and Easter.