his works and in his word; and to " worship the Lord, with holy worship," by making all the imitable qualities of the divine nature, at once, the source, and the model, of our own attainable proficiency.

The authors of our Liturgy, in their view of Him, who ruleth over us, and careth for us, have observed a happy, and scriptural moderation. They do not, as the manner of some is, compel us to shrink, under the gloomy apprehension, of a mysterious, arbitrary tyrant, clothed in terrors, and dwelling in. blackness, darkness, and tempest: they do not, in the opposite extreme, permit us to sleep on, and take our rest, in the cold, abstract, philosophic veneration, of a first cause, first mover, and supreme intelligence. The service, which they teach and recommend, is, at once, reasonable, and affectionate. They make provision, for the removal of unquiet and uneasy feelings, by giving us worthy thoughts of our almighty Ruler. They lead us, to the meek and reverential love of our all-wise, all-powerful, all-perfect God; our Father, no less than our Creator; awful, indeed, in his holiness, but inexpressibly benignant, in his condescension.

This, then, is the spirit of our Liturgy: a spirit, which infuses hope, into the humblest confessions; and which gives comfort, in the very

sighings of a contrite heart. This is the spirit, which testifies, that wilfully to offend God, is the only real misery; and consciously to please him, the only true source of peace and joy that we can be wretched, only by defacing in ourselves his glorious image; and happy, only by the participation of his nature; rendering us, in the true scriptural sense of the words, and according to the measure of our bounden capacities, pure as he is pure, merciful as he is merciful, perfect as he is perfect.

It is, accordingly, a distinctive feature of our Common Prayer, that, while it never loses sight of the perfect purity and holiness of God, and never lowers the standard of practical Christianity, it always remembers, that we serve a God of mercy and compassion, of long suffering and of great goodness; a God, who waiteth his opportunity to be gracious; who doth not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax; who despiseth not the beginnings of good, however small; and whose wise, and gracious benignity, hath provided milk for babes, no less carefully than strong meat for those of full age.

We are to observe, then, that our Church opens her maternal arms, to all, however weak, and even however criminal, who have but a sincere desire to turn from their wickedness and

live. With her, a consciousness of weakness, and a desire of strength, a feeling of misery, and a wish for relief, a sense of bondage, and a thirst after deliverance, are a sufficient title to approach the Majesty of Heaven. "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,"―were the words of our merciful Redeemer, and such, too, are the language, and the spirit, of our Liturgy. In numberless instances, it holds out encouragement to the weakest order of Christians; many passages are adapted to the case of a returning, and repentant sinner; many, are calculated, at once, to inspire true feelings of penitent devotion, to heal the wounded spirit of the contrite, and to instil humble confidence, into those, who are apprehensive of God's righteous judgments. But, even in the most penitential parts of our service, even in the midst of accommodation to the wants of persons entering on a course of amendment, there is a prospect opened, of mature, established, and victorious Christianity. It is declared, as the infallible result of God's faithfulness and justice,' that he is ready, not only, to 'forgive us our sins,' but also, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' Almighty, and most

Our

merciful Father,' is intreated, not only, to remit the punishment, but to abolish the power of sin.

And, the absolution and remission of our sins' itself, is made to consist, not merely in the reversal of a sentence, and removal of a curse, but in the influence of the Holy Spirit, consequent on true repentance, and productive, not of mere temporary and outward amendment, but of that inward abiding 'purity and holiness, for the rest of our life,' which, at the last,' will bring us to God's eternal joy.'

It is the language of our Church, then, as it is the voice of Christ's religion, that we should 'lift up our hearts;' that we should not be content, with the first movements, however sincere, of penitent devotion, but should seek to rise, from penitence, to faith, and hope, and love; that we should, unceasingly, press forward to higher attainments; and deem it little, to avoid all outward evil, unless, through God's grace, we be cleansed in the thoughts of our hearts;' that we should not be satisfied with ourselves, while one irregular desire is indulged, one corrupt affection unmortified, one unholy or uncharitable temper unsubdued; in a word, that we should, unreservedly, give ourselves to God, to be formed and guided as he lists; whose delight it is, to 'nourish us with all goodness,' and to lead us in 'the way of peace.'

The practical doctrine of our Liturgy, then, is

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a doctrine of righteousness and holiness: and, availing myself of the very language of our Common Prayer, I will endeavour to express it, in a few words. It seems to me to be simply this: That every son and daughter of Adam is conceived and born in sin; that the whole human race naturally lies in darkness and the shadow of death; agitated by unruly wills and affections, liable to various dangers and necessities, subject to divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death: that it pleased the blessed Son of God, to take our nature upon him; to suffer death upon the cross, for our redemption; to offer, by his meritorious death and passion, a full, perfect, and sufficient, sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; thus, obtaining power, to destroy the works of the Devil, to make us the sons of God, and heirs of everlasting life; purchasing, by his precious blood, a universal Church; a Church, built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the head corner-stone; a Church, whose faithful members, when the number of God's elect is accomplished, and the period of his kingdom is arrived, shall have their perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in his eternal and everlasting kingdom.'

These are exceeding great and precious bene