doubtful decision. It would seem, how ever, that while the oath remains in its present form, the Churchwarden cannot otherwise be discharged from it than by presenting such persons and things, as according to his skill and knowledge are presentable.' He will so far have done his duty and discharged his conscience, and it will remain for the Ordinary, whe ther Bishop, Archdeacon, Chancellor, or Commissary, to require or dispense with, at his discretion, the institution of such further proceedings, as the case and the age may justify, and the law has definitively pointed out." P. 15.

In the recommendation thus given, we most heartily concur. The oath of office is imperative, and nothing can justify the breach of it. And without contemplating any immediate restoration of the power and supervision of the ecclesiastical courts, there are various useful purposes to which presentments might be applied if they were fully and faithfully made. They would enable the Ordinary to take a comprehensive view of the state of morals with in his district. They would assist him in forming a correct opinion of the respective merits of his Clergy; and they might convey information to the government and the legislature upon those subjects, which are now so seriously discussed and too often with a very imperfect knowledge of the facts of the case; we mean the actual state of public morals; the effects of the criminal code; of the game laws and of the ale-house system; the use and abuse of the powers of justices of the peace, and other points of minor im portance. It may be hoped therefore that Archdeacon Jefferson's advice will be attended to, and present ments be considered as something more than a matter of form. His admonition upon the subject will not be easily improved.

"Before I dismiss this part of the subject, however, in treating of which I have found inyself embarrassed with much difficulty, from the too prevailing sentiments and changed usages of the age, I cannot forbear to press upon your minds, that

whatever obstacles may stand in the way of proceeding by presentment, these cannot discharge you from the very important trust, which both in religion and morals the Church has committed to your care, The law may in a great measure appear to be a dead letter; but it nevertheless becomes you, as you regard your oath and your duty, to consider the spirit of it at least as still in being. It is but a small portion of your duty, therefore, and no more than is required of you independently of your office, that you should be regular in your attendance at the services of the Church, that you should on all occasions of religion,-that' shew a just reverence for the institutions your conversation should be as becometh the Gospel of Christ,'-distinguished for piety and moral feeling, your habits for sobriety and temperance, your intercourse with society for integrity, humanity, and virtue, that your example should tend to the edification of your fellow-parishioners. The ecclesiastical Establishment to which you belong, and which from your earliest age you have, it is to be hoped, been taught to reverence, in an anxiety for the temporal welfare and eternal happiness of all her members, is now about to invest you with the sacred charge of correcting, as far as you are able, the profane and vicious lives of others,-of suppressing, first, by mild and friendly admonition, and, if that is ineffectual, by the penalties of law, whatever blasphemies may tend to invalidate the hallowed mysteries or doctrines of Christian faith, and whatever offences tice. You are indeed to consider yourmay defile the purity of Christian pracselves, if I may use the term, as lay-ecclesiastics, intended to aid and support the Ministers of your respective parishes, in repressing disorder, irreligion, and vice,in reclaiming offenders, in repairing those defects, and removing those irregularities in the celebration of the rites and cere

monies of the Church, which negligence in some cases, and time in others, may have produced; in short, in an earnest and vigorous endeavour to restore in all things that solemnity in religious services, and that reverence in religious sentiment, which the spirit of the present times is more peculiarly calculated to weaken,-if not to destroy." P. 16.

We cannot follow our lamented Author through all the details to which he descends. They embrace the whole of a Churchwarden's functions. The Church, the Church

yard, the Belfry, the Church-rates; the Ale-houses, and the parish Accounts are each made the subject of practical instructions.-The shame. ful misapplication of Churches to secular purposes, and the call for additional Church-room, especially as it affects agricultural districts, are more particularly mentioned. And the observations under this latter head, and under that of kneeling at prayer are so just, and so pious, that we cannot refrain from transcribing them.

"“The appropriation of pews to particular houses or families, often excludes others of the parishioners from a comfortable, and sometimes from all, accommodation. In many cases there may be rights which cannot legally be disturbed: but it is to be hoped, that on a proper representation to the parties these rights may not be so rigidly persisted in, as to induce the proprietor to shut out bis poorer neighbour from the worship of God, and almost to compel him to relinquish the pure faith and services of the Church, and to resort to places where his fathers were never seen, where he is by birth an alien,—an exile as it were from the inheritance of the Lord. Often by regulating and new arranging these appropriated pews, equal accommodation may be reserved to the proprietor, and one or • more additional pews be obtained. But if not, some compensation, it is presumed, for a trifling inconvenience, may be felt in the gratification of seeing a servant or a labourer kneeling at his master's side, in a grateful adoration of that God who is no respecter of persons,'-who delights to dwell with the humble in spirit,'—before whom all men are on a level as to worldly rank, and distinguished only by the fervency of their devotion, by the sincerity of their faith, by singleness of heart, by uprightness in conduct. I cannot too strongly press upon you this great duty of making room, if possible, for all your parishioners in your respective Churches,—not only for their accom'modation, but for the most orderly and convenient accommodation, in your power." P. 24.

"It is greatly to be lamented that this most pious and truly Christian canon, supported as it is by statute law, and confirmed as it is by the rubric in the Book of Common-Prayer, which supplies intructions equally worthy of the strict and

1

unwearied observation of the Minister and congregation, should in modern times command so little, or at least such irregular attention, as has become prevalent, and particularly in country Churches. The inward sentiment, it may be alleged, are principally coucerned in all acts of devotion; but if the outward posture is calculated, as all must admit it is, to affect the inward feelings, none can affirm that it onght to be disregarded. I will not say, that attitude or posture is absolutely necessary to give efficacy to prayer with God; but if it has a tendency to produce in man either humility or fervour, a just sense of dependence and submission, or a resigned acquiescence to the Divine will; it renders every service more ac ceptable to the Omniscient Hearer of prayer, and affords, through the intercession of a Mediator, the better confi dence that our supplications will, find acceptance at the throne of grace, and be returned upon ourselves in blessing and in peace. And I would ask what can be more fitted to inspire devotion—what can be more effectual in exalting the sonl of man into a holy fervour of pious adoration-than to see a whole congregation, like a well-trained band of Christian soldiers, going through all the sacred exercises of prayer and praise, as it were with one heart and one spirit,-standing or kneeling, as the occasion suggests, lifting up their minds as one mind, their voices as one voice, their hands as one hand, in supplicating that mercy which all want,that forgiveness which all require,—that assisting grace by which all are to withstand temptation, and follow that which is good, that salvation to which, through the merits of the same Redeemer, all aspire,all hallowing the same great name of God,

all breathing forth with one breath the same praises to Him in whom they live, and move, and have their being' here,— all lifting up their thoughts as one thought to a kingdom of glory hereafter.

"After this reflection, will any one presume to say, that that uniformity of posture which our Church has in her wisdom and piety enjoined, which indeed the God of nature has in many cases instinctively as it were, impressed upon the human mind, is a mere form without meaning and without efficacy in public worship? Petitioning for mercy or for life of a fellow-creature, who falls not-without reflecting on the propriety of the attitude-who falls not upon his knees in humble entreaty? And is this mark of reverence and of ardent supplication, by which God himself seems to have taught

us to intercede with men like ourselves, and to which he has annexed a powerful influence on the human heart, to be only neglected when we implore mercy from Him who has life and death temporallife and death eternal-at his disposal? Is that prostration, which in one shape or other is an act of allegiance and fidelity in all civilized nations on the earth, to be denied only to Him who is the God of all power and might the King of kings and Lord of lords? The duty is so natural as well as becoming,-that it appears surprising only it should ever have fallen into a too common disuse. This lamented inconsistency is so evident to every re. flecting mind, that I cannot but attribute it chiefly to a want of that accommodation, which as Churchwardens yon are bound to provide. P. 39.

We must not extend our extracts from this valuable Charge. The circumstances under which it appears render it highly interesting; and the contents render it peculiarly useful. The matter is important and weighty; the style perspicuous and energetic. It is the work of one who knew the description of persons to whom he spoke, and knew also how to make them understand him. He sets before them their duty, and the proper motives for discharging it, in terms which every one may comprehend. When we consider how highly and how deservedly Archdeacon Jefferson was respected throughout the extensive district which was committed to his care, we cannot doubt that this his dying advice and admonition will produce very beneficial effects.

Contemplations on the last Discourses of our Blessed Saviour with his Disciples, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John. By John Brewster, M.A. Rector of Egglescliffe, Durham. pp. 464. Rivingtons. 1822.

RELIGIOUS meditation is one of those exercises of which it is necessary to distinguish the use from REMEMBRANCER, No. 46.

the abuse. It is by no means the sole business or duty of the Christian life, and in its extravagance and excess it may become an unprofitable and dangerous delusion: it is not however upon that account unnecessary or without the best ef fect in the regulation of Christian manners, and the establishment of Christian principles. They, who have withdrawn from their proper station in life, to cultivate a spirit of abstract meditation in the wilderness or in the cloister; they, who with an unnatural austerity have proscribed the use of speech and the means of mutual edification; they, who in destitution or abandonment of the reasoning faculty, have given a loose to their imagina tion and embraced the wildest visions of enthusiasm: these men have exhibited no edifying example to mankind, although they have perhaps deserved the pity rather than the scorn and contempt of their fellows. Not more edifying is their example whose life is spent without thought and serious reflection, and who are hurried from the mad pursuit of worldly good, to meet their God without any preparatory reflection upon him or upon themselves, upon their present talents or their final responsibility. If by the fault of their corrupted nature there is an indifference to religious truth and duty; if that indifference is confirmed and aggravated by the habits of a world lying in the power of the wicked one, it is the more important that men should take earnest heed, and reflect upon the things which they have heard, lest at any time they should let them slip; that while they are diligent in discharging the appropriate offices of their appointed station, they should reserve certain portions of time for religious exercises, for self-examination, the study of the Scriptures, secret prayer, praise and meditation; and that at least in the mechanical employments of life, the thoughts should be kept loose and disengag4 K

ed, and ready to take advantage of every impression which may draw them from earthly to heavenly things. There is a religious temper and serenity of mind which mutually cherishes and is cherished by meditation, and which in solitude and in society, in sorrow and in joy, finds its chief delight in the contemplation of high and holy things, in thoughts of creation, providence, and grace, in comparisons of the temporal things which are seen with the eternal things which are not seen. These are practical meditations, dignified and recommended by the highest and the best examples, which prevent no proper enjoyment of life, and which invigorate the mind of man to sustain the trials and fulfil the duties of his condition in the world, by enlivening his remembrance of the great consideration, whose he is, and to whom he shall render the account.

The man who seeks his chief refreshment and support under the fatigues of life in religious meditation, will always rejoice in the guidance and company of the experienced and judicious contemplatist, and in listening to the result of his holy studies and abstractions. The name of Mr. Brewster is too well known to need any praise or recommendation, and the subject and the method of the volume which is now before us will not fail to interest and reward the attention of the reader. The principal subject is the last discourses of our blessed Saviour with his disciples, and the peculiar train of mind, which seemed to accompany his actions in the last moments of his abode upon the earth, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John. The contemplations are in number twelve. I. II. On the discourses of our Lord, and the incidents previous to his passion. III. Preparatory reflections to our Lord's last discourse. IV. V. VI. On our Lord's discourse recorded John xiv. xv. xvi. VII. On our Lord's last prayer for his disciples, John xvii.

VIII. On the redemption of Christ manifested in his last prayer for his disciples, and on our Lord's three prayers in the Garden of Gethse. mane, Matt. xxvi. 40-46. IX. Practical reflections on the night of the passion. X. XI. On the discourses and incidents after the resurrection, John xx. 14-29. xxi. 15--25. XII. Introduction of the Gospel by the disciples; the nature and design of our Lord's discourses previous to his ascension, principally collected from the conversation on the road to Emmaus, and from Acts i. 2, 3.

It will not be denied, that the subjects of these contemplations are all of the highest interest and importance. The general method of Mr. Brewster in prosecuting them is, to select one or more verses of the chapter which forms his thesis, and to annex to the recited passage, observations expository, practical, and devotional. It is obviously impracticable to give a connected abstract of observations, thus desul. tory, and adapted to the various texts, to which they are subjoined. Selection is all which the subject admits, and which will now be of fered with no further preface than the observation, that all the contemplations in this volume are adapted to the establishment of sound doctrine and righteous conduct; that the interpretations of Scripture are just, and often illustrative of the harmony of the sacred volume; and that the many references to ecclesiastical matters are all designed to establish the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, on the ground of the divine constitution and polity of the Church of Christ.

It requires but little intercourse with mixed society to know that, there is a prevailing disposition to assume a right and discretion of believing and disbelieving certain truths of the Gospel, without consi. deration, that the whole is of the revelation of God. The divine authority of doctrines, which can be

apprehended and explained, is ad. mitted: truths which cannot be understood, are presumptuously rejected because they surpass the limited faculties of man, and therefore if they are not contrary to reason, imply a higher source and origin than human invention.

"It is not for man to create a new

system for himself. Suffer the Almighty

God to rule his own world, and to arrange a plan of salvation, which, as it arose from his own divine wisdom, is above, not contrary to, the rational faculties of man.

"There is an important distinction to be made here. Things above reason are incomprehensible by us, from a transcendent excellence at their very nature, from the height at which they stand, and therefore cannot be apprehended in the present state of our existence. But yet they are objects of our belief; because the only evidence we can give of our acknowledg ment of the infallible truth of God, arises from our assent to what he affirms upon his own authority. If the word of God be true there is an end of the argument; we cannot dispute the infallibility of his revelation. But the probable objection would be against the divinity of any reve lation, if we should not find in it proposi tions above our reason, because it would hardly be conceivable, why God should make an external revelation of such things only as might easily be known by the common exercise of human reason. But things contrary to reason are not only inconceivable in themselves by any effort of the mind, but are necessarily absurd as leading to a conclusion, which is wholly without a foundation. The complaint of the sceptic, then, against the mysteries of the Gospel, is as unfounded as the application of his own reason is unsound. He disbelieves, because he will not examine; and finds it easier to give up his faith without examination, or to accept half a Gospel as a compliment to his reason, rather than labour to understand such divine truths as sober judgment and unprejudiced reason must approve.": P. 93.

These distinctions have been urged again and again, and it is not improbable from the natural perverseness of mankind, that they will need to be urged to the end of time. Hence Mr. Brewster rightly deduces

the

necessity of an established ministry, by whom the truths of the

Gospel will be adequately investigated, and inculcated on the minds of the people.

The inefficiency of the Christian ministry, manifested in the slow progress of the Gospel, and in the disregard of religious principles in the practice of professing Christians, has been often attributed to the want and made an objection to the power of zeal on the part of the Clergy, of the divine institution. The true cause will be found more deeply seated in the heart of man, and in the practice of sin, which deadens the effect of religious instruction, and precludes the only efficient assistance which is derived from the Spirit of God. Mr. Brewster's reflections on this important subject afford a fair specimen of the manner of these contemplations, and they shall be presented entire.

"(John xiv.) ver. 22-24.

"Judas, not Iscariot, saith unto him, Lord, how is it, that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings, and the word which ye hear is not mine but the Father's which sent me.'

"Judas as yet unable to make a dis tinction between the temporal and spiritual world, between the multitudes he saw around him engaged in worldly business and the multitudes influenced by the Spirit of God; or probably confining his imagination to the promise of miraculous works to the disciples, requires an explanation of our Saviour's words; if these things be so, How canst thou make thyself known to us, without extending that knowledge to the world? He had expected Christ in a public capacity, and as about to establish a glorious kingdom upon the earth. He could not but wonder then according to his own apprehension of our Saviour's words, to hear that the kingdom of heaven, whatever that kingdom might

be, was offered only to a few of his friends

and not to the world at large, the individuals of which, he supposed, would constitute his subjects. Christ gives but one answer to the varied question of the disciple; and intimates that they ought by no means to wonder, that he did not ma