Posture in Prayer and in the act of praise. lifeless the affections of those who cannot, in the worship of the Church, pray and praise with the spirit; who, in the prayers of saints and the hallelujahs of angels, cannot rise above this fleeting, transitory scene, and hold sweet communion with their God and Saviour. "In vindication of the postures practised by the church in public worship, I need say but little to you. They are rational, significant and scriptural. In prayer, churchmen kneel after the example of Moses, and Solomon, Daniel, Paul and Christ. It is said by some, that the posture is of no conse quence, provided the heart be right. But this in my opinion is incorrect and absurd, and if carried to its full extent, would destroy every appearance of religion. The same assertion in regard to one external may be applied to all the rest, and with equal propriety can it be said, that if the heart be right, it is no matter whether a person attend public worship, receive the sacrament, or perform all or any other outward du ty, although prescribed by the law of Christ. In this, as in all other things, scripture is to be the test of propriety as well as of truth, and I do not believe we shall find in the Bible a single instance of a prayer being offered to God in any other posture than that of kneeling. It is true we read of some that stood and prayed.-Solomon was one of these. stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel' and prayed. And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying-he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with hands spread up to heaven.' This then was his standing— not upon his feet but upon his knees, and as the word expresses simply a general disposition of the body, and not the precise posture, we may from analogy suppose, while the universal custom in the east confirms the hypothesis, that in every instance where standing is mentioned, kneeling was practised. The heathen kneel before their deities of wood and stone, and shall christians, when they address the God of heaven, shew less respect than pagans who worship at the statues of dumb and senseless idols! 'He "Standing in praise is a posture observed in the church. Prayer humbles us and brings us upon our knees in view of our own unworthiness; praise exalts us in contemplation of the perfections of that God whom we adore. In the one, a Hannah More's views of the Liturgy. sense of guilt and the need of pardon are expressed; in the other, we give vent to the grateful emotions of the soul, and rejoice before the Lord our King. "When the scriptures are read, it is the custom of the church to sit, which is the proper posture for hearing with attention, and one in regard to which there is but little difference of opinion. "These are all the ceremonies of the church, and although they may appear strange and unpleasant to such as have always been used to a different mode, I trust they will be found, upon examination, proper in themselves, and agreeable to the will and the word of God. "I will conclude this letter with an extract from the celebrated Miss Hannah More, upon the service of the church, and leave you to make your own comments both upon that, and upon what I have offered. "Most sincerely attached to the Church myself, not, as far as I am able to judge, from prejudice, but from a fixed and settled conviction, I regard its institutions with a veneration at once affectionate and rational. Never need a christian, except when his own heart is strangely indisposed, fail to derive benefit from its ordinances, and he may bless the overruling providence of God, that in this instance, the natural variableness and inconstancy of human opinion is, as it were, fixed, and settled, and hedged in by a stated service, so pure, so evangelical, and which is enriched by such a large infusion of sacred scripture. If so many among us contemn the service as having been to us individually fruitless and unprofitable, let us enquire whether the blessing may not be withheld because we are not fervent in asking it. If we do not find a suitable humiliation in the Confession, a becoming earnestness in the Petitions, a congenial joy in the Adoration, and a corresponding gratitude in the Thanksgiving, it is because our hearts do not accompany our words; it is because we rest in the form of godliness, and are contented to remain destitute of its power. If we are not duly interested when the select portions of Scriptures are read to us, it is because we do not, as new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby. Perhaps there has not been, since the age of the apostles, a church upon earth, in which the public worship was so solemn and L The conservative power of the Liturgy. yet so cheerful, so simple and yet so sublime; so full of fervor, and at the same time so free from enthusiasm; so rich in the gold of christian antiquity, yet so astonishingly exempt from its dross. That it has imperfections we do not deny; but what are they compared with its general excellence? They are as the spots of the sun's disk, which a sharp observer may detect, but which neither diminish the warmth nor obscure the brightness.' "These are the sentiments of a person, who, in the opinion of the serious of all denominations, has fought valiantly, through a long life, for the Lord her God, and who deserves for her labors in the cause of Christ the highest honors of the church militant. That they may have their due influence upon your mind is the ardent prayer of Your affectionate friend and well wisher, S." I will conclude this chapter by adverting to three prominent excellencies in the liturgy of our church, which have not been particularly dwelt upon in the preceding remarks. The first is, its conservative power. It is calculated to keep the doctrines of the church pure, and stand as an insuperable barrier in the way of fundamental error. On this point, a writer,* to whom I have already referred, remarks: “Our Liturgy is not contrived, like Mr. Pope's universal prayer, to suit the taste of infidels and heretics. But its language on all the fundamental doctrines of christianity is clear and decisive. This circumstance, indeed, will not recom. mend it to those who have imbibed the spirit of the present day; in which indifference to all religious truth, misnamed charity and candor, has overflowed, like a deluge, almost every rank and order of men. Our reformers sought not to please men, but God. They sought not to gratify the pride of philosophy. They took care not to open a passage, whereby man's fallen reason might be exalted to the throne of judgment, while 'the oracles of God,' in a state of degradation, are placed at the footstool. Ease of conscience in those persons, who, while they pretend respect for Divine revelation, trample them under their feet, was no part of their concern. But the decisive language of our Liturgy will endear Biddulph. See his Essays, p. 26. 28. Variety and comprehensiveness of the Liturgy. it to those who believe, 'that there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ.' Therein the doctrines of the Fall, the Trinity, the Atonement and saving merit of Christ, and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit are asserted in point ed and energetic terms. "So clear and definite are the sentiments contained in the book of Common Prayer on these cardinal points, that every person in our assemblies, who verbally adopts and yet inwardly disbelieves them, is condemned out of his own mouth. And should such a monster of duplicity ever arise, as an Arian, Socinian, or Pelagian clergyman, continuing such, he would be restrained by his own subscriptions and confessions from ever venting his heretical opinions, and thereby poisor ing the minds of others, or would be obliged every time he appeared in the congregation of the faithful, to proclaim his own dishonesty. Let the enlarged minds of unbelievers con. demn as much as they will, the narrowness of our creed, those, who are concerned for the honor of God and the welfare of mankind, will rejoice that we have such a barrier erected against the admission of those into the fold of Christ, whose business it is to 'steal, to kill, and to destroy.' Blessed be God, for the Liturgy of our church!" The second point, is its variety. It has something to suit the wants of every class and description of people, and under all the circumstances in which they may be placed. On this point I may adopt the poetic language of Mrs. Hemans, and say, art thou a "Traveller in the stranger's land, Far from thine own household band; Captive, in whose narrow cell Sunshine hath not leave to dwell; Sailor, on the darkening sea-” here is an appropriate service in which you can 'Lift the heart and bend the knee.'" The services are formed with a comprehensiveness that embraces "all sorts and conditions of men," has offices that are adapted to all the trying circumstances in which the hu man family are liable to be placed, and can furnish the fervid The Spirituality of the Liturgy. language of devotion which will be in harmony with almost every variety of feeling, which the christian experiences in the whole course of his pilgrimage from earth to heaven. In illustration of this remark, I will again introduce an extract from the author, to whom reference was just made. "The variety of forms which occur in our liturgy, and their judicious accommodation to all our spiritual necessities, constitute another characteristic of its excellence. The compilation proves that the authors of it were well read in the present state of human nature. They were well acquainted with the fallen, guilty, corrupt, and helpless state of man, and with the glorious provision which the gospel makes for our present and eternal comfort. Is the christian worshipper oppressed in spirit from a recollection of his sins? Here are confessions of sin, and deprecations of the anger of God, that will adequately express his feelings; here are promises of pardon, that will approve themselves to his heart, by their exact correspondence with his wishes. Is he joyful in spirit? Here he is furnished with hymns of praise, that will describe in lowly terms the grateful emotions of his breast. We shall find it difficult to point out any situation of a public or private nature, relative either to our souls or bodies; but it is comprehended in our admirable forms." There is one more feature to which I will briefly advert― the Spirituality of our Liturgy. "The spirituality of our liturgy is another of its excellencies. Nothing is to be found therein to satisfy the conscience of the formalist and pharisee; but, on the contrary, every thing that is calculated to awaken attention to the necessity of the worship of the heart, communion with God, and real delight in his service. Herein we are taught that "God is a spirit, and that they who worship him aright, must worship him in spirit and in truth." The absurdity of the language of mere compliment, when addressed to Him, who searcheth the heart, is plainly pointed out; and the worship of our church is adapted exclusively to the use of those, who desire and expect to enjoy on earth, in the courts of the Lord's house, that which may afford them a foretaste of, and fit them for, more refined and exalted pleasures at God's right hand for evermore. 99* *Biddulph's Essays, p. 29. |