Payson-his views of extemporaneous prayer.

one of more than ordinary talent and distinction, from the far eastern sea-board, whose fervor of piety, depth of feeling, and copious, fervid flow of language, gave an interest and pathos to his devotional exercises, which are seldom excelled. In one word, it was the devout and heavenly-minded Payson. It would at any time, have proved a cordial to any one's more languid heart, to have followed the aspirations and breathings of his soul of fire, while he drew near the mercy seat to speak to the great God of Heaven.

One day the young gentleman above referred to, was invi ted by his clerical companion and friend, to accompany him to the lodgings of this man of God. It was an interview long to be remembered. They were both delighted with Payson's wonderful conversational powers, with the clearness of his mind, the depth of his piety, and the wisdom of his counsel. They conversed with him freely upon a variety of subjects connected with the christian life and the sacred ministry. Among other things, the young minister asked counsel of his more experienced brother, how best he might conduct the public devotional exercises of his people.

His reply was prompt and clear.

"There are but two ways"-said he "a careful previous preparation, or no previous preparation at all. A few gifted men whose command of language is prompt and easy, and whose hearts overflow with devout affections, may safely forego all preparation, and venture upon public prayer with no other guide than the feelings of their own warm and pious hearts. Less favored and ready men, when unusually devotional, may sometimes succeed well in the same way. But when the heart is less sensitive and devotional than it should be, where utterance is not ready, and language does not flow with copious ease, the only proper, the only tolerable way, is to study and prepare every public prayer with the utmost at tention. If, therefore, God has given you great and commanding talents, a ready flow of utterance, great power language, a warm and devotional heart you may venture to lead the devotions of the congregation extemporaneously, but if not, you ought to study your prayers no less than your ser mon. "I hope my clerical friend" says the young gentleman in a communication from which I have drawn the preceding particulars, "derived lasting benefit, in his way,

of

The effect of Dr. Payson's views of extemporaneous prayer. from these just and judicious remarks. The one I made of them was different perhaps from what either of these good men would have expected. Weighing them afterwards in my mind, I reflected that men of readiest utterance are not always men with most pious hearts; that in cases where these excellencies are united, the fervor of the spirit is unequal, and may falter and fail at the urgent moment of necessity; and that so overwhelming a proportion of ministers have little fluency of utterance, that it would be far wisest and best to require all to make careful preparation. Some soaring flights might possibly be restrained, but the average elevation would be greatly increased. I plainly saw, therefore, that preconceived forms possessed, upon the whole, manifest and great advantages. At this point I was constrained to ask myself, whether it was best or not, to entrust the preparation of these precomposed forms to the different individuals who are to of fer them. Would they not attain higher average excellence, if written by the most able ministers?-Would they not be still more improved by selecting the most perfect parts of many of the ablest prayers which have been composed and offered in the Lord's house? To my mind the reply to these questions was so obvious, that I felt myself constrained to turn to the liturgy of the Episcopal church."

This was thoroughly examined. The examination changed all his plans for life. He became an Episcopalian. He went through a course of studies preparatory to the ministry. In the ministry of the Episcopal Church he laboured for many years successfully, receiving multiplied tokens of divine approbation. And he now bears the office of a Bishop, exerting a far felt influence in building up religious institutions, and extending the kingdom of Christ through our sin-desolated world.

In the view of the eloquent and talented Payson, then, it required no common powers to conduct public worship to the highest possible edification, without studied and premeditated prayer. And this corroborates the truth of what has been already said in this chapter, in relation to the certainty that in nine cases out of ten, the prayers of the public sanctuary would not be conducted to as much edification, by extemporaneous devotions, as by a precomposed form.

There is another idea worthy of attention which here sug

Farther views of the advantages of a prescript form of prayer. gests itself. In divine worship we desire to have our thoughts elevated, and filled with as large conceptions of the divine character, and of the riches and glory of redeeming grace, as possible.

There can be no question but that the public services of the sanctuary could be better conducted, and far more successfully to the certain attainment of the great ends of devotion, by men of large and lofty and commanding intellect, whose minds were filled and fired with the glories of redemption, than by those whose mental powers were small, their intellectual vision clouded, and their conception feeble. This conclusion, then, weighs strongly in favor of a form of prayer, to be composed by the loftiest intellects and warmest hearts in the church.

This idea, under a slightly different aspect, is presented in a striking manner in the editorial column of one of our religious periodicals.*

"When we use the forms of men of superior piety to ourselves, our minds are insensibly lifted up into conformity with a standard which is much above their own level. Who can estimate the amount of holy influence which the Lord's prayer has in this way exercised on the christian world? Who can use it without being conscious of a concentration of holy thought, a refluence of all excited feeling to the calmness of filial trust, and a lifting up of the entire soul to the serene and sublime devotion of the heavenly pattern. Does not the testimony of every age of the church-does not the experience of every individual believer, bear witness to the happy and reflex influence of a perfect model on the mind of him who uses it? And if such be the effect of a perfect model, must not a similar effect, differing in degree, but the same in kind, be consequent on the use of those approxima tions to a perfect model with which the spirit of God, through the gifts of his most eminent servants, has at different times blessed the church? Has not such an effect been pro duced to a very great extent by means of the inimitable collects and other prayers which constitute the liturgy of the church?"

From all these views, I feel compelled to give a decided preference to a precomposed form of prayer for public

The Churchman for June 17, 1835.

Difficulties in extemporaneous prayer.

worship. The difficulty which has been already adverted to, is a serious and insurmountable one. I refer to the incontrovertible fact, that the great majority of ministers have not the power of conducting the public devotions of the sanctuary with as much effect and to as much edification extemporaneously as they could by a precomposed form.

The second difficulty is still more formidable.-Had all ministers that clearness and grasp of intellect, and that readiness of utterence by which they could, on the spur of the moment, offer the most eloquent prayers, every one who has had any experience in the sacred office, knows that there are times in which it becomes necessary for the minister to lead the devotions of others in the sanctuary, when he himself feels totally unfit for the duty.-His heart is cold, and he cannot succeed in bringing his feelings up to a truly devotional frame.-Under such circumstances, how unfit is he to lead the devotions of others by extemporaneous prayer! Will the cold and jejune effusions of his own mind be likely to fan the fire of devotion in the worshippers, or carry up their thoughts to heaven, and cause their hearts to kindle into seraphic fervor, that they may worship the great Jehovah in spirit and in truth?

But on the other hand, if public worship was conducted by a precomposed form, where every sentence was instinct with the fervor of devotion, even were the minister at the time in this dead state of feeling, as he proceeded in the service, his heart would be kindled into warmth, while the minds of the surrounding worshippers would be borne on the wings of devotion to the courts of high Heaven.

The difficulty above adverted to is not an imaginary one. A minister of unquestionable piety, and of no ordinary powers of mind, who is in the habit of conducting the public services of the sanctuary by extemporaneous prayer, has been heard to remark, 'At certain times when called to lead the devotions of the congregation, I have felt that I would have given any thing could I have been permitted to use a form of prayer.'

We cannot, therefore, but come to the conclusion, that in the great majority of instances in public worship, the effect produced upon the minds of the people, will be far better and

The second letter of S-.

happier, where the worship is conducted by a precomposed form.

To illustrate this subject more fully, I will now introduce to the attention of the reader, some extracts from the second letter of the writer whose narrative occupied the principal part of the last chapter.

"I now proceed, agreeably to my promise, to a vindication of the forms of the church, and I trust that I shall make it appear to your satisfaction that these are good and proper in themselves, and agreeable to the practice of the church in all ages. I had heard it frequently said, that in the reading of prayers there could be little or no devotion; and without much reflection upon the subject it seemed as if there must be some truth in the assertion. The custom was so different from that to which I had been used, and my mind was so habituated to an entire dependance upon the invention of my minister, that I did not dare to suppose that there could be any such thing as prayer, where the language was premeditated. The supposition even carried with it the idea of profanity and I was almost ready to condemn unequivocally and without examination.

"But when I attended upon the worship of the church, and noticed the appearance so different from that in congre gational societies-every knee bent and every heart and voice seemingly engaged I could not but think that the spirit of supplication was there in a greater degree than I had ever before witnessed in any other place, and that if the blessing of God was ever granted to a human petition, it would not be withheld from those who manifested so much apparent fervency and sincerity."

I must here be permitted to interrupt the writer for a moment to say, that did we come to the house of God with the right dispositions of heart, the service of the Episcopal church furnishes us with the best conceivable means to inspire that high state of devotional feeling here described. But it is a lamentable fact, that men may put on the external apperance of great devotion, and have all the aids that can be devised to awaken devout feeling, and yet be mocking the Most High with mere empty show. This may be done either with or without a form. That most evangelical man, the Rev. John Newton, remarks: