But, what is their apology? They say that we must pray with the spirit and with the understanding. And did not Jesus Christ pray with the spirit and with the understanding, when, in his agony in the garden, in a form of words, he supplicated strength, and submitted to the Divine will? The same apostle who teaches us to pray and to sing with the spirit and the understanding, forbids not the use of forms. Who does not think it proper to sing by a form and with a book too? Does he condemn a form of prayer as sinful, as lifeless and dull, who professes the exercise of animated devotion, in singing forms of prayer and praise to God? of principles of reason that we think sound and substantial, we prove them expedient; and if we know any thing of the nature of sin, those who condemn such forms as are evangelical, condemn the practice of Jesus Christ, and thus pronounce sentence upon Christ himself. Extract from a Sermon delivered in several Churches and Chapels of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the City of New-York, for the benefit of the New-York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society. By the Rev. THOMAS LYELL, A. M. Rector of Christ Church, New-York. Men of Israel, help. Acts xxi. 28. "THE Bible, my Brethren! this is our refuge and strong tower in time of distress; our sun to enlighten; our shield to protect. Thus the primitive fathers thought, and thus they wrote; for Ireneus, writing of the Valentinian heretics, says, All these errors they fall into, because they know not the Scriptures.' And so St. Jerome, all diligence, that so being good exchangers, we may know the lawful coin from the copper;' and elsewhere, Does not the Christian who sings prayers to God from a book, condemn himself, when he condemns the Christian for using a book in reading his prayers? Psalms and hymns are full prayers; and is the nature of them changed by their metre, or the intonation of voice? How often does the enthusiast condemn that in others which he unblushingly practises himself? I complain of no mode of express-We must search the Scriptures with ing the devotion of heart to God. The heart must pray, the heart must praise, to have either prayer or praise acceptable. He then who condemns forms of prayer as sinful, and uses them in psalms and hymns, condemns his own practice, and thus proves his own inconsistency. But more awful must his sin be than language can express, who, by this condemnation, enters his condemnation against the practice of Christ, and, of course, passes sentence upon Christ himself. Let such characters weigh this subject; and, laying their hand upon their hearts, ask themselves if, by their conduct, they have not dishonoured Christ? That infinite evils arise from ignorance of the Scriptures, and that from this cause the greatest part of the heresies proceeded.' St. Chrysostom gives it as his opinion, that if men would be conversant with the Scriptures, and attend to them, they would not only not fall into errors themselves, but be able to rescue those that are deceived; and that the Scriptures would instruct men both in right opinions and good life.' Our Church has inherited these sentiments of the Fathers, and has shown their influence in her introduction of such large portions of Holy Scripture into all her services; and in teaching her members to pray that they may hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest' the Holy Scriptures,' which God hath caused to be written for their learning.' Both the Fathers and the Church have herein adopted the sentiments of our Lord, as expressed in his injunction, 'Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me;' and in his rebuke of the gay and licentious Sadducees, Ye do err, not the Scriptures, nor the power of God.' do we forget, that this most splendid' event (the Reformation) was brought about by the means of the Bible. It is irresistibly interesting to read the accounts of those sensations of joy and exultation with which the people at that period hailed the return of the long lost blessing of the word of God, and received it to their bosoms. Such was their thirst for the sacred Scriptures, that they went in crowds to the Church to read the Bible, fixed there by the royal command; numbers far advanced in the vale of life, learned to read, that they might read the Bible; and having done so, were ready to say with the pious and devout Simeon, upon taking the infant Saviour in his arms, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Yes, the Reformation, under the divine agency of the Holy Spirit, was effected by the Bible, and the means which restored can alone perpetuate that light in which we walk and rejoice. "Thus stood the opinion and practice of those ages of the Church, to which none with more reverence and filial regard, and certainly none with greater pleasure and interest, look back, than Protestant Episcopalians; none of whom, knowing the rock from which we are hewed, and the hole of the pit from which we are digged, are ashamed to say, in the pious and enlightened language of a certain great man, ' In religious concerns I like to go the beaten road, the good old way; where the Scripture is silent the Church is my text; where that speaks, it is but the comment, and I never refer any thing to the arbitration of my own judgment but in the silence of both.' "The change that afterwards ensued, together with the causes which led to "Not help to circulate the Bible? O it, I have not time, nor is it necessary that we could give it the wings of the to state. The shadows of that even- morning! The Bible! To what else ing which preceded a long, cold, and shall we ascribe it, that we are not at dreary night of ignorance and super- this day involved in the darkness and stition, soon began to gather round ignorance of former ages? To what the Church. Centuries rolled away, institution to what system of instrucand millions of men calling themselves tion, of all those which the benevoChristians, passed into eternity with- lence and wisdom, the piety and chaout the knowledge of the Bible- rity of the age have devised and put without reading, or hearing in their into operation? And no age ever own tongue, a single page of that in- devised more for the improvement of estimable volume. But God, who the mind, or the melioration of the caused the light to shine out of dark circumstances of man. From among ness, once more said, Let there be them all select the most excellent; light.' In the language of his ancient that around which wisdom throws her prophet, he said to the Church, Thy brightest beams, and in the operation light is come. In the midst of this of which, benevolence and charity spiritual darkness, while men were exercise and gratify their most ardent sitting in the region of the shadow of and expansive wishes-take that one death, the day spring from on high-nay, take them all together, and visited them." The set time to favour Zion had arrived.' An epoch commenced not less remarkable or illustrious than that of the first promulgation of the Gospel; an epoch which will ever be considered by Christians, as a great event in the counsels of Divine wisdom and mercy, to a world lying in darkness. Nor what are they without the Bible? Your Charity Schools, both parochial and public; your Sunday Schools, though last, not least in worth and excellence, whether we consider the tenderness of their care or the wisdom of their plans, what are they, valuable as they are, but the voice of one crying in the wilderness-but the means and instruments to prepare the way of the Lord for religious instruction? Deprived of the Bible, of its co-operation and impulse, they are impotent as a machine deprived of its spring; their force would soon cease to reach the mass of the people. Take the Bible away, and you strike from those systems of wisdom, instruction, and benevolence, the sun to whose radiance and warmth they owe their splendour and their worth; the natural darkness and corruption of the human heart would soon prevail against them, and those clouds of superstition and barbarism which enveloped former ages, would speedily return, thick and dark, and settle on the most enlightened nations of Christendom. "Men of Israel,' shall we help this Society to distribute the Bible? "Your answer we will receive, after having detained you a few moments on the subject of the Prayer Book. "Ought this Society to be aided in their endeavours to circulate the Prayer Book? What claims does this book possess to our patronage and support? We presume not to urge the claim of inspiration, but we do urge, and with great confidence, that of ancient if not apostolic origin. Spiritually speaking, the Prayer Book contains our mother tongue. It speaks the language of her that bare us—a language which is as exclusively her own, as the language of any nation or people upon earth is exclusively the living language of that people. "In this language the Church has taught her children, nearly nineteen centuries, to offer their supplications and prayers, and to give thanks for all men. A language which, for purity and simplicity, strength and fervour, wisdom and spirituality, carries with it indubitable testimony that it could have been learnt no where but in the apostolic school of primitive Christianity. For the truth of this remark, permit me to ask, In what book of devotion, in what liturgy do you find such unquestionable marks, such decisive proofs of a primitive origin, as in the Book of Common Prayer? In what formulary do you find doctrine so sound, morality so pure, and piety so spiritual and ardent? Nor is the exhibition of these characters unimportant in the estimation of him who sincerely and earnestly seeks the true fold, and wishes most devoutly to be under the care of that good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. It is, certainly, of no small importance to the serious inquirer, to know, by proofs, the plainness of which he cannot mistake, and the strength of which he cannot withstand, that he is in the fold of him who feedeth his flock like a shepherd, gathers the lambs with his arms, carries them in his bosom, and gently leads those that are with young. "In a Church which comes down to us, purporting to be the Church built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Chief Corner Stone; a Church built up of lively stones, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices unto God by Jesus Christ-in a Church of such high, holy, and primitive descent and pretensions, we surely have a right to expect, and moreover ought to find some of those precious gems of primitive truth and order,' which gave lustre and value to her diadem, in the day on which, as a chaste virgin, she was espoused unto Christ, her Head and Lord; some of those abstracts or compendiums of apostolic faith and worship, of truth and holimess, into which, according to his own most gracious promise, the Holy Spirit should, on his descent, guide her. We have a right to expect, and ought to find these things in the possession of a Church which assumes, as ours does, and justly too, to stand on apostolic ground." "Admit, my Brethren, that it is possible you should find nothing in the pulpit but cold morality: what then? It would be greatly to be lamented, it must be acknowledged: but will you, therefore, with such a liturgy as you possess, be content with being cold formalists? Having a form of godliness only, can you use a liturgy, and join in a worship which breathe, and, in their very nature, tend to inspire, the life and power thereof? Suppose the pulpit should, indeed, provide nothing but husks, that it is possible the hungry soul may look up, expecting food from the steward of the Lord's household, who is appointed to give to all their portion of meat in due season, and be disappointed-what then? Is there not in your Father's house bread enough and to spare? Does he not feed you? In the service, do you not find the true bread that came down from heaven, that nourishes unto life eternal? Yes, there the Church finds her feast of marrow and fat things, there she holds her banquet, while the banner of her divine Lord over her is love. There she finds strong consolation, renews her strength, mounts up with wings as eagles, is prepared to run and not be weary, and to walk and not faint. 66 My Brethren, the more the service of the Church is considered, the more surprising it will appear that it is not adopted by all Christians; for in what other human instance, at so small an expense to the understanding, have the same depth of thought, the same devotion of feeling, the same compass of moral wisdom been exhibited to the mind and heart, as in our service? To relish the matter of it, is to possess piety; to digest it, is to acquire wisdom; to breathe its spirit, is to be as pure and as perfect as can consist with mortality. My Brethren, permit me earnestly to plead with you on this occasion. Is there any thing calculated to inspire delight, and to infuse the most sublime emotions into the human bosom, in the thought that every time we join in the public services of our religion, we present our petitions in the very language which, we are fully persuaded, has been successful in bringing down blessings in ten thousand instances? That we offer our praises in anthems which those delighted to use, who have joined, long since, the General Assembly and Church of the first born in Heaven, and are now worshipping before the throne? If there be any thing delightful in contemplations like these, then help to make others partakers of your joy. If it be impossible to remain insensible to the attractions of a service which has been chanted by the lips of the greatest and best of mankind, the noblest patrons of the cause of humanity and religion, the highest favourites of the King of Heaven; then, by the sensations and pleasures originated by these attractions, I entreat your help. Do our holy and beautiful places where our fathers worshipped, receive a peculiar lustre from the spirits of the just, with whom we are so closely associated, and who yet seem to speak to us through the service, in the pious use of which they, together with the noble army of martyrs, entered triumphantly into glory? Then, by all that is venerable, august, or inviting, in such views as these, I entreat your help this day. Finally, Has an interest beyond any example in former ages been excited on the subject of revelation? Has the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures opened the eyes of tens of thousands to the awful realities of the unseen world? Has the general establishment of schools for the education of the poor, and especially the recent establishment of Sunday Schools, broken up the fountain of a mighty deep, the moral consequences of which it is impossible to calculate?" Then let me entreat you, men and brethren, to make provision for the liberal diffusion of the sacred records of our Church; provide, now that you have it in your power, a deep and wide channel, in which the newly awakened feelings of thousands and tons of thousands may safely flow. Let them know that the sacred services of our Church have confessors and martyrs for their authors, and Christian antiquity for their model; that they have been adopted by the wisest and best of men, and contain the very language which those delighted to use in the courts of the Lord's house on earth, who are now worshipping in the beauty of holiness, in the temple of the great God above. "Men of Israel, will you help? We wait your answer." Pastoral Address to the Children of the Parish of Trinity Church, NewHaven, Connecticut, by the Rector. MY DEAR CHILDREN, YOUR course of catechetical instruction for this season, is now closed; and I embrace the present opportunity to express my approbation of your diligence and attention, and to offer a few remarks for your consideration. Placed over you as your spiritual pastor and teacher-bound by my ordination vows, and by the rubrics and canons of the Church, to instruct you in the rudiments of Christian knowledge-and charged by the holy Gospel, to watch for your souls as one that must give account-my responsibility is great; and the duties which I owe to you are highly interesting and important. It has afforded me much satisfaction, therefore, to witness the assiduity with which you have generally applied yourselves, and the rapid progress which you have made in your studies. Little children-you are, by the good providence of God, blessed with great and distinguished privileges. By the sacrament of baptism you have been ingrafted into the Church of Christ. It is a Church which our Lord himself founded; to which the promises of the Gospel are made; in which the Word and sacraments are duly administered; and in which you are to be trained and prepared, through the assistance of Divine grace, for the kingdom of heaven. But you will reflect, that all these privileges can avail you nothing, if they be not properly improved. Young as you now are, you have your duties to perform, and your obligations to discharge. Even little children are bound to keep all the commandments of God, which are applicable to their state. To love and adore the Supreme Being; to worship him, not only in the public service of his Church, but in secret prayer; to love, honour, and obey their parents; to abstain from all the vices which are forbidden, and particularly from profane swearing, falsehood, and dishonesty; are all duties which the youngest, no less than the oldest, are bound to perform. Go on faithfully, then, my dear children, in these duties. Attend diligently to your catechetical studies. Never absent yourselves unnecessarily from Church. Be constant and regular in your private devotions. Never neglect your prayers when you retire to rest at night, nor when you rise in the morning. Remember that you depend on your heavenly Father for protection, at all times, and in all places, and especially in the unguarded hours of repose; and that you are indebted to him for all the necessaries and comforts of life, and for life itself. Remember also, that when you pray in secret, he who seeth in secret will reward you openly. Be dutiful to your parents. Think how much care and labour they have bestowed upon you in your helpless years! how much anxiety and solicitude they must feel for your welfare and how solemnly, when they presented you at the baptismal font, they devoted you to the service of God. Be careful that you do not render all their labour and attention vain and unprofitable, by your carelessness and negligence; and, above all, be careful that you do not violate the vows and promises which they made in your behalf, at your baptism. Beware that you never indulge in those dreadful sins of the tongue, against which the most awful judg ments are threatened. Profanity of speech, or an idle, light, or irreverent use of the name of God, is so offensive, that he will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Avoid, also, every species of falsehood and deceit, of fraud and dishonesty, for every thing you do, and every thing you say is known to God.. No darkness, no secret place, can conceal you from his sight. At the final day of judgment you will be called to answer for every idle word, for every sinful thought, and for every wicked deed: and, as the eternal welfare of your souls must depend upon the account which you then render, I beseech you to remember your Creator, now, in the days of your youth. You are now young; but you are |