Christian observer

              NEW SERIES. NO. 218.
FOR THE DIFFUSION OF TRUTH ^^^r^^^si^^^^B^^^:T^^Pt^^^
SOUTHERN RELIGIOUS TELEGRAPH.
A. CONVERSE, EDITOR:—.134 Chestnut Street.
PHILADELPHIA, FHftAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1844.
VOL. XXIU. NO. 6,
CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.
For the Christian Observer. " I CAN'T PRAY.»»
But you do pray. I was in Mr. A.'s store a few days since, when you called and earnestly asked him to loan you five hun¬ dred dollars for three days. That was praying in earnest. True, it was not a prayer addressed to the throne of grace,— yet it was prayer. Suppose it had been impossible for you to obtain the five hun¬ dred dollars from any one of your friends, —and you could have been sure to obtain it by asking earnestly at the throne of grace, would you probably have presented the very feeling request] No doubt you would, sooner than suffer a note to be pro¬ tested, and your commercial character to come in question. Yet you are the man, who "cannot pray;"—and you will per¬ mit your Cliristian character to be brought into disrepute by sealing your lips in the social circle. This illustration may aid in understanding what prayer is. It is not uloquonce,—or fiuency of speech,—or even a form of prayer. It is the language of leant. And where there is a deep sense of spiritual want; and that want gets itself uttered,—you have prayer, and prayer of the right kind. No matter how broken the language may be—no matter how des¬ titute of the rhetoric and logic of the schools,t-no matter how incapable of bearing the test of rigid criticism, it is prayer. Though not attractive to the ear of MAN, it will ^nd favor with God.
" But I have no words when I attempt to pray." Ttvo questions I wish to ask ;— have you ever attempted it in the social circle 1 If you have not, you may possi¬ bly be mistaken; for many who have made the same excuse, have become very lluciit in prayer. Or 2dly: have you a sense of your wants ] If you have not, it is no cause of wonder that you cannot pray. It is hard work to pray and continue the form without a deep consciousness of your necessities. It is what the Apostle calls a " yoke of bondage," It is real drudgery to endeavor to lill the con¬ science to rest with opiates. The moral constitution becomes nervou^ under such discipline. It is worse than klrudgery to attempt to mock the Lord injbringing to His altar, the "halt, and the riaimed, and the lame, and the blind." Wh*3n you have thought long and deeply on jJiur spiritual wants,—when you are fully i^atisfied that God only can meet those wjnts from the fulness of His love,—when you have made a fair and hearty attempt \o utter those wants in the social circlg to the Great King, and have failed on^e, twice, and thrice, then your excuse (will be more consistent, and deserving |f more consid¬ eration. I
" Have yon no words ? ah, iiink again : Words (low apace when yoii complain. And fdl your fcllow-creaturfs ear With the sad tale of all your care." Yes, you can talk loudly find long on po¬ litical matters—you can complain of com¬ mercial distress and grievances,—you can even   be   eloquent  in yoir own   cause against a neighbor,—you tan even chide your pastor for want of interest in his prayers aud sermons, but you " have no words for   prayer."    Well,  you   are   a strange being, and much to be pitied.
"But others can pray better than I can." That is very probably true,—and there are very good reaj^ons for it. When they were called upon to lead in the devotion of the social circle, they did not ask to be excus¬ ed,—nor einbarrass the meeting by keep¬ ing silent; but at once did theh' duty.— They hesitated and trembled,—but perse¬ vered. And now you make their proficien¬ cy an excuse for your neglect.    You are afraid to  press through the same difficul¬ ties, and so endeavor lo devolve your du¬ ties on your more self-denying brethren. While others can "jsray better than you can," you are not at all deficient in busi¬ ness capacities, or in ability to render a good judgment on general matters.   This makes your conduct more   inconsistent and inexplicable, than il would otherwise be.    You remind me of a professor of re¬ ligion living not more than  a hundred miles from " the city of brotherly love." A good deacon went to see him, and ex¬ postulate with him for his absence from the monthly concerts,—and he did it kind¬ ly and faithfully.  " Why," said the broth¬ er in reply, " we elected you to office to attend to these meetings."   And you have elected certain of your brethren to dis¬ charge for you your social duties.   It is too Imd.   I will only suggest that you will never pray any better, unless you make a beginning, and that very soon.   You will soon be so fast in the hands ofthe enemy, that you cannot get away.   Perhaps you have determined that you will imitate the boy in the fable, who resolved "never to go into the water until he had learned to swun."   If this is your purpose, you will Avail as long as the simpleton who  sat down on the bank ofthe river to wait for the water to run cross over.
have erected, fortify yourself in the ne¬ glect of duty. It looks like idleness, aud a skulking spirit, and must be very wick¬ ed.
I wonder if you pray in your closet 1— Whom do you seek to edify by your se¬ cret prayers 1 Certainly no one,—for it is secret prayer. You should as much ex¬ clude the idea from your social as from your secret devotions, and then you would not have this excuse.
" It is not every body's duty to pray in public." If this is granted, you wish to in¬ clude yourself among the excused ones. Well, if it is not " every body's duty to pray," as you say, I suppose you can find some place in the Bible where some are excused. Will you be good enough to point me to the passage, for I have never seen it. I have read, however, concern¬ ing a very bad servant who " hid his ta¬ lent in a napkin," and made no use of it,
united flight ofthe people from its resist¬ less course.
Already do we approach the perilous edge of the cataract, from which there is no retreat, and down which, if we rush, noihing will be seen butthe wreck of our past greatness and the memorials of our blasted hopes!
And now do we invoke to the rescue, our Governors, and Senators, and mem¬ bers of the Assembly, and Judges of our courts and members of the Ear, and all the friends of liberty and their country, to aid us by the power of their talents, the eminence of their stations, the effi¬ cacy of their example, the cogency of Iheir arguments, and llie victorious effi¬ cacy of their united action; persuaded that the lime has come when the moral power of the Sabbalh must be augment¬ ed or abandoned.
If the friends of the Sabbath yield to fear, and send out through the land, the appalling declaration that nothingcan be
and the Master was very angry with him, j done, we read in the  laws of the human
and punished him for it. I would not wish to be such a servant, for I should fear to meet the Master.
Besides if your excuse is good for you, it will be good for any and every member ofthe church. The bearing of your apolo¬ gy is too wide to be of any available pro¬ fit for the church. The results of it would be too disastrous. It must be a bad ex¬ cuse.
If I were in your place, I would go to my closet, and there confess my sin to the Heavenly Father,—I would resolve to do my duty at all hazards,—then I would go to the prayer-meeting and confess my sin to the brethren, and attempt to lead in prayer, and follow that course of prayer until death came for me. You will grow in grace more rapidly,—your life will be more peaceful,—and your prospect of heaven more unclouded and glorious.
M. H.
^y, before he should I will only add on this point, that your pride may have much to do with your excuse. If you could pray more flu- ently and satisfactorily to yourself than your brethren can, you would not be trou¬ bled with the lockjaw once a iceek when the prayer meeting occurs.
" B"^ ^ cannot pray to edification " It might be replied again, that you have not tned, and it would not be easy to infer what you might do, unless the experiment should be fully made. But I must say lhat " edification" is not the object of prayer. You are to ask blessings from the hand of the Lord, not from the brethren,—you are to pray to the Lord, not to the brethren. You are to spread before the throne of grace the social wants of the people among whom you dwell. You are to pray, not to preach. A^nd until the design of prayer, viz. to ask in faith for that which you need, is altered ^y a direct revelation from heaven, you
For the Chri-tian Ohserver.
THE SABBATH CONVENTION, TO THE
CITIZENS OF OHIO.
This Convention, assembled at Colum¬ bus, from various parts of the State, com¬ posed of Young Men, and Pioneer Fa¬ thers, and Farmers, and Mechanics, and Merchants, and Physicians, and Lawyers, and Judges, and Ministers of the Gospel, and Church members of various denomi¬ nations, and Patriots ofthe different poli¬ tical creeds, to consult togetherand adopt measures for the preservation ofthe Sab¬ bath, beg leave, by their Committee, to lay before you the facts and arguments submitted to their consideration, and vvhich formed the basis of their action.
It is universally admitted that know¬ ledge and virtue lie at the foundation of the prosperity and perpetuity of a repub¬ lican government.
Of course a nation so extensive in ter¬ ritory as ours, so rich in soil, and so abounding in numbers, and vigoroua.in enterprise, cannot be kept from effemi¬ nacy and ruin, without the moral power associated with the Sabbalh.
It is alike obvious, that the Sabbath ex¬ erts its salutary power by making the po¬ pulation acquainted with the being, per¬ fections and laws of God ; with our rela¬ tions to Him as His creatures, and our obligations to him as rational accounta¬ ble subjects, and wilh our character as sinners for whom his mercy has provided a Saviour; under whose government we live to be restrained from sin and recon¬ ciled to God, and fitted by His word and spirit for the inheritance above.
It is by the reiterated instruction and imnression which the Sabbalh imparls to the population of a nation, by the moral principle which it forms—by the con¬ science which it maintains—by the habits of method, cleanliness and industry it creates—by the rest and renovated vigor it bestows on exhausted animal nature— by the lengthened life and higher health It affords—by the holiness it inspires, and cheering hopes of Heaven, and the pro¬ tection and favor of God which its ob- servance ensures—which renders the Sab¬ bath the moral conservator of nations.
This omnipresent influence the Sab¬ bath exerts, however, by no secret ciiarm or compendious action upon masses of unthinking mind; but by arresting the stream of worldly thoughts, interests and affections—stopping the din of business— unlading the mind of its cares and re¬ sponsibilities, and the body of its bur¬ dens, while God speaks to men, and they attend and hear and fear, and learn to do His will.
The Sabbalh exerts no moral power upon those withdrawn from its instruc¬ tions more than schools and seminaries exert of intellectual power upon the va¬ grant population who neverattend them; and the folly of attempting to maintain the moral character ofthe nation without the Sabbath, would not be surpassed by the attempt lo extend learning over the nation by empty school houses and col¬ leges. In proportion then, as the popu¬ lation of our nation is withdrawn from the instruction ofthe Sabbath, to the same extent will its moral influence to restrain, and purify and save the nation be impair¬ ed and temptations prevail lo corrupt our virtue, undermine our institutions, and hasten us to that fearful state of guilt and suffering which will render self-go¬ vernment impossible, and despotism the lesser evil.
From statements made to the Conven¬ tion, and what was notorious before, il appeared, thai unless special efforts are made for the preservation of the Sab¬ bath, its conservatory power must fall before the inundations of business and pleasure.
That commerce on our seaboard, and on our rivers, and on our canals and turn- pikes, and railroads, is putting in motion a secular enterprise which is fast dead¬ ening the national conscience, and roll¬ ing the wave of oblivion over that sacred day.
That our population, doubling so ra¬ pidly, and rushing up to ils fifty and hun¬ dred millions with its corresponding mo¬ mentum of business and Sabbath dese-
mind, and the immutable analogy of mo¬ ral causes, the certain downfall of our Republic.
This alternative we did not dare to adopt while a ray uf hope beamed on our path.
The cries of our distant posterity rose up around us, and their cruel, hopeless bondage broke our hearts, and when we perceived the sensation which recent ef¬ forts to save the Sabbath have produced, and the people—the people of all classes, coming to the rescue, we seemed to hear the voice of God saying to us, "go for¬ ward." We borrowed hope also from the promises of God, that a day of civil and religious emancipation shall yet arise up on the earth, and from cheering tokens in the providence of God that earth's night is far spent, and the day at hand.
Ilis notlhe objectofthls Convention in its associated capacity, lo attempt the pre¬ servation of the Sabbath by the enforce¬ ment of law. We have not the madness to think of coercing our State or nation to keep the Sabbath. Wc Icnow that our Citizens can violate the Sabbath if they will. A standiiijjarmy would not prevent it, but our hope is, that by the blessing of God we may be able to persuade them not to do it. It is by calling up a general attention to the subject, by the extension of information, by the power of exam¬ ple, by renovated vigilance of families, and of the ministers of Christ, and pro¬ fessors of religion, and patriotic men— thai we hope to convince the judgment of our citizens, enlist their conscience and gain their hearts to abstain from the violation of that day which God in mercy has given to heal the wounds of a bleed¬ ing world.
To the entire class of our fellow ci¬ tizens who inconsiderately, for amuse¬ ment or gain, violate the Sabbath, we would say, "Alas, brehren, why do you this evil thingl" Do not imagine that w
controversy of words or deeds, or l^at vve are IrisehsidTe io fiie "difiicinttes which by some of you must be encoun¬ tered, to retrace stepswhichshould never have been taken, and to withdraw your¬ selves from alliances that ought never lo have been formed. Butthe emergency is tremendous. The liberties of your country, the welfare of the world are at stake. If this nation fails in her vast ex¬ periment, Ihe world's last hope expires;— and without the moral energies of the Sabbalh il will fail. You might as well put out the sun, and think to enlighten the world with tapers,—destroy the at¬ traction of gravity, and think to wield the universe by human powers, as to extin¬ guish the moral illumination of the Sab¬ balh, and break thia glorious main-spring of the moral government of God. And when shall wetstop, if not now] and how shall we arrest the evil, but by voluntary association and voluntary reformation'!— Will you, then, beloved countrymen, for the pitiful gain of Sabbath day earnings, rob the animal creation of that rest which their Creator gave to them, when he gave to you dominion over iheml Will you forego the means of grace, purchased for you by the blood of Christ; stop in your families the wells of salvation, and put out the light of life, and leach your chil- dren to work out theirdestruction, instead of their salvation, upon the Sabbath dayl Will you besiege the citadel of civil lib¬ erty, and undermine the pillars which sustain the superstructure, and bury your¬ selves and your country in the ruins of its mighty falH You would not steal nor rob for gain, nor send out pestilence upon the land, nor let out wild beasts and reptiles to poison and rend it. You would plead no liberty of conscience to do this, and no children's bread earned by enterprise. Why then will you per¬ sist so deliberately, so eagerly, so inflex¬ ibly, in the violation of the Sabbath, which is but a comprehensive mode of wresting from us all our blessings and letting out upon the land all manner of evill
To the labouring poor, we would say, it was for you especially, lhat the Sab¬ bath was made; and will you sell your birth right 1 In all countries where the Sabbalh is not kept, the poor are pressed down beneath a hopeless bondage. The Sabbath, duly observed, will raise your families to intelligence and competence, and all civil honours, as the wheel of Providence rolls: while the violation of it will raise up over you a moneyed aris¬ tocracy, thriving by your vices, and rising by your depression, and dooming you and your posterity to be "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for ever. If you continue to violate the Sabbath, you may wear the livery of freemen, but it will be in the ,house jof bondage—you may go through the mockery of voting for your rulers, but it will be done under the pow¬ erful dictation of masters. God is wise, and you cannot mend His institutions, or do without them; He is omnipotent, and you cannot flee from Him; He is al¬ mighty, and you cannot stand before Him ; He is just, and will by no means clear the guilty. And now, friends and brethren, we trust that through inconside- ration you have given yourselves to the violation of the Sabbath; and that when your own and your country's deep inte
look for abstineW from "the very ap¬ pearance of evllj' for vision eye lo eye, and the lifting !ui together of ihe voice as a trumpet, If declare to this nation its sin, and to wa/i' the wicked from their evil way. Jeiousy can have no place here; we are 4 s'nkingtogelher; no de¬ nomination caj survive the obliteration ofthe Sabbalh,
To the churtjes of our Lord, of every name, redeemll by his blood, and asso¬ ciated to mainCn his ordinancesandex¬ tend his eause,i'e look for a careful ex¬ ample, a thorodh discipline, and a cheer¬ ful concentrat^n of their iniluence, to form an efficieq public sentiment which shall rescue th Sabbalh from p.rofana- tion and obliviijj. If professors of reli¬ gion violate thijSabbath, who will ob¬ serve itl If tfcy do not stand forth united for its pbservation,' who will de¬ fend it; and if|br its violation "judg¬ ment shall begii al the house of God, what shall the etd b« of them that know not God, and obeyno.V the gospel 1"
To conclude. WriJ^onomit^be subject to the God of the Spbath, whose media¬ torial government if our redemption is made effectual ony by His Word and Spirit, associated >ith the Sabbath day; beseeching Him toguide us by wisdom from above, to insjire us wilh humility in prosperity, with peekness under pro¬ vocation, with courjge in times of peril, wilh fortitude in (ircumstances of dis¬ couragement, witha single eye to His glory, with unshafcn confidence in His promises, and untiing enterprise in His blessed cause, uctil the necessity of: Union shall be doiB away in the volun¬ tary observance oi the Sabbalh by the entire population o/uurland.
LwiAN Eeecheb,
G.'S. Powell,
P.!B. Wilcox,
)   '      Committee.
POSITION OP THEJEVANGEI-ICAIi PAR- 'JY IN THE EPISCOI^AL CHURCH.
[Concludedfrom our last.] Otir ne.xt remark Th regard to the po¬ sition of the evangelical party, is that there are no arranganents or provisions in the liturgy for pipmoting their pecu¬ liar and distinctive efforts,-or which con¬ template such efforts. In looking over the Prayer-book, which the low churchman, in common with all other Episcopalians, is under an obligation constantly to use, the questional once occurs whether those things at which he distinctively aims are contemplated there? ;Do they fall in with tbe design of the Prayer-book 3 Was it the intention ofthe authors of the Pray¬ er-book to promote them, and have they made arrangements for them 1 Or are the peculiar things which constitute the cha¬ racteristics of the low church party, and which they are endeavoring so zealous¬ ly, and with so much of the spirit of the gospel to promote, things  which   they
God is not wont lo reclaim, but extermi- nate.
That secular business is already so ex ^venoriPht to ,^«i.^   ,i,    *j.- ' '      4 tended and interwoven as draws reluc
V.altn^l, .T^^"^^"'"'^'"^*^^^^""]'*"*'^ and more into itsltherto you have loo lightly esteemed,
sprayer, and behind the bulwarJcybu I Stream, leaving nd alternative but the
craiion, will constitute a nation of such
impiety and violence and dissolutenessast rests »n its preservation are considered,
have superinduced upon the liturgy, and Q shall engage wilh you in an angry   which theyare compelled lo carry for-
'' " '" '" ' ward by ^ system, jf.jnikpgpd^JJX ,Ar.- TangTTfiiTjwta t We a^e conslrainea to be¬ lieve that the latter is the case, for the following reasons:
The Liturgy not Adapted to Missions.
1. We think that Christian missions to the heathen are not contemplated by the Prayer-book. They were not regarded as distinct objects of Christian effort at the time when the Prayer-book was made, and it has not been, and we pre¬ sume could notnowoe so moulded, asto adapt it to the present views of Protestant Christians in their efforts to spread the gospel around the world. To say nothing of the cumbrous and unwieldy nature of the forms of Episccpacy in reference to missions—ofthe perplexities which must meet a missionary who should attempt to go Ihrough the; liturgy in a heathen community—of Ihebhanges of vestments and postures which, U contemplates, the alternations from piayer to praise, from reading now by iM priest and now by the people—of th^r difficulties arising from the contempla^l^i¦ necessity of re¬ sponses on the pai"lfef'the people, there are other things wnich lead us to think thatthe Prayer-bO(/k was not designed to be adapted to nfissionary operations. There are no sucl references lo such ef¬ forts ; no prayers directed to be offered for the success oi missions; no allusions to churches gathired among the hea¬ then; no petition I thatthe people may be imbued with life missionary spirit; no supplications that.the missionary in hea¬ lhen lands may bk sustained in his tri¬ als, and encouraged in his work. We believe that a congregation of Episcopa¬ lians might use the Prayer-book any giv¬ en lime, and strictly conform to all the prescriptions of tiie rubric, and never have the missionary spirit excited in the least conceivable degree, and never dream, from any use ^f lhat book, that it is the duty of the Cjliristian church to spread the gospel aroind the world. We have reflected wilh some care on the forms of prayer therfjprescribed, and we have been able to reaSll, iirall the peti¬ tions and all the cojiects, only the follow¬ ing that has any bearing on this subject, unless the incesdant repetition of the Lord's prayer, morning, mid-day, and evening, and atal] times, be an excep¬ tion—a repetition amounting, as far as the use of that beautiful form can be made to, to the B\ttalogia so pointedly condemned conddnned by the Saviour, (Malt. vi. 7)—a r«petition which seems to be intended to Ibe a substitute for all sorts of petitions tiat ought to be offered. We find the following petitions, and those only, bearng on missions. The first occurs in the "Prayer for all Sorts and Conditions o Men." "O God, the creator and preseverof all mankind, we humbly beseech tl ee for all sorts and con¬ ditions of men, tha ;thou wouldst be pleas¬ ed to make thy wajs known unto them, thy saving health untopll nations." This oc¬ curs again in the\ evening prayer, and this, besides the petition in the Lord's prayer, is the solitary petition which is regularly offered by IBC whole Episcopal Church, from Sabbjthto Sabbalh, for the universal spread oflthe gospel of Christ. Beside this, in one pf the "collects" for Good Friday, desikned to be used but once in tbe year, \fe find the following petition: "0 merciful God, who hast made all men, and halest nothing that thou hast made, nof desirest tbe death of
you will desist from it and give your ex¬ ample and influence for the preservation of that blessed day, which is so eminent¬ ly the poor man's friend, and which hi-
:t)ioi*tn trnti   Visivn tnn liorhtlv ac<af>nr>n.l
V*'j >J:^^j *g^..,i•:-Jl:::i?^y
To tbe Ministers of th^ Sanctuary wa
fetch them home,  blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnants ofthe true Israelites," &c. The fact here adverted to is the more remark¬ able, because in the numerous instances in which "collects" are appointed to be said, occasions are constantly occurring where it would seem almost unavoidable to make sofiie allusion, and to offer some petition  for the spread   of  the   gospel among the heathen, and for the success of Chrisiian missions.   Thus in the collect for  "The Epiphany,  or the  Manifesta¬ tion of Christ to the Gentiles," we have this prayer: "0 God, who, by the lead¬ ing of a star, didst manifest thy only be¬ gotten Son  to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may, after this life, have the frui- tionof thy glorious Godhead, through Je¬ sus Christ our Lord.   Thus in the collect on the "Conversion  of St.  Paul:" "O God, who, through the preaching of the blessed Apostle Saint Paul, has  caused the light of the gospel to shine through¬ out the world, grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful conversion in  remembrance,  may show   forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same, by following the holy doctrines which he taught, through Jesus Christ our Lord." So on "Saint Peter's Day,"  and  "St. James the Apostle," and "St. Bartholo¬ mew the Apostle," and " St. Matthew the Apostle," and "St. Michael and all An¬ gels," and " St. Simon and St. Jude, Apos¬ tles," and " All Saints Day," we have the same utter want of allusion to the Chris¬ tian duty of spreading the gospel—as if none of these Apostles had ever done any thing in such a cause, or as if " St. Mi¬ chael" and "All the Saints" had no interest in the universal diffusion of Christianity. It is remarkable, we think, that so many "collects" could  have   been   made by Christian  men,   without   a recollection lhat the "Saints" whose virtues are thus commended,   were distinguished   more than for any thing else in spreading the gospel among the heathen, and lhat the thing in w'hich the church ought specifi¬ cally  lo imitate them is their fidelity in obeying the Redeemer's last command. A missionary society, or a missionary ef¬ fort, whether in connexion with   other Christians or by themselves, is a thing, we believe, unknown to the constitution ofthe Episcopal Church.   That constitu¬ tion contemplates a regularly organized congregation, and all the efforts which are made by that church in behalf of mis¬ sions are efforts not contemplated by her liturgy.
Not Suited to Promote Revivals.
2. Revivals of religion are not contem¬ plated by the Prayer-book. We believe that this would be adverted to by the high church party as an evidence of the ex¬ cellence of the book itself, if not as a proof of its semi-inspiration. But the evangelical party have different views of the desirableness of such works of grace. We believe they as sincerely rejoice as
Txtfcfwi-a  «Ju  when   tlic Optlll   "ur   OTJtl ttT3-
scends vvith power on a people, and when many are brought simultaneously to em¬ brace the Saviour. In the proper mea¬ sures for promoting such a work, they sympathize wilh their brethren of other churches. They would dwell on the same topics in preaching; urge with the same ardor the doctrines of depravity, of justi¬ fication by faith, and of the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and give substantially the same counsel to an in¬ quiring sinner. They admit the efiicacy of protracted services, or, as they choose to call them, "associations;" and in ad¬ dition to such services of a "voluntary" character, they propose to avail them¬ selves of what would otherwise be the cold and benumbing influence of the long season of fasting in "Lent." But what is the relation ofthe Prayer-book to such efforts'! What aid could be derived from that book in a work of grace 1 What would be the effect of the sole use of lhat book in endeavoring to promote a revi¬ val^ religion,or in conducting ill There is nothing in that book that is adapted lo promote what is commonly termed a re¬ vival of religion ; and there is nothing in the book that is fitted to the thrilling scenes of such a work. There are no prayers that careless sinners may be awakened—none that inquirers may be guided to Christ—none lhat would ex¬ press the desires of a church in behalf of those who are asking what they must do to be saved. If these things are made the object of petition in an Episcopal Church, it must be by the appointment of " pray- er-meelings"—assemblages lhat are not contemplated, as we have already seen, by the Episcopal constitution. We have heard it said that a Presbyterian minister once went into an inquiry meeting, and commenced the services of the evening by this question: " Can you tell me how doth Christ execute the office of apriesf!" The Episcopal Prayer-book is not as well adapted to the state of things in a revival of religion, as the use of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism wouldbe if propound¬ ed through and through to those compos¬ ing such a meeting. There is not a fea¬ ture ofthe book that is adapted to such a work of grace. Whether this is not an ad¬ vantage in favor of the book, we are aware is a point on which many Episco¬ palians would differ materially from us. We only say that if there are to be revi¬ vals of religion in the church, they must be conducted in some other way than by the use ofthe Prayer-book.
Not adapted to the Instruction ofthe Young.
3. The efforts for the promotion of re¬ ligion among the young as a distinct class, is a thing unknown to the constitu¬ tion of the Episcopal Church, and all at¬ tempts to promote Sabbath Schools, whe¬ ther in the bosom ofthe church as a sec¬ tarian matter, or on a more general scale in union with other denominations, is a departure from the teachings and the de¬ signs ofthe liturgy. The Sabbath School is an institution which has grown up some two hundred years since the Fray- book was arranged for the use of the Anglican church, and it has never been modified in the least degree lo adapt it to the grand enterprise of teaching the Bi¬ ble to the young, though more than fifty years have elapsed since God began lo set the undoubted seal of his blessing to the efforts of Robert Raikes. Tbe Pray¬ er-book, even as we now have it, is the "petrified wisdom of the age of Eliza-
a sinner, but ratheijfthat he should be con verted and live, Wave mercy upon all ^Jews, Turks, infidbls, and heretics, and' beth," and it does not adapt itself even to take from them allignorance, hardness of the undoubted Christian   institutions of faeftft^ and cont»mbt of thy word, and lo [ ao advanced pferiod of the world.   The
only arrangements in the Prayer-book which contemplate the instruction ofthe young at all, are found in the catechism. The amount of instruction contemplated there is the Lord's Prayer, the creed, and the ten commandments, and a careful initiation into the mystery of baptismal regeneration, and the expression of a set¬ tled belief on tho part of the child, that by baptism he was made "a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." This great defect ofthe Episcopal Church—this fact that there is an utter forgetfulness in her forms ofthe young, and an utter want of adaptedness in her institutions to them, is thus candidly admitted by Archbishop Whately. He observes that the liturgy "is evidently neither adapted nor de¬ signed for children, even those of such an age as to be fully capable of joining in congregational worship, were there a service suitably composed on purpose for them. To frame and introduce such a service would not, I think, be regarded as a trifling improvement, if we could but thoroughly get rid of the principle of the Romish lip-service."—Essays on Ro¬ manism, ch. i. 5. This is a candid confes¬ sion, but we do not believe that it is pos¬ sible for the Episcopal Church, so long as her forms are used, to " get rid of the Romish principle of lip-service."
4. Prayer-meetings are not contem¬ plated by the Episcopal service. There is no arrangement in the Prayer-book for such meetings, nor, so far as we have been able lo examine, is ilonce intimat¬ ed that they would be desirable or pro¬ per. If they are ever held, they are a de¬ parture from the system, or an attempt lo engraft on the system that which is no part of Episcopacy. Nothing would be more unfitted for what is ordinarily de¬ signed by a prayer-meeting, than the use of the forms of the Episcopal Church. We believe lhat those ministers of lhat persuasion who patronize such meetings, never think of using the liturgy on such occasions, unless it may be to save ap- pearances, and we are certain lhat the high church parly are consistent and Episcopally right in their opposition to such assemblages.
The Liturgy Sectarian in its Character.
5. All union on religious subjects with other denominations, we regard as in like manner at variance with the spirit of Episcopacy. There is in the Prayer-book no recognition of any other churches as such, of any other ministers than those vvho are Episcopally ordained, or of any organization for the promotion of reli¬ gious objects except "/Ac church," with her "bishops, priests, and deacons."— In the Prayer-book we find no admission even that others are or can be Chris¬ tians. We think there is but one allusion inthe forms of prayer lo any Christians other than those of the Episcopal sect, and lhat occurs in these words: "We pray for thy holy churoh universal, lhat it may be guided and governed by thy gooa 8pirix, mat alt wiio profess and call themselves Christians, may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life." There is no pray¬ er offered for ministers of other denomi¬ nations—no allusion whatever to them. The prayers for ministers of the gospel are always in the forms following: "Senddown upon our bishops and other clergy, and upon the congregations com¬ mitted to their charge, the healthful spi¬ rit of thy grace." " Make, we beseech thee, all bishops and pastors diligently to preach thy holy word, and the people obediently to follow the same." The re¬ cognition of another church than the Episcopal, or of other ministers of the gospel than the Episcopal, is a thing un¬ known to the Prayer-book. It contem¬ plates no union wiih others, alludes to no common action with them, and evident¬ ly supposes that the great interests of re¬ ligion in the world will not be carried forward by voluntary associations, or by union with others, but by the organiza¬ tion under the "three orders." We have felt grateful for the aid which some elo¬ quent and zealous Episcopalians have rendered in the distribution ofthe Bible, and of Tracts, and in the support of the Sunday School cause in connexion with others; but we have never had but one feeling in regard to the consistency of this with Episcopacy. We have regarded it as a departure from the constitution of their church, and whatever independent zeal a few may show for a time in these catholic movements, we anticipate that the time is not far distant when the voice of an Episcopalian will no longer be heard at the anniversaries of our nation¬ al instiiutions, and lhat the only aid whichEpiscopacy will offer to the cause of diffusing Christianity, will be under her own distinctive organization. There is now far less disposition to unite with others, than there was a dozen years ago. Successive years will show it lo be less and less.
Our next thought in regard to the ef¬ forts of low churchmen, is that, as far as vve understand the subject, those efforts are all at variance with the doctrinal views of the church. We allude now to the opposition to Puseyism, or the Ox¬ ford theology. We speak here on the pre¬ sumption that those who are low church¬ men will be in the main opposed to lhat system of belief. On that controversy we have looked from the commencement vvith greal interest, not with reference lo the question whether Puseyism is in ac¬ cordance with the Bible—for in regard to that we see not how a question can be raised—but wilh reference to the ques¬ tion whether it is not the true spirit of Episcopacy, and is not in accordance with the views prevailing at the time when the Prayer-book vvas arranged, and those expressed by the standard writers of the Episcopal Church. We do not propose now to go into an examination of these questions, but it may be of some interest to those who are in the Episcopal Church toknovvhovv these things appear to those who are without. We regard, then, the Puseyites as entirely in the right in this controversy, so far as Episcopacy is con¬ cerned—wholly wrong so far as it relates to the Bible. We think that those who are opposed to the Oxford theology are engaged in the most hopeless of all con¬ troversies ever waged, so long as they make their appeal to their own Prayer- book, or the early standard writers ofthe
Episcopal denomination.   We have no' can suffer their consciences  and theiir
doubt that if the views of Dr. Pusey and Mr. JB^ewnUn wote (o prevail in tbe Bpia-
copal Church, the church would be sub¬ stantially in the same position in which il was in the days of Elizabeth.   It was but half reformed.   It retained then a largo part ofthe offensive features of Roman¬ ism, and those views were embodied in the Prayer-book. The doctrine of baptis¬ mal regeneration, of the opus operatum of the sacraments, of the real presence, of the intermediate state, the veneration of saints, the appointment of festival days in commemoration of Iheir virtues, the pomp and pageantry of v/orship, the sign of the cross, bowing at  the name of Je¬ sus, the holiness of the church and tha altar, and the sacicdness of the conse¬ crated burying-place, all, with numerous similar things, are part and parcel of Ro¬ manism, and  not of the religion of the New   Testament.   To   bring  back   tha Episcopal Church to the views entertain¬ ed on these subjects in the lime of Eliza- belh, which vve understand lo be the de¬ clared aim of Dr. Pusey, would be lo es* tablish the sentiments advanced in  the Tractarian theology.    The views of Dr. Pusey in his celebrated sermon on Ihe- eucharist, which was the occasion of his suspension, we think are abundantly sus- tained by the quolalions which he has made from  the standard writers of the Episcopal Church, and unless our evan- gelical   brethren   in   that   church   will change their mode of argument, and ap¬ peal solely lo the Bible, we are morally certain that they are destined to certain defeat.    The  Prayer-book and the Fa¬ thers of the Episcopal Church, will sus¬ tain their adversaries.   An honest appeal to the Bible, however, in the case, would be fatal to Episcopacy, and, if persevered in, must rend the Episcopal Church in twain.
There is but one other thought which we propose to submit in reference to tha present position of the evangelical par¬ ty in the Episcopal Church. It relates to their own consistency in their efforts to mingle with Christians and Chrisiian ministers of other denominations. We have already intimated lhat the princi- pies on which this is done are well defin¬ ed and understood. They never associate vvith the ministers of other denominations as Chrisiian ministers. They never invite them lo preach for them, but uniformly say when the question comes before them, that they cannot reciprocate an act of ministerial courtesy of this kind. They never recognise Ihe right of non-Episco¬ pal ministers to administer the sacra¬ ments ofthe church. They never recog¬ nise their ordination as an ordination to the Christian ministry, and never suppose lhat a minister from another denomina¬ tion, except the papal, can be suffered to officiate in an Episcopal Church withoirt renouncing his former ordination, and perchance his baptism, too, and submit to the imposition ofthe hands ofthe pre¬ late. These and kindred acts on their part force us almost inevitably to the conclu¬ sion, that in common wilh their high rhurch brethren, they regard the Episco¬ pal as the only Christian Church, and consider all others, ministers and peo- pie, as left to the " uncovenanted mer¬ cies of God."
Yet there is much that vve cannot re- concile with this. There is a «eal for the truth vvhich looks as if they regarded the vital doctrines of Christianity as of more importance than ils forms. There is an honest effort to promote the great objects contemplated by the gospel, which seems to rise above all the narrow confinement of sectarian efforts. There is, in some things, such a hearty mingling with other Christians, and such a zeal in promoting the common objects of our religion, as to lead us for a time to forget the Episco¬ pacy, and to rejoice in ihem as co-work- ers wilh all others, in the glorious efforts to spread the gospel. There is such im¬ patience of restraint, and such a declared purpose 7iot to be fettered by forms, and not lo be limited to the narrow views of a "sect," that we begin to ask with con¬ cern, whether, in our apprehensions of their attachment lo Episcopacy, we have not done them essential injustice. There are occasionally such solemn declara¬ tions made in such public places, that they '¦'^will not be confined within the nar¬ row walls of a sect, nor be prevented from looking out on ihe broad Christian world, and sympathizing with other Christians," that we are constrained to ask whether we have rightly understood the true interpretation of the other posi¬ tions which they have taken, or whether —a conclusion which vve will avoid if possible—all this is said for the purpose of effect, and is designed ultimately more and more to give Episcopacy favor in the sight ofthe community.
Questions to the Evangelical Parly.
Now so antagonist and irreconcilable are these positions of the evangelical party in the Episcopal Church, lhat we would be gladlo propound to some ofthe leaders of thai party a few questions, and vve take the liberty of submitting them here, with the hope that through their pa¬ pers they will furnish to the communiiy an answer.
The first would be this. Do the evange¬ lical party regard the ministers of other denominations as in any sense authoriz¬ ed ministers of the gospel, and their churches as true churchesi If they do, (which we do not believe to be the case,) then we ask of them why they are never in any proper way so recognized ^ Why do they not come out and openly say so 1 Why do they never admit them lo their
pulpits? Wby do they never protest against their being re-ordained when one of their number leaves the church of his fathers, and enters the service of the Episcopal denomination 1 Why do they submit to the gross public indignity offered to Protestant churches by the uniform ects ofthe Episcopal Church, admitting a Ro¬ man Catholic priest at once to oflSciate at her altars without re-ordination—de¬ manding lhat every other minister shall be re-ordained 1
If, in reply to these questions, ihey should say lhat they regard the ministers of other denominations as having a right to preach and administer the sacraments, and consider the ordinances administer¬ ed by them as valid, but that the " ca¬ nons" of their church will not allow them to express this beliefby any public act, or to reciprocate any act of ministerial fel¬ lowship, then we would ask of them as independent Christian men,   how  they
hearts to be fettered and trammeled by Aieh canoMi How caxt U>e|r i^OQMKa tH