never yet wept over sin, or seen it to be exceeding sinful. To such a one we would say, You have probably a vague idea of your state as not altogether right in the sight of God. You are conscious, also, that you cannot be brought to the Saviour, unless your guilt be felt and acknowledged. Hasten then to search your own heart; and, in seeking to do so, ask not the aid of man, but the help of God's Spirit. He will reveal to you the depths of your own sinfulness, without unfolding to you the abysses of corruption that abound in this wicked world. And when your sin is seen and deplored, go at once and confess it to God himself, relying on his mercy through Christ. Then will you have the joy of receiving an assurance of pardon, not from the lips of a priest, but from the inward witness of the Spirit. And then will this assurance of pardon prove a new stimulus to holy obedience; your gratitude will rise direct to God himself, and will evince itself in efforts to imitate Him you love.

VI. AS TO ITS SERVICE, IT IS AN UNSPIRITUAL

CHURCH.

There is much in the Popish service, especially as performed in its great cathedrals, that is pleasing to the senses. For while sweet-scented odours are exhaled from the waving censers, the ears are enchanted with almost unearthly music, and the eyes are riveted by exquisite paintings and inimitable sculptures. But imposing as this may be when experienced for the first time, there is in it after all very much of scenic effect and outward show, which will not bear close examination and sober reflection. The robes may look pompous and gorgeous, but there is something puerile in their tinsel trappings and over-crowded ornaments. The music may be sweet, the paintings unrivalled, the incense fragrant; but what of worship is there in all these things? Look, too, at the ceremonial gone through by the priests; watch all their comings and goings, their crossing and bowing, their kneeling and turning of the body, their changing of attire and their sprinkling of holy water; what is there in these that can be

acceptable to the most high God? We will tell you what explanation the Romanists give of it.

In the first place they tell us, that the Jews observed many such ceremonies, and even by Divine appointment. God prescribed that his sanctuary should be adorned by furniture overlaid with pure gold; that his high priest should wear magnificent and showy vestments, on which precious stones sparkled, and golden bells tinkled; that a sweet and peculiar perfume should constantly be laid before the ark; and that the golden candlestick should be lighted every evening in the sanctuary. Minute regulations were laid down as to the priest's duty, enjoining where he should stand for the performance of one rite, and whither he should go for the celebration of another; how often he should sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice, and what change of raiment he should make in presenting the same burnt-offering. David also gave special heed to the musical arrangements of God's house; and Solomon "carved all the walls of the temple round about with carved figures of cherubim."

In reply to this argument, we need only refer to the teachings of Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews. These ceremonies were "shadows of good things to come;" they belonged to an age of types, and each of them had its prophetic significance. The figures, therefore, were designed only "for the time then present;" the rites were imposed merely "until the time of reformation," Heb. ix. 9, 10. But that time of reformation has long since come; when the antitype appeared, the types were withdrawn: when the gospel of Christ was fully revealed, its dim foreshadowings were no longer needed: and are we then who live under a better dispensation, to turn again to those "weak and beggarly elements"? Gal. iv. 9.

But here the Papists might meet us with a second argument and say, If these observances were profitable and instructive to the Jews, as visible symbols of what God was to do, then ours may be equally useful, as representations of what God has done; if such outward helps strengthened the faith of the Jews, they may also quicken our remembrances. Accordingly it is asserted that every part of the service

has a spiritual meaning, if the worshippers do but recognise it! Be it so; then we ask, How many of them are acquainted with the mystic sense of these ceremonies? One in ten? one in twenty? one in a hundred? Nay, verily. The mass of Romish worshippers know nothing at all of their meaning; they regard them as varied forms of reverence and adoration; but to their individual signification they are utter strangers. They would consider them as mere mummeries, if it were not that the church enjoins them, and that they give their priests credit for understanding them. Such is not the New Testament idea of acceptable service. "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth," John iv. 23, 24. He is a "consuming fire," therefore we need "grace"-not gracefulness of body for outward services, but grace in the soul, "whereby we may serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear," Heb. xii. 28, 29. He is the "God that made the world and all things therein," and therefore is not to be "worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing," Acts xvii. 24,

25.