kind? Was it thus that the ancient Jews and heathens were compelled by the primitive Church, to poise and balance, the benefits of any religion whatever, worked out into practical operation, against the uselessness and mischievousness of cold and lifeless theories of truth? To what have we come? That, if any man attempt to revive the practice of those religious duties, which our martyred reformers enjoined on our constant and perpetual observation, as the only barrier against the superstitions of Rome, he shall be sneered at and put down, as a Papist, or something worse'.

1 I cannot refrain from requesting the attention of my readers to the following observations of Bishop Beverege.

"The other thing I would observe unto you is, the reason why the devil hath had such a spite against the Common Prayer, ever since it was first made; for the more edifying it is to God's people, the more destructive it must needs be of the devil's kingdom. And, therefore, it is no wonder that he hath all along employed the utmost of his power and policy to blast its reputation, and so to discourage and dissuade men from the use of it. And, by the permission of God, for the punishment of this ungrateful nation, he hath so far prevailed in his design, that the Liturgy hath

Surely, if, after all that has been said of our glorious Reformation, we are to be

been twice cast out of the Church since it was first brought into it; once in the reign of Queen Mary, and then again in the days of King Charles I.

"In the reign of Queen Mary, you all know who were her instruments in the doing of it, even the Papists for they clearly and truly foresaw that their erroneous opinions could never be believed, nor superstitious practices observed in the nation, so long as the Common Prayer was used; forasmuch as there is nothing in it but what is sound and agreeable to the Gospel, and so contrary to the groundless opinions which the Church of Rome would obtrude upon the world for articles of faith. And besides that, there are many expressions purposely inserted in it, to arm us against the Pope's supremacy, indulgences, invocation of saints, transubstantiation, and other popish errors; so that it would have been impossible for the Romish religion to be ever restored in the nation, unless the Common Prayer was first removed: which. therefore, they took care to have done as soon as possible. But within a few years after, even the first of Queen Elizabeth, it was brought in again; and as the Reformation was begun before, so from that time forward it was carried on and perfected chiefly by the means of the Common Prayer: for it is very observable, that in the reign of King Edward VI, and for several years too of Queen Elizabeth, there was little or no preaching in most parts of the kingdom, and

lieve, that our holy martyrs lost their lives, merely for the purpose of turning Popery

:

few then could read English; and yet, by the constant and general use of the Liturgy, and God's blessing upon it, the whole nation was so edified in the true religion, that there was scarce one in an hundred but forsook and abhorred all popish doctrines and superstitions which is an undeniable argument, that in this respect also it is as edifying as it is possible for a thing of that nature to be; insomuch, that so long as the Common Prayer is used and frequented as it ought to be, it is morally impossible for popery to get any ground amongst us: but if this bulwark was once removed, which God forbid, our grand adversary would soon accomplish his malicious designs upon us, one way or other.

This he knows well enough, and therefore hath left no stone unturned to effect it; but what he hath done before by the Papists, he afterwards brought about again, by other means, in the reign of King Charles I., for by what kind of spirit the Common Prayer was then cast out you all know, and some of

All that I shall say

you found by woful experience. of it is only this, that the same spirit, that then stirred up the people so violently against the Common Prayer, stirred them up, at the same time, to rebel against their king, to take away men's estates and lives contrary to all law and justice; and, at last, to murder one of the most pious princes that ever lived: and whether that was the Spirit of Christ or antichrist, God or the

into English; one may well wonder, not why they were so silly as to throw their lives away, but how their persecutors could be so preternaturally short-sighted, as not to perceive, that, after all, the Reformation was nothing more than Romanism in a less offensive form.

Let us beware, my brethren, lest that come upon us which was spoken against the Jewish Church: "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you!" Beware, lest at this very moment some devout and honest minds be deterred from joining our communion, by no other

devil, judge you; be sure the consequents of its being laid aside at that time were very sad: for people being deprived of that, whereby they should have been edified, were immediately tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, until, at length, many of them fell into the most pernicious and damnable heresies that were ever heard of in the Church; yea, together with the Liturgy, they laid aside all distinction betwixt sacred and common things; by which means the whole nation was in danger of being overspread with profaneness and irreligion."-Bp. Beverege, Works, vol. ii. p. 29—31.

consideration, than our apathy and indifference to the distinctive blessings of our spiritual constitution. Beware, lest the all but total absence of that every-day exhibition of the practical life and operation of a Christian Church, by which alone truth can be expected to make its way among mankind, be not the main, the insurmountable bar, (as far as our guilt is involved, it is all one whether it be sincerely alleged or not,) against the internal reformation of that unhappy church, whose clergy we are driving (fearful responsibility!) to the cruel, the awful necessity of asking;—whether, all things being considered, it can be safe, to take any step towards changes, which, our laxity of conduct gives them but too much reason for thinking, are apt to end, in an easy religion, and a latitudinarian faith? whether it be lawful, to move a line towards a condition of the church, where, judging from what they see in us, the practical issue is, that, with whatever purity of formulary and doctrine, men feel at liberty to neglect the duties of religion all the week, because they have the opportu