who does not catch the sacred flame of devotion, and strive at least to join the throng of worshippers who are holding public converse with the Most High. In a word, we may have witnessed much eloquence, much sublimity, much devotion, in particular instances of extemporaneous prayer; there may have been much that was calculated to move our feelings, and awaken a heavenly temper, but for a congregation, and for a continuance, who ever heard any thing equal to the scriptural, simple, and sublime liturgies of the church of England?

II. Having offered these general observations on our public rituals, I am now to proceed, secondly, To CONTRAST

THE MANNER AND SPIRIT IN WHICH THIS BEAUTIFUL SERVICE SHOULD BE PERFORMED, WITH THE PREVAILING HABITS OF MODERN CONGREGATIONS. It is evident that such solemn acts of worship should should not be undertaken thoughtlessly or irreverently: we should

draw near to the house of God with much previous self-recollection and prayer; we should call to mind the nature of those duties which we are going to discharge. "I am about to offer to my Maker the most public and serious homage; I am about to confess my many wanderings and offences; I am going to plead the precious blood of my Saviour as an atonement for my guilt; I shall solemnly devote myself to his service, and seek his grace for the future. And shall I engage in this awful intercourse with the Almighty thoughtlessly and indifferently? Shall I not first pray in secret, for a blessing on myself and others in public? Shall I not seek that preparation of heart which God alone can give?" Such will be the previous thoughts and occupations of every one who joins in the public worship of God acceptably. And can we reasonably hope that the generality of Christian worshippers approach the house of God in this desirable state of mind? Do not

many among us allow the most vain and trifling subjects to occupy their minds, the most frivolous and unprofitable conversation to engross their attention, at the very moment when they are entering the audience chamber of the Most High?

My brethren, this may account for the fact that so few are deeply and permanently impressed by the solemnities of public worship: they come to church in an unprepared state of mind; they come from habit, not willingly, but by constraint; without previous study of the scriptures, and earnest prayer in secret for the blessing of God upon their services; and therefore they leave his house as earthly-minded, as frivolous, and as irreligious as they approached it; and they resume the usual tenor of their conversation and conduct, which has only been interrupted for a short season by the uncongenial severities of God's worship! O that these suggestions may by his

grace be effectual to convince some of us of the vanity and insufficiency of that constrained service which we habitually perform! If we would not be professed and acknowledged triflers in religion, we must approach the public worship of God with much previous meditation, self-examination, and prayer, or we shall depart unblessed and unaccepted!

Again we may observe, that in order to join with feeling in the language of our church services, there must be a conviction of our spiritual necessities. How can any one adopt the phraseology of our ritual, unless he has attained to some conviction of sin, and some knowledge of a Saviour? We acknowledge and bewail our wretchedness and sinfulness in language of uncommon strength, we call ourselves "miserable sinners," confess that there is "no spiritual health in us," and cast ourselves on God's absolute mercy again and again, saying, "Lord have mercy

upon us;" "Christ have mercy upon us!" How can any man of an honest mind use this language in the presence of God, when at the same time he does not feel or bewail his sinfulness in his heart? The fact is, that the whole liturgy of the church of England adopts the expressions of the enlightened mind, confesses sin, flies to a Saviour, and supplicates the grace of God for renewal and sanctification, and no one in his natural and unconverted state ever felt a disposition to do this. If, therefore, we sincerely wish to join in all the forms of our church in spirit and in truth, we must pray for the assistance of God's grace to convince us of sin, to give us true repentance and a broken heart; and when we are brought to that state of mind, the language of the public services of the church will breathe the very desires of our inmost souls. Then we shall pray with the spirit, and pray with the understanding also.'

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But once more: I am compelled to