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"And with thy spirit.

"Let us pray."

Then all kneeling down is said—

"O Lord, show thy mercy upon us.

"And grant us thy salvation.

"O God, make clean our hearts within us. "And take not thy Holy Spirit from us."

The rest is omitted.

Then follow the three collects; only that when the Communion Service is to be read the collect for the day is to be omitted here.

The third collect at Evening Prayer is thus altered :—

"O Lord, our heavenly Father, by whose almighty power we have been preserved this day, by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen."

The Prayer for the King is altered "for the President of the United States, and all others in authority," and begins thus: "O Lord, our heavenly Father, the high and mighty ruler of the universe, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth," &c.; and this prayer is always said here, even when the Litany follows. The prayer for the Queen and Royal Family is of course omitted.

The rubric about the anthem before the concluding prayers is also omitted. Those prayers are the same as our own, except that in the Prayer for the Clergy and People the words, "who alone workest great marvels," are changed for the words, "from whom cometh every good and perfect gift."

In the Prayer for all Sorts and Conditions of Men, and in the General Thanksgiving also, the special sentences to be inserted for those who desire to be prayed for, or to return thanks, are also omitted; and among the Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings this omission is remedied by the insertion of Special Prayers and Thanksgivings for the following occasions, i. e. Prayers for a sick Person; for a sick Child; for a Person or Persons going to Sea; for a Person under Affliction ; for Malefactors after Condemnation: and Thanksgivings for Women after Childbirth; for a Recovery from Sickness; for a safe Return from Sea. The Prayer for the High Court of Parliament is changed into one, “as for the people of these United States in general, so especially for their Senate and Representatives in Congress assembled."

The Litany. The words, "from fornication, and all other deadly sin," are changed into the following-" from all inordinate and sinful affections ;" and also instead of the petitions for the King, Queen, Royal Family, and the Lords of the Privy Council, there is one inserted in these words "That it may please thee to bless and preserve all christian rulers and magistrates; giving them grace to execute justice, and to maintain truth." In the latter part, immediately before the words, "O Christ, hear us," the following rubric occurs: "The minister may, at his discretion, omit all that follows to the prayer, We humbly beseech thee, O Father, &c."

Pitifully behold is changed into With pity behold.

At the beginning of the Communion Service the Lord's Prayer may

be omitted if Morning Prayer hath been said immediately before. After the Ten Commandments occurs the following direction

"Then the minister may say,

"Hear also what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and

the prophets.'

"Let us pray.

"O Almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and bodies," &c.

The collects, epistles, and gospels, are the same as in our own Prayer Book.

There is a rubric directing the people to say immediately before the gospel, "Glory be to thee, O Lord;" and then the following rubric also occurs:

"Then shall be read the Apostles' or Nicene Creed, unless one of them hath been read immediately before, in the Morning Service."

At the end of this service occurs the following rubric: "Upon the Sundays, and other holy days, (if there be no sermon or communion,) shall be said all that is appointed at the Communion, unto the end of the gospel, concluding with the blessing."

There are in the other offices also several variations, and more especially in that part of the Communion Service which contains the consecration and administration of the elements, which perhaps it may be useful hereafter to point out. On the whole, however, it is a great satisfaction to the members of our apostolic and catholic Church to find that our brethren on the other side of the Atlantic are united with us, not only in the profession of the same faith, but, even with so few and unimportant variations, in the same external forms of public worship. The United States must now be regarded by every well-wisher to the human race as the theatre of a great experiment, both political and religious. There are, it must be confessed, many indications which excite the most trembling anxiety for the result; yet the spread and increase of the Protestant Episcopal Church in those wide and extended regions is one of those facts which we cannot but regard as of good omen, as holding out a hope that it will so temper and restrain the spirit of religious liberty, as to prevent those unfortunate effects which have too often resulted from it when unrestrained and unmitigated by some fixed and well-defined principles both of christian doctrine and of ecclesiastical polity. In one respect, already, that Church is holding out a powerful testimony; she has never yet given in to the custom of what is called religious revivalism. Deeply regretting the notions which our Protestant brethren in the United States entertain on that point, and deprecating those scenes of religious excitement which we know, from the frailty of human nature, cannot but accompany and follow in the train of those notions, we hail it as a matter of the most momentous importance, that there should be a large and increasing number of Clergy and people united in one permanent body, and bound by the closest ties of communion, silently bearing an unvarying, unostentatious,

yet decided testimony against them. There is yet another point in which the American Episcopal Church is likely to bear an important testimony; it shews that Protestant Episcopacy is not necessarily opposed to a republican form of government, but, like Christianity, can adapt itself to times and circumstances, without compromising any of its essentials. The enemies of the Church of England have too often spoken of it merely as an engine of regal or aristocratical tyranny; but we can now point to the sister Church of the United States for a triumphant refutation of such an opinion; and we perhaps can hardly estimate the value of this fact when we consider the aspect of the present times.

At the time of the separation of the United States from the mother country, an alteration in the state-prayers which occur in the Liturgy was of course indispensable; and considering the different and discordant opinions which at various times, and especially of late, have been sent forth to the world on the subject of Liturgical Reform, as it has been called, it is, perhaps, well that the men to whom the American Church committed the task of alteration stopped short where they did. Some would have these alterations made to suit the taste of dissenters; happily, the American Church did not adopt such an impracticable principle. Neither do they seem to have much regarded another point which has been much insisted on, viz. a considerable shortening of the service; for I do not think the American Liturgy differs much in this respect from our own. There are, however, two points on which, in the humble opinion of the writer, they might have acted with advantage, but of which he can find no traces in these alterations. Our own Liturgy, as is well known, was almost entirely taken from the ancient offices in use in England previously to the Reformation; and our Reformers certainly shewed great skill and judgment in purging these of all superstitious and unscriptural admixtures, and in reducing the numerous and discordant offices for the several canonical hours of the day into the two admirable services for morning and evening prayer. In tracing, however, the various alterations under consideration, I can find no proof of any acquaintance with the original sources of our Liturgy, except, perhaps, in the prayer of consecration in the Communion Service; and this is evidently more correspondent to the eastern liturgies than to the more simple forms in use in the early Latin Church. Although it seems after all doubtful whether even here there was any attention paid to the principle of conformity to the ancient liturgies, yet, on the whole, it must be confessed that this, which is the most extensive and decided alteration, is a great improvement on our own service. Should any alterations at any time be judged expedient in the Book of Common Prayer, I sincerely hope that this principle will be kept steadily in view.

It seems also strange that, when making so many alterations, some of which it is difficult to account for, they should not have endeavoured to reduce the several morning services into one. The various repetitions, and the length of the morning service, about which we have lately heard so much, cannot, I believe, be effectually remedied by any other means; and, in my opinion,-which, however, I offer with great reluctance on so difficult and important a subject,—this, with the principle

just mentioned, of keeping steadily in view the original sources of our Liturgy, and conformity with primitive forms, affords the only method of arriving at a satisfactory result in any proposed alterations. The morning service now consists of three distinct offices, which were originally designed to be said, and for a long time actually said, at different hours of the day. But in joining these three offices in one, we cannot avoid certain inconveniences, which we may safely affirm the venerable reformers would have avoided had they contemplated such a practice. With the utmost deference, therefore, to the American Church, and to the practice of the Church of England which has united these three offices into one, I would ask, might not the Litany be incorporated into the Communion Service, which might then be made the basis and principal part of the morning office for Sundays and festivals, and only so much of the morning prayer adopted as might simply form an introduction to the Communion Service? At present few, comparatively speaking, ever hear the greater and more beautiful part of the Communion Service. Would not it then be desirable in itself, and make a more marked distinction between the morning and evening services, if the Confession and the Absolution from the Communion Service, the Prayer for the Church Militant, with the beautiful form beginning, "Lift up your hearts," &c., and the following prefaces, and the Gloria in excelsis, all formed a part of the usual morning prayers for Sundays and festivals? As however this plan will perhaps hardly be intelligible without descending to a minuter description, I will endeavour to describe the order of such a service as is here designed in as few words as possible, only stating that it is a mere outline, and rather the order in which the several parts would follow than intended as a complete service. As the Confession and Absolution would follow in the Communion Service, and as a part of that service, those in the opening of the morning prayer might be omitted, and the service at once commence with the Lord's Prayer, as it did for many years after the reformation; immediately after the Psalms might follow the Lessons, and at the same time the Epistle and Gospel for the day, with the Nicene Creed. Then the Confession and Absolution from the Communion Service; the Collects; the Litany, followed by the Prayer for the Church Militant and Occasional Prayers; then the form," Lift up your hearts," &c. with the prefaces, together with the General and Occasional Thanksgivings, the Gloria in excelsis, or the Te Deum. The Lord's Prayer and sermon, followed by the Blessing, might end the service. I think also the reading of the Ten Commandments, with their responses, and the latter part of the Litany, which is allowed to be omitted in the American Book, might be reserved for some special and more important days. The reading of the Prayer for the Church Militant is no innovation; as, although generally omitted, it still ought, according to the Rubric, to be read every Sunday, and its proper position is evidently immediately after the Litany, of which it is only a more solemn summing up, in conformity with ancient liturgies, whose litanies were usually followed by similar long recapitulations or invocations.

In thus offering, with great deference, this outline suggested to me by the preceding observations, I have only attempted to do that which, I think, our venerable reformers would have done under similar circumstances; 4 R

VOL. XVII. NO. XI.

that is, had they contemplated the union of the three services into one. The advantages of this plan over others hitherto proposed, would be, in my humble opinion, these :—a greater variety and distinction between the morning and evening services; a greater conformity with the older liturgies, in which the Communion Service formed the most prominent part of morning prayer; a greater unity of design in reading all the lessons of Scripture in immediate succession; and the same also in bringing all the prayers into immediate juxta-position as another part of the service; and then all the thanksgivings, as forming the concluding portion. Thus the service would consist of, first, Praise; secondly, the Lessons; thirdly, Confession; fourthly, Supplication and Prayer; fifthly, Thanksgiving; and, lastly, the Sermon. I can assure you, Mr. Editor, I offer this proposition almost with fear and trembling; rather as an antidote to some of the wild plans of alteration lately proposed, than because I feel any urgent necessity for innovation.

I am, Sir, your obedient Servant, G. C.

CHURCH SOCIETIES.

MR. EDITOR, I sincerely thank you for inserting so promptly my letters on the Church Societies. A subject involving such important consequences to Christianity in general, and individuals in particular, requires, and I hope will receive, the best attention of every member of our Church. With respect to the Society for Propagating the Gospel, an opportunity now offers itself for directing the attention of the members of the Church of England to the Society, and inviting their affectionate contributions in its support: I allude to the King's Letter, which has been recently issued. I am aware that in some parts of the country the Clergy have already read the letter, and made the required. collection, but in the metropolis I believe this has not yet been done, at least to any extent. I would, therefore, respectfully urge the London Clergy to bring the concerns of the Society pointedly before their parishioners, and forthwith organize local associations, zealously soliciting the contributions of all classes. The metropolis* ought surely now to begin to think of "supplying its lack of service " towards the Society, for, to the reproach of its friends there, their efforts have by no means kept pace with those made in many country districts, neither have they been at all commensurate either with the repeatedly declared wants of the Society, or the deep responsibilities of metropolitan Churchmen. Hundreds, nay thousands, of willing subscribers to the Society will be found, if the call be only made upon Churchmen to come forward. It rests with the Clergy to make this call, and an excellent opportunity of doing so is at hand. Let it therefore be cheerfully embraced. Let committees be formed in each parish, and arrangements made for the preaching of an annual sermon in each church. Let not the "mite" of the poor man be rejected, and let the rich man be perpetually reminded of the obligations under which Christianity places him, to "honour the Lord with his substance." Let, moreover, the year (far spent even as

The metropolis, as including the suburbs and circumjacent villages.

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