SELECTED POETRY.

"The poem which we are about to transcribe, is on a subject often treated; and no wonder ;-it would be hard to find another which embraces so many of the elements of poetic feeling; so soothing a mixture of pleasing melancholy and pensive hope; such an assemblage of the ideas of tender beauty, of artless playful. ness, of spotless purity, of transient yet imperishable brightness; of affections wounded, but not in bitterness; of sorrows gently subdued; of eternal and undoubted happiness. We know so little of the heart of man, that when we stand by the grave of him whom we deem most excellent, the thought of death will be mingled with some awe and uncertainty; but the gracious promises of Scripture leave no doubt as to the blessedness of departed infants; and when we think what they now are, and what they might have been; what they now enjoy, and what they might have suffered; what they have now gained, and what they might have lost; we may, indeed, yearn to follow them; but we must be selfish indeed to wish them again constrained to dwell in these tenements of pain and sorrow. The dirge of a child, which fol. lows, embodies these thoughts and feel. ings, but in a more beautiful order and language."-Quarterly Review.

NO bitter tears for thee be shed,
Blossom of being! seen and gone!
With flowers alone we strew thy bed,
O blest departed one!
Whose all of life, a rosy ray,
Blush'd into dawn, and pass'd away.
Yes, thou art gone, ere guilt had power
To stain thy cherub soul and form!
Clos'd is the soft ephemeral flower

That never felt a storm!

The sunbeam's smile,the zephyr's breath,
All that it knew from birth to death.

Thou wast so like a form of light,
That heaven benignly call'd thee hence,
Ere yet the world could breathe or blight
O'er thy sweet innocence :

And then that brighter home to bless
Art pass'd with all thy loveliness.

O hadst thou still on earth remain'd,
Vision of beauty, fair as brief,
How soon thy brightness had been stain'd
With passion, or with grief!
Now not a sullying breath can rise
To dim thy glory in the skies.

We rear no marble o'er thy tomb,

No sculptur'd image there shall mourn,
Ah! fitter for the vernal bloom

Such dwelling to adorn,

Fragrance and flowers and dews must be
The only emblems meet for thee.
Thy grave shall be a blessed shrine
Adorn'd with nature's brightest wreath,
Each glowing season shall combine

Its incense there to breathe;
And oft upon the midnight air
Shall viewless harps be murmuring there.
And oh! sometimes in visions blest,
Sweet spirit visit our repose,
And bear from thine own world of rest
What form more lovely could be given
Than thine, to messenger of heaven?

Some balm for human woes.

HEB. iv. 15.

"We have not an high priest which cannot
be touched with a feeling of our infirmi-
ties, but was in all points tempted like as
we are."

WHEN gathering clouds around I view,
And days are dark, and friends are few,
On him I lean, who not in vain,
Experienc'd every human pain;
He sees my grief, allays my fears,
And counts, and treasures up my tears.
If aught should tempt my soul to stray
From heavenly wisdom's narrow way,
To fly the good I would pursue,
And do the ill I would not do ;
Still, HE, who felt temptation's power,
Shall guard me in that dangerous hour,
When, sorrowing o'er some stone, I bend,
Which covers all that was a friend,
And from his face, his hand, his smile,
Divides me for a little while,

Thou, Saviour, mark'st the tears I shed,
For thou didst weep o'er Lazarus dead.

If wounded love my bosom swell,
Deceived by those I lov'd too well,'
He shall his pitying aid bestow,
Who felt on earth severer wo;
At once betray'd, deny'd, or fled,
By those who shar'd his daily bread.

When vexing thoughts within me rise,
And sore dismay'd my spirit dies ;
When, writhing on the bed of pain,
I supplicate for rest in vain ;
Still, still my soul shall think on Thee,
Thy bloody sweat, and agony.

And oh! when I have safely past
Through every conflict, but the last,
Wilt thou, who once for me hast bled,
In all my sickness make my bed;
Then bear me to some happier shore,
Where thou shalt mark my woes no more.

THE

CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE.

APRIL, 1821.

kinds of sin, both of omission and so thou forgavest the wickedness of commission-it speaks of leaving my sin." things undone which ought to have been done, and of doing things which ought not to have been done. The design, in giving this general form to the confession of sins, was, to allow each person the privilege of mentally confessing the sins he has individually" committed, by thought, word, and deed, against the divine Majesty," in terms which may be used by all the congregation.

If it be objected to this form of confession, that it does not specify particular sins; it may be replied, that if it did descend to a minute specification, it would cease to be a general confession, and would consequently be inappropriate to a mixed assembly; for we would charitably hope there is no one transgression, in which every member of a christian congregation continually allows himself; and we are sure there are none which may not be included in the confession we use.

:

We have all offended against the holy laws of God in some way or other but we have each our own way of doing it. The plague of one man's heart is his pride-of another, is his intemperate passion-of another, is his worldliness-of another, is his deadness in religion and it is expected that every devout worshipper will accompany the general confession of his life, with a particular confession of his own personal sins, in his heart.

We take the liberty to remind our readers of the propriety of their being present at the beginning of the service, that they may prepare themselves by confession of their sins, for the devotions that follow. By delaying to enter the sanctuary till after the worship has begun, they not only disturb the devoticas of others, but lose the opportunity of casting down their own burthens at the foot of the cross. "Then I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and

When confession of sins has been made both by people and priest, the latter stauds and pronounces the declaration of absolution, or remission of sins, "to all those who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe the Holy Gospel." It is not, as some have idly supposed, that the minister claims the power of conveying pardon to this or that particular person; since, if he had such a power, his want of that knowledge of hearts which would enable him to apply it aright, would hinder him from exercising it: but as one to whom "the ministry of reconciliation has been committed," he has received "power and commandment, to declare and pronounce to the people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins." And if you will take the pains to examine the rubrick, you will find that this is not called an absolution of sins, but a declaration of absolution. It expresses God's willingness to forgive the penitent, and the terms on which he is willing to receive them into favour, and cannot with fairness be construed to mean any thing else.

We cannot but remark the propriety with which our public devotions are introduced by confession of sins, and the declaration of absolution. We are moved, in the exhortation, "to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness, to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same," preparatory to the succeeding exercises of thanksgiving and prayer. In this, we imitate the example of the early Christians, who, according to St. Basil, “immediately upon their entering the house of prayer, made confession of their sins to God, with much sorrow, concern, and tears, every man pronouncing his own confession with his own mouth." And in the recorded prayers of Ezra and Daniel, we find them introducing their requests in the same way; and

indeed, the practice is so consonant chapters from the Old and New Tes

to reason, that its propriety is manifest at once.

The congregation, then, having their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and being exhorted to draw near in full assurance of faith, enter upon the work of thanksgiving and supplication, by joining in the Lord's Prayer. You know the origin of this prayer, and how it came to be styled "the Lord's"-how the disciples of our Saviour came to him, and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples;" and how he gave them that form of sound words, which has been carefully inserted in our Liturgy. Whatever imperfection may be found in the other parts of the service, there is surely none in this; and it is because "we know not what to pray for as we ought," that the Lord's Prayer is introduced into every distinct office of our ritual. We can indeed justify our Liturgy before men, but we presume not to do it before God, even whose ministering spirits are charged with folly. "Where fore, it is not the love of repetition," as one observes, "but the fear of imperfection, that hath induced the Church to insert the Lord's Prayer in all her offices; that by its perfection, she might atone for the infirmities of her own composures."

There is a manifest reference in the general exhortation, to the order in which the parts of worship suc ceed each other; for the object of religious assemblies is declared to be, "to render thanks to God for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul." Now we "render thanks for the benefits, and set forth the worthy praises of God," in the Psalms and Hymns which precede the Lessons; we "hear his most holy word, "when we listen to the

tament; and we proceed to "ask the things necessary for the body and soul," in the prayers and Litany which follow. The order here observed, is the order of nature and of propriety; for is it not reasonable that we should set forth the perfections of the Deity, before we declare our own wants;-to render thanks for the benefits already received, before we presume to ask for more?

The work of praise is introduced by a verse from the 51st Psalm, which forms a very proper transition from confession of sins to thanksgiv ing-" O Lord, open thou our lips; and our mouth shall show forth thy praise." We then rise from our kneeling posture, and give glory to God in a doxology, which has been used in the Church from the earliest ages. Our authority for ascribing glory to each of the persons in the Godhead, is founded on the language of our Saviour's commission to his disciples, to baptize" in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" for while the words of that commission stand on record, we are not afraid to consider them as equally the objects of adoration.

"Praise ye the Lord,” is a literal translation of the Hebrew word, "Hallelujah ;"-a word so sacred, that the Church in early times scru pled to translate it. It is mixed indeed with loftier hymns, and sung in higher strains than ours; for the exiled Apostle heard in one of his visions, "as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of many thunderings, saying, Alleluiah; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." The versicle is re-echoed by the united voice of the congregation, "the Lord's name be praised;" and in what words shall praise be offered more acceptably, than in those of the sweet Psalmist of Israel?

The portion of Psalms, or, as it is