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LETTER FROM AN ABSENT MOTHER TO HER DAUGHTER,

PREVIOUS TO HER FIRST COMMUNION.

MY DEAR CHILD,-Since I am from necessity obliged to commit the care of your youth to strangers, I can only supply the want of a mother's daily instruction by using the few opportunities I enjoy of writing to you; and I now sit down to give you my thoughts on the important step which, according to my desire, you are about to take, of drawing near in faith to that table where the appointed memorials of the christian sacrifice are consecrated and partaken of in fellowship; which is what the Church calls communion, according to the expression of St. Paul, "Is it not the communion of the body and blood of Christ ?"

I wish you, my dear child, to understand, what it is that gives you a right to approach this table, and the benefits you are to seek and hope for by so doing.

You have had the inestimable favour of being dedicated to God in baptism, a favour which comes to us by means of our Saviour, who came down to earth to atone for our sins and to open and to shew us the way to heaven; and you did, I hope, give yourself up to Him at your confirmation; and thus, I trust, you are prepared to commemorate His dying love. The knowledge of a heavenly state, and the power to attain unto it was lost by the Fall of man. Both are only restored by the Lord Jesus, and therefore I charge you to take great heed to all the words He spoke and left on record in the New Testament, and also all that His servants the holy Apostles have written concerning Him. He Himself instituted this important sacrament, wherein His death is shewn forth; therefore you should consider that this is the Gospel set before your eyes, for you to lay hold on as your hope, even as the preaching of pious and instructed men is the Gospel given to your ears. Christ has ordained that the representation of His body broken, and of His blood poured forth, should be given in the Churches, that we might ever remember and lay to heart, that death and pain are the

consequences of sin, and that He bore them in the fullest degree, not merely in his body, but in great affliction of soul as the Friend of man, who was willing to be made like unto him in his fallen state, sin only excepted, that so the nature which had sinned might be made to suffer in the greatest possible degree, it being fit that it should appear to angels and to men that sin deserved suffering; and our Saviour being no less than the Son of God, this dignity made His sufferings of inestimable account, and God hereupon has given power over all flesh into His hand, so that whosoever applies to and places himself under His care shall be saved and brought to God, if so they remain obedient to Him, and seek His will and ways above all things. Therefore, my dear child, what I wish you to do when you come to the Lord's table is this, to give yourself up to Him, that He may teach and save you, for He is the Prophet and King as well as the Priest of His Church. All good thoughts and desires come from Him; and if you feel your mind dark and your heart wandering, you must consider it is because you do not come enough to this good Saviour, and that you are taken up with other things, and this you must lay before Him in prayer and humble confession and intreat Him to give you wisdom to stay your mind upon Him. In baptism you were made a member of His Church, and in receiving the Holy Communion, you profess to take Him as your Saviour. You must therefore beg of Him to give you a heart to know Him, and you must not be discouraged because you find yourself so ignorant, but learn to turn simply to Him to enlighten your understanding, to warm your heart, and to pardon all of your sins. This you may do secretly in your heart during the course of the day, when you are busy at work, and you will find such thoughts often repeated will draw your mind towards heaven, and give you a confidence that you have a Friend there, and this

REVISION OF THE LITURGY.

will be a means of preserving you from doing any thing you know or suspect to be wrong, lest you should offend your Divine Friend.

I beg you to read over this letter more than once, and think of it when

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you retire for prayer; and may it help your preparation for that blessed ordinance of which you are called to partake.

Your affectionate mother,

A. Z.

REVISION OF THE LITURGY. No. II.
MEANS OF EFFECTING IT, LAWFULLY AND CONSTITUTIONALLY.
By the REV. C. H. DAVIS, M.A., Oxon.*

IN a former paper attention was in-
vited to a summary of the principal
arguments which have from time to
time been advanced both against and
for a Revision of the Liturgy. The

balance of the evidence there adduced would seem to be in favour of such a Revision, if practicable. The point, therefore, to be next considered is the practicability of Revision. Assuming it to be desirable (to say the least) for the ultimate peace of the Established Church, Is it practicable? Can it be effected? If so, in what way and by what means is it to be effected? What steps should be taken by those who wish that it should be done? And here, the history of the past will supply considerable precedent for the guidance of the present-if it be rightly followed.

And first, to some it has appeared that the Reply to a lay address given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, dated "Dec. 11" 1850, and still more recently his Grace's speech in parliament, in July last, respecting the Revival of Convocation, indicate a determined resolution on his Grace's part, ever to resist all attempts at Liturgical Revision. But this does not appear to be his Grace's meaning. The terms of his letter of "11 Dec." are these: "Men's minds are at present in so excited a state that any alteration of the Prayer-Book or Act of Uniformity is further removed than

ever.

Those who object to any part of the Liturgy should be reminded that it treats of subjects on which there always has been difference of

Author of "Hints and Suggestions on a Revision of the Liturgy." Published by J. H. Jackson, Islington Green and Paternoster Row, London.

of the

opinion among members
Church." His Grace carefully ab-
stains from the expression of any
personal opinion, either way, respect-
ing the desirableness of revision, pro-
vided the circumstances of the Church
were such as to render any attempt
of the kind practicable or safe. To
guide, therefore, and influence the
public mind, and by the moral means
of fair and candid arguments, and
calm and open discussion, to remove
the prevalent objections to any such
attempt which at present exist among
the rulers, ministers, and members of
our Church, seems to be the first step
necessary to be taken in this impor
tant matter. For the Bishop of St.
Asaph, in relating the origin of the
Reformation, tells us that a certain
question was " by certain circum-
stances*"brought under discussion;"
and truly adds, that "whenever this
is the case, it may always be hoped
that truth will ultimately prevail,'
(History of the Church of England,
s. 302, p. 163). And so in this case
the event has proved. Now Dr.
M'Neil thus forcibly states his own
view of this important question, and
describes the opposition which has to
be encountered in attempting to effect
it: “I am increasingly impressed
with the absolute necessity of some

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The circumstances were these: "The advocates of reform at this moment not only had to contend against their open enemies," Bp. Short, "the friends of the old superstition, but were equally endangered by the injudicious zeal of their own hasty and unthinking allies;" they "without waiting for authority, began to remove images," while Bp. Gardiner "continued to maintain their utility," so that, says Bp. Short, the question was brought under discussion," &c., as quoted aLove in the text.

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movement in this direction for the preservation of our Church. I fear none will be made. Dread of alteration is as intense as it could be-and as it ought to be-if all our ritual in its most minute details, were of express Divine appointment. While for the sake of details of human origin, and of at least questionable wisdom, we are involved in a continued violation, towards many Christian brethren, of that loving forbearance which is indeed of Divine appointment." (Church and the Churches, c. iii. pp. 83, 84, 2nd Edit.)* Dr. M'Neil then proceeds to quote the following_forcible remarks of Archdeacon Hare: "I know that they who desire to act in the manner here recommended, are sure to be met with those stupid and mischievous saws, that one concession brings on another, and that, when you have once begun to give way and to change, you can never tell where you will be able to stop. Harmless as these sayings may seem in their utter fatuity,

• Well does Rev. J. B. Marsden speak of this

subject, writing on the year 1595, as follows: "How far the clergy might be indulged in a partial conformity, even supposing them sincerely attached, upon the whole, to the communion of the English Church, was then, as it still continues to be, an anxious question. The rude

it is difficult to estimate the mass of
injury they have done to mankind.
By means of them, pride, and indo-
lence, and obstinacy, have bolstered
themselves up in their favourite inert-
ness, gaining the too ready concur-
rence of the timid and feeble-minded
good. Nor have these sayings, when
listened to, ever failed to justify them-
selves. For they withhold men from
conceding, until the concession is ex-
torted from them, and then it is
it
yielded grudgingly, reluctantly;
does not come as an act of grace, and
thus carries no grace to the receivers,
who, initiated by long contention, and
having learned their own strength
from the constraint they have ex-
ercised over their adversaries, have
been prepared to crave for more, and
emboldened to insist upon it. Surely
a wise man will say, If a concession
ought to be made, let it be made forth-
with, and thus gain that only real
strength which arises from being in the
right. Then, should a concession which
ought not to be made, be demanded of
me, the very strength accruing to me
from this act will better enable me to
refuse it. O that people could be
brought to believe that right is always
might, and that wrong is always
weakness!" (Adn. Hare's The Unity
of the Church, pp. 43, 44, as quoted

hand of arbitrary power, and the contemptuous by Dr. M'Neil, p. 84).

spirit of insubordination, feel no difficulty.
Gentler spirits, embued with a deeper love of
justice, hesitate and pause. If the enactment
must be rigidly obeyed, it should be framed so
as to sit easily upon a scrupulous conscience,-
nay, upon an independent spirit. Otherwise
the energy of the Christian Minister is lost, to
say nothing of his integrity. Again, since
every society, whether secular or ecclesias-
tical, forced or voluntary, must be governed
by its peculiar laws, which, from the variety
of men's minds, will necessarily press with
unequal weight upon its various members,
and which therefore cannot be alike acceptable
to all; it follows that each member must be
content to sacrifice much of his inclination,-
nay,
it may be, something of his conscientious
principles, of his abstract ideas of what, in par-
ticular instances, would be the most fitting and
the best,-for the sake of mutual co-operation,
and all those other advantages which result
from united as opposed to solitary action."
(Marsden's History of the Early Puritans, c. vii.
s. 4, p. 190).

The several sections of the AntiReform-movement class of Churchmen have been thus graphically described by the Rev. J. B. Marsden: "There is always a large class who content themselves with the decent formalities of religion, and condemn its warmth and fervour as so much enthusiasm ; there are the stubborn who admit no change, and the timid who, with general longings for improvement, condemn every specific attempt at reformation as ill-timed or injudicious. And even the clerical body has never, in any Church, been without its slothful members, who shrink from toil, and condemn the zeal of others chiefly because it reflects upon their own incompetence." (History of Early Puritans, c. iv. s. 14, p. 110). Against the adverse pleas of the formal, "the stubborn," and the "slothful," the arguments of Adn. Hare, before

REVISION OF THE LITURGY.

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quoted, will here suffice. But in reply to the pleas of "the timid " who in their hearts desire Liturgical emendation, but yet fear the difficulties and dangers attendant on the attempt, may be urged the following sentiments of the Rev. P. Gell: The principle of lawful revision is retained by our liturgy in itself. Nothing has yet been considered final or unchangeable, as the Preface shews... Clearer apprehensions of Scripture, and changing exigency of times and occasions, form no unimportant considerations for seeking a lawful advance in the work. ... I reverence most deeply some of the ablest defenders of our Church, who desire to repress the discussion of it, and deprecate any meddling with our Liturgy, as a whole so astonishingly excellent, lest it should be spoiled. I would, however, that their faith in the care of God were stronger: though nothing would I precipitate. But I am also most firmly convinced that others, who throw all idea of improvement from them with contempt, are really cherishing the weakness of our Church, (and some weak parts she has), instead of increasing her spiritual integrity and strength, by removing occasions of disparagement. Such occasions preclude many most valuable men from her communion, and are the very vantage ground for battle against some of the most faithful that are in it." (Gell's Essay on Spiritual Baptism, &c., p. 8, note, Hatchards, 1847). "Not to take this latter way is to perpetuate interminable dispute; to take it wisely would be for the peace and health of the Church on this subject for ever," (p. 16).*

Let the subject, then, of Liturgical revision be taken up in the spirit of true faith and earnest and continued prayer for the Divine blessing and guidance,† and we may reasonably

The writer would here refer his readers to the excellent articles-signed "C. A."-in the "Christian Guardian " for March, 1851, (No.15), pp. 97-99; and September, (No. 21), pp. 406411.

+ See the Remarks and an accompanying form of Prayer for social use, with reference to this subject, in the "Christian Guardian" for April, 1851, (No. 16), pp. 169-170.

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hope and expect to see it in due time Scripturally and efficiently accomplished. For surely it cannot be the fact, that the rulers and members of our Church, after having been blessed for no less than three centuries with an open Bible, and after having for nearly two centuries given a fair trial to our Book of Common Prayer in its present form, as settled at the last review in 1661, are in this nineteenth century less capable of changing a few sentences in its ritual (which experience has proved to have ever been a prolific source of strife and confusion), than our forefathers, then just merging from Popish darkness, were to change the entire worship and faith of the nation in the sixteenth century? Surely, it cannot be so? IF IT BE, to our shame be it spoken! The writer of these remarks, however, will not believe it, till it has been proved that so it is. On the contrary, hewithout affirming that this particular year, or even the next year, is the one exactly fitted to begin so great a work, yet-believes that the present circumstances of the Church are, on the whole, far more favourable for Liturgical revision, than they have been before, at the previous Revisions in 1552, 1559, 1604, and 1661. bench of bishops contains prelates eminent for piety and learning, and sound common sense, more numerous than have existed together at any one time together on the English and Irish bench since the Reformationage; certainly far superior to those

Our

Let us take courage when we remember the discouraging circumstances which attended the commencement of "the Church Missionary, ," fifty years ago, -a Society now in a most flourishing state! Also the opposition to Rev. C. Simeon's ministry at Cambridge, who subsequently became so highly honoured and eminently blessed! Nay, let us remember the feeble origin of the Tractarian movement, which now shakes our Church to its very centre-the meeting of a few Oxford "fellows," in a room at one of the colleges. (See Perceval's Collection of Papers). Union and perseverance, and the use of the press, enabled them to turn the tide of public opinion into a torrent-the effects of which we now feel. "Fas est et ab hoste doceri"!

of 1661-2,* when the Liturgy was last revised. Our parochial clergy, as a body, are immeasurably superior to the clergy of those times, as are also the lay-members of our Church. + Moreover, both clergy and laity are now heartily attached to the Liturgy as a whole, so that the discussion would not have now to be carried on with a violent party, like the Puritans in 1604 and 1661, who really wished for the total abolition of the Liturgy, but only with those who may wish for comparatively slight changes in a few particulars. Let any candid person contemplate the names of Archbishops Sumner and Musgrave; of Bishops Sumner, Kaye, Davys, Short, Ollivant, Pepys, Longley, Lonsdale, Gilbert, Graham, O'Brien, Daly, D. Wilson, Dealtry, Harding, Anderson, Perry, &c., and the names of the fol lowing eminent writers on the Liturgy or Ecclesiastical History, Revs. W. Goode, J. B. Marsden, Dr. M'Neil, C. Benson, T. H. Horne, S. Jenner, S. Rowe, Dr. Cardwell, T. Lathbury, J. C. Robertson, Jeremiah Smith, J. W. Bennett, Esq., J. C. Fisher, Esq., (of Cockermouth,) &c, &c.; and let him maintain, if he can, that we have not men as fit to revise the Liturgy in the nineteenth century, as were those who have revised it on former occasions? Nay, does not the history of the past rather give an advantage to the present generation, which was not possessed by their forefathers? Assuming, then, the times to be on the whole not unfavourable for Revision, the next question is, How can its friends lawfully and con

See the comparative view of the English Episcopate in 1661 and 1851, in two lis's, in the "Christian Guardian," for January, 1851, (No. 13), p. 37.

+ The vigorous efforts to support Church Extension, both at home and in the colonies, and Missions to Jew and Gentile, are a practical proof of this improvement. Let the candid reader only peruse the accounts given of the state of religion and of the Church in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., in Bp. Short's History of the Church of England, or Rev. J. B. Marsden's History of the Early Puritans, and he will be convinced of the truth of this remark.

stitutionally attempt to bring it about? (i.) The history of the past will supply precedents for the present. Immediately on the accession of King James I., was presented to his Majesty the famous " Millenary petition," so called because it professed to represent the wishes of a thousand clergymen, though the names actually subscribed were only about 750 or 800. This petition requested a revision of the Liturgy and the reformation of certain ecclesiastical abuses. The immediate result was, in 1603-4, the celebrated Hampton Court Conference of representatives of both parties, and a revision of the Liturgy, by the king's authority in a Royal Proclamation, without the intervention of either Parliament or Convocation-though Convocation afterwards accepted the Liturgy so revised, in and by its Eightieth Canon. (See an account of the whole matter in Bp. Short's History of the Church of England, (J. W. Parker, London), sections 501-512, pp. 343-355, and Rev. J. B. Mars den's History of the Early Puritans, (Hatchards), c. x. sns. 3—29, pp. 249

276). (ii.) On the restoration of Charles II. the Non-conformists presented a petition praying for the correction of certain abuses, and for a renewed Revision of the Liturgy (See Bp. Short, sns. 661-666, pp. 482— 488), the consequence of which was a Royal Commission, in 1661, consisting of representatives of both parties, who discussed the details of the proposed Revision at the Savoy Conference, (see Bp. Short, sns. 660—679, pp. 482-503). The result was, our Liturgy in its present form.* In 1689, a Royal Commission was formed for the purpose of revising the Liturgy, but its deliberations were never carried into effect. An account of its proceedings may be seen in Bp.Short's History, sns. 806—810, pp. 585–593, as also in vol. v. of Rev. P. Hall's Reliquiæ Liturgicæ," Preface, pp. 13-18.

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* It has, indeed, been affirmed by some that the Revision of 1661 was a retrograde movement. In a few particulars it may, perhaps, be so considered. But as a whole the Liturgy was much improved by that revision, as could easily be proved by many of the details.

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