parts should be uttered in a subdued manner. We are sinners, let us speak with humility; in Christ we have boldness and access with confidence, but while we draw near with the affection and reverence of a child, let us avoid a presumptuous and familiar approach: and if we have to interest others, and carry them with us to the throne of grace, let us remember it is not to be done by art or effort. To avoid faults in manner is a principal thing (and perhaps of all faults the set purpose to produce impression is the most offensive); let us be free from them, then, if our heart is right with God; and the people devoutly minded, their sympathies can scarcely fail to be excited.

2. Great attention requires to be paid to the form of expression in prayer. Our prayers should be PRAYERS, not harangues, not sermons; PRAYERS, and neither pieces of reasoning nor of declamation, neither eulogiums nor comminations. It is grievous to observe how many there are who never seem to have asked themselves, either how a prayer should be uttered, or what it should be. We were lately present at a public religious meeting, which was opened by prayer; the brother who opened it was a man of superior mind and of sincere piety; the matter of his address and the construction of his sentences were all we could desire; and so far it was properly prayer. But his tones and gestures, his awful pauses and deep-drawn sighs, together with his frequently elevated, ringing, and terrific voice, were as evidently intended to produce effect; and with some the success was singular, but to many others they were so unnatural as to distress and shock the whole frame, and render religious sympathy utterly im possible. A short time previous we attended a Lord's-day service, at which a titled divine officiated. There was due solemnity of utterance, and but little impropriety of manner; but there was scarcely a PETITION from beginning to end. Those sentences that should have been supplicatory, were merely declarative, and so tautologous and verbose, that, as a homily, it would have induced only weariness. Perhaps the two more faulty parts of our addresses to God, are those which should be,-confession and petition. Now surely it is quite out of place, for a man, when he should be acknowledging his sins before God, to be proving the guilt of man, and disserting on the consequences of the fall. It is quite out of place, when he should be asking for grace to subdue the evils of the heart, and make us new creatures in Christ Jesus, to be painting the deformity of vice, or the beauty of virtue; sketching the character of his fellow-worshippers, finding fault with them for their defects, and scolding them for their follies; to be preaching to the people, or at them, when, as one of them, he should be humbly and earnestly praying for what he and they in common want. There is another style of address sometimes adopted, which is as real, though not as gross a departure from propriety. It is exposition rather than preaching. It consists in

enlarging on various passages of Scripture, and seems intended sometimes to give instruction to the people, and sometimes to convey information to God. Neither the one nor the other can properly be denominated prayer.

Now the great evil of such addresses is, that they are not adapted to excite, one had almost said cannot excite devotional feeling, or stimulate the spirit of grace and supplication. The worshipper may not be able to point out the defects, but he feels that the one is not confession, that the other is not prayer. He is compelled to think of sin and depravity; the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, are brought before his mind, because the person who speaks, speaks about them; but in the one case, no deep humility for his own sins is induced; in the other, no earnest cries ascend to God. They cannot, because he who conducts his devotions, does not make confession or pray. Yet a little attention to the meaning of words, and a little consideration of the best examples, would be sufficient to expose the evil. Confession-Petition-Asking-Seeking-Praying. How can persons who think of the import of such words, sermonise on their knees? The examples of Scripture, if looked at, would correct the The confessions and prayers of David, of Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, of Ezra, and of Nehemiah, of the publican and the malefactor, of Stephen and of Paul, especially the Lord's prayer, are examples of the manner in which it becomes us to speak unto God.

error.

We cannot refrain from referring again to the late Mr. Hall. We are compelled to express our dissent from the strictures on his public prayers of his distinguished friend, the late Mr. Foster; and cannot help thinking that he has spoken in exaggerated terms of their unconnected and discursive character. Our conviction is, that his prayers, as prayers, approached as near to perfection as did his sermons, as sermons. The kind of prayer which Mr. F. seems to prefer, and which consists in taking one thought or one topic,-e. g. the paternal character of God, accumulating petitions upon it, and then passing to another, may be a very excellent gift; may be worthy of cultivation in those who possess it; and, when skilfully exercised, be profitable to worshippers. But we do not think this distinctively the proper method of prayer. It may be well in the few cases where it is quite natural; but we object to its being compared with the method adopted by Mr. Hall, in depreciation of his; and to that chosen by him being represented as less excellent than the other. Our persuasion is, that that which he followed, and we doubt not followed intentionally, was of an order equally high; that it is much more generally useful and effective; though we believe that excellence in it is far more difficult of attainment.

We should not do justice to our convictions if we did not mention the Liturgy of the Church of England as a model of the style and

manner of prayer. It may be defective, it may contain great errors, and omit important topics; but it is not in these particulars that we are speaking of it: it is chiefly, if not exclusively, of its style of expression and form of address. We ought not to allow sectarian prejudices to blind us to what is admirable in the devotional services of others. We ourselves shall be the losers by such a course. We would learn from all; and would refer to the general confession, to some parts of the Litany, to several of the Collects, to the prayer for all conditions, and to the general thanksgiving, "Almighty God," as specimens. There is a propriety in them which commends itself to our judgment, and a simple sublimity which affects and bows down the

heart.

3. It is worthy of consideration, whether the division of our direct addresses to God into several parts, the intervals being filled up with singing or reading, would not be a great improvement on the general practice. A country girl, on being asked whether she preferred church or meeting, at once replied, "Meeting, to be sure." "Why?" "Because at church one isn't still a minute; there's first standing, then kneeling, then sitting, now praying, now singing, and one cannot get a wink of sleep." And it would be well, if our services were so arranged as to interpose a similar difficulty. The Liturgy of the Church of England is broken up into so many parts, its prayers are so brief, its exercises and topics so varied, and its changes of posture so frequent, that the mind is kept in activity; and that service which, from its length and repetitions, would otherwise be wearisome and monotonous, is found to be full of interest to many pious minds. The custom amongst us has been, to read one or two portions of the word of God, and to offer one long prayer, embracing all the matters which were deemed suitable. Our congregations in prayer, (setting aside those that sit, which, in a few districts, are numerous,) either stand, or half kneel, and half sit; and as our churches are not constructed for kneeling, those who prefer this posture are obliged to rest partly on the edge of the seat on which they sit, and partly against the back of the pew before them; the result of our observation and experience is, that in either of these postures it is exceedingly difficult, even for good men to keep their attention. alive through our devotional services; whilst a distressing listlessness is too often seen in many of those who stand. A few ministers, in order to remedy these great evils, have varied their services; and in every instance, we believe, relief has been felt, and an increased interest awakened. But we want to see the matter fairly considered, and the improvement become general. Why should all the appropriate topics of public prayer be crowded into one address? It does not seem suitable in itself. It is not agreeable to Scripture example. It is a great pressure upon the mind, and a great tax upon the

resources, of the officiating minister. It is no easy thing for a man, whatever may be his powers, to offer two general public prayers each Lord's day, and to preserve fulness and variety, and avoid tautology and common-place. Why should not a congregation be called upon now, in a short address, to offer adoration and praise; then to make confession of sin, and deprecate the Divine anger; a third time, as saints and faithful brethren, to supplicate mercy and grace; and then, a fourth time, to pray for all men; each interval being filled up with a suitable psalm or hymn, or Scripture lesson. A pleasing variety would be given to our services, and the changes of posture required would afford relief.

4. We have another suggestion to offer. There is scarcely any section of the church but our own, that discourages responses on the part of the people; yet the practice is very ancient. What is more, it is scriptural. The Israelites were directed, as each blessing was pronounced on Gerizim, and each curse on Ebal, to say "Amen." When Asaph and his brethren had chanted, or sung, David's ode of thanksgiving on the bringing up of the ark, "All the people said Amen, and praised the Lord." Several of the Psalms were evidently constructed for the purpose of allowing the response; and the hundred and thirtysixth Psalm was either sung antiphonally, or the words "for his mercy endureth for ever" was the answer of the assembly. This custom prevailed in the synagogue-worship in the time of our Lord, who united in it; as the apostles, after his resurrection, still did: nor can there be any reasonable doubt that it was continued under their eye in the early church. The principal responses were doubtless in the psalmody, but at the close of every prayer also, the people audibly said "Amen." The minister, as already stated, before he began his sermon, or homily, said, "Peace be with you," and the people replied, "And with thy spirit ;" and several such salutations and answers occurred in the course of a service. The manner of uttering the responses in the Church of England, especially in the reading of the Psalms, where the minister, in a grave and solemn tone, reads one verse, and the people, headed by the clerk, who seems to regard all due modulation of the voice as a sin, we certainly cannot admire,— often it is truly ludicrous; on the other hand, the groans and sighs, and the promiscuous interjection, by most classes of Methodists, of the words glory, hallelujah, amen, at those intervals which the person praying seems to leave to invite it, we think equally unsuitable. To us, as a body, neither of these modes is agreeable; the one we think an offence against all good taste, the other against order and decorum. Perhaps we are too jealous of proprieties; morbidly afraid of whatever savours of cant or enthusiasm, and tends to beget hypocrisy. Certain, however, it is, that we have been led to the total disuse of responses; and are thought to take our part in the devotional services of the

sanctuary, with a silence not far removed from coldness. And does it not seem improper, that prayers and praises, in which we ought to join, should be offered to God without any audible indication on our part that we have made them our own? Would not the expectation of uttering but a single word at the close of each address tend to keep our attention alive through the whole? At least, should not the custom of saying, with a loud voice, Amen, at the end of every prayer, be restored amongst us?

5. The frequent perusal of books of devotion, not only by ministers, but by all Christians, and especially by those male members of our churches who are in the habit of public prayer, would be of great advantage. Such contemplations as those of Bishop Hall, such meditations and prayers as have been bequeathed to us in the Sacra Privata of Wilson, and the Reformed Devotions, etc., cannot become too familiar to us. We long for the appearance of such books now, fresh from the heart and the oratory of some of our masters in Israel; they would enrich our minds with pious thoughts; keep up within us the glow of a deep and sublime devotion, and furnish us, even when we did not choose to use their words, with suitable material for praise and prayer.

6. The subject of preaching we shall scarcely touch. It deserves a full and separate discussion, and we are not without hope that it may be taken up by some competent person. A few words, however, seem necessary: first, as to the character of the exposition, or sermon, proper to be delivered at the first full public service of the church on the Lord's day. Its principal aim, we think, should be to promote, in the largest sense, the personal piety of the faithful; to instruct them further in the things of God; to excite and strengthen devotional feeling; and to persuade them to a holy conversation and useful life. It would not be necessary that other persons present should be entirely overlooked. To them, indeed, something appropriate might always be said; but such should be the grand aim of at least one of the homiletic exercises of every Lord's day. There is, secondly, another class of sermons of equal importance, and demanding great care,sermons adapted to a promiscuous assembly, and having for their chief end the bringing of men decidedly to God. In addition to the service for the faithful, therefore, there should be others; when the singing, reading, and prayers should all be shorter, and Christ should be exhibited as the Saviour of sinners ;-such, in a word, as those conducted with so much success, on the principle of brevity and pointedness, by Wesley, Whitefield, and their coadjutors. One such service might generally be undertaken by the pastor of the church; but we are strongly of opinion that men should be trained for this special work,- —TO HERALD THE GOSPEL, and solemnly devote themselves to it; that whilst our pastors and teachers are occupied at their