Parochial Column

PREPARATION FOR CONFIRMATION,

II.-IN A TOWN PARISH.

In London, and in most of our great cities, there is generally a Confirmation once a year; not, of course, in every parish, but within easy reach of every parish. And indeed, the kindness of many of our Bishops makes it possible in some instances for any clergyman to have a special Confirmation in his own parish, by availing himself of the help of some Colonial or Missionary Bishop, who may be for the time in England. The time of the Confirmation being generally fixed at the early part of the year, the Parochial clergyman, assisted greatly as he will be by the schoolmaster and mistress, the Sundayschool teachers, and especially the district visitors, will for some months have his eye upon those whom he wishes to be Confirmed. If these are still under instruction, at school or elsewhere, he will take care that the lessons given them shall bear upon this subject; or, if they are already engaged in the ordinary business of life, he will take an opportunity from time to time of reminding them of the duty and privilege which are before them.

When the time draws near, he will name certain days for a course of Lectures on subjects connected with Confirmation, and arrange a succession of Papers of questions bearing upon the subject of the various Lectures. As these should be varied from year to year, it may involve some trouble to prepare, and some expense to print them, if every clergyman does so himself. It will therefore save him some trouble to adopt such Question Papers as have been already printed by Messrs Parker, Masters, Skeffington, or the Christian Knowledge Society, in sets of six, seven, or eight Papers, as may be found convenient; and so to prepare each Lecture as to illustrate and anticipate the Questions on the corresponding Paper. It is not well to give out the whole series of Papers at the beginning of the Course, but simply to deliver one Paper to each candidate at the end of each Lecture. Candidates who have been welleducated may be expected to answer all the questions. Those who have had less advantages, only the questions printed in large type. Some, however, will be found unable to write anything at all, and to these such a Paper will be only a text for the conversational explanations which will be given them afterwards.

Those candidates who are expected to write answers may be requested to send them in by a definite day, so that the clergyman may look them over before he meets the writers in class. And when he does so, he will find it convenient to give the candidates their own Papers, marked where he has occasion to correct anything; and then, without pointing out the errors of any individual to the class in general, to take the printed Paper in his hand, and illustrate it by pointing out how each question ought to have been answered, and how in some instances it has been mistaken.

He will at the same time keep his own notes of the mistakes made, that he may, if necessary, speak of them to the candidates at their separate interviews with him. These classes may be gathered at convenient centres, generally those for ladies in the morning, those for gentlemen in the evening. It is not undesirable that sponsors or parents should be present at such classes. The classes for the less educated candidates must almost necessarily be held in the evening. And in most cases, the clergyman will find the aid of lay communicants very desirable in the management of them, and in the enforcement afterwards of the instruction given. The Catechism, the Prayer Book, and the Bible will form the staple of the Lessons; and the object of touching the heart, rather than informing the head, will be steadily kept in view. The Holy Communion, as the pledge and sustenance of a Christian life, not merely as a ceremony to be received immediately after Confirmation, and then laid aside (as too often is the case), will be especially dwelt upon. Such a preparation as has been described above may, with GOD's blessing, be the means of assisting to raise up a generation of faithful members of the English Church [F. H. to stand by her in the day of danger.

Our next Number (March 5) will contain a Parochial Article on "First Communion," by the REV. CANON BUTLER, Vicar of Wantage.

PAROCHIAL BOOKS.

INSTRUCTION ON CONFIRMATION, By Rev. W. C. INGRAM, M.A., pp. 8. Leicester: W.H. Lead. Price 1¿d.An excellent little tract to put into the hands of candidates, or to form the basis of Lectures in preparation for Confirmation. Nothing new can be needed on a subject so familiar to the Parochial Clergy; but it will be an advantage to some of them to find all the best material arranged in so orderly a manner, and put in so pithy and so sententious a form. We can heartily commend the little book for use in any parish, whether in town or country.

It is

We have received BRIEF HINTS FOR COMMUNICANTS. By the Rev. J. CECIL WHITE (W. Skeffington and Son; Price One Halfpenny), a little tract of eight pages, containing very plain and simple advice for the newly-Confirmed. obviously intended to prescribe the merest minimum of participation in Church privileges, which can be considered at all adequate; as in its allowance of fortnightly or monthly approach to the Holy Communion; or even three times in a year (p. 7). This may, however, make it more extensively useful; and there are cases in which a rule of this kind is

sufficient to begin with. Paragraph 12 should apparently be incorporated with par. 1, as it refers to the same subject.

As having much the same purpose, but of a somewhat warmer and higher type of devotion, we may mention SEVEN RULES FOR THE NEWLY-CONFIRMED (Same Publishers); Price

3d. per dozen, a leaflet prettily printed in red and black, and intended to be pasted within the cover of Bible or Prayer Book, and signed by the Parish Priest. The former might be more suited for the less instructed; this, for the youth of the middle and higher classes. But both are useful and cheap.

We do not know that we can praise a leaflet upon CHORAL

FUNERALS, which has been sent to us (Oxford: Oliver). In it much that is unpractical is mingled with a good thought or two. We are unable to perceive the fitness of chanting the whole of the "Benedicite " on "the return from the burial of a child." Far better sing v. 30, "O ye spirits and souls of the Righteous," which is the only verse that really applies, as a Hymn or Anthem.

A TABLE OF OFFICE HYMNS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, FROM THE USE OF SARUM (Same Printer), may be of use to hang up in the vestry, to serve sometimes as a guide in the selection of Hymns for the services.

As we are referring to Parochial literature, we will mention the TRENTHAM RURIDECANAL AND PAROCHIAL MAGAZINE (Price 1d.), of which the Rev. J. R. Hutchinson, Vicar of Normacot, who we presume is the Editor, has sent us some copies. It is an idea that may be worth following out,-of adopting a somewhat larger area than the Parish for such a publication, and thereby securing something more than the petty circulation which will just enable it to struggle on without quite dying. The number before us contains jottings as to the current events in each parish; individually small,— as e.g., from one parish we read "in the last twelve months there has been but one death of a parishioner, two marriages, and eleven baptisms." But, taken together, they make up a register of events not without its interest. The Trentham venture, as a new production, is susceptible of improvement in various respects, which it will doubtless receive in time. But it is a good idea, nevertheless, and deserving of all praise and encouragement.

SERMOn

FOR LENT.

1 SAMUEL iii. 9.

"Speak, LORD, for Thy servant heareth." The child Samuel was laid down to sleep when GOD called him, and he knew not that it was the voice of GOD. So GOD often speaks to us, sometimes "in the dead unhappy night, when the rain is on the roof,"--and when we lie sleepless on our bed; sometimes in the midst of our work and our labour; sometimes when we are going into some great danger, or falling into some grievous sin, and very often we do not know that the voice which speaks to us is the voice of GOD. Yes, GoD speaks to us in many different ways, and in many different tones. "He that hath ears to hear let him hear." GCD speaks to us by the Works of Nature. I cannot imagine a man looking at this beautiful world and disbelieving in GOD. I can scarcely fancy a man living amid fair scenery and being without religion. Yet we know that men lie and steal and curse, and are drunken and impure, in the midst of the loveliest scenes of nature. They may dwell in Eden, but the serpent has crept in, "the trail of the serpent is over them all."

And so they do not hear the voice of GOD speaking to them, nor can they see GoD walking through the garden of the world, and "making everything beautiful in his

time."

Yet there are voices in the world of nature which are of GOD, voices which speak to us in the winds and in the sea, in winter tempest and summer breeze, in budding flower and ripened grain, in the bare black fields of December and the golden harvests of August, in the snows of January and the showers of April. The man whose eyes are open, and whose ears are attentive to God, will see the LORD's hand and hear His voice all around him. He will see Him who stretches out the Heavens like a curtain, and makes the clouds His chariot, and walks upon the wings of the wind; who maketh the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise Him, and hath appointed the moon for certain seasons, and the sun which knoweth his going down. The stars shining clear and cold at night should remind us of Him who rules Arcturus and Orion, and controls the sweet influences of the Pleiades. For the Heavens declare the glory of GoD, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. By wind and storm fulfilling His word, by seed-time and harvest, by summer and winter, by creeping things and feathered fowls, by the eagle soaring on high, and the sparrow sitting alone on the housetop, by the lilies of the field, fairer than Solomon in all his glory, by all these GoD speaks to us; may we then learn to praise the LORD for his goodness, and declare the wonders that HE doeth for the children of men. As we gaze on the blessings which GOD strews everywhere about us in a beautiful world, may we learn to say, "Speak, LORD, for Thy servant heareth.”

Again, GoD speaks to us by the dispensations of His Providence. We often speak about Providence being good to us, or the like, but we should rather speak of GOD, since Providence is not a person, but God's care of us. GOD speaks to us by the measures of prosperity or adversity which he sends to us as a nation, and as individuals. He is always speaking to us, to encourage, to warn, and to reprove; now with rains and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with joy and gladness; now with famine and pestilence and dismay of nations; now with storm and earthquake, when "HE shaketh the earth out of his place, and the pillars thereof tremble." GOD goeth forth with the armies of one nation, and giveth it victory; HE bringeth another nation low and layeth it in the dust HE maketh wars to cease, and knappeth the spear in sunder. At one time GoD sent great commercial prosperity to our country. I wonder how many people heard GOD speaking then, and learned to thank Him. Then men's garners were full of all manner of store, the Kings of Arabia and Saba brought gifts; ships came from Tharsis and from the Isles. Now GOD has sent trouble upon us; our country is groaning under depression of trade and the results of many bad harvests; and thus it is that GoD sends forth His voice, making rich and making poor, putting down one, and setting up another. Thus GoD speaks to us as a nation, and He speaks to us also as individuals. In our success or our failure in our trade or calling, in our good crops or our blighted gardens, in our

happy days and our times of sickness and sorrow, in the marriage feast and the funeral dole, in the time of laughter and the time of tears; in all these God speaks to us. When you had that piece of good fortune, my brother, you thought, perhaps, that your wisdom and your strength had gained it for you. You said in your heart,-"See what I have done for myself." Then GOD was speaking to you, though, perhaps, you did not hear Him. He spoke to you and said, "I have done all this for thee, what hast thou done for ME? How much owest thou unto thy LORD? What hast thou given to ME who giveth all? I have filled thee with good things, hast thou been thankful?" When that great sorrow fell upon you, be sure GOD was speaking to you then. You only saw the dark shadow of trouble in the house, you did not see the shining of an angel's wings; you only heard the sound of your own bitter crying, not the voice of GOD speaking to you, and telling you how that sorrow was sent to you in love to bring you to a better mind, to humble your pride, or to check your selfishness, or to lift your thoughts up to Heaven. Believe me, my brethren, the right thing for us to do, in prosperity and in adversity, is to listen to God's voice, and to hear what He has to say

to us.

Again, GoD speaks to us by the Voice of Conscience. As He spoke to Adam, and made him afraid to meet GOD; as He spoke to Ahab, and made him afraid to meet Elijah ; so He speaks to us. He has given to each of us a Friend who never fails to tell us when we are wrong. The voice which speaks is only a still, small voice, and is often drowned by the noises of other voices; the voices of selfishness, the voices of bad companions, the voices of evil lusts and passions; but woe be to us if we will not listen to the still, small voice of conscience, for it is GOD speak

ing to us. If we obstinately stop our ears, and refuse to listen, the time comes when GOD will keep silence. Yes, with GoD also "there is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence." When GoD ceases to speak to us, He leaves us to ourselves, and that means utter ruin. GOD is speaking to you very plainly during this Lent, telling you of your sins, warning you of your temptations, bidding you to be on your guard, and urging you to fight against the enemies of your soul. GOD is speaking, are you listen ing? When your conscience whispers to you that there is something wrong in your past life, something which you have been hiding away, and have not repented of; or when that voice tells you that you are going on badly now, pause and listen. It is GoD speaking to you: pause and think, and then say, "Speak, LORD, for Thy servant heareth." And GoD speaks to us also by the Words of His Bible, and the Teaching of His Holy Church. "GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past to the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these days spoken unto us by His Son." When we read our Bible, when we are present at a Service in church, let our prayer be-"Speak, LORD, for Thy servant heareth." Never

read the Bible carelessly, or as a mere form. Mechanical Bible reading is as useless as the mechanical praying of certain Eastern fanatics, who grind out their prayers by machinery. Never take part in the service of God's Church carelessly, or irreverently, for with such so-called service GoD is not well pleased. When you read your Bible, when you hear the teaching of the Church, remember it is GOD speaking to you. Both in the Bible, and in the public services of the Church, every class of persons may hear God's voice speaking a message suited to it. The prosperous man may hear God saying to him, "If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Freely ye have received, freely give." The sorrowful may hear GOD saying, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

And

The old man may hear GOD saying, "My rod and My staff shall comfort thee." The little children may hear GOD saying, "Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." once again, GoD speaks to us at the hour of death. He speaks to us then, and says, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee." Ah! my friends, however heedless we may have been, however deaf we may have been to God's voice, we must hear that last call, and answer it. Often we hear of dying people saying that "they are called ;' and that they have heard a voice speaking to them. Many a dying person might doubtless say with truth :"I hear a voice you cannot hear,

That says I must not stay; I see a hand you cannot see, That beckons me away."

Doubtless those who are passing through what has been called "the almost Sacrament of death," and are entering the Spirit World, can hear and see things hidden from those who are yet cumbered with the earth. The joy and dying impenitent and unpardoned, seem to show us that peace of a dying Christian, and the awful horror of one each has a glimpse of the future. It is not a mere fancy which makes the poet describe a dying girl as saying:"It was when the moon was setting, and the dark was over all,

The trees began to whisper, and the wind began to roll, And in the wild March morning, I heard them callMy soul." When that last dread summons comes, and GOD speaks to us for the last time on earth, may we answer, "Speak, LORD, for Thy servant heareth." If we have listened to GOD's voice in life, we shall not fear it in death. It will be our Father's voice calling us home, and saying to us weary ones, "Come unto ME, and I will give you rest.' You all remember the picture of the brave old soldier, who, when dying, fancied he was a boy again at the old school, and that they were calling the roll; and so he answered as of old, "Adsum-I am here," and so died. Brethren, when our fight is ended, our carthly work done, and the last great roll-call comes on the resurrection morning, may we answer humbly, yet hopefully, "Speak, LORD, for Thy servant heareth,— I am here.”

H. J. WILMOT-BUXTON.

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. The GOSPEL for this Sunday is a very striking one, consisting of the brief description of the cure of a person possessed; i.e., suffering under the harmful predominance of evil spirits over natural human organisation; and the wonderful discourse by our LORD on the entire subject of the spiritual life, which was occasioned by, and founded on, this circumstance. Our LORD shows that the powers of evil are united, and under the direction of one stronger in evil than themselves; so that they can be cast out of the soul of man only by the greater power of the Holy Spirit of GOD. It was therefore a great and grave sin to confuse these powers the one with the other, calling the evil good, and the good evil: and it led to most disastrous results. To be safe, the soul must be decidedly on the side of good; not wavering between good and evil-"he that is not with ME is against ME"-and such indecision opened the door to the return of the Tempter. The "last state" of the soul to whom the Tempter did thus return, and be re-admitted, would be "worse than the first.

The Lessons are:

MORNING, Gen. xxxvii.; S. Matt. vii.

EVENING, Gen. xxxix. or xl; Romans xii.

It is to be noticed that there is a considerable degree of parallelism between the EPISTLE and the Second Lesson for the Evening.

Suitable Hymns: 88, 95, 251, 252. Litany 466. THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. Mid-Lent Sunday, anciently Refreshment Sunday or Lætare (Mi-Careme, French). The Introit this day was Latare Hierusalem from Is. lxvi. and Ps. cxxi., thence the name. In some parts of England it was Mothering Sunday or Braget Sunday. In the medieval calendars it is Dominica de Panibus from the Gos

pel of the miraculous loaves, which was (and is) read on this day.

What has been said above will explain the intention of the Epistle, which leads the thoughts upward to the heavenly Jeru"Jerusalem which is above is free." The COLLECT also salem, bears a similar character, in its single petition for relief by the comfort of the grace of God. Such unmistakable traces of purpose can perhaps hardly be expected in the (frequentlychanged) Lessons, which are:

MORNING, Gen. xlii.; S. Mark vii. 24, to viii. 10.
EVENING, Gen. xliii. or xlv.; Romans xvi.

Yet we shall hardly be fanciful in referring to the joyful reuniting of Joseph with his kindred after long years of separation, as recorded in the First Lesson for Evensong, as harmonising wonderfully with the intention of the Sunday. It is a curious coincidence this year that, whereas the Gospel for the day is the narrative of the Feeding of Five Thousand by miracle, the Second Morning Lesson is that of the very similar Feeding of the Four Thousand,

Suitable Hymns: 86, 225, 234, 240, 261. Litany 471.

Metrical Litanies, referred to in the number before last, which we learn that some of our subscribers have been anxious to receive. There is, of course, no "royal road" to soothing the susceptibilities of congregations; and if any persons who attend are so ill-advised (as a correspondent informs us, respecting one particular case), "because asked to sing a Litany kneeling, some Church Associationists stood and shuffled with their feet," as to create a disturbance, we can only make one or two very plain, 1. Where Metrical simple, and we fear, obvious, suggestions. Litanies are as yet unknown they cannot be introduced with too much consideration and tact; and indeed this is a general rule as to all novelties. But as there is really nothing of an extreme or outré character about Metrical Litanies, it will generally be found that congregations will take to them well enough if their clergyman gives a few well-chosen and plain words of explanation as to what it is they are asked to do, and why they are asked to do it. A Litany is simply a prayer with a recurring refrain or response, like the "We beseech Thee to hear us, good LORD," so familiar to congregations. A prayer ought, of course, to be used kneeling; it would be unsuitable to use it (as a rule) in any other posture. Then a Litany that is metrical, i.e., that is in rhymed or measured verses, is clearly and obviously adapted for the employment of music. It is not composed entirely of prayers and petitions. GOD's praises are celebrated in some of the verses ; and examples of this might well be given. Now music seems to have the power of lifting the soul out of earthly thoughts, and raising them towards GOD and heaven. We do not know why it is; but so it is undoubtedly. That is why it is so much used in Divine Service; and why persons who are fervently religious themselves, and earnestly desirous to make Services at Church helpful and beneficial to others, almost always begin by increasing and improving the musical element in the Service. Music is as really an instrument for acting upon human souls as is Preaching; and none therefore ought to object to its use in the form of Metrical Litanies who are anxious that their prayers should be earnest and fervent; on the contrary, they ought to welcome everything that will help them to be so.

It might be wise to give some such explanation as this; which, in most cases, would remove all misunderstandings of the practice. But (2.) in the case of an unwilling minority, while not tolerating anything like an attempt at brawling in church, and calling on the churchwardens to repress any pretence of thus overawing the clergyman in this way, it might possibly be as well to introduce the Metrical Litanies at first into week-day or other Services at which malcontents are not likely to be present; and thus gradually and peacefully to familiarise people with their use.

Gentle methods, unlimited patience, and perfect openness, will always win in time.

S. J. E.