with acquiescence in his wisdom; thus knowing that he hath his way in the storm; that the tempests go forth at his bidding; that the clouds are his chariots, and he walketh on the wings of the wind; Į will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waves thereof roar, and be troubled; though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. For, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.

FROM THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE.

A new History and Illustration of the Common Prayer. [Continued from page 71.]

IN justification of stated hours for prayer, or the habits worn by the clergy, little requires to be said, the first having the sanction of all antiquity, and the latter the predeliction even of those dissenters who wish to ingratiate themselves the most with the people at large. We shall pass on to the practical application of the doctrines contained in our excellent form of public worship.* Our morning prayer very properly begins with one of the most solemn sentences in the holy scripture: When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive....Ezekiel xviii. 27. It is thus that the church wisely contrived to begin our devotions with such expressions of humility and penitence, in an humble confession, that all defaulters in thought, word, and deed, all sorts and conditions of men might join, being properly introduced by an exhortation admirably calculated for our instruction in the particulars to be acknowledged, and for which we are prepared by the select sentences at the commencement of the service. As soon as the minister begins the sentences, it is usual for the congregation to stand up; a very decent and proper provision, as it marks the attention of the auditors, and their reverence for the word of God, solemnly announced, to lead us to repentance. The courteous apostolical salutation of " dearly beloved brethren" is highly worthy of our attention, as it most warmly presses the heart to keep pace with the lips; and of the propriety of introducing the absolution in this part of the service, it should have been observed, "That it is acknowledged without reserve by Calvin," whose immense learning and extraordinary abilities no one will dispute. This distinguished instrument of the reformation, who was not remarkable for his partiality to the reform made in England, here delivers the opinion of his colleagues as well as his own. "We are every one of us ready to admit," says he," that after a general confession to subjoin some signal promise which may excite hope of pardon and reconciliation, is a very useful and beneficial practice; and from the very beginning I was desirous of adopting this method, but I yielded too easily to the apprehensions of others." But in our church, the whole congregation having, agreeably to the directions given in the exhortation, confessed their sins with an humble, lowly, penitent and obedient heart, the sense According to the English Common Prayer.

of their iniquities which it leaves behind, peculiarly requires the aid of spiritual consolation. And here appears the proper season for the ambassador of Christ to exercise the ministry, and to pronounce the word of reconciliation given and committed to him, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19. The priest, therefore, stands up, and in a solemn manner, thus dis penses one of the most gracious conditions of the gospel.

Here, maugre all the objections of schismatics, it is the office of the minister to declare the whole counsel of God, and that of the Holy Spirit to apply, to restore them that fall, and to comfort the feeble minded.

The priest, it should never be forgotten, does not absolve in his own name; he simply promulgates the terms of pardon, granted by the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to prevent the least degree of misconception, is probably one reason, for which (as the Rev. Mr. Shepherd observes) our form repeats the nominative case "He," that is Almighty God, pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his Holy Gospel. The same ingenious commentator also observes, that in the mode of compiling our form of absolution, and particularly the sentence last quoted, its authors appear to have imitated the plural or general absolution of the old Ordo Romanus, which runs thus: May the Lord Jesus Christ, who vouchsafed to say to his disciples, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth and whatsoever, ye shall loose himself absolve you. This form is precative, and ours declaratory: they differ in expression, but in meaning they nearly agree. In both we observe a long parenthesis, and a repetition of the preceding nomination case, implied in himself. And, by a very small alteration in the words of our form, and none in the sense, the framers of the American liturgy, have improved the construction. Who, near the beginning is omitted, and the period ends with the Remission of Sins, He, &c. of course, begins a new sentence. But to return to the propriety of a public declaration of absolution, it should be understood that, should there, in a mixed congregation, be any hypocritical worshipper, whose faith is feigned, and whose confession and penitence are insincere, to him the absolution gives no encouragement. It simply declares to him that there is forgiveness with God, and points out the terms on which it is granted. To those that truly repent, it strongly conveys assu rance of remission of sins and acceptance with God. To those that do not, it is an admonition that they should repent if they desire to be pardoned and forgiven; whilst it affords to the good the greatest comfort and support, it gives the wicked no ground, either to presume or despair; being publicly pronounced to all, each individual is to take that portion which peculiarly belongs to himself. As at the end of the absolution and that of all the other prayers, the people are directed to answer, Amen. They are likewise to understand, that during the prayers a profound silence is required, by which they may be more at liberty to follow the minister in their minds. At this time he is to be viewed as their intercessor, and offering up their prayers and praises as their representative.

Of the Lord's prayer.-Relative to the doctrinal part of this divine exercise, as here used, it has been observed, that what has preceded it has rather been a preparation for prayer, than prayer itself

as we now begin to pray in that spiritual and perfect form delivered to us by Jesus Christ, through whom alone either our prayers or persons can be accepted by God. This form, composed and prescribed by our blessed Lord himself, was on all occasions, used by the primitive church. In those days, it seems, the novel and strange objection urged by some against the use of this prayer, that it is a form! was unknown. On the contrary, because it was a form enjoined by our Redeemer and Mediator, it was always accounted the most spiritual and prevalent prayer that man could address to God; so far that some of the christian fathers conceived that to pray in these words, was "to worship God in spirit and in truth." In the devout use of this form, they considered themselves as "praying with the understanding, and with the spirit also."

"Let the Father recognize in your prayers the words of the Son," is the counsel given by Cyprian, who adds, " since we have an advo-cate with the Father, for our sins, we should, whenever we pray for pardon, alledge unto God the very words which our advocate has taught us." We have his promise that whatsoever we ask in his name we shall receive, and must we not more readily obtain our desires when we not only use his name in asking, but in his very words present our requests to God. Our advocate in heaven has taught us to say this prayer upon earth, that between his intercessions and our supplications, the most perfect harmony may subsist. The earHy christians knew also that the Lord intended this prayer for use, as well as imitation; hence it was called Oratio legitima, the legitimate prayer; the established form of prayer; and, in obedience to the commands of Christ, the primitive church always made it a part of her holy office viz. the administration of baptism, the celebration of the upper of the Lord, and in her daily and evening services, as well as in private devotions. Hence it was called Oratio Quotidi un, the christian's quotidian, or daily prayer.

[To be continued.]

FROM THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE.

Observations upon the History of Cornelius. Acts x.

THE notion that men may, and actually do merit of God (as frequently supposed by many persons) is very pernicious. To imagine that the service of men, or even angels, is beneficial to God, and ir justice merits wages, or that every instance of obedience conveys a right to a positive reward, is unwarrantable, and contrary to scripture. But to suppose farther, that sinners, by a partial obe dience, merit forgivness of their numerous breaches of God's law, nay, acquire a right to the positive reward of eternal life, is an astonishing presumption in the eye of reason, and a blasphemous position in that of revelation: it is indeed to set aside the redemption of man by Jesus Christ, to count the blood of the covenant an unholy, or at the least an insignificant thing, and to do despite to the spirit of grace.

But do not some, to avoid one extreme, run into another? denying that a difference of moral character either is, or has been, in

any instance, the ground of the favor of God in his dispensations of either temporal, or spiritual blessings, at least of his blessings in this world. But surely the scripture history affords us many examples of eminent persons, concerning whom God has been pleased to declare, that their piety, their obedience, or faith in Christ, has made them objects of divine favors; favors indeed granted in this present life, but for the most part favors of a spiritual nature, and which in their consequences, extended to the highest of all blessings, life eternal. Not that the persons thus distinguished were perfect characters, or had a right to demand such blessings; or that all whose moral character (for ought we know) might be equal, have had equal blessings bestowed upon them; much less can we infer, that because God has selected some pious persons, and has made them objects of his favor, while he employed them as fit instruments of his gracious purposes to mankind, therefore we may (in right of that sanctity of morals, we are pleased to assume to ourselves) demand the kingdom of heaven; vainly arrogating that as a right due to our merit, which at best was a mercy or a favor bestowed upon the most excellent of the saints of old. This was plainly the case with Abraham. God was pleased to call him out of the idolatrous family, in which he was born and educated, to promise that he should become a great nation, and that he should be a blessing, Gen. xii. 2. And God has heen pleased to acquaint us with one reason, why he was selected for that favor, viz. his religious character. For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment....Gen. xviii. 19. And when God was pleased to make further trial of his faith and obedience, by requiring him to give up his son; God expressly says to him, For because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son; thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee; and in thy seed shall ALL the nations of the earth be blessed, BECAUSE thou hast obeyed my voice. And there is no reason to doubt, but that God, as an especial favor, did at that time fully reveal to Abraham the day of Christ.

Nor must we forget how often Christ says to those whom he healed, thy faith hath made thee whole, nay, what is more, thy faith hath saved thee. To say with Hervey, Dial. x. p. 347, Edit. Edin. "that it was not faith, but Christ who wrought the cure," is mere quibbling: Nothing can be more plain, than that the faith of the diseas ed persons; the faith and extraordinary love of Magdaline, made them proper objects of divine mercy. Nor need we doubt, that a general faith in Christ does now make us objects of God's favor; or that good works, the fruit of faith, are pleasing and acceptable to God. Not that any works of ours can endure the severity of God's judgment, procure for us remission of sins, or entitle us to eternal life.

The history of Cornelius is a case so full to the point, that we shall consider it particularly and surely no fact can be related more clearly, and scarcely more circumstantially. Nor is the moral of the history obscure. Yet it has been strangely perverted to favor opinions, the very reverse of its plain import.

It is used by some as an instance, that morality, without faith in Christ, is sufficient for salvation. By others, that morality is of no

account with God, under the christian dispensation: and while some would have us forget, that Cornelius ever became a christian, others would persuade us, that he was always a Jew, complete in every thing but circumcision. Thus defeating the main end of the narration, which was to show that the heathen, (persons ignorant of the Jewish laws and customs) might nevertheless be admitted into the christian covenant.

The angel says to Cornelius, thy prayers, and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. A memorial of what? Why plainly of the piety of Cornelius towards God, and of his charity towards men. His piety and charity are here plainly represented, as the ground of an extraordinary favor at that time vouchsafed to him.— And what was that favor? Why a miraculous call to the christian faith in this world, and in consequence of that faith, to christian-salvation in the life to come.

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It is by no means here said, that Cornelius obtained present forgiveness of his sins, or future happiness for his moral character, or for his merit, how much soever it might be above that of others, whether Jews or Gentiles. Had that been the case, there would have been no occasion to have sent for Peter to preach christianity. This moral conduct neither did, nor could procure for him, remission of sins, justification, or eternal life. For all these he is referred to faith in Jesus Christ, who, of God is made unto us, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; he is referred to the merits of Christ, and not to the merit of his own prayers, or alms for salvation. So far short of christian perfection, or christian holiness, is the most exalted character among the heathen! Great as was the Jewish prophet, the forerunner of Christ, yet we are told, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

We may observe, that this call of Cornelius, though in part miraculous, yet was in the main, consonant with the method of God's ordinary government. The knowledge of Christian faith, was not miraculously conveyed (as it might have been) by the angel to Cornelius; and as was, by Christ himself to St. Paul, Gal. i. 12. But it was appointed in this case, that faith should come in the ordinary way, by hearing, by the preaching of Peter to him and his household. And it is observable, that though the Holy Ghost fell upon all of them which heard the word, so that they spake with tongues, yet prayed they Peter to tarry certain days: undoubtedly that he might expound unto them the word of God more perfectly.

Just so we see, I will not say miraculous, but uncommon and unaccountable circumstances bring a careless sinner to the hearing of the word. It pleases the Lord, (the same Lord who appoints these circumstances) to open his heart, so that he attends to the things which are spoken by the preacher, and from these small beginnings, a total change, with respect to life and manners, shall follow.

With respect to Paul, God was pleased to reveal his Son in him, by a miracle; he was separated from his mother's womb, and appointed to be a preacher of Christ among the Gentiles. His knowledge, therefore, was from the fountain head, was immediately from Theological Miscellany for March, 1786.