into his public devotions as may best serve his sacred purpose. None but persons of very extreme prejudices would refuse him this liberty. The most fit and precious utterances, whencesoever gathered, are due to the majesty and perfection of God, to the minister's just solicitude for apt expression, and to the edification of his fellow-worshippers.

The

4. This, we think, is the nearest approach we can consistently make to the adoption of any liturgical forms. Indeed, a liturgy, in its proper sense, Congregationalists, as a body, never can have; for their principles forbid the wish, and repudiate the authority, to impose or prescribe one. utmost that could be done would be to recommend; and such are the varying tastes and judgments of men, and such the unwillingness to defer where there is no controlling power, that the recommendation would be sure to be very partially complied with. Each of our brethren and his flock must be left to take their own course. In very rare instances, the English Liturgy, with certain curtailments and modifications, yet not to the exclusion of free prayer, has for some time been introduced into churches of our order; and, more

lately, specimens of pre-composed prayers for public use among us have been published; but the example of the former has not commanded imitation, nor is the proffered aid of the latter likely to have more than the smallest acceptance. What is chiefly needed, in a work so sacred and spiritual as the public worship of the Almighty, is a plenteous unction from the Holy One on those who conduct it. This, more than anything else, would be powerfully corrective of all faults and blemishes, and suggestive of the best methods. Were every ministrant at the footstool of the Supreme profoundly impressed with humility and reverence, and glowing with the fervours of adoring gratitude and love, and deeply solicitous to secure for himself and his flock the utmost conformity to the Divine image in the graces of holiness, there would be less need to ask what should be done for making our public service of prayer more attractive and edifying. May that unction be graciously vouchsafed! Come, O Holy Spirit, and so rest upon and actuate us, that we may meetly and most profitably discharge this most spiritual of all our functions.

R. S. T.

*Free Church Service Book." London: John Snow & Co. 66 Thoughts on Public Worship; A Paper read at the Autumnal Meeting of the Baptist Union." By Samuel

interest. The "Free Church Service Book," is by the Rev. Newman Hall, and contains "Five short services with supplementary collects and anthems selected from the Book of Common

G. Green. London: Elliot Stock. "Public Worship: The Best Methods of conducting it." By J. Spencer Pearsall. London : Jackson, Walford, and Hodder.

necessary.

Prayer." Mr. Hall not only abridges the services of the Common Prayer Book, but makes such alterations as for Scriptural reasons he deems As for example in the Absolution," instead of Hath given power and commandment to His ministers to declare and pronounce &c.," we read, "In Thy holy word [Thou] dost declare and promise," &c. But we wish our esteemed brother had gone farther. Why should this prayer be called “Absolution prayer by the minister?" Are not all prayers for pardon "Absolution prayers?" and are not prayers for pardon as fitting from the lips of the congregation as from the lips of the minister? Though the most obnoxious part of the "Absolution" is removed, there is still a priestly air about even the improved form which we greatly dislike. To make it complete we should have an "Absolution prayer by the congregation" on behalf of the minister, as well as an "Absolution prayer by the minister" on behalf of the congregation, in order to show what Mr. Hall believes as firmly as we do, the perfect equality or common priesthood of the minister and congregation in offering their sacrifices of prayer and praise.

We regret, likewise, that Mr. Hall has not made more material alterations in the Communion service. Important expressions retained by him are, in our judgment, extremely objectionable.

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Grant us, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, and to drink His blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His body, and our souls washed through His most precious blood; and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us." “The body of the Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for us, preserve our bodies and souls unto everlasting life. Let us take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for us," &c. blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for us, preserve our bodies and souls unto everlasting life. Let us

"The

drink this in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for us, and be thankful." We can only indicate our objections to these forms of expression. Our Lord's words, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood ye have no life in you," had no reference to the Lord's Supper, and they are used with such reference consistently only by those who believe in a Real Presence in a Catholic or semi-Catholic sense. The prayers, "The body of the Lord Jesus Christ preserve our bodies and souls," and "The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve our bodies and souls," cannot be used by a Protestant except in a non-natural sense. They are founded on the doctrine of transubstantiation, or on some modified form of that doctrine. And we believe that nothing but the force of habit could reconcile so thorough a Protestant as the minister of Surrey Chapel to the use of them.

To the question, "Should we have a Liturgy?" Mr. Hall's answer is very different from that of the author of the article which immediately precedes this. But his plea is not for a liturgy instead of free prayer; he asks for it only in addition to free prayer, and he is very far, as we understand him, from recommending even this for general adoption. "Ifit is urged," Mr. Hall says, "that free prayer is essential to the life of a Church, and must not be displaced by forms, I reply that, with the desire to introduce the liturgical element, there is no intention to displace, but only to supplement free prayer, which in free churches should ever be an essential characteristic and prominent feature. But some have found, that by part of the worship being liturgical, the rest may be more really free and spontaneous than when the memory of the minister is burdened with all the requests which ought to be presented in the congregation every Sabbath-day."

The force of these words will be felt by many. Not that the difficulty of

remembering the requests that ought to be presented is a very serious one, but the difficulty is great of entering, (to use Mr. Green's words,) "into the mystery, of each suppliant heart, expressing in meet phrase, the common need, yet not forgetting the individual want; giving voice to unspoken secrets of agonizing desire ; and with strong brotherly hand uplifting every spirit towards its God." "The task in its fulness (Mr. Green says) is impossible; for how can one pray the fitting prayer of all? Yet must each faithful pastor attempt it whenever he leads his people to the throne of grace." Mr. Green does not wonder that " the burden is often felt to be so crushing" that the minister should sometimes ask whether a form of prayer would not in some measure help him; "not indeed to supersede, but to supplement, free prayer, and so lightening the care of one who knows that the whole assembly largely depends for its devotion upon the tone and fervour of his own mind and the propriety of his own expressions.".

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Mr. Green's remarks on this subject are wise and weighty. There is undoubtedly room for an honest difference of opinion here," he says," and something may be conceded to those who are ready to ask for a modified liturgy. Thus, it cannot be denied that the expression of one mind must be in a certain sense a form to others, and to some hearers it may be easier to pray devoutly in the familiar words of a formulary than in language which he for the first time hears from the minister. It is not always true, at least, that familiarity with the words of devotion is a hindrance to the devotional spirit. Who, for example, does not sing a favourite hymn to a favourite tune, not with less but with greater heartiness than any novelty could possibly have excited? And have we not all observed how the Lord's Prayer, when solemnly and appropriately employed in Christian worship, will at

once excite and express the highest devoutness of the congregation? We may even allow the further question, whether it be well that the prayers of a congregation should be dependent upon the mood of their minister. He may be cold or languid, his heart oppressed; the power of language may fail him; he cannot strike to-day the key of becoming gratitude or lofty praise; must therefore the devotions of the whole assembly be marred? Again, our wants in many respects remain from time to time the same; and it may be hard to show why they should not be expressed in the same words. It is possible to be very formal without a form, and as possible to be truly spiritual with a form. All this we fully admit; and yet the instinct, the ineradicable habit, the practical wisdom, or the spiritual feeling of our congregations seems to have settled the matter decisively. The main question, we must remember, is, what upon the whole will best minister to the devoutness of the congregation; and surely the experience of the congregation should help us to decide. Public prayer, we should remember, is intended not only to express, but to stimulate the devotional earnestness of those who unite in it; and there can be little doubt amongst us that the most effective stimulus is furnished by the freshness, the spontaneity, and the variety of free prayer. It is sugges tively remarked by Mr. Dale, of Birmingham, that the call for a liturgy, so far as it exists amongst us, is not from the people but from ministers. every drawback, and notwithstanding every difficulty, our assemblies would testify that they draw nearest to God when uplifted by the pastor's own prayer and the minister who most frankly and trustingly casts himself upon the aid of the Holy Ghost, finds in that help, even with occasional weakness and failure, an inspiration which he would seek in vain in connection with the best of human forms. Better

With

to halt sometimes, than permanently to barter our strength for crutches."

Mr. Pearsall is of one mind with Mr. Green on this subject. He thinks there is a better way of aiding the minister in this important part of public worship than the use in whole or in part of a liturgy. After many useful and suggestive remarks, he concludes:-"Possibly the best preparation would be the appropriation of a part of Saturday afternoon to visiting the sick, and reading some devotional work." Let deacons ponder the following:-"Is it not possible that sometimes a minister may lose in the vestry what he has gained in the study? The high devotional temperature of his soul has been suddenly lowered by some depressing, chilling word; and the public prayer which depended for its power on calmness has suffered still more than the sermon. Let deacons lock the door against all intruders, and allow not a word nor a look that would distract. The most sensitive of all creatures is the minister immediately before and after service; it is his sensitiveness that makes or unmakes him, according as it is or is not rightly directed and guarded; even Luther could never enter the pulpit without trembling. We respectfully commend, after long and happy experience, the plan of deacons uniting in prayer with their minister, and affectionately commending him to God, and to the Word of His grace; then retiring from the vestry."

Mr. Pearsall's volume is so full of practical wisdom that we should like to quote page upon page. But this is impossible. With reference to the service of song, he says:-" Some tunes sound well as performances, but are not suitable for worship; they express no sentiment of adoration, penitence, thoughtfulness; they do not touch the sacred affections of a man's

soul; they are things without lifegiving sound.' The tune should always

be adapted to the hymn, and, according to some critics, the hymn should always be sung to the same tune. The devotional feeling would be intensified by the congregation enunciating distinctly not only each note, but each word, and thus allowing the burden of the song to be heard throughout the church. From a neglect of this distinctness, the singing is to the ear of a stranger coming into our assemblies like an unknown tongue.

"The congregation is sometimes distracted by an unsuitable voluntary at the close of the service. The solemn discourse is followed by lively, not to say noisy, playing, as if the organist had pulled out all his stops. A pious judicious organist will always study adaptation, and will select such music as shall express and deepen the feeling already awakened. In public worship, the music that makes you think of the man is faulty; it should call up such aspirations as can be satisfied only in God.

"Although objections may be raised against voluntaries, there is much to be said in their favour. Many little distractions arising from the noise of the congregation assembling or dispersing are much modified by the music. Often is the minister's mind calmed and braced up for the service by some sweet voluntary at the commencement, such as, 'Oh rest in the Lord,' or, Comfort ye,' &c. The organist, like the leader of the singing, must be able to perform his part, not only correctly, but feelingly.”

Whatever may be said in favour of subdued and suitable voluntaries, while the congregation is assembling and dismissing-and we cannot say we are in love even with these, we prefer a solemn silence-we take this opportunity of entering our strong protest against all voluntaries during the service. It was our lot not long since to hear a voluntary between every verse of all the hymns that were sung, and

we confess that our feeling, instead of being devout, was nearly akin to that of Jenny Geddes, when she hurled her stool at the head of the surpliced curate in the pulpit of the High Kirk of Edinburgh. The practice is almost universal, so far as our observation goes, of preluding the last verse of the hymn with a voluntary. And we have tried to divine a reason for it but cannot. Is it meant as a warning, like the warning tick of a clock before the hour is struck, that the song of praise is coming to an end? And if it is, what is the moral of the warning? Why should it be given? Has the service thrown the congregation into a sleep or stupor from which they need to be awakened? or what is the meaning of it? To us it is a rude shock, which throws us violently off the line on which we were speeding forward with ever-growing pleasure. We have begun our song, let us suppose, by saying, "All hail! the power of Jesus' name," and we have advanced from thought to thought, our hearts warming and our devotion intensifying, till

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we have been prepared to exclaim, "Oh that with yonder sacred throng," when suddenly we are stopped by a strong hand which we cannot resist, and compelled to listen to a bit of music before we can "lift up to God" our last "voice of praise." We are never in these circumstances but we inwardly resent the despotism of the organ, and demand what right it has to assume such lordship over us. Nor are we in the least pacified by anything that persons claiming to be 'musical, par excellence, can say in defence or palliation of this practice. We are content to accept the aid of an organ in directing and sustaining our voice while we praise the Lord," although we should personally prefer being without it but we are not content that there should be the slightest semblance to a performance in our worship, and we are desirous to see our public services purged, not only of all offences against good taste, but of everything which, under the plea of taste, is an offence against the intelligence and spirituality of our devotions.

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IMMORTAL Love, for ever full,
For ever flowing free,

For ever shared, for ever whole,
A never-ebbing sea!

Our outward lips confess the name
All other names above;
Love only knoweth whence it came,
And comprehendeth love.

Blow, winds of God, awake and blow

The mists of earth away!Shine out, O Light Divine, and show How wide and far we stray! Hush every lip, close every book, The strife of tongues forbear: Why forward reach or backward look For love that clasps like air? We may not climb the heavenly steeps To bring the Lord Christ down; In vain we search the lowest deeps For Him no depths can drown.

Nor holy bread, nor blood of grape,

The lineaments restore

Of Him we know in outward shape
And in the flesh no more.

He cometh not a King to reign;

The world's long hope is dim; The weary centuries watch in vain

The clouds of heaven for Him. Death comes, life goes; the asking eye And ear are answerless;

The grave is dumb, the hollow sky

Is sad with silentness.
The letter fails, and systems fall,
And every symbol wanes;
The Spirit over-brooding all

Eternal Love remains.

And not for signs in heaven above,
Or earth below they look;

Who know with John His smile of love,
With Peter His rebuke.