merely for Church temporalities. Not these, but the great glory of the Church in her truly universal character is what we wish to set forth. And surely this glory is given her by God, and is a very precious trust: may He, therefore, if it be His will, keep us from betraying it! But it may be that His judgment is about to come upon us in the spirit of those words, "Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled." He may be saying to us, "Ye will not bear witness of me; ye do not care for the Light of the world? Ye will bear witness of yourselves of Church system and order and authority; ye will teach that truth is not truth till ye give it your sanction and allowance ? Ye will kindle fires and compass yourselves about with sparks, that ye may see the Light? Ye cannot trust Light to be its own witness, or for it to light without your help? Be it so, then; walk in the light of your own fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled; put your sparks to the proof; but alas! as they die out one by one, ye will lie down in sorrow. I spake to you in your prosperity, and ye said, 'We will not hear;' lie down then in sorrow, and in years to come cry to Me from the depths (seeing ye will not now); let experience speak. Learn ye, by losing it, how precious is the gift ye threw away." We would not stay His hand, nor say, What doest thou? For He must do right. Yet, as St. Augustine says, "Opera mutat nec mutat consilium;" it may not yet be too late to forsake all "lying vanities "‡ of teachings and doings which exclude, Jeremiah xxii. 21. + Jonah ii. 8.

* Isaiah 1. II.

and rejoice in " our own mercy "*—and continue our witness for the universal love which has been committed to us by God. He is the God that repents + Him of evil; it may be that He will not even now remove our candlestick out of its place. He may yet let us bear witness for Him and speak good of His name.

He delighteth in mercy.

We have been ungrateful, but

It is now purposed to make some extracts from the Book of Common Prayer, and to offer a few remarks on each. It may seem a strange thing to call attention to such very wellknown words. But their being well known is no reason for all having entered into their real spirit. Many know the sound, but not, perhaps, the spirit. We believe that if their spirit were truly known and felt, we should all join in the support of that Church which is truly a bond of peace.

It is possible that the meaning here given to some of the Prayer Book words may not be exactly that which some of us have been accustomed to give them. But this ought not to be complained of, and would not, if we remember the multiform aspects of truth. Holy Scripture itself is received differently by many. We do not think it impossible to understand Joshua x. in a sense which is different from an absolutely literal meaning.‡ Nobody thinks he ought to apply all the sentiments of the Psalms in their literalness. We think it possible that Job was not a living man, but an * Jonah ii. 8. Jonah iv. 2, &c.

As to the tenth chapter of Joshua, however,- which many take to be a crucial instance, it is curious to observe how the absolute literality is corroborated by the Tuscan, Egyptian, and Chinese Calendars giving what they call a "double day" at the end of May- about that epoch.

allegory or poetical example; nor does such a doubt take anything from the great teaching of the book bearing that name. We consider ourselves at liberty to judge and discern the meaning and the integrity of the various versions of Scripture, and if we have such liberty (a liberty plainly accorded us in Scripture*), shall we complain if the Prayer Book is to be judged by a like measure? No one, it is to be hoped, will claim for the Prayer Book a greater sacredness and higher inspiration than is claimed for the Bible.

We are capable of judging of ourselves that which is right; we are capable of judging as wise men of that which is said;‡ we judge as men with consciences, as men from whom the Spirit of God is not removed. Let us claim our right, our individual right to hear what God the Lord will speak, and to understand, by that which He has made us, sons and daughters. And then, if the rain descend and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon our house, it shall not fall. For every living stone of this spiritual house "hath§ the witness in himself;" they are bound together with no untempered mortar, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against this power, it has for its foundation the Rock of Ages, even the Spirit of Truth.

I. Let our first quotation then be from the "General Confession." There we meet with the words, "Thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord." This

See, for example, 1 Cor. x. 15. Apostle though he was, he bade them judge what he said; it would be strange if we were to say, "We are successors of the apostles; judge ye NOT what we say."

† Luke xii. 57.

1 Cor. x. 15.

? 1 John v. 10.

word "mankind" is very notably used here, and elsewhere in the Prayer Book. The Word was made Flesh; all men have part with Him, since all are partakers of that one Flesh. There is no exclusiveness here; there is no sectarianism possible which shall be consistent with such a profession as this.

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II. From the Te Deum. "Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man."

These are glorious words of praise. Believing this, what does it so greatly signify if our brethren abroad do look coldly upon us and refuse to reckon us within the pale? They cannot prevent us from thinking them our brethren, though they will not call us brethren. They cannot keep us from believing that they shall be saved from their sins even as we. Let them say, "Extra ecclesiam nulla salus" if they will; we say, "Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man ;" and it is higher ground to take, and evidences a higher catholicity.* True it is that the Te Deum is not ours alone; they, too, say, "Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem;" but it is too sadly manifest that this glorious utterance is muffled in the dead language, while those other narrowing words are translated into the vulgar tongue, and come abroad into every-day use. We rejoice to speak the

*St. Paul's words are quoted, with a parenthesis, by the author of No. 73 or "Tracts for the Times" (see p. 13), thus: "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us (that is, the Church) "from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. viii. 38, 39.) The author of the Tract (No. 73) would, it must be supposed, insist upon his parenthesis now more than when he wrote the Tract. The Church of England glories in St. Paul's words, but has no parenthesis.;

catholic words in a tongue "understanded of the people." "To deliver man :" a very great work it is to undertake; yet it is not too much to believe that what the Son of God has taken upon Himself He is able to do. David, we remember, took upon himself to slay the Philistine champion. King Saul thought he was not able to do what he undertook; it seemed to him impossible that a shepherd lad could succeed in so very unequal a contest. But David returned with the head of the Philistine in his hand. We rejoice to express our confidence in David's Lord. We do not think He will fail in that which He has taken upon Him. And, therefore, although the sheep may have wandered very far from the fold, we do not believe that it can be ever so lost as to be incapable of being found. For it is the Good Shepherd who is seeking it; it is not an hireling that careth not for the sheep, but the Good Shepherd who gave His life for them. We cannot think that although the piece of silver is lost, it can remain for ever lost in spite of the lighted Divine candle, the sweeping of the house, and the diligent seeking. We think that the Father shall be revealed to the prodigal son, that he who is lost may be found, and he that is dead made alive. We rest upon the words "Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man ;" we do

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faintly trust the larger hope," *

but forasmuch as He is our hope, our hope is sure and certain. We wait in the patience of hope that evil will be overcome by good.

* In Memoriam, LIV.

R