to consider that part of the service, which falls under the head of Confession, as an indispensable demonstration of penitence: prefacing my observations upon that subject with some notice of the short sentences, so judiciously selected from the holy Scriptures, to shew at once the extent of God's mercy towards sinners, and the necessity of a sincere and hearty repentance; and with a brief comment upon that earnest and comprehensive Exhortation, by which the general Confession is preceded.

That you might the more clearly perceive how carefully the form of Confession itself is adapted to the general condition of the entire congregation, without excluding the particular exigencies of individuals; it was proposed to your notice clause by clause. You were also guarded against certain misconceptions of the form of Absolution; which was shown to be nothing more, in the view which our Church takes of it, than a declaration of God's pardon, undoubtedly extended to all present, who, by a true penitence and lively faith, are become capable of receiving it.

To the Lord's Prayer, which follows next in order, I thought it necessary to devote two entire lectures; the substance of which I will not at present recapitulate, further than by reminding you, that this unequalled form of supplication seems to have been intended by its divine Author not only as a model for our prayers, but as a compendium of all that we are entitled to pray for and that it is introduced with singular propriety at the close of this penitentiary branch of the service, to supply any defect that may have arisen in our performance of it.

THANKSGIVING.

We are now arrived at that Division of the Liturgy, which consists principally of PRAISE and This portion of the service is introduced by an ejaculatory prayer or petition (in which the minister and the people have each their share) importing a consciousness that, unless Divine grace inspires and directs our lips, we are not able to praise our Almighty benefactor in a manner worthy of his greatness and bounty. "O Lord, open thou our lips; and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise." And, to express the earnest desire of the congrega

tion for present and immediate aid in this pious work, they are taught to add, in the same responsive form, a further petition to that effect: "O God, make speed to save us: O Lord, make haste to help us."

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Thus prepared, the minister and congregation make their first offering of praise in that concise but most solemn hymn, usually termed the Doxology, or Gloria Patri; which is worthy of especial notice, not only from its universal use in all Christian churches, but from its great and perhaps apostolical antiquity. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." This likewise (unless where it is sung) is divided between the minister and the people. It is scarcely possible to point out more clearly, how much is contained in this short act of adoration, than by citing the words of the pious Hooker, which are themselves founded upon a remark of Basil, an Asiatic bishop in the beginning of the fourth century; and shew, that it comprises at once an offering of praise and glory to God, and a confession of the chief points

of our Christian faith.

"We are baptized," says

he, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Confessing the Christian faith, we declare our belief in the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Ghost. Ascribing glory to God, we give it to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." It may be added, that, by this form, we acknowledge the co-eternity, as well as the co-existence, of the three sacred Persons; declaring, that the glory, which we now attribute to them, was in like manner due to them in the beginning;" that is to say, in the scriptural sense of that expression-from all eternity.

The minister now invites the people to a more diffuse and lengthened act of praise; using the form-" Praise ye the Lord:" which is merely a translation of the Hebrew Allelujah. To this call, they reply, by professing their readiness to join in that grateful service :-" The Lord's name be praised."

Accordingly, they proceed to recite, in alternate verses, the NINETY-FIFTH PSALM-a composition which sets forth the power and majesty, the fatherly care and mercy of God, in terms of such

cheerful yet sublime energy, as are well adapted to fill the hearts of all, who attentively join in it, with the most exalted sentiments of veneration and gratitude. It calls upon us to "sing unto the Lord, and to rejoice heartily in the strength of our salvation:"-to "come before his presence with thanksgiving, and show ourselves glad in him with psalms." And in what terms does it describe to us that supreme Being, whose praise it invites us to celebrate! "The Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are all the corners of the earth; and the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and He made it; and his hands prepared the dry land." To the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth; thus arrayed in the attributes of his might, and Lord by right of creation, as well as of dominion; every form and degree of adoration and worship, which a rational creature is capable of paying, must be continually due.

Thus, therefore, the royal Psalmist proceeds: "O come, let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker: for He is the Lord our God; and we are the people of his pasture,