reconcile them?-The public offices of religion, confifting of humble acts of praife, adoration, and gratitude, are fome of the nobleft exercites of the human mind, and the fources of its pureft and moft refined pleasures: but upon fuch occafions as thefe, in a direct addrefs to the Supreme Being, and in the pretence of great numbers of our fellow creatures, to be obliged to belie their own judgment, and with a folemn countenance to act the groffeft hypocrity, muft be highly offenfive to every perfon of common fenfe and feeling.

But how much more must it be fo, to a pious and worthy CLERGYMAN, whofe office it is to conduct the devotions of a Chriftian affembly; and whofe earneft defire it is to perform his duty in a manner becoming its dignity and importance!

But there is fomething in this of ftill more painful and difagreeable confequence: the character of a worthy Clergyman becomes fufpected by his Parishioners; his integrity is arraigned; and, being thought to act with deceit and falfhood in difcharging the duties of his office, and to be guilty of hypocrify in the most folemn acts of religion and divine worfhip, he lofes all dignity of character amongst his people; and has no longer any influence over their minds, while he is diffuading them from the various fpecies of vice and dishonefty; or exciting them to every inftance of integrity and virtue. The influence of his own example deftroys the efficacy of his better inftructions; the most unhappy prejudices are formed in the minds of his hearers; and they are at length ready to conclude, that their Minifter is an infincere difhoneft man; that he is governed by views of avarice or ambition; that he is, perhaps, an infidel; and that religion is no more than a ftate bufinefs, which must be carried on, merely to ferve the purposes of civil policy.

Now if fuch confequences as thefe arife from the prefent circumftances of things; (and that they do, we have but too many evidences in almoft every part of the kingdom) it is furely the ftrongeft argument in the world for a farther reformation: and we may reafonably hope, that the friends of virtue and true religion will unite in every wife and prudent measure, to put an end to thefe evils, which threaten very deftructive confequences to the most valuable interefts of mankind.

It may, indeed, be faid; it has been faid with great petulancy, and not with that honeft fpirit which fhould always prevail on occafions of this kind, that the best way to put an

end

end to thefe evils, is, for thofe who are diflatisfied with the doctrines and articles of the church of England, and cannot perform her public offices with a good confcience, to leave their cures, refign their preferments, and become Diffenters. But this is to cut the knot, inftead of untying it. "There is but little humanity, lefs good fenfe, and ftill lefs policy, in fuch propofals as thefe: and we truft in GOD, that the happy time will come, when the wife Rulers of our land will provide a remedy for thefe evils, without banishing from the public fervice the most learned and most valuable part of our Clergy; and leaving our churches in the hands of zealous and ignorant enthusiasts, who, however well-meaning they may be, are, at this day, the reproach of Christianity, and the greatest enemies of genuine religion.

The other point of light in which this fubject may be confidered, is the manner in which the laity are affected by the continuance of things in their prefent state.-It has been frequently faid, that the Clergy alone are affected by it; and that the people, in general, have little or no concern in it. But this, we apprehend, will, upon examination, be found a great mistake. It was, furely, not merely for the CLERGY, it was likewife for the improvement of the LAITY, and to imprefs and preferve upon their minds a fenfe of GOD and true religion, that the offices of public worship were appointed. Now the Laity themselves have likewife partaken of the general improvements of knowlege and fcience; they have learned to think and judge for themfelves; they have many of them examined into the established doctrines of religion; they are, in several refpects, diflatisfied with them; and the confequence is, when they come to attend upon the fervice of the church, they there meet with many things which their judgment doth not approve; which they think neither confiftent with the doctrines of natural or revealed religion; and in which, therefore, they cannot join, fo as to make them the act of their understandings, and the fincere language of their hearts, The firft ill confequence is, that in thefe parts of the fervice, they withdraw their attention, and refuse to aflent to what they either do not underftand, or entirely difapprove : next, they conceive a general difguft to the service itfelf; the holy rites of religion are no longer matter of pleasure and delight to them; they at length abfent themselves from church altogether; and.. the laft of thefe unhappy confequences is, that without uncommon care and attention to the private exercifes of devotion, they grow indifferent to religion itfelf;

3

give themselves up to a life of pleafure; they become infidels, and they become profligates. It is impoffible to have a ge neral acquaintance with the world, and particularly with the manners of this great city, from the higheft claffes of life, down to the common ranks of the people, and not to have obferved many inftances, which but too well confirm these remarks. And how fhould it poffibly be otherwife? Unless the Improvements in our offices of religion bear fame proportion to the real progress of knowlege in the world; they will, they muft, fink into contempt; and, from defpifing its external offices, men will readily proceed to defpife religion itself; which can never happen without the worft effects upon the peace and good order of fociety,-without deftroying all virtue and good manners amongst us.

In oppofition to all this it may be faid, that were any alterations to be made, in order to fatisfy the minds of thofe we have been speaking of, the effect would only be, the diffatisfaction of fuch as retain different fentiments; who are probably fuperior in number, and to whom, therefore, a proper regard ought to be had.

To this difficulty we reply, in a manner very happily fuggefted by our Editor, in his preface." If officiating minifters were but indulged the liberty of using or laying afide any particular parts of the fervice, fuch an indulgence granted by our condefcending Governors, would not occafion the leaft difturbance. Those minifters and congregations who were attached to the old forms, could make no complaints, as being left to their full liberty to conduct their worship in the manner they most approved: and though the bufinefs of uniformity might be a little broken in upon, peace and charity might still be maintained; and the public worship of Chriftians would be more the fincere and genuine worship of the heart; which is a point of infinitely greater moment than the most precife uniformity in any one particular external mode of worship."

Having thus, in the integrity of our hearts, and from a defire to contribute our mite to the facilitating this noble and Christian work, ventured to offer these few things to the confideration of our Readers, we proceed to lay before them an account of the Specimen of a reformed Liturgy, which is now made public.

This fpecimen, upon a general view, bears a very near refemblance to the old fervice; and the Author of it appears to

have made it his great object, to depart from it as little as poffible and in this, we think, he has judged wifely; as people in general must be fuppofed to have a ftrong attachment to what hath received the fanction of time, and what they have fo long been accustomed to and as the propofed form is fo very fimilar to that which we have so long used, the tranfition would be more eafy and natural. Novelty would, perhaps, be the greatest objection to the introduction of any Liturgy which differs very materially from the present.

The flyle, language, and manner of the Common Prayer are perfectly retained in this Specimen: and, indeed, these are, for the most part, fo truly excellent in their kind, have fo much plainness and fimplicity, fo much decency and gravity, are fo improved by age, and fo generally removed from every thing vulgar, that it will never be eafy to fall upon any thing hore happily adapted to the nature of prayer, and the capa cities of mankind.

There is one thing in which our Author has evidently improved upon the prefent practice of the church, and that is, by preferving the unity of the fervice. The manner in which the morning fervice, the Litary, and the communion fervice are now read in parish churches, occafions a great deal of confufion, and has frequently been complained of: the Author of the Specimen before us has avoided this inconvenience, and given us one uniform, fimple fervice, wherein all the parts are perfectly diftinct'; and the whole is of a proper length, without fatiguing the attention.

The great and capital alteration which the Reader will meet with in this reformed Liturgy is, that the Athanafian doctrine is totally excluded from it. The Athanafian and Nicene Greeds, the Gloria Patri, the third verficle of the Litany, O holy bleffed and glorious Trinity, the Collect for Trinity Sunday, and all particular forms of expreffion founded upon the Athas nafian doctrine, are entirely omitted.

In the room of the two excluded creeds, our Author retains the Apostle's Creed; omitting however the article of our Saviour's defcent into bell, as being misunderstood by the vulgar and illiterate: he, perhaps, thought it too great a departure from his original, to drop the ufe of creeds in public worship altogether this would, probably, have expofed him to fome cenfure, and rendered his attempt more unpopular; at the fame time he cannot but know, that there are great numbers REV. Oct. 1762.

U

of

of intelligent Chriftians, who would heartily have approved his fo doing. To worship the ONE true GOD through Jefus Chrift, is a conftant declaration of our faith.

After the Reading-Pfalms, and in other parts of the fervice, where the Gloria Patri is ufed, in this Specimen are introduced other fcriptural doxologies, fuch as thefe;

and

To the only wife God our Saviour be glory and majesty, dominion power, both now and for ever.

Bleffing and honour and glory and power be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Inftead of the prefent collect for Trinity Sunday, many of our Readers will be pleased with the two following, appointed in the Specimen for that feftival; and will be enabled to judge of our Author's abilities and taste, in this difficult species of compofition.

"O God, who by thy dear Son, Jefus Chrift our Lord, and by thy bleffed Spirit, the Comforter, haft united us unto thy holy church, and who haft appointed baptifm into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, grant that we may live agreeably to our Chriftian profeffion, and that we may pay the highest praises, and humbleft adoration, to thy divine Majefty; the most fincere obedience to the facred laws of thy Son, and the moft ready compliance with the holy motions of thy good Spirit, till we at length arrive safely at the haven of eternal life, through our Lord and Saviour ́Jefus Chrift. Amen.

"Or, this,

"Almighty and everlafting Father, who haft in the moft folemn manner revealed thyfelf to be the only true God, and haft commanded us to acknowlege thy dear Son, Jefus Christ, as our Lord and Saviour, and thy holy Spirit as our Support and Comforter, we beseech thee, that thou wouldst keep us ftedfaft in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adverfities, who liveft and reigneft one God, world without end. Amen."

We did not expect in a form of Divine Service, profeffedly drawn up on Anti-trinitarian principles, that we should have found an inftance of divine homage immediately addressed

to