talents, whose concealed opinions are heterodox, he will in his ministry so corrupt his congregation, that they will afterwards prefer a man, whose opinions are known to be of the same description, having no fixed standard either for his principles, or for their own.

If, to remove this uncertainty, the synod should be induced to recur to their ancient confession of faith, they would return to that, which, as has already been exemplified in every instance, has naturally tended to pass into that very arianism or socinianism, from which, in returning to it, they would endeavour to escape. What then would be gained by the change? They would have abandoned a system, in which very various opinions are held at the same time, for another, the natural tendency of which has actually shown itself to be, to an alternate movement between the extremes of calvinistic trinitarianism and of arianism or socinianism.

An established liturgy presents a difficulty in the way of union, though one, the importance of which, it is believed, is now much less highly estimated than in preceding times. It is doubtless impressive to hear an able minister praying, as if under the influence of a present inspiration from heaven; and if he were really so inspired, all must listen to him with awe and interest. But if the ministers of the presbyterian church do not receive the assistance of inspiration, many must furnish the public prayers in an inadequate, some in an extremely defective manner; and as even the ablest must find it expedient to premeditate their prayers, no sufficient reason seems to exist, why they should not also be prepared for the use of the congregation in a printed form. It is certainly possible, that a printed form. should be read with as much devotion, as a premeditated prayer could be delivered without book, and the

form possesses this inestimable advantage, that the congregation is enabled to join with the minister in supplication, instead of merely listening to the words which he may utter, and which he renders as various, and consequently as unexpected, as his talents may enable him to do. It probably happens indeed, that a congregation becomes so familiar with the manner of its minister, that it is enabled often to anticipate the expressions, which he shall use in prayer. This advantage however only substitutes the customary supplications of an individual for the authorised forms of a liturgy, without any advantage in exciting interest by varied combinations of language. Independently of such an advantage, which is in truth but an approach to a settled liturgy, the only part of the public service, in which a presbyterian congregation can be said to join the minister, is the psalmody, and in this, because it is a printed form.

Besides the general disadvantage of not being prepared to unite in supplications not previously known, others of great importance have also arisen from the want of a settled liturgy. One of these is that the prayers form a much smaller part of the public observance of the sabbath, for the talents of the ministers cannot with the expected variety supply prayers sufficiently detailed. The sermon, or the lecture, delivered by the minister, thus becomes the great business of the congregation, which is accordingly assembled rather to hear the instruction of the preacher, perhaps to be gratified by the display of his ability, possibly to gratify themselves by pronouncing a judgment on the performance, than to have an opportunity of uniting their supplications, and of availing themselves of the benefit of that special presence, which Christ has in such a case promised to his followers. This is more especially

observable in the dutch church, in which the time of the prayers has been reduced to about one fifth of that of the whole attendance. Another disadvantage is the discontinuance of the practice of reading the scriptures to the congregation. This practice had been only recommended to the church of Scotland in the directory for public worship, not ordained, as in that of England; and the consequence has been, that it is wholly abandoned. To this doctor Buchanan + has ascribed the general declension of the presbyterians of England into arianism and socinianism. Of the state of the church of his own country in this respect he seems to have been unwilling to deliver any opinion; but he has remarked that, if the people are indeed, as has been alleged, unwilling to hear the scriptures read in the churches, this fact is the strongest proof of the necessity of beginning to read them without delay.

Our Saviour has dictated a form of prayer, which, according to one evangelist, was to be actually used by Christians, and, according to another, was to be We have observed the

the model of their imitation.

directions of both. We recite the prayer itself in every service, and we use other stated prayers, which pious men have composed in humble imitation of that unexceptionable form. That these are not unacceptable to presbyterians appears from this, that they have for domestic devotion a selection of the prayers of our liturgy; and § bishop Hacket and bishop Bull are known to have attracted the admiration of dissenters to our offices, when they recited them from memory.

* Fifteenth Report of the London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, Appendix, Journal of the Rev, A. S. Thelwall, p. 113. + Christian Researches, p. 122-124. Luke, ch. 11. v. 2. || Matt. ch. 6. v. 9. § Gen. Biogr. Diction, vol. 17. p. 7, 8. Lond. 1814.

The athanasian creed has indeed been commonly mentioned, as an insuperable impediment to forming a union with the established church, this form of faith being generally regarded as an attempt to dictate imperiously to the consciences of men, prompted by a spirit of overweening and excessive refinement on the communications of God.

If however the author has been successful in endeavouring to prove, that this creed is not a collection of metaphysical refinements, but a simple statement of doctrines, as held to have been communicated in the sacred writings; and that to this simple statement no damnatory clause has really been annexed, the solemn denunciations of the creed referring only to the indispensable importance of a true faith in Christ; it may be hoped that this great impediment has at length been wholly removed, especially as the doctrines of the creed have been specifically adopted in that confession, which was the original standard of the presbyterian church.

There was a time, when the dress of the clergy and some few ceremonies presented the great difficulties in the way of a union of protestants. Nor was it at that time unreasonable, that these things should be regarded with a jealous alienation of mind, for the established church was, in that early period of the reformed religion, regarded by those who affected a more perfect ⚫regeneration of religion, as influenced by a tendency to return to the doctrines and practices of Rome, of which these things were considered as unequivocal indications. As however no one can now suspect the established church of any disposition to relinquish the religion of the Bible for one corrupted by the inventions of men, these differences cannot any longer be considered as im

* See page 3, note.

pediments. No presbyterian can now think, that the surplice of the established church is more favourable to the religion of Rome than the cloak of Geneva, or that to kneel at the administration of the Lord's Supper betrays any inclination to admit the doctrine of transubstantiation.

If the most efficient principle in maintaining the distinctness of the two churches be the gratification of choosing by a popular election the ministers employed in conducting the public worship of a congregation, and in superintending the spiritual concerns of the individuals who compose it, this gratification might remain undisturbed, for it is actually experienced in the chapels, which are licensed under the establishment. The gratification is indeed found to be attended by considerable inconvenience both in the establishment and in the presbyterian church, so that in the latter it has even been judged necessary to adopt a regulation, by which a preference is given to the opinion of those who contribute most largely to the support of the minister, the choice being determined, as it is technically said, by two thirds of men and two thirds of money. A right of patronage, however imperfect, is thus assigned to the more considerable contributors; and moreover, as it may easily happen that the opinions and wishes of the richer and of the poorer members of a congregation may be mutually opposed, it may occur, that this very regulation may serve only to impede an appointment, by precluding the decision of a simple majority.

Perhaps, however it may have been abused, the ingenuity of man could not devise a better expedient for administering the patronage of a church, than that of vesting it in ecclesiastical superiors, responsible for the exercise of it to public opinion. The church of Scotland has its patronage distributed among lay pro