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is of opinion, that under all the cirumstances, her Majesty's name should be inserted in the collects and liturgy of the church; and that such a measure would greatly tend to remove the discontents existing on that subject." The moderation of this proposition induced many members to give it their support, who had not supported Lord Tavistock's motion. Among others, Mr. Wilberforce, who spoke on the occasion, contended, that although there were no just grounds on which, looking to the whole of their conduct, it would be just to condemn ministers, their situation being one of great difficulty, and their errors being merely errors of judgment; and although the Queen's conduct since her return had been no less dishonourable to herself than injurious to the country, yet he was disposed to vote for restoring her name to the liturgy, not as conferring a mark of favour upon her, but in deference to the wishes of the Nation, and above all for the sake of peace. While the present heats continued, they tended to introduce party feelings into the services of the church; to pollute the atmosphere of love and peace, which should surround the altar, with hatred and dissension; and to alienate the affections of the people from the establishinent. Mr. Wilberforce particularly lamented that the day of sacred rest, when men were called to forget all vulgar cares, and to dismiss from their minds the animosities which disturb the course of human life, should be broken in upon by feelings of political rancour and discontent. He vated for the proposed measure, because it was healing and pacific, and because it would prevent many wellmeaning persons from becoming the dupes and instruments of the disaffected and designing.-Mr. Peel, Mr. Stuart Wortley, and Sir Thomas Acland, while they agreed in their disapprobation of some things in the conduct of ministers towards the Queen, and especially in their ori

ginal exclusion of her name from the liturgy, took a contrary view of the subject. Sir Thomas Acland urged, that if this motion were carried, it must be followed up by a motion for the grant of a royal palace, and for the coronation of the Queen, and that gentlemen would be bound in consistency to introduce to her presence the female branches of their families. For his part, he could not concur in a vote which would have the effect of placing the Queen at the head of female society in England. The original omission of her name, indeed, he regarded as inexpedient and unjustifiable; still, however, considering what had been her conduct since, he could not vote for its insertion. It was due to the female virtue of the country, not to require that homage to be paid to her Majesty to which he wished he could say she was entitled. The motion was rejected by a majority of 120, in a house consisting of 476 members.

Here the matter at present rests. Ministers have proposed a provision of 50,000l. per annum to her Majesty, which has been agreed to by both Houses of Parliament; but the Queen has announced her intention of declining to accept any allowance till her name shall be restored to the Liturgy. It is impossible to deny to her this right of refusal, but we apprehend that she will discover some good reason for changing her purpose; for if she indulges the hope that her partizans will support her in this punctilious act of self-denial, by a subscription sufficiently large to render her acceptance of the bounty of Parliament unnecessary, she will most surely be disappointed.

A variety of other subjects have been brought before Parliament, which we cannot enter upon at present. We hope that the topic of the Queen will now give place to others of more intrinsic importance, connected with the political, commercial, and moral interests of the community.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

JUVENIS; EUANTHES; J. H.; CLERUS; L. P. A.; R. B.; C. P. N. W.; A CON ́STANT READER; J. P.; W. V.; П55; CLEMENS; and two or three communications, without signature, are under consideration.

G. M. 940 has been received.

We are requested to state, that the half of a bank post-bill, No. 1740, for 100 l: has been received by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

ERRATUM.

In last No. p. 51, col. 2, for sixth, read fifth.

THE

CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.

No. 231.]

MARCH, 1821. [No. 3. Vol. XX.

RELIGIOUS COMMUNICATIONS.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

If the
F the following letter to a friend,
on the subject of worldly con-
formity, should appear worthy of
insertion in your pages, it is much
at your service. I am, &c.

My Dear Friend—

In the language of compliment, I should say, "Your will is a law to me:" but, independently of the inducement I shall always derive from the hope of meeting your inclination, a variety of motives in the present instance combine their influence, and animate my zeal in this epistolary combat; a friendly combat-for, while we throw down and accept the gauntlet, our hearts acknowledge no unamicable rivalship. The subject is indeed not a trifling one, but demands the most serious inquiry and examination. I, at least, consider it as involving within its compass some of the most essential points in religious principle and practice, (a conclusion formed on no hasty deliberation); and therefore, should I appear to write in a graver style than is usual in a familiar correspondence, recal to your recollection, that I consider myself the advocate of Truth-a client that demands the utmost seriousness and attention to do justice to its cause.

I think we are in no danger of misunderstanding the topics in question between us, when we proposed this correspondence. I would reduce them to the following: The nature and extent of true religion-its requisitions on the CHRIST, OBSERV, No. 231.

temper and conduct-and how far we are allowed to follow our own standard of right and wrong.

I must commence my argument by placing it on the broad basis of Divine inspiration-an authority which, I cannot doubt, your early education and subsequent inquiries have rendered so sacred that, in your mind, there is no appeal from its testimony. If indeed the external and internal evidences of Christianity, founded on types, prophecies, and miracles, aud corroborated by a code of ethics inimitable in its structure and unprecedented by any anterior system, had hitherto failed in producing full conviction in your mind, you would need but to drink yet deeper of the "perennial spring," in order to taste its sweetness and experience its efficacy; and it must be self-evident to the most shallow understanding, and much more so to one so capable of comprehending acutely as yours, that to neglect this most important inquiry, or to give it only a cursory thought, must argue a state of mind quite unworthy of that rationality which our Creator has bestowed upon us. Even admitting, for the sake of stating the case under all circumstances, that a doubt existed as to the authenticity of the Bible; still the arguments in its favour so obviously counterbalance those which have been set up against its authority, that it would still demand an attentive examination. But allowing, as we are compelled by irrefragable evidence to do, that "holy men of old wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," how awful both in its guilt and consequences must U

be such a contempt of the Divine Lawgiver!

I have said thus much, my dear friend, because the whole force of my remarks rests on this bulwark for support. It is from this source, from the plain testimony of the sacred Scriptures, that I principally derive my opinion, that an undue conformity to the world is at once derogatory to the dignity of our nature, inconsistent with the hopes of immortality which we profess to cherish, and inimical to the progress of those dispositions which assimilate our souls to God, and prepare us for our high destination as aspirants for what an Apostle calls the inheritance of the saints in light."

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Religion is represented in the Scriptures not as a subordinate but as the main object of our existence: it claims a supreme authority over our thoughts, words, and actions. Its character and importance may be in some measure inferred from the nature of the ob stacles which are represented as impeding its progress, and the consequent conflicts which the Christian is called upon to encounter. If its dictates were to be made subservient to the varying inclinations or prejudices of the human mind corrupt by nature and vitiated by evil habits and example-whence would arise the contest which we are enjoined to hold with every erroneous principle and feeling? We are commanded to "fight the good fight of faith," to "strive to enter in at the strait gate,"to "press forwards towards the mark of the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus;" all which expressions, with many others of similar import, convey a striking idea both of the inestimable value of the object to be pursued, and the danger of ultimately losing it.

The invariable tenor of Scripture tends to depreciate the importance of earthly objects, and to elevate the mind to the attainment of celestial hopes. The former

are pourtrayed as sinful and debasing-the latter as the source and centre of felicity; the one as the puerile and unworthy enjoyments of a nature degraded from its primæval tastes and dignity-the other as the exalted attainments of a soul renewed in the Divine image, and expanding towards heavenly maturity.

The abstract truth of this statement, my dear friend, your frequent perusal of Scripture will, I am sure, enable you to perceive; but, without denying its truth, there are other fallacious grounds on which the votaries of the world evade these rigid requirements. Rectitude of intention, peculiarity of situation, the powerful fascinations of youth and pleasure, are among the most ready and specious pleas to palliate an occasional, perhaps habitual, relaxation of the strict line of religious duty. I make no reference in the present remarks to the more flagrant acts of immorality: it is rather to those apparently venial faults' which, from their fair semblance, often obtain the name of amiable weaknesses, that I wish chiefly to invite your attention. This class of sins (for such, when measured by the unerring standard of rectitude, they will appear,) infuse their baneful poison imperceptibly around; and like a potent opiate, though they produce no apparently violent effect on the system, they are not the less fatal from the moral lethargy which they inevitably superinduce.

I think you remarked, my dear friend, in the course of conversation, that the action which was justifiable in your own eyes could not be essentially wrong-and thus that an appeal to your personal opinion was a fit criterion to judge of conduct. Now, it is necessary to bring every sentiment of this kind to the test of universal application, before its genuine or spurious origin can be ascertained; and I am convinced you will agree

with me, that such a system, if universally adopted, would be most pernicious to the interests of society, and utterly subversive of all virtue and religion. Let once the varying passions and interests of individuals become the standard of moral rectitude, and worse than chaotic darkness and disorder must ensue. If the ancient philosophers, whose habitual abstraction from those ideas and employments which are calculated to excite the passions and obscure the mental vision, obtained after all so very imperfect a perception of right and wrong, what heterogeneous notions must necessarily be embraced by a mixed community, whose comparative ignorance would of itself afford a strong presumption against the rectitude of their perceptions, even if their headstrong passions and conflicting interests did not lead them habitually to prefer the lowest standard.

private devotion? Think me pot severe or personal if I venture also to enumerate the irreverent mention of the name of God among that list of almost unnoticed sins which are nevertheless wholly incompatible with a devotional state of mind. I know you condemn this habit; and I sincerely wish you would consider it in that serious light which would render your conscience a faithful centinel at the "door of your lips."

In every sphere of life there is an ample field of obligations, personal and relative, which it is our bounden duty to discharge, and respecting which we are enjoined to practise constant self-examination. The various charities of life-discretion, humility, forbearance, forgivenness-are also all in their several degrees constituent parts of the Christian character; it is incomplete without them; these, therefore, furnish topics for selfscrutiny. Again: there are scenes of want and misery, which appeal to our compassion, and teach us to "weep with those that weep." Coldness, selfishness, and personal indulgence, are utterly opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, and must be superseded by the self-denying graces of Christian charity. But where, in the school of fashion, are those graces inculcated? The maxims of the world are incompatible with their purity-its laws are at variance with their spirit-its engagements clash with their important but unobtrusive claims; these heavenly exotics cannot flourish in the barren soil of the natural heart

- There must then be some fixed
test of excellence, something not
liable to fluctuate with the preju-
dices or caprices of mankind. And
if, as we profess to believe, the Au-
thor of Wisdom has deigned to re-
veal such a standard, and to be-
stow upon us clear and compre-
hensive directions for the regula-
tion of our tempers and lives-can
any thing justify, or even extenu-
ate, our disregard of his communi-
cations? Can we slight them, and
be guiltless? It is the language of
Revelation," Be not conformed to
this world:" can we then with im-
punity sacrifice our time, our ta-
lents, and our health at its unhal-
lowed shrine? The Christian Sab-
bath is appointed as a day of sacred
rest and religious improvement,
and we are commanded to "keep
it holy." But is the spirit of this
injunction observed by those who
devote some of its best hours to
sleep, and then the remainder to
any trifling amusement which hap-And
pens to seize on the frivolous ima-
gination, and this with scarcely a
parenthesis for public worship or

their buds are blighted-they wither and decay.

It deserves to be mentioned as an additional argument against worldly conformity, that the world. cannot bestow real happiness. Where are true riches? Gold says, "Not in me.

not in me," the diamond: gold

is poor.

The heart, if not the lips, of each devotee to fashion must make a si

milar confession relative to true enjoyment. It is not in the nature of any worldly gratification to satisfy an immortal soul; and mere fashionable pleasures are the poorest of the poor: they spring from foreign sources-are dependant on external circumstances-are ushered in by no virtuous intention-and leave behind no trace of virtuous reflection. Even when arrayed in their brightest attractions, and fixing on the disposition most susceptible to their influence, it is but a transient ebullition of gaiety that is excited by them, and that gaiety is often borrowed from the tranquillity of many succeeding days. The Power who proclaims, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you," knew what was in man-knew what alone was competent to satisfy the human soul, which is an emanation from Himself.

Let us then view the nature of true religion with the chastened eye of sober reflection; let us regard it in its relative connexion with a future state, and then all the splendid promises of sublunary honour and pleasure will appear "less than nothing and vanity" in the comparison. If the consideration of unchangeableness and perpetuity stamps value on an object, how insignificant must be the best possessions of this fleeting world; how inestimable the treasures laid up in heaven! Through the dim vista of the longest life, we may distinctly discern the termination of the brightest worldly perspective; but contemplating the boundless extent of eternity, our thoughts stretch beyond the faint horizon which circumscribes our view, and grasp the vast conception of immeasurable felicity.

I am fearful, my dear friend, that your patience is already exhausted; but the importance of my subject must plead my excuse for trespassing yet further on your time, since there is one most in

teresting point hitherto unmentioned. I allude to the subject of the Divine influences, which the impotence of our resolutions and the force of temptation render essential to our making even the first advances in religion. If then we would "attain the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls," we must engage on our side a heavenly auxiliary, who alone can assist us in the conflict and secure to us the final triumph. The difficulties of a religious life, we are taught, are great indeed, and insuperable to mere human effort; but our merciful Creator did not mean by this disclosure to break the bruised reed, or quench the smoaking flax, but to lead us to Himself, to teach us to repose on the strong for strength, and to fix an immoveable basis of hope and confidence on the ruins of our natural self-dependence and pride. In the affecting prayer which our Saviour presented to his Heavenly Father previously to his crucifixion, he adverts both to the trials which should occur to exercise the faith of his disciples and the assistance which he was able and willing to afford them. There is a ground of assurance fully adequate to counteract our own weakness, that "we can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth us." With such a guide, and such a protector, "the ways of religion are indeed ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." The Bible, like the pillar of cloud, will direct our track through the meridian hours of youth and pro sperity, and, like the resplendent pillar of fire, will cheer the gloomy night of adversity and old age. But the Bible itself must be studied with prayer for the guidance of God's Holy Spirit. Its promises are closely connected with the exercise of the devotional affections. "For all these things I will be inquired of by you."" Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be

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