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Mic. vi. 6. This he applied to public worship, showing what public worship should be; and then proceeded to consider whether the liturgy of the Episcopal church was a fit service wherewith to come before the Lord.

"He showed, most conclusively, that, if offered in sincerity, it was a spiritual offering; and, from its whole structure and arrangement, admirably calculated to keep up attention, and excite the highest devotional feelings.

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"It is impossible,' said he, for the worldly man to join in this service, understandingly, and not resolve to amend his ways. It is impossible for the Christian, however indisposed his mind may be to heavenly converse in the commencement-it is impossible for him to go through this solemn service, without feeling, kindling within him, a glow of almost seraphic devotion. The liturgy is calculated to awaken and keep alive a pure and steady flame of Christian zeal. It checks, by its sober and rational offices, the ebullitions of enthusiasm; and awakens and fans, by the deep spirituality that pervades those offices, the flame of pure devotion. The doctrinal views it exhibits, and the manner in which it exhibits them, admirably harmonize with the spirit of genuine Christianity.

"The great error of the present day is the opinion, that when the heart has been once brought to feel the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, the business of religion is at an end. In direct opposition to this opinion, the Prayer Book instructs those who approach the divine throne, to entreat the Father of mercies to pour upon his ministers, and the congregations committed to their charge, the continual dew of his blessing-that they may daily be renewed by his Holy Spirit-daily increase in righteousness and true holiness more and more, until they come unto his everlasting kingdom. Growth in grace, and continual increase in the divine life, are ideas to which great prominency is given, and great importance attached, in the Prayer Book. Then, too, this formula of worship, by the arrangement of its service, brings before us in succession all the

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Information in relation to the Episcopal church.

great events and doctrines connected with the work of our redemption. Each Sunday it has some new and interesting truth for our consideration; and, by thus continually calling our attention to the different and separate parts of this great and glorious system of grace, the mind is kept active, the interest is not suffered to decline, nor the warmth of piety to languish. And I do really believe, that such a systematic arrangement of subjects as the Prayer Book presents, not only tends to edification, but is eminently calculated to kindle and keep alive true Christian zeal in the heart.'

"This sermon imparted to me much valuable information, and I was more than ever convinced that I had hitherto been ignorant of the true nature of religion. The Episcopal missionary preached in our village three Sundays in succession. I was a constant attendant; and the more I saw and heard, the more I admired this mode of worship.

"It so happened that I did not meet Mrs. Maison, except at church, until after the third Sunday on which we had had Episcopal service.

"The next time she called upon me, an almost unearthly radiance lit up her countenance, as she affectionately embraced me, and said,

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Rejoice with me, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my supplication. Long have I made it the subject of earnest prayer to God, that he would plant in this region a branch of his pure apostolic church, and grant to me the unspeakable privilege of again mingling my voice with his people, in the language of that liturgy which I was taught to lisp in infancy to the praise of his glorious name.

"And now, my dear friend,' continued Mrs. Maison, arrangements are making, as I understand, to have stated Episcopal service in this place. Will you not rejoice with me?'

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"Yes,' I replied, and constantly go with you to that service.'

"But how can you leave your own church?' said Mrs. Maison. Will it not grieve your friends to see you

Correspondence between the lessons of Scripture and the devotional services.

attending the services of a church, against which they cherish such strong prejudices?'

"In this matter,' said I, I must act for myself, and follow what appears to me to be the path of duty. And on this subject my mind is entirely made up.'

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“I am glad you have come to this conclusion without any help from me,' said Mrs. Maison. Although no one can be more pleased with the result than I am, still I did not wish to warp your judgment. And now I suppose I may ask, how you were pleased with our mode of worship?'

"So well pleased,' answered I, 'that I am become a thorough convert to the argument of your preacher. The service appears to me so sublime and spiritual that I feel confident it will never wear out; and I shall never become weary of it.'

"There is certainly much to keep up the interest, in our form of worship,' said Mrs. Maison. 6 The different parts assigned to the minister and people, in the performance of this service, produce the most happy and animating influence upon all. And did you observe what a delightful correspondence there was between the Scriptures that were read, and the services that followed?'

"I do not know,' said I, that I understand the precise points to which you refer.'

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"You know,' she continued, that the lesson, on the first Sunday on which we had service, being the 20th Sunday after Trinity, was the 17th chapter of 1 Kings, which relates the interesting story of Elijah's sojourn with the widow of Zarephath-records the fact, that the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail, upon which they all subsisted, and describes, with a simplicity and pathos unequalled, the grief of the bereaved mother upon the death of her child, and the manner in which he was restored to life. This display of Almighty power having been recited in the hearing of the congregation, they rise up in one great company, and thus address the

The excellencies of the liturgy.

Eternal, We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. Equally applicable is this address to Jehovah, as it followed the lessons, last Sunday and the Sunday before, being the 21st and 22d Sundays after Trinity. The one records a display of divine power as manifested in healing the Syrian leper: the other, in protecting Daniel in the lions' den.

"So at the close of the second lesson, taken from the New Testament, which related our Saviour's interview with Nicodemus, and glanced at the grand object of his mission to our earth, to redeem and regenerate our fallen race; nothing could follow more fit or appropriate, than the hymn in which the whole congregation unite,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people;

"And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us in the house of his servant David.'

"Thus Mrs. Maison from time to time called my attention to the striking excellencies of the liturgy, and it was not long before I acquired such a relish for it that I could be satisfied with no other mode of worship. I became a member of the Episcopal church. Of this act I have never had cause to repent. I have been called to pass through many trials, but the Lord hath never left nor forsaken me. Often has the animating spirit that pervades the Prayer Book, rekindled the expiring flame of devotion, and awakened within me new purposes to live to the glory of God."

Sympathetic influence.

CHAPTER V.

MR. COLCHESTER.

"Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days." From the Book of Ecclesiastes.

MANKIND are sympathetic beings. This peculiarity in the human constitution accounts for numerous moral phenomena, which would otherwise be inexplicable. It accounts for that strong tendency, which seems interwoven with our very nature, to become assimilated and identified with whatever is immediately around us. We are constantly acted upon by the moral and intelligent beings with whom we are brought into contact. Almost unconsciously are we led by the sympathetic and social principle that connects us with other beings, to laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep. We see this sympathetic principle operating in a great variety of ways. We cannot but have observed how often in the social circle, where one has begun to relate an anecdote, there has been awakened a perfect passion for repeating incidents of a similar character. In like manner the reader will undoubtedly recollect repeated instances, where, after an individual had, in the midst of a little group, been led to give some account of his own personal history, the whole company present have been singularly prompted to turn autobiographers. I recollect a striking instance of this in a stage-coach. The inclemency of the weather and the state of the roads rendered every thing dull and gloomy around us. There were some eight or nine passengers in

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