a monthly offertory, (beside the great Festivals,) and collect from the whole congregation, here would be a step towards recovery; the poor would be benefitted, and none injured, for many (I am sure) would be will ing to give, who do not feel prompted to join the holy supper. 80; 8. It would be wrong to neglect the offertory, simply because every regular attendant at church does not feel disposed to give every week. He is not compelled to do "let every man do according as he is disposed in his heart," but he should not object to the opportunity being allowed to others. There is such a variety of circumstances in human life, that the week to one may have been prosperous, to another adverse; now each should give accordingly. 9. The objection to the offertory for societies is groundless. Every collection for them is openly declared before hand; every giver knows what he gives to, and he knows also that the collection for the poor will come on the next Sunday, so that he can allot his charity to each, precisely as he pleases. It is strange to hear this objection from those who advocate churchdoor collections. 10. To return all at once to the weekly offertory, may not be in every place possible, consistently with peace and edification. It is unreasonable to think what has been let slip for generations can be recalled in a moment; nor are the clergy called upon to fight for customs, however seemly, with that firmness that befits the preacher of fundamental truth. The neglect of them has been passed over by those in authority for a long time, and the revival of them may sometimes require a similar grant of time to do it in. Sudden changes in religious worship startle men, they wonder what they mean. 11. At the offertory the minister preaches in his sur plice; this has been seriously raised as an objection. If he did not, he must read prayers in his surplice, and then preach in a gown, and then resume the surplice; these changes of dress are undesirable, and therefore he keeps one robe on through the entire service. In the offertory there is an opportunity afforded for every one in the congregation to give something to the poor, (or other charitable object;) there is no "necessity," and therefore there need be no "grudging:" and the clamor that has sometimes been raised against it, is very unreasonable, and unworthy of charitable and thinking It has no more connexion with Popery, than it has with Mahomedanism. It is enjoined in our own prayer book, and if any persons think they serve true religion by opposing it, truly it may be said to such, "This persuasion cometh not of him that called you." men. THE LORD'S DAY AMONG THE FIRST CHRISTIANS. FOR the name of this day of public worship, it is sometimes, especially by Justin Martyr and Tertullian, called Sunday, because it happened upon that day of the week, which by the heathens was dedicated to the sun; and therefore as being best known to them, the Fathers commonly made use of it, in their Apologies to the heathen governors. This title continued after the world became Christian, and seldom it is that it passes under any other name, in the imperial edicts of the first Christian emperors. But the more proper and prevailing name was the Lord's day, as it is called by St. John himself, as being that day of the week whereon our Lord made his triumphant return from the dead. This, Justin Martyr assures us, was the true original of the title. "Upon Sunday," says he, "we all assemble and meet together, as being the first day wherein God, parting the darkness from the rude chaos, created the world, and the same day whereon Jesus Christ our Saviour rose again from the dead: for he was crucified the day before Saturday, and the day after (which is Sunday) he appeared to his apostles and disciples :" by this means observing a kind of analogy and proportion with the Jewish Sabbath which had been instituted by God himself. For as that day was kept as a commemoration of God's Sabbath or resting from the work of creation, so was this set apart for religious uses, as the solemn memorial of Christ's resting from the work of our redemption in this world, completed upon the day of his resurrection. : Therefore we may observe, all along in the sacred story, that after Christ's resurrection the apostles and primitive Christians did especially assemble at the first day of the week and whatever they might do at other times, yet there are many passages that intimate, that the first day of the week was their solemn time of meeting. On this day it was, that they were met together when our Saviour first appeared to them, and so again the next week after and on this day they were assembled when the Holy Ghost so visibly came down upon them, when Peter preached that excellent sermon, and converted and baptized three thousand souls. Thus when St. Paul was taking his leave at Troas upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, i.e. (as almost all agree,) to celebrate the holy sacrament, he preached to them sufficiently intimating that upon that day it was their usual custom to meet in that manner; and elsewhere giving directions to the Church of Corinth, as he had done in the like case to other Churches concerning their contributions to the poor suffering brethren, he bids them lay it aside upon the first day of the week, which seems plainly to respect their religious as semblies upon that day, that every one according to his ability, deposited something for the relief of the poor, and the uses of the church. After the apostles, the Christians constantly observed this day, meeting together for prayer, expounding and hearing of the Scriptures, celebration of the sacraments, and other public duties of religion. "Upon the day called Sunday," says Justin Martyr, " all of us that live either in city or in country meet together in one place;" and what they then did, he there describes, of which afterwards. This doubtless Pliny meant, when giving Trajan an account of the Christians, he tells him that they were wont to meet together to worship Christ upon a set certain day; by which he can be reasonably understood to design no other but the Lord's-day; for though they probably met at other times, yet he takes notice of this only, either because the Christians, whom he had examined, had not told him of their meetings at other times, or because this was their most public and solemn convention, and which in a manner swallow up the rest. -Cave's Primitive Christianity. THE HOMILIES. Ir is one grand difference between the church of England and the church of Rome, that in the former, all the people can easily know all her doctrines; in the latter, this is quite impossible. All the doctrines of the church of England are in the prayer book. She has also set forth two books of homilies, said to contain a godly doctrine, and necessary for the times when they were written, from these three we can gather her teaching. In the church of Rome, Popes and Councils without number, decretals, bulls, and a vast variety of authorities (sometimes contradictory to each other) set forth the Roman tenets, so that the search is one of great difficulty to find out what her doctrine really is, my present purpose is with the Homilies. One difference must be noticed: all the prayer book is declared to be agreeable to the word of God; of the homilies it is only said that they contain a godly doctrine, very necessary for the times when they were composed; neither clergyman nor layman is expected to agree with every word in them. I suppose if twenty intelligent members of the church, were to read over all the homilies, not one would agree to every thing said there; they are sermons, and though in the main very good and useful, are not supposed to be free from error. I might read a volume or two of modern sermons, I might think them valuable and useful, I might say the times required such preaching, and yet I might find just fault with many things, either as overstated, or erroneous, or untrue. At the time of the reformation, few of the Romish clergy were preachers, legends of the saints, and divers superstitions, formed the favorite topics of their discourses, how then (we may ask) could the reforming bishops supply the churches with sound doctrine? they could not fill the pulpits with able and faithful preachers, where could they get them? Even the priests who conformed to the Reformation, were quite unfit (and perhaps somewhat unwilling) faithfully to preach the pure Gospel, the only safe way then was to compose good sermons for them, and require them to read them to the people. Now this is the real origin of the homilies. The plan at last adopted was this. When a clergyman was deemed able and fitted for a preacher, he was licensed for this work by the Bishop: in all other cases he was required to read a homily. A very little acquaintance with the history of the Reformation will shew us, that this was absolutely the only safe way; the only way to keep out Romish preaching; the only mode of effectually carrying out the great work, the |