the green pastures "of God's word and promises, to feed on husks?" the sins and follies of the world? The Church points us to the cause, and instructs us to confess and lament it before God: "We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts."

This sentence of the confession, when considered in relation to that which precedes it, intimates to us a very striking contrast. The ways of God from which we have strayed, lead to life eternal; and our own way, which we have followed, is the broad path which leadeth to destruc tion. If we attentively observe the workings of our minds, and survey the tenor of our past lives, we shall have the fullest reason to assent to that humiliating representation of the human heart which is given in the holy Scriptures:-"From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." He who made this declaration knew what was in man: and it is under a full sense of the original depravity of our nature, as well as in consideration of our actual transgressions, that the Church has taught us to confess" we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts." But merely to acknowledge this with our lips, will not be sufficient. It is necessary that we should feel what we say. We must be convinced that our nature is depraved, before we shall seek the aids of the blessed spirit; and that our conduct has been wrong, before we shall earnestly set about an amendment. Let us beseech God, then, in the excellent language of the Church," that by his holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by his merciful guiding may perform the same."

It is by thus following our own wicked devices and desires that we fall into

actual sin. This St. John defines to be the "transgression of the law of God." And accordingly we are taught to proceed to the acknowledgment of our positive guilt;-" We have offended against thy holy laws.”

These words may be appropriated by all men, whatever may be their situation, or circumstances in life. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." "There is no man that liveth and sinneth not." A consideration of the sovereign and righteous authority of the great Being whose laws we have violated, ought to fill us with deep humility and awe in his presence. But that a dread of his anger, and his almighty power may not deter us from approaching him, he has revealed himself to us on a throne of grace; and, through the meritorious atonement and intercession of his Son, encourages us to draw near to him, as to our "most merciful Father."

Our offences against the laws of God, consist of sins of omission, and of commission. After the general acknowledgment of our transgressions, we are instructed to proceed in our Confession; "We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done."

These words contain a full acknowledgment of the manifold sins and wickedness with which we stand justly charged. We first confess our neglect of duty. Wilfully to omit the performance of what God has positively required of us, may be no less criminal in his sight than actually to do what he has expressly forbidden us. Thus saith the Lord, (Ps. lxxxix. 32) "If they keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes."-

This consideration ought to lead us to a careful review of our past lives, that we may perceive in what res pects we have neglected to perform our duty, and humbly confess and lament the same before God And in doing this, let us not judge of our deficiences by any rule which fashion may have prescribed, or by any standard which mere human wisdom may have recommended. For as the latter is certain to be fallible, so is the former su e to be flattering and false. Let us examine ourselves by the perfect law of God, and judge ourselves now, that we be not judged of the Lord, in the great day of account. In the following injunctions of scripture, both the objects and the measure of our religious af fections are fully summed up and defined:" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself." Alas! how widely have we departed from this perfect standard! Who of us have exercised that love to God which it requires? Have we not all often withheld our best affections from him who is most worthy of them, and lavished them upon base and inferior objects? Have we not suffered the world, its vanities, its pleasures, its riches, and its honours, to entangle our minds and captivate our hearts? Neither have our feelings, nor our conduct towards our neighbours been always such as we would have wished them to have exercised towards us. Although the rule by which our conduct should be regulated, is lodged in our own bosoms, yet we must all be conscious to ourselves, that our corrupt pas sions and selfish feelings, have too often led us to violate its injunctions. But besides having come short of the duties which we owe to God and our neighbour, we have also failed in our duty to ourselves. We are bound, by the divine law, to keep

our bodies in temperance, soberness, and chastity: To" crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts." But have we always done so? Rather have not angry passions too often ruffled our breasts and disturbed those about us? And have not our minds been too often defiled with pride, or unbelief; with revengetul thoughts or unholy desires? If we could bring all our negligencies and deficiencies into one point of view; if we could be sensible in how small a degree the love of God has the pre-eminence in our souls; how seldom our regard to our neighbour has come up to the measure which the scriptures require; and how often we have neglected to restrain the impetuosity of our passions, and to chasten our unhallowed thoughts, we should be filled with self-abasement at the divine footstool, and unite in heart and voice in this confession; "we have left undone those things which we ought to have done.”

The law of God, while it com mands some things, forbids others. Indeed, the same law that commands any thing, implicitly forbids the contrary. We are, therefore, taught to confess our posi ive transgressions, as well as our sins of omission :"We have done those things which we ought not to have done." When we measure our conduct by the bare let'er of the law, we must all ac knowledge ourselves to be transgressors. But when we come to test our internal thoughts and affections by the spirit of the law," who can tell how oft he offendeth?" To violate God's holy Sabbaths-to prophane his hallowed name-to dishonour our parents-to cherish envy, malice, and revenge-to defraud-to slander our neighbours or pursue our pri vate interests with a view to his injury; these are crimes of the blackest dye. We hope few men are guil ty of them all. But we are constrained to fear that all of us have

been chargeable with some of them. Let us not suppose, however, that these constitute the entire sum of our transgressions. Let us humbly con fess the secret sins, which have been confined within our bosoms. Let us examine ourselves, and test the in ward thoughts and affections of our hearts by that spiritual exposition of the moral law, given by the Saviour, in his sermon on the mount; and while we humbly acknowledge and lament our outward transgressions before God, let us also add, "O cleanse thou me from my secret faults." And in order to determine whether our humiliations, and confessions at the divine footstool, be sincere or heartless, we must judge ourselves in a great measure, by our subsequent conduct. If we habitually strive to abstain from those sins which we are conscious that we have committed, and profess to deplore, we may be satisfied of the reality of our existence: but if we return again to our former practices and indulgencies, we may well distrust our sincerity, and be alarmed at our state. He who has proceeded thus far, in the general Confession, with a full and humbling sense of all his omissions of duty, as well as of his positive transgressions, by thought, word and deed, will be ready to join with the Church in the following words: "And there is no health in us."

The Scriptures frequently set forth the disorders and distempers of the mind, by the maladies and diseases of the body. And consonant to this mode of expression, the words now under consideration, obviously refer to the state of the soul: to the state of our hearts and affections towards God, and in relation to spiritual things. They import that our souls are naturally depraved, and rendered still more diseased by our sinful prac tices; that we are "far gone from original righteousness," and that we

have no power, independent of divine assistance, either to cure the mental diseases with which we are afflicted, or to prevent the attacks of future ones Such a consideration should lead us to that spiritual Physician, who alone understands our case, and has power to heal all the maladies of the soul. With him there is balm to cure the wounded spirit: with him there is mercy to pardon our guilt, grace to strengthen our weakness, and the influence of the holy spirit to inspire us with divine life, and to sanctify our hearts.

In this part of the general Confession, it is the design of the Church to excite in us a deep sense of our manifold transgressions; to inspire us with a sincere sorrow and contrition for them; and to lead us to an humble and penitential confession of our guilt. She then intimates to us that misery is the proper object of mercy, and that the forgiveness of the penitent is the peculiar prerogative of God, through the atonement and intercession of his Son. And after having touched our hearts with a lively sense of our guilt and misery, she now conducts us to him who is able to deliver us from its thraldom, and from the punishment which is due to it: "But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders."

In these words we deplore the divine wrath which we have deserved, and supplicate the divine mercy which we need. The motive which leads us to ask for mercy, is our own misery, but the only foundation upon which we can ground our hopes must be the sufficiency of Christ. The gospel Covenant guarantees a free pardon to all who put their trust in his atoning blood "Whosoever beleiveth in him shall have remission of sins." (Acts x. 43.)

The following clause, contains a further deprecation of the just judg

ments of God which our sins de serve:-" Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults."

These words express the apprehensions and desires of a sinner fully convinced of his demerits; and the supplication is warranted by the sure guarantee of the divine Cove nant: "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." (1 John i. 9.) "He that confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy." (Prov. xxviii. 13.) There is, however, an important difference between the mere confession of the lip, and the real humility of the heart. The reiterated confession is but a solemn mockery in the mouths of those who use it without thought, or as a mere matter of form. It is the language of a heart deeply sensible of the enormity of sin, fully aware of its awful consequences, and earnestly desirous of being delivered from its dominion and its punishment. Such a heart will earnestly seek to be recovered from its errors, and its wanderings, and to be reinstated in the divine favour; and with renewed ardor, will appropriate the additional supplication, "Restore thou those who are penilent."

In the former petition, we prayed to be delivered from the punishment of sin : In this we pray to be restored from its pollutions. It is as though we should say, Restore us, gracious Lord, to the light that sin has deprived us of, and to thy favour which we have justly forfeited by our numberless transgressions: restore the faculties of our minds, our reason, our understanding, and our wills-from their present depraved state, to some degree of that perfection for which they were originally designed restore both our souls and bodies from being instruments of sin, to be instruments of holiness, and means of promoting thy glory." We are not indeed to expect an enire renovation of our nature to its

primitive purity while in this life; but we may expect, and humbly pray for, such a renovation as may "make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light." In the former petition, we sought deliverance from the punishment of sin, on account of our sincere confession. In this, we ask to be freed from its pollutions, on the ground of our penitence. But we are not to imagine that our confessions or our penitence give us any meritorious claim to forgiveness and restoration to the favour of God. These are necessary conditions, on the faithful performance of which, God vouchsafes to extend his mercy to us, through the merits of his Son. It is through him alone that we have access to the Father, and all our petitions must be offered in his name. Accordingly, the Church directs us to the promises of God, in Christ, as the foundation of all our hopes and expectations of mercy, and directs us to ask for pardon and renovation, as well as for every other blessing, solely on these grounds: "According to thy promises, declared unto mankind, in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In this way, and according to these promises, the humblest penitent, in his daily supplications at the throne of grace, is taught to seek forgiveness of his sins, and the renovation of his nature; that being redeemed from all iniquity, he may be brought into the liberty of the children of God. In making these reiterated petitions for pardoning grace, the essential requisites on our part, are contrition and sincerity.— It is to be feared that there are many who wish to be delivered from the dreadful consequences of sin in the world to come, who yet feel little real sorrow for it, and seldom manifest a sincere desire of being delivered from the guilt and power of it here. But it is necessary that we should feel sin to be a burthen; and

be fully persuaded that the guilt of it unless pardoned here, will be ruinous to us hereafter. It is necessary that we should apply to the merits of Christ for pardon, and wait by faith for the blessings of his redemption. And though the best righteousness we can render may be compared to filthy rags, yet we should be as anxious to maintain a life and conversation worthy of our high calling, as if our everlasting welfare depended solely upon our own merits. Hence it is, that in addition to our supplications for pardon, and a spiritual restoration to the divine favour through the Redeemer, we are taught to continue our petitions, in the following words: "And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life; to the glory of thy holy name. Amen.

The desire of reformation, and amendment of life, is the great criterion of a sincere confession, and an evangelical repentance. A loud and ostentatious profession of religion, or an attachment to the most orthodox creeds, will avail us nothing, without a holy and consistent conduct. St. Paul has summed up all practical Christianity, in teaching us to live "a godly, righteous, and sober life": Godly, exercising all piety and devotion in our services towards God! righteously, in all honesty, fidelity, and charity with our neighbour: soberly, governing ourselves, with all temperance, modesty, and humility. It is with great propriety that the Church has introduced this form of speech into her Liturgy, at the conclusion of the general Confession. It is impossible that the sum of our duties could be expressed in fewer, better, or plainer words. And it is a main end of all our confessions, and supplications at the divine footstool, that we may be enabled to perform these duties with new and increased fidelity. .

We have thus taken a minute view of this general Confession which the piety of the Church has provided for us. We cannot help admiring its propriety and excellency; its exact conformity to the language and spirit of the Scriptures, and its suitableness to our condition as sinners, and supplicants at the throne of grace. May the examination which we have given it, lead us all to a fuller view of the import of the confessions and supplications which it contains, and dispose us to use it with "an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart, to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of our sins, through the infinite mercy and goodness of God," C.

For the Churchman's Magazın.

Holy Days.

No. II.

As some places above others are consecrated by the especial presence of God, so are some seasons rendered more holy than others, because in them God hath manifested his provdence over us in a particular or remarkable manner. Such was the Passover among the Jews, and such are Christmas, Epiphany and other holy-days observed in our Church. They are, as I before remarked, distinguished from common time, and set apart and sanctified, by that authority with which Jesus Christ hath entrusted the officers of his Church. He declared to those holy men whom he first commissioned as the stewards of his mysteries. as the ministers of his grace, and his deputies on earth; and, through them, to all others who have since regularly succeeded to their offices; that he would be with them even unto the end of the world, and that whatsoever they should bind on earth, should be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they should loose on earth, should be