Apostolic Church;-when the Reformers proceeded to cast away the unscriptural doctrines, and the superstitious forms, which the Roman branch of the Christian Church had been upholding for so long a time, a desire arose in the hearts of our spiritual rulers, that the Common Prayer should be no longer in Latin; so that the people might understand what was contained in the prayers used by them.

It was about three hundred years ago when the church of this land was enabled, by throwing aside this, and other corruptions, such as having the Scriptures in an unknown tongue; denying the cup of blessing, in the Lord's supper, to all save the clergy; paying worship, of some kind, to the Virgin and to saints;-by setting aside these and other errors, to return to the state of the early church in doctrine and in government.

The object of our reformers was, not to sweep away indiscriminately, every thing which had belonged to the Church, while

under the power of Rome. They would not cut away that which might be preser ved and healed; they removed only those errors, which had arisen, from neglect of Scripture, and disregard to the traditional customs of the primitive Christians. They did not proclaim-we will have none of this Liturgy, because parts of it have been used by the Romish Church: but, we will purge it of all that is contrary to God's word, and all that is opposed to the pure rules of the Church in the times of the Apos tles, and their early successors. We will bring the services back to the state in which they were before the errors of Popery. They referred to the Common Prayer of the Church of Jerusalem (for there is no doubt of there having been a Liturgy established by the Apostles themselves'.) They referred to the Common Prayer of Alexandria, of Antioch, of the Church of Ephesus, and the Liturgy of the south of France.

1 Vid. Palmer's Origines Liturgicæ.

Thus, duly reverencing public prayers which had been transmitted through these churches, from St. James, St. Peter, St. John, and St. Mark; and adopting parts from the ancient Roman, and Eastern churches, they were prepared to give the nation a service-simple, lively, spiritual, affectionate, reasonable, and sublime.

But, this work was not done in haste. The Fathers of our church proceeded cautiously and reverentially in their task. First, they disseminated a book, with some forms of devotion (yea, and some remaining errors therein) called the "Godly and pious institution of a Christen man." When the leaven, introduced by this, had worked for a season, another volume came forth with corrections, entitled "a necessary doctrine and erudition for any Christen man." Soon afterwards, a book called the King's Primer, was published by authority; containing the Lord's prayer, the ten commandments, the belief, the hymns -"O come let us sing unto the Lord,"

and "We praise thee, O God," &c. These were preparations of the public mind. A course of training was thus adopted, for a people, who had been accustomed to listen to the Scripture, in an unknown language; and to offer prayers in a tongue, which they did not comprehend.

In the year 1547, a great advance was made. The pious king Edward the sixth, anxious for the promotion of true religion, issued orders for composing an uniform order of Communion, according to the rules of Scripture and the Primitive Church. The service for the Lord's Supper, was, accordingly, provided in English and the communicants now, for the first time, understood the words of the solemn ministration, and received the cup of the Lord. This cup of blessing, the priests had for a long period, contrary to the rule of the Primitive Church, and to the very words of our Saviour, "Drink ye ALL of this'," re

1 Matt. xxvi, 27.

served entirely to themselves. This office for the Lord's Supper then, was the first, which was prepared in the mother tongue. This was no sooner accomplished, than the nation, nourished by this comfortable sustenance for the soul, was admitted yet to another rich feast of devotion: for within a few months, the forms of prayer for Sunday, and for other holy days, fasts, and festivals, were added: and in the year 1548, the Common Prayer was used in our churches, complete in the language of the nation.

As long as our Bishops, and other divines, acted according to their own cautious judgment, the progress of religion was great. But on their calling in the aid of some learned men from the continent (though this was done in an humble and conciliating temper), scruples and doubts began to spread abroad; and the impression, heightened by extravagant admiration of the foreign Reformers, that the book of prayer had not receded far enough from Popish