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    midlt be toW m the sermon , if per-¦ J ^ je it should be preached by a r ^ Phiche or a Fenelon , that all tjj ^ . p ^ in ^ and pageantry was nothing , « htf KiH&er than as it served to promote

    ioter&al sanctity and the religion of the jgait ,: but this Would not suffice ; he ff 9 &td immediately reply—if it be tfrthingj then it is nothing worth , a neerfless ex pence upon the public , and

    much better---omitted . And even tn a chtf rch of more chaste and sober forms , the pealing organ , the frequent repetition ^ the monoton ous buz of a ge neral response and the careless gabble of ehtrHy children , would tend rather to depress than to exakhifc "devotion . Jtod on the oth e * -hand , blinganum

    infonned Romanistittto a silent meeting , and , from a total ignorance of their peculiar principle * , he would inquire—wheteiore they wsere come together ? And yeVrnigftt not the--Romanist and the Friend , together with some of the intermediate classes , converse

    together open the outlines of natural religion and of Christian faith ; and if accidentally cast into situations where their particular worship 'was not to be had , meet together on the Lord ' s day ,

    dejnite one as the orgati of the congregation to pray with or without a form , read some portions orSoriptur-e , exhort cither from a written table * or from " the table of the heart , " and praise the great Creator amd Governor of the

    universe , through Jestjs Christ ? Nay , might not those among them who held the perpetuity of the ordinance of the Lord ' s Supper , unite in eating bread and dTinkhiig wine , in commemoration of their common Lord , together with

    s > Hie short and approprkite prayers and thanksg ivings ; and yet each retain for w present his own peculiar ideas as to tne nature of this religious rite ?

    Cer"ray an this may be done by sober ai ) d considerate persons in different P ^ of the world , not only without otknee , but much to their mutual comtott and edification . But if upon any "jj * occasions a Gardiner or a fionner MKmld W unexpectedl y enter , thunder ms anathema , tell those of his own ^ nwnu ^ ity that a ceremonial worship ^ Pessary to thei r religious infirm ** ' ** , that public prayer cannot J ~ . % celebrated without the priest , *^ lie sae * ameat without trie mass-¦^ M o * tfoey wfete-W heU ^ ve Hin *?—

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    then indeed for the present there must be an end of the business I In such a case those who are left ought , in a religious view , to think and act for themselves . - " The whole world , " says Dr . Hartley , will never be reformed fyiti by those who are of a-truly Catholic spint .

    And to promote this desirable and important end we are called upon as Christians > both in our private and public capacities . Nothing can be more obvious , if we believe Scripttirfe * and , as it hath been-well illustrated by many eminent writers , than that the world is carried on for the sake of the

    church , not this or that particular church , not the clergy as distinct from the laity , but the church of God , consisting , first , of * ' the household of faith , " emphatically so called , that is , true Christians of every denomination , and secondly , of " the children of God who are scattered abroad , those other

    sheep who are not of the first fold , the sons and * daughters whom God shall bring from afar , from the east and the West , the north and the south , to sit down with Abraham , Isaac and Jacob , in his kingdom . " The Jewish nation also , which , as such , was the ancient

    and peculiar people of God , the only nation which has any right to plead favouritism ¦ > and that not on their own account—which was never entirely cast off , and which is to be finally restored , must be included in this general idea . It is no enthusiasm to say that in this sense " dominion is founded in

    grace , " and that ' * ¦ the saints shall judge the world ; " but then this is a spiritual and not a civil dominion—the dominion of virtue over vice , of truth over error , of simple real religion over superstition , of a spirit of peace and charity over a

    spirit of bigotry and intolerance : ' < For trie needy snail not always be forgotten , the expectation of the poor stall not perish for ever ; nor shall the rod of the wicked for ever rest upon , the lot of the ri g hteous ! " Providence sometimes brings about - these events by

    gradual means , and sometimes H « operates more sensibly . There « is a period wheu the church is represented as crying out , * r It is time v lor Thee , O Lord I to work , * for they have mad ^ void th y law : Arise , O Lord I judge the earth , for thou shalt inherit all nations . " In th $$ 4 thand 34 th obapte ** of Isaiah we have a dttsctyption of wbutf

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    Oit Controversial Divinitti . &ST

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1816, page 587, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2457/page/23/