NEW THEOLOGICAL WORKS. The POOR of LONDON: a Letter to the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. By Sir Walter James, Bart. M.P. 8vo. pp. 76. Sewed, 2s. The CONFESSION of our CHRISTIAN FAITH, commonly called the Creed of St. Athanasius; illustrated from the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, by parallel Passages from the Greek and Latin Writers of the first Five Centuries, and the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. By the Rev. John Radcliffe, M.A., Rector of St. Ann's, Limehouse. 8vo. pp. 548. Cloth, 14s. PAGANO-PAPISMUS; or, an exact Parallel between Rome-Pagan and RomeChristian in their Doctrines and Ceremonies. By Joshua Stopford, B.D., Rector of All Saints', York, 1765. 12mo. pp. 434. Cloth, 7s. LACHRYMÆ ECCLESIÆ: the Anglican Reformed Church and her Clergy in the Days of their Destitution and Suffering during the great Rebellion in the Seventeenth Century. By the Rev. George Wyatt, LL.B., F.S.A. Fep. pp. 360. Cloth, 5s. CHRISTIAN POLITICS. (Uniform with "Christian Morals.") By the Rev. W. Sewell, B.D. Fcp. Cloth, 6s. The ORDER for the ADMINISTRATION of the HOLY COMMUNION, according to the USE of the CHURCH of SCOTLAND. Printed in Black letter, with the Musical Notes (uniform with Mr. Dyce's Edition of the Common Prayer). In small 4to. Price 68. The ORDER of DAILY SERVICE, with the Musical Notation, as used in the Abbey Church of St. Peter, Westminster. By E. F. Rimbault, LL.D. 16mo. Halfbound, 5s. TREATISE on JUSTIFICATION; or, the Disputatio de Justitia Habituali et Actuali of the Right Rev. John Davenant, D.D., Bishop of Salisbury; delivered to the Divinity Students in that University. Published first in the year 1631, and now translated from the original Latin, together with Translations of the "Determinationes" of the same Prelate. By the Rev. Josiah Allport. Vol. 1. 8vo. (Birmingham), pp. 528. Cloth, 12s. SOME CRITICAL REMARKS on the BOOK of JOB. By the Rev. William Ewing, Vicar of Donegal. 8vo. pp. 116. Cloth, 5s. COMMENTARY on the FIRST CHAPTER of GENESIS: in which an attempt is made to present that beautiful and orderly Narrative in its true light. To which are added, Treatises on Geology and the Deluge. By T. Exley. Post 8vo. pp. 178. Cl. 4s. 6d. PAROCHIAL STATISTICS, in a Charge delivered on Visitation, in April, 1844; with a Table and Appendix. By C. J. Hoare, A.M., Archdeacon of Winchester. 8vo. pp. 38. 1s. 6d. The LIFE of ISAAC MILNER, D.D., F.R.S., comprising a portion of his Correspondence and other Writings hitherto unpublished. By his Niece, Mary Milner, Second edition, abridged. Fcp. pp. 472. Cloth, 6s. LECTURES on the INSTITUTION of the SABBATH. By the Rev. John S. Stone, D.D. 12mo. (New York), pp. 196. Cloth, 5s. CHRISTIAN FAITH and PRACTICE: a Second Volume of Parochial Sermons. By J. Garbett, Prebendary of Chichester, and Professor of Poetry in the University of Oxford. In 8vo. Cloth, 12s. TWO SERMONS, preached (with the sanction of the Lord Bishop) in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Ilfracombe, in behalf of a New Church, and of the Parochial Schools, on the Tenth and Twelfth Sundays after Trinity, 1844. By the E. B. Pusey, D.D. 8vo. (Oxford.) pp. 48. Sewed, Ís. 6d. SERMONS preached in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Plymouth, by the Rev. Hinton C. Smith, B.A., Minister. 12mo. (Plymouth.) pp. 242. Cloth, 5s. REFLECTIONS on THOUGHTS and THINGS, MORAL, RELIGIOUS, and POLITICAL. By D. Urquhart, Esq. 8vo. pp. 406. Cloth. 10s. 6d. THE CHURCH VISIBLE IN ALL AGES. By Charlotte Elizabeth. 16mo. With Engravings. 3s. 6d. cloth. AUTHENTICATED REPORT of the DISCUSSION which took place between the Rev. John Venn and the Rev. James Waterworth, in St. Peter's School-room, Hereford, February, 1844. 8vo. pp. 216. Cloth, 3s. SABBATH QUESTION ILLUSTRATED. By a Wayside Enquirer. Fcp. 8vo. 3s. 6d. cloth. MARY SPENCER: A Tale for the Times. By Miss Howard. 16mo. 3s. 6d. cloth. DIFFICULTIES of a YOUNG CLERGYMAN in TIMES of DIVISION. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. cloth. THE LIFE of the REV. HENRY MARTYN; and the LETTERS of the REV. HENRY MARTYN. 2 vols. With Engravings. 6s. each, cloth. AIDS to DEVELOPMENT; or, Mental and Moral Instruction Exemplified in conversations between a mother and her children. New and Abridged Edition. Fep. 8vo. Cloth, 68. CHRONOLOGICAL INTRODUCTION to the HISTORY of the CHURCH; being a new Inquiry into the true Dates of the Birth and Death of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and containing the original Harmony of the Four Gospels: now first arranged in the order of time. By the Rev. Samuel Farmer Jarvis, D.D., LL.D. 8vo. pp. 618. Cloth, 25s. SIXTY-SIX LETTERS from the Rev. John Newton, late Rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, to a Clergyman and his Family, between the years 1791 and 1801, never before published. 12mo. pp. 244. Cloth, 5s. PROTESTANT THOUGHTS, in Rhyme. By Baptist W. Noel, M.A. Square. pp. 92. Boards, 3s. 6d. COLLEGE LECTURES on Ecclesiastical History: with complete sets of Cambridge, Dublin, and Durham, Examination Papers. By the Rev. William Bates, M.A. Post 8vo. pp. 436. Cloth, 9s. BIBLIOTHECA SACRA and Theological Review. Conducted by B. B. Edwards and E. A. Park; under the special co-operation of Dr. Robinson and Prof. Stuart. Vol. I. No. 3, August 1844. Sewed, 68. An INQUIRY into the Predicted Character of Antichrsist; or, the Antichristianism of the Church of Rome investigated: A Sermon, with Appendix. By the Rev. J. H. Browne, M.A. Archdeacon of Ely. 12mo. pp. 164. Cloth, 3s. 6d. An ESSAY towards a New Translation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, on the Basis of the Authorised Version: with a Paraphrase, and brief Explanatory Notes By Basil H. Cooper, B.A. 8vo. pp. 72. Sewed, 3s. HISTORY of the LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. Compiled from Ori ginal Documents in the Possession of the Society. By William Ellis. Vol. I. 8vo. pp. 596. Cloth, 10s. 6d. SERMONS on Various Subjects. By the late Rev. William Warde Fowler, M.A. 12mo. (Derby), pp. 212. Boards, 4s. 6d. HAND-BOOK of Bible Geography; containing some Account of the chief Places mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, descriptive of their Ancient and Modern Condition. Illustrated by a Series of new and correct Maps. 12mo. pp. 100. Cloth limp, 9s. MISSIONARY JOURNALS and LETTERS written during Eleven Years' Rest dence and Travels amongst the Chinese, Siamese, Javanese, Khassias, and other Eastera Nations. By J. Tomlin, B.A. Post 8vo. (Chester.) pp. 408. Map. Cloth, 78 HISTORY of the PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH of AMERICA. By Samuel Wilberforce, M.A. 12mo. pp. 472. Cloth, 6s. THE ECCLESIASTICAL ANTIQUITIES of the CYMRY; or, the Ancient British Church, its History, Doctrine, and Rites. By Rev. John Williams, M.A. ¿va pp. 476. Cloth, 14s. CHARGE delivered to his Clergy in August and September, 1844, by the Right Rer. James Henry, Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. 8vo. pp. 36. Sewed, is 6d. AN INQUIRY into the Means of Grace, their mutual connection and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England: in Eight Sermons before the Univer sity of Oxford, at the Bampton Lecture, 1844. By Richard William Jelf, D.D. (Ur ford.) pp. 414. Cloth, 10s. 6d. THE CHURCHMAN'S MONTHLY REVIEW AND CHRONICLE. NOVEMBER, 1844. THE RESTORATION OF CHURCHES IS THE RESTORA- 1844. London : MR. CLOSE has here drawn up an indictment which the Cambridge Romanizers will find it difficult to meet. We are not surprised to hear that they have already appointed a Committee to consider the question of publications. It is clear that, in what has recently issued from their press, they have committed themselves to Popery in its whole length and breadth. Our present purpose, however, is not to repeat or abridge Mr. Close's tract, but to deal, independently, with a single point, which has of late years been particularly insisted on, not only by the Romanizing party, but by many others who have merely a leaning towards greater form and ceremony than our simple ritual prescribes. We allude to the practice, now frequently insisted on, as of universal obligation, of turning in a particular direction during the recital of the creeds. Against this practice, among others, as savouring of superstition, and inconsistent with the character of the service and worship of God, adopted in the Church of England, Mr. Close has protested; and as a necessary consequence every form of abuse which the inventive malice of offended sensibility, rendered prurient by the sense of its own infirmity, could devise, has been heaped upon him, in such of the public prints as advocate that side of the question, to the extent of involving him in a sweeping sentence of excommunication, among the rest of those ministers who by their conscientious opposition to the absurdities of this heretical faction, are said to have forfeited their right to be considered members of the Established Church. Our purpose, however, in the following observations, is not so much to defend the Rev. Mr. Close from the attacks of his polemical assailants, a task which, no doubt, he is perfectly able to accomplish for himself; but to show that the practice in question is really a superstitious and consequently an objectionable one, and as such unfit to be retained in the service of the Established Church. In making this assertion we feel it right to premise that we are by no means of the number of those who exclaim against all forms as unnecessary or incompatible with the worship of God; but still we are prepared to maintain, that, as a form, hitherto insufficiently or not at all accounted for, the practice in question is prima facie objectionable; for this we hold to be true of all religious forms abstractedly; that is, of all forms considered as such, and without regard to any purpose or effect they are calculated or intended to subserve. And herein, we are humbly of opinion, consists the true criterion of the essential propriety of all religious forms, whether, namely, they have a legitimate purpose and a reasonably assured effect. Whatever forms answer this description are at all events fitted to be observed, subject to the indispensable condition, hereafter to be noticed, of their being necessary; and such, we assert, are all those which are used in the Church of England, either in accord ance with the ordinances of the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer, or in pursuance of some divine injunction to that effect: as the taking off the hat upon entering the church, or bowing at the name of Jesus, for which, of course, no supplementary authority is required. On the other hand, whatever forms do not answer this description, and have no legitimate purpose and no assured effect, are objectionable upon the score of their own intrinsic demerits, and ought not to be adopted or observed. Such are, for instance, the practice of placing candles lighted or unlighted upon the communion table during the services of the day, the frequent changing of the papal and sacerdotal vestments during the performance of the mass, the elevation of the cross and of the host, the manipulation of relics, the bowing before the images of saints as well as before the communion-table, with the rest of the peculiar ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church which have not been expressly retained in ours; in all of which the purpose is either confined to the form itself, or, if it extend beyond it, is not a legitimate one; and the use of which are not conducive to or reasonably productive of any assignable effects. Any such forms, to retain or observe is either an act of idolatry or of superstition; of idolatry, in respect of its purpose, that it is a setting up or regarding of the thing for the thing's sake; or of superstition, in that no definite effect is reasonably deducible from its practice. But there is beyond this another objection which more or less applies to all religious forms, however innocent or even laudable their purpose and certain their effect, by virtue whereof a further restriction is imposed upon their use, from which nothing but an absolute necessity is competent to relieve them; we mean, their inevitable tendency to weaken the regard for, and disparage the cultivation and exercise of, those really essential and far more difficult obligations, of obedience to God's will, and conformity to his holy precepts and example. With this consequence, to which we have said all religious forms are more or less liable, those forms are directly chargeable which have no clearly assignable purpose or effect beyond what attaches to the observance of the form itself. For how else could any such form be insisted on, unless upon the avowed or implied hypothesis that forms, as forms, have something in them to bring a man nearer to God? Which could not be the case except at the expense of a deduction of so much from the value of the method to which it was opposed: for if a purpose can be attained by two different ways, the obligation to seek it by either particularly is not only weakened but destroyed. And what is this but the setting up "a form of godliness" without, or to the disparagement of the "power," which all are but too ready to do whenever the substitution has anything like reason or authority to back it? We do not mean to say that it follows as a necessary consequence that every ceremonial observance must have this effect with all men ; but this we do say, that it is very likely to have it with most men; and in a matter of such serious importance as the salvation of the human soul, the risk of it ought never to be incurred, except under circumstances of the greatest pressure, amounting to an alternative of greater danger in the omission than in the observance of the form proposed.' Lest it might be thought by unreflecting persons that the rules here prescribed were inconsistent with the character and constitution of the Jewish Church, the services of which were almost entirely made up of forms and ceremonies, of which the purpose was either not declared or only obscurely set forth in type and figure, to which no particular effect was assigned, and the necessity for which was unascertainable by mere human speculation, it may be advisable to observe beforehand, that this objection is altogether without foundation; the conditions in question being, not only no less, but infinitely more effectually fulfilled in these than in any forms which have been since that time |