as if the duties thereof centered in ourselves, and had no other object than that of self-gratification; as if the religious fashion, whatever it be, that is the most agreeable to our own feelings and humour, did of course please God the most; and as if there were no other criterion than that of opinion, whereby to ascertain the measure of devotional propriety. Thus, whispering the Amens, and all the responses, is, by many, thought to be much more genteel, than pronouncing them with an audible voice. Sitting during the times of prayer is reckoned, by some of our politest members, more gentleman and lady-like, than the old-fashioned and humiliating practice of kneeling.

Fashion frequently shows its superiority over common sense and religious propriety, in compelling all the worshippers in a pew, after the service had commenced, or even had made considerable progress, to rise from their knees and evacuate the seat, for the purpose of giving access to some superior, who had been belated; just as if, in the holy sanctuary, devotion towards God admitted of being superseded by a call for the exercise of courtesy towards a fellow mortal!

The practice of bowing at the name of Jesus,* though it be an old-fashioned one, is generally

* Isa. xlv. 23. and Rom. xiv. 11. "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me."

observed; if for no other reason, yet for this, that no inconveniency attends it. But why do we bow at the name of Jesus in the Gospel, and not at all times, when that blessed sound salutes our ears? Surely the rubric of gratitude for our redemption, and the rubric of dependance on him for final acceptance, demand our presenting him this tribute of respect as often as we hear or pronounce the ever-blessed and joyful word, Jesus, the Saviour.

Nothing tends more effectually to damp our devotion, and formalize our acts of worship, than a carelessness and ease in performing our religious duties; than a lukewarmness and indifference, in performing or omitting our proper parts of them. The admonition, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might," is infinitely more applicable to things belonging to the due celebration of public worship, than to the discharge of the duties of our temporal vocation, as the one looks only to time, but the other to eternity.

In these modern times of what is called rational religion, enthusiasm is as much deprecated as ever the inquisition was; the affections are hushed to sleep, or not permitted to manifest themselves in outward actions; and Christian duty, even in the sanctuary itself, is, alas! too much reduced to a state of philosophic coldness, and of uninteresting decency of deportment!

Were one of our modern, philosophical Christians carried in a vision, to behold St. Chrysostoin (e. g.) with his Constantinopolitan Christians in the church of St. Sophia, like a well marshalled army under their heroic general, violently besieging* the throne of Grace with their irresistible prayers and praises; at one time prostrate in prayer; at another, rivalling the thunders of the heavens with their Amens, or the trumpet of Sinai with their Hallelujahs; and during their acts of praise and exclamations of Amen, standing on tip-toe, as if to get so much nearer heaven; would he not pronounce them, Bishop and all, a set of mad enthusiasts ? And, giving an unmeasurable preference to the manners and decencies of his own cotemporaries, would he not thank God, that it was his lot to have been born in a more dispassionate and rational age of the world?

* St. Jerome (II. Prom Com. in Gal.) says, that Amen was pronounced by the people in his time, in such a manner, that it resembled the sound of thunder. Clemens Alexandrinus (Stromat. Lib. 7) says, that in the African Churches, where the people always prayed standing, at pronouncing Amen, they raised themselves on tip-toe, to express their earnestness. And Jesus himself (Matt i. 12.) hath informed us, that, "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

OBJECTION XVIII.

"If the whole Book of Psalms, and other Books, and parts of Books of the Hebrew scriptures are in poetry, there is no impropriety or unlawfulness in turning them into English, or any other vernacular poetry, that they may be sung to the tunes used in churches."

REPLY.

When we consider that the Bible poetry derives not its character from measured feet, as all European poetry uniformly does; it is evident that scripture poetry is incapable of passing into any form of verse, which bears no analogy to its original conformation.*

There is no similarity between Bible poetry, and the measures of Homer, Virgil, Horace, or of modern versifiers. Every classical scholar knows the method of scanning Greek, Latin, French, and English poetry; but rules for scanning the poetry of the Hebrew scriptures have eluded the search of the most erudite and inqui

"The Hebrew language, like that of the Syrians, Arabians, Abyssinians, &c. is incapable of the restraints of feet or measures." Scaliger's Animad. in Chron.

"Erant enim puμ Hebræorum, non ɛμɛtpoi, sed lege soluti, cujusmodi etiam erant, et nunc quoque sunt, eorum saltationes." Grot. in Luc. c. i. v. 46.

sitive students. The sacred poetry of the Bible is high as heaven, and bids defiance to measures, which are solely adapted to earth. Like its divine Author, it is not within the grasp of human ken, and incommensurate to the inventions of human imagination. "It is a kind of poetry,” says Calmet, (per se)" having no parallel in the poetry of human invention; the most pompous, the most majestic, and the most sublime that can be conceived. The expression, the sentiments, the figures, the variety, the action, every thing is inexpressibly grand and surprising."*

Should it be asked, what are the characteristic marks which essentially discriminate poetic from prosaic diction? Bishop Lowth has given a full and satisfactory answer.

"Poetry, in every language, has a mode of speaking of its own, nervous, grand, sounding; enlarged and exaggerated by words; exquisite and elaborate in the composition; in its whole habit and colour different from common custom, and frequently, as with a liberal indignation, bursting the bounds within which usual discourse is contained-Reason speaks slowly, temperately, gently; it disposes matters regularly; it marks them out clearly, openly; it explains them distinctly; it principally studies perspicuity, that nothing may be left confused, obscure, or involv

* See Calmet on the word; and Bishop Lowth's Prelections on the Poetry of the Hebrews.