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20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. [Which was upbraid ing them in action, as St. Mark and St. Luke say he did in words.] Then were his disciples glad when they saw the Lord.

21 Then said Jesus to

them again, Peace be unto you [salutation at parting]: as my Father hath sent me, so send I you. [Mission during his absence.]

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.

23 Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.

[diaλoyioμoi, doubts, and reasonings] arise in your hearts?

39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me have.

40 And when he had

thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? [Supper being ended.]

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

46 And [he] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany: and he lift up his hands, and blessed them.

51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried into heaven.

(To be continued.)

15 And he said unto

them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, &c. ( will give you the Holy Ghost to inspire you with inward gifts, and enable you to do outward works, which you shall convey to the first believers in every country.]

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

ON PREACHING FROM THE APOCRYPHA.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER.

SIR,-In your last, or rather your first number,-which, I am happy to see, exhibits the buoyancy of youth combined with the maturity of age, you request a reply to two questions; to which, though you will doubtless have many (and some better) answers, yet I trouble you with mine, which I have written for my own information. Should you smile at this, I beg to remind you that some of the best works in our language have been composed for no better reason. A man seldom takes the trouble to record what he knows thoroughly: curiosity is a stimulant for the writer as well as the reader. "Do you know any thing about the subject concerning which you inquire ?" said Dr. Robertson to a clever young friend. Nothing at all," was the reply. "Then write a pamphlet upon it," said the historian.

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Your questions are these:" Is it improper or incorrect to preach on the Apocrypha?" and, "Is there any canon, or other legitimate authority, which prohibits preaching without a text?" And first of the first.

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There is a little ambiguity in the wording of the question; though I apprehend the meaning of the inquiry to be (judging especially from the question which follows, the two being closely connected in the mind of the inquirer), is it uncanonical to take a passage out of the Apocrypha as a text for a sermon? Otherwise, there can be no doubt that it is not only justifiable, but a duty, to preach on the Apocrypha, to show its precise value in the eyes of the Church of England, and the false estimate in which it is held by the Church of Rome. That part of the Sixth Article which refers to "the names and number of the Canonical Books," should never be overlooked by the "liturgical preacher." It involves a doctrine of essential difference between the Catholic Church and a corrupted branch of it, and should be placed before our people in a distinct and correct point of view. But if the question refers, as I doubt not it does, to the propriety of taking a passage from the Apocrypha as a text, I think the answer is evident,—that it should not be so taken. text is a starting-point in a sermon; it involves a truth, either obvious or implied, against which it is supposed that nothing can be alleged; it is common ground between the teacher and the taught, about which there can be no difference of opinion; it is the first part of a syllogism, concerning which, cadit quæstio. If, then, the text selected be in itself undeniable, yet, since the source from which it is derived is open to debate, it is at least useless to lay the foundation of our teaching upon that which "the Church does not apply to establish any doctrine." All your readers will recollect Hooker's discussion with Cartwright, on the propriety of reading portions of the Apocrypha in the Church (Book V. Sect. 20). He defends it cautiously, though with his usual success; but he guards strictly against the possibility of the people mistaking it for canonical scripture. "Wherefore," saith he, "albeit for the people's more plain instruction (as the ancient use hath been) we read in our churches certain books, besides the Scripture, yet as the Scripture we read them not. All men know our professed opinion touching the difference whereby we sever them from the Scripture. And if any where

it be suspected that some one or other will happily mistake a thing so manifest in every man's eye, there is no let, but that as often as those books are read, and need so requireth, the style of their difference may expressly be mentioned, to bar even all possibility of error." While, therefore, to preach on the Apocrypha is sometimes a duty, to preach from the Apocrypha is at least useless, if not dangerous; it seems to be both uncanonical and improper.

With respect to your second question, the answer, as far as I can see, must be in the negative; there seems to be no prescribed authority for starting with a text but "usus, quem penes arbitrium est." The Homilies have no texts; but it is a wholesome and a pious usage; and I would earnestly advise my brethren not to intromit so laudable a custom, in order that their hearers may always have to say of the preacher, "He has said one good thing in his sermon.'

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And now, having answered two questions, let me ask one :-By what authority is it that the Church disregards the following injunction respecting the annual reading of the canons :-"We do command, that for the better observance of them, every minister, by what name or title soever he be called, shall, in the parish church or chapel where he hath charge, read all the said canons, ordinances, and constitutions, once every year, upon Sundays or holidays, in the afternoon, before divine service, dividing the same in such sort as that the one half may be read one day, and the other another day?"

I am, Sir, very truly yours,

R. P.

4th Sept. 1838.

LETTERS ON PUBLIC BAPTISM. No. I.

Mr. EDITOR,-It is no difficult matter for any one who regards the discipline of the Church, and has studied her excellent rubrics and canons, to point out the liberties her sons have taken with them, just suiting their own fancy as to what they will observe or not among those rules; and thus purchasing for themselves a certain contemptible popularity at her expense. These things have frequently been shown up in your excellent miscellany, but there does not appear to have been pointed out any remedy. By the conduct of Clergymen, who, without any authority, have taken the liberty to innovate in the prescribed performance of the ceremonies of the Church, a disuse of one of her most important and edifying services, Public Baptism, has tacitly obtained, especially in the northern part of the diocese of Lincoln. To attempt the restoration of this service to its former legitimate use, is a task which brings upon the conscientious Clergyman great obloquy.

The good motive he has in view in maintaining the little that remains of church discipline, is not duly appreciated by those who have been thus long accustomed to misrule; and hence they call him presumptuous and meddling in daring to deviate from the usages of his predecessor. The delinquency of the minister (as they imagine) who ventures upon reform in this respect, is sure to be visited upon him in no very measured terms of abuse, aggravated frequently by contempt and

annoyance. This circumstance I am ready to believe has caused many an orthodox stickler for the spirit in which the offices of the Church should be administered, to shrink from the task of reforming the abuses of them which have crept in. Having said thus much of the existing evil, which most undoubtedly infringes upon the Act of Uniformity in the religious worship of the Establishment, as well as the unity of the Universal Church, I would say something as to a remedy.

To counteract these existing evils, which at present degrade the offices of our Church in the public estimation, as well as the minister, I know of no readier way than this. Let the Bishop of the Diocese, wherever these deviations are most prevalent, issue a programma to each minister, commanding a strict adherence to the rubrical directions for these ministrations, accompanied by a denunciation of ecclesiastical censures if not complied with; and also with an injunction that such programma be read by him in time of divine service, and afterwards affixed to the principal church door. This would take the onus from off the minister, and, from my own experience, I can venture to assert, that a ready acquiescence would be the result on the part of the parishioners, as they still entertain a high respect (notwithstanding the "march of intellect") for a Bishop's authority, and conceive his decision in such a matter final.

As a proof of what I assert, I shall adduce a case in point. Some years ago, a person who pretended to be wise above what is written, wished me to suffer him to stand godfather for his own child; I urged the canon in reply against the practice, and explained the reason why parents were not admitted as sponsors, but all in vain, for he was entrenched in his own opinions, and I could not beat him out. I told him at length that if he was not satisfied with my reasons for refusal, I would take the sense of the Bishop upon the subject. I did so, and the decision of the Bishop I read publicly in church, which settled the matter, which before was one of constant dispute, and both himself and the rest of my parishioners have ceded the point ever since. This mode is one of great simplicity, and I feel confident much good would result from its adoption by the Right Reverend Bench.

It may, perhaps, be objected to what I have suggested, that the queries put forth annually previous to the Archdeacon's Visitation, and those put forth every third year previous to the Bishop's, supersede the necessity of my plan. But the misfortune is, that very many of the Clergy and people are too much disposed to consider these queries as issued pro forma, rather than in the light of authoritative injunctions. Besides, it is in vain to expect churchwardens to return true answers to these queries, who are more prone to connive at these deviations from established order, than to expose those who adopt the practice. Now, a programma would come home to every individual Clergyman, and compliance must be the consequence, as contumacy would not only expose him to censure, but to suspension. This mode, if adopted, would level the discordant opinions which, I am sorry to say, are too prevalent upon this very subject among many of my neighbouring brethren, and soon reduce them to unity of sentiment, and uniformity of practice, in these and other ministrations of our excellent Established Church. I am, Mr. Editor, your constant Reader,

A COUNTRY CURATE.

ALTERAGE.

RICHARD DE MARISCO, Bishop of Durham, and Chancellor of the King, (A.D. 1217,) granted and confirmed to the Prior and Monks of Durham, the church of Acle, and the church of Pittindon, with the chapels, and all other appurtenances in proprios usus, to be had and for ever held and enjoyed, for the support of their house, and for the refreshing of guests and pilgrims: in such way, however, that, on the presentation of the Prior and Monks, Vicars should be appointed in the respective churches, who should honestly serve them in their own persons, and the alterage of the said churches wholly should have, except the tithe of the lamb and wool of the said Monks from their demesnes.

Alexander C. B. with respect to this endowment observed, “What is provided for the Vicar is the alterage. There is no dispute respecting the meaning of this word: it receives its construction from usage. It is not doubtful but that in this instance it meant all the ecclesiastical emoluments, except the corn and grain now enjoyed by the Rector."— Younge and Jervis' Exc. Cases, 86.

POEMS, BY JOHN CHARLES EARLE,
(St. Edmund Hall, Oxon.)

No. I. "IT IS I."

1 VIEW thee tread the panting sea,

Thou wondrous Lord of love and power,
And who can gaze on ought but thee,
Thus present in the fearful hour?
The fierce winds toss the angry deep,
Our frighted bark is driving fast;
We feared thy placid soul might sleep,
And dream of heaven amid the blast.

We thought thy spirit, like a bird,
Had left awhile this lower air,
And to her native sky, unstirred,

Was soaring on the wings of prayer.

The pale moon's struggling light is shed,
Through black clouds drifted o'er the sky,
In fitful radiance on thy head,

Thy pallid brow, thy tearful eye:

And we could almost think the brine
In conscious adoration bowed,
So calm before thy gaze divine,
So silent now its threatenings loud.
And what are all sublunar things,
But one tempestuous, darkened sea,
Where every rushing current brings
Its tributary waves to thee?

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