,transcribed from the #ahea ,lavis edition by ,david ,price4 ,many thanks to the ,british ,library for making their copy available4 ,,the ,,spiritual ,,improvement ,,of ,,the ,,census4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,sermon1 ,,preached ,,in ,the ,parish ,church of ,all ,saints1 ,fulham1 #cj,,th ,,march1 #ahea4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,r4 ,g4 ,,baker1 ,m4,a4 ,,vicar ,,of ,,fulham1 ,,rural ,,dean1 ,,and ,,prebendary ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,cathedral4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,,with ,,notes4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sold ,,by ,,lavis1 ,,fulham4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london ,r4 ,,clay1 ,,printer1 ,,bread ,,street ,,hill4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sermon4 #b ,,samuel xxiv4 #aj4 8,and ,david's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people4 ,and ,david said unto the ,lord1 ,i have sinned greatly in that ,i have done3 and now1 ,i beseech thee1 ,o ,lord1 take away the iniquity of thy servant2 for ,i have done very foolishly40 ,,at the time here spoken of1 ,david had been1 for nearly forty years1 king over 8the ,lord's people40 ,the youngest of eight sons of one of the shepherds of ,israel1 and raised from that lowly station to the throne by the express appointment of ,jehovah1 it may well excite our surprise to observe his conduct on the occasion to which the text refers4 ,we might have supposed that the incidents of his early life1 no less than the experience of his riper years1 would have taught him a more simple spirit of faith and trust than that which he now showed4 8,a lion and a bear0 came upon him while he was yet a boy1 and took a lamb out of his father's flock which he was keeping2 and he was not only delivered from them1 but enabled alone and unharmed to slay them4 #c ,at another time1 when the ,philistine giant defied the armies of the living ,god1 ,david went forth of his own accord to meet him4 ,mindful of the same power which had saved him from 8the lion and the bear10 he asked no armour for his protection4 ,he sought no weapon for the fight4 8,strong in the ,lord1 and in the power of his might10 he prevailed1 8with a sling and with a stone40 #d;a ,and 8the weak thing1 and the base thing1 and the thing that was despised10 was chosen to confound and to 8bring to nought the thing that was mighty1 in order that no flesh should glory in the presence of ,god40 #d;b ,then1 again1 how often had ,david been rescued from the personal jealousy of ,saul6 ,what signal success had been granted him against the enemies of ,israel6 ,and how strikingly had even the rebellion of his own misguided son been overruled to the promotion of his safety and glory6 ,but it appears that all this instruction had been given him in vain4 ,he was still disposed to depend1 in the transaction before us1 upon the 8arm of flesh40 ,proud of the extent of his dominions and of the multitude of his subjects1 and secretly pleased with the proof it would afford to other nations of his own wisdom and good government1 he caused the people to be numbered2 although1 as the opening of this very chapter shows1 it was against the advice1 and even the entreaties1 of his own officers4 ,for 8,joab1 the captain of the host1 had said unto the king1 ,now the ,lord thy ,god add unto the people1 how many soever they be1 an hundredfold1 and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it3 but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing8 ,notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against ,joab1 and against the captains of the host40 #d;c ,the heart of ,david1 however1 was soon opened by ,divine grace to confess and to deplore the offence which he had committed4 ,and the fearful judgment that followed served at once1 in the most instructive manner1 to humble and to disappoint him1 by showing him how entirely he was dependent upon ,god for that very source of strength and greatness which his conceit led him to prize so highly1 and how suddenly he might be stripped of it4 ,the account is given in the verses which follow immediately upon the text4 ,for being allowed to choose between three visitations1 famine1 war1 and pestilence1 and preferring that which he supposed would fall upon his country most lightly1 8the ,lord10 we read1 8sent a pestilence upon ,israel from the morning even to the time appointed1 and there died of the people seventy thousand men40 ,it may be right for us to bear in mind1 that what made this act of numbering the ,israelites so very offensive to ,god1 was that it tended to draw off the hearts of the king and of his people from that single and undivided regard which they owed to ,him4 ,all the trials of that nation carried on for such a long course of years1 and all the statutes and laws given for their guidance1 were meant to keep this conviction uppermost in their minds4 ,they had been singled out from the rest of mankind1 not only as the guardians of the true faith and worship1 but as witnesses to all the world of the power1 and love1 and faithfulness of the ,lord4 ,special mercies1 continued miracles1 wonderful deliverances were wrought for them1 in order that they might feel1 at every stage of their eventful history1 that they were peculiarly ,his people4 ,if bread was wanting to allay their hunger1 or water to assuage their thirst1 or raiment to cover their bodies1 it was not provided by any of the slow contrivances of human industry4 ,but the hard rock poured forth their water1 and the heavens showered down their food1 and their 8raiment waxed not old upon them10 even during the long period of forty years4 ,if the inhabitants of every other land gave way before them as they advanced1 they were taught1 and they might have learnt1 from the utter disproportion of their own powers1 that it was 8the ,lord their ,god0 who drove them out4 ,and if1 in the restlessness of their spirit1 they desired to have a king to reign over them1 they were reminded that 8the ,lord their ,god0 was their ,king4 ,however few1 in any case1 were the numbers of their hosts1 they always proved sufficient for the work which they were charged to achieve4 ,and however numerous they were at other times1 it might yet please ,him1 as it did on the occasion here recorded1 to turn their strength into weakness in an instant4 ,this numbering of the people1 therefore1 showed an utter distrust of that goodness which had never failed them1 and called down a judgment so severe1 that it must have warned them for ever against a repetition of the offence4 ,the question will have occurred already1 perhaps1 to the minds of some who hear me1 ,can any similar degree of guilt attach to that numbering of our own people which is going on at this time throughout the land1 from one end of it even to the other8 ,if1 in the case of ,david1 the measure was condemned so fearfully1 and involved so signal a punishment1 what are the circumstances in our own case that tend to remove from it any such reproach1 and may even lead us to hope that instead of thwarting the will and pleasure of our ,god1 we are really proceeding in conformity to it1 and even promoting his purposes of grace and goodness to our land8 ,my brethren1 in order to answer such an inquiry aright1 it seems only necessary that we should remember the essential difference already pointed out between the chosen nation and any which the world has since seen4 ,never in any other case has the civil government of kingdoms been carried on by the immediate agency of ,almighty power4 ,our national welfare depends not upon miracles1 but upon those provisions of human forethought or experience1 which1 under the ,divine blessing1 appear best adapted to meet each exigency that arises4 ,and although there is often cause to lament that this blessing is so seldom implored by us distinctly and publicly as a ,christian people1 and so little acknowledged by us in the many mercies1 which1 as a ,christian people1 we are enjoying1 yet still we may humbly believe that the inquiry now conducted cannot be displeasing to ,god4 ,many facts will be learnt from it conducive to the common good1 and tending either to suggest or to mature provisions for our social improvement4 ,many practical lessons will be gained1 teaching us how we may better 8bear each other's burdens1 and so fulfil the law of ,christ40 #g;a ,many truths will be derived from the results of this ,census1 which may strengthen our hands as 8members one of another20 #g;b and some objects1 it may be hoped1 will be answered by it1 in the advancement of which we may cheerfully join in giving effect to the counsels of our rulers4 ,at the same time there are thoughts mingling with this subject of a more serious and personal kind1 to which ,i could desire1 in the guidance of ,god's ,spirit1 to direct your minds4 ,and the occasion for suggesting them appears so seasonable1 and occurs so seldom1 that it may reconcile us to the omission of other topics of inquiry1 and the endeavour to found upon it some which may be made1 under the teaching of that ,spirit1 conducive to our edification and salvation4 ,this enrolling of our people every tenth year1 each man's family in his own house1 may it not read to us some lessons as ,christians2 while it affords to those who are set over us in the ,lord1 the materials for their guidance in the great work of government and legislation8 ,whether we regard it as private individuals1 or as fellow-subjects in that civil community with which the ,providence of ,god has connected us1 or as members of the ,church of ,christ and 8heirs together of the grace of life10 #g;c it may suggest to us many reflections of thankfulness1 self-inquiry and abasement4 ,ten years have passed away since this ,census was last taken2 and of course by far the larger portion of those here present were at that time included in it4 ,these allotted periods fixed by the institutions of men agree very remarkably with those which the ,spirit of ,god in his word has pointed out as warnings of the shortness and the uncertainty of life4 8,the days of our age are threescore years and ten2 and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years1 yet is their strength labour and sorrow2 for it is soon cut off1 and we fly away40 #h;a ,if this1 then1 be the limit to the life of man1 what an important portion of it do these latter years contain1 quickly as they pass away1 and short as they now appear in looking back upon them6 ,it is well known that nearly one-half of the number of deaths that occur among mankind happen before the tenth year of life is completed4 ,yet have we all been spared1 through sickness1 and casualties1 and during one year of that term through pestilence itself raging at our doors1 to see the end of it2 and to improve it1 as affording a rich fund of opportunities1 and warnings1 and motives1 and principles for the period yet to come4 ,nor is it only life that has been thus continued to us2 but life with all its attendant health1 and strength1 and reason1 and many temporal comforts4 ,and there have been dangers warded off1 and blessings multiplied to us in a measure which we should now find it difficult1 even with the utmost stretch of memory1 to reckon2 still less to trace out all those impressions of gratitude and praise towards the ,great ,dispenser of them all1 which each of them1 as it passed1 ought to have fixed indelibly upon the heart4 ,for these are all the gifts1 too often even the unasked gifts1 but in every case the undeserved and ill-requited gifts of ,him 8in whom we live1 and move1 and have our being40 #h;b ,and in addition to these1 how mercifully have our spiritual privileges been continued to us1 those which unite us with 8,christ the hope of glory10 #h;c and which open to us the supplies of ,his grace1 and which long since ought to have led our affections from earthly to heavenly things4 ,for ten years more has the revealed word of ,god been spread out before us1 8the engrafted word1 which is able to save our souls20 #i;a inviting us to 8flee from the wrath to come20 #i;b charging us to have our treasure in heaven2 and reminding us1 wherever we open it1 of the things which belong to our eternal peace4 ,for ten years more has ,his ,blessed ,son been calling to us to 8come to ,him that we might have life20 #i;c cheering us with the promise that 8whosoever cometh to ,him shall in no wise be cast out20 #i;d offering to meet and to bless us with ,his spiritual presence in the ordinances of ,his own appointment upon earth1 and interceding for us continually before the throne of ,his ,father in heaven4 ,for ten years more has that ,spirit who does 8not always strive with man10 #i;e been striving with us2 often grieved by our coldness1 our inconsistency1 our unwatchfulness2 yet never quite leaving us to ourselves2 and even now waiting to be entreated by us1 that ,he may purify and sanctify us wholly4 ,and let me say1 that if it is an obvious1 it is also a solemn thought1 that these ten years have included above #ejj ,sabbaths2 each of which might have been1 had we diligently improved them1 a new step in our advancement towards heaven4 ,they might have made such an addition to our stock of spiritual knowledge1 and strength1 and progress1 as would ere now have carried us far more onward than we have yet reached towards that 8rest which remaineth for the people of ,god40 #i;f ,and then comes the concerning question1 from which not one person who hears me can escape2 ,in what manner1 to what degree have these advantages been turned to account8 ,these ten years of continued forbearance1 and longer trial1 and multiplied mercies on the part of our ,god1 do they find us at the close of them living more closely to ,him2 more desirous of ,his favour2 more afraid of ,his displeasure2 and adorning more1 in our life and conversation1 the gospel of ,his own dear ,son8 ,so much nearer as we must know ourselves to be to our latter end1 are we in any1 and in what measure1 better prepared to meet it8 ,do our tempers and pursuits prove us to be1 what this new stage of our journey must convince us that we are1 mere 8strangers and sojourners upon earth10 #aj;a seeking 8a better country1 that is1 an heavenly80 #aj;b ,or rather1 are there not some sins still1 as in time past1 a shame and a burden to us2 some evil habits or negligences1 some ignorances or omissions yet cleaving to us1 and even growing with our growth1 and strengthening with our strength8 ,the world1 the flesh1 and the devil1 those three enemies of our souls whom we engaged in our baptism to renounce1 have they less power over us than they once had8 ,and do we find in ourselves more readiness to pray1 more comfort in our private prayers1 more delight in our ,sabbaths1 more of actual profit from all the means of grace1 than we did before8 ,with such an inquiry as this presented to him1 and quickened by the thought1 that as more time is gone there is so much the less remaining1 may not the most advanced and established among us find room for confession and self-abasement8 ,and if this indeed be so1 if even 8the righteous scarcely be saved1 where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear80 #aj;c ,where those who 8make a mock at sin10 #aj;d 8glory in their shame10 and only 8mind earthly things80 #aj;e ,what must be their state in the sight of ,god1 and what their aggravated danger1 who for ten years more have been 8crucifying the ,son of ,god afresh0 #aj;f by their open unresisted ways of sin1 despising the grace of ,god1 and giving a more free indulgence to those very lusts against which the true believers have been at least watching1 and contending1 and praying8 ,my brethren1 it may seem1 no doubt1 an alarming reflection1 but it is still a faithful saying1 and confirmed by all our experience1 that if ten years more have not carried us forward in our heavenly course1 if they do not find us growing in grace1 in the knowledge of ourselves and in the knowledge of ,christ ,jesus1 they will too probably find us confirmed in evil2 more estranged from ,god2 more ripe for judgment2 the chains of sin bound faster around us1 and all our habits more difficult of change2 nay1 even impossible to be changed1 until that ,spirit from on high be given us1 who can at any time turn a man from darkness to light1 but who1 the longer ,he is wilfully slighted1 is the less willing to be sought4 ,these are some of the topics1 and1 as ,i well know1 they are but a few of them1 which a retrospect of this interval might urge upon us as individuals2 and these arise only from a review of our own position as the survivors of this new period of probation which the ,lord in mercy has permitted us to pass4 ,but ,i might well ask you to cast your eyes once more back1 7it will be wise and profitable for us to do so17 in order that we may call to mind how many persons1 some of them dear to us as our own souls1 began this same period with us1 who have not lived like us to witness its close4 ,if the thought suggests to any of my hearers some recollections of pain1 and sorrow1 and separation1 may they have the grace given them to consider that it is the brightest light which casts the deepest shadows2 and that there are trains of thought which can edify while they sadden us2 like the shade of ,peter's body1 which1 as it passed across the multitudes1 gave life and health to whatever it obscured4 #aa;a ,the number of interments which have occurred within the last ten years in the three burial grounds of this parish have included more than a fifth part of its population4 ,such is the sure and rapid way in which1 day by day1 and year by year1 the sentence passed upon our fallen race is fulfilled4 8,dust thou art1 and unto dust shalt thou return40 #aa;b ,and some of these events1 if ,i could now place them in order before you1 have been attended with circumstances so full of awakening instruction1 they have proclaimed so distinctly the instability of all earthly ties1 the vanity of all expectations that have not heaven for their object1 and the love of ,christ for their security and their motive1 that no louder call could ever be addressed to those who have been most nearly affected by them4 ,and as surely and as quickly will the same mortality proceed during the next decade of the world's duration4 ,another like proportion1 another fifth1 yes1 my brethren1 one person in five1 of those who are assembled here to-day1 will be swept off from the engrossing cares and the unsatisfying frivolities of life into the great charnel-house which must ere long receive us all4 ,how many more such ties will be loosened before the same interval recurs again6 ,those whom we love the best may be taken from us1 or we from them1 never more to meet until the resurrection of the last day4 ,with such perpetual notices before us of the shortness of our time1 and of the momentous nature of that work which it is given us to do1 let us resolve to work while it is day4 ,let us neglect no call2 let us abuse no warning2 let us lose no opportunity which may assist us in making our 8calling and election sure40 #ab;a 8,this ,i say10 declares ,st4 ,paul1 with a full conviction of the truth upon his mind1 8,this ,i say1 that the time is short3 it remaineth1 that both they that have wives be as though they had none2 and they that weep1 as though they wept not2 and they that rejoice1 as though they rejoiced not2 and they that buy1 as though they possessed not2 and they that use this world1 as not abusing it3 for the fashion of this world passeth away40 #ab;b ,suffer me now to advert to some topics of inquiry which such an occasion as this presents to us1 as members of the same civil community1 fellow-citizens of the same favoured land1 or even as inhabitants of the same parish4 ,there are other mercies for us to review1 and there are other grounds of humiliation in the abuse of them1 which we have to cherish beyond those which belong to us as private individuals4 ,and to these we cannot safely be indifferent4 ,consider the many blessings we have to acknowledge as bestowed upon our country4 ,during the earliest of these intervals fixed for numbering the people1 of which we have now reached the sixth1 we were engaged in destructive wars1 always a source of the most extensive misery and crime4 ,and ever1 as the period came round for enrolling our living population1 there was an allowance to be made for the losses it had suffered of multitudes who had passed into the grave before their full time1 in foreign lands1 amidst the horrors of the battlefield or the naval fight1 their last hours wanting all the solace of domestic endearment or spiritual comfort4 ,but we have now been mercifully spared for nearly forty years from any general or continued war4 ,ten years more of almost unbroken peace1 or of peace broken only in the remoter dependencies of the empire1 have passed over us4 ,and very few of our countrymen1 comparatively with other times1 have had their lives cut short by a scourge to which the pride and covetousness of mankind are always urging them1 but which it may be hoped the ,god of love and peace1 in answer to the prayers of ,his servants1 will continue still to restrain4 ,it was a feeling of the terrors of that scourge which drew from ,david the affecting entreaty recorded in the chapter before us3 8,let us fall now into the hands of the ,lord2 for his mercies are great3 and let us not fall into the hands of man40 #ac ,and if it cannot equally be said that our land has been spared from the visitation of pestilence1 if it has pleased ,god1 within the last ten years1 to send again among us that fearful judgment1 what cause had we for thankfulness that even in the midst of that judgment ,he remembered mercy1 and that in the most direct answer to prevailing prayer that we have ever witnessed1 ,he caused the disorder to cease even at the time when it seemed to be defying all human means of restraining it4 ,there are two aspects in which this new enrolment will present itself to the mind as connected with our national state4 ,and there are different conclusions to be drawn from it1 according as they are viewed or not in the light which the ,scripture gives us1 and tried by the rules which it affords4 ,it may be thought1 when this new list is making out of our people from one end of the country to the other1 advancing as they probably are in numbers1 intelligence1 and wealth1 the result of it will rather speak the language of exultation than of abasement4 ,while we are arranging in their different classes our men of opulence1 and our men of business1 and our men of science1 8merchants10 like those of the 8crowning city10 equal to 8princes1 and traffickers ranked among the honourable of the earth20 #ad;a our cunning artificers and our tillers of the ground surpassing those of other lands in diligence1 enterprise1 and talent2 there is enough here1 it may be thought1 to assure us that ,god is well pleased with us1 and that all these proofs of worldly prosperity are pledges of ,his favour4 ,surely1 it will be said by some who witness it1 8this great nation is a wise and understanding people40 #ad;b ,and yet let us remember1 that the distinctions of nations1 like those of individuals1 are given to them as talents to be accounted for and improved1 not in order to flatter pride1 or to promote the comparison of themselves with others4 ,the higher is the measure of our privileges1 the heavier is the weight of our responsibilities4 ,these signs of greatness may be found utterly worthless when they are weighed in the balance of the sanctuary1 and may be tending only to increase our condemnation4 ,if1 indeed1 our zeal for ,god's glory had kept pace with our experience of ,his mercies2 if1 placed as we are at the head of the commerce of the world1 our influence reaching to every sea and every shore on which the sun shines1 we had carried with us that best of our national treasures1 that which is interdicted to some nations1 and1 alas6 as yet unknown to many more1 the pure1 the full1 the free gospel of the grace of ,god2 if1 many years ago1 we had taken up that position1 to the importance of which we seem only to have awakened of late1 that of being1 as the heralds of the ,church1 the evangelizers of mankind2 if the moral and spiritual improvement of our people at home had advanced as rapidly as their intellectual character1 then1 indeed1 we might have given up the account of our resources with joy and not with grief4 ,but since it is most true1 as you yourselves also know1 that while the largest funds are never wanting for every scheme1 the wildest1 the most uncertain1 of worldly speculation or display1 they are often left to fail1 and to fall away1 and to be importuned for in the prosecution of the soberest1 the most scriptural plans for promoting the glory of ,god1 or the welfare of some distressed portion or other of our fellow-men2 if all the boasted improvements in our means of communication are only carrying into the quietest and least corrupted districts of the land new incentives to ,sabbath desecration2 if while we have been spared from the desolations of foreign war1 we are given up1 at this very hour1 to intestine divisions pervading equally the ,church and the ,state1 and upon questions where a ,christian people ought to be found essentially agreed2 here1 again1 we have cause rather to humble than to exalt ourselves1 and to fear lest our ,god should enter into judgment with us for this poor requital of all the distinctions with which we have been blessed4 ,the most remarkable event which1 within the last ten years1 has affected the spiritual state of our own parish1 has been the erection1 in a district scarcely built upon before1 but in the midst of a poor and now rapidly increasing population1 of a spacious and splendid ,roman ,catholic church1 with extensive school-rooms and the residence of a priest attached to it4 ,my brethren1 there are but few probably among us who would lament this measure1 if its only design and its only effect were to provide for the instruction of that large number of ,roman ,catholic labourers who inhabit that and the contiguous districts4 ,shut out as they are1 by the stern prohibitions of their own priesthood1 from all access to our means of grace2 taught to believe that all doctrine is heresy1 and all instruction hurtful1 which does not flow directly from their own communion2 living among us1 as they did1 for so many years1 like sheep having no shepherd1 who would condemn the only provision being at length made for them1 of which their unhappy state admitted8 ,nay more2 may we not hope that having been left hitherto equally ignorant and fettered1 ignorant of the commonest means of knowledge1 and fettered and precluded from attaining it1 the instruction now given to their children will one day become the blessed means of enabling them to throw off their fetters1 and make an opening for the light of ,gospel truth to shine upon their souls8 ,but1 alas6 all that we see and hear forbids us to believe that the only design or effect of this measure is to enable the ,romanists to provide for their own people4 ,there is already too much evidence to show that it has all the character of an aggression upon the faith of the members of our ,church4 ,it is in full accordance with those measures1 which within the last few months have happily awakened the ,protestant spirit of our whole people1 and have shown in its true colours the influence of that unscriptural and grasping ,church from which they sprang4 ,by devices the most insidious1 our people are invited to witness the imposing ritual of this new building2 while depositaries are opened1 even at our own doors1 for the public sale of cheap tracts1 that tend1 with bitter irony and gross misstatements1 to discredit our institutions and to recommend theirs4 #ag;a ,what will be the actual result of all this conflict between truth and error before ten more years have passed1 it may not be easy to say4 ,if those among us who are spared to outlive them are enabled to 8hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering10 #ag;b they may not only save their own souls1 but lead others1 who can only view ,him now through the mists of their corruptions1 to honour the holy name of ,him by whom we are called4 ,but surely1 with these facts before us1 there is the strongest inducement for us all1 not only to examine ourselves whether we are in the faith1 but why1 and on what grounds we are in it2 #ag;c while there is a motive created strong enough to induce all who have the means at their command to promote any well-advised plans for arresting the evil1 or turning it1 through ,god's blessing1 to good4 #ag;d ,to conclude4 ,the inquiry which will be going on to-morrow throughout the country is addressed to us all1 as the heads of our separate households2 each giving a return of the names1 and ages1 and birthplace1 and occupations of those1 who will pass this very night under his own roof4 ,but surely the thought will occur to some among us1 ,i would to ,god that it might be brought home by ,his ,spirit to the hearts of all1 that there are several other points of inquiry besides these1 upon which the great ,head of the ,church may be expecting1 and really does expect1 an account to be rendered by us4 ,we may have no power to influence the character or to regulate the habits of those large masses of the people whose irreligion1 in the crowded districts that surround us1 we may deplore4 ,the influence which is to affect a whole nation falls within the power of very few4 ,but that which affects the character of any family or household1 7and nations are made up of families7 depends mainly on the principles1 aye1 and even on the tempers and way of life of those whom ,god places over them2 for this also is an allotment of ,his providence4 ,let us then suppose for an instant1 that it was desired to obtain1 as on this same day1 a return of what might be called the spiritual statistics of ,england4 ,suppose1 that laying aside1 or rather looking beyond the mere considerations of civil or political economy1 it were wished to learn by such distinct and palpable records as might be furnished1 the actual state of religion through the whole extent of our population4 ,i well know1 indeed1 that there are signs and marks of which no earthly inquiries could take cognizance2 proofs of spiritual growth in some1 and of declension in others2 secret concessions to the corrupt nature in one class1 or inward aspirations after holiness in the other2 hypocrisies which no eye can detect among 8the children of this world10 and spiritual conflicts in the 8children of light10 which can only be known to the ,supreme ,searcher of their hearts4 ,but when all this is allowed1 we might lay down some distinctions in every case1 the existence or the absence of which would go far to show1 whether the master of that house1 and those around him1 were really serving ,god or not4 ,if it were inquired throughout the land1 or if1 limiting the supposition to our own parish1 it were asked in every house1 ,is family prayer maintained under this roof8 #ah;a ,is the ,sabbath observed by the master1 by the servants1 by the children1 as 8a delight1 the holy of the ,lord1 honourable80 #ah;b all work suspended which may be left undone1 and every pursuit given up which is inconsistent with the real spirit of the day1 as one of holy rest8 ,would the general answers to these questions be such as we could really ponder over with any comfort8 ,or again1 if it were asked1 ,how many ,bibles in this house are diligently searched8 ,how many of its inmates are not only permitted1 but encouraged and invited1 and if need be1 urged to attend upon the public worship of ,god8 ,is there a servants' library in this house1 to which every one of them may have recourse for some edifying or self-improving reading during the leisure intervals of their service8 #ai;a ,how many communicants are there in this family among those who have reached the proper age of full communion with the ,church1 and with her living ,head8 ,how many of the children are really reared in the spirit of their baptismal vows1 8virtuously brought up to lead a godly and a ,christian life80 #ai;b ,are not these subjects of inquiry on which there would be too great cause for self-reproach to many among us2 the reproach resting upon those who had all the means afforded them for their spiritual sustenance and growth1 but have carelessly neglected to improve them8 ,my brethren1 ,i commend these remarks in all faithfulness and affection to your private meditations and your prayers4 ,and may your own consciences1 enlightened by the ,spirit of ,god1 guide you to some profitable application of them6 ,may it be given to each of us to feel this day1 that we are supplying a return of so many beings1 not merely connected with us by the ties and duties of an earthly relation1 or a short-lived existence here2 but of those who are travelling on quickly with ourselves to an eternity of bliss or woe2 precious1 never-dying souls2 the objects equally with us of the ,saviour's love1 the ,spirit's teaching1 and the ,father's care2 called equally with us to be members of ,christ1 children of ,god1 and heirs of the kingdom of heaven4 ,what 8,i say unto you ,i would say unto all1 ,watch6 for ye know not when the ,master of the house will come0 to reckon with us1 whether at the close1 or the middle1 or the opening of this new decade on which we are now entering4 ,but this we know1 that when the ,lord does come the second time from heaven1 then will be the great numbering of the nations3 not the mere periodical census of a single kingdom1 which1 with all its boasted wealth and enterprise1 is but a mere speck upon the surface of our earth2 but a numbering of all the myriads that have ever peopled it1 from the family of the first man until there 8shall be time no longer20 #bj;a 8the sea giving up the dead which are in it2 and death and the grave delivering up the dead0 #bj;b which are in them2 and all distinctions of age1 or rank1 or learning1 or riches1 or power1 lost and sunk1 in the simple but everlasting distinction between those who served ,god1 and those who served ,him not2 those whose names are written in the ,lamb's book of life1 and those not to be found there4 ,and then will these inquiries and such as these1 which your ministers urge upon you now in 8the foolishness of preaching10 #bj;c but which too often reach only unwilling ears and careless hearts1 then shall they be enforced by 8the voice of the archangel and by the trump of ,god40 #bj;d ,let us then 8walk circumspectly1 not as fools1 but as wise1 redeeming the time1 because the days are evil40 #bj;e ,and may we be found so far faithful to ,him who calls us1 that out of these our earthly households1 some may be continually gathering to join that 8multitude which no man can number10 #bj;f who1 on the sea of glass and before the sapphire throne1 are worshipping ,him that sits upon the throne1 and casting their crowns before ,him1 and saying1 8,thou art worthy to receive glory1 and honour1 and power2 for thou hast created all things1 and for ,thy pleasure they are and were created60 #bj;g ,,notes4 ,note ,a4 7,p4 #ag47 ,during the evenings of the late winter months a series of scenic representations1 twice in every week1 was displayed in the school-room1 which is near the church2 and the admission being free1 they were attended by large numbers of the poorer class1 ,roman ,catholic and ,protestant4 ,on these occasions the priest always attended1 and explained the subjects represented1 which were uniformly taken from the ,scripture4 ,and he lost no opportunity of inviting his audience to hear the same subjects enforced in the church which thus interested them in the school-room4 ,the following extracts from some of these tracts1 which are all announced upon a large printed placard in the window of the house where they are sold1 as having received ,,the 8,,approbation ,,of ,,his ,,eminence ,,cardinal ,,wiseman ,,and ,,all ,,the ,,catholic ,,bishops10 will justify1 it is presumed1 without a comment1 the epithets here applied to them1 as describing their character and tendency4 ,they are either untrue1 unfair1 or ironical4 ,extracts from a tract1 entitled1 8,protestantism weighed in its own ,balance1 and found wanting4 ,no4 #a4 ,the ,bible1 and the ,bible only40 8,it is worth observing that this rule of faith1 as well in its short and popular form1 as also when more fully drawn out and explained1 is rather negative than positive4 ,those who use it are more careful to say what they do not than what they do4 ,they insist upon #8the ,bible only' to the exclusion of everything else1 but they are not equally jealous about receiving the whole ,bible1 every part of it4 ,they say that nothing is to be required of any man that it should be believed which is not to be found in the ,bible1 or at least may not be proved thereby2 but they do not with equal distinctness insist upon the duty of believing everything which is read in that sacred book or may be proved by it4 ,this is no idle assertion1 but is plain matter of fact40--,p4 #a4 8,there are many texts even then which they do not really receive2 some which are to them as an unknown tongue1 without any meaning at all1 and which they therefore make no use of whatever2 others which seem to be opposed to their own creed1 and which they therefore try to escape from and to explain away2 lastly1 there are others which they even boldly contradict40--,p4 #b4 8,if ,god did not intend the ,bible to be man's only guide and teacher in matters of religion1 but appointed ,his ,church for this very purpose1 that she should fulfil this office1 and promised her ,his guidance1 so that she should never be deceived in proposing anything to our belief that was not true and had not been revealed by ,him1 then of course1 not only is the ,catholic ,church right upon this point1 but also of necessity right upon every other point also40--,p4 #f4 8,the ,protestant professes that the only sure way of knowing ,god's will is for every man to read the ,holy ,scriptures for himself4 ,i take up the ,holy ,scriptures1 therefore1 for this purpose1 and ,i find there that our ,lord appointed1 and the apostles practised1 quite another way of learning ,god's will and the right road to heaven4 ,i find that our ,lord sent1 not a message1 but messengers2 not a book for men to read1 but apostles for men to obey2 and in like manner ,i find that the apostles do say not a word about the necessity of not believing anything that is not written in a certain book1 but on the contrary1 that they distinctly say1 ,believe all that you have been taught1 whether written or unwritten40--,p4 #i4 8,it is plain that our ,lord did not use the words1 #8,search the ,scriptures1' in the sense in which the ,protestants use them4 ,he did not refer ,his hearers to the ,scriptures in the same way that the ,protestant refers you4 ,for if so1 why did they need ,his further teaching8 ,he made the same use of the ,scriptures as ,catholics do in speaking to ,protestants at this day4 ,the ,catholic says to ,protestants1 #8,search the ,scriptures1' for these are they which testify of the ,church as well as of her ,head4 ,they expressly command you to #8hear the ,church' 7,st4 ,matt1 xviii4 #ag740--,p4 #aa4 8,a ,catholic priest at the present day might follow the example of ,st4 ,paul1 and show that ,jesus whom he preached was ,christ2 that the ,church which he preached to them was in very deed the society to which such high and noble privileges were promised in ,holy ,scripture4 ,and every one who should give heed to his preaching in the same way as the ,bereans did1 would not fail to meet with the same reward4 ,he also would #8believe2' believe not only the one doctrine which had been thus proved to him from ,holy ,scripture1 viz4 that the ,church was the appointed teacher of mankind1 but also every other doctrine which the same teacher might propose to his belief1 whether written in the ,holy ,bible or not40--,p4 #ad4 ,extract from another tract1 entitled1 8,the ,church1 the ,guardian of ,scripture1 or1 ,how does the ,bible come to us80 8,people are apt to think of the ,bible1 as if it were a whole without parts1 indivisible1 self-existent1 in short1 a kind of divinity2 or1 at least1 as if it had come down from heaven precisely such as we now have it1 ready bound to our hands1 if not with the ,bible ,society's stamp upon it40--,p4 #g4 ,extract from another tract1 entitled1 8,the ,rosary of the ,blessed ,virgin ,mary1 or1 ,the use of the ,beads no vain ,repetition40 8,perhaps you find something that shocks you in the fact of the #8,hail ,mary' being repeated so much oftener than the ,lord's ,prayer2 and it may be that there is in this a fresh instance of that unhappy creature-worship which disfigures every part of the ,catholic religion4 ,now do not suppose that the reason of this is1 that we consider prayers addressed to the ,blessed ,virgin better than prayers addressed to ,god4 ,we do certainly think her prayers for us are better1 and more likely to be heard and answered than our own2 because we know that she was ever perfectly free from all stain of guilt1 and is now nearest to ,god in glory2 and we feel ourselves full of the defilement of sin40--,p4 #aj4 8,christ has entered into ,his kingdom1 and ,his saints are reigning with ,him4 ,which of them shall be nearest to ,him in glory as once in suffering1 but her through whom ,he joined our human nature to ,deity itself8 ,the anguish over1 the grace and virtue crowned1 the glory never to pass away2 surely1 well may we again call the ,queen of ,heaven1 #8,blessed among women6' and more than ever trusting in the power of her intercession1 more than ever call on her1 #8,holy ,mary1 mother of ,god6 pray for us sinners1 now1 and at the hour of death4'0--,p4 #ad4 ,,second ,,and ,,fourth ,,of ,,the ,,five ,,sorrowful ,,mysteries4 8#b;d4 ,the scourging of our ,blessed ,lord1 at the pillar by soldiers1 in ,pilate's house2 the number of stripes they gave him being above five thousand4 8#dth4 ,the carrying of the ,cross2 in which our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 being sentenced to die1 bears with most amazing patience the cross which is laid upon ,him for ,his greater torment and ignominy1 meeting ,his blessed mother by the way40 ,,fourth ,,and ,,fifth ,,of ,,the ,,five ,,glorious ,,mysteries4 8#dth4 ,the ,assumption of the ,blessed ,virgin2 in which after her death1 twelve years after the ,resurrection1 she is assumed into heaven by her ,divine ,son accompanied by the holy angels4 8#eth4 ,the ,coronation of the ,blessed ,virgin2 in which1 amid the great jubilee and exultation of the whole court of heaven1 and to the particular glory of all the saints1 she is crowned by her ,son with the brightest diadem of glory40--,p4 #af4 ,extracts from a tract1 entitled1 8,our ,parish ,churches as they were and as they are4 #a4 ,old stones tell tales40 8,i declare1 it seems to me that the very idea of worship has almost died out in ,england4 ,do you think that if people really felt they were speaking to ,almighty ,god1 they would sit at their ease1 or look over a book1 and never do more8 ,church of ,englandism has such a comfortable look about it2 it is the religion of people well to do in the world1 and have too much business to transact to turn their minds thoroughly to anything else4 ,it is a one day a week religion4 ,every thing about it is so formal1 so decent1 so sober1 so proper and respectable4 ,it would look so odd to seem in earnest2 to be on your knees in prayer before so many well-dressed people1 as though you had a soul to be saved4 ,church of ,englandism is such a human thing2 it smacks so much of the world and of #8good society4' ,it makes a poor man feel awkward1 just as he does when he finds himself in a gentleman's drawing-room40--,p4 #aj4 8,the ,church of ,england would never have built such churches1 though it is very proud of them now it has got them1 and lately has taken to making a few others in imitation of the old ones4 ,people never seem to think of this4 ,they are always bragging about their fine old parish churches1 and their venerable cathedrals1 and all the while they were built by the ,papists1 as they call them2 and if it had not been for the ,papists they would never have had them to brag of4 ,the sparrow stole into the martin's nest1 and said1 ,see what a nice warm house ,i have got4 ,he couldn't say he had made it1 but he was quite as cocky as if he had40--,p4 #aa4 8#8,and what is this8' said ,i again2 and ,i pointed at a curious sort of niche with a hole at the bottom of it4 #8,that1' said he1 #8is a piscina2 it was for pouring the water away after the priest had washed his hands4' #8,why should he wash his hands1' said ,i1 #8more than our ministers8' #8,because1' said ,peter1 #8he had to touch the body of the ,lord1 and to lift ,him up1 as when ,he was raised on the cross4 ,and your ministers have no need to wash theirs1 because they have not got the body of our ,lord there at all4'0--p4 #ad4 8#8,what was the use of saying mass for him1' said ,i1 #8when he was dead and buried8' ,peter smiled1 and answered1 #8,it is said in the ,scriptures1 that it is a good and wholesome thought to pray for the dead1 and it certainly must be so4'0--,p4 #ae4 ,extracts from a tract1 entitled1 8,the ,church of our ,fathers40 8,st4 ,peter1 the prince of the apostles1 to whom our ,lord himself gave the name of ,peter1 which signifies a rock1 and told him at the same time that on that rock ,he would build ,his ,church1 and that the gates of hell should not prevail against it1--this same ,peter went to ,rome and became its ,bishop2 and from that time the ,church of ,rome1 as being the ,see of ,st4 ,peter1 has ever been looked upon by the faithful as the mother and mistress of all churches1 and each of his successors in turn as the visible head of the ,church on earth40--,p4 #e4 8,it is generally believed that ,caractacus settled in ,rome with his family2 that his daughter was called ,claudia1 and that she married a noble ,roman called ,pudens1 who1 together with herself1 afterwards became ,christian2 that they had a daughter who was afterwards celebrated as a saint under the name of ,st4 ,pudentiana2 and that this ,pudens and ,claudia1 whom ,st4 ,paul mentions in his ,epistle to ,timothy 7#b ,tim4 iv4 #ba71 were no other than these4 ,it is said also that this noble ,british household gave shelter and hospitality to ,st4 ,peter1 while he lived as ,bishop in ,rome2 a retired room in the house being set apart as his chapel4 ,a church was afterwards built on the site of this house1 which having been since twice rebuilt1 is still known by the name of ,st4 ,pudentiana2 and it is this church which1 from its connexion with the history of our country1 has been assigned to ,cardinal ,wiseman as the church from which he takes his title40--,p4 #g4 8,several miracles attended the death of this our first martyr 7,alban74 ,when on his way to death1 he came to a river which divided the town from the hill where he was to suffer2 the people thronged the bridge over it in such multitudes that he feared he should not be able to pass all that day1 and longing for his crown1 raised his eyes to heaven and prayed4 ,and ,god straightway divided the waters as for ,his people of old1 so that he walked through dryshod40--,p4 #i4 8,the next thing that we hear of the ,church in ,britain is1 that two bishops from ,gaul1 ,germanus and ,lupus1 were sent over here to preach to the people1 many of whom had been perverted by false teachers2 but all gladly listened to the preaching of these holy bishops1 and returned to the way of truth4 ,they were the more easily persuaded1 because the preaching of these men was also accompanied by the working of miracles4 ,after a public conference1 in which the heretics had been completely put to silence by the eloquence of the bishops1 an officer in the ,roman army stepped forward with his little daughter who was blind1 and begged that they would bestow such relief upon her as they were able4 ,the bishops desired him to try first the powers of those false teachers who had been just now disputing against them4 ,but these declined the trial1 and united with the officer in begging her cure at the hands of ,germanus and ,lupus4 ,upon this ,germanus offered up a short prayer1 and invoking the ,holy ,trinity1 pulled from his bosom a little box of relics which he always carried about him4 ,this he applied to the girl's eyes1 and her sight was immediately restored40--,pp4 #i1 #aj4 ,extracts from a tract1 entitled1 8,how ,antichrist keeps ,christmas2 or1 ,a ,peep at ,christmas in a ,catholic country40 8,it is true1 indeed1 that ,christmas is a festival of such universal gladness1 as to thaw for a moment even the icy heart of ,protestantism2 sending a ray of joyousness down into the cold depths of the population of this country1 where all is so smooth and smiling on the surface1 all so chill and joyless underneath4 ,at ,christmas ,i really believe a thrill of gladness darts through the heart of the great majority of the people4 ,churches and chapels are made gay with shining leaves and scarlet berries2 carols are sung in the streets2 the words1 #8,a merry ,christmas to you6' pass from mouth to mouth2 and beef and pudding1 the outward form which joy is wont to put on in this cold1 hungry climate1 smoke on many a board to which1 alas6 for every other day in the year they are utter strangers4 ,nay1 it is to be hoped that even in union workhouses there is an intermission of gruel for ,christmas day40--,pp4 #d1 #e4 8,abundant food is a necessity of our climate1 and a condition of our physical well-being to a degree that the people of the ,south cannot understand4 ,we are told of our ,saxon forefathers1 whom ,i have before mentioned1 that their frames1 though so tall and well-formed1 were neither so patient of labour nor of hunger as might be expected from their apparent strength4 ,alas6 for the necessity which grinds down our poor to the endurance of both to such a hurtful degree4 ,but to return to ,christmas4 ,the difference between ,catholic and ,protestant ,christmas is this1 that both love ,christmas1 but ,catholics love it far more distinctly and consciously for ,christ's sake4 ,the very name of the festival is theirs1 ,christ's ,mass2 to ,protestants one part of the word has confessedly lost its meaning1 and the other is a dim vision4 ,look at the professedly religious part of the observance of this feast1 and see what it amounts to4 ,in the churches of the ,english establishment1 except the holly boughs1 what is there to tell of the ,lord's birth8 ,of course the lesson from ,scripture recounting that event is read2 so also are certain ,psalms which prophetically relate to it2 and a sermon on the ,nativity is 7sometimes7 preached4 ,but otherwise the ordinary routine of the service goes on the same as usual4 #8,dearly beloved brethren1' holds on the even tenour of its way1 with dulness scarcely mitigated2 and there is really nothing either peculiarly to draw out the devotion of those assisting at it towards their infant ,lord1 nor1 which is more to our present purpose1 any special outpouring of such devotion on the part of the ,church herself40--,p4 #f4 ,note ,b4 7,p4 #ag47 ,it is hoped that the following brief summary of the leading doctrines held by the two ,churches of ,england and ,rome1 with the authorities on which they respectively rest1 may prove useful to some of the readers of these pages1 whether as promoting their inquiry1 or confirming their faith4 ,doctrines maintained by the ,members of the ,church of ,england and of the ,church of ,rome1 with the authorities claimed by each in their support4 ,,church ,,of ,,england4 ,,church ,,of ,,rome4 ,i4 ,i4 ,holy ,scripture containeth all ,all saving truth is not contained things that are necessary to in the ,holy ,scripture1 but partly salvation3 so that whatsoever is in ,scripture and partly in not read therein1 nor may be unwritten traditions1 which proved thereby1 is not to be whosoever doth not receive with required of any man1 that it like piety and reverence as he should be believed as an article doth the ,scriptures1 is accursed4 of the faith1 or be thought ,if any one doth not receive all requisite or necessary to these books 7viz4 the apocryphal salvation4--#fth ,article of mixed with the genuine and ,religion4 ,see ,deut4 iv4 #b2 ,isa4 canonical books71 with every viii4 #bj2 ,rom4 xv4 #d2 #b ,tim4 iii4 part of them as they used to be #ae-ag2 ,rev4 xxii4 #h4 read in the ,catholic ,church1 and as they are contained in the ancient vulgar ,latin edition1 for holy and canonical1 and shall knowingly contemn the aforesaid traditions1 let him be accursed--,decrees of the ,council of ,trent4 ,,ii4 ,,ii4 ,we are accounted righteous before ,if any man shall say that the ,god1 only for the merit of our good works of a justified man are ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ by in such sense the gifts of ,god1 faith1 and not for our own works that they are not also his worthy or deservings4--#aath ,article of merits2 or that he1 being ,religion4 ,see ,ps4 cxliii4 #b2 justified by his good works1 ,luke xvii4 #aj2 ,rom4 iii4 #bb-bd1 which are wrought by him through #bg1 #bh4 the grace of ,god and the merits of ,jesus ,christ1 of whom he is a living member1 does not really deserve increase of grace1 eternal life1 the enjoyment of that eternal life1 if he dies in a state of grace1 and even an increase of glory1 let him be accursed4--,decrees of the ,council of ,trent4 ,,iii4 ,,iii4 ,the offering of ,christ once made ,if any one say that in the mass is that perfect redemption1 there is not a true and proper propitiation1 and satisfaction1 sacrifice offered unto ,god2 or1 for all the sins of the whole that to be offered is nothing world1 both original and actual2 else but for ,christ to be given and there is none other us to eat1 let him be satisfaction for sin1 but that accursed6--,decrees of the ,council alone4--#cast ,article of of ,trent4 ,religion4 ,gal4 iii4 #ac2 ,heb4 vii4 #bf1 #bg2 ix4 #ab1 #bb1 #bd-bh2 ,i further profess1 that in the x4 #ad2 #a ,john iii4 #a1 #b4 mass is offered to ,god a true1 proper1 and propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and dead4--,creed of ,pope ,pius ,,iv4 ,,iv4 ,,iv4 ,the ,romish doctrine concerning ,it is lawful to represent ,god and purgatory1 pardons1 worshipping1 the ,holy ,trinity by images2 and and adoration1 as well of images the images and relics of ,christ as of reliques1 and also and the saints are to be duly invocation of saints1 is a fond honoured1 venerated1 and thing vainly invented1 and worshipped4 ,and in this grounded upon no warranty of veneration and worship those are ,scripture1 but rather repugnant venerated which are represented to the word of ,god4--#bb;d by them4--,decrees of the ,council ,article of ,religion4 ,texts of ,trent4 opposed to the doctrine of purgatory3 ,eccl4 ix4 #e1 #f2 ,isa4 ,i most firmly assert that the xxxviii4 #ah2 ,st4 ,luke xxiii4 #dc2 images of ,christ and of the ,heb4 ix4 #bg2 ,rev4 xiv4 #ac4 ,mother of ,god1 who was always a ,texts opposed to the doctrines virgin1 are to be had and of the worship of images and the retained2 and that due honour and invocation of saints3 ,st4 ,matt4 worship are to be given to iv4 #aj2 ,acts iv4 #ab2 x4 #be2 #a them4--,creed of ,pope ,pius ,,iv4 ,cor4 iii4 #aa2 #a ,tim4 ii4 #e1 #f2 #a ,john ii4 #a1 #b4 ,i constantly hold that there is a purgatory2 and that the souls detained there are assisted by the prayers of the faithful4--,creed of ,pope ,pius ,,iv4 ,v4 ,v4 ,there are two ,sacraments ordained ,whosoever shall affirm that the of ,christ our ,lord in the ,gospel2 ,sacraments of the ,new ,law were that is to say1 ,baptism1 and the not all instituted by ,jesus ,supper of the ,lord4 ,those five ,christ our ,lord2 or that they are commonly called ,sacraments1 that more or fewer than seven2 or that is to say1 ,confirmation1 ,penance1 any of them is not truly and ,orders1 ,matrimony1 and ,extreme properly a sacrament1 let him be ,unction1 are not to be counted accursed4--,decrees of the ,council for ,sacraments of the ,gospel1 of ,trent4 being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the ,i profess also that there are apostles1 partly are states of truly and properly seven life allowed in the ,scriptures2 ,sacraments of the ,new ,law but yet have not like nature of instituted by our ,lord ,jesus ,sacraments with ,baptism and the ,christ1 and necessary for the ,lord's ,supper1 for that they have salvation of all men1 7though not not any visible sign or ceremony all of them to every one17 viz4 ordained of ,god4--#beth ,article ,baptism1 ,confirmation1 the ,lord's of ,religion4 ,st4 ,matt4 xxviii4 ,supper1 ,penance1 ,extreme ,unction1 #ai2 xxvi4 #bf2 ,st4 ,mark xiv4 #bb2 ,orders1 and ,matrimony4--,creed of ,st4 ,luke xxii4 #ai1 #bj2 #a ,cor4 xi4 ,pope ,pius ,,iv4 #bd4 ,,vi4 ,,vi4 ,it is a thing plainly repugnant ,although the mass contain great to the word of ,god1 and the instruction for the faithful custom of the primitive ,church1 people2 yet it has not appeared to have public prayer in the expedient to the ,fathers1 that it ,church1 or to minister the should be everywhere celebrated ,sacraments in a tongue not in the vulgar tongue4--,decrees of understanded of the the ,council of ,trent4 people4--#bdth ,article of ,religion4 #a ,cor4 xiv4 #c1 #f1 #ad1 #af1 #ai4 ,,vii4 ,,vii4 ,the cup of the ,lord is not to be ,whosoever shall affirm that all denied to the lay people3 for and every one of ,christ's both the parts of the ,lord's faithful are bound by divine ,sacrament1 by ,christ's ordinance command to partake the most holy and commandment1 ought to be sacrament of the ,eucharist in ministered to all ,christian men both kinds as necessary to alike4--#cjth ,article of salvation1 let him be ,religion4 ,st4 ,matt4 xxvi4 accursed4--,decrees of the ,council #bf-bh2 #a ,cor4 xi4 #bh4 of ,trent4 ,i confess also1 that under one kind only is received the whole and entire ,christ1 and the true ,sacrament4--,creed of ,pope ,pius ,,iv4 ,note ,c4 7,p4 #ag47 ,it is confidently believed by those persons who are most familiarly acquainted with the state of the property adjacent to the new ,romish ,church1 that within a very few years nearly the whole of it will be covered with new buildings4 ,and it is so far removed from the churches and ,national schools at ,fulham and ,walham ,green1 where the population has also increased of late very considerably1 that it is easy to foresee the necessity which will arise for some new provision for the spiritual instruction of such a district1 growing up nearly in the centre of the parish of ,fulham4 ,in such cases1 all experience teaches that it is far wiser to anticipate the measures that may be required for meeting the exigency1 than to adopt them after it has occurred4 ,and the ,vicar1 therefore1 deems the present a suitable opportunity for making it known1 that the promise has been secured of a most eligible piece of land1 near the locality here described1 and containing rather more than the third of an acre1 which would be well calculated1 either now or hereafter1 for the erection of school-rooms1 or a church adapted to the wants of this growing population4 ,the owner of the land1 knowing the important object for which it has been wished to obtain it1 has liberally consented to accept a price considerably below that which its marketable value would command1 and the ,bishop of ,london has kindly given his sanction to the measure4 ,to those persons whose interest in the spiritual edification of their poorer neighbours may induce them to promote it1 the ,vicar will be thankful to afford any information that may be wished1 in reference to this object1 and to receive from them any amount of pecuniary assistance that will be needed to meet the expense1 which of course must be considerable4 ,note ,d4 7,p4 #ah47 ,to those members of the congregation at ,all ,saints1 who have not yet introduced into their families the practice of domestic prayer1 and who may possibly feel the want of some suggestions as to the books best adapted for conducting it1 the ,vicar would desire to recommend one or other of the following publications1 according as they may find them most eligible for their own use4 ,the different prices named would bring the books within the means of every class of his people2 and he ventures to urge the adoption of the practice equally upon all4 s4 d4 ,bishop of ,london's ,manual of ,family ,prayer1 from #a #j #a;d4 to ,family ,prayers1 by the late ,h4 ,thornton1 ,esq41 ,m4,p4 #c #j ,family ,prayers1 by the late ,w4 ,wilberforce1 ,esq4 #a #f ,the ,churchman's ,book of ,family ,prayer1 by the ,rev4 ,j4 #a #f ,h4 ,swainson1 ,rector of ,alresford ,a ,manual of ,prayer for ,family and ,private ,devotion1 #j #a by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,a4 ,heurtley ,note ,e4 7,p4 #ai47 ,at a time when books of the most valuable and interesting character are published at prices far below any former precedent1 it seems to be little less than the duty of every master of a ,christian household to furnish to his servants a collection1 however limited1 of such works as would be at once most useful and acceptable to them1 which a few shillings annually would serve to keep up or to extend4 ,the ,vicar would wish to recommend ,the ,churchman's ,monthly ,magazine as one publication1 which might1 in any case1 be added with advantage to such a library4 ,it has now extended to five small volumes1 and is continued periodically4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following ,table shows the result of the former decennial inquiries into the population of the parish of ,fulham3 ,,number ,,of ,,houses4 ,males4 ,females4 ,total4 ,occupied4 ,empty4 ,building4 #ahja #gbc #ae 4 4 4 #bjhf #bccd #ddbj #ahaa #hhe #ad #ae #bgad #cahi #eijc #ahba #ihg #df #ac #bidi #cedb #fdia #ahca #aafc #aaa #eb #cdcb #chhe #gcag #ahda #adda #eb #i #dahi #ebcj #idai ,r4 ,,clay1 ,,printer1 ,,bread ,,street ,,hill4 ,,footnotes4 #c #a ,sam4 xvii4 #cd1 #ce4 #d;a #a ,sam4 xvii4 #ej4 #d;b #a ,cor4 i4 #bh1 #bi4 #d;c #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #c1 #d4 #g;a ,gal4 vi4 #b4 #g;b ,eph4 iv4 #be4 #g;c #a ,pet4 iii4 #g4 #h;a ,psalm xc4 #aj4 #h;b ,acts xvii4 #bh4 #h;c ,col4 i4 #bg4 #i;a ,james i4 #ba4 #i;b ,matt4 iii4 #g4 #i;c ,john v4 #dj4 #i;d ,john vi4 #cg4 #i;e ,gen4 vi4 #c4 #i;f ,heb4 iv4 #i4 #aj;a ,psalm xxxix4 #ab4 #aj;b ,heb4 xi4 #af4 #aj;c #a ,pet4 iv4 #ah4 #aj;d ,prov4 xiv4 #i4 #aj;e ,philip1 iii4 #ai4 #aj;f ,heb4 vi4 #f4 #aa;a ,acts v4 #ae4 #aa;b ,gen4 iii4 #ai4 #ab;a #b ,pet4 i4 #aj4 #ab;b #a ,cor4 vii4 #bi-ca4 #ac #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #ad4 #ad;a ,isaiah xxiii4 #h4 #ad;b ,deut4 iv4 #f4 #ag;a ,see ,note ,a4 #ag;b ,heb4 x4 #bc4 #ag;c ,see ,note ,b4 #ag;d ,see ,note ,c4 #ah;a ,see ,note ,d4 #ah;b ,isa4 lviii4 #ac4 #ai;a ,see ,note ,e4 #ai;b ,address to the ,sponsors at the close of the ,office of ,baptism4 #bj;a ,rev4 x4 #f4 #bj;b ,rev4 xx4 #ac4 7,see the marginal reading47 #bj;c #a ,cor4 i4 #ba4 #bj;d #a ,thess4 iv4 #af4 #bj;e ,eph4 v4 #ae1 #af4 #bj;f ,rev4 vii4 #i4 #bj;g ,rev4 iv4 #aa4