FRIDAY AFTERNOON, 8th OCTOBER.

The RIGHT REV. THE PRESIDENT took the Chair at Half-past Two o'clock.

RELIGIOUS AND DEVOTIONAL BOOKS.

PAPERS.

The REV. CANON KING.

It would be obviously impossible, in the short time necessarily allowed. to these papers, to attempt to touch upon, much more to exhaust, all the different aspects of the subjects proposed. Indeed, the wise and comforting plan of appointing several readers and speakers for one subject seems mercifully to suggest that none should be expected to treat the matter exhaustively, but each to treat one or more of those points which seemed to the reader or speaker to be of express value. I must, therefore, intentionally omit many things I might wish to say, and content myself with offering to your consideration one or two remarks which seem to me to be at least of some present importance.

And first it might be well to remind ourselves that all human effortseven those connected with the highest and most sacred subjects—are liable to transitoriness, imperfection, and possibly error. This is obviously true of the numerous religious societies and of books of hymns, as well as more particularly of books of devotion. They may have their day, and pass out of fashion; they may have their great value for the immediate need, and yet leave something more to be desired. They may have had their mistakes, and yet for all this they may have done their work, and done it well, according to the measure of all human efforts, and deserve at the hands of successive generations, not unqualified censure and rejection, but prayerful consideration and, if possible, grateful and patient amendment.

I must therefore express my thankfulness to Almighty God, and my gratitude to all those who have laboured in this good work, for the bountiful increase of all kinds of religious and devotional books which we have seen in these last years in and from this country. On the whole, I doubt not, the result has been good. They are the fruit, and they contain the seeds, of true spiritual life. I say in and from this country, for, while we cannot value too highly or ponder too carefully the record of the life and the sermons and the letters of spiritual counsel of the truly simple, truly holy, truly English saint of Hursley, yet still it

would be, I believe, an unjust and therefore an intolerable burden if a timid and suspicious policy should try to prohibit the importation of all books of devotion adopted from foreign lands, instead of trusting God to sustain England's powers to enrich herself by the good things that come to her from without, and give her strength to develop those very spiritual national qualities for which God has so marvellously sustained her in her singular position.

There may be, there are, dangers no doubt connected with this line of thought, but the dangers of an unjust suppression are, I believe, far greater. Members of the English Church are thereby members of the Catholic Church, and whatever is truly Catholic is undoubtedly theirs. This is no new claim for the Church of England. In 1700 Dr Nicholl published an adaptation for the Introduction to a Devout Life, and we feel we need the help of the refined and common-sense and saintly Bishop of Geneva now as much as, then. When St Francis de Sales is truly Catholic he is and must be ours.

In 1707 Dr Hicks translated for English use a Treatise on the Education of Women, and whatever may have been the rights of the quarrel with Bossuet or Bossuet's nephew, we cannot consent to give up the intelligence and wisdom and grace and holiness of the Archbishop of Cambrai. Fenelon can never be contraband. I need hardly add that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and by John Wesley and by Waterland in the eighteenth century, the Imitation of Christ was regarded as most helpful to the spiritual life, and I do not think any unprejudiced person would wish to give up Thomas à Kempis now. I may, in short, conclude this line of thought by a quotation which has been already quoted :— "Notwithstanding the great and deserved aversion which this nation has to Popery, yet the books of their divines upon devotional and practical subjects have met with as favourable reception among us, as if the authors had been of a better religion."-Dr Pusey's Letter to the Bishop of London, 1851.

But not only would I express my gratitude for the number of the books, but also for their adaptation to all classes of society, all ages, and, as far as possible, all spiritual states. This is a marked feature of the present day and of the present books of devotion. They have made things plain and practically intelligible to the less educated and to the young. Here, again, no doubt there is danger, and certainly much opportunity is offered for criticism. We must thank the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol for endorsing this principle in his Preface to a Book of Prayers and Meditations for the Holy Communion, when he says "The writer is young, and for that very reason more likely to touch the religious feelings and sympathies of those for whom the prayers are intended." This is true.

We have needed elasticity, more loving consideration, more unselfish sympathy in reference to the religious life, and the expression of it in different classes of society and by different ages, and in its different degrees. With the highly educated there is much that need not be, that had better not be, plainly and fully expressed. A hint, a phrase quoted, even a word will suggest more than could be written on many pages, but with the less educated and poor, hints and suggestions have

little or no meaning. You must call a spade a spade if you want one; and this is often painful and repugnant to more sensitive minds.

A good deal of the difficulty regarding books of devotion belongs, I believe, to this line of thought. All ages, all classes, all spiritual states cannot equally enjoy the same prayers and use the same hymns and books of devotion; but they ought all to remember to give to others the liberty they each claim for themselves, and not forget that, though different members, they are, in truth, one body.

That we have done right on the whole may be seen, I think, yet more plainly from two further considerations.

1st. From the insufficiency of some useful and good books, which, though not written by members of the Church of England, have yet been popular and influential amongst us. I can take but two examples: the first shall be the well-known book, Baxter's Saints' Rest. Mr Wilberforce, in his Practical View, expresses the high value set upon this and other devotional writings of the deservedly great, but unfortunately Nonconformist, divine of Kidderminster. Mr Wilberforce says “It may, perhaps, be truly affirmed, that the writings of few, if any, uninspired men have been the instruments of such great and extensive benefit to mankind as those of Mr Baxter." And the Saints' Rest contains, certainly, much which is most valuable. The idea of the book, as a whole, might well be urged on this busy and prosperous country as a check to the refined materialism which in different ways dulls so much of our spiritual life.

His earnest appeal for the necessity of more of this heavenly meditation is most valuable :-"The duty which I press upon thee so earnestly, and in the practice of which I am now to direct thee, is the set and solemn acting of all the powers of thy soul in meditation upon thy everlasting rest. . . This duty of meditation, or the considering and contemplating of spiritual things, . . . is confessed to be a duty by all, but practically denied by most. Many that make conscience of other duties easily neglect this; they are troubled if they omit a sermon, a fast, or a prayer in public or private; yet were never troubled that they had omitted meditation perhaps all their lifetime to this very day, though it be that duty by which all other duties are improved, and by which the soul digesteth truths for its nourishment and comfort. It was God's command to Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein' (Josh. i. 8). As digestion turneth food into chyle and blood, for vigorous health; so meditation turns the truths received and remembered into warm affection, firm resolution, and holy conversation. This meditation is upon thy everlasting rest; yet I would not have thee cast off other meditations; but surely as heaven hath the pre-eminence in perfection, it should have it also in our meditation." "This meditation," he further adds, "should be at stated times." "Stated times" he calls the hedge of duty-once at least every day; for himself he thinks the evening and Sundays the best time for heavenly contemplation. Surely, nothing could be better than this, and much more might be added equally valuable on the need of avoiding occasions of sin, the due care of the body, the means of retaining the thought of heaven by the due use of sensible

objects, &c. But, nevertheless, this book alone would not teach a man the full doctrine of Baptism or the Eucharist, or the full scheme of supernatural assistance which God has provided so mercifully in His Church, in order that His banished be not expelled from Him.

And, once more, if we take that which Mr Wilberforce has called that most useful book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, by Dr Doddridge, we shall see that it is, indeed, most useful, thoroughly good and practical, and adapted far more than many Churchmen's books to the needs of all classes, and yet that it is deficient. Let us look. All that he says of the need of real conversion and looking to Christ for pardon is admirable :-" You must apply to Christ, with a deep abhorrence of your former sins, and a firm resolution of forsaking them, forming that resolution in the strength of His grace" (p. 84).

The first and most important advice is, look to Christ and apply yourself to Him; go to the Saviour; fall down in this speechless confusion at His feet; say to Him, "O Lord, I have foolishly attempted to be mine own saviour; but it will not do. I am sensible the attempt is vain; and therefore I give it over, and look unto Thee; on Thee, O blessed Jesus, Who art sure and sted fast, do I desire to fix my anchor." "To thine atonement, obedience, intercession, O Thou holy and acceptable High Priest, would I trust." All this is excellent; so again is the advice on edification and the marks of the Christian tempers.

"You must make it your care to show your love by obedience, by forming yourself as much as possible according to the temper and manner of Jesus, in Whom you believe; you must make it the great point of your ambition, to be a living image of Christ.' Look, then, into the life and temper of Christ, as described and illustrated in the Gospels, and search whether you can find anything like it in your own life. Have you anything of His devotion, love, resignation to God? anything of His humility, meekness, and benevolence to men?"

Further, we are to consider well the great branches of godliness, and see how we stand towards them: there are our relations to God, our neighbour, ourselves to God as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to govern ourselves, souls and bodies, our thoughts and desires, as well as words and actions; and to test our conduct by certain qualifications, such as sincerity, tenderness, zeal, prudence. But perhaps the most striking chapter of the book is the seventeenth, on self-dedication. It urges a solemn surrender of the soul to God, and provides a form in which it may be made. It is to be done with all possible solemnity, in express words, in many cases in writing. The hand and seal is to be set to it, with the day, and month, and year; it is to be done with some more than ordinary religious solemnity, on a day of secret fasting and prayer. The form given is long, but a few words will sufficiently indicate the solemnity of the act:- -"Blessed God, it is with the utmost solemnity that I make this surrender of myself unto Thee. I avouch and declare myself this day to be one of Thy covenant children and people; henceforth I am Thine, entirely Thine-I would be wholly Thine, Thine for ever. . . . Not only do I consecrate all that I am and have to Thy service, but I also most humbly resign, and submit to Thine holy sovereign Will, myself, and all that I can call mine. I leave, O Lord, to Thy management and direction

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all I possess, and all I wish; Thine."

contentedly resigning my will unto

This is very tremendous, and no renewal of baptismal vows or resolutions in retreats could go beyond it. To help us in these resolutions very excellent rules are given in the nineteenth chapter, which is a reprint of a letter written by Dr Doddridge to a young friend in 1727.

The directions are divided into three heads-How we are to regard God in the beginning, the progress, and the close of the day. Under the first head he directs us to lift up our hearts to God as soon as we wake, while we are rising, and then to set ourselves seriously to the secret devotions of the morning; for this he thinks most may obtain half or three-quarters of an hour-an exact method he declines to lay down, but his general scheme includes acts of praise, prayer, reading of the Scriptures, ten or twelve verses, not critically, but with the devotional, practical view, with prayer ; then the forecasting, or prospect of the day, considering the duties, temptations, opportunities. Then comes the business of the day, and this is to be entered upon with a sense of God's authority, avoiding a dreaming, sluggish, indolent temper, which nods over its work and does only the business of one hour in two or three. Through the day there is to be watchfulness, ejaculatory prayer even in the midst of work, and government of the thoughts in solitude; in the evening devotion, like the morning, changing the prospect of the day for retrospective self-examination. It is impossible, one would say, for any one seriously to follow such advice as this without deriving great benefit and feeling great gratitude and attachment to the book which gave it. And yet that book is insufficient, good and thorough as it is, for conversion, dedication, and discipline of the affections and will to God; yet there is scant or no mention of the great Christian ordinances of baptism, confirmation, absolution, Communion, and the whole heritage of the faith committed to the saints. The book, helpful as it is, leaves a want. Not only is there this insufficiency in these truly valuable books of the Nonconformists, but also a practical obscurity and want of adaptation to the less educated and poor in the still more valuable books of our great divines. I can but briefly illustrate this. Few books, perhaps, were more read in the first half of the present century than Wilberforce's Practical View, and well worth re-reading it is still; but I would observe its limited adaptation; it is of professed Christianity in the higher and middle classes. The poor are not directly addressed at all, and though no one would suspect a Wilberforce of want of sympathy, yet the phrases "lower orders" and "inferior classes" show that the book did not pretend to be a poor man's book-that something more was still needed.

If we take the still more famous work of Jeremy Taylor, the Golden Grove-in the threefold division of this little treatise-Credenda, Agenda, Postulanda-an instructed soul might indeed find all that he would desire. The diary or rule for the day, beginning with the seven actions of piety-an act of adoration, of thanksgiving, of oblation, of confession, of petition, of intercession, of meditation-or serious, deliberate, useful reading of the Holy Scriptures-is full of practical holiness and wisdom.

The outcast and despairing would find, indeed, here that Jesus has appointed ministers not only to preach but to "comfort" and "restore and reconcile us." He would find here that the Holy Ghost consecrates