and sins. It is quite true that the pardoned Christian still retains a sinful and corrupted nature, and also true that as he enters more and more fully within the radiant circle of the Divine glory, and sees with ever-increasing clearness of vision the beauty of the All-Beautiful One, he recognises increasingly his sinfulness and failures; but if at the same time he is earnestly and honestly cleansing himself from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, he will not be conscious of any 'collapse," nor feel impelled to confess "manifold sins and wickedness." And if these are neither realized nor acknowledged, how can the "priest absolve him?

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This continual acknowledgment of

manifold sins and wickedness" on the part of devoted Christians is not true either to Christian experience or to the teachings of God's Word, and the absolution given by a man-made priest is nothing less than an empty unreality. Who can forgive sins but God only? "He pardoneth." We would offer on behalf of all our Christian readers the prayer of Paul for the Philippians : 6 That your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye

may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence, unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.'

CHAPTER VI.

CONCERNING WORSHIP.

GOD made man for Himself, and therefore man is naturally a worshipping being. God is the worshipful One, and seeks true worshippers to worship Him, for His glory and also for their own highest good. His reconciled and loving children alone can truly worship Him; and because they are social as well as spiritual in their nature-the brothers of Christ and brethren in Him-they rejoice to worship together, and realize the communion of saints.

I. PRAISE.

1. What saith the Scriptures ? 'Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High; to show

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forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night. O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Both young men and maidens, old men and children: let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven' (The Psalms). The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshippers. God is spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth' (John iv. 23, 24). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God' (Col. iii. 16). Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light' (1 Pet. ii. 9).

2. The Prayer-book. What are the themes of praise provided in the Book of Common Prayer for Public Worship? They are not only the great

verities of the Gospel embodied in Hymns and Spiritual Songs, but also and chiefly the Old Testament Psalms. Now, the Psalms are sublime poetical effusions of faith and hope and varied spiritual experience, and they cannot be too highly appreciated, or too frequently read and pondered by Christian people; but it is also well to remember that they give expression, for the most part, only to the religion and morality of Judaism, which were of a much lower type than those that are Christian. The Psalms could all be chanted in their entirety by the Jewish people in olden times without any sense of incongruity or impiety; but large portions of not a few of them cannot thus be presented in praise to God by an intelligent Christian congregation. To read them in the Morning and Evening Services is right and good, remembering when and by whom they were written; but to sing them all in praise is surely a mistake. We have not done so for many years, and to listen to the doing of it by others is not edifying. Out of many examples which might be quoted, take the following:

'Plead Thou my cause, O Lord, with them that