NOTE. IT would be quite foreign to the design of this publication to enter upon a defence of liturgical worship. But to the members of the Church of England, whose public worship is liturgical, I cannot but recommend the adoption of that mode of worship in their fa milies; inasmuch as it would habituate their domestics to such attentions to the minuter parts of our church service, as would contribute greatly to the solemnity of the whole. The spirit of our worship is in a great measure lost, for want of the audible concurrence of the congregation, in the responses. There can be no doubt, that more attention is paid to those parts of the service than there appears; many, and those some of the most devout worshippers, joining in them silently: but not being audibly rehearsed, they seem to be left entirely to the clerk. The consequence of this is, that our worship sinks into a heavy and spiritless performance, and a general list lessness is observed to prevail in the assembly, long before the service is ended. We are informed, that in the churches of the early Christians, there was so universaland so audible a concurrence of the worshippers, in the responses, that the uttering them resembled the sound of thunder. It is much to be wished, that such a lively attention to the service were observable in our churches. We should then appear much more like an assembly of people adoring the great and glorious Creator, than we do. To this grand, majestic, and impressive effect, every person should be excited to contribute his part. One thing, perhaps, which is a cause of our inattention to the shorter sentences of the public liturgy, is the people being so entirely unused to any thing of the kind, in the intervals which occur between the Sundays. If this be a cause of inattention, the use of a Family Liturgy may be of service; as thereby our domestics may be trained by the worship which is practised at home, to join in the service of the church. But in order to its answering this end, the master of the family 'should be observant of a rule suggested to him in the discourse on Family Religion; namely, to teach his domestics to join in those parts of worship which are allotted to them. Besides the good effect which a family liturgy may have on the public worship, it seems, independent of that effect, to be an eligible mode of family worship. Giving our domestics a part to sustain in the worship, may serve to give life to a service, which is apt to be accounted, by young people, a dull émployment. It may help to fix their attention, and to impress them with this important consideration, namely, that Religion is a business in which every individual ought to be engaged. INDEX. Prayers suited to particular Days. Page Christmas Day 189, 213, 76, 98, 151, 232 New-Year's Day 246, 28, 76, 98, 139, 160, 198 A Sacrament Day 252, 257, 1, 6, 164 A Birth-day of an Adult 246, 28, 37, 76, 98, A Birth-day of one of the Children of the Family Apy Family Anniversary 98, 58, 76, 217, 232 A Day of public Thanksgiving 198, 58, 63, 98, The Day of the King's Birth, Accession, 226 or Coronation U 110, 226 Prayers suited to particular Occasions. Page When any important Undertaking is in hand 19 When an Affliction is removed 207, 169 236, 54 When one of the Family is ill On the Death of one of the Family, or On the Death of an eminently pious or When a Woman hath been safely deli- vered in Child-birth Upon going into a new Habitation After having been at a Place of Worship 207 236 41 155 236 217, 106 102 When a Child is going from Home, to be 173 226 placed at School, or in Service When a Child is returned from School At the Time of Assizes, or on the Day of After a Casualty has happened, such as a Conflagration, a Tempest, &c. In a Time of public Distress 217 236 207, 41, 169 - |