The National Register. — London, England, 1809-04-23 00:00:00

P7O CO Jutptt. ------ The Pulpit, and I name It filled With sttletnn awe, that hid,. no- well beware wh:tt latent I touch that hob thin; stanch: the messenger of truth; there stint% The Le;ate of the Saies!—llis theme diN othcc s weed, his credentials clew.--COW PER. lA:cm:Es ON illlli LITURGY, commenced February life 141 h, and on March the ,'2lst Terminated, Bit G. ANDREWLS, or ST. .1.1 4 1 r s• C RCIS, EN PICCADILLY. rgon considering 6 the coniniination against sinners,' lunching wnich I have already spoken, Dl. Andrewes pro ceeded to explaia and enforce the cuvßcitiN!i of wolf E s. Sunday Evening, Februarg ihe ` :' 6th.—Of this office of our church, which is also called, perhaps with more jus tice, the Thankss . iving of Women after Child-birth,' the propriety is unquestionable. Since the primal sentence smcc awfully denounced against " tlAe mother of all living," every age has seen incontestible demonstrations of the " sorrow" in which woman is destined to " bring forth children ;" and therefore rational piety itself, were divine wisdom still silent on this point, should suggest the duty of women °Tering . up their " hearty thanks," to the Fountain of Goodness, for their " safe deliverance from the great pain and peril of child-birth !" As the sentence vas public, so ought to be the deliverance from its inflic tions. 1)r. Andrewes accordingly reprobated the churching of women in private houses. Setting aside the irreverence of this practice , it is clear that those who adopt it, and the slumber of them is by far too great, utterly confound together places distinct as churches and houses ; for the Thanksgiving of Women after Child-birth,' conducted thus privately, is housing rather than churching women. wish it were for me to agree with Dr. Andrewes in other things. There are cases, however, in which it is better to chew the eligibility, instead of insisting on the necessity, of our church forms. What is always physically right. may sometimes he poli tically wrong ; an:l it was scarcely possible to hear Dr. Andre:Wes expatiaLing on the biessings of fathering a nume rous progeny, as matters now stand, without fe,Tsig come trivial objections to the persuasion which he -so happily laboured to disseminate. Patriarchal precedents were the last that should have been cited in confirmation of the generative benediction. When Lot was able to choose i.`ocioni, and Abraham to settle in Canaan, either for him self, each might feel the advantage of replenishine; the .earth ; but we, who live where hemen affairs ace not ex actly in the same—state, must calculate before we pro create, and are not entitled to expect that the goodness of providence will relieve the folly of our improvidence. Could our children always possess the gates of ti;(;se, that kite them, then, as under the first law, might our off spring, after honoring their fathers and mothers, rise up to bless us. The man is not necessarily happy, thcrefore,who. iias his quiver full of them. There arc days, as the Son. of God once said, when it i 4 'Woe unto those that give. suck ! Dr. Andrcwes's succecding Lecture was oa the . Order for 4be BURIAL Of'- TIIF Sunda!, Evening, 31rtrch s.—Were - it . asked rue to selnet ,poEliLhlay pportiou of our National Eitorfzri-which-shollY it its fairest•liT,ht, I should tuidoti4itiriq.ly spec;.l% Triti Order for the Burial ()four Dead.' Such is the seir ranity of this sacred service, such the!. inherentli-4 - rtity of it, t lrtt, separated from the exlenal triirk, pbseryance, it appears to every hatinfin.bisorti, draws• sighs 'fool every heart, and tears into every e:ic. Here is ei iiihiti.il the glory of ilia& syseein which broon:ht life-and iiniuorliklity to light. !•orrotvinz, but not :is I ho , e wilbout• o.er the earthiy rctLain of tleparted ffietilithip, the THE NATIONAL REpmfrE-R-4. APRIL 23. very eye that descends with grief into the grave, is raised , at the same ,time,•with joy to the skies.• it is not tb' evcrlastin;•farewell, but the temporary parting,.of those who live by faith. Confident of the " resurrection to eternal lifo," these look forward, with ihdiscrihable bliss, to the society which will consist of the spirits of just men made perfect. While we fulfill the mournful ceremony of committing the body to the ground, we enjoy the glo. riot's privilege of commending• the spirit to him ho gave it. Dr. Andrewes failed to realize my anticipations on this occasion. His present discourse was informing and discri minating, hut it wanted the impres , iveness of eloquenco. lie appealed to the head, but he never agitated the heart. There was one part of his discourse, however, which 00.41 it to be pointed out, and to which praise is most jristf; due. Adverting to fashionable funeraN, he eneri..st ically remon strated against the practice, still so prevalent in high life, of persons celebrating the obsequies of their relations as it were by proxy ; so that servants, in this last sad rite, be come the substitutes of masters, and funerals are literally performed. Nothing can be more revolting than thi4 practice. It is insult to the deceased, it is scandal to the living. Abraham himself buried Sarah ; and the principal personages of Egypt consentancously accompanied Joseph to the burial of Jacob. It was over a grave that Jesus wept. Humanity is to be acquired at the bed of sickness, and piety at the interment of the dead. What is the tomb, to those who can truly ask, agreeably to The order for the Burial of the Dead,' the speedy accomplishment of " the number of the elect;" and who feel heartily thankful, at the same time. that the souls of them they love are " delivered from the burden of the flesh," and from " the misnies of this sinful world i" Of our future knowledge of each other, what may he termed individual recognition beyond the grave, of this hope, to which reason aspires and which revelation coun tenances, Dr. Andrews did not speak. Scarcely did he venture on the confines of that state " where the souls of them that depart hence" .exist " in joy and felicity l" It was rather trivial in him, after this neglect, to censure those simple creatures, who, instead of attending to the solemnities of burial, are drawn thither by admiring the proud pall, or seen noticing the curious coffin. Knowing the important impressions often made both on the heart and mind by the burial of the dead, religiously celebrated, 1 greatly regret the too frequent neglect of carrying the corps: into the church ; where the sacredness of the place, and the portion of divine scripture usually read, most fitly prepare the mourners for the final solem nity of committit2; the bony of the deceased to the grave. Parsimony is the last feeling that should be con- I stilted in this particular ; and where poverty really operates to the exclusion of piety, well would it become the minister of •relig,rion, remembering to Whom he is responsible, to dispense, in some shape, with the church fees otherwise to he expected. Something should be done on this subject. Difficult it may be, but let us trust that it is not impossible, to remedy the evil which I have just been describing. .4 pril 2, 1809. ONgsnics. MINORITY ON THE MOTION OF LORI) FOLK-STONr, FOR A COI:MTITEI INQuinr. INTO Airmsrs. Lord Militant! Jos. Halsey, Esq. Wm. Ord, Esq. !I. C. ('i►mhe, Esq. lion. C. Pelham John ('aleraft, Esti, I). North, Eqq. lion. C. Brails.haw 11. Parnell, Esq. Lee Antonie, L. 6. Wardle, Esq. Jinn. IV. Lambe S. Whitbread, Esq. Hon. W. 1..% t I.ned A. Hamilton J. M. Lloyd C. C. Western, F. q. S. 11. Tracey, Esq. Lord 1:1)11((ine 'T. W. Coke., Esq. Ili;n•C•i{utchimnn. *wed hi. Illajest,,i• IJf , r(l,ossul•t one • Lord 'cit,r. Forbrs Sir.W. Le:non, Sir T. Yiittor, 1;t. B fie®. Wbbert, tieo. linnill);sEsq. l•:1 u`;, Setidal . awv, F4q. Tl'. ..1. 4 ;s•rn:nonils T. Creevey, C3ptaiu r(••i1 iCO. &talon has been dill ' I A ii ill 01 . • el