The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-08-30 00:00:00

lean worship:

and kneelh

sittings, is to be considered of the first importance, v

lave equaLrights with the mu. Inc
requisite expenses are to be defrayed by the weekl3
offertory, and such endowment as may be provided. Jr
order to carry out this object, the sum of £2,800 ha:
already been subscribed, and a committee, com Prising

poor are to

several of our influential townsmen, has been formed

the purpose of collecting further donations, obtaining the
requisite site, and transacting the necessary preliminary

business.
There are several points in the programme put forth
which are deserving of attentive consideration, though

)end, in a great measure

upon the mode in which they are carried out. The esta-
blishment of a church in which daily service will be per-
formed is more especially needed in a town like Liverpool,
not only from its vast population—second only in the
empire to the great metropolis—but from its fluctuating
character, inevitable in a busy port, where ships are daily
arriving and departing. It is the reproach of foreigners
on England that, in reforming our faith,we virtually closed
our churches, except on particular days, while those on the
continent have their doors ever open ; but the reproach
will be removed from Liverpool by the proposed erection,
in which may be carried out the requirements of the Book
of Common Prayer, where we find " The Order for Morn-
ing Prayer daily throughout the year." It is to be hoped
that there are many among those who " go down to the sea

in ships, and occupy their business in great waters," who

" see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep,"
that would gladly avail themselves of the means of grace
afforded by public worship during their necessarily brief
stay in the port, as well as the numerous strangers from

afar who visit this great mart of commerce, and also our
own population, who would deem prayer and praise no
unfitting commencement for a day of active business. In
order, however, that the object may be more fully attained,
the service must be performed at an hour most convenient

for those whose attendance is desired, not too early for t

many to be able to reach the church, nor too late to inte
fere with the regular business of the day. Perhaps the
hour of nine in the forenoon, as adopted by the American
church, would be the best to obviate both objections.
Much, however, of the real benefit of this restoration of
daily service in the church will depend upon the mode in
which the service be performed. We are enjoined to
"worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness," and the
outward demonstration of this can be in no way more
efficiently shown than in the magnificent simplicity
of the ritual of the Church of England. It is this sim-
plicity which constitutes at once its charm and its
power. The Romanists, who appeal to the senses, cannot
appreciate it; and the Dissenters, who discover fervour
only in extempore prayer, cannot understand it. The
sublime beauty of our liturgy requires no histrionic aid
to recommend it, nor the elaborate music of Romish
r. worship to render it attractive. A choir of ordinary
' ability, with the plain but sweet melody of our own
Church music, will be ample adornment; and if the words
to be sung be confined to the psalms of the sweet singer
of Israel, or the simplest anthems, without the innovation
of hymns or the compositions which are more suited for
the orchestra than the church, it will be a manifest i . m-
provement. Innovations of all kinds should be stri
thing,
eschewed the rubrics only should be followed, a. nd nohing,
even to a genuflexion, performed but what
is.ce positively
, also, the
pcoandaedho.aid be
Inthedisay d
petiarfoarnlanrcel o,f theas
sae of the
prayers
large as to require the practice
building would not be so necessary in very spacious
of intoning, which is only n
Cathedrals, and music should only be introduced in thos -
po reons of the ritual in which the congregation n
in singing. Indeed, nothing should take place that would
lead the most captious opponent who attended the s(
doubt, for an instant, that he was in a church of I

while e every thing might be done that would satisfy the most
'rigid stickler for rubrical observances, and the propriety
of doing every thing decently and in order. With refer-

ence to the sermons, we may remark that everything of a
controversial character should be avoided, and the subject
matter confined to those lessons of a practical Christian
character, which may be most likely to touch the con-

sciences and amend the life of those who listen to them.
There need be no lack of interest in awakening attention
to the sinful state of fallen man, the great mystery of
Redemption, the call to repentance and prayer, preparation
for an hereafter, and judgment to come. These concern
all mankind, and none are more fitted than our own
clergy for adapting them so as to touch the hearts of
those whom they address. They should, however, be the
affectionate appeals of earnest men who feel and can
appreciate the importance of their mission as entrusted