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 L I E) RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N 1 VLRSITY 
 
 Of ILLI NOIS
 
 Zt)t IButi) of Ijeaiing saitncisis! to tf)t I^Tnitj^. 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 PREACHED ON 
 
 SUNDAY THE 24ih SEPTEMBER, lS4o, 
 
 ST. PETER'S CHAPEL, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HON. AND EEV. ROBERT LIDDELL, M.A., 
 
 VICAR OF HARKING, KSSEX. 
 
 M. A. RICHARDSON ; ROBT. CURRIE AND CO. 
 
 LONDON, J. G. F. AND J. RIVINGTON. 
 
 1843. 
 
 Price Sixpence.
 
 TO THE 
 AND 
 
 , (ilonsiegation 
 
 OF SAINT PETEe's CHAPEL, 
 
 THIS DISCOURSE, 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE THEM, AND PRINTED AT THEIR REQUEST, 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY THEIR FAITHFUL BROTHER IN CHRIST, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 ^gf.
 
 SERMON, 
 
 4c. 
 
 Acts i. 8. 
 
 Ye shall receive power after that the Holj Ghost is come 
 upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru- 
 salem, and in all Judsea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter- 
 most parts of the Earth. 
 
 These words were addressed by our Blessed 
 Lord to His Apostles, immediately previous to 
 His ascension into Heaven ; they contain a pro- 
 mise and an injunction, — the promise, that they 
 should speedily receive a Divine power, by the 
 implantation of His Holy Spirit within them— 
 the injunction that being so qualified for their 
 work, they should go forth as witnesses, in 
 His name, not only to Jerusalem and their own 
 land, but even to the uttermost parts of the Earth. 
 The substance of this same address is given in 
 somewhat different and fuller language at the end 
 of St. Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus is repre- 
 sented as saying to His followers, " All isomer 
 is given unto me in heaven and in earth — go ye 
 therefore and teach, or make disciples of all 
 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching 
 them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you ; and lo ! I am with you always, 
 even unto the end of the world — Amen." 
 
 I am not now going to dwell upon the nature 
 and perpetuity of this Spiritual Gift, which our 
 Lord bequeathed to the Apostles, and through 
 them, to His Church: but of this we may be 
 sure, that coupled as the promise of it is with 
 the direction to go forth and bear witness unto 
 Him, — that duty must be both an arduous and a 
 necessary one. It is my intention, then, on the 
 present occasion, my Christian Brethren, to call 
 your attention to this point — the duty of bearing 
 witness to the Truth as it is in Jesus ; and may 
 He graciously vouchsafe to us His blessing, while 
 we do so. 
 
 First, let us come to a clear understanding of 
 the meaning of the term ; it is a very simple one, 
 and none of you will have any difficulty in com- 
 prehending it — To bear witness to the Truth, is 
 to uphold or maintain it by our own personal 
 evidence in its favour ; it is in this our state of 
 trial upon earth, to range ourselves on the side 
 of the truth, because it is the Truth, whether it 
 be the strong side or the weak one : whether 
 men will hear, or whether they will forbear. It 
 has no necessary reference to our power of influ- 
 encing others, to our chance of success in con- 
 vincing them of the truth, but it is our own adher- 
 ence to it, as a matter of conscience towards God,
 
 in word and in deed, through life and unto death. 
 Now, let us next observe how our Lord, and 
 great Example is Himself exhibited to us in Holy 
 Scripture under this particular character of a 
 Witness. First in prophecy, in the Book of 
 Isaiah, Iv. 3. and 4. where the Almighty is com- 
 forting His people by the promise of " making an 
 everlasting Covenant with them, even the sure 
 mercies of David ;" He says, " Behold I have given 
 Him" i. e. Jesus the Messiah, and the Son of 
 David after the flesh, " Behold I have given Him 
 for a Witness to the people, a Leader and Com- 
 mander to the people." And we find Jesus ful- 
 filling this prophecy in the fearless testimony 
 which He bore, not only to all truth, but also to 
 this special truth, of His being " King over all, God 
 blessed for ever," and that too in the presence 
 of Pilate His heathen judge, and all His infuriated 
 enemies. He denied indeed that His Kingdom 
 was of the earthly nature which they imagined, 
 while He maintained the reality of it. He said on 
 a former occasion, " the Kingdom of God cometh 
 not with observation, neither shall they say lo ! 
 here, or lo ! there, for behold the Kingdom of God 
 is within you ; " now He declared, " My kingdom is 
 not of this world : if My Kingdom were of this 
 world, then would My servants fight, that I should 
 not be delivered unto the Jews : but now is My 
 kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said 
 unto Him, art Thou a King then? Jesus an- 
 swered, thou sayest that I am a King — To this
 
 8 
 
 end was I born, and for this cause came I into the 
 world, that / should hear witness unto tJie Truth ; 
 every one therefore that is of the Truth heareth 
 My voice "# — In reference to this we find St. Paul, 
 in his 1st. Epistle to Timothy,t speaking of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, as witnessing a good Confession before 
 Pontius Pilate ; and twice in the Book of Revel- 
 ation I is He styled the faithful and true witness. 
 Now what He was Himself, that he ordained His 
 Disciples to be, — icitnesses. ^ If the Comforter 
 whom He was to send to them, even the Spirit of 
 Truth, was to give them power, to guide them 
 into all Truth, and to testify of Him; — so, He 
 added, " ye also shall bear witness, because ye have 
 been with me from the beginning; " and so again 
 in the text, "ye shall be witnesses unto me, both 
 in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, 
 and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." 
 
 We know, my Brethren, how faithfully these 
 holy men fulfilled their Master's bidding ; we 
 cannot read the Book of the Acts, nor the 
 Apostolical Epistles, without seeing how uniformly 
 they bore witness to the truth as it is in Him — 
 No opposition deterred them ; no persecution 
 daunted them. In the words of St. Paul, when 
 he was warned of the bonds which awaited him, 
 at Jerusalem, || " None of these things moved 
 
 * Johu xviii. 36. and 37. f 1 Tim. vi. 13. 
 
 X Rev. i. 5. and iii. 14. 
 
 § John xvi. 13. 14. and xv. 26. 27. 
 
 II Acts XX. 24.
 
 them ; neither counted they then* Hves dear unto 
 themselves, so that they might finish their course 
 with joy, and the ministry which they had received 
 of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the 
 grace of God." And of St. John we are told in the 
 Book of Revelation,* " that he was in tribulation 
 and banishment for the word of God and tlie 
 testimony of Jesus." Moreover it is worthy of 
 observation, that neither our great Example nor 
 his inspired followers seem to have maintained 
 the truth from the prospect of its immediate 
 success, for they did not imnfiediately succeed ; but 
 they were rather constrained by the lofty sense 
 of the obligation of personal faithfulness. Amidst 
 all untoward circumstances, they did their duty 
 and left the results in the hands of Omnipotence. 
 
 And as it has been with our Divine Head, and 
 those immediately commissioned by Him, so 
 ought it to be with all His members. May you 
 then endeavour, my Brethren, at all times as God 
 blesses you with the knowledge of the truth, to 
 maintain it, — in your conversation and in your 
 conduct to bear unswerving testimony to it. 
 
 Moreover, as honest men, we should be 
 specially careful not to withhold our witness upon 
 points, which, from circumstances over which we 
 have had no controul, are overlooked, or not duly 
 valued by the mass of society in which our lot 
 is thrown. 
 
 Here probably will be our cross ; but we must 
 * Rev. i. 0.
 
 10 
 
 not flinch from it. Yet, understand me, the course 
 I would suggest under such circumstances is not 
 an offensive, but an unobtrusive one ; not a con- 
 ceited, but an humble one; while still, it is not a 
 negative line of conduct, but a j^ositive one. By 
 which word negative I mean, that we do not 
 advance the cause of truth, or incline people's 
 minds to receive it, if we are more given to find 
 fault with practices that are wrong, than to recom- 
 mend ways that are right ; and that, not only in 
 words, but by the more influential method of 
 deeds and conduct — This I call the positive way ; 
 this is the quiet, humble, winning way; — and if 
 we love the truth, we ought to wish to win men to 
 it. But, still, the right way to do so, is to begin 
 by thinking more of being faithful ourselves, than 
 of success in persuading them. Neither must we 
 think it desirable to be constantly arguing with 
 others, but must ourselves go in the way which we 
 know to be right ; and this, 1 repeat, will be the 
 most effectual way, in the long run, to carry 
 others along with us, especially, if, while we are 
 firm in holding the unity of the faith, we #" en- 
 deavour to do so in the bond of peace " and in 
 brotherly love. 
 
 But I now come to speak to you of the means to 
 which you as private individuals must look for 
 the enlightening of your own minds, and for 
 confirming them in the truth. 
 
 All saving truth is, we know, contained in the 
 * Ephesians iv. 3.
 
 11 
 
 blessed word of God : — " Sanctify them through 
 Thy truth, Thy word is truth."* It furnishes us 
 fully with every principle of doctrine and practice. 
 But in these times of doubt and controversy upon 
 religious topics, by what means, over and above 
 the practise of private prayer for a right judgment 
 in all things, and reverent attention to the in- 
 structions of your ordained teachers, are you to 
 ascertain the right meaning of the Bible ? How 
 are you to form some estimate as to whether they 
 are teaching you the true meaning of the Bible, 
 which, remember, is alone The Bible? There is 
 not a Sect, however extravagant its tenets, or 
 however opposed to the real faith of Jesus the 
 Son of God, which does not claim a support for 
 its notions from the inspired word of God. Yet, 
 truth is at unity with itself, and cannot really 
 support diametrically opposite principles. How, 
 then, in essential matters, in what we may call the 
 great landmarks of Christianity, how are you to 
 steer clear of error, and to hold the truth ? How 
 may you feel, that, though you are not gifted with 
 any deep learning, you have your feet standing as 
 it were upon a rock, from which, by God's bless- 
 ing, you cannot be moved? Dear Brethren, I 
 answer, without hesitation, by reverencing, loving, 
 studying, trusting in our Book of Common or Pub- 
 lic Prayer, that blessed heir-loom of every true- 
 hearted Churchman. There you have the voice, 
 not only of your Pastor, but of the Church, your 
 
 * John xvii. 17.
 
 12 
 
 Spiritual Mother in God, and his, — addressing you 
 in tones of soberness, yet, deep devotion ; in 
 fervent Love, yet Parental Authority. She ven- 
 tures not to put any doctrine before you, which 
 has not stood the test of long trial, which comes 
 not down to us approved by the concurrent Faith 
 of earliest and purest times — She teaches you 
 those summaries of Gospel truth to which you have 
 been pledged, at your baptism, — the " articles of 
 the Christian Faith" — the Creeds ; no invention 
 of her own ; no innovation upon the original 
 deposit of Truth, as has been the case with the 
 creed of modern Rome — (I say it in sorrow, not 
 in acrimony) — But the Creeds which our Church 
 and our Prayer Book teach us, are the Bulwarks 
 of the ancient and really Catholic, i. e. Universal, 
 Church ; the Apostolic form of sound words to 
 which Saints of old have borne their witness, — 
 for which Martyrs have shed their blood. 
 
 But not in the Creeds alone, in all her Ser- 
 vices, you will find that the Church illustrates and 
 developes the meaning of the Bible, while the 
 Bible confirms the doctrines of the Church — And 
 if you study them together, my Brethren, if you 
 use them, as they are meant, not to sharpen you 
 in argument, but to ripen you in devotion, and 
 strengthen you in obedience ; if you try honestly to 
 practise, to the utmost of your power, what your 
 Church prescribes, backed as it is by the con- 
 sistent teaching of those who are set over you 
 in the Lcrd, you will hold on the even tenor of
 
 13 
 
 your way, ever waxing stronger and stronger 
 in the Faith,* "till you come in the unity of the 
 Faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
 unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature 
 of the fulness of Christ." While others dis- 
 pute, you will be in peace ; what they discuss, 
 you will realise ; while t " they are ever learn- 
 ing, but never coming to the knowledge of the 
 Truth," because they will not follow it out in 
 deed, you will acquire larger and larger measures 
 of wisdom^ that gift from above ; wisdom which 
 is the right use of Knowledge; wisdom which is 
 the blessed indwelling power to discern, appre- 
 ciate, and practice what is holy, and right, and 
 good. And your witness shall not be thrown 
 away. Though you live not, perchance, to see 
 any palpable fruit from it, God will bless you 
 for your sincerity and faithfulness. If you be 
 called to suffer, in your measure, for truth's 
 sake, to undergo obloquy, to be subject to misre- 
 presentation, and charged with consequences 
 which you abhor, — " j in patience possess ye your 
 souls ; " " ^ in quietness, and confidence be your 
 strength." Those sufferings are only shadows of 
 your Saviour's cross, the conformity to it, which 
 you must expect. They shall all be blessed to you, 
 and perhaps to others also — For this is God's way 
 of dealing with His servants, to make them suffer 
 for His sake, and through their sufferings to bring 
 
 * Ephesians iv. 13. f 2 Timothy iii. 7 and 5. 
 
 t Luke xxi. 19. § Isaiah xxx, 1.^. 
 
 c
 
 14 
 
 about success to His own cause. Oh ! this is a 
 humbhng, chastening view of our vocation ; but 
 it is a i^eal one. Xud, my Brethern, it will sup- 
 port a good man in his duty, when otherwise 
 he would be driven to despair ; it will keep him 
 calm, nay cheerful, while the world frowns upon 
 him, when enemies exult, and even timid friends 
 draw back, and look cold and suspicious. " Fear 
 not therefore ; — for whosoever shall confess me, 
 before men, him will I confess also before my 
 Father which is in Heaven." — Matt. x. 31. 32. 
 
 But I must now proceed to shew you how I 
 think this subject is applicable to the present 
 occasion. The object for which our contri- 
 butions are solicited, this evenino;, is a double 
 one ; partly to go towards liquidating the debt 
 that still remains for the building of this Church ; 
 and partly, to defray the current expenses in- 
 cidental to Divine service. 
 
 I shall speak then, First, on the structure, and 
 next on the services of this sacred place. 
 
 It has often forcibly struck me, my Brethren, 
 and never more forcibly than now, that the very 
 structure and arrangement of Churches, ought to 
 be a standing witness to divine truth. And first 
 of all, it ought to be such as to impress one with 
 feelings of reverence. Nor should we be deterred 
 by senseless clamour and objections, from con- 
 secrating our talents, art, and money in the 
 making them substantial, beautiful, and costly. 
 Why are we to see accuracy of proportion.
 
 15 
 
 chasteness of style, and richness of detail be- 
 stowed, at a lavish expense, upon public build- 
 ings connected solely with this world's pursuits, 
 upon Markets, Town-Halls, Exchanges, and 
 Theatres ; and to see niggardliness, poverty, and 
 deficiency in architectural knowledge in that 
 which should, above all works, absorb our 
 every faculty, and fill us with noble enthu- 
 siasm, I might almost add, unthinking liber- 
 ality, — I mean the House of God, — the 
 earthly Presence Chamber of the most High, 
 of the King of kings, and Lord of lords ? Oh ! 
 if we loved our God, and were zealous for His 
 glory, as we ought to be, our hearts would burn 
 with a living fire, in all that we did for Him, and 
 for the honour of His great name. If we go to 
 Holy Scripture, as our authority, in the matter 
 of raising edifices, in some degree, worthy of 
 Him whom we worship, how instructive is it to 
 read, that in the Tabernacle, and Temple of Is- 
 rael, the minutest details in their formation, were 
 previously arranged by the Lord Himself, and 
 specific directions about them given by Him to 
 men inspired for the work ! How beauteous, how 
 glorious, must have .been the Temple of Solomon ! 
 and how touching the lavish zeal with which all 
 ranks poured in their free will contributions 
 towards it!* "The work is great," said holy 
 David, " for the Palace is not for man, but for the 
 Lord God ; and now have I prepared, with all 
 * 1 Chronicles xxix. i. v. and ix. xix.
 
 16 
 
 my might, for the House of my God, the gold, 
 and the silver, and the brass, the iron, and the 
 wood, onyx stones, and stones to be set, glisten- 
 ing stones, and of divers colours, and all manner 
 of precious stones, and marble stones, in abund- 
 ance. Moreover, because / have set my affection 
 to the House of my God, I have, of my own 
 proper goods, of gold, and silver which I have 
 given to the House of my God, over and above 
 all that I have prepared for the Holy House ; 
 even three thousand talents of the gold of 
 Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined 
 silver ; who then is willing to consecrate his 
 service this day unto the Lord ? And he re- 
 joiced with great joy, and blessed the Lord, 
 because the people also, offered wilhngly, and 
 with perfect heart, unto the Lord." There is 
 our example, my Brethern, of the spirit in 
 which Churches should be raised to God. Let 
 us not pick and choose out of our Bibles, taking 
 what makes for us, and rejecting what witnesses 
 against us. So long as the Bible stands unre- 
 pealed, so long does this example say to us, " go 
 ye, and do likewise." Most heartily do I rejoice, 
 that this Church in which we are, is a witness to 
 the truth, in this respect, beyond any thing we 
 have been accustomed to see in our times. No 
 one can come here without admiration ; without, 
 I trust, an instinctive feeling of reverence ; with- 
 out the reflection that so much beauty and care 
 have been bestowed on it, for no common purpose.
 
 17 
 
 But next, I say, that this Church is in its 
 structure, a witness to the truth on the score of 
 piety, or devoutness. Not only are its arrange- 
 ments according to strict Ecclesiastical rules, but 
 to any attentive observer, it exemjMjies a spirit of 
 Prayer. Due accommodation has been given for 
 the encouragement of that posture in which 
 Christians should always be found, at the worship 
 of God, — I mean kneeling. Surely, it has been too 
 much the custom to suppose that public prayer is 
 a mere form, to be sat through, rather than a per- 
 sonal act of Solemn devotion ; and that the sermon 
 was the chief feature in Divine service, instead of 
 a subordinate one. Hence it is a common expres- 
 sion, that people are going " to hear such an one," 
 instead of being content to go to their usual 
 Parish Church, leaving the hearing of this man or 
 that man to the providence of God, and the care 
 of those set over them in the Lord. But how 
 does the Lord designate His Temples ? * " My 
 House shall be called the House of Prayer, for all 
 people ;" not, then, the house of preaching ; but 
 the house of prayer. I do not, of course, mean 
 to detract from the great value of preaching, as a 
 means of instruction ordained by God ; but let 
 us keep it in its proper place, secondary, not pi'e- 
 eminent. Preaching imparts knowledye ; prayer 
 obtains wisdom, t" For the Priest's lips should 
 keep knowledge; and they should seek the Law 
 at his mouth." But, j^If any man lack wisdom, 
 
 * Isai. Ivi, 7. f Maladii ii. 7. X James i. 5.
 
 18 
 
 let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liber- 
 ally, and upbraideth not; and it shall he given 
 liimr 
 
 Furthermore, in this Church, due prominence 
 is given, in openness of position, and carefulness 
 of execution, to those parts which are connected 
 with the celebration of Christ's blessed Sacra- 
 ments ; to the Font, round which you are wont to 
 assemble, when you bring your children to Holy 
 Baptism, and to the Sacred Table where you 
 commemorate your Saviour's dying Love, and 
 seek more intimate communion with Him, in the 
 participation of His most blessed Body and Blood. 
 The one is not, as has been the custom in modern 
 times, thrust back into a corner, to be used only 
 in a comparatively private way, contrary to the 
 rubrics of the liturgy ; the other has not been 
 hidden by placing a high cumbrous Reading Desk 
 and Pulpit immediately in front of it ; but all has 
 been here well and decorously arranged. 
 
 One more important principle of Christain 
 truth, is silently, yet not less eloquently witnessed 
 to, in the very structure and arrangement of this 
 beautiful edifice. I mean that of Charity. Your 
 Seats are open, throughout the Church ; here are 
 no invidious distinctions, no temptations to osten- 
 tation, no scope for exclusiveness. The right of 
 Parishioners to accommodation, in their accus- 
 tomed place of worship, is put upon the proper 
 footing, the only one recognized by the Law of 
 the Land. It is a right of occupation not of exclu-
 
 19 
 
 sion ; — a right supported by the local authorities 
 (the minister and churchwardens), for individuals 
 to be assigned their places, if they come regu- 
 larly, and fill them ; but not a power, (for there 
 never was a right) to stay away, and yet lock up a 
 pew door, to prevent others from entering it. 
 
 But the arrangement here is more than the 
 mere openness of the seats ; it witnesses, further, 
 to charity in the uniformity of them. Herein is 
 hidden a deep sympathy for the feehngs of the 
 poor and lowly, as noble as it is rare. A nd truly, my 
 Brethren, if the Gospel is not only to be preached, 
 but also to be practised to the poor, we must try, 
 by what means we can, to show, that honest pov- 
 erty is an honoarable estate ; we must welcome 
 the poor man, as our Brother, and every v/hit 
 our Equal, in the House of God ; we must not 
 thrust him away, from all places convenient for 
 sight and hearing, into obscure corners ; but we 
 must make him feel at ease, and teach him self- 
 respect, by shewing him respect ourselves ; by 
 doing to him, as we would be done by. We 
 must give him the same means of worshipping 
 with reverence, and hearing with comfort, which 
 we ourselves enjoy ; or else we must cease to be 
 surprised that the poor leave the Church for the 
 Conventicle. 
 
 Oh ! if we but remembered. Who is represented 
 by the poor ; that it is our Lord, and God, and 
 Saviour ; that they, in their sufferings, and de- 
 privations, in a lively manner, testify Him,
 
 20 
 
 *" Who when He was rich, yet for our sakes 
 became poor," and in His sojourn upon earth 
 " had not where to lay His head ; " if we but 
 remembered His saying, recited to us in the 
 lesson for this mornings service, t " Inasmuch 
 as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
 my Brethern, ye have done it unto Me;" — we 
 should not dare in any thing, to despise them, or 
 treat them with inconsideration. We should 
 honour Christ's poor, and most especially in His 
 House of prayer. And depend upon it, this is 
 the safest, surest way of inducing them to honour 
 us, and to order themselves lowly and reverently 
 to all their betters in worldly station, instead of 
 looking upon them with suspicion, envy, and 
 dislike. Acts of sympathy and tenderness will 
 go further with them than arguments. We shall 
 scarcely succeed in convincing their understand- 
 ings of the evil and dangers of schism, if we do 
 not try to engage their affections and good will, 
 and make i\\evafeel that brotherly kindness is an 
 essential feature of Church unity. 
 
 The second object for which our contributions 
 are solicited, is to defray the current expenses 
 incidental upon the solemnization of Divine ser- 
 vice ; and I propose, in conclusion, to say a few 
 words upon the mode in which that service is 
 performed in this sacred place. 
 
 Now here, my Brethern, if what I have already 
 said be true, that with us the Church Prayer 
 
 * 2 Corinthians viii. 9. f Matthew xxv. 40.
 
 21 
 
 Book is our authorized manual of devotion, and 
 ought to . come next in our estimation to the 
 blessed word of God ; then it follows, necessarily, 
 that they who endeavour to follow out most 
 closely the Rubrical directions of that Prayer 
 Book, in spirit, as well as in letter, are doing 
 their best to guide your devotions in the right 
 way. 
 
 In setting before you the authority which is 
 over them, as well as over you, they are acting 
 more humbly than if they did what seemed good 
 only in their own eyes. In * magnifying their 
 office, they are taking the surest way to abase 
 themselves. In these times, it is very easy for a 
 Minister so to act, and so to preach, as to put * 
 himself at the head of a little party, and to make 
 himself the. centre of attraction to his congrega- 
 tion ; but, t " Thou Oh man of God, flee these 
 things ; and follow after righteousness, godliness, 
 faith, love, patience, meekness." — The real 
 Churchman abjures party, for he knows that it 
 is destructive of unity. The posture which he 
 loves best, is not that of standing above his flock 
 in the character of a teacher, though he does not 
 shrink from that great responsibility ; but it is 
 rather that of kneeling with them, as their fellow- 
 sinner, and their brother, before the mercy seat 
 of the most High God. And T would simply 
 
 * Compare Romans xi. 13. with 1. Corinthians xv. 9. and 
 Ephesians iii. 8. 
 
 t 1. Timothy vi. II. 
 
 D
 
 •22 
 
 suggest this question to you, my Christian 
 Brethern ; Have you or have you not, in this 
 sacred Edifice, more opportunities of prayer and 
 worship than you had before ? Is not the privilege 
 of observing the Festivals and Holy Days of the 
 Church, brought more vi^ithin your reach ? Does 
 not the uniform care, the reverence, with which 
 Divine Worship is solemnized, in its every part, 
 impress you more and more with the fact that 
 Worship is the grand object for which you come 
 here ? Does not the use of chaunting make you 
 feel more and more the congregational character 
 of that service ; and the harmony of sacred song 
 engage you to try, and lift up your voices, more 
 and more, to the praise and glory of the most 
 High? — Answer these questions fairly to your- 
 selves ; enumerate, in your own minds, the ad- 
 vantages you derive from more frequent opportu- 
 nities of public Prayer, that blessed Boiid of visible 
 Christian Unity ; and then say, whether the use 
 made of this Church does not as much as its 
 structure, bear witness to the Truth, and lead you 
 up to God ? 
 
 And will it be replied. This structure, these 
 observances are, in some respects, new ? Nay, 
 my Brethren, — not new. New they seem to us, 
 because the laxity of later times has suffered them 
 to fall into disuse ; but not new in reality, if they 
 are only a return to usages prescribed and enjoined 
 in the Prayer Book to which all Churchmen 
 profess an adherence.
 
 23 
 
 As with the structure of this Church, so with 
 its services ; — the first is new in material, and 
 new to you in arrangement ; but if you could 
 consult the style of architecture, and the forms of 
 Churches in earlier and more devout times, you 
 would find that there was nothing in these respects 
 new here ; — nothing that has not the authority of 
 ancient models ; and in the observances of the 
 Church, likewise, you will find nothing but what 
 is sanctioned by the practice of our Fore- 
 fathers of the Reformed Church in England, 
 before they were infected with the leaven of 
 Puritanism. 
 
 Were a person of the present day to purchase 
 a new Prayer Book, the materials of it, the paper, 
 and the binding would certainly be new ; but tJie 
 matter contained in these would be no more new, 
 than that in an old black letter edition, of two 
 hundred years ago. 
 
 Apply this little illustration, my Brethren ; be 
 ready to value the great blessing you have got, 
 by using it to the utmost. And thus, as well as 
 by your quiet, devout, charitable conduct at all 
 times, bear your witness to the sacred truths which 
 are here set before you. And, on this occasion, 
 I need scarcely say to you, — Be ready, as in the 
 sight of God, to give what you can of your sub- 
 stance, towards defraying the expences which 
 have been incurred for your sakes. I feel that I 
 have already trespassed too long upon your time ; 
 but my interest in this Church, and in you the
 
 24 
 
 inhabitants of my native Town, has carried me 
 beyond my usual Umits. I shall only, then, in 
 conclusion, repeat those simple words which have 
 been previously recited to you, as coming from 
 the mouth of the Holy David, — " Which of you 
 is willing to consecrate his service, this day, unto 
 the Lord ? " 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 NVwcastle-upon-Tyne : Printed by M. A. Richardson, 44, Grey Street.
 
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