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THE. COUNTRYMAN.
By J# A. TURNER. —--“independent in everything—neutral in nothing— §5 for Four Mouths.
VOL. XIX. TURN WOLD (NEAR EATON TON) (JA„ TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 1864. NO. 23.
Religious Movements.
The Countryman leels an interest
in nil questions that affect the human
race, religion and forms of worship
included. It does not feel, because it
does not profess to be a religious jour
nal, that it is debarred from noticing
the most important of all subjects.
Wo have lately noticed several straws
that, wo think, faintly indicate a right
direction of the wind. We have seen,
in the Southern Christian Advocate,
several communications advocating set
forms for public worship. Only one
of these is now before us. It is n
letter from Dr. Tbos. O. Summers,
published in the Advocate for April
19th, and headed “Old Methodism.”
A perusal of the whole article would
repay any Methodist for his trouble,
but we have room for only a few ex«
tracts.
The Doctor says, speaking of a
prayer book that the Rev. John Wes
ley compiled from that id ugo by the
Church of England :
“En passant, 1 may remark, that
this prayer hook was used in America
by the old Methodist x^reachers (ns
wa9 also the gown) until they found it
inexpedient to continue the practice ;
and so they abandoned this great fea
ture of old Methodism. They were
prudent, however, in the manner in
which tbej did this—they manifested
no Scotch iconoclastic phrenzy in re
gard to the ‘ill said mass but finding
it impossible, in their pioneering work,
to get the responses, etc., read, with
out any formal action in the premises,
they simply let the hook go by de-
fnuU.- And yet not wholly so ; for
they extracted all the offices for the
Lord's Supper, Baptism, Matrimony,
Burial, and the three ordj.iiativo ser
vices, and bound them up tor constant
use, in the book ol discipline, and
there they are, of perpetual obliga
tion, unto this day, Some think they
would have done well had they in-'
sorted also thp most salient, points of
the Sunday service (omitting responses)
to be used ad Ubitvm, in connection
with pxtcmpoit. prayer. I am tefnpt-
ed to think so myself, when 1 hear
some pieaeher? pray'; the hook would
help them—but; then, perhaps they
would not use it. The ‘Sunday ser
vice’ was a part of ‘old Methodism
we have laid it aside and few among
us wish its restoration, Eor my own
part, I am free to say I should not
like'to be tied to that, or any other
form for regular Sunday worship.
“ There is the psalmody of old
Methodism—both hymns and tunes—
how' olteii dd we hear the cry of'the
old Methodist hymns and tunes ! *
* * Mr. Wesley published a num
ber of tune books, and made it the
duty of bis people to use them. * *
The tunes thus sanctioned were the
standard churdi nftisic— many of them
were reproduced in the tune books
published by our church in this coun
try ; and I have frequently heard
them denounced as novelties when
they have been sung, while the ditties
of modern times of the ‘Did Ship of
Ziou’ class have been (save the mark)
called for as old Methodist tunes.
Why the singing of them is almost
enough to make the bonep of the
Wesleys rattle with indignation in
City Road Chapel.”
Soon after we read the above, in a
Methodist journal, we saw, In a Pres
byterian paper, an nrtitclo entitled
“Need in Onr Church for a Few Foim-
ulas.” It commences :
“I was called, two days since, jo
the pleasant duty of baptizing the in
fant child of an esteemed .brother
minister * * On thi3 occasion I
deeply fell, as I had often felt before,
tho need of a well prepared form of
baptism, that should express, njore
powerfully than was possible for me
tx> do extemporaneously, the thoughts
and vows suitable to the occasion. 1
am well aware that there are. such
forms in use among onr churches, and
that some of them are most beautiful
and impressive, hut there was none to
ho had on this occasion, except tho
outline given us in the seventh chap
ter of our directory for worship. This
outline was used, hut the speaker’s
words were cold and meagre in com
parison with the occasion, and his own
desires. Why has there not been,
ere this, an effort made by some one,
through onr general assembly, to sup
piement this widely felt deficiency f ’
Again the writer says :
“Yesterday, we enjoyed a delight
ful season ot communion. The pas- j
tor, at the close of an impressive dis-
cotu.se, introduced the communion set
vice, and 'fenced tho table,’ by using
the solemn form of invitation to be
found in the.Book of Public Prayer,
compiled from the liturgies prepared
by Calvin, Knox, Beza, ana others,
While he was engaged in the conse
crating prayer, there was observed a
manifest change in his style. Flis own
language, eminently rich, nervous, and
beautiful, was exchanged for language
still more impressive, He was using
tho consecrating prayer, supposed to
he prepared by Calvin, and his voice
thrilled as if with delight in express
ing hia own and the people’s thoughts
in the safe and devout language of
that noble father.
“While listening, I confess that
thoughts, similar to those which had
occurred to my mind the day before,
in -reference to the ordinance of bap*
tism, arose now in connexion with tho
solemn ordinance of the Supper. 'Why
should there not bo a form of com
munion service, selected from the an
cieut Presbyterian fathers, or prepared
by competent Presbyterian fathers of
the present da}, and authorized to be
used thjronghtour churches V ”
We come now to Dr. ftmynners >
‘Common Platform for the Churches,"
in tho Southern Christian Advocate
for May 12th, in which he proposes
an ‘organic union’of all the protes
tants in this country. In view of the
immense difficulties in the way, and
especially after reading Dr Summers’
account of them, we cannot help ex
claiming, in his own language, ‘We
sadly fear such a pentecostal or njil-
lenial fusion, ns that contemplated,
cannot be brought nbont in the pres
ent temper of the Christian world. 1
We may add that there is scarcely
any hope of such ft consummation ;
but the idea of the possibility of such
a thing is enough to excite all who
desire it, so we proceed to quote some
of tho writer’s language -
“There are live great denominations
in the Confederate States. I name
them alphabetically, ns there must be
a round table for our Christian knights
—Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists,
Presbyterians, and Protestant Episco
patitins.'’
Right litre, in the .beginning, the