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w Cff t/ < / ? r*>.# 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